Economic evaluation of neonatal care packages in a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

PubMed

LeFevre, Amnesty E; Shillcutt, Samuel D; Waters, Hugh R; Haider, Sabbir; El Arifeen, Shams; Mannan, Ishtiaq; Seraji, Habibur R; Shah, Rasheduzzaman; Darmstadt, Gary L; Wall, Steve N; Williams, Emma K; Black, Robert E; Santosham, Mathuram; Baqui, Abdullah H

2013-10-01

To evaluate and compare the cost-effectiveness of two strategies for neonatal care in Sylhet division, Bangladesh. In a cluster-randomized controlled trial, two strategies for neonatal care--known as home care and community care--were compared with existing services. For each study arm, economic costs were estimated from a societal perspective, inclusive of programme costs, provider costs and household out-of-pocket payments on care-seeking. Neonatal mortality in each study arm was determined through household surveys. The incremental cost-effectiveness of each strategy--compared with that of the pre-existing levels of maternal and neonatal care--was then estimated. The levels of uncertainty in our estimates were quantified through probabilistic sensitivity analysis. The incremental programme costs of implementing the home-care package were 2939 (95% confidence interval, CI: 1833-7616) United States dollars (US$) per neonatal death averted and US$ 103.49 (95% CI: 64.72-265.93) per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. The corresponding total societal costs were US$ 2971 (95% CI: 1844-7628) and US$ 104.62 (95% CI: 65.15-266.60), respectively. The home-care package was cost-effective--with 95% certainty--if healthy life years were valued above US$ 214 per DALY averted. In contrast, implementation of the community-care strategy led to no reduction in neonatal mortality and did not appear to be cost-effective. The home-care package represents a highly cost-effective intervention strategy that should be considered for replication and scale-up in Bangladesh and similar settings elsewhere.

Novel Techniques for Millimeter-Wave Packages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herman, Martin I.; Lee, Karen A.; Kolawa, Elzbieta A.; Lowry, Lynn E.; Tulintseff, Ann N.

1995-01-01

A new millimeter-wave package architecture with supporting electrical, mechanical and material science experiment and analysis is presented. This package is well suited for discrete devices, monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC's) and multichip module (MCM) applications. It has low-loss wide-band RF transitions which are necessary to overcome manufacturing tolerances leading to lower per unit cost Potential applications of this new packaging architecture which go beyond the standard requirements of device protection include integration of antennas, compatibility to photonic networks and direct transitions to waveguide systems. Techniques for electromagnetic analysis, thermal control and hermetic sealing were explored. Three dimensional electromagnetic analysis was performed using a finite difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm and experimentally verified for millimeter-wave package input and output transitions. New multi-material system concepts (AlN, Cu, and diamond thin films) which allow excellent surface finishes to be achieved with enhanced thermal management have been investigated. A new approach utilizing block copolymer coatings was employed to hermetically seal packages which met MIL STD-883.

Economic evaluation of neonatal care packages in a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Sylhet, Bangladesh

PubMed Central

Shillcutt, Samuel D; Waters, Hugh R; Haider, Sabbir; El Arifeen, Shams; Mannan, Ishtiaq; Seraji, Habibur R; Shah, Rasheduzzaman; Darmstadt, Gary L; Wall, Steve N; Williams, Emma K; Black, Robert E; Santosham, Mathuram; Baqui, Abdullah H

2013-01-01

Abstract Objective To evaluate and compare the cost-effectiveness of two strategies for neonatal care in Sylhet division, Bangladesh. Methods In a cluster-randomized controlled trial, two strategies for neonatal care – known as home care and community care – were compared with existing services. For each study arm, economic costs were estimated from a societal perspective, inclusive of programme costs, provider costs and household out-of-pocket payments on care-seeking. Neonatal mortality in each study arm was determined through household surveys. The incremental cost-effectiveness of each strategy – compared with that of the pre-existing levels of maternal and neonatal care – was then estimated. The levels of uncertainty in our estimates were quantified through probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Findings The incremental programme costs of implementing the home-care package were 2939 (95% confidence interval, CI: 1833–7616) United States dollars (US$) per neonatal death averted and US$ 103.49 (95% CI: 64.72–265.93) per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. The corresponding total societal costs were US$ 2971 (95% CI: 1844–7628) and US$ 104.62 (95% CI: 65.15–266.60), respectively. The home-care package was cost-effective – with 95% certainty – if healthy life years were valued above US$ 214 per DALY averted. In contrast, implementation of the community-care strategy led to no reduction in neonatal mortality and did not appear to be cost-effective. Conclusion The home-care package represents a highly cost-effective intervention strategy that should be considered for replication and scale-up in Bangladesh and similar settings elsewhere. PMID:24115797

An analysis of information design and packaging for an inelastic market

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, T. E.; Mccullough, R.; Cordle, V. M.

1982-01-01

Producers of technical reports can increase the potential use of the technical report, as an information product, by making certain changes to the sequential, language, and presentation components. These improvements, which effect the overall design and packaging of the product, are discussed. These improvements are likely to have their greatest impact on the marginal technical report user. However, these improvements are not without economic consideration. For this reason, cost factors should be calculated to ensure that benefits to the user and/or increased utility will outweight the cost to the producer.

A model to estimate the cost of the National Essential Public Health Services Package in Beijing, China.

PubMed

Yin, Delu; Wong, Sabrina T; Chen, Wei; Xin, Qianqian; Wang, Lihong; Cui, Mingming; Yin, Tao; Li, Ruili; Zheng, Xiaoguo; Yang, Huiming; Yu, Juanjuan; Chen, Bowen; Yang, Weizhong

2015-06-06

In order to address several health challenges, the Chinese government issued the National Essential Public Health Services Package (NEPHSP) in 2009. In China's large cities, the lack of funding for community health centers and consequent lack of comprehensive services and high quality care has become a major challenge. However, no study has been carried out to estimate the cost of delivering the services in the package. This project was to develop a cost estimation approach appropriate to the context and use it to calculate the cost of the NEPHSP in Beijing in 2011. By adjusting models of cost analysis of primary health care and workload indicators of staffing need developed by the World Health Organization, a model was developed to estimate the cost of the services in the package through an intensive interactive process. A total of 17 community health centers from eight administrative districts in Beijing were selected. Their service volume and expenditure data in 2010 were used to evaluate the costs of providing the NEPHSP in Beijing based on the applied model. The total workload of all types of primary health care in 17 sample centers was equivalent to the workload requirement for 14,056,402 standard clinic visits. The total expenditure of the 17 sample centers was 26,329,357.62 USD in 2010. The cost of the workload requirement of one standard clinic visit was 1.87 USD. The workload of the NEPHSP was equivalent to 5,514,777 standard clinic visits (39.23 % of the total workload). The model suggests that the cost of the package in Beijing was 7.95 USD per capita in 2010. The cost of the NEPHSP in urban areas was lower than suburban areas: 7.31 and 8.65 USD respectively. The average investment of 3.97 USD per capita in NEPHSP was lower than the amount needed to meet its running costs. NEPHSP in Beijing is therefore underfunded. Additional investment is needed, and a dynamic cost estimate mechanism should be introduced to ensure services remain adequately funded.

An econometric analysis of regional differences in household waste collection: the case of plastic packaging waste in Sweden.

PubMed

Hage, Olle; Söderholm, Patrik

2008-01-01

The Swedish producer responsibility ordinance mandates producers to collect and recycle packaging materials. This paper investigates the main determinants of collection rates of household plastic packaging waste in Swedish municipalities. This is done by the use of a regression analysis based on cross-sectional data for 252 Swedish municipalities. The results suggest that local policies, geographic/demographic variables, socio-economic factors and environmental preferences all help explain inter-municipality collection rates. For instance, the collection rate appears to be positively affected by increases in the unemployment rate, the share of private houses, and the presence of immigrants (unless newly arrived) in the municipality. The impacts of distance to recycling industry, urbanization rate and population density on collection outcomes turn out, though, to be both statistically and economically insignificant. A reasonable explanation for this is that the monetary compensation from the material companies to the collection entrepreneurs vary depending on region and is typically higher in high-cost regions. This implies that the plastic packaging collection in Sweden may be cost ineffective. Finally, the analysis also shows that municipalities that employ weight-based waste management fees generally experience higher collection rates than those municipalities in which flat and/or volume-based fees are used.

An econometric analysis of regional differences in household waste collection: The case of plastic packaging waste in Sweden

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hage, Olle; Soederholm, Patrik

2008-07-01

The Swedish producer responsibility ordinance mandates producers to collect and recycle packaging materials. This paper investigates the main determinants of collection rates of household plastic packaging waste in Swedish municipalities. This is done by the use of a regression analysis based on cross-sectional data for 252 Swedish municipalities. The results suggest that local policies, geographic/demographic variables, socio-economic factors and environmental preferences all help explain inter-municipality collection rates. For instance, the collection rate appears to be positively affected by increases in the unemployment rate, the share of private houses, and the presence of immigrants (unless newly arrived) in the municipality. Themore » impacts of distance to recycling industry, urbanization rate and population density on collection outcomes turn out, though, to be both statistically and economically insignificant. A reasonable explanation for this is that the monetary compensation from the material companies to the collection entrepreneurs vary depending on region and is typically higher in high-cost regions. This implies that the plastic packaging collection in Sweden may be cost ineffective. Finally, the analysis also shows that municipalities that employ weight-based waste management fees generally experience higher collection rates than those municipalities in which flat and/or volume-based fees are used.« less

Modelled Cost-Effectiveness of a Package Size Cap and a Kilojoule Reduction Intervention to Reduce Energy Intake from Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Australia.

PubMed

Crino, Michelle; Herrera, Ana Maria Mantilla; Ananthapavan, Jaithri; Wu, Jason H Y; Neal, Bruce; Lee, Yong Yi; Zheng, Miaobing; Lal, Anita; Sacks, Gary

2017-09-06

Interventions targeting portion size and energy density of food and beverage products have been identified as a promising approach for obesity prevention. This study modelled the potential cost-effectiveness of: a package size cap on single-serve sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) >375 mL ( package size cap ), and product reformulation to reduce energy content of packaged SSBs ( energy reduction ). The cost-effectiveness of each intervention was modelled for the 2010 Australia population using a multi-state life table Markov model with a lifetime time horizon. Long-term health outcomes were modelled from calculated changes in body mass index to their impact on Health-Adjusted Life Years (HALYs). Intervention costs were estimated from a limited societal perspective. Cost and health outcomes were discounted at 3%. Total intervention costs estimated in AUD 2010 were AUD 210 million. Both interventions resulted in reduced mean body weight ( package size cap : 0.12 kg; energy reduction : 0.23 kg); and HALYs gained ( package size cap : 73,883; energy reduction : 144,621). Cost offsets were estimated at AUD 750.8 million ( package size cap ) and AUD 1.4 billion ( energy reduction ). Cost-effectiveness analyses showed that both interventions were "dominant", and likely to result in long term cost savings and health benefits. A package size cap and kJ reduction of SSBs are likely to offer excellent "value for money" as obesity prevention measures in Australia.

Modelled Cost-Effectiveness of a Package Size Cap and a Kilojoule Reduction Intervention to Reduce Energy Intake from Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Australia

PubMed Central

Mantilla Herrera, Ana Maria; Neal, Bruce; Zheng, Miaobing; Lal, Anita; Sacks, Gary

2017-01-01

Interventions targeting portion size and energy density of food and beverage products have been identified as a promising approach for obesity prevention. This study modelled the potential cost-effectiveness of: a package size cap on single-serve sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) >375 mL (package size cap), and product reformulation to reduce energy content of packaged SSBs (energy reduction). The cost-effectiveness of each intervention was modelled for the 2010 Australia population using a multi-state life table Markov model with a lifetime time horizon. Long-term health outcomes were modelled from calculated changes in body mass index to their impact on Health-Adjusted Life Years (HALYs). Intervention costs were estimated from a limited societal perspective. Cost and health outcomes were discounted at 3%. Total intervention costs estimated in AUD 2010 were AUD 210 million. Both interventions resulted in reduced mean body weight (package size cap: 0.12 kg; energy reduction: 0.23 kg); and HALYs gained (package size cap: 73,883; energy reduction: 144,621). Cost offsets were estimated at AUD 750.8 million (package size cap) and AUD 1.4 billion (energy reduction). Cost-effectiveness analyses showed that both interventions were “dominant”, and likely to result in long term cost savings and health benefits. A package size cap and kJ reduction of SSBs are likely to offer excellent “value for money” as obesity prevention measures in Australia. PMID:28878175

Material flow analysis for an industry - A case study in packaging

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amey, E.B.; Sandgren, K.

1996-01-01

The basic materials used in packaging are glass, metals (primarily aluminum and steel), an ever-growing range of plastics, paper and paperboard, wood, textiles for bags, and miscellaneous other materials (such as glues, inks, and other supplies). They are fabricated into rigid, semi-rigid, or flexible containers. The most common forms of these containers include cans, drums, bottles, cartons, boxes, bags, pouches, and wraps. Packaging products are, for the most part, low cost, bulky products that are manufactured close to their customers. There is virtually no import or export of packaging products. A material flow analysis can be developed that looks at all inputs to an industrial sector, inventories the losses in processing, and tracks the fate of the material after its useful life. An example is presented that identifies the material inputs to the packaging industry, and addresses the ultimate fate of the materials used. ?? 1996 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

Evaluation of trade-offs in costs and environmental impacts for returnable packaging implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarupan, Lerpong; Kamarthi, Sagar V.; Gupta, Surendra M.

2004-02-01

The main thrust of returnable packaging these days is to provide logistical services through transportation and distribution of products and be environmentally friendly. Returnable packaging and reverse logistics concepts have converged to mitigate the adverse effect of packaging materials entering the solid waste stream. Returnable packaging must be designed by considering the trade-offs between costs and environmental impact to satisfy manufacturers and environmentalists alike. The cost of returnable packaging entails such items as materials, manufacturing, collection, storage and disposal. Environmental impacts are explicitly linked with solid waste, air pollution, and water pollution. This paper presents a multi-criteria evaluation technique to assist decision-makers for evaluating the trade-offs in costs and environmental impact during the returnable packaging design process. The proposed evaluation technique involves a combination of multiple objective integer linear programming and analytic hierarchy process. A numerical example is used to illustrate the methodology.

[Cost of mother-child care in Morelos State].

PubMed

Cahuana-Hurtado, Lucero; Sosa-Rubí, Sandra; Bertozzi, Stefano

2004-01-01

To compare the cost of maternal and child health care (current model) to that of the WHO Mother-Baby Package if it were implemented. A pilot cross-sectional case study was conducted in September 2001 in Sanitary District No. III, Morelos State, Mexico. Two rural health centers, an urban health center, and a general hospital, all managed by the Ministry of Health, were selected for the study. The Mother-Baby Package Costing Spreadsheet was used to estimate the total cost and cost per intervention for the current model and for the Mother-Baby Package model. The total cost of the Mother-Baby Package was twice the cost of the current model. Of the 18 interventions evaluated, the highest proportion of total costs corresponded to antenatal care and normal delivery. Personnel costs represented more than half of the total costs. The Mother-Baby Package Costing Spreadsheet is a practical tool to estimate and compare costs and is useful to guide the distribution of financial resources allocated to maternal and child healthcare. However, this model has limited application unless it is adapted to the structure of each healthcare system. The English version of this paper is available at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html.

77 FR 12586 - Serious Energy, Inc.; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-01

... the home's geographic location, size, insulation package, and existing windows. Consumers who replace... insulation in a specific region). The performance standard imposed under this Part constitutes fencing-in... costs, heating and cooling costs, U-factor, solar heat gain coefficient, R-value, K-value, insulating...

An Analysis of Vocal Stereotypy and Therapist Fading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Athens, Elizabeth S.; Vollmer, Timothy R.; Sloman, Kimberly N.; Pipkin, Claire St. Peter

2008-01-01

A functional analysis for a boy with Down syndrome and autism suggested that vocal stereotypy was maintained by automatic reinforcement. The analysis also showed that instructions and noncontingent attention suppressed vocal stereotypy. A treatment package consisting of noncontingent attention, contingent demands, and response cost effectively…

Melanie II--a third-generation software package for analysis of two-dimensional electrophoresis images: I. Features and user interface.

PubMed

Appel, R D; Palagi, P M; Walther, D; Vargas, J R; Sanchez, J C; Ravier, F; Pasquali, C; Hochstrasser, D F

1997-12-01

Although two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) computer analysis software packages have existed ever since 2-DE technology was developed, it is only now that the hardware and software technology allows large-scale studies to be performed on low-cost personal computers or workstations, and that setting up a 2-DE computer analysis system in a small laboratory is no longer considered a luxury. After a first attempt in the seventies and early eighties to develop 2-DE analysis software systems on hardware that had poor or even no graphical capabilities, followed in the late eighties by a wave of innovative software developments that were possible thanks to new graphical interface standards such as XWindows, a third generation of 2-DE analysis software packages has now come to maturity. It can be run on a variety of low-cost, general-purpose personal computers, thus making the purchase of a 2-DE analysis system easily attainable for even the smallest laboratory that is involved in proteome research. Melanie II 2-D PAGE, developed at the University Hospital of Geneva, is such a third-generation software system for 2-DE analysis. Based on unique image processing algorithms, this user-friendly object-oriented software package runs on multiple platforms, including Unix, MS-Windows 95 and NT, and Power Macintosh. It provides efficient spot detection and quantitation, state-of-the-art image comparison, statistical data analysis facilities, and is Internet-ready. Linked to proteome databases such as those available on the World Wide Web, it represents a valuable tool for the "Virtual Lab" of the post-genome area.

Response of corrugated fiberboard to moisture flow : a 3-D finite element transient nonlinear analysis

Treesearch

Adeeb A. Rahman; Thomas J. Urbanik; Mustafa Mahamid

2003-01-01

Collapse of fiberboard packaging boxes, in the shipping industry, due to rise in humidity conditions is common and very costly. A 3D FE nonlinear model is developed to predict the moisture flow throughout a corrugated packaging fiberboard sandwich structure. The model predicts how the moisture diffusion will permeate through the layers of a fiberboard (medium and...

iGC-an integrated analysis package of gene expression and copy number alteration.

PubMed

Lai, Yi-Pin; Wang, Liang-Bo; Wang, Wei-An; Lai, Liang-Chuan; Tsai, Mong-Hsun; Lu, Tzu-Pin; Chuang, Eric Y

2017-01-14

With the advancement in high-throughput technologies, researchers can simultaneously investigate gene expression and copy number alteration (CNA) data from individual patients at a lower cost. Traditional analysis methods analyze each type of data individually and integrate their results using Venn diagrams. Challenges arise, however, when the results are irreproducible and inconsistent across multiple platforms. To address these issues, one possible approach is to concurrently analyze both gene expression profiling and CNAs in the same individual. We have developed an open-source R/Bioconductor package (iGC). Multiple input formats are supported and users can define their own criteria for identifying differentially expressed genes driven by CNAs. The analysis of two real microarray datasets demonstrated that the CNA-driven genes identified by the iGC package showed significantly higher Pearson correlation coefficients with their gene expression levels and copy numbers than those genes located in a genomic region with CNA. Compared with the Venn diagram approach, the iGC package showed better performance. The iGC package is effective and useful for identifying CNA-driven genes. By simultaneously considering both comparative genomic and transcriptomic data, it can provide better understanding of biological and medical questions. The iGC package's source code and manual are freely available at https://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/iGC.html .

Standard semiconductor packaging for high-reliability low-cost MEMS applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harney, Kieran P.

2005-01-01

Microelectronic packaging technology has evolved over the years in response to the needs of IC technology. The fundamental purpose of the package is to provide protection for the silicon chip and to provide electrical connection to the circuit board. Major change has been witnessed in packaging and today wafer level packaging technology has further revolutionized the industry. MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology has created new challenges for packaging that do not exist in standard ICs. However, the fundamental objective of MEMS packaging is the same as traditional ICs, the low cost and reliable presentation of the MEMS chip to the next level interconnect. Inertial MEMS is one of the best examples of the successful commercialization of MEMS technology. The adoption of MEMS accelerometers for automotive airbag applications has created a high volume market that demands the highest reliability at low cost. The suppliers to these markets have responded by exploiting standard semiconductor packaging infrastructures. However, there are special packaging needs for MEMS that cannot be ignored. New applications for inertial MEMS devices are emerging in the consumer space that adds the imperative of small size to the need for reliability and low cost. These trends are not unique to MEMS accelerometers. For any MEMS technology to be successful the packaging must provide the basic reliability and interconnection functions, adding the least possible cost to the product. This paper will discuss the evolution of MEMS packaging in the accelerometer industry and identify the main issues that needed to be addressed to enable the successful commercialization of the technology in the automotive and consumer markets.

Standard semiconductor packaging for high-reliability low-cost MEMS applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harney, Kieran P.

2004-12-01

Microelectronic packaging technology has evolved over the years in response to the needs of IC technology. The fundamental purpose of the package is to provide protection for the silicon chip and to provide electrical connection to the circuit board. Major change has been witnessed in packaging and today wafer level packaging technology has further revolutionized the industry. MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology has created new challenges for packaging that do not exist in standard ICs. However, the fundamental objective of MEMS packaging is the same as traditional ICs, the low cost and reliable presentation of the MEMS chip to the next level interconnect. Inertial MEMS is one of the best examples of the successful commercialization of MEMS technology. The adoption of MEMS accelerometers for automotive airbag applications has created a high volume market that demands the highest reliability at low cost. The suppliers to these markets have responded by exploiting standard semiconductor packaging infrastructures. However, there are special packaging needs for MEMS that cannot be ignored. New applications for inertial MEMS devices are emerging in the consumer space that adds the imperative of small size to the need for reliability and low cost. These trends are not unique to MEMS accelerometers. For any MEMS technology to be successful the packaging must provide the basic reliability and interconnection functions, adding the least possible cost to the product. This paper will discuss the evolution of MEMS packaging in the accelerometer industry and identify the main issues that needed to be addressed to enable the successful commercialization of the technology in the automotive and consumer markets.

77 FR 12584 - Gorell Enterprises, Inc.; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-01

... location, size, insulation package, and existing windows. Consumers who replace single or double-paned wood... a building having a specific level of insulation in a specific region). The performance standard... consumption, energy savings, energy costs, heating and cooling costs, U-factor, solar heat gain coefficient, R...

Applying energy-conservation retrofits to standard Army buildings: Data analysis and recommendations. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Westervelt, E.T.; Northup, G.R.; Lawrie, L.K.

1990-09-01

This report describes the data analysis and recommendations of a project demonstrating the energy performance of theoretically based retrofit packages on existing standard Army building at Fort Carson, CO. Four standard designs were investigated: a motor vehicle repair shop, the Type 64 (L-shaped) barracks, an enlisted personnel mess hall, and a two-company, rolling-pin-shaped barracks for enlisted personnel. The tested conservation measures included envelope and system modifications. Energy data were gathered and analyzed from 14 buildings. Based on measured savings and current costs of fuel and construction, none of the four original packages are life-cycle cost-effective at present, but two maymore » become effective in the near future. Of higher priority for energy and cost savings is the improvement of building operations, in particular heat production and distribution systems, which lack efficiency and control. Followup work at the L-shaped barracks yielded substantial savings, with a saving-to-investment ration of 5 to 1. Cost scenarios, energy models, and building were developed for the original retrofits to assess applicability elsewhere and in the future.« less

Pilot Project Technology Business Case: Mobile Work Packages

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thomas, Ken; Lawrie, Sean; Niedermuller, Josef

Performance advantages of the new pilot project technologies are widely acknowledged, but it has proven difficult for utilities to derive business cases for justifying investment in these new capabilities. Lack of a business case is often cited by utilities as a barrier to pursuing wide-scale application of digital technologies to nuclear plant work activities. The decision to move forward with funding usually hinges on demonstrating actual cost reductions that can be credited to budgets and thereby truly reduce O&M or capital costs. Technology enhancements, while enhancing work methods and making work more efficient, often fail to eliminate workload such thatmore » it changes overall staffing and material cost requirements. It is critical to demonstrate cost reductions or impacts on non-cost performance objectives in order for the business case to justify investment by nuclear operators. The Business Case Methodology (BCM) was developed in September of 2015 to frame the benefit side of II&C technologies to address the “benefit” side of the analysis—as opposed to the cost side—and how the organization evaluates discretionary projects (net present value (NPV), accounting effects of taxes, discount rates, etc.). The cost and analysis side is not particularly difficult for the organization and can usually be determined with a fair amount of precision (not withstanding implementation project cost overruns). It is in determining the “benefits” side of the analysis that utilities have more difficulty in technology projects and that is the focus of this methodology. The methodology is presented in the context of the entire process, but the tool provided is limited to determining the organizational benefits only. This report describes a the use of the BCM in building a business case for mobile work packages, which includes computer-based procedures and other automated elements of a work package. Key to those impacts will be identifying where the savings are “harvestable,” meaning they result in an actual reduction in headcount and/or cost. The report describes the specific activities conducted with a partner utility to examine the various work activities associated with mobile work packages to determine what time savings and error rate reductions are available. The report summarizes these findings in the form of a business case for the technology.« less

Space station WP-04 power system preliminary analysis and design document, volume 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

Rocketdyne plans to generate a system level specification for the Space Station Electric Power System (EPS) in order to facilitate the usage, accountability, and tracking of overall system level requirements. The origins and status of the verification planning effort are traced and an overview of the Space Station program interactions are provided. The work package level interfaces between the EPS and the other Space Station work packages are outlined. A trade study was performed to determine the peaking split between PV and SD, and specifically to compare the inherent total peaking capability with proportionally shared peaking. In order to determine EPS cost drivers for the previous submittal of DRO2, the life cycle cost (LCC) model was run to identify the more significant costs and the factors contributing to them.

Technological substitution: the potential of plastic as primary packaging material in the US brewing industry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roeleveld, J.J.

1985-01-01

This dissertation develops a general model of technological substitution that could be of help to planners and decision makers in industry who are faced with the problems created by continual technological change. The model as presented differs from existing models in the theoretical literature because of its emphasis on analyzing current and potential technologies in an attempt to understand the underlying factors contributing to technological substitution. The general model and the cost model that is part of it belong to that step in the interactive planning cycle called the formulation of the mess. The methodology underlying the cost model ismore » a combination of life-cycle analysis (i.e., from raw materials in nature, through all intermediate products, to waste returned to the environment) and resoumetrics, which is an engineering approach to measuring all physical inputs required to produce a certain level of output. The models are illustrated with a specific field of interest: substitution of primary packaging technologies in the US brewing industry. The physical costs of packaging beer in different containers are compared. Strategic considerations for a brewery deciding to adopt plastic packaging technology are discussed. Attention is given to another potential fruitful application of the model in the field of technology transfer to developing countries.« less

Modular avionics packaging standardization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Austin, M.; McNichols, J. K.

The Modular Avionics Packaging (MAP) Program for packaging future military avionics systems with the objective of improving reliability, maintainability, and supportability, and reducing equipment life cycle costs is addressed. The basic MAP packaging concepts called the Standard Avionics Module, the Standard Enclosure, and the Integrated Rack are summarized, and the benefits of modular avionics packaging, including low risk design, technology independence with common functions, improved maintainability and life cycle costs are discussed. Progress made in MAP is briefly reviewed.

An essential hospital package for South Africa--selection criteria, costs and affordability.

PubMed

Söderlund, N

1999-07-01

In 1995 the Committee of Enquiry into National Health Insurance (NHI) recommended that formally employed individuals and their employers be required to fund at least a minimum package of hospital cover for workers and their dependents. This has recently been echoed in a Department of Health policy paper on social health insurance. This research aims to define and cost a minimum package of essential hospital care for competing (public and private) health insurers in South Africa. CRITERIA FOR PACKAGE DEFINITION: Based on the objectives implict in the NHI Committee report, the following criteria were used to define the essential package: (i) the extent to which there was another appropriate responsible party who should pay for treatment; (ii) the degree of discretion in deciding whether or not to provide treatment (roughly equivalent to 'urgency'); and (iii) the cost and effectiveness of treatment. On the basis of the above criteria, 396 out of 598 possible interventions were included in the package. Using local mine hospital and private sector utilisation rates and mine hospital cost data, it was estimated that the essential inpatient package would cost around R502 per enrollee per year, using 1998 prices, for a working age population and their dependents. Age-sex standardised outpatient care costs in the mine hospital population studied were estimated at R183 per person per year. It was therefore estimated that the total inpatient and outpatient hospital package would cost around R685 per person per year. The results presented in this paper are intended to inform the process of defining a national essential hospital benefit package. Assuming that contributions were proportionally related to income, and that costs should not exceed 6% of wages, the package should be affordable to all of those earning above R20,000 per year. Significant additional work is required, firstly at a technical level to assess the appropriateness of the prioritization approach used here, and secondly to take the debate around essential hospital benefits to broader political and public forums.

AOP: An R Package For Sufficient Causal Analysis in Pathway ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Summary: How can I quickly find the key events in a pathway that I need to monitor to predict that a/an beneficial/adverse event/outcome will occur? This is a key question when using signaling pathways for drug/chemical screening in pharma-cology, toxicology and risk assessment. By identifying these sufficient causal key events, we have fewer events to monitor for a pathway, thereby decreasing assay costs and time, while maximizing the value of the information. I have developed the “aop” package which uses backdoor analysis of causal net-works to identify these minimal sets of key events that are suf-ficient for making causal predictions. Availability and Implementation: The source and binary are available online through the Bioconductor project (http://www.bioconductor.org/) as an R package titled “aop”. The R/Bioconductor package runs within the R statistical envi-ronment. The package has functions that can take pathways (as directed graphs) formatted as a Cytoscape JSON file as input, or pathways can be represented as directed graphs us-ing the R/Bioconductor “graph” package. The “aop” package has functions that can perform backdoor analysis to identify the minimal set of key events for making causal predictions.Contact: burgoon.lyle@epa.gov This paper describes an R/Bioconductor package that was developed to facilitate the identification of key events within an AOP that are the minimal set of sufficient key events that need to be tested/monit

Microwave power transmission system studies. Volume 3, section 8: Mechanical systems and flight operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maynard, O. E.; Brown, W. C.; Edwards, A.; Haley, J. T.; Meltz, G.; Howell, J. M.; Nathan, A.

1975-01-01

The efforts and recommendations associated with preliminary design and concept definition for mechanical systems and flight operations are presented. Technical discussion in the areas of mission analysis, antenna structural concept, configuration analysis, assembly and packaging with associated costs are presented. Technology issues for the control system, structural system, thermal system and assembly including cost and man's role in assembly and maintenance are identified. Background and desired outputs for future efforts are discussed.

Cost-Effectiveness of Rural Incentive Packages for Graduating Medical Students in Lao PDR.

PubMed

Keuffell, Eric; Jaskiewicz, Wanda; Theppanya, Khampasong; Tulenko, Kate

2016-10-29

The dearth of health workers in rural settings in Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) and other developing countries limits healthcare access and outcomes. In evaluating non-wage financial incentive packages as a potential policy option to attract health workers to rural settings, understanding the expected costs and effects of the various programs ex ante can assist policy-makers in selecting the optimal incentive package. We use discrete choice experiments (DCEs), costing analyses and recent empirical results linking health worker density and health outcomes to estimate the future location decisions of physicians and determine the cost-effectiveness of 15 voluntary incentives packages for new physicians in Lao PDR. Our data sources include a DCE survey completed by medical students (n = 329) in May 2011 and secondary cost, economic and health data. Mixed logit regressions provide the basis for estimating how each incentive package influences rural versus urban location choice over time. We estimate the expected rural density of physicians and the cost-effectiveness of 15 separate incentive packages from a societal perspective. In order to generate the cost-effectiveness ratios we relied on the rural uptake probabilities inferred from the DCEs, the costing data and prior World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that relate health outcomes to health worker density. Relative to no program, the optimal voluntary incentive package would increase rural physician density by 15% by 2016 and 65% by 2041. After incorporating anticipated health effects, seven (three) of the 15 incentive packages have anticipated average cost-effectiveness ratio less than the WHO threshold (three times gross domestic product [GDP] per capita) over a 5-year (30 year) period. The optimal package's incremental cost-effectiveness ratio is $1454/QALY (quality-adjusted life year) over 5 years and $2380/QALY over 30 years. Capital intensive components, such as housing or facility improvement, are not efficient. Conditional on using voluntary incentives, Lao PDR should emphasize non-capital intensive options such as advanced career promotion, transport subsidies and housing allowances to improve physician distribution and rural health outcomes in a cost-effective manner. Other countries considering voluntary incentive programs can implement health worker/trainee DCEs and costing surveys to determine which incentive bundles improve rural uptake most efficiently but should be aware of methodological caveats. © 2017 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cost-Effectiveness of Rural Incentive Packages for Graduating Medical Students in Lao PDR

PubMed Central

Keuffel, Eric; Jaskiewicz, Wanda; Theppanya, Khampasong; Tulenko, Kate

2017-01-01

Background: The dearth of health workers in rural settings in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) and other developing countries limits healthcare access and outcomes. In evaluating non-wage financial incentive packages as a potential policy option to attract health workers to rural settings, understanding the expected costs and effects of the various programs ex ante can assist policy-makers in selecting the optimal incentive package. Methods: We use discrete choice experiments (DCEs), costing analyses and recent empirical results linking health worker density and health outcomes to estimate the future location decisions of physicians and determine the cost-effectiveness of 15 voluntary incentives packages for new physicians in Lao PDR. Our data sources include a DCE survey completed by medical students (n = 329) in May 2011 and secondary cost, economic and health data. Mixed logit regressions provide the basis for estimating how each incentive package influences rural versus urban location choice over time. We estimate the expected rural density of physicians and the cost-effectiveness of 15 separate incentive packages from a societal perspective. In order to generate the cost-effectiveness ratios we relied on the rural uptake probabilities inferred from the DCEs, the costing data and prior World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that relate health outcomes to health worker density. Results: Relative to no program, the optimal voluntary incentive package would increase rural physician density by 15% by 2016 and 65% by 2041. After incorporating anticipated health effects, seven (three) of the 15 incentive packages have anticipated average cost-effectiveness ratio less than the WHO threshold (three times gross domestic product [GDP] per capita) over a 5-year (30 year) period. The optimal package’s incremental cost-effectiveness ratio is $1454/QALY (quality-adjusted life year) over 5 years and $2380/QALY over 30 years. Capital intensive components, such as housing or facility improvement, are not efficient. Conclusion: Conditional on using voluntary incentives, Lao PDR should emphasize non-capital intensive options such as advanced career promotion, transport subsidies and housing allowances to improve physician distribution and rural health outcomes in a cost-effective manner. Other countries considering voluntary incentive programs can implement health worker/trainee DCEs and costing surveys to determine which incentive bundles improve rural uptake most efficiently but should be aware of methodological caveats. PMID:28812834

Employing Conjoint Analysis in Making Compensation Decisions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kienast, Philip; And Others

1983-01-01

Describes a method employing conjoint analysis that generates utility/cost ratios for various elements of the compensation package. Its superiority to simple preference surveys is examined. Results of a study of the use of this method in fringe benefit planning in a large financial institution are reported. (Author/JAC)

Cost-effectiveness analysis and mortality impact estimation of scaling-up pregnancy test kits in Madagascar, Ethiopia and Malawi.

PubMed

Kolesar, Robert J; Audibert, Martine; Comfort, Alison B

2017-07-01

Cost-effective, innovative approaches are needed to accelerate progress towards ending preventable infant, child and maternal mortality. To inform policy decisions, we conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of adding urine pregnancy test kits to the maternal and reproductive services package offered at the community level in Madagascar, Ethiopia and Malawi. We used a decision tree model to compare the intervention with the status quo for each country. We also completed single factor sensitivity analyses and Monte Carlo simulations with 10 000 iterations to generate the probability distribution of the estimates and uncertainty limits. Among a hypothetical cohort of 100 000 women of reproductive age, we estimate that over a 1-year period, the intervention would save 26, 35 and 48 lives in Madagascar, Ethiopia, and Malawi, respectively. The Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) for the cost per life saved varies by country: $2311 [95% Uncertainty Interval (UI): $1699; $3454] in Madagascar; $2969 [UI: $2260; $5041] in Ethiopia and $1228 [UI: $918; $1777] in Malawi. This equates to an average cost per Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) averted of $36.28, $47.95 and $21.92, respectively. Based on WHO criteria and a comparison with other maternal, newborn, and child health interventions, we conclude that the addition of urine pregnancy tests to an existing community health worker maternal and reproductive services package is highly cost-effective in all three countries. To optimize uptake of family planning and antenatal care services and, in turn, accelerate the reduction of mortality and DALYs, decision makers and program planners should consider adding urine pregnancy tests to the community-level package of services. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Battery packaging - Technology review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maiser, Eric

2014-06-16

This paper gives a brief overview of battery packaging concepts, their specific advantages and drawbacks, as well as the importance of packaging for performance and cost. Production processes, scaling and automation are discussed in detail to reveal opportunities for cost reduction. Module standardization as an additional path to drive down cost is introduced. A comparison to electronics and photovoltaics production shows 'lessons learned' in those related industries and how they can accelerate learning curves in battery production.

Low-Income Employees’ Choices Regarding Employment Benefits Aimed at Improving the Socioeconomic Determinants of Health

PubMed Central

Danis, Marion; Lovett, Francis; Sabik, Lindsay; Adikes, Katherin; Cheng, Glen; Aomo, Tom

2007-01-01

Objectives. Socioeconomic factors are associated with reduced health status in low-income populations. We sought to identify affordable employment benefit packages that might ameliorate these socioeconomic factors and would be consonant with employees’ priorities. Methods. Working in groups (n = 53), low-income employees (n = 408; 62% women, 65% Black) from the Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Md, metropolitan area, participated in a computerized exercise in which they expressed their preference for employment benefit packages intended to address socioeconomic determinants of health. The hypothetical costs of these benefits reflected those of the average US benefit package available to low-income employees. Questionnaires ascertained sociodemographic information and attitudes. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to examine benefit choices. Results. Groups chose offered benefits in the following descending rank order: health care, retirement, vacation, disability pay, training, job flexibility, family time, dependent care, monetary advice, anxiety assistance, wellness, housing assistance, and nutrition programs. Participants varied in their personal choices, but 78% expressed willingness to abide by their groups’ choices. Conclusions. It is possible to design employment benefits that ameliorate socioeconomic determinants of health and are acceptable to low-income employees. These benefit packages can be provided at the cost of benefit packages currently available to some low-income employees. PMID:17666702

Low-income employees' choices regarding employment benefits aimed at improving the socioeconomic determinants of health.

PubMed

Danis, Marion; Lovett, Francis; Sabik, Lindsay; Adikes, Katherin; Cheng, Glen; Aomo, Tom

2007-09-01

Socioeconomic factors are associated with reduced health status in low-income populations. We sought to identify affordable employment benefit packages that might ameliorate these socioeconomic factors and would be consonant with employees' priorities. Working in groups (n = 53), low-income employees (n = 408; 62% women, 65% Black) from the Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Md, metropolitan area, participated in a computerized exercise in which they expressed their preference for employment benefit packages intended to address socioeconomic determinants of health. The hypothetical costs of these benefits reflected those of the average US benefit package available to low-income employees. Questionnaires ascertained sociodemographic information and attitudes. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to examine benefit choices. Groups chose offered benefits in the following descending rank order: health care, retirement, vacation, disability pay, training, job flexibility, family time, dependent care, monetary advice, anxiety assistance, wellness, housing assistance, and nutrition programs. Participants varied in their personal choices, but 78% expressed willingness to abide by their groups' choices. It is possible to design employment benefits that ameliorate socioeconomic determinants of health and are acceptable to low-income employees. These benefit packages can be provided at the cost of benefit packages currently available to some low-income employees.

42 CFR 419.2 - Basis of payment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... part. (b) Determination of hospital outpatient prospective payment rates: Packaged costs. The..., that includes operating and capital-related costs that are integral, ancillary, supportive, dependent..., these packaged costs may include, but are not limited to, the following items and services, the payment...

SEATSAT programs option analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luckl, L.

1976-01-01

A preliminary analysis of the costs of SEASAT follow-on options is presented. All the options assume the existence of SEASAT-A as currently defined in the SEASAT Economic Assessment. It is assumed that each option will continue through the year 2000 and approach operational system status in the 1983-1986 period, depending upon the sensor package selected. The launch vehicle assumed through 1983 is the Atlas Agena. After 1983, it is assumed SEASAT-A will switch to the use of the Space Shuttle. All cost estimates are 1976 dollars for fiscal year cost accounting, with no inflation rate included.

[Proposal for a new funding system for mental health departments. Results from an evaluative multicentre Italian study (I-psycost)].

PubMed

Grigoletti, Laura; Amaddeo, Francesco; Grassi, Aldrigo; Boldrini, Massimo; Chiappelli, Marco; Percudani, Mauro; Catapano, Francesco; Fiorillo, Andrea; Bartoli, Luca; Bacigalupi, Maurizio; Albanese, Paolo; Simonetti, Simona; Perali, Federico; De Agostini, Paola; Tansella, Michele

2006-01-01

To obtain a new, well-balanced mental health funding system, through the creation of (i) a list of psychiatric interventions provided by Italian Community-based Psychiatric Services (CPS), and associated costs; (ii) a new prospective funding system for patients with a high use of resources, based on packages of care. Five Italian Community-based Psychiatric Services collected data from 1250 patients during October 2002. Socio-demographical and clinical characteristics and GAF scores were collected at baseline. All psychiatric contacts during the following six months were registered and categorised into 24 service contact types. Using elasticity equation and contact characteristics, we estimate the costs of care. Cluster analysis techniques identified packages of care. Logistic regression defined predictive variables of high use patients. Multinomial Logistic Model assigned each patient to a package of care. The sample's socio-demographic characteristics are similar, but variations exist between the different CPS. Patients were then divided into two groups, and the group with the highest use of resources was divided into three smaller groups, based on number and type of services provided. Our findings show how is possible to develop a cost predictive model to assign patients with a high use of resources to a group that can provide the right level of care. For these patients it might be possible to apply a prospective per-capita funding system based on packages of care.

Clinical process analysis and activity-based costing at a heart center.

PubMed

Ridderstolpe, Lisa; Johansson, Andreas; Skau, Tommy; Rutberg, Hans; Ahlfeldt, Hans

2002-08-01

Cost studies, productivity, efficiency, and quality of care measures, the links between resources and patient outcomes, are fundamental issues for hospital management today. This paper describes the implementation of a model for process analysis and activity-based costing (ABC)/management at a Heart Center in Sweden as a tool for administrative cost information, strategic decision-making, quality improvement, and cost reduction. A commercial software package (QPR) containing two interrelated parts, "ProcessGuide and CostControl," was used. All processes at the Heart Center were mapped and graphically outlined. Processes and activities such as health care procedures, research, and education were identified together with their causal relationship to costs and products/services. The construction of the ABC model in CostControl was time-consuming. However, after the ABC/management system was created, it opened the way for new possibilities including process and activity analysis, simulation, and price calculations. Cost analysis showed large variations in the cost obtained for individual patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. We conclude that a process-based costing system is applicable and has the potential to be useful in hospital management.

26 CFR 1.274-3 - Disallowance of deduction for gifts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... sign, display rack, or other promotional material to be used on the business premises of the recipient... incidental costs such as for customary engraving on jewelry, or for packaging, insurance, and mailing or... purchase of an ornamental basket for packaging fruit will not be considered an incidental cost of packaging...

26 CFR 1.274-3 - Disallowance of deduction for gifts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

.... (ii) A sign, display rack, or other promotional material to be used on the business premises of the... incidental costs such as for customary engraving on jewelry, or for packaging, insurance, and mailing or... purchase of an ornamental basket for packaging fruit will not be considered an incidental cost of packaging...

Low cost miniature data collection platform

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

The development of the RF elements of a telecommunications package involved detailed study and analysis of concepts and techniques followed by laboratory testing and evaluation of designs. The design goals for a complete telecommunications package excluding antenna were a total weight of 300 grams, in a total volume of 400 cu cm with a capability of unattended operation for a period of six months. Of utmost importance is extremely low cost when produced in lots of 10,000. Early in the program it became apparent that a single Miniature Data Collection Platform would not satisfy all users. A single high efficiency system would not satisfy a user who had available a large battery capacity but required a low cost system. Conversely, the low cost system would not satisfy the end user who had a very limited battery capacity. A system design to satisfy these varied requirements was implemented by designing several versions of the system building blocks and then constructing three systems from these building blocks.

Low-cost CWDM transmitter package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhandarkar, Navin; Castillega, Jaime

2005-03-01

A low-cost coarse-wavelength-division multiplexer (CWDM) transmitter that combines four channels (wavelengths) in the infrared spectrum (~1310 nm) in a small form-factor un-cooled package is demonstrated. The package utilizes precision molded optics to multiplex beams from four grating-outcoupled surface-emitting (GSE) lasers into a single beam suitable for coupling into multimode fiber. This paper summarizes the optical and opto-mechanical design, fabrication and assembly of prototypes, and optical, thermal and electrical measurement results of the prototypes. This unique design enables multiplexing of wavelengths without the use of filters, waveguides, couplers and fiber splicing. Commercial fabrication and alignment technology is used to manufacture the package, resulting in a more robust, reliable and low-cost transmitter. The transmitter package is enabled by the unique characteristics of the long-wavelength GSE laser.

Teaching Old Packaging New Tricks - 12593

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

England, Jeffery L.; Shuler, James M.

2012-07-01

Waste disposition campaigns have been an industry and government focus area since the mid- 1970's. With increased focus on this issue, and a lot of hard work, most waste packaging and transportation issues have been addressed. The material has been successfully shipped and dis-positioned. DOE has successfully de-inventoried materials from multiple sites to meet material consolidation, footprint reduction, nonproliferation, and regulatory obligations with cost savings from reduced maintenance and regulatory compliance. There has been a wide range of certified shipping packagings for the transportation of hazardous materials to meet most of the waste needs. The remaining materials are problematic, generallymore » low volume, and do not meet the certified content of the existing inventory of packaging. Designing, testing and certifying new packaging designs can be a long and expensive process and for small volumes of material it is cost prohibitive. One very cost effective option is to lease and use a certified packaging to overpack waste containers. There are many robust certified packagings available with the capability to envelope the waste content. The capability to use inner containers, inside the current fleet of certified casks or packaging, to address specific content problems of additional shielding (e.g., U-233) or containment (e.g., sodium bonded nuclear material) has successfully expanded the capability for timely cost effective shipment of unique contents. This option has been used successfully in the NAC-LWT, T-3 and other packagings. (authors)« less

[Austrian expenditures on psychopharmaceutical drugs between 2006 and 2013].

PubMed

Boeckle, Markus; Chetouani, Yasmine; Schrimpf, Marlene; Liegl, Gregor; Leitner, Anton; Pieh, Christoph

2015-01-01

Health costs, which are increasing at a yearly rate of 4 %, represent 11% and thus a large share of Austria's gross domestic product (GDP). High expenditures derive frommental health care costs, including medication. In this article we investigate whether the costs and usage of psychopharmaceutic products in Austria are rising. We did a descriptive analysis of the sales figures and number for packaging units of pharmaceutical products of ATC-classes N05 and N06 in all Austrian hospitals, pharmacies and medicine chests for the years 2006-2013. All data were provided free of charge by IMSHealth. The sales volume and number of prescribed packaging units of pharmaceuticals of ATC-classes N05 and N06 increased over the time period in question. In 2013, about 25% more packaging units were being sold than in 2006. Among the two ATC-classes, however, the indication subgroups developed differently. Expenditures increased a total of about 31%within the period of consideration. The increase in psycho-pharmaceutical sales exceeds the expansion rates of other health expenditures (17.8 %). During the 9 years of observation, 25% more psychopharmaceutical products were sold. This may result from increased prevalence of mental disorders, higher usage or an increment in prescriptions.

missMethyl: an R package for analyzing data from Illumina's HumanMethylation450 platform.

PubMed

Phipson, Belinda; Maksimovic, Jovana; Oshlack, Alicia

2016-01-15

DNA methylation is one of the most commonly studied epigenetic modifications due to its role in both disease and development. The Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip is a cost-effective way to profile >450 000 CpGs across the human genome, making it a popular platform for profiling DNA methylation. Here we introduce missMethyl, an R package with a suite of tools for performing normalization, removal of unwanted variation in differential methylation analysis, differential variability testing and gene set analysis for the 450K array. missMethyl is an R package available from the Bioconductor project at www.bioconductor.org. alicia.oshlack@mcri.edu.au Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Automated packaging platform for low-cost high-performance optical components manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ku, Robert T.

2004-05-01

Delivering high performance integrated optical components at low cost is critical to the continuing recovery and growth of the optical communications industry. In today's market, network equipment vendors need to provide their customers with new solutions that reduce operating expenses and enable new revenue generating IP services. They must depend on the availability of highly integrated optical modules exhibiting high performance, small package size, low power consumption, and most importantly, low cost. The cost of typical optical system hardware is dominated by linecards that are in turn cost-dominated by transmitters and receivers or transceivers and transponders. Cost effective packaging of optical components in these small size modules is becoming the biggest challenge to be addressed. For many traditional component suppliers in our industry, the combination of small size, high performance, and low cost appears to be in conflict and not feasible with conventional product design concepts and labor intensive manual assembly and test. With the advent of photonic integration, there are a variety of materials, optics, substrates, active/passive devices, and mechanical/RF piece parts to manage in manufacturing to achieve high performance at low cost. The use of automation has been demonstrated to surpass manual operation in cost (even with very low labor cost) as well as product uniformity and quality. In this paper, we will discuss the value of using an automated packaging platform.for the assembly and test of high performance active components, such as 2.5Gb/s and 10 Gb/s sources and receivers. Low cost, high performance manufacturing can best be achieved by leveraging a flexible packaging platform to address a multitude of laser and detector devices, integration of electronics and handle various package bodies and fiber configurations. This paper describes the operation and results of working robotic assemblers in the manufacture of a Laser Optical Subassembly (LOS), its subsequent automated testing and burn/in process; and the placement of the LOS into a package body and hermetically sealing the package. The LOS and Package automated assembler robots have achieved a metrics of less than 1 um accuracy and 0.1 um resolution. The paper also discusses a method for the critical alignment of a single-mode fiber as the last step of the manufacturing process. This approach is in contrast to the conventional manual assembly where sub-micron fiber alignment and fixation steps are performed much earlier during the assembly process. Finally the paper discusses the value of this automated platform manufacturing approach as a key enabler for low cost small form factor optical components for the new XFP MSA class of transceiver modules.

Energy Savings Measure Packages. Existing Homes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Casey, Sean; Booten, Chuck

2011-11-01

This document presents the most cost effective Energy Savings Measure Packages (ESMP) for existing mixed-fuel and all electric homes to achieve 15% and 30% savings for each BetterBuildings grantee location across the United States. These packages are optimized for minimum cost to homeowners for source energy savings given the local climate and prevalent building characteristics (i.e. foundation types). Maximum cost savings are typically found between 30% and 50% energy savings over the reference home; this typically amounts to $300 - $700/year.

The High Cost of Complexity in Experimental Design and Data Analysis: Type I and Type II Error Rates in Multiway ANOVA.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Rachel A.; Levine, Timothy R.; Lachlan, Kenneth A.; Fediuk, Thomas A.

2002-01-01

Notes that the availability of statistical software packages has led to a sharp increase in use of complex research designs and complex statistical analyses in communication research. Reports a series of Monte Carlo simulations which demonstrate that this complexity may come at a heavier cost than many communication researchers realize. Warns…

A cost and technical efficiency analysis of two alternative models for implementing the basic package of health services in Afghanistan.

PubMed

Blaakman, Aaron Philip; Salehi, Ahmad Shah; Boitard, Romain

2014-01-01

Since 2003, the Afghan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and international partners have directed a contracting-out model through which non-governmental organisations (NGOs) deliver the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) in 31 of the 34 Afghan provinces. The MoPH also managed health service delivery in three provinces under an alternative initiative entitled Strengthening Mechanisms (SM). In 2011, under the authority of the MoPH and Delegation of the European Union to Afghanistan, EPOS Health Management conducted a cost and technical efficiency study of the contracting-out and SM mechanisms in six provinces to examine economic trade-offs in the provision of the BPHS. The study provides analyses of all resource inputs and primary outputs of the BPHS in the six provinces during 2008 and 2009. The authors examined technical efficiency using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) at the BPHS facility level. Cost analysis results indicate that the weighted average cost per BPHS outpatient visit totalled $3.41 in the SM provinces and $5.39 in the NGO-led provinces in 2009. Furthermore, the data envelopment analyses (DEAs) indicate that facilities in the three NGO-led provinces scored 0.168 points higher on the DEA scale (0-1) than SM facilities. The authors conclude that an approximate 60% increase in costs yielded a 16.8% increase in technical efficiency in the delivery of the BPHS during 2009 in the six provinces.

Power Electronics Packaging Reliability | Transportation Research | NREL

Science.gov Websites

interface materials, are a key enabling technology for compact, lightweight, low-cost, and reliable power , reliability, and cost. High-temperature bonded interface materials are an important facilitating technology for compact, lightweight, low-cost, reliable power electronics packaging that fully utilizes the

Development of deployable structures for large space platform systems, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Generic deployable spacecraft configurations and deployable platform systems concepts were identified. Sizing, building block concepts, orbiter packaging, thermal analysis, cost analysis, and mass properties analysis as related to platform systems integration are considered. Technology needs are examined and the major criteria used in concept selection are delineated. Requirements for deployable habitat modules, tunnels, and OTV hangars are considered.

Reliability Technology to Achieve Insertion of Advanced Packaging (RELTECH) program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fayette, Daniel F.; Speicher, Patricia; Stoklosa, Mark J.; Evans, Jillian V.; Evans, John W.; Gentile, Mike; Pagel, Chuck A.; Hakim, Edward

1993-08-01

A joint military-commercial effort to evaluate multichip module (MCM) structures is discussed. The program, Reliability Technology to Achieve Insertion of Advanced Packaging (RELTECH), has been designed to identify the failure mechanisms that are possible in MCM structures. The RELTECH test vehicles, technical assessment task, product evaluation plan, reliability modeling task, accelerated and environmental testing, and post-test physical analysis and failure analysis are described. The information obtained through RELTECH can be used to address standardization issues, through development of cost effective qualification and appropriate screening criteria, for inclusion into a commercial specification and the MIL-H-38534 general specification for hybrid microcircuits.

Reliability Technology to Achieve Insertion of Advanced Packaging (RELTECH) program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fayette, Daniel F.; Speicher, Patricia; Stoklosa, Mark J.; Evans, Jillian V.; Evans, John W.; Gentile, Mike; Pagel, Chuck A.; Hakim, Edward

1993-01-01

A joint military-commercial effort to evaluate multichip module (MCM) structures is discussed. The program, Reliability Technology to Achieve Insertion of Advanced Packaging (RELTECH), has been designed to identify the failure mechanisms that are possible in MCM structures. The RELTECH test vehicles, technical assessment task, product evaluation plan, reliability modeling task, accelerated and environmental testing, and post-test physical analysis and failure analysis are described. The information obtained through RELTECH can be used to address standardization issues, through development of cost effective qualification and appropriate screening criteria, for inclusion into a commercial specification and the MIL-H-38534 general specification for hybrid microcircuits.

Practice-driven evaluation of a multi-layered psychosocial care package for children in areas of armed conflict.

PubMed

Jordans, M J D; Komproe, I H; Tol, W A; Susanty, D; Vallipuram, A; Ntamatumba, P; Lasuba, A C; De Jong, J T V M

2011-06-01

Psychosocial and mental health service delivery frameworks for children in low-income countries are scarce. This paper presents a practice-driven evaluation of a multi-layered community-based care package in Burundi, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Sudan, through a set of indicators; (a) perceived treatment gains; (b) treatment satisfaction; (c) therapist burden; (d) access to care; (e) care package costs. Across four settings (n = 29,292 children), beneficiaries reported high levels of client satisfaction and moderate post-treatment problem reductions. Service providers reported significant levels of distress related to service delivery. Cost analyses demonstrated mean cost per service user to vary from 3.46 to 17.32 depending on country and specification of costs. The results suggest a multi-layered psychosocial care package appears feasible and satisfactory in reaching out to substantial populations of distressed children through different levels of care. Future replication should address therapist burden, cost reductions to increase sustainability and increase evidence for treatment efficacy.

Analysis, annotation, and profiling of the oat seed transcriptome

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Novel high-throughput next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are providing opportunities to explore genomes and transcriptomes in a cost-effective manner. To construct a gene expression atlas of developing oat (Avena sativa) seeds, two software packages specifically designed for RNA-seq (Trin...

Electronic Packaging for Space Applications Workshop 1999

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandor, Mike; Agarwal, Shri; Villegas, Enrique

1999-01-01

This paper presents viewgraphs on the Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Program. The topics include: 1) Advocacy for COTS; 2) MARS01 Program/Requirements; 3) MARS01 COTS Screening Flow; 4) Test Results-Electrical, C-Sam, Burn-In; 5) Value Added Analysis (Risk Reduction); 6) Value Added Analysis (Cost); 7) Impact of COTS ++ Screening and 8) Summary.

Home page | prc.gatech.edu | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA

Science.gov Websites

Interconnections & Assembly Low Cost Glass Interposers & Packages MEMS and Sensors GRA Opportunities addressing electrical, mechanical and thermal barriers. Low-cost Glass Interposer and Package Panel-based ultra-thin glass as a high performance, high I/O density, and low cost platform. Interconnections and

48 CFR 2052.215-75 - Proposal presentation and format.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Package/Offer. Two (2) original signed copies of this solicitation package/offer. All applicable sections... exception to submitting cost or pricing data shall be made in accordance with FAR 52.215-20(a). (iii) If the... data, the offeror's cost proposal shall conform with the requirements of FAR 52.215-20(b). Cost...

48 CFR 2052.215-75 - Proposal presentation and format.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Package/Offer. Two (2) original signed copies of this solicitation package/offer. All applicable sections... exception to submitting cost or pricing data shall be made in accordance with FAR 52.215-20(a). (iii) If the... data, the offeror's cost proposal shall conform with the requirements of FAR 52.215-20(b). Cost...

48 CFR 2052.215-75 - Proposal presentation and format.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Package/Offer. Two (2) original signed copies of this solicitation package/offer. All applicable sections... exception to submitting cost or pricing data shall be made in accordance with FAR 52.215-20(a). (iii) If the... data, the offeror's cost proposal shall conform with the requirements of FAR 52.215-20(b). Cost...

Long-term Preservation of Data Analysis Capabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabriel, C.; Arviset, C.; Ibarra, A.; Pollock, A.

2015-09-01

While the long-term preservation of scientific data obtained by large astrophysics missions is ensured through science archives, the issue of data analysis software preservation has hardly been addressed. Efforts by large data centres have contributed so far to maintain some instrument or mission-specific data reduction packages on top of high-level general purpose data analysis software. However, it is always difficult to keep software alive without support and maintenance once the active phase of a mission is over. This is especially difficult in the budgetary model followed by space agencies. We discuss the importance of extending the lifetime of dedicated data analysis packages and review diverse strategies under development at ESA using new paradigms such as Virtual Machines, Cloud Computing, and Software as a Service for making possible full availability of data analysis and calibration software for decades at minimal cost.

puma: a Bioconductor package for propagating uncertainty in microarray analysis.

PubMed

Pearson, Richard D; Liu, Xuejun; Sanguinetti, Guido; Milo, Marta; Lawrence, Neil D; Rattray, Magnus

2009-07-09

Most analyses of microarray data are based on point estimates of expression levels and ignore the uncertainty of such estimates. By determining uncertainties from Affymetrix GeneChip data and propagating these uncertainties to downstream analyses it has been shown that we can improve results of differential expression detection, principal component analysis and clustering. Previously, implementations of these uncertainty propagation methods have only been available as separate packages, written in different languages. Previous implementations have also suffered from being very costly to compute, and in the case of differential expression detection, have been limited in the experimental designs to which they can be applied. puma is a Bioconductor package incorporating a suite of analysis methods for use on Affymetrix GeneChip data. puma extends the differential expression detection methods of previous work from the 2-class case to the multi-factorial case. puma can be used to automatically create design and contrast matrices for typical experimental designs, which can be used both within the package itself but also in other Bioconductor packages. The implementation of differential expression detection methods has been parallelised leading to significant decreases in processing time on a range of computer architectures. puma incorporates the first R implementation of an uncertainty propagation version of principal component analysis, and an implementation of a clustering method based on uncertainty propagation. All of these techniques are brought together in a single, easy-to-use package with clear, task-based documentation. For the first time, the puma package makes a suite of uncertainty propagation methods available to a general audience. These methods can be used to improve results from more traditional analyses of microarray data. puma also offers improvements in terms of scope and speed of execution over previously available methods. puma is recommended for anyone working with the Affymetrix GeneChip platform for gene expression analysis and can also be applied more generally.

Health Gains and Financial Protection Provided by the Ethiopian Mental Health Strategy: an Extended Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

PubMed Central

Strand, Kirsten Bjerkreim; Fekadu, Abebaw; Chisholm, Dan

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Mental and neurological (MN) health care has long been neglected in low-income settings. This paper estimates health and non-health impacts of fully publicly financed care for selected key interventions in the National Mental Health Strategy in Ethiopia for depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and epilepsy. Methods: A methodology of extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) is applied to MN health care in Ethiopia. The impact of providing a package of selected MN interventions free of charge in Ethiopia is estimated for: epilepsy (75% coverage, phenobarbital), depression (30% coverage, fluoxetine, cognitive therapy and proactive case management), bipolar affective disorder (50% coverage, valproate and psychosocial therapy) and schizophrenia (75% coverage, haloperidol plus psychosocial treatment). Multiple outcomes are estimated and disaggregated across wealth quintiles: (1) healthy-life-years (HALYs) gained; (2) household out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures averted; (3) expected financial risk protection (FRP); and (4) productivity impact. Results: The MN package is expected to cost US$177 million and gain 155,000 HALYs (epilepsy US$37m and 64,500 HALYs; depression US$65m and 61,300 HALYs; bipolar disorder US$44m and 20,300 HALYs; and schizophrenia US$31m and 8,900 HALYs) annually. The health benefits would be concentrated among the poorest groups for all interventions. Universal public finance averts little household OOP expenditures and provides minimal FRP because of the low current utilization of these MN services in Ethiopia. In addition, economic benefits of US$ 51 million annually are expected from depression treatment in Ethiopia as a result of productivity gains, equivalent to 78% of the investment cost. Conclusions: The total MN package in Ethiopia is estimated to cost equivalent to US$1.8 per capita and yields large progressive health benefits. The expected productivity gain is substantially higher than the expected FRP. The ECEA approach seems to fit well with the current policy challenges and captures important equity concerns of scaling up MN programmes. PMID:27935798

Trends in Food Packaging.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ott, Dana B.

1988-01-01

This article discusses developments in food packaging, processing, and preservation techniques in terms of packaging materials, technologies, consumer benefits, and current and potential food product applications. Covers implications due to consumer life-style changes, cost-effectiveness of packaging materials, and the ecological impact of…

Manned Mars Mission program concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamilton, E. C.; Johnson, P.; Pearson, J.; Tucker, W.

1988-01-01

This paper describes the SRS Manned Mars Mission and Program Analysis study designed to support a manned expedition to Mars contemplated by NASA for the purposes of initiating human exploration and eventual habitation of this planet. The capabilities of the interactive software package being presently developed by the SRS for the mission/program analysis are described, and it is shown that the interactive package can be used to investigate the impact of various mission concepts on the sensitivity of mass required in LEO, schedules, relative costs, and risk. The results, to date, indicate the need for an earth-to-orbit transportation system much larger than the present STS, reliable long-life support systems, and either advanced propulsion or aerobraking technology.

WebArray: an online platform for microarray data analysis

PubMed Central

Xia, Xiaoqin; McClelland, Michael; Wang, Yipeng

2005-01-01

Background Many cutting-edge microarray analysis tools and algorithms, including commonly used limma and affy packages in Bioconductor, need sophisticated knowledge of mathematics, statistics and computer skills for implementation. Commercially available software can provide a user-friendly interface at considerable cost. To facilitate the use of these tools for microarray data analysis on an open platform we developed an online microarray data analysis platform, WebArray, for bench biologists to utilize these tools to explore data from single/dual color microarray experiments. Results The currently implemented functions were based on limma and affy package from Bioconductor, the spacings LOESS histogram (SPLOSH) method, PCA-assisted normalization method and genome mapping method. WebArray incorporates these packages and provides a user-friendly interface for accessing a wide range of key functions of limma and others, such as spot quality weight, background correction, graphical plotting, normalization, linear modeling, empirical bayes statistical analysis, false discovery rate (FDR) estimation, chromosomal mapping for genome comparison. Conclusion WebArray offers a convenient platform for bench biologists to access several cutting-edge microarray data analysis tools. The website is freely available at . It runs on a Linux server with Apache and MySQL. PMID:16371165

Development of low cost custom hybrid microcircuit technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perkins, K. L.; Licari, J. J.

1981-01-01

Selected potentially low cost, alternate packaging and interconnection techniques were developed and implemented in the manufacture of specific NASA/MSFC hardware, and the actual cost savings achieved by their use. The hardware chosen as the test bed for this evaluation ws the hybrids and modules manufactured by Rockwell International fo the MSFC Flight Accelerometer Safety Cut-Off System (FASCOS). Three potentially low cost packaging and interconnection alternates were selected for evaluation. This study was performed in three phases: hardware fabrication and testing, cost comparison, and reliability evaluation.

Application of Elements of Numerical Methods in the Analysis of Journal Bearings in AC Induction Motors: An Industry Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahrens, Fred; Mistry, Rajendra

2005-01-01

In product engineering there often arise design analysis problems for which a commercial software package is either unavailable or cost prohibitive. Further, these calculations often require successive iterations that can be time intensive when performed by hand, thus development of a software application is indicated. This case relates to the…

Package Up Your Troubles--An Introduction to Package Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frank, Colin

1978-01-01

Discusses a "package deal" library--a prefabricated building including interior furnishing--in terms of costs, fitness for purpose, and interior design, i.e., shelving, flooring, heating, lighting, and humidity. Advantages and disadvantages of the package library are also considered. (Author/MBR)

Economic Analysis of Delivering Primary Health Care Services through Community Health Workers in 3 North Indian States

PubMed Central

Prinja, Shankar; Jeet, Gursimer; Verma, Ramesh; Kumar, Dinesh; Bahuguna, Pankaj; Kaur, Manmeet; Kumar, Rajesh

2014-01-01

Background We assessed overall annual and unit cost of delivering package of services and specific services at sub-centre level by CHWs and cost effectiveness of Government of India’s policy of introducing a second auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) at the sub-centre compared to scenario of single ANM sub-centre. Methods We undertook an economic costing of health services delivered by CHWs, from a health system perspective. Bottom-up costing method was used to collect data on resources spent in 50 randomly selected sub-centres selected from 4 districts. Mean unit cost along with its 95% confidence intervals were estimated using bootstrap method. Multiple linear regression model was used to standardize cost and assess its determinants. Results Annually it costs INR 1.03 million (USD 19,381), or INR 187 (USD 3.5) per capita per year, to provide a package of preventive, curative and promotive services through community health workers. Unit costs for antenatal care, postnatal care, DOTS treatment and immunization were INR 525 (USD 10) per full ANC care, INR 767 (USD 14) per PNC case registered, INR 974 (USD 18) per DOTS treatment completed and INR 97 (USD 1.8) per child immunized in routine immunization respectively. A 10% increase in human resource costs results in 6% rise in per capita cost. Similarly, 10% increment in the ANC case registered per provider through-put results in a decline in unit cost ranging from 2% in the event of current capacity utilization to 3% reduction in case of full capacity utilization. Incremental cost of introducing 2nd ANM at sub-centre level per unit percent increase ANC coverage was INR 23,058 (USD 432). Conclusion Our estimates would be useful in undertaking full economic evaluations or equity analysis of CHW programs. Government of India’s policy of hiring 2nd ANM at sub-centre level is very cost effective from Indian health system perspective. PMID:24626285

Design Evolution Study - Aging Options

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

P. McDaniel

The purpose of this study is to identify options and issues for aging commercial spent nuclear fuel received for disposal at the Yucca Mountain Mined Geologic Repository. Some early shipments of commercial spent nuclear fuel to the repository may be received with high-heat-output (younger) fuel assemblies that will need to be managed to meet thermal goals for emplacement. The capability to age as much as 40,000 metric tons of heavy metal of commercial spent nuclear he1 would provide more flexibility in the design to manage this younger fuel and to decouple waste receipt and waste emplacement. The following potential agingmore » location options are evaluated: (1) Surface aging at four locations near the North Portal; (2) Subsurface aging in the permanent emplacement drifts; and (3) Subsurface aging in a new subsurface area. The following aging container options are evaluated: (1) Complete Waste Package; (2) Stainless Steel inner liner of the waste package; (3) Dual Purpose Canisters; (4) Multi-Purpose Canisters; and (5) New disposable canister for uncanistered commercial spent nuclear fuel. Each option is compared to a ''Base Case,'' which is the expected normal waste packaging process without aging. A Value Engineering approach is used to score each option against nine technical criteria and rank the options. Open issues with each of the options and suggested future actions are also presented. Costs for aging containers and aging locations are evaluated separately. Capital costs are developed for direct costs and distributable field costs. To the extent practical, unit costs are presented. Indirect costs, operating costs, and total system life cycle costs will be evaluated outside of this study. Three recommendations for aging commercial spent nuclear fuel--subsurface, surface, and combined surface and subsurface are presented for further review in the overall design re-evaluation effort. Options that were evaluated but not recommended are: subsurface aging in a new subsurface area (high cost); surface aging in the complete waste package (risk to the waste package and impact on the Waste Handling Facility); and aging in the stainless steel liner (impact on the waste package design and new high risk operations added to the waste packaging process). The selection of a design basis for aging will be made in conjunction with the other design re-evaluation studies.« less

The Hidden Cost of Buying a Computer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Michael

1983-01-01

In order to process data in a computer, application software must be either developed or purchased. Costs for modifications of the software package and maintenance are often hidden. The decision to buy or develop software packages should be based upon factors of time and maintenance. (MLF)

Cost of individual peer counselling for the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding in Uganda

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for 6 months is the recommended form of infant feeding. Support of mothers through individual peer counselling has been proved to be effective in increasing exclusive breastfeeding prevalence. We present a costing study of an individual peer support intervention in Uganda, whose objective was to raise exclusive breastfeeding rates at 3 months of age. Methods We costed the peer support intervention, which was offered to 406 breastfeeding mothers in Uganda. The average number of counselling visits was about 6 per woman. Annual financial and economic costs were collected in 2005-2008. Estimates were made of total project costs, average costs per mother counselled and average costs per peer counselling visit. Alternative intervention packages were explored in the sensitivity analysis. We also estimated the resources required to fund the scale up to district level, of a breastfeeding intervention programme within a public health sector model. Results Annual project costs were estimated to be US$56,308. The largest cost component was peer supporter supervision, which accounted for over 50% of total project costs. The cost per mother counselled was US$139 and the cost per visit was US$26. The cost per week of EBF was estimated to be US$15 at 12 weeks post partum. We estimated that implementing an alternative package modelled on routine public health sector programmes can potentially reduce costs by over 60%. Based on the calculated average costs and annual births, scaling up modelled costs to district level would cost the public sector an additional US$1,813,000. Conclusion Exclusive breastfeeding promotion in sub-Saharan Africa is feasible and can be implemented at a sustainable cost. The results of this study can be incorporated in cost effectiveness analyses of exclusive breastfeeding promotion programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. PMID:21714877

7 CFR 1944.52 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... subpart L of part 1940 of this chapter. Complete application package (hereafter called package). The package submitted to the appropriate FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 office which is... the Administrator that equals the customary and reasonable costs incurred in preparing a package for a...

7 CFR 1944.52 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... subpart L of part 1940 of this chapter. Complete application package (hereafter called package). The package submitted to the appropriate FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 office which is... the Administrator that equals the customary and reasonable costs incurred in preparing a package for a...

7 CFR 1944.52 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... subpart L of part 1940 of this chapter. Complete application package (hereafter called package). The package submitted to the appropriate FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 office which is... the Administrator that equals the customary and reasonable costs incurred in preparing a package for a...

7 CFR 1944.52 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... subpart L of part 1940 of this chapter. Complete application package (hereafter called package). The package submitted to the appropriate FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 office which is... the Administrator that equals the customary and reasonable costs incurred in preparing a package for a...

7 CFR 1944.52 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... subpart L of part 1940 of this chapter. Complete application package (hereafter called package). The package submitted to the appropriate FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 office which is... the Administrator that equals the customary and reasonable costs incurred in preparing a package for a...

Selling Our Collecting Souls: How License Agreements Are Controlling Collection Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGinnis, Suzan D.

2000-01-01

Considers the challenges that licensing for electronic products are creating for academic libraries. Discusses ownership of versus access to information; packaging of electronic journals; cost-benefit analysis; multiple versions of the same information, e.g. print and electronic; consortial agreements; negotiating; legal issues; and the question…

Low-cost digital image processing at the University of Oklahoma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrington, J. A., Jr.

1981-01-01

Computer assisted instruction in remote sensing at the University of Oklahoma involves two separate approaches and is dependent upon initial preprocessing of a LANDSAT computer compatible tape using software developed for an IBM 370/158 computer. In-house generated preprocessing algorithms permits students or researchers to select a subset of a LANDSAT scene for subsequent analysis using either general purpose statistical packages or color graphic image processing software developed for Apple II microcomputers. Procedures for preprocessing the data and image analysis using either of the two approaches for low-cost LANDSAT data processing are described.

42 CFR 440.320 - State plan requirements: Optional enrollment for exempt individuals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... benchmark or benchmark-equivalent benefit package, the State must effectively inform the individual prior to...-equivalent benefit package and the costs under such a package and provide a comparison of how they differ... benchmark-equivalent benefit package. (4) For individuals who the State determines have become exempt...

42 CFR 440.320 - State plan requirements: Optional enrollment for exempt individuals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... benchmark or benchmark-equivalent benefit package, the State must effectively inform the individual prior to...-equivalent benefit package and the costs under such a package and provide a comparison of how they differ... benchmark-equivalent benefit package. (4) For individuals who the State determines have become exempt...

42 CFR 440.320 - State plan requirements: Optional enrollment for exempt individuals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... benchmark or benchmark-equivalent benefit package, the State must effectively inform the individual prior to...-equivalent benefit package and the costs under such a package and provide a comparison of how they differ... benchmark-equivalent benefit package. (4) For individuals who the State determines have become exempt...

42 CFR 440.320 - State plan requirements: Optional enrollment for exempt individuals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... benchmark or benchmark-equivalent benefit package, the State must effectively inform the individual prior to...-equivalent benefit package and the costs under such a package and provide a comparison of how they differ... benchmark-equivalent benefit package. (4) For individuals who the State determines have become exempt...

42 CFR 440.320 - State plan requirements: Optional enrollment for exempt individuals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... benchmark or benchmark-equivalent benefit package, the State must effectively inform the individual prior to...-equivalent benefit package and the costs under such a package and provide a comparison of how they differ... benchmark-equivalent benefit package. (4) For individuals who the State determines have become exempt...

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Two Alternative Models of Maternity Care in Ireland.

PubMed

Fawsitt, Christopher G; Bourke, Jane; Murphy, Aileen; McElroy, Brendan; Lutomski, Jennifer E; Murphy, Rosemary; Greene, Richard A

2017-12-01

The Irish government has committed to expand midwifery-led care alongside consultant-led care nationally, although very little is known about the potential net benefits of this reconfiguration. To formally compare the costs and benefits of the major models of care in Ireland, with a view to informing priority setting using the contingent valuation technique and cost-benefit analysis. A marginal payment scale willingness-to-pay question was adopted from an ex ante perspective. 450 pregnant women were invited to participate in the study. Cost estimates were collected primarily, describing the average cost of a package of care. Net benefit estimates were calculated over a 1-year cycle using a third-party payer perspective. To avoid midwifery-led care, women were willing to pay €821.13 (95% CI 761.66-1150.41); to avoid consultant-led care, women were willing to pay €795.06 (95% CI 695.51-921.15). The average cost of a package of consultant- and midwifery-led care was €1,762.12 (95% CI 1496.73-2027.51) and €1018.47 (95% CI 916.61-1120.33), respectively. Midwifery-led care ranked as the best use of resources, generating a net benefit of €1491.22 (95% CI 989.35-1991.93), compared with €123.23 (95% CI -376.58 to 621.42) for consultant-led care. While both models of care are cost-beneficial, the decision to provide both alternatives may be constrained by resource issues. If only one alternative can be implemented then midwifery-led care should be undertaken for low-risk women, leaving consultant-led care for high-risk women. However, pursuing one alternative contradicts a key objective of government policy, which seeks to improve maternal choice. Ideally, multiple alternatives should be pursued.

Technology for low cost solid rocket boosters.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ciepluch, C.

1971-01-01

A review of low cost large solid rocket motors developed at the Lewis Research Center is given. An estimate is made of the total cost reduction obtainable by incorporating this new technology package into the rocket motor design. The propellant, case material, insulation, nozzle ablatives, and thrust vector control are discussed. The effect of the new technology on motor cost is calculated for a typical expandable 260-in. booster application. Included in the cost analysis is the influence of motor performance variations due to specific impulse and weight changes. It is found for this application that motor costs may be reduced by up to 30% and that the economic attractiveness of future large solid rocket motors will be improved when the new technology is implemented.

Target prices for mass production of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for global cancer treatment

PubMed Central

Hill, Andrew; Gotham, Dzintars; Fortunak, Joseph; Meldrum, Jonathan; Erbacher, Isabelle; Martin, Manuel; Shoman, Haitham; Levi, Jacob; Powderly, William G; Bower, Mark

2016-01-01

Objective To calculate sustainable generic prices for 4 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Background TKIs have proven survival benefits in the treatment of several cancers, including chronic myeloid leukaemia, breast, liver, renal and lung cancer. However, current high prices are a barrier to treatment. Mass production of low-cost generic antiretrovirals has led to over 13 million people being on HIV/AIDS treatment worldwide. This analysis estimates target prices for generic TKIs, assuming similar methods of mass production. Methods Four TKIs with patent expiry dates in the next 5 years were selected for analysis: imatinib, erlotinib, lapatinib and sorafenib. Chemistry, dosing, published data on per-kilogram pricing for commercial transactions of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), and quotes from manufacturers were used to estimate costs of production. Analysis included costs of excipients, formulation, packaging, shipping and a 50% profit margin. Target prices were compared with current prices. Global numbers of patients eligible for treatment with each TKI were estimated. Results API costs per kg were $347–$746 for imatinib, $2470 for erlotinib, $4671 for lapatinib, and $3000 for sorafenib. Basing on annual dose requirements, costs of formulation/packaging and a 50% profit margin, target generic prices per person-year were $128–$216 for imatinib, $240 for erlotinib, $1450 for sorafenib, and $4020 for lapatinib. Over 1 million people would be newly eligible to start treatment with these TKIs annually. Conclusions Mass generic production of several TKIs could achieve treatment prices in the range of $128–$4020 per person-year, versus current US prices of $75161–$139 138. Generic TKIs could allow significant savings and scaling-up of treatment globally, for over 1 million eligible patients. PMID:26817636

Energy conservation investment program FY95 limited energy study for the area `a` package boiler Holston Army Ammunition Plant Kingsport, Tennessee. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-11-03

In March 1995, Affiliated Engineers SE, Inc. (AESE) was retained by the Mobile District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform a Limited Energy Study for Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Kingsport, Tennessee. The field survey of existing conditions was completed in May 1995. The results of this field survey were subsequently tabulated and used to generate single line building drawings on Autocad. This report summarizes the results obtained from this field investigation and the analysis of various alternative Energy Conservation Opportunities (ECO`s). To develop the field data into various alternative ECO concepts or models, we utilized an `Excel` spreadsheet tomore » tabulate and compare energy consumption, installation and operating costs for various ECO`s. These ECO`s were then analyzed for suitability for the Energy Conservation Investment Program (ECIP) using the government`s software package called Life Cycle Cost in Design (LCCID). The Scope of Work developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave the following tasks: (1) Perform a field survey to gather information on existing operating conditions and equipment at Hoiston Army Ammunition Plant, Area `A`. (2) Perform a field survey to gather information on existing boilers laid away at Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. (3) Provide a list of suggested ECO`s. (4) Analyze ECO`s using the LCCID program. (5) Perform savings to investment ratio (SIR) calculation. (6) Rank ECO`s per SIR`s. (7) Provide information on study assumptions and document equations used in calculations. (8) Perform Life Cycle Cost Analysis. (9) Perform Synergism Analysis. (10) Calculate Energy/Cost Ratios. (11) Calculate Benefit/Cost Ratios. (12) Provide documentation in the form of Project Development Brochures (PDB`s) and DD Form 139« less

44 CFR 334.5 - GMR system description.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... departments and agencies may need to gather additional data on selected resources or increase their preparedness activities. Costed Option Packages may need to be updated or new ones prepared for the response..., but the Costed Option Packages may also require new funding. (3) If the crisis worsens, and prior to...

44 CFR 334.5 - GMR system description.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... departments and agencies may need to gather additional data on selected resources or increase their preparedness activities. Costed Option Packages may need to be updated or new ones prepared for the response..., but the Costed Option Packages may also require new funding. (3) If the crisis worsens, and prior to...

44 CFR 334.5 - GMR system description.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... departments and agencies may need to gather additional data on selected resources or increase their preparedness activities. Costed Option Packages may need to be updated or new ones prepared for the response..., but the Costed Option Packages may also require new funding. (3) If the crisis worsens, and prior to...

Assessing efficiency of spatial sampling using combined coverage analysis in geographical and feature spaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hengl, Tomislav

2015-04-01

Efficiency of spatial sampling largely determines success of model building. This is especially important for geostatistical mapping where an initial sampling plan should provide a good representation or coverage of both geographical (defined by the study area mask map) and feature space (defined by the multi-dimensional covariates). Otherwise the model will need to extrapolate and, hence, the overall uncertainty of the predictions will be high. In many cases, geostatisticians use point data sets which are produced using unknown or inconsistent sampling algorithms. Many point data sets in environmental sciences suffer from spatial clustering and systematic omission of feature space. But how to quantify these 'representation' problems and how to incorporate this knowledge into model building? The author has developed a generic function called 'spsample.prob' (Global Soil Information Facilities package for R) and which simultaneously determines (effective) inclusion probabilities as an average between the kernel density estimation (geographical spreading of points; analysed using the spatstat package in R) and MaxEnt analysis (feature space spreading of points; analysed using the MaxEnt software used primarily for species distribution modelling). The output 'iprob' map indicates whether the sampling plan has systematically missed some important locations and/or features, and can also be used as an input for geostatistical modelling e.g. as a weight map for geostatistical model fitting. The spsample.prob function can also be used in combination with the accessibility analysis (cost of field survey are usually function of distance from the road network, slope and land cover) to allow for simultaneous maximization of average inclusion probabilities and minimization of total survey costs. The author postulates that, by estimating effective inclusion probabilities using combined geographical and feature space analysis, and by comparing survey costs to representation efficiency, an optimal initial sampling plan can be produced which satisfies both criteria: (a) good representation (i.e. within a tolerance threshold), and (b) minimized survey costs. This sampling analysis framework could become especially interesting for generating sampling plans in new areas e.g. for which no previous spatial prediction model exists. The presentation includes data processing demos with standard soil sampling data sets Ebergotzen (Germany) and Edgeroi (Australia), also available via the GSIF package.

Economic tour package model using heuristic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Syariza Abdul; Benjamin, Aida Mauziah; Bakar, Engku Muhammad Nazri Engku Abu

2014-07-01

A tour-package is a prearranged tour that includes products and services such as food, activities, accommodation, and transportation, which are sold at a single price. Since the competitiveness within tourism industry is very high, many of the tour agents try to provide attractive tour-packages in order to meet tourist satisfaction as much as possible. Some of the criteria that are considered by the tourist are the number of places to be visited and the cost of the tour-packages. Previous studies indicate that tourists tend to choose economical tour-packages and aiming to visit as many places as they can cover. Thus, this study proposed tour-package model using heuristic approach. The aim is to find economical tour-packages and at the same time to propose as many places as possible to be visited by tourist in a given geographical area particularly in Langkawi Island. The proposed model considers only one starting point where the tour starts and ends at an identified hotel. This study covers 31 most attractive places in Langkawi Island from various categories of tourist attractions. Besides, the allocation of period for lunch and dinner are included in the proposed itineraries where it covers 11 popular restaurants around Langkawi Island. In developing the itinerary, the proposed heuristic approach considers time window for each site (hotel/restaurant/place) so that it represents real world implementation. We present three itineraries with different time constraints (1-day, 2-day and 3-day tour-package). The aim of economic model is to minimize the tour-package cost as much as possible by considering entrance fee of each visited place. We compare the proposed model with our uneconomic model from our previous study. The uneconomic model has no limitation to the cost with the aim to maximize the number of places to be visited. Comparison between the uneconomic and economic itinerary has shown that the proposed model have successfully achieved the objective that minimize the tour cost and cover maximum number of places to be visited.

Investigation of low cost, high reliability sealing techniques for hybrid microcircuits, phase 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perkins, K. L.; Licari, J. J.

1976-01-01

A preliminary investigation was made to determine the feasibility of using adhesive package sealing for hybrid microcircuits. Major effort consisted of: (1) surveying representative hybrid manufacturers to assess the current use of adhesives for package sealing; (2) making a cost comparison of metallurgical versus adhesive package sealing; (3) determining the seal integrity of gold plated flatpack type packages sealed with selected adhesives, thermal shock, temperature cycling, mechanical shock, and constant acceleration test environments; and (4) defining a more comprehensive study to continue the evaluation of adhesives for package sealing. Results showed that 1.27 cm square gold plated flatpack type packages sealed with the film adhesives and the paste adhesive retained their seal integrity after all tests, and that similarly prepared 2.54 cm square packages retained their seal integrity after all tests except the 10,000 g's constant acceleration test. It is concluded that these results are encouraging, but by no means sufficient to establish the suitability of adhesives for sealing high reliability hybrid microcircuits.

Telescoping Solar Array Concept for Achieving High Packaging Efficiency

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mikulas, Martin; Pappa, Richard; Warren, Jay; Rose, Geoff

2015-01-01

Lightweight, high-efficiency solar arrays are required for future deep space missions using high-power Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP). Structural performance metrics for state-of-the art 30-50 kW flexible blanket arrays recently demonstrated in ground tests are approximately 40 kW/cu m packaging efficiency, 150 W/kg specific power, 0.1 Hz deployed stiffness, and 0.2 g deployed strength. Much larger arrays with up to a megawatt or more of power and improved packaging and specific power are of interest to mission planners for minimizing launch and life cycle costs of Mars exploration. A new concept referred to as the Compact Telescoping Array (CTA) with 60 kW/cu m packaging efficiency at 1 MW of power is described herein. Performance metrics as a function of array size and corresponding power level are derived analytically and validated by finite element analysis. Feasible CTA packaging and deployment approaches are also described. The CTA was developed, in part, to serve as a NASA reference solar array concept against which other proposed designs of 50-1000 kW arrays for future high-power SEP missions could be compared.

Qualification and Reliability for MEMS and IC Packages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza

2004-01-01

Advanced IC electronic packages are moving toward miniaturization from two key different approaches, front and back-end processes, each with their own challenges. Successful use of more of the back-end process front-end, e.g. microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) Wafer Level Package (WLP), enable reducing size and cost. Use of direct flip chip die is the most efficient approach if and when the issues of know good die and board/assembly are resolved. Wafer level package solve the issue of known good die by enabling package test, but it has its own limitation, e.g., the I/O limitation, additional cost, and reliability. From the back-end approach, system-in-a-package (SIAP/SIP) development is a response to an increasing demand for package and die integration of different functions into one unit to reduce size and cost and improve functionality. MEMS add another challenging dimension to electronic packaging since they include moving mechanical elements. Conventional qualification and reliability need to be modified and expanded in most cases in order to detect new unknown failures. This paper will review four standards that already released or being developed that specifically address the issues on qualification and reliability of assembled packages. Exposures to thermal cycles, monotonic bend test, mechanical shock and drop are covered in these specifications. Finally, mechanical and thermal cycle qualification data generated for MEMS accelerometer will be presented. The MEMS was an element of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) qualified for NASA Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs), Spirit and Opportunity that successfully is currently roaring the Martian surface

Predictive Software Cost Model Study. Volume II. Software Package Detailed Data.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-01

will not be limited to: a. ASN-91 NWDS Computer b. Armament System Control Unit ( ASCU ) c. AN/ASN-90 IMS 6. CONFIGURATION CONTROL. OFP/OTP...planned approach. 3. Detailed analysis and study; impacts on hardware, manuals, data, AGE , etc; alternatives with pros and cons; cost estimates; ECP...WAIT UNTIL RESOURCE REQUEST FOR * : HAG TAPE HAS BEEN FULFILLED )MTS 0 RI * Ae* NESDIIRCE MAG TAPE (SHORT FORM)I:TST IN I" . TEST " AG TAPE RESOURCE

Study on transport packages used for food freshness preservation based on thermal analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Ying

2016-12-01

In recent time, as the Chinese consumption level increases, the consumption quantity of high-value fruits, vegetables and seafood products have been increasing year by year. As a consequence, the traffic volume of refrigerated products also increases yearly and the popularization degree of the cold-chain transportation enhances. A low-temperature environment should be guaranteed during transportation, thus there is about 40% of diesel oil should be consumed by the refrigerating system and the cold-chain transportation becomes very costly. This study aimed to explore methods that could reduce the cost of transport packages of refrigerated products. On the basis of the heat transfer theory and the fluid mechanics theory, the heat exchanging process of corrugated cases during the operation of refrigerating system was analyzed, the heat transfer process of corrugated cases and refrigerator van was theoretically analyzed and the heat balance equation of corrugated cases was constructed.

Solid motor diagnostic instrumentation. [design of self-contained instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nakamura, Y.; Arens, W. E.; Wuest, W. S.

1973-01-01

A review of typical surveillance and monitoring practices followed during the flight phases of representative solid-propellant upper stages and apogee motors was conducted to evaluate the need for improved flight diagnostic instrumentation on future spacecraft. The capabilities of the flight instrumentation package were limited to the detection of whether or not the solid motor was the cause of failure and to the identification of probable primary failure modes. Conceptual designs of self-contained flight instrumentation packages capable of meeting these reqirements were generated and their performance, typical cost, and unit characteristics determined. Comparisons of a continuous real time and a thresholded hybrid design were made on the basis of performance, mass, power, cost, and expected life. The results of this analysis substantiated the feasibility of a self-contained independent flight instrumentation module as well as the existence of performance margins by which to exploit growth option applications.

The effect of adopting new storage methods for extending product validity periods on manufacturers expected inventory costs.

PubMed

Chen, Po-Yu

2014-01-01

The validness of the expiration dates (validity period) that manufacturers provide on food product labels is a crucial food safety problem. Governments must study how to use their authority by implementing fair awards and punishments to prompt manufacturers into adopting rigorous considerations, such as the effect of adopting new storage methods for extending product validity periods on expected costs. Assuming that a manufacturer sells fresh food or drugs, this manufacturer must respond to current stochastic demands at each unit of time to determine the purchase amount of products for sale. If this decision maker is capable and an opportunity arises, new packaging methods (e.g., aluminum foil packaging, vacuum packaging, high-temperature sterilization after glass packaging, or packaging with various degrees of dryness) or storage methods (i.e., adding desiccants or various antioxidants) can be chosen to extend the validity periods of products. To minimize expected costs, this decision maker must be aware of the processing costs of new storage methods, inventory standards, inventory cycle lengths, and changes in relationships between factors such as stochastic demand functions in a cycle. Based on these changes in relationships, this study established a mathematical model as a basis for discussing the aforementioned topics.

Economic Evaluation of New Technologies in Higher Education. N.I.E. Report Phase 1, Volume 6 of 7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh (Scotland). Esmee Fairbairn Economics Research Centre.

Part of a series of instructional packages for use in college level economics courses, the document contains nine microeconomics chapters. Chapter I, "Economic Concepts, Issues, and Tools," discusses scarcity and choice; preferences, resources, exchange, and economic efficiency; marginal analysis and opportunity cost; and different economic…

Proposing a Mathematical Software Tool in Physics Secondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baltzis, Konstantinos B.

2009-01-01

MathCad® is a very popular software tool for mathematical and statistical analysis in science and engineering. Its low cost, ease of use, extensive function library, and worksheet-like user interface distinguish it among other commercial packages. Its features are also well suited to educational process. The use of natural mathematical notation…

DOE-EM-45 PACKAGING OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COURSE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Watkins, R.; England, J.

2010-05-28

Savannah River National Laboratory - Savannah River Packaging Technology (SRNL-SRPT) delivered the inaugural offering of the Packaging Operations and Maintenance Course for DOE-EM-45's Packaging Certification Program (PCP) at the University of South Carolina Aiken on September 1 and 2, 2009. Twenty-nine students registered, attended, and completed this training. The DOE-EM-45 Packaging Certification Program (PCP) sponsored the presentation of a new training course, Packaging Maintenance and Operations, on September 1-2, 2009 at the University of South Carolina Aiken (USC-Aiken) campus in Aiken, SC. The premier offering of the course was developed and presented by the Savannah River National Laboratory, and attendedmore » by twenty-nine students across the DOE, NNSA and private industry. This training informed package users of the requirements associated with handling shipping containers at a facility (user) level and provided a basic overview of the requirements typically outlined in Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) Chapters 1, 7, and 8. The course taught packaging personnel about the regulatory nature of SARPs to help reduce associated and often costly packaging errors. Some of the topics covered were package contents, loading, unloading, storage, torque requirements, maintaining records, how to handle abnormal conditions, lessons learned, leakage testing (including demonstration), and replacement parts. The target audience for this course was facility operations personnel, facility maintenance personnel, and field quality assurance personnel who are directly involved in the handling of shipping containers. The training also aimed at writers of SARP Chapters 1, 7, and 8, package designers, and anyone else involved in radioactive material packaging and transportation safety. Student feedback and critiques of the training were very positive. SRNL will offer the course again at USC Aiken in September 2010.« less

JP-8+100: The development of high-thermal-stability jet fuel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heneghan, S.P.; Zabarnick, S.; Ballal, D.R.

1996-09-01

Jet fuel requirements have evolved over the years as a balance of the demands placed by advanced aircraft performance (technological need), fuel cost (economic factors), and fuel availability (strategic factors). In a modern aircraft, the jet fuel not only provides the propulsive energy for flight, but also is the primary coolant for aircraft and engine subsystems. To meet the evolving challenge of improving the cooling potential of jet fuel while maintaining the current availability at a minimal price increase, the US Air Force, industry, and academia have teamed to develop an additive package for JP-8 fuels. This paper describes themore » development of an additive package for JP-8, to produce JP-8+100. This new fuel offers a 55 C increase in the bulk maximum temperature (from 325 F to 425 F) and improves the heat sink capability by 50%. Major advances made during the development JP-8 + 100 fuel include the development of several new quantitative fuel analysis tests, a free radical theory of autooxidation, adaptation of new chemistry models to computational fluid dynamics programs, and a nonparametric statistical analysis to evaluate thermal stability. Hundreds of additives were tested for effectiveness, and a package of additives was then formulated for JP-8 fuel. This package has been tested for fuel system materials compatibility and general fuel applicability. To date, the flight testing ha shown an improvement in thermal stability of JP-8 fuel. This improvement has resulted in a significant reduction in fuel-related maintenance costs and a threefold increase in mean time between fuel-related failures. In this manner, a novel high-thermal-stability jet fuel for the 21st century has been successfully developed.« less

Can't see the woods for the trees: exploring the range and connection of tobacco industry argumentation in the 2012 UK standardised packaging consultation.

PubMed

Lie, Jessamina Lih Yan; Fooks, Gary; de Vries, Nanne K; Heijndijk, Suzanne M; Willemsen, Marc C

2017-07-25

Transnational tobacco company (TTC) submissions to the 2012 UK standardised packaging consultation are studied to examine TTC argumentation in the context of Better Regulation practices. A content analysis was conducted of Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco submissions to the 2012 UK consultation. Industry arguments concerning expected costs and (contested) benefits of the policy were categorised into themes and frames. The inter-relationship between frames through linked arguments was mapped to analyse central arguments using an argumentation network. 173 arguments were identified. Arguments fell into one of five frames: ineffectiveness, negative economic consequences, harm to public health, increased crime or legal ramifications. Arguments highlighted high costs to a wide range of groups, including government, general public and other businesses. Arguments also questioned the public health benefits of standardised packaging and highlighted the potential benefits to undeserving groups. An increase in illicit trade was the most central argument and linked to the greatest variety of arguments. In policy-making systems characterised by mandatory impact assessments and public consultations, the wide range of cost (and contested benefits) based arguments highlights the risk of TTCs overloading policy actors and causing delays in policy adoption. Illicit trade related arguments are central to providing a rationale for these arguments, which include the claim that standardised packaging will increase health risks. The strategic importance of illicit trade arguments to industry argumentation in public consultations underlines the risks of relying on industry data relating to the scale of the illicit trade. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Meeting the needs of an ever-demanding market.

PubMed

Rigby, Richard

2002-04-01

Balancing cost and performance in packaging is critical. This article outlines techniques to assist in this whilst delivering added value and product differentiation. The techniques include a rigorous statistical process capable of delivering cost reduction and improved quality and a computer modelling process that can save time when validating new packaging options.

Laser applications in advanced chip packaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Dirk; Held, Andrew; Pätzel, Rainer; Clark, Dave; van Nunen, Joris

2016-03-01

While applications such as drilling μ-vias and laser direct imaging have been well established in the electronics industry, the mobile device industry's push for miniaturization is generating new demands for packaging technologies that allow for further reduction in feature size while reducing manufacturing cost. CO lasers have recently become available and their shorter wavelength allows for a smaller focus and drilling hole diameters down to 25μm whilst keeping the cost similar to CO2 lasers. Similarly, nanosecond UV lasers have gained significantly in power, become more reliable and lower in cost. On a separate front, the cost of ownership reduction for Excimer lasers has made this class of lasers attractive for structuring redistribution layers of IC substrates with feature sizes down to 2μm. Improvements in reliability and lower up-front cost for picosecond lasers is enabling applications that previously were only cost effective with mechanical means or long-pulsed lasers. We can now span the gamut from 100μm to 2μm for via drilling and can cost effectively structure redistribution layers with lasers instead of UV lamps or singulate packages with picosecond lasers.

Cost-benefit and extended cost-effectiveness analysis of a comprehensive adolescent pregnancy prevention program in Zambia: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Mori, Amani Thomas; Kampata, Linda; Musonda, Patrick; Johansson, Kjell Arne; Robberstad, Bjarne; Sandøy, Ingvild

2017-12-19

Early marriages, pregnancies and births are the major cause of school drop-out among adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Birth complications are also one of the leading causes of death among adolescent girls. This paper outlines a protocol for a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and an extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) of a comprehensive adolescent pregnancy prevention program in Zambia. It aims to estimate the expected costs, monetary and non-monetary benefits associated with health-related and non-health outcomes, as well as their distribution across populations with different standards of living. The study will be conducted alongside a cluster-randomized controlled trial, which is testing the hypothesis that economic support with or without community dialogue is an effective strategy for reducing adolescent childbearing rates. The CBA will estimate net benefits by comparing total costs with monetary benefits of health-related and non-health outcomes for each intervention package. The ECEA will estimate the costs of the intervention packages per unit health and non-health gain stratified by the standards of living. Cost data include program implementation costs, healthcare costs (i.e. costs associated with adolescent pregnancy and birth complications such as low birth weight, pre-term birth, eclampsia, medical abortion procedures and post-abortion complications) and costs of education and participation in community and youth club meetings. Monetary benefits are returns to education and averted healthcare costs. For the ECEA, health gains include reduced rate of adolescent childbirths and non-health gains include averted out-of-pocket expenditure and financial risk protection. The economic evaluations will be conducted from program and societal perspectives. While the planned intervention is both comprehensive and expensive, it has the potential to produce substantial short-term and long-term health and non-health benefits. These benefits should be considered seriously when evaluating whether such a program can justify the required investments in a setting with scarce resources. The economic evaluations outlined in this paper will generate valuable information that can be used to guide large-scale implementation of programs to address the problem of the high prevalence of adolescent childbirth and school drop-outs in similar settings. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02709967. Registered on 2 March 2016. ISRCTN, ISRCTN12727868. Registered on 4 March 2016.

Life and stability testing of packaged low-cost energy storage materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frysinger, G. R.

1980-07-01

A low-cost laminated plastic film which is used to contain a Glauber's salt-based phase change thermal energy storage material in sausage like containers called Chubs was developed. Results of tests performed on the Chub packages themselves and on the thermal energy storage capacity of the packaged phase change material are described. From the test results, a set of specifications was drawn up for a film material which will satisfactorily contain the phase change material under anticipated operating conditions. Calorimetric testing of the phase change material with thermal cycling indicates that a design capacity of 45 to 50 Btu/lb for a delta T of 30 F can be used for the packaged material.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cossu, R.; Masi, S., E-mail: salvatore.masi@unibas.it

Highlights: • We focused on the dynamics the formation of operational costs of waste management. • We provide the basic elements to compose a picture of economic management. • We present a reflection on the last hidden costs associated with the consumption of goods and packaging. • Reduction of waste production. - Abstract: This paper focuses on the dynamics the formation of operational costs of waste management in Italy and the effect of economic measures. Currently incentives and penalties have been internalized by the system no differently from other cost items and revenues. This has greatly influenced the system directingmore » it towards solutions that are often distant from the real environmental objectives. Based on an analysis of disaggregated costs of collection treatment and recovery, we provide the basic elements to compose a picture of economic management in various technical–organizational scenarios. In the light of the considerations contained in the paper it is proposed, e.g. for controlled landfills, that the ecotax, currently based on weight, could be replaced by one based on the volume consumption. Likewise, for tax reduction on disposal system, instead a pre-treatment might ask an environmental balance of the overall system. The article presents a reflection on the last hidden costs associated with the consumption of goods and packaging, and how to reduce waste production is the necessary path to be followed in ecological and economic perspectives.« less

Enabling More than Moore: Accelerated Reliability Testing and Risk Analysis for Advanced Electronics Packaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza; Evans, John W.

2014-01-01

For five decades, the semiconductor industry has distinguished itself by the rapid pace of improvement in miniaturization of electronics products-Moore's Law. Now, scaling hits a brick wall, a paradigm shift. The industry roadmaps recognized the scaling limitation and project that packaging technologies will meet further miniaturization needs or ak.a "More than Moore". This paper presents packaging technology trends and accelerated reliability testing methods currently being practiced. Then, it presents industry status on key advanced electronic packages, factors affecting accelerated solder joint reliability of area array packages, and IPC/JEDEC/Mil specifications for characterizations of assemblies under accelerated thermal and mechanical loading. Finally, it presents an examples demonstrating how Accelerated Testing and Analysis have been effectively employed in the development of complex spacecraft thereby reducing risk. Quantitative assessments necessarily involve the mathematics of probability and statistics. In addition, accelerated tests need to be designed which consider the desired risk posture and schedule for particular project. Such assessments relieve risks without imposing additional costs. and constraints that are not value added for a particular mission. Furthermore, in the course of development of complex systems, variances and defects will inevitably present themselves and require a decision concerning their disposition, necessitating quantitative assessments. In summary, this paper presents a comprehensive view point, from technology to systems, including the benefits and impact of accelerated testing in offsetting risk.

Health Gains and Financial Protection Provided by the Ethiopian Mental Health Strategy: an Extended Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

PubMed

Johansson, Kjell Arne; Strand, Kirsten Bjerkreim; Fekadu, Abebaw; Chisholm, Dan

2017-04-01

Mental and neurological (MN) health care has long been neglected in low-income settings. This paper estimates health and non-health impacts of fully publicly financed care for selected key interventions in the National Mental Health Strategy in Ethiopia for depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and epilepsy. A methodology of extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) is applied to MN health care in Ethiopia. The impact of providing a package of selected MN interventions free of charge in Ethiopia is estimated for: epilepsy (75% coverage, phenobarbital), depression (30% coverage, fluoxetine, cognitive therapy and proactive case management), bipolar affective disorder (50% coverage, valproate and psychosocial therapy) and schizophrenia (75% coverage, haloperidol plus psychosocial treatment). Multiple outcomes are estimated and disaggregated across wealth quintiles: (1) healthy-life-years (HALYs) gained; (2) household out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures averted; (3) expected financial risk protection (FRP); and (4) productivity impact. The MN package is expected to cost US$177 million and gain 155,000 HALYs (epilepsy US$37m and 64,500 HALYs; depression US$65m and 61,300 HALYs; bipolar disorder US$44m and 20,300 HALYs; and schizophrenia US$31m and 8,900 HALYs) annually. The health benefits would be concentrated among the poorest groups for all interventions. Universal public finance averts little household OOP expenditures and provides minimal FRP because of the low current utilization of these MN services in Ethiopia. In addition, economic benefits of US$ 51 million annually are expected from depression treatment in Ethiopia as a result of productivity gains, equivalent to 78% of the investment cost. The total MN package in Ethiopia is estimated to cost equivalent to US$1.8 per capita and yields large progressive health benefits. The expected productivity gain is substantially higher than the expected FRP. The ECEA approach seems to fit well with the current policy challenges and captures important equity concerns of scaling up MN programmes. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Gluten-free food database: the nutritional quality and cost of packaged gluten-free foods

PubMed Central

Schwingshackl, Lukas; Billmann, Alina; Mystek, Aleksandra; Hickelsberger, Melanie; Bauer, Gregor; König, Jürgen

2015-01-01

Notwithstanding a growth in popularity and consumption of gluten-free (GF) food products, there is a lack of substantiated analysis of the nutritional quality compared with their gluten-containing counterparts. To put GF foods into proper perspective both for those who need it (patients with celiac disease) and for those who do not, we provide contemporary data about cost and nutritional quality of GF food products. The objective of this study is to develop a food composition database for seven discretionary food categories of packaged GF products. Nutrient composition, nutritional information and cost of foods from 63 GF and 126 gluten-containing counterparts were systematically obtained from 12 different Austrian supermarkets. The nutrition composition (macro and micronutrients) was analyzed by using two nutrient composition databases in a stepwise approximation process. A total of 63 packaged GF foods were included in the analysis representing a broad spectrum of different GF categories (flour/bake mix, bread and bakery products, pasta and cereal-based food, cereals, cookies and cakes, snacks and convenience food). Our results show that the protein content of GF products is >2 fold lower across 57% of all food categories. In 65% of all GF foods, low sodium content was observed (defined as <120 mg/100 g). Across all GF products, 19% can be classified as source high in fiber (defined as >6g/100 g). On average, GF foods were substantially higher in cost, ranging from +205% (cereals) to +267% (bread and bakery products) compared to similar gluten-containing products. In conclusion, our results indicate that for GF foods no predominant health benefits are indicated; in fact, some critical nutrients must be considered when being on a GF diet. For individuals with celiac disease, the GF database provides a helpful tool to identify the food composition of their medical diet. For healthy consumers, replacing gluten-containing products with GF foods is aligned with substantial cost differences but GF foods do not provide additional health benefits from a nutritional perspective. PMID:26528408

A predictive model to allocate frequent service users of community-based mental health services to different packages of care.

PubMed

Grigoletti, Laura; Amaddeo, Francesco; Grassi, Aldrigo; Boldrini, Massimo; Chiappelli, Marco; Percudani, Mauro; Catapano, Francesco; Fiorillo, Andrea; Perris, Francesco; Bacigalupi, Maurizio; Albanese, Paolo; Simonetti, Simona; De Agostini, Paola; Tansella, Michele

2010-01-01

To develop predictive models to allocate patients into frequent and low service users groups within the Italian Community-based Mental Health Services (CMHSs). To allocate frequent users to different packages of care, identifying the costs of these packages. Socio-demographic and clinical data and GAF scores at baseline were collected for 1250 users attending five CMHSs. All psychiatric contacts made by these patients during six months were recorded. A logistic regression identified frequent service users predictive variables. Multinomial logistic regression identified variables able to predict the most appropriate package of care. A cost function was utilised to estimate costs. Frequent service users were 49%, using nearly 90% of all contacts. The model classified correctly 80% of users in the frequent and low users groups. Three packages of care were identified: Basic Community Treatment (4,133 Euro per six months); Intensive Community Treatment (6,180 Euro) and Rehabilitative Community Treatment (11,984 Euro) for 83%, 6% and 11% of frequent service users respectively. The model was found to be accurate for 85% of users. It is possible to develop predictive models to identify frequent service users and to assign them to pre-defined packages of care, and to use these models to inform the funding of psychiatric care.

Investigation of Expandable Polymeric Microspheres for Packaging Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-06

FILMS COST REDUCTION OLEFIN POLYMERS COSTS PACKAGING MICROSPHERES WASTE DISPOSAL WEIGHT...MANAGEMENT THERMAL INSULATION DENSITY SOLID WASTES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT THERMOPLASTIC POLYMERS POLYMERS ...research. The purpose was to provide information on the incorporation of hollow, expandable  polymeric microspheres  into  thermoplastic   polymers   to

Power Extension Package (PEP) system definition extension, orbital service module systems analysis study. Volume 7: PEP logistics and training plan requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Recommendations for logistics activities and logistics planning are presented based on the assumption that a system prime contractor will perform logistics functions to support all program hardware and will implement a logistics system to include the planning and provision of products and services to assure cost effective coverage of the following: maintainability; maintenance; spares and supply support; fuels; pressurants and fluids; operations and maintenance documentation training; preservation, packaging and packing; transportation and handling; storage; and logistics management information reporting. The training courses, manpower, materials, and training aids required will be identified and implemented in a training program.

Fully Roll-to-Roll Gravure Printable Wireless (13.56 MHz) Sensor-Signage Tags for Smart Packaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Hwiwon; Park, Hyejin; Park, Yongsu; Jung, Minhoon; Kim, Byung Chul; Wallace, Gordon; Cho, Gyoujin

2014-06-01

Integration of sensing capabilities with an interactive signage through wireless communication is enabling the development of smart packaging wherein wireless (13.56 MHz) power transmission is used to interlock the smart packaging with a wireless (13.56 MHz) reader or a smart phone. Assembly of the necessary componentry for smart packaging on plastic or paper foils is limited by the manufacturing costs involved with Si based technologies. Here, the issue of manufacturing cost for smart packaging has been obviated by materials that allow R2R (roll-to-roll) gravure in combination with R2R coating processes to be employed. R2R gravure was used to print the wireless power transmission device, called rectenna (antenna, diode and capacitor), and humidity sensor on poly(ethylene terephtalate) (PET) films while electrochromic signage units were fabricated by R2R coating. The signage units were laminated with the R2R gravure printed rectenna and sensor to complete the prototype smart packaging.

Fully Roll-to-Roll Gravure Printable Wireless (13.56 MHz) Sensor-Signage Tags for Smart Packaging

PubMed Central

Kang, Hwiwon; Park, Hyejin; Park, Yongsu; Jung, Minhoon; Kim, Byung Chul; Wallace, Gordon; Cho, Gyoujin

2014-01-01

Integration of sensing capabilities with an interactive signage through wireless communication is enabling the development of smart packaging wherein wireless (13.56 MHz) power transmission is used to interlock the smart packaging with a wireless (13.56 MHz) reader or a smart phone. Assembly of the necessary componentry for smart packaging on plastic or paper foils is limited by the manufacturing costs involved with Si based technologies. Here, the issue of manufacturing cost for smart packaging has been obviated by materials that allow R2R (roll-to-roll) gravure in combination with R2R coating processes to be employed. R2R gravure was used to print the wireless power transmission device, called rectenna (antenna, diode and capacitor), and humidity sensor on poly(ethylene terephtalate) (PET) films while electrochromic signage units were fabricated by R2R coating. The signage units were laminated with the R2R gravure printed rectenna and sensor to complete the prototype smart packaging. PMID:24953037

Fully roll-to-roll gravure printable wireless (13.56 MHz) sensor-signage tags for smart packaging.

PubMed

Kang, Hwiwon; Park, Hyejin; Park, Yongsu; Jung, Minhoon; Kim, Byung Chul; Wallace, Gordon; Cho, Gyoujin

2014-06-23

Integration of sensing capabilities with an interactive signage through wireless communication is enabling the development of smart packaging wherein wireless (13.56 MHz) power transmission is used to interlock the smart packaging with a wireless (13.56 MHz) reader or a smart phone. Assembly of the necessary componentry for smart packaging on plastic or paper foils is limited by the manufacturing costs involved with Si based technologies. Here, the issue of manufacturing cost for smart packaging has been obviated by materials that allow R2R (roll-to-roll) gravure in combination with R2R coating processes to be employed. R2R gravure was used to print the wireless power transmission device, called rectenna (antenna, diode and capacitor), and humidity sensor on poly(ethylene terephtalate) (PET) films while electrochromic signage units were fabricated by R2R coating. The signage units were laminated with the R2R gravure printed rectenna and sensor to complete the prototype smart packaging.

RNA-Seq-Based Transcript Structure Analysis with TrBorderExt.

PubMed

Wang, Yejun; Sun, Ming-An; White, Aaron P

2018-01-01

RNA-Seq has become a routine strategy for genome-wide gene expression comparisons in bacteria. Despite lower resolution in transcript border parsing compared with dRNA-Seq, TSS-EMOTE, Cappable-seq, Term-seq, and others, directional RNA-Seq still illustrates its advantages: low cost, quantification and transcript border analysis with a medium resolution (±10-20 nt). To facilitate mining of directional RNA-Seq datasets especially with respect to transcript structure analysis, we developed a tool, TrBorderExt, which can parse transcript start sites and termination sites accurately in bacteria. A detailed protocol is described in this chapter for how to use the software package step by step to identify bacterial transcript borders from raw RNA-Seq data. The package was developed with Perl and R programming languages, and is accessible freely through the website: http://www.szu-bioinf.org/TrBorderExt .

Laser Welding in Electronic Packaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

The laser has proven its worth in numerous high reliability electronic packaging applications ranging from medical to missile electronics. In particular, the pulsed YAG laser is an extremely flexible and versatile too] capable of hermetically sealing microelectronics packages containing sensitive components without damaging them. This paper presents an overview of details that must be considered for successful use of laser welding when addressing electronic package sealing. These include; metallurgical considerations such as alloy and plating selection, weld joint configuration, design of optics, use of protective gases and control of thermal distortions. The primary limitations on use of laser welding electronic for packaging applications are economic ones. The laser itself is a relatively costly device when compared to competing welding equipment. Further, the cost of consumables and repairs can be significant. These facts have relegated laser welding to use only where it presents a distinct quality or reliability advantages over other techniques of electronic package sealing. Because of the unique noncontact and low heat inputs characteristics of laser welding, it is an ideal candidate for sealing electronic packages containing MEMS devices (microelectromechanical systems). This paper addresses how the unique advantages of the pulsed YAG laser can be used to simplify MEMS packaging and deliver a product of improved quality.

Innovative Soft-Sided Waste Packaging System Implementation at a Small Department of Energy Environmental Restoration/Waste Management (ER/WM) Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wolf, J.

2002-02-28

Weiss Associates (WA) performs a broad range of environmental restoration/waste management (ER/WM) activities for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at the former Laboratory for Energy-Related Health Research (LEHR), University of California, Davis (UC Davis). Over the last three years, the LEHR ER/WM program transitioned from a baseline packaging system of steel, 2.7 cubic meter (3.5-cubic yard) B-25 boxes to a 7.0 cubic meter (9.1-cubic yard) soft-sided container (Lift Liner) system. The transition increased efficiencies in processing, packaging, and storage, and when combined with decreased procurement costs, achieved a $402,000 cost savings (Table I). Additional disposal costs between $128,600 andmore » $182,600 were avoided by minimizing void space. Future cost savings by the end of fiscal year 2003 are projected between $250,640 and $1,003,360.« less

Chemical Applications for Enhanced World Security

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leibman, Christopher Patrick

The purpose of this project is to reduce complexity of chemical analysis by combining chemical and physical processing steps into on package; develop instrumentation that cost less and is easy to use in a field laboratory by non-experts; and develop this "chemical application" so uranium enrichment can be measured onsite, eliminating the need for radioactive sample transport.

Bioanalytical methods for food contaminant analysis.

PubMed

Van Emon, Jeanette M

2010-01-01

Foods are complex mixtures of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, organic compounds, and other naturally occurring substances. Sometimes added to this mixture are residues of pesticides, veterinary and human drugs, microbial toxins, preservatives, contaminants from food processing and packaging, and other residues. This milieu of compounds can pose difficulties in the analysis of food contaminants. There is an expanding need for rapid and cost-effective residue methods for difficult food matrixes to safeguard our food supply. Bioanalytical methods are established for many food contaminants such as mycotoxins and are the method of choice for many food allergens. Bioanalytical methods are often more cost-effective and sensitive than instrumental procedures. Recent developments in bioanalytical methods may provide more applications for their use in food analysis.

A Novel Method to Decontaminate Surgical Instruments for Operational and Austere Environments.

PubMed

Knox, Randy W; Demons, Samandra T; Cunningham, Cord W

2015-12-01

The purpose of this investigation was to test a field-expedient, cost-effective method to decontaminate, sterilize, and package surgical instruments in an operational (combat) or austere environment using chlorhexidine sponges, ultraviolet C (UVC) light, and commercially available vacuum sealing. This was a bench study of 4 experimental groups and 1 control group of 120 surgical instruments. Experimental groups were inoculated with a 10(6) concentration of common wound bacteria. The control group was vacuum sealed without inoculum. Groups 1, 2, and 3 were first scrubbed with a chlorhexidine sponge, rinsed, and dried. Group 1 was then packaged; group 2 was irradiated with UVC light, then packaged; group 3 was packaged, then irradiated with UVC light through the bag; and group 4 was packaged without chlorhexidine scrubbing or UVC irradiation. The UVC was not tested by itself, as it does not grossly clean. The instruments were stored overnight and tested for remaining colony forming units (CFU). Data analysis was conducted using analysis of variance and group comparisons using the Tukey method. Group 4 CFU was statistically greater (P < .001) than the control group and groups 1 through 3. There was no statistically significant difference between the control group and groups 1 through 3. Vacuum sealing of chlorhexidine-scrubbed contaminated instruments with and without handheld UVC irradiation appears to be an acceptable method of field decontamination. Chlorhexidine scrubbing alone achieved a 99.9% reduction in CFU, whereas adding UVC before packaging achieved sterilization or 100% reduction in CFU, and UVC through the bag achieved disinfection. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Validation of Underwater Sensor Package Using Feature Based SLAM

PubMed Central

Cain, Christopher; Leonessa, Alexander

2016-01-01

Robotic vehicles working in new, unexplored environments must be able to locate themselves in the environment while constructing a picture of the objects in the environment that could act as obstacles that would prevent the vehicles from completing their desired tasks. In enclosed environments, underwater range sensors based off of acoustics suffer performance issues due to reflections. Additionally, their relatively high cost make them less than ideal for usage on low cost vehicles designed to be used underwater. In this paper we propose a sensor package composed of a downward facing camera, which is used to perform feature tracking based visual odometry, and a custom vision-based two dimensional rangefinder that can be used on low cost underwater unmanned vehicles. In order to examine the performance of this sensor package in a SLAM framework, experimental tests are performed using an unmanned ground vehicle and two feature based SLAM algorithms, the extended Kalman filter based approach and the Rao-Blackwellized, particle filter based approach, to validate the sensor package. PMID:26999142

Budgeting based on need: a model to determine sub-national allocation of resources for health services in Indonesia

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Allocating national resources to regions based on need is a key policy issue in most health systems. Many systems utilise proxy measures of need as the basis for allocation formulae. Increasingly these are underpinned by complex statistical methods to separate need from supplier induced utilisation. Assessment of need is then used to allocate existing global budgets to geographic areas. Many low and middle income countries are beginning to use formula methods for funding however these attempts are often hampered by a lack of information on utilisation, relative needs and whether the budgets allocated bear any relationship to cost. An alternative is to develop bottom-up estimates of the cost of providing for local need. This method is viable where public funding is focused on a relatively small number of targeted services. We describe a bottom-up approach to developing a formula for the allocation of resources. The method is illustrated in the context of the state minimum service package mandated to be provided by the Indonesian public health system. Methods A standardised costing methodology was developed that is sensitive to the main expected drivers of local cost variation including demographic structure, epidemiology and location. Essential package costing is often undertaken at a country level. It is less usual to utilise the methods across different parts of a country in a way that takes account of variation in population needs and location. Costing was based on best clinical practice in Indonesia and province specific data on distribution and costs of facilities. The resulting model was used to estimate essential package costs in a representative district in each province of the country. Findings Substantial differences in the costs of providing basic services ranging from USD 15 in urban Yogyakarta to USD 48 in sparsely populated North Maluku. These costs are driven largely by the structure of the population, particularly numbers of births, infants and children and also key diseases with high cost/prevalence and variation, most notably the level of malnutrition. The approach to resource allocation was implemented using existing data sources and permitted the rapid construction of a needs based formula that is highly specific to the package mandated across the country. Refinement could focus more on resources required to finance demand side costs and expansion of the service package to include priority non-communicable services. PMID:22931536

Budgeting based on need: a model to determine sub-national allocation of resources for health services in Indonesia.

PubMed

Ensor, Tim; Firdaus, Hafidz; Dunlop, David; Manu, Alex; Mukti, Ali Ghufron; Ayu Puspandari, Diah; von Roenne, Franz; Indradjaya, Stephanus; Suseno, Untung; Vaughan, Patrick

2012-08-29

Allocating national resources to regions based on need is a key policy issue in most health systems. Many systems utilise proxy measures of need as the basis for allocation formulae. Increasingly these are underpinned by complex statistical methods to separate need from supplier induced utilisation. Assessment of need is then used to allocate existing global budgets to geographic areas. Many low and middle income countries are beginning to use formula methods for funding however these attempts are often hampered by a lack of information on utilisation, relative needs and whether the budgets allocated bear any relationship to cost. An alternative is to develop bottom-up estimates of the cost of providing for local need. This method is viable where public funding is focused on a relatively small number of targeted services. We describe a bottom-up approach to developing a formula for the allocation of resources. The method is illustrated in the context of the state minimum service package mandated to be provided by the Indonesian public health system. A standardised costing methodology was developed that is sensitive to the main expected drivers of local cost variation including demographic structure, epidemiology and location. Essential package costing is often undertaken at a country level. It is less usual to utilise the methods across different parts of a country in a way that takes account of variation in population needs and location. Costing was based on best clinical practice in Indonesia and province specific data on distribution and costs of facilities. The resulting model was used to estimate essential package costs in a representative district in each province of the country. Substantial differences in the costs of providing basic services ranging from USD 15 in urban Yogyakarta to USD 48 in sparsely populated North Maluku. These costs are driven largely by the structure of the population, particularly numbers of births, infants and children and also key diseases with high cost/prevalence and variation, most notably the level of malnutrition. The approach to resource allocation was implemented using existing data sources and permitted the rapid construction of a needs based formula that is highly specific to the package mandated across the country. Refinement could focus more on resources required to finance demand side costs and expansion of the service package to include priority non-communicable services.

Plastic packaged microcircuits: Quality, reliability, and cost issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pecht, Michael G.; Agarwal, Rakesh; Quearry, Dan

1993-12-01

Plastic encapsulated microcircuits (PEMs) find their main application in commercial and telecommunication electronics. The advantages of PEMs in cost, size, weight, performance, and market lead-time, have attracted 97% of the market share of worldwide microcircuit sales. However, PEMs have always been resisted in US Government and military applications due to the perception that PEM reliability is low. This paper surveys plastic packaging with respect to the issues of reliability, market lead-time, performance, cost, and weight as a means to guide part-selection and system-design.

Cost-effectiveness of a package of interventions for expedited antiretroviral therapy initiation during pregnancy in Cape Town, South Africa

PubMed Central

ZULLIGER, Rose; BLACK, Samantha; HOLTGRAVE, David R.; CIARANELLO, Andrea L.; BEKKER, Linda–Gail; MYER, Landon

2014-01-01

Initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) early in pregnancy is an important component of effective interventions to prevent the mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). The Rapid initiation of ART in Pregnancy (RAP) program was a package of interventions to expedite ART initiation in pregnant women in Cape Town, South Africa. Retrospective, cost-effectiveness, sensitivity and threshold analyses were conducted of the RAP program to determine the cost-utility thresholds for rapid initiation of ART in pregnancy. Costs were drawn from a detailed microcosting of the program. The overall programmatic cost was US$880 per woman and the base case cost-effectiveness ratio was US$1,160 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) saved. In threshold analyses, the RAP program remained cost-effective if mother-to-child transmission was reduced by ≥0.33%; if ≥1.76 QALY were saved with each averted perinatal infection; or if RAP-related costs were under US$4,020 per woman. The package of rapid initiation services was very cost-effective, as compared to standard services in this setting. Threshold analyses demonstrated that the intervention required minimal reductions in perinatal infections in order to be cost-effective. Interventions for the rapid initiation of ART in pregnancy hold considerable potential as a cost-effective use of limited resources for PMTCT in sub-Saharan Africa. PMID:24122044

Optimization in the design of a 12 gigahertz low cost ground receiving system for broadcast satellites. Volume 1: System design, performance, and cost analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ohkubo, K.; Han, C. C.; Albernaz, J.; Janky, J. M.; Lusignan, B. B.

1972-01-01

The technical and economical feasibility of using the 12 GHz band for broadcasting from satellites were examined. Among the assigned frequency bands for broadcast satellites, the 12 GHz band system offers the most channels. It also has the least interference on and from the terrestrial communication links. The system design and analysis are carried out on the basis of a decision analysis model. Technical difficulties in achieving low-cost 12 GHz ground receivers are solved by making use of a die cast aluminum packaging, a hybrid integrated circuit mixer, a cavity stabilized Gunn oscillator and other state-of-the-art microwave technologies for the receiver front-end. A working model was designed and tested, which used frequency modulation. A final design for the 2.6 GHz system ground receiver is also presented. The cost of the ground-terminal was analyzed and minimized for a given figure-of-merit (a ratio of receiving antenna gain to receiver system noise temperature). The results were used to analyze the performance and cost of the whole satellite system.

Effective e-learning for health professionals and students--barriers and their solutions. A systematic review of the literature--findings from the HeXL project.

PubMed

Childs, Sue; Blenkinsopp, Elizabeth; Hall, Amanda; Walton, Graham

2005-12-01

In 2003/4 the Information Management Research Institute, Northumbria University, conducted a research project to identify the barriers to e-learning for health professionals and students. The project also established possible ways to overcome these barriers. The North of England Workforce Development Confederation funded the project. The project comprised a systematic review of the literature on barriers to and solutions/critical success factors for e-learning in the health field. Fifty-seven references were suitable for analysis. This review was supplemented by a questionnaire survey of learners and an interview study of learning providers to ensure that data identified from the literature were grounded in reality. The main barriers are: requirement for change; costs; poorly designed packages; inadequate technology; lack of skills; need for a component of face-to-face teaching; time intensive nature of e-learning; computer anxiety. A range of solutions can solve these barriers. The main solutions are: standardization; strategies; funding; integration of e-learning into the curriculum; blended teaching; user friendly packages; access to technology; skills training; support; employers paying e-learning costs; dedicated work time for e-learning. The authors argue that librarians can play an important role in e-learning: providing support and support materials; teaching information skills; managing and providing access to online information resources; producing their own e-learning packages; assisting in the development of other packages.

The cost analysis of cemented versus cementless total hip replacement operations on the NHS.

PubMed

Kallala, R; Anderson, P; Morris, S; Haddad, F S

2013-07-01

In a time of limited resources, the debate continues over which types of hip prosthesis are clinically superior and more cost-effective. Orthopaedic surgeons increasingly need robust economic evidence to understand the full value of the operation, and to aid decision making on the 'package' of procedures that are available and to justify their practice beyond traditional clinical preference. In this paper we explore the current economic debate about the merits of cemented and cementless total hip replacement, an issue that continues to divide the orthopaedic community.

Engineering design: A powerful influence on the business success on manufacturing industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coplin, John F.

1990-08-01

Engineering design, one of the most powerful forces in producing a package which matches market need, is discussed. It is essentially a detailed planning process backed by analysis and demonstration. The need for innovation to achieve competitive edge and profitability is considered. Innovation contains risk which must be controlled before substantial investment is made. The high rate of change of technology gives rise to the need for good training and retraining. Benefits which offsets costs at the time of occurring that cost are reached.

GERMINATOR: a software package for high-throughput scoring and curve fitting of Arabidopsis seed germination.

PubMed

Joosen, Ronny V L; Kodde, Jan; Willems, Leo A J; Ligterink, Wilco; van der Plas, Linus H W; Hilhorst, Henk W M

2010-04-01

Over the past few decades seed physiology research has contributed to many important scientific discoveries and has provided valuable tools for the production of high quality seeds. An important instrument for this type of research is the accurate quantification of germination; however gathering cumulative germination data is a very laborious task that is often prohibitive to the execution of large experiments. In this paper we present the germinator package: a simple, highly cost-efficient and flexible procedure for high-throughput automatic scoring and evaluation of germination that can be implemented without the use of complex robotics. The germinator package contains three modules: (i) design of experimental setup with various options to replicate and randomize samples; (ii) automatic scoring of germination based on the color contrast between the protruding radicle and seed coat on a single image; and (iii) curve fitting of cumulative germination data and the extraction, recap and visualization of the various germination parameters. The curve-fitting module enables analysis of general cumulative germination data and can be used for all plant species. We show that the automatic scoring system works for Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica spp. seeds, but is likely to be applicable to other species, as well. In this paper we show the accuracy, reproducibility and flexibility of the germinator package. We have successfully applied it to evaluate natural variation for salt tolerance in a large population of recombinant inbred lines and were able to identify several quantitative trait loci for salt tolerance. Germinator is a low-cost package that allows the monitoring of several thousands of germination tests, several times a day by a single person.

[Good morning, Mr. Representative. Anything new to tell us about? Analysis of the pharmacological products introduced by the drugs industry into a health district].

PubMed

Baena Díez, J M; López Mompó, C; López Gosp, D; Martínez Martínez, J L; Ellacuría Torres, A; Fuentes Rodríguez, S

2003-12-01

To study whether the visits of technical health representatives (ITS) mean that new drugs are introduced. Design. Prospective, descriptive study. Urban health centre. The products presented by 137 ITS from 83 drug laboratories in weekly sessions for a year were studied. The products presented, the year they were first marketed, intrinsic value (IV), newness and use potential, cost per package and defined daily dose and material handed over were studied. 472 drug products were introduced. The most common ones belonged to the cardiovascular group (27.3%), digestion and metabolism (14.8%) and anti-infection drugs (13.3%). 65.5% had been on the market for <5 years. 84.3% had a high IV. Only 31 products (6.6%) were new (95% CI, 4.5-9.2). 71% of these supposed no or very slight therapeutic improvement, 25.8% a modest improvement and 3.2% a major improvement. Mean cost was 19.3 euros per package and 2 euros per DDD, with significant differences found (P<.006) on stratifying by date of marketing (more recently marketed products cost more). 61% of the products were presented with additional material (leaflets, monographs, journals), 21.6% with gifts of symbolic value, and 19.9% with samples of the product. There were significant differences (P<.03) between the new drugs and the normal prescriptions issued at the centre. In the new drugs, there were fewer products with high IV and cost per package and per DDD was higher. The products introduced by the reps do not include any important new drugs. They are presented with abundant back-up and are more expensive than those normally prescribed.

A methodology for the evaluation of program cost and schedule risk for the SEASAT program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abram, P.; Myers, D.

1976-01-01

An interactive computerized project management software package (RISKNET) is designed to analyze the effect of the risk involved in each specific activity on the results of the total SEASAT-A program. Both the time and the cost of each distinct activity can be modeled with an uncertainty interval so as to provide the project manager with not only the expected time and cost for the completion of the total program, but also with the expected range of costs corresponding to any desired level of significance. The nature of the SEASAT-A program is described. The capabilities of RISKNET and the implementation plan of a RISKNET analysis for the development of SEASAT-A are presented.

Advanced packaging for Integrated Micro-Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lyke, James L.

1995-01-01

The relationship between packaging, microelectronics, and micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS) is an important one, particularly when the edges of performance boundaries are pressed, as in the case of miniaturized systems. Packaging is a sort of physical backbone that enables the maximum performance of these systems to be realized, and the penalties imposed by conventional packing approaches is particularly limiting for MEMS devices. As such, advanced packaging approaches, such as multi-chip modules (MCM's) have been touted as a true means of electronic 'enablement' for a variety of application domains. Realizing an optimum system of packaging, however, in not as simple as replacing a set of single chip packages with a substrate of interconnections. Research at Phillips Laboratory has turned up a number of integrating options in the two- and three-dimensional rending of miniature systems with physical interconnection structures with intrinsically high performance. Not only do these structures motivate the redesign of integrated circuits (IC's) for lower power, but they possess interesting features that provide a framework for the direct integration of MEMS devices. Cost remains a barrier to the application of MEMS devices, even in space systems. Several innovations are suggested that will result in lower cost and more rapid cycle time. First, the novelty of a 'constant floor plan' MCM which encapsulates a variety of commonly used components into a stockable, easily customized assembly is discussed. Next, the use of low-cost substrates is examined. The anticipated advent of ultra-high density interconnect (UHDI) is suggested as the limit argument of advanced packaging. Finally, the concept of a heterogeneous 3-D MCM system is outlined that allows for the combination of different compatible packaging approaches into a uniformly dense structure that could also include MEMS-based sensors.

3D packaging of a microfluidic system with sensory applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrissey, Anthony; Kelly, Gerard; Alderman, John C.

1997-09-01

Among the main benefits of microsystem technology are its contributions to cost reductio, reliability and improved performance. however, the packaging of microsystems, and particularly microsensor, has proven to be one of the biggest limitations to their commercialization and the packaging of silicon sensor devices can be the most costly part of their fabrication. This paper describes the integration of 3D packaging of a microsystem. Central to the operation of the 3D demonstrator is a micromachined silicon membrane pump to supply fluids to a sensing chamber constructed about the active area of a sensor chip. This chip carries ISFET based chemical sensors, pressure sensors and thermal sensors. The electronics required for controlling and regulating the activity of the various sensors ar also available on this chip and as other chips in the 3D assembly. The demonstrator also contains a power supply module with optical fiber interconnections. All of these modules are integrated into a single plastic- encapsulated 3D vertical multichip module. The reliability of such a structure, initially proposed by Val was demonstrated by Barrett et al. An additional module available for inclusion in some of our assemblies is a test chip capable of measuring the packaging-induced stress experienced during and after assembly. The packaging process described produces a module with very high density and utilizes standard off-the-shelf components to minimize costs. As the sensor chip and micropump include micromachined silicon membranes and microvalves, the packaging of such structures has to allow consideration for the minimization of the packaging-induced stresses. With this in mind, low stress techniques, including the use of soft glob-top materials, were employed.

Rebuilding health systems in post-conflict countries: estimating the costs of basic services.

PubMed

Newbrander, William; Yoder, Richard; Debevoise, Anne Bilby

2007-01-01

After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the Afghan transitional government and international donors found the health system near collapse. Afghanistan had some of the worst health indicators ever recorded. To begin activities that would quickly improve the health situation, the Ministry of Health (MOH) needed both a national package of health services and reliable data on the costs of providing those services. This study details the process of determining national health priorities, creating a basic package of services, and estimating per capita and unit costs for providing those services, with an emphasis on the costing exercise. Strategies for obtaining a rapid yet reasonably accurate estimate of health service costs nationwide are discussed. In 2002 this costing exercise indicated that the basic package of services could be provided for US dollars 4.55 per person. In 2006, the findings were validated: the four major donors who contracted with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide basic health services for nearly 80% of the population found per capita costs ranging from dollars 4.30 to dollars 5.12. This study is relevant for other post-conflict countries that are re-establishing health services and seeking to develop cost-effective and equitable health systems. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Big Data Bioinformatics

PubMed Central

GREENE, CASEY S.; TAN, JIE; UNG, MATTHEW; MOORE, JASON H.; CHENG, CHAO

2017-01-01

Recent technological advances allow for high throughput profiling of biological systems in a cost-efficient manner. The low cost of data generation is leading us to the “big data” era. The availability of big data provides unprecedented opportunities but also raises new challenges for data mining and analysis. In this review, we introduce key concepts in the analysis of big data, including both “machine learning” algorithms as well as “unsupervised” and “supervised” examples of each. We note packages for the R programming language that are available to perform machine learning analyses. In addition to programming based solutions, we review webservers that allow users with limited or no programming background to perform these analyses on large data compendia. PMID:27908398

Big Data Bioinformatics

PubMed Central

GREENE, CASEY S.; TAN, JIE; UNG, MATTHEW; MOORE, JASON H.; CHENG, CHAO

2017-01-01

Recent technological advances allow for high throughput profiling of biological systems in a cost-efficient manner. The low cost of data generation is leading us to the “big data” era. The availability of big data provides unprecedented opportunities but also raises new challenges for data mining and analysis. In this review, we introduce key concepts in the analysis of big data, including both “machine learning” algorithms as well as “unsupervised” and “supervised” examples of each. We note packages for the R programming language that are available to perform machine learning analyses. In addition to programming based solutions, we review webservers that allow users with limited or no programming background to perform these analyses on large data compendia. PMID:24799088

Big data bioinformatics.

PubMed

Greene, Casey S; Tan, Jie; Ung, Matthew; Moore, Jason H; Cheng, Chao

2014-12-01

Recent technological advances allow for high throughput profiling of biological systems in a cost-efficient manner. The low cost of data generation is leading us to the "big data" era. The availability of big data provides unprecedented opportunities but also raises new challenges for data mining and analysis. In this review, we introduce key concepts in the analysis of big data, including both "machine learning" algorithms as well as "unsupervised" and "supervised" examples of each. We note packages for the R programming language that are available to perform machine learning analyses. In addition to programming based solutions, we review webservers that allow users with limited or no programming background to perform these analyses on large data compendia. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cost of goods sold and total cost of delivery for oral and parenteral vaccine packaging formats.

PubMed

Sedita, Jeff; Perrella, Stefanie; Morio, Matt; Berbari, Michael; Hsu, Jui-Shan; Saxon, Eugene; Jarrahian, Courtney; Rein-Weston, Annie; Zehrung, Darin

2018-03-14

Despite limitations of glass packaging for vaccines, the industry has been slow to implement alternative formats. Polymer containers may address many of these limitations, such as breakage and delamination. However, the ability of polymer containers to achieve cost of goods sold (COGS) and total cost of delivery (TCOD) competitive with that of glass containers is unclear, especially for cost-sensitive low- and lower-middle-income countries. COGS and TCOD models for oral and parenteral vaccine packaging formats were developed based on information from subject matter experts, published literature, and Kenya's comprehensive multiyear plan for immunization. Rotavirus and inactivated poliovirus vaccines (IPV) were used as representative examples of oral and parenteral vaccines, respectively. Packaging technologies evaluated included glass vials, blow-fill-seal (BFS) containers, preformed polymer containers, and compact prefilled auto-disable (CPAD) devices in both BFS and preformed formats. For oral vaccine packaging, BFS multi-monodose (MMD) ampoules were the least expensive format, with a COGS of $0.12 per dose. In comparison, oral single-dose glass vials had a COGS of $0.40. BFS MMD ampoules had the lowest TCOD of oral vaccine containers at $1.19 per dose delivered, and ten-dose glass vials had a TCOD of $1.61 per dose delivered. For parenteral vaccines, the lowest COGS was achieved with ten-dose glass vials at $0.22 per dose. In contrast, preformed CPAD devices had the highest COGS at $0.60 per dose. Ten-dose glass vials achieved the lowest TCOD of the parenteral vaccine formats at $1.56 per dose delivered. Of the polymer containers for parenteral vaccines, BFS MMD ampoules achieved the lowest TCOD at $1.89 per dose delivered, whereas preformed CPAD devices remained the most expensive format, at $2.25 per dose delivered. Given their potential to address the limitations of glass and reduce COGS and TCOD, polymer containers deserve further consideration as alternative approaches for vaccine packaging. Copyright © 2018 PATH. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Pressure control and analysis report: Hydrogen Thermal Test Article (HTTA)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

Tasks accomplished during the HTTA Program study period included: (1) performance of a literature review to provide system guidelines; (2) development of analytical procedures needed to predict system performance; (3) design and analysis of the HTTA pressurization system considering (a) future utilization of results in the design of a spacecraft maneuvering system propellant package, (b) ease of control and operation, (c) system safety, and (d) hardware cost; and (4) making conclusions and recommendations for systems design.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Townsend, M.W.

The Monsanto Chemical Company operates a plastics and resins plant located in Addyston, Ohio. The process equipment requires routine rinsing with technical grade acetone between batches. Due to the volumes of spent acetone generated and the associated RCRA hazardous waste regulations, the plant sought to recycle and reuse the acetone to reduce the purchase cost of virgin acetone and the cost of spent acetone disposal. One of the first options explored was package unit distillation units. The cost of these units was in the $20--$30,000 range in 1989 dollars. Even though the cost of a package unit was not deemedmore » unreasonable, there were additional costs and concerns that led to elimination of this option. The unit would have required additional manpower to operate and maintain, i.e., at least a fraction of an operator and mechanic. For plant safety reasons, it was desired to operate this package unit outside the production building, thus construction of an outbuilding would have added to the expense of the project. Additionally, there were concerns of package unit reliability. During this evaluation, tractor-trailer mounted distillation units were discovered. The portable units were equipped with either thin-film evaporator technology capable of processing 240 to 480 gallons per hour, or pot still (batch) distillation technology capable of rates from 120 to 240 gallons per hour. Both units were constructed of stainless steel.« less

Platform technologies for hybrid optoelectronic integration and packaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Datta, Madhumita

In order to bring fiber-optics closer to individual home and business services, the optical network components have to be inexpensive and reliable. Integration and packaging of optoelectronic devices holds the key to high-volume low-cost component manufacturing. The goal of this dissertation is to propose, study, and demonstrate various ways to integrate optoelectronic devices on a packaging platform to implement cost-effective, functional optical modules. Two types of hybrid integration techniques have been proposed: flip-chip solder bump bonding for high-density two-dimensional array packaging of surface-emitting devices, and solder preform bonding for fiber-coupled edge-emitting semiconductor devices. For flip-chip solder bump bonding, we developed a simple, inexpensive remetallization process called "electroless plating", which converts the aluminum bond pads of foundry-made complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chips into solder-bondable and wire-bondable gold surfaces. We have applied for a patent on this remetallization technique. For fiber-pigtailed edge-emitting laser modules, we have studied the coupling characteristics of different types of lensed single-mode fibers including semispherically lensed fiber, cylindrically lensed fiber and conically lensed fiber. We have experimentally demonstrated 66% coupling efficiency with semispherically lensed fiber and 50% efficiency with conically lensed fibers. We have proposed and designed a packaging platform on which lensed fibers can be actively aligned to a laser and solder-attached reliably to the platform so that the alignment is retained. We have designed thin-film nichrome heaters on fused quartz platforms as local heat source to facilitate on-board solder alignment and attachment of fiber. The thermal performance of the heaters was simulated using finite element analysis tool ANSYS prior to fabrication. Using the heater's reworkability advantage, we have estimated the shift of the fiber due to solder shrinkage and introduced a pre-correction in the alignment process to restore optimum coupling efficiency close to 50% with conically lensed fibers. We have applied for a patent on this unique active alignment method through the University of Maryland's Technology Commercialization Office. Although we have mostly concentrated on active alignment platforms, we have proposed the idea of combining the passive alignment advantages of silicon optical benches to the on-board heater-assisted active alignment technique. This passive-active alignment process has the potential of cost-effective array packaging of edge-emitting devices.

Cost Benefit Analysis of Distance Learning Alternatives for DOD Uniformed Personnel and Civilian Employees

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-06-01

the aid of self-teaching materials (like specially prepared workbooks , textbooks, multimedia packages), WWW material, resources available in...brief introduction to microeconomics scarcity, production possibility cures, and supply and demand. IT when proceeds to topics in macroeconomics...Finance and Accounting Service and the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board. *MN 3140 Microeconomics Theory: This course reviews traditional

Food Management System--Daily Production Reports: General Description and Users Guide. Project SIMU-School: Dallas Component.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cronshey, Raymond W.; Dunklau, M. William

This booklet describes the Daily Production Reports subsystem of the School Food Management System, a computer program package developed as one part of a family of educational management systems. The Daily Production Reports system produces two major types of reports on a daily basis. Business Analysis Reports display all food service costs, as…

Enhancing ventilation in homes of children with asthma: cost-effectiveness study alongside randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

Edwards, Rhiannon T; Neal, Richard D; Linck, Pat; Bruce, Nigel; Mullock, Linda; Nelhans, Nick; Pasterfield, Diana; Russell, Daphne; Russell, Ian; Woodfine, Louise

2011-01-01

Background There has been little rigorous economic analysis of the relationship between asthma and improved housing. Aim To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of installing ventilation systems, and central heating if necessary, in homes of children with ‘moderate’ or ‘severe’ asthma. Design and setting An incremental cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a pragmatic randomised controlled trial of a tailored package of housing modifications designed to improve ventilation and household heating in homes within Wrexham County Borough, Wales, UK. Method A total of 177 children aged between 5 and 14 years, identified from general practice registers, were studied. Parents reported on the quality of life of their children over a 12-month period. General practices reported on health-service resources used by those children, and their asthma-related prescriptions, over the same period. Results The tailored package shifted 17% of children in the intervention group from ‘severe’ to ‘moderate’ asthma, compared with a 3% shift in the control group. The mean cost of these modifications was £1718 per child treated or £12300 per child shifted from ‘severe’ to ‘moderate’. Healthcare costs over 12 months following randomisation did not differ significantly between intervention and control groups. Bootstrapping gave an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £234 per point improvement on the 100-point PedsQL™ asthma-specific scale, with 95% confidence interval (CI) = £140 to £590. The ICER fell to £165 (95% CI = £84 to £424) for children with ‘severe’ asthma. Conclusion This novel and pragmatic trial, with integrated economic evaluation, reported that tailored improvement of the housing of children with moderate to severe asthma is likely to be a cost-effective use of public resources. This is a rare example of evidence for collaboration between local government and the NHS. PMID:22054337

Target prices for mass production of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for global cancer treatment.

PubMed

Hill, Andrew; Gotham, Dzintars; Fortunak, Joseph; Meldrum, Jonathan; Erbacher, Isabelle; Martin, Manuel; Shoman, Haitham; Levi, Jacob; Powderly, William G; Bower, Mark

2016-01-27

To calculate sustainable generic prices for 4 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). TKIs have proven survival benefits in the treatment of several cancers, including chronic myeloid leukaemia, breast, liver, renal and lung cancer. However, current high prices are a barrier to treatment. Mass production of low-cost generic antiretrovirals has led to over 13 million people being on HIV/AIDS treatment worldwide. This analysis estimates target prices for generic TKIs, assuming similar methods of mass production. Four TKIs with patent expiry dates in the next 5 years were selected for analysis: imatinib, erlotinib, lapatinib and sorafenib. Chemistry, dosing, published data on per-kilogram pricing for commercial transactions of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), and quotes from manufacturers were used to estimate costs of production. Analysis included costs of excipients, formulation, packaging, shipping and a 50% profit margin. Target prices were compared with current prices. Global numbers of patients eligible for treatment with each TKI were estimated. API costs per kg were $347-$746 for imatinib, $2470 for erlotinib, $4671 for lapatinib, and $3000 for sorafenib. Basing on annual dose requirements, costs of formulation/packaging and a 50% profit margin, target generic prices per person-year were $128-$216 for imatinib, $240 for erlotinib, $1450 for sorafenib, and $4020 for lapatinib. Over 1 million people would be newly eligible to start treatment with these TKIs annually. Mass generic production of several TKIs could achieve treatment prices in the range of $128-$4020 per person-year, versus current US prices of $75161-$139,138. Generic TKIs could allow significant savings and scaling-up of treatment globally, for over 1 million eligible patients. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Risk-adjusted capitation payments for catastrophic risks based on multi-year prior costs.

PubMed

van Barneveld, E M; van Vliet, R C; van de Ven, W P

1997-02-01

In many countries regulated competition among health insurance companies has recently been proposed or implemented. A crucial issue is whether or not the benefits package offered by competing insurers should also cover catastrophic risks (like several forms of expensive long-term care) in addition to non-catastrophic risks (like hospital care and physician services). In 1988 the Dutch government proposed compulsory national health insurance based on regulated competition among insurer as well as among providers of care. The competing insurers should offer a benefits package covering both non-catastrophic risks and catastrophic risks. The insurers would be largely financed via risk-adjusted capitation payments. The government intended to use a capitation formula that is, besides some demographic variables, based on multi-year prior costs. This paper presents the results of an explorative empirical analysis of the possible consequences of such a capitation formula for catastrophic risks. The main conclusion is that this formula would be inadequate because it would leave ample room for cream skimming.

Economics of botulinum toxin therapy: influence of the abobotulinumtoxinA package size on the costs of botulinum toxin therapy.

PubMed

Dressler, Dirk; Adib Saberi, Fereshte

2017-01-01

AbobotulinumtoxinA (Dysport®) was distributed for many years in vials containing 500MU (D500). Recently a new 300MU vial (D300) was additionally introduced (introduction). We wanted to explore whether more differentiated package sizes allow for more economic use of Dysport® in a large neurological botulinum toxin (BT) outpatient clinic. The study followed a retrospective chart review design based on our digital BT therapy data bank. All patients receiving Dysport® exclusively in a constant dose during the observation period (introduction ± 7 months) were included. Economic calculations are based on Dysport® prices as officially advertised in Germany. Sharing of vials between patients was not allowed. Altogether 83 patients (51 with dystonia, 25 with spasticity, 3 with hemifacial spasm, 4 with other diagnoses) were included in this study. The total amount of BT used before and after introduction was 102525MU, the amount prescribed 138000MU and 116300MU (-21700MU, -15.7%), the costs €146103 and €125250 (-€ 20853, -14.3%). The price for D500 before and after introduction was €529.36, for D300 €339.71. The D500 price for 1MU before and after introduction is €1.0587, the D300 price for 1MU €1.1324 (+ €0.073, +7.0% against D500). More flexible packaging reduces drug costs for BT therapy considerably. Introducing smaller packaging sizes is technically possible and should be encouraged. Extra costs for registration and logistics are moderate. Further cost reductions may be possible by introduction of even smaller packaging sizes. They can be calculated based on our model.

Application of the Linux cluster for exhaustive window haplotype analysis using the FBAT and Unphased programs.

PubMed

Mishima, Hiroyuki; Lidral, Andrew C; Ni, Jun

2008-05-28

Genetic association studies have been used to map disease-causing genes. A newly introduced statistical method, called exhaustive haplotype association study, analyzes genetic information consisting of different numbers and combinations of DNA sequence variations along a chromosome. Such studies involve a large number of statistical calculations and subsequently high computing power. It is possible to develop parallel algorithms and codes to perform the calculations on a high performance computing (HPC) system. However, most existing commonly-used statistic packages for genetic studies are non-parallel versions. Alternatively, one may use the cutting-edge technology of grid computing and its packages to conduct non-parallel genetic statistical packages on a centralized HPC system or distributed computing systems. In this paper, we report the utilization of a queuing scheduler built on the Grid Engine and run on a Rocks Linux cluster for our genetic statistical studies. Analysis of both consecutive and combinational window haplotypes was conducted by the FBAT (Laird et al., 2000) and Unphased (Dudbridge, 2003) programs. The dataset consisted of 26 loci from 277 extended families (1484 persons). Using the Rocks Linux cluster with 22 compute-nodes, FBAT jobs performed about 14.4-15.9 times faster, while Unphased jobs performed 1.1-18.6 times faster compared to the accumulated computation duration. Execution of exhaustive haplotype analysis using non-parallel software packages on a Linux-based system is an effective and efficient approach in terms of cost and performance.

Application of the Linux cluster for exhaustive window haplotype analysis using the FBAT and Unphased programs

PubMed Central

Mishima, Hiroyuki; Lidral, Andrew C; Ni, Jun

2008-01-01

Background Genetic association studies have been used to map disease-causing genes. A newly introduced statistical method, called exhaustive haplotype association study, analyzes genetic information consisting of different numbers and combinations of DNA sequence variations along a chromosome. Such studies involve a large number of statistical calculations and subsequently high computing power. It is possible to develop parallel algorithms and codes to perform the calculations on a high performance computing (HPC) system. However, most existing commonly-used statistic packages for genetic studies are non-parallel versions. Alternatively, one may use the cutting-edge technology of grid computing and its packages to conduct non-parallel genetic statistical packages on a centralized HPC system or distributed computing systems. In this paper, we report the utilization of a queuing scheduler built on the Grid Engine and run on a Rocks Linux cluster for our genetic statistical studies. Results Analysis of both consecutive and combinational window haplotypes was conducted by the FBAT (Laird et al., 2000) and Unphased (Dudbridge, 2003) programs. The dataset consisted of 26 loci from 277 extended families (1484 persons). Using the Rocks Linux cluster with 22 compute-nodes, FBAT jobs performed about 14.4–15.9 times faster, while Unphased jobs performed 1.1–18.6 times faster compared to the accumulated computation duration. Conclusion Execution of exhaustive haplotype analysis using non-parallel software packages on a Linux-based system is an effective and efficient approach in terms of cost and performance. PMID:18541045

Development and validation of an improved method for the determination of chloropropanols in paperboard food packaging by GC-MS.

PubMed

Mezouari, S; Liu, W Yun; Pace, G; Hartman, T G

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to develop an improved analytical method for the determination of 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol (3-MCPD) and 1,3-dichloropropanol (1,3-DCP) in paper-type food packaging. The established method includes aqueous extraction, matrix spiking of a deuterated surrogate internal standard (3-MCPD-d₅), clean-up using Extrelut solid-phase extraction, derivatisation using a silylation reagent, and GC-MS analysis of the chloropropanols as their corresponding trimethyl silyl ethers. The new method is applicable to food-grade packaging samples using European Commission standard aqueous extraction and aqueous food stimulant migration tests. In this improved method, the derivatisation procedure was optimised; the cost and time of the analysis were reduced by using 10 times less sample, solvents and reagents than in previously described methods. Overall the validation data demonstrate that the method is precise and reliable. The limit of detection (LOD) of the aqueous extract was 0.010 mg kg(-1) (w/w) for both 3-MCPD and 1,3-DCP. Analytical precision had a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 3.36% for 3-MCPD and an RSD of 7.65% for 1,3-DCP. The new method was satisfactorily applied to the analysis of over 100 commercial paperboard packaging samples. The data are being used to guide the product development of a next generation of wet-strength resins with reduced chloropropanol content, and also for risk assessments to calculate the virtual safe dose (VSD).

Unconventional Staging Package Selection Leads to Cost Savings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

,

2012-06-07

In late 2010, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Deputy Secretary of Energy, Daniel Poneman, directed that an analysis be conducted on the U-233 steel-clad, Zero Power Reactor (ZPR) fuel plates that were stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), focusing on cost savings and any potential DOE programmatic needs for the special nuclear material (SNM). The NA-162 Nuclear Criticality Safety Program requested retention of these fuel plates for use in experiments at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). A Secretarial Initiative challenged ORNL to make the first shipment to the NNSS by the end of the 2011 calendar year, andmore » this effort became known as the U-233 Project Accelerated Shipping Campaign. To meet the Secretarial Initiative, National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec), the NNSS Management and Operations contractor, was asked to facilitate the receipt and staging of the U-233 fuel plates in the Device Assembly Facility (DAF). Because there were insufficient staging containers available for the fuel plates, NSTec conducted an analysis of alternatives. The project required a staging method that would reduce the staging footprint while addressing nuclear criticality safety and radiation exposure concerns. To accommodate an intermediate staging method of approximately five years, the NSTec project team determined that a unique and unconventional staging package, the AT-400R, was available to meet the project requirements. By using the AT-400R containers, NSTec was able to realize a cost savings of approximately $10K per container, a total cost savings of nearly $450K.« less

Cost analysis of in vitro fertilization.

PubMed

Stern, Z; Laufer, N; Levy, R; Ben-Shushan, D; Mor-Yosef, S

1995-08-01

In vitro fertilization (IVF) has become a routine tool in the arsenal of infertility treatments. Assisted reproductive techniques are expensive, as reflected by the current "take home baby" rate of about 15% per cycle, implying the need for repeated attempts until success is achieved. Israel, today is facing a major change in its health care system, including the necessity to define a national package of health care benefits. The issue of infertility and whether its treatment should be part of the "health basket" is in dispute. Therefore an exact cost analysis of IVF is important. Since the cost of an IVF cycle varies dramatically between countries, we sought an exact breakdown of the different components of the costs involved in an IVF cycle and in achieving an IVF child in Israel. The key question is not how much we spend on IVF cycles but what is the cost of a successful outcome, i.e., a healthy child. This study intends to answer this question, and to give the policy makers, at various levels of the health care system, a crucial tool for their decision-making process. The cost analysis includes direct and indirect costs. The direct costs are divided into fixed costs (labor, equipment, maintenance, depreciation, and overhead) and variable costs (laboratory tests, chemicals, disposable supplies, medications, and loss of working days by the couples). The indirect costs are the costs of premature IVF babies, hospitalization of the IVF pregnant women in a high risk unit, and the cost of complications of the procedure. According to our economic analysis, an IVF cycle in Israel costs $2,560, of which fixed costs are about 50%. The cost of a "take home baby" is $19,267, including direct and indirect costs.

Cost of Delivering Health Care Services in Public Sector Primary and Community Health Centres in North India.

PubMed

Prinja, Shankar; Gupta, Aditi; Verma, Ramesh; Bahuguna, Pankaj; Kumar, Dinesh; Kaur, Manmeet; Kumar, Rajesh

2016-01-01

With the commitment of the national government to provide universal healthcare at cheap and affordable prices in India, public healthcare services are being strengthened in India. However, there is dearth of cost data for provision of health services through public system like primary & community health centres. In this study, we aim to bridge this gap in evidence by assessing the total annual and per capita cost of delivering the package of health services at PHC and CHC level. Secondly, we determined the per capita cost of delivering specific health services like cost per antenatal care visit, per institutional delivery, per outpatient consultation, per bed-day hospitalization etc. We undertook economic costing of fourteen public health facilities (seven PHCs and CHCs each) in three North-Indian states viz., Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Bottom-up costing method was adopted for collection of data on all resources spent on delivery of health services in selected health facilities. Analysis was undertaken using a health system perspective. The joint costs like human resource, capital, and equipment were apportioned as per the time value spent on a particular service. Capital costs were discounted and annualized over the estimated life of the item. Mean annual costs and unit costs were estimated along with their 95% confidence intervals using bootstrap methodology. The overall annual cost of delivering services through public sector primary and community health facilities in three states of north India were INR 8.8 million (95% CI: 7,365,630-10,294,065) and INR 26.9 million (95% CI: 22,225,159.3-32,290,099.6), respectively. Human resources accounted for more than 50% of the overall costs at both the level of PHCs and CHCs. Per capita per year costs for provision of complete package of preventive, curative and promotive services at PHC and CHC were INR 170.8 (95% CI: 131.6-208.3) and INR162.1 (95% CI: 112-219.1), respectively. The study estimates can be used for financial planning of scaling up of similar health services in the urban areas under the aegis of National Health Mission. The estimates would be also useful in undertaking equity analysis and full economic evaluations of the health systems.

Cost of Delivering Health Care Services in Public Sector Primary and Community Health Centres in North India

PubMed Central

Gupta, Aditi; Verma, Ramesh; Bahuguna, Pankaj; Kumar, Dinesh; Kaur, Manmeet; Kumar, Rajesh

2016-01-01

Background With the commitment of the national government to provide universal healthcare at cheap and affordable prices in India, public healthcare services are being strengthened in India. However, there is dearth of cost data for provision of health services through public system like primary & community health centres. In this study, we aim to bridge this gap in evidence by assessing the total annual and per capita cost of delivering the package of health services at PHC and CHC level. Secondly, we determined the per capita cost of delivering specific health services like cost per antenatal care visit, per institutional delivery, per outpatient consultation, per bed-day hospitalization etc. Methods We undertook economic costing of fourteen public health facilities (seven PHCs and CHCs each) in three North-Indian states viz., Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Bottom-up costing method was adopted for collection of data on all resources spent on delivery of health services in selected health facilities. Analysis was undertaken using a health system perspective. The joint costs like human resource, capital, and equipment were apportioned as per the time value spent on a particular service. Capital costs were discounted and annualized over the estimated life of the item. Mean annual costs and unit costs were estimated along with their 95% confidence intervals using bootstrap methodology. Results The overall annual cost of delivering services through public sector primary and community health facilities in three states of north India were INR 8.8 million (95% CI: 7,365,630–10,294,065) and INR 26.9 million (95% CI: 22,225,159.3–32,290,099.6), respectively. Human resources accounted for more than 50% of the overall costs at both the level of PHCs and CHCs. Per capita per year costs for provision of complete package of preventive, curative and promotive services at PHC and CHC were INR 170.8 (95% CI: 131.6–208.3) and INR162.1 (95% CI: 112–219.1), respectively. Conclusion The study estimates can be used for financial planning of scaling up of similar health services in the urban areas under the aegis of National Health Mission. The estimates would be also useful in undertaking equity analysis and full economic evaluations of the health systems. PMID:27536781

Recent advances in photonics packaging materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zweben, Carl

2006-02-01

There are now over a dozen low-CTE materials with thermal conductivities between that of copper (400 w/m-K) and over 4X copper (1700 W/m-K). Most have low densities. For comparison, traditional low-CTE packaging materials like copper/tungsten have thermal conductivities that are little or no better than that of aluminum (200 W/m-K) and high densities. There are also low-density thermal insulators with low CTEs. Some advanced materials are low cost. Most do not outgas. They have a wide range of electrical properties that can be used to minimize electromagnetic emissions or provide EMI shielding. Several are now in commercial and aerospace applications, including laser diode packages; light-emitting diode (LED) packages; thermoelectric cooler bases, plasma displays; power modules; servers; laptops; heat sinks; thermally conductive, low-CTE printed circuit boards; and printed circuit board cold plates. Advanced material payoffs include: improved thermal performance, reliability, alignment and manufacturing yield; reduced thermal stresses and heating power requirements; simplified thermal design; enablement of hard solder direct attach; weight savings up to 85%; size reductions up to 65%; and lower cost. This paper discusses the large and increasing number of advanced packaging materials, including properties, development status, applications, increasing manufacturing yield, cost, lessons learned and future directions, including nanocomposites.

Field Demonstration of a High-Efficiency Packaged Rooftop Air Conditioning Unit at Fort Gordon, Augusta, GA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Armstrong, Peter R.; Sullivan, Gregory P.; Parker, Graham B.

2006-03-31

As part of a larger program targeting the market transformation of packaged rooftop air conditioning, five high-efficiency rooftop air conditioning products were selected in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under the Unitary Air Conditioner (UAC) Technology Procurement (http://www.pnl.gov/uac). In February 2003, Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia was chosen as the demonstration site. With the goal of validating the field performance and operation of one of the awarded products, a 10-ton high-efficiency packaged rooftop unit (RTU) manufactured by Global Energy Group (GEG) was installed at Fort Gordon in October 2003. Following equipment installation, power metering, air- and refrigerant-sidemore » instrumentation was installed on the GEG RTU and a 4-year old typical-efficiency 20-ton RTU manufactured by AAON . The GEG and AAON units were instrumented identically and operated May through July, 2005, to observe performance under a range of conditions. Based on the data collected as part of this demonstration, the GEG equipment performed at least 8% better in stage-1 (single compressor running) cooling and at least 16% better in stage-2 (both compressors running) than the baseline AAON equipment. Performance comparisons are based on what we call application EER normalized to equivalent specific fan power. The full-load, specific-fan-power-normalized application EERs at ARI design conditions were 10.48 Btu/Wh for the GEG and 9.00 Btu/Wh for the baseline machine. With a cost premium of nearly 50%, and slightly higher maintenance costs, the life-cycle cost analysis shows that the GEG technology pays for itself--a positive net-present value (NPV)--only in climates and buildings with long cooling seasons. Manufacture of this equipment on a larger scale can be expected to reduce costs to the point where it is more broadly cost-effective. The assumed 10-ton baseline and new-technology unit costs are $3824.00 and $5525.00 respectively. If the new technology cost is assumed to drop as sales increase to $4674.50 for a 10-ton unit (i.e. the original cost difference is halved), the life-cycle costs improve. A grid of first cost, annual maintenance cost and electricity price is enumerated and the results presented in the report show the sensitivity of life cycle cost to these three financial parameters in each of eight different climates.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Neuhauser, K.; Gates, C.

This research project evaluates post-retrofit performance measurements, energy use data and construction costs for 13 projects that participated in the National Grid Deep Energy Retrofit Pilot program. The projects implemented a package of measures defined by performance targets for building enclosure components and building enclosure air tightness. Nearly all of the homes reached a post-retrofit air tightness result of 1.5 ACH 50. Homes that used the chainsaw retrofit technique along with roof insulation, and wall insulation applied to the exterior had the best air tightness results and the lowest heating and cooling source energy use. Analysis of measure costs andmore » project objectives yielded a categorization of costs relative to energy performance objectives. On average about ½ of the energy-related measure costs correspond primarily to energy-related objectives, and 20% of energy-related measure costs relate primarily to non-energy objectives.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gates, C.; Neuhauser, K.

This research project evaluates post-retrofit performance measurements, energy use data and construction costs for 13 projects that participated in the National Grid Deep Energy Retrofit Pilot program. The projects implemented a package of measures defined by performance targets for building enclosure components and building enclosure air tightness. Nearly all of the homes reached a post-retrofit air tightness result of 1.5 ACH 50. Homes that used the chainsaw retrofit technique along with roof insulation, and wall insulation applied to the exterior had the best air tightness results and the lowest heating and cooling source energy use. Analysis of measure costs andmore » project objectives yielded a categorization of costs relative to energy performance objectives. On average about 1/2 of the energy-related measure costs correspond primarily to energy-related objectives, and 20% of energy-related measure costs relate primarily to non-energy objectives.« less

Chip-on-Board Technology 1996 Year-end Report (Design, Manufacturing, and Reliability Study)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Le, Binh Q.; Nhan, Elbert; Maurer, Richard H.; Lew, Ark L.; Lander, Juan R.

1996-01-01

The major impetus for flight qualifying Chip-On-Board (COB) packaging technology is the shift in emphasis for space missions to smaller, better, and cheaper spacecraft and satellites resulting from the NASA New Millenium initiative and similar requirements in DoD-sponsored programs. The most important benefit that can potentially be derived from miniaturizing spacecraft and satellites is the significant cost saving realizable if a smaller launch vehicle may be employed. Besides the program cost saving, there are several other advantages to building COB-based space hardware. First, once a well-controlled process is established, COB can be low cost compared to standard Multi-Chip Module (MCM) technology. This cost competitiveness is regarded as a result of the generally greater availability and lower cost of Known Good Die (KGD). Coupled with the elimination of the first level of packaging (chip package), compact, high-density circuit boards can be realized with Printed Wiring Boards (PWB) that can now be made with ever-decreasing feature size in line width and via hole. Since the COB packaging technique in this study is based mainly on populating bare dice on a suitable multi-layer laminate substrate which is not hermetically sealed, die coating for protection from the environment is required. In recent years, significant improvements have been made in die coating materials which further enhance the appeal of COB. Hysol epoxies, silicone, parylene and silicon nitride are desirable because of their compatible Thermal Coefficient of Expansion (TCE) and good moisture resistant capability. These die coating materials have all been used in the space and other industries with varying degrees of success. COB technology, specifically siliconnitride coated hardware, has been flown by Lockheed on the Polar satellite. In addition, DARPA has invested a substantial amount of resources on MCM and COB-related activities recently. With COB on the verge of becoming a dominant player in DoD programs, DARPA is increasing its support of the availability of KGDs which will help decrease their cost. Aside from the various major developments and trends in the space and defense industries that are favorable to the acceptance and widespread use of'COB packaging technology, implementing COB can be appealing in other aspects. Since the interconnection interface is usually the weak link in a system, the overall circuit or system reliability may actually be improved because of the elimination of a level of interconnect/packaging at the chip. With COB, mixing packaging technologies is possible. Because some devices are only available in commercial plastic packages, populating a multi-layer laminate substrate with both bare dice and plastic-package parts is inevitable. Another attractive feature of COB is that re-workability is possible if die coating is applied only on the die top. This method allows local replacement of individual dice that were found to be defective instead of replacing an entire board. In terms of thermal management, unpackaged devices offer a shorter thermal resistance path than their packaged counterparts thereby improving thermal sinking and heat removal from the parts.

Variation of employee benefit costs by age.

PubMed

Rappaport, A

2000-01-01

Health care, pension, and disability plans account for the bulk of employers' benefit costs, as defined in this article. Because those costs tend to rise as employees get older, the age structure of the workforce affects not only employers' costs but ultimately their competitiveness in global markets. How much costs vary depends in large part on the structure of the benefits package provided. The method a company chooses to finance benefits generally varies with its size. This article focuses primarily on the benefit practices of large, private employers. In the long run, such employers pay the costs associated with the demographics of their workers, whereas small employers can often pool costs with other companies in the community. In addition, small employers often offer fewer benefits, and the costs and financing of those benefits are subject to the insurance markets and state regulations. The discussion of benefit packages is illustrated by case studies based on benefits that are typical for three types of organizations--a large traditional company such as steel, automobile, and manufacturing; a large financial services company such as a bank or health care organization; and a medium-sized retail organization. The case studies demonstrate the extent to which the costs of typical packages vary and reveal that employers differ radically in the incentives they offer employees to retire at a specific time. An employer can shift the variation in cost by age by changing the structure of the benefit program. The major forces that drive age differences in benefit costs are the time value of money (the period of time available to earn investment income and the operation of compound interest) and rates of health care use, disability, and death. Those forces apply universally, in the United States and elsewhere, and they have not changed in recent years. However, the marketplace and the prevalence of various types of benefit programs have changed, and those changes have generally resulted in less cost variation by age and more frequent employer selection of benefit packages that exhibit less variation by age.

LTCC interconnects in microsystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusu, Cristina; Persson, Katrin; Ottosson, Britta; Billger, Dag

2006-06-01

Different microelectromechanical system (MEMS) packaging strategies towards high packaging density of MEMS devices and lower expenditure exist both in the market and in research. For example, electrical interconnections and low stress wafer level packaging are essential for improving device performance. Hybrid integration of low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) with Si can be a way for an easier packaging system with integrated electrical interconnection, and as well towards lower costs. Our research on LTCC-Si integration is reported in this paper.

Constructing an Employee Benefit Package for Part-Time Workers. A Rationale for Arriving at an Equitable Benefit Package at No Extra Cost to the Employer. A Catalyst Position Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catalyst, New York, NY.

Guidelines are presented for constructing an employee benefit package for part-time workers in which benefits are calculated on a pro-rated (and sometimes selective) basis, such that part-time employees receive a fair proportion of the total benefit package, based on the number of hours they actually work. Pro-rating is recommended as feasible for…

Software Review. Macintosh Laboratory Automation: Three Software Packages.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jezl, Barbara Ann

1990-01-01

Reviewed are "LABTECH NOTEBOOK,""LabVIEW," and "Parameter Manager pmPLUS/pmTALK." Each package is described including functions, uses, hardware, and costs. Advantages and disadvantages of this type of laboratory approach are discussed. (CW)

Modeling, design, packing and experimental analysis of liquid-phase shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pollard, Thomas B

Recent advances in microbiology, computational capabilities, and microelectromechanical-system fabrication techniques permit modeling, design, and fabrication of low-cost, miniature, sensitive and selective liquid-phase sensors and lab-on-a-chip systems. Such devices are expected to replace expensive, time-consuming, and bulky laboratory-based testing equipment. Potential applications for devices include: fluid characterization for material science and industry; chemical analysis in medicine and pharmacology; study of biological processes; food analysis; chemical kinetics analysis; and environmental monitoring. When combined with liquid-phase packaging, sensors based on surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) technology are considered strong candidates. For this reason such devices are focused on in this work; emphasis placed on device modeling and packaging for liquid-phase operation. Regarding modeling, topics considered include mode excitation efficiency of transducers; mode sensitivity based on guiding structure materials/geometries; and use of new piezoelectric materials. On packaging, topics considered include package interfacing with SAW devices, and minimization of packaging effects on device performance. In this work novel numerical models are theoretically developed and implemented to study propagation and transduction characteristics of sensor designs using wave/constitutive equations, Green's functions, and boundary/finite element methods. Using developed simulation tools that consider finite-thickness of all device electrodes, transduction efficiency for SAW transducers with neighboring uniform or periodic guiding electrodes is reported for the first time. Results indicate finite electrode thickness strongly affects efficiency. Using dense electrodes, efficiency is shown to approach 92% and 100% for uniform and periodic electrode guiding, respectively; yielding improved sensor detection limits. A numerical sensitivity analysis is presented targeting viscosity using uniform-electrode and shear-horizontal mode configurations on potassium-niobate, langasite, and quartz substrates. Optimum configurations are determined yielding maximum sensitivity. Results show mode propagation-loss and sensitivity to viscosity are correlated by a factor independent of substrate material. The analysis is useful for designing devices meeting sensitivity and signal level requirements. A novel, rapid and precise microfluidic chamber alignment/bonding method was developed for SAW platforms. The package is shown to have little effect on device performance and permits simple macrofluidic interfacing. Lastly, prototypes were designed, fabricated, and tested for viscosity and biosensor applications; results show ability to detect as low as 1% glycerol in water and surface-bound DNA crosslinking.

msgbsR: An R package for analysing methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme sequencing data.

PubMed

Mayne, Benjamin T; Leemaqz, Shalem Y; Buckberry, Sam; Rodriguez Lopez, Carlos M; Roberts, Claire T; Bianco-Miotto, Tina; Breen, James

2018-02-01

Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) or restriction-site associated DNA marker sequencing (RAD-seq) is a practical and cost-effective method for analysing large genomes from high diversity species. This method of sequencing, coupled with methylation-sensitive enzymes (often referred to as methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme sequencing or MRE-seq), is an effective tool to study DNA methylation in parts of the genome that are inaccessible in other sequencing techniques or are not annotated in microarray technologies. Current software tools do not fulfil all methylation-sensitive restriction sequencing assays for determining differences in DNA methylation between samples. To fill this computational need, we present msgbsR, an R package that contains tools for the analysis of methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme sequencing experiments. msgbsR can be used to identify and quantify read counts at methylated sites directly from alignment files (BAM files) and enables verification of restriction enzyme cut sites with the correct recognition sequence of the individual enzyme. In addition, msgbsR assesses DNA methylation based on read coverage, similar to RNA sequencing experiments, rather than methylation proportion and is a useful tool in analysing differential methylation on large populations. The package is fully documented and available freely online as a Bioconductor package ( https://bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/msgbsR.html ).

Vehicle Sketch Pad: a Parametric Geometry Modeler for Conceptual Aircraft Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hahn, Andrew S.

2010-01-01

The conceptual aircraft designer is faced with a dilemma, how to strike the best balance between productivity and fidelity? Historically, handbook methods have required only the coarsest of geometric parameterizations in order to perform analysis. Increasingly, there has been a drive to upgrade analysis methods, but these require considerably more precise and detailed geometry. Attempts have been made to use computer-aided design packages to fill this void, but their cost and steep learning curve have made them unwieldy at best. Vehicle Sketch Pad (VSP) has been developed over several years to better fill this void. While no substitute for the full feature set of computer-aided design packages, VSP allows even novices to quickly become proficient in defining three-dimensional, watertight aircraft geometries that are adequate for producing multi-disciplinary meta-models for higher order analysis methods, wind tunnel and display models, as well as a starting point for animation models. This paper will give an overview of the development and future course of VSP.

CellProfiler and KNIME: open source tools for high content screening.

PubMed

Stöter, Martin; Niederlein, Antje; Barsacchi, Rico; Meyenhofer, Felix; Brandl, Holger; Bickle, Marc

2013-01-01

High content screening (HCS) has established itself in the world of the pharmaceutical industry as an essential tool for drug discovery and drug development. HCS is currently starting to enter the academic world and might become a widely used technology. Given the diversity of problems tackled in academic research, HCS could experience some profound changes in the future, mainly with more imaging modalities and smart microscopes being developed. One of the limitations in the establishment of HCS in academia is flexibility and cost. Flexibility is important to be able to adapt the HCS setup to accommodate the multiple different assays typical of academia. Many cost factors cannot be avoided, but the costs of the software packages necessary to analyze large datasets can be reduced by using Open Source software. We present and discuss the Open Source software CellProfiler for image analysis and KNIME for data analysis and data mining that provide software solutions which increase flexibility and keep costs low.

Caring for people efficiently.

PubMed

Hughes, D

1993-09-01

The UK government's plans and objectives for community care in the 1990s are examined. The objective of providing care in the community 'wherever possible' is unlikely to be efficient unless the costs and benefits of providing such care are accounted for. Even if it were efficient to provide more care in the community, the mechanisms aimed at ensuring the transfer of funds have been inadequate in terms of encouraging such an objective. These same principles (i.e. the need to assess costs and benefits) should be applied to the design of individual packages of care in the community, when the costs and benefits of carers' time become more important. Case management offers the opportunity to assess individual circumstances which is necessary for the design of efficient packages of care. However, case management is likely to suffer from the problems of fragmentation which makes organisation of flexible packages of care difficult.

A cost-effective 25-Gb/s EML TOSA using all-in-one FPCB wiring and metal optical bench.

PubMed

Han, Young-Tak; Kwon, Oh-Kee; Lee, Dong-Hun; Lee, Chul-Wook; Leem, Young-Ahn; Shin, Jang-Uk; Park, Sang-Ho; Baek, Yongsoon

2013-11-04

We present a cost-effective 25-Gb/s electro-absorption modulator integrated laser (EML) transmitter optical sub-assembly (TOSA) using all-in-one flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) wiring and a metal optical bench (MOB). For a low cost and high bandwidth TOSA, internal and external wirings and feed-through of the TOSA to transmit radio-frequency (RF) signal are configured all-in-one using the FPCB. The FPCB is extended from an exterior of the TOSA package up to an EML chip inside the package through the slit formed on a rear sidewall of the package and die-bonded on the MOB. The EML TOSA shows a modulated output power of more than 3.5 dBm and a clear eye pattern with a dynamic extinction ratio of ~8.4 dB at a data rate of 25.78 Gb/s.

Patient assessment within the context of healthcare delivery packages: A comparative analysis.

PubMed

Rossen, Camilla Blach; Buus, Niels; Stenager, Egon; Stenager, Elsebeth

2016-01-01

Due to an increased focus on productivity and cost-effectiveness, many countries across the world have implemented a variety of tools for standardizing diagnostics and treatment. In Denmark, healthcare delivery packages are increasingly used for assessment of patients. A package is a tool for creating coordination, continuity and efficient pathways; each step is pre-booked, and the package has a well-defined content within a predefined category of diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate how assessment processes took place within the context of healthcare delivery packages. The study used a constructivist Grounded Theory approach. Ethnographic fieldwork was carried out in three specialized units: a mental health unit and two multiple sclerosis clinics in Southern Denmark, which all used assessment packages. Several types of data were sampled through theoretical sampling. Participant observation was conducted for a total of 126h. Formal and informal interviews were conducted with 12 healthcare professionals and 13 patients. Furthermore, audio recordings were made of 9 final consultations between physicians and patients; 193min of recorded consultations all in all. Lastly, the medical records of 13 patients and written information about packages were collected. The comparative, abductive analysis focused on the process of assessment and the work made by all the actors involved. In this paper, we emphasized the work of healthcare professionals. We constructed five interrelated categories: 1. "Standardized assessing", 2. "Flexibility", which has two sub-categories, 2.1. "Diagnostic options" and 2.2. "Time and organization", and, finally, 3. "Resisting the frames". The process of assessment required all participants to perform the predefined work in the specified way at the specified time. Multidisciplinary teamwork was essential for the success of the process. The local organization of the packages influenced the assessment process, most notably the pre-defined scope of relevant diseases targeted by the package. The inflexible frames of the assessment package could cause resistance among clinicians. Moreover, expert knowledge was an important factor for the efficiency of the process. Some types of organizational work processes resulted in many patients being assessed, but without being diagnosed with at package-relevant disease. Limiting the grounds for using specialist knowledge in structured health care delivery may affect specialists' sense of professional autonomy and can result in professionals employing strategies to resist the frames of the packages. Finally, when organizing healthcare delivery packages, it seems important to consider how to make the optimal use of specialist knowledge. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Active and intelligent packaging systems for a modern society.

PubMed

Realini, Carolina E; Marcos, Begonya

2014-11-01

Active and intelligent packaging systems are continuously evolving in response to growing challenges from a modern society. This article reviews: (1) the different categories of active and intelligent packaging concepts and currently available commercial applications, (2) latest packaging research trends and innovations, and (3) the growth perspectives of the active and intelligent packaging market. Active packaging aiming at extending shelf life or improving safety while maintaining quality is progressing towards the incorporation of natural active agents into more sustainable packaging materials. Intelligent packaging systems which monitor the condition of the packed food or its environment are progressing towards more cost-effective, convenient and integrated systems to provide innovative packaging solutions. Market growth is expected for active packaging with leading shares for moisture absorbers, oxygen scavengers, microwave susceptors and antimicrobial packaging. The market for intelligent packaging is also promising with strong gains for time-temperature indicator labels and advancements in the integration of intelligent concepts into packaging materials. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A national quitline service and its promotion in the mass media: modelling the health gain, health equity and cost-utility.

PubMed

Nghiem, Nhung; Cleghorn, Christine L; Leung, William; Nair, Nisha; Deen, Frederieke S van der; Blakely, Tony; Wilson, Nick

2017-07-24

Mass media campaigns and quitlines are both important distinct components of tobacco control programmes around the world. But when used as an integrated package, the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness are not well described. We therefore aimed to estimate the health gain, health equity impacts and cost-utility of the package of a national quitline service and its promotion in the mass media. We adapted an established Markov and multistate life-table macro-simulation model. The population was all New Zealand adults in 2011. Effect sizes and intervention costs were based on past New Zealand quitline data. Health system costs were from a national data set linking individual health events to costs. The 1-year operation of the existing intervention package of mass media promotion and quitline service was found to be net cost saving to the health sector for all age groups, sexes and ethnic groups (saving $NZ84 million; 95%uncertainty interval 60-115 million in the base-case model). It also produced greater per capita health gains for Māori (indigenous) than non-Māori (2.2 vs 0.73 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) per 1000 population, respectively). The net cost saving of the intervention was maintained in all sensitivity and scenario analyses for example at a discount rate of 6% and when the intervention effect size was quartered (given the possibility of residual confounding in our estimates of smoking cessation). Running the intervention for 20 years would generate an estimated 54 000 QALYs and $NZ1.10 billion (US$0.74 billion) in cost savings. The package of a quitline service and its promotion in the mass media appears to be an effective means to generate health gain, address health inequalities and save health system costs. Nevertheless, the role of this intervention needs to be compared with other tobacco control and health sector interventions, some of which may be even more cost saving. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program: Insertion of New Electronics Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaBel, Kenneth A.; Sampson, Michael J.

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation gives an overview of NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program's new electronics technology trends. The topics include: 1) The Changing World of Radiation Testing of Memories; 2) Even Application-Specific Tests are Costly!; 3) Hypothetical New Technology Part Qualification Cost; 4) Where we are; 5) Approaching FPGAs as a More Than a "Part" for Reliability; 6) FPGAs Beget Novel Radiation Test Setups; 7) Understanding the Complex Radiation Data; 8) Tracking Packaging Complexity and Reliability for FPGAs; 9) Devices Supporting the FPGA Need to be Considered; 10) Summary of the New Electronic Technologies and Insertion into Flight Programs Workshop; and 11) Highlights of Panel Notes and Comments

Is diabetes and hypertension screening worthwhile in resource-limited settings? An economic evaluation based on a pilot of a Package of Essential Non-communicable disease interventions in Bhutan.

PubMed

Dukpa, Wangchuk; Teerawattananon, Yot; Rattanavipapong, Waranya; Srinonprasert, Varalak; Tongsri, Watsamon; Kingkaew, Pritaporn; Yothasamut, Jomkwan; Wangchuk, Dorji; Dorji, Tandin; Wangmo, Kinzang

2015-10-01

In response to a lack of cost-effective data on screening and early treatment of diabetes and hypertension in resource-limited settings, a model-based economic evaluation was performed on the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Package of Essential Non-communicable (PEN) disease interventions for primary health care in Bhutan. Both local and international data were applied in the model in order to derive lifetime costs and outcomes resulting from the early treatment of diabetes and hypertension. The results indicate that the current screening option (where people who are overweight, obese or aged 40 years or older who visit primary care facilities are screened for diabetes and hypertension) represents good value for money compared to 'no screening'. The study findings also indicate that expanding opportunistic screening (70% coverage of the target population) to universal screening (where 100% of the target population are screened), is likely to be even more cost-effective. From the sensitivity analysis, the value of the screening options remains the same when disease prevalence varies. Therefore, applying this model to other healthcare settings is warranted, since disease prevalence is one of the major factors in affecting the cost-effectiveness results of screening programs. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

"Plain packaging" regulations for tobacco products: the impact of standardizing the color and design of cigarette packs.

PubMed

Hammond, David

2010-01-01

Tobacco packaging and labeling policies have emerged as prominent and cost-effective tobacco control measures. Although packaging policies have primarily focused on health warnings, there is growing recognition of the importance of packaging as a marketing tool for the tobacco industry. The current paper reviews evidence on the potential impact of standardizing the color and design of tobacco packages -so called "plain" packaging. The evidence indicates three primary benefits of plain packaging: increasing the effectiveness of health warnings, reducing false health beliefs about cigarettes, and reducing brand appeal especially among youth and young adults. Overall, the research to date suggests that "plain" packaging regulations would be an effective tobacco control measure, particularly in jurisdictions with comprehensive restrictions on other forms of marketing.

High Frequency Electronic Packaging Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herman, M.; Lowry, L.; Lee, K.; Kolawa, E.; Tulintseff, A.; Shalkhauser, K.; Whitaker, J.; Piket-May, M.

1994-01-01

Commercial and government communication, radar, and information systems face the challenge of cost and mass reduction via the application of advanced packaging technology. A majority of both government and industry support has been focused on low frequency digital electronics.

Status and Trend of Automotive Power Packaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liang, Zhenxian

2012-01-01

Comprehensive requirements in aspects of cost, reliability, efficiency, form factor, weight, and volume for power electronics modules in modern electric drive vehicles have driven the development of automotive power packaging technology intensively. Innovation in materials, interconnections, and processing techniques is leading to enormous improvements in power modules. In this paper, the technical development of and trends in power module packaging are evaluated by examining technical details with examples of industrial products. The issues and development directions for future automotive power module packaging are also discussed.

A low cost hermetic packaging for high power industry fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Jianwu; Liu, Jinhui

2018-02-01

For water-cooled fiber lasers, humidity and the resulting water-condensation has always been the biggest threat for laser reliability or power degradation, especially when used in harsh industrial environment. Here we present an innovative fiber laser packaging method featuring cast aluminum frame and an almost screw-free exterior packaging. A CW fiber laser with 1.5KW laser output power in such a compact and light-weight package has been demonstrated with an excellent beam quality and power stability for industry applications.

Flexible Packaging by Film-Assisted Molding for Microintegration of Inertia Sensors

PubMed Central

Hera, Daniel; Berndt, Armin; Günther, Thomas; Schmiel, Stephan; Harendt, Christine; Zimmermann, André

2017-01-01

Packaging represents an important part in the microintegration of sensors based on microelectromechanical system (MEMS). Besides miniaturization and integration density, functionality and reliability in combination with flexibility in packaging design at moderate costs and consequently high-mix, low-volume production are the main requirements for future solutions in packaging. This study investigates possibilities employing printed circuit board (PCB-)based assemblies to provide high flexibility for circuit designs together with film-assisted transfer molding (FAM) to package sensors. The feasibility of FAM in combination with PCB and MEMS as a packaging technology for highly sensitive inertia sensors is being demonstrated. The results prove the technology to be a viable method for damage-free packaging of stress- and pressure-sensitive MEMS. PMID:28653992

Ultra Clean 1.1MW High Efficiency Natural Gas Engine Powered System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zurlo, James; Lueck, Steve

Dresser, Inc. (GE Energy, Waukesha gas engines) will develop, test, demonstrate, and commercialize a 1.1 Megawatt (MW) natural gas fueled combined heat and power reciprocating engine powered package. This package will feature a total efficiency > 75% and ultra low CARB permitting emissions. Our modular design will cover the 1 – 6 MW size range, and this scalable technology can be used in both smaller and larger engine powered CHP packages. To further advance one of the key advantages of reciprocating engines, the engine, generator and CHP package will be optimized for low initial and operating costs. Dresser, Inc. willmore » leverage the knowledge gained in the DOE - ARES program. Dresser, Inc. will work with commercial, regulatory, and government entities to help break down barriers to wider deployment of CHP. The outcome of this project will be a commercially successful 1.1 MW CHP package with high electrical and total efficiency that will significantly reduce emissions compared to the current central power plant paradigm. Principal objectives by phases for Budget Period 1 include: • Phase 1 – market study to determine optimum system performance, target first cost, lifecycle cost, and creation of a detailed product specification. • Phase 2 – Refinement of the Waukesha CHP system design concepts, identification of critical characteristics, initial evaluation of technical solutions, and risk mitigation plans. Background« less

Hidden costs of HIV treatment in Spain: inefficiency of the antiretroviral drug packaging.

PubMed

Llibre-Codina, Josep M; Andreu-Crespo, Angels; Cardona-Peitx, Gloria; Sala-Piñol, Ferran; Clotet-Sala, Bonaventura; Bonafont-Pujol, Xavier

2014-01-01

Antiretroviral drugs in Spain are delivered by law only in hospital pharmacies. Commercial packages meet variable quality standards when dispensed drugs are returned due to treatment changes or adherence problems Nearly 20-25% of the initial regimens will be changed at 48 weeks for different reasons. We evaluated the economic impact on public health system of the inability of using returned drugs due to inefficient packaging. We defined socially efficient packaging as the best adapted one to being delivered in unit dose to outpatients and classified: Class A - Drug packed in unit doses with complete info (name of drug, dosage in mg, lot, and expiring date) in each unit, maintaining complete information of the drug if returned when the external package is opened. Class B - packed in blisters with complete info in the blister, but not in unit doses, without special conservation conditions (should be re-packed in unit doses in the pharmacy before its dispensation to assure a class A excellence). Class C - packed in plastic containers with complete info written only on a label over the container, would allow repackaging only before its initial delivery, but not when returned. Class D - drug packed in plastic containers with manufacturer's warning that the product cannot be placed outside of the original package due to special conditions of conservation (fridge, humidity) that doesn't allow a unit dose repackaging or reusing an opened container. We analysed a 12-month period (July 2011-June 2012) in a hospital-based HIV outpatient pharmacy that serves 2413 treated individuals. Patients generated 23,574 visits to pharmacy, and received 48,325 drug packages, with 2.529.137 pills delivered. The patients suffered 1051 treatment changes for any reason. A total amount of 122.945€ in treatment were returned to pharmacy in opened packages during the study period. 47.139.91€ would be totally lost, mainly due to being packaged in class C and D boxes, the equivalent of treating 78 patients with rilpivirine/TDF/FTC during 1 month. Class A and B packages in bad condition represented only 1.1% of the cost. However, 75.805€ came from returned packages in good condition that could potentially be reused. Most of the treatment changes were not foreseeable. A significant economic budget is lost through socially inefficient antiretroviral packages. Newer treatments are packaged in C and D categories, therefore maintaining these hidden costs in the near future. Any improvement in the excellence of packaging by the manufacturer, and favouring the choice of drugs supplied through efficient packages (when efficacy, toxicity and convenience are similar) should minimize the treatment expenditures paid by national health budgets.

Advances in LED packaging and thermal management materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zweben, Carl

2008-02-01

Heat dissipation, thermal stresses and cost are key light-emitting diode (LED) packaging issues. Heat dissipation limits power levels. Thermal stresses affect performance and reliability. Copper, aluminum and conventional polymeric printed circuit boards (PCBs) have high coefficients of thermal expansion, which can cause high thermal stresses. Most traditional low-coefficient-of-thermal-expansion (CTE) materials like tungsten/copper, which date from the mid 20th century, have thermal conductivities that are no better than those of aluminum alloys, about 200 W/m-K. An OIDA LED workshop cited a need for better thermal materials. There are an increasing number of low-CTE materials with thermal conductivities ranging between that of copper (400 W/m-K) and 1700 W/m-K, and many other low-CTE materials with lower thermal conductivities. Some of these materials are low cost. Others have the potential to be low cost in high-volume production. High-thermal-conductivity materials enable higher power levels, potentially reducing the number of required LEDs. Advanced thermal materials can constrain PCB CTE and greatly increase thermal conductivity. This paper reviews traditional packaging materials and advanced thermal management materials. The latter provide the packaging engineer with a greater range of options than in the past. Topics include properties, status, applications, cost, using advanced materials to fix manufacturing problems, and future directions, including composites reinforced with carbon nanotubes and other thermally conductive materials.

Cost estimation and analysis using the Sherpa Automated Mine Cost Engineering System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stebbins, P.E.

1993-09-01

The Sherpa Automated Mine Cost Engineering System is a menu-driven software package designed to estimate capital and operating costs for proposed surface mining operations. The program is engineering (as opposed to statistically) based, meaning that all equipment, manpower, and supply requirements are determined from deposit geology, project design and mine production information using standard engineering techniques. These requirements are used in conjunction with equipment, supply, and labor cost databases internal to the program to estimate all associated costs. Because virtually all on-site cost parameters are interrelated within the program, Sherpa provides an efficient means of examining the impact of changesmore » in the equipment mix on total capital and operating costs. If any aspect of the operation is changed, Sherpa immediately adjusts all related aspects as necessary. For instance, if the user wishes to examine the cost ramifications of selecting larger trucks, the program not only considers truck purchase and operation costs, it also automatically and immediately adjusts excavator requirements, operator and mechanic needs, repair facility size, haul road construction and maintenance costs, and ancillary equipment specifications.« less

Savannah River Site Eastern Transportation Hub: A Concept For a DOE Eastern Packaging, Staging and Maintenance Center - 13143

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

England, Jeffery L.; Adams, Karen; Maxted, Maxcine

2013-07-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to de-inventory sites and consolidate hazardous materials for processing and disposal. The DOE administers a wide range of certified shipping packages for the transport of hazardous materials to include Special Nuclear Material (SNM), radioactive materials, sealed sources and radioactive wastes. A critical element to successful and safe transportation of these materials is the availability of certified shipping packages. There are over seven thousand certified packagings (i.e., Type B/Type AF) utilized within the DOE for current missions. The synergistic effects of consolidated maintenance, refurbishment, testing, certification, and costing of these services would allow formore » efficient management of the packagings inventory and to support anticipated future in-commerce shipping needs. The Savannah River Site (SRS) receives and ships radioactive materials (including SNM) and waste on a regular basis for critical missions such as consolidated storage, stabilization, purification, or disposition using H-Canyon and HB-Line. The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has the technical capability and equipment for all aspects of packaging management. SRS has the only active material processing facility in the DOE complex and is one of the sites of choice for nuclear material consolidation. SRS is a logical location to perform maintenance and periodic testing of the DOE fleet of certified packagings. This initiative envisions a DOE Eastern Packaging Staging and Maintenance Center (PSMC) at the SRS and a western hub at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), an active DOE Regional Disposal Site. The PSMC's would be the first place DOE would go to meet their radioactive packaging needs and the primary locations projects would go to disposition excess packaging for beneficial reuse. These two hubs would provide the centralized management of a packaging fleet rather than the current approach to design, procure, maintain and dispose of packagings on a project-by-project basis. This initiative provides significant savings in packaging costs and acceleration of project schedules. In addition to certified packaging, the PSMC would be well suited for select designs of 7A Type A packaging and Industrial Packaging. (authors)« less

Low cost solar aray project: Experimental process system development unit for producing semiconductor-grade silicon using the silane-to-silicon process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

This phase consists of the engineering design, fabrication, assembly, operation, economic analysis, and process support R&D for an Experimental Process System Development Unit (EPSDU). The mechanical bid package was issued and the bid responses are under evaluation. Similarly, the electrical bid package was issued, however, responses are not yet due. The majority of all equipment is on order or has been received at the EPSDU site. The pyrolysis/consolidation process design package was issued. Preparation of process and instrumentation diagram for the free-space reactor was started. In the area of melting/consolidation, Kayex successfully melted chunk silicon and have produced silicon shot. The free-space reactor powder was successfully transported pneumatically from a storage bin to the auger feeder twenty-five feet up and was melted. The fluid-bed PDU has successfully operated at silane feed concentrations up to 21%. The writing of the operating manual has started. Overall, the design phase is nearing completion.

Ultra-processed foods have the worst nutrient profile, yet they are the most available packaged products in a sample of New Zealand supermarkets.

PubMed

Luiten, Claire M; Steenhuis, Ingrid Hm; Eyles, Helen; Ni Mhurchu, Cliona; Waterlander, Wilma E

2016-02-01

To examine the availability of packaged food products in New Zealand supermarkets by level of industrial processing, nutrient profiling score (NPSC), price (energy, unit and serving costs) and brand variety. Secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data on packaged supermarket food and non-alcoholic beverages. Products were classified according to level of industrial processing (minimally, culinary and ultra-processed) and their NPSC. Packaged foods available in four major supermarkets in Auckland, New Zealand. Packaged supermarket food products for the years 2011 and 2013. The majority (84% in 2011 and 83% in 2013) of packaged foods were classified as ultra-processed. A significant positive association was found between the level of industrial processing and NPSC, i.e., ultra-processed foods had a worse nutrient profile (NPSC=11.63) than culinary processed foods (NPSC=7.95), which in turn had a worse nutrient profile than minimally processed foods (NPSC=3.27), P<0.001. No clear associations were observed between the three price measures and level of processing. The study observed many variations of virtually the same product. The ten largest food manufacturers produced 35% of all packaged foods available. In New Zealand supermarkets, ultra-processed foods comprise the largest proportion of packaged foods and are less healthy than less processed foods. The lack of significant price difference between ultra- and less processed foods suggests ultra-processed foods might provide time-poor consumers with more value for money. These findings highlight the need to improve the supermarket food supply by reducing numbers of ultra-processed foods and by reformulating products to improve their nutritional profile.

Orbiter Flying Qualities (OFQ) Workstation user's guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, Thomas T.; Parseghian, Zareh; Hogue, Jeffrey R.

1988-01-01

This project was devoted to the development of a software package, called the Orbiter Flying Qualities (OFQ) Workstation, for working with the OFQ Archives which are specially selected sets of space shuttle entry flight data relevant to flight control and flying qualities. The basic approach to creation of the workstation software was to federate and extend commercial software products to create a low cost package that operates on personal computers. Provision was made to link the workstation to large computers, but the OFQ Archive files were also converted to personal computer diskettes and can be stored on workstation hard disk drives. The primary element of the workstation developed in the project is the Interactive Data Handler (IDH) which allows the user to select data subsets from the archives and pass them to specialized analysis programs. The IDH was developed as an application in a relational database management system product. The specialized analysis programs linked to the workstation include a spreadsheet program, FREDA for spectral analysis, MFP for frequency domain system identification, and NIPIP for pilot-vehicle system parameter identification. The workstation also includes capability for ensemble analysis over groups of missions.

VHF-FM Portion of the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio Subsystem Concept Formulation Package. Appendix 4. Cost and Operational Effectiveness Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-10-01

VINSON, JR. ^ Major General, GS Deputy Chief of Staff for Combat Developments CF: w incl HQDA ( DAHO -SGTF) - 15 HQDA (DAMO-RQC) - 1 HQDA (DAMO...TC) - 1 HQDA (DAMO-ZD) - 1 HQDA ( DAhO -FI) - 1 HQDA (DALO) - 1 HQDA (DAMA-CS) - 1 HQDA (DACA) - 1 HQDA (DAPE) - 1 HQDA (DUSA(OR)) - 1 Cdr AMC

Systems Engineering Programmatic Estimation Using Technology Variance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mog, Robert A.

2000-01-01

Unique and innovative system programmatic estimation is conducted using the variance of the packaged technologies. Covariance analysis is performed on the subsystems and components comprising the system of interest. Technological "return" and "variation" parameters are estimated. These parameters are combined with the model error to arrive at a measure of system development stability. The resulting estimates provide valuable information concerning the potential cost growth of the system under development.

Applicability of Thermal Storage Systems to Air Force Facilities

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-09-01

Analisis of Region 6 Upper Limit Retrofit Scenario 30% Reduction .... ............. 4.52 4.58 Economic Analysis of Region 7 Upper Limit Retrofit Scenario...or a dynamic-direct contact type. They usually include all the controls, chilling and storage equipment in one self-contained, skid mounted, factory ...SCS technology. One promising trend in reducing system construction costs is the factory -packaged thermal storage cooling unit. As of February 1989

Design study of the accessible focal plane telescope for shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

The design and cost analysis of an accessible focal plane telescope for Spacelab is presented in blueprints, tables, and graphs. Topics covered include the telescope tube, the telescope mounting, the airlock plus Spacelab module aft plate, the instrument adapter, and the instrument package. The system allows access to the image plane with instrumentation that can be operated by a scientist in a shirt sleeve environment inside a Spacelab module.

Compiling, costing and funding complex packages of home-based health care.

PubMed

Noyes, Jane; Lewis, Mary

2007-06-01

Nurses play a central role in putting together complex packages of care to support children with complex healthcare needs and their families in the community. However, there is little evidence or guidance to support this area of practice. At present, the process of compiling a care package and obtaining funding takes too long, causing significant delays in discharge and great frustration for parents, children and professionals. This article presents a combination of best practice guidance and, where possible, evidence-based principles that can be adapted and applied to an individual case irrespective of the child's diagnosis. The aim is to assist nurses and other healthcare professionals in organising funding for packages of care, bringing about the desired outcomes of successful discharge and appropriate community support. To work effectively as keyworkers for these children and families nurses need knowledge and skills in relation to: multidisciplinary assessment frameworks and processes, identifying appropriate models of service provision, costing care packages and approaches to obtaining funding. A further article next month will address risk management and clinical governance issues in delivering complex home-based care.

Benefits and costs of HIV testing.

PubMed

Bloom, D E; Glied, S

1991-06-28

The benefits and costs of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in employment settings are examined from two points of view: that of private employers whose profitability may be affected by their testing policies and that of public policy-makers who may affect social welfare through their design of regulations related to HIV testing. The results reveal that HIV testing is clearly not cost-beneficial for most firms, although the benefits of HIV testing may outweigh the costs for some large firms that offer generous fringe-benefit packages and that recruit workers from populations in which the prevalence of HIV infection is high. The analysis also indicates that the testing decisions of unregulated employers are not likely to yield socially optimal economic outcomes and that existing state and federal legislation related to HIV testing in employment settings has been motivated primarily by concerns over social equity.

Health economic impacts and cost-effectiveness of aflatoxin-reduction strategies in Africa: case studies in biocontrol and post-harvest interventions.

PubMed

Wu, F; Khlangwiset, P

2010-04-01

Advances in health economics have proven useful in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of interventions, where the benefit usually takes the form of improved health outcomes rather than market outcomes. The paper performs health-based cost-effectiveness analyses of two potential aflatoxin control strategies in Africa: (1) pre-harvest biocontrol, using atoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus competitively to exclude toxigenic strains from colonizing maize in Nigeria; and (2) post-harvest interventions in a package to reduce aflatoxin accumulation in groundnuts in Guinea. It is described how health benefits gained from each intervention, in terms of fewer aflatoxin-induced hepatocellular carcinoma cases, can be compared with the costs of implementing the interventions. It is found that both interventions would be extremely cost-effective if applied widely in African agriculture. That is, the monetized value of lives saved and quality of life gained by reducing aflatoxin-induced hepatocellular carcinoma far exceeds the cost of either biocontrol or the post-harvest intervention package to achieve those health benefits. The estimated cost-effectiveness ratio (CER; gross domestic product multiplied by disability-adjusted life years saved per unit cost) for biocontrol in Nigerian maize ranged from 5.10 to 24.8; while the estimated CER for the post-harvest intervention package in Guinean groundnuts ranged from 0.21 to 2.08. Any intervention with a CER > 1 is considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be 'very cost-effective', while an intervention with a CER > 0.33 is considered 'cost-effective'. Aside from cost-effectiveness, public health interventions must be readily accepted by the public, and must have financial and infrastructural support to be feasible in the parts of the world where they are most needed.

New optoelectronic methodology for nondestructive evaluation of MEMS at the wafer level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furlong, Cosme; Ferguson, Curtis F.; Melson, Michael J.

2004-02-01

One of the approaches to fabrication of MEMS involves surface micromachining to define dies on single crystal silicon wafers, dicing of the wafers to separate the dies, and electronic packaging of the individual dies. Dicing and packaging of MEMS accounts for a large fraction of the fabrication costs, therefore, nondestructive evaluation at the wafer level, before dicing, can have significant implications on improving production yield and costs. In this paper, advances in development of optoelectronic holography (OEH) techniques for nondestructive, noninvasive, full-field of view evaluation of MEMS at the wafer level are described. With OEH techniques, quantitative measurements of shape and deformation of MEMS, as related to their performance and integrity, are obtained with sub-micrometer spatial resolution and nanometer measuring accuracy. To inspect an entire wafer with OEH methodologies, measurements of overlapping regions of interest (ROI) on a wafer are recorded and adjacent ROIs are stitched together through efficient 3D correlation analysis algorithms. Capabilities of the OEH techniques are illustrated with representative applications, including determination of optimal inspection conditions to minimize inspection time while achieving sufficient levels of accuracy and resolution.

A flowsheet model of a well-mixed fluidized bed dryer: Applications in controllability assessment and optimization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Langrish, T.A.G.; Harvey, A.C.

2000-01-01

A model of a well-mixed fluidized-bed dryer within a process flowsheeting package (SPEEDUP{trademark}) has been developed and applied to a parameter sensitivity study, a steady-state controllability analysis and an optimization study. This approach is more general and would be more easily applied to a complex flowsheet than one which relied on stand-alone dryer modeling packages. The simulation has shown that industrial data may be fitted to the model outputs with sensible values of unknown parameters. For this case study, the parameter sensitivity study has found that the heat loss from the dryer and the critical moisture content of the materialmore » have the greatest impact on the dryer operation at the current operating point. An optimization study has demonstrated the dominant effect of the heat loss from the dryer on the current operating cost and the current operating conditions, and substantial cost savings (around 50%) could be achieved with a well-insulated and airtight dryer, for the specific case studied here.« less

Low-cost, flexible battery packaging materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jansen, Andrew N.; Amine, Khalil; Newman, Aron E.; Vissers, Donald R.; Henriksen, Gary L.

2002-03-01

Considerable cost savings can be realized if the metal container used for lithium-based batteries is replaced with a flexible multi-laminate containment commonly used in the food packaging industry. This laminate structure must have air, moisture, and electrolyte barrier capabilities, be resistant to hydrogen-fluoride attack, and be heat-sealable. After extensive screening of commercial films, the polyethylene and polypropylene classes of polymers were found to have an adequate combination of mechanical, permeation, and seal-strength properties. The search for a better film and adhesive is ongoing.

SIMULATED COAL GAS MCFC POWER PLANT SYSTEM VERIFICATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

J.A. Scroppo

1998-07-01

This is the Technical Progress Report covering June 1998. All tasks have been completed, except for those discussed on the following pages. Unocal estimated the costs of dismantling and packaging the test facility for storage and shipment. The scope of work for the contract has been modified to accommodate the dismantling and packaging of the plant. An amendment to Sub-Contract No. MCP-9-UNO between M-C Power and Unocal has been executed which includes the Scope of Work in Unocal's cost estimate.

SIMULATED COAL GAS MCFC POWER PLANT SYSTEM VERIFICATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1998-10-31

This is the Technical Progress Report covering October 1998. All tasks have been completed, except for those discussed on the following pages. Unocal estimated the costs of dismantling and packaging the test facility for storage and shipment. The scope of work for the contract has been modified to accommodate the dismantling and packaging of the plant. An amendment to Sub-Contract No. MCP-9-UNO between M-C Power and Unocal has been executed which includes the Scope of Work in Unocal's cost estimate.

Flat conductor cable for electrical packaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Angele, W.

1972-01-01

Flat conductor cable (FCC) is relatively new, highly promising means for electrical packaging and system integration. FCC offers numerous desirable traits (weight, volume and cost savings, flexibility, high reliability, predictable and repeatable electrical characteristics) which make it extremely attractive as a packaging medium. FCC, today, finds wide application in everything from integration of lunar equipment to the packaging of electronics in nuclear submarines. Described are cable construction and means of termination, applicable specifications and standards, and total FCC systems. A list of additional sources of data is also included for more intensive study.

An Open-source Meteorological Operational System and its Installation in Portuguese- speaking Countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almeida, W. G.; Ferreira, A. L.; Mendes, M. V.; Ribeiro, A.; Yoksas, T.

2007-05-01

CPTEC, a division of Brazil’s INPE, has been using several open-source software packages for a variety of tasks in its Data Division. Among these tools are ones traditionally used in research and educational communities such as GrADs (Grid Analysis and Display System from the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA)), the Local Data Manager (LDM) and GEMPAK (from Unidata), andl operational tools such the Automatic File Distributor (AFD) that are popular among National Meteorological Services. In addition, some tools developed locally at CPTEC are also being made available as open-source packages. One package is being used to manage the data from Automatic Weather Stations that INPE operates. This system uses only open- source tools such as MySQL database, PERL scripts and Java programs for web access, and Unidata’s Internet Data Distribution (IDD) system and AFD for data delivery. All of these packages are get bundled into a low-cost and easy to install and package called the Meteorological Data Operational System. Recently, in a cooperation with the SICLIMAD project, this system has been modified for use by Portuguese- speaking countries in Africa to manage data from many Automatic Weather Stations that are being installed in these countries under SICLIMAD sponsorship. In this presentation we describe the tools included-in and and architecture-of the Meteorological Data Operational System.

Recovery of PET from packaging plastics mixtures by wet shaking table.

PubMed

Carvalho, M T; Agante, E; Durão, F

2007-01-01

Recycling requires the separation of materials appearing in a mass of wastes of heterogeneous composition and characteristics, into single, almost pure, component/material flows. The separation of materials (e.g., some types of plastics) with similar physical properties (e.g., specific gravity) is often accomplished by human sorting. This is the case of the separation of packaging plastics in municipal solid wastes (MSW). The low cost of virgin plastics and low value of recycled plastics necessitate the utilization of low cost techniques and processes in the recycling of packaging plastics. An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of production of a PET product, cleaned from PVC and PS, using a wet shaking table. The wet shaking table is an environmentally friendly process, widely used to separate minerals, which has low capital and operational costs. Some operational variables of the equipment, as well as different feed characteristics, were considered. The results show that the separation of these plastics is feasible although, similarly to the mineral field, in somewhat complex flow sheets.

Social costs of packaging competition in the beer and soft drink industries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fraundorf, K.C.

One-way containers have enabled consumers to shift some costs on to society by forcing society to carry the burden of waste disposal. Principal costs include urban garbage collection and disposal and litter collection. The effects of non-price competition, particularly the introduction of non-returnable cans and bottles, on the competitive structure of the beer and soft drink industries are traced. Eventually the non-returnable packaging tactic was successful for national brewers; their profits increased as did their share of the industry's market. In the soft drink industry, the introduction of cans and non-returnable bottles by small companies challenged Coca-Cola's long-held dominant position.more » Social costs based on extra containers and municipal refuse expenditures understate the true costs, because they exclude ecological and health damage and the effect of litter on psychological well being. The costs, though understated, represent from 2 to 8% of sales, indicating a substantial degree of private-to-social cost shifting. (DCK)« less

Marginal cost curves for water footprint reduction in irrigated agriculture: guiding a cost-effective reduction of crop water consumption to a permit or benchmark level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chukalla, Abebe D.; Krol, Maarten S.; Hoekstra, Arjen Y.

2017-07-01

Reducing the water footprint (WF) of the process of growing irrigated crops is an indispensable element in water management, particularly in water-scarce areas. To achieve this, information on marginal cost curves (MCCs) that rank management packages according to their cost-effectiveness to reduce the WF need to support the decision making. MCCs enable the estimation of the cost associated with a certain WF reduction target, e.g. towards a given WF permit (expressed in m3  ha-1 per season) or to a certain WF benchmark (expressed in m3  t-1 of crop). This paper aims to develop MCCs for WF reduction for a range of selected cases. AquaCrop, a soil-water-balance and crop-growth model, is used to estimate the effect of different management packages on evapotranspiration and crop yield and thus the WF of crop production. A management package is defined as a specific combination of management practices: irrigation technique (furrow, sprinkler, drip or subsurface drip); irrigation strategy (full or deficit irrigation); and mulching practice (no, organic or synthetic mulching). The annual average cost for each management package is estimated as the annualized capital cost plus the annual costs of maintenance and operations (i.e. costs of water, energy and labour). Different cases are considered, including three crops (maize, tomato and potato); four types of environment (humid in UK, sub-humid in Italy, semi-arid in Spain and arid in Israel); three hydrologic years (wet, normal and dry years) and three soil types (loam, silty clay loam and sandy loam). For each crop, alternative WF reduction pathways were developed, after which the most cost-effective pathway was selected to develop the MCC for WF reduction. When aiming at WF reduction one can best improve the irrigation strategy first, next the mulching practice and finally the irrigation technique. Moving from a full to deficit irrigation strategy is found to be a no-regret measure: it reduces the WF by reducing water consumption at negligible yield reduction while reducing the cost for irrigation water and the associated costs for energy and labour. Next, moving from no to organic mulching has a high cost-effectiveness, reducing the WF significantly at low cost. Finally, changing from sprinkler or furrow to drip or subsurface drip irrigation reduces the WF, but at a significant cost.

FABRICATION AND DEPLOYMENT OF THE 9979 TYPE AF RADIOACTIVE WASTE PACKAGING FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blanton, P.; Eberl, K.

2013-10-10

This paper summarizes the development, testing, and certification of the 9979 Type A Fissile Packaging that replaces the UN1A2 Specification Shipping Package eliminated from Department of Transportation (DOT) 49 CFR 173. The DOT Specification Package was used for many decades by the U.S. nuclear industry as a fissile waste container until its removal as an authorized container by DOT. This paper will discuss stream lining procurement of high volume radioactive material packaging manufacturing, such as the 9979, to minimize packaging production costs without sacrificing Quality Assurance. The authorized content envelope (combustible and non-combustible) as well as planned content envelope expansionmore » will be discussed.« less

Cost-effectiveness of strategies to market and train primary health care physicians in brief intervention techniques for hazardous alcohol use.

PubMed

Gomel, M K; Wutzke, S E; Hardcastle, D M; Lapsley, H; Reznik, R B

1998-07-01

The cost-effectiveness of strategies to market and train primary care physicians in brief intervention for hazardous alcohol consumption was examined. Physicians were randomly assigned to one of three marketing strategies designed to promote the "uptake" of a brief intervention package for hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption. The strategies were direct mail, tele-marketing, or academic detailing. One hundred and twenty-seven of those physicians who requested the package during the marketing phase (phase 1) and who also agreed to participate in the training and support phase of the project (phase 2) were matched into one of three training and support conditions: training and no support, training and minimal support, training and maximal support. An additional 34 physicians were randomly selected and assigned to a control condition. The ultimate aim of training and support was to maximise physician screening and counselling rates. Tele-marketing was found to be more cost-effective than academic detailing and direct mail in promoting the uptake of the package. For the training and support phase costs and effects increased with the level of support, hence the issue to be considered is whether the additional cost incurred in moving from one strategy to another is warranted given the increase in the level of outcome.

Basic repository environmental assessment design basis, Lavender Canyon site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1988-01-01

This study examines the engineering factors and costs associated with the construction, operation, and decommissioning of a high-level nuclear waste repository in salt in the Paradox Basin in Lavender Canyon, Utah. The study assumes a repository capacity of 36,000 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) of unreprocessed spent fuel and 36,000 MTHM of commercial high-level reprocessing waste, along with 7020 canisters of defense high-level reprocessing waste and associated quantities of remote- and contact-handled transuranic waste (TRU). With the exception of TRU, all the waste forms are placed in 300- to 1000-year-life carbon-steel waste packages in a collocated waste handling andmore » packaging facility (WHPF), which is also described. The construction, operation, and decommissioning of the proposed repository is estimated to cost approximately $5.51 billion. Costs include those for the collocated WHPP, engineering, and contingency, but exclude waste form assembly and shipment to the site and waste package fabrication and shipment to the site. These costs reflect the relative average wage rates of the region and the relatively sound nature of the salt at this site. Construction would require an estimated 7.75 years. Engineering factors and costs are not strongly influenced by environmental considerations. 51 refs., 24 figs., 20 tabs.« less

Comparison of Federal and Private Sector Pay and Benefits. Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Civil Service, Post Office, and General Services Committee on Government Affairs, United States Senate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

General Accounting Office, Washington, DC.

A study compared the compensation packages offered to private sector and Federal white-collar employees. The conclusions drawn in the study were based on data from previous and ongoing research conducted by the General Accounting Office (GAO). Analysis of these data revealed that whereas the Employment Cost Index has shown a cumulative increase of…

Advances in photonics thermal management and packaging materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zweben, Carl

2008-02-01

Heat dissipation, thermal stresses, and cost are key packaging design issues for virtually all semiconductors, including photonic applications such as diode lasers, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), solid state lighting, photovoltaics, displays, projectors, detectors, sensors and laser weapons. Heat dissipation and thermal stresses affect performance and reliability. Copper, aluminum and conventional polymeric printed circuit boards (PCBs) have high coefficients of thermal expansion, which can cause high thermal stresses. Most traditional low-coefficient-of-thermal-expansion (CTE) materials like tungsten/copper, which date from the mid 20 th century, have thermal conductivities that are no better than those of aluminum alloys, about 200 W/m-K. There are an increasing number of low-CTE materials with thermal conductivities ranging between that of copper (400 W/m-K) and 1700 W/m-K, and many other new low-CTE materials with lower thermal conductivities. An important benefit of low-CTE materials is that they allow use of hard solders. Some advanced materials are low cost. Others have the potential to be low cost in high-volume production. High-thermal-conductivity materials enable higher power levels, potentially reducing the number of required devices. Advanced thermal materials can constrain PCB CTE and greatly increase thermal conductivity. This paper reviews traditional packaging materials and advanced thermal management materials. The latter provide the packaging engineer with a greater range of options than in the past. Topics include properties, status, applications, cost, using advanced materials to fix manufacturing problems, and future directions, including composites reinforced with carbon nanotubes and other thermally conductive materials.

Current topics in active and intelligent food packaging for preservation of fresh foods.

PubMed

Lee, Seung Yuan; Lee, Seung Jae; Choi, Dong Soo; Hur, Sun Jin

2015-11-01

The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of current packaging systems, e.g. active packaging and intelligent packaging, for various foods. Active packaging, such as modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), extends the shelf life of fresh produce, provides a high-quality product, reduces economic losses, including those caused by delay of ripening, and improves appearance. However, in active packaging, several variables must be considered, such as temperature control and different gas formulations with different product types and microorganisms. Active packaging refers to the incorporation of additive agents into packaging materials with the purpose of maintaining or extending food product quality and shelf life. Intelligent packaging is emerging as a potential advantage in food processing and is an especially useful tool for tracking product information and monitoring product conditions. Moreover, intelligent packaging facilitates data access and information exchange by altering conditions inside or outside the packaging and product. In spite of these advantages, few of these packaging systems are commercialized because of high cost, strict safety and hygiene regulations or limited consumer acceptance. Therefore more research is needed to develop cheaper, more easily applicable and effective packaging systems for various foods. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

48 CFR 253.209-1 - Responsible prospective contractors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... contracts, or contracts which provide for progress payments based on costs or on a percentage or stage of...) Packaging. An assessment of the prospective contractor's ability to meet all contractual packaging...)). (E) Plant safety. An assessment of the prospective contractor's ability to meet the safety...

Innovative on-chip packaging applied to uncooled IRFPA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumont, Geoffroy; Arnaud, Agnès; Impérinetti, Pierre; Vialle, Claire; Rabaud, Wilfried; Goudon, Valérie; Yon, Jean-Jacques

2008-04-01

The Laboratoire Infrarouge (LIR) of the Laboratoire d'Electronique et de Technologie de l'Information (LETI) has been involved in the development of microbolometers for over fifteen years. Two generations of technology have been transferred to ULIS and LETI is still working to improve performances of low cost detectors. Simultaneously, packaging still represents a significant part of detectors price. Reducing production costs would contribute to keep on extending applications of uncooled IRFPA to high volume markets like automotive. Therefore LETI is developing an on-chip packaging technology dedicated to microbolometers. This paper presents an original microcap structure that enables the use of IR window materials as sealing layers to maintain the expected vacuum level. The modelling and integration of an IR window suitable for this structure is also presented. This monolithic packaging technology is performed in a standard collective way, in continuation of bolometers' technology. The CEA-LETI, MINATEC presents status of these developments concerning this innovating technology including optical simulations results and SEM views of technical realizations.

Good research practices for measuring drug costs in cost-effectiveness analyses: an international perspective: the ISPOR Drug Cost Task Force report--Part VI.

PubMed

Shi, Lizheng; Hodges, Meredith; Drummond, Michael; Ahn, Jeonghoon; Li, Shu Chuen; Hu, Shanlian; Augustovski, Federico; Hay, Joel W; Smeeding, Jim

2010-01-01

The pharmacoeconomic guidelines available in the literature or promulgated in many countries are either vague or silent about how drug costs should be established or measured so an international comparison of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) results can be made. The objective of this report is to provide guidance and recommendations on how drug costs should be measured for CEAs done from an internationally comparative perspective. Members of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Task Force on Good Research Practices-Use of Drug Costs for Cost Effectiveness Analysis (Drug Cost Task Force [DCTF]) subgroup from several countries were experienced developers or users of CEA models, and worked in academia, industry, and as advisors to governments. They solicited comments on drafts from a core group of 174 external reviewers and more broadly, from the members of the ISPOR at the ISPOR 12th Annual International meeting and via the ISPOR Web site. Drug units should be standardized in terms of volume of active ingredient, regardless of packaging and dosing strength variations across countries. Drug costs should be measured in local currency per unit of active ingredient and should be converted to other currencies using sensitivity analyses of purchasing power parities (PPP) and exchange rates, whichever is more appropriate. When using drug prices from different years, the consumer price index for the local currency should be applied before the PPP and/or exchange rate conversion. CEA researchers conducting international pharmacoeconomic analysis should tailor the appropriate measure of drug costs to the international perspective, to maintain clarity and transparency on drug cost measurement in the context of international drug comparison and report the sensitivity of CEA results to reasonable cost conversions.

Economic evaluation of the 70-gene prognosis-signature (MammaPrint®) in hormone receptor-positive, lymph node-negative, human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2-negative early stage breast cancer in Japan.

PubMed

Kondo, Masahide; Hoshi, Shu-Ling; Ishiguro, Hiroshi; Toi, Masakazu

2012-06-01

The 70-gene prognosis-signature is validated as a good predictor of recurrence for hormone receptor-positive (ER+), lymph node-negative (LN-), human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2-negative (HER2-) early stage breast cancer (ESBC) in Japanese patient population. Its high cost and potential in avoiding unnecessary adjuvant chemotherapy arouse interest in its economic impact. This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of including the assay into Japan's social health insurance benefit package. An economic decision tree and Markov model under Japan's health system from the societal perspective is constructed with clinical evidence from the pool analysis of validation studies. One-way sensitivity analyses are also performed. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio is estimated as ¥3,873,922/quality adjusted life year (QALY) (US$43,044/QALY), which is not more than the suggested social willingness-to-pay for one QALY gain from an innovative medical intervention in Japan, ¥5,000,000/QALY (US$55,556/QALY). However, sensitivity analyses show the instability of this estimation. The introduction of the assay into Japanese practice of ER+, LN-, HER2- ESBC treatment by including it to Japan's social health insurance benefit package has a reasonable chance to be judged as cost-effective and may be justified as an efficient deployment of finite health care resources.

Wafer-Level Vacuum Packaging of Smart Sensors.

PubMed

Hilton, Allan; Temple, Dorota S

2016-10-31

The reach and impact of the Internet of Things will depend on the availability of low-cost, smart sensors-"low cost" for ubiquitous presence, and "smart" for connectivity and autonomy. By using wafer-level processes not only for the smart sensor fabrication and integration, but also for packaging, we can further greatly reduce the cost of sensor components and systems as well as further decrease their size and weight. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art in the wafer-level vacuum packaging technology of smart sensors. We describe the processes needed to create the wafer-scale vacuum microchambers, focusing on approaches that involve metal seals and that are compatible with the thermal budget of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits. We review choices of seal materials and structures that are available to a device designer, and present techniques used for the fabrication of metal seals on device and window wafers. We also analyze the deposition and activation of thin film getters needed to maintain vacuum in the ultra-small chambers, and the wafer-to-wafer bonding processes that form the hermetic seal. We discuss inherent trade-offs and challenges of each seal material set and the corresponding bonding processes. Finally, we identify areas for further research that could help broaden implementations of the wafer-level vacuum packaging technology.

48 CFR 15.408 - Solicitation provisions and contract clauses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... inventory, provide a separate cost breakdown, if priced based on cost. For interorganizational transfers..., travel, computer and consultant services, preservation, packaging and packing, spoilage and rework, and... records as of the cutoff date. These include such costs as preproduction engineering, special plant...

Sandwich-Architectured Poly(lactic acid)-Graphene Composite Food Packaging Films.

PubMed

Goh, Kunli; Heising, Jenneke K; Yuan, Yang; Karahan, Huseyin E; Wei, Li; Zhai, Shengli; Koh, Jia-Xuan; Htin, Nanda M; Zhang, Feimo; Wang, Rong; Fane, Anthony G; Dekker, Matthijs; Dehghani, Fariba; Chen, Yuan

2016-04-20

Biodegradable food packaging promises a more sustainable future. Among the many different biopolymers used, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) possesses the good mechanical property and cost-effectiveness necessary of a biodegradable food packaging. However, PLA food packaging suffers from poor water vapor and oxygen barrier properties compared to many petroleum-derived ones. A key challenge is, therefore, to simultaneously enhance both the water vapor and oxygen barrier properties of the PLA food packaging. To address this issue, we design a sandwich-architectured PLA-graphene composite film, which utilizes an impermeable reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as the core barrier and commercial PLA films as the outer protective encapsulation. The synergy between the barrier and the protective encapsulation results in a significant 87.6% reduction in the water vapor permeability. At the same time, the oxygen permeability is reduced by two orders of magnitude when evaluated under both dry and humid conditions. The excellent barrier properties can be attributed to the compact lamellar microstructure and the hydrophobicity of the rGO core barrier. Mechanistic analysis shows that the large rGO lateral dimension and the small interlayer spacing between the rGO sheets have created an extensive and tortuous diffusion pathway, which is up to 1450-times the thickness of the rGO barrier. In addition, the sandwiched architecture has imbued the PLA-rGO composite film with good processability, which increases the manageability of the film and its competency to be tailored. Simulations using the PLA-rGO composite food packaging film for edible oil and potato chips also exhibit at least eight-fold extension in the shelf life of these oxygen and moisture sensitive food products. Overall, these qualities have demonstrated the high potential of a sandwich-architectured PLA-graphene composite film for food packaging applications.

Nanotechnology for the Solid Waste Reduction of Military Food Packaging

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

WP-200816) Nanotechnology for the Solid Waste Reduction of Military Food Packaging June 2016 This document has been cleared for public release...NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON 19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) 01/06/2016 Cost and Performance Report 04/01/2008 - 01/01/2015 Nanotechnology for... nanotechnology packaging. The PIs have been dedicated to these efforts, and it is anticipated that this technology will be used someday by the Warfighter

Specialty service contracting.

PubMed

Malcolm, C L; Fukui, M

1993-01-01

Package pricing of specific services and procedures can be an effective cost-containment and marketing tool for payers and providers. Payers can secure fixed prices at discounted rates, and hospitals and physicians can retain and gain market share in an increasingly competitive health care market. Successful implementation of a package pricing strategy, however, requires a careful assessment of both market and operational factors. This chapter outlines how to identify opportunities for package pricing and how to establish rates and procedures.

Closing the loop on improvement: Packaging experience in the Software Engineering Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Waligora, Sharon R.; Landis, Linda C.; Doland, Jerry T.

1994-01-01

As part of its award-winning software process improvement program, the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) has developed an effective method for packaging organizational best practices based on real project experience into useful handbooks and training courses. This paper shares the SEL's experience over the past 12 years creating and updating software process handbooks and training courses. It provides cost models and guidelines for successful experience packaging derived from SEL experience.

Packaging's Contribution for the Effectiveness of the Space Station's Food Service Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rausch, B. A.

1985-01-01

Storage limitations will have a major effect on space station food service. For example: foods with low bulk density such as ice cream, bread, cake, standard type potato chips and other low density snacks, flaked cereals, etc., will exacerbate the problem of space limitations; package containers are inherently volume consuming and refuse creating; and the useful observation that the optimum package is no package at all leads to the tentative conclusion that the least amount of packaging per unit of food, consistent with storage, aesthetics, preservation, cleanliness, cost and disposal criteria, is the most practical food package for the space station. A series of trade offs may have to be made to arrive at the most appropriate package design for a particular type of food taking all the criteria into account. Some of these trade offs are: single serve vs. bulk; conventional oven vs. microwave oven; nonmetallic aseptically vs. non-aseptically packaged foods; and comparison of aseptic vs. nonaseptic food packages. The advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

Resource Recovery. Energy and Environment. Teacher's Aid.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reynolds, Smith and Hills, Inc., Jacksonville, FL.

Designed to assist students in understanding solid waste resource recovery, this teaching aid package aims to get students involved in practical activities that require participation, observation, and interpretation. Provided in this package are definitions, methods, causes and effects, costs, and benefits of resource recovery presented in the…

High Volume Manufacturing and Field Stability of MEMS Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Jack

Low volume MEMS/NEMS production is practical when an attractive concept is implemented with business, manufacturing, packaging, and test support. Moving beyond this to high volume production adds requirements on design, process control, quality, product stability, market size, market maturity, capital investment, and business systems. In a broad sense, this chapter uses a case study approach: It describes and compares the silicon-based MEMS accelerometers, pressure sensors, image projection systems, and gyroscopes that are in high volume production. Although they serve several markets, these businesses have common characteristics. For example, the manufacturing lines use automated semiconductor equipment and standard material sets to make consistent products in large quantities. Standard, well controlled processes are sometimes modified for a MEMS product. However, novel processes that cannot run with standard equipment and material sets are avoided when possible. This reliance on semiconductor tools, as well as the organizational practices required to manufacture clean, particle-free products partially explains why the MEMS market leaders are integrated circuit manufacturers. There are other factors. MEMS and NEMS are enabling technologies, so it can take several years for high volume applications to develop. Indeed, market size is usually a strong function of price. This becomes a vicious circle, because low price requires low cost - a result that is normally achieved only after a product is in high volume production. During the early years, IC companies reduced cost and financial risk by using existing facilities for low volume MEMS production. As a result, product architectures are partially determined by capabilities developed for previous products. This chapter includes a discussion of MEMS product architecture with particular attention to the impact of electronic integration, packaging, and surfaces. Packaging and testing are critical, because they are significant factors in MEMS product cost. These devices have extremelyhigh surface/volume ratios, so performance and stability may depend on the control of surface characteristics after packaging. Looking into the future, the competitive advantage of IC suppliers will decrease as small companies learn to integrate MEMS/NEMS devices on CMOS foundry wafers. Packaging challenges still remain, because most MEMS/NEMS products must interact with the environment without degrading stability or reliability. Generic packaging solutions are unlikely. However, packaging subcontractors recognize that MEMS/NEMS is a growth opportunity. They will spread the overhead burden of high-capital-cost-facilities by developing flexible processes in order to package several types of moderate volume integrated MEMS/NEMS products on the same equipment.

High Volume Manufacturing and Field Stability of MEMS Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Jack

Low volume MEMS/NEMS production is practical when an attractive concept is implemented with business, manufacturing, packaging, and test support. Moving beyond this to high volume production adds requirements on design, process control, quality, product stability, market size, market maturity, capital investment, and business systems. In a broad sense, this chapter uses a case study approach: It describes and compares the silicon-based MEMS accelerometers, pressure sensors, image projection systems, and gyroscopes that are in high volume production. Although they serve several markets, these businesses have common characteristics. For example, the manufacturing lines use automated semiconductor equipment and standard material sets to make consistent products in large quantities. Standard, well controlled processes are sometimes modified for a MEMS product. However, novel processes that cannot run with standard equipment and material sets are avoided when possible. This reliance on semiconductor tools, as well as the organizational practices required to manufacture clean, particle-free products partially explains why the MEMS market leaders are integrated circuit manufacturers. There are other factors. MEMS and NEMS are enabling technologies, so it can take several years for high volume applications to develop. Indeed, market size is usually a strong function of price. This becomes a vicious circle, because low price requires low cost - a result that is normally achieved only after a product is in high volume production. During the early years, IC companies reduced cost and financial risk by using existing facilities for low volume MEMS production. As a result, product architectures are partially determined by capabilities developed for previous products. This chapter includes a discussion of MEMS product architecture with particular attention to the impact of electronic integration, packaging, and surfaces. Packaging and testing are critical, because they are significant factors in MEMS product cost. These devices have extremely high surface/volume ratios, so performance and stability may depend on the control of surface characteristics after packaging. Looking into the future, the competitive advantage of IC suppliers will decrease as small companies learn to integrate MEMS/NEMS devices on CMOS foundry wafers. Packaging challenges still remain, because most MEMS/NEMS products must interact with the environment without degrading stability or reliability. Generic packaging solutions are unlikely. However, packaging subcontractors recognize that MEMS/NEMS is a growth opportunity. They will spread the overhead burden of high-capital-cost-facilities by developing flexible processes in order to package several types of moderate volume integrated MEMS/NEMS products on the same equipment.

Defect printability for high-exposure dose advanced packaging applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikles, Max; Flack, Warren; Nguyen, Ha-Ai; Schurz, Dan

2003-12-01

Pellicles are used in semiconductor lithography to minimize printable defects and reduce reticle cleaning frequency. However, there are a growing number of microlithography applications, such as advanced packaging and nanotechnology, where it is not clear that pellicles always offer a significant benefit. These applications have relatively large critical dimensions and require ultra thick photoresists with extremely high exposure doses. Given that the lithography is performed in Class 100 cleanroom conditions, it is possible that the risk of defects from contamination is sufficiently low that pellicles would not be required on certain process layer reticles. The elimination of the pellicle requirement would provide a cost reduction by saving the original pellicle cost and eliminating future pellicle replacement and repair costs. This study examines the imaging potential of defects with reticle patterns and processes typical for gold-bump and solder-bump advanced packaging lithography. The test reticle consists of 30 to 90 μm octagonal contact patterns representative of advanced packaging reticles. Programmed defects are added that represent the range of particle sizes (3 to 30 μm) normally protected by the pellicle and that are typical of advanced packaging lithography cleanrooms. The reticle is exposed using an Ultratech Saturn Spectrum 300e2 1X stepper on wafers coated with a variety of ultra thick (30 to 100 μm) positive and negative-acting photoresists commonly used in advanced packaging. The experimental results show that in many cases smaller particles continue to be yield issues for the feature size and density typical of advanced packaging processes. For the two negative photoresists studied it appears that a pellicle is not required for protection from defects smaller than 10 to 15 μm depending on the photoresist thickness. Thus the decision on pellicle usage for these materials would need to be made based on the device fabrication process and the cleanliness of a fabrication facility. For the two positive photoresists studied it appears that a pellicle is required to protect from defects down to 3 μm defects depending on the photoresist thickness. This suggests that a pellicle should always be used for these materials. Since a typical fabrication facility would use both positive and negative photoresists it may be advantageous to use pellicles on all reticles simply to avoid confusion. The cost savings of not using a pellicle could easily be outweighed by the yield benefits of using one.

General specifications for the development of a USL NASA PC R and D statistical analysis support package

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dominick, Wayne D. (Editor); Bassari, Jinous; Triantafyllopoulos, Spiros

1984-01-01

The University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL) NASA PC R and D statistical analysis support package is designed to be a three-level package to allow statistical analysis for a variety of applications within the USL Data Base Management System (DBMS) contract work. The design addresses usage of the statistical facilities as a library package, as an interactive statistical analysis system, and as a batch processing package.

The Effectiveness of Different Interventions to Promote Poison Prevention Behaviours in Households with Children: A Network Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Achana, Felix A.; Sutton, Alex J.; Kendrick, Denise; Wynn, Persephone; Young, Ben; Jones, David R.; Hubbard, Stephanie J.; Cooper, Nicola J.

2015-01-01

Background There is evidence from 2 previous meta-analyses that interventions to promote poison prevention behaviours are effective in increasing a range of poison prevention practices in households with children. The published meta-analyses compared any intervention against a “usual care or no intervention” which potentially limits the usefulness of the analysis to decision makers. We aim to use network meta-analysis to simultaneously evaluate the effectiveness of different interventions to increase prevalence of safe storage of i) Medicines only, ii) Other household products only, iii) Poisons (both medicines and non-medicines), iv) Poisonous plants; and v) Possession of poison control centre (PCC) telephone number in households with children. Methods Data on the effectiveness of poison prevention interventions was extracted from primary studies identified in 2 newly-undertaken systematic reviews. Effect estimates were pooled across studies using a random effects network meta-analysis model. Results 28 of the 47 primary studies identified were included in the analysis. Compared to usual care intervention, the intervention with education and low cost/free equipment elements was most effective in promoting safe storage of medicines (odds ratio 2.51, 95% credible interval 1.01 to 6.00) while interventions with education, low cost/free equipment, home safety inspection and fitting components were most effective in promoting safe storage of other household products (2.52, 1.12 to 7.13), safe storage of poisons (11.10, 1.60 to 141.50) and possession of PCC number (38.82, 2.19 to 687.10). No one intervention package was more effective than the others in promoting safe storage of poisonous plants. Conclusion The most effective interventions varied by poison prevention practice, but education alone was not the most effective intervention for any poison prevention practice. Commissioners and providers of poison prevention interventions should tailor the interventions they commission or provide to the poison prevention practices they wish to promote. Highlights Network meta-analysis is useful for comparing multiple injury-prevention interventions. More intensive poison prevention interventions were more effective than education alone. Education and low cost/free equipment was most effective in promoting safe storage of medicines. Education, low cost/free equipment, home safety inspection and fitting was most effective in promoting safe storage of household products and poisons. Education, low cost/free equipment and home inspection were most effective in promoting possession of a poison control centre number. None of the intervention packages was more effective than the others in promoting safe storage of poisonous plants. PMID:25894385

The effectiveness of different interventions to promote poison prevention behaviours in households with children: a network meta-analysis.

PubMed

Achana, Felix A; Sutton, Alex J; Kendrick, Denise; Wynn, Persephone; Young, Ben; Jones, David R; Hubbard, Stephanie J; Cooper, Nicola J

2015-01-01

There is evidence from 2 previous meta-analyses that interventions to promote poison prevention behaviours are effective in increasing a range of poison prevention practices in households with children. The published meta-analyses compared any intervention against a "usual care or no intervention" which potentially limits the usefulness of the analysis to decision makers. We aim to use network meta-analysis to simultaneously evaluate the effectiveness of different interventions to increase prevalence of safe storage of i) Medicines only, ii) Other household products only, iii) Poisons (both medicines and non-medicines), iv) Poisonous plants; and v) Possession of poison control centre (PCC) telephone number in households with children. Data on the effectiveness of poison prevention interventions was extracted from primary studies identified in 2 newly-undertaken systematic reviews. Effect estimates were pooled across studies using a random effects network meta-analysis model. 28 of the 47 primary studies identified were included in the analysis. Compared to usual care intervention, the intervention with education and low cost/free equipment elements was most effective in promoting safe storage of medicines (odds ratio 2.51, 95% credible interval 1.01 to 6.00) while interventions with education, low cost/free equipment, home safety inspection and fitting components were most effective in promoting safe storage of other household products (2.52, 1.12 to 7.13), safe storage of poisons (11.10, 1.60 to 141.50) and possession of PCC number (38.82, 2.19 to 687.10). No one intervention package was more effective than the others in promoting safe storage of poisonous plants. The most effective interventions varied by poison prevention practice, but education alone was not the most effective intervention for any poison prevention practice. Commissioners and providers of poison prevention interventions should tailor the interventions they commission or provide to the poison prevention practices they wish to promote. Network meta-analysis is useful for comparing multiple injury-prevention interventions. More intensive poison prevention interventions were more effective than education alone. Education and low cost/free equipment was most effective in promoting safe storage of medicines. Education, low cost/free equipment, home safety inspection and fitting was most effective in promoting safe storage of household products and poisons. Education, low cost/free equipment and home inspection were most effective in promoting possession of a poison control centre number. None of the intervention packages was more effective than the others in promoting safe storage of poisonous plants.

TCC: an R package for comparing tag count data with robust normalization strategies

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Differential expression analysis based on “next-generation” sequencing technologies is a fundamental means of studying RNA expression. We recently developed a multi-step normalization method (called TbT) for two-group RNA-seq data with replicates and demonstrated that the statistical methods available in four R packages (edgeR, DESeq, baySeq, and NBPSeq) together with TbT can produce a well-ranked gene list in which true differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are top-ranked and non-DEGs are bottom ranked. However, the advantages of the current TbT method come at the cost of a huge computation time. Moreover, the R packages did not have normalization methods based on such a multi-step strategy. Results TCC (an acronym for Tag Count Comparison) is an R package that provides a series of functions for differential expression analysis of tag count data. The package incorporates multi-step normalization methods, whose strategy is to remove potential DEGs before performing the data normalization. The normalization function based on this DEG elimination strategy (DEGES) includes (i) the original TbT method based on DEGES for two-group data with or without replicates, (ii) much faster methods for two-group data with or without replicates, and (iii) methods for multi-group comparison. TCC provides a simple unified interface to perform such analyses with combinations of functions provided by edgeR, DESeq, and baySeq. Additionally, a function for generating simulation data under various conditions and alternative DEGES procedures consisting of functions in the existing packages are provided. Bioinformatics scientists can use TCC to evaluate their methods, and biologists familiar with other R packages can easily learn what is done in TCC. Conclusion DEGES in TCC is essential for accurate normalization of tag count data, especially when up- and down-regulated DEGs in one of the samples are extremely biased in their number. TCC is useful for analyzing tag count data in various scenarios ranging from unbiased to extremely biased differential expression. TCC is available at http://www.iu.a.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~kadota/TCC/ and will appear in Bioconductor (http://bioconductor.org/) from ver. 2.13. PMID:23837715

COST ESTIMATION MODELS FOR DRINKING WATER TREATMENT UNIT PROCESSES

EPA Science Inventory

Cost models for unit processes typically utilized in a conventional water treatment plant and in package treatment plant technology are compiled in this paper. The cost curves are represented as a function of specified design parameters and are categorized into four major catego...

45 CFR 156.130 - Cost-sharing requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO HEALTH CARE ACCESS HEALTH INSURANCE ISSUER STANDARDS UNDER THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, INCLUDING STANDARDS RELATED TO EXCHANGES Essential Health Benefits Package § 156.130 Cost-sharing requirements. (a) Annual limitation on cost sharing. (1...

45 CFR 156.130 - Cost-sharing requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Public Welfare Department of Health and Human Services REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO HEALTH CARE ACCESS HEALTH INSURANCE ISSUER STANDARDS UNDER THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, INCLUDING STANDARDS RELATED TO EXCHANGES Essential Health Benefits Package § 156.130 Cost-sharing requirements. (a) Annual limitation on cost sharing. (1...

Effectiveness of buffered propionic-acid preservatives for large hay packages

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Most hay producers realize that hays packaged in large-round or large-square bales are particularly sensitive to spontaneous heating, dry matter losses, and negative changes in forage quality. During the last two decades, this has become an important dilemma for hay producers because the cost and av...

Evaluation of Virtual Laboratory Package on Nigerian Secondary School Physics Concepts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Falode, Oluwole Caleb; Gambari, Amosa Isiaka

2017-01-01

The study evaluated accessibility, flexibility, cost and learning effectiveness of researchers-developed virtual laboratory package for Nigerian secondary school physics. Based on these issues, four research questions were raised and answered. The study was a quantitative-based evaluation research. Sample for the study included 24 physics…

Information Business: Applying Infometry (Informational Geometry) in Cognitive Coordination and Genetic Programming for Electronic Information Packaging and Marketing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Bor-sheng

1994-01-01

Describes the use of infometry, or informational geometry, to meet the challenges of information service businesses. Highlights include theoretical models for cognitive coordination and genetic programming; electronic information packaging; marketing electronic information products, including cost-benefit analyses; and recapitalization, including…

Small PACS implementation using publicly available software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Passadore, Diego J.; Isoardi, Roberto A.; Gonzalez Nicolini, Federico J.; Ariza, P. P.; Novas, C. V.; Omati, S. A.

1998-07-01

Building cost effective PACS solutions is a main concern in developing countries. Hardware and software components are generally much more expensive than in developed countries and also more tightened financial constraints are the main reasons contributing to a slow rate of implementation of PACS. The extensive use of Internet for sharing resources and information has brought a broad number of freely available software packages to an ever-increasing number of users. In the field of medical imaging is possible to find image format conversion packages, DICOM compliant servers for all kinds of service classes, databases, web servers, image visualization, manipulation and analysis tools, etc. This paper describes a PACS implementation for review and storage built on freely available software. It currently integrates four diagnostic modalities (PET, CT, MR and NM), a Radiotherapy Treatment Planning workstation and several computers in a local area network, for image storage, database management and image review, processing and analysis. It also includes a web-based application that allows remote users to query the archive for studies from any workstation and to view the corresponding images and reports. We conclude that the advantage of using this approach is twofold. It allows a full understanding of all the issues involved in the implementation of a PACS and also contributes to keep costs down while enabling the development of a functional system for storage, distribution and review that can prove to be helpful for radiologists and referring physicians.

Increasing Flexibility in Energy Code Compliance: Performance Packages

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hart, Philip R.; Rosenberg, Michael I.

Energy codes and standards have provided significant increases in building efficiency over the last 38 years, since the first national energy code was published in late 1975. The most commonly used path in energy codes, the prescriptive path, appears to be reaching a point of diminishing returns. As the code matures, the prescriptive path becomes more complicated, and also more restrictive. It is likely that an approach that considers the building as an integrated system will be necessary to achieve the next real gains in building efficiency. Performance code paths are increasing in popularity; however, there remains a significant designmore » team overhead in following the performance path, especially for smaller buildings. This paper focuses on development of one alternative format, prescriptive packages. A method to develop building-specific prescriptive packages is reviewed based on a multiple runs of prototypical building models that are used to develop parametric decision analysis to determines a set of packages with equivalent energy performance. The approach is designed to be cost-effective and flexible for the design team while achieving a desired level of energy efficiency performance. A demonstration of the approach based on mid-sized office buildings with two HVAC system types is shown along with a discussion of potential applicability in the energy code process.« less

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and related disorders: key messages from Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition

PubMed Central

Prabhakaran, Dorairaj; Anand, Shuchi; Watkins, David; Gaziano, Thomas; Wu, Yangfeng; Mbanya, Jean Claude; Nugent, Rachel

2018-01-01

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and related disorders (CVRDs) are the leading causes of adult death worldwide, and substantial inequalities in care of patients with CVRDs exist between countries of high income and countries of low and middle income. Based on current trends, the UN Sustainable Development Goal to reduce premature mortality due to CVRDs by a third by 2030 will be challenging for many countries of low and middle income. We did systematic literature reviews of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness to identify priority interventions. We summarise the key findings and present a costed essential package of interventions to reduce risk of and manage CVRDs. On a population level, we recommend tobacco taxation, bans on trans fats, and compulsory reduction of salt in manufactured food products. We suggest primary health services be strengthened through the establishment of locally endorsed guidelines and ensured availability of essential medications. The policy interventions and health service delivery package we suggest could serve as the cornerstone for the management of CVRDs, and afford substantial financial risk protection for vulnerable households. We estimate that full implementation of the essential package would cost an additional US$21 per person in the average low-income country and $24 in the average lower-middle-income country. The essential package we describe could be a starting place for low-income and middle-income countries developing universal health coverage packages. Interventions could be rolled out as disease burden demands and budgets allow. Our outlined interventions provide a pathway for countries attempting to convert the UN Sustainable Development Goal commitments into tangible action. PMID:29108723

Validation of a Video Analysis Software Package for Quantifying Movement Velocity in Resistance Exercises.

PubMed

Sañudo, Borja; Rueda, David; Pozo-Cruz, Borja Del; de Hoyo, Moisés; Carrasco, Luis

2016-10-01

Sañudo, B, Rueda, D, del Pozo-Cruz, B, de Hoyo, M, and Carrasco, L. Validation of a video analysis software package for quantifying movement velocity in resistance exercises. J Strength Cond Res 30(10): 2934-2941, 2016-The aim of this study was to establish the validity of a video analysis software package in measuring mean propulsive velocity (MPV) and the maximal velocity during bench press. Twenty-one healthy males (21 ± 1 year) with weight training experience were recruited, and the MPV and the maximal velocity of the concentric phase (Vmax) were compared with a linear position transducer system during a standard bench press exercise. Participants performed a 1 repetition maximum test using the supine bench press exercise. The testing procedures involved the simultaneous assessment of bench press propulsive velocity using 2 kinematic (linear position transducer and semi-automated tracking software) systems. High Pearson's correlation coefficients for MPV and Vmax between both devices (r = 0.473 to 0.993) were observed. The intraclass correlation coefficients for barbell velocity data and the kinematic data obtained from video analysis were high (>0.79). In addition, the low coefficients of variation indicate that measurements had low variability. Finally, Bland-Altman plots with the limits of agreement of the MPV and Vmax with different loads showed a negative trend, which indicated that the video analysis had higher values than the linear transducer. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that the software used for the video analysis was an easy to use and cost-effective tool with a very high degree of concurrent validity. This software can be used to evaluate changes in velocity of training load in resistance training, which may be important for the prescription and monitoring of training programmes.

19 CFR 10.206 - Value content requirement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... countries, plus the direct costs of processing operations performed in a beneficiary country or countries...)(1) of this part. Any cost or value of materials or direct costs of processing operations...) combining or packaging operations, or mere dilution with water or mere dilution with another substance that...

Very large scale heterogeneous integration (VLSHI) and wafer-level vacuum packaging for infrared bolometer focal plane arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forsberg, Fredrik; Roxhed, Niclas; Fischer, Andreas C.; Samel, Björn; Ericsson, Per; Hoivik, Nils; Lapadatu, Adriana; Bring, Martin; Kittilsland, Gjermund; Stemme, Göran; Niklaus, Frank

2013-09-01

Imaging in the long wavelength infrared (LWIR) range from 8 to 14 μm is an extremely useful tool for non-contact measurement and imaging of temperature in many industrial, automotive and security applications. However, the cost of the infrared (IR) imaging components has to be significantly reduced to make IR imaging a viable technology for many cost-sensitive applications. This paper demonstrates new and improved fabrication and packaging technologies for next-generation IR imaging detectors based on uncooled IR bolometer focal plane arrays. The proposed technologies include very large scale heterogeneous integration for combining high-performance, SiGe quantum-well bolometers with electronic integrated read-out circuits and CMOS compatible wafer-level vacuum packing. The fabrication and characterization of bolometers with a pitch of 25 μm × 25 μm that are arranged on read-out-wafers in arrays with 320 × 240 pixels are presented. The bolometers contain a multi-layer quantum well SiGe thermistor with a temperature coefficient of resistance of -3.0%/K. The proposed CMOS compatible wafer-level vacuum packaging technology uses Cu-Sn solid-liquid interdiffusion (SLID) bonding. The presented technologies are suitable for implementation in cost-efficient fabless business models with the potential to bring about the cost reduction needed to enable low-cost IR imaging products for industrial, security and automotive applications.

When to Renew Software Licences at HPC Centres? A Mathematical Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baolai, Ge; MacIsaac, Allan B.

2010-11-01

In this paper we study a common problem faced by many high performance computing (HPC) centres: When and how to renew commercial software licences. Software vendors often sell perpetual licences along with forward update and support contracts at an additional, annual cost. Every year or so, software support personnel and the budget units of HPC centres are required to make the decision of whether or not to renew such support, and usually such decisions are made intuitively. The total cost for a continuing support contract can, however, be costly. One might therefore want a rational answer to the question of whether the option for a renewal should be exercised and when. In an attempt to study this problem within a market framework, we present the mathematical problem derived for the day to day operation of a hypothetical HPC centre that charges for the use of software packages. In the mathematical model, we assume that the uncertainty comes from the demand, number of users using the packages, as well as the price. Further we assume the availability of up to date software versions may also affect the demand. We develop a renewal strategy that aims to maximize the expected profit from the use the software under consideration. The derived problem involves a decision tree, which constitutes a numerical procedure that can be processed in parallel.

The Economic Impact of Helmet Use on Motorcycle Accidents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Literature from the Past 20 Years.

PubMed

Kim, Chang-Yeon; Wiznia, Daniel H; Averbukh, Leon; Dai, Feng; Leslie, Michael P

2015-01-01

The incidence and cost of motorcycle accidents are projected to increase. Motorcycle helmets are accepted as an effective strategy for reducing the morbidity and therefore the cost of motorcycle accidents. Despite this, states have continued to repeal helmet laws in the past 20 years. In addition, variations in the methodologies and outcomes of published reports have contributed to uncertainty regarding the health care dollars saved due to motorcycle helmet use. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to clarify the economic impact of motorcycle helmet use. Our primary source was Medline. Search terms included "motorcycle," "motorbike," "motorcycle helmet," "head protective devices," and "cost and cost analysis." The review only included articles that were primary studies, written in English, evaluations of periods after 1994, and published in a peer-reviewed journal. Two independent authors extracted data using predefined data fields. Meta-analysis was done using the R-metafor package. Twelve papers met the criteria for inclusion. Meta-analysis demonstrated that nonhelmeted patients required $12,239 more in hospital costs per patient. Nonhelmeted patients also required more postdischarge care and were more likely to use publicly funded insurance. Studies also found lower injury severity and better hospital course in the helmeted population. Study limitations included selection bias, unclear statistical assumptions, lack of precision measures, confounding variables, and lack of standardization to a common year. Meta-analysis demonstrated an I2 of 67%, attributing a significant proportion of outcome variation to study differences. Motorcycle helmet use reduces morbidity and contributes to significant health care cost savings. Continuing antihelmet legislation will impose a substantial economic burden to the health care system, the government, and the public.

Low-cost and miniaturized 100-Gb/s (2 × 50 Gb/s) PAM-4 TO-packaged ROSA for data center networks.

PubMed

Kang, Sae-Kyoung; Huh, Joon Young; Lee, Jie Hyun; Lee, Joon Ki

2018-03-05

We design and implement a cost-effective and compact 100-Gb/s (2 × 50 Gb/s) PAM-4 receiver optical sub-assembly (ROSA) by using a TO-can package instead of an expensive box-type package. It consists of an optical demultiplexer, two PIN-PDs and a 2-channel linear transimpedance amplifier. The components are passively aligned and assembled using alignment marks engraved on each part. With a real-time PAM-4 DSP chip, we measured the back-to-back receiver sensitivities of the 100-Gb/s ROSA based on TO-56 to be less than -13.2 dBm for both channels at a bit error rate of 2.4e-4. The crosstalk penalty due to the adjacent channel interference was observed around 0.1 dB.

Situation analysis of procurement and production of multiple micronutrient supplements in 12 lower and upper middle-income countries.

PubMed

Monterrosa, Eva C; Beesabathuni, Kalpana; van Zutphen, Kesso G; Steiger, Georg; Kupka, Roland; Fleet, Alison; Kraemer, Klaus

2017-12-26

Globally, there are few vitamin and mineral ingredient manufacturers. To support local, in-country or regional procurement and production of multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS), the following production scenarios are possible: (a) straight ingredients of vitamins and minerals forms imported or locally produced that are mixed, tableted, or encapsulated and packaged by a local manufacturer; (b) import or local production of a vitamin and minerals premix that is tableted or encapsulated and packaged locally; (c) import of a bulk, finished product (tablets or capsules) that is packaged and branded; and (d) or import of a branded packaged product. This paper is a situation analysis of the market, manufacturing, and policy factors that are driving the production of MMS in 12 lower and upper middle-income countries. Key informants completed a self-administered structured questionnaire, which examined the local context of products available in the market and their cost, regulations and policies, in Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. Our study found that although most countries have the capacity to produce locally MMS, the major barriers observed for sustainable and affordable production include (a) poor technical capacity and policies for ensuring quality along the value chain and (b) lack of policy coherence to incentivize local production and lower the manufacture and retail price of MMS. Also, better guidelines and government oversight will be required because not one country had an MMS formulation that matched the globally recommended formulation of the United Nations Multiple Micronutrient Preparation (UNIMMAP). © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Revisiting policy on chronic HCV treatment under the Thai Universal Health Coverage: An economic evaluation and budget impact analysis.

PubMed

Rattanavipapong, Waranya; Anothaisintawee, Thunyarat; Teerawattananon, Yot

2018-01-01

Thailand is encountering challenges to introduce the high-cost sofosbuvir for chronic hepatitis C treatment as part of the Universal Health Care's benefit package. This study was conducted in respond to policy demand from the Thai government to assess the value for money and budget impact of introducing sofosbuvir-based regimens in the tax-based health insurance scheme. The Markov model was constructed to assess costs and benefits of the four treatment options that include: (i) current practice-peginterferon alfa (PEG) and ribavirin (RBV) for 24 weeks in genotype 3 and 48 weeks for other genotypes; (ii) Sofosbuvir plus peginterferon alfa and ribavirin (SOF+PEG-RBV) for 12 weeks; (iii) Sofosbuvir and daclatasvir (SOF+DCV) for 12 weeks; (iv) Sofosbuvir and ledipasvir (SOF+LDV) for 12 weeks for non-3 genotypes and SOF+PEG-RBV for 12 weeks for genotype 3 infection. Given that policy options (ii) and (iii) are for pan-genotypic infection, the cost of genotype testing was applied only for policy options (i) and (iv). Results reveal that all sofosbuvir-based regimens had greater quality adjusted life years (QALY) gains compared with the current treatment, therefore associated with lower lifetime costs and more favourable health outcomes. Additionally, among the three regimens of sofosbuvir, SOF+PEG-RBV for genotype 3 and SOF+LDV for non-3 genotype are the most cost-effective treatment option with the threshold of 160,000 THB per QALY gained. The results of this study had been used in policy discussion which resulted in the recent inclusion of SOF+PEG-RBV for genotype 3 and SOF+LDV for non-3 genotype in the Thailand's benefit package.

Development of low cost, high reliability sealing techniques for hybrid microcircuit packages. Phase 2, supplement 1: Moisture permeation of adhesive-sealed hybrid microcircuit packages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perkins, K. L.; Licari, J. J.

1978-01-01

The susceptibility of adhesive-sealed ceramic packages to moisture permeation was investigated. The two adhesives, Ablebond 789-1 and Epo-Tek H77, were evaluated as package sealants. These adhesives were previously selected as the most promising candidates for this application from a group of ten adhesives. Ceramic packages sealed with these adhesives were exposed to temperature-humidity conditions of 25 C/98 percent RH, 50 C/60 percent RH, 50 C/98 percent RH, and 85 C/85 percent RH and their moisture contents using were monitored solid state moisture sensors sealed inside them. Five packages were tested at each of these exposures - two ceramic packages sealed with each of the two adhesives and one seam-sealed gold-plated Kovar package. This latter package was included to serve as a control. The results showed that the adhesive-sealed packages were not hermetic to moisture. The rates at which moisture entered the packages increased with the severity of the exposure environments (i.e., higher temperatures and higher moisture vapor pressures) with greater dependence on temperature than on moisture vapor pressure.

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart I of... - Determination of Allowable Costs

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the actual reasonable and necessary costs for preparing the pre-bid package. (4) Post-construction... built in conformance with the design drawings and specifications. f. The costs (including legal... from defects in the plans, design drawings and specifications, or other subagreement documents only to...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart I of... - Determination of Allowable Costs

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... the actual reasonable and necessary costs for preparing the pre-bid package. (4) Post-construction... built in conformance with the design drawings and specifications. f. The costs (including legal... from defects in the plans, design drawings and specifications, or other subagreement documents only to...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart I of... - Determination of Allowable Costs

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the actual reasonable and necessary costs for preparing the pre-bid package. (4) Post-construction... built in conformance with the design drawings and specifications. f. The costs (including legal... from defects in the plans, design drawings and specifications, or other subagreement documents only to...

GENIE: a software package for gene-gene interaction analysis in genetic association studies using multiple GPU or CPU cores.

PubMed

Chikkagoudar, Satish; Wang, Kai; Li, Mingyao

2011-05-26

Gene-gene interaction in genetic association studies is computationally intensive when a large number of SNPs are involved. Most of the latest Central Processing Units (CPUs) have multiple cores, whereas Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) also have hundreds of cores and have been recently used to implement faster scientific software. However, currently there are no genetic analysis software packages that allow users to fully utilize the computing power of these multi-core devices for genetic interaction analysis for binary traits. Here we present a novel software package GENIE, which utilizes the power of multiple GPU or CPU processor cores to parallelize the interaction analysis. GENIE reads an entire genetic association study dataset into memory and partitions the dataset into fragments with non-overlapping sets of SNPs. For each fragment, GENIE analyzes: 1) the interaction of SNPs within it in parallel, and 2) the interaction between the SNPs of the current fragment and other fragments in parallel. We tested GENIE on a large-scale candidate gene study on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Using an NVIDIA Tesla C1060 graphics card, the GPU mode of GENIE achieves a speedup of 27 times over its single-core CPU mode run. GENIE is open-source, economical, user-friendly, and scalable. Since the computing power and memory capacity of graphics cards are increasing rapidly while their cost is going down, we anticipate that GENIE will achieve greater speedups with faster GPU cards. Documentation, source code, and precompiled binaries can be downloaded from http://www.cceb.upenn.edu/~mli/software/GENIE/.

GENIE: a software package for gene-gene interaction analysis in genetic association studies using multiple GPU or CPU cores

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Gene-gene interaction in genetic association studies is computationally intensive when a large number of SNPs are involved. Most of the latest Central Processing Units (CPUs) have multiple cores, whereas Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) also have hundreds of cores and have been recently used to implement faster scientific software. However, currently there are no genetic analysis software packages that allow users to fully utilize the computing power of these multi-core devices for genetic interaction analysis for binary traits. Findings Here we present a novel software package GENIE, which utilizes the power of multiple GPU or CPU processor cores to parallelize the interaction analysis. GENIE reads an entire genetic association study dataset into memory and partitions the dataset into fragments with non-overlapping sets of SNPs. For each fragment, GENIE analyzes: 1) the interaction of SNPs within it in parallel, and 2) the interaction between the SNPs of the current fragment and other fragments in parallel. We tested GENIE on a large-scale candidate gene study on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Using an NVIDIA Tesla C1060 graphics card, the GPU mode of GENIE achieves a speedup of 27 times over its single-core CPU mode run. Conclusions GENIE is open-source, economical, user-friendly, and scalable. Since the computing power and memory capacity of graphics cards are increasing rapidly while their cost is going down, we anticipate that GENIE will achieve greater speedups with faster GPU cards. Documentation, source code, and precompiled binaries can be downloaded from http://www.cceb.upenn.edu/~mli/software/GENIE/. PMID:21615923

A task shifting approach to primary mental health care for adults in South Africa: human resource requirements and costs for rural settings.

PubMed

Petersen, Inge; Lund, Crick; Bhana, Arvin; Flisher, Alan J

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND A recent situational analysis suggests that post-apartheid South Africa has made some gains with respect to the decentralization and integration of mental health into primary health care. However, service gaps within and between provinces remain, with rural areas particularly underserved. Aim This study aims to calculate and cost a hypothetical human resource mix required to populate a framework for district adult mental health services. This framework embraces the concept of task shifting, where dedicated low cost mental health workers at the community and clinic levels supplement integrated care. METHOD The expected number and cost of human resources was based on: (a) assumptions of service provision derived from existing services in a sub-district demonstration site and a literature review of evidence-based packages of care in low- and middle-income countries; and (b) assumptions of service needs derived from other studies. RESULTS For a nominal population of 100 000, minimal service coverage estimates of 50% for schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, major depressive disorder and 30% for post-traumatic stress disorder and maternal depression would require that the primary health care staffing package include one post for a mental health counsellor or equivalent and 7.2 community mental health worker posts. The cost of these personnel amounts to £28 457 per 100 000 population. This cost can be offset by a reduction in the number of other specialist and non-specialist health personnel required to close service gaps at primary care level. CONCLUSION The adoption of the concept of task shifting can substantially reduce the expected number of health care providers otherwise needed to close mental health service gaps at primary health care level in South Africa at minimal cost and may serve as a model for other middle-income countries.

Monolithic microwave integrated circuits: Interconnections and packaging considerations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhasin, K. B.; Downey, A. N.; Ponchak, G. E.; Romanofsky, R. R.; Anzic, G.; Connolly, D. J.

Monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC's) above 18 GHz were developed because of important potential system benefits in cost reliability, reproducibility, and control of circuit parameters. The importance of interconnection and packaging techniques that do not compromise these MMIC virtues is emphasized. Currently available microwave transmission media are evaluated to determine their suitability for MMIC interconnections. An antipodal finline type of microstrip waveguide transition's performance is presented. Packaging requirements for MMIC's are discussed for thermal, mechanical, and electrical parameters for optimum desired performance.

Monolithic microwave integrated circuits: Interconnections and packaging considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhasin, K. B.; Downey, A. N.; Ponchak, G. E.; Romanofsky, R. R.; Anzic, G.; Connolly, D. J.

1984-01-01

Monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC's) above 18 GHz were developed because of important potential system benefits in cost reliability, reproducibility, and control of circuit parameters. The importance of interconnection and packaging techniques that do not compromise these MMIC virtues is emphasized. Currently available microwave transmission media are evaluated to determine their suitability for MMIC interconnections. An antipodal finline type of microstrip waveguide transition's performance is presented. Packaging requirements for MMIC's are discussed for thermal, mechanical, and electrical parameters for optimum desired performance.

Information technology: 1. Planning and developing a human resources information system.

PubMed

Lederer, A L

1984-01-01

for the unwary, planning and implementing an HRIS can present a variety of pitfalls. Author Albert L. Lederer, who spent ten years installing such systems before joining the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh (as assistant professor of business administration), is fully cognizant of the pitfalls involved and the problems that personnel departments encounter in the process. After discussing what an HRIS can accomplish, he gives a thoroughgoing, detailed approach to developing such a system--from cost justification, to the personnel department's relationship with the data-processing department at each step, to deciding between buying a packaged system and developing a new system internally. Most important, he emphasizes, is to define requirements precisely and completely at the outset--those who don't are in for a lot of costly headaches. Much more is covered in this comprehensive approach--not the least of which is (for packaged systems) vendor analysis and contract negotiation (the contract stipulates the vendor's responsibilities in terms of software, installation service, maintenance, training, and documentation). One popular strategy for negotiating a contract is to choose the best two vendors and compare their offers throughout the negotiation; this results in a contract with excellent leverage for the buyer.

A Packaged Intervention To Reduce Disruptive Behaviors in General Education Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Martini-Scully, Diane; Bray, Melissa A.; Kehle, Thomas J.

2000-01-01

Examines the effects of a packaged intervention designed to reduce disruptive behaviors in two 8-year-old female students. The intervention was delivered through a contingency contract and was comprised of precision requests, antecedent strategies, and the reductive technique of response costs. The intervention resulted in reduction of disruptive…

MicroSIFT Courseware Evaluations (169-198). Set 9. Including Subject and Title Indexes Covering Sets 1-9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Dave, Ed.

This document consists of 30 microcomputer software package evaluations prepared for the MicroSIFT (Microcomputer Software and Information for Teachers) Clearinghouse at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL). The concise, single-sheet resume describing and evaluating each software package includes source, cost, ability level,…

76 FR 53999 - Safety Notice: Transportation of DOT Special Permit Packages in Commerce

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-30

... hazard communication, packaging failures, property damage, injury, loss of life and even catastrophic... wait too long to retest the cylinder or apply the wrong test pressure. These errors put lives and... requirements of the applicable SP and HMR cost the lives of three transportation workers. II. Current...

Overview of NASA Langley's Piezoelectric Ceramic Packaging Technology and Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bryant, Robert G.

2007-01-01

Over the past decade, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) has developed several actuator packaging concepts designed to enhance the performance of commercial electroactive ceramics. NASA LaRC focused on properly designed actuator and sensor packaging for the following reasons, increased durability, protect the working material from the environment, allow for proper mechanical and electrical contact, afford "ready to use" mechanisms that are scalable, and develop fabrication methodology applicable to any active material of the same physical class. It is more cost effective to enhance or tailor the performance of existing systems, through innovative packaging, than to develop, test and manufacture new materials. This approach led to the development of several solid state actuators that include THUNDER, the Macrofiber Composite or (MFC) and the Radial Field Diaphragm or (RFD). All these actuators are fabricated using standard materials and processes derived from earlier concepts. NASA s fabrication and packaging technology as yielded, piezoelectric actuators and sensors that are easy to implement, reliable, consistent in properties, and of lower cost to manufacture in quantity, than their predecessors (as evidenced by their continued commercial availability.) These piezoelectric actuators have helped foster new research and development in areas involving computational modeling, actuator specific refinements, and engineering system redesign which led to new applications for piezo-based devices that replace traditional systems currently in use.

Kinematics Simulation Analysis of Packaging Robot with Joint Clearance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y. W.; Meng, W. J.; Wang, L. Q.; Cui, G. H.

2018-03-01

Considering the influence of joint clearance on the motion error, repeated positioning accuracy and overall position of the machine, this paper presents simulation analysis of a packaging robot — 2 degrees of freedom(DOF) planar parallel robot based on the characteristics of high precision and fast speed of packaging equipment. The motion constraint equation of the mechanism is established, and the analysis and simulation of the motion error are carried out in the case of turning the revolute clearance. The simulation results show that the size of the joint clearance will affect the movement accuracy and packaging efficiency of the packaging robot. The analysis provides a reference point of view for the packaging equipment design and selection criteria and has a great significance on the packaging industry automation.

An effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis of a hospital-based discharge transition program for elderly Medicare recipients.

PubMed

Saleh, Shadi S; Freire, Chris; Morris-Dickinson, Gwendolyn; Shannon, Trip

2012-06-01

To investigate the business case of postdischarge care transition (PDCT) among Medicare beneficiaries by conducting a cost-benefit analysis. Randomized controlled trial. A general hospital in upstate New York State. Elderly Medicare beneficiaries being treated from October 2008 through December 2009 were randomly selected to receive services as part of a comprehensive PDCT program (intervention--173 patients) or regular discharge process (control--160 patients) and followed for 12 months. The intervention comprised five activities: development of a patient-centered health record, a structured discharge preparation checklist of critical activities, delivery of patient self-activation and management sessions, follow-up appointments, and coordination of data flow. Cost-benefit ratio of the PDCT program; self-management skills and abilities. The 1-year readmission analysis revealed that control participants were more likely to be readmitted than intervention participants (58.2% vs 48.2%; P = .08); with most of that difference observed in the 91 to 365 days after discharge. Findings from the cost-benefit analysis revealed a cost-benefit ratio of 1.09, which indicates that, for every $1 spent on the program, a saving of $1.09 was realized. In addition, participating in a care transition program significantly enhanced self-management skills and abilities. Postdischarge care transition programs have a dual benefit of enhancing elderly adults' self-management skills and abilities and producing cost savings. This study builds a case for the inclusion of PDCT programs as a reimbursable service in benefit packages. © 2012, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2012, The American Geriatrics Society.

Cost-Effectiveness of a Model Infection Control Program for Preventing Multi-Drug-Resistant Organism Infections in Critically Ill Surgical Patients.

PubMed

Jayaraman, Sudha P; Jiang, Yushan; Resch, Stephen; Askari, Reza; Klompas, Michael

2016-10-01

Interventions to contain two multi-drug-resistant Acinetobacter (MDRA) outbreaks reduced the incidence of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) organisms, specifically methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, and Clostridium difficile in the general surgery intensive care unit (ICU) of our hospital. We therefore conducted a cost-effective analysis of a proactive model infection-control program to reduce transmission of MDR organisms based on the practices used to control the MDRA outbreak. We created a model of a proactive infection control program based on the 2011 MDRA outbreak response. We built a decision analysis model and performed univariable and probabilistic sensitivity analyses to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the proposed program compared with standard infection control practices to reduce transmission of these MDR organisms. The cost of a proactive infection control program would be $68,509 per year. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated to be $3,804 per aversion of transmission of MDR organisms in a one-year period compared with standard infection control. On the basis of probabilistic sensitivity analysis, a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of $14,000 per transmission averted would have a 42% probability of being cost-effective, rising to 100% at $22,000 per transmission averted. This analysis gives an estimated ICER for implementing a proactive program to prevent transmission of MDR organisms in the general surgery ICU. To better understand the causal relations between the critical steps in the program and the rate reductions, a randomized study of a package of interventions to prevent healthcare-associated infections should be considered.

Pre-measured Products Boost Efficiency, Cut Costs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Floyd G.; Pleasant, James

1974-01-01

Reduction of storage requirements, purchasing problems, handling, and costs has become a reality through the use of cleaning products in portion-controlled packages at the Chicago Circle Campus and the Medical Center of the University of Illinois. (Author)

Design, processing and testing of LSI arrays hybrid microelectronics task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Himmel, R. P.; Stuhlbarg, S. M.; Salmassy, S.

1978-01-01

Those factors affecting the cost of electronic subsystems utilizing LSI microcircuits were determined and the most efficient methods for low cost packaging of LSI devices as a function of density and reliability were developed.

Voluntary medical male circumcision: a qualitative study exploring the challenges of costing demand creation in eastern and southern Africa.

PubMed

Bertrand, Jane T; Njeuhmeli, Emmanuel; Forsythe, Steven; Mattison, Sarah K; Mahler, Hally; Hankins, Catherine A

2011-01-01

This paper proposes an approach to estimating the costs of demand creation for voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) scale-up in 13 countries of eastern and southern Africa. It addresses two key questions: (1) what are the elements of a standardized package for demand creation? And (2) what challenges exist and must be taken into account in estimating the costs of demand creation? We conducted a key informant study on VMMC demand creation using purposive sampling to recruit seven people who provide technical assistance to government programs and manage budgets for VMMC demand creation. Key informants provided their views on the important elements of VMMC demand creation and the most effective funding allocations across different types of communication approaches (e.g., mass media, small media, outreach/mobilization). The key finding was the wide range of views, suggesting that a standard package of core demand creation elements would not be universally applicable. This underscored the importance of tailoring demand creation strategies and estimates to specific country contexts before estimating costs. The key informant interviews, supplemented by the researchers' field experience, identified these issues to be addressed in future costing exercises: variations in the cost of VMMC demand creation activities by country and program, decisions about the quality and comprehensiveness of programming, and lack of data on critical elements needed to "trigger the decision" among eligible men. Based on this study's findings, we propose a seven-step methodological approach to estimate the cost of VMMC scale-up in a priority country, based on our key assumptions. However, further work is needed to better understand core components of a demand creation package and how to cost them. Notwithstanding the methodological challenges, estimating the cost of demand creation remains an essential element in deriving estimates of the total costs for VMMC scale-up in eastern and southern Africa.

Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Challenges of Costing Demand Creation in Eastern and Southern Africa

PubMed Central

Bertrand, Jane T.; Njeuhmeli, Emmanuel; Forsythe, Steven; Mattison, Sarah K.; Mahler, Hally; Hankins, Catherine A.

2011-01-01

Background This paper proposes an approach to estimating the costs of demand creation for voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) scale-up in 13 countries of eastern and southern Africa. It addresses two key questions: (1) what are the elements of a standardized package for demand creation? And (2) what challenges exist and must be taken into account in estimating the costs of demand creation? Methods and Findings We conducted a key informant study on VMMC demand creation using purposive sampling to recruit seven people who provide technical assistance to government programs and manage budgets for VMMC demand creation. Key informants provided their views on the important elements of VMMC demand creation and the most effective funding allocations across different types of communication approaches (e.g., mass media, small media, outreach/mobilization). The key finding was the wide range of views, suggesting that a standard package of core demand creation elements would not be universally applicable. This underscored the importance of tailoring demand creation strategies and estimates to specific country contexts before estimating costs. The key informant interviews, supplemented by the researchers' field experience, identified these issues to be addressed in future costing exercises: variations in the cost of VMMC demand creation activities by country and program, decisions about the quality and comprehensiveness of programming, and lack of data on critical elements needed to “trigger the decision” among eligible men. Conclusions Based on this study's findings, we propose a seven-step methodological approach to estimate the cost of VMMC scale-up in a priority country, based on our key assumptions. However, further work is needed to better understand core components of a demand creation package and how to cost them. Notwithstanding the methodological challenges, estimating the cost of demand creation remains an essential element in deriving estimates of the total costs for VMMC scale-up in eastern and southern Africa. PMID:22140450

Cost and acceptability of three syringe-pump infusion systems.

PubMed

Johnson, M S; Pesko, L J; Wood, C F; Reinders, T P

1990-08-01

The fiscal impact and acceptability of implementing a syringe-pump infusion system at a 900-bed university teaching hospital where the minibag system has been in use is reported. Researchers selected three models of syringe pumps for evaluation: the Bard Harvard Mini-Infuser 150XL, the Becton Dickinson 360 Infuser, and the Strato Stratofuse System. Each pump was evaluated for three weeks on a medical-surgical unit and a hematology-oncology unit. Drugs to be infused were chosen after a literature review to determine which drugs had been successfully infused via syringe pump; 22 formulary medications were selected. Syringes were prepared as singly packaged doses or as doses prepared in bulk and packaged frozen. Control of the syringe pumps and microbore tubing was assigned to the inpatient pharmacy staff. Nurses and pharmacy personnel were apprised of the study and taught how to use the syringe pumps. Time-and-motion studies were performed in the sterile products preparation area, and a cost analysis was done. Nurses preferred syringe pumps over the minibag system because the pumps reduced the nursing time needed to infuse a drug, administered less fluid, provided consistent infusion rates, had alarms, and were relatively easy to use. The time required to prepare syringes did not differ substantially among syringe-pump models. It was estimated that using any of the evaluated pumps in place of the minibag system would save $126,500 during the three-year period 1988-91, primarily because of differences in the cost of disposable items. The syringe-pump infusion system is an acceptable and cost-effective alternative to the minibag system.

High-Temperature High-Power Packaging Techniques for HEV Traction Applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barlow, F.D.; Elshabini, A.

A key issue associated with the wider adoption of hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) and plug in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEV) is the implementation of the power electronic systems that are required in these products [1]. To date, many consumers find the adoption of these technologies problematic based on a financial analysis of the initial cost versus the savings available from reduced fuel consumption. Therefore, one of the primary industry goals is the reduction in the price of these vehicles relative to the cost of traditional gasoline powered vehicles. Part of this cost reduction must come through optimization of the power electronics requiredmore » by these vehicles. In addition, the efficiency of the systems must be optimized in order to provide the greatest range possible. For some drivers, any reduction in the range associated with a potential HEV or PHEV solution in comparison to a gasoline powered vehicle represents a significant barrier to adoption and the efficiency of the power electronics plays an important role in this range. Likewise, high efficiencies are also important since lost power further complicates the thermal management of these systems. Reliability is also an important concern since most drivers have a high level of comfort with gasoline powered vehicles and are somewhat reluctant to switch to a less proven technology. Reliability problems in the power electronics or associated components could not only cause a high warranty cost to the manufacturer, but may also taint these technologies in the consumer's eyes. A larger vehicle offering in HEVs is another important consideration from a power electronics point of view. A larger vehicle will need more horsepower, or a larger rated drive. In some ways this will be more difficult to implement from a cost and size point of view. Both the packaging of these modules and the thermal management of these systems at competitive price points create significant challenges. One way in which significant cost reduction of these systems could be achieved is through the use of a single coolant loop for both the power electronics as well as the internal combustion engine (ICE) [2]. This change would reduce the complexity of the cooling system which currently relies on two loops to a single loop [3]. However, the current nominal coolant temperature entering these inverters is 65 C [3], whereas a normal ICE coolant temperature would be much higher at approximately 100 C. This change in coolant temperature significantly increases the junction temperatures of the devices and creates a number of challenges for both device fabrication and the assembly of these devices into inverters and converters for HEV and PHEV applications. With this change in mind, significant progress has been made on the use of SiC devices for inverters that can withstand much higher junction temperatures than traditional Si based inverters [4,5,6]. However, a key problem which the single coolant loop and high temperature devices is the effective packaging of these devices and related components into a high temperature inverter. The elevated junction temperatures that exist in these modules are not compatible with reliable inverters based on existing packaging technology. This report seeks to provide a literature survey of high temperature packaging and to highlight the issues related to the implementation of high temperature power electronic modules for HEV and PHEV applications. For purposes of discussion, it will be assumed in this report that 200 C is the targeted maximum junction temperature.« less

Cost-effectiveness of acupuncture care as an adjunct to exercise-based physical therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee.

PubMed

Whitehurst, David G T; Bryan, Stirling; Hay, Elaine M; Thomas, Elaine; Young, Julie; Foster, Nadine E

2011-05-01

The delivery of acupuncture alongside mainstream interventions and the cost-effectiveness of "alternative" treatments remain areas of controversy. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-utility of adding acupuncture to a course of advice and exercise delivered by UK National Health Service (NHS) physical therapists to people with osteoarthritis of the knee. A cost-utility analysis was performed alongside a randomized controlled trial. A total of 352 adults (aged 50 years or older) were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 interventions. The primary analysis focused on participants receiving advice and exercise (AE) or advice and exercise plus true acupuncture (AE+TA). A secondary analysis considered participants receiving advice and exercise plus nonpenetrating acupuncture (AE+NPA). The main outcome measures were quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), measured by the EQ-5D, and UK NHS costs. were expressed as the incremental cost per QALY gained over 12 months. Sensitivity analyses included a broader cost perspective to incorporate private out-of-pocket costs. Results NHS costs were higher for AE+TA (£314 [British pounds sterling]) than for AE alone (£229), and the difference in mean QALYs favored AE+TA (mean difference=0.022). The base-case cost per QALY gained was £3,889; this value was associated with a 77% probability that AE+TA would be more cost-effective than AE at a threshold of £20,000 per QALY. Cost-utility data for AE+NPA provided cost-effectiveness estimates similar to those for AE+TA. As with all trial-based economic evaluations, caution should be exercised when generalizing results beyond the study perspectives. A package of AE+TA delivered by NHS physical therapists provided a cost-effective use of health care resources despite an associated increase in costs. However, the economic benefits could not be attributed to the penetrating nature of conventional acupuncture; therefore, further research regarding the mechanisms of acupuncture is needed. An analysis of alternative cost perspectives suggested that the results are generalizable to other health care settings.

Data Service Provider Cost Estimation Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fontaine, Kathy; Hunolt, Greg; Booth, Arthur L.; Banks, Mel

2011-01-01

The Data Service Provider Cost Estimation Tool (CET) and Comparables Database (CDB) package provides to NASA s Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) the ability to estimate the full range of year-by-year lifecycle cost estimates for the implementation and operation of data service providers required by ESE to support its science and applications programs. The CET can make estimates dealing with staffing costs, supplies, facility costs, network services, hardware and maintenance, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software licenses, software development and sustaining engineering, and the changes in costs that result from changes in workload. Data Service Providers may be stand-alone or embedded in flight projects, field campaigns, research or applications projects, or other activities. The CET and CDB package employs a cost-estimation-by-analogy approach. It is based on a new, general data service provider reference model that provides a framework for construction of a database by describing existing data service providers that are analogs (or comparables) to planned, new ESE data service providers. The CET implements the staff effort and cost estimation algorithms that access the CDB and generates the lifecycle cost estimate for a new data services provider. This data creates a common basis for an ESE proposal evaluator for considering projected data service provider costs.

Cost of treatment for head and neck cancer in India

PubMed Central

Chauhan, Akashdeep Singh; Ghoshal, Sushmita; Verma, Roshan; Oinam, Arun S.

2018-01-01

There are no published data on the cost of cancer treatment for guiding reimbursement decisions in India. The present study was designed to estimate the cost of treating head and neck cancer (HNC) with the aim of determining package rates. The present study was undertaken in the Departments of Radiotherapy and Otolaryngology of a large tertiary care hospital in North India. Economic health system costs incurred were assessed using a bottom-up methodology. Data on all resources–capital or recurrent, incurred on the delivery of HNC treatment were collected from April 2014 to March 2015. Following the cost-of-illness approach, patients were interviewed to elicit out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure. A total of INR 40,993,017 (USD 0.67 million) was spent on radiotherapy care for treating HNC during 1 year. Salaries constituted the major component (42.6%) of this cost, followed by equipment/furniture (29%), space rent (20.7%), overheads and consumables (7.7%). In addition, INR 47,191 (USD 773) per HNC patient was spent on the surgery. Furthermore, patients spent an average amount ranging from INR 12,575 (USD 206) to INR 65,257 (USD 1069) on the different treatment therapies. In terms of package rates, cobalt radiotherapy alone was the cheapest (INR 38,714, USD 634), while intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) was most expensive (INR 192,914, USD 3161). The estimates from the present study could be used for developing package rates under various publicly financed health insurance schemes as well as for the planning for creation of new cancer centres. PMID:29324861

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and related disorders: key messages from Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition.

PubMed

Prabhakaran, Dorairaj; Anand, Shuchi; Watkins, David; Gaziano, Thomas; Wu, Yangfeng; Mbanya, Jean Claude; Nugent, Rachel

2018-03-24

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and related disorders (CVRDs) are the leading causes of adult death worldwide, and substantial inequalities in care of patients with CVRDs exist between countries of high income and countries of low and middle income. Based on current trends, the UN Sustainable Development Goal to reduce premature mortality due to CVRDs by a third by 2030 will be challenging for many countries of low and middle income. We did systematic literature reviews of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness to identify priority interventions. We summarise the key findings and present a costed essential package of interventions to reduce risk of and manage CVRDs. On a population level, we recommend tobacco taxation, bans on trans fats, and compulsory reduction of salt in manufactured food products. We suggest primary health services be strengthened through the establishment of locally endorsed guidelines and ensured availability of essential medications. The policy interventions and health service delivery package we suggest could serve as the cornerstone for the management of CVRDs, and afford substantial financial risk protection for vulnerable households. We estimate that full implementation of the essential package would cost an additional US$21 per person in the average low-income country and $24 in the average lower-middle-income country. The essential package we describe could be a starting place for low-income and middle-income countries developing universal health coverage packages. Interventions could be rolled out as disease burden demands and budgets allow. Our outlined interventions provide a pathway for countries attempting to convert the UN Sustainable Development Goal commitments into tangible action. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

AstroCloud: An Agile platform for data visualization and specific analyzes in 2D and 3D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molina, F. Z.; Salgado, R.; Bergel, A.; Infante, A.

2017-07-01

Nowadays, astronomers commonly run their own tools, or distributed computational packages, for data analysis and then visualizing the results with generic applications. This chain of processes comes at high cost: (a) analyses are manually applied, they are therefore difficult to be automatized, and (b) data have to be serialized, thus increasing the cost of parsing and saving intermediary data. We are developing AstroCloud, an agile visualization multipurpose platform intended for specific analyses of astronomical images (https://astrocloudy.wordpress.com). This platform incorporates domain-specific languages which make it easily extensible. AstroCloud supports customized plug-ins, which translate into time reduction on data analysis. Moreover, it also supports 2D and 3D rendering, including interactive features in real time. AstroCloud is under development, we are currently implementing different choices for data reduction and physical analyzes.

Decarbonizing urban transport in European cities: four cases show possibly high co-benefits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Creutzig, Felix; Mühlhoff, Rainer; Römer, Julia

2012-12-01

Cities worldwide are increasingly becoming agents of climate change mitigation, while simultaneously aiming for other goals, such as improved accessibility and clean air. Based on stakeholder interviews and data analysis, we assess the current state of urban mobility in the four European cities of Barcelona, Malmö, Sofia and Freiburg. We then provide scenarios of increasingly ambitious policy packages, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from urban transport by up to 80% from 2010 to 2040. We find significant concurrent co-benefits in cleaner air, reduced noise ambience, fewer traffic-related injuries and deaths, more physical activity, less congestion and monetary fuel savings. Our scenarios suggest that non-motorized transport, especially bicycles, can occupy high modal shares, particularly in cities with less than 0.5 million inhabitants. We think that this kind of multi-criteria assessment of social costs and benefits is a useful complement to cost-benefit analysis of climate change mitigation measures.

A precise goniometer/tensiometer using a low cost single-board computer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Favier, Benoit; Chamakos, Nikolaos T.; Papathanasiou, Athanasios G.

2017-12-01

Measuring the surface tension and the Young contact angle of a droplet is extremely important for many industrial applications. Here, considering the booming interest for small and cheap but precise experimental instruments, we have constructed a low-cost contact angle goniometer/tensiometer, based on a single-board computer (Raspberry Pi). The device runs an axisymmetric drop shape analysis (ADSA) algorithm written in Python. The code, here named DropToolKit, was developed in-house. We initially present the mathematical framework of our algorithm and then we validate our software tool against other well-established ADSA packages, including the commercial ramé-hart DROPimage Advanced as well as the DropAnalysis plugin in ImageJ. After successfully testing for various combinations of liquids and solid surfaces, we concluded that our prototype device would be highly beneficial for industrial applications as well as for scientific research in wetting phenomena compared to the commercial solutions.

Examing the prospective of implementing passive house standards in providing sustainable schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suhaili, Wan Farhani; Shahrill, Masitah

2018-04-01

This study examines the potential of implementing the passive house standards to reduce energy consumption on school buildings in Brunei. Furthermore, it investigates whether sustainable school buildings make business sense to the government. To do this, conventional and Passive House primary school buildings are compared in terms of their performances using the Passive House Planning Package as well as the Ecotect environmental analysis tool. The findings indicated that by replacing lower U-values building fabrics brought a significantly reduction in the cooling demand of 54%. Whereas, Ecotect models have demonstrated that the heating and cooling loads have tremendously reduced to 75% by reorienting the location of the building to south elevation and by replacing the building fabrics with a lower U-values. These findings were then evaluated with a cost benefit analysis that proved to save cost energy annually from air-conditioning usage from a typical primary school with eight years of pay back period.

Evaluation and selection of open-source EMR software packages based on integrated AHP and TOPSIS.

PubMed

Zaidan, A A; Zaidan, B B; Al-Haiqi, Ahmed; Kiah, M L M; Hussain, Muzammil; Abdulnabi, Mohamed

2015-02-01

Evaluating and selecting software packages that meet the requirements of an organization are difficult aspects of software engineering process. Selecting the wrong open-source EMR software package can be costly and may adversely affect business processes and functioning of the organization. This study aims to evaluate and select open-source EMR software packages based on multi-criteria decision-making. A hands-on study was performed and a set of open-source EMR software packages were implemented locally on separate virtual machines to examine the systems more closely. Several measures as evaluation basis were specified, and the systems were selected based a set of metric outcomes using Integrated Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and TOPSIS. The experimental results showed that GNUmed and OpenEMR software can provide better basis on ranking score records than other open-source EMR software packages. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Start-Up Costs in American Research Universities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ehrenberg, Ronald G.; Rizzo, Michael J.; Condie, Scott S.

This report briefly summarizes findings from the 2002 Cornell Higher Education Research Institute survey of start-up costs at the over 220 universities classified as research and doctoral universities by the Carnegie Foundation in 1994. It reports the mean start-up cost packages across institutions for new assistant professors and senior faculty,…

Emerging low-cost LED thermal management materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zweben, Carl H.

2004-10-01

As chip size and power levels continue to increase, thermal management, thermal stresses and cost have become key LED packaging issues. Until recently, low-coefficient-of-thermal-expansion (CTE) materials, which are needed to minimize thermal stresses, had thermal conductivities that are no better than those of aluminum alloys, about 200 W/m-K. Copper, which has a higher thermal conductivity (400 W/m-K), also has a high CTE, which can cause severe thermal stresses. We now have over a dozen low-CTE materials with thermal conductivities ranging between 400 and 1700 W/m-K, and almost a score with thermal conductivities at least 50% greater than that of aluminum. Some of these materials are low cost. Others have the potential to be low cost in high volume production. Emphasizing low cost, this paper reviews traditional packaging materials and the six categories of advanced materials: polymer matrix-, metal matrix-, ceramic matrix-, and carbon matrix composites; monolithic carbonaceous materials; and metal-metal composites/alloys. Topics include properties, status, applications, cost and likely future directions of new advanced materials, including carbon nanotubes and inexpensive graphite nanoplatelets.

Multifrequency data analysis software on STARLINK

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allan, P. M.

1992-01-01

Although the STARLINK project was set up to provide image processing facilities to UK astronomers, it has grown over the last 12 years to the extent that it now provides most of the data analysis facilities for UK astronomers. One aspect of the growth of the STARLINK network is that it now has to cater for astronomers working in a diverse range of wavelengths. Since a given individual may be working with data obtained in a variety of wavelengths, it is most convenient if the data can be stored in a common format and the programs that analyze the data have a similar 'look and feel'. What is known as 'STARLINK software' is obtained from many sources: STARLINK funded programmers; astronomers; foreign projects such as AIPS; generally available shareware; and commercial sources when this proves cost effective. This means that the ideal situation of a completely integrated system cannot be realized in practice. Nevertheless, many of the major packages written by STARLINK application programmers and by astronomers do use a common data format, based on the Hierarchical Data System, so that interchange of data between packages designed separately from each other is simply a matter of using the same file names. For example, as astronomer might use KAPPA to read some optical spectra off a FITS tape, then use CCDPACK to debias and flat field the data (it is easy to set up an overnight batch job to do this if there is a lot of data), then use KAPPA to have a quick look at the data and then use Figaro to reduce the spectra. It is useful to divide data analysis packages into wavelength specific packages, or even instrument specific packages, and general purpose ones. Once the instrumental signature has been removed from some data, any appropriate general purpose package can be used to analyze te data. For example, the ASTERIX package deals with x-ray data reduction, but after dealing with all of the x-ray specific processing, an astronomer may well want to find the brightness of objects in a given frame. Since ASTERIX uses the standard STARLINK data format, the astronomer can use PHOTOM or DAOPHOT 2 to measure the brightness of the objects. Although DAOPHOT was written with optical astronomy in mind, it is useful for analyzing data from several wavelengths. The ability of DAOPHOT 2 to handle non-standard point spread functions can be especially useful in many areas of astronomy.

Streaming support for data intensive cloud-based sequence analysis.

PubMed

Issa, Shadi A; Kienzler, Romeo; El-Kalioby, Mohamed; Tonellato, Peter J; Wall, Dennis; Bruggmann, Rémy; Abouelhoda, Mohamed

2013-01-01

Cloud computing provides a promising solution to the genomics data deluge problem resulting from the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. Based on the concepts of "resources-on-demand" and "pay-as-you-go", scientists with no or limited infrastructure can have access to scalable and cost-effective computational resources. However, the large size of NGS data causes a significant data transfer latency from the client's site to the cloud, which presents a bottleneck for using cloud computing services. In this paper, we provide a streaming-based scheme to overcome this problem, where the NGS data is processed while being transferred to the cloud. Our scheme targets the wide class of NGS data analysis tasks, where the NGS sequences can be processed independently from one another. We also provide the elastream package that supports the use of this scheme with individual analysis programs or with workflow systems. Experiments presented in this paper show that our solution mitigates the effect of data transfer latency and saves both time and cost of computation.

75 FR 18514 - Developing Guidance on Naming, Labeling, and Packaging Practices to Reduce Medication Errors...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-12

..., layout, use of color, use of graphics, and costs associated with designing labels. Panel 1 will address... from the general public about the design of drug and therapeutic biologic container labels, carton... packaging designs. Among these measures, FDA agreed that by the end of FY 2010, after public consultation...

The Effects of a Treatment Package in Establishing Independent Academic Work Skills in Children with Autism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pelios, Lillian V.; MacDuff, Gregory S.; Axelrod, Saul

2003-01-01

This study evaluated a treatment package to improve on-task academic skills by three children with autism. Program components included delayed reinforcement for on-task and on-schedule responding, fading of instructional prompts and instructor's presence, unpredictable supervision, and response cost for off-task responding. On-task and on-schedule…

Apparatus and method for fabricating a microbattery

DOEpatents

Shul, Randy J.; Kravitz, Stanley H.; Christenson, Todd R.; Zipperian, Thomas E.; Ingersoll, David

2002-01-01

An apparatus and method for fabricating a microbattery that uses silicon as the structural component, packaging component, and semiconductor to reduce the weight, size, and cost of thin film battery technology is described. When combined with advanced semiconductor packaging techniques, such a silicon-based microbattery enables the fabrication of autonomous, highly functional, integrated microsystems having broad applicability.

Provision of bednets and water filters to delay HIV-1 progression: cost-effectiveness analysis of a Kenyan multisite study.

PubMed

Kern, Eli; Verguet, Stéphane; Yuhas, Krista; Odhiambo, Frederick H; Kahn, James G; Walson, Judd

2013-08-01

To estimate the effectiveness, costs and cost-effectiveness of providing long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) and point-of-use water filters to antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve HIV-infected adults and their family members, in the context of a multisite study in Kenya of 589 HIV-positive adults followed on average for 1.7 years. The effectiveness, costs and cost-effectiveness of the intervention were estimated using an epidemiologic-cost model. Model epidemiologic inputs were derived from the Kenya multisite study data, local epidemiological data and from the published literature. Model cost inputs were derived from published literature specific to Kenya. Uncertainty in the model estimates was assessed through univariate and multivariate sensitivity analyses. We estimated net cost savings of about US$ 26 000 for the intervention, over 1.7 years. Even when ignoring net cost savings, the intervention was found to be very cost-effective at a cost of US$ 3100 per death averted or US$ 99 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. The findings were robust to the sensitivity analysis and remained most sensitive to both the duration of ART use and the cost of ART per person-year. The provision of LLINs and water filters to ART-naïve HIV-infected adults in the Kenyan study resulted in substantial net cost savings, due to the delay in the initiation of ART. The addition of an LLIN and a point-of-use water filter to the existing package of care provided to ART-naïve HIV-infected adults could bring substantial cost savings to resource-constrained health systems in low- and middle-income countries. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

XAPiir: A recursive digital filtering package

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harris, D.

1990-09-21

XAPiir is a basic recursive digital filtering package, containing both design and implementation subroutines. XAPiir was developed for the experimental array processor (XAP) software package, and is written in FORTRAN. However, it is intended to be incorporated into any general- or special-purpose signal analysis program. It replaces the older package RECFIL, offering several enhancements. RECFIL is used in several large analysis programs developed at LLNL, including the seismic analysis package SAC, several expert systems (NORSEA and NETSEA), and two general purpose signal analysis packages (SIG and VIEW). This report is divided into two sections: the first describes the use ofmore » the subroutine package, and the second, its internal organization. In the first section, the filter design problem is briefly reviewed, along with the definitions of the filter design parameters and their relationship to the subroutine input parameters. In the second section, the internal organization is documented to simplify maintenance and extensions to the package. 5 refs., 9 figs.« less

MEMS packaging: state of the art and future trends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bossche, Andre; Cotofana, Carmen V. B.; Mollinger, Jeff R.

1998-07-01

Now that the technology for Integrated sensor and MEMS devices has become sufficiently mature to allow mass production, it is expected that the prices of bare chips will drop dramatically. This means that the package prices will become a limiting factor in market penetration, unless low cost packaging solutions become available. This paper will discuss the developments in packaging technology. Both single-chip and multi-chip packaging solutions will be addressed. It first starts with a discussion on the different requirements that have to be met; both from a device point of view (open access paths to the environment, vacuum cavities, etc.) and from the application point of view (e.g. environmental hostility). Subsequently current technologies are judged on their applicability for MEMS and sensor packaging and a forecast is given for future trends. It is expected that the large majority of sensing devices will be applied in relative friendly environments for which plastic packages would suffice. Therefore, on the short term an important role is foreseen for recently developed plastic packaging techniques such as precision molding and precision dispensing. Just like in standard electronic packaging, complete wafer level packaging methods for sensing devices still have a long way to go before they can compete with the highly optimized and automated plastic packaging processes.

The General-Use Nodal Network Solver (GUNNS) Modeling Package for Space Vehicle Flow System Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harvey, Jason; Moore, Michael

2013-01-01

The General-Use Nodal Network Solver (GUNNS) is a modeling software package that combines nodal analysis and the hydraulic-electric analogy to simulate fluid, electrical, and thermal flow systems. GUNNS is developed by L-3 Communications under the TS21 (Training Systems for the 21st Century) project for NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), primarily for use in space vehicle training simulators at JSC. It has sufficient compactness and fidelity to model the fluid, electrical, and thermal aspects of space vehicles in real-time simulations running on commodity workstations, for vehicle crew and flight controller training. It has a reusable and flexible component and system design, and a Graphical User Interface (GUI), providing capability for rapid GUI-based simulator development, ease of maintenance, and associated cost savings. GUNNS is optimized for NASA's Trick simulation environment, but can be run independently of Trick.

Is home-based palliative care cost-effective? An economic evaluation of the Palliative Care Extended Packages at Home (PEACH) pilot.

PubMed

McCaffrey, Nikki; Agar, Meera; Harlum, Janeane; Karnon, Jonathon; Currow, David; Eckermann, Simon

2013-12-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a home-based palliative care model relative to usual care in expediting discharge or enabling patients to remain at home. Economic evaluation of a pilot randomised controlled trial with 28 days follow-up. Mean costs and effectiveness were calculated for the Palliative Care Extended Packages at Home (PEACH) and usual care arms including: days at home; place of death; PEACH intervention costs; specialist palliative care service use; acute hospital and palliative care unit inpatient stays; and outpatient visits. PEACH mean intervention costs per patient ($3489) were largely offset by lower mean inpatient care costs ($2450) and in this arm, participants were at home for one additional day on average. Consequently, PEACH is cost-effective relative to usual care when the threshold value for one extra day at home exceeds $1068, or $2547 if only within-study days of hospital admission are costed. All estimates are high uncertainty. The results of this small pilot study point to the potential of PEACH as a cost-effective end-of-life care model relative to usual care. Findings support the feasibility of conducting a definitive, fully powered study with longer follow-up and comprehensive economic evaluation.

An Algorithm and R Program for Fitting and Simulation of Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Data.

PubMed

Li, Jijie; Yan, Kewei; Hou, Lisha; Du, Xudong; Zhu, Ping; Zheng, Li; Zhu, Cairong

2017-06-01

Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic link models are widely used in dose-finding studies. By applying such models, the results of initial pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies can be used to predict the potential therapeutic dose range. This knowledge can improve the design of later comparative large-scale clinical trials by reducing the number of participants and saving time and resources. However, the modeling process can be challenging, time consuming, and costly, even when using cutting-edge, powerful pharmacological software. Here, we provide a freely available R program for expediently analyzing pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic data, including data importation, parameter estimation, simulation, and model diagnostics. First, we explain the theory related to the establishment of the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic link model. Subsequently, we present the algorithms used for parameter estimation and potential therapeutic dose computation. The implementation of the R program is illustrated by a clinical example. The software package is then validated by comparing the model parameters and the goodness-of-fit statistics generated by our R package with those generated by the widely used pharmacological software WinNonlin. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters as well as the potential recommended therapeutic dose can be acquired with the R package. The validation process shows that the parameters estimated using our package are satisfactory. The R program developed and presented here provides pharmacokinetic researchers with a simple and easy-to-access tool for pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis on personal computers.

Proceedings of the 1983 Spring Meeting of the Packaging, Handling and Transportability Division of the American Defense Preparedness Association Held at Port Hueneme, California on April 26-28, 1983

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-01-01

packages into a cost saving technique that we refer to as brick loading. By this s ;meant, that the packages will be fitted into every available slot...8217IIMAN4roitrATION ,r, j ŕ- AZAIMIOUti f4\\iIl’t;I¢.;LA it LOAnD Jaituary 13, 1971 File: 1173.7(a) Mr. John V. Itvdc Coloitel, N’L’C •Chinf:, Officc of S-&:cty

''Do-it-yourself'' software program calculates boiler efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1984-03-01

An easy-to-use software package is described which runs on the IBM Personal Computer. The package calculates boiler efficiency, an important parameter of operating costs and equipment wellbeing. The program stores inputs and calculated results for 20 sets of boiler operating data, called cases. Cases can be displayed and modified on the CRT screen through multiple display pages or copied to a printer. All intermediate calculations are performed by this package. They include: steam enthalpy; water enthalpy; air humidity; gas, oil, coal, and wood heat capacity; and radiation losses.

The cost effectiveness of integrated care for people living with HIV including antiretroviral treatment in a primary health care centre in Bujumbura, Burundi.

PubMed

Renaud, A; Basenya, O; de Borman, N; Greindl, I; Meyer-Rath, G

2009-11-01

The incremental cost effectiveness of an integrated care package (i.e., medical care including antiretroviral therapy (ART) and other services such as psychological and social support) for people living with HIV/AIDS was calculated in a not-for-profit primary health care centre in Bujumbura run by Society of Women against AIDS-Burundi (SWAA-Burundi), an African non-governmental organisation (NGO). Results are expressed as cost-effectiveness ratio 2007, constant US$ per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. Unit costs are estimated from the NGO's accounting data and activity reports, healthcare utilisation is estimated from the medical records of a cohort of 149 patients. Effectiveness is modelled on the survival of this cohort, using standard calculation methods. The incremental cost of integrated care for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Bujumbura health centre of SWAA-Burundi is 258 USD per DALY averted. The package of care provided by SWAA-Burundi is therefore a very cost-effective intervention in comparison with other interventions against HIV/AIDS that include ART. It is however, less cost effective than other types of interventions against HIV/AIDS, such as preventive activities.

Application of Different Statistical Techniques in Integrated Logistics Support of the International Space Station Alpha

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sepehry-Fard, F.; Coulthard, Maurice H.

1995-01-01

The process to predict the values of the maintenance time dependent variable parameters such as mean time between failures (MTBF) over time must be one that will not in turn introduce uncontrolled deviation in the results of the ILS analysis such as life cycle cost spares calculation, etc. A minor deviation in the values of the maintenance time dependent variable parameters such as MTBF over time will have a significant impact on the logistics resources demands, International Space Station availability, and maintenance support costs. It is the objective of this report to identify the magnitude of the expected enhancement in the accuracy of the results for the International Space Station reliability and maintainability data packages by providing examples. These examples partially portray the necessary information hy evaluating the impact of the said enhancements on the life cycle cost and the availability of the International Space Station.

[From evidence-based medicine to value-based medicine].

PubMed

Zhang, Shao-dan; Liang, Yuan-bo; Li, Si-zhen

2006-11-01

Evidence base medicine (EBM) is based on objective evidence, which provides best available knowledge for physicians to scientifically make medical and therapeutic decisions for the care of all individual patients in order to improve the effectiveness of treatment and to prolong the life of patients. EBM has made a significant progress in clinical practice. But medical therapies cannot always bring a better life quality and clinically, patients' preference should be always taken into account. Value-based medicine medicine (VBM) is the practice of medicine that emphasizes the value received from an intervention. It takes evidence-based data to a higher level by combining the parameters of patient-perceived value with the cost of an intervention. The fundamental instrument of VBM is cost-utility analysis. VBM will provide a better practice model to evaluate the therapeutic package and cost effectiveness for individual and general health care.

Advanced Technology Lifecycle Analysis System (ATLAS) Technology Tool Box (TTB)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doyle, Monica; ONeil, Daniel A.; Christensen, Carissa B.

2005-01-01

The Advanced Technology Lifecycle Analysis System (ATLAS) is a decision support tool designed to aid program managers and strategic planners in determining how to invest technology research and development dollars. It is an Excel-based modeling package that allows a user to build complex space architectures and evaluate the impact of various technology choices. ATLAS contains system models, cost and operations models, a campaign timeline and a centralized technology database. Technology data for all system models is drawn from a common database, the ATLAS Technology Tool Box (TTB). The TTB provides a comprehensive, architecture-independent technology database that is keyed to current and future timeframes.

Development of magnetic micro-solid phase extraction for analysis of phthalate esters in packaged food.

PubMed

Makkliang, Fonthip; Kanatharana, Proespichaya; Thavarungkul, Panote; Thammakhet, Chongdee

2015-01-01

A novel, simple and low cost magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes-poly (vinyl alcohol) cryogel-micro-solid phase extraction (magnetic-MWCNTs-PVA cryogel-μ-SPE) sorbent was synthesized by incorporating magnetic particles and MWCNTs into a PVA cryogel. The magnetic-MWCNTs-PVA cryogel-μ-SPE sorbent developed, with a large surface area and macro-porous structure, provided good sorbent-to-sorbent reproducibility (%RSD<8) and each sorbent could be used up to 30 times (%RSD<6). This sorbent was applied for the extraction of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and di-2-(ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in packaged food prior to analysis by gas chromatograph coupled with flame ionisation detector (GC-FID). The concentration of DBP and DEHP in hot-water samples from plastic bags were found in the range 0.04-0.15 μg mL(-1) and 0.03-0.20 μg mL(-1), respectively, but only DEHP was found in clear chicken soup samples in the range 0.02-0.07 μg mL(-1). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The International Atomic Energy Agency software package for the analysis of scintigraphic renal dynamic studies: a tool for the clinician, teacher, and researcher.

PubMed

Zaknun, John J; Rajabi, Hossein; Piepsz, Amy; Roca, Isabel; Dondi, Maurizio

2011-01-01

Under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a new-generation, platform-independent, and x86-compatible software package was developed for the analysis of scintigraphic renal dynamic imaging studies. It provides nuclear medicine professionals cost-free access to the most recent developments in the field. The software package is a step forward towards harmonization and standardization. Embedded functionalities render it a suitable tool for education, research, and for receiving distant expert's opinions. Another objective of this effort is to allow introducing clinically useful parameters of drainage, including normalized residual activity and outflow efficiency. Furthermore, it provides an effective teaching tool for young professionals who are being introduced to dynamic kidney studies by selected teaching case studies. The software facilitates a better understanding through practically approaching different variables and settings and their effect on the numerical results. An effort was made to introduce instruments of quality assurance at the various levels of the program's execution, including visual inspection and automatic detection and correction of patient's motion, automatic placement of regions of interest around the kidneys, cortical regions, and placement of reproducible background region on both primary dynamic and on postmicturition studies. The user can calculate the differential renal function through 2 independent methods, the integral or the Rutland-Patlak approaches. Standardized digital reports, storage and retrieval of regions of interest, and built-in database operations allow the generation and tracing of full image reports and of numerical outputs. The software package is undergoing quality assurance procedures to verify the accuracy and the interuser reproducibility with the final aim of launching the program for use by professionals and teaching institutions worldwide. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integration of safety engineering into a cost optimized development program.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ball, L. W.

1972-01-01

A six-segment management model is presented, each segment of which represents a major area in a new product development program. The first segment of the model covers integration of specialist engineers into 'systems requirement definition' or the system engineering documentation process. The second covers preparation of five basic types of 'development program plans.' The third segment covers integration of system requirements, scheduling, and funding of specialist engineering activities into 'work breakdown structures,' 'cost accounts,' and 'work packages.' The fourth covers 'requirement communication' by line organizations. The fifth covers 'performance measurement' based on work package data. The sixth covers 'baseline requirements achievement tracking.'

Low cost environmental sensors for Spaceflight : NMP Space Environmental Monitor (SEM) requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garrett, Henry B.; Buelher, Martin G.; Brinza, D.; Patel, J. U.

2005-01-01

An outstanding problem in spaceflight is the lack of adequate sensors for monitoring the space environment and its effects on engineering systems. By adequate, we mean low cost in terms of mission impact (e.g., low price, low mass/size, low power, low data rate, and low design impact). The New Millennium Program (NMP) is investigating the development of such a low-cost Space Environmental Monitor (SEM) package for inclusion on its technology validation flights. This effort follows from the need by NMP to characterize the space environment during testing so that potential users can extrapolate the test results to end-use conditions. The immediate objective of this effort is to develop a small diagnostic sensor package that could be obtained from commercial sources. Environments being considered are: contamination, atomic oxygen, ionizing radiation, cosmic radiation, EMI, and temperature. This talk describes the requirements and rational for selecting these environments and reviews a preliminary design that includes a micro-controller data logger with data storage and interfaces to the sensors and spacecraft. If successful, such a sensor package could be the basis of a unique, long term program for monitoring the effects of the space environment on spacecraft systems.

Low Cost Environmental Sensors for Spaceflight: NMP Space Environmental Monitor (SEM) Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garrett, Henry B.; Buehler, Martin G.; Brinza, D.; Patel, J. U.

2005-01-01

An outstanding problem in spaceflight is the lack of adequate sensors for monitoring the space environment and its effects on engineering systems. By adequate, we mean low cost in terms of mission impact (e.g., low price, low mass/size, low power, low data rate, and low design impact). The New Millennium Program (NMP) is investigating the development of such a low-cost Space Environmental Monitor (SEM) package for inclusion on its technology validation flights. This effort follows from the need by NMP to characterize the space environment during testing so that potential users can extrapolate the test results to end-use conditions. The immediate objective of this effort is to develop a small diagnostic sensor package that could be obtained from commercial sources. Environments being considered are: contamination, atomic oxygen, ionizing radiation, cosmic radiation, EMI, and temperature. This talk describes the requirements and rational for selecting these environments and reviews a preliminary design that includes a micro-controller data logger with data storage and interfaces to the sensors and spacecraft. If successful, such a sensor package could be the basis of a unique, long term program for monitoring the effects of the space environment on spacecraft systems.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

R. Strykowsky, T. Brown, J. Chrzanowski, M. Cole, P. Heitzenroeder, G.H. Neilson, Donald Rej, and M. Viola

The National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) was designed to test physics principles of an innovative fusion energy confinement device developed by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under contract from the US Department of Energy. The project was technically very challenging, primarily due to the complex component geometries and tight tolerances that were required. As the project matured these challenges manifested themselves in significant cost overruns through all phases of the project (i.e. design, R&D, fabrication and assembly). The project was subsequently cancelled by the DOE in 2008. Although the project was not completed,more » several major work packages, comprising about 65% of the total estimated cost (excluding management and contingency), were completed, providing a data base of actual costs that can be analyzed to understand cost drivers. Technical factors that drove costs included the complex geometry, tight tolerances, material requirements, and performance requirements. Management factors included imposed annual funding constraints that throttled project cash flow, staff availability, and inadequate R&D. Understanding how requirements and design decisions drove cost through this top-down forensic cost analysis could provide valuable insight into the configuration and design of future state-of-the art machines and other devices.« less

Distributed Finite Element Analysis Using a Transputer Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, James; Favenesi, James; Danial, Albert; Tombrello, Joseph; Yang, Dabby; Reynolds, Brian; Turrentine, Ronald; Shephard, Mark; Baehmann, Peggy

1989-01-01

The principal objective of this research effort was to demonstrate the extraordinarily cost effective acceleration of finite element structural analysis problems using a transputer-based parallel processing network. This objective was accomplished in the form of a commercially viable parallel processing workstation. The workstation is a desktop size, low-maintenance computing unit capable of supercomputer performance yet costs two orders of magnitude less. To achieve the principal research objective, a transputer based structural analysis workstation termed XPFEM was implemented with linear static structural analysis capabilities resembling commercially available NASTRAN. Finite element model files, generated using the on-line preprocessing module or external preprocessing packages, are downloaded to a network of 32 transputers for accelerated solution. The system currently executes at about one third Cray X-MP24 speed but additional acceleration appears likely. For the NASA selected demonstration problem of a Space Shuttle main engine turbine blade model with about 1500 nodes and 4500 independent degrees of freedom, the Cray X-MP24 required 23.9 seconds to obtain a solution while the transputer network, operated from an IBM PC-AT compatible host computer, required 71.7 seconds. Consequently, the $80,000 transputer network demonstrated a cost-performance ratio about 60 times better than the $15,000,000 Cray X-MP24 system.

Cost Containment: An Economist's View

PubMed Central

Neuhauser, Duncan

1980-01-01

Rising medical care costs are not the problem they seem to be, in part because quality of care is not considered. The problem may be more the absence of choice of alternative health benefit packages with price differences. The future of health services in the United States will have more competing alternatives requiring physicians to be more cost conscious. PMID:6992461

Air Cargo Marketing Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kersey, J. W.

1972-01-01

The factors involved in developing a market for air cargo services are discussed. A comparison is made between the passenger traffic problems and those of cargo traffic. Emphasis is placed on distribution analyses which isolates total distribution cost, including logistical costs such as transportation, inventory, materials handling, packaging, and processing. Specific examples of methods for reducing air cargo costs are presented.

Feedstock recycling program gets go ahead

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Layman, P.

1994-03-28

Feedstock recycling--recycling mixed plastics wastes back into chemical feedstocks such as olefins and naphtha--has received a commercial go ahead in Germany. DKR--Deutsche Kunstsoff recycling, a subsidiary of a commercial company, Duales System Deutschland, responsible for recycling packaging wastes in Germany--has issued three contracts to companies with feedstock recycling technology to convert to liquid feedstocks a total of some 500,000 metric tons per year of mixed plastics packaging wastes by 1996. DKR has also pledged to discontinue exports of used plastics packaging to foreign countries by that date. The three contracts go to a consortium between BASF and OTTO Kunststoff service,more » of Dossenheim; the oil and chemical producer Veba; and the electric power utilities company RWE. DKR's current processing costs are about $1,765 per ton of wastes. That total includes all costs for collecting, sorting, cleaning, and transporting the wastes. In its bid, the BASF-OTTO consortium envisioned a fee of about $190 per ton. That fee, says Niess, was determined by looking at BASF's and OTTO's costs, offset by the savings in raw materials BASF would be making as its technology converts mixed plastics wastes to a mixture of naphtha, aromatics, and oils, all of which can be used in BASF's processes in Ludwigshafen. And because BASF's technology requires no presorting or cleaning before it gets the wastes, the process will trim DKR's costs significantly.« less

VoxelStats: A MATLAB Package for Multi-Modal Voxel-Wise Brain Image Analysis.

PubMed

Mathotaarachchi, Sulantha; Wang, Seqian; Shin, Monica; Pascoal, Tharick A; Benedet, Andrea L; Kang, Min Su; Beaudry, Thomas; Fonov, Vladimir S; Gauthier, Serge; Labbe, Aurélie; Rosa-Neto, Pedro

2016-01-01

In healthy individuals, behavioral outcomes are highly associated with the variability on brain regional structure or neurochemical phenotypes. Similarly, in the context of neurodegenerative conditions, neuroimaging reveals that cognitive decline is linked to the magnitude of atrophy, neurochemical declines, or concentrations of abnormal protein aggregates across brain regions. However, modeling the effects of multiple regional abnormalities as determinants of cognitive decline at the voxel level remains largely unexplored by multimodal imaging research, given the high computational cost of estimating regression models for every single voxel from various imaging modalities. VoxelStats is a voxel-wise computational framework to overcome these computational limitations and to perform statistical operations on multiple scalar variables and imaging modalities at the voxel level. VoxelStats package has been developed in Matlab(®) and supports imaging formats such as Nifti-1, ANALYZE, and MINC v2. Prebuilt functions in VoxelStats enable the user to perform voxel-wise general and generalized linear models and mixed effect models with multiple volumetric covariates. Importantly, VoxelStats can recognize scalar values or image volumes as response variables and can accommodate volumetric statistical covariates as well as their interaction effects with other variables. Furthermore, this package includes built-in functionality to perform voxel-wise receiver operating characteristic analysis and paired and unpaired group contrast analysis. Validation of VoxelStats was conducted by comparing the linear regression functionality with existing toolboxes such as glim_image and RMINC. The validation results were identical to existing methods and the additional functionality was demonstrated by generating feature case assessments (t-statistics, odds ratio, and true positive rate maps). In summary, VoxelStats expands the current methods for multimodal imaging analysis by allowing the estimation of advanced regional association metrics at the voxel level.

The Importance of Take-Out Food Packaging Attributes: Conjoint Analysis and Quality Function Deployment Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lestari Widaningrum, Dyah

2014-03-01

This research aims to investigate the importance of take-out food packaging attributes, using conjoint analysis and QFD approach among consumers of take-out food products in Jakarta, Indonesia. The conjoint results indicate that perception about packaging material (such as paper, plastic, and polystyrene foam) plays the most important role overall in consumer perception. The clustering results that there is strong segmentation in which take-out food packaging material consumer consider most important. Some consumers are mostly oriented toward the colour of packaging, while another segment of customers concerns on packaging shape and packaging information. Segmentation variables based on packaging response can provide very useful information to maximize image of products through the package's impact. The results of House of Quality development described that Conjoint Analysis - QFD is a useful combination of the two methodologies in product development, market segmentation, and the trade off between customers' requirements in the early stages of HOQ process

Optimisation of the Management of Higher Activity Waste in the UK - 13537

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walsh, Ciara; Buckley, Matthew

2013-07-01

The Upstream Optioneering project was created in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (UK) to support the development and implementation of significant opportunities to optimise activities across all the phases of the Higher Activity Waste management life cycle (i.e. retrieval, characterisation, conditioning, packaging, storage, transport and disposal). The objective of the Upstream Optioneering project is to work in conjunction with other functions within NDA and the waste producers to identify and deliver solutions to optimise the management of higher activity waste. Historically, optimisation may have occurred on aspects of the waste life cycle (considered here to include retrieval, conditioning, treatment, packaging, interimmore » storage, transport to final end state, which may be geological disposal). By considering the waste life cycle as a whole, critical analysis of assumed constraints may lead to cost savings for the UK Tax Payer. For example, it may be possible to challenge the requirements for packaging wastes for disposal to deliver an optimised waste life cycle. It is likely that the challenges faced in the UK are shared in other countries. It is therefore likely that the opportunities identified may also apply elsewhere, with the potential for sharing information to enable value to be shared. (authors)« less

Health spending, illicit financial flows and tax incentives in Malawi.

PubMed

O'Hare, B; Curtis, M

2014-12-01

This analysis examines the gaps in health care financing in Malawi and how foregone taxes could fill these gaps. It begins with an assessment of the disease burden and government health expenditure. Then it analyses the tax revenues foregone by the government of Malawi by two main routes: Illicit financial flows (IFF) from the country, Tax incentives. We find that there are significant financing gaps in the health sector; for example, government expenditure is United States Dollars (USD) 177 million for 2013/2014 while projected donor contribution in 2013/2014 is USD 207 million and the total cost for the minimal health package is USD 535 million. Thus the funding gap between the government budget for health and the required spending to provide the minimal package for 2013/2014 is USD 358 million. On the other hand we estimate that almost USD 400 million is lost through IFF and corporate utilization of tax incentives each year. The revenues foregone plus the current government health spending would be sufficient to cover the minimal public health package for all Malawians and would help tackle Malawi's disease burden. Every effort must be made, including improving transparency and revising laws, to curtail IFF and moderate tax incentives.

Bolivia programme evaluation of a package to reach an underserved population: Community-based maternal and newborn care economic analysis.

PubMed

Barger, Diana; Pooley, Bertha; Dupuy, Julien Roger; Cardenas, Norma Amparo; Wall, Steve; Owen, Helen; Daviaud, Emmanuelle

2017-10-01

To address inequitable access to health services of indigenous communities in the Bolivian highlands, the Bolivian Ministry of Health, with the support of Save the Children-Saving Newborn Lives, conducted operational research to identify, implement and test a package of maternal and newborn interventions using locally recruited, volunteer Community Health Workers (vCHW) between 2008 and 2010. The additional annual economic and financial costs of the intervention were estimated from the perspective of the Bolivian Ministry of Health in two municipalities. The cost of intervention-stimulated increases in facility attendance was estimated with national surveillance data using a pre-post comparison, adjusted for secular trends in facility attendance. Three scale-up scenarios were modelled by varying the levels of coverage and the number (per mother and child pair) and frequency of home visits. Average cost per mother and average cost per home visit are presented in constant 2015 US$. Eighteen per cent of expectant mothers in the catchment area were visited at least once. The annualized additional financial cost of the community-based intervention across both municipalities was $43 449 of which 3% ($1324) was intervention design, 20% ($8474) set-up and 77% ($33 651) implementation. Drivers of additional costs were additional paid staff (68%), 81% of which was for management and support by local implementing partner and 19% of which was for vCHW supervision. The annual financial cost per vCHW was $595. Modelled scale-up scenarios highlight potential efficiency gains. Recognizing local imperatives to reduce inequalities by targeting underserved populations, the observed low coverage by vCHWs resulted in a high cost per mother and child pair ($296). This evaluation raises important questions about this model's ability to achieve its ultimate goals of reducing neonatal mortality and inequalities through behaviour change and increased care seeking and has served to inform innovative alternative models, better equipped to tackle stagnant inequitable access to care. The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Use of multispectral data in design of forest sample surveys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Titus, S. J.; Wensel, L. C.

1977-01-01

The use of multispectral data in design of forest sample surveys using a computer software package is described. The system allows evaluation of a number of alternative sampling systems and, with appropriate cost data, estimates the implementation cost for each.

Use of multispectral data in design of forest sample surveys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Titus, S. J.; Wensel, L. C.

1977-01-01

The use of multispectral data in design of forest sample surveys using a computer software package, WILLIAM, is described. The system allows evaluation of a number of alternative sampling systems and, with appropriate cost data, estimates the implementation cost for each.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of tissue plasminogen activator in acute ischemic stroke in Iran.

PubMed

Amiri, Asrin; Goudarzi, Reza; Amiresmaili, Mohammadreza; Iranmanesh, Farhad

2018-03-01

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is used to treat acute ischemic stroke up to 4.5 h after symptom onset. Its cost-effectiveness in developing countries is not specified yet. This study aimed to study cost-effectiveness of tPA in Iran. This is a cost-effectiveness analysis from the perspective of the third party payer to compare IV tPA with no tPA of ischemic stroke. A Markov model with a lifetime horizon was used to analyze the costs and outcomes. Cost data were extracted from the 94 patients admitted in two hospitals in Iran. All costs were calculated based on US dollars in 2016. Quality-adjusted life years (QALY) were extracted from previously published literature. Cost-effectiveness was determined by calculating ICER by TreeAge Pro 2011 software. Lifetime costs of no tPA strategy were higher than tPA ($10,718 in the no tPA group compared with $8,796 in the tPA group). The tPA arm gained 0.20 QALY compared with no tPA. ICER was $8,471 per QALY. ICER value suggests that tPA is cost-effective compared with no tPA. The limitations of the present study are the reliance on calculated QALY value of other countries and difficulty in accessing patients treated with tPA. The balance of hospitalization and rehabilitation costs and QALYs support the conclusion that treatment with intravenous tPA in the 4.5-h time window is cost-effective from the perspectives of the third party payer and inclusion of tPA in the insurance benefit package being reasonable.

Estimating age-based antiretroviral therapy costs for HIV-infected children in resource-limited settings based on World Health Organization weight-based dosing recommendations.

PubMed

Doherty, Kathleen; Essajee, Shaffiq; Penazzato, Martina; Holmes, Charles; Resch, Stephen; Ciaranello, Andrea

2014-05-02

Pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been shown to substantially reduce morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected infants and children. To accurately project program costs, analysts need accurate estimations of antiretroviral drug (ARV) costs for children. However, the costing of pediatric antiretroviral therapy is complicated by weight-based dosing recommendations which change as children grow. We developed a step-by-step methodology for estimating the cost of pediatric ARV regimens for children ages 0-13 years old. The costing approach incorporates weight-based dosing recommendations to provide estimated ARV doses throughout childhood development. Published unit drug costs are then used to calculate average monthly drug costs. We compared our derived monthly ARV costs to published estimates to assess the accuracy of our methodology. The estimates of monthly ARV costs are provided for six commonly used first-line pediatric ARV regimens, considering three possible care scenarios. The costs derived in our analysis for children were fairly comparable to or slightly higher than available published ARV drug or regimen estimates. The methodology described here can be used to provide an accurate estimation of pediatric ARV regimen costs for cost-effectiveness analysts to project the optimum packages of care for HIV-infected children, as well as for program administrators and budget analysts who wish to assess the feasibility of increasing pediatric ART availability in constrained budget environments.

Safety analysis report for packaging (onsite) steel drum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCormick, W.A.

This Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) provides the analyses and evaluations necessary to demonstrate that the steel drum packaging system meets the transportation safety requirements of HNF-PRO-154, Responsibilities and Procedures for all Hazardous Material Shipments, for an onsite packaging containing Type B quantities of solid and liquid radioactive materials. The basic component of the steel drum packaging system is the 208 L (55-gal) steel drum.

Cost considerations of acute migraine treatment.

PubMed

Adelman, James U; Adelman, Leon C; Freeman, Marshall C; Von Seggern, Randal L; Drake, Jaclyn

2004-03-01

To provide medication price data and cost-reducing strategies for the acute treatment of migraine. Retail prices for common acute care medications were found at http://www.drugstore.com. Cost-reduction tactics were obtained from literature searches and clinical experience. Several strategies can reduce cost without sacrificing treatment outcome. In mild to moderate migraine, low-priced nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be used as first-line medications due to their proven efficacy and favorable tolerability. For patients with more severe migraine, implementing a stratified care approach-using migraine-specific medications early in acute treatment-is cost-effective for most patients. Stratified care not only improves outcome and decreases disability, but also reduces cost. Pill splitting and early administration of triptans within an attack enhance their value. Supplying rescue medications, such as opioids, sedatives, and phenothiazines, can prevent emergency department visits. Minimizing multiple dosing of triptans and reducing utilization of expensive health care resources are key factors in reducing the cost of effective migraine treatment. An important affordability factor for patients with co-payments is the number of triptan pills per package. Sumatriptan, naratriptan, and frovatriptan each contain 9 tablets per package, while most other triptan packages contain 6. Current triptan retail prices (per unit) include: Amerge 1 and 2.5 mg, 17.78 dollars; Axert 6.25 and 12.5 mg, 16.31 dollars; Frova 2.5 mg, 13.89 dollars; Imitrex 50 mg, 14.96 dollars; Imitrex 100 mg, 14.41 dollars; Imitrex Nasal Spray 20 mg, 21.61 dollars; Imitrex SQ 6 mg, 50.26 dollars; Maxalt 5 and 10 mg, 15 dollars; Maxalt-MLT 5 and 10 mg, 15 dollars; Relpax 40 mg, 13.58 dollars; Zomig 2.5 mg, 13.67 dollars; Zomig 5 mg, 15.89 dollars; Zomig-ZMT 2.5 mg, 13.67 dollars; and Zomig-ZMT 5 mg, 15.89 dollars. Practitioners can optimize the use of health care dollars without compromising quality of care through awareness of cost-saving treatment strategies, as well as price variations among medications.

Process-Based Cost Modeling of Photonics Manufacture: The Cost Competitiveness of Monolithic Integration of a 1550-nm DFB Laser and an Electroabsorptive Modulator on an InP Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuchs, Erica R. H.; Bruce, E. J.; Ram, R. J.; Kirchain, Randolph E.

2006-08-01

The monolithic integration of components holds promise to increase network functionality and reduce packaging expense. Integration also drives down yield due to manufacturing complexity and the compounding of failures across devices. Consensus is lacking on the economically preferred extent of integration. Previous studies on the cost feasibility of integration have used high-level estimation methods. This study instead focuses on accurate-to-industry detail, basing a process-based cost model of device manufacture on data collected from 20 firms across the optoelectronics supply chain. The model presented allows for the definition of process organization, including testing, as well as processing conditions, operational characteristics, and level of automation at each step. This study focuses on the cost implications of integration of a 1550-nm DFB laser with an electroabsorptive modulator on an InP platform. Results show the monolithically integrated design to be more cost competitive over discrete component options regardless of production scale. Dominant cost drivers are packaging, testing, and assembly. Leveraging the technical detail underlying model projections, component alignment, bonding, and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are identified as processes where technical improvements are most critical to lowering costs. Such results should encourage exploration of the cost advantages of further integration and focus cost-driven technology development.

Skills Analysis. Workshop Package on Skills Analysis, Skills Audit and Training Needs Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayton, Geoff; And Others

This four-part package is designed to assist Australian workshop leaders running 2-day workshops on skills analysis, skills audit, and training needs analysis. Part A contains information on how to use the package and a list of workshop aims. Parts B, C, and D consist, respectively, of the workshop leader's guide; overhead transparency sheets and…

A cost analysis of approved antiretroviral strategies in persons with advanced human immunodeficiency virus disease and zidovudine intolerance.

PubMed

Bozzette, S A; Parker, R; Hay, J

1994-04-01

Treatment with zidovudine has been standard therapy for patients with advanced HIV infection, but intolerance is common. Previously, management of intolerance has consisted of symptomatic therapy, dose interruption/discontinuation, and, when appropriate, transfusion. The availability of new antiretroviral agents such as didanosine as well as adjunctive recombinant hematopoietic growth factors makes additional strategies possible for the zidovudine-intolerant patient. Because all of these agents are costly, we evaluated the cost implications of these various strategies for the management of zidovudine-intolerant individuals within a population of persons with advanced HIV disease. We performed a decision analysis using iterative algorithmic models of 1 year of antiretroviral care under various strategies. The real costs providing antiretroviral therapy were estimated by deflating medical center charges by specific Medi-Cal (Medicaid) charge-to-payment ratios. Clinical data were extracted from the medical literature, product package inserts, investigator updates, and personal communications. Sensitivity analysis was used to test the effect of error in the estimation of parameters. The models predict that a strategy of dose interruption and transfusion for zidovudine intolerance will provide an average of 46 weeks of therapy per year to the average patient at a cost of $5,555/year of therapy provided (1991 U.S. dollars). The models predict that a strategy of adding hematopoietic growth factors to the regimen of appropriate patients would increase the average amount of therapy provided to the average patient by 3 weeks (6%) and the costs attributable to therapy by 77% to $9,805/year of therapy provided.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Analysis of efficiency of waste reverse logistics for recycling.

PubMed

Veiga, Marcelo M

2013-10-01

Brazil is an agricultural country with the highest pesticide consumption in the world. Historically, pesticide packaging has not been disposed of properly. A federal law requires the chemical industry to provide proper waste management for pesticide-related products. A reverse logistics program was implemented, which has been hailed a great success. This program was designed to target large rural communities, where economy of scale can take place. Over the last 10 years, the recovery rate has been very poor in most small rural communities. The objective of this study was to analyze the case of this compulsory reverse logistics program for pesticide packaging under the recent Brazilian Waste Management Policy, which enforces recycling as the main waste management solution. This results of this exploratory research indicate that despite its aggregate success, the reverse logistics program is not efficient for small rural communities. It is not possible to use the same logistic strategy for small and large communities. The results also indicate that recycling might not be the optimal solution, especially in developing countries with unsatisfactory recycling infrastructure and large transportation costs. Postponement and speculation strategies could be applied for improving reverse logistics performance. In most compulsory reverse logistics programs, there is no economical solution. Companies should comply with the law by ranking cost-effective alternatives.

Approaches to 30% Energy Savings at the Community Scale in the Hot-Humid Climate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thomas-Rees, S.; Beal, D.; Martin, E.

2013-03-01

BA-PIRC has worked with several community-scale builders within the hot humid climate zone to improve performance of production, or community scale, housing. Tommy Williams Homes (Gainesville, FL), Lifestyle Homes (Melbourne, FL), and Habitat for Humanity (various locations, FL) have all been continuous partners of the BA Program and are the subjects of this report to document achievement of the Building America goal of 30% whole house energy savings packages adopted at the community scale. The scope of this report is to demonstrate achievement of these goals though the documentation of production-scale homes built cost-effectively at the community scale, and modeledmore » to reduce whole-house energy use by 30% in the Hot Humid climate region. Key aspects of this research include determining how to evolve existing energy efficiency packages to produce replicable target savings, identifying what builders' technical assistance needs are for implementation and working with them to create sustainable quality assurance mechanisms, and documenting the commercial viability through neutral cost analysis and market acceptance. This report documents certain barriers builders overcame and the approaches they implemented in order to accomplish Building America (BA) Program goals that have not already been documented in previous reports.« less

SHIPMENT OF TWO DOE-STD-3013 CONTAINERS IN A 9977 TYPE B PACKAGE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abramczyk, G.; Bellamy, S.; Loftin, B.

2011-06-06

The 9977 is a certified Type B Packaging authorized to ship uranium and plutonium in metal and oxide forms. Historically, the standard container for these materials has been the DOE-STD-3013 which was specifically designed for the long term storage of plutonium bearing materials. The Department of Energy has used the 9975 Packaging containing a single 3013 container for the transportation and storage of these materials. In order to reduce container, shipping, and storage costs, the 9977 Packaging is being certified for transportation and storage of two 3013 containers. The challenges and risks of this content and the 9977s ability tomore » meet the Code of Federal Regulations for the transport of these materials are presented.« less

Information systems analysis approach in hospitals: a national survey.

PubMed

Wong, B K; Sellaro, C L; Monaco, J A

1995-03-01

A survey of 216 hospitals reveals that some hospitals do not conduct cost-benefit analyses or analyze possible adverse effects in feasibility studies. In determining and analyzing system requirements, external factors that initiate the transaction are not examined, and computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools are seldom used. Some hospitals do not investigate the advantages and disadvantages of using in-house-developed software versus purchased software packages in the evaluation of alternatives. The survey finds that, overall, most hospitals follow the traditional systems development life cycle (SDLC) approach in analyzing information systems.

Phase 1 of the near team hybrid passenger vehicle development program. Appendix C: Preliminary design data package, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Piccolo, R.

1979-01-01

The methodology used for vehicle layout and component definition is described as well as techniques for system optimization and energy evaluation. The preliminary design is examined with particular attention given to body and structure; propulsion system; crash analysis and handling; internal combustion engine; DC motor separately excited; Ni-Zn battery; transmission; control system; vehicle auxiliarries; weight breakdown, and life cycle costs. Formulas are given for the quantification of energy consumption and results are compared with the reference vehicle.

Competition in the economic crisis: Analysis of procurement auctions.

PubMed

Gugler, Klaus; Weichselbaumer, Michael; Zulehner, Christine

2015-01-01

We study the effects of the recent economic crisis on firms׳ bidding behavior and markups in sealed bid auctions. Using data from Austrian construction procurements, we estimate bidders׳ construction costs within a private value auction model. We find that markups of all bids submitted decrease by 1.5 percentage points in the recent economic crisis, markups of winning bids decrease by 3.3 percentage points. We also find that without the government stimulus package this decrease would have been larger. These two pieces of evidence point to pro-cyclical markups.

Building Information Model: advantages, tools and adoption efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abakumov, R. G.; Naumov, A. E.

2018-03-01

The paper expands definition and essence of Building Information Modeling. It describes content and effects from application of Information Modeling at different stages of a real property item. Analysis of long-term and short-term advantages is given. The authors included an analytical review of Revit software package in comparison with Autodesk with respect to: features, advantages and disadvantages, cost and pay cutoff. A prognostic calculation is given for efficiency of adoption of the Building Information Modeling technology, with examples of its successful adoption in Russia and worldwide.

Health-related external cost assessment in Europe: methodological developments from ExternE to the 2013 Clean Air Policy Package.

PubMed

van der Kamp, Jonathan; Bachmann, Till M

2015-03-03

"Getting the prices right" through internalizing external costs is a guiding principle of environmental policy making, one recent example being the EU Clean Air Policy Package released at the end of 2013. It is supported by impact assessments, including monetary valuation of environmental and health damages. For over 20 years, related methodologies have been developed in Europe in the Externalities of Energy (ExternE) project series and follow-up activities. In this study, we aim at analyzing the main methodological developments over time from the 1990s until today with a focus on classical air pollution-induced human health damage costs. An up-to-date assessment including the latest European recommendations is also applied. Using a case from the energy sector, we identify major influencing parameters: differences in exposure modeling and related data lead to variations in damage costs of up to 21%; concerning risk assessment and monetary valuation, differences in assessing long-term exposure mortality risks together with assumptions on particle toxicity explain most of the observed changes in damage costs. These still debated influencing parameters deserve particular attention when damage costs are used to support environmental policy making.

PLATSIM: A Simulation and Analysis Package for Large-Order Flexible Systems. Version 2.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maghami, Peiman G.; Kenny, Sean P.; Giesy, Daniel P.

1997-01-01

The software package PLATSIM provides efficient time and frequency domain analysis of large-order generic space platforms. PLATSIM can perform open-loop analysis or closed-loop analysis with linear or nonlinear control system models. PLATSIM exploits the particular form of sparsity of the plant matrices for very efficient linear and nonlinear time domain analysis, as well as frequency domain analysis. A new, original algorithm for the efficient computation of open-loop and closed-loop frequency response functions for large-order systems has been developed and is implemented within the package. Furthermore, a novel and efficient jitter analysis routine which determines jitter and stability values from time simulations in a very efficient manner has been developed and is incorporated in the PLATSIM package. In the time domain analysis, PLATSIM simulates the response of the space platform to disturbances and calculates the jitter and stability values from the response time histories. In the frequency domain analysis, PLATSIM calculates frequency response function matrices and provides the corresponding Bode plots. The PLATSIM software package is written in MATLAB script language. A graphical user interface is developed in the package to provide convenient access to its various features.

Low temperature co-fired ceramic packaging of CMOS capacitive sensor chip towards cell viability monitoring.

PubMed

Halonen, Niina; Kilpijärvi, Joni; Sobocinski, Maciej; Datta-Chaudhuri, Timir; Hassinen, Antti; Prakash, Someshekar B; Möller, Peter; Abshire, Pamela; Kellokumpu, Sakari; Lloyd Spetz, Anita

2016-01-01

Cell viability monitoring is an important part of biosafety evaluation for the detection of toxic effects on cells caused by nanomaterials, preferably by label-free, noninvasive, fast, and cost effective methods. These requirements can be met by monitoring cell viability with a capacitance-sensing integrated circuit (IC) microchip. The capacitance provides a measurement of the surface attachment of adherent cells as an indication of their health status. However, the moist, warm, and corrosive biological environment requires reliable packaging of the sensor chip. In this work, a second generation of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology was combined with flip-chip bonding to provide a durable package compatible with cell culture. The LTCC-packaged sensor chip was integrated with a printed circuit board, data acquisition device, and measurement-controlling software. The packaged sensor chip functioned well in the presence of cell medium and cells, with output voltages depending on the medium above the capacitors. Moreover, the manufacturing of microfluidic channels in the LTCC package was demonstrated.

Recent advances in biopolymers and biopolymer-based nanocomposites for food packaging materials.

PubMed

Tang, X Z; Kumar, P; Alavi, S; Sandeep, K P

2012-01-01

Plastic packaging for food and non-food applications is non-biodegradable, and also uses up valuable and scarce non-renewable resources like petroleum. With the current focus on exploring alternatives to petroleum and emphasis on reduced environmental impact, research is increasingly being directed at development of biodegradable food packaging from biopolymer-based materials. The proposed paper will present a review of recent developments in biopolymer-based food packaging materials including natural biopolymers (such as starches and proteins), synthetic biopolymers (such as poly lactic acid), biopolymer blends, and nanocomposites based on natural and synthetic biopolymers. The paper will discuss the various techniques that have been used for developing cost-effective biodegradable packaging materials with optimum mechanical strength and oxygen and moisture barrier properties. This is a timely review as there has been a recent renewed interest in research studies, both in the industry and academia, towards development of a new generation of biopolymer-based food packaging materials with possible applications in other areas.

A Wireless, Passive Sensor for Quantifying Packaged Food Quality.

PubMed

Tan, Ee Lim; Ng, Wen Ni; Shao, Ranyuan; Pereles, Brandon D; Ong, Keat Ghee

2007-09-05

This paper describes the fabrication of a wireless, passive sensor based on aninductive-capacitive resonant circuit, and its application for in situ monitoring of thequality of dry, packaged food such as cereals, and fried and baked snacks. The sensor ismade of a planar inductor and capacitor printed on a paper substrate. To monitor foodquality, the sensor is embedded inside the food package by adhering it to the package'sinner wall; its response is remotely detected through a coil connected to a sensor reader. Asfood quality degrades due to increasing humidity inside the package, the paper substrateabsorbs water vapor, changing the capacitor's capacitance and the sensor's resonantfrequency. Therefore, the taste quality of the packaged food can be indirectly determined bymeasuring the change in the sensor's resonant frequency. The novelty of this sensortechnology is its wireless and passive nature, which allows in situ determination of foodquality. In addition, the simple fabrication process and inexpensive sensor material ensure alow sensor cost, thus making this technology economically viable.

Multiple-Group Analysis Using the sem Package in the R System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evermann, Joerg

2010-01-01

Multiple-group analysis in covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) is an important technique to ensure the invariance of latent construct measurements and the validity of theoretical models across different subpopulations. However, not all SEM software packages provide multiple-group analysis capabilities. The sem package for the R…

Body of Knowledge (BOK) for Leadless Quad Flat No-Lead/bottom Termination Components (QFN/BTC) Package Trends and Reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza

2014-01-01

Bottom terminated components and quad flat no-lead (BTC/QFN) packages have been extensively used by commercial industry for more than a decade. Cost and performance advantages and the closeness of the packages to the boards make them especially unique for radio frequency (RF) applications. A number of high-reliability parts are now available in this style of package configuration. This report presents a summary of literature surveyed and provides a body of knowledge (BOK) gathered on the status of BTC/QFN and their advanced versions of multi-row QFN (MRQFN) packaging technologies. The report provides a comprehensive review of packaging trends and specifications on design, assembly, and reliability. Emphasis is placed on assembly reliability and associated key design and process parameters because they show lower life than standard leaded package assembly under thermal cycling exposures. Inspection of hidden solder joints for assuring quality is challenging and is similar to ball grid arrays (BGAs). Understanding the key BTC/QFN technology trends, applications, processing parameters, workmanship defects, and reliability behavior is important when judicially selecting and narrowing the follow-on packages for evaluation and testing, as well as for the low risk insertion in high-reliability applications.

Body of Knowledge (BOK) for Leadless Quad Flat No-Lead/Bottom Termination Components (QFN/BTC) Package Trends and Reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza

2014-01-01

Bottom terminated components and quad flat no-lead (BTC/QFN) packages have been extensively used by commercial industry for more than a decade. Cost and performance advantages and the closeness of the packages to the boards make them especially unique for radio frequency (RF) applications. A number of high-reliability parts are now available in this style of package configuration. This report presents a summary of literature surveyed and provides a body of knowledge (BOK) gathered on the status of BTC/QFN and their advanced versions of multi-row QFN (MRQFN) packaging technologies. The report provides a comprehensive review of packaging trends and specifications on design, assembly, and reliability. Emphasis is placed on assembly reliability and associated key design and process parameters because they show lower life than standard leaded package assembly under thermal cycling exposures. Inspection of hidden solder joints for assuring quality is challenging and is similar to ball grid arrays (BGAs). Understanding the key BTC/QFN technology trends, applications, processing parameters, workmanship defects, and reliability behavior is important when judicially selecting and narrowing the follow-on packages for evaluation and testing, as well as for the low risk insertion in high-reliability applications.

Evaluation of CNT Energy Savers Retrofit Packages Implemented in Multifamily Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farley, Jenne; Ruch, Russell

This evaluation explored the feasibility of designing prescriptive retrofit measure packages for typical Chicago region multifamily buildings in order to achieve 25%-30% source energy savings through the study of three case studies. There is an urgent need to scale up energy efficiency retrofitting of Chicago's multifamily buildings in order to address rising energy costs and a rapidly depleting rental stock. Aimed at retrofit program administrators and building science professionals, this research project investigates the possibility of using prescriptive retrofit packages as a time- and resource-effective approach to the process of retrofitting multifamily buildings.

Evaluation of CNT Energy Savers Retrofit Packages Implemented in Multifamily Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farley, Jenne; Ruch, Russell

This evaluation explored the feasibility of designing prescriptive retrofit measure packages for typical Chicago region multifamily buildings in order to achieve 25%-30% source energy savings through the study of three case studies. There is an urgent need to scale up energy efficiency retrofitting of Chicago's multifamily buildings in order to address rising energy costs and a rapidly depletingrental stock. Aimed at retrofit program administrators and building science professionals, this research project investigates the possibility of using prescriptive retrofit packages as a time- and resource-effective approach to the process of retrofitting multifamily buildings.

Pre-Packaged Commercial PACE Financing Solutions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wallander, Michael

The objective of this project was to demonstrate a more streamlined method for facilitating commercial property assessed clean energy (PACE) retrofits. The Recipient aimed to prove that energy efficiency performance of simple, pre-packaged technologies (e.g., lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)) can be accurately estimated without the need for a detailed energy audit. A successful project would inspire consumer confidence in undertaking cost-effective retrofits.

MicroSIFT Courseware Evaluation. [Set 13 (294-319), Set 14 (320-361), with Hardware (HRD) and Subject (SBJ) Indexes to Both Sets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Northwest Regional Educational Lab., Portland, OR.

This document consists of 68 microcomputer software package evaluations prepared by MicroSIFT (Microcomputer Software and Information for Teachers) Clearinghouse at the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory. There are 26 packages in set 13 and 42 in set 14. Each software review lists producer, time and place of evaluation, cost, ability level,…

User's manual for the coupled rotor/airframe vibration analysis graphic package

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Studwell, R. E.

1982-01-01

User instructions for a graphics package for coupled rotor/airframe vibration analysis are presented. Responses to plot package messages which the user must make to activate plot package operations and options are described. Installation instructions required to set up the program on the CDC system are included. The plot package overlay structure and subroutines which have to be modified for the CDC system are also described. Operating instructions for CDC applications are included.

Implementation Status of a Ultra-Wideband Receiver Package for the next-generation Very Large Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazio, T. Joseph W.; Velazco, Jose; Soriano, Melissa; Hoppe, Daniel; Russell, Damon; D'Addario, Larry; Long, Ezra; Bowen, James; Samoska, Lorene; Janzen, Andrew

2017-01-01

The next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) is a concept for a radio astronomical interferometric array operating in the frequency range 1.2 GHz to 116 GHz and designed to provide substantial improvements in sensitivity, angular resolution, and frequency coverage above the current Very Large Array (VLA). As notional design goals, it would have a continuous frequency coverage of 1.2 GHz to 48 GHz and be 10 times more sensitive than the VLA (and 25 times more sensitive than a 34 m diameter antenna of the Deep Space Network [DSN]). One of the key goals for the ngVLA is to reduce the operating costs without sacrificing performance. We are designing an ultra-wideband receiver package designed to operate across the 8 to 48 GHz frequency range, which can be contrasted to the current VLA, which covers this frequency range with five receiver packages. Reducing the number of receiving systems required to cover the full frequency range would reduce operating costs, and the objective of this work is to develop a prototype integrated feed-receiver package with a sensitivity performance comparable to current narrower band systems on radio telescopes and the DSN, but with a design that meets the requirement of low long-term operational costs. The ultra-wideband receiver package consists of a feed horn, low-noise amplifier (LNA), and down-converters to analog intermediate frequencies. Key features of this design are a quad-ridge feed horn with dielectric loading and a cryogenic receiver with a noise temperature of no more than 30 K at the low end of the band. We will report on the status of this receiver package development including the feed design and LNA implementation. We will present simulation studies of the feed horn including the insertion of dielectric components for improved illumination efficiencies across the band of interest. In addition, we will show experimental results of low-noise 35nm InP HEMT amplifier testing performed across the 8-50 GHz frequency range.Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Combining an Analytic Hierarchy Process and TOPSIS for Selecting Postharvest Technology Method for Selayar Citrus in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dirpan, Andi

2018-05-01

This research was intended to select the best handling methods or postharvest technologies that can be used to maintain the quality of citrus fruit in Selayar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia among (1) modified atmosphere packaging (MAP (2) Controlled atmosphere storage (CAS) (3) coatings (4) hot water treatment (5) Hot Calcium Dip (HCD) by using combination between an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and TOPSIS. Improving quality, applicability, increasing shelf life and reducing cost are used as the criteria to determine the best postharvest technologies. The results show that the most important criteria for selecting postharvest technology is improving quality followed by increasing shelf life, reducing cost and applicability. Furthermore, by using TOPSIS, it is clear that the postharvest technology that had the lowest rangking is modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), followed by controlled atmosphere storage (CAS), coatings, hot calcium dip (HCD) and hot water treatment (HWT). Therefore, it can be concluded that the best postharvest technology method for Selayar citrus is modified atmosphere packaging (MAP).

Strategies to improve the mechanical strength and water resistance of agar films for food packaging applications.

PubMed

Sousa, Ana M M; Gonçalves, Maria P

2015-11-05

Agar films possess several properties adequate for food packaging applications. However, their high cost-production and quality variations caused by physiological and environmental factors affecting wild seaweeds make them less attractive for industries. In this work, native (NA) and alkali-modified (AA) agars obtained from sustainably grown seaweeds (integrated multi-trophic aquaculture) were mixed with locust bean gum (LBG) to make 'knife-coated' films with fixed final concentration (1 wt%) and variable agar/LBG ratios. Agar films were easier to process upon LBG addition (viscosity increase and gelling character decrease of the film-forming solutions observed by dynamic oscillatory and steady shear measurements). The mechanical properties and water resistance were optimal for films with 50 and/or 75% LBG contents and best in the case of NA (cheaper to extract). These findings can help reduce the cost-production of agar packaging films. Moreover, the controlled cultivation of seaweeds can provide continuous and reliable feedstock for transformation industries. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cost-effectiveness of the treatment of uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition by community health workers compared to treatment provided at an outpatient facility in rural Mali.

PubMed

Rogers, Eleanor; Martínez, Karen; Morán, Jose Luis Alvarez; Alé, Franck G B; Charle, Pilar; Guerrero, Saul; Puett, Chloe

2018-02-20

The Malian Nutrition Division of the Ministry of Health and Action Against Hunger tested the feasibility of integrating treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) into the existing Integrated Community Case Management package delivered by community health workers (CHWs). This study assessed costs and cost-effectiveness of CHW-delivered care compared to outpatient facility-based care. Activity-based costing methods were used, and a societal perspective employed to include all relevant costs incurred by institutions, beneficiaries and communities. The intervention and control arm enrolled different numbers of children so a modelled scenario sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the cost-effectiveness of the two arms, assuming equal numbers of children enrolled. In the base case, with unequal numbers of children in each arm, for CHW-delivered care, the cost per child treated was 244 USD and cost per child recovered was 259 USD. Outpatient facility-based care was less cost-effective at 442 USD per child and 501 USD per child recovered. The conclusions of the analysis changed in the modelled scenario sensitivity analysis, with outpatient facility-based care being marginally more cost-effective (cost per child treated is 188 USD, cost per child recovered is 214 USD), compared to CHW-delivered care. This suggests that achieving good coverage is a key factor influencing cost-effectiveness of CHWs delivering treatment for SAM in this setting. Per week of treatment, households receiving CHW-delivered care spent half of the time receiving treatment and three times less money compared with those receiving treatment from the outpatient facility. This study supports existing evidence that the delivery of treatment by CHWs is a cost-effective intervention, provided that good coverage is achieved. A major benefit of this strategy was the lower cost incurred by the beneficiary household when treatment is available in the community. Further research is needed on the implementation costs that would be incurred by the government to increase the operability of these results.

Further Evidence on the Effect of Acquisition Policy and Process on Cost Growth of Major Defense Acquisition Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

Total Package Procurement (TPP) when it was judged to be practicable and, when not, Fixed Price Incentive Fee (FPIF) or Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF...development contracts in favor of CPIF. ( Cost Plus Award Fee may not have been included in the contracting play book yet.) As a general matter, Packard’s...Group CAPE Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation CD Compact Disc CE Current Estimate CLC Calibrated Learning Curve CPIF Cost Plus Incentive Fee

Prediction of drug-packaging interactions via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

PubMed

Feenstra, Peter; Brunsteiner, Michael; Khinast, Johannes

2012-07-15

The interaction between packaging materials and drug products is an important issue for the pharmaceutical industry, since during manufacturing, processing and storage a drug product is continuously exposed to various packaging materials. The experimental investigation of a great variety of different packaging material-drug product combinations in terms of efficacy and safety can be a costly and time-consuming task. In our work we used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in order to evaluate the applicability of such methods to pre-screening of the packaging material-solute compatibility. The solvation free energy and the free energy of adsorption of diverse solute/solvent/solid systems were estimated. The results of our simulations agree with experimental values previously published in the literature, which indicates that the methods in question can be used to semi-quantitatively reproduce the solid-liquid interactions of the investigated systems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

College Education Financing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiencek, Ruth, Ed.

Information on financial aid programs is provided in this guide for students. The introduction discusses where the labor movement stands on educational needs. The contents of the publication are as follows: Meeting College Costs through a Financial Aid Package; How to Cut Educational Costs; How Students' Financial Aid Needs Are Analyzed; Low…

Study protocol: Improving patient choice in treating low back pain (IMPACT - LBP): A randomised controlled trial of a decision support package for use in physical therapy

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Low back pain is a common and costly condition. There are several treatment options for people suffering from back pain, but there are few data on how to improve patients' treatment choices. This study will test the effects of a decision support package (DSP), designed to help patients seeking care for back pain to make better, more informed choices about their treatment within a physiotherapy department. The package will be designed to assist both therapist and patient. Methods/Design Firstly, in collaboration with physiotherapists, patients and experts in the field of decision support and decision aids, we will develop the DSP. The work will include: a literature and evidence review; secondary analysis of existing qualitative data; exploration of patients' perspectives through focus groups and exploration of experts' perspectives using a nominal group technique and a Delphi study. Secondly, we will carry out a pilot single centre randomised controlled trial within NHS Coventry Community Physiotherapy. We will randomise physiotherapists to receive either training for the DSP or not. We will randomly allocate patients seeking treatment for non specific low back pain to either a physiotherapist trained in decision support or to receive usual care. Our primary outcome measure will be patient satisfaction with treatment at three month follow-up. We will also estimate the cost-effectiveness of the intervention, and assess the value of conducting further research. Discussion Informed shared decision-making should be an important part of any clinical consultation, particularly when there are several treatments, which potentially have moderate effects. The results of this pilot will help us determine the benefits of improving the decision-making process in clinical practice on patient satisfaction. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN46035546 PMID:21352528

Big Science, Small-Budget Space Experiment Package Aka MISSE-5: A Hardware And Software Perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krasowski, Michael; Greer, Lawrence; Flatico, Joseph; Jenkins, Phillip; Spina, Dan

2007-01-01

Conducting space experiments with small budgets is a fact of life for many design groups with low-visibility science programs. One major consequence is that specialized space grade electronic components are often too costly to incorporate into the design. Radiation mitigation now becomes more complex as a result of being restricted to the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts. Unique hardware and software design techniques are required to succeed in producing a viable instrument suited for use in space. This paper highlights some of the design challenges and associated solutions encountered in the production of a highly capable, low cost space experiment package.

Laser-boosted lightcraft technology demonstrator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richard, J. C.; Morales, C.; Smith, W. L.; Myrabo, L. N.

1990-01-01

The detailed description and performance analysis of a 1.4 meter diameter Lightcraft Technology Demonstator (LTD) is presented. The launch system employs a 100 MW-class ground-based laser to transmit power directly to an advanced combined-cycle engine that propels the 120 kg LTD to orbit - with a mass ratio of two. The single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) LTD machine then becomes an autonomous sensor satellite that can deliver precise, high quality information typical of today's large orbital platforms. The dominant motivation behind this study is to provide an example of how laser propulsion and its low launch costs can induce a comparable order-of-magnitude reduction in sensor satellite packaging costs. The issue is simply one of production technology for future, survivable SSTO aerospace vehicles that intimately share both laser propulsion engine and satellite functional hardware.

Packaging Software Assets for Reuse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattmann, C. A.; Marshall, J. J.; Downs, R. R.

2010-12-01

The reuse of existing software assets such as code, architecture, libraries, and modules in current software and systems development projects can provide many benefits, including reduced costs, in time and effort, and increased reliability. Many reusable assets are currently available in various online catalogs and repositories, usually broken down by disciplines such as programming language (Ibiblio for Maven/Java developers, PyPI for Python developers, CPAN for Perl developers, etc.). The way these assets are packaged for distribution can play a role in their reuse - an asset that is packaged simply and logically is typically easier to understand, install, and use, thereby increasing its reusability. A well-packaged asset has advantages in being more reusable and thus more likely to provide benefits through its reuse. This presentation will discuss various aspects of software asset packaging and how they can affect the reusability of the assets. The characteristics of well-packaged software will be described. A software packaging domain model will be introduced, and some existing packaging approaches examined. An example case study of a Reuse Enablement System (RES), currently being created by near-term Earth science decadal survey missions, will provide information about the use of the domain model. Awareness of these factors will help software developers package their reusable assets so that they can provide the most benefits for software reuse.

clusterProfiler: an R package for comparing biological themes among gene clusters.

PubMed

Yu, Guangchuang; Wang, Li-Gen; Han, Yanyan; He, Qing-Yu

2012-05-01

Increasing quantitative data generated from transcriptomics and proteomics require integrative strategies for analysis. Here, we present an R package, clusterProfiler that automates the process of biological-term classification and the enrichment analysis of gene clusters. The analysis module and visualization module were combined into a reusable workflow. Currently, clusterProfiler supports three species, including humans, mice, and yeast. Methods provided in this package can be easily extended to other species and ontologies. The clusterProfiler package is released under Artistic-2.0 License within Bioconductor project. The source code and vignette are freely available at http://bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/clusterProfiler.html.

Poppr: an R package for genetic analysis of populations with mixed (clonal/sexual) reproduction

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Poppr is an R package for analysis of population genetic data. It extends the adegenet package and provides several novel tools, particularly with regard to analysis of data from admixed, clonal, and/or sexual populations. Currently, poppr can be used for dominant/codominant and haploid/diploid gene...

Economic evaluation of interventions for problem drinking and alcohol dependence: cost per QALY estimates.

PubMed

Mortimer, Duncan; Segal, Leonie

2005-01-01

To compare the performance of competing and complementary interventions for prevention or treatment of problem drinking and alcohol dependence. To provide an example of how health maximising decision-makers might use performance measures such as cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) league tables to formulate an optimal package of interventions for problem drinking and alcohol dependence. A time-dependent state-transition model was used to estimate QALYs gained per person for each intervention as compared to usual care in the relevant target population. Cost per QALY estimates for each of the interventions fall below any putative funding threshold for developed economies. Interventions for problem drinkers appear to offer better value than interventions targeted at those with a history of severe physical dependence. Formularies such as Australia's Medicare should include a comprehensive package of interventions for problem drinking and alcohol dependence.

Thick resist for MEMS processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Joe; Hamel, Clifford

2001-11-01

The need for technical innovation is always present in today's economy. Microfabrication methods have evolved in support of the demand for smaller and faster integrated circuits with price performance improvements always in the scope of the manufacturing design engineer. The dispersion of processing technology spans well beyond IC fabrication today with batch fabrication and wafer scale processing lending advantages to MEMES applications from biotechnology to consumer electronics from oil exploration to aerospace. Today the demand for innovative processing techniques that enable technology is apparent where only a few years ago appeared too costly or not reliable. In high volume applications where yield and cost improvements are measured in fractions of a percent it is imperative to have process technologies that produce consistent results. Only a few years ago thick resist coatings were limited to thickness less than 20 microns. Factors such as uniformity, edge bead and multiple coatings made high volume production impossible. New developments in photoresist formulation combined with advanced coating equipment techniques that closely controls process parameters have enable thick photoresist coatings of 70 microns with acceptable uniformity and edge bead in one pass. Packaging of microelectronic and micromechanical devices is often a significant cost factor and a reliability issue for high volume low cost production. Technologies such as flip- chip assembly provide a solution for cost and reliability improvements over wire bond techniques. The processing for such technology demands dimensional control and presents a significant cost savings if it were compatible with mainstream technologies. Thick photoresist layers, with good sidewall control would allow wafer-bumping technologies to penetrate the barriers to yield and production where costs for technology are the overriding issue. Single pass processing is paramount to the manufacturability of packaging technology. Uniformity and edge bead control defined the success of process implementation. Today advanced packaging solutions are created with thick photoresist coatings. The techniques and results will be presented.

Recent developments in intelligent packaging for enhancing food quality and safety.

PubMed

Sohail, Muhammad; Sun, Da-Wen; Zhu, Zhiwei

2018-03-07

The role of packaging cannot be denied in the life cycle of any food product. Intelligent packaging is an emerging technology in the food packaging sector. Although it still needs its full emergence in the market, its importance has been proved for the maintenance of food quality and safety. The present review describes several aspects of intelligent packaging. It first highlights different tools used in intelligent packaging and elucidates the role of these packaging devices for maintaining the quality of different food items in terms of controlling microbial growth and gas concentration, and for providing convenience and easiness to its users in the form of time temperature indication. This review also discusses other intelligent packaging solutions in supply chain management of food products to control theft and counterfeiting conducts and broaden the image of the food companies in terms of branding and marketing. Overall, intelligent packaging can ensure food quality and safety in the food industry, however there are still some concerns over this emerging technology including high cost and legal aspects, and thus future work should be performed to overcome these problems for further promoting its applications in the food industry. Moreover, work should also be carried out to combine several single intelligent packaging devices into a single one, so that most of the benefits from this emerging technology can be achieved.

A comparison of InVivoStat with other statistical software packages for analysis of data generated from animal experiments.

PubMed

Clark, Robin A; Shoaib, Mohammed; Hewitt, Katherine N; Stanford, S Clare; Bate, Simon T

2012-08-01

InVivoStat is a free-to-use statistical software package for analysis of data generated from animal experiments. The package is designed specifically for researchers in the behavioural sciences, where exploiting the experimental design is crucial for reliable statistical analyses. This paper compares the analysis of three experiments conducted using InVivoStat with other widely used statistical packages: SPSS (V19), PRISM (V5), UniStat (V5.6) and Statistica (V9). We show that InVivoStat provides results that are similar to those from the other packages and, in some cases, are more advanced. This investigation provides evidence of further validation of InVivoStat and should strengthen users' confidence in this new software package.

Building America Case Study: Meeting DOE Challenge Home Program Certification, Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Devens, Massachusetts (Fact Sheet)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The purpose of this project was to evaluate integrated packages of advanced measures in individual test homes to assess their performance with respect to Building America Program goals, specifically compliance with the DOE Challenge Home Program. BSC consulted on the construction of five test houses by three Cold Climate production builders in three separate US cities. BSC worked with the builders to develop a design package tailored to the cost-related impacts for each builder. Therefore, the resulting design packages do vary from builder to builder. BSC provided support through this research project on the design, construction and performance testing ofmore » the five test homes. Overall, the builders have concluded that the energy related upgrades (either through the prescriptive or performance path) represent reasonable upgrades. The builders commented that while not every improvement in specification was cost effective (as in a reasonable payback period), many were improvements that could improve the marketability of the homes and serve to attract more energy efficiency discerning prospective homeowners. However, the builders did express reservations on the associated checklists and added certifications. An increase in administrative time was observed with all builders. The checklists and certifications also inherently increase cost due to: 1. Adding services to the scope of work for various trades, such as HERS Rater, HVAC contractor. 2. Increased material costs related to the checklists, especially the EPA Indoor airPLUS and EPA WaterSense Efficient Hot Water Distribution requirement.« less

Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Energy Challenge Home Program Certification of Production Builders

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kerrigan, P.; Loomis, H.

2014-09-01

The purpose of this project was to evaluate integrated packages of advanced measures in individual test homes to assess their performance with respect to Building America Program goals, specifically compliance with the DOE Challenge Home Program. BSC consulted on the construction of five test houses by three Cold Climate production builders in three separate US cities. BSC worked with the builders to develop a design package tailored to the cost-related impacts for each builder. Therefore, the resulting design packages do vary from builder to builder. BSC provided support through this research project on the design, construction and performance testing ofmore » the five test homes. Overall, the builders have concluded that the energy related upgrades (either through the prescriptive or performance path) represent reasonable upgrades. The builders commented that while not every improvement in specification was cost effective (as in a reasonable payback period), many were improvements that could improve the marketability of the homes and serve to attract more energy efficiency discerning prospective homeowners. However, the builders did express reservations on the associated checklists and added certifications. An increase in administrative time was observed with all builders. The checklists and certifications also inherently increase cost due to: 1. Adding services to the scope of work for various trades, such as HERS Rater, HVAC contractor; 2. Increased material costs related to the checklists, especially the EPA Indoor airPLUS and EPA WaterSense(R) Efficient Hot Water Distribution requirement.« less

Teacher Retirement Benefits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costrell, Robert; Podgursky, Michael

2009-01-01

The ongoing global financial crisis is forcing many employers, from General Motors to local general stores, to take a hard look at the costs of the compensation packages they offer employees. For public school systems, this will entail a consideration of fringe benefit costs, which in recent years have become an increasingly important component of…

Engaging Undergraduate Math Majors in Geoscience Research using Interactive Simulations and Computer Art

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matott, L. S.; Hymiak, B.; Reslink, C. F.; Baxter, C.; Aziz, S.

2012-12-01

As part of the NSF-sponsored 'URGE (Undergraduate Research Group Experiences) to Compute' program, Dr. Matott has been collaborating with talented Math majors to explore the design of cost-effective systems to safeguard groundwater supplies from contaminated sites. Such activity is aided by a combination of groundwater modeling, simulation-based optimization, and high-performance computing - disciplines largely unfamiliar to the students at the outset of the program. To help train and engage the students, a number of interactive and graphical software packages were utilized. Examples include: (1) a tutorial for exploring the behavior of evolutionary algorithms and other heuristic optimizers commonly used in simulation-based optimization; (2) an interactive groundwater modeling package for exploring alternative pump-and-treat containment scenarios at a contaminated site in Billings, Montana; (3) the R software package for visualizing various concepts related to subsurface hydrology; and (4) a job visualization tool for exploring the behavior of numerical experiments run on a large distributed computing cluster. Further engagement and excitement in the program was fostered by entering (and winning) a computer art competition run by the Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation (CASC). The winning submission visualizes an exhaustively mapped optimization cost surface and dramatically illustrates the phenomena of artificial minima - valley locations that correspond to designs whose costs are only partially optimal.

Product retrieval time in small tobacco retail outlets before and after the Australian plain packaging policy: real-world study.

PubMed

Wakefield, Melanie; Bayly, Megan; Scollo, Michelle

2014-01-01

We aimed to assess change in cigarette pack retrieval time in small retail outlets following the introduction of plain packaging in Australia in 1 December 2012. A sample of 303 milk bars, convenience stores, petrol stations and newsagents was selected in four capital cities, stratified by area socioeconomic status. In June and September (baseline months), the first 2 weeks of December 2012, and February 2013, stores were visited by trained fieldworkers who requested a cigarette pack of a pre-determined brand, variant and pack size, unobtrusively recording the time from the end of the request to when the pack was scanned or placed on the counter. In multivariate analysis, December retrieval time (12.43 s) did not differ from June (10.91 s; p=0.410) or February (10.37 s; p=0.382), but was slower than September (9.84 s; p=0.024). In December, retrieval time declined as days after plain packaging implementation increased (β=-0.21, p=0.011), returning to the baseline range by the second week of implementation. This pattern was not observed in baseline months or in February. Sensitivity analyses showed that results were robust to the variability in purchasing circumstances in tobacco retail outlets. Retailers quickly gained experience with the new plain packaging legislation, evidenced by retrieval time having returned to the baseline range by the second week of implementation and remaining so several months later. The long retrieval times predicted by tobacco industry-funded retailer groups and the consequent costs they predicted would fall upon small retailers from plain packaging are unlikely to eventuate.

The Relationship Between the Scope of Essential Health Benefits and Statutory Financing: An International Comparison Across Eight European Countries

PubMed Central

van der Wees, Philip J.; Wammes, Joost J.G.; Westert, Gert P.; Jeurissen, Patrick P.T.

2016-01-01

Background: Both rising healthcare costs and the global financial crisis have fueled a search for policy tools in order to avoid unsustainable future financing of essential health benefits. The scope of essential health benefits (the range of services covered) and depth of coverage (the proportion of costs of the covered benefits that is covered publicly) are corresponding variables in determining the benefits package. We hypothesized that a more comprehensive health benefit package may increase user cost-sharing charges. Methods: We conducted a desktop research study to assess the interrelationship between the scope of covered health benefits and the height of statutory spending in a sample of 8 European countries: Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland. We conducted a targeted literature search to identify characteristics of the healthcare systems in our sample of countries. We analyzed similarities and differences based on the dimensions of publicly financed healthcare as published by the European Observatory on Health Care Systems. Results: We found that the scope of services is comparable and comprehensive across our sample, with only marginal differences. Cost-sharing arrangements show the most variation. In general, we found no direct interrelationship in this sample between the ranges of services covered in the health benefits package and the height of public spending on healthcare. With regard to specific services (dental care, physical therapy), we found indications of an association between coverage of services and cost-sharing arrangements. Strong variations in the volume and price of healthcare services between the 8 countries were found for services with large practice variations. Conclusion: Although reducing the scope of the benefit package as well as increasing user charges may contribute to the financial sustainability of healthcare, variations in the volume and price of care seem to have a much larger impact on financial sustainability. Policy-makers should focus on a variety of measures within an integrated approach. There is no silver bullet for addressing the sustainability of healthcare. PMID:26673645

The Relationship Between the Scope of Essential Health Benefits and Statutory Financing: An International Comparison Across Eight European Countries.

PubMed

van der Wees, Philip J; Wammes, Joost J G; Westert, Gert P; Jeurissen, Patrick P T

2015-09-12

Both rising healthcare costs and the global financial crisis have fueled a search for policy tools in order to avoid unsustainable future financing of essential health benefits. The scope of essential health benefits (the range of services covered) and depth of coverage (the proportion of costs of the covered benefits that is covered publicly) are corresponding variables in determining the benefits package. We hypothesized that a more comprehensive health benefit package may increase user cost-sharing charges. We conducted a desktop research study to assess the interrelationship between the scope of covered health benefits and the height of statutory spending in a sample of 8 European countries: Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland. We conducted a targeted literature search to identify characteristics of the healthcare systems in our sample of countries. We analyzed similarities and differences based on the dimensions of publicly financed healthcare as published by the European Observatory on Health Care Systems. We found that the scope of services is comparable and comprehensive across our sample, with only marginal differences. Cost-sharing arrangements show the most variation. In general, we found no direct interrelationship in this sample between the ranges of services covered in the health benefits package and the height of public spending on healthcare. With regard to specific services (dental care, physical therapy), we found indications of an association between coverage of services and cost-sharing arrangements. Strong variations in the volume and price of healthcare services between the 8 countries were found for services with large practice variations. Although reducing the scope of the benefit package as well as increasing user charges may contribute to the financial sustainability of healthcare, variations in the volume and price of care seem to have a much larger impact on financial sustainability. Policy-makers should focus on a variety of measures within an integrated approach. There is no silver bullet for addressing the sustainability of healthcare. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

New Mexico Play Fairway Analysis: Particle Tracking ArcGIS Map Packages

DOE Data Explorer

Jeff Pepin

2015-11-15

These are map packages used to visualize geochemical particle-tracking analysis results in ArcGIS. It includes individual map packages for several regions of New Mexico including: Acoma, Rincon, Gila, Las Cruces, Socorro and Truth or Consequences.

Matching comprehensive health insurance reimbursements to their real costs: the case of antenatal care visits in a region of Peru.

PubMed

Cobos Muñoz, Daniel; Hansen, Kristian Schultz; Terris-Prestholt, Fern; Cianci, Fiona; Pérez-Lu, José Enrique; Lama, Aldo; García, Patricia J

2015-01-01

Prepaid contributory systems are increasingly being recognized as key mechanisms in achieving universal health coverage in low and middle-income countries. Peru created the Seguro Integral de Salud (SIS) to increase health service use amongst the poor by removing financial barriers. The SIS transfers funds on a fee-for-service basis to the regional health offices to cover recurrent cost (excluding salaries) of pre-specified packages of interventions. We aim to estimate the full cost of antenatal care (ANC) provision in the Ventanilla District (Callao-Peru) and to compare the actual cost to the reimbursement rates provided by SIS. The economic costs of ANC provision in 2011 in 8 of the 15 health centres in Ventanilla District were estimated from a provider perspective and the actual costs of those services covered by the SIS fee of $3.8 for each ANC visit were calculated. A combination of step-down and bottom-up costing methodologies was used. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the uncertainty around estimated parameters and model assumptions. Results are reported in 2011 US$. The total economic cost of ANC provision in all 8 health centres was $569,933 with an average cost per ANC visit of $31.3 (95 % CI $29.7-$33.5). Salaries comprised 74.4 % of the total cost. The average cost of the services covered by the SIS fee was $3.4 (95 % CI $3.0-$3.8) per ANC visit. Sensitivity analysis showed that the probability of the cost of an ANC visit being above the SIS reimbursed fee is 1.4 %. Our analysis suggests that the fee reimbursed by the SIS will cover the cost that it supposed to cover. However, there are significant threats to medium and longer term sustainability of this system as fee transfers represent a small fraction of the total cost of providing ANC. Increasing ANC coverage requires the other funding sources of the Regional Health Office (DIRESA) to adapt to increasing demand.

Inflatable Antenna Microwave Radiometer for Soil Moisture Measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, M. C.; Kendall, Bruce M.; Schroeder, Lyle C.; Harrington, Richard F.

1993-01-01

Microwave measurements of soil moisture are not being obtained at the required spatial Earth resolution with current technology. Recently, new novel designs for lightweight reflector systems have been developed using deployable inflatable antenna structures which could enable lightweight real-aperture radiometers. In consideration of this, a study was conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) to determine the feasibility of developing a microwave radiometer system using inflatable reflector antenna technology to obtain high spatial resolution radiometric measurements of soil moisture from low Earth orbit and which could be used with a small and cost effective launch vehicle. The required high resolution with reasonable swath width coupled with the L-band measurement frequency for soil moisture dictated the use of a large (30 meter class) real aperture antenna in conjunction with a pushbroom antenna beam configuration and noise-injection type radiometer designs at 1.4 and 4.3 GHz to produce a 370 kilometer cross-track swath with a 10 kilometer resolution that could be packaged for launch with a Titan 2 class vehicle. This study includes design of the inflatable structure, control analysis, structural and thermal analysis, antenna and feed design, radiometer design, payload packaging, orbital analysis, and electromagnetic losses in the thin membrane inflatable materials.

How Data Packages Lacking Phase III Pivotal Trial Data Can Support Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement for Oncologics in Australia.

PubMed

Macaulay, Richard; Siddiqui, Mohammad Kashif; Stoddart, Samuel

2015-05-01

Oncology drugs lacking supportive phase III trial data have achieved Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) regulatory approval and even European reimbursement approval where no therapeutic alternative exists and early-stage data indicate dramatic clinical benefits. This research aimed to compare under what circumstances oncologics can obtain both regulatory and reimbursement approval in Australia on this basis. Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Australian Public Assessment Reports, EMA, FDA, and Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) Public Summary Documents were extracted for any oncologic indication appraised in Australia on a pivotal trial package lacking phase III data, excluding pediatric indications and new formulations. Australian Public Assessment Reports were available for six TGA-appraised oncologics across seven indications on such a data package: five of seven approved, one of seven restricted, and one of seven rejected. The EMA and the FDA issued recommendations on these indications an average of 1 and 2 years earlier, respectively. The PBAC appraised six oncologics across 10 indications on such a data package, with four (nilotinib, dasatinib, imatinib, and brentuximab vedotin) approved and two rejected (cetuximab and bevacizumab). Seven of the eight approved indications required multiple submissions, with inadequate clinical data frequently cited as key. Six of the eight PBAC-approved indications included economic modeling on a cost-benefit approach. The TGA will approve oncologics that offer potentially substantial clinical benefits on the basis of an indirect comparison of single-arm trials but at a delay versus the EMA and the FDA. The PBAC reimbursement approval also requires more rigorous supportive clinical data and acceptable cost-effectiveness as demonstrated on a cost-benefit or cost-quality-adjusted life-year metric. Copyright © 2015 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Construction of a Chemical Sensor/Instrumentation Package Using Fiber Optic and Miniaturization Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newton, R. L.

1999-01-01

The objective of this research was to construct a chemical sensor/instrumentation package that was smaller in weight and volume than conventional instrumentation. This reduction in weight and volume is needed to assist in further reducing the cost of launching payloads into space. To accomplish this, fiber optic sensors, miniaturized spectrometers, and wireless modems were employed. The system was evaluated using iodine as a calibration analyte.

Closing the mental health treatment gap in South Africa: a review of costs and cost-effectiveness.

PubMed

Jack, Helen; Wagner, Ryan G; Petersen, Inge; Thom, Rita; Newton, Charles R; Stein, Alan; Kahn, Kathleen; Tollman, Stephen; Hofman, Karen J

2014-01-01

Nearly one in three South Africans will suffer from a mental disorder in his or her lifetime, a higher prevalence than many low- and middle-income countries. Understanding the economic costs and consequences of prevention and packages of care is essential, particularly as South Africa considers scaling-up mental health services and works towards universal health coverage. Economic evaluations can inform how priorities are set in system or spending changes. To identify and review research from South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa on the direct and indirect costs of mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders and the cost-effectiveness of treatment interventions. Narrative overview methodology. Reviewed studies indicate that integrating mental health care into existing health systems may be the most effective and cost-efficient approach to increase access to mental health services in South Africa. Integration would also direct treatment, prevention, and screening to people with HIV and other chronic health conditions who are at high risk for mental disorders. We identify four major knowledge gaps: 1) accurate and thorough assessment of the health burdens of MNS disorders, 2) design and assessment of interventions that integrate mental health screening and treatment into existing health systems, 3) information on the use and costs of traditional medicines, and 4) cost-effectiveness evaluation of a range of specific interventions or packages of interventions that are tailored to the national context.

MOBILE GAMMA IRRADIATORS FOR FRUIT PRODUCE (Engineering Materials)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

1963-10-31

Mobile irradiators used for the radiopasteurization of strawberries, grapes, peaches, tomatoes, and lemons are described. The irradiators are mounted on trailers and each irradiator, including the trailer, weighs 70 to 80 tons. Radiatton doses range from 100,000 to 200,000 rads. Minimum production is 500 lb of fruit per hour. Drawings are included for four types of irradiators: the single-slab twopass, double-slab one-pass, single-slab four-pass, and line-source rotary. In the single-slab two-pass system, the packages make two passes in front of the source. The length of the packages is parallel to the direction of travel. The packages are irradiated on eachmore » side. This system is light in weight, has low capital cost, and is simple to fabricate. The double-slab one- pass system is the same as the above except the source strength is doubled and irradiation time is cut in half. The same arrangement is used in the single-slab four-pass system that is used in the singleslab two-pass system except the packages make two passes on each side of the source. The rotary system combines a linear and rotary motion to provide high dosage. It uses a small Co/sup 60/ source but costs more than a single-slab twopass system. (F.E.S.)« less

Wafer-Level Vacuum Packaging of Smart Sensors

PubMed Central

Hilton, Allan; Temple, Dorota S.

2016-01-01

The reach and impact of the Internet of Things will depend on the availability of low-cost, smart sensors—“low cost” for ubiquitous presence, and “smart” for connectivity and autonomy. By using wafer-level processes not only for the smart sensor fabrication and integration, but also for packaging, we can further greatly reduce the cost of sensor components and systems as well as further decrease their size and weight. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art in the wafer-level vacuum packaging technology of smart sensors. We describe the processes needed to create the wafer-scale vacuum microchambers, focusing on approaches that involve metal seals and that are compatible with the thermal budget of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits. We review choices of seal materials and structures that are available to a device designer, and present techniques used for the fabrication of metal seals on device and window wafers. We also analyze the deposition and activation of thin film getters needed to maintain vacuum in the ultra-small chambers, and the wafer-to-wafer bonding processes that form the hermetic seal. We discuss inherent trade-offs and challenges of each seal material set and the corresponding bonding processes. Finally, we identify areas for further research that could help broaden implementations of the wafer-level vacuum packaging technology. PMID:27809249

Scilab software as an alternative low-cost computing in solving the linear equations problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agus, Fahrul; Haviluddin

2017-02-01

Numerical computation packages are widely used both in teaching and research. These packages consist of license (proprietary) and open source software (non-proprietary). One of the reasons to use the package is a complexity of mathematics function (i.e., linear problems). Also, number of variables in a linear or non-linear function has been increased. The aim of this paper was to reflect on key aspects related to the method, didactics and creative praxis in the teaching of linear equations in higher education. If implemented, it could be contribute to a better learning in mathematics area (i.e., solving simultaneous linear equations) that essential for future engineers. The focus of this study was to introduce an additional numerical computation package of Scilab as an alternative low-cost computing programming. In this paper, Scilab software was proposed some activities that related to the mathematical models. In this experiment, four numerical methods such as Gaussian Elimination, Gauss-Jordan, Inverse Matrix, and Lower-Upper Decomposition (LU) have been implemented. The results of this study showed that a routine or procedure in numerical methods have been created and explored by using Scilab procedures. Then, the routine of numerical method that could be as a teaching material course has exploited.

Compact electro-optical module with polymer waveguides on a flexible substrate for high-density board-level communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, J. R. M.; Lamprecht, T.; Meier, N.; Dangel, R.; Horst, F.; Jubin, D.; Beyeler, R.; Offrein, B. J.

2010-02-01

We report on the co-packaging of electrical CMOS transceiver and VCSEL chip arrays on a flexible electrical substrate with optical polymer waveguides. The electro-optical components are attached to the substrate edge and butt-coupled to the waveguides. Electrically conductive silver-ink connects them to the substrate at an angle of 90°. The final assembly contacts the surface of a package laminate with an integrated compressible connector. The module can be folded to save space, requires only a small footprint on the package laminate and provides short electrical high-speed signal paths. With our approach, the electro-optical package becomes a compact electro-optical module with integrated polymer waveguides terminated with either optical connectors (e.g., at the card edge) or with an identical assembly for a second processor on the board. Consequently, no costly subassemblies and connectors are needed, and a very high integration density and scalability to virtually arbitrary channel counts and towards very high data rates (20+ Gbps) become possible. Future cost targets of much less than US$1 per Gbps will be reached by employing standard PCB materials and technologies that are well established in the industry. Moreover, our technology platform has both electrical and optical connectivity and functionality.

Streaming Support for Data Intensive Cloud-Based Sequence Analysis

PubMed Central

Issa, Shadi A.; Kienzler, Romeo; El-Kalioby, Mohamed; Tonellato, Peter J.; Wall, Dennis; Bruggmann, Rémy; Abouelhoda, Mohamed

2013-01-01

Cloud computing provides a promising solution to the genomics data deluge problem resulting from the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. Based on the concepts of “resources-on-demand” and “pay-as-you-go”, scientists with no or limited infrastructure can have access to scalable and cost-effective computational resources. However, the large size of NGS data causes a significant data transfer latency from the client's site to the cloud, which presents a bottleneck for using cloud computing services. In this paper, we provide a streaming-based scheme to overcome this problem, where the NGS data is processed while being transferred to the cloud. Our scheme targets the wide class of NGS data analysis tasks, where the NGS sequences can be processed independently from one another. We also provide the elastream package that supports the use of this scheme with individual analysis programs or with workflow systems. Experiments presented in this paper show that our solution mitigates the effect of data transfer latency and saves both time and cost of computation. PMID:23710461

PresenceAbsence: An R package for presence absence analysis

Treesearch

Elizabeth A. Freeman; Gretchen Moisen

2008-01-01

The PresenceAbsence package for R provides a set of functions useful when evaluating the results of presence-absence analysis, for example, models of species distribution or the analysis of diagnostic tests. The package provides a toolkit for selecting the optimal threshold for translating a probability surface into presence-absence maps specifically tailored to their...

Estimating age-based antiretroviral therapy costs for HIV-infected children in resource-limited settings based on World Health Organization weight-based dosing recommendations

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been shown to substantially reduce morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected infants and children. To accurately project program costs, analysts need accurate estimations of antiretroviral drug (ARV) costs for children. However, the costing of pediatric antiretroviral therapy is complicated by weight-based dosing recommendations which change as children grow. Methods We developed a step-by-step methodology for estimating the cost of pediatric ARV regimens for children ages 0–13 years old. The costing approach incorporates weight-based dosing recommendations to provide estimated ARV doses throughout childhood development. Published unit drug costs are then used to calculate average monthly drug costs. We compared our derived monthly ARV costs to published estimates to assess the accuracy of our methodology. Results The estimates of monthly ARV costs are provided for six commonly used first-line pediatric ARV regimens, considering three possible care scenarios. The costs derived in our analysis for children were fairly comparable to or slightly higher than available published ARV drug or regimen estimates. Conclusions The methodology described here can be used to provide an accurate estimation of pediatric ARV regimen costs for cost-effectiveness analysts to project the optimum packages of care for HIV-infected children, as well as for program administrators and budget analysts who wish to assess the feasibility of increasing pediatric ART availability in constrained budget environments. PMID:24885453

Beyond Widgets -- Systems Incentive Programs for Utilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Regnier, Cindy; Mathew, Paul; Robinson, Alastair

Utility incentive programs remain one of the most significant means of deploying commercialized, but underutilized building technologies to scale. However, these programs have been largely limited to component-based products (e.g., lamps, RTUs). While some utilities do provide ‘custom’ incentive programs with whole building and system level technical assistance, these programs require deeper levels of analysis, resulting in higher program costs. This results in custom programs being restricted to utilities with greater resources, and are typically applied mainly to large or energy-intensive facilities, leaving much of the market without cost effective access and incentives for these solutions. In addition, with increasinglymore » stringent energy codes, cost effective component-based solutions that achieve significant savings are dwindling. Building systems (e.g., integrated façade, HVAC and/or lighting solutions) can deliver higher savings that translate into large sector-wide savings if deployed at the scale of these programs. However, systems application poses a number of challenges – baseline energy use must be defined and measured; the metrics for energy and performance must be defined and tested against; in addition, system savings must be validated under well understood conditions. This paper presents a sample of findings of a project to develop validated utility incentive program packages for three specific integrated building systems, in collaboration with Xcel Energy (CO, MN), ComEd, and a consortium of California Public Owned Utilities (CA POUs) (Northern California Power Agency(NCPA) and the Southern California Public Power Authority(SCPPA)). Furthermore, these program packages consist of system specifications, system performance, M&V protocols, streamlined assessment methods, market assessment and implementation guidance.« less

MODEL 9977 B(M)F-96 SAFETY ANALYSIS REPORT FOR PACKAGING

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abramczyk, G; Paul Blanton, P; Kurt Eberl, K

2006-05-18

This Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) documents the analysis and testing performed on and for the 9977 Shipping Package, referred to as the General Purpose Fissile Package (GPFP). The performance evaluation presented in this SARP documents the compliance of the 9977 package with the regulatory safety requirements for Type B packages. Per 10 CFR 71.59, for the 9977 packages evaluated in this SARP, the value of ''N'' is 50, and the Transport Index based on nuclear criticality control is 1.0. The 9977 package is designed with a high degree of single containment. The 9977 complies with 10 CFR 71more » (2002), Department of Energy (DOE) Order 460.1B, DOE Order 460.2, and 10 CFR 20 (2003) for As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principles. The 9977 also satisfies the requirements of the Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material--1996 Edition (Revised)--Requirements. IAEA Safety Standards, Safety Series No. TS-R-1 (ST-1, Rev.), International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria (2000). The 9977 package is designed, analyzed and fabricated in accordance with Section III of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel (B&PV) Code, 1992 edition.« less

Energy Efficiency Potential in the U.S. Single-Family Housing Stock

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilson, Eric J.; Christensen, Craig B.; Horowitz, Scott G.

Typical approaches for assessing energy efficiency potential in buildings use a limited number of prototypes, and therefore suffer from inadequate resolution when pass-fail cost-effectiveness tests are applied, which can significantly underestimate or overestimate the economic potential of energy efficiency technologies. This analysis applies a new approach to large-scale residential energy analysis, combining the use of large public and private data sources, statistical sampling, detailed building simulations, and high-performance computing to achieve unprecedented granularity - and therefore accuracy - in modeling the diversity of the single-family housing stock. The result is a comprehensive set of maps, tables, and figures showing themore » technical and economic potential of 50 plus residential energy efficiency upgrades and packages for each state. Policymakers, program designers, and manufacturers can use these results to identify upgrades with the highest potential for cost-effective savings in a particular state or region, as well as help identify customer segments for targeted marketing and deployment. The primary finding of this analysis is that there is significant technical and economic potential to save electricity and on-site fuel use in the single-family housing stock. However, the economic potential is very sensitive to the cost-effectiveness criteria used for analysis. Additionally, the savings of particular energy efficiency upgrades is situation-specific within the housing stock (depending on climate, building vintage, heating fuel type, building physical characteristics, etc.).« less

A New Paradigm to Analyze Data Completeness of Patient Data.

PubMed

Nasir, Ayan; Gurupur, Varadraj; Liu, Xinliang

2016-08-03

There is a need to develop a tool that will measure data completeness of patient records using sophisticated statistical metrics. Patient data integrity is important in providing timely and appropriate care. Completeness is an important step, with an emphasis on understanding the complex relationships between data fields and their relative importance in delivering care. This tool will not only help understand where data problems are but also help uncover the underlying issues behind them. Develop a tool that can be used alongside a variety of health care database software packages to determine the completeness of individual patient records as well as aggregate patient records across health care centers and subpopulations. The methodology of this project is encapsulated within the Data Completeness Analysis Package (DCAP) tool, with the major components including concept mapping, CSV parsing, and statistical analysis. The results from testing DCAP with Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Database (SID) data show that this tool is successful in identifying relative data completeness at the patient, subpopulation, and database levels. These results also solidify a need for further analysis and call for hypothesis driven research to find underlying causes for data incompleteness. DCAP examines patient records and generates statistics that can be used to determine the completeness of individual patient data as well as the general thoroughness of record keeping in a medical database. DCAP uses a component that is customized to the settings of the software package used for storing patient data as well as a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file parser to determine the appropriate measurements. DCAP itself is assessed through a proof of concept exercise using hypothetical data as well as available HCUP SID patient data.

A New Paradigm to Analyze Data Completeness of Patient Data

PubMed Central

Nasir, Ayan; Liu, Xinliang

2016-01-01

Summary Background There is a need to develop a tool that will measure data completeness of patient records using sophisticated statistical metrics. Patient data integrity is important in providing timely and appropriate care. Completeness is an important step, with an emphasis on understanding the complex relationships between data fields and their relative importance in delivering care. This tool will not only help understand where data problems are but also help uncover the underlying issues behind them. Objectives Develop a tool that can be used alongside a variety of health care database software packages to determine the completeness of individual patient records as well as aggregate patient records across health care centers and subpopulations. Methods The methodology of this project is encapsulated within the Data Completeness Analysis Package (DCAP) tool, with the major components including concept mapping, CSV parsing, and statistical analysis. Results The results from testing DCAP with Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Database (SID) data show that this tool is successful in identifying relative data completeness at the patient, subpopulation, and database levels. These results also solidify a need for further analysis and call for hypothesis driven research to find underlying causes for data incompleteness. Conclusion DCAP examines patient records and generates statistics that can be used to determine the completeness of individual patient data as well as the general thoroughness of record keeping in a medical database. DCAP uses a component that is customized to the settings of the software package used for storing patient data as well as a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file parser to determine the appropriate measurements. DCAP itself is assessed through a proof of concept exercise using hypothetical data as well as available HCUP SID patient data. PMID:27484918

Food losses, shelf life extension and environmental impact of a packaged cheesecake: A life cycle assessment.

PubMed

Gutierrez, Michele Mario; Meleddu, Marta; Piga, Antonio

2017-01-01

Packaging is associated with a high environmental impact. This is also the case in the food industry despite packaging being necessary for maintaining food quality, safety assurance and preventing food waste. The aim of the present study was to identify improvements in food packaging solutions able to minimize environmental externalities while maximizing the economic sustainability. To this end, the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to evaluate the environmental performance of new packaging solutions. The environmental impact of packaging and food losses and the balance between the two were examined in relation to a cheesecake that is normally packaged in low density polyethylene film and has a limited shelf life due to microbial growth. A shelf life extension was sought via application of the well-established modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) technique. Samples for MAP (N 2 /CO 2 : 70/30) were placed inside multilayer gas barrier trays, which were then wrapped with a multilayer gas and water barrier film (i.e. AerPack packaging); control batches were packaged in gas barrier recycled polyethylene terephthalate (XrPet) trays and wrapped with a XrPet film. Samples were then stored at 20°C and inspected at regular intervals for chemical-physical, microbiological and sensory parameters. Results show that the new packaging solution could considerably extend the shelf life of cheesecakes, thereby reducing food waste and decreasing the overall environmental impact. Moreover, the new packaging allows one to minimize transport costs and to generate economies of scale in manufacturing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Packaging of MEMS/MOEMS and nanodevices: reliability, testing, and characterization aspects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tekin, Tolga; Ngo, Ha-Duong; Wittler, Olaf; Bouhlal, Bouchaib; Lang, Klaus-Dieter

2011-02-01

The last decade witnessed an explosive growth in research and development efforts devoted to MEMS devices and packaging. The successfully developed MEMS devices are, for example inkjet, pressure sensors, silicon microphones, accelerometers, gyroscopes, MOEMS, micro fuel cells and emerging MEMS. For the next decade, MEMS/MOEMS and nanodevice based products will penetrate into IT, telecommunications, automotive, defense, life sciences, medical and implantable applications. Forecasts say the MEMS market to be $14 billion by 2012. The packaging cost of MEMS/MOEMS products in general is about 70 percent. Unlike today's electronics IC packaging, their packaging are custom-built and difficult due to the moving structural elements. In order for the moving elements of a MEMS device to move effectively in a well-controlled atmosphere, hermetic sealing of the MEMS device in a cap is necessary. For some MEMS devices, such as resonators and gyroscopes, vacuum packaging is required. Usually, the cap is processed at the wafer level, and thus MEMS packaging is truly a wafer level packaging. In terms of MEMS/MOEMS and nanodevice packaging, there are still many critical issues need to be addressed due to the increasing integration density supported by 3D heterogeneous integration of multi-physic components/layers consisting of photonics, electronics, rf, plasmonics, and wireless. The infrastructure of MEMS/MOEMS and nanodevices and their packaging is not well established yet. Generic packaging platform technologies are not available. Some of critical issues have been studied intensively in the last years. In this paper we will discuss about processes, reliability, testing and characterization of MEMS/MOEMS and nanodevice packaging.

Polyethylene recycling: Waste policy scenario analysis for the EU-27.

PubMed

Andreoni, Valeria; Saveyn, Hans G M; Eder, Peter

2015-08-01

This paper quantifies the main impacts that the adoption of the best recycling practices together with a reduction in the consumption of single-use plastic bags and the adoption of a kerbside collection system could have on the 27 Member States of the EU. The main consequences in terms of employment, waste management costs, emissions and energy use have been quantified for two scenarios of polyethylene (PE) waste production and recycling. That is to say, a "business as usual scenario", where the 2012 performances of PE waste production and recycling are extrapolated to 2020, is compared to a "best practice scenario", where the best available recycling practices are modelled together with the possible adoption of the amended Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive related to the consumption of single-use plastic bags and the implementation of a kerbside collection system. The main results show that socio-economic and environmental benefits can be generated across the EU by the implementation of the best practice scenario. In particular, estimations show a possible reduction of 4.4 million tonnes of non-recycled PE waste, together with a reduction of around €90 million in waste management costs in 2020 for the best practice scenario versus the business as usual scenario. An additional 35,622 jobs are also expected to be created. In environmental terms, the quantity of CO2 equivalent emissions could be reduced by around 1.46 million tonnes and the net energy requirements are expected to increase by 16.5 million GJ as a consequence of the reduction in the energy produced from waste. The main analysis provided in this paper, together with the data and the model presented, can be useful to identify the possible costs and benefits that the implementation of PE waste policies and Directives could generate for the EU. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Re-thinking incentives and penalties: economic aspects of waste management in Italy.

PubMed

Cossu, R; Masi, S

2013-11-01

This paper focuses on the dynamics the formation of operational costs of waste management in Italy and the effect of economic measures. Currently incentives and penalties have been internalized by the system no differently from other cost items and revenues. This has greatly influenced the system directing it towards solutions that are often distant from the real environmental objectives. Based on an analysis of disaggregated costs of collection treatment and recovery, we provide the basic elements to compose a picture of economic management in various technical-organizational scenarios. In the light of the considerations contained in the paper it is proposed, e.g. for controlled landfills, that the ecotax, currently based on weight, could be replaced by one based on the volume consumption. Likewise, for tax reduction on disposal system, instead a pre-treatment might ask an environmental balance of the overall system. The article presents a reflection on the last hidden costs associated with the consumption of goods and packaging, and how to reduce waste production is the necessary path to be followed in ecological and economic perspectives. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evidence-based new service package vs. routine service package for smoking cessation to prevent high risk patients from cardiovascular diseases (CVD): study protocol for randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Smoking cessation is a high-priority intervention to prevent CVD events and deaths in developing countries. While several interventions to stop smoking have been proved successful, the question of how to increase their effectiveness and practicality in developing countries remains. In this study, a newly devised evidence-based smoking cessation service package will be compared with the existing service in a randomized controlled trial within the community setting of Thailand. Method/Design This randomized control trial will recruit 440 current smokers at CVD risk because of being diabetic and/or hypertensive. Informed, consented participants will be randomly allocated into the new service-package arm and the routine service arm. The study will take place in the non-communicable disease clinics of the Maetha District Hospital, Lampang, northern Thailand. The new smoking-cessation service-package comprises (1) regular patient motivation and coaching from the same primary care nurse over a 3-month period; (2) monthly application of piCO + smokerlyzer to sustain motivation of smoker’s quitting attempt and provide positive feedback over a 3-month period; (3) assistance by an assigned family member; (4) nicotine replacement chewing gum to relieve withdrawal symptoms. This new service will be compared with the traditional routine service comprising the 5A approach in a 1-year follow-up. Participants who consent to participate in the study but refuse to attempt quitting smoking will be allocated to the non-randomized arm, where they will be just followed up and monitored. Primary outcome of the study is smoking cessation rate at 1-year follow-up proven by breath analysis measuring carbomonoxide in parts per million in expired air. Secondary outcomes are smoking cessation rate at the 6-month follow-up, blood pressure and heart rate, CVD risk according to the Framingham general cardiovascular risk score, CVD events and deaths at the 12-month follow-up, and the cost-effectiveness of the health service packages. Intention-to-treat analysis will be followed. Factors influencing smoking cessation will be analyzed by the structure equation model. Discussion This multicomponent intervention, accessible at primary healthcare clinics, and focusing on the individual as well as the family and social environment, is unique and expected to work effectively. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN89315117 PMID:24308874

Evidence-based new service package vs. routine service package for smoking cessation to prevent high risk patients from cardiovascular diseases (CVD): study protocol for randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Aung, Myo Nyein; Yuasa, Motoyuki; Lorga, Thaworn; Moolphate, Saiyud; Fukuda, Hiroshi; Kitajima, Tsutomu; Yokokawa, Hirohide; Minematsu, Kazuo; Tanimura, Susumu; Hiratsuka, Yoshimune; Ono, Koichi; Naunboonruang, Prissana; Thinuan, Payom; Kawai, Sachio; Suya, Yaoyanee; Chumvicharana, Somboon; Marui, Eiji

2013-12-05

Smoking cessation is a high-priority intervention to prevent CVD events and deaths in developing countries. While several interventions to stop smoking have been proved successful, the question of how to increase their effectiveness and practicality in developing countries remains. In this study, a newly devised evidence-based smoking cessation service package will be compared with the existing service in a randomized controlled trial within the community setting of Thailand. This randomized control trial will recruit 440 current smokers at CVD risk because of being diabetic and/or hypertensive. Informed, consented participants will be randomly allocated into the new service-package arm and the routine service arm. The study will take place in the non-communicable disease clinics of the Maetha District Hospital, Lampang, northern Thailand. The new smoking-cessation service-package comprises (1) regular patient motivation and coaching from the same primary care nurse over a 3-month period; (2) monthly application of piCO + smokerlyzer to sustain motivation of smoker's quitting attempt and provide positive feedback over a 3-month period; (3) assistance by an assigned family member; (4) nicotine replacement chewing gum to relieve withdrawal symptoms. This new service will be compared with the traditional routine service comprising the 5A approach in a 1-year follow-up. Participants who consent to participate in the study but refuse to attempt quitting smoking will be allocated to the non-randomized arm, where they will be just followed up and monitored. Primary outcome of the study is smoking cessation rate at 1-year follow-up proven by breath analysis measuring carbomonoxide in parts per million in expired air. Secondary outcomes are smoking cessation rate at the 6-month follow-up, blood pressure and heart rate, CVD risk according to the Framingham general cardiovascular risk score, CVD events and deaths at the 12-month follow-up, and the cost-effectiveness of the health service packages. Intention-to-treat analysis will be followed. Factors influencing smoking cessation will be analyzed by the structure equation model. This multicomponent intervention, accessible at primary healthcare clinics, and focusing on the individual as well as the family and social environment, is unique and expected to work effectively. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN89315117.

Instructional image processing on a university mainframe: The Kansas system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, T. H. L.; Siebert, J.; Gunn, C.

1981-01-01

An interactive digital image processing program package was developed that runs on the University of Kansas central computer, a Honeywell Level 66 multi-processor system. The module form of the package allows easy and rapid upgrades and extensions of the system and is used in remote sensing courses in the Department of Geography, in regional five-day short courses for academics and professionals, and also in remote sensing projects and research. The package comprises three self-contained modules of processing functions: Subimage extraction and rectification; image enhancement, preprocessing and data reduction; and classification. Its use in a typical course setting is described. Availability and costs are considered.

Optimization of the method of the content-containing interaction evaluation for cosmetic products by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Charron, C; De Vaugelade, S; Richard, F; Largitte, A; Pirnay, S

2018-04-25

Nowadays, plastics are ubiquitous in our daily life. Most of materials used in cosmetic packaging are plastics. It is due to their great diversity of form and colour, their low cost and their easy production. The manufacture of plastic packaging requires the use of several additives such as plasticizers. These molecules are able to migrate from the packaging to the product [1] and can change the product composition, his properties and be harmful to the consumer health. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Stormbow: A Cloud-Based Tool for Reads Mapping and Expression Quantification in Large-Scale RNA-Seq Studies

PubMed Central

Zhao, Shanrong; Prenger, Kurt; Smith, Lance

2013-01-01

RNA-Seq is becoming a promising replacement to microarrays in transcriptome profiling and differential gene expression study. Technical improvements have decreased sequencing costs and, as a result, the size and number of RNA-Seq datasets have increased rapidly. However, the increasing volume of data from large-scale RNA-Seq studies poses a practical challenge for data analysis in a local environment. To meet this challenge, we developed Stormbow, a cloud-based software package, to process large volumes of RNA-Seq data in parallel. The performance of Stormbow has been tested by practically applying it to analyse 178 RNA-Seq samples in the cloud. In our test, it took 6 to 8 hours to process an RNA-Seq sample with 100 million reads, and the average cost was $3.50 per sample. Utilizing Amazon Web Services as the infrastructure for Stormbow allows us to easily scale up to handle large datasets with on-demand computational resources. Stormbow is a scalable, cost effective, and open-source based tool for large-scale RNA-Seq data analysis. Stormbow can be freely downloaded and can be used out of box to process Illumina RNA-Seq datasets. PMID:25937948

Stormbow: A Cloud-Based Tool for Reads Mapping and Expression Quantification in Large-Scale RNA-Seq Studies.

PubMed

Zhao, Shanrong; Prenger, Kurt; Smith, Lance

2013-01-01

RNA-Seq is becoming a promising replacement to microarrays in transcriptome profiling and differential gene expression study. Technical improvements have decreased sequencing costs and, as a result, the size and number of RNA-Seq datasets have increased rapidly. However, the increasing volume of data from large-scale RNA-Seq studies poses a practical challenge for data analysis in a local environment. To meet this challenge, we developed Stormbow, a cloud-based software package, to process large volumes of RNA-Seq data in parallel. The performance of Stormbow has been tested by practically applying it to analyse 178 RNA-Seq samples in the cloud. In our test, it took 6 to 8 hours to process an RNA-Seq sample with 100 million reads, and the average cost was $3.50 per sample. Utilizing Amazon Web Services as the infrastructure for Stormbow allows us to easily scale up to handle large datasets with on-demand computational resources. Stormbow is a scalable, cost effective, and open-source based tool for large-scale RNA-Seq data analysis. Stormbow can be freely downloaded and can be used out of box to process Illumina RNA-Seq datasets.

designGG: an R-package and web tool for the optimal design of genetical genomics experiments.

PubMed

Li, Yang; Swertz, Morris A; Vera, Gonzalo; Fu, Jingyuan; Breitling, Rainer; Jansen, Ritsert C

2009-06-18

High-dimensional biomolecular profiling of genetically different individuals in one or more environmental conditions is an increasingly popular strategy for exploring the functioning of complex biological systems. The optimal design of such genetical genomics experiments in a cost-efficient and effective way is not trivial. This paper presents designGG, an R package for designing optimal genetical genomics experiments. A web implementation for designGG is available at http://gbic.biol.rug.nl/designGG. All software, including source code and documentation, is freely available. DesignGG allows users to intelligently select and allocate individuals to experimental units and conditions such as drug treatment. The user can maximize the power and resolution of detecting genetic, environmental and interaction effects in a genome-wide or local mode by giving more weight to genome regions of special interest, such as previously detected phenotypic quantitative trait loci. This will help to achieve high power and more accurate estimates of the effects of interesting factors, and thus yield a more reliable biological interpretation of data. DesignGG is applicable to linkage analysis of experimental crosses, e.g. recombinant inbred lines, as well as to association analysis of natural populations.

Minfi: a flexible and comprehensive Bioconductor package for the analysis of Infinium DNA methylation microarrays

PubMed Central

Aryee, Martin J.; Jaffe, Andrew E.; Corrada-Bravo, Hector; Ladd-Acosta, Christine; Feinberg, Andrew P.; Hansen, Kasper D.; Irizarry, Rafael A.

2014-01-01

Motivation: The recently released Infinium HumanMethylation450 array (the ‘450k’ array) provides a high-throughput assay to quantify DNA methylation (DNAm) at ∼450 000 loci across a range of genomic features. Although less comprehensive than high-throughput sequencing-based techniques, this product is more cost-effective and promises to be the most widely used DNAm high-throughput measurement technology over the next several years. Results: Here we describe a suite of computational tools that incorporate state-of-the-art statistical techniques for the analysis of DNAm data. The software is structured to easily adapt to future versions of the technology. We include methods for preprocessing, quality assessment and detection of differentially methylated regions from the kilobase to the megabase scale. We show how our software provides a powerful and flexible development platform for future methods. We also illustrate how our methods empower the technology to make discoveries previously thought to be possible only with sequencing-based methods. Availability and implementation: http://bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/minfi.html. Contact: khansen@jhsph.edu; rafa@jimmy.harvard.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:24478339

Efficient Analysis of Systems Biology Markup Language Models of Cellular Populations Using Arrays.

PubMed

Watanabe, Leandro; Myers, Chris J

2016-08-19

The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) has been widely used for modeling biological systems. Although SBML has been successful in representing a wide variety of biochemical models, the core standard lacks the structure for representing large complex regular systems in a standard way, such as whole-cell and cellular population models. These models require a large number of variables to represent certain aspects of these types of models, such as the chromosome in the whole-cell model and the many identical cell models in a cellular population. While SBML core is not designed to handle these types of models efficiently, the proposed SBML arrays package can represent such regular structures more easily. However, in order to take full advantage of the package, analysis needs to be aware of the arrays structure. When expanding the array constructs within a model, some of the advantages of using arrays are lost. This paper describes a more efficient way to simulate arrayed models. To illustrate the proposed method, this paper uses a population of repressilator and genetic toggle switch circuits as examples. Results show that there are memory benefits using this approach with a modest cost in runtime.

Merging parallel optics packaging and surface mount technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopp, Christophe; Volpert, Marion; Routin, Julien; Bernabé, Stéphane; Rossat, Cyrille; Tournaire, Myriam; Hamelin, Régis

2008-02-01

Optical links are well known to present significant advantages over electrical links for very high-speed data rate at 10Gpbs and above per channel. However, the transition towards optical interconnects solutions for short and very short reach applications requires the development of innovative packaging solutions that would deal with very high volume production capability and very low cost per unit. Moreover, the optoelectronic transceiver components must be able to move from the edge to anywhere on the printed circuit board, for instance close to integrated circuits with high speed IO. In this paper, we present an original packaging design to manufacture parallel optic transceivers that are surface mount devices. The package combines highly integrated Multi-Chip-Module on glass and usual IC ceramics packaging. The use of ceramic and the development of sealing technologies achieve hermetic requirements. Moreover, thanks to a chip scale package approach the final device exhibits a much minimized footprint. One of the main advantages of the package is its flexibility to be soldered or plugged anywhere on the printed circuit board as any other electronic device. As a demonstrator we present a 2 by 4 10Gbps transceiver operating at 850nm.

Advanced Space Suit Portable Life Support Subsystem Packaging Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howe, Robert; Diep, Chuong; Barnett, Bob; Thomas, Gretchen; Rouen, Michael; Kobus, Jack

2006-01-01

This paper discusses the Portable Life Support Subsystem (PLSS) packaging design work done by the NASA and Hamilton Sundstrand in support of the 3 future space missions; Lunar, Mars and zero-g. The goal is to seek ways to reduce the weight of PLSS packaging, and at the same time, develop a packaging scheme that would make PLSS technology changes less costly than the current packaging methods. This study builds on the results of NASA s in-house 1998 study, which resulted in the "Flex PLSS" concept. For this study the present EMU schematic (low earth orbit) was used so that the work team could concentrate on the packaging. The Flex PLSS packaging is required to: protect, connect, and hold the PLSS and its components together internally and externally while providing access to PLSS components internally for maintenance and for technology change without extensive redesign impact. The goal of this study was two fold: 1. Bring the advanced space suit integrated Flex PLSS concept from its current state of development to a preliminary design level and build a proof of concept mockup of the proposed design, and; 2. "Design" a Design Process, which accommodates both the initial Flex PLSS design and the package modifications, required to accommodate new technology.

Approaches to 30 Percent Energy Savings at the Community Scale in the Hot-Humid Climate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thomas-Rees, S.; Beal, D.; Martin, E.

2013-03-01

BA-PIRC has worked with several community-scale builders within the hot humid climate zone to improve performance of production, or community scale, housing. Tommy Williams Homes (Gainesville, FL), Lifestyle Homes (Melbourne, FL), and Habitat for Humanity (various locations, FL) have all been continuous partners of the Building America program and are the subjects of this report to document achievement of the Building America goal of 30% whole house energy savings packages adopted at the community scale. Key aspects of this research include determining how to evolve existing energy efficiency packages to produce replicable target savings, identifying what builders' technical assistance needsmore » are for implementation and working with them to create sustainable quality assurance mechanisms, and documenting the commercial viability through neutral cost analysis and market acceptance. This report documents certain barriers builders overcame and the approaches they implemented in order to accomplish Building America (BA) Program goals that have not already been documented in previous reports.« less

Effect of bending on the performance of spool-packaged shape memory alloy actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redmond, John A.; Brei, Diann; Luntz, Jonathan; Browne, Alan L.; Johnson, Nancy L.

2009-03-01

Shape memory alloy (SMA) actuation is becoming an increasingly viable technology for industrial applications as many of the technical issues that have limited its use are being addressed (speed of actuation, mechanical connections, performance degradation, quality control, etc.) while increasing production capacities drive costs to practical levels. Shape memory alloys are often selected because of their high energy density which can lead to compact actuators; however, wire forms with small cross-sectional diameters tend to be long (10 to 50 times the length of required stroke). Spooling the wire can be used for compact packaging, but as the spool diameter decreases performance losses and fatigue increase due to bending strains and stresses. This paper presents a simple, design-level model for spooled SMA wire actuators with linear motion outputs that includes the effects of friction and wire bending and accounts for the actuator geometry, applied load, and material friction and constitutive properties. The model was validated experimentally with respect to the ratio of mandrel to SMA wire diameter and agrees well in both form and magnitude with experiments. The resulting model provides the framework for the analysis and synthesis of spooled SMA wire actuators to guide the selection of design parameters with respect to the tradeoffs between performance and packaging.

VCSEL based, wearable, continuously monitoring pulse oximeter.

PubMed

Kollmann, Daniel; Hogan, William K; Steidl, Charles; Hibbs-Brenner, Mary K; Hedin, Daniel S; Lichter, Patrick A

2013-01-01

We present the development of a novel pulse oximeter based on low power, low cost, Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) technology. This new design will help address a need to perform regular measurements of pulse oximetry for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. VCSELs with wavelengths suitable for pulse oximetry were developed and packaged in a PLCC package for a low cost solution that is easy to integrate into a pulse oximeter design. The VCSELs were integrated into a prototype pulse oximeter that is unobtrusive and suitable for long term wearable use. The prototype achieved good performance compared the Nonin Onyx II pulse oximeter at less than one fifth the weight in a design that can be worn behind the ear like a hearing aid.

DESIGN ANALYSIS FOR THE DEFENSE HIGH-LEVEL WASTE DISPOSAL CONTAINER

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

G. Radulesscu; J.S. Tang

The purpose of ''Design Analysis for the Defense High-Level Waste Disposal Container'' analysis is to technically define the defense high-level waste (DHLW) disposal container/waste package using the Waste Package Department's (WPD) design methods, as documented in ''Waste Package Design Methodology Report'' (CRWMS M&O [Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management and Operating Contractor] 2000a). The DHLW disposal container is intended for disposal of commercial high-level waste (HLW) and DHLW (including immobilized plutonium waste forms), placed within disposable canisters. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-managed spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in disposable canisters may also be placed in a DHLW disposal container alongmore » with HLW forms. The objective of this analysis is to demonstrate that the DHLW disposal container/waste package satisfies the project requirements, as embodied in Defense High Level Waste Disposal Container System Description Document (SDD) (CRWMS M&O 1999a), and additional criteria, as identified in Waste Package Design Sensitivity Report (CRWMS M&Q 2000b, Table 4). The analysis briefly describes the analytical methods appropriate for the design of the DHLW disposal contained waste package, and summarizes the results of the calculations that illustrate the analytical methods. However, the analysis is limited to the calculations selected for the DHLW disposal container in support of the Site Recommendation (SR) (CRWMS M&O 2000b, Section 7). The scope of this analysis is restricted to the design of the codisposal waste package of the Savannah River Site (SRS) DHLW glass canisters and the Training, Research, Isotopes General Atomics (TRIGA) SNF loaded in a short 18-in.-outer diameter (OD) DOE standardized SNF canister. This waste package is representative of the waste packages that consist of the DHLW disposal container, the DHLW/HLW glass canisters, and the DOE-managed SNF in disposable canisters. The intended use of this analysis is to support Site Recommendation reports and to assist in the development of WPD drawings. Activities described in this analysis were conducted in accordance with the Development Plan ''Design Analysis for the Defense High-Level Waste Disposal Container'' (CRWMS M&O 2000c) with no deviations from the plan.« less

Health Benefits 101: The University of Kentucky's Effort to Improve Lives, Control Costs and Offer a Sustainable Benefits Package

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Payne, Joey

2008-01-01

A few years ago, the University of Kentucky found itself faced with unsustainable trends in retiree health care costs, as well as the rising cost of health care in general. This article provides an overview of the process and decisions made by the University of Kentucky to effect positive change in its health benefits for employees, retirees and…

Development and Testing of an Inflatable, Rigidizable Space Structure Experiment

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

successful, including physical dimension, weight , and cost. Inflatable structures have the potential to achieve greater efficiency in all of these...potential for low cost, high mechanical packaging efficiency, deployment reliability and low weight (13). The term inflatable structure indicates that a...back-up inflation gas a necessity for long term success. This addition can be very costly in terms of volume, weight , and expense due to added or

Network Meta-Analysis Using R: A Review of Currently Available Automated Packages

PubMed Central

Neupane, Binod; Richer, Danielle; Bonner, Ashley Joel; Kibret, Taddele; Beyene, Joseph

2014-01-01

Network meta-analysis (NMA) – a statistical technique that allows comparison of multiple treatments in the same meta-analysis simultaneously – has become increasingly popular in the medical literature in recent years. The statistical methodology underpinning this technique and software tools for implementing the methods are evolving. Both commercial and freely available statistical software packages have been developed to facilitate the statistical computations using NMA with varying degrees of functionality and ease of use. This paper aims to introduce the reader to three R packages, namely, gemtc, pcnetmeta, and netmeta, which are freely available software tools implemented in R. Each automates the process of performing NMA so that users can perform the analysis with minimal computational effort. We present, compare and contrast the availability and functionality of different important features of NMA in these three packages so that clinical investigators and researchers can determine which R packages to implement depending on their analysis needs. Four summary tables detailing (i) data input and network plotting, (ii) modeling options, (iii) assumption checking and diagnostic testing, and (iv) inference and reporting tools, are provided, along with an analysis of a previously published dataset to illustrate the outputs available from each package. We demonstrate that each of the three packages provides a useful set of tools, and combined provide users with nearly all functionality that might be desired when conducting a NMA. PMID:25541687

Network meta-analysis using R: a review of currently available automated packages.

PubMed

Neupane, Binod; Richer, Danielle; Bonner, Ashley Joel; Kibret, Taddele; Beyene, Joseph

2014-01-01

Network meta-analysis (NMA)--a statistical technique that allows comparison of multiple treatments in the same meta-analysis simultaneously--has become increasingly popular in the medical literature in recent years. The statistical methodology underpinning this technique and software tools for implementing the methods are evolving. Both commercial and freely available statistical software packages have been developed to facilitate the statistical computations using NMA with varying degrees of functionality and ease of use. This paper aims to introduce the reader to three R packages, namely, gemtc, pcnetmeta, and netmeta, which are freely available software tools implemented in R. Each automates the process of performing NMA so that users can perform the analysis with minimal computational effort. We present, compare and contrast the availability and functionality of different important features of NMA in these three packages so that clinical investigators and researchers can determine which R packages to implement depending on their analysis needs. Four summary tables detailing (i) data input and network plotting, (ii) modeling options, (iii) assumption checking and diagnostic testing, and (iv) inference and reporting tools, are provided, along with an analysis of a previously published dataset to illustrate the outputs available from each package. We demonstrate that each of the three packages provides a useful set of tools, and combined provide users with nearly all functionality that might be desired when conducting a NMA.

A packaged, low-cost, robust optical fiber strain sensor based on small cladding fiber sandwiched within periodic polymer grating.

PubMed

Chiang, Chia-Chin; Li, Chein-Hsing

2014-06-02

In the present study, a novel packaged long-period fiber grating (PLPFG) strain sensor is first presented. The MEMS process was utilized to fabricate the packaged optical fiber strain sensor. The sensor structure consisted of etched optical fiber sandwiched between two layers of thick photoresist SU-8 3050 and then packaged with poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) polymer material to construct the PLPFG strain sensor. The PDMS packaging material was used to prevent the glue effect, wherein glue flows into the LPFG structure and reduces coupling strength, in the surface bonding process. Because the fiber grating was packaged with PDMS material, it was effectively protected and made robust. The resonance attenuation dip of PLPFG grows when it is loading. This study explored the size effect of the grating period and fiber diameter of PLPFG via tensile testing. The experimental results found that the best strain sensitivity of the PLPFG strain sensor was -0.0342 dB/με, and that an R2 value of 0.963 was reached.

Miniature stick-packaging--an industrial technology for pre-storage and release of reagents in lab-on-a-chip systems.

PubMed

van Oordt, Thomas; Barb, Yannick; Smetana, Jan; Zengerle, Roland; von Stetten, Felix

2013-08-07

Stick-packaging of goods in tubular-shaped composite-foil pouches has become a popular technology for food and drug packaging. We miniaturized stick-packaging for use in lab-on-a-chip (LOAC) systems to pre-store and on-demand release the liquid and dry reagents in a volume range of 80-500 μl. An integrated frangible seal enables the pressure-controlled release of reagents and simplifies the layout of LOAC systems, thereby making the package a functional microfluidic release unit. The frangible seal is adjusted to defined burst pressures ranging from 20 to 140 kPa. The applied ultrasonic welding process allows the packaging of temperature sensitive reagents. Stick-packs have been successfully tested applying recovery tests (where 99% (STDV = 1%) of 250 μl pre-stored liquid is released), long-term storage tests (where there is loss of only <0.5% for simulated 2 years) and air transport simulation tests. The developed technology enables the storage of a combination of liquid and dry reagents. It is a scalable technology suitable for rapid prototyping and low-cost mass production.

A Wireless, Passive Sensor for Quantifying Packaged Food Quality

PubMed Central

Tan, Ee Lim; Ng, Wen Ni; Shao, Ranyuan; Pereles, Brandon D.; Ong, Keat Ghee

2007-01-01

This paper describes the fabrication of a wireless, passive sensor based on an inductive-capacitive resonant circuit, and its application for in situ monitoring of the quality of dry, packaged food such as cereals, and fried and baked snacks. The sensor is made of a planar inductor and capacitor printed on a paper substrate. To monitor food quality, the sensor is embedded inside the food package by adhering it to the package's inner wall; its response is remotely detected through a coil connected to a sensor reader. As food quality degrades due to increasing humidity inside the package, the paper substrate absorbs water vapor, changing the capacitor's capacitance and the sensor's resonant frequency. Therefore, the taste quality of the packaged food can be indirectly determined by measuring the change in the sensor's resonant frequency. The novelty of this sensor technology is its wireless and passive nature, which allows in situ determination of food quality. In addition, the simple fabrication process and inexpensive sensor material ensure a low sensor cost, thus making this technology economically viable. PMID:28903195

Full 3D visualization tool-kit for Monte Carlo and deterministic transport codes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frambati, S.; Frignani, M.

2012-07-01

We propose a package of tools capable of translating the geometric inputs and outputs of many Monte Carlo and deterministic radiation transport codes into open source file formats. These tools are aimed at bridging the gap between trusted, widely-used radiation analysis codes and very powerful, more recent and commonly used visualization software, thus supporting the design process and helping with shielding optimization. Three main lines of development were followed: mesh-based analysis of Monte Carlo codes, mesh-based analysis of deterministic codes and Monte Carlo surface meshing. The developed kit is considered a powerful and cost-effective tool in the computer-aided design formore » radiation transport code users of the nuclear world, and in particular in the fields of core design and radiation analysis. (authors)« less

Does introducing an immunization package of services for migrant children improve the coverage, service quality and understanding? An evidence from an intervention study among 1548 migrant children in eastern China.

PubMed

Hu, Yu; Luo, Shuying; Tang, Xuewen; Lou, Linqiao; Chen, Yaping; Guo, Jing; Zhang, Bing

2015-07-15

An EPI (Expanded Program on Immunization) intervention package was implemented from October 2011 to May 2014 among migrant children in Yiwu, east China. This study aimed to evaluate its impacts on vaccination coverage, maternal understanding of EPI and the local immunization service performance. A pre- and post-test design was used. The EPI intervention package included: (1) extending the EPI service time and increasing the frequency of vaccination service; (2) training program for vaccinators; (3) developing a screening tool to identify vaccination demands among migrant clinic attendants; (4) Social mobilization for immunization. Data were obtained from random sampling investigations, vaccination service statistics and qualitative interviews with vaccinators and mothers of migrant children. The analysis of quantitative data was based on a "before and after" evaluation and qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The immunization registration (records kept by immunization clinics) rate increased from 87.4 to 91.9% (P = 0.016) after implementation of the EPI intervention package and the EPI card holding (EPI card kept by caregivers) rate increased from 90.9 to 95.6% (P = 0.003). The coverage of fully immunized increased from 71.5 to 88.6% for migrant children aged 1-4 years (P < 0.001) and increased from 42.2 to 80.5% for migrant children aged 2-4 years (P < 0.001). The correct response rates on valid doses and management of adverse events among vaccinators were over 90% after training. The correct response rates on immunization among mothers of migrant children were 86.8-99.3% after interventions. Our study showed a substantial improvement in vaccination coverage among migrant children in Yiwu after implementation of the EPI intervention package. Further studies are needed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the interventions, to identify individual interventions that make the biggest contribution to coverage, and to examine the sustainability of the interventions within the existing vaccination service delivery system in a larger scale settings or in a longer term.

Development of an Ultra-Wideband Receiver for the North America Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velazco, J. E.; Soriano, M.; Hoppe, D.; Russell, D.; D'Addario, L.; Long, E.; Bowen, J.; Samoska, L.; Lazio, J.

2016-11-01

The North America Array (NAA) is a concept for a radio astronomical interferometric array operating in the 1.2 GHz to 116 GHz frequency range. It has been designed to provide substantial improvements in sensitivity, angular resolution, and frequency coverage beyond the current Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). It will have a continuous frequency coverage of 1.2 GHz to 50 GHz and 70 to 116 GHz, and a total aperture 10 times more sensitive than the VLA (and 25 times more sensitive than a 34-m-diameter antenna of the Deep Space Network [DSN]). One of the key goals for the NAA is to reduce the operating costs without sacrificing performance. We are designing an ultra-wideband receiver package designed to operate across the 8 to 48 GHz frequency range in contrast to the current VLA, which covers this frequency range with five receiver packages. Reducing the number of receiving systems required to cover the full frequency range would reduce operating costs. To minimize implementation, operational, and maintenance costs, we are developing a receiver that is compact, simple to assemble, and that consumes less power. The objective of this work is to develop a prototype integrated feed-receiver package with a sensitivity performance comparable to current narrower-band systems on radio telescopes and the DSN, but with a design that meets the requirement of low long-term operational costs. The ultra-wideband receiver package consists of a feedhorn, low-noise amplifier (LNA), and downconverters to analog intermediate frequencies. Both the feedhorn and the LNA are cryogenically cooled. Key features of this design are a quad-ridge feedhorn with dielectric loading and a cryogenic receiver with a noise temperature of no more than 30°K at the low end of the band. In this article, we report on the status of this receiver package development, including the feed design and LNA implementation. We present simulation studies of the feed horn carried out to optimize illumination efficiencies across the band of interest. In addition, we show experimental results of low-noise 70-nm gallium arsenide, metamorphic high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMT) amplifier testing performed across the 1 to 18 GHz frequency range. Also presented are 8 to 48 GHz simulation results for 35-nm indium phosphide HEMT amplifiers.

Current trends in treatment of hypertension in Karachi and cost minimization possibilities.

PubMed

Hussain, Izhar M; Naqvi, Baqir S; Qasim, Rao M; Ali, Nasir

2015-01-01

This study finds out drug usage trends in Stage I Hypertensive Patients without any compelling indications in Karachi, deviations of current practices from evidence based antihypertensive therapeutic guidelines and looks for cost minimization opportunities. In the present study conducted during June 2012 to August 2012, two sets were used. Randomized stratified independent surveys were conducted in doctors and general population - including patients, using pretested questionnaires. Sample sizes for doctors and general population were 100 and 400 respectively. Statistical analysis was conducted on Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Financial impact was also analyzed. On the basis of patients' doctors' feedback, Beta Blockers, and Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors were used more frequently than other drugs. Thiazides and low-priced generics were hardly prescribed. Beta blockers were prescribed widely and considered cost effective. This trend increases cost by two to ten times. Feedbacks showed that therapeutic guidelines were not followed by the doctors practicing in the community and hospitals in Karachi. Thiazide diuretics were hardly used. Beta blockers were widely prescribed. High priced market leaders or expensive branded generics were commonly prescribed. Therefore, there are great opportunities for cost minimization by using evidence-based clinically effective and safe medicines.

77 FR 43561 - Proposed Eligibility Criteria for Bound Printed Matter Parcels

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-25

... physical density threshold for individual mailpieces. DATES: Comments on this advance notice are due.... Code, require that each class of mail or type of mail service bear the direct and indirect costs... a 98.8% cost coverage. Greater efficiency in the packaging of BPM parcels will provide for more...

Fabricating a Microcomputer on a Single Silicon Wafer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evanchuk, V. L.

1983-01-01

Concept for "microcomputer on a slice" reduces microcomputer costs by eliminating scribing, wiring, and packaging of individual circuit chips. Low-cost microcomputer on silicon slice contains redundant components. All components-central processing unit, input/output circuitry, read-only memory, and random-access memory (CPU, I/O, ROM, and RAM) on placed on single silicon wafer.

Deep Borehole Disposal Remediation Costs for Off-Normal Outcomes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Finger, John T.; Cochran, John R.; Hardin, Ernest

2015-08-17

This memo describes rough-order-of-magnitude (ROM) cost estimates for a set of off-normal (accident) scenarios, as defined for two waste package emplacement method options for deep borehole disposal: drill-string and wireline. It summarizes the different scenarios and the assumptions made for each, with respect to fishing, decontamination, remediation, etc.

Evaluating foodservice software: a suggested approach.

PubMed

Fowler, K D

1986-09-01

In an era of cost containment, the computer has become a viable management tool. Its use in health care has demonstrated accelerated growth in recent years, and a literature review supports an increased trend in this direction. Foodservice, which is a major cost center, is no exception to this predicted trend. Because software has proliferated, foodservice managers and dietitians are experiencing growing concern about how to evaluate the numerous software packages from which to choose. A suggested approach to evaluating software is offered to dietitians and managers alike to lessen the confusion in software selection and to improve the system satisfaction level post-purchase. Steps of the software evaluatory approach include: delineation of goals, assessment of needs, assignment of value weight factors, development of a vendor checklist, survey of vendors by means of the vendor checklist and elimination of inappropriate systems, thorough development of the request for proposal (RFP) for submission to the selected vendors, an analysis of the returned RFPs in terms of system features and cost factors, and selection of the system(s) for implementation.

An effectiveness study of an integrated, community-based package for maternal, newborn, child and HIV care in South Africa: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Progress towards MDG4 in South Africa will depend largely on scaling up effective prevention against mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and also addressing neonatal mortality. This imperative drives increasing focus on the neonatal period and particularly on the development and testing of appropriate models of sustainable, community-based care in South Africa in order to reach the poor. A number of key implementation gaps affecting progress have been identified. Implementation gaps for HIV prevention in neonates; implementation gaps for neonatal care especially home postnatal care; and implementation gaps for maternal mental health support. We have developed and are evaluating and costing an integrated and scaleable home visit package delivered by community health workers targeting pregnant and postnatal women and their newborns to provide essential maternal/newborn care as well as interventions for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. Methods The trial is a cluster randomized controlled trial that is being implemented in Umlazi which is a peri-urban settlement with a total population of 1 million close to Durban in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The trial consists of 30 randomized clusters (15 in each arm). A baseline survey established the homogeneity of clusters and neither stratification nor matching was performed. Sample size was based on increasing HIV-free survival from 74% to 84%, and calculated to be 120 pregnant women per cluster. Primary outcomes are higher levels of HIV free survival and levels of exclusive and appropriate infant feeding at 12 weeks postnatally. The intervention is home based with community health workers delivering two antenatal visits, a postnatal visit within 48 hours of birth, and a further four visits during the first two months of the infants life. We are undertaking programmatic and cost effectiveness analysis to cost the intervention. Discussion The question is not merely to develop an efficacious package but also to identify and test delivery strategies that enable scaling up, which requires effectiveness studies in a health systems context, adapting and testing Asian community-based studies in various African contexts. Trial registration ISRCTN: ISRCTN41046462 PMID:22044553

Environmental assessment of packaging: Sense and sensibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kooijman, Jan M.

1993-09-01

The functions of packaging are derived from product requirements, thus for insight into the environmental effects of packaging the actual combination of product and package has to be evaluated along the production and distribution system. This extension to all related environmental aspects adds realism to the environmental analysis and provides guidance for design while preventing a too detailed investigation of parts of the production system. This approach is contrary to current environmental studies where packaging is always treated as an independent object, neglecting the more important environmental effects of the product that are influenced by packaging. The general analysis and quantification stages for this approach are described, and the currently available methods for the assessment of environmental effects are reviewed. To limit the workload involved in an environmental assessment, a step-by-step analysis and the use of feedback is recommended. First the dominant environmental effects of a particular product and its production and distribution are estimated. Then, on the basis of these preliminary results, the appropriate system boundaries are chosen and the need for further or more detailed environmental analysis is determined. For typical food and drink applications, the effect of different system boundaries on the outcome of environmental assessments and the advantage of the step-by-step analysis of the food supply system is shown. It appears that, depending on the consumer group, different advice for reduction of environmental effects has to be given. Furthermore, because of interrelated environmental effects of the food supply system, the continuing quest for more detailed and accurate analysis of the package components is not necessary for improved management of the environmental effects of packaging.

An evaluation of the FDA's analysis of the costs and benefits of the graphic warning label regulation

PubMed Central

Chaloupka, Frank J; Warner, Kenneth E; Acemoğlu, Daron; Gruber, Jonathan; Laux, Fritz; Max, Wendy; Newhouse, Joseph; Schelling, Thomas; Sindelar, Jody

2015-01-01

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory authority over cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products and authorised it to assert jurisdiction over other tobacco products. As with other Federal agencies, FDA is required to assess the costs and benefits of its significant regulatory actions. To date, FDA has issued economic impact analyses of one proposed and one final rule requiring graphic warning labels (GWLs) on cigarette packaging and, most recently, of a proposed rule that would assert FDA’s authority over tobacco products other than cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Given the controversy over the FDA's approach to assessing net economic benefits in its proposed and final rules on GWLs and the importance of having economic impact analyses prepared in accordance with sound economic analysis, a group of prominent economists met in early 2014 to review that approach and, where indicated, to offer suggestions for an improved analysis. We concluded that the analysis of the impact of GWLs on smoking substantially underestimated the benefits and overestimated the costs, leading the FDA to substantially underestimate the net benefits of the GWLs. We hope that the FDA will find our evaluation useful in subsequent analyses, not only of GWLs but also of other regulations regarding tobacco products. Most of what we discuss applies to all instances of evaluating the costs and benefits of tobacco product regulation and, we believe, should be considered in FDA's future analyses of proposed rules. PMID:25550419

Modified Atmosphere Packaging and Its Feasibility for Military Feeding Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-12-01

must be taken in all food processing . There are special precautions for NAP foods because a MAP food will not be sterilized and contamination or...Food Engineering. October: 62-63. 3 Rice, J., 1989. Modified Atmosphere Packaging. Food Processing . March: 60-76. 4 Coulon, M., and P. Louis, 1989...Prepared Foods. May:131. 9 Rice, J., 1989. Gas-Emitting Wafers: A Cost Effective NAP Approach. Food Processing . September:42. 10 Rice, J., 1991

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NREL developed a modeling and experimental strategy to characterize thermal performance of materials. The technique provides critical data on thermal properties with relevance for electronics packaging applications. Thermal contact resistance and bulk thermal conductivity were characterized for new high-performance materials such as thermoplastics, boron-nitride nanosheets, copper nanowires, and atomically bonded layers. The technique is an important tool for developing designs and materials that enable power electronics packaging with small footprint, high power density, and low cost for numerous applications.

Safety analysis report -- Packages LP-50 tritium package (Packaging of fissile and other radioactive materials)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gates, A.A.; McCarthy, P.G.; Edl, J.W.

1975-05-01

Elemental tritium is shipped at low pressure in a stainless steel container (LP-50) surrounded by an aluminum vessel and Celotex insulation at least 4 in. thick in a steel drum. Each package contains a large quantity (greater than a Type A quantity) of nonfissile material, as defined in AECM 0529. This report provides the details of the safety analysis performed for this type container.

Comparison of requirements and capabilities of major multipurpose software packages.

PubMed

Igo, Robert P; Schnell, Audrey H

2012-01-01

The aim of this chapter is to introduce the reader to commonly used software packages and illustrate their input requirements, analysis options, strengths, and limitations. We focus on packages that perform more than one function and include a program for quality control, linkage, and association analyses. Additional inclusion criteria were (1) programs that are free to academic users and (2) currently supported, maintained, and developed. Using those criteria, we chose to review three programs: Statistical Analysis for Genetic Epidemiology (S.A.G.E.), PLINK, and Merlin. We will describe the required input format and analysis options. We will not go into detail about every possible program in the packages, but we will give an overview of the packages requirements and capabilities.

Regulations on consume and commercialization of food irradiation in Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bustos Ramírez, Ma. Emilia; Jiménez Pérez, Jesús

1995-02-01

A Mexican standard for food irradiation is ready for final publication after the authority received and reviewed public comments of the project published in April 1994. The standard establish the radiation doses for different classes of food, based on ICGFI recommendations. Also included are controls for sampling, packaging, labelling, transportation, process inspection and accordance with international regulations. The results of the economical analysis of cost-benefit of the application of the standard show that the net present value is positive. The method of calculation is presented explaining the assumptions considered for the estimation of the total annual savings and surveillance costs. A final version of the research program report on radiation quarantine treatment of Mexican mangoes will be used for the petition to APHIS for the amendment of quarantine procedures to permit importation into the USA of irradiated products.

Low Cost Desktop Image Analysis Workstation With Enhanced Interactive User Interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratib, Osman M.; Huang, H. K.

1989-05-01

A multimodality picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is in routine clinical use in the UCLA Radiology Department. Several types workstations are currently implemented for this PACS. Among them, the Apple Macintosh II personal computer was recently chosen to serve as a desktop workstation for display and analysis of radiological images. This personal computer was selected mainly because of its extremely friendly user-interface, its popularity among the academic and medical community and its low cost. In comparison to other microcomputer-based systems the Macintosh II offers the following advantages: the extreme standardization of its user interface, file system and networking, and the availability of a very large variety of commercial software packages. In the current configuration the Macintosh II operates as a stand-alone workstation where images are imported from a centralized PACS server through an Ethernet network using a standard TCP-IP protocol, and stored locally on magnetic disk. The use of high resolution screens (1024x768 pixels x 8bits) offer sufficient performance for image display and analysis. We focused our project on the design and implementation of a variety of image analysis algorithms ranging from automated structure and edge detection to sophisticated dynamic analysis of sequential images. Specific analysis programs were developed for ultrasound images, digitized angiograms, MRI and CT tomographic images and scintigraphic images.

Thermal control of power supplies with electronic packaging techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The analysis, design, and development work to reduce the weight and size of a standard modular power supply with a 350 watt output was summarized. By integrating low cost commercial heat pipes in the redesign of this power supply, weight was reduced by 30% from that of the previous design. The temperature was also appreciably reduced, increasing the environmental capability of the unit. A demonstration unit with a 100 watt output and a 15 volt regulator module, plus simulated output modules, was built and tested to evaluate the thermal performance of the redesigned power supply.

Systems analysis of Mars solar electric propulsion vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hickman, J. M.; Curtis, H. B.; Kenny, B. H.; Sefcik, R. J.

1990-01-01

Mission performance, mass, initial power, and cost are determined for solar electric propulsion vehicles across a range of payload masses, reference powers, and mission trajectories. Thick radiation shielding is added to arrays using indium phosphide or III-V multijunction solar cells to reduce the damage incurred through the radiation belts. Special assessments of power management and distribution systems, atmospheric drag, and energy storage are made. It is determined that atmospheric drag is of no great concern and that the energy storage used in countering drag is unnecessary. A scheme to package the arrays, masts, and ion thrusters into a single fairing is presented.

Fiber-optic coupling based on nonimaging expanded-beam optics.

PubMed

Moslehi, B; Ng, J; Kasimoff, I; Jannson, T

1989-12-01

We have fabricated and experimentally tested low-cost and mass-producible multimode fiber-optic couplers and connectors based on nonimaging beam-expanding optics and Liouville's theorem. Analysis indicates that a pair coupling loss of -0.25 dB can be achieved. Experimentally, we measured insertion losses as low as -0.38 dB. The beam expanders can be mass produced owing to the use of plastic injection-molding fabrication techniques and packaged in standard connector housings. This design is compatible with the fiber geometry and can yield highly stable coupling owing to its high tolerance for misalignments.

Library Services Funding Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lorig, Jonathan A.

2004-01-01

The Glenn Technical Library is a science and engineering library that primarily supports research activities at the Glenn Research Center, and provides selected services to researchers at all of the NASA research centers. Resources available in the library include books, journals, CD-ROMs, and access to various online sources, as well as live reference and inter-library loan services. The collection contains over 77,000 books, 800,000 research reports, and print or online access to over 1,400 journals. Currently the library operates within the Logistics and Technical Information Division, and is funded as an open-access resource within the GRC. Some of the research units at the GRC have recently requested that the library convert to a "pay-for-services" model, in which individual research units could fund only those journal subscriptions for which they have a specific need. Under this model, the library would always maintain a certain minimum level of pooled-expense services, including the ready reference and book collections, and inter-library loan services. Theoretically the "pay-for-services" model would encourage efficient financial allocation, and minimize the extent to which paid journal subscriptions go unused. However, this model also could potentially negate the benefits of group purchases for journal subscriptions and access. All of the major journal publishers offer package subscriptions that compare favorably in cost with the sum of individual subscription costs for a similar selection of titles. Furthermore, some of these subscription packages are "consortium" purchases that are funded collectively by the libraries at multiple NASA research centers; such consortia1 memberships would be difficult for the library to pay, if enough GRC research units were to withdraw their pooled contributions. cost of collectively-funded journal access with the cost of individual subscriptions. My primary task this summer is to create the cost dataset framework, and collect as much of the relevant data as possible. Hopefully this dataset will permit the research units at the GRC, and library administration as well, to make informed decisions about future library funding. Prior to the creation of the actual dataset, I established a comprehensive list of the library s print and online journal subscriptions. This list will be useful outside the context of the cost analysis project, as an addition to the library website. The cost analysis dataset s primary fields are: journal name, vendor, publisher, ISSN (International Standard Serial Number, to uniquely identify the titles), stand-alone price, and indication as to the presence of the journal in current GRC Technical Library consortium membership subscriptions. The dataset will hopefully facilitate comparisons between the stand-alone journal prices and the cost of shared journal subscriptions for groups of titles.

Cost effectiveness analysis of strategies for maternal and neonatal health in developing countries.

PubMed

Adam, Taghreed; Lim, Stephen S; Mehta, Sumi; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A; Fogstad, Helga; Mathai, Matthews; Zupan, Jelka; Darmstadt, Gary L

2005-11-12

To determine the costs and benefits of interventions for maternal and newborn health to assess the appropriateness of current strategies and guide future plans to attain the millennium development goals. Cost effectiveness analysis. Two regions classified by the World Health Organization according to their epidemiological grouping: Afr-E, those countries in sub-Saharan Africa with very high adult and high child mortality, and Sear-D, comprising countries in South East Asia with high adult and high child mortality. Effectiveness data from several sources, including trials, observational studies, and expert opinion. For resource inputs, quantities came from WHO guidelines, literature, and expert opinion, and prices from the WHO choosing interventions that are cost effective database. Cost per disability adjusted life year (DALY) averted in year 2000 international dollars. The most cost effective mix of interventions was similar in Afr-E and Sear-D. These were the community based newborn care package, followed by antenatal care (tetanus toxoid, screening for pre-eclampsia, screening and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria and syphilis); skilled attendance at birth, offering first level maternal and neonatal care around childbirth; and emergency obstetric and neonatal care around and after birth. Screening and treatment of maternal syphilis, community based management of neonatal pneumonia, and steroids given during the antenatal period were relatively less cost effective in Sear-D. Scaling up all of the included interventions to 95% coverage would halve neonatal and maternal deaths. Preventive interventions at the community level for newborn babies and at the primary care level for mothers and newborn babies are extremely cost effective, but the millennium development goals for maternal and child health will not be achieved without universal access to clinical services as well.

GT-SUPREEM: the Georgia Tech summer undergraduate packaging research and engineering experience for minorities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

May, Gary S.

1996-07-01

The Georgia Tech SUmmer Undergraduate Packaging Research and Engineering Experience for Minorities (GT-SUPREEM) is an eight-week summer program designed to attract qualified minority students to pursue graduate degrees in packaging- related disciplines. The program is conducted under the auspices of the Georgia Tech Engineering Research Center in Low-Cost Electronic Packaging, which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. In this program, nine junior and senior level undergraduate students are selected on a nationwide basis and paired with a faculty advisor to undertake research projects in the Packaging Research CEnter. The students are housed on campus and provided with a $DLR3,000 stipend and a travel allowance. At the conclusion of the program, the students present both oral and written project summaries. It is anticipated that this experience will motivate these students to become applicants for graduate study in ensuring years. This paper will provide an overview of the GT-SUPREEM program, including student research activities, success stories, lessons learned, and overall program outlook.

Technical and Regulatory Considerations in Using Freight Containers as Industrial Packages

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hawk, Mark B; Opperman, Erich; Natali, Ronald

2008-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Environmental Management (EM), is actively pursuing activities to reduce the radiological risk and clean up the environmental legacy of the nation's nuclear weapons programmes. The EM has made significant progress in recent years in the clean-up and closure of sites and is also focusing on longer term activities necessary for the completion of the clean-up programme. The packaging and transportation of contaminated demolition debris and low level waste materials in a safe and cost effective manner are essential in completing this mission. Toward this end, the US Department of Transportation's Final Rulemore » on Hazardous Materials Regulation issued on 26 January 2004, included a new provision authorising the use of freight containers (e.g. 20 and 40 ft ISO containers) as industrial packages type 2 or 3. This paper will discuss the technical and regulatory considerations in using these newly authorised and large packages for the packaging and transportation of low level waste materials.« less

Evolution of a modular software network

PubMed Central

Fortuna, Miguel A.; Bonachela, Juan A.; Levin, Simon A.

2011-01-01

“Evolution behaves like a tinkerer” (François Jacob, Science, 1977). Software systems provide a singular opportunity to understand biological processes using concepts from network theory. The Debian GNU/Linux operating system allows us to explore the evolution of a complex network in a unique way. The modular design detected during its growth is based on the reuse of existing code in order to minimize costs during programming. The increase of modularity experienced by the system over time has not counterbalanced the increase in incompatibilities between software packages within modules. This negative effect is far from being a failure of design. A random process of package installation shows that the higher the modularity, the larger the fraction of packages working properly in a local computer. The decrease in the relative number of conflicts between packages from different modules avoids a failure in the functionality of one package spreading throughout the entire system. Some potential analogies with the evolutionary and ecological processes determining the structure of ecological networks of interacting species are discussed. PMID:22106260

Automated work packages architecture: An initial set of human factors and instrumentation and controls requirements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Agarwal, Vivek; Oxstrand, Johanna H.; Le Blanc, Katya L.

The work management process in current fleets of national nuclear power plants is so highly dependent on large technical staffs and quality of work instruction, i.e., paper-based, that this puts nuclear energy at somewhat of a long-term economic disadvantage and increase the possibility of human errors. Technologies like mobile portable devices and computer-based procedures can play a key role in improving the plant work management process, thereby increasing productivity and decreasing cost. Automated work packages are a fundamentally an enabling technology for improving worker productivity and human performance in nuclear power plants work activities because virtually every plant work activitymore » is accomplished using some form of a work package. As part of this year’s research effort, automated work packages architecture is identified and an initial set of requirements identified, that are essential and necessary for implementation of automated work packages in nuclear power plants.« less

Technical Packages in Injury and Violence Prevention to Move Evidence into Practice: Systematic Reviews and Beyond

PubMed Central

Haegerich, Tamara M.; David-Ferdon, Corinne; Noonan, Rita K.; Manns, Brian J.; Billie, Holly C.

2016-01-01

Injury and violence prevention strategies have greater potential for impact when they are based on scientific evidence. Systematic reviews of the scientific evidence can contribute key information about which policies and programs might have the greatest impact when implemented. However, systematic reviews have limitations, such as lack of implementation guidance and contextual information, that can limit the application of knowledge. “Technical packages,” developed by knowledge brokers such as the federal government, nonprofit agencies, and academic institutions, have the potential to be an efficient mechanism for making information from systematic reviews actionable. Technical packages provide information about specific evidence-based prevention strategies, along with the estimated costs and impacts, and include accompanying implementation and evaluation guidance to facilitate adoption, implementation, and performance measurement. We describe how systematic reviews can inform the development of technical packages for practitioners, provide examples of technical packages in injury and violence prevention, and explain how enhancing review methods and reporting could facilitate the use and applicability of scientific evidence. PMID:27604301

Options for lowering U.S. carbon dioxide emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bierbaum, Rosina M.; Friedman, Robert M.; Levenson, Howard; Rapoport, Richard D.; Sundt, Nick

1992-03-01

The United States can decrease its emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) to as much as 35 percent below 1987 levels within the next 25 years by adopting an aggressive package of policies crossing all sectors of the economy. Such emissions reductions will be difficult to achieve and may be costly, but no major technological breakthroughs are needed. In this paper, we identify a ``Tough'' package of energy conservation, energy supply, and forest managment practices to accomplish this level of emissions reductions. We also present a package of cost-effective, ``Moderate'' technical options, which if adopted, would hold CO2 emissions to about 15-percent increase over 1987 levels by 2015. In constrast, if the United State takes not new actions to curb energy use, CO2 emissions will likely rise 50 percent during that time. A variety of Federal policy initiatives will be required to achieve large reductions in U.S. CO2 emissions. Such policy actions will have to include both regulatory ``push'' and market ``pull'' mechanisms--including performance standards, tax incentive programs, carbon-emission or energy taxes, labeling and efficiency ratings, and research, development, and demostration activities.

Simulation studies on the effect of positioning tolerances on optical coupling efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pamidighantam, Ramana V.; Yeo, Yongkee; Sudharsanam, Krishnamachari; Lee, Sik Pong; Iyer, Mahadevan K.

2002-08-01

The development of Optoelectronic components for communications is converging towards access networks where device cost makes a significant impact on the market acceptance. Thus, the device design engineer needs to input assembly, fabrication and process constraints into the design at an early stage. The present study is part of a Project on Packaging of Optical Components that IME, Singapore has initiated as part of an ongoing Electronics Packaging Research Consortium with industry partnership. In the present study, the coupling of optical radiation from a laser diode to optical fiber is simulated for a fiber optic transmitter component development project. Different optical configurations based on direct coupling, spherical ball lenses, integral lensed fibers and thermally expanded fibers are created within the commercially available transmitter package space. The effect of optical element variables on the placement tolerance is analyzed and will be reported. The effect of alignment tolerances on the optical coupling is analyzed. Simulation results are presented recommending realizable alignment and placement tolerances to develop a low cost short range link distance transmitter.

Informing Intervention Strategies to Reduce Energy Drink Consumption in Young People: Findings From Qualitative Research.

PubMed

Francis, Jacinta; Martin, Karen; Costa, Beth; Christian, Hayley; Kaur, Simmi; Harray, Amelia; Barblett, Ann; Oddy, Wendy Hazel; Ambrosini, Gina; Allen, Karina; Trapp, Gina

2017-10-01

To determine young people's knowledge of energy drinks (EDs), factors influencing ED consumption, and intervention strategies to decrease ED consumption in young people. Eight group interviews with young people (aged 12-25 years). Community groups and secondary schools in Perth, Western Australia. Forty-one young people, 41% of whom were male and 73% of whom consumed EDs. Factors influencing ED consumption and intervention strategies informed by young people to reduce ED consumption. Two researchers conducted a qualitative content analysis on the data using NVivo software. Facilitators of ED consumption included enhanced energy, pleasant taste, low cost, peer pressure, easy availability, and ED promotions. Barriers included negative health effects, unpleasant taste, high cost, and parents' disapproval. Strategies to reduce ED consumption included ED restrictions, changing ED packaging, increasing ED prices, reducing visibility in retail outlets, and research and education. Because many countries allow the sale of EDs to people aged <18 years, identifying ways to minimize potential harm from EDs is critical. This study provided unique insights into intervention strategies suggested by young people to reduce ED consumption. In addition to more research and education, these strategies included policy changes targeting ED sales, packaging, price, and visibility. Future research might examine the feasibility of implementing such interventions. Copyright © 2017 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Basic analysis of reflectometry data software package for the analysis of multilayered structures according to reflectometry data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Astaf'ev, S. B., E-mail: bard@ns.crys.ras.ru; Shchedrin, B. M.; Yanusova, L. G.

2012-01-15

The main principles of developing the Basic Analysis of Reflectometry Data (BARD) software package, which is aimed at obtaining a unified (standardized) tool for analyzing the structure of thin multilayer films and nanostructures of different nature based on reflectometry data, are considered. This software package contains both traditionally used procedures for processing reflectometry data and the authors' original developments on the basis of new methods for carrying out and analyzing reflectometry experiments. The structure of the package, its functional possibilities, examples of application, and prospects of development are reviewed.

Transportation of Hazardous Evidentiary Material.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Osborn, Douglas.

2005-06-01

This document describes the specimen and transportation containers currently available for use with hazardous and infectious materials. A detailed comparison of advantages, disadvantages, and costs of the different technologies is included. Short- and long-term recommendations are also provided.3 DraftDraftDraftExecutive SummaryThe Federal Bureau of Investigation's Hazardous Materials Response Unit currently has hazardous material transport containers for shipping 1-quart paint cans and small amounts of contaminated forensic evidence, but the containers may not be able to maintain their integrity under accident conditions or for some types of hazardous materials. This report provides guidance and recommendations on the availability of packages for themore » safe and secure transport of evidence consisting of or contaminated with hazardous chemicals or infectious materials. Only non-bulk containers were considered because these are appropriate for transport on small aircraft. This report will addresses packaging and transportation concerns for Hazardous Classes 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 materials. If the evidence is known or suspected of belonging to one of these Hazardous Classes, it must be packaged in accordance with the provisions of 49 CFR Part 173. The anthrax scare of several years ago, and less well publicized incidents involving unknown and uncharacterized substances, has required that suspicious substances be sent to appropriate analytical laboratories for analysis and characterization. Transportation of potentially hazardous or infectious material to an appropriate analytical laboratory requires transport containers that maintain both the biological and chemical integrity of the substance in question. As a rule, only relatively small quantities will be available for analysis. Appropriate transportation packaging is needed that will maintain the integrity of the substance, will not allow biological alteration, will not react chemically with the substance being shipped, and will otherwise maintain it as nearly as possible in its original condition.The recommendations provided are short-term solutions to the problems of shipping evidence, and have considered only currently commercially available containers. These containers may not be appropriate for all cases. Design, testing, and certification of new transportation containers would be necessary to provide a container appropriate for all cases.Table 1 provides a summary of the recommendations for each class of hazardous material.Table 1: Summary of RecommendationsContainerCost1-quart paint can with ArmlockTM seal ringLabelMaster(r)%242.90 eachHazard Class 3, 4, 5, 8, or 9 Small ContainersTC Hazardous Material Transport ContainerCurrently in Use4 DraftDraftDraftTable 1: Summary of Recommendations (continued)ContainerCost55-gallon open or closed-head steel drumsAll-Pak, Inc.%2458.28 - %2473.62 eachHazard Class 3, 4, 5, 8, or 9 Large Containers95-gallon poly overpack LabelMaster(r)%24194.50 each1-liter glass container with plastic coatingLabelMaster(r)%243.35 - %243.70 eachHazard Class 6 Division 6.1 Poisonous by Inhalation (PIH) Small ContainersTC Hazardous Material Transport ContainerCurrently in Use20 to 55-gallon PIH overpacksLabelMaster(r)%24142.50 - %24170.50 eachHazard Class 6 Division 6.1 Poisonous by Inhalation (PIH) Large Containers65 to 95-gallon poly overpacksLabelMaster(r)%24163.30 - %24194.50 each1-liter transparent containerCurrently in UseHazard Class 6 Division 6.2 Infectious Material Small ContainersInfectious Substance ShipperSource Packaging of NE, Inc.%24336.00 eachNone Commercially AvailableN/AHazard Class 6 Division 6.2 Infectious Material Large ContainersNone Commercially Available N/A5« less

How tobacco companies have used package quantity for consumer targeting.

PubMed

Persoskie, Alexander; Donaldson, Elisabeth A; Ryant, Chase

2018-05-31

Package quantity refers to the number of cigarettes or amount of other tobacco product in a package. Many countries restrict minimum cigarette package quantities to avoid low-cost packs that may lower barriers to youth smoking. We reviewed Truth Tobacco Industry Documents to understand tobacco companies' rationales for introducing new package quantities, including companies' expectations and research regarding how package quantity may influence consumer behaviour. A snowball sampling method (phase 1), a static search string (phase 2) and a follow-up snowball search (phase 3) identified 216 documents, mostly from the 1980s and 1990s, concerning cigarettes (200), roll-your-own tobacco (9), smokeless tobacco (6) and 'smokeless cigarettes' (1). Companies introduced small and large packages to motivate brand-switching and continued use among current users when faced with low market share or threats such as tax-induced price increases or competitors' use of price promotions. Companies developed and evaluated package quantities for specific brands and consumer segments. Large packages offered value-for-money and matched long-term, heavy users' consumption rates. Small packages were cheaper, matched consumption rates of newer and lighter users, and increased products' novelty, ease of carrying and perceived freshness. Some users also preferred small packages as a way to try to limit consumption or quit. Industry documents speculated about many potential effects of package quantity on appeal and use, depending on brand and consumer segment. The search was non-exhaustive, and we could not assess the quality of much of the research or other information on which the documents relied. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Effectiveness of pictorial health warning on cigarette packages: A cross-sectional study in Sarawak, Malaysia.

PubMed

Rahman, M M; Arif, M T; Abd, Razak Mf; Suhaili, M R; Tambi, Z; Akoi, C; Gabriel Bain, M; Hussain, H

2015-01-01

Specific health warning placed on the tobacco product packages is considered as an effective and low-cost method for increasing the knowledge and awareness among the community. Thus, a study was conducted to assess the perception of pictorial health warnings (PHWs) against smoking among the adult rural population of Sarawak. Cross-sectional data were collected from 10 villages in Kota Samarahan and Kuching Division by face to face interview using modified Global Adult Tobacco Survey questionnaire. Nonprobability sampling method was adopted to select the villages. All the households of the selected villages were visited and an adult member was selected randomly from each house irrespective of the sex. After missing value imputation, 1000 data were analysed using statistical software IBM SPSS 20.0 version. Analysis showed that 28.8% of the respondents were current smokers, 7.8% were past smokers and the rest were non-smokers. Six items of pictorial health warnings were evaluated with five point Likert's scales for attractiveness, fearfulness and adequacy of the information. Analysis revealed that the majority of the respondents had perceived awareness on PHWs, but the smokers believed that this was not adequate to make them quit smoking. Only one-fifth (19.7%) of them reported that current pictorial health warnings were sufficient to motivate people to quit smoking. Though the PHWs on cigarette packages are appealing, it is not sufficient as a reason to stop smoking. Thus, an approach using an integrated anti-tobacco public health programme should be focused into the specific targeted community.

Acquisition Review Quarterly (ARQ): Volume 1, Number 1, Winter 1994

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-01-01

OH. Horngren , C. T., & Foster, G. (1991). Cost Accounting , a Managerial Emphasis (7th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Moniison, D. C. (1901, March). Deep...1), or are predicted to occur for the duration of their cost account ( s ) as planned on Work Package Planning Sheets (WPPS). The Narrative Variance...in dealing with similar business situations. Research 19- COST OVERRUN OPTIMISM: Fact or Fiction Major David S . Christensen, USAF "Wheii idken to

The Global Ozone and Aerosol Profiles and Aerosol Hygroscopic Effect and Absorption Optical Depth (GOA2HEAD) Network Initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, R. S.; Elkins, J. W.; Frost, G. J.; McComiskey, A. C.; Murphy, D. M.; Ogren, J. A.; Petropavlovskikh, I. V.; Rosenlof, K. H.

2014-12-01

Inverse modeling using measurements of ozone (O3) and aerosol is a powerful tool for deriving pollutant emissions. Because they have relatively long lifetimes, O3 and aerosol are transported over large distances. Frequent and globally spaced vertical profiles rather than ground-based measurements alone are therefore highly desired. Three requirements necessary for a successful global monitoring program are: Low equipment cost, low operation cost, and reliable measurements of known uncertainty. Conventional profiling using aircraft provides excellent data, but is cost prohibitive on a large scale. Here we describe a new platform and instruments meeting all three global monitoring requirements. The platform consists of a small balloon and an auto-homing glider. The glider is released from the balloon at about 5 km altitude, returning the light instrument package to the launch location, and allowing for consistent recovery of the payload. Atmospheric profiling can be performed either during ascent or descent (or both) depending on measurement requirements. We will present the specifications for two instrument packages currently under development. The first measures O3, RH, p, T, dry aerosol particle number and size distribution, and aerosol optical depth. The second measures dry aerosol particle number and size distribution, and aerosol absorption coefficient. Other potential instrument packages and the desired spatial/temporal resolution for the GOA2HEAD monitoring initiative will also be discussed.

PharmacoGx: an R package for analysis of large pharmacogenomic datasets.

PubMed

Smirnov, Petr; Safikhani, Zhaleh; El-Hachem, Nehme; Wang, Dong; She, Adrian; Olsen, Catharina; Freeman, Mark; Selby, Heather; Gendoo, Deena M A; Grossmann, Patrick; Beck, Andrew H; Aerts, Hugo J W L; Lupien, Mathieu; Goldenberg, Anna; Haibe-Kains, Benjamin

2016-04-15

Pharmacogenomics holds great promise for the development of biomarkers of drug response and the design of new therapeutic options, which are key challenges in precision medicine. However, such data are scattered and lack standards for efficient access and analysis, consequently preventing the realization of the full potential of pharmacogenomics. To address these issues, we implemented PharmacoGx, an easy-to-use, open source package for integrative analysis of multiple pharmacogenomic datasets. We demonstrate the utility of our package in comparing large drug sensitivity datasets, such as the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer and the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia. Moreover, we show how to use our package to easily perform Connectivity Map analysis. With increasing availability of drug-related data, our package will open new avenues of research for meta-analysis of pharmacogenomic data. PharmacoGx is implemented in R and can be easily installed on any system. The package is available from CRAN and its source code is available from GitHub. bhaibeka@uhnresearch.ca or benjamin.haibe.kains@utoronto.ca Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Closing the mental health treatment gap in South Africa: a review of costs and cost-effectiveness

PubMed Central

Jack, Helen; Wagner, Ryan G.; Petersen, Inge; Thom, Rita; Newton, Charles R.; Stein, Alan; Kahn, Kathleen; Tollman, Stephen; Hofman, Karen J.

2014-01-01

Background Nearly one in three South Africans will suffer from a mental disorder in his or her lifetime, a higher prevalence than many low- and middle-income countries. Understanding the economic costs and consequences of prevention and packages of care is essential, particularly as South Africa considers scaling-up mental health services and works towards universal health coverage. Economic evaluations can inform how priorities are set in system or spending changes. Objective To identify and review research from South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa on the direct and indirect costs of mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders and the cost-effectiveness of treatment interventions. Design Narrative overview methodology. Results and conclusions Reviewed studies indicate that integrating mental health care into existing health systems may be the most effective and cost-efficient approach to increase access to mental health services in South Africa. Integration would also direct treatment, prevention, and screening to people with HIV and other chronic health conditions who are at high risk for mental disorders. We identify four major knowledge gaps: 1) accurate and thorough assessment of the health burdens of MNS disorders, 2) design and assessment of interventions that integrate mental health screening and treatment into existing health systems, 3) information on the use and costs of traditional medicines, and 4) cost-effectiveness evaluation of a range of specific interventions or packages of interventions that are tailored to the national context. PMID:24848654

Low-cost foods: how do they compare with their brand name equivalents? A French study.

PubMed

Darmon, Nicole; Caillavet, France; Joly, Caroline; Maillot, Matthieu; Drewnowski, Adam

2009-06-01

Consumers are increasingly relying on low-cost foods, although it is not clear if the nutritional quality of these foods is fully maintained. The aim of the present work was to analyse the relationship between cost and quality within a given food category. The relationship was analysed between nutritional quality and cost for 220 food products belonging to seventeen different categories, controlling for package type and package size. Given that a summary of nutrient information was not available on the product label, a novel ingredient quality score was developed based on listed product ingredients. Within a given category, the lowest-priced foods were not different from the equivalent branded products in terms of overall energy or total fat content. Nevertheless, a positive relationship, small but significant, was observed between the price and the ingredient quality score. On average, the branded products cost 2.5 times more than the low-cost products, for an equivalent energy and lipid content, and had a slightly higher (1.3 times) ingredient quality score. More studies are necessary to evaluate the nutritional quality of low-cost foods. This evaluation would be facilitated if nutrition labelling was mandatory. Yet in view of the present results, it does not seem to be justified to divert consumers, especially the poorest, from low-cost foods because this may have an adverse effect on the nutritional quality of their diet, by reducing further the fraction of their food budget spent on fresh fruit and vegetables.

Solvation Structure and Thermodynamic Mapping (SSTMap): An Open-Source, Flexible Package for the Analysis of Water in Molecular Dynamics Trajectories.

PubMed

Haider, Kamran; Cruz, Anthony; Ramsey, Steven; Gilson, Michael K; Kurtzman, Tom

2018-01-09

We have developed SSTMap, a software package for mapping structural and thermodynamic water properties in molecular dynamics trajectories. The package introduces automated analysis and mapping of local measures of frustration and enhancement of water structure. The thermodynamic calculations are based on Inhomogeneous Fluid Solvation Theory (IST), which is implemented using both site-based and grid-based approaches. The package also extends the applicability of solvation analysis calculations to multiple molecular dynamics (MD) simulation programs by using existing cross-platform tools for parsing MD parameter and trajectory files. SSTMap is implemented in Python and contains both command-line tools and a Python module to facilitate flexibility in setting up calculations and for automated generation of large data sets involving analysis of multiple solutes. Output is generated in formats compatible with popular Python data science packages. This tool will be used by the molecular modeling community for computational analysis of water in problems of biophysical interest such as ligand binding and protein function.

Software Reviews.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Classroom Computer Learning, 1988

1988-01-01

Provides reviews of three software packages including "MusicShapes,""For Comment," and "Colortrope," which were developed for music, writing, and science, respectively. Includes information on grade levels, publishers, hardware needed, and cost. (TW)

Lin4Neuro: a customized Linux distribution ready for neuroimaging analysis

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background A variety of neuroimaging software packages have been released from various laboratories worldwide, and many researchers use these packages in combination. Though most of these software packages are freely available, some people find them difficult to install and configure because they are mostly based on UNIX-like operating systems. We developed a live USB-bootable Linux package named "Lin4Neuro." This system includes popular neuroimaging analysis tools. The user interface is customized so that even Windows users can use it intuitively. Results The boot time of this system was only around 40 seconds. We performed a benchmark test of inhomogeneity correction on 10 subjects of three-dimensional T1-weighted MRI scans. The processing speed of USB-booted Lin4Neuro was as fast as that of the package installed on the hard disk drive. We also installed Lin4Neuro on a virtualization software package that emulates the Linux environment on a Windows-based operation system. Although the processing speed was slower than that under other conditions, it remained comparable. Conclusions With Lin4Neuro in one's hand, one can access neuroimaging software packages easily, and immediately focus on analyzing data. Lin4Neuro can be a good primer for beginners of neuroimaging analysis or students who are interested in neuroimaging analysis. It also provides a practical means of sharing analysis environments across sites. PMID:21266047

Lin4Neuro: a customized Linux distribution ready for neuroimaging analysis.

PubMed

Nemoto, Kiyotaka; Dan, Ippeita; Rorden, Christopher; Ohnishi, Takashi; Tsuzuki, Daisuke; Okamoto, Masako; Yamashita, Fumio; Asada, Takashi

2011-01-25

A variety of neuroimaging software packages have been released from various laboratories worldwide, and many researchers use these packages in combination. Though most of these software packages are freely available, some people find them difficult to install and configure because they are mostly based on UNIX-like operating systems. We developed a live USB-bootable Linux package named "Lin4Neuro." This system includes popular neuroimaging analysis tools. The user interface is customized so that even Windows users can use it intuitively. The boot time of this system was only around 40 seconds. We performed a benchmark test of inhomogeneity correction on 10 subjects of three-dimensional T1-weighted MRI scans. The processing speed of USB-booted Lin4Neuro was as fast as that of the package installed on the hard disk drive. We also installed Lin4Neuro on a virtualization software package that emulates the Linux environment on a Windows-based operation system. Although the processing speed was slower than that under other conditions, it remained comparable. With Lin4Neuro in one's hand, one can access neuroimaging software packages easily, and immediately focus on analyzing data. Lin4Neuro can be a good primer for beginners of neuroimaging analysis or students who are interested in neuroimaging analysis. It also provides a practical means of sharing analysis environments across sites.

Effect of Various Packaging Methods on Small-Scale Hanwoo (Korean Native Cattle) during Refrigerated Storage

PubMed Central

Yu, Hwan Hee; Song, Myung Wook; Kim, Tae-Kyung; Choi, Yun-Sang; Cho, Gyu Yong; Lee, Na-Kyoung; Paik, Hyun-Dong

2018-01-01

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate comparison of physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of Hanwoo eye of round by various packaging methods [wrapped packaging (WP), modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), vacuum packaging (VP) with three different vacuum films, and vacuum skin packaging (VSP)] at a small scale. Packaged Hanwoo beef samples were stored in refrigerated conditions (4±1°C) for 28 days. Packaged beef was sampled on days 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28. Physicochemical [pH, surface color, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) values], microbiological, and sensory analysis of packaged beef samples were performed. VP and VSP samples showed low TBARS and VBN values, and pH and surface color did not change substantially during the 28-day period. For VSP, total viable bacteria, psychrotrophic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and coliform counts were lower than those for other packaging systems. Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 were not detected in any packaged beef samples. A sensory analysis showed that the scores for appearance, flavor, color, and overall acceptability did not change significantly until day 7. In total, VSP was effective with respect to significantly higher a* values, physicochemical stability, and microbial safety in Hanwoo packaging (p<0.05). PMID:29805283

Helium compressors for closed-cycle, 4.5-Kelvin refrigerators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanson, T. R.

1992-01-01

An improved helium compressor for traveling-wave maser and closed-cycle refrigerator systems was developed and is currently being supplied to the DSN. This new 5-hp compressor package is designed to replace the current 3-hp DSN compressors. The new compressor package was designed to retrofit into the existing 3-hp compressor frame and reuse many of the same components, therefore saving the cost of documenting and fabricating these components when implementing a new 5-hp compressor.

Innovative on-chip packaging applied to uncooled IRFPA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumont, Geoffroy; Arnaud, Agnès; Imperinetti, Pierre; Mottin, Eric; Simoens, François; Vialle, Claire; Rabaud, Wilfried; Grand, Gilles; Baclet, Nathalie

2008-03-01

The Laboratoire Infrarouge (LIR) of the Laboratoire d'Electronique et de Technologie de l'Information (LETI) has been involved in the development of microbolometers for over fifteen years. Two generations of technology have been transferred to ULIS and LETI is still working to improve performances of low cost detectors. Simultaneously, packaging still represents a significant part of detectors price. Reducing production costs would contribute to keep on extending applications of uncooled IRFPA to high volume markets like automotive. Therefore LETI develops an onchip packaging technology dedicated to microbolometers. The efficiency of a micropackaging technology for microbolometers relies on two major technical specifications. First, it must include an optical window with a high transmittance for the IR band, so as to maximize the detector absorption. Secondly, in order to preserve the thermal insulation of the detector, the micropackaging must be hermetically closed to maintain a vacuum level lower than 10 -3mbar. This paper presents an original microcap structure that enables the use of IR window materials as sealing layers to maintain the expected vacuum level. The modelling and integration of an IR window suitable for this structure is also presented. This zero level packaging technology is performed in a standard collective way, in continuation of bolometers' technology. The CEA-LETI, MINATEC presents status of these developments concerning this innovating technology including optical simulations results and SEM views of technical realizations.

A Description and Analysis of the German Packaging Take-Back System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nakajima, Nina; Vanderburg, Willem H.

2006-01-01

The German packaging ordinance is an example of legislated extended producer responsibility (also known as product take-back). Consumers can leave packaging with retailers, and packagers are required to pay for their recycling and disposal. It can be considered to be successful in reducing waste, spurring the redesign of packaging to be more…

Energy Efficiency Opportunities in Highway Lodging Buildings: Development of 50% Energy Savings Design Technology Packages

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Wei; Gowri, Krishnan; Thornton, Brian A.

2010-06-30

This paper presents the process, methodology, and assumptions for development of the 50% Energy Savings Design Technology Packages for Highway Lodging Buildings, a design guidance document that provides specific recommendations for achieving 50% energy savings in roadside motels (highway lodging) above the requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004. This 50% solution represents a further step toward realization of the U.S. Department of Energy’s net-zero energy building goal, and go beyond the 30% savings in the Advanced Energy Design Guide series (upon which this work was built). This work can serve as the technical feasibility study for the development of a 50%more » saving Advanced Energy Design Guide for highway lodging, and thus should greatly expedite the development process. The purpose of this design package is to provide user-friendly design assistance to designers, developers, and owners of highway lodging properties. It is intended to encourage energy-efficient design by providing prescriptive energy-efficiency recommendations for each climate zone that attains the 50% the energy savings target. This paper describes the steps that were taken to demonstrate the technical feasibility of achieving a 50% reduction in whole-building energy use with practical and commercially available technologies. The energy analysis results are presented, indicating the recommended energy-efficient measures achieved a national-weighted average energy savings of 55%, relative to Standard 90.1-2004. The cost-effectiveness of the recommended technology package is evaluated and the result shows an average simple payback of 11.3 years.« less

Phenopix: a R package to process digital images of a vegetation cover

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filippa, Gianluca; Cremonese, Edoardo; Migliavacca, Mirco; Galvagno, Marta; Morra di Cella, Umberto; Richardson, Andrew

2015-04-01

Plant phenology is a globally recognized indicator of the effects of climate change on the terrestrial biosphere. Accordingly, new tools to automatically track the seasonal development of a vegetation cover are becoming available and more and more deployed. Among them, near-continuous digital images are being collected in several networks in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia in a range of different ecosystems, including agricultural lands, deciduous and evergreen forests, and grasslands. The growing scientific interest in vegetation image analysis highlights the need of easy to use, flexible and standardized processing techniques. In this contribution we illustrate a new open source package called "phenopix" written in R language that allows to process images of a vegetation cover. The main features include: (i) define of one or more areas of interest on an image and process pixel information within them, (ii) compute vegetation indexes based on red green and blue channels, (iii) fit a curve to the seasonal trajectory of vegetation indexes and extract relevant dates (aka thresholds) on the seasonal trajectory; (iv) analyze image pixels separately to extract spatially explicit phenological information. The utilities of the package will be illustrated in detail for two subalpine sites, a grassland and a larch stand at about 2000 m in the Italian Western Alps. The phenopix package is a cost free and easy-to-use tool that allows to process digital images of a vegetation cover in a standardized, flexible and reproducible way. The software is available for download at the R forge web site (r-forge.r-project.org/projects/phenopix/).

DESIGN ANALYSIS FOR THE NAVAL SNF WASTE PACKAGE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

T.L. Mitchell

2000-05-31

The purpose of this analysis is to demonstrate the design of the naval spent nuclear fuel (SNF) waste package (WP) using the Waste Package Department's (WPD) design methodologies and processes described in the ''Waste Package Design Methodology Report'' (CRWMS M&O [Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management and Operating Contractor] 2000b). The calculations that support the design of the naval SNF WP will be discussed; however, only a sub-set of such analyses will be presented and shall be limited to those identified in the ''Waste Package Design Sensitivity Report'' (CRWMS M&O 2000c). The objective of this analysis is to describe themore » naval SNF WP design method and to show that the design of the naval SNF WP complies with the ''Naval Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal Container System Description Document'' (CRWMS M&O 1999a) and Interface Control Document (ICD) criteria for Site Recommendation. Additional criteria for the design of the naval SNF WP have been outlined in Section 6.2 of the ''Waste Package Design Sensitivity Report'' (CRWMS M&O 2000c). The scope of this analysis is restricted to the design of the naval long WP containing one naval long SNF canister. This WP is representative of the WPs that will contain both naval short SNF and naval long SNF canisters. The following items are included in the scope of this analysis: (1) Providing a general description of the applicable design criteria; (2) Describing the design methodology to be used; (3) Presenting the design of the naval SNF waste package; and (4) Showing compliance with all applicable design criteria. The intended use of this analysis is to support Site Recommendation reports and assist in the development of WPD drawings. Activities described in this analysis were conducted in accordance with the technical product development plan (TPDP) ''Design Analysis for the Naval SNF Waste Package (CRWMS M&O 2000a).« less

I-deas TMG to NX Space Systems Thermal Model Conversion and Computational Performance Comparison

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Somawardhana, Ruwan

2011-01-01

CAD/CAE packages change on a continuous basis as the power of the tools increase to meet demands. End -users must adapt to new products as they come to market and replace legacy packages. CAE modeling has continued to evolve and is constantly becoming more detailed and complex. Though this comes at the cost of increased computing requirements Parallel processing coupled with appropriate hardware can minimize computation time. Users of Maya Thermal Model Generator (TMG) are faced with transitioning from NX I -deas to NX Space Systems Thermal (SST). It is important to understand what differences there are when changing software packages We are looking for consistency in results.

Consumer preferences for reduced packaging under economic instruments and recycling policy.

PubMed

Yamaguchi, Keiko; Takeuchi, Kenji

2016-02-01

This study was conducted using a web-based survey and bidding game in contingent valuation method to evaluate consumer preferences for packaging with less material. Results revealed that people who live in a municipality implementing unit-based pricing of waste have a higher willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a product. Economic instruments can affect the purchase of products with reduced packaging because a higher disposal cost increases the attractiveness of source reduction. However, unit-based pricing combined with plastic separation for recycling reduces WTP. This result suggests that recycling policy weakens the effect of economic instruments on source reduction of waste. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

(abstract) Electronic Packaging for Microspacecraft Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wasler, David

1993-01-01

The intent of this presentation is to give a brief look into the future of electronic packaging for microspacecraft applications. Advancements in electronic packaging technology areas have developed to the point where a system engineer's visions, concepts, and requirements for a microspacecraft can now be a reality. These new developments are ideal candidates for microspacecraft applications. These technologies are capable of bringing about major changes in how we design future spacecraft while taking advantage of the benefits due to size, weight, power, performance, reliability , and cost. This presentation will also cover some advantages and limitations of surface mount technology (SMT), multichip modules (MCM), and wafer scale integration (WSI), and what is needed to implement these technologies into microspacecraft.

NASA Affordable Vehicle Avionics (AVA): Common Modular Avionics System for Nano-Launchers Offering Affordable Access to Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cockrell, James

2015-01-01

Small satellites are becoming ever more capable of performing valuable missions for both government and commercial customers. However, currently these satellites can only be launched affordably as secondary payloads. This makes it difficult for the small satellite mission to launch when needed, to the desired orbit, and with acceptable risk. NASA Ames Research Center has developed and tested a prototype low-cost avionics package for space launch vehicles that provides complete GNC functionality in a package smaller than a tissue box with a mass less than 0.84 kg. AVA takes advantage of commercially available, low-cost, mass-produced, miniaturized sensors, filtering their more noisy inertial data with realtime GPS data. The goal of the Advanced Vehicle Avionics project is to produce and flight-verify a common suite of avionics and software that deliver affordable, capable GNC and telemetry avionics with application to multiple nano-launch vehicles at 1 the cost of current state-of-the-art avionics.

Benchmark tests for a Formula SAE Student car prototyping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mariasiu, Florin

2011-12-01

Aerodynamic characteristics of a vehicle are important elements in its design and construction. A low drag coefficient brings significant fuel savings and increased engine power efficiency. In designing and developing vehicles trough computer simulation process to determine the vehicles aerodynamic characteristics are using dedicated CFD (Computer Fluid Dynamics) software packages. However, the results obtained by this faster and cheaper method, are validated by experiments in wind tunnels tests, which are expensive and were complex testing equipment are used in relatively high costs. Therefore, the emergence and development of new low-cost testing methods to validate CFD simulation results would bring great economic benefits for auto vehicles prototyping process. This paper presents the initial development process of a Formula SAE Student race-car prototype using CFD simulation and also present a measurement system based on low-cost sensors through which CFD simulation results were experimentally validated. CFD software package used for simulation was Solid Works with the FloXpress add-on and experimental measurement system was built using four piezoresistive force sensors FlexiForce type.

An economic analysis of adherence engineering to improve use of best practices during central line maintenance procedures.

PubMed

Nelson, Richard E; Angelovic, Aaron W; Nelson, Scott D; Gleed, Jeremy R; Drews, Frank A

2015-05-01

Adherence engineering applies human factors principles to examine non-adherence within a specific task and to guide the development of materials or equipment to increase protocol adherence and reduce human error. Central line maintenance (CLM) for intensive care unit (ICU) patients is a task through which error or non-adherence to protocols can cause central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs). We conducted an economic analysis of an adherence engineering CLM kit designed to improve the CLM task and reduce the risk of CLABSI. We constructed a Markov model to compare the cost-effectiveness of the CLM kit, which contains each of the 27 items necessary for performing the CLM procedure, compared with the standard care procedure for CLM, in which each item for dressing maintenance is gathered separately. We estimated the model using the cost of CLABSI overall ($45,685) as well as the excess LOS (6.9 excess ICU days, 3.5 excess general ward days). Assuming the CLM kit reduces the risk of CLABSI by 100% and 50%, this strategy was less costly (cost savings between $306 and $860) and more effective (between 0.05 and 0.13 more quality-adjusted life-years) compared with not using the pre-packaged kit. We identified threshold values for the effectiveness of the kit in reducing CLABSI for which the kit strategy was no longer less costly. An adherence engineering-based intervention to streamline the CLM process can improve patient outcomes and lower costs. Patient safety can be improved by adopting new approaches that are based on human factors principles.

Child Health Week in Zambia: costs, efficiency, coverage and a reassessment of need.

PubMed

Fiedler, John L; Mubanga, Freddie; Siamusantu, Ward; Musonda, Mofu; Kabwe, Kabaso F; Zulu, Charles

2014-01-01

Child Health Weeks (CHWs) are semi-annual, campaign-style, facility- and outreach-based events that provide a package of high-impact nutrition and health services to under-five children. Since 1999, 30% of the 85 countries that regularly implement campaign-style vitamin A supplementation programmes have transformed their programmes into CHW. Using data drawn from districts' budget, expenditures and salary documents, UNICEF's CHW planning and budgeting tool and a special purposive survey, an economic analysis of the June 2010 CHW's provision of measles, vitamin A and deworming was conducted using activity-based costing combined with an ingredients approach. Total CHW costs were estimated to be US$5.7 million per round. Measles accounted for 57%, deworming 22% and vitamin A 21% of total costs. The cost per child was US$0.46. The additional supplies and personnel required to include measles increased total costs by 42%, but reduced the average costs of providing vitamin A and deworming alone, manifesting economies of scope. The average costs of covering larger, more urban populations was less than the cost of covering smaller, more dispersed populations. Provincial-level costs per child served were determined primarily by the number of service sites, not the number of children treated. Reliance on volunteers to provide 60% of CHW manpower enables expanding coverage, shortening the duration of CHWs and reduces costs by one-third. With costs of $1093 per life saved and $45 per disability-adjusted life-year saved, WHO criteria classify Zambia's CHWs as 'very cost-effective'. The continued need for CHWs is discussed.

Pse-Analysis: a python package for DNA/RNA and protein/ peptide sequence analysis based on pseudo components and kernel methods.

PubMed

Liu, Bin; Wu, Hao; Zhang, Deyuan; Wang, Xiaolong; Chou, Kuo-Chen

2017-02-21

To expedite the pace in conducting genome/proteome analysis, we have developed a Python package called Pse-Analysis. The powerful package can automatically complete the following five procedures: (1) sample feature extraction, (2) optimal parameter selection, (3) model training, (4) cross validation, and (5) evaluating prediction quality. All the work a user needs to do is to input a benchmark dataset along with the query biological sequences concerned. Based on the benchmark dataset, Pse-Analysis will automatically construct an ideal predictor, followed by yielding the predicted results for the submitted query samples. All the aforementioned tedious jobs can be automatically done by the computer. Moreover, the multiprocessing technique was adopted to enhance computational speed by about 6 folds. The Pse-Analysis Python package is freely accessible to the public at http://bioinformatics.hitsz.edu.cn/Pse-Analysis/, and can be directly run on Windows, Linux, and Unix.

Safety analysis report for packaging (onsite) multicanister overpack cask

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Edwards, W.S.

1997-07-14

This safety analysis report for packaging (SARP) documents the safety of shipments of irradiated fuel elements in the MUlticanister Overpack (MCO) and MCO Cask for a highway route controlled quantity, Type B fissile package. This SARP evaluates the package during transfers of (1) water-filled MCOs from the K Basins to the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF) and (2) sealed and cold vacuum dried MCOs from the CVDF in the 100 K Area to the Canister Storage Building in the 200 East Area.

42 CFR 417.472 - Basic contract requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... benefit packages, private fee-for-service contracts, and MSA contracts), and all cost contracts under... Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey vendors to conduct the...

42 CFR 417.472 - Basic contract requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... benefit packages, private fee-for-service contracts, and MSA contracts), and all cost contracts under... Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey vendors to conduct the...

42 CFR 417.472 - Basic contract requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... benefit packages, private fee-for-service contracts, and MSA contracts), and all cost contracts under... Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey vendors to conduct the...

PAD_AUDIT -- PAD Auditing Package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clayton, C. A.

The PAD (Packet Assembler Disassembler) utility is the part of the VAX/VMS Coloured Book Software (CBS) which allows a user to log onto remote computers from a local VAX. Unfortunately, logging into a computer via either the Packet SwitchStream (PSS) or the International Packet SwitchStream (IPSS) costs real money. Some users either do not appreciate this or do not care and have been known to clock up rather large quarterly bills. This software package allows a system manager to determine who has used PAD to call where and (most importantly) how much it has cost. The system manager can then take appropriate action - either charging the individuals, warning them to use the facility with more care or even denying access to a greedy user to one or more sites.