Tobacco taxation: the importance of earmarking the revenue to health care and tobacco control

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Increases in tobacco taxation are acknowledged to be one of the most effective tobacco control interventions. This study aimed at determining the mediating role of socioeconomical status (SES) and the earmarking of revenue to healthcare and tobacco control, in influencing population support for the adoption of a 2 Euro tobacco tax increase in Greece, amid the challenging economic environment and current austerity measures. Methods Data was collected from two national household surveys, the “Hellas Health III” survey, conducted in October 2010 and the "Hellas Tobacco survey” conducted in September 2012. Data was analyzed from 694 and 1066 respondents aged 18 years or more, respectively. Logistic regression models were fitted to measure the adjusted relationship between socio-economic factors for the former, and support for increased taxation on tobacco products for the latter. Results In 2012 amidst the Greek financial crisis, population support for a flat two euro tax increase reached 72.1%, if earmarked for health care and tobacco control, a percentage high both among non-smokers (76%) and smokers (64%) alike. On the contrary, when not earmarked, only 43.6% of the population was in support of the equivalent increase. Women were more likely to change their mind and support a flat two-euro increase if the revenue was earmarked for health care and tobacco control (aOR = 1.70; 95% C.I: 1.22-2.38, p = 0.002). Furthermore, support for an increase in tobacco taxation was not associated with SES and income. Conclusion Despite dire austerity measures in Greece, support for an increase in tobacco taxation was high among both smokers and non-smokers, however, only when specifically earmarked towards health care and tobacco control. This should be taken into account not only in Greece, but within all countries facing social and economic reform. PMID:23270412

Politics and Defense Capabilities: Local Interests versus Strategic Imperatives

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

attachment of certification letters accompanying earmarks, but only slight reductions in earmarks occurred. According to the nonpartisan group...bipartisan letter to Army Secretary John McHugh, 137 congress- men asked the secretary to reconsider the Army’s budget proposal and alter it to include the...April of 2012, another bipartisan letter , this time signed by 173 representatives, was sent to then Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, urging him to

34 CFR 366.31 - What happens if the amount of earmarked funds does not equal or exceed the amount of Federal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 34 Education 2 2011-07-01 2010-07-01 true What happens if the amount of earmarked funds does not equal or exceed the amount of Federal funds for a preceding fiscal year? 366.31 Section 366.31 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education (Continued) OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF...

34 CFR 366.31 - What happens if the amount of earmarked funds does not equal or exceed the amount of Federal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What happens if the amount of earmarked funds does not equal or exceed the amount of Federal funds for a preceding fiscal year? 366.31 Section 366.31 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education (Continued) OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF...

34 CFR 366.31 - What happens if the amount of earmarked funds does not equal or exceed the amount of Federal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 34 Education 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false What happens if the amount of earmarked funds does not equal or exceed the amount of Federal funds for a preceding fiscal year? 366.31 Section 366.31 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education (Continued) OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF...

34 CFR 366.31 - What happens if the amount of earmarked funds does not equal or exceed the amount of Federal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 34 Education 2 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true What happens if the amount of earmarked funds does not equal or exceed the amount of Federal funds for a preceding fiscal year? 366.31 Section 366.31 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education (Continued) OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF...

34 CFR 366.31 - What happens if the amount of earmarked funds does not equal or exceed the amount of Federal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 34 Education 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false What happens if the amount of earmarked funds does not equal or exceed the amount of Federal funds for a preceding fiscal year? 366.31 Section 366.31 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education (Continued) OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF...

Defense bill: Earmarking as usual

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Earmarked funds in the $268 billion defense appropriations bill for fiscal year 1991 stirred congressional debate in late October. Senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, charged that the defense bill contains questionable projects totaling tens of millions of dollars. AGU opposes legislative earmarking of money for particular institutions, maintaining that the practice prevents the best use of federal funding by circumventing competitive review. Nunn noted on the Senate floor that the appropriations bill provided specific funds for cited institutions—contravening a federal law promoting competition. “ If these programs have merit, they will succeed in a fair and competent review in competition,” Nunn said. “If no other institution in the country is able to compete, there should be no fear whatever of competition… But no one else in the world is allowed to compete to work on these projects.”

Academic Earmarks--Parts I & II. Hearings before the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session (June 16; September 15, 1993).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

These hearings examined testimony on the practice of academic earmarking by the U.S. Congress, the process of allocating federal funds to academic projects or institutions based upon the influence of one or more members of Congress who favor the funding, rather than on the specific merits of the project or institution. Oral and written testimony…

The development of an automatic recognition system for earmark and earprint comparisons.

PubMed

Junod, Stéphane; Pasquier, Julien; Champod, Christophe

2012-10-10

The value of earmarks as an efficient means of personal identification is still subject to debate. It has been argued that the field is lacking a firm systematic and structured data basis to help practitioners to form their conclusions. Typically, there is a paucity of research guiding as to the selectivity of the features used in the comparison process between an earmark and reference earprints taken from an individual. This study proposes a system for the automatic comparison of earprints and earmarks, operating without any manual extraction of key-points or manual annotations. For each donor, a model is created using multiple reference prints, hence capturing the donor within source variability. For each comparison between a mark and a model, images are automatically aligned and a proximity score, based on a normalized 2D correlation coefficient, is calculated. Appropriate use of this score allows deriving a likelihood ratio that can be explored under known state of affairs (both in cases where it is known that the mark has been left by the donor that gave the model and conversely in cases when it is established that the mark originates from a different source). To assess the system performance, a first dataset containing 1229 donors elaborated during the FearID research project was used. Based on these data, for mark-to-print comparisons, the system performed with an equal error rate (EER) of 2.3% and about 88% of marks are found in the first 3 positions of a hitlist. When performing print-to-print transactions, results show an equal error rate of 0.5%. The system was then tested using real-case data obtained from police forces. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Development of University Computing in Sweden 1965-1985

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahlstrand, Ingemar

In 1965-70 the government agency, Statskontoret, set up five university computing centers, as service bureaux financed by grants earmarked for computer use. The centers were well equipped and staffed and caused a surge in computer use. When the yearly flow of grant money stagnated at 25 million Swedish crowns, the centers had to find external income to survive and acquire time-sharing. But the charging system led to the computers not being fully used. The computer scientists lacked equipment for laboratory use. The centers were decentralized and the earmarking abolished. Eventually they got new tasks like running computers owned by the departments, and serving the university administration.

The road maintenance funding models in Indonesia use earmarked tax

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gultom, Tiopan Henry M.; Tamin, Ofyar Z.; Sjafruddin, Ade; Pradono

2017-11-01

One of the solutions to get a sustainable road maintenance fund is to separate road sector revenue from other accounts, afterward, form a specific account for road maintenance. In 2001, Antameng and the Ministry of Public Works proposed a road fund model in Indonesia. Sources of the road funds proposal was a tariff formed on the nominal total tax. The policy of road funds was proposed to finance the road network maintenance of districts and provincials. This research aims to create a policy model of road maintenance funds in Indonesia using an earmarked tax mechanism. The research method is qualitative research, with data collection techniques are triangulation. Interview methods conducted were semi-structured. Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threat from every part of the models were showen on the survey format. Respondents were representative of executives who involved directly against the financing of road maintenance. Validation model conducted by a discussion panel, it was called the Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The FGD involved all selected respondents. Road maintenance financing model that most appropriately applied in Indonesia was a model of revenue source use an earmarked PBBKB, PKB and PPnBM. Revenue collection mechanism was added tariff of registered vehicle tax (PKB), Vehicle Fuel Tax (PBBKB) and the luxury vehicle sales tax (PPnBM). The funds are managed at the provincial level by a public service agency.

Earmark Transparency Act

THOMAS, 111th Congress

Sen. Coburn, Tom [R-OK

2010-05-11

Senate - 12/14/2010 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 692. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

34 CFR 366.30 - What are earmarked funds?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... purchase personal assistance services or particular types of skills training; (3) State attendant care funds; or (4) Social Security Administration reimbursement funds. (b) For purposes of this subpart...

Orphan Earmarks Act of 2011

THOMAS, 112th Congress

Rep. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ-6

2011-02-10

House - 02/18/2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency, and Financial Management . (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

25 CFR 161.301 - What will a grazing permit contain?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... permits will contain the following provisions: (1) Name of permit holder; (2) Range management plan...) Animal identification requirements (i.e., brand, microchip, freeze brand, earmark, tattoo, etc.); (6...

A dozen reasons for raising gasoline taxes

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-03-01

Motor fuel taxes at state and federal levels have traditionally been earmarked for transportation investments, supporting road construction, maintenance, and operations, and increasingly public transit. Recently, elected officials have been reluctant...

ITS evaluation -- phase 3 (2010)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-05-01

This report documents the results of applying a previously developed, standardized approach for : evaluating intelligent transportation systems (ITS) projects to 17 ITS earmark projects. The evaluation : approach was based on a questionnaire to inves...

Earmark Transparency and Accountability Reform Act

THOMAS, 111th Congress

Rep. Reichert, David G. [R-WA-8

2009-07-20

House - 09/14/2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Delaware statewide ITMS integration : ITS evaluation strategy

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-01-01

In 2000 the U.S. Congress earmarked funds for selected projects that were assessed as supporting the improvements of transportation efficiency, promoting safety, increasing traffic flow, reducing emissions, improving traveler information, enhancing a...

Earmark Elimination Act of 2011

THOMAS, 112th Congress

Sen. Toomey, Pat [R-PA

2011-11-30

Senate - 12/01/2011 Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 243. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

25 CFR 161.301 - What will a grazing permit contain?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

...) Animal identification requirements (i.e., brand, microchip, freeze brand, earmark, tattoo, etc.); (6..., unless the customary use area extends beyond the range unit boundary; (10) A provision reserving a right...

Miami regional advanced traveler information system project : final evaluation report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-04-01

In 1999 the U.S. Congress earmarked funds for selected projects that were assessed as supporting the improvements of transportation efficiency, promoting safety, increasing traffic flow, reducing emissions, improving traveler information, enhancing a...

Evaluation framework for 16 earmarked projects in Washington State

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-05-01

This report documents the results of applying a previously developed, standardized approach for evaluating advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) projects to a much more diverse group of 16 intelligent transportation systems (ITS) projects. The...

Riverside County transit : ITS demonstration project : phase II evaluation final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-12-24

In 1999, the U.S. Congress earmarked funds for selected projects that were assessed as supporting improvements in transportation efficiency, promoting safety, increasing traffic flow, reducing emissions, improving traveler information, enhancing alte...

To provide for audits of programs, projects, and activities funded through earmarks.

THOMAS, 111th Congress

Rep. Fortenberry, Jeff [R-NE-1

2009-01-06

House - 05/04/2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Single Project Replaces District's Windows.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American School and University, 1981

1981-01-01

The towns of Maplewood and South Orange (New Jersey) earmarked over $1 million, raised from a bond issue, to replace with thermal aluminum-framed units the 2400 worn out windows in eight 50-year-old schools. (Author)

Modeling support for Alabama MPOs

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-07-29

The Fort Collins Advance Traffic Management System (ATMS) was a FY01 earmarked project. The objective of the overall project was to rebuild the City's entire traffic management system to utilize and provide Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) cap...

76 FR 72210 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request Congressional Earmark Grants

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-22

...-Special Project (EDI-SP) and Neighborhood Initiative (NI) grants. DATES: Comments Due Date: January 23... Neighborhood Initiative (NI) grantees. The agency has used the application, semi-annual reports and close-out...

I-25 truck safety improvements project : local evaluation report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-12-29

The I-25 Truck Safety Improvements project (I-25 TSIP) is the result of a FY98 congressionally designated earmark to support improvements in transportation efficiency, promote safety, increase traffic flow, reduce emissions, improve traveler informat...

Another Record Year for Academic Pork.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brainard, Jeffrey

2002-01-01

Discusses how, fueled by the war on terrorism, Congress has awarded a record $1.8 billion in academic earmarks in the 2002 fiscal year. Profiles several recipient programs and includes a campus-by-campus list of projects. (EV)

Earmarked Revenues and Spending Volatility : The Case of Highway Finance

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-06-01

Over the last decade, state governments have experienced two recessions (including the recent Great Recession) which : have resulted in significant disruptions in state budgets and highlighted the volatility of the personal income tax and : gen...

78 FR 23778 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request: Congressional Earmark Grants

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-22

... (NI) grantees. The agency has used the application, semi-annual reports and close-out reports to track... Neighborhood Initiative (NI) grantees. The agency has used the application, semi-annual reports and close-out...

Statewide intelligent transportation systems earmark evaluation. Part B, executive summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-11-01

As the recipient of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Integration Program funds, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is required to perform a self-evaluation on each program supported by the funds. This executive summary summarizes the r...

Evaluation strategy : Puget Sound regional fare card : FY01 earmark evaluation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-06-24

King County Metro Transit is the lead agency responsible for implementing the Central Puget Sound Regional Fare Coordination Project (RFC Project). The project features a smart card technology that will support and link the fare collection systems of...

Final phase II report : SR 395 Spokane FY99 earmark evaluation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-09-20

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has provided funding to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to install a road and weather information system in the mostly rural and mountainous region north of Spokane, Washington ...

Pueblo Freeway Management System (FMS) : final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-05-16

The Pueblo Freeway Management System (FMS) was a FY00 earmarked project. The objective of the project was to enable the Colorado State Patrol (CSP), the City of Pueblo Police Department (PPD), and CDOT (both Region 2 and Colorado Traffic Management C...

Statewide ITS earmark evaluation, Part B : executive summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-11-01

As the recipient of ITS Integration Program funds, WisDOT is required to perform a self-evaluation on each program supported : by the funds. The report includes the results of that evaluation for five projects. Specific projects include: 1) Statewide...

Statewide intelligent transportation systems earmark evaluation. Part B, final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-11-01

As a recipient of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Integration Program funds, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is required to perform a self-evaluation on each program supported by the funds. The report includes the results of that e...

25 CFR 1000.91 - What funds must be transferred to a Tribe/Consortium under an AFA?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... regard to the organizational level within BIA where such functions are carried out; and (3) Any funds...) Competitive grants; and (9) Congressional earmarked funding. (c) An example of the funds referred to in...

City of Fort Collins advanced traffic management system : final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

The Fort Collins Advance Traffic Management System (ATMS) was a FY01 earmarked project. The objective of the overall project was to rebuild the Citys entire traffic management system to utilize and provide Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) c...

DEMONSTRATING APPLICATIONS OF REGIONAL VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT

EPA Science Inventory

This task is designed to respond to 2 Congressional earmarks of $1,000,000 to the Canaan Valley Institute (CVI) to work in close coordination with the Regional Vulnerability Assessment (ReVA) initiative to develop research and educational tools using integrative technologies to p...

Study of State Programs for Rail-Highway Grade Crossing Improvements

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1978-02-01

In response to a DOT study of rail-highway grade crossing safety in the United States, the Congress passed the Highway Safety Act of 1973 which earmarked funds specifically for grade crossing improvements. Law requires the states to establish program...

California Charrette - redefining ITS evaluation for environmental sustainability.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-06-30

The purpose and goal of the charrette was to explore the idea of refining ITS evaluation methods to help make the case that ITS projects : provide environmental benefits, and that they should therefore be eligible for funding that is earmarked for en...

42 CFR 137.10 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE Definitions § 137.10 Definitions. Unless otherwise...-Governance Tribe and the United States. Congressionally earmarked competitive grants as used in section 505(b... carry over to the next business day unless otherwise prohibited by law. Department means the Department...

TRANSMIT evaluation : transit application baseline data report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-03-01

As part of the FY99 earmarked ITS Integration Program, the TRANSMIT program received funds to expand the use of the E-ZPass toll tag readers to other transportation applications in New Jersey. Operated by Transcom for agencies in NY, NJ, and CT, TRAN...

Lifeworthy Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perkins, David N.

2016-01-01

What learning really matters for today's learners? In this article, David N. Perkins promises not to provide the answer, but rather to consider how we might think about the question. Learning that matters--which he calls lifeworthy learning--is characterized by four earmarks: opportunity, insight, action, and ethics. Educators should ask…

13 CFR 107.1585 - Exchange of Debentures for Participating Securities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Capital Investments (at cost) equal to the amount of the Debenture being refinanced; and (d) Classify all your existing Loans and Investments as Earmarked Assets. [63 FR 5869, Feb. 5, 1998] ... SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANIES SBA Financial Assistance for Licensees (Leverage) Participating...

Special Insights from the Hill: A Bilateral Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanford, Terry

1990-01-01

Higher education has two main needs of Congress: the need for student aid and the need for increased and sustained scientific research support. The problem is that ever-more-aggressive competition for earmarked funds does not necessarily generate additional resources for institutions to share. (MLW)

Campus Projects Receiving "Earmarks."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schonberger, Benjamin

1991-01-01

Specific campus projects that Congress has directed federal agencies to support this year at over 120 colleges and universities are listed. The agencies neither requested support nor sponsored merit-based competitions for the awards. In some cases, the institutions have a history of receiving special federal treatment. (MSE)

Financing Training in Developing Countries: The Role of Payroll Taxes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whalley, John; Ziderman, Adrian

1990-01-01

Although in most developing countries, major vocational training programs are financed from general government revenues, earmarked payroll taxes are becoming increasingly popular. This paper summarizes international experience with these payroll taxes, distinguishing between the more traditional revenue-raising schemes of the Latin American model…

FY 2000 integration earmarks : national evaluation program CapWIN -- the Capital Wireless Integrated Network : evaluation strategy

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-03-01

The Washington Metropolitan Region is home to one of the most congested highway systems in the country. In addition, the highway system passes through the states of Virginia and Maryland, and the District of Columbia. The responsibility for managing ...

Annenberg Rural Challenge.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Annenberg Rural Challenge, Granby, CO.

Former U.S. Ambassador and philanthropist Walter H. Annenberg has pledged a significant portion of his personal wealth to America's public schools if his contribution is "matched" by the nation. Up to $50 million in matching money over the next 5 years has been earmarked specifically for rural schools. This document provides a context…

College Scholarships for Latino Students: Are Opportunities Being Missed?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marquez, Amalia

2006-01-01

Previous research by The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) has demonstrated that extensive college financial aid opportunities are available in the form of scholarships, grants, and loans; yet many Latino students and their parents are not aware that numerous grants and scholarships are earmarked especially for them. This report provides…

Minnesota: Early Head Start Initiatiive

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for Law and Social Policy, Inc. (CLASP), 2012

2012-01-01

Minnesota provides supplemental state funding to existing federal Head Start and Early Head Start (EHS) grantees to increase their capacity to serve additional infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. The initiative was started in 1997 when the state legislature earmarked $1 million of the general state Head Start supplemental funds for children…

A Fighter on Long Island.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stover, Del

1991-01-01

Superintendent Dan Domenech unsuccessfully battled New York's governor and legislature about a cut in state funding. Long Island has only 16 percent of the state's population but is being earmarked for 50 percent of the cuts. Domenech's earlier successes included a preschool for disadvantaged children, a full-day kindergarten, and a before- and…

Fy00 Treasure Valley ITS Deployment Project : advanced traffic management system (ATMS) software procurement and implementation process

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-08-02

In 2000, the Treasure Valley area of the State of Idaho received a federal earmark of $390,000 to develop an Advanced Transportation Management System (ATMS) for the Treasure Valley region of Idaho. The Ada County Highway District (ACHD), located in ...

Library Buildings 2009: The Constant Library

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Bette-Lee

2009-01-01

Can it be only two years, as Alan Jay Lerner once wrote, "since the whole [economic] rigmarole began"? Yet libraries have weathered to varying degrees the unreliability of funding, especially with regard to programming, materials, and hours. Money earmarked years ago is seeing construction through to conclusion; state support has helped out in…

48 CFR 1306.302-5 - Authorized or required by statute.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... COMPETITION AND ACQUISITION PLANNING COMPETITION REQUIREMENTS Other Than Full and Open Competition 1306.302-5 Authorized or required by statute. In accordance with Executive Order 13457, a sole source acquisition may not be justified on the basis of any earmark included in any non-statutory source, except when...

Educational Resource Multipliers for Use in Local Public Finance: An Input-Output Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boardman, A. E.; Schinnar, A. P.

1982-01-01

Develops an input-output model, with related multipliers, showing how changes in earmarked and discretionary educational funds (whether local, state, or federal) affect all of a state's districts and educational programs. Illustrates the model with Pennsylvania data and relates it to the usual educational finance approach, which uses demand…

Planning Now for College Costs: A Guide for Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coopers & Lybrand, Washington, DC.

Guidance on how to make college affordable, especially for middle-income families, is provided. Although college tuition and fees have more than doubled over the past 10 years and will continue to increase, traditional student aid programs have not kept pace with inflation and are earmarked chiefly for students from low-income families. The…

Intelligent transportation systems deployment project for the Ada County Highway District FY99 Treasure Valley ITS : final self evaluation report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-11-01

In 1999, the Treasure Valley area of the State of Idaho received a federal earmark of $441,470 to develop an Incident Management Plan for the Treasure Valley and to design/deploy Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) devices for Interstates 84 and...

The Economic Impact of Pre-Owned Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anders, Park

2010-01-01

The costs associated with education outpace inflation every year, more than doubling it over the past 20 years. The latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics calculate that school expenditures from all funding sources topped $400 billion for the 2006-2007 school year. Only 3% of these expenditures are earmarked for…

Qualified Tuition Savings Programs: The Impact on Household Saving.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coronado, Julia Lynn; McIntosh, Susan Hume

This study analyzed the impact tuition savings plans are likely to have on household savings. State-sponsored college savings programs rely mainly on tax incentives to motivate parents to save for their children's education in earmarked accounts. The first such programs were prepaid tuition plans, and other types of qualified tuition savings…

13 CFR 107.1570 - Distributions by Licensee-optional Distribution to private investors and SBA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... from Institutional Investors) below the minimum required under § 107.210, unless SBA approves the... Distribution to private investors and SBA. 107.1570 Section 107.1570 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL... private investors and SBA. If you have outstanding Participating Securities or Earmarked Assets, you may...

13 CFR 107.1570 - Distributions by Licensee-optional Distribution to private investors and SBA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... from Institutional Investors) below the minimum required under § 107.210, unless SBA approves the... Distribution to private investors and SBA. 107.1570 Section 107.1570 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL... private investors and SBA. If you have outstanding Participating Securities or Earmarked Assets, you may...

13 CFR 107.1570 - Distributions by Licensee-optional Distribution to private investors and SBA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... from Institutional Investors) below the minimum required under § 107.210, unless SBA approves the... Distribution to private investors and SBA. 107.1570 Section 107.1570 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL... private investors and SBA. If you have outstanding Participating Securities or Earmarked Assets, you may...

13 CFR 107.1570 - Distributions by Licensee-optional Distribution to private investors and SBA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... from Institutional Investors) below the minimum required under § 107.210, unless SBA approves the... Distribution to private investors and SBA. 107.1570 Section 107.1570 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL... private investors and SBA. If you have outstanding Participating Securities or Earmarked Assets, you may...

Shift Happens: The 2008 Australian Government Summer School for Teachers of English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durrant, Cal

2008-01-01

This article talks about the Australian Government "Summer School for Teachers" programme which was announced as part of the 2007-08 Budget Package: "Realising Our Potential." Funds earmarked for this initiative totalled some $102 million over four years, and it was sold to the Australian public as something that would both…

Effectiveness of an Intervention Program for Improving School Atmosphere: Some Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanchez, A. M.; Rivas, M. T.; Trianes, M. V.

2006-01-01

This work describes the results of the "Programa de Desarrollo Social y Afectivo" [Social and Affective Development Program] (Trianes & Munoz, 1994; Trianes, 1996), under way during four years at a public school in a disadvantaged area Malaga, earmarked for special educational resources. The intervention is meant to improve classroom…

Final report : federal earmark ITS-9851(003) : Virginia Department of Transportation : Northern Virginia smart traffic center video quality improvement program

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-08-01

Like many freeway traffic management systems around the country, the NOVA STC system was implemented in phases over a period of years. As a result, some field components had reached their maximum life cycle, including a portion of the CCTV subsystem....

Pay As You Go: A Better Way of Funding School Construction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carey, Kelley D.

2000-01-01

Pay-as-you-go funding (via local option sales taxes or earmarked property taxes) is superior to floating expensive bond issues to resolve school construction crises. Districts can plan projects more thoughtfully, focus on project priorities, avoid arbitrage problems and high insurance costs, and address socioeconomic considerations more equitably.…

Adult Learning--Providing Equal Opportunities or Widening Differences? The Polish Case

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kocór, Marcin; Worek, Barbara

2017-01-01

Educational activity among adults is not only a key factor of social development but also one of the most important priorities of public policies. Although large sums have been earmarked and numerous actions undertaken to encourage adult learning, many people remain educationally passive, a particularly acute problem in Poland. We point to the…

The Preuss School UCSD: Path to Empowerment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Principal Leadership, 2012

2012-01-01

This article features the Preuss School UCSD which is considered as unique in a number of ways, among them are its unusual name and requirements for admission. The school was named in recognition of a substantial bequest from the Preuss Family Foundation that was earmarked to establish a charter school on the campus of the University of…

Exploring the Relationships between the Electronic Health Record System Components and Patient Outcomes in an Acute Hospital Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiggley, Shirley L.

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the electronic health record system components and patient outcomes in an acute hospital setting, given that the current presidential administration has earmarked nearly $50 billion to the implementation of the electronic health record. The relationship between the…

"Racing to the Top" to Prepare Turnaround Principals in North Carolina: Homegrown Regional Leadership Academies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Kathleen M.

2016-01-01

North Carolina's Race to the Top (RttT) grant earmarked approximately $17.5 million to "increase the number of principals qualified to lead transformational change in low-performing schools in both rural and urban areas" (NCDPI, 2010, p.10). To accomplish this, the state established three Regional Leadership Academies (RLAs)…

More than an Open Door: Deploying Philanthropy to Student Access and Success in American Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romano, Joyce C.; Gallagher, Geraldine; Shugart, Sanford C.

2010-01-01

Philanthropy has shaped American higher education from inception. While religion earns the biggest slice of philanthropy, education runs second and well ahead of other causes. Most community college donations are earmarked for scholarships. Foundation dollars can be used strategically to meet the needs of students who cannot qualify for federal…

Finding Funding: A Dozen Daring Ideas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solomon, Gwen

2004-01-01

As state offers continue to shrink this year, there is less money for education and much of what is available is earmarked for mandates. Without deep pockets anywhere, districts have to think strategically and look for even more creative ways to fund their priorities. The money is out there for those who know how to look for it, create it, or…

Weighing the Merits. Several States Are implementing Pay-for-Performance Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCabe, Melissa

2005-01-01

Some 37.1 percent of education spending was earmarked for teachers in 2001-02, according to the American Federation of Teachers, and most of that money was paid out using traditional compensation systems. But as expectations for accountability increase, a handful of states are looking to pay-for-performance systems to attract quality…

A Comparative Analysis Of Congressional Budget Adjustments For U.S. Special Operations Command

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-01

Impact from 2008-2010.........................20 a. Unfunded Requirements .........................................................21 b. Earmarks...recommendations: • How have USSOCOM appropriations changed since September 11, 2001? • What impact have manpower increases had on USSOCOM...Spending for Procurement (FY 2000 to 2010) 4. Analysis of Congressional Impact from 2008-2010 In order to analyze the congressional impact on

A Comparative Analysis of Congressional Budget Adjustments for U.S. Special Operations Command

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-01

Impact from 2008-2010.........................20 a. Unfunded Requirements .........................................................21 b. Earmarks...recommendations: • How have USSOCOM appropriations changed since September 11, 2001? • What impact have manpower increases had on USSOCOM...Spending for Procurement (FY 2000 to 2010) 4. Analysis of Congressional Impact from 2008-2010 In order to analyze the congressional impact on

Evaluation of a funded FY00 ITS integration component of the ITS deployment program "Traveler Information Integration Project" within the East Bay SMART Corridors project

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-12-07

The project originally was granted funding from the earmark in an application dated June 1, 2000. A revised application received approval on May 19, 2003 to reflect a different proposed implementation of the project, while still achieving the project...

Hired Guns Help Colleges Feed at the Pork Barrel.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brainard, Jeffrey

2000-01-01

Reports on the trend for increased earmarking of federal funds for specific colleges and universities and the accompanying rise in Congressional lobbying by these institutions. Identifies the 10 institutions that spent the most on independent lobbyists in 1999 as well as the 10 lobbying firms that billed academe the most. Notes the high costs and…

School Finance Reform: Can It Support California's College- and Career-Ready Goal? Report 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perry, Mary

2013-01-01

For decades, when California's state leaders have wanted to see local school districts respond to shifts in policy and expectations they relied on the state-controlled school finance system to leverage local change. Through the use of categorical programs and earmarked funding, they created incentives for districts that complied and penalties for…

More than Bricks and Mortar

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanistreet, Paul

2009-01-01

Gaythorne Row, a terrace of Victorian back-to-back houses in Great Horton, was earmarked for demolition when, in 1986, Bradford Industrial Museum took possession of the three cottages and transported them, brick by brick, to the museum site four miles away. The houses were built in 1876, a year later than the old worsted spinning mill in which the…

A Study of Federal Academic Earmarks and Research Funding in Relation to the Institutional Research Culture of Research University/High (RU/H) Institutions in Mississippi

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, James Hubert, III

2013-01-01

Nationally, reductions in public funding for higher education, a stagnate economy, looming sequestration, and a divisive political culture present a complex and challenging dynamic for research universities in pursuit of external funding for their research programs and infrastructure needs. These universities and their research initiatives have…

Who Plays? Who Pays?: Education Finance Policy That Supplants Tax Burdens along Lines of Race and Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henricks, Kasey

2016-01-01

Many Chicagoans are getting shortchanged, particularly when it comes to money exchange between the Illinois Lottery (IL) and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). A significant portion of lottery sales is earmarked for education in Illinois. Because these revenues are not generated equally, however, some contribute more to education via the…

Final Technical Report for earmark project "Atmospheric Science Program at the University of Louisville"

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

Dowling, Timothy Edward

2014-02-11

We have completed a 3-year project to enhance the atmospheric science program at the University of Louisville, KY (est. 2008). The goals were to complete an undergraduate atmospheric science laboratory (Year 1) and to hire and support an assistant professor (Years 2 and 3). Both these goals were met on schedule, and slightly under budget.

Going on to Graduate or Professional School: Sources of Financial Aid and Educational Programs for Native Americans.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKusick, John A., Ed.

The booklet provides brief information on about 250 sources of financial aid and educational programs for Native Americans wanting to enter graduate or professional level study. Most of those listed have been selected because they are earmarked for minority group students as a general group or Native Americans specifically. Section I contains…

EVALUATION STUDY OF FARM AND HOME MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN NEW YORK STATE. A SIX-PART REPORT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ALEXANDER, FRANK D.

IN 1954 CONGRESS EARMARKED FUNDS FOR A FARM AND HOME MANAGEMENT PROGRAM TO OFFER INTENSIVE ON-THE FARM COUNSELING IN MANAGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING. THIS SIX-PART EVALUATION OF THE PROGRAM AS IT WAS CONDUCTED IN NEW YORK STATE, PRIMARILY WITH DAIRY OPERATORS, WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE THE PROGRAM'S EFFECTIVENESS RELATIVE TO LESS INTENSIVE…

Bad Teacher: What Race to the Top Learned from the "Race to the Bottom"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stern, Mark

2013-01-01

In 2009, the Obama Administration created a $4.3 billion dollar grant competition for states called "Race to the Top" (RttT). The money, earmarked from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was to be distributed by the Department of Education to states who were making efforts to adhere to precirculated reforms supported by…

USSR Report, Kommunist, No. 16, November 1986

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-03-18

VUZs for dormitories requires building premises which can house 650,000 undergraduate and graduate students . Furthermore, the construction of housing...achievements and earmarking the immediate and long- term tasks. Professors, teachers and students and all higher school personnel welcomed with an open...institutions in the country are training 5.1 million students ; more than half a million teachers and scientific associates are engaged in educational research

East Europe Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-09-26

sector. There is little sign of this as yet in the rhetoric of the reform literature. But a contributing factor to this has been justifi- able...necessity which his friends and foes usually praise or denounce with so little comprehension? We must emphasize at the very beginning the self...earmarked for other joint and general social needs. This presentation deviates a little from the usual ones found in social accounting sheets. Namely

Analysis of the Socio-Economic Factors That Contribute to Children School Dropout in Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining Communities of Tanzania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ouma, Dora Harrison; Ting, Zuo; Pesha, John Chrisostom

2017-01-01

In Tanzania, education has been earmarked as a priority area to stimulate socioeconomic development, however; the increasing number of school dropout cases is posing a huge hindrance to achieving this goal. To establish the major causes of school dropouts, this paper investigated different factors that explain the phenomena with special focus on…

Education Dean's Fraud Case Teaches U. of Louisville a Hard Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glenn, David

2009-01-01

At the end of 2005, Robert D. Felner was riding high. A well-paid dean at the University of Louisville, he had just secured a $694,000 earmarked grant from the U.S. Department of Education to create an elaborate research center to help Kentucky's public schools. The grant proposal, which Mr. Felner had labored over for months, made some impressive…

Ergebnisse einer Lehrerbefragung zum Hintergrund des Englischunterrichts in der Hauptschuloberstufe (Results of a Teacher Questionnaire on the Background of Instruction in English in the Upper Grades of the Hauptschule [9-grade "terminal" school]).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hellwig, Karlheinz

1980-01-01

The questionnaire dealt with: earmarks of weaker students, parents' attitude, the teachers' training and working conditions, problems of individual instruction, time-frame, existence of professional associations, evaluation of professional conferences, and the use of media. Some evaluations are appended. (IFS/WGA)

Astronomy in post-apartheid South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitelock, Patricia Ann

2011-06-01

Astronomy was one of the sciences earmarked for major support by South Africa's first democratically elected government in 1994. This was a very remarkable decision for a country with serious challenges in poverty, health and unemployment, but shows something of the long term vision of the new government. In this paper I give one astronomer's perception of the reasons behind the decision and some of its consequences.

More Freedom to Spend Less Money: What Happened when California School Districts Gained Spending Flexibility and Budgets Were Cut. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Jennifer

2012-01-01

In 2009-2010, California made substantial education budget cuts at the same time that it removed its spending requirements from $4.5 billion of state money. This gave districts the flexibility to use the funds in any manner approved by the local school board. Researchers found that most of the formerly earmarked money was moved into general funds…

JPRS Report, Science & Technology. Europe: Economic Competitiveness

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-28

development: funding of R&D contracts subcontracted to external parties by companies with less than 1000 employees. • Technically oriented company... Analysis Using Molecular Biology," which it has been sponsoring since 1985. As of 1991, the program will receive a total of DM25 Million in...For instance, the five Dutch multinationals—Shell, Philips, Unilever , Akzo, DSM—earmark about 20 percent of their R&D budget to basic research

MAD COW DISEASE: New Recruits for French Prion Research.

PubMed

Casassus, B

2000-12-01

As panic over "mad cow disease" engulfs France and threatens to spread to other countries in Western Europe, French research minister Roger-Gérard Schwartzenberg last week unveiled detailed plans for spending $27 million the government has earmarked for prion disease research in 2001. Next year's budget for studying prions--infectious, abnormal proteins linked to bovine spongiform encephalopathy and its human form, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease--will triple France's current prion research spending.

Shaping the U.S. Military for the Global Security Environment of the Year 2000

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-11-19

demonstrated that in certain circumstances, forces equipped with commercial vehicles and the proper mix of light, export-quality arms and equipment...in bad weather. Second-order states have equipment inventories drawn form the world arms market , and thus have selected weapons nearly as capable as...security regimes potentially reducing requirements for assigned and earmarked troops. Technology is perhaps the most mixed blessing of the influences on

Personal Reflections on Bill Casey’s Last Month at CIA

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-01-01

had been providing bridge financing for the arms deal were owed a lot of money and were prepared to go public with their story if their money was not...financial mechanisms used by North and General Secord to com mingle Contra money and arms sales money . This was another subject about which Casey seemed to...Second, know ing Casey�s deep concern for the Contras, I am inclined to believe that, if he had known that large sums of money ostensibly earmarked for the

Proceedings of the Ship Production Symposium, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 2-4 September 1992

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-09-01

that enables an observer to experience an environment or a task by means of visual, auditory , and sensory simulation (50). The equipment includes a... auditory images. Less progress has been made on general-purpose tactile sensory response equipment. Quasi-realistic graphical output has already helped in...The second is the United States of America funding was earmarked for a U. S. yard to help stimulate the U.S. economy. In essence, the RSV

Taxing junk food to counter obesity.

PubMed

Franck, Caroline; Grandi, Sonia M; Eisenberg, Mark J

2013-11-01

We examined the advantages and disadvantages of implementing a junk food tax as an intervention to counter increasing obesity in North America. Small excise taxes are likely to yield substantial revenue but are unlikely to affect obesity rates. High excise taxes are likely to have a direct impact on weight in at-risk populations but are less likely to be politically palatable or sustainable. Ultimately, the effectiveness of earmarked health programs and subsidies is likely to be a key determinant of tax success in the fight against obesity.

Planning future care services: Analyses of investments in Norwegian municipalities.

PubMed

Hagen, Terje P; Tingvold, Laila

2018-06-01

To analyse whether the Norwegian Central Government's goal of subsidizing 12,000 places in nursing homes or sheltered housing using an earmarked grant was reached and to determine towards which group of users the planned investments were targeted. Data from the investment plans at municipal level were provided by the Norwegian Housing Bank and linked to variables describing the municipalities' financial situation as well as variables describing the local needs for services provided by Statistics Norway. Using regression analyses we estimated the associations between municipal characteristics and planned investments in total and by type of care place. The Norwegian Central Government reached its goal of giving subsidies to 12,000 new or rebuilt places in nursing homes and sheltered housing. A total of 54% of the subsidies (6878 places) were given to places in nursing homes. About 7500 places were available by the end of the planning period and the rest were under construction. About 50% of the places were planned for user groups aged <67 years and 23% of the places for users aged <25 years. One-third of the places were planned for users with intellectual disabilities. Investments in nursing homes were correlated with the share of the population older than 80 years and investments in sheltered houses were correlated with the share of users with intellectual disabilities. Earmarked grants to municipalities can be adequate measures to affect local resource allocation and thereby stimulate investments in future care. With the current institutional setup the municipalities adapt investments to local needs.

Comparison of the Immulite and RIA assay methods for measuring peripheral blood progesterone levels in Greyhound bitches.

PubMed

Chapwanya, A; Clegg, T; Stanley, P; Vaughan, L

2008-09-15

Determination of optimal breeding time in bitches earmarked for single insemination only is based on measurement of peripheral blood serum or plasma progesterone concentration. In this paper a comparison is made between radioimmune assay (RIA) and chemoluminescent assay (Immulite) for determination of P4 concentrations in the bitch. The Immulite assay is shown to be an accurate and reliable method for serum or plasma P4 measurement. It compares favourably with other methods in terms of turn-around time, cost and accessibility for veterinarians in practice.

Taxing Junk Food to Counter Obesity

PubMed Central

Franck, Caroline; Grandi, Sonia M.

2013-01-01

We examined the advantages and disadvantages of implementing a junk food tax as an intervention to counter increasing obesity in North America. Small excise taxes are likely to yield substantial revenue but are unlikely to affect obesity rates. High excise taxes are likely to have a direct impact on weight in at-risk populations but are less likely to be politically palatable or sustainable. Ultimately, the effectiveness of earmarked health programs and subsidies is likely to be a key determinant of tax success in the fight against obesity. PMID:24028245

What is known about tobacco industry efforts to influence tobacco tax? A systematic review of empirical studies.

PubMed

Smith, Katherine E; Savell, Emily; Gilmore, Anna B

2013-03-01

To systematically review studies of tobacco industry efforts to influence tobacco tax policies. Searches were conducted between 1 October 2009 and 31 March 2010 in 14 databases/websites, in relevant bibliographies and via experts. Studies were included if they focused on industry efforts to influence tobacco tax policies, drew on empirical evidence, were in English and concerned the period 1985-2010. In total, 36 studies met these criteria. Two reviewers undertook data extraction and critical appraisal. A random selection of 15 studies (42%) was subject to second review. Evidence was assessed thematically to identify distinct tobacco industry aims, arguments and tactics. A total of 34 studies examined industry efforts to influence tax levels. They suggest the tobacco industry works hard to prevent significant increases and particularly dislikes taxes 'earmarked' for tobacco control. Key arguments to counter increases are that tobacco taxes are socially regressive, unfair and lead to increased levels of illicit trade and negative economic impacts. For earmarked taxes, the industry also frequently tries to raise concerns about revenue allocation. Assessing industry arguments against established evidence demonstrates most are unsupported. Key industry tactics include: establishing 'front groups', securing credible allies, direct lobbying and publicity campaigns. Only seven studies examined efforts to influence tax structures. They suggest company preferences vary and tactics centre on direct lobbying. The tobacco industry has historically tried to keep tobacco taxes low using consistent tactics and misleading arguments. Further research is required to explore efforts to influence tax structures, excise policies beyond the USA and recent policies.

The importance of continued engagement during the implementation phase of tobacco control policies in a middle-income country: the case of Costa Rica

PubMed Central

Crosbie, Eric; Sosa, Patricia; Glantz, Stanton A

2016-01-01

Objective To analyse the process of implementing and enforcing smoke-free environments, tobacco advertising, tobacco taxes and health warning labels from Costa Rica's 2012 tobacco control law. Method Review of tobacco control legislation, newspaper articles and interviewing key informants. Results Despite overcoming decades of tobacco industry dominance to win enactment of a strong tobacco control law in March 2012 consistent with WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the tobacco industry and their allies lobbied executive branch authorities for exemptions in smoke-free environments to create public confusion, and continued to report in the media that increasing cigarette taxes led to a rise in illicit trade. In response, tobacco control advocates, with technical support from international health groups, helped strengthen tobacco advertising regulations by prohibiting advertising at the point-of-sale (POS) and banning corporate social responsibility campaigns. The Health Ministry used increased tobacco taxes earmarked for tobacco control to help effectively promote and enforce the law, resulting in high compliance for smoke-free environments, advertising restrictions and health warning label (HWL) regulations. Despite this success, government trade concerns allowed, as of December 2015, POS tobacco advertising, and delayed the release of HWL regulations for 15 months. Conclusions The implementation phase continues to be a site of intensive tobacco industry political activity in low and middle-income countries. International support and earmarked tobacco taxes provide important technical and financial assistance to implement tobacco control policies, but more legal expertise is needed to overcome government trade concerns and avoid unnecessary delays in implementation. PMID:26856614

Facility-level, state, and financial factors associated with changes in the provision of smoking cessation services in US substance abuse treatment facilities: Results from the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services 2006 to 2012.

PubMed

Cohn, Amy; Elmasry, Hoda; Niaura, Ray

2017-06-01

Cigarette smoking is common among patients in substance abuse treatment. Tobacco control programs have advocated for integrated tobacco dependence treatment into behavioral healthcare, including within substance abuse treatment facilities (SATFs) to reduce the public health burden of tobacco use. This study used data from seven waves (2006 to 2012) of the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (n=94,145) to examine state and annual changes in the provision of smoking cessation services within US SATFs and whether changes over time could be explained by facility-level (private vs public ownership, receipt of earmarks, facility admissions, acceptance of government insurance) and state-level factors (cigarette tax per pack, smoke free policies, and percent of CDC recommended tobacco prevention spending). Results showed that the prevalence of SATFs offering smoking cessation services increased over time, from 13% to 65%. The amount of tax per cigarette pack, accepting government insurance, government (vs private) ownership, facility admissions, and CDC recommended tobacco prevention spending (per state) were the strongest correlates of the provision of smoking cessation programs in SATFs. Facilities that received earmarks were less likely to provide cessation services. Adult smoking prevalence and state-level smoke free policies were not significant correlates of the provision of smoking cessation services over time. Policies aimed at increasing the distribution of tax revenues to cessation services in SATFs may offset tobacco-related burden among those with substance abuse problems. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

NMR signal enhancement by effective SABRE labeling of oligopeptides.

PubMed

Ratajczyk, Tomasz; Gutmann, Torsten; Bernatowicz, Piotr; Buntkowsky, Gerd; Frydel, Jaroslaw; Fedorczyk, Bartlomiej

2015-09-01

Signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) can enhance nuclear magnetic resonance signals by several orders of magnitude. However, until now this was limited to a small number of model target molecules. Here, a new convenient method for SABRE activation applicable to a variety of synthetic model oligopeptides is demonstrated. For the first time, a highly SABRE-active pyridine-based biocompatible molecular framework is incorporated into synthetic oligopeptides. The SABRE activity is preserved, demonstrating the importance of such earmarking. Finally, a crucial exchange process responsible for SABRE activity is identified and discussed. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The importance of continued engagement during the implementation phase of tobacco control policies in a middle-income country: the case of Costa Rica.

PubMed

Crosbie, Eric; Sosa, Patricia; Glantz, Stanton A

2017-01-01

To analyse the process of implementing and enforcing smoke-free environments, tobacco advertising, tobacco taxes and health warning labels from Costa Rica's 2012 tobacco control law. Review of tobacco control legislation, newspaper articles and interviewing key informants. Despite overcoming decades of tobacco industry dominance to win enactment of a strong tobacco control law in March 2012 consistent with WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the tobacco industry and their allies lobbied executive branch authorities for exemptions in smoke-free environments to create public confusion, and continued to report in the media that increasing cigarette taxes led to a rise in illicit trade. In response, tobacco control advocates, with technical support from international health groups, helped strengthen tobacco advertising regulations by prohibiting advertising at the point-of-sale (POS) and banning corporate social responsibility campaigns. The Health Ministry used increased tobacco taxes earmarked for tobacco control to help effectively promote and enforce the law, resulting in high compliance for smoke-free environments, advertising restrictions and health warning label (HWL) regulations. Despite this success, government trade concerns allowed, as of December 2015, POS tobacco advertising, and delayed the release of HWL regulations for 15 months. The implementation phase continues to be a site of intensive tobacco industry political activity in low and middle-income countries. International support and earmarked tobacco taxes provide important technical and financial assistance to implement tobacco control policies, but more legal expertise is needed to overcome government trade concerns and avoid unnecessary delays in implementation. 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/.

Herbert Woodson: encouraging exploration in research

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

Whitaker, R.; Woodson, H.

A profile of Herbert Woodson, an electrical engineering professor, describes his loyalty to fundamental research while consulting and committee activities keep him in touch with the practical end of electricity. He stresses the need to find innovative ways to use electricity that will keep the US competitive. This means focusing at the consumption rather than the production side. As a working member of the Electric Power Research Institute's Advisory Council, he cites learning opportunities from other members and satisfaction with the advisory apparatus. Fundamental research requires adequate funding to pursue an identified problem. Successful industries earmark 5% or more formore » basic research.« less

The logic of tax-based financing for health care.

PubMed

Bodenheimer, T; Sullivan, K

1997-01-01

Employment-based health insurance faces serious problems. For the first time, the number of Americans covered by such health insurance is falling. Employers strongly oppose the employer mandate approach to extending health insurance. Employment-based financing is regressive and complex. Serious debate is needed on an alternative solution to financing health care for all Americans. Taxation represents a clear alternative to employment-based health care financing. The major criterion for choosing a tax is equity, with simplicity a second criterion. An earmarked, progressive individual income tax is a fair and potentially simple tax with which to finance health care. The political feasibility of such a tax is greater than that of employer mandate legislation.

The Senate Electoral Cycle and Bicameral Appropriations Politics1

PubMed Central

Shepsle, Kenneth A.; Van Houweling, Robert P.; Abrams, Samuel J.; Hanson, Peter C.

2009-01-01

We consider the consequences of the Senate electoral cycle and bicameralism for distributive politics, introducing the concept of contested credit claiming, i.e. that members of a state’s House and Senate delegations must share the credit for appropriations that originate in their chamber with delegation members in the other chamber. Using data that isolates appropriations of each chamber, we test a model of the strategic incentives contested credit claiming creates. Our empirical analysis indicates that the Senate electoral cycle induces a back-loading of benefits to the end of senatorial terms, but that the House blunts this tendency with countercyclical appropriations. Our analysis informs our understanding of appropriations earmarking, and points a way forward in studying the larger consequences of bicameral legislatures. PMID:19543433

Funding of North Carolina Tobacco Control Programs Through the Master Settlement Agreement

PubMed Central

Jones, Alison Snow; Austin, W. David; Beach, Robert H.; Altman, David G.

2007-01-01

Changing political and economic forces in 1 tobacco-dependent state, North Carolina, demonstrate how the interplay between these forces and public health priorities has shaped current allocation of Master Settlement Agreement funds. Allocation patterns demonstrate lawmakers’ changing priorities in response to changes in the economic climate; some of the agreement’s funds targeted to tobacco farmers appear to reflect objectives favored by tobacco manufacturers. Funds earmarked for health have underfunded youth tobacco prevention and tobacco control initiatives, and spending for tobacco farmers in North Carolina has not lived up to the rhetoric that accompanied the original agreement. We discuss the implications of these findings for future partnerships between public health advocates and workers as well as tobacco control strategies. PMID:17138928

A dirty word or a dirty world?: Attribute framing, political affiliation, and query theory.

PubMed

Hardisty, David J; Johnson, Eric J; Weber, Elke U

2010-01-01

We explored the effect of attribute framing on choice, labeling charges for environmental costs as either an earmarked tax or an offset. Eight hundred ninety-eight Americans chose between otherwise identical products or services, where one option included a surcharge for emitted carbon dioxide. The cost framing changed preferences for self-identified Republicans and Independents, but did not affect Democrats' preferences. We explain this interaction by means of query theory and show that attribute framing can change the order in which internal queries supporting one or another option are posed. The effect of attribute labeling on query order is shown to depend on the representations of either taxes or offsets held by people with different political affiliations.

Gore proposes doubling U.S. effort for global programs.

PubMed

1999-08-06

To confront the widespread HIV crisis, Vice President Al Gore has proposed a plan for doubling the current U.S. allocations for global programs. Seventy percent of the projected $100 million is earmarked for sub-Saharan Africa, with smaller portions going to Asia and former Soviet republics. The global campaign will address issues including containment, prevention and education efforts, and medical and psychological treatment programs. Several meetings are being scheduled with political leaders, industry, AIDS activists, and foreign leaders to address worldwide problems related to HIV. Most advocacy groups are praising the initiative, stating the U.S. is now recognizing HIV as a foreign policy priority. However, other groups are critical, and state that more funds are needed to effectively address this issue.

Advanced policy options to regulate sugar-sweetened beverages to support public health.

PubMed

Pomeranz, Jennifer L

2012-02-01

Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has increased worldwide. As public health studies expose the detrimental impact of SSBs, consumer protection and public health advocates have called for increased government control. A major focus has been on restricting marketing of SSBs to children, but many innovative policy options--legally defensible ways to regulate SSBs and support public health--are largely unexplored. We describe the public health, economic, and retail marketing research related to SSBs (including energy drinks). We review policy options available to governments, including mandatory factual disclosures, earmarked taxation, and regulating sales, including placement within retail and food service establishments, and schools. Our review describes recent international initiatives and classifies options available in the United States by jurisdiction (federal, state, and local) based on legal viability.

Who will pay for medical education in our teaching hospitals?

PubMed

Relman, A S

1984-10-05

Although most medical educators believe that education, research, and patient care are inseparable and essential to their academic mission, the educational component of this triad has never been given adequate, earmarked support. To fund educational programs, medical centers first relied on research grants and later on third-party payments intended for patient care. However, research money has long since ceased to be available for other purposes and recent federal cost containment measures have started to reduce payments for patient care. Teaching hospitals are threatened with loss of support not only for education, but for their capital improvements and care of the poor. Many institutions are now hoping to generate new income through business deals with for-profit health care corporations, but this effort probably will also fail and may compromise professional traditions. Teaching hospitals serve the public interest and will have to depend, at least in part, on public subsidy of their unavoidable extra costs.

The use of cluster sampling to determine aid needs in Grozny, Chechnya in 1995.

PubMed

Drysdale, S; Howarth, J; Powell, V; Healing, T

2000-09-01

War broke out in Chechnya in November 1994 following a three-year economic blockade. It caused widespread destruction in the capital Grozny. In April 1995 Medical Relief International--or Merlin, a British medical non-governmental organisation (NGO)--began a programme to provide medical supplies, support health centres, control communicable disease and promote preventive health-care in Grozny. In July 1995 the agency undertook a city-wide needs assessment using a modification of the cluster sampling technique developed by the Expanded Programme on Immunisation. This showed that most people had enough drinking-water, food and fuel but that provision of medical care was inadequate. The survey allowed Merlin to redirect resources earmarked for a clean water programme towards health education and improving primary health-care services. It also showed that rapid assessment by a statistically satisfactory method is both possible and useful in such a situation.

Preventing tobacco-caused cancer: a call to action.

PubMed

Orleans, C T

1995-11-01

Nicotine addiction is the most common serious medical problem in the country. Tobacco use is responsible for 30% of cancer deaths in the United States and 90% of all lung cancer deaths. The physical addiction to nicotine explains why over 30% of Americans continue to smoke or use tobacco despite their desires and efforts to quit. The testimony summarized in this paper recommends four broad strategies for preventing tobacco-caused cancers in the United States: a) mandating and reimbursing effective treatments for nicotine addiction; b) increasing Federal and state tobacco excise taxes and earmarking a fraction of tax revenues for tobacco prevention and cessation; c) enacting other policy changes to prevent tobacco use and addiction among children, including expanded clean indoor air legislation, comprehensive youth tobacco access legislation, and the regulation of tobacco products and their advertising and promotion; and d) expanding tobacco control research and critical Federal research support. Specific recommendations are given for each broad strategy.

The use of tobacco tax revenues to fund the Guam Cancer Registry: A double win for cancer control.

PubMed

David, Annette M; Haddock, Robert L; Bordallo, Renata; Dirige, Janet T; Mery, Les

2017-06-01

Cancer registries that provide reliable data on cancer incidence, mortality and burden are essential to cancer control. However, establishing sustainable local funding mechanisms to support cancer registries remains a challenge in many countries. Guam, an unincorporated Territory of the United States of America in the Western Pacific, enacted a bill that raised tobacco taxes, and earmarked a percentage of tobacco tax revenues to support its Cancer Registry. This provided a reliable funding stream for the Registry, allowing for continued staffing and capacity building; at the same time, youth tobacco consumption decreased following the tax increase. Linking tobacco tax revenues to cancer registry support is a feasible strategy with a double benefit: higher tobacco prices from higher tobacco taxes reduce tobacco-related cancer risk while assuring the long-term viability of systematic cancer data collection and dissemination.

The use of tobacco tax revenues to fund the Guam Cancer Registry: A double win for cancer control

PubMed Central

David, Annette M.; Haddock, Robert L; Bordallo, Renata; Dirige, Janet T.; Mery, Les

2017-01-01

Cancer registries that provide reliable data on cancer incidence, mortality and burden are essential to cancer control. However, establishing sustainable local funding mechanisms to support cancer registries remains a challenge in many countries. Guam, an unincorporated Territory of the United States of America in the Western Pacific, enacted a bill that raised tobacco taxes, and earmarked a percentage of tobacco tax revenues to support its Cancer Registry. This provided a reliable funding stream for the Registry, allowing for continued staffing and capacity building; at the same time, youth tobacco consumption decreased following the tax increase. Linking tobacco tax revenues to cancer registry support is a feasible strategy with a double benefit: higher tobacco prices from higher tobacco taxes reduce tobacco-related cancer risk while assuring the long-term viability of systematic cancer data collection and dissemination. PMID:29130031

Where will the money come from? Alternative mechanisms to HIV donor funding.

PubMed

Katz, Itamar; Routh, Subrata; Bitran, Ricardo; Hulme, Alexandra; Avila, Carlos

2014-09-16

Donor funding for HIV programs has flattened out in recent years, which limits the ability of HIV programs worldwide to achieve universal access and sustain current progress. This study examines alternative mechanisms for resource mobilization. Potential non-donor funding sources for national HIV responses in low- and middle-income countries were explored through literature review and Global Fund documentation, including data from 17 countries. We identified the source, financing agent, magnitude of resources, frequency of availability, as well as enabling and risk factors. Four non-donor funding sources for HIV programs were identified: earmarked levy for HIV from country budgets; risk-pooling schemes such as health insurance; debt conversion, in which the creditor country reduces the debt of the debtor country and allocates at least a part of that reduction to health; and concessionary loans from international development banks, which unlike grants, must be repaid. The first two are recurring sources of funding, while the latter two are usually one-time sources, and, if very large, might negatively affect the debtor country's economy. Insurance schemes in five African countries covered less than 6.1% of the HIV expenditure, while social health insurance in four Latin American countries covered 8-11% of the HIV expenditure; in Colombia and Chile, it covered 69% and 60%, respectively. Most low-income countries will find concessionary loans hard to repay, as their HIV programs cost 0.5-4% of GDP. Even in a middle-income country like India, a US$255 million concessionary loan to be repaid over 25 years provided only 7.8% of a 5-year HIV budget. Earmarked levies provided only 15% of the annual HIV funding needs in Zimbabwe and Kenya. Debt conversion provided the same share in Indonesia, but in Pakistan it was much higher - the equivalent of 45% of the annual cost of the national HIV program. Domestic sources of funding are important alternatives to consider and might be able to replace donor HIV funding in specific country contexts, coupled with effective prioritization and efficiency measures. Successful resource mobilization design and implementation require close collaboration with other sectors, particularly with the Ministry of Finance, to make sure that the new financing mechanism is fully synchronized with economic growth and that HIV investments yield returns in the form of higher social benefits.

Establishing and sustaining a biorepository network in Israel: challenges and progress.

PubMed

Cohen, Yehudit; Almog, Ronit; Onn, Amir; Itzhaki-Alfia, Ayelet; Meir, Karen

2013-12-01

Over the past 5 years, using European and North American biobanks as models, the grass-roots establishment of independently operating biobanks has occurred virtually simultaneously in large Israeli teaching hospitals. The process of establishing a national biorepository network in Israel has progressed slowly, sustained mainly by a few proponents working together on a personal level. Slow progress has been due to limited funding and the lack of a legal framework specific to biobanking activities. Recently, due to increasing pressure from the scientific community, the government has earmarked funds for a national biorepository network, and the structure is now being established. In forming a network, Israel's biobanks face certain difficulties, particularly lack of support. Additional challenges include harmonization of standard operating procedures, database centralization, and use of a common informed consent form. In this article, we highlight some of the issues faced by Israel's biobank managers in establishing and sustaining a functional biobank network, information that could provide guidance for other small countries with limited resources.

Lobbying and advocacy for the public's health: what are the limits for nonprofit organizations?

PubMed

Vernick, J S

1999-09-01

Nonprofit organizations play an important role in advocating for the public's health in the United States. This article describes the rules under US law for lobbying by nonprofit organizations. The 2 most common kinds of non-profits working to improve the public's health are "public charities" and "social welfare organizations." Although social welfare organizations may engage in relatively unlimited lobbying, public charities may not engage in "substantial" lobbying. Lobbying is divided into 2 main categories. Direct lobbying refers to communications with law-makers that take a position on specific legislation, and grassroots lobbying includes attempts to persuade members of the general public to take action regarding legislation. Even public charities may engage in some direct lobbying and a smaller amount of grassroots lobbying. Much public health advocacy, however, is not lobbying, since there are several important exceptions to the lobbying rules. These exceptions include "non-partisan analysis, study, or research" and discussions of broad social problems. Lobbying with federal or earmarked foundation funds is generally prohibited.

Academic Incentives for Faculty Participation in Community-based Participatory Research

PubMed Central

Nyden, Philip

2003-01-01

Recognizing the need to overcome the obstacles of traditional university- and discipline-oriented research approaches, a variety of incentives to promote community-based participatory research (CBPR) are presented. Experiences of existing CBPR researchers are used in outlining how this methodological approach can appeal to faculty: the common ground shared by faculty and community leaders in challenging the status quo; opportunities to have an impact on local, regional, and national policy; and opening doors for new research and funding opportunities. Strategies for promoting CBPR in universities are provided in getting CBPR started, changing institutional practices currently inhibiting CBPR, and institutionalizing CBPR. Among the specific strategies are: development of faculty research networks; team approaches to CBPR; mentoring faculty and students; using existing national CBPR networks; modifying tenure and promotion guidelines; development of appropriate measures of CBPR scholarship; earmarking university resources to support CBPR; using Institutional Review Boards to promote CBPR; making CBPR-oriented faculty appointments; and creating CBPR centers. PMID:12848841

The incidence of health financing in South Africa: findings from a recent data set.

PubMed

Ataguba, John E; McIntyre, Di

2018-01-01

There is an international call for countries to ensure universal health coverage. This call has been embraced in South Africa (SA) in the form of a National Health Insurance (NHI). This is expected to be financed through general tax revenue with the possibility of additional earmarked taxes including a surcharge on personal income and/or a payroll tax for employers. Currently, health services are financed in SA through allocations from general tax revenue, direct out-of-pocket payments, and contributions to medical scheme. This paper uses the most recent data set to assess the progressivity of each health financing mechanism and overall financing system in SA. Applying standard and innovative methodologies for assessing progressivity, the study finds that general taxes and medical scheme contributions remain progressive, and direct out-of-pocket payments and indirect taxes are regressive. However, private health insurance contributions, across only the insured, are regressive. The policy implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the NHI.

Needles and Haystacks: Finding Funding for Medical Education Research.

PubMed

Gruppen, Larry D; Durning, Steven J

2016-04-01

Medical education research suffers from a significant and persistent lack of funding. Although adequate funding has been shown to improve the quality of research, there are a number of factors that continue to limit it. The competitive environment for medical education research funding makes it essential to understand strategies for improving the search for funding sources and the preparation of proposals. This article offers a number of resources, strategies, and suggestions for finding funding. Investigators must be able to frame their research in the context of significant issues and principles in education. They must set their proposed work in the context of prior work and demonstrate its potential for significant new contributions. Because there are few funding sources earmarked for medical education research, researchers much also be creative, flexible, and adaptive as they seek to present their ideas in ways that are appealing and relevant to the goals of funders. Above all, the search for funding requires persistence and perseverance.

Nation's Capital to cover low-income women's abortions.

PubMed

1994-04-15

Sharon Pratt Kelly, the mayor of the District of Columbia, has announced that, effective May 1, 1994, the city will use its Medical Charities Fund to pay for "medically appropriate" abortions for women with annual incomes of US$13,200 who do not have health insurance that covers abortions. This income level represents 185% of the federal poverty level for single women. The determination as to whether an abortion is "appropriate" will be made by the woman's physician. From 1989-93, there was a ban on the use of District of Columbia tax monies to cover abortions for local women. In 1988, however, approximately 4000 District women received funding for their abortions. The US$1 million Medical Charities Fund was originally set up to cover emergency room bills for low-income District residents who did not qualify for Medicaid. $650,000 is expected to be added to the fund; in addition, the District's 1995 budget will allocate funding earmarked for abortion coverage for low-income women.

Surface Accuracy and Pointing Error Prediction of a 32 m Diameter Class Radio Astronomy Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azankpo, Severin

2017-03-01

The African Very-long-baseline interferometry Network (AVN) is a joint project between South Africa and eight partner African countries aimed at establishing a VLBI (Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry) capable network of radio telescopes across the African continent. An existing structure that is earmarked for this project, is a 32 m diameter antenna located in Ghana that has become obsolete due to advances in telecommunication. The first phase of the conversion of this Ghana antenna into a radio astronomy telescope is to upgrade the antenna to observe at 5 GHz to 6.7 GHz frequency and then later to 18 GHz within a required performing tolerance. The surface and pointing accuracies for a radio telescope are much more stringent than that of a telecommunication antenna. The mechanical pointing accuracy of such telescopes is influenced by factors such as mechanical alignment, structural deformation, and servo drive train errors. The current research investigates the numerical simulation of the surface and pointing accuracies of the Ghana 32 m diameter radio astronomy telescope due to its structural deformation mainly influenced by gravity, wind and thermal loads.

Gasohol investment: reviewing both sides

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

Perry, M.

1980-11-01

Gasohol may be the ace in the hole of America's energy future. Opposition to the use of federal monies for funding gasohol production encompasses the following seven different points: (1) earmarking even a slight percentage of silage for gasohol production ultimately means higher food prices; (2) gasohol production will produce a shortage of staple crops; (3) other sources of fuel are more energy-efficient than a strict gasoline-ethanol mix; (4) gasohol production would produce unnecessary pollution risks; (5) use of gasohol fuels will not increase farm crop profitability appreciably; (6) gasohol production would only marginally cut into oil imports; and (7)more » gasohol production will cause major market dysfunctions. Research and persuasion remain to make gasohol a reasonable alternative. The Synfuels Bill of 1980 makes the prospect of agricultural energy independence a distinct possibility. Gasohol will help reduce oil imports. Congress has made its decision: the positive potential of gasohol production far outweighs any negative factors connected with it. Congress believes that the gasohol program is both reasonable and safe, and will mean a greater degree of energy independence for the nation. (DP)« less

Taxation as prevention and as a treatment for obesity: the case of sugar-sweetened beverages.

PubMed

Novak, Nicole L; Brownell, Kelly D

2011-01-01

The contemporary American food environment makes energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and beverages the "default" option for most consumers. Economic interventions like taxes can shift the relative prices of unhealthy foods to nudge consumers towards healthier options. Beverages with added sugar are a good starting point for food taxation; they constitute over 10 percent of caloric intake nationwide and provide little or no nutritional value. Current levels of taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are too low to affect consumer behavior, but the implementation of a penny-per-ounce excise tax could lead to substantial public health benefits. Current estimates predict that a tax that raised the cost of SSBs by 20 percent could lead to an average reduction of 3.8 pounds per year for adults, causing the prevalence of obesity to decline from 33 to 30 percent. SSB taxes would also generate considerable revenue for public health and obesity prevention programs. Although the beverage industry is fighting such taxes with massive lobbying and public relations campaigns, support for the policies is increasing, especially when revenue is earmarked for obesity prevention.

R&D in Poland: Is the Country Close to a Knowledge-Driven Economy?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chybowska, Dorota; Chybowski, Leszek; Souchkov, Valeri

2018-06-01

Poland has a strong ambition to evolve rapidly into a knowledge-driven economy. Since 2004, it has been the largest beneficiary of European Union cohesion policy funds among all member states. Between 2007 and 2013, Poland was allocated approximately EUR 67 billion, whereas for 2014-2020 the EU budget earmarked EUR 82.5 billion for Polish cohesion policy. This means that in the coming years, Poland's R&D intensity will grow. But the question remains: is 27 years of free market economy enough to enable a country's economy to become knowledge-based ? This paper offers an analysis of Polish R&D expenditures and investments in terms of their sources (business, government or higher education sectors), types (European Union or state aid) and areas of support (infrastructure, education or innovation). It also characterises the Polish R&D market with its strengths and weaknesses. Then, it examines the process of technology transfer in Poland, comparing it to best practice. Finally, the paper lays out the barriers to effective commercialisation that need to be overcome, and attempts to answer the question raised in its title.

Using of New Management Approaches in the Field of Personal Marketing in the Transport Company

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matusova, Dominika; Gogolova, Martina

2017-10-01

Personal marketing is a relatively new field in the theory and practice of human resources (HR) activities in the corporate and business sector. As a separate area of HR management was established of the earmarking of personnel management. In the article is mentioned about the facility manager. This position introduces a specific category - behaviour of manager. The facility manager has to dispose the skills from the areas: operation and maintenance, property, facility management processes, human factors of environment, planning, function devices, finance and quality management and innovation and communication. In the article is described the situation in transport company, specifically - Railway Company Slovakia, Inc. (ZSSK). Employees of the company works in departments as: managers, sellers, operators for services and maintenance, economists and controllers. The transport company had 5949 employees in 2015. That was about 108 employees more than the previous year. Facility manager and the company, set the targets which want to achieve within the planned time. Beyond the objectives are fundamental the values of company, business vision and mission.

Becoming the Citizen Scientist: Opportunities and Challenges in Science Policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bosler, T. L.

2007-03-01

The methodologies, creativity and intellectual capacity of today's physicists are becoming more and more relevant in the world of policy and politics. Some issues such as climate change, alternative energy and avian influenza clearly reveal the relevance of scientific knowledge and research in policy. However, the connection between science and issues such as electronic voting, government earmarks and international cooperation are not as obvious, but the role of scientists in these topics and their effects on science itself are critical. As the world becomes increasingly technological and global, the need for the involvement of scientists in the political process grows. The traditional scientific training of physicists emphasizes intense scrutiny of specific physical phenomena in the natural world but often misses the opportunity to utilize trained scientific minds on some of society's greatest problems. I will discuss the many ways in which scientists can contribute to society far beyond the academic community and the unique opportunities science policy work offers to the socially conscious scientist or even those just looking to get more grant money.

Beyond taxol: microtubule-based treatment of disease and injury of the nervous system

PubMed Central

Ahmad, Fridoon J.

2013-01-01

Contemporary research has revealed a great deal of information on the behaviours of microtubules that underlie critical events in the lives of neurons. Microtubules in the neuron undergo dynamic assembly and disassembly, bundling and splaying, severing, and rapid transport as well as integration with other cytoskeletal elements such as actin filaments. These various behaviours are regulated by signalling pathways that affect microtubule-related proteins such as molecular motor proteins and microtubule severing enzymes, as well as a variety of proteins that promote the assembly, stabilization and bundling of microtubules. In recent years, translational neuroscientists have earmarked microtubules as a promising target for therapy of injury and disease of the nervous system. Proof-of-principle has come mainly from studies using taxol and related drugs to pharmacologically stabilize microtubules in animal models of nerve injury and disease. However, concerns persist that the negative consequences of abnormal microtubule stabilization may outweigh the positive effects. Other potential approaches include microtubule-active drugs with somewhat different properties, but also expanding the therapeutic toolkit to include intervention at the level of microtubule regulatory proteins. PMID:23811322

Strategic messaging to promote taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages: lessons from recent political campaigns.

PubMed

Jou, Judy; Niederdeppe, Jeff; Barry, Colleen L; Gollust, Sarah E

2014-05-01

This study explored the use of strategic messaging by proponents of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxation to influence public opinion and shape the policy process, emphasizing the experiences in El Monte and Richmond, California, with SSB tax proposals in 2012. We conducted 18 semistructured interviews with key stakeholders about the use and perceived effectiveness of messages supporting and opposing SSB taxation, knowledge sharing among advocates, message dissemination, and lessons learned from their messaging experiences. The protax messages most frequently mentioned by respondents were reinvesting tax revenue into health-related programs and linking SSB consumption to health outcomes such as obesity and diabetes. The most frequently mentioned antitax messages addressed negative economic effects on businesses and government restriction of personal choice. Factors contributing to perceived messaging success included clearly defining "sugar-sweetened beverage" and earmarking funds for obesity prevention, incorporating cultural sensitivity into messaging, and providing education about the health effects of SSB consumption. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation has faced significant challenges in gaining political and public support. Future campaigns can benefit from insights gained through the experiences of stakeholders involved in previous policy debates.

The Geological Survey sediment program in California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brown, E.

1957-01-01

The activities of the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey in the State of California arise from the responsibility place on this agency by Congress for the determination and appraisal of the nation's water resources. The stream-sediment programs of the division are designed to carry out this broad responsibility and include systematic measurement of the sediment load carried by streams, studies of course and movement of fluvial sediment, and research on the mechanics of fluvial-sediment movement. In order to effectively consummate these programs over the Nation, finds are appropriated by Congress and earmarked in part from what is termed the federal program and in part for the cooperative program to match on a 50-50 basis, offerings at the State or local level. The federal stream-sediment program is comprised of investigations in which the federal steam-sediment program is comprised of investigations in which the federal or national interest is predominant and, accordingly, the costs are borne entirely by the federal government. It is expected that come all-federal finds will be allocated in fiscal year 1958 to projects in California, but the amount us not as yet known.

Strategic Messaging to Promote Taxation of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: Lessons From Recent Political Campaigns

PubMed Central

Jou, Judy; Niederdeppe, Jeff; Barry, Colleen L.; Gollust, Sarah E.

2014-01-01

Objectives. This study explored the use of strategic messaging by proponents of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxation to influence public opinion and shape the policy process, emphasizing the experiences in El Monte and Richmond, California, with SSB tax proposals in 2012. Methods. We conducted 18 semistructured interviews with key stakeholders about the use and perceived effectiveness of messages supporting and opposing SSB taxation, knowledge sharing among advocates, message dissemination, and lessons learned from their messaging experiences. Results. The protax messages most frequently mentioned by respondents were reinvesting tax revenue into health-related programs and linking SSB consumption to health outcomes such as obesity and diabetes. The most frequently mentioned antitax messages addressed negative economic effects on businesses and government restriction of personal choice. Factors contributing to perceived messaging success included clearly defining “sugar-sweetened beverage” and earmarking funds for obesity prevention, incorporating cultural sensitivity into messaging, and providing education about the health effects of SSB consumption. Conclusions. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation has faced significant challenges in gaining political and public support. Future campaigns can benefit from insights gained through the experiences of stakeholders involved in previous policy debates. PMID:24625177

Multiplex PCR for the detection and identification of dairy bacteriophages in milk.

PubMed

del Rio, B; Binetti, A G; Martín, M C; Fernández, M; Magadán, A H; Alvarez, M A

2007-02-01

Bacteriophage infections of starter lactic acid bacteria are a serious risk in the dairy industry. Phage infection can lead to slow lactic acid production or even the total failure of fermentation. The associated economic losses can be substantial. Rapid and sensitive methods are therefore required to detect and identify phages at all stages of the manufacture of fermented dairy products. This study describes a simple and rapid multiplex PCR method that, in a single reaction, detects the presence of bacteriophages infecting Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii, plus three genetically distinct 'species' of Lactococcus lactis phages commonly found in dairy plants (P335, 936 and c2). Available bacteriophage genome sequences were examined and the conserved regions used to design five pairs of primers, one for each of the above bacteriophage species. These primers were designed to generate specific fragments of different size depending on the species. Since this method can detect the above phages in untreated milk and can be easily incorporated into dairy industry routines, it might be readily used to earmark contaminated milk for use in processes that do not involve susceptible starter organisms or for use in those that involve phage-deactivating conditions.

Body weight and health-related quality of life in Catalonia, Spain.

PubMed

Oliva-Moreno, Juan; Gil-Lacruz, Ana

2013-02-01

Obesity poses important burdens not only on the individuals whose quality of life is reduced but on national welfare systems that have to face growing premature mortality rates, increase healthcare expenditures to treat obesity-related diseases, and earmark vast amounts of healthcare resources for prevention. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the relationship between excess body weight and different dimensions of health-related quality of life for people 16 years and older and to identify the health dimensions most affected by excess weight. We have drawn data from the Catalonia Health Survey (2006). Our results reveal a relationship between excess weight and health-related quality of life. Even after controlling for socio-economic status and objective health variables, excess weight is shown to have a significant negative effect on health-related quality of life. Subjects responses revealed that the negative effect of excess weight was felt the strongest in the health-related quality of life dimensions of mobility and pain/discomfort. Our results indicate there are important differences among gender and age groups. Women and older people are more likely to suffer from the negative consequences of excess weight.

Pain in chronic pancreatitis: managing beyond the pancreatic duct.

PubMed

Talukdar, Rupjyoti; Reddy, D Nageshwar

2013-10-14

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) continues to be a clinical challenge. Persistent or recurrent abdominal pain is the most compelling symptom that drives patients to seek medical care. Unfortunately, in spite of using several treatment approaches in the clinical setting, there is no single specific treatment modality that can be earmarked as a cure for this disease. Traditionally, ductal hypertension has been associated with causation of pain in CP; and patients are often subjected to endotherapy and surgery with a goal to decompress the pancreatic duct. Recent studies on humans (clinical and laboratory based) and experimental models have put forward several mechanisms, including neuroimmune alterations, which could be responsible for pain. This might explain the partial or no response to single modality treatment in a significant proportion of patients. The current review discusses the recent concepts of pain generation in CP and evidence based therapeutic approaches (other than ductal decompression) to handle persistent or recurrent pain. We focus primarily on parenchymal and neural components; and discuss the role of antioxidants and the existing controversies, drugs that interfere with neural transmission, pancreatic enzyme supplementation, celiac neurolysis, and pancreatic resection procedures. The review concludes with the treatment approach that we follow at our institute.

[Building immune microsphere against tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)].

PubMed

Wang, Qin; Wu, Xiongfei; Wang, Junxia; Liu, Hong; Li, Lian; Jin, Xiyu

2005-12-01

We have constructed the immune microsphere against tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) prospectively, hoping to establish the experiment groundwork in more researches which could be used in specific elimination of the TNF-alpha by blood purification method for the future. The recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-alpha monoclonal antibody (rHTNF-alpha McAb) was wrapped on the polystyrene microsphere (PSM) carrier connecting poly-L-lysine (PLL) beforehand. They were earmarked by the fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) respectively. The packing conditions were examined using the inversted and fluorescence microscopes and the spectrophotometer. The results showed that the best conditions for wrapping were 20 degrees C, pH9.5 and 60 minutes. The PLL content was not changed in the washing fluid after coating, which indicated the wrapping was quite firm. At the same temperature and same coating time, the rHTNF-alpha McAb coated on the PLL was obviously substantial when the concentration of glutaraldehyde solution was 0.2%. The findings demonstrated that the built immune microsphers can be used as a novel adsorption material. This method is simple and economic, and it offers a new approach to the related studies.

Potential toxicity and affinity of triphenylmethane dye malachite green to lysozyme.

PubMed

Ding, Fei; Li, Xiu-Nan; Diao, Jian-Xiong; Sun, Ye; Zhang, Li; Ma, Lin; Yang, Xin-Ling; Zhang, Li; Sun, Ying

2012-04-01

Malachite green is a triphenylmethane dye that is used extensively in many industrial and aquacultural processes, generating environmental concerns and health problems to human being. In this contribution, the complexation between lysozyme and malachite green was verified by means of computer-aided molecular modeling, steady state and time-resolved fluorescence, and circular dichroism (CD) approaches. The precise binding patch of malachite green in lysozyme has been identified from molecular modeling and ANS displacement, Trp-62, Trp-63, and Trp-108 residues of lysozyme were earmarked to possess high-affinity for this dye, the principal forces in the lysozyme-malachite green adduct are hydrophobic and π-π interactions. Steady state fluorescence proclaimed the complex of malachite green with lysozyme yields quenching through static type, which substantiates time-resolved fluorescence measurements that lysozyme-malachite green conjugation formation has an affinity of 10(3)M(-1). Moreover, via molecular modeling and also CD data, we can safely arrive at a conclusion that the polypeptide chain of lysozyme partially destabilized upon complexation with malachite green. The data emerged here will help to further understand the toxicological action of malachite green in human body. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Device and method for determining freezing points

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mathiprakasam, Balakrishnan (Inventor)

1986-01-01

A freezing point method and device (10) are disclosed. The method and device pertain to an inflection point technique for determining the freezing points of mixtures. In both the method and device (10), the mixture is cooled to a point below its anticipated freezing point and then warmed at a substantially linear rate. During the warming process, the rate of increase of temperature of the mixture is monitored by, for example, thermocouple (28) with the thermocouple output signal being amplified and differentiated by a differentiator (42). The rate of increase of temperature data are analyzed and a peak rate of increase of temperature is identified. In the preferred device (10) a computer (22) is utilized to analyze the rate of increase of temperature data following the warming process. Once the maximum rate of increase of temperature is identified, the corresponding temperature of the mixture is located and earmarked as being substantially equal to the freezing point of the mixture. In a preferred device (10), the computer (22), in addition to collecting the temperature and rate of change of temperature data, controls a programmable power supply (14) to provide a predetermined amount of cooling and warming current to thermoelectric modules (56).

Genome-wide association studies to identify rice salt-tolerance markers.

PubMed

Patishtan, Juan; Hartley, Tom N; Fonseca de Carvalho, Raquel; Maathuis, Frans J M

2018-05-01

Salinity is an ever increasing menace that affects agriculture worldwide. Crops such as rice are salt sensitive, but its degree of susceptibility varies widely between cultivars pointing to extensive genetic diversity that can be exploited to identify genes and proteins that are relevant in the response of rice to salt stress. We used a diversity panel of 306 rice accessions and collected phenotypic data after short (6 h), medium (7 d) and long (30 d) salinity treatment (50 mm NaCl). A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was subsequently performed, which identified around 1200 candidate genes from many functional categories, but this was treatment period dependent. Further analysis showed the presence of cation transporters and transcription factors with a known role in salinity tolerance and those that hitherto were not known to be involved in salt stress. Localization analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showed the presence of several hundred non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) in coding regions and earmarked specific genomic regions with increased numbers of nsSNPs. It points to components of the ubiquitination pathway as important sources of genetic diversity that could underpin phenotypic variation in stress tolerance. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Inspiring Science Education project and the resources for HEP analysis by university students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fassouliotis, Dimitris; Kourkoumelis, Christine; Vourakis, Stylianos

2016-11-01

The Inspiring Science Education outreach project has been running for more than two years, creating a large number of inquiry based educational resources for high-school teachers and students. Its goal is the promotion of science education in schools though new methods built on the inquiry based education techniques, involving large consortia of European partners and implementation of large-scale pilots in schools. Recent hands-on activities, developing and testing the above mentioned innovative applications are reviewed. In general, there is a lack for educational scenaria and laboratory courses earmarked for more advanced, namely university, students. At the University of Athens for the last four years, the HYPATIA on-line event analysis tool has been used as a lab course for fourth year undergraduate physics students, majoring in HEP. Up to now, the course was limited to visual inspection of a few tens of ATLAS events. Recently the course was enriched with additional analysis exercises, which involve large samples of events. The students through a user friendly interface can analyse the samples and optimize the cut selection in order to search for new physics. The implementation of this analysis is described.

Alaska Volcano Observatory at 20

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichelberger, J. C.

2008-12-01

The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) was established in 1988 in the wake of the 1986 Augustine eruption through a congressional earmark. Even within the volcanological community, there was skepticism about AVO. Populations directly at risk in Alaska were small compared to Cascadia, and the logistical costs of installing and maintaining monitoring equipment were much higher. Questions were raised concerning the technical feasibility of keeping seismic stations operating through the long, dark, stormy Alaska winters. Some argued that AVO should simply cover Augustine with instruments and wait for the next eruption there, expected in the mid 90s (but delayed until 2006), rather than stretching to instrument as many volcanoes as possible. No sooner was AVO in place than Redoubt erupted and a fully loaded passenger 747 strayed into the eruption cloud between Anchorage and Fairbanks, causing a powerless glide to within a minute of impact before the pilot could restart two engines and limp into Anchorage. This event forcefully made the case that volcano hazard mitigation is not just about people and infrastructure on the ground, and is particularly important in the heavily traveled North Pacific where options for flight diversion are few. In 1996, new funding became available through an FAA earmark to aggressively extend volcano monitoring far into the Aleutian Islands with both ground-based networks and round-the-clock satellite monitoring. Beyond the Aleutians, AVO developed a monitoring partnership with Russians volcanologists at the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The need to work together internationally on subduction phenomena that span borders led to formation of the Japan-Kamchatka-Alaska Subduction Processes (JKASP) consortium. JKASP meets approximately biennially in Sapporo, Petropavlovsk, and Fairbanks. In turn, these meetings and support from NSF and the Russian Academy of Sciences led to new international education and research opportunities for Russian and American students. AVO was a three-way partnership of the federal and state geological surveys and the state university from the start. This was not a flowering of ecumenism but was rather at the insistence of the Alaska congressional delegation. Such shared enterprises are not managerially convenient, but they do bring a diversity of roles, thinking, and expertise that would not otherwise be possible. Through AVO, the USGS performs its federally mandated role in natural hazard mitigation and draws on expertise available from its network of volcano observatories. The Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys performs a similar role at the state level and, in the tradition of state surveys, provides important public communications, state data base, and mapping functions. The University of Alaska Fairbanks brought seismological, remote sensing, geodetic, petrological, and physical volcanological expertise, and uniquely within US academia was able to engage students directly in volcano observatory activities. Although this "model" cannot be adopted in total elsewhere, it has served to point the USGS Volcano Hazards Program in a direction of greater openness and inclusiveness.

Current development in Social Security financing.

PubMed

Bartlett, D K

1980-09-01

The current financial outlook for the old-age, survivors, disability, and health insurance (OASDHI) program indicates several problems. During 1980-84, income and outgo for the OASDI and hospital insurance (HI) trust funds combined are roughly in balance, according to the annual report of the Board of Trustees. The OSI program, however, is running out of funds as automatic benefit increases exceed the growth in payroll tax revenues. Clearly, additional financing will be needed throughout the 1980's. Funds now earmarked for the DI and HI trust funds could serve this purpose, although more short-range financing will be needed if real wages continue to show losses instead of the usual gains. The 1977 amendments that strengthened social security financing provided only a thin margin of safety against unfavorable experience during the early 1980's. The short-range economic picture has darkened considerably since 1977, with adverse consequences for social security financing. Only the DI experience has improved. Based on tax rates in the present law, a large buildup of OASDI trust funds is expected over the next 25 years. HI financing, however, is projected to become inadequate after 1990. Projections over the next 75 years indicate severe financing problems for the OASDI program early in the 21st centruy, as the aged population grows relative to the work force.

Factors influencing resource allocation decisions and equity in the health system of Ghana.

PubMed

Asante, A D; Zwi, A B

2009-05-01

Allocation of financial resources in the health sector is often seen as a formula-driven activity. However, the decision to allocate a certain amount of resources to a particular health jurisdiction or facility may be based on a broader range of factors, sometimes not reflected in the existing resource allocation formula. This study explores the 'other' factors that influence the equity of resource allocation in the health system of Ghana. The extent to which these factors are, or can be, accounted for in the resource allocation process is analysed. An exploratory design focusing on different levels of the health system and diverse stakeholders. Data were gathered through semi-structured qualitative interviews with health authorities at national, regional and district levels, and with donor representatives and local government officials in 2003 and 2004. The availability of human resources for health, local capacity to utilize funds, donor involvement in the health sector, and commitment to promote equity have considerable influence on resource allocation decisions and affect the equity of funding allocations. However, these factors are not accounted for adequately in the resource allocation process. This study highlights the need for a more transparent resource allocation system in Ghana based on needs, and takes into account key issues such as capacity constraints, the inequitable human resource distribution and donor-earmarked funding.

Residual stresses in a stainless steel - titanium alloy joint made with the explosive technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taran, Yu V.; Balagurov, A. M.; Sabirov, B. M.; Evans, A.; Davydov, V.; Venter, A. M.

2012-02-01

Joining of pipes from stainless steel (SS) and titanium (Ti) alloy still experience serious technical problems. Recently, reliable and hermetic joining of SS and Ti pipes has been achieved with the explosive bonding technique in the Russian Federal Nuclear Center. Such adapters are earmarked for use at the future International Linear Collider. The manufactured SS-Ti adapters have excellent mechanical behavior at room and liquid nitrogen temperatures, during high-pressure tests and thermal cycling. We here report the first neutron diffraction investigation of the residual stresses in a SS-Ti adapter on the POLDI instrument at the SINQ spallation source. The strain scanning across the adapter walls into the SS-SS and SS-Ti pipes sections encompassed measurement of the axial, radial and hoop strain components, which were transformed into residual stresses. The full stress information was successfully determined for the three steel pipes involved in the joint. The residual stresses do not exceed 300 MPa in magnitude. All stress components have tensile values close to the adapter internal surface, whilst they are compressive close to the outer surface. The strong incoherent and weak coherent neutron scattering cross-sections of Ti did not allow for the reliable determination of stresses inside the titanic pipe.

Toxic money or paid altruism: the meaning of payments for identity-release gamete donors.

PubMed

Gilman, Leah

2018-05-01

Public discourses commonly frame gamete, organ and other forms of bodily donation as altruistic 'gifts'. However, despite on-going debates about the ethics of payments to donors, few studies have examined the views of donors themselves regarding the meaning of payments and their compatibility (or not) with understandings of these practices as gifts. This article addresses this issue, analysing 24 in-depth interviews with UK identity-release gamete donors. It was crucial to all participants that their donation be viewed as fundamentally other-oriented, motivated by the desire to help others. However, whilst egg donors often accommodated payment within this narrative, male participants explained that any money would taint the gift they had given. I argue that sperm donors faced particular challenges to incorporating payment within a gift narrative for two key reasons: first, sperm donors relied on a discourse of 'pure altruism', including absolute opposition between gifts and market exchange, in order to present their donation as other-oriented. In contrast, egg donors were also able to mobilise a discourse of relational giving to present their donations as a personal gift. Second, according to a continued stereotype of sperm donors as financially motivated students, their payments have already been culturally earmarked as side-line earnings. © 2018 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

Assessment of the transport routes of oversized and excessive loads in relation to the passage through roundabout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petru, Jan; Dolezel, Jiri; Krivda, Vladislav

2017-09-01

In the past the excessive and oversized loads were realized on selected routes on roads that were adapted to ensure smooth passage of transport. Over the years, keeping the passages was abandoned and currently there are no earmarked routes which would be adapted for such type of transportation. The routes of excessive and oversized loads are currently planned to ensure passage of the vehicle through the critical points on the roads. Critical points are level and fly-over crossings of roads, bridges, toll gates, traffic signs and electrical and other lines. The article deals with the probability assessment of selected critical points of the route of the excessive load on the roads of 1st class, in relation to ensuring the passage through the roundabout. The bases for assessing the passage of the vehicle with excessive load through a roundabout are long-term results of video analyses of monitoring the movement of transports on similar intersections and determination of the theoretical probability model of vehicle movement at selected junctions. On the basis of a virtual simulation of the vehicle movement at crossroads and using MonteCarlo simulation method vehicles’ paths are analysed and the probability of exit of the vehicle outside the crossroad in given junctions is quantified.

Taxing soft drinks in the Pacific: implementation lessons for improving health.

PubMed

Thow, Anne Marie; Quested, Christine; Juventin, Lisa; Kun, Russ; Khan, A Nisha; Swinburn, Boyd

2011-03-01

A tax on soft drinks is often proposed as a health promotion strategy for reducing their consumption and improving health outcomes. However, little is known about the processes and politics of implementing such taxes. We analysed four different soft drink taxes in Pacific countries and documented the lessons learnt regarding the process of policy agenda-setting and implementation. While local social and political context is critically important in determining policy uptake, these case studies suggest strategies for health promotion practitioners that can help to improve policy uptake and implementation. The case studies reveal interaction between the Ministries of Health, Finance and Revenue at every stage of the policy making process. In regard to agenda-setting, relevance to government fiscal priorities was important in gaining support for soft drink taxes. The active involvement of health policy makers was also important in initiating the policies, and the use of existing taxation mechanisms enabled successful policy implementation. While the earmarking of taxes for health has been widely recommended, the revenue may be redirected as government priorities change. Health promotion practitioners must strategically plan for agenda-setting, development and implementation of intersectoral health-promoting policies by engaging with stakeholders in finance at an early stage to identify priorities and synergies, developing cross-sectoral advocacy coalitions, and basing proposals on existing legislative mechanisms where possible.

An assessment of fiscal space for health in Bhutan.

PubMed

Sharma, Jayendra

2016-07-01

Several factors are expected to put a strain on health financing in Bhutan. In a predominantly public-financed healthcare, ensuring that the health system gains sufficient fiscal space to ensure the sustainability of its financing is a critical policy concern. This fiscal space assessment bases its analysis on national surveys and statistics, international databases and review of official documents and reports. Assuming that the government health spending will continue to respond in the same way to growth as in the period 2002-2012, Bhutan can expect to see a robust increase in government investments in health. If elasticity of health expenditure with respect to GDP does not change significantly, projections indicate that per-capita government spending for health could more than double in the period 2012 to 2019. This increase from Ngultrum 2632 in 2012 to Ngultrum 6724 in 2019 could correspond to government health spending from 2.65% of GDP to 3.98% of GDP in the respective years. The country, however, needs to closely monitor and ensure that government investment in healthcare keeps pace with the growth of the national economy. Along with this, supplementary resources for healthcare could be explored through earmarked taxes and by generating efficiency gains. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sugar-Sweetened Beverage, Obesity, and Type 2 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents: Policies, Taxation, and Programs.

PubMed

Yoshida, Yilin; Simoes, Eduardo J

2018-04-18

Obesity has grown at an alarming rate in children and adolescents. Concurrently, consumption on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) also rose significantly. This review provides an overview of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) related to SSBs and current policies restricting SSBs in schools, school-based interventions, and taxation on reducing SSB intake and obesity. We also discuss challenges of and future steps for these initiatives. Clinical and epidemiological studies suggest a strong association between SSB intake and obesity and T2DM. School food policies have been initiated at federal, state, and local levels. School-based interventions have shown positive effects on SSB intake and obesity reduction. Taxation on SSBs is promising in combating obesity and in generating revenue. Challenges towards compliance and implementation of the policies and programs exist. The relationship between SSB and obesity and T2DM is a complex problem which requires comprehensive solutions. Continued efforts in restricting SSBs in schools are needed. Intervention programs should be tailored to age, gender, language, and culture and involve participation from families and local communities. Taxation can reduce SSB consumption by direct economic incentive, earmarking revenues to support healthy foods, and sending negative message. However, a higher tax rate may be necessary to have a measurable effect on weight.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle - A Tool for Acquiring Spatial Data for Research and Commercial Purposes. New Course in the Geography and Cartography Curriculum in Higher Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeziorska, J.

2014-04-01

This paper describes the syllabus for the innovative course "Unmanned aerial observations of Terrain" introduced to the curriculum by the Department of Geoinformatics and Cartography of the University of Wroclaw (Poland). It indicates the objectives of the new subject, its didactic purpose, methods used in the teaching process, specifications of teaching materials, and the knowledge and skills that students are expected to acquire. Finally, it presents the content of the course and description of lesson units. The subject will be obligatory for graduate students majoring in Geography, who are participants in the Geoinformatics and Cartography Master's program. Thirty-eight hours in a summer semester has been earmarked for the course. That includes 30 hours of instructor-guided laboratory and fieldtrip work, and 8 hours of individual work. The course aims to prepare future geographers to conduct a multi-step process that includes defining the purpose of using UAV in light of the chosen research problem, preparation of the mission, flight execution; geoprocessing of acquired aerial imagery; generation of cartomertic final products, and analysis of outcomes in order to answer the initially asked research question. This comprehensive approach will allow students, future experts in the field of geoinformatics and cartography, to gain the skills needed to acquire spatial data using an UAV, process them, and apply the results of their analysis in practice.

Health disparities and health equity: concepts and measurement.

PubMed

Braveman, Paula

2006-01-01

There is little consensus about the meaning of the terms "health disparities," "health inequalities," or "health equity." The definitions can have important practical consequences, determining the measurements that are monitored by governments and international agencies and the activities that will be supported by resources earmarked to address health disparities/inequalities or health equity. This paper aims to clarify the concepts of health disparities/inequalities (used interchangeably here) and health equity, focusing on the implications of different definitions for measurement and hence for accountability. Health disparities/inequalities do not refer to all differences in health. A health disparity/inequality is a particular type of difference in health (or in the most important influences on health that could potentially be shaped by policies); it is a difference in which disadvantaged social groups-such as the poor, racial/ethnic minorities, women, or other groups who have persistently experienced social disadvantage or discrimination-systematically experience worse health or greater health risks than more advantaged social groups. ("Social advantage" refers to one's relative position in a social hierarchy determined by wealth, power, and/or prestige.) Health disparities/inequalities include differences between the most advantaged group in a given category-e.g., the wealthiest, the most powerful racial/ethnic group-and all others, not only between the best- and worst-off groups. Pursuing health equity means pursuing the elimination of such health disparities/inequalities.

PCR method for detection and identification of Lactobacillus casei/paracasei bacteriophages in dairy products.

PubMed

Binetti, Ana G; Capra, M Luján; Alvarez, Miguel A; Reinheimer, Jorge A

2008-05-31

Bacteriophage infections of starter lactic acid bacteria (LAB) pose a serious risk to the dairy industry. Nowadays, the expanding use of valuable Lactobacillus strains as probiotic starters determines an increase in the frequency of specific bacteriophage infections in dairy plants. This work describes a simple and rapid Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method that detects and identifies bacteriophages infecting Lactobacillus casei/paracasei, the main bacterial species used as probiotic. Based on a highly conserved region of the NTP-binding genes belonging to the replication module of L. casei phages phiA2 and phiAT3 (the only two whose genomes are completely sequenced), a pair of primers was designed to generate a specific fragment. Furthermore, this PCR detection method proved to be a useful tool for monitoring and identifying L. casei/paracasei phages in industrial samples since specific PCR signals were obtained from phage contaminated milk (detection limit: 10(4) PFU/mL milk) and other commercial samples (fermented milks and cheese whey) that include L. casei/paracasei as probiotic starter (detection limit: 10(6) PFU/mL fermented milk). Since this method can detect the above phages in industrial samples and can be easily incorporated into dairy industry routines, it might be readily used to earmark contaminated milk for use in processes that do not involve susceptible starter organisms, or processes which involve phage-deactivating conditions.

Characterizing emergency admissions of patients with sickle cell crisis in NHS brent: observational study

PubMed Central

Green, Stuart A; AlJuburi, Ghida; Majeed, Azeem; Okoye, Ogo; Amobi, Carole; Banarsee, Ricky; Phekoo, Karen J

2012-01-01

Objectives To characterize emergency admissions for patients with sickle cell crisis in NHS Brent and to determine which patients and practices may benefit most from primary care intervention. Design Observational study Setting Emergency departments attended by residents of the London borough of Brent Participants Patients with sickle cell disease registered with a general practitioner (GP) in the borough of Brent Main outcome measures Analysis of admissions between January 2008 and July 2010 that included length of stay (average and <2 days versus ≥2 days) by age group and registered GP practice. Results Thirty six percent of sickle cell disease admission spells resulted in a length of stay of less than two days. Seventy four percent of total bed days are associated with patients with more than one admission during the period of analysis, i.e. multiple admissions. Two general practices in Brent were identified as having the highest number of patients admitted to the emergency department for sickle cell crisis and may benefit most from primary care intervention. Discussion Patients with short length of stay and multiple admissions may be potentially amenable to primary care intervention. The practices which have the highest numbers of sickle cell disease patients who frequently seek emergency care will be earmarked for an education intervention designed to help further engage general practitioners in the care and management of their sickle cell patients. PMID:22768371

Characterizing emergency admissions of patients with sickle cell crisis in NHS brent: observational study.

PubMed

Green, Stuart A; Aljuburi, Ghida; Majeed, Azeem; Okoye, Ogo; Amobi, Carole; Banarsee, Ricky; Phekoo, Karen J

2012-06-01

To characterize emergency admissions for patients with sickle cell crisis in NHS Brent and to determine which patients and practices may benefit most from primary care intervention. Observational study Emergency departments attended by residents of the London borough of Brent Patients with sickle cell disease registered with a general practitioner (GP) in the borough of Brent Analysis of admissions between January 2008 and July 2010 that included length of stay (average and <2 days versus ≥2 days) by age group and registered GP practice. Thirty six percent of sickle cell disease admission spells resulted in a length of stay of less than two days. Seventy four percent of total bed days are associated with patients with more than one admission during the period of analysis, i.e. multiple admissions. Two general practices in Brent were identified as having the highest number of patients admitted to the emergency department for sickle cell crisis and may benefit most from primary care intervention. Patients with short length of stay and multiple admissions may be potentially amenable to primary care intervention. The practices which have the highest numbers of sickle cell disease patients who frequently seek emergency care will be earmarked for an education intervention designed to help further engage general practitioners in the care and management of their sickle cell patients.

Sustainable funding of health initiatives in Wonju, Republic of Korea via a tobacco consumption tax.

PubMed

Nam, Eun Woo; De Leeuw, Evelyne; Moon, Ji Young; Ikeda, Nayu; Dorjsuren, Bayarsaikhan; Park, Myung Bae

2011-12-01

Wonju is the first municipality in the Republic of Korea to fund the Healthy City project through municipal revenues from the local tobacco consumption tax. We investigated the process of the local tobacco consumption tax being approved as the main source of financing for the local Healthy City project. We also examined the sustainability and sufficiency of the funding by looking at the pricing policies instituted for cigarettes, smoking prevalence, cigarette consumption and revenues from local tobacco consumption as well as the budgetary allocations among programs in the city. The strong initiative of the mayor of Wonju was one of the factors that enabled the earmarking of the local tobacco consumption tax for the Healthy City Wonju project. He consulted academic counselors and persuaded the municipal government and the City Council to approve the bill. Despite the increasing price of cigarettes in Korea, adequate funding can be sustained to cover the short-term and mid-term programs in Wonju for at least 5 years of the mayor's term, because the smoking rate is persistently high. Analyzing the effects of strong leadership on the part of local authorities and the balance between revenues from the tobacco tax and the prevalence of smoking in the face of anti-smoking policies would be helpful for other countries and communities interested in developing sustainable Healthy Cities projects.

Strength, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility of ultrafine-grained Mg alloys after different modes of severe plastic deformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobatkin, S. V.; Lukyanova, E. A.; Martynenko, N. S.; Anisimova, N. Yu; Kiselevskiy, M. V.; Gorshenkov, M. V.; Yurchenko, N. Yu; Raab, G. I.; Yusupov, V. S.; Birbilis, N.; Salishchev, G. A.; Estrin, Y. Z.

2017-05-01

The effect of severe plastic deformation on the structure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility of the WE43 (Mg-Y-Nd-Zr) alloy earmarked for applications as bioresorbable material has been studied. The alloy was deformed by rotary swaging (RS), equal channel angular pressing (ECAP), and multiaxial deformation (MAD). The microstructure examination by transmission electron microscopy showed that all SPD modes lead to the formation of ultrafine-grained structure with a structural element size of 0.5-1 µm and the Mg12Nd phase particles 0.3 µm in size. The microstructure refinement by all three treatments resulted in strengthening of the alloy. ECAP and MAD also raised ductility to up to 12-17%, while RS increased the ultimate tensile strength to up to 415 MPa. The study of the corrosion properties showed that SPD does not affect the electrochemical corrosion of the alloy. Its biocompatibility in vitro was estimated after incubation of the samples with red blood cells (hemolysis study), white blood cells (cell viability assay), and mesenchymal stromal cells (cell proliferation analysis). The biodegradation rate in fetal bovine serum was also evaluated. ECAP and MAD were found to cause some deceleration of biodegradation by slowing down the gas formation in the biological fluid and, compared to MSC, to improve the biocompatibility of the WE43 alloy.

Assessment of temperament in Rusa timorensis and its relationship to stress.

PubMed

Mahre, M B; Wahid, H; Rosnina, Y; Jesse, F F A

2015-03-01

The delayed domestication of may be associated with their poor temperament and to date there is no published information on the temperament of the farmed Understanding of the temperament and selection program for its evaluation in a breeding herd is important not only for farming but also to other types of animal production. We investigated the temperament of ( = 17) raised in the tropics and determined its relationship with stress. A distance of 13.2 m was fixed for the measurement of flight times. hinds with rapid speed are considered temperamental. Each hind was earmarked for a crush test score between 1 and 5; 1 represents calm and 5 represents highly agitated . Stress was determined by measuring plasma cortisol using a cortisol RIA kit and live weight gain was determined by weighing the animals weekly. The hinds were aged using their date of birth records. We found a strong negative correlation between flight time, crush score, and plasma cortisol concentration ( < 0.05). Animals with very poor temperament have elevated plasma cortisol level and lower weight gain ( < 0.05). It was concluded that flight time, crush score, and plasma cortisol concentration could be used for selecting hinds based on temperament for the breeding herd. This method is quick and easy to implement on a farm; therefore, it remains the test choice for selecting animals based on temperament for the breeding herd.

Transoral laser microsurgery for managing laryngeal stenosis after reconstructive partial laryngectomies.

PubMed

Lucioni, Marco; Bertolin, Andy; Lionello, Marco; Giacomelli, Luciano; Ghirardo, Guido; Rizzotto, Giuseppe; Marioni, Gino

2017-02-01

To retrospectively analyze our experience of transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) for treating postoperative laryngeal obstruction (POLO) after supracricoid and supratracheal laryngectomy (open partial horizontal laryngectomy [OPHL]) types 2 and 3, and to investigate potential relationships between patients' clinical features and their functional outcomes. A retrospective cohort study. The prognostic influence of clinical and surgical parameters on functional outcomes was investigated in a univariate statistical setting in terms of decannulation rate (DR), time to tracheostomy closure (TTC), and number of laser procedures required (NLP). OPHL type 2 was associated with a better functional outcome than OPHL type 3 in terms of DR, TTC, and NLP (P = .03, P = .02, and P = .02, respectively). Annular and semicircumferential stenoses developed more frequently after OPHL type 3, and were particularly difficult to manage with TLM. Fixation of the residual arytenoid was a negative prognostic factor in terms of functional outcome in terms of DR, TTC, and NLP (P = .0002, P = .08, and P = .08, respectively). There is no standardized laser treatment for POLO; it must be tailored to individual patients. Identifying prognostic factors influencing functional outcome could help surgeons to earmark patients less likely to benefit from TLM for the treatment of POLO, and enable an adequate preoperative counseling, given the high probability of repeat postoperative TLM procedures. 4 Laryngoscope, 2016 127:359-365, 2017. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Systematic Development and Validation of a Thin-Layer Densitometric Bioanalytical Method for Estimation of Mangiferin Employing Analytical Quality by Design (AQbD) Approach

PubMed Central

Khurana, Rajneet Kaur; Rao, Satish; Beg, Sarwar; Katare, O.P.; Singh, Bhupinder

2016-01-01

The present work aims at the systematic development of a simple, rapid and highly sensitive densitometry-based thin-layer chromatographic method for the quantification of mangiferin in bioanalytical samples. Initially, the quality target method profile was defined and critical analytical attributes (CAAs) earmarked, namely, retardation factor (Rf), peak height, capacity factor, theoretical plates and separation number. Face-centered cubic design was selected for optimization of volume loaded and plate dimensions as the critical method parameters selected from screening studies employing D-optimal and Plackett–Burman design studies, followed by evaluating their effect on the CAAs. The mobile phase containing a mixture of ethyl acetate : acetic acid : formic acid : water in a 7 : 1 : 1 : 1 (v/v/v/v) ratio was finally selected as the optimized solvent for apt chromatographic separation of mangiferin at 262 nm with Rf 0.68 ± 0.02 and all other parameters within the acceptance limits. Method validation studies revealed high linearity in the concentration range of 50–800 ng/band for mangiferin. The developed method showed high accuracy, precision, ruggedness, robustness, specificity, sensitivity, selectivity and recovery. In a nutshell, the bioanalytical method for analysis of mangiferin in plasma revealed the presence of well-resolved peaks and high recovery of mangiferin. PMID:26912808

Strengthening accountability to citizens on gender and health.

PubMed

Murthy, R K

2008-01-01

Accountability refers to the processes by which those with power in the health sector engage with, and are answerable to, those who make demands on it, and enforce disciplinary action on those in the health sector who do not perform effectively. This paper reviews the practice of accountability to citizens on gender and health, assesses gaps, and recommends strategies. Four kinds of accountability mechanisms have been used by citizens to press for accountability on gender and health. These include international human rights instruments, legislation, governance structures, and other tools, some of which are relevant to all public sector services, some to the health sector alone, some to gender issues alone, and some to gender-specific health concerns of women. However, there are few instances wherein private health sector and donors have been held accountable. Rarely have accountability processes reduced gender inequalities in health, or addressed 'low priority' gender-specific health needs of women. Accountability with respect to implementation and to marginalized groups has remained weak. This paper recommends that: (1) the four kinds of accountability mechanisms be extended to the private health sector and donors; (2) health accountability mechanisms be engendered, and gender accountability mechanisms be made health-specific; (3) resources be earmarked to enable government to respond to gender-specific health demands; (4) mechanisms for enforcement of such policies be improved; and (5) democratic spaces and participation of marginalized groups be strengthened.

Development of (6R)-2-Nitro-6-[4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenoxy]-6,7-dihydro-5H-imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]oxazine (DNDI-8219): A New Lead for Visceral Leishmaniasis

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Discovery of the potent antileishmanial effects of antitubercular 6-nitro-2,3-dihydroimidazo[2,1-b][1,3]oxazoles and 7-substituted 2-nitro-5,6-dihydroimidazo[2,1-b][1,3]oxazines stimulated the examination of further scaffolds (e.g., 2-nitro-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroimidazo[2,1-b][1,3]oxazepines), but the results for these seemed less attractive. Following the screening of a 900-compound pretomanid analogue library, several hits with more suitable potency, solubility, and microsomal stability were identified, and the superior efficacy of newly synthesized 6R enantiomers with phenylpyridine-based side chains was established through head-to-head assessments in a Leishmania donovani mouse model. Two such leads (R-84 and R-89) displayed promising activity in the more stringent Leishmania infantum hamster model but were unexpectedly found to be potent inhibitors of hERG. An extensive structure–activity relationship investigation pinpointed two compounds (R-6 and pyridine R-136) with better solubility and pharmacokinetic properties that also provided excellent oral efficacy in the same hamster model (>97% parasite clearance at 25 mg/kg, twice daily) and exhibited minimal hERG inhibition. Additional profiling earmarked R-6 as the favored backup development candidate. PMID:29461823

Legislation to institutionalize resources for tobacco control: the 1987 Victorian Tobacco Act.

PubMed

Borland, Ron; Winstanley, Margaret; Reading, Dorothy

2009-10-01

  To describe the process surrounding the creation of the first organization in the world to be funded from an earmarked tax on tobacco products, the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), and to outline briefly its subsequent history. The genesis of VicHealth came from an interest of the Minister for Health in the Victorian State Government to address the tobacco problem, and the strategic capacity of Dr Nigel Gray from the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria to provide a vehicle and help the government to muster support for its implementation. Success involved working with government to construct a Bill it was happy with and then working with the community to support the implementation and to counter industry attempts to derail it. The successful Bill led to the creation of VicHealth. VicHealth has played a creative and important role in promoting health not only in Victoria (Australia), but has been a stimulus for similar initiatives in other parts of the world. Enacting novel advances in public policy is made easier when there is a creative alliance between advocates outside government working closely with governments to develop a proposal that is politically achievable and then to work together to sell it. Health promotion agencies, once established, can play an important role in advancing issues like tobacco control. © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 Society for the Study of Addiction.

New Frontier Science Campaign on DIII-D launched in 2017

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koepke, M.; Buttery, R.; Carter, T.; Egedal, J.; Forest, C.; Fox, W.; Ji, H.; Howes, G.; Piovesan, P.; Sarff, J.; Skiff, F.; Spong, D.; DIII-D FSE Collaboration Collaboration

2017-10-01

The DIII-D Frontier Science Experiments initiative explores the potential to use the DIII-D tokamak facility to investigate questions of value beyond the usual fusion-energy science mission of DIII-D. The campaign is unique within DOE-SC-FES because the DIII-D tokamak supplied a multi-day-shot platform for non-fusion-energy-motivated research for the first time. All selected FSE campaign projects competed on the basis of potential intellectual impact and on the degree to which the ability to achieve success as a transformational advance relied on the capabilities of DIII-D. The motivation of the following FSE projects, as well as the selection process, will be summarized (1) Self-organization of Unstable Flux Ropes: Universal Structures in Space/Astrophysical Plasmas (2) Impact of Magnetic Perturbations on Turbulence: Zonal Flow Interactions and Saturation (3) Interaction of Alfvén/whistler fluctuations and Runaway Electrons (4) Self-consistent chaos in magnetic field dynamics These basic-plasma experiments, conducted in collaboration with the DIII-D team, were carried out during 5 shot days in FY2017. Additional days are earmarked in FY2018. Future studies with additional FSE-community members are envisioned. Opportunities exist to piggy back with DIII-D research A proper solicitation and peer review would be appropriate going forward if this activity on DIII-D continues Funding from U.S. DOE is gratefully acknowledged.

The taxation of unhealthy energy-dense foods (EDFs) and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs): An overview of patterns observed in the policy content and policy context of 13 case studies.

PubMed

Hagenaars, Luc Louis; Jeurissen, Patrick Paulus Theodoor; Klazinga, Niek Sieds

2017-08-01

Taxation of energy-dense foods (EDFs) and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is increasingly of interest as a novel public health and fiscal policy instrument. However academic interest in policy determinants has remained limited. We address this paucity by comparing the policy content and policy context of EDF/SSB taxes witnessed in 13 case studies, of which we assume the tax is sufficiently high to induce behavioural change. The observational and non-randomized studies published on our case studies seem to indicate that the EDF/SSB taxes under investigation generally had the desired effects on prices and consumption of targeted products. The revenue collection of EDF/SSB taxes is minimal yet significant. Administrative practicalities in tax levying are important, possibly explaining why a drift towards solely taxing SSBs can be noted, as these can be demarcated more easily, with levies seemingly increasing in more recent case studies. Despite the growing body of evidence suggesting that EDF/SSB taxes have the potential to improve health, fiscal needs more often seem to lay their policy foundation rather than public health advocacy. A remarkable amount of conservative/liberal governments have adopted these taxes, although in many cases revenues are earmarked for benefits compensating regressive income effects. Governments voice diverse policy rationales, ranging from explicitly describing the tax as a public health instrument, to solely explicating revenue raising. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

["I am rather satisfied with this interpretation of my dreams." -- real-life and work-related encounters between psychiatrist Johann Christian August Heinroth and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe].

PubMed

Schmideler, S; Steinberg, H

2004-09-01

Apart from being a major pioneer of modern psychiatry, Johann Christian August Heinroth (1773 - 1843) is foremost famous as the first academic teacher, professor of this subject at Leipzig University. Despite his theoretical concepts being thoroughly investigated by medical historians, the fact that his scientific work also brought him in contact with Weimar poet and scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) has up to now not been acknowledged. This paper analyses for the first time the manifold points of contact between the two geniuses. Starting off with a retrospective on Goethe's relationship towards psychiatry in his day, this paper investigates the mutual interconnections and influences between the two. This is achieved by an analysis of yet unknown primary sources as well as Goethe's literary and scientific works. A main emphasis is also placed on Heinroth's Textbook of Anthropology of 1822 in which the psychiatrist laid out his understanding of 'relational thinking' (gegenständliches Denken), a key concept for both. This theory developed from Heinroth's dealing with Goethe's concept of "anschauung" and was to gain major importance not only for his way of gaining knowledge in general but also for his psychiatric concept. Goethe's influence on Heinroth is particularly revealed in the latter's holistic views on mental illnesses. Heinroth's visit to Goethe on 15 September 1827 can be earmarked as a sign of their mutual esteem.

Arizona's tobacco control initiative illustrates the need for continuing oversight by tobacco control advocates

PubMed Central

Bialous, S. A.; Glantz, S.

1999-01-01

BACKGROUND—In 1994, Arizona voters approved Proposition 200 which increased the tobacco tax and earmarked 23% of the new revenues for tobacco education programmes.
OBJECTIVE—To describe the campaign to pass Proposition 200, the legislative debate that followed the passage of the initiative, and the development and implementation of the tobacco control programme.
DESIGN—This is a case study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with key players in the initiative campaign and in the tobacco education programme, and written records (campaign material, newspapers, memoranda, public records).
RESULTS—Despite opposition from the tobacco industry, Arizonans approved an increase in the tobacco tax. At the legislature, health advocates in Arizona successfully fought the tobacco industry attempts to divert the health education funds and pass preemptive legislation. The executive branch limited the scope of the programme to adolescents and pregnant women. It also prevented the programme from attacking the tobacco industry or focusing on secondhand smoke. Health advocates did not put enough pressure at the executive branch to force it to develop a comprehensive tobacco education programme.
CONCLUSIONS—It is not enough for health advocates to campaign for an increase in tobacco tax and to protect the funds at the legislature. Tobacco control advocates must closely monitor the development and implementation of tax-funded tobacco education programmes at the administrative level and be willing to press the executive to implement effective programmes.


Keywords: tobacco tax; health education; advocacy PMID:10478397

Potential active materials for photo-supercapacitor: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, C. H.; Lim, H. N.; Hayase, S.; Harrison, I.; Pandikumar, A.; Huang, N. M.

2015-11-01

The need for an endless renewable energy supply, typically through the utilization of solar energy in most applications and systems, has driven the expansion, versatility, and diversification of marketed energy storage devices. Energy storage devices such as hybridized dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC)-capacitors and DSSC-supercapacitors have been invented for energy reservation. The evolution and vast improvement of these devices in terms of their efficiencies and flexibilities have further sparked the invention of the photo-supercapacitor. The idea of coupling a DSSC and supercapacitor as a complete energy conversion and storage device arose because the solar energy absorbed by dye molecules can be efficiently transferred and converted to electrical energy by adopting a supercapacitor as the energy delivery system. The conversion efficiency of a photo-supercapacitor is mainly dependent on the use of active materials during its fabrication. The performances of the dye, photoactive metal oxide, counter electrode, redox electrolyte, and conducting polymer are the primary factors contributing to high-energy-efficient conversion, which enhances the performance and shelf-life of a photo-supercapacitor. Moreover, the introduction of compact layer as a primary adherent film has been earmarked as an effort in enhancing power conversion efficiency of solar cell. Additionally, the development of electrolyte-free solar cell such as the invention of hole-conductor or perovskite solar cell is currently being explored extensively. This paper reviews and analyzes the potential active materials for a photo-supercapacitor to enhance the conversion and storage efficiencies.

Galvanising the NHS to Adopt Innovation

PubMed Central

Parris, Stuart; Cochrane, Gavin; Marjanovic, Sonja; Ling, Tom; Chataway, Joanna

2016-01-01

Abstract The Department of Health and the Wellcome Trust, in co-operation with NHS England, asked RAND Europe to conduct a limited consultation with key stakeholders about the practicality of measures and incentives proposed as part of the NHS Accelerated Access Review (AAR), which aims to assess the pathways for the development, assessment, and adoption of innovative medicines and medical technology. Through a focused engagement exercise with key healthcare stakeholders this project explored the implications of selected interim AAR propositions and feasibility of implementation for key actors, in primary and secondary care as well as commissioners and academia. Specifically, the project investigated the feasibility of implementation of three specific propositions including: a new earmarked fund to encourage AHSNs and other key innovation actors to re-design systems to embrace innovation; mobilising the influence of clinical system leaders to champion change; and encouraging secondary care organisations to take on “innovation champion” roles linked to financial incentives and a new emphasis on accountable care organisations. Data was collected on the feasibility of the three AAR propositions from a workshop with AHSN CEOs and Commercial Directors and interviews with senior NHS staff in three AHSN regions (South West, University College London Partners, and North East, North Cumbria). The study concludes with reflections on the feasibility of each recommendation and identifies factors expected to facilitate or challenge their implementation, as well as considering the wider cross cutting issues that may influence the adoption and diffusion of innovation in the NHS. PMID:28083436

Disruptive innovation for social change.

PubMed

Christensen, Clayton M; Baumann, Heiner; Ruggles, Rudy; Sadtler, Thomas M

2006-12-01

Countries, organizations, and individuals around the globe spend aggressively to solve social problems, but these efforts often fail to deliver. Misdirected investment is the primary reason for that failure. Most of the money earmarked for social initiatives goes to organizations that are structured to support specific groups of recipients, often with sophisticated solutions. Such organizations rarely reach the broader populations that could be served by simpler alternatives. There is, however, an effective way to get to those underserved populations. The authors call it "catalytic innovation." Based on Clayton Christensen's disruptive-innovation model, catalytic innovations challenge organizational incumbents by offering simpler, good-enough solutions aimed at underserved groups. Unlike disruptive innovations, though, catalytic innovations are focused on creating social change. Catalytic innovators are defined by five distinct qualities. First, they create social change through scaling and replication. Second, they meet a need that is either overserved (that is, the existing solution is more complex than necessary for many people) or not served at all. Third, the products and services they offer are simpler and cheaper than alternatives, but recipients view them as good enough. Fourth, they bring in resources in ways that initially seem unattractive to incumbents. And fifth, they are often ignored, put down, or even encouraged by existing organizations, which don't see the catalytic innovators' solutions as viable. As the authors show through examples in health care, education, and economic development, both nonprofit and for-profit groups are finding ways to create catalytic innovation that drives social change.

[Compliance with guidelines by state plans for food and nutritional security in Brazil].

PubMed

Machado, Mick Lennon; Gabriel, Cristine Garcia; Soar, Claudia; Mamed, Gisele Rockenbach; Machado, Patrícia Maria de Oliveira; Lacerda, Josimari Telino de; Martins, Milena Corrêa; Marcon, Maria Cristina

2018-02-05

A descriptive and documental study was performed from August to October 2016 to analyze compliance by state plans for food and nutritional security (PlanSAN) with the guidelines set by the Brazilian National Policy for Food and Nutritional Security (PNSAN). The state plans were accessed via the websites of the Inter-Ministerial Chamber for Food and Nutritional Security (CAISAN) or the state governments, plus complementary data collection at the state level. All the states of Brazil joined the National System for Food and Nutritional Security (SISAN), while fewer than half (13 states, 48%) had drafted their plans. Of these, 5 (38%) of the PlanSAN had schedules that coincided with the same state's pluriannual plan, 5 (38%) of the PlanSAN specified the budget requirements for meeting the proposed targets, 7 (54%) specified mechanisms for monitoring the plan, and only 2 (15%) defined methodologies for monitoring food and nutritional security. The recent existence of (and adherence to) the CAISAN appear to be related to the lack of state plans in half the states. Although most of the states that did have plans met some of the guidelines laid out by the PNSAN, these mechanisms become weak and impractical when they lack earmarked budget funds to meet their targets. Since the PNSAN is structurally inter-sectorial, the development of plans requires collective work by various government departments. Importantly, the items analyzed here are all guidelines, which implies the need for mechanisms to monitor their actual implementation.

The effects of global health initiatives on country health systems: a review of the evidence from HIV/AIDS control.

PubMed

Biesma, Regien G; Brugha, Ruairí; Harmer, Andrew; Walsh, Aisling; Spicer, Neil; Walt, Gill

2009-07-01

This paper reviews country-level evidence about the impact of global health initiatives (GHIs), which have had profound effects on recipient country health systems in middle and low income countries. We have selected three initiatives that account for an estimated two-thirds of external funding earmarked for HIV/AIDS control in resource-poor countries: the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the World Bank Multi-country AIDS Program (MAP) and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This paper draws on 31 original country-specific and cross-country articles and reports, based on country-level fieldwork conducted between 2002 and 2007. Positive effects have included a rapid scale-up in HIV/AIDS service delivery, greater stakeholder participation, and channelling of funds to non-governmental stakeholders, mainly NGOs and faith-based bodies. Negative effects include distortion of recipient countries' national policies, notably through distracting governments from coordinated efforts to strengthen health systems and re-verticalization of planning, management and monitoring and evaluation systems. Sub-national and district studies are needed to assess the degree to which GHIs are learning to align with and build the capacities of countries to respond to HIV/AIDS; whether marginalized populations access and benefit from GHI-funded programmes; and about the cost-effectiveness and long-term sustainability of the HIV and AIDS programmes funded by the GHIs. Three multi-country sets of evaluations, which will be reporting in 2009, will answer some of these questions.

Systematic Development and Validation of a Thin-Layer Densitometric Bioanalytical Method for Estimation of Mangiferin Employing Analytical Quality by Design (AQbD) Approach.

PubMed

Khurana, Rajneet Kaur; Rao, Satish; Beg, Sarwar; Katare, O P; Singh, Bhupinder

2016-01-01

The present work aims at the systematic development of a simple, rapid and highly sensitive densitometry-based thin-layer chromatographic method for the quantification of mangiferin in bioanalytical samples. Initially, the quality target method profile was defined and critical analytical attributes (CAAs) earmarked, namely, retardation factor (Rf), peak height, capacity factor, theoretical plates and separation number. Face-centered cubic design was selected for optimization of volume loaded and plate dimensions as the critical method parameters selected from screening studies employing D-optimal and Plackett-Burman design studies, followed by evaluating their effect on the CAAs. The mobile phase containing a mixture of ethyl acetate : acetic acid : formic acid : water in a 7 : 1 : 1 : 1 (v/v/v/v) ratio was finally selected as the optimized solvent for apt chromatographic separation of mangiferin at 262 nm withRf 0.68 ± 0.02 and all other parameters within the acceptance limits. Method validation studies revealed high linearity in the concentration range of 50-800 ng/band for mangiferin. The developed method showed high accuracy, precision, ruggedness, robustness, specificity, sensitivity, selectivity and recovery. In a nutshell, the bioanalytical method for analysis of mangiferin in plasma revealed the presence of well-resolved peaks and high recovery of mangiferin. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Prospective Activities outlined for Regulatory Approval in Ghana Overview

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

Abrefah, R.G.; Odoi, H.C.; Mo, S.C.

The Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) is one of Chinese’s Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) which was purchased under a tripartite agreement between Ghana, China and the IAEA. The reactor was installed in 1994 and has since been in operation without any incident. It has been used chiefly for Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) and Training of students in the field of Nuclear Engineering. The GHARR-1 has been earmarked for the Conversion of Core from HEU to LEU which is in accordance with the GTRI program and other related and/or associated programs. Over the past few years the National Nuclear Research Institutemore » (NNRI), the Operating Organization of the Research Reactor for the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), has undertaken various tasks in order to implement the replacement of the reactor core. After completion, of the neutronic calculations, results showed that that an LEU fuel of 12.5% enrichment was desirable. However, recent developments have shown that an LEU fuel with 13% enrichment will be fabricated by the manufacturers, which is captured in a fuel specification document sent to NNRI by the CIAE. It is therefore imperative that all neutronic and thermal hydraulic calculation be done again to help acquire regulatory approval. Furthermore, the radiation exposure to personnel involved in the conversion must be estimated to help convince our regulators. This paper outlines the processes and activities that will enable us meet regulatory requirements.« less

The welfare implications of public healthcare financing: a macro-micro simulation analysis of Uganda.

PubMed

Kabajulizi, Judith; Keogh-Brown, Marcus R; Smith, Richard D

2017-12-01

Studies on global health and development suggest that there is a strong correlation between the burden of disease and a country's level of income. Poorer countries tend to suffer more deaths from preventable causes such as communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions, compared with high-income countries. In low-income countries, the government health expenditure share in the general government budget is low and out-of-pocket payments for healthcare relatively high. They also rely heavily on external resources for health funding, yet sustainability of external resource flows is not guaranteed. This article explores increasing public healthcare funding from domestic resources mobilization, and evaluates the impact of measures to achieve this on sectoral growth and poverty reduction rates in Uganda using a dynamic computable general equilibrium model. This article shows that increasing the government health budget share, facilitates expanded healthcare services, improved population health, higher sectoral growth and reduced poverty. The agricultural sector is predicted to post the highest growth when compared with services and industry sectors under both domestic taxation and aid funding scenarios, while national poverty is predicted to decline from 31 to 12% of the population by 2020. This article demonstrates that the most effective measure is to frontload investment in healthcare and generate additional domestic funding for health from a household tax earmarked for health. © 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.

Slovenia’s Construction Act and Implementation Plans: A Case Study of Izola IPA-8

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ažman Momirski, Lucija

2017-10-01

The guidelines for urban design in Izola’s IPA-8 planning area, which is earmarked for hotels, apartment complexes, and sports, specify diverse forms of leisure living space required by modern society. The new tourist complex is not a large monotonous hotel complex, but rather a spatial arrangement in which guests experience an authentic local environment and city residents enjoy the new high-quality ambience. The hotel area is defined by three major communication axes from north to south, linking the countryside to the coastal area and opening up attractive sea views in the new complex. Internal east-west links connect buildings and public spaces. Because of the terraced terrain, a large number of paved ramps and internal public gardens have been designed between the structures. The extensions of the communication axes are laid out as squares, named based on the function of the public spaces. Hotel Street is the central axis and main connecting street, with public hotel services and restaurants. The west axis extends into Culture Square, where activities related to Izola’s culture and history are presented; here there is an opportunity to create new galleries, a small local museum, and an exhibition room. Apartment Square is located on the east communication axis, along which only a limited number of trade, catering, and service activities are planned. The plan received first prize in a public competition, and it later developed into detailed municipal spatial plan. In this process, it became clear that Slovenia’s Construction Act (ZGO-1) does not support plans to create terraced buildings.

Union Women, the Tobacco Industry, and Excise Taxes

PubMed Central

Balbach, Edith D.; Campbell, Richard B.

2009-01-01

Between 1987 and 1997, the tobacco industry used the issue of cigarette excise tax increases to create a political partnership with the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), a group representing female trade unionists in the U.S. This paper documents how the industry created this relationship and the lessons tobacco-control advocates can learn from the industry’s example, in order to mitigate possible unintended consequences of advocating excise tax increases In 1998, under the terms of the Master Settlement Agreement, the tobacco industry began making documents produced in litigation available publicly. Currently, approximately 50 million pages are available online, including substantial documentation of the industry–CLUW relationship. For this study, a comprehensive search of these documents was conducted. The tobacco industry encouraged CLUW’s opposition to excise tax increases by emphasizing the economic regressivity of these taxes, discussing excise taxes generically to deflect attention from cigarettes, and encouraging opposition to earmarking cigarette taxes to pay for specific programs. In addition, CLUW received at least $221,500 in financial support between 1987 and 1997 and in-kind support for its conferences, membership materials, and other services. Excise tax increases, if pursued without considering the impacts they may have on low-SES populations, may have unintended consequences. In this case, such proposals may have helped to create a relationship between CLUW and the tobacco industry. Because excise taxes are endorsed in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, tobacco-control advocates must understand how to build relationships with low-SES populations and mitigate potential alliances with the tobacco industry. PMID:19591750

How to (or not to) … measure performance against the Abuja target for public health expenditure.

PubMed

Witter, Sophie; Jones, Alex; Ensor, Tim

2014-07-01

In 2001, African heads of state committed 'to set a target of allocating at least 15% of our annual budget to the improvement of the health sector'. This target has since been used as a benchmark to hold governments accountable. However, it was never followed by a set of guidelines as to how it should be measured in practice. This article sets out some of the areas of ambiguity and argues for an interpretation which focuses on actual expenditure, rather than budgets (which are theoretical), and which captures areas of spending that are subject to government discretion. These are largely domestic sources, but include budget support, which is externally derived but subject to Ministry of Finance sectoral allocation. Theoretical and practical arguments in favour of this recommendation are recommended using a case study from Sierra Leone. It is recommended that all discretionary spending by government is included in the numerator and denominator when calculating performance against the target, including spending by all ministries on health, social health insurance payments, debt relief funds and budget support. Conversely, all forms of private payment and earmarked aid should be excluded. The authors argue that the target, while an important vehicle for tracking political commitment to the sector, should be assessed intelligently by governments, which have legitimate wider public finance objectives of maximizing overall social returns, and should be complemented by a wider range of indicators, to avoid distortions. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2013; all rights reserved.

The health management information system of Pakistan under devolution: health managers' perceptions.

PubMed

Qazi, Muhammad Suleman; Ali, Moazzam; Kuroiwa, Chushi

2008-04-01

Devolution implies that use of data for decision making starts at the level of data generation. However under a newly decentralized system, managers may face different hurdles in utilizing the preexisting Health Management Information System (HMIS). This qualitative research explores the perceptions of health managers regarding HMIS under the devolution reforms enacted in 2001 in Pakistan. The study was carried out by interviewing 26 managers at various levels in seven selected districts in all provinces. There was general dissatisfaction and confusion over roles and responsibility: respondents reported that the overall atmosphere was characterized by the reluctance of provincial managers to release data under their authority, the absence of prerequisite human resources, and conflicts of interests between political and administrative leadership. The devolution didn't bring immediate good effects for the HMIS. Treated as a least priority area, staff was distributed from provincial HMIS cells, causing overburdening of remaining staff and jeopardizing data analysis. Reporting regularity from the districts was also compromised secondary to political interference and loss of provincial control. The present HMIS is in need of redesigning so that it may keep pace with the devolved system. The HMIS reforms are needed to improve information systems at the district level, capacity building of district managers, political commitment, and administrative ownership of the system and to earmark and make available resource and promote evidence-based decision making. Change in the public administration culture towards encouraging initiative taking at lower levels, introduction of performance incentives, inculcating work ethics, encouraging local accountability, and good governance are all essential.

The effects of global health initiatives on country health systems: a review of the evidence from HIV/AIDS control

PubMed Central

Biesma, Regien G; Brugha, Ruairí; Harmer, Andrew; Walsh, Aisling; Spicer, Neil; Walt, Gill

2009-01-01

This paper reviews country-level evidence about the impact of global health initiatives (GHIs), which have had profound effects on recipient country health systems in middle and low income countries. We have selected three initiatives that account for an estimated two-thirds of external funding earmarked for HIV/AIDS control in resource-poor countries: the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the World Bank Multi-country AIDS Program (MAP) and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This paper draws on 31 original country-specific and cross-country articles and reports, based on country-level fieldwork conducted between 2002 and 2007. Positive effects have included a rapid scale-up in HIV/AIDS service delivery, greater stakeholder participation, and channelling of funds to non-governmental stakeholders, mainly NGOs and faith-based bodies. Negative effects include distortion of recipient countries’ national policies, notably through distracting governments from coordinated efforts to strengthen health systems and re-verticalization of planning, management and monitoring and evaluation systems. Sub-national and district studies are needed to assess the degree to which GHIs are learning to align with and build the capacities of countries to respond to HIV/AIDS; whether marginalized populations access and benefit from GHI-funded programmes; and about the cost-effectiveness and long-term sustainability of the HIV and AIDS programmes funded by the GHIs. Three multi-country sets of evaluations, which will be reporting in 2009, will answer some of these questions. PMID:19491291

Sector-wide or disease-specific? Implications of trends in development assistance for health for the SDG era.

PubMed

Buffardi, Anne L

2018-04-01

The record of the Millennium Development Goals broadly reflects the trade-offs of disease-specific financing: substantial progress in particular areas, facilitated by time-bound targets that are easy to measure and communicate, which shifted attention and resources away from other areas, masked inequalities and exacerbated fragmentation. In many ways, the Sustainable Development Goals reflect a profound shift towards a more holistic, system-wide approach. To inform responses to this shift, this article builds upon existing work on aggregate trends in donor financing, bringing together what have largely been disparate analyses of sector-wide and disease-specific financing approaches. Looking across the last 26 years, the article examines how international donors have allocated development assistance for health (DAH) between these two approaches and how attempts to bridge them have fared in practice. Since 1990, DAH has overwhelmingly favoured disease-specific earmarks over health sector support, with the latter peaking in 1998. Attempts to integrate system strengthening elements into disease-specific funding mechanisms have varied by disease, and more integrated funding platforms have failed to gain traction. Health sector support largely remains an unfulfilled promise: proportionately low amounts (albeit absolute increases) which have been inconsistently allocated, and the overall approach inconsistently applied in practice. Thus, the expansive orientation of the Sustainable Development Goals runs counter to trends over the last several decades. Financing proposals and efforts to adapt global health institutions must acknowledge and account for the persistent challenges in the financing and implementation of integrated, cross-sector policies. National and subnational experimentation may offer alternatives within and beyond the health sector.

Music to whose ears? The effect of social norms on young people's risk perceptions of hearing damage resulting from their music listening behavior.

PubMed

Gilliver, Megan; Carter, Lyndal; Macoun, Denise; Rosen, Jenny; Williams, Warwick

2012-01-01

Professional and community concerns about the potentially dangerous noise levels for common leisure activities has led to increased interest on providing hearing health information to participants. However, noise reduction programmes aimed at leisure activities (such as music listening) face a unique difficulty. The noise source that is earmarked for reduction by hearing health professionals is often the same one that is viewed as pleasurable by participants. Furthermore, these activities often exist within a social setting, with additional peer influences that may influence behavior. The current study aimed to gain a better understanding of social-based factors that may influence an individual's motivation to engage in positive hearing health behaviors. Four hundred and eighty-four participants completed questionnaires examining their perceptions of the hearing risk associated with listening to music listening and asking for estimates of their own and their peer's music listening behaviors. Participants were generally aware of the potential risk posed by listening to personal stereo players (PSPs) and the volumes likely to be most dangerous. Approximately one in five participants reported using listening volumes at levels perceived to be dangerous, an incidence rate in keeping with other studies measuring actual PSP use. However, participants showed less awareness of peers' behavior, consistently overestimating the volumes at which they believed their friends listened. Misperceptions of social norms relating to listening behavior may decrease individuals' perceptions of susceptibility to hearing damage. The consequences of hearing health promotion are discussed, along with suggestions relating to the development of new programs.

What is known about tobacco industry efforts to influence tobacco tax? A systematic review of empirical studies

PubMed Central

Smith, K.E.; Savell, E.; Gilmore, A.B.

2013-01-01

Objective To systematically review studies of tobacco industry efforts to influence tax policies. Data sources We conducted searches between 1st October 2009 and 31st March 2010 on 14 databases/websites, in relevant bibliographies and via experts. Study selection We included studies if they: focused on industry efforts to influence tobacco tax policies; drew on empirical evidence; were in English; concerned the period 1985–2010. 36 studies met these criteria. Data extraction Two reviewers undertook data extraction and critical appraisal. A random selection of 15 studies (42%) was subject to second review. Data synthesis We assessed evidence thematically to identify distinct tobacco industry aims, arguments and tactics. 34 studies examined industry efforts to influence tax levels. They suggest industry works hard to prevent significant increases and particularly dislikes taxes ‘earmarked’ for tobacco control. Key arguments to counter increases are that tobacco taxes are socially regressive, unfair and lead to increased levels of illicit trade and negative economic impacts. For earmarked taxes, the industry also frequently tries to raise concerns about revenue allocation. Assessing industry arguments against established evidence demonstrates most are unsupported. Key industry tactics include: establishing ‘front groups’; securing credible allies, direct lobbying; and publicity campaigns. Only seven studies examined efforts to influence tax structures. They suggest company preferences vary and tactics centre on direct lobbying. Conclusions The tobacco industry has historically tried to keep tobacco taxes low using consistent tactics and misleading arguments. Further research is required to explore efforts to influence: tax structures; excise policies beyond the US; recent policies. PMID:22887175

Evaluating the Role and Contribution of Innovation to Health and Wealth in the UK: A Review of Innovation, Health and Wealth: Phase 1 Final Report.

PubMed

Bienkowska-Gibbs, Teresa; Exley, Josephine; Saunders, Catherine L; Marjanovic, Sonja; Chataway, Joanna; MacLure, Calum; McDonald, Ruth; Ling, Tom

2016-06-20

The Department of Health's Innovation, Health and Wealth (IHW) strategy aimed to introduce a more strategic approach to the spread of innovation across the NHS. This study represents the first phase of a three-year evaluation and aims to map progress towards the IHW strategy and its component actions. This evaluation used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods: document review, key informant interviews and stakeholder survey. This study also forms the basis for selecting case studies for phase two of the evaluation. Our findings from the interviews and survey suggest broad stakeholder support for the overarching ambitions of the IHW strategy. However, we found variable progress towards the overarching objectives of the eight IHW themes and an ambiguous relationship between many of the themes' objectives and their actions. It was difficult to assess progress on IHW's actions as commitment to the actions, implementation guidance and expected outcomes of the actions were not clearly articulated. The Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) and the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) were reported to be working well, which may be attributed to their clear structures of accountability and earmarked budgets. However, survey respondents and interviewees raised concerns that budgetary pressures may limit the impact of both AHSNs and the SBRI. The main challenges identified for ongoing action were the resources available for their implementation (e.g. Medtech Briefings), lack of awareness of the initiative (e.g. the NICE Implementation Collaborative) and the design of the actions (e.g. the Innovation Scorecard, web portal and High Impact Innovations).

Distribution and diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in a semi-arid region earmarked for shale gas exploration (Eastern Cape Karoo, South Africa)

PubMed Central

Bird, Matthew S.; Perissinotto, Renzo

2017-01-01

This study aims to investigate macroinvertebrate assemblage structure and composition across the three major waterbody types (temporary rivers, depression wetlands and semi-permanent dams) of the Eastern Cape Karoo, and to identify important environmental and spatial correlates of macroinvertebrate assemblage composition in the region. A total of 33 waterbodies (9 dams, 13 depression wetlands and 11 rivers) were sampled. Altogether, 91 taxa were recorded in November 2014 and 82 in April 2015. Twenty-seven taxa were common to all three waterbody types (across both sampling occasions), with 17 of these observed in November and 19 in April. The ANOSIM tests revealed significant differences in assemblage composition between the depression wetlands and rivers for both sampling occasions, but dams did not differ from the other waterbody types. SIMPER analyses indicated that the notonectid Anisops varia and the corixid Micronecta scutellaris were abundant across all three waterbody types during both sampling occasions. The mayfly Cloeon africanum and the damselfly Pseudagrion sp. were abundant in river habitats during both sampling occasions, while the gastropod mollusc Bulinus tropicus and the copepod Lovenula falcifera best characterised depression wetlands on both occasions. Non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination highlighted a clear separation of assemblages between November and April, while distance-based Redundancy Analysis revealed that conductivity, altitude, turbidity and pH were the most important variables explaining the variation in macroinvertebrate assemblage patterns. These results provide baseline information which is important for future biological monitoring of impacts associated with hydraulic fracturing activities and climatic changes in the region. PMID:28575059

Distribution and diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in a semi-arid region earmarked for shale gas exploration (Eastern Cape Karoo, South Africa).

PubMed

Mabidi, Annah; Bird, Matthew S; Perissinotto, Renzo

2017-01-01

This study aims to investigate macroinvertebrate assemblage structure and composition across the three major waterbody types (temporary rivers, depression wetlands and semi-permanent dams) of the Eastern Cape Karoo, and to identify important environmental and spatial correlates of macroinvertebrate assemblage composition in the region. A total of 33 waterbodies (9 dams, 13 depression wetlands and 11 rivers) were sampled. Altogether, 91 taxa were recorded in November 2014 and 82 in April 2015. Twenty-seven taxa were common to all three waterbody types (across both sampling occasions), with 17 of these observed in November and 19 in April. The ANOSIM tests revealed significant differences in assemblage composition between the depression wetlands and rivers for both sampling occasions, but dams did not differ from the other waterbody types. SIMPER analyses indicated that the notonectid Anisops varia and the corixid Micronecta scutellaris were abundant across all three waterbody types during both sampling occasions. The mayfly Cloeon africanum and the damselfly Pseudagrion sp. were abundant in river habitats during both sampling occasions, while the gastropod mollusc Bulinus tropicus and the copepod Lovenula falcifera best characterised depression wetlands on both occasions. Non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination highlighted a clear separation of assemblages between November and April, while distance-based Redundancy Analysis revealed that conductivity, altitude, turbidity and pH were the most important variables explaining the variation in macroinvertebrate assemblage patterns. These results provide baseline information which is important for future biological monitoring of impacts associated with hydraulic fracturing activities and climatic changes in the region.

Union women, the tobacco industry, and excise taxes: a lesson in unintended consequences.

PubMed

Balbach, Edith D; Campbell, Richard B

2009-08-01

Between 1987 and 1997, the tobacco industry used the issue of cigarette excise tax increases to create a political partnership with the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), a group representing female trade unionists in the U.S. This paper documents how the industry created this relationship and the lessons tobacco-control advocates can learn from the industry's example, in order to mitigate possible unintended consequences of advocating excise tax increases. In 1998, under the terms of the Master Settlement Agreement, the tobacco industry began making documents produced in litigation available publicly. Currently, approximately 50 million pages are available online, including substantial documentation of the industry-CLUW relationship. For this study, a comprehensive search of these documents was conducted. The tobacco industry encouraged CLUW's opposition to excise tax increases by emphasizing the economic regressivity of these taxes, discussing excise taxes generically to deflect attention from cigarettes, and encouraging opposition to earmarking cigarette taxes to pay for specific programs. In addition, CLUW received at least $221,500 in financial support between 1987 and 1997 and in-kind support for its conferences, membership materials, and other services. Excise tax increases, if pursued without considering the impacts they may have on low-SES populations, may have unintended consequences. In this case, such proposals may have helped to create a relationship between CLUW and the tobacco industry. Because excise taxes are endorsed in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, tobacco-control advocates must understand how to build relationships with low-SES populations and mitigate potential alliances with the tobacco industry.

Transformation of the California mental health system: stakeholder-driven planning as a transformational activity.

PubMed

Cashin, Cheryl; Scheffler, Richard; Felton, Mistique; Adams, Neal; Miller, Leonard

2008-10-01

This study describes strategies developed by California counties to transform their mental health systems under the 2004 Mental Health Services Act (MHSA). This voter initiative places a 1% tax on annual incomes over $1 million; tax monies are earmarked to transform county-operated mental health services into systems that are oriented more toward recovery. MHSA implementation itself can be considered "transformational" by balancing greater standardization of mental health service delivery in the state with a locally driven planning process. A qualitative content analysis of the three-year plans submitted by 12 counties to receive funds under MHSA was conducted to identify common themes, as well as innovative approaches. These 12 (out of 58) counties were chosen to represent both small and large counties, as well as geographic diversity, and they represent 62.3% of the state population. This analysis showed that the state guidelines and local planning process generated consistency across counties in establishing full-service partnerships with a "whatever it takes" approach to providing goal-directed services and supports to consumers and their families. There was, however, little convergence around the specific strategies to achieve this vision, reflecting both the local planning process and a relative lack of clear policy and guidance on evidence-based practices. There are many obstacles to the successful implementation of these ambitious plans. However, the state-guided, but stakeholder-driven, transformation in California appears to generate innovative approaches to recovery-oriented services, involve consumers and family members in service planning and delivery, and build community partnerships that create new opportunities for consumers to meet their recovery goals.

Public Spending on Health Service and Policy Research in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States: A Modest Proposal

PubMed Central

Thakkar, Vidhi; Sullivan, Terrence

2017-01-01

Health services and policy research (HSPR) represent a multidisciplinary field which integrates knowledge from health economics, health policy, health technology assessment, epidemiology, political science among other fields, to evaluate decisions in health service delivery. Health service decisions are informed by evidence at the clinical, organizational, and policy level, levels with distinct, managerial drivers. HSPR has an evolving discourse spanning knowledge translation, linkage and exchange between research and decision-maker partners and more recently, implementation science and learning health systems. Local context is important for HSPR and is important in advancing health reform practice. The amounts and configuration of national investment in this field remain important considerations which reflect priority investment areas. The priorities set within this field or research may have greater or lesser effects and promise with respect to modernizing health services in pursuit of better value and better population outcomes. Within Canada an asset map for HSPR was published by the national HSPR research institute. Having estimated publicly-funded research spending in Canada, we sought identify best available comparable estimates from the United States and the United Kingdom. Investments from industry and charitable organizations were not included in these numbers. This commentary explores spending by the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on HSPR as a fraction of total public spending on health and the importance of these respective investments in advancing health service performance. Proposals are offered on the merits of common nomenclature and accounting for areas of investigation in pursuit of some comparable way of assessing priority HSPR investments and suggestions for earmarking such investments to total investment in health services spending. PMID:29179288

Workplace learning through collaboration in primary healthcare: A BEME realist review of what works, for whom and in what circumstances: BEME Guide No. 46.

PubMed

Mertens, Fien; de Groot, Esther; Meijer, Loes; Wens, Johan; Gemma Cherry, Mary; Deveugele, Myriam; Damoiseaux, Roger; Stes, Ann; Pype, Peter

2018-02-01

Changes in healthcare practice toward more proactive clinical, organizational and interprofessional working require primary healthcare professionals to learn continuously from each other through collaboration. This systematic review uses realist methodology to consolidate knowledge on the characteristics of workplace learning (WPL) through collaboration by primary healthcare professionals. Following several scoping searches, five electronic bibliographic databases were searched from January 1990 to December 2015 for relevant gray and published literature written in English, French, German and Dutch. Reviewers worked in pairs to identify relevant articles. A set of statements, based on the findings of our scoping searches, was used as a coding tree to analyze the papers. Interpretation of the results was done in alternating pairs, discussed within the author group and triangulated with stakeholders' views. Out of 6930 references, we included 42 publications that elucidated who, when, how and what primary healthcare professionals learn through collaboration. Papers were both qualitative and quantitative in design, and focused largely on WPL of collaborating general practitioners and nurses. No striking differences between different professionals within primary healthcare were noted. Professionals were often unaware of the learning that occurs through collaboration. WPL happened predominantly through informal discussions about patient cases and modeling for other professionals. Any professionals could both learn and facilitate others' learning. Outcomes were diverse, but contextualized knowledge seemed to be important. Primary care professionals' WPL is multifaceted. Existing social constructivist and social cognitivist learning theories form a framework from which to interpret these findings. Primary care policy makers and managers should ensure that professionals have access to protected time, earmarked for learning. Time is required for reflection, to learn new ways of interaction and to develop new habits within clinical practice.

TPC2 is a novel NAADP-sensitive Ca2+ release channel, operating as a dual sensor of luminal pH and Ca2+.

PubMed

Pitt, Samantha J; Funnell, Tim M; Sitsapesan, Mano; Venturi, Elisa; Rietdorf, Katja; Ruas, Margarida; Ganesan, A; Gosain, Rajendra; Churchill, Grant C; Zhu, Michael X; Parrington, John; Galione, Antony; Sitsapesan, Rebecca

2010-11-05

Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) is a molecule capable of initiating the release of intracellular Ca(2+) required for many essential cellular processes. Recent evidence links two-pore channels (TPCs) with NAADP-induced release of Ca(2+) from lysosome-like acidic organelles; however, there has been no direct demonstration that TPCs can act as NAADP-sensitive Ca(2+) release channels. Controversial evidence also proposes ryanodine receptors as the primary target of NAADP. We show that TPC2, the major lysosomal targeted isoform, is a cation channel with selectivity for Ca(2+) that will enable it to act as a Ca(2+) release channel in the cellular environment. NAADP opens TPC2 channels in a concentration-dependent manner, binding to high affinity activation and low affinity inhibition sites. At the core of this process is the luminal environment of the channel. The sensitivity of TPC2 to NAADP is steeply dependent on the luminal [Ca(2+)] allowing extremely low levels of NAADP to open the channel. In parallel, luminal pH controls NAADP affinity for TPC2 by switching from reversible activation of TPC2 at low pH to irreversible activation at neutral pH. Further evidence earmarking TPCs as the likely pathway for NAADP-induced intracellular Ca(2+) release is obtained from the use of Ned-19, the selective blocker of cellular NAADP-induced Ca(2+) release. Ned-19 antagonizes NAADP-activation of TPC2 in a non-competitive manner at 1 μM but potentiates NAADP activation at nanomolar concentrations. This single-channel study provides a long awaited molecular basis for the peculiar mechanistic features of NAADP signaling and a framework for understanding how NAADP can mediate key physiological events.

From Visions to Practical Policy: The Universal Design Journey in Norway. What Did We Learn? What Did We Gain? What Now?

PubMed

Lund, Einar; Bringa, Olav Rand

2016-01-01

The national policy in Norway have since the last part of the 1990-ies been organized in programs that erected actions including national authorities, municipalities, regional authorities and private enterprises. What have we gained by our national activities to mainstream inclusive and accessibility policy for persons with reduced capability through the principles of Universal Design? Have we made society accessible to everyone and prevented discrimination. Are the results visible? We can measure results on several sectors, inter alia public buildings, outdoor areas, central communication hubs, public transport and the occurrence plans for Universal Design in municipalities and regions. Through several programs and action plans the Norwegian government has developed a sectoral approach for including persons with disabilities in the society. The majority of ministries have participated in these plans. Local initiatives, local councils for disabled people, and later on municipalities and county administrations were supported by national authorities as complements to regulations and laws. In addition, guidelines and assisting funds were used. The main objective was to redefine the national policy, using better defined national goals and introducing Universal Design to replace accessibility as the basic tool. The mainstreaming of the accessibility policy, where Universal Design was included in relevant sectors and activities, was a crucial part of the strategy. The national policy was organized in programs that erected actions focusing on how to reach, inspire and include municipalities and regional authorities in their own struggle for Universal Design. Through the mainstream approach ministries have both earmarked economic transfers to their own agencies and used steering documents guide to these agencies how to implement Universal Design in their advisory services, in practicing laws and regulations and in their own planning and building activities.

Measurement of Scientific Productivity in R&D Sector: Changing paradigm.

PubMed

Kumar, Abhishek; Srivastava, Alpana; Kumar, R P Jeevan; Tiwari, Rajesh K

2017-01-01

Scientific Productivity is a demand of policy makers for a judicious utilization of massive R&D budget allocated and utilized. A huge mass of intellectual assets is employed, which after investing manpower, infrastructure and lab consumables demand for a major outcome which contributes towards building nation's economy. Scientific productivity was only measured through publications or patents. Patents, earmarked as a strong parameter for innovation generation, where, Word Intellectual Property Organisation generated a data on applications for the top 20 offices for patents, where Australia, Brazil and Canada occupied top 3 positions. India ranked 9th with the total patent applications rising from 39762 (2010) to 42854 (2014) i.e. 15%, whereas, it contributes around 2% Patents (innovative productivity) on global scale. Many studies have come forward interestingly within scientific and academic domains in the form of measurement of scientific performance, however, development of productivity indicators and calculation of Scientific Productivity (SP) as a holistic evaluation system is a significant demand. SP, a herculean task is envisaged for productivity analysis and would submit significant factors towards fabricating an effective measurement engine in a holistic manner viable for an individual and organization, being supplementary to each other. This review projects the significance of performance measurement system in R&D through identification and standardization of key parameters. It also includes emphasis on inclusion of standardized parameters, effective for performance measurement which is applicable for scientists, technical staff as well as lab as a facility. This review aims at providing an insight to the evaluators, policy makers, and high level scientific panels to stimulate the scientific intellects on identified indicators so that their work proceeds to generate productive outcome contributing to the economic growth. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Changing roles of women: reproduction to production.

PubMed

Rachapaetayakom, J

1988-12-01

The status of women in the countries included in the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) varies widely from home labor and childbearing to social and political participation. In countries where the total fertility rate is high (over 6), such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal, the status of women is low. Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal, along with India, Sri Lanka, and China, also have the lowest levels of per capita income. The education of women is one of the earmarks of social development. Education enables women to delay marriage, reduce fertility, and participate in the economy. Between 1970 and 1980, the female literacy rate increased 10% in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines; and 5% in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. Women's participation in the labor force is determined both by the stage of development of the country and by cultural factors. In Muslim countries the level of women's participation in the labor force is low. In Thailand and China it is very high. Women with the most education are likeliest to work in professional and administrative jobs. Self-employed women tend to have as little status and as many children as unpaid family workers, and women working in agriculture are almost as badly off. In Asia and the Pacific, except for Muslim countries, women have participated actively in family planning programs. In several countries in the region, women have been active in politics, but mostly at the local level. If women are to be integrated into the development process in the countries of Asia and the Pacific, attention must be given to their education and employment, to increasing the role of men in household and child rearing duties, and to research in the interrelations of population processes, women's status, and socioeconomic development.

Cost Effectiveness of a Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Excise Tax in the U.S.

PubMed

Long, Michael W; Gortmaker, Steven L; Ward, Zachary J; Resch, Stephen C; Moodie, Marj L; Sacks, Gary; Swinburn, Boyd A; Carter, Rob C; Claire Wang, Y

2015-07-01

Reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption through taxation is a promising public health response to the obesity epidemic in the U.S. This study quantifies the expected health and economic benefits of a national sugar-sweetened beverage excise tax of $0.01/ounce over 10 years. A cohort model was used to simulate the impact of the tax on BMI. Assuming ongoing implementation and effect maintenance, quality-adjusted life-years gained and disability-adjusted life-years and healthcare costs averted were estimated over the 2015-2025 period for the 2015 U.S. Costs and health gains were discounted at 3% annually. Data were analyzed in 2014. Implementing the tax nationally would cost $51 million in the first year. The tax would reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption by 20% and mean BMI by 0.16 (95% uncertainty interval [UI]=0.06, 0.37) units among youth and 0.08 (95% UI=0.03, 0.20) units among adults in the second year for a cost of $3.16 (95% UI=$1.24, $8.14) per BMI unit reduced. From 2015 to 2025, the policy would avert 101,000 disability-adjusted life-years (95% UI=34,800, 249,000); gain 871,000 quality-adjusted life-years (95% UI=342,000, 2,030,000); and result in $23.6 billion (95% UI=$9.33 billion, $54.9 billion) in healthcare cost savings. The tax would generate $12.5 billion in annual revenue (95% UI=$8.92, billion, $14.1 billion). The proposed tax could substantially reduce BMI and healthcare expenditures and increase healthy life expectancy. Concerns regarding the potentially regressive tax may be addressed by reduced obesity disparities and progressive earmarking of tax revenue for health promotion. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Small mammal responses to Amazonian forest islands are modulated by their forest dependence.

PubMed

Palmeirim, Ana Filipa; Benchimol, Maíra; Vieira, Marcus Vinícius; Peres, Carlos A

2018-05-01

Hydroelectric dams have induced widespread loss, fragmentation and degradation of terrestrial habitats in lowland tropical forests. Yet their ecological impacts have been widely neglected, particularly in developing countries, which are currently earmarked for exponential hydropower development. Here we assess small mammal assemblage responses to Amazonian forest habitat insularization induced by the 28-year-old Balbina Hydroelectric Dam. We sampled small mammals on 25 forest islands (0.83-1466 ha) and four continuous forest sites in the mainland to assess the overall community structure and species-specific responses to forest insularization. We classified all species according to their degree of forest-dependency using a multi-scale approach, considering landscape, patch and local habitat characteristics. Based on 65,520 trap-nights, we recorded 884 individuals of at least 22 small mammal species. Species richness was best predicted by island area and isolation, with small islands (< 15 ha) harbouring an impoverished nested subset of species (mean ± SD: 2.6 ± 1.3 species), whereas large islands (> 200 ha; 10.8 ± 1.3 species) and continuous forest sites (∞ ha; 12.5 ± 2.5 species) exhibited similarly high species richness. Forest-dependent species showed higher local extinction rates and were often either absent or persisted at low abundances on small islands, where non-forest-dependent species became hyper-abundant. Species capacity to use non-forest habitat matrices appears to dictate small mammal success in small isolated islands. We suggest that ecosystem functioning may be highly disrupted on small islands, which account for 62.7% of all 3546 islands in the Balbina Reservoir.

Using disease management and market reforms to address the adverse economic effects of drug budgets and price and reimbursement regulations in Germany.

PubMed

Schwermann, Tim; Greiner, Wolfgang; v d Schulenburg, J M Graf

2003-01-01

Germany spends the highest share (10.4%) of its gross domestic product on health care among European Union countries. The majority of this financing comes from an earmarked tax on labor earnings. Drug spending, as a share (12.7%), is relatively low, as is per-capita drug spending. Over the past decade, a number of specific budgeting initiatives were introduced to control drug spending-with some success, at least until the 11% increase in the first 6 months of 2001. This article describes and analyzes these governmental initiatives as well as other market reforms. Germany has had a "drug budget silo mentality" throughout this period. But the focus of the mentality moved rapidly from the central budget to regional budgets and to drug budgets per physician based on historical data. These amounts do not correspond to either medical necessity or economic considerations. An analysis of the health-care system as a whole shows that the efforts to constrain spending with budget in one area can lead to higher total costs. This article also considers the impact of introducing other actual or proposed reforms such as a positive list to replace the negative list, generic substitution, retail price competition among pharmacies, and E-health commerce. There is also a new national institute constructing a database of information on health technology assessments. To overcome the strong segmentation of the health system in physician, drug, and hospital budgets, we recommend using this information from proper cost-effectiveness evaluations to develop clear guidelines for disease management programs, reinforced by appropriate financial incentives.

Impact of Community Mass Treatment with Azithromycin for Trachoma Elimination on the Prevalence of Yaws

PubMed Central

Marks, Michael; Vahi, Ventis; Sokana, Oliver; Chi, Kai-Hua; Puiahi, Elliot; Kilua, Georgina; Pillay, Allan; Dalipanda, Tenneth; Bottomley, Christian; Solomon, Anthony W.; Mabey, David C.

2015-01-01

Background Community mass treatment with 30mg/kg azithromycin is central to the new WHO strategy for eradicating yaws. Both yaws and trachoma— which is earmarked for elimination by 2020 using a strategy that includes mass treatment with 20mg/kg azithromycin—are endemic in the Pacific, raising the possibility of an integrated approach to disease control. Community mass treatment with azithromycin for trachoma elimination was conducted in the Solomon Islands in 2014. Methods We conducted a study to assess the impact of mass treatment with 20mg/kg azithromycin on yaws. We examined children aged 5-14 years and took blood and lesion samples for yaws diagnosis. Results We recruited 897 children, 6 months after mass treatment. There were no cases of active yaws. Serological evidence of current infection was found in 3.6% (95% CI= 2.5-5.0%). This differed significantly between individuals who had and had not received azithromycin (2.8% vs 6.5%, p=0.015); the prevalence of positive serology in 5-14 year-olds had been 21.7% (95% CI=14.6%-30.9%) 6 months prior to mass treatment. Not receiving azithromycin was associated with an odds of 3.9 for infection (p=0.001). National figures showed a 57% reduction in reported cases of yaws following mass treatment. Discussion Following a single round of treatment we did not identify any cases of active yaws in a previously endemic population. We found a significant reduction in latent infection. Our data support expansion of the WHO eradication strategy and suggest an integrated approach to the control of yaws and trachoma in the Pacific may be viable. PMID:26241484

Exogenous carbonaceous matter in ancient martian sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mojzsis, S. J.; Abramov, O.; Kereszturi, A.

2015-12-01

We re-evaluate the early evolution of an organic-matter rich (~10 wt. %) interplanetary dust particle flux to early Mars. Our work builds upon physical models that rely on plausible sources of exogenous debris and their dynamical rates of decay, the martian cratering record, and preservation of Noachian-Hesperian sedimentary units that have the potential to host organics. Post primary-accretionary scenarios that would have delivered abundant exogenous carbon to Mars can be imagined in two ways: a simple exponential decay with an approximately 100 Myr half-life, or as a "Sawtooth" timeline characterized by both faster-than-exponential decay from primary accretion and reduced total delivered mass. Indications are that a late bombardment spike was superposed on an otherwise broadly monotonic decline from primary accretion, of which two types are explored: a classical "Late Heavy Bombardment" (LHB) peak of impactors centered at ca. 3950 Ma and lasting 100 Myr, and a protracted bombardment typified by a sudden increase in impactor flux at ca. 4240-4100 Ma with a correspondingly longer decay time (400 Myr). Numerical models for each of the four bombardment scenarios explored in this work shows that exogenous organic matter could be a significant component of Noachian (ca. 4200-3700 Ma) and pre-Noachian (4500-4200 Ma) sediments. The discovery of organic-matter in martian sediments will be obfuscated by material of extra-areological origin. We predict that an earmark for the origin of this carbon would be correlated siderophile element abundances (e.g. Ni, Cr, and the platinoids). A time-dependent compositional relationship of C:HSEs would allow us to derive a chemochronology for pre-Hesperian (pre-3700 Ma) sedimentary units.

The APC/C E3 Ligase Complex Activator FZR1 Restricts BRAF Oncogenic Function.

PubMed

Wan, Lixin; Chen, Ming; Cao, Juxiang; Dai, Xiangpeng; Yin, Qing; Zhang, Jinfang; Song, Su-Jung; Lu, Ying; Liu, Jing; Inuzuka, Hiroyuki; Katon, Jesse M; Berry, Kelsey; Fung, Jacqueline; Ng, Christopher; Liu, Pengda; Song, Min Sup; Xue, Lian; Bronson, Roderick T; Kirschner, Marc W; Cui, Rutao; Pandolfi, Pier Paolo; Wei, Wenyi

2017-04-01

BRAF drives tumorigenesis by coordinating the activation of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK oncogenic signaling cascade. However, upstream pathways governing BRAF kinase activity and protein stability remain undefined. Here, we report that in primary cells with active APC FZR1 , APC FZR1 earmarks BRAF for ubiquitination-mediated proteolysis, whereas in cancer cells with APC-free FZR1, FZR1 suppresses BRAF through disrupting BRAF dimerization. Moreover, we identified FZR1 as a direct target of ERK and CYCLIN D1/CDK4 kinases. Phosphorylation of FZR1 inhibits APC FZR1 , leading to elevation of a cohort of oncogenic APC FZR1 substrates to facilitate melanomagenesis. Importantly, CDK4 and/or BRAF/MEK inhibitors restore APC FZR1 E3 ligase activity, which might be critical for their clinical effects. Furthermore, FZR1 depletion cooperates with AKT hyperactivation to transform primary melanocytes, whereas genetic ablation of Fzr1 synergizes with Pten loss, leading to aberrant coactivation of BRAF/ERK and AKT signaling in mice. Our findings therefore reveal a reciprocal suppression mechanism between FZR1 and BRAF in controlling tumorigenesis. Significance: FZR1 inhibits BRAF oncogenic functions via both APC-dependent proteolysis and APC-independent disruption of BRAF dimers, whereas hyperactivated ERK and CDK4 reciprocally suppress APC FZR1 E3 ligase activity. Aberrancies in this newly defined signaling network might account for BRAF hyperactivation in human cancers, suggesting that targeting CYCLIN D1/CDK4, alone or in combination with BRAF/MEK inhibition, can be an effective anti-melanoma therapy. Cancer Discov; 7(4); 424-41. ©2017 AACR. See related commentary by Zhang and Bollag, p. 356 This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 339 . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

Resource allocation processes at multilateral organizations working in global health

PubMed Central

Chi, Y-Ling; Bump, Jesse B

2018-01-01

Abstract International institutions provide well over US$10 billion in development assistance for health (DAH) annually and between 1990 and 2014, DAH disbursements totaled $458 billion but how do they decide who gets what, and for what purpose? In this article, we explore how allocation decisions were made by the nine convening agencies of the Equitable Access Initiative. We provide clear, plain language descriptions of the complete process from resource mobilization to allocation for the nine multilateral agencies with prominent agendas in global health. Then, through a comparative analysis we illuminate the choices and strategies employed in the nine international institutions. We find that resource allocation in all reviewed institutions follow a similar pattern, which we categorized in a framework of five steps: strategy definition, resource mobilization, eligibility of countries, support type and funds allocation. All the reviewed institutions generate resource allocation decisions through well-structured and fairly complex processes. Variations in those processes seem to reflect differences in institutional principles and goals. However, these processes have serious shortcomings. Technical problems include inadequate flexibility to account for or meet country needs. Although aid effectiveness and value for money are commonly referenced, we find that neither performance nor impact is a major criterion for allocating resources. We found very little formal consideration of the incentives generated by allocation choices. Political issues include non-transparent influence on allocation processes by donors and bureaucrats, and the common practice of earmarking funds to bypass the normal allocation process entirely. Ethical deficiencies include low accountability and transparency at international institutions, and limited participation by affected citizens or their representatives. We find that recipient countries have low influence on allocation processes themselves, although within these processes they have some influence in relatively narrow areas. PMID:29415239

Medical countermeasures for national security: a new government role in the pharmaceuticalization of society.

PubMed

Elbe, Stefan; Roemer-Mahler, Anne; Long, Christopher

2015-04-01

How do governments contribute to the pharmaceuticalization of society? Whilst the pivotal role of industry is extensively documented, this article shows that governments too are accelerating, intensifying and opening up new trajectories of pharmaceuticalization in society. Governments are becoming more deeply invested in pharmaceuticals because their national security strategies now aspire to defend populations against health-based threats like bioterrorism and pandemics. To counter those threats, governments are acquiring and stockpiling a panoply of 'medical countermeasures' such as antivirals, next-generation vaccines, antibiotics and anti-toxins. More than that, governments are actively incentivizing the development of many new medical countermeasures--principally by marshaling the state's unique powers to introduce exceptional measures in the name of protecting national security. At least five extraordinary policy interventions have been introduced by governments with the aim of stimulating the commercial development of novel medical countermeasures: (1) allocating earmarked public funds, (2) granting comprehensive legal protections to pharmaceutical companies against injury compensation claims, (3) introducing bespoke pathways for regulatory approval, (4) instantiating extraordinary emergency use procedures allowing for the use of unapproved medicines, and (5) designing innovative logistical distribution systems for mass drug administration outside of clinical settings. Those combined efforts, the article argues, are spawning a new, government-led and quite exceptional medical countermeasure regime operating beyond the conventional boundaries of pharmaceutical development and regulation. In the first comprehensive analysis of the pharmaceuticalization dynamics at play in national security policy, this article unearths the detailed array of policy interventions through which governments too are becoming more deeply imbricated in the pharmaceuticalization of society. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

QbD-Enabled Development of Novel Stimuli-Responsive Gastroretentive Systems of Acyclovir for Improved Patient Compliance and Biopharmaceutical Performance.

PubMed

Singh, Bhupinder; Kaur, Anterpreet; Dhiman, Shashi; Garg, Babita; Khurana, Rajneet Kaur; Beg, Sarwar

2016-04-01

The current studies entail systematic quality by design (QbD)-based development of stimuli-responsive gastroretentive drug delivery systems (GRDDS) of acyclovir using polysaccharide blends for attaining controlled drug release profile and improved patient compliance. The patient-centric quality target product profile was defined and critical quality attributes (CQAs) earmarked. Risk assessment studies, carried out through Ishikawa fish bone diagram and failure mode, effect, and criticality analysis, helped in identifying the plausible risks or failure modes affecting the quality attributes of the drug product. A face-centered cubic design was employed for systematic development and optimization of the concentration of sodium alginate (X 1) and gellan (X 2) as the critical material attributes (CMAs) in the stimuli-responsive formulations, which were evaluated for CQAs viz. viscosity, gel strength, onset of floatation, and drug release characteristics. Mathematical modeling was carried out for generation of design space, and optimum formulation was embarked upon, exhibiting formulation characteristics marked by excellent floatation and bioadhesion characteristics along with promising drug release control up to 24 h. Drug-excipient compatibility studies through FTIR and DSC revealed absence of any interaction(s) among the formulation excipients. In vivo pharmacokinetic studies in Wistar rats corroborated extension in the drug absorption profile from the optimized stimuli-responsive GR formulations vis-à-vis the marketed suspension (ZOVIRAX®). Establishment of in vitro/in vivo correlation (IVIVC) revealed a high degree of correlation between the in vitro and in vivo data. In a nutshell, the present investigations report the successful development of stimuli-responsive GRDDS of acyclovir, which can be applicable as a platform approach for other drugs too.

QbD-Oriented Development and Characterization of Effervescent Floating-Bioadhesive Tablets of Cefuroxime Axetil.

PubMed

Bansal, Sanjay; Beg, Sarwar; Garg, Babita; Asthana, Abhay; Asthana, Gyati S; Singh, Bhupinder

2016-10-01

The objective of the present studies was systematic development of floating-bioadhesive gastroretentive tablets of cefuroxime axetil employing rational blend of hydrophilic polymers for attaining controlled release drug delivery. As per the QbD-based approach, the patient-centric target product profile and quality attributes of tablet were earmarked, and preliminary studies were conducted for screening the suitability of type of polymers, polymer ratio, granulation technique, and granulation time for formulation of tablets. A face-centered cubic design (FCCD) was employed for optimization of the critical material attributes, i.e., concentration of release controlling polymers, PEO 303 and HPMC K100 LV CR, and evaluating in vitro buoyancy, drug release, and ex vivo mucoadhesion strength. The optimized formulation was embarked upon through numerical optimization, which yield excellent floatation characteristic with drug release control (i.e., T 60% > 6 h) and bioadhesion strength. Drug-excipient compatibility studies through FTIR and P-XRD revealed the absence of any interaction between the drug and polymers. In vivo evaluation of the gastroretentive characteristics through X-ray imaging and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies in rabbits revealed significant extension in the rate of drug absorption (i.e., T max, K a, and MRT) from the optimized tablet formulation as compared to the marketed formulation. Successful establishment of various levels of in vitro/in vivo correlations (IVIVC) substantiated high degree of prognostic ability of in vitro dissolution conditions in predicting the in vivo performance. In a nutshell, the studies demonstrate successful development of the once-a-day gastroretentive formulations of cefuroxime axetil with controlled drug release profile and improved compliance.

QbD-enabled systematic development of gastroretentive multiple-unit microballoons of itopride hydrochloride.

PubMed

Bansal, Sanjay; Beg, Sarwar; Asthana, Abhay; Garg, Babita; Asthana, Gyati Shilakari; Kapil, Rishi; Singh, Bhupinder

2016-01-01

The objectives of present studies were to develop the systematically optimized multiple-unit gastroretentive microballoons, i.e. hollow microspheres of itopride hydrochloride (ITH) employing quality by design (QbD)-based approach. Initially, the patient-centric QTPP and CQAs were earmarked, and preliminary studies were conducted to screen the suitable polymer, solvent, solvent ratio, pH and temperature conditions. Microspheres were prepared by non-aqueous solvent evaporation method employing Eudragit S-100. Risk assessment studies carried out by constructing Ishikawa cause-effect fish-bone diagram, and techniques like risk estimation matrix (REM) and failure mode effect analysis (FMEA) facilitated the selection of plausible factors affecting the drug product CQAs, i.e. percent yield, entrapment efficiency (EE) and percent buoyancy. A 3(3) Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed for optimizing CMAs and CPPs selected during factor screening studies employing Taguchi design, i.e. drug-polymer ratio (X1), stirring temperature (X2) and stirring speed (X3). The hollow microspheres, as per BBD, were evaluated for EE, particle size and drug release characteristics. The optimum formulation was embarked upon using numerical desirability function yielding excellent floatation characteristics along with adequate drug release control. Drug-excipient compatibility studies employing FT-IR, DSC and powder XRD revealed absence of significant interaction among the formulation excipients. The SEM studies on the optimized formulation showed hollow and spherical nature of the prepared microspheres. In vivo X-ray imaging studies in rabbits confirmed the buoyant nature of the hollow microspheres for 8 h in the upper GI tract. In a nutshell, the current investigations report the successful development of gastroretentive floating microspheres for once-a-day administration of ITH.

Epidemiology of pediatric ocular trauma in the Chaoshan Region, China, 2001-2010.

PubMed

Cao, He; Li, Liping; Zhang, Mingzhi; Li, Hongni

2013-01-01

Ocular trauma is the leading cause of monocular visual disability and noncongenital unilateral blindness in children. This study describes the epidemiology and medical care associated with nonfatal pediatric (≤ 17 years of age) eye injury-related hospitalization in the largest industrial base for plastic toy production in China. A population-based retrospective study of patients hospitalized for ocular and orbital trauma in the ophthalmology departments of 3 major tertiary hospitals from 1st January 2001 to 31st December 2010 was performed. The study included 1035 injured eyes from 1018 patients over a 10-year period: 560 (54.1%) eyes exhibited open globe injuries, 402 (38.8%) eyes suffered closed globe injuries, 10 (1.0%) eyes suffered chemical injuries and 8 (0.8%) eyes exhibited thermal injuries, representing an average annual hospitalization rate of 0.37 per 10,000 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36-0.38) due to pediatric eye injury in the Chaoshan region. The mean patient age was 9.2 ± 4.4 years with a male-to-female ratio of 3.3:1 (P = 0.007). Children aged 6 to 11 years accounted for the highest percentage (40.8%, 416/1018) of hospitalization, 56.7% (236/416) of whom were hospitalized for open globe wounds. Injury occurred most frequently at home (73.1%). Open globe wounds cost the single most expensive financial burden (60.8%) of total charges with $998 ± 702 mean charges per hospitalization. Open globe wounds occurred at home are earmarked for the priorities to prevention strategies. Higher public awareness of protecting primary schoolchildren from home-related eye injuries should be strengthened urgently by legislation or regulation since the traditional industrial mode seems to remain the pattern for the foreseeable future. Further research that provide detailed information on the specific inciting agents of pediatric eye injuries are recommended for facilitating the development and targeting of appropriate injury prevention initiatives.

The inequity of the Swiss Health Care system financing from a federal state perspective.

PubMed

Crivelli, Luca; Salari, Paola

2014-02-14

Previous studies have shown that Swiss health-care financing is particularly regressive. However, as it has been emphasized in the 2011 OECD Review of the Swiss Health System, the inter cantonal variations of income-related inequities are still broadly unexplored. The present paper aims to fill this gap by analyzing the differences in the level of equity of health-care system financing across cantons and its evolution over time using household data. Following the methodology proposed by Wagstaff et al. (JHE 11:361-387, 1992) we use the Kakwani index as a summary measure of regressivity and we compute it for each canton and for each of the sources that have a role in financing the health care system. We graphed concentration curves and performed relative dominance tests, which utilize the full distribution of expenditures.The microdata come from the Swiss Household Income and Expenditure Survey (SHIES) based on a sample of the Swiss population (about 3500 households per year), for the years 1998 - 2005. The empirical evidence confirms that the health-care financing in Switzerland has remained regressive since the major reform of 1996 and shows that the variations in equity across cantons are quite significant: the difference between the most and the least regressive canton is about the same as between two extremely different financing systems like the US and Sweden. There is no evidence, instead, of a clear evolution over time of regressivity. The significant variation in equity across cantons can be explained by fiscal federalism and the related autonomy in the design of tax and social policies. In particular, the results highlight that earmarked subsidies, the policy adopted to smooth the regressivity of the premiums, appear to be not enough; in the practice of federal states the combination of allowances with mandatory community-rated health insurance premiums might lead to a modest outcome in terms of equity.

The inequity of the Swiss health care system financing from a federal state perspective

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Introduction Previous studies have shown that Swiss health-care financing is particularly regressive. However, as it has been emphasized in the 2011 OECD Review of the Swiss Health System, the inter cantonal variations of income-related inequities are still broadly unexplored. The present paper aims to fill this gap by analyzing the differences in the level of equity of health-care system financing across cantons and its evolution over time using household data. Methods Following the methodology proposed by Wagstaff et al. (JHE 11:361–387, 1992) we use the Kakwani index as a summary measure of regressivity and we compute it for each canton and for each of the sources that have a role in financing the health care system. We graphed concentration curves and performed relative dominance tests, which utilize the full distribution of expenditures. The microdata come from the Swiss Household Income and Expenditure Survey (SHIES) based on a sample of the Swiss population (about 3500 households per year), for the years 1998 - 2005. Results The empirical evidence confirms that the health-care financing in Switzerland has remained regressive since the major reform of 1996 and shows that the variations in equity across cantons are quite significant: the difference between the most and the least regressive canton is about the same as between two extremely different financing systems like the US and Sweden. There is no evidence, instead, of a clear evolution over time of regressivity. Conclusions The significant variation in equity across cantons can be explained by fiscal federalism and the related autonomy in the design of tax and social policies. In particular, the results highlight that earmarked subsidies, the policy adopted to smooth the regressivity of the premiums, appear to be not enough; in the practice of federal states the combination of allowances with mandatory community-rated health insurance premiums might lead to a modest outcome in terms of equity. PMID:24524216

Epidemiology of Pediatric Ocular Trauma in the Chaoshan Region, China, 2001–2010

PubMed Central

Cao, He; Li, Liping; Zhang, Mingzhi; Li, Hongni

2013-01-01

Background Ocular trauma is the leading cause of monocular visual disability and noncongenital unilateral blindness in children. This study describes the epidemiology and medical care associated with nonfatal pediatric (≤17 years of age) eye injury-related hospitalization in the largest industrial base for plastic toy production in China. Methods A population-based retrospective study of patients hospitalized for ocular and orbital trauma in the ophthalmology departments of 3 major tertiary hospitals from 1st January 2001 to 31st December 2010 was performed. Results The study included 1035 injured eyes from 1018 patients over a 10-year period: 560 (54.1%) eyes exhibited open globe injuries, 402 (38.8%) eyes suffered closed globe injuries, 10 (1.0%) eyes suffered chemical injuries and 8 (0.8%) eyes exhibited thermal injuries, representing an average annual hospitalization rate of 0.37 per 10,000 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36–0.38) due to pediatric eye injury in the Chaoshan region. The mean patient age was 9.2±4.4 years with a male-to-female ratio of 3.3∶1 (P = 0.007). Children aged 6 to 11 years accounted for the highest percentage (40.8%, 416/1018) of hospitalization, 56.7% (236/416) of whom were hospitalized for open globe wounds. Injury occurred most frequently at home (73.1%). Open globe wounds cost the single most expensive financial burden (60.8%) of total charges with $998±702 mean charges per hospitalization. Conclusions Open globe wounds occurred at home are earmarked for the priorities to prevention strategies. Higher public awareness of protecting primary schoolchildren from home-related eye injuries should be strengthened urgently by legislation or regulation since the traditional industrial mode seems to remain the pattern for the foreseeable future. Further research that provide detailed information on the specific inciting agents of pediatric eye injuries are recommended for facilitating the development and targeting of appropriate injury prevention initiatives. PMID:23593323

Tracking development assistance and government health expenditures for 35 malaria-eliminating countries: 1990-2017.

PubMed

Shretta, Rima; Zelman, Brittany; Birger, Maxwell L; Haakenstad, Annie; Singh, Lavanya; Liu, Yingying; Dieleman, Joseph

2017-07-14

Donor financing for malaria has declined since 2010 and this trend is projected to continue for the foreseeable future. These reductions have a significant impact on lower burden countries actively pursuing elimination, which are usually a lesser priority for donors. While domestic spending on malaria has been growing, it varies substantially in speed and magnitude across countries. A clear understanding of spending patterns and trends in donor and domestic financing is needed to uncover critical investment gaps and opportunities. Building on the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's annual Financing Global Health research, data were collected from organizations that channel development assistance for health to the 35 countries actively pursuing malaria elimination. Where possible, development assistance for health (DAH) was categorized by spend on malaria intervention. A diverse set of data points were used to estimate government health budgets expenditure on malaria, including World Malaria Reports and government reports when available. Projections were done using regression analyses taking recipient country averages and earmarked funding into account. Since 2010, DAH for malaria has been declining for the 35 countries actively pursuing malaria elimination (from $176 million in 2010 to $62 million in 2013). The Global Fund is the largest external financier for malaria, providing 96% of the total external funding for malaria in 2013, with vector control interventions being the highest cost driver in all regions. Government expenditure on malaria, while increasing, has not kept pace with diminishing DAH or rising national GDP rates, leading to a potential gap in service delivery needed to attain elimination. Despite past gains, total financing available for malaria in elimination settings is declining. Health financing trends suggest that substantive policy interventions will be needed to ensure that malaria elimination is adequately financed and that available financing is effectively targeted to interventions that provide the best value for money.

Development of flood index by characterisation of flood hydrographs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Biswa; Suman, Asadusjjaman

2015-04-01

In recent years the world has experienced deaths, large-scale displacement of people, billions of Euros of economic damage, mental stress and ecosystem impacts due to flooding. Global changes (climate change, population and economic growth, and urbanisation) are exacerbating the severity of flooding. The 2010 floods in Pakistan and the 2011 floods in Australia and Thailand demonstrate the need for concerted action in the face of global societal and environmental changes to strengthen resilience against flooding. Due to climatological characteristics there are catchments where flood forecasting may have a relatively limited role and flood event management may have to be trusted upon. For example, in flash flood catchments, which often may be tiny and un-gauged, flood event management often depends on approximate prediction tools such as flash flood guidance (FFG). There are catchments fed largely by flood waters coming from upstream catchments, which are un-gauged or due to data sharing issues in transboundary catchments the flow of information from upstream catchment is limited. Hydrological and hydraulic modelling of these downstream catchments will never be sufficient to provide any required forecasting lead time and alternative tools to support flood event management will be required. In FFG, or similar approaches, the primary motif is to provide guidance by synthesising the historical data. We follow a similar approach to characterise past flood hydrographs to determine a flood index (FI), which varies in space and time with flood magnitude and its propagation. By studying the variation of the index the pockets of high flood risk, requiring attention, can be earmarked beforehand. This approach can be very useful in flood risk management of catchments where information about hydro-meteorological variables is inadequate for any forecasting system. This paper presents the development of FI and its application to several catchments including in Kentucky in the USA, Oc-gok Basin in Republic of Korea and the haor region of Bangladesh. Keywords: flood index, flood risk management, flood characteristics

Realtime Data to Enable Earth-Observing Sensor Web Capabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seablom, M. S.

2015-12-01

Over the past decade NASA's Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) has invested in new technologies for information systems to enhance the Earth-observing capabilities of satellites, aircraft, and ground-based in situ observations. One focus area has been to create a common infrastructure for coordinated measurements from multiple vantage points which could be commanded either manually or through autonomous means, such as from a numerical model. This paradigm became known as the sensor web, formally defined to be "a coherent set of heterogeneous, loosely-coupled, distributed observing nodes interconnected by a communications fabric that can collectively behave as a single dynamically adaptive and reconfigurable observing system". This would allow for adaptive targeting of rapidly evolving, transient, or variable meteorological features to improve our ability to monitor, understand, and predict their evolution. It would also enable measurements earmarked at critical regions of the atmosphere that are highly sensitive to data analysis errors, thus offering the potential for significant improvements in the predictive skill of numerical weather forecasts. ESTO's investment strategy was twofold. Recognizing that implementation of an operational sensor web would not only involve technical cost and risk but also would require changes to the culture of how flight missions were designed and operated, ESTO funded the development of a mission-planning simulator that would quantitatively assess the added value of coordinated observations. The simulator was designed to provide the capability to perform low-cost engineering and design trade studies using synthetic data generated by observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs). The second part of the investment strategy was to invest in prototype applications that implemented key features of a sensor web, with the dual goals of developing a sensor web reference architecture as well as supporting useful science activities that would produce immediate benefit. We briefly discuss three of ESTO's sensor web projects that resulted from solicitations released in 2008 and 2011: the Earth System Sensor Web Simulator, the Earth Phenomena Observing System, and the Sensor Web 3G Namibia Flood Pilot.

World population plans, statement made at the Regional Consultation on the World Population Plan of Action, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 1974.

PubMed

Salas, R M

1974-05-16

In this speech Salas makes mention of the UNFPA's contribution to the African Census Program in the largest international operation of its kind ever undertaken. 22 countries are involved. Findings of the census combined with other demography work being done in Africa will add inpetus to the growing debate on population in the Africa context. Mr. Salas cites a 2.9% annual growth rate in Africa, which is expected to rise to 3.1%. This will yield a doubling of the African population in less than 30 years. City populations are said to be growing faster: almost 4% annually. There is a need for planning; food supply is particularly important. Nothing can be done about population growth rates in the immediate future but there is no case for ignoring their long term importance. Despite high growth rates and associated problems, population growth does not present the major threat in Africa. Traditional societies have their own approaches to the regulation of family size. Family planning, properly used, can be a powerful force for life, adding strength to individuals, the family unit, and society as a whole. In accordance with the Fund's mandate, great attention will continue to be paid to country programming and the conclusion of long term comprehensive agreements within the framework of national development programs. 14 country agreements are currently in operation. The Work Plan is based on projected resources of US$321 million, of which US$52.8 million earmarked for country and regional projects in Africa. 40%, or the largest share, will go for the collection and analysis of population date. Support for family planning programs accounts for 25%, communication and education, 18%. Work in relation to population dynamics takes 12% and the rest is accounted for by assistance in the formation of population policy and by multi-sector activities.

Resource allocation processes at multilateral organizations working in global health.

PubMed

Chi, Y-Ling; Bump, Jesse B

2018-02-01

International institutions provide well over US$10 billion in development assistance for health (DAH) annually and between 1990 and 2014, DAH disbursements totaled $458 billion but how do they decide who gets what, and for what purpose? In this article, we explore how allocation decisions were made by the nine convening agencies of the Equitable Access Initiative. We provide clear, plain language descriptions of the complete process from resource mobilization to allocation for the nine multilateral agencies with prominent agendas in global health. Then, through a comparative analysis we illuminate the choices and strategies employed in the nine international institutions. We find that resource allocation in all reviewed institutions follow a similar pattern, which we categorized in a framework of five steps: strategy definition, resource mobilization, eligibility of countries, support type and funds allocation. All the reviewed institutions generate resource allocation decisions through well-structured and fairly complex processes. Variations in those processes seem to reflect differences in institutional principles and goals. However, these processes have serious shortcomings. Technical problems include inadequate flexibility to account for or meet country needs. Although aid effectiveness and value for money are commonly referenced, we find that neither performance nor impact is a major criterion for allocating resources. We found very little formal consideration of the incentives generated by allocation choices. Political issues include non-transparent influence on allocation processes by donors and bureaucrats, and the common practice of earmarking funds to bypass the normal allocation process entirely. Ethical deficiencies include low accountability and transparency at international institutions, and limited participation by affected citizens or their representatives. We find that recipient countries have low influence on allocation processes themselves, although within these processes they have some influence in relatively narrow areas. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Annual Variation in Flowering Phenology, Pollination, Mating System, and Pollen Yield in Two Natural Populations of Schima wallichii (DC.) Korth

PubMed Central

Khanduri, Vinod Prasad; Sharma, C. M.; Kumar, K. S.; Ghildiyal, S. K.

2013-01-01

Background. Schima wallichii is a highly valuable tree of tropical forest in north-east Himalaya region that grows naturally in a wide range of altitudes between 750 and 2400 m asl with varying environments. Flowering phenology of tropical tree species at population level is generally ignored and therefore a detailed knowledge of flowering and fruiting patterns of important multipurpose tree species is critical to the successful management of forest genetic resources. Materials and Methods. The study was conducted at two different altitudes (i.e., 750 m and 900 m asl) in the tropical semideciduous forest of north-east Himalaya. The floral phenology including flowering synchrony in the populations, anthesis, anther dehiscence, stigma receptivity, pollinators visitation frequency, and mating system including index of self-incompatibility were worked out in Schima wallichii according to the ear-marked standard methods given by various scientists for each parameter. Results. The flowering period in Schima wallichii varied from 33 to 42 days with mean synchrony of 0.54 to 0.68 between the populations. The stigma was receptive up to 2.5 days only and showed slightly protandrous type of dichogamy. Average pollen production ranged between 6.90 × 107 pollen per tree in 2007 and 15.49 × 108 pollen per tree in 2011. A three-year masting cycle was noticed in this species. The frequency of visitation of honey bees was fairly high (5.2 ± 1.12 visits/flower/hour) as compared to other pollinators. The hand pollination revealed maximum fruit (74.2 ± 5.72%) and seed (70.8 ± 7.46%) settings. Conclusions. The variation in flowering phenology and pollen yield individually and annually along with temporal separation in anther dehiscence and pollinator's visitation cause pollen limited reproduction, which ultimately influences the reproductive success in Schima wallichii. PMID:24501577

Applying crash data to injury claims - an investigation of determinant factors in severe motor vehicle accidents.

PubMed

Shannon, Darren; Murphy, Finbarr; Mullins, Martin; Eggert, Julian

2018-04-01

An extensive number of research studies have attempted to capture the factors that influence the severity of vehicle impacts. The high number of risks facing all traffic participants has led to a gradual increase in sophisticated data collection schemes linking crash characteristics to subsequent severity measures. This study serves as a departure from previous research by relating injuries suffered in road traffic accidents to expected trauma compensation payouts and deriving a quantitative cost function. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Crash Injury Research (CIREN) database for the years 2005-2014 is combined with the Book of Quantum, an Irish governmental document that offers guidelines on the appropriate compensation to be awarded for injuries sustained in accidents. A multiple linear regression is carried out to identify the crash factors that significantly influence expected compensation costs and compared to ordered and multinomial logit models. The model offers encouraging results given the inherent variation expected in vehicular incidents and the subjectivity influencing compensation payout judgments, attaining an adjusted-R 2 fit of 20.6% when uninfluential factors are removed. It is found that relative speed at time of impact and dark conditions increase the expected costs, while rear-end incidents, incident sustained in van-based trucks and incidents sustained while turning result in lower expected compensations. The number of airbags available in the vehicle is also a significant factor. The scalar-outcome approach used in this research offers an alternative methodology to the discrete-outcome models that dominate traffic safety analyses. The results also raise queries on the future development of claims reserving (capital allocations earmarked for future expected claims payments) as advanced driver assistant systems (ADASs) seek to eradicate the most frequent types of crash factors upon which insurance mathematics base their assumptions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biochemical Characterization of Novel Retroviral Integrase Proteins

PubMed Central

Ballandras-Colas, Allison; Naraharisetty, Hema; Li, Xiang; Serrao, Erik; Engelman, Alan

2013-01-01

Integrase is an essential retroviral enzyme, catalyzing the stable integration of reverse transcribed DNA into cellular DNA. Several aspects of the integration mechanism, including the length of host DNA sequence duplication flanking the integrated provirus, which can be from 4 to 6 bp, and the nucleotide preferences at the site of integration, are thought to cluster among the different retroviral genera. To date only the spumavirus prototype foamy virus integrase has provided diffractable crystals of integrase-DNA complexes, revealing unprecedented details on the molecular mechanisms of DNA integration. Here, we characterize five previously unstudied integrase proteins, including those derived from the alpharetrovirus lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV), betaretroviruses Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV), and mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV), epsilonretrovirus walleye dermal sarcoma virus (WDSV), and gammaretrovirus reticuloendotheliosis virus strain A (Rev-A) to identify potential novel structural biology candidates. Integrase expressed in bacterial cells was analyzed for solubility, stability during purification, and, once purified, 3′ processing and DNA strand transfer activities in vitro. We show that while we were unable to extract or purify accountable amounts of WDSV, JRSV, or LPDV integrase, purified MMTV and Rev-A integrase each preferentially support the concerted integration of two viral DNA ends into target DNA. The sequencing of concerted Rev-A integration products indicates high fidelity cleavage of target DNA strands separated by 5 bp during integration, which contrasts with the 4 bp duplication generated by a separate gammaretrovirus, the Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV). By comparing Rev-A in vitro integration sites to those generated by MLV in cells, we concordantly conclude that the spacing of target DNA cleavage is more evolutionarily flexible than are the target DNA base contacts made by integrase during integration. Given their desirable concerted DNA integration profiles, Rev-A and MMTV integrase proteins have been earmarked for structural biology studies. PMID:24124581

Pipeline oil fire detection with MODIS active fire products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogungbuyi, M. G.; Martinez, P.; Eckardt, F. D.

2017-12-01

We investigate 85 129 MODIS satellite active fire events from 2007 to 2015 in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. The region is the oil base for Nigerian economy and the hub of oil exploration where oil facilities (i.e. flowlines, flow stations, trunklines, oil wells and oil fields) are domiciled, and from where crude oil and refined products are transported to different Nigerian locations through a network of pipeline systems. Pipeline and other oil facilities are consistently susceptible to oil leaks due to operational or maintenance error, and by acts of deliberate sabotage of the pipeline equipment which often result in explosions and fire outbreaks. We used ground oil spill reports obtained from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) database (see www.oilspillmonitor.ng) to validate MODIS satellite data. NOSDRA database shows an estimate of 10 000 spill events from 2007 - 2015. The spill events were filtered to include largest spills by volume and events occurring only in the Niger Delta (i.e. 386 spills). By projecting both MODIS fire and spill as `input vector' layers with `Points' geometry, and the Nigerian pipeline networks as `from vector' layers with `LineString' geometry in a geographical information system, we extracted the nearest MODIS events (i.e. 2192) closed to the pipelines by 1000m distance in spatial vector analysis. The extraction process that defined the nearest distance to the pipelines is based on the global practices of the Right of Way (ROW) in pipeline management that earmarked 30m strip of land to the pipeline. The KML files of the extracted fires in a Google map validated their source origin to be from oil facilities. Land cover mapping confirmed fire anomalies. The aim of the study is to propose a near-real-time monitoring of spill events along pipeline routes using 250 m spatial resolution of MODIS active fire detection sensor when such spills are accompanied by fire events in the study location.

Current situation and future prospects for beef production in South Korea.

PubMed

Chung, Ki Yong; Lee, Seung Hwan; Cho, Soo Hyun; Kwon, Eung Gi; Lee, Jun Heon

2018-05-31

Hanwoo cattle are an important food source in Korea and their supply can have a major impact on meat availability for Korean consumers. The Hanwoo population was 1.8 million head in 2005 and gradually increased to 2.6 million in 2015. Per capita beef consumption has also increased, to 11.6 kg per year in 2015, and is expected to continue to increase. Because intramuscular fat (IMF) percentage is a critical contributor to meat quality, Hanwoo cattle are fed a high-energy corn-based diet for long fattening periods. Long fed diet causes significant alterations in fat percentage in the loin muscle and other areas of the carcass. However, these long feeding periods increase feeding costs and beef prices. Recently, there has been increased Korean consumer demand for lean beef which has less fat, but is tender and priced more reasonably. These consumer demands on the Korean beef industry are driving differing beef production systems and also changes to the beef grading methodology. Korean government has made a significant investment to select bulls with favorable production traits using progeny testing. Progeny tested bull semen has been disseminated to all Hanwoo farmers. Beef traceability system in Korea was employed for all cattle breeds since 2009. Hanwoo cattle are ear-marked with a 12-digit identification number from birth to slaughter. This number allows traceability of the management history of individual cattle, and also provides information to consumers. Traceability including management information such as herd, farm, year of birth, and carcass data determine estimated breeding values of Hanwoo. For a sustainable Hanwoo industry, research scientists in Korea have attempted to develop feeds for efficient fattening periods and precision feeding systems based on genetic information for Hanwoo cattle. These initiatives aim to Korean consumer demands for beef and provide more precision management in beef production in Korea.

Potential effects of ongoing and proposed hydropower development on terrestrial biological diversity in the Indian Himalaya.

PubMed

Pandit, Maharaj K; Grumbine, R Edward

2012-12-01

Indian Himalayan basins are earmarked for widespread dam building, but aggregate effects of these dams on terrestrial ecosystems are unknown. We mapped distribution of 292 dams (under construction and proposed) and projected effects of these dams on terrestrial ecosystems under different scenarios of land-cover loss. We analyzed land-cover data of the Himalayan valleys, where dams are located. We estimated dam density on fifth- through seventh-order rivers and compared these estimates with current global figures. We used a species-area relation model (SAR) to predict short- and long-term species extinctions driven by deforestation. We used scatter plots and correlation studies to analyze distribution patterns of species and dams and to reveal potential overlap between species-rich areas and dam sites. We investigated effects of disturbance on community structure of undisturbed forests. Nearly 90% of Indian Himalayan valleys would be affected by dam building and 27% of these dams would affect dense forests. Our model projected that 54,117 ha of forests would be submerged and 114,361 ha would be damaged by dam-related activities. A dam density of 0.3247/1000 km(2) would be nearly 62 times greater than current average global figures; the average of 1 dam for every 32 km of river channel would be 1.5 times higher than figures reported for U.S. rivers. Our results show that most dams would be located in species-rich areas of the Himalaya. The SAR model projected that by 2025, deforestation due to dam building would likely result in extinction of 22 angiosperm and 7 vertebrate taxa. Disturbance due to dam building would likely reduce tree species richness by 35%, tree density by 42%, and tree basal cover by 30% in dense forests. These results, combined with relatively weak national environmental impact assessment and implementation, point toward significant loss of species if all proposed dams in the Indian Himalaya are constructed. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

Support for alcohol policies from drinkers in the City of Tshwane, South Africa: Data from the International Alcohol Control study.

PubMed

Parry, Charles D H; Trangenstein, Pamela; Lombard, Carl; Jernigan, David H; Morojele, Neo K

2018-04-01

South Africa is considering a range of alcohol policy reforms. This study aims to determine the magnitude of public support for 13 alcohol policies in the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and whether this varies by demographic factors and heavy drinking status. Data are from the South African arm of the International Alcohol Control study, a household survey of adult drinkers using a multistage stratified cluster random sampling design. The sample included 1920 drinkers aged 18-65 years (62% men), with complete drinking data for 16 drinking locations on 955 persons (510 heavy and 445 not heavy drinkers). Over half (53%) of the sample were found to be heavy drinkers. Support varied by alcohol policy, ranging from 31% to 77%, with support above 50% for 11 of the 13 policies. Policy support was higher for policies increasing the purchase age to 21 years (77%), addressing drink driving (58-76%) and restricting physical availability (60-66%). There was slightly less support for policies restricting alcohol marketing (59%) or for policies increasing the price of alcohol (34-58%), especially if no justification was given or the funds were not earmarked. Policy support differed by age, gender, heavy drinking status and income. Public support from adult drinkers for a range of alcohol policies is extensive and, as found elsewhere, was strongest for raising the minimum drinking age and lowest for increasing prices. The support from drinkers to increasing controls on alcohol could be one lever to getting control measures implemented. [Parry CDH, Trangenstein P, Lombard C, Jernigan DH, Morojele NK. Support for alcohol policies from drinkers in the City of Tshwane, South Africa: Data from the International Alcohol Control study. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;00:000-000]. © 2017 The Authors Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

A national long-term care program for the United States. A caring vision. The Working Group on Long-term Care Program Design, Physicians for a National Health Program.

PubMed

Harrington, C; Cassel, C; Estes, C L; Woolhandler, S; Himmelstein, D U

1991-12-04

The financing and delivery of long-term care (LTC) need substantial reform. Many cannot afford essential services; age restrictions often arbitrarily limit access for the nonelderly, although more than a third of those needing care are under 65 years old; Medicaid, the principal third-party payer for LTC, is biased toward nursing home care and discourages independent living; informal care provided by relatives and friends, the only assistance used by 70% of those needing LTC, is neither supported nor encouraged; and insurance coverage often excludes critically important services that fall outside narrow definitions of medically necessary care. We describe an LTC program designed as an integral component of the national health program advanced by Physicians for a National Health Program. Everyone would be covered for all medically and socially necessary services under a single public plan, federally mandated and funded but administered locally. An LTC payment board in each state would contract directly with providers through a network of local public agencies responsible for eligibility determination and care coordination. Nursing homes, home care agencies, and other institutional providers would be paid a global budget to cover all operating costs and would not bill on a per-patient basis. Alternatively, integrated provider organizations could receive a capitation fee to cover a broad range of LTC and acute care services. Individual practitioners could continue to be paid on a fee-for-service basis or could receive salaries from institutional providers. Support for innovation, training of LTC personnel, and monitoring of the quality of care would be greatly augmented. For-profit providers would be compensated for past investments and phased out. Our program would add between $18 billion and $23.5 billion annually to current spending on LTC. Polls indicate that a majority of Americans want such a program and are willing to pay earmarked taxes to support it.

Barriers Over Time to Full Implementation of Health Information Exchange in the United States

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Although health information exchanges (HIE) have existed since their introduction by President Bush in his 2004 State of the Union Address, and despite monetary incentives earmarked in 2009 by the health information technology for economic and clinical health (HITECH) Act, adoption of HIE has been sparse in the United States. Research has been conducted to explore the concept of HIE and its benefit to patients, but viable business plans for their existence are rare, and so far, no research has been conducted on the dynamic nature of barriers over time. Objective The aim of this study is to map the barriers mentioned in the literature to illustrate the effect, if any, of barriers discussed with respect to the HITECH Act from 2009 to the early months of 2014. Methods We conducted a systematic literature review from CINAHL, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The search criteria primarily focused on studies. Each article was read by at least two of the authors, and a final set was established for evaluation (n=28). Results The 28 articles identified 16 barriers. Cost and efficiency/workflow were identified 15% and 13% of all instances of barriers mentioned in literature, respectively. The years 2010 and 2011 were the most plentiful years when barriers were discussed, with 75% and 69% of all barriers listed, respectively. Conclusions The frequency of barriers mentioned in literature demonstrates the mindfulness of users, developers, and both local and national government. The broad conclusion is that public policy masks the effects of some barriers, while revealing others. However, a deleterious effect can be inferred when the public funds are exhausted. Public policy will need to lever incentives to overcome many of the barriers such as cost and impediments to competition. Process improvement managers need to optimize the efficiency of current practices at the point of care. Developers will need to work with users to ensure tools that use HIE resources work into existing workflows. PMID:25600635

Health spending, macroeconomics and fiscal space in countries of the World Health Organization South-East Asia Region.

PubMed

Gupta, Indrani; Mondal, Swadhin

2014-01-01

The paper examines the issues around mobilization of resources for the 11 countries of the South-East Asia Region of the World Health Organization (WHO), by analysing their macroeconomic situation, health spending, fiscal space and other determinants of health. With the exception of a few, most of these countries have made fair progress on their own Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets of maternal mortality ratio and mortality rate in children aged under 5 years. However, the achieved targets have been very modest - with the exception of Thailand and Sri Lanka - indicating the continued need for additional efforts to improve these indicators. The paper discusses the need for investment, by looking at evidence on economic growth, the availability of fiscal space, and improvements in "macroeconomic-plus" factors like poverty, female literacy, governance and efficiency of the health sector. The analysis indicates that, overall, the countries of the WHO South-East Asia Region are collectively in a position to make the transition from low public spending to moderate or even high health spending, which is required, in turn, for transition from lowcoverage-high out-of-pocket spending (OOPS) to highcoverage-low OOPS. However, explicit prioritization for health within the overall government budget for low spenders would require political will and champions who can argue the case of the health sector. Additional innovative avenues of raising resources, such as earmarked taxes or a health levy can be considered in countries with good macroeconomic fundamentals. With the exception of Thailand, this is applicable for all the countries of the region. However, countries with adverse macroeconomic-plus factors, as well as inefficient health systems, need to be alert to the possibility of overinvesting - and thereby wasting - resources for modest health gains, making the challenge of increasing health sector spending alongside competing demands for spending on other areas of the social sector difficult.

[Level of funding in the Long-Term Care Law: the cost of moving toward real dependency variables].

PubMed

Correa Gómez, Manuel; Montero Granados, Roberto; Jiménez Aguilera, Juan de Dios

2011-12-01

The system for the Promotion of Personal Autonomy and Care of Dependent Persons established by Act 39/2006 is funded through private contributions of dependent individuals and earmarked transfers in three main funds: a minimum level, an agreed level distributed among the various autonomous regions according to their relative needs, and a further voluntary additional contribution by Spain's autonomous regions. The resources distributed by the state to the regions are assigned, among other less important variables, according to the potentially dependent population and, to a lesser extent, according to the population already evaluated as dependent. Because the concept of what constitutes disability has changed over the years from the population potentially dependent according to an estimate (estimated dependent individuals) to the actual number of dependent individuals recognized as such (declared dependent), some autonomous regions may have been overfunded or underfunded. The funding obtained by the autonomous regions each year from 2007 to 2011 was compared with the funding that would have been assigned to each region if, since 2007, the variables and weighting that will be representative of the funding needs for 2013 (distribution mainly according to declared dependent individuals) had been taken into account. From 2007-2011, regions where declared dependent persons outnumbered estimated disabled persons were underfunded (in Andalusia by more than 100 million euros). In contrast, regions where the situation was reversed were overfunded (by 49 million euros in Madrid and 37 million euros in the region of Valencia). There is wide variation in public funding to the autonomous regions, depending on the number of individuals declared as dependent. Among other no less serious consequences, this situation could hamper the implantation of the Promotion of Personal Autonomy and Care of Dependent Persons Act in underfunded regions. Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Public Spending on Health Service and Policy Research in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States: A Modest Proposal.

PubMed

Thakkar, Vidhi; Sullivan, Terrence

2017-04-10

Health services and policy research (HSPR) represent a multidisciplinary field which integrates knowledge from health economics, health policy, health technology assessment, epidemiology, political science among other fields, to evaluate decisions in health service delivery. Health service decisions are informed by evidence at the clinical, organizational, and policy level, levels with distinct, managerial drivers. HSPR has an evolving discourse spanning knowledge translation, linkage and exchange between research and decision-maker partners and more recently, implementation science and learning health systems. Local context is important for HSPR and is important in advancing health reform practice. The amounts and configuration of national investment in this field remain important considerations which reflect priority investment areas. The priorities set within this field or research may have greater or lesser effects and promise with respect to modernizing health services in pursuit of better value and better population outcomes. Within Canada an asset map for HSPR was published by the national HSPR research institute. Having estimated publicly-funded research spending in Canada, we sought identify best available comparable estimates from the United States and the United Kingdom. Investments from industry and charitable organizations were not included in these numbers. This commentary explores spending by the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on HSPR as a fraction of total public spending on health and the importance of these respective investments in advancing health service performance. Proposals are offered on the merits of common nomenclature and accounting for areas of investigation in pursuit of some comparable way of assessing priority HSPR investments and suggestions for earmarking such investments to total investment in health services spending. © 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.

Assessment of the spatial accessibility to health professionals at French census block level.

PubMed

Gao, Fei; Kihal, Wahida; Le Meur, Nolwenn; Souris, Marc; Deguen, Séverine

2016-08-02

The evaluation of geographical healthcare accessibility in residential areas provides crucial information to public policy. Traditional methods - such as Physician Population Ratios (PPR) or shortest travel time - offer only a one-dimensional view of accessibility. This paper developed an improved indicator: the Index of Spatial Accessibility (ISA) to measure geographical healthcare accessibility at the smallest available infra-urban level, that is, the Îlot Regroupé pour des Indicateurs Statistiques. This study was carried out in the department of Nord, France. Healthcare professionals are geolocalized using postal addresses available on the French state health insurance website. ISA is derived from an Enhanced Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (E2FCA). We have constructed a catchment for each healthcare provider, by taking into account residential building centroids, car travel time as calculated by Google Maps and the edge effect. Principal Component Analyses (PCA) were used to build a composite ISA to describe the global accessibility of different kinds of health professionals. We applied our method to studying geographical healthcare accessibility for pregnant women, by selecting three types of healthcare provider: general practitioners, gynecologists and midwives. A total of 3587 healthcare providers are potentially able to provide care for inhabitants of the department of Nord. On average there are 92 general practitioners, 22 midwives and 21 gynecologists per 100,000 residents. The composite ISA for the three types of healthcare provider is 39 per 100,000 residents. A comparative analysis between ISA and physician-population ratios indicates that ISA represents a more even distribution whereas the physician-population ratios show an 'all-or-nothing' approach. ISA is a multidimensional and improved measure, which combines the volume of services relative to population size with the proximity of services relative to the population's location, available at the smallest feasible geographical scale. It could guide policy makers towards highlighting critical areas in need of more healthcare providers, and these areas should be earmarked for further knowledge-based policy making.

Uncovering the defence responses of Eucalyptus to pests and pathogens in the genomics age.

PubMed

Naidoo, Sanushka; Külheim, Carsten; Zwart, Lizahn; Mangwanda, Ronishree; Oates, Caryn N; Visser, Erik A; Wilken, Febé E; Mamni, Thandekile B; Myburg, Alexander A

2014-09-01

Long-lived tree species are subject to attack by various pests and pathogens during their lifetime. This problem is exacerbated by climate change, which may increase the host range for pathogens and extend the period of infestation by pests. Plant defences may involve preformed barriers or induced resistance mechanisms based on recognition of the invader, complex signalling cascades, hormone signalling, activation of transcription factors and production of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins with direct antimicrobial or anti-insect activity. Trees have evolved some unique defence mechanisms compared with well-studied model plants, which are mostly herbaceous annuals. The genome sequence of Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden has recently become available and provides a resource to extend our understanding of defence in large woody perennials. This review synthesizes existing knowledge of defence mechanisms in model plants and tree species and features mechanisms that may be important for defence in Eucalyptus, such as anatomical variants and the role of chemicals and proteins. Based on the E. grandis genome sequence, we have identified putative PR proteins based on sequence identity to the previously described plant PR proteins. Putative orthologues for PR-1, PR-2, PR-4, PR-5, PR-6, PR-7, PR-8, PR-9, PR-10, PR-12, PR-14, PR-15 and PR-17 have been identified and compared with their orthologues in Populus trichocarpa Torr. & A. Gray ex Hook and Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. The survey of PR genes in Eucalyptus provides a first step in identifying defence gene targets that may be employed for protection of the species in future. Genomic resources available for Eucalyptus are discussed and approaches for improving resistance in these hardwood trees, earmarked as a bioenergy source in future, are considered. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

What explains willingness to pay for smoking-cessation treatments - addiction level, quit-rate effectiveness or the opening bid?

PubMed

Olsen, Jan Abel; Røgeberg, Ole J; Stavem, Knut

2012-11-01

Several countries have now passed laws that place limitations on where smokers may smoke. A range of smoking-cessation treatments have become available, many of which have documented increased quit rates. Population surveys show that most smokers wish to quit, and most non-smokers would prefer to reduce the prevalence of smoking in society. The strengths of these preferences, however, as measured by their willingness to pay (WTP), have not yet been investigated. This study aims to identify variables that explain variations in people's answers to WTP questions on smoking-cessation treatments. A representative sample of the Norwegian population was asked their WTP in terms of an earmarked contribution to a public smoking-cessation programme. A sub-group of daily smokers was, in addition, asked about their WTP for a hypothetical treatment that would remove their urge to smoke. The impact of variation in the question format (different opening bids) on stated WTP was compared with that of factors suggested by economic theory, such as quit-rate effectiveness, degree of addiction as measured by the 12-item Cigarette Dependence Scale (CDS-12), and degree of peer group influence as measured by the proportion of one's friends who smoke. In both programmes, the most important determinant for explaining variations in WTP was the size of the opening bid. Differences in quit-rate effectiveness did not matter for people's WTP for the smoking-cessation programme. Addiction, and having a small proportion of friends who smoke, were positively associated with smokers' WTP to quit smoking. Variations in WTP were influenced more by how the question was framed in terms of differences in opening bids, than by variables reflecting the quality (effectiveness) and need (addiction level) for the good in question. While the WTP method is theoretically attractive, the findings that outcomes in terms of different quit rates did not affect WTP, and that WTP answers can be manipulated by the chosen opening bid, should raise further doubts on the ability of this method to provide valid and reliable answers that reflect true preferences for health and healthcare.

Policy lessons from health taxes: a systematic review of empirical studies.

PubMed

Wright, Alexandra; Smith, Katherine E; Hellowell, Mark

2017-06-19

Taxes on alcohol and tobacco have long been an important means of raising revenues for public spending in many countries but there is increasing interest in using taxes on these, and other unhealthy products, to achieve public health goals. We present a systematic review of the research on health taxes, and aim to generate insights into how such taxes can: (i) reduce consumption of targeted products and related harms; (ii) generate revenues for health objectives and distribute the tax burden across income groups in an efficient and equitable manner; and (iii) be made politically sustainable. Six scientific and four grey-literature databases were searched for empirical studies of 'health taxes' - defined as those intended to increase the costs of manufacturing, distributing, retailing and/or consuming health-damaging products. Since reviews already exist of the evidence relating to traditional alcohol and tobacco excise taxes, we focus on other taxes such as taxes on retailers and manufacturers of unhealthy products, and consumer taxes targeting unhealthy foods, such as sugar-sweetened beverages. Ninety-one peer-reviewed and 11 grey-literature studies met our inclusion criteria. The review highlights a recent, rapid rise in research in this area, most of which focuses on high-income countries and on taxes on food products or nutrients. Findings demonstrate that high tax rates on sugar-sweetened beverages are likely to have a positive impact on health behaviours and outcomes, and, while taxes on products reduce demand, they add to fiscal revenues. Common concerns about health taxes are also discussed. If the primary policy goal of a health tax is to reduce consumption of unhealthy products, then evidence supports the implementation of taxes that increase the price of products by 20% or more. However, where taxes are effective in changing health behaviours, the predictability of the revenue stream is reduced. Hence, policy actors need to be clear about the primary goal of any health tax and frame the tax accordingly - not doing so leaves taxes vulnerable to hostile lobbying. Conversely, earmarking health taxes for health spending tends to increase public support so long as policymakers follow through on specified spending commitments. CRD42016048603.

Nested-PCR real time as alternative molecular tool for detection of Borrelia burgdorferi compared to the classical serological diagnosis of the blood.

PubMed

Sroka-Oleksiak, Agnieszka; Ufir, Krzysztof; Salamon, Dominika; Bulanda, Malgorzata; Gosiewski, Tomasz

Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, is a multisystem disease that often makes difficulties to recognize caused by their genetic heterogenity. Currently, the gold standard for the detection of Lyme disease (LD) is serologic diagnostics based mainly on tests: ELISA and Western blot (WB). These methods, however, are subject to consider- able defect, especially in the initial phase of infection due to the occurrence of so-called serological window period and low specificity. For this reason, they might be replaced by molecular methods, for example polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which should be more sensitivity and specificity. In the present study we attempt to optimize the PCR reaction conditions and enhance existing test sensitivity by applying the equivalent of real time PCR - nested PCR for detection B. burgdorferi DNA in the patient's blood. The study involved 94 blood samples of patients with suspected LD. From each sample, 1.5 ml of blood was used for the isolation of bacterial DNA and PCR real time am- plification and its equivalent, in nested version. The remaining part earmarked for serologi- cal testing. Optimization of the reaction conditions made experimentally, using gradient of the temperature and gradient of the magnesium ions concentration for reaction real time in nested-PCR and PCR version. The results show that the nested-PCR real time, has a much higher sensitivity 45 (47.8%) of positive results for the detection of B. burgdorferi compared to the single- variety, without a preceding pre-amplification 2 (2.1%). Serological methods allowed the detection of infection in 41 (43.6%) samples. These results support of the nested PCR method as a better molecular tool for the detection of B. burgdorferi infection than classical PCR real time reaction. The nested-PCR real time method may be considered as a complement to ELISA and WB mainly in the early stages of infection, when in the blood circulating B. burgdorferi cells. By contrast, the results of serological and molecular tests should always be carried out tak- ing into account the patient's clinical status.

An analysis of the costs of Uganda's Child Days Plus: do low costs reveal an efficient program or an underfinanced one?

PubMed

Fiedler, John L; Semakula, Richard

2014-03-01

Twice annually, Uganda implements Child Days Plus (CDP), a month-long outreach activity that distributes vitamin A capsules to preschool children and deworms children 6 months to 14 years old. Introduced initially as a temporary, interim strategy, CDP is now a decade old. To assess how well CDP is implemented using an activity-based cost analysis. In the absence of a cost-accounting system for CDP, we defined the six major CDP activities as cost centers and identified five important subactivities required to implement a round of CDP. Based on a purposive sample, we conducted a structured interview survey of 59 Ministry of Health facilities, 9 district offices, and national-level CDP staff. Only one-third of the facilities implemented all 11 CDP core activities. The survey revealed that Ministry of Health staff and volunteers are frequently paid substantially less in allowances than they are entitled to for their CDP outreach activities. Viewing these two practices--nonimplementation and less-than-full-reimbursement--as indicators of CDP's underfinancing, we estimate the program is underfinanced by the equivalent of 37% of its 'full implementation" costs. Two-thirds of underfinancing is manifested in nonimplementation and one-third as less-than full-reimbursement. CDP exploits economies of scale and scope and has an average cost per child served of US$0.22. We estimate that it annually saves 367,000 disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) at an average cost of US$12.5, making it--despite its underfinancing--highly cost-effective. Increased CDP funding would enable its vitamin A coverage rate of 58% and its deworming coverage rate of 62% to be increased, thereby increasing its effectiveness and efficiency. CDP should be "relaunched," as part of an effort to improve the structure of the program, set expectations about it, and earmark a minimum of resources for CDP. The Ministry of Health should demonstrate its new, greater commitment to CDP by introducing a program-specific budget line item, increasing CDP's budget allocation, and developing and implementing a training program that identifies the minimum uniform activities required to implement CDP.

Seniors managing multiple medications: using mixed methods to view the home care safety lens.

PubMed

Lang, Ariella; Macdonald, Marilyn; Marck, Patricia; Toon, Lynn; Griffin, Melissa; Easty, Tony; Fraser, Kimberly; MacKinnon, Neil; Mitchell, Jonathan; Lang, Eddy; Goodwin, Sharon

2015-12-12

Patient safety is a national and international priority with medication safety earmarked as both a prevalent and high-risk area of concern. To date, medication safety research has focused overwhelmingly on institutional based care provided by paid healthcare professionals, which often has little applicability to the home care setting. This critical gap in our current understanding of medication safety in the home care sector is particularly evident with the elderly who often manage more than one chronic illness and a complex palette of medications, along with other care needs. This study addresses the medication management issues faced by seniors with chronic illnesses, their family, caregivers, and paid providers within Canadian publicly funded home care programs in Alberta (AB), Ontario (ON), Quebec (QC) and Nova Scotia (NS). Informed by a socio-ecological perspective, this study utilized Interpretive Description (ID) methodology and participatory photographic methods to capture and analyze a range of visual and textual data. Three successive phases of data collection and analysis were conducted in a concurrent, iterative fashion in eight urban and/or rural households in each province. A total of 94 participants (i.e., seniors receiving home care services, their family/caregivers, and paid providers) were interviewed individually. In addition, 69 providers took part in focus groups. Analysis was iterative and concurrent with data collection in that each interview was compared with subsequent interviews for converging as well as diverging patterns. Six patterns were identified that provide a rich portrayal of the complexity of medication management safety in home care: vulnerabilities that impact the safe management and storage of medication, sustaining adequate supports, degrees of shared accountability for care, systems of variable effectiveness, poly-literacy required to navigate the system, and systemic challenges to maintaining medication safety in the home. There is a need for policy makers, health system leaders, care providers, researchers, and educators to work with home care clients and caregivers on three key messages for improvement: adapt care delivery models to the home care landscape; develop a palette of user-centered tools to support medication safety in the home; and strengthen health systems integration.

The effects of inquiry-based science on the social and communicative skills of students with low-incidence disabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Angelo, Heather Hopkins

This research utilized inquiry based science as a vehicle to implement and maintain social skills training for secondary students, ages 14 to 20, with low-incidence disabilities in a self-contained classroom. This three year action research study examined the effects of an inquiry based science curriculum on the level and quantity of social skills used by students with one or more of the following challenges: significant learning disability (functioning more than two grade levels below grade level), emotional/social disability, mental retardation, Autism, and/or varying degrees of brain damage. Through the use of video recording, the students in the study were analyzed based on the level of social interaction and the amount of socialization that took place during inquiry based science. The skills sought were based on the social and communication skills earmarked in the students' weekly social skills training class and their Individualized Education Plans (IEP). Based on previous research in social skills training it has been determined that where social skills training is lacking are in the areas of transfer and maintenance of skills. Due to the natural social behavior that must take place in inquiry based science this group of students were found to exhibit gains in (1) quantity of social interactions on topic; (2) developing higher levels of social interactions (sharing, taking other's suggestions, listening and responding appropriately, etc.); and (3) maintenance of social skills taught outside of formal social skills training. These gains were seen overall in the amount of student involvement during inquiry based science verses teacher involvement. Such increases are depicted through students' verbal exchanges, excerpts from field notes, and student reflections. The findings of this research is expected to guide special educators, administrators and directors of curriculum as to how to better create curriculum for this specific population where social skills training is utilized and maintained in all aspects of the academic day, thus helping this population of student achieve more independence and appropriate interactions in their live as citizens of society.

Evolution of Tonal Organization in Music Optimizes Neural Mechanisms in Symbolic Encoding of Perceptual Reality. Part-2: Ancient to Seventeenth Century.

PubMed

Nikolsky, Aleksey

2016-01-01

This paper reveals the way in which musical pitch works as a peculiar form of cognition that reflects upon the organization of the surrounding world as perceived by majority of music users within a socio-cultural formation. Part-1 of this paper described the origin of tonal organization from verbal speech, its progress from indefinite to definite pitch, and the emergence of two main harmonic orders: heptatonic and pentatonic, each characterized by its own method of handling tension at both domains, of tonal and social organization. Part-2, here, completes the line of historic development from Antiquity to seventeenth century. Vast archeological data is used to identify the perception of music structures that tells apart the temple/palace music of urban civilizations and the folk music of village cultures. The "mega-pitch-set" (MPS) organization is found to constitute the principal contribution of a math-based music theory to a new diatonic order. All ramifications for psychology of music are discussed in detail. "Non-octave hypermode" is identified as a peculiar homogenous type of MPS, typical for plainchant. The origin of chromaticism is thoroughly examined as an earmark of "art-music" that opposes earlier forms of folk music. The role of aesthetic emotions in formation of chromatic alteration is defined. The development of chromatic system is traced throughout history, highlighting its modern implementation in "hemiolic modes." The connection between tonal organization in music and spatial organization in pictorial art is established in the Baroque culture, and then tracked back to prehistoric times. Both are shown to present a form of abstraction of environmental topographic schemes, and music is proposed as the primary medium for its cultivation through the concept of pitch. The comparison of stages of tonal organization and typologies of musical texture is used to define the overall course of tonal evolution. Tonal organization of pitch reflects the culture of thinking, adopted as a standard to optimize individual perception of reality within a social group in a way optimal for one's success, thereby setting the conventions of intellectual and emotional intelligence.

Policy for Research and Innovation in Latin America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguirre-Bastos, Carlos

2010-02-01

Latin America (LAC) is renewing efforts to build-up research and innovation (R&I) capacities, guided by policies that consider the need to transform the traditional science system into a more dynamic entity. Policies permitted the generation of new spaces to develop science, strengthen scientific communities, improve university-enterprise linkages, establish common agendas between public and private sectors, earmark special budgets, build new infrastructure, and improve the number and quality of scientific publications. In spite of much progress, LAC lags much behind developed countries, their universities rank lower than their international counterparts, the number of researchers is small and funding is below an appropriate threshold. Some countries have innovated in few economic sectors, while others remain technologically underdeveloped and much of the countries' innovative capacities remain untapped. It is believed that policies still have little influence on social and economic development and there exists dissatisfaction in the academic and entrepreneurial sectors with their quality and relevance or with the political will of governments to execute them. On the other hand, in the past decades, the complexity of innovation systems has increased considerably, and has yet to be taken fully into account in LAC policy definitions. The situation calls for decision makers to shape new framework conditions for R&I in a way that both processes co-evolve and are stimulated and guided on solutions to the major problems of society. Considering the main features of complex systems, self- organization, emergence and non-linearity, R&I policy measures need to be seen as interventions in such a system, as the use of traditional leverage effects used in the past for policy decisions are more and more obsolete. Policies must now use ``weak coordination mechanisms,'' foresight, mission statements, and visions. It is obvious that due to nonlinearities in the system, adaptive political requirements and governance have to replace master plans and long term fixed targets. Policies must include incentives for networking, pilot projects, simulation models, etc. International cooperation is absolutely necessary to generate the new policy framework needed by LAC. )

Carbon storage and late Holocene chronostratigraphy of a Mississippi River deltaic marsh, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markewich, H. W.

1998-01-01

Today, the causes, results, and time scale(s) of climate change, past and potential, are the focus of much research, news coverage, and pundit speculation. Many of the US government scientific agencies have some funds earmarked for research into past and (or) future climate change (National Science and Technology Council, 1997). The Mississippi Basin Carbon Project (MBCP) is part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) effort in global change research . The project is motivated by the need to increase our understanding of the role of terrestrial carbon in the global carbon cycle, particularly in the temperate latitudes of North America. The global land area between 30 O and 60 O N is thought to be a large sink for atmospheric CO2 (IPCC, 1996). The identity of this sink is unknown, but is in part the soil and sediment that makes up the upper several meters of the Earth's surface. The MBCP focuses on the Mississippi River basin, the third largest river system in the world (fig. 1), that drains an area of 3.3 x 10 6 km 2 (1.27 x 10 6 mi 2 ). The Mississippi River basin includes more than 40 percent of the land surface, and is the home of more than one-third of the population, of the conterminous United States. Because climate, vegetation, and land use vary greatly within the Mississippi River basin, the primary terrestrial sinks for carbon need to be identified and quantified for representative parts of the basin. The primary goal of the MBCP is to quantify the interactive effects of land-use, erosion, sedimentation, and soil development on carbon storage and nutrient cycles within the Mississippi River basin. The project includes spatial analysis of a wide variety of geographic data, estimation of whole-basin and sub-basin carbon and sediment budgets, development and implementation of terrestrial carbon-cycle models, and site-specific field studies of relevant processes. Areas can be studied and compared, and estimates can be made for whole-basin carbon storage and flux.

Evolution of Tonal Organization in Music Optimizes Neural Mechanisms in Symbolic Encoding of Perceptual Reality. Part-2: Ancient to Seventeenth Century

PubMed Central

Nikolsky, Aleksey

2016-01-01

This paper reveals the way in which musical pitch works as a peculiar form of cognition that reflects upon the organization of the surrounding world as perceived by majority of music users within a socio-cultural formation. Part-1 of this paper described the origin of tonal organization from verbal speech, its progress from indefinite to definite pitch, and the emergence of two main harmonic orders: heptatonic and pentatonic, each characterized by its own method of handling tension at both domains, of tonal and social organization. Part-2, here, completes the line of historic development from Antiquity to seventeenth century. Vast archeological data is used to identify the perception of music structures that tells apart the temple/palace music of urban civilizations and the folk music of village cultures. The “mega-pitch-set” (MPS) organization is found to constitute the principal contribution of a math-based music theory to a new diatonic order. All ramifications for psychology of music are discussed in detail. “Non-octave hypermode” is identified as a peculiar homogenous type of MPS, typical for plainchant. The origin of chromaticism is thoroughly examined as an earmark of “art-music” that opposes earlier forms of folk music. The role of aesthetic emotions in formation of chromatic alteration is defined. The development of chromatic system is traced throughout history, highlighting its modern implementation in “hemiolic modes.” The connection between tonal organization in music and spatial organization in pictorial art is established in the Baroque culture, and then tracked back to prehistoric times. Both are shown to present a form of abstraction of environmental topographic schemes, and music is proposed as the primary medium for its cultivation through the concept of pitch. The comparison of stages of tonal organization and typologies of musical texture is used to define the overall course of tonal evolution. Tonal organization of pitch reflects the culture of thinking, adopted as a standard to optimize individual perception of reality within a social group in a way optimal for one's success, thereby setting the conventions of intellectual and emotional intelligence. PMID:27065893

Support for international agricultural research: current status and future challenges.

PubMed

Zeigler, Robert S; Mohanty, Samarendu

2010-11-30

The success of the first Green Revolution in the form of abundant food supplies and low prices over the past two decades has diverted the world's attention from agriculture to other pressing issues. This has resulted in lower support for the agricultural research work primarily undertaken by the 15 research centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The total support in real dollars for most of the last three decades has been more or less flat although the number of centers increased from 4 to 15. However, since 2000, the funding situation has improved for the CGIAR centers, with almost all the increase coming from grants earmarked for specific research projects. Even for some centers such as the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the downward trend continued as late as 2006 with the budget in real dollars reaching the 1978 level of support. The recent food crisis has renewed the call for a second Green Revolution by revitalizing yield growth to feed the world in the face of growing population and a shrinking land base for agricultural use. The slowdown in yield growth because of decades of neglect in agricultural research and infrastructure development has been identified as the underlying reason for the recent food crisis. For the second Green Revolution to be successful, the CGIAR centers will have to play a complex role by expanding productivity in a sustainable manner with fewer resources. Thus, it is crucial to examine the current structure of support for the CGIAR centers and identify the challenges ahead in terms of source and end use of funds for the success of the second Green Revolution. The objective of this paper is to provide a historical perspective on the support to the CGIAR centers and to examine the current status of funding, in particular, the role of project-specific grants in rebuilding capacity of these centers. The paper will also discuss the nature of the support (unrestricted vs. project-specific grants) that will be needed for a much-desired second Green Revolution. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Global health initiatives in Africa - governance, priorities, harmonisation and alignment.

PubMed

Mwisongo, Aziza; Nabyonga-Orem, Juliet

2016-07-18

The advent of global health initiatives (GHIs) has changed the landscape and architecture of health financing in low and middle income countries, particularly in Africa. Over the last decade, the African Region has realised improvements in health outcomes as a result of interventions implemented by both governments and development partners. However, alignment and harmonisation of partnerships and GHIs are still difficult in the African countries with inadequate capacity for their effective coordination. Both published and grey literature was reviewed to understand the governance, priorities, harmonisation and alignment of GHIs in the African Region; to synthesise the knowledge and highlight the persistent challenges; and to identify gaps for future research. GHI governance structures are often separate from those of the countries in which they operate. Their divergent funding channels and modalities may have contributed to the failure of governments to track their resources. There is also evidence that basically, earmarking and donor conditions drive funding allocations regardless of countries' priorities. Although studies cite the lack of harmonisation of GHI priorities with national strategies, evidence shows improvements in that area over time. GHIs have used several strategies and mechanisms to involve the private sector. These have widened the pool of health service policy-makers and providers to include groups such as civil society organisations (CSOs), with both positive and negative implications. GHI strategies such as co-financing by countries as a condition for support have been positive in achieving sustainability of interventions. GHI approaches have not changed substantially over the years but there has been evolution in terms of donor funding and conditions. GHIs still largely operate in a vertical manner, bypassing country systems; they compete for the limited human resources; they influence country policies; and they are not always harmonised with other donors. To maximise returns on GHI support, there is need to ensure that their approaches are more comprehensive as opposed to being selective; to improve GHI country level governance and alignment with countries' changing epidemiologic profiles; and to strengthen their involvement of CSOs.

Modern sands of South America: composition, provenance and global significance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, P. E.

1994-03-01

Standard petrographic methods were used to study 604 modern sands from South America, of which 351 came from rivers and 253 from beaches. In spite of the wide geomorphic contrasts, these sands belong to only three great families: (1) an immature Andean family of lithic arenites rich in volcanic and metamorphic grains that covers about 30% of South America; (2) a cratonic association rich in quartz that covers about 62% of the continent; and (3) a transitional, molasse association, which occurs between these two and covers only about 8% of the continent. The grand arithmetic average Q:F: Rf ratio for the entire continent is 60:11:29 and the area-weighted, carbonate-free average Qa:Fa:Rfa is 68:10:22, a superior continental estimate, and the first ever for an entire continent. Rock fragments are the most informative of all the provenance indicators and in South America they range from tropical alterites of the cratonic family through the dominant volcanic and metamorphic grains of the Andean family to biogenic carbonate in beach sands. Carbonate grains are almost totally absent in modern South American rivers because of present day tropical weathering and a long geological evolution that has favored sand production. They are present in many of the beach sands, however, and are most abundant along the tropical Brazilian and Caribbean coasts. Metamorphic grains rival volcanics as earmarks of the Andean family and survive tropical weathering far better than volcanic grains. There is a strong association between continental soil types and the composition of river sand, but the ultimate controls are tectonic history — the ancient landscapes preserved on the Gondwana shields of South America versus the tectonically young landscapes of the Andes — and climate. Climate can either cause ‘leaks’ to a far distant ocean where weathering is retarded by aridity or it can serve as a barrier to continental sand dispersion, where tropical weathering eliminates unstable grains in transit to the sea. When provenance studies are conducted across an entire, unglaciated continent, events in the far distant past need to be considered when seeking fundamental explanations of its contemporary, surficial sands.

Development of a validated liquid chromatographic method for quantification of sorafenib tosylate in the presence of stress-induced degradation products and in biological matrix employing analytical quality by design approach.

PubMed

Sharma, Teenu; Khurana, Rajneet Kaur; Jain, Atul; Katare, O P; Singh, Bhupinder

2018-05-01

The current research work envisages an analytical quality by design-enabled development of a simple, rapid, sensitive, specific, robust and cost-effective stability-indicating reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determining stress-induced forced-degradation products of sorafenib tosylate (SFN). An Ishikawa fishbone diagram was constructed to embark upon analytical target profile and critical analytical attributes, i.e. peak area, theoretical plates, retention time and peak tailing. Factor screening using Taguchi orthogonal arrays and quality risk assessment studies carried out using failure mode effect analysis aided the selection of critical method parameters, i.e. mobile phase ratio and flow rate potentially affecting the chosen critical analytical attributes. Systematic optimization using response surface methodology of the chosen critical method parameters was carried out employing a two-factor-three-level-13-run, face-centered cubic design. A method operable design region was earmarked providing optimum method performance using numerical and graphical optimization. The optimum method employed a mobile phase composition consisting of acetonitrile and water (containing orthophosphoric acid, pH 4.1) at 65:35 v/v at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min with UV detection at 265 nm using a C 18 column. Response surface methodology validation studies confirmed good efficiency and sensitivity of the developed method for analysis of SFN in mobile phase as well as in human plasma matrix. The forced degradation studies were conducted under different recommended stress conditions as per ICH Q1A (R2). Mass spectroscopy studies showed that SFN degrades in strongly acidic, alkaline and oxidative hydrolytic conditions at elevated temperature, while the drug was per se found to be photostable. Oxidative hydrolysis using 30% H 2 O 2 showed maximum degradation with products at retention times of 3.35, 3.65, 4.20 and 5.67 min. The absence of any significant change in the retention time of SFN and degradation products, formed under different stress conditions, ratified selectivity and specificity of the systematically developed method. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Financing the HIV response in sub-Saharan Africa from domestic sources: Moving beyond a normative approach.

PubMed

Remme, Michelle; Siapka, Mariana; Sterck, Olivier; Ncube, Mthuli; Watts, Charlotte; Vassall, Anna

2016-11-01

Despite optimism about the end of AIDS, the HIV response requires sustained financing into the future. Given flat-lining international aid, countries' willingness and ability to shoulder this responsibility will be central to access to HIV care. This paper examines the potential to expand public HIV financing, and the extent to which governments have been utilising these options. We develop and compare a normative and empirical approach. First, with data from the 14 most HIV-affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, we estimate the potential increase in public HIV financing from economic growth, increased general revenue generation, greater health and HIV prioritisation, as well as from more unconventional and innovative sources, including borrowing, health-earmarked resources, efficiency gains, and complementary non-HIV investments. We then adopt a novel empirical approach to explore which options are most likely to translate into tangible public financing, based on cross-sectional econometric analyses of 92 low and middle-income country governments' most recent HIV expenditure between 2008 and 2012. If all fiscal sources were simultaneously leveraged in the next five years, public HIV spending in these 14 countries could increase from US$3.04 to US$10.84 billion per year. This could cover resource requirements in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Swaziland, but not even half the requirements in the remaining countries. Our empirical results suggest that, in reality, even less fiscal space could be created (a reduction by over half) and only from more conventional sources. International financing may also crowd in public financing. Most HIV-affected lower-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa will not be able to generate sufficient public resources for HIV in the medium-term, even if they take very bold measures. Considerable international financing will be required for years to come. HIV funders will need to engage with broader health and development financing to improve government revenue-raising and efficiencies. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Adoption and Design of Emerging Dietary Policies to Improve Cardiometabolic Health in the US.

PubMed

Huang, Yue; Pomeranz, Jennifer; Wilde, Parke; Capewell, Simon; Gaziano, Tom; O'Flaherty, Martin; Kersh, Rogan; Whitsel, Laurie; Mozaffarian, Dariush; Micha, Renata

2018-04-14

Suboptimal diet is a leading cause of cardiometabolic disease and economic burdens. Evidence-based dietary policies within 5 domains-food prices, reformulation, marketing, labeling, and government food assistance programs-appear promising at improving cardiometabolic health. Yet, the extent of new dietary policy adoption in the US and key elements crucial to define in designing such policies are not well established. We created an inventory of recent US dietary policy cases aiming to improve cardiometabolic health and assessed the extent of their proposal and adoption at federal, state, local, and tribal levels; and categorized and characterized the key elements in their policy design. Recent federal dietary policies adopted to improve cardiometabolic health include reformulation (trans-fat elimination), marketing (mass-media campaigns to increase fruits and vegetables), labeling (Nutrition Facts Panel updates, menu calorie labeling), and food assistance programs (financial incentives for fruits and vegetables in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program). Federal voluntary guidelines have been proposed for sodium reformulation and food marketing to children. Recent state proposals included sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes, marketing restrictions, and SNAP restrictions, but few were enacted. Local efforts varied significantly, with certain localities consistently leading in the proposal or adoption of relevant policies. Across all jurisdictions, most commonly selected dietary targets included fruits and vegetables, SSBs, trans-fat, added sugar, sodium, and calories; other healthy (e.g., nuts) or unhealthy (e.g., processed meats) factors were largely not addressed. Key policy elements to define in designing these policies included those common across domains (e.g., level of government, target population, dietary target, dietary definition, implementation mechanism), and domain-specific (e.g., media channels for food marketing domain) or policy-specific (e.g., earmarking for taxes) elements. Characteristics of certain elements were similarly defined (e.g., fruit and vegetable definition, warning language used in SSB warning labels), while others varied across cases within a policy (e.g., tax base for SSB taxes). Several key elements were not always sufficiently characterized in government documents, and dietary target selections and definitions did not consistently align with the evidence-base. These findings highlight recent action on dietary policies to improve cardiometabolic health in the US; and key elements necessary to design such policies.

Towards a sterile insect technique field release of Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes in Sudan: Irradiation, transportation, and field cage experimentation

PubMed Central

Helinski, Michelle EH; Hassan, Mo'awia M; El-Motasim, Waleed M; Malcolm, Colin A; Knols, Bart GJ; El-Sayed, Badria

2008-01-01

Background The work described in this article forms part of a study to suppress a population of the malaria vector Anopheles arabiensis in Northern State, Sudan, with the Sterile Insect Technique. No data have previously been collected on the irradiation and transportation of anopheline mosquitoes in Africa, and the first series of attempts to do this in Sudan are reported here. In addition, experiments in a large field cage under near-natural conditions are described. Methods Mosquitoes were irradiated in Khartoum and transported as adults by air to the field site earmarked for future releases (400 km from the laboratory). The field cage was prepared for experiments by creating resting sites with favourable conditions. The mating and survival of (irradiated) laboratory males and field-collected males was studied in the field cage, and two small-scale competition experiments were performed. Results Minor problems were experienced with the irradiation of insects, mostly associated with the absence of a rearing facility in close proximity to the irradiation source. The small-scale transportation of adult mosquitoes to the release site resulted in minimal mortality (< 6%). Experiments in the field cage showed that mating occurred in high frequencies (i.e. an average of 60% insemination of females after one or two nights of mating), and laboratory reared males (i.e. sixty generations) were able to inseminate wild females at rates comparable to wild males. Based on wing length data, there was no size preference of males for mates. Survival of mosquitoes from the cage, based on recapture after mating, was satisfactory and approximately 60% of the insects were recaptured after one night. Only limited information on male competitiveness was obtained due to problems associated with individual egg laying of small numbers of wild females. Conclusion It is concluded that although conditions are challenging, there are no major obstacles associated with the small-scale irradiation and transportation of insects in the current setting. The field cage is suitable for experiments and studies to test the competitiveness of irradiated males can be pursued. The scaling up of procedures to accommodate much larger numbers of insects needed for a release is the next challenge and recommendations to further implementation of this genetic control strategy are presented. PMID:18439238

Measures which host countries and countries of origin could adopt to promote the return of migrants.

PubMed

Debart, M H

1986-03-01

The immigration wave in the 1960s and 1970s brought scores of migrants to Europe. Most intended to work a few years in a foreign country and return to their homeland; however, poor economies in their own countries discouraged their return. At the same time, jobs became scarcer in their host countries. Several European countries today are resorting to measures designed to promote the return of migrants to their countries of origin. This paper outlines the two major options open to governments in their reintegration efforts. Option 1 requires instituting a definite reintegration policy. Public aid to promote reintegration may be provided. For example, the French give aid contingent upon the return of foreign workers in the labor force to the country of origin and not just upon their departure from the host country. Classical methods pay conpensation to the foreign worker; the problem then is to determine at what point to limit the funds. It must be decided whether or not unemployment benefits should be capitalized and whether or not to reimburse social security and old age contributions. It is also desirable for foreign workers to have access to a specialized organization which is able to advise them on setting up a project or business on their return; ideally, this organization should finance the project. Perhaps the best solution is to enlist participation of the governments of the countries of origin to make job openings known to their nationals desiring to return. Option 2 requires that reintegration be introduced into other economic and social programs. Returning foreign workers would be included as a factor in overall policy planning. Vocational training for return migrants could be proposed to job seekers as well as to dismissed workers. A portion of money used to finance housing projects could be earmarked for construction or reservation of housing in the country of origin. Bilateral vocational training programs can be addressed to nationals who want to return home. A portion of bilateral public development aid may also be used in support of reintegration projects. Finally, it should be possible to propose small development projects in the country of origin for nationals desiring to return.

Child wasting is a severe public health problem in the predominantly rural population of Ethiopia: A community based cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Tariku, Amare; Bikis, Gashaw Andargie; Woldie, Haile; Wassie, Molla Mesele; Worku, Abebaw Gebeyehu

2017-01-01

In Ethiopia, child wasting has remained a public health problem for a decade's, suggesting the need to further monitoring of the problem. Hence, this study aimed at assessing the prevalence of wasting and associated factors among children aged 6-59 months at Dabat District, northwest Ethiopia. A Community based cross-sectional study was undertaken from May to June, 2015, in Dabat District, northwest Ethiopia. A total of 1184 children aged under five years and their mothers/caretakers were included in the study. An interviewer-administered, pre-tested, and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Standardized anthropometric body measurements were employed to assess the height and weight of the participants. Anthropometric body measurements were analyzed by the WHO Anthro Plus software version 1.0.4. Wasting was defined as having a weight-for-height of Z-score lower than two standard deviations (WHZ < -2 SD) compared to the WHO reference population of the same age and sex group. In the binary logistic regression, both bivariate and multivariate analyses were done to list out factors associated with wasting. All variables with P-values of < 0.2 in the bivariate analysis were earmarked for the multivariate analysis. Both Crude Odds Ratio (COR) and Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) at 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were computed to determine the strength of association. In the multivariate analysis, variables at P -values of < 0.05 were identified as determinants of wasting. The overall prevalence of wasting was 18.2%; 10.3% and 7.9% of the children were moderately and severely wasted, respectively. Poor dietary diversity [AOR = 2.08, 95% CI: 1.53, 4.46], late initiation of breastfeeding [AOR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.95], no postnatal vitamin-A supplementation [AOR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.04, 2.30], and maternal occupational status [AOR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.56, 3.42] were independently associated with wasting in the study area. Wasting is a severe public health problem in Dabat District. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen the implementation of optimal breastfeeding practice and dietary diversity. In addition, improving the coverage of mothers ' postnatal vitamin-A supplementation is essential to address the burden of child wasting.

Expanding health insurance for children: examining the alternatives.

PubMed

Fronstin, P; Pierron, B

1997-07-01

This Issue Brief examines the issue of uninsured children. The budget reconciliation legislation currently under congressional consideration earmarks $16 billion for new initiatives to provide health insurance coverage to approximately 5 million of the 10 million uninsured children during the next five years. Proposals to expand coverage among children include the use of tax credits, subsidies, vouchers, Medicaid program expansion, and expansion of state programs. However, these proposals do not address the decline in employment-based health insurance coverage--the underlying cause of the lack of coverage, to the extent that a cause can be identified. What is worse, some proposals to expand health insurance among children may discourage employers from offering coverage. Between 1987 and 1995, the percentage of children with employment-based health insurance declined from 66.7 percent to 58.6 percent. Despite this trend, the percentage of children without any form of health insurance coverage barely increased. In 1987, 13.1 percent were uninsured, compared with 13.8 percent in 1995. Medicaid program expansions helped to alleviate the effects of the decline in employment-based health insurance coverage among children and the potential increase in the number of uninsured children. Between 1987 and 1995, the percentage of children enrolled in the Medicaid program increased from 15.5 percent to 23.2 percent. Some questions to consider in assessing approaches to improving children's health insurance coverage include the following: If the government intervenes, should it do so through a compulsory mechanism or a voluntary system? Is the employment-based system "worth saving" for children? In other words, are the market interventions necessary to keep this system functioning for children too regulatory, too intrusive, and too cumbersome to be practical? In addition to reforming the employment-based system, what reforms are necessary in order to reach those families who have no coverage through the work place? Which approaches are both efficient and politically acceptable? Employment-based coverage of children will likely continue. The challenge for lawmakers is to find a way to cover more uninsured children without eroding employment-based coverage. Several current legislative proposals attempt to avoid this problem by excluding children who have access to employment-based coverage. Without such a requirement, the opportunity to purchase coverage at a discount would create incentives for some low-income employees to drop dependent/family coverage, which in turn could lead some employers to drop their health plans.

Juvenile skeletogenesis in anciently diverged sea urchin clades.

PubMed

Gao, Feng; Thompson, Jeffrey R; Petsios, Elizabeth; Erkenbrack, Eric; Moats, Rex A; Bottjer, David J; Davidson, Eric H

2015-04-01

Mechanistic understanding of evolutionary divergence in animal body plans devolves from analysis of those developmental processes that, in forms descendant from a common ancestor, are responsible for their morphological differences. The last common ancestor of the two extant subclasses of sea urchins, i.e., euechinoids and cidaroids, existed well before the Permian/Triassic extinction (252 mya). Subsequent evolutionary divergence of these clades offers in principle a rare opportunity to solve the developmental regulatory events underlying a defined evolutionary divergence process. Thus (i) there is an excellent and fairly dense (if yet incompletely analyzed) fossil record; (ii) cladistically confined features of the skeletal structures of modern euechinoid and cidaroid sea urchins are preserved in fossils of ancestral forms; (iii) euechinoids and cidaroids are among current laboratory model systems in molecular developmental biology (here Strongylocentrotus purpuratus [Sp] and Eucidaris tribuloides [Et]); (iv) skeletogenic specification in sea urchins is uncommonly well understood at the causal level of interactions of regulatory genes with one another, and with known skeletogenic effector genes, providing a ready arsenal of available molecular tools. Here we focus on differences in test and perignathic girdle skeletal morphology that distinguish all modern euechinoid from all modern cidaroid sea urchins. We demonstrate distinct canonical test and girdle morphologies in juveniles of both species by use of SEM and X-ray microtomography. Among the sharply distinct morphological features of these clades are the internal skeletal structures of the perignathic girdle to which attach homologous muscles utilized for retraction and protraction of Aristotles׳ lantern and its teeth. We demonstrate that these structures develop de novo between one and four weeks after metamorphosis. In order to study the underlying developmental processes, a method of section whole mount in situ hybridization was adapted. This method displays current gene expression in the developing test and perignathic girdle skeletal elements of both Sp and Et juveniles. Active, specific expression of the sm37 biomineralization gene in these muscle attachment structures accompanies morphogenetic development of these clade-specific features in juveniles of both species. Skeletogenesis at these clade-specific muscle attachment structures displays molecular earmarks of the well understood embryonic skeletogenic GRN: thus the upstream regulatory gene alx1 and the gene encoding the vegfR signaling receptor are both expressed at the sites where they are formed. This work opens the way to analysis of the alternative spatial specification processes that were installed at the evolutionary divergence of the two extant subclasses of sea urchins. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

European initiatives to develop information systems in oceanography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Grand, P.

2009-04-01

Various initiatives are currently in preparation or ongoing at the European level to improve information systems in Earth Sciences and oceanographic systems are at the forefront of these efforts. Europe is playing a leading role in the Group on Earth Observation (GEO) that aims to implement the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The GEO Architecture and Data Committee, oversees the development of the GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) which consists of a web-based portal, a clearinghouse for searching data, information and services, registries containing information about GEOSS components and associated standards and best practices. This development is detailed in the various tasks of the GEO Work Plan . Several European projects in the marine domain funded under the research framework program participate in the development of the GEOSS. EMODNET is another initiative to develop a system that will allow a better identification and access to marine data that are being collected, that will permit the identification of data gaps and that will shape a data collection and monitoring infrastructure directly suited to multiple applications. A number of measures have already been taken at EU level - the INSPIRE Directive obliges Member States to facilitate discovery of data holdings, the Environmental Information Directive requires them to release the data when asked, the Public Sector Information Directive facilitates the re-use of public data and the revised Data Collection Regulation has improved the availability of fisheries data. Moreover, prototype marine data catalogues and quality procedures for measurement laboratories have been developed through successive EU research programmes. EMODNET is complementary to other EU initiatives in the marine domain. Parameters made available through EMODNET will facilitate the GMES marine core service which aims to deliver both short term and seasonal forecasts, hindcasts, nowcasts, and time series and climate change scenario simulations. EMODNET will provide the access to raw and processed data necessary to calculate the indicators that Member States are obliged to provide through WISE-Marine to meet the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Moving to the definitive EMODNET will require significant funding. Given that EMODNET is very much focused on a sea-basin scale and given the impetus accorded to territorial cohesion by the EU maritime policy, discussions will begin to determine whether cohesion funding could support the initiative. At the same time moves will begin to integrate EMODNET with initiatives under the EU's research infrastructure programmes and the Common Fisheries Policy Data Collection Regulation. The objective is to achieve by 2014 an operational and sustainable EMODNET with earmarked funding and an agreed governance structure.

Late glacial to Holocene water level and climate changes in the Gulf of Gemlik, Sea of Marmara: evidence from multi-proxy data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filikci, Betül; Eriş, Kürşad Kadir; Çağatay, Namık; Sabuncu, Asen; Polonia, Alina

2017-10-01

Multi-proxy analyses of new piston core M13-08 together with seismic data from the Gulf of Gemlik provide a detailed record of paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes with special emphasis on the timing of the connections between the Sea of Marmara (SoM) and the Gulf of Gemlik during the late Pleistocene to Holocene. The deposition of a subaqueous delta sourced from the Armutlu River to the north is attributed to the lowstand lake level at -60 m in the gulf prior to 13.5 cal ka BP. On the basis of the seismic data, it is argued that the higher lake level (-60 m) in the gulf compared to the SoM level (-85 m) attests to its disconnection from the SoM during the late glacial period. Ponto-Caspian assemblages in the lacustrine sedimentary unit covering the time period between 13.5 and 12 cal ka BP represent a relict that was introduced into the gulf by a Black Sea outflow during the marine isotope stage 3 interstadial. Contrary to the findings of previous studies, the data suggest that such an outflow into the Gulf of Gemlik during the late glacial period could have occurred only if the SoM lake level (-85 m) was shallower than the sill depth (-55 m) of the gulf in the west. A robust age model of the core indicates the connection of the gulf with the marine SoM at 12 cal ka BP, consistent with the sill depth (-55 m) of the gulf on the global sea level curve. Strong evidence of a marine incursion into the gulf is well documented by the μ-XRF Sr/Ca data. The available profiles of elemental ratios in core M13-08, together with the age-depth model, imply that a warm and wet climate prevailed in the gulf during the early Holocene (12-10.1 cal ka BP), whereas the longest drought occurred during the middle Holocene (8.2-5.4 cal ka BP). The base of the main Holocene sapropel in the gulf is dated at 10.1 cal ka BP, i.e., 500 years younger than its equivalent in the SoM. The late Holocene is earmarked by warm and wet climate periods (5.0-4.2 and 4.2-2.7 cal ka BP) with some brief cold/dry periods (4.2 and 2.7-0.9 cal ka BP).

Veneto Region, Italy. Health system review.

PubMed

Toniolo, Franco; Mantoan, Domenico; Maresso, Anna

2012-01-01

The Health Systems in Transition (HiT) profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of policy initiatives in progress or under development. This HiT is one of the first to be written on a subnational level of government and focuses on the Veneto Region of northern Italy. HiTs examine different approaches to the organization, financing and delivery of health services and the role of the main actors in health systems; describe the institutional framework, process, content and implementation of health and health care policies; and highlight challenges and areas that require more in-depth analysis. The Veneto Region is one of Italy's richest regions and the health of its resident population compares favourably with other regions in Italy. Life expectancy for both men and women, now at 79.1 and 85.2 years, respectively, is slightly higher than the national average, while mortality rates are comparable to national ones. The major causes of death are tumours and cardiovascular diseases. Under Italy's National Health Service, the organization and provision of health care is a regional responsibility and regions must provide a nationally defined (with regional input) basic health benefit package to all of their citizens; extra services may be provided if budgets allow. Health care is mainly financed by earmarked central and regional taxes, with regions receiving their allocated share of resources from the National Health Fund. Historically, health budget deficits have been a major problem in most Italian regions, but since the early 2000s the introduction of efficiency measures and tighter procedures on financial management have contributed to a significant decrease in the Veneto Regions health budget deficit.The health system is governed by the Veneto Region government (Giunta) via the Departments of Health and Social Services, which receive technical support from a single General Management Secretariat. Health care is provided by 21 local health and social care units, 2 hospital enterprises, 2 national hospitals for scientific research and private accredited providers. Major national health reform legislation in the 1990s started the process of regionalization of the health system and the introduction of managerial methods and quasi-market mechanisms into the National Health Service, a process that has been consolidated since the early 2000s under the framework of fiscal federalism. Future challenges for the Veneto Region include the sustainable provision of the basic health benefit package; the adaptation of services to meet changes in demand, particularly those associated with the ageing population and the incidence of chronic diseases; and the ever-present problem of keeping the regional health budget balanced. World Health Organization 2012, on behalf of the European Observatory on health systems and Policies.

Policy Making While Paradigms Shift: Understanding the Development of Policy Drought in the U.S. Congress 1981-2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCurdy, K. M.

2013-12-01

Ronald Reagan famously announced in his 1981 inaugural address that 'government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.' For the scientific community and Members of Congress of that time, who were partners in working within the scientific management policy paradigm and the meritocracy on which its technical expertise depended, these words were outside their paradigm of good public service. Despite this announcement of a new paradigm by the incoming President, their policy world continued undisturbed, finding points of agreement to make incremental improvements in policy. Executive branch actions in Reagan's two terms as president were dismissed as peculiar, although they were the beginnings of realizing a policy goal of reducing the size and influence of the federal government. The important parameters influencing policy making in the U.S. Congress, which party holds the majority that sets the agenda and schedules votes, seniority that determines leadership positions in the conference and caucus, specialization on policy by committee jurisdictions, vary little annually and thereby were treated as constants by participants and observers alike. But member replacement has policy consequences that are infrequently noted. Members die in office, retire, and lose re-election bids, while the new members replacing them do not replicate any of their institutional characteristics. The policy process continues seemingly unchanged, but there are changes that become apparent with time. By 2013, scientists are no longer unquestioning partners in shaping federal public policy. They have been ridiculed in congressional hearings and in media attacks. Meanwhile new legislative strategies are being tried, e.g. shutting down government, increasing the use of earmarks instead of peer review, filibuster threats, and repeated attempts to repeal laws are now common tactics in Congress. Science and Congress no longer seem to act as partners in policy making, but as adversaries. The junior members of Congress embracing 'Movement Republican goals' to reduce the size of government by any means, are impatient with their senior colleagues who held pragmatic views for achieving limited government. Tensions arise in the conference from this lack of goal alignment, and increasingly become public. The give and take between the parties that was normal in the New Deal and Great Society eras has been replaced by intense partisanship in the 21st century, as the number of members who came to government embracing Reagan's maxim that government was the problem gradually increased in magnitude and seniority. It is important to recognize that there is a paradigm shift underway in Congress, related to the demographic changes in Congress as the new Republicans implement their policy goal of reducing the size of government, and that the structure of the institution produces a lag effect for that shift, and that the binary party labels may further mask the shift.

Missouri Soybean Association Biodiesel Demonstration Project: Final Report

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

Ludwig, Dale; Hamilton, Jill

The Missouri Soybean Association (MSA) and the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) partnered together to implement the MSA Biodiesel Demonstration project under a United States Department of Energy (DOE) grant. The goal of this project was to provide decision makers and fleet managers with information that could lead to the increased use of domestically produced renewable fuels and could reduce the harmful impacts of school bus diesel exhaust on children. This project was initiated in September 2004 and completed in April 2011. The project carried out a broad range of activities organized under four areas: 1. Petroleum and related industry educationmore » program for fuel suppliers; 2. Fleet evaluation program using B20 with a Missouri school district; 3. Outreach and awareness campaign for school district fleet managers; and 4. Support of ongoing B20 Fleet Evaluation Team (FET) data collection efforts with existing school districts. Technical support to the biodiesel industry was also provided through NBB’s Troubleshooting Hotline. The hotline program was established in 2008 to troubleshoot fuel quality issues and help facilitate smooth implementation of the RFS and is described in greater detail under Milestone A.1 - Promote Instruction and Guidance on Best Practices. As a result of this project’s efforts, MSA and NBB were able to successfully reach out to and support a broad spectrum of biodiesel users in Missouri and New England. The MSA Biodiesel Demonstration was funded through a FY2004 Renewable Energy Resources Congressional earmark. The initial focus of this project was to test and evaluate biodiesel blends coupled with diesel oxidation catalysts as an emissions reduction technology for school bus fleets in the United States. The project was designed to verify emissions reductions using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protocols, then document – with school bus fleet experience – the viability of utilizing B20 blends. The fleet experience was expected to support ongoing industry efforts to collect existing data and to increase awareness and knowledge among school district fleet managers. However, three years into the project, the original intent of the engine verification was no longer deemed by equipment manufacturers to be of sufficient economic interest to enter into a partnership. In response, MSA requested a project extension and re-scope to eliminate the aftermarket equipment verification and replace it with a petroleum education program. The revised project maintained four task areas with the following modifications. The first component was directed at increasing national compliance with newly initiated state level fuel blend mandates through a distributor education program. Component two was modified to eliminate the verification element and, instead, document operational data from biodiesel use in a district school bus fleet. Components three and four were unchanged and maintained their purpose of expanding upon the existing knowledge base of biodiesel use in school bus fleets.« less

Evaluating mental health care and policy in Spain.

PubMed

Salvador-Carulla, Luis; Costa-Font, Joan; Cabases, Juan; McDaid, David; Alonso, Jordi

2010-06-01

The reform and expansion of mental health care (MHC) systems is a key health policy target worldwide. Evidence informed policy aims to make use of a wide range of relevant data, taking into account past experience and local culture and context. To discuss the organisation, provision and financing of MHC in Spain visa vis the goals of recent psychiatric reforms. We draw upon existing literature, reports and empirical data from regional and national health plans, as well as European reports pertinent to Spain. In addition we have made use of iterative discussion by an expert panel on the features of Spanish MHC services, namely its history, characteristics and determinants in comparison to reforms in other European health systems. In contrast to most other European health systems, the Spanish case reveals that political regional devolution leads to a greater heterogeneity in MHC systems, with some of the 17 autonomous communities (ACs) or region states that make up the country moving more rapidly to full de-institutionalisation alongside coverage expansion and policy innovation. There remains a lack of specific earmarked budgets for MHC at a time of under-funding. There has been an imbalance in MHC reforms, with more focus on the principles underpinning the process of de-institutionalisation and less on the actual development of alternative community based mental health services. Moreover there has been a lack of monitoring of the reform process. Common to other countries, attempts to develop a more informed evidence policy have been hampered by a dislocation between the production of research evidence and the timing of actual policy reform implementation. Much of the focus of policy attention is on how to improve coordination within and across sectors, tackle socioeconomic inequalities and thus reduce the gap between perceived and observed need while monitoring any trends suggesting trans-institutionalisation. Other issues include developing and strengthening services to meet the needs of new migrants, as well as those of the rural population. There is also a growing recognition of the need to strengthen the evidence base both through research capacity and mechanisms to encourage the use of health economic information as one key component in the assessment of the system. The evolution of MHC in Spain may be regarded as a useful contextual case study for other countries embarking on reform, including some in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Spain is an example of a country that has undergone substantial economic and democratic transition in a short time frame; it has seen significant economic growth in some areas and has experienced mass immigration. While it is too early to judge the effectiveness of reforms in Spain, work to date clearly indicates some of the challenges that have to be overcome. These include better harmonisation and integration between health and social care, and more attention paid to the development or monitoring mechanisms to assess progress in reform implementation and better identify any widening of geographical disparities.

Changes in erosional and depositional processes with time and management of Goa Coast, central west coast of India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nayak, Ganapati; D'Souza, Joseph

2010-05-01

Coastal and estuarine environments, world over are facing immense impact due to both natural and anthropogenic processes. The natural processes include climatic changes, rise in sea level, cyclone, flood, tsunamis, coastal erosion, salinity ingress and siltation. Likewise, anthropogenic pressures include population expansion, ocean traffic, dredging, resource exploitation, pollution, unplanned urbanization and intensive industrialization. Due to these impacts the fragile coastal ecosystem and its entities, like sub ecosystems, resources, morphological units are undergoing unprecedented degradation, rendering these coastal regions vulnerable, impinging risk to human population, livestock, properties, as also, devastation of resourceful lands. This accelerates economic fatalities and irreversible obliteration to the ecosystems. Evidences on the global concern towards this issue have been well established. The countries world over, including India, pledged consensus towards the protection of the fragile coastal ecosystems through UNCED, Agenda-21. India, on 19th February 1991, has designated specified corridors along the landward side of the coastline as "Coastal Regulatory Zones" (CRZ), through appropriate policy and law. In context with the CRZ notification, scientific database at local and site-specific areas, developed. Synergy of ecosystems, landscape and resources with demographic, tourism data, vis-à-vis, economic corridors/sectors aided the paradigms and criterion for local and site specific prescriptions for Goa Coast. The Goa coast is a part of central west coast of India and is characterized by pocket beaches flanked by rocky cliffs, estuaries, bays, and at some places mangroves. Beaches in southern Goa are long and linear in nature with sand dunes. The Mandovi and Zuari estuarine system in Goa is the largest in this part of the coast. Mud flats, swampy marshes and wetlands are found mainly along estuaries and creeks. The beaches of Goa are stable beaches with seasonal morphological changes and annual cyclicity. The coastal zone in Goa is exposed to environmental and anthropogenic pressures. Some of the factors attributing to these pressures can be due to demographic settings and population growth, rapid urbanization, migration, recreation and tourism activities, fishery activities, transportation problems, socio-economic shift and transformation in occupation like, fishing, tourism, trade, salt industry; wetlands conversion, degradation of agriculture land and fallow lands. Shoreline changes observed overlapping the data after 32 years showed that all along the coast of Goa, from north to south, there is large variation in depositional and erosional processes. Deposition is specifically observed at Morjim, Baga, Campal, Miramar, Mobor and erosion is specifically observed at Kerim, Anjuna, Velsao. The present study reveals that all along the estuarine systems, there is net deposition. Further change detection study carried out overlapping the data after 38 years showed transformation of Khazan lands, conversion of marshy swampy and water logged areas, increase in Mangrove areas and decrease in salt pans. The present paper has succeeded in delineating various coastal ecosystems, coastal land forms, their resource potentials and transformation, if any. The study has helped earmarking the coastal region into conservation, development and utilization areas.

A comparison of greenhouse gas emissions and local area pollution of highspeed rail and air travel between Los Angeles and Las Vegas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mullins, Damien

Global warming is one of the most discussed global environmental issues in the world today. Global warming is driven by fossil fuel combustion emissions known as Green-house Gases (GHG). One of the major contributors to GHG emissions is the transport sector, emitting approximately 30% of total U.S. CO 2 emissions in 2010. Air travel contributed approximately 3.5% of total U.S. CO2 in 2008. High-speed Rail (HSR) is often touted as cleaner, more sustainable mode of transport than air travel. HSR is one of few modes of transport capable of competing with air travel for short to medium-haul distances. There has been considerable study of GHG emissions of each independently. Research has also been carried out into the economics and competition of these transport modes. However, there has been very limited study of the comparative emissions of each, apart from one study in Europe (Givoni, 2007). The current study was undertaken with the goal of quantifying potential emission savings due to mode substitution from air travel to HSR in the Los Angeles to Las Vegas corridor. This study only considered the emissions which occurred from the combustion of the relevant fuels, either in power plants or the engines of an aircraft. Emissions from fuel production/refining or transport of fuels were not considered. Another issue compared was Local Area Pollution (LAP), which is a measure of the severity of emissions effect on the environment. This was examined because all emissions from HSR occur close to the surface of the earth, and hence effect the local environment, while only a portion of aircraft emissions do. This study was carried out using internationally recognized emission inventory methodologies. For the air travel emission estimate methodologies and data published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) were used. The HSR energy use was estimated from energy use data from currently running HSR programs, in France, UK and Spain (Alvarez, 2007; Kemp, 2007). The emissions were then estimated using an adjusted tier 3 method. For aviation emissions a tier three method was also used. The findings of this research are mixed. HSR would emit 66% less GHG emissions using today's energy mixes for California and Nevada. Using California's 2020 target energy mix HSR would emit 80% less GHG emissions. However, using today's energy mix HSR would cause 33% more LAP than air travel. Using California's 2020 mix the HSR would cause 22% less LAP the air travel. However this 20% improvement would likely be eroded by aircraft emissions improvement between now and 2020. To conclude, this research found that HSR does offer significant GHG emission reductions, when compared to air travel between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. However is less clear regarding LAP, though HSR has the potential to create savings here in the future as well. For other corridors around the U.S.A., earmarked for HSR, similar studies should be carried out to examine the benefits of such mode transfer.

Factors associated with minimal meal frequency and dietary diversity practices among infants and young children in the predominantly agrarian society of Bale zone, Southeast Ethiopia: a community based cross sectional study.

PubMed

Tegegne, Mekonnen; Sileshi, Semere; Benti, Tomas; Teshome, Mulusew; Woldie, Haile

2017-01-01

Poor infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in the first 2 years of age are among major causes of childhood malnutrition, in developing countries including Ethiopia. It results in irreversible outcomes of stunting, poor cognitive development, and significantly increases risks of many chronic and infectious diseases. This study was intended to assess factors associated with minimum meal frequency and minimum dietary diversity practice among children aged 6-23 months in the predominantly agrarian society of Bale zone, Southeast Ethiopia. A community based cross sectional study was employed from January to June 2016. An interviewer administered, pretested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Multi-stage sampling followed by a systematic random sampling technique was used to include study subjects. Data was entered using Epi info version 3.5.3 and analyzed by SPSS version 20. In the logistic regression, both bivariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to identify factors associated with minimum meal frequency and minimum dietary diversity scores. All variables with P -values of <0.2 in the bivariate were earmarked for the multivariate analysis. Both Crude Odds Ratio (COR) and Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) were computed at 95% Confidence Interval (CI) to determine the strength of associations. In the multivariate analysis, variables at P-Values of <0.05 were considered as statistically significant with minimum meal frequency and dietary diversity practice. A total of 801 infants and young children aged 6-23 months and their mothers participated in the study. The overall prevalence of minimum meal frequency and minimum dietary diversity practice was 68.4% [95% CI: 0.652, 0.716] and 28.5% [95% CI: 0.254, 0.316], respectively. Child age (AOR = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.94) and parity of mother (AOR = 2.8; 95% CI: 1.11, 7.50) were independently associated with minimal meal frequency. On the other hand, mothers educational level (AOR = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.94), child illness in the past 1 week (AOR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.26, 0.73) and maternal counselling on IYCF practice during postnatal care (PNC) visits (AOR = 2.6; 95% CI: 1.59, 4.45) were factors statistically associated with dietary diversity practice in the study area. Compliance to recommended minimum meal frequency and diversified diets was low in this study community. Minimum meal frequency was associated with the age of child and parity of mother. But, mothers' education, child illness in the past 1 week, and maternal counseling on IYCF during PNC visits were factors associated with minimum dietary diversity practice. Improving the level of maternal and child health care utilization, increasing the educational level of mothers and providing health and nutrition counseling on IYCF during maternal PNC service visits are vital interventions to improve IYCF practices in the predominantly agrarian society of Bale zone, Southeast Ethiopia.

IRIS/USGS Plans for Upgrading the Global Seismograph Network

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peterson, Jon; Hutt, Charles R.

1989-01-01

PREFACE This report has been prepared to provide information to organizations that may be asked to participate in a program to upgrade the global seismographic network. In most cases, the organizations that will be offered new instrumentation by the U.S. Geological Survey currently operate stations in the World-Wide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN) or the Global Digital Seismograph Network (GDSN). The deployment of the WWSSN in the 1960's and the subsequent equipping of some WWSSN stations with digital equipment and borehole seismometers during the 1970's has been a remarkably successful program that generated the high- quality data needed to fuel an unprecedented period of progress in earthquake and tectonic research. The success of the WWSSN can be attributed to the importance of the data, to the strong commitment by participating organizations to international scientific cooperation, to the dedication and skill of the station operators, and to the resourcefulness of the staff supporting the network. Benefits have been widespread. The community of scientists world-wide has benefited from unrestricted access to a standardized base of calibrated data, and the participating stations have benefited from the donation of modern observatory instruments that have been useful for local earthquake studies and for the training of scientists and engineers. Now, an exciting opportunity has arisen to deploy a new generation of seismograph systems to replace the outdated equipment at many of the WWSSN and GDSN stations. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is cooperating with the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) in a program to upgrade the global seismograph network. The equipment development phase is nearly complete with a prototype of the new broadband seismograph system currently undergoing final testing at the USGS Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory. Deployment of the new equipment is expected to begin in early 1990. As this report will demonstrate, the IRIS broadband seismograph system combines the very latest data acquisition and computer technology to produce seismic data with unprecedented bandwidth and dynamic range. Moreover, the system has been designed so that the high-quality digital data are accessible for local display and analysis. The functional design of the new system, which uses off-the-shelf modules and a standard computer bus, will make it much easier than it has been in the past to modify and upgrade the data acquisition system as improvements in technology become available. With adequate support for the program, the new IRIS seismograph system need never become obsolete. We want you to be aware of our plans and the possibility that you may be asked to participate in this ,program. The schedule for upgrading WWSSN and GDSN stations depends on the level of funding earmarked for the program by our National Science Foundation. We hope to deploy at least ten new GSN data systems each year. If you have any questions concerning this program, please contact the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87115-5000. This report was revised in February 1992 in order to update information concerning the current program and instrumentation. The amp in Figure 1 was revised in June 1993, April 1994, December 1994, and September 1996 to reflect updated siting information. In September 1996 a composite photo of standard and optional components of the IRIS-2 GSN system hardware was added as a separate page between Figures 9 and 10.

Students Collecting Real time Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, P.

2006-05-01

Students Collecting Real-Time Data The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary has created opportunities for middle and high school students to become Student Researchers and to be involved in real-time marine data collection. It is important that we expose students to different fields of science and encourage them to enter scientific fields of study. The Humpback Whale Sanctuary has an education visitor center in Kihei, Maui. Located right on the beach, the site has become a living classroom facility. There is a traditional Hawaiian fishpond fronting the property. The fishpond wall is being restored, using traditional methods. The site has the incredible opportunity of incorporating Hawaiian cultural practices with scientific studies. The Sanctuary offers opportunities for students to get involved in monitoring and data collection studies. Invasive Seaweed Study: Students are collecting data on invasive seaweed for the University of Hawaii. They pull a large net through the shallow waters. Seaweed is sorted, identified and weighed. The invasive seaweeds are removed. The data is recorded and sent to UH. Remote controlled monitoring boats: The sanctuary has 6 boogie board sized remote controlled boats used to monitor reefs. Boats have a camera with lights on the underside. The boats have water quality monitoring devices and GPS units. The video from the underwater camera is transmitted via a wireless transmission. Students are able to monitor the fish, limu and invertebrate populations on the reef and collect water quality data via television monitors or computers. The boat can also pull a small plankton tow net. Data is being compiled into data bases. Artificial Reef Modules: The Sanctuary has a scientific permit from the state to build and deploy artificial reef modules. High school students are designing and building modules. These are deployed out in the Fishpond fronting the Sanctuary site and students are monitoring them on a weekly basis. Students are also building traditional Hawaiian modules, these being piles of rocks and attaching seaweeds to the rocks with natural fibers. The purpose of all these is to help restore habitat to the fishpond. Monitoring the Fishpond; The fishpond wall is presently being rebuilt. The new wall stands about eight feet high and twelve feet wide. The rocks to rebuild the wall are all being located underwater where the old wall stood. The state has required different information collected as the wall is reconstructed. Students GPS mapped the rock edges of the fallen wall, and will continue to map the progress of the new wall. Other students are monitoring the erosion of the sand dunes that front the edges of the wall and are also looking at the new deposition of sand in the pond. Students are snorkeling, running transects and collecting data on the changing populations of fish, invertebrates and seaweeds in the pond. The wall is only about a forth built and already we are seeing growth in the populations. Students and teachers work with the sanctuary staff to develop projects. The sanctuary loans the equipment to the students and the students collect the data for the sanctuary. It is a great partnership with the schools. The Sanctuary has been given a Congressional Earmark this year to develop marine curriculum for the Department of Education. Projects listed above are part of this curriculum with hopes of many more to be developed. By 2008, all seniors must participate in some type of research project to graduate. The goal is to offer opportunities for many of these projects to become marine science related projects and thus develop a budding new group of marine scientists.

Funding for self-employment of people with disabilities. Grants, loans, revolving funds or linkage with microfinance programmes.

PubMed

de Klerk, Ton

2008-03-01

In 2005, Handicap International commissioned a study on the practices of funding for self-employment activities of people with disabilities (PWD), with a special focus on access to microfinance. The overall goal of the study was to produce a framework document highlighting good practices, strategies, tools and operational methods that guarantee the efficiency and sustainability of self-employment projects for PWDs. The first phase of the study consisted of a literature review and a worldwide survey. Through this first phase the research team identified the most innovative programmes for further analysis through field visits. In the second phase field visits were conducted in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nicaragua and Uganda, while regional workshops were organised in Dhaka and Nairobi. Phase three involved consolidation and analysis of the information and finally drafting of the framework document. This paper summarises the findings and good practices as presented in the framework document, based on the results of the literature review, the survey and the field research. It is not a scientific paper, i.e. it doesn't contain a discussion of the literature reviewed or systematic reference to sources, the same as the document on which it is based, as it is primarily meant for 'practitioners'. A main finding of the study was that there is no single 'best solution' to funding of self employment activities. While inclusion of PWDs in existing microfinance institutions (MFIs) is the preferred strategy, guaranteeing efficiency, sustainability and future access to funding for the target group, it was found that in reality many PWDs do not have access to microfinance programmes. This can be explained by stigmatisation of PWDs by staff of MFIs, who do not believe in their income earning and repayment capacity, and self-exclusion by PWDs. To fight against it projects have been set-up linking MFIs with programmes for PWDs, focusing on better information exchange between both parties respectively on disability for MFIs and the characteristics of microfinance for programmes for PWDs. Other programmes experiment with special credit lines or guarantee funds, placed at the disposal of MFls and earmarked for loan disbursement for PWDs, to facilitate their inclusion. Another reason for non-inclusion is the vulnerability of many PWDs. Many of them have no prior business experience, while many MFIs only provide loans to clients with an existing business. Vocational and/or business training and raising of their self-confidence, to be assured by a programme for PWDs, is often required prior to setting-up of a self-employment activity and taking a loan. If not prepared to run a 'business' successfully, taking a loan will present a too great a risk for themselves, getting indebted, and for the MFI. 'Start-up' grants for business-starters and revolving funds managed by PWD programmes, are other approaches practised by PWD programmes, of which the pros and cons are discussed in the study. A major weakness of many MFIs is that they do not reach the most vulnerable clients, including many of the PWDs, and their weak presence in rural areas especially in Africa. MFls have to look for innovative approaches to deepen their outreach. The self-help group approach in India, starting with the clients' own savings from which loans can be disbursed to the group members while linking the well-performing groups to banks for access to bank loans, is such a new approach. It is practised by The Leprosy Mission Trust in India. In Africa, some international NGOs started with similar 'community based saving and lending groups'.

Possible continuous-type (unconventional) gas accumulation in the Lower Silurian "Clinton" sands, Medina Group and Tuscarora Sandstone in the Appalachian Basin; a progress report of the 1995 project activities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ryder, Robert T.; Aggen, Kerry L.; Hettinger, Robert D.; Law, Ben E.; Miller, John J.; Nuccio, Vito F.; Perry, William J.; Prensky, Stephen E.; Filipo, John J.; Wandrey, Craig J.

1996-01-01

INTRODUCTION: In the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) 1995 National Assessment of United States oil and gas resources (Gautier and others, 1995), the Appalachian basin was estimated to have, at a mean value, about 61 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of recoverable gas in sandstone and shale reservoirs of Paleozoic age. Approximately one-half of this gas resource is estimated to reside in a regionally extensive, continuous-type gas accumulation whose reservoirs consist of low-permeability sandstone of the Lower Silurian 'Clinton' sands and Medina Group (Gautier and others, 1995; Ryder, 1995). Recognizing the importance of this large regional gas accumulation for future energy considerations, the USGS initiated in January 1995 a multi-year study to evaluate the nature, distribution, and origin of natural gas in the 'Clinton' sands, Medina Group sandstones, and equivalent Tuscarora Sandstone. The project is part of a larger natural gas project, Continuous Gas Accumulations in Sandstones and Carbonates, coordinated in FY1995 by Ben E. Law and Jennie L. Ridgley, USGS, Denver. Approximately 2.6 man years were devoted to the Clinton/Medina project in FY1995. A continuous-type gas accumulation, referred to in the project, is a new term introduced by Schmoker (1995a) to identify those natural gas accumulations whose reservoirs are charged throughout with gas over a large area and whose entrapment does not involve a downdip gas-water contact. Gas in these accumulations is located downdip of the water column and, thus, is the reverse of conventional-type hydrocarbon accumulations. Commonly used industry terms that are more or less synonymous with continuous-type gas accumulations include basin- centered gas accumulation (Rose and others, 1984; Law and Spencer, 1993), tight (low-permeability) gas reservoir (Spencer, 1989; Law and others, 1989; Perry, 1994), and deep basin gas (Masters, 1979, 1984). The realization that undiscovered gas in Lower Silurian sandstone reservoirs of the Appalachian basin probably occurs in a continuous accumulation rather than in conventionally trapped, discrete accumulations represents a significant departure from the 1989 National Assessment (Mast and others, 1989; deWitt, 1993). In 1989, a direct assessment (field-size distributions required for play analysis were unavailable) of the Lower Silurian sandstone play gave, at a mean value, about 1.7 TCF of gas. The 1995 estimate (~30 TCF of gas) is so much greater than the 1989 estimate (~1.7 TCF of gas) because of the interpreted continuous nature of the accumulation and the assessment methodology applied. The methodology for continuous hydrocarbon accumulations assumes that the reservoirs in the accumulation are gas-saturated and takes into account: 1) estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) per well probability distributions, 2) optimum area that a well can drain (spacing), 3) number of untested drill sites having the appropriate spacing area, 4) success ratio of previously drilled holes, and 5) risk (Schmoker, 1995b). Davis (1984), Zagorski (1988, 1991), and Law and Spencer (1993) were among the first petroleum geologists to suggest that gas in the 'Clinton' sands and Medina Group sandstones was trapped in a basin-centered/deep basin accumulation. They recognized many of the earmarks of a basin-centered/deep basin accumulation such as low-permeability reservoirs, abnormally low formation pressure, coalesced gas fields, gas shows or production in most holes drilled, low water yields, and a general lack of structural control on entrapment. Ryder (1995) adopted this interpretation by defining four continuous-type gas plays (6728-6731) in the 'Clinton' sands-Medina Group interval (fig.1). Play 6728 (Clinton/Medina sandstone gas high potential) covers a 17,000 sq mi region of western New York, northwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and a small part of westernmost West Virginia that is very favorable for future gas resources (fig.1). Also, this play includes a l

Science data archives of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO): Chandrayaan-1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopala Krishna, Barla; Singh Nain, Jagjeet; Moorthi, Manthira

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has started a new initiative to launch dedicated scientific satellites earmarked for planetary exploration, astronomical observation and space sciences. The Chandrayaan-1 mission to Moon is one of the approved missions of this new initiative. The basic objective of the Chandrayaan-1 mission, scheduled for launch in mid 2008, is photoselenological and chemical mapping of the Moon with better spatial and spectral resolution. Consistent with this scientific objective, the following baseline payloads are included in this mission: (i) Terrain mapping stereo camera (TMC) with 20 km swath (400-900 nm band) for 3D imaging of lunar surface at a spatial resolution of 5m. (ii) Hyper Spectral Imager in the 400- 920 nm band with 64 channels and spatial resolution of 80m (20 km swath) for mineralogical mapping. (iii) High-energy X-ray (30-270 keV) spectrometer having a footprint of 40 km for study of volatile transport on Moon and (iv) Laser ranging instrument with vertical resolution of 5m. ISRO offered opportunity to the international scientific community to participate in Chandrayaan- 1 mission and six payloads that complement the basic objective of the Chandrayaan-1 mission have been selected and included in this mission viz., (i) a miniature imaging radar instrument (Mini-SAR) from APL, NASA to look for presence of ice in the polar region, (ii) a near infrared spectrometer (SIR-2) from Max Plank Institute, Germany, (iii) a Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) from JPL, NASA for mineralogical mapping in the infra-red regions (0.7 - 3.0 micron), (iv) a sub-keV atom reflecting analyzer (SARA) from Sweden, India, Switzerland and Japan for detection of low energy neutral atoms emanated from the lunar surface,(v) a radiation dose monitor (RADOM) from Bulgaria for monitoring energetic particle flux in the lunar environment and (vi) a collimated low energy (1-10keV) X-ray spectrometer (C1XS) with a field of view of 20 km for chemical mapping of the lunar surface from RAL, UK. Science data from the Chandrayaan-1 instruments is planned to be archived by combined efforts from all the instrument and Payload Operations Centre (POC) teams, the Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC), the Chandrayaan-1 Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC). Chandrayaan-1 Science Data Archive (CSDA) is planned at ISSDC is the primary data center for the payload data archives of Indian Space Science Missions. This data center is responsible for the Ingest, Archive, and Dissemination of the payload and related ancillary data for Space Science missions like Chandrayaan-1. The archiving process includes the design, generation, validation and transfer of the data archive. The archive will include raw and reduced data, calibration data, auxiliary data, higher-level derived data products, documentation and software. The CSDA will make use of the well-proven archive standards of the Planetary Data System (PDS) and planned to follow IPDA guidelines. This is to comply with the global standards for long term preservation of the data, maintain their usability and facilitate scientific community with the high quality data for their analysis. The primary users of this facility will be the principal investigators of the science payloads initially till the lock-in period. After this, the data will be made accessible to scientists from other institutions and also to the general public. The raw payload data received through the data reception stations is further processed to generate Level-0 and Level-1 data products, which are stored in the CSDA for subsequent dissemination. According to the well documented Chandrayaan-1 archive plan agreed by the experiment teams, the data collection period is decided to be six months. The first data delivery to long term archive of CSDA after peer review is expected to be eighteen months after launch. At present, Experimenter to Archive ICDs of the instrument data are under the process of review.

Self-focusing therapeutic gene delivery with intelligent gene vector swarms: intra-swarm signalling through receptor transgene expression in targeted cells.

PubMed

Tolmachov, Oleg E

2015-01-01

Gene delivery in vivo that is tightly focused on the intended target cells is essential to maximize the benefits of gene therapy and to reduce unwanted side-effects. Cell surface markers are immediately available for probing by therapeutic gene vectors and are often used to direct gene transfer with these vectors to specific target cell populations. However, it is not unusual for the choice of available extra-cellular markers to be too scarce to provide a reliable definition of the desired therapeutically relevant set of target cells. Therefore, interrogation of intra-cellular determinants of cell-specificity, such as tissue-specific transcription factors, can be vital in order to provide detailed cell-guiding information to gene vector particles. An important improvement in cell-specific gene delivery can be achieved through auto-buildup in vector homing efficiency using intelligent 'self-focusing' of swarms of vector particles on target cells. Vector self-focusing was previously suggested to rely on the release of diffusible chemo-attractants after a successful target-specific hit by 'scout' vector particles. I hypothesize that intelligent self-focusing behaviour of swarms of cell-targeted therapeutic gene vectors can be accomplished without the employment of difficult-to-use diffusible chemo-attractants, instead relying on the intra-swarm signalling through cells expressing a non-diffusible extra-cellular receptor for the gene vectors. In the proposed model, cell-guiding information is gathered by the 'scout' gene vector particles, which: (1) attach to a variety of cells via a weakly binding (low affinity) receptor; (2) successfully facilitate gene transfer into these cells; (3) query intra-cellular determinants of cell-specificity with their transgene expression control elements and (4) direct the cell-specific biosynthesis of a vector-encoded strongly binding (high affinity) cell-surface receptor. Free members of the vector swarm loaded with therapeutic cargo are then attracted to and internalized into the intended target cells via the expressed cognate strongly binding extra-cellular receptor, causing escalation of gene transfer into these cells and increasing the copy number of the therapeutic gene expression modules. Such self-focusing swarms of gene vectors can be either homogeneous, with 'scout' and 'therapeutic' members of the swarm being structurally identical, or, alternatively, heterogeneous (split), with 'scout' and 'therapeutic' members of the swarm being structurally specialized. It is hoped that the proposed self-focusing cell-targeted gene vector swarms with receptor-mediated intra-swarm signalling could be particularly effective in 'top-up' gene delivery scenarios, achieving high-level and sustained expression of therapeutic transgenes that are prone to shut-down through degradation and silencing. Crucially, in contrast to low-precision 'general location' vector guidance by diffusible chemo-attractants, ear-marking non-diffusible receptors can provide high-accuracy targeting of therapeutic vector particles to the specific cell, which has undergone a 'successful cell-specific hit' by a 'scout' vector particle. Opportunities for cell targeting could be expanded, since in the proposed model of self-focusing it could be possible to probe a broad selection of intra-cellular determinants of cell-specificity and not just to rely exclusively on extra-cellular markers of cell-specificity. By employing such self-focusing gene vectors for the improvement of cell-targeted delivery of therapeutic genes, e.g., in cancer therapy or gene addition therapy of recessive genetic diseases, it could be possible to broaden a leeway for the reduction of the vector load and, consequently, to minimize undesired vector cytotoxicity, immune reactions, and the risk of inadvertent genetic modification of germline cells in genetic treatment in vivo. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Walls Come Tumbling Down: Decontamination and Demolition of 29 Manhattan Project and Cold War-Era Buildings and Structures at Los Alamos National Laboratory-12301

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

Chaloupka, Allan B.; Finn, Kevin P.; Parsons, Duane A.

2012-07-01

When the nation's top scientists and military leaders converged on Los Alamos, New Mexico in the 1943, to work on the Manhattan Project, the facilities they used to conduct their top-secret work were quickly constructed and located in the middle of what eventually became the Los Alamos town site. After one of these early facilities caught on fire, it seemed wise to build labs and production facilities farther away from the homes of the town's residents. They chose to build facilities on what was then known as Delta Prime (DP) Mesa and called it Technical Area 21, or TA-21. Withmore » wartime urgency, a number of buildings were built at TA-21, some in as little as a few months. Before long, DP Mesa was populated with several nondescript metal and cinder-block buildings, including what became, immediately following the war, the world's first plutonium production facility. TA-21 also housed labs that used hazardous chemicals and analyzed americium, tritium and plutonium. TA-21 was a bustling center of research and production for the next several decades. Additional buildings were built there in the 1960's, but by the 1990's many of them had reached the end of their service lives. Labs and offices were moved to newer, more modern buildings. When Los Alamos National Laboratory received $212 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in July 2009 for environmental cleanup projects, about $73 million of the funds were earmarked to decontaminate and demolish 21 of the old buildings at TA-21. Although some D and D of TA-21 buildings was performed in the 1990's, many of the facilities at DP Site remained relatively untouched for nearly three decades following their final operational use. In 2006, there were over three dozen buildings or structures on the mesa to be removed so that soil cleanup could be completed (and the land made available for transfer and reuse). The total footprint of buildings across the mesa was approximately 18,580 m{sup 2} (200,000 ft{sup 2}). The initially approved baseline for the ARRA D and D Project was to remove 22 buildings and structures that included approximately 14,680 m{sup 2} (158,000 ft{sup 2}) of footprint. By employing efficiencies during subcontracting, demolition, and waste segregation, the savings allowed an additional 1,580 m{sup 2} (17,000 ft{sup 2}) of footprint to be removed using ARRA funds. Additionally, the lessons learned from this experience were used to apply NNSA funding to the removal of six additional non-contaminated buildings and structures. In the end, 29 buildings and structures, including stacks, cooling towers and tanks, were removed from the mesa. The entire DP East area was cleared of buildings and sub-grade structures and the soils cleaned to residential standards. The total footprint reduction at TA-21 as a result of this effort was in excess of 17,650 m{sup 2} (190,000 ft{sup 2}). The use of a Laboratory self-performance team to start demolition of non-contaminated structures resulted in steady work performance early in the project while subcontracts were being put in place to perform more complicated abatement and contaminated demolition activities. Most importantly, there were no serious worker injuries and the minor injuries recorded were those common to construction type activities. Extensive monitoring along the site boundary demonstrated that no hazardous chemicals or radioactive contamination were released and radiological dose to the public was negligible. The ARRA demolition activities were completed six months in advance of the deadline for employing ARRA funds. Additionally, over 17,585 m{sup 3} (23,000 yds{sup 3}) of building demolition debris was safely removed from DP Mesa. All of the major buildings have been removed, unencumbered access to the SWMUs that are required to be cleaned up by the Consent Order with the state of New Mexico, has been achieved, and a significant portion of the mesa has been prepared to support a process that will eventually transfer this land from federal government control for further use. (authors)« less

Challenges that Preventive Conservation poses to the Cultural Heritage documentation field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Balen, K.

2017-08-01

This contribution examines the challenges posed to the cultural heritage documentation community (the CIPA community and others) in implementing a preventive conservation approach of the built heritage in today's society. The "DNA" of Preventive Conservation. Various authors so far support the argument that preventive conservation is an effective way to respond to the challenges society faces with the preservation of its Cultural Heritage (Van Balen, 2013). A few decades of experiences with the application of preventive conservation in the field of immovable heritage in the form of Monumentenwacht in The Netherland and in Flanders have shown that a good monitoring of the state of preservation with a strong push for maintenance activities contributes to more preservation of authenticity, to more cost-effective preservation and to empowering society in dealing with heritage preservation. (Cebron, 2008) An analysis of these and similar experiences demonstrates that these "Monumentenwacht" activities represent only a part of what could be named a preventive conservation system. Other fields in which prevention is advocated for its higher efficiency, show the importance of system thinking in the development of improved strategies. Applying this approach to the field of the immovable heritage, referring to the initial results shown by the Monumentenwacht practices, it becomes clear that different dimension are at stake simultaneously: the preservation of authenticity or integrity, the management of resources and the connection with society. It shows that the analysis of challenges in heritage preservation and the development of strategies is à priori multifaceted and therefor has a certain level of complexity. The sustainability of the preservation of cultural heritage buildings and sites can be measured according to its multiple economic, social, environmental and cultural support. The Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe report shows that the more diverse the support is for cultural heritage preservation actions, the more those actions will contribute to sustainable development and the more sustainable the preservation of that heritage will be. This reasoning has led to the "upstream approach" which argues that cultural heritage preservation can benefit from a variety of resources which do not necessarily have to be earmarked for it à priori (CHCfE, 2015). It leads to arguing for an holistic and integrated approach for cultural heritage preservation that taps into different kinds of resources, which requires acknowledgement of the complex nature of understanding and managing heritage values into an overall societal development goal (Vandesande, 2017). Challenges in the Cultural Heritage documentation field. Documentation needs in the field of cultural heritage preservation therefor are challenged by the complexity of the sources of information, by the need to integrate them in an holistic tool and by the way they are able to dialogue with society. 1. The proper analysis of heritage requires increasing efforts by the diversity of sources and the complexity of their interaction.This (complexity acknowledging) analysis should be linked to monitoring tools which eventually contribute to monitor culturalheritage values. This monitoring is also a documentation challenge as it has to be pertinent and dynamic. Analysis andmonitoring are important as they are the basis for understand threats that impact heritage values. 2. As resources for heritage development or heritage guided development can have a variety of origins, their documentation andanalysis -compared to the traditional curative object oriented preservation- should be extended to include many more possibleresources. Experiences exist with documentation of the physical environment of heritage sites but the upstream approachpoints toward a larger number of development resources that can be tapped into. This implies the need to identify newapproaches, to document them and to integrate them in a dynamic analytical process. 3. As preventive conservation focusses not only on the empowerment of the owners and managers but also on a betterintegration of a wider group of stakeholders, the question of ownership and continuous co-creation challenges thedocumentation process as well. 4. Longevity of documentation: the need for continuous updating and monitoring as part of the cyclic approach of PC challengesthe longevity, accessibility of the documentation itself and the tools that will use them in the future.

Observations and Modeling of Merging Galaxy Clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golovich, Nathan Ryan

Context: Galaxy clusters grow hierarchically with continuous accretion bookended by major merging events that release immense gravitational potential energy (as much as ˜1065 erg). This energy creates an environment for rich astrophysics. Precise measurements of the dark matter halo, intracluster medium, and galaxy population have resulted in a number of important results including dark matter constraints and explanations of the generation of cosmic rays. However, since the timescale of major mergers (˜several Gyr) relegates observations of individual systems to mere snapshots, these results are difficult to understand under a consistent dynamical framework. While computationally expensive simulations are vital in this regard, the vastness of parameter space has necessitated simulations of idealized mergers that are unlikely to capture the full richness. Merger speeds, geometries, and timescales each have a profound consequential effect, but even these simple dynamical properties of the mergers are often poorly understood. A method to identify and constrain the best systems for probing the rich astrophysics of merging clusters is needed. Such a method could then be utilized to prioritize observational follow up and best inform proper exploration of dynamical phase space. Task: In order to identify and model a large number of systems, in this dissertation, we compile an ensemble of major mergers each containing radio relics. We then complete a pan-chromatic study of these 29 systems including wide field optical photometry, targeted optical spectroscopy of member galaxies, radio, and X-ray observations. We use the optical observations to model the galaxy substructure and estimate line of sight motion. In conjunction with the radio and X-ray data, these substructure models helped elucidate the most likely merger scenario for each system and further constrain the dynamical properties of each system. We demonstrate the power of this technique through detailed analyses of two individual merging clusters. Each are largely bimodal mergers occurring in the plane of the sky. We build on the dynamical analyses of Dawson (2013b) and Ng et al. (2015) in order to constrain the merger speeds, timescales, and geometry for these two systems, which are among a gold sample earmarked for further follow up. Findings: MACS J1149.5+2223 has a previously unidentified southern subcluster involved in a major merger with the well-studied northern subcluster. We confirm the system to be among the most massive clusters known, and we study the dynamics of the merger. MACS J1149.5+2223 appears to be a more evolved system than the Bullet Cluster observed near apocenter. ZwCl 0008.8+5215 is a less massive but a bimodal system with two radio relics and a cool-core "bullet" analogous to the namesake of the Bullet Cluster. These two systems occupy different regions of merger phase space with the pericentric relative velocities of ˜2800 km s-1 and ˜1800 km s-1 for MACS J1149.5+2223 and ZwCl 0008.8+5215, respectively. The time since pericenter for the observed states are ˜1.2 Gyr and ˜0.8 Gyr, respectivel. In the ensemble analysis, we confirm that radio relic selection is an efficient trigger for the identification of major mergers. In particular, 28 of the 29 systems exhibit galaxy substructure aligned with the radio relics and the disturbed intra-cluster medium. Radio relics are typically aligned within 20° of the axis connecting the two galaxy subclusters. Furthermore, when radio relics are aligned with substructure, the line of sight velocity difference between the two subclusters is small compared with the infall velocity. This strongly implies radio relic selection is an efficient selector of systems merging in the plane of the sky. While many of the systems are complex with several simultaneous merging subclusters, these systems generally only contain one radio relic. Systems with double radio relics uniformly suggest major mergers with two dominant substructures well aligned between the radio relics. Conclusions: Radio relics are efficient triggers for identifying major mergers occurring within the plane of the sky. This is ideal for observing offsets between galaxies and dark matter distributions as well as cluster shocks. Double radio relic systems, in particular, have the simplest geometries, which allow for accurate dynamical models and inferred astrophysics. Comparing and contrasting the dynamical models of MACS J1149.5+2223 and ZwCl 0008.8+5215 with similar studies in the literature (Dawson, 2013b; Ng et al., 2015; van Weeren et al., 2017), a wide range of dynamical phase space (˜ 1500 - 3000 km -1 at pericenter and ˜ 500 - 1500 Myr after pericenter) may be sampled with radio relic mergers. With sufficient samples of bimodal systems, velocity dependence of underlying astrophysics may be uncovered. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).