Impacts of Eligibility Expansions and Provider Reimbursement Rate Increases on Child Care Subsidy Take-Up Rates, Welfare Use and Work

We find that reforms in the Rhode Island subsidized child care program, including income and age eligibility expansions and increases in the reimbursement rates paid to formal providers, significantly increased the likelihood that current and former welfare families: a) would use child care subsidies and b) would work 20 or more hours per week. In addition, these policy changes significantly increased the probability that family heads of household would leave welfare for work. The most powerful impact of the Rhode Island changes in child care policies was on families that had left welfare (i.e., former cash recipients) and that worked at least 20 hours per week. These policy changes had less effect on families receiving cash assistance and enrolled in some approved activity (e.g., education or training) other than work. We were not able to assess the impact of the Rhode Island policy changes on families who were never on cash assistance. However, the large increase in the number of such families receiving child care subsidies after the reforms were instituted suggests that the impact may have been substantial. We also estimate that Rhode Island's reform of its cash assistance program and of its child care subsidy program, in combination, almost tripled the probability that a typical head of household currently or formerly receiving welfare would work 20 or more hours per week (i.e., the probability increased from 7% in the second quarter of 1996 to 22% in the second quarter of 2000) and almost halved the probability that a single mother in the sample would be on cash assistance and neither working nor in some other approved activity (i.e., such probability decreased from 47% in the second quarter of 1996 to 25% in the second quarter of 2000).

Effect of acupressure on cervical ripening

Background: Cervical ripening is one of the main stages of initiation labor. Acupressure in Chinese medicine is considered as an invasive technique, which through reliving oxytocin ripens the cervix. Acupoint Sanyinjiao (SP6) was selected in this study because it is the acupoint selected in gynecology and it is easy for women to locate and apply pressure without medical assistance. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of acupressure on cervical ripening. Patients and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 150 primigravida with term pregnancy who had referred to Deziani hospital in Gorgan were chosen and divided to three groups: in the first group acupressure was done by the researcher while in the second groups this was performed by the mother her self, and the third group served as a control and only received routine care. For both intervention groups the pressure was applied on Sp6 for about 20 minutes during one to five days. Elements were checked from cervical ripening at 48 and 96 hours after intervention and at the time of hospitalization. The tools for gathering information included demographic characteristics and midwifery history questionnaire, daily records and follow up forms. Content validity was used for validity of tools. Reliability of the observation check-list and physical examination was confirmed by inter-rater scores (inter observer), and daily records by test-re-test. Data was analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-squared tests (P ≤ 0.05). Results: There was a significant difference between mothers’ educations in the three groups. Most of the mothers (59.5%) in the researcher-performed acupressure group had secondary education. Cervical ripening was significantly different between the three groups after 48 hours (P ≤ 0.05), yet there was no significant difference after 96 hours and at the time of admission. Mean Bishop score was enhanced after 48 hours in the researcher-performed acupressure group (P ≤ 0.021) and the self-performed acupressure group (P ≤ 0.007) in comparison to the control group. Conclusions: The results showed that acupressure is a safe technique and leads to cervical ripening. Thus, regarding the desired results that were achieved when mothers applied acupressure themselves, it could be suggested that it is beneficial for mothers to be trained to apply this method at home. © 2015, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal

Postpartum ketoprofen treatment does not alter stress biomarkers in cows and calves experiencing assisted and unassisted parturition: a randomised controlled trial

Dystocia is considered painful and stressful for both the dam and the calf, although systematic evidence of this is limited. Few studies have investigated biochemical markers of stress and pain postpartum and whether any adverse effects are ameliorated by administration of analgesia. In this study, cow–calf pairs experiencing both mild to moderate farmer assistance and no assistance at parturition were randomly assigned to either treatment or placebo group in a two-by-two design (animals subject to veterinary intervention were excluded). The treatments were the NSAID ketoprofen or saline, administered within three hours of parturition. Blood samples taken in the immediate postpartum period, and at 24 hours, 48 hours and 7 days after parturition, were analysed for plasma concentrations of creatine kinase and cortisol (cows and calves) and plasma L-lactate and total protein concentration (calves). Stress biomarkers were highest in the immediate postpartum period and declined over time (P<0.05). Cow plasma cortisol was higher in animals experiencing assisted parturition in the immediate postpartum period (P=0.023); by 24 hours no difference was evident. Intervention with NSAID analgesia did not result in beneficial changes in stress biomarkers. Based on biomarkers alone, this suggests limited benefits of NSAID treatment in unassisted or mild to moderately assisted parturition

An exploration of social and economic outcome and associated health-related quality of life after critical illness in general intensive care unit survivors: a 12-month follow-up study.

INTRODUCTION: The socio-economic impact of critical illnesses on patients and their families in Europe has yet to be determined. The aim of this exploratory study was to estimate changes in family circumstances, social and economic stability, care requirements and access to health services for patients during their first 12 months after ICU discharge. METHODS: Multi-center questionnaire-based study of survivors of critical illness at 6 and 12 months after ICU discharge. RESULTS: Data for 293 consenting patients who spent greater than 48 hours in one of 22 UK ICUs were obtained at 6 and 12 months post-ICU discharge. There was little evidence of a change in accommodation or relationship status between pre-admission and 12 months following discharge from an ICU. A negative impact on family income was reported by 33% of all patients at 6 months and 28% at 12 months. There was nearly a 50% reduction in the number of patients who reported employment as their sole source of income at 12 months (19% to 11%) compared with pre-admission. One quarter of patients reported themselves in need of care assistance at 6 months and 22% at 12 months. The majority of care was provided by family members (80% and 78%, respectively), for half of whom there was a negative impact on employment. Amongst all patients receiving care, 26% reported requiring greater than 50 hours a week. Following discharge, 79% of patients reported attending their primary care physician and 44% had seen a community nurse. Mobility problems nearly doubled between pre-admission and 6 months (32% to 64%). Furthermore, 73% reported moderate or severe pain at 12 months and 44% remained significantly anxious or depressed. CONCLUSIONS: Survivors of critical illness in the UK face a negative impact on employment and commonly have a care requirement after discharge from hospital. This has a corresponding negative impact on family income. The majority of the care required is provided by family members. This effect was apparent by 6 months and had not materially improved by 12 months. This exploratory study has identified the potential for a significant socio-economic burden following critical illness

The time cost of care

Extensive small scale studies have documented that when people assume the role of assisting a person with impairments or an older person, care activities account for a significant portion of their daily routines. Nevertheless, little research has investigated the problem of measuring the time that carers spend in care-related activities. This paper contrasts two different measures of care time – an estimated average weekly hours question in the 1998 Australian Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, and diary estimates from the 1997 national Australian Time Use Survey. This study finds that diaries provide information for a more robust estimate, but only after one models the time use patterns in the days of carers to identify care-related activities, which diarists do not necessarily record as care. Such a measure of care time reveals that even people who offer only occasional assistance to a person with impairments tend to spend the equivalent of more than 10 minutes a day providing care. Most caregivers undertake the equivalent of a part-time job to help a friend or family member. Summing the average caregiving time provided by all household members reveals that over a quarter of Australian households caring for an adult or child provide the equivalent of a full-time employee’s labour, and another quarter work between 20 and 39 total weekly hours to provide informal care.Care, unpaid work, time estimation, family and gender roles, informal economic activity

STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF PARENTS IN ACCOMPANYING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TO USE GADGETS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The school from home (SFH) policy during the COVID-19 pandemic has an impact on the routine activities of elementary students at home. Prior to COVID-19, the time spent by elementary school children using gadgets ranged from 1 to 2 hours per day, while during SFH elementary students could spend at least 4 hours per day. The increasing intensity and frequency of gadget use among elementary school students makes the role of parents important in accompanying children. Of course, the role of parents is needed so that children can use gadgets wisely to support educational goals, not just for entertainment purposes. The purpose of this study is to strengthen the role of parents in assisting elementary school children to use gadgets during the COVID-19 pandemic through outreach and mentoring activities. The subjects involved were 30 parents who have elementary school children in Porodeso Village, Sekaran District, Lamongan Regency. The method of implementation uses face-to-face techniques (with health protocols), door to door, and online (online using whatsapp group). Based on the results of interviews with parents after participating in the program, it shows that most parents have understood and implemented the gadget assistance material for children. The principles of gadget assistance for elementary school children include: exemplary, agreement, consistency, and serenity

DAIRY HERD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOCUSING ON PREWEANED HEIFERS

The National Dairy Heifer Evaluation Project ( NDHEP ) was conducted by the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS ) from April 1991 through July 1992 with the assistance of 1,811 producers from 28 states. Producers included in the study each had herds of 30 or more milk cows, representing 78 percent of the milk cows in the U.S. The average total of cattle and calves on each operation was 169.4. The main breed on 94.9% of operations was Holstein. Slightly over 46 percent of operations stated reproductive problems as the cause of low milk production of cows culled from the herd. Newborn calves were separated from their mothers before nursing on 28.0 percent of operations and less than 12 hours after birth on 39.6 percent of operations. On 64.0 percent of operations, calves received their first feeding of colostrum via hand feeding from a bucket or bottle. Of operations using hand feeding, 94.6% fed first milk from the mother (as opposed to other colostrum or substitute) to calves. Calves received, on average, between two and four quarts of colostrum during the first 24 hours. A variety of liquid feeds were used after colostrum was fed; the two most widely utilized were milk replacer ( 59.0 percent of operations ) and milk from cows recently calved ( 51.9 percent of operations ). Calves were weaned from liquid ration at an average age of 7.9 weeks. The average age of heifers at first calving was 25.9 months. The most common illness among dairy heifer calves was scours (53.8 percent of operations ), with respiratory problems as the second most common illness (12.1 percent of operations ). Scours was estimated to cause 52.2 percent of deaths ( 4.4 percent of calves born ) among dairy heifer calves from birth to weaning; respiratory problems were estimated to cause 34.8 percent of deaths ( 0.8 percent of heifer inventory ) among heifers from weaning age to first calving. Contact for this paper: Stephen OttNAHMS, dairy, cattle, monitoring, epidemiology, preweaning, heifer, production, morbidity, mortality, death loss, illness, colostrum, calving, dehorning, vaccination, scours, antibiotics, feed, milk replacer, Livestock Production/Industries,

The somatostatin receptor-adenylate cyclase system in rat pancreatic acinar membranes after temporary pancreaticobiliary duct ligation

The mechanism whereby somatostatin (SS) produces beneficial effects in established pancreatitis induced by pancreaticobiliary duct ligation (PBDL) is still not clear. The aim of the work was to evaluate the possibility of a direct action of SS on pancreatic acinar cells from rats with acute pancreatitis. For this purpose, we studied the SS-receptor-adenylate cyclase system in pancreatic acinar membranes from both, control rats and rats with experimentally induced acute pancreatitis. On the other hand, it has been reported that cholecystokinin (CCK) diminishes the number of SS receptors in pancreatic acinar cells. Proglumide, a CCK receptor antagonist reduces the severity of acute pancreatitis in the rat. Therefore, we have also examined the effect of proglumide on the somatostatinergic system in controls and rats with acute pancreatitis. Fourteen hours after PBDL, the SS receptors, the capacity of the SS analogue SMS 201-995 to inhibit forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity and PTX-catalyzed [P-32] ADP-ribosylation of the alpha(1) subunits of Gi proteins could not be detected in pancreatic acinar membranes. One month after reopening the closed pancreaticobiliary duct (PBD), the pancreas showed regeneration of acinar cells, and the above-mentioned parameters were significantly lower than in the control group. Two months after reopening the closed PBD, all these parameters had returned to control values. The administration of proglumide (20 mg/kg i.p.), a cholecystokinin receptor antagonist, accelerated pancreatic regeneration and approached all these parameters to control values one month after reopening the closed PBD. The present study suggests that the beneficial effects of SS on established pancreatitis induced by PBDL may not be due to a direct action of the peptide on pancreatic acinar cells at least at 14 hours after PBDL. In addition, these findings suggest that in established pancreatitis the effect of proglumide on the SS receptor-adenylate cyclase system could be due to its action on pancreatic regeneration.The authors thank Ms. Carol F. Warren and Jerry Keller from the Alcala University Institution of Education Sciences and Lilian Puebla from the Department of Biochemistry of\ud Alcala University for their linguistic assistance, as well as Ms. Maria Baez for her excellent assistance with library research and Mr. Luis Monge for assistance in the preparation of the\ud illustrations. The authors are also grateful to Sandoz Ltd. (Basel, Switzerland) for generous donation of SMS 201-995 and its analogue Tyr3-SMS. This study was supported by a Grant from the Direction General de Investigación Científica y Técnica (PM95-0041) and from the University of Alcala (001/96) of Spain

Review of impact of post-tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities

On 26 December 2004, an earthquake in the West Coast of Northern Sumatra set off a series of other earthquakes lasting for several hours which resulted in a Tsunami in the Indian Ocean. This led to widespread disaster, particularly in Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives, Indonesia and Thailand, with damage also in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Somalia, the Seychelles and Kenya. Sri Lanka, the ‘pearl of the Indian Ocean’, blessed with abundant natural resources, faced one of the worst natural disasters recorded in recent history. The Tsunami struck a relatively thin but long coastal area stretching over 1,000 kilometers - two thirds of the country's coastline. The destructive ocean waves killed more than 35,000 people, displaced nearly 2,500,000 people and destroyed thousands of houses. The overall damage to Sri Lanka is estimated at $1 billion, with a large proportion of losses concentrated in housing, tourism, fisheries and transportation. Development Partners range from private individuals both inside and outside Sri Lanka, to governments and NGOs. Coastal infrastructure, namely roads, railways, power, telecommunications, water supply and fishing ports were also significantly affected. Reactions ranged from immediate assistance to communities and local governments in restarting to function as speedily as possible, to short and long-term assistance in supporting communities to rebuild their infrastructure and housing so that they might again have normal lives and eventually recover from the trauma of the tsunami. As the infrastructure consists primarily of transportation, electric and telecommunications, and water and sewerage facilities that provide services to the public through a network of roads, rails, ports, airports, pipes and lines, the effectiveness of infrastructure systems impact on all economic activities. In this context, this paper aims to analyse the impact of the Tsunami on infrastructure facilities in Sri Lanka and how the postTsunami reconstruction process has affected the development of the same. A comprehensive literature review was carried out regarding the Tsunami and its impact on the nation. The infrastructure-related reconstruction and rehabilitation data were obtained from the RADA (Reconstruction And Development Agency, formerly TAFREN) through unstructured interviews conducted among personnel involved in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities. Results confirm that after almost one and a half years, the Tsunami rehabilitation process is slow as compared to its start

ANALISIS DAMPAK KREDIT MIKRO KSU “PERANAN UTAMA ARTA SEJAHTERA” TERHADAP PERKEMBANGAN USAHA MIKRO KASUS KSU “PERANAN UTAMA ARTA SEJAHTERA”

Micro enterprises are the largest group of entrepreneurs from all businesses in Indonesia , reaching 98.79 % of all businesses in Indonesia. However the still frequently encountered micro entrepreneurs who lose and even insolvent. One of the problems faced by micro entrepreneurs in developing a micro intrepreneurs is the low capital . In obtaining capital , the micro intrepreneurs that is dominated by the lower layers of society deemed unfit bank (unbankable) . Therefore , as a non - bank financial institutions KSU Peranan Utama Arta Sejahtera providing venture capital loan assistance with the procedures easier . Purpose of this study was to see the difference in micro enterprises before and after get credit service from KSU Peranan Utama Arta Sejahtera in terms of capital, sales turnover, profit, and number of hours worked. Research object, namely micro enterprises that receive this credit service of KSU Peranan Utama Arta Sejahtera in Semarang as many as 75 micro enterprises. Type of data collected are primary and secondary data. Data analysis methods include validity test, reliability test, and wilcoxon sign rank statistic test. Based on calculation of wilcoxon sign rank for capital variable obtained p-value as big as 0,000 (0,000<0,05) which means there were differences significant in capital variable before and after credit service of KSU Peranan Utama Arta Sejahtera, namely an increase by 34,5%. Calculate of wilcoxon sign rank for sales turnover variable obtained p-value as big as 0,000 (0,000<0,05) which means there were significant differences in sales turnover variable before and after credit service of KSU Peranan Utama Arta Sejahtera, namely an increase by 9,6%. For profit variable optained p-value as big as 0,000 (0,000<0,05) which means there were diffenrences in profit variable before and after credit service of KSU Peranan Utama Arta Sejahtera, namely an increase by 14,8%. Based on calculation of wilcoxon sign rank for number of hours worked variable obtained p-value as big as 0,305 (0,305>0,05) which means it does not happen a significant difference in the number of hours worked variable on micro enterprises before and after service kredit of KSU Peranan Utama Arta Sejahtera, where the number of hours worked increased by only 0,68% after credit service of KSU Peranan Utama Arta Sejahtera