Sea Bed Sand Waves Studied To Help Pipeline Planners

The article cites a study that offers information on the variability of sand wave characteristics in the North Sea. The sand waves variability includes a statement that pipelines may start vibrating due to turbulence generated under the free span and navigational channels often need to be dredged for ships to pass safely. The study used multi-beam measurement of three fields in the North Sea in which sand waves occur. Moreover, the study concludes that understanding the variability of sand waves can help determine the optimal depth of a pipeline trench

High-Performance Deep SubMicron CMOS Technologies with Polycrystalline-SiGe Gates

The use of polycrystalline SiGe as the gate material for deep submicron CMOS has been investigated. A complete compatibility to standard CMOS processing is demonstrated when polycrystalline Si is substituted with SiGe (for Ge fractions below 0.5) to form the gate electrode of the transistors. Performance improvements are achieved for PMOS transistors by careful optimization of both transistor channel profile and p-type gate workfunction, the latter by changing Ge mole fraction in the gate. For the 0.18 ¿m CMOS generation we record up to 20% increase in the current drive, a 10% increase in the channel transconductance and subthreshold swing improvement from 82 mV/dec to 75 mV/dec resulting in excellent ¿on¿/¿off¿ currents ratio. At the same time, NMOS transistor performance is not affected by gate material substitutio

A comparison of the EuroQol and the Health Utilities Index in patients treated for congenital anomalies

It seems generally believed that the HUI3 is a more responsive utility measure than the EQ-5D because of the crude level structure of the EQ-5D compared to the HUI3. As empirical evidence to support this hypothesis is lacking, we undertook a study to compare the construct validity of the utility indices of the EQ-5Dindex and the HUI3index in 135 patients treated for congenital anorectal malformation and 57 patients treated for congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Discriminant validity was tested by the ability of the HUI3index and EQ-5Dindex to distinguish clinically relevant subgroups in the patient populations. Convergent validity was tested using Pearson correlations of the HUI3index and the EQ-5Dindex with the symptom scores. In general the index scores were in line with expectations: the higher the level of symptomaticity, the lower the indices. The HUI3 classified patients in more health states than the EQ-5D and classified a smaller percentage in the best health state. Nevertheless, the EQ-5Dindex distinguished more clinically relevant subgroups than the HUI3index. The two indices were correlated weakly to moderately with the symptom scores, which was expected given the relatively good quality of life of the patients. Despite the higher number of health states of the HUI, the EQ-5Dindex discriminated more clinically relevant subgroups than the HUI3index. This means that discriminative power of the utility indices is not determined merely by the number of health states of the underlying classification system. Differences in the description of the health states might explain this finding.</p

Enkele beschouwingen over het gezinsloon

Proefschrift--Vrije universiteit te Amsterdam.Mode of access: Internet

Predicting the risk and speed of drug resistance emerging in soil-transmitted helminths during preventive chemotherapy

Control of soil-transmitted helminths relies heavily on regular large-scale deworming of high-risk groups (e.g., children) with benzimidazole derivatives. Although drug resistance has not yet been documented in human soil-transmitted helminths, regular deworming of cattle and sheep has led to widespread benzimidazole resistance in veterinary helminths. Here we predict the population dynamics of human soil-transmitted helminth infections and drug resistance during 20 years of regular preventive chemotherapy, using an individual-based model. With the current preventive chemotherapy strategy of mainly targeting children in schools, drug resistance may evolve in soil-transmitted helminths within a decade. More intense preventive chemotherapy strategies increase the prospects of soil-transmitted helminths elimination, but also increase the speed at which drug efficacy declines, especially when implementing community-based preventive chemotherapy (population-wide deworming). If during the last decade, preventive chemotherapy against soil-transmitted helminths has led to resistance, we may not have detected it as drug efficacy has not been structurally monitored, or incorrectly so. These findings highlight the need to develop and implement strategies to monitor and mitigate the evolution of benzimidazole resistance.</p

De definitie van specialistische geneesmiddelen

Samenvatting Vanwege bekostigingsproblemen met bepaalde geneesmiddelen is er een afbakeningsdiscussie rond dit onderwerp ontstaan. Buiten het ziekenhuis worden soms geneesmiddelen gebruikt waarvan zorgverzekeraars vinden dat ze niet via de extramurale geneesmiddelfinanciering moeten worden bekostigd maar dat ze ten laste van het ziekenhuisbudget zouden moeten komen. Ziekenhuizen zijn bereid deze geneesmiddelen te betalen als ze er maar voor gecompenseerd worden. Tegen deze achtergrond is een mogelijke oplossing voor de financieringsproblematiek om extramuraal afgeleverde geneesmiddelen te scheiden in specialistische en generalistische middelen. Door de specialistische geneesmiddelen medisch-inhoudelijk, beleidsmatig en financieel onder de reikwijdte van het ziekenhuis te brengen kan de continuïteit in behandeling door de medisch specialist ook worden doorgetrokken naar de farmacotherapie, ongeacht waar de patiënt zich bevindt (intramuraal of extramuraal). Voor generalistische middelen zou de medisch-inhoudelijke, beleidsmatige en financiële praktijk niet anders zijn dan in de huidige situatie. etc ..