The Relationship Between Water Shortage Concern and Age in Utah

It is unclear whether current water supplies in Utah will be able to accommodate the needs of the future. Population in the state is expected to double by 2050 and climate change models predict declines in water availability in the region. Public perceptions of the adequacy of the water supply (and concerns about potential shortages) are key factors that could influence water use behaviors and support for public policy interventions. This paper explores the research question: Are young people in Utah more concerned about water shortages than older cohorts? It was expected that young people would be more concerned about water shortages because they have the highest material stake in avoiding future water crises in the state. Data from a large public survey of representative Utah adults (n=6,800) is used in multivariate models to investigate the relationship between age and perceptions and concerns about water shortages, controlling for sociodemographic attributes and independent estimates of the biophysical adequacy of water supplies in the respondent\u27s place of residence. Results show that adults in all age groups are somewhat concerned about future water supplies in their community, but age is positively related to the degree of concern (net the effect of other variables in the model). These findings support an emerging body of research that suggests a cohort shift in patterns of environmental concern in the United States. The paper explores implications of the findings for public officials seeking to motivate residents to conserve water and support public investments to secure future water supplies

Preferences of Hungarian consumers for quality, access and price attributes of health care services — result of a discrete choice experiment

In 2010, a household survey was carried out in Hungary among 1037 respondents to study consumer preferences and willingness to pay for health care services. In this paper, we use the data from the discrete choice experiments included in the survey, to elicit the preferences of health care consumers about the choice of health care providers. Regression analysis is used to estimate the effect of the improvement of service attributes (quality, access, and price) on patients’ choice, as well as the differences among the socio-demographic groups. We also estimate the marginal willingness to pay for the improvement in attribute levels by calculating marginal rates of substitution. The results show that respondents from a village or the capital, with low education and bad health status are more driven by the changes in the price attribute when choosing between health care providers. Respondents value the good skills and reputation of the physician and the attitude of the personnel most, followed by modern equipment and maintenance of the office/hospital. Access attributes (travelling and waiting time) are less important. The method of discrete choice experiment is useful to reveal patients’ preferences, and might support the development of an evidence-based and sustainable health policy on patient payments

Secured Data Encryption Evaluation on Transmission Network using Fuzzy Logic

Security of data is imperative factor in data transmission through network. In this paper, we propose another strategy utilizing fuzzy set hypothesis to upgrade the security. The data as content to be transmitted is encrypted by utilizing the AES Rijndael algorithm. The encryption algorithm is the numerical method for performing encryption of data. A key is utilized to figure a message and to interpret it back to the first message. At that point the mixed encrypted content is changed over into the type of numerics by applying the fuzzy set hypothesis. The fuzzy logic will give the content in the zero to one esteem. These numerical before decryption the numerical are again changed over into mixed content. After this, if the key given by the client is a similar key that is utilized for the encryption then unique data will be recovered. The paper, coordinates the encryption of content and transformation of the unscrambled content from numerical to unique by utilizing fuzzy logic. In this paper, we include matrix transformation of content after encryption. Henceforth, the gatecrashers are ignorant of the content that is encrypted. For this matrix change fuzzy enrollment capacities are included. Before decryption the matrix transformation is occurred to discover content. From that point forward, the decryption occurred by giving key

Patient experiences in a public primary health care clinic: A South African case study

The South African Ministry of Health has recognized experiences of care as key to strengthen patient-centred care. This case study aims to measure patient-reported experiences of care at a clinic in South Africa, and its associations with the respondents' sociodemographic characteristics. A survey was conducted in 2019 on a convenience sample of 179 respondents. Questions on experiences of care were based on a standardised set of questions by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Logistic regression was used to examine the effects of respondents' characteristics on their experiences. The proportion of respondents who reported that a nurse spent adequate time with them during consultation was significantly higher among literate respondents (92.3 vs. 79.5%). Those who reported past negative experiences were significantly more likely to report a positive experience in regard to perceiving adequate consulting time (odds ratio = 3.865, with a 95% confidence interval between 1.555 and 9.607), receiving easy-to-understand explanations (4.308; 1.665–11.145), being given the opportunity to ask questions (2.156; 1.013–4.589) and shared decision–making (3.822; 1.728–8.457). The results can spur comparisons with other clinics in a similar setting and inform key stakeholders on aspects of the care experience that need greater improvement within the national framework for quality and safety assurance and patient experience measurement

Fabrication and Characterization of Electrospun Semiconductor Nanoparticle—Polyelectrolyte Ultra-Fine Fiber Composites for Sensing Applications

Fluorescent composite fibrous assembles of nanoparticle-polyelectrolyte fibers are useful multifunctional materials, utilized in filtration, sensing and tissue engineering applications, with the added benefits of improved mechanical, electrical or structural characteristics over the individual components. Composite fibrous mats were prepared by electrospinning aqueous solutions of 6 wt% poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) loaded with 0.15 and 0.20% v/v, carboxyl functionalized CdSe/ZnS nanoparticles (SNPs). The resulting fluorescent composite fibrous mats exhibits recoverable quenching when exposed to high humidity. The sensor response is sensitive to water concentration and is attributed to the change in the local charges around the SNPs due to deprotonation of the carboxylic acids on the SNPs and the surrounding polymer matrix

Quality of Life and Costs in Parkinson's Disease: A Cross Sectional Study in Hungary.

BACKGROUND: Patient reported outcomes and costs of illness are useful to capture some of the multiple effects of a disease and its treatments. Our aim was to assess quality of life (QoL) and costs of Parkinson's disease (PD) in Hungary, and to analyze their associations. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in one neurology university clinic. Clinical characteristics, PD related resource utilizations and productivity loss in the past 12 months were recorded; the Hoehn&Yahr (HY) scale, PDQ-39 and EQ-5D questionnaires were applied. Cost calculation was performed from the societal perspective. RESULTS: 110 patients (34.5% female) were involved with mean age of 63.3 (SD = 11.3) and disease duration of 8.2 (SD = 5.8) years. PDQ-39 summary score was 48.1 (SD = 13.4). The average EQ-5D score was 0.59 (SD = 0.28), and was significantly lower than the population norm in age-groups 45-74. The correlation was significant between EQ-5D and PDQ-39 (-0.47, p = 0.000), the HY scale and EQ-5D (-0.3416, p = 0.0008) and PDQ-39 (0.3419, p = 0.0006) scores. The total mean cost was euro6030.2 (SD = 6163.0)/patient/year (direct medical 35.7%, direct non-medical 29.4%, indirect cost 34.9%). A one year increase in disease duration and 0.1 decrease of the EQ-5D utility score increase the yearly costs by 8 to 10%, and 7.8%, respectively. The effect of the PDQ-39 score on total cost was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Disease severity and public health importance of PD are clearly demonstrated by the magnitude of QoL loss. PD-related costs are substantial, but are much lower in Hungary than in Western European countries. Disease duration and EQ-5D score are significant proxy of costs

Use of facile mechanochemical method to functionalize carbon nanofibers with nanostructured polyaniline and their electrochemical capacitance

A facile approach to functionalize carbon nanofibers [CNFs] with nanostructured polyaniline was developed via in situ mechanochemical polymerization of polyaniline in the presence of chemically treated CNFs. The nanostructured polyaniline grafting on the CNF was mainly in a form of branched nanofibers as well as rough nanolayers. The good dispersibility and processability of the hybrid nanocomposite could be attributed to its overall nanostructure which enhanced its accessibility to the electrolyte. The mechanochemical oxidation polymerization was believed to be related to the strong Lewis acid characteristic of FeCl3 and the Lewis base characteristic of aniline. The growth mechanism of the hierarchical structured nanofibers was also discussed. After functionalization with the nanostructured polyaniline, the hybrid polyaniline/CNF composite showed an enhanced specific capacitance, which might be related to its hierarchical nanostructure and the interaction between the aromatic polyaniline molecules and the CNFs

Comparative efficacy and safety of biosimilar infliximab and other biological treatments in ankylosing spondylitis: systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy and safety of infliximab-biosimilar with other biological drugs for the treatment of active ankylosing spondylitis (AS). METHODS: Systematic literature review for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with adalimumab, etanercept, golimumab, infliximab and infliximab-biosimilar in AS was performed and indirect meta-analysis (Bayesian mixed treatment comparison) was carried out. The proportion of patients reaching 20 % improvement by the assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society response criteria (ASAS20) at weeks 12 and 24 was used as efficacy endpoints, and the occurrence of serious adverse events at week 24 was applied to compare the safety of the biologicals. RESULTS: Altogether, 13 RCTs, identified by the systematic literature search, were included in the analysis. Results on the ASAS20 efficacy endpoint were reported for week 12 in 12 RCTs involving 2,395 patients, and for week 24 in 5 RCTs comprising 1,337 patients. All the five biological agents proved to be significantly superior to placebo. Infliximab showed the highest odds ratio (OR) of 7.2 (95 % CI 3.68-13.19) compared to placebo, followed by infliximab-biosimilar with OR 6.25 (95 % CI 2.55-13.14), both assessed at week 24. No significant difference was found between infliximab-biosimilar and other biological treatments regarding their efficacy and safety. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study which includes a biosimilar drug in the meta-analysis of biological treatments in AS. The results have proven the similar efficacy and safety profile of infliximab-biosimilar treatment compared to other biologicals