Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Priorities Survey Report: The Medical System and the Uninsured

Presents results of a survey on the healthcare system, priorities for reform, and views on the uninsured, a public insurance plan, and individual mandates, compared with other surveys. Analyzes how the way reform elements are described affects responses

Experimental Approach Embankments at Salt Fork River Bridges on US 177 and Their Initial Performance

This paper presents preliminary findings based on the initial performance evaluation of five approach embankments used in a bridge replacement project over the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River on US Highway 177 in Noble and Kay Counties, Oklahoma. The research involved instrumentation and measurement of four experimental approach embankments and one control approach embankment, all with similar dimensions. Instrumentation inc1uded total pressure cells to measure lateral earth pressure against the abutment wall, inclinometer casings to measure lateral movement of the backfill material and abutment walls, telescoping couplings on the inclinometer casings to measure settlement of the backfill and foundation, amplified liquid settlement gages for measurement of foundation settlement, and piezometers to measure pore water pressure. The four experimental backfills used were geotextile reinforced granular backfill, controlled low strength material backfill, dynamically compacted granular backfill, and flooded and vibrated granular backfill. The control section was unclassified borrow material placed at the contractor\u27s discretion as long as density requirements were met. This paper documents and presents summaries of the preliminary findings regarding initial performance and construction cost of each approach embankment

Would you want to know? Public attitudes on early diagnostic testing for Alzheimer's disease

INTRODUCTION: Research is underway to develop an early medical test for Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: To evaluate potential demand for such a test, we conducted a cross-sectional telephone survey of 2,678 randomly selected adults across the United States and four European countries. RESULTS: Most surveyed adults (67%) reported that they are "somewhat" or "very likely" to get an early medical test if one becomes available in the future. Interest was higher among those worried about developing AD, those with an immediate blood relative with AD, and those who have served as caregivers for AD patients. Older respondents and those living in Spain and Poland also exhibited greater interest in testing. Knowing AD is a fatal condition did not influence demand for testing, except among those with an immediate blood relative with the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Potential demand for early medical testing for AD could be high. A predictive test could not only advance medical research, it could transform political and legal landscapes by creating a large constituency of asymptomatic, diagnosed adults

New collections of p-subgroups and homology decompositions for classifying spaces of finite groups

Let G be a finite group and p a prime dividing its order. We define new collections of p-subgroups of G. We study the homotopy relations among them and with the standard collections of p-subgroups. We determine their ampleness and sharpness properties.Comment: 14 pages, some revisions made, final version to appear in Communications in Algebr

ECLSS advanced automation preliminary requirements

A description of the total Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) is presented. The description of the hardware is given in a top down format, the lowest level of which is a functional description of each candidate implementation. For each candidate implementation, both its advantages and disadvantages are presented. From this knowledge, it was suggested where expert systems could be used in the diagnosis and control of specific portions of the ECLSS. A process to determine if expert systems are applicable and how to select the expert system is also presented. The consideration of possible problems or inconsistencies in the knowledge or workings in the subsystems is described

Measurement of the Parallax of PSR B0950+08 Using the VLBA

A new technique has been developed to remove the ionosphere's distorting effects from low frequency VLBI data. By fitting dispersive and non-dispersive components to the phases of multi-frequency data, the ionosphere can be effectively removed from the data without the use of {\em a priori} calibration information. This technique, along with the new gating capability of the VLBA correlator, was used to perform accurate astrometry on pulsar B0950+08, resulting in a much improved measurement of this pulsar's proper motion ($\mu_{\alpha} = -1.6 \pm 0.4$ mas/yr, $\mu_{\delta} = 29.5 \pm 0.5$ mas/yr) and parallax ($\pi = 3.6 \pm 0.3$ mas). This puts the pulsar at a distance of $280 \pm 25$ parsecs, about twice as far as previous estimates, but in good agreement with models of the electron density in the local bubble.Comment: 5 pages, Latex with AASTEX. Accepted for publication in Ap

A diagnostic prototype of the potable water subsystem of the Space Station Freedom ECLSS

In analyzing the baseline Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) command and control architecture, various processes are found which would be enhanced by the use of knowledge based system methods of implementation. The most suitable process for prototyping using rule based methods are documented, while domain knowledge resources and other practical considerations are examined. Requirements for a prototype rule based software system are documented. These requirements reflect Space Station Freedom ECLSS software and hardware development efforts, and knowledge based system requirements. A quick prototype knowledge based system environment is researched and developed