9,173 research outputs found
Development flight tests of JetStar LFC leading-edge flight test experiment
The overall objective of the flight tests on the JetStar aircraft was to demonstrate the effectiveness and reliability of laminar flow control under representative flight conditions. One specific objective was to obtain laminar flow on the JetStar leading-edge test articles for the design and off-design conditions. Another specific objective was to obtain operational experience on a Laminar Flow Control (LFC) leading-edge system in a simulated airline service. This included operational experience with cleaning requirements, the effect of clogging, possible foreign object damage, erosion, and the effects of ice particle and cloud encounters. Results are summarized
Regional and Racial Variation in Health Care Among Medicare Beneficiaries
Focuses on variations in healthcare delivery and outcomes among and within hospital service areas, in addition to racial and geographic disparities, as measured by five indicators. Discusses variations in spending and considers implications for reform
Disparities in Health and Health Care Among Medicare Beneficiaries
Compares disparities in treatments and health outcomes -- diabetes-related leg amputations, mammograms, diabetes management, primary care, and hospitalization rates -- by race/ethnicity and state or region
Hospital and Physician Capacity Update
Offers an alternative view of healthcare costs by examining trends in hospital capacity and healthcare labor across regions. Outlines how effective management of healthcare capacity would enable affordable quality care that meets patient needs and wants
Permutation-Symmetric Multicritical Points in Random Antiferromagnetic Spin Chains
The low-energy properties of a system at a critical point may have additional
symmetries not present in the microscopic Hamiltonian. This letter presents the
theory of a class of multicritical points that provide an interesting example
of this in the phase diagrams of random antiferromagnetic spin chains. One case
provides an analytic theory of the quantum critical point in the random
spin-3/2 chain, studied in recent work by Refael, Kehrein and Fisher
(cond-mat/0111295).Comment: Revtex, 4 pages (2 column format), 2 eps figure
Fluctuation Induced Instabilities in Front Propagation up a Co-Moving Reaction Gradient in Two Dimensions
We study 2D fronts propagating up a co-moving reaction rate gradient in
finite number reaction-diffusion systems. We show that in a 2D rectangular
channel, planar solutions to the deterministic mean-field equation are stable
with respect to deviations from planarity. We argue that planar fronts in the
corresponding stochastic system, on the other hand, are unstable if the channel
width exceeds a critical value. Furthermore, the velocity of the stochastic
fronts is shown to depend on the channel width in a simple and interesting way,
in contrast to fronts in the deterministic MFE. Thus, fluctuations alter the
behavior of these fronts in an essential way. These affects are shown to be
partially captured by introducing a density cutoff in the reaction rate. Some
of the predictions of the cutoff mean-field approach are shown to be in
quantitative accord with the stochastic results
The Revolving Door: A Report on U.S. Hospital Readmissions
The U.S. health care system suffers from a chronic malady -- the revolving door syndrome at its hospitals. It is so bad that the federal government says one in five elderly patients is back in the hospital within 30 days of leaving.Some return trips are predictable elements of a treatment plan. Others are unplanned but difficult to prevent: patients go home, new and unexpected problems arise, and they require an immediate trip back to the hospital.But many of these readmissions can and should be prevented. They are the result of a fragmented system of care that too often leaves discharged patients to their own devices, unable to follow instructions they didn't understand, and not taking medications or getting the necessary follow-up care.The federal government has pegged the cost of readmissions for Medicare patients alone at 17 billion of it pays for return trips that need not happen if patients get the right care. This is one reason the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has identified avoidable readmissions as one of the leading problems facing the U.S. health care system and now penalizes hospitals with high rates of readmissions for their heart failure, heart attack, and pneumonia patients. This report is being released in conjunction with the Robert Wood John Foundation's Care About Your Care initiative, which is devoted to improving care transitions when people leave the hospital. It looks at the issue of readmissions in two ways: by the numbers and through the eyes of the people who live them
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