Dental insurance: a comparison between closed versus open plan

Thesis (M.Sc.D.)--Boston University. Henry M. Goldman School of Graduate Dentistry, 1990 (Dental Public Health)Bibliography: leaves 29-32.Organized dentistry has two primary goals. One is to seek to improve the dental health of the public; the other is to preserve the autonomy and economic well being of the profession. The dental care delivery system with emphasizes financial arrangements, being responsible to pay for services rendered, plays an important roll to fulfill those two goals in dental organization. Today's financing arrangements are available through a variety of dental insurances which own different plans and offer a variety of policies. SPSS-X was used to evaluate two different dental plans, the closed panel and the open panel among 5000 eligibles in the Massachusetts Public Employees Fund. The closed panel was more popular than open plan because: 1. Closed panel needs less paper work and easier for employee to process than open panel. 2. Closed panel policy is· easy to understand by the employee. 3. There are more financial support available for employee in the closed plane than in the open plan

Analysis of growth response and tolerance index of Glycine max (L.) Merr. under hexavalent chromium stress

Background: Metal pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problems due to various human activities. It can damage or alter the biosphere reducing the agricultural productivity and can affect both animals and humans.  Emission of various pollutants into the atmosphere has many harmful effects on plant growth. Rapid urbanization, unregulated industrialization, growing transport, metal plating and agricultural activities have created a problem of heavy metals contamination. Methods: A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the toxicity of chromium onGlycine max. Chromium concentration applied to G. max was managed as 0.5, 2.5, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 mg kg-1 for experimental period of 90 days. The phytotoxic effect of chromium metal was analyzed by studying seed germination, seedling vigor index, root and shoot length, root and shoot fresh and dry weights, chlorophyll content tolerance index.Results: The data presented in this study showed that chromium metal adversely affects the seedling vigor of G. max and significantly (p<0.05) reduces seed germination and growth. The toxic effect of chromium on the seeds increased with increasing the concentration of the metal. It was also found that high concentrations of chromium (50 and 100 mg kg-1) can completely inhibit the seed germination. Conclusion: The chromium metal is extremely toxic for seeds and young seedling of G. max at high concentrations. Moreover, G. max has little potential to counteract the deleterious effect of chromium metal in soil at aforementioned treatments. The results of the present study may help in better understanding of the mechanisms involved in pytoextraction

Prediction of Subjective Well-Being based on Mindfulness and Cognitive Flexibility in Nurses of Psychiatric Wards Using an Artificial Neural Network

AbstractIntroduction: The mental health of the nurses is of utmost importance to accomplish the ideal goals of communities in terms of reducing financial and spiritual costs. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between subjective well-being with mindfulness and cognitive flexibility in nurses of psychiatric wards of hospitals in Ahvaz city using an artificial neural network (ANN).Methods: This was a descriptive and correlational study. The statistical population of this study comprises all nurses of the psychiatric ward of hospitals in Ahvaz city, Iran, in 2022. Accordingly, 200 nurses were selected through convenience sampling. The research instruments included the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills, the Subjective Well-being Scale, and the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient and simultaneous regression, and ANN.Results: The results suggested a positive and significant relationship between mindfulness and subjective well-being, and between cognitive flexibility and subjective well-being (P&lt;0.001). Furthermore, the subjective well-being of nurses had multiple relationships with mindfulness and cognitive flexibility (P&lt;0.001). Following the results of the ANN, cognitive flexibility demonstrated the highest estimation in predicting subjective well-being.Conclusions: Mindfulness and cognitive flexibility of nurses had a significant relationship with their subjective well-being. The results suggested the necessity to emphasize the appropriate methods of mindfulness and cognitive flexibility, which can be obtained by holding proper workshops and training programs

Positive Organizational Study: A Comparison between Private and Government University Teacher

The study conducted explored the relation between Psychological Capital, General Health and Organizational Citizenship Behavior and its variation between the teachers of private and government universities of Karachi, Pakistan. Based on existing literature, following hypotheses were formulated; (1) Difference would be observed in psychological capital of private and government university teachers, (2) Difference would be observed in efficacy levels of private and government university teachers, (3) Individuals with good health will have high psychological capital, (4) Individuals with high OCB will have high psychological capital. Through convenient sampling, 261 teachers teaching at graduate-level were taken as participants. Psychological Capital Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire and Organizational Citizenship Behavior Checklist were employed. All the hypotheses were proved when results were analyzed through SPSS. In conclusion, people having high psychological capital live healthier life and are more likely to indulge in pro-social activities and organizational citizenship behavior

The determinant household debt in Asia Pacific / Farah Amizah Mohd Amin

Household debt problem is established to have initiated economic slowdown and financial crisis resulting in unsustainable global financial stability. High level of household debt may be result in emotional and psychological stress as well as social and family predicament in the domestic economy. This research analyze about the determinants of household debt in Asia Pacific countries from year 2006 to 2015. There are six determinants relate to household debts which are Gross Domestic Product (1), Consumption (2), Savings (3), interest rate (4), unemployment rate (5) and lastly house price index (6). Simple Random regression model were carried out to study the relationship between dependent variable which is household debt and independent variable which are Gross Domestic Product (1), Consumption (2), Savings (3), interest rate (4), unemployment rate (5) and lastly house price index (6). Empirical result shows the positive and significant relationship between household debt with Gross Domestic Product and household consumption and significant negative relationship with independent variable like saving, interest rate and unemployment. Empirical result also shows there was insignificant relationship between household debt and house price index

The Effects of Imitative Vs. Cognitive Methods on The Speech Development of Children With Autism

How to Cite This Article: Jalili M, Jahangiri N, Yazdi Aa, Ashrafzadeh F. The Effects of Imitative Vs. Cognitive Methods on The Speech Development of Children With Autism. Iran J Child Neurol. 2014 Winter; 8(1):37-46.ObjectiveThe present study was performed to examine the effects of two speech therapy methods on six verbal behaviors of autistic children, including oral speech, listening, organizing, speaking, semantics, and syntax.Materials &amp; MethodsIn this study, thirty 6-8 years old children with autism were assigned to one of two groups: imitative and cognitive groups. Before starting the main procedures of the study, the children of both groups were homogenized concerning their autism level. In the first phase of the study, the speech development level of the two groups was measured in a pre-test, in which both groups showed similar results. Then, both groups of children received 6 months of speech therapy instruction, during which one group was taught using an imitative method, while the other group was being worked with cognitive method.ResultsAfter 6-month treatment period, a post-test was done, and the t-tests based on the data of the two groups revealed a significant difference between the results.ConclusionThe statistics showed that after the teaching period, autistic that worked with cognitive method gained a better development in their speech abilities, comparing to those worked with the imitative method.Reference:Samadi SA, Mahmoodizadeh A, McConkey R. A national study of the prevalence of Autism among five year old children in Iran. Autism 2012;16(1):5-14.Fombonne E, Simmons H, Ford T, Meltzer H, Goodman R. Prevalence of pervasive developmental disorders in the British nationwide survey of child mental health. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2001;40(7):820-7.Fombonne, E. The changing epidemiology of Autism. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil 2005,18(4):281-94.Filipek PA, Accardo PJ, Ashwal S, Baranek GT, Cook EH Jr, Dawson G, et al. Practice parameter: screening and diagnosis of autism: report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society. Neurology 2000;55(4):468-79.Samadi, SA. Comparative policy brief: status of intellectual disabilities in the Islamic republic of Iran. J Policy Pract Intellect Disabil 2008;5:129-32.Rogers SJ, An examination of the imitation deficit in autism. In: Nadel J, Butterworth G, editors. Imitation in infancy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1999. p.254-83.Ozonoff S, Pennington BF, Rogers SJ. Executive function deficits in high-functioning autistic individuals: Relationship to theory of mind. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 1991;32(7):1081-105.Williams JH, Whiten A, Suddendorf T, Perrett DI. Imitation, mirror neurons and autism. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2001;25(4):287-95.Rogers SJ, Hepburn SL, Stackhouse T, Wehner E. Imitation performance in toddlers with autism and those with other developmental disorders. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2003;44(5):763-81.Gena A, Krantz PJ, McClannahan LE, Poulson CL. Training and generalization of affective behavior displayed by youth with autism. J Appl Behav Anal 1996;29(3):291-304.Ingenmey R, Van Houten R. Using time delay to promote spontaneous speech in an autistic child. J Appl Behav Anal 1991;24(3):591-6.Ayzenson J. Language and speech disorders in children. Tehran: Roshd publications; 2010.De Giacomo A, Fombonne E. Parental recognition of developmental abnormalities in autism. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1998;7(3):131-6.Hodgdon LA. Solving behavior problems in autism: improving communication with visual strategies. Quirkroberts publishing; 2001. P.32.Bertrand J, Mars A, Boyle C, Bove F, Yeargin-Allsopp M, Decoufle P. Prevalence of autism in a United States population: the Brick Township, New Jersey, investigation. Pediatrics 2001;108(5):1155-61.Siegel B. Helping children with autism learn: a guide to treatment approaches for parents and professionals. Oxford: Oxford Press Inc; 2002. P.3.Plimley L, Bowen M. Social skills and autism spectrum disorders, London: Paul Chapman publishing; 2007.Mohammadi M, Mesgarpour B, Sahimi Izadian E, Mohammadi M. Psychiatric tests for children and young adults: CARS test. Tehran: Teimourzadeh publications; 2006.Schopler E, Mesibov GB. Diagnosis and Assessment in Autism. New York, NY: Springer publications; 1988. P.3-4.Newcomer P, Hammill D. TOLD: test of language development. (Adaption and standardization to Persian language by Hassanzadeh S and Minaei A.). Tehran: Publications of Ministry of Education; 1977.Dequinzio JA. Generalized Imitation of Facial Models by Children with Autism. J Appl Behav Anal 2007;40(4):755-9.Hatch E. Farhady H. Research design and statistics for applied linguistics. Rahnama publications; 2007. P.28.Brown JS, Rodgers T. Doing second language research. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2004. P.47.Brown J. Understanding research in second language learning. A teacher’s guide to statistics and research design. Cambridge: Cambridge university press; 1995. P.31

Expert System for Detecting Cat Skin Disease using Certainty Factor Method

With the increasing number of people contaminated with cat disease, many veterinarians specializing in cats in Indonesia open up a practice in big cities only. Thus, it is not uncommon for cat owners who are late to provide treatment for skin diseases since the initial symptoms occur. Based on the problems to overcome skin diseases in cats, it is necessary to build a computerized system that has knowledge such as veterinarians and the system can be a tool in diagnosing types of diseases and provide solutions for treatment and prevention with the expert system of Certainty Factor (CF), because the Certainty Factor (CF) method is to prove whether a fact is certain or uncertain in the form of a metric that is usually used in expert systems. The results of the system are to help users, among others, veterinarians in diagnosing skin diseases in cats and animal owners, especially cats to find skin diseases in cats. It is expected to make it easier for doctors and cat owners to determine the type of skin disease based on existing symptoms and get the right treatment method.

Enhancing tool life of hot isostatically pressed silicon nitride inserts in machining inconel 718 with different susceptors through hybrid microwave post sintering

Hybrid Microwave sintering has become a growing interest for heating and synthesizing ceramic materials due to its capabilities in successfully enhancing densification and improving mechanical and structural properties. Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) based cutting inserts have outstanding properties for machining hard materials such as cast iron, hard steel and nickel based super alloys. This research aims to analyze the effect of different susceptors on the tool life of various Si3N4 inserts (90Si3N4 4Y2O3 2.5MgO 2Al2O3 1.5SiO) that have been synthesized in machining Inconel 718. The Si3N4 inserts have been synthesized by means of Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) at 1800°C and followed by Hybrid Microwave (HMW) post-sintering at 200°C for 10 minutes with the aid of three different susceptors; Silicon Carbide (SiC), Graphite (G) and mixture of (SiC + G) powders. Density, hardness, micro structural properties and tool wear were analyzed. HMW post sintering for only 10 minutes using SiC, G and SiC+G susceptors enhanced the density (97-98%TD) and hardness (27-58%) significantly. Finer uniform grains and less porosities were produced particularly for Si3N4 inserts produced by HMW (SiC+G) when compared with HMW (SiC) and HMW (G). Tool life for the Si3N4 inserts were improved by 10-17% HMW(SiC), 20-53 % HMW(G) and 32-88% HMW(SiC+G) for the cutting speeds of 100, 125 and 160 m/min. Hence, the mixture of SiC +G powders as susceptors produced the best outcome for Si3N4 inserts with enhanced densification, hardness, wear resistance, and longer tool life (88% increment at 100 m/min) when compared with the commercial tool (RNGN 6060) in machining Inconel 718

Chronic tension-type headache as a risk factor of myofascial trigger points in upper trapezius muscle fibers in neck pain patients

Chronic tension type headache (CTTH) is one of the very common neurological conditions which have striking impact on daily functional activities. In tension type headaches the myofascial TrP\u27s are frequently examined .It is observed that myofascial pain syndrome is frequent determinant of chronic nonspecific neck pain