On the Accuracy of Producer Price Indexes for Pharmaceutical Preparations: An Audit Based on Detailed Firm-Specific Data

This paper reports preliminary results of a detailed audit of one component of the Producer Price Index (PPI), using data from a large muiltproduct company. We compare price indexes constructed in a variety of ways from the universe of products of a large pharmaceutical manufacturer in the US, with price indexes constructed from the particular products of this firm sampled by the BIS, using BIS and alternative index number procedures. A principal finding is that price indexes based on the BIB sample of this firm grew similarly to the published PPI's for SIC 28341, but in contrast, price indexes computed using the universe of products manufactured by the firm grew much more slowly. Although some variations emerge depending on how one undertakes the calculations, our typical finding is that, employing monthly data from January 1984 through December 1989, the BIB sample price index rises at nearly the same rate as the PPI, bet at roughly twice the rate of indexes based on the universe of products shipped by this pharmaceutical firm. We also report results of a preliminary attempt to uncover the source of this disparity, we provide some evidence on the "new goods" problem, and we implement a procedure to mitigate the problem of "drift" associated with the Tornqvist approximation to the Divisia chained index.

Oral Health: The Need for Both Conventional Microbial and Molecular Characterization

This study aims to consider the microbial distribution in oral disease, as well as gene analysis and expression, in elucidating: 1, the fundamental underpinnings of oral disease, and 2, the potential relationship between oral diseases and systemic health. A key focus is identifying the microbiota associated with oral disease manifestations characterized by both conventional microbiological and molecular methods. Variations in the observed microbial populations characterized by conventional and molecular approaches have been identified for caries, periodontitis, peri-implantitis, and stomatitis. The discovery of therapeutic approaches for oral disease will require comprehensive microbial and genomic analysis. This study evaluated the current state of the relevant microbial and genomic information for several prevalent oral diseases

Price Indexes for Medical Care Goods and Services: An Overview of Measurement Issues

We review in considerable detail the conceptual and measurement issues that underlie construction of medical care price indexes in the U.S., particularly the medical care consumer price indexes (MCPIs) and medical-related producer price indexes (MPPIs). We outline salient features of the medical care marketplace, including the impacts of insurance, moral hazard, principal-agent relationships, technological progress and organizational changes. Since observed data are unlikely to correspond with efficient outcomes, we discuss implications of the failure of transactions data in this market to reveal reliable marginal valuations, and the consequent need to augment traditional transactions data with information based on cost-effectiveness and outcomes studies. We describe procedures currently used by the BLS in constructing MCPIs and MPPIs, including recent revisions, and then consider alternative notions of medical care output pricing that involve the price or cost of an episode of treatment, rather than prices of fixed bundles of inputs. We outline features of a proposed new experimental price index -- a medical care expenditure price index -- that is more suitable for evaluation and analyses of medical care cost changes, than are the current MCPIs and MPPIs. We conclude by suggesting future research and measurement issues that are most likely to be fruitful.

Mutual learning in a tree parity machine and its application to cryptography

Mutual learning of a pair of tree parity machines with continuous and discrete weight vectors is studied analytically. The analysis is based on a mapping procedure that maps the mutual learning in tree parity machines onto mutual learning in noisy perceptrons. The stationary solution of the mutual learning in the case of continuous tree parity machines depends on the learning rate where a phase transition from partial to full synchronization is observed. In the discrete case the learning process is based on a finite increment and a full synchronized state is achieved in a finite number of steps. The synchronization of discrete parity machines is introduced in order to construct an ephemeral key-exchange protocol. The dynamic learning of a third tree parity machine (an attacker) that tries to imitate one of the two machines while the two still update their weight vectors is also analyzed. In particular, the synchronization times of the naive attacker and the flipping attacker recently introduced in [1] are analyzed. All analytical results are found to be in good agreement with simulation results

Team Skills: Comparing Pedagogy in a Graduate Business School to That of a College of Pharmacy Professional Program

Aim/Purpose: To measure the change in team skills resulting from team projects in professional and graduate school courses, a pilot study was conducted among students in two courses in a graduate school of business and one in the pharmacy school of the same institution of higher learning. This pilot study evaluated (a) students receiving training and practice in working as part of a classroom team were able to translate the formal training into the belief they had improved routine team interactions and experienced benefits from the intervention, and (b) determine whether changes in perceived team skills acquired by graduate business students differed from those of pharmacy school students. Background: This pilot study examined the usefulness of adding a teamwork skills module imported from a graduate school of business to increasing team skills in a pharmacy curriculum. Methodology: Thirty-five students (22 in a graduate school of business and 13 in a school of pharmacy) took a survey comprised of 15 questions designed on a 5-point scale to self-evaluate their level of skill in working in a team. They were then exposed to a seminar on team skills, which included solving a case that required teamwork. After this intervention the students repeated the survey. Contribution: As the pharmacy profession moves to be more integrated as part of inter-professional healthcare teams, pharmacy schools are finding it necessary to teach students how to perform on teams where many disciplines are represented equally. The core of the pharmacy profession is shifting from dependence on the scientific method to one where team skills are also important. Findings: The small size of the pilot sample limited significance except in the greater importance of positive personal interaction for business students. Directional findings supported the hypothesis that the business culture allows risk-taking on more limited information and more emphasis on creating a positive environment than the pharmacy culture given its dependence on scientific method. It remains moot as to whether directly applying a teaching intervention from a business curriculum can effectively advance the team skills of pharmacy students. Recommendations For Practitioners: Educators in professional schools such as pharmacy and medicine may find curricular guidance to increase emphasis on learning teamwork skills. Recommendations for Researchers: Researchers are encouraged to explore cross-disciplinary exchanges of teaching core business skills. Impact on Society : The question is posed that as pharmacy schools and the pharmacy profession integrate more into the business of pharmacy whether this difference will close. Future Research: A full study is planned with the same design and larger sample sizes and expanding to include students in medical, as well as pharmacy classes

Oral Biofilms: Development, Control, and Analysis

The oral cavity harbors hundreds of microbial species that are present either as planktonic cells or incorporated into biofilms. The majority of the oral microbes are commensal organisms. Those that are pathogenic microbes can result in oral infections, and at times can initiate systemic diseases. Biofilms that contain pathogens are challenging to control. Many conventional antimicrobials have proven to be ineffective. Recent advances in science and technology are providing new approaches for pathogen control and containment and methods to characterize biofilms. This perspective provides (1) a general understanding of biofilm development; (2) a description of emerging chemical and biological methods to control oral biofilms; and (3) an overview of high-throughput analytical approaches to analyze biofilms

A mathematical formalism for the Kondo effect in WZW branes

In this paper, we show how to adapt our rigorous mathematical formalism for closed/open conformal field theory so that it captures the known physical theory of branes in the WZW model. This includes a mathematically precise approach to the Kondo effect, which is an example of evolution of one conformally invariant boundary condition into another through boundary conditions which can break conformal invariance, and a proposed mathematical statement of the Kondo effect conjecture. We also review some of the known physical results on WZW boundary conditions from a mathematical perspective.Comment: Added explanations of the settings and main result

Managing Denture Biofilm Related Diseases

The oral cavity harbors more than 700 microbial species and is one of the most complex ecosystems ever described. While the majority of these microbes are considered commensal, some of them are responsible for oral infectious diseases such as dental caries, periodontitis, halitosis and stomatitis. The advancement of modern science has greatly furthered our understanding of oral microbes and their roles in host health and disease. It has also led to the development of new tools for early detection, effective treatment, and prevention of oral microbial infections. This perspective provides a general understanding of oral microbiology, and its clinical relationship to oral infectious diseases, with a specific focus on denture-related microbial infections. The perspective also discusses the potential for developing innovative interventions for managing denture-related disease based on recent advances in our understanding of oral microbiology and denture-associated biofilms