Does cost sharing really reduce inappropriate prescriptions?

This paper explores different empirical strategies to examine the effect of cost sharing for prescription drugs in some dimensions of medication-related quality, namely the probability of inappropriate prescription drug use among United States seniors. Using data from 1996 to 2005, we explore various specifications that correct for sample selection, endogeneity¸ and unobserved heterogeneity. We find a small, but measurable, negative price elasticity for inappropriate drug use with respect to self-reported average out-of-pocket costs for all drugs consumed. That is, user fees reduce the use of potentially inappropriate medications, however the elasticity of cost sharing is lower than that of drugs in general and the price elasticity is relatively close to zero, suggesting that any quality improvements from co-payments are small

Test of the fluctuation theorem for stochastic entropy production in a nonequilibrium steady state

We derive a simple closed analytical expression for the total entropy production along a single stochastic trajectory of a Brownian particle diffusing on a periodic potential under an external constant force. By numerical simulations we compute the probability distribution functions of the entropy and satisfactorily test many of the predictions based on Seifert's integral fluctuation theorem. The results presented for this simple model clearly illustrate the practical features and implications derived from such a result of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics.Comment: Accepted in Phys. Rev.

Does Cost Sharing really Reduce Inappropriate Prescriptions?

This paper explores different empirical strategies to examine the effect of cost sharing for prescription drugs in some dimensions of medication-related quality, namely the probability of inappropriate prescription drug use among United States seniors. Using data from 1996 to 2005, we explore various specifications that correct for sample selection, endogeneity¸ and unobserved heterogeneity. We find a small, but measurable, negative price elasticity for inappropriate drug use with respect to self-reported average out-of-pocket costs for all drugs consumed. That is, user fees reduce the use of potentially inappropriate medications, however the elasticity of cost sharing is lower than that of drugs in general and the price elasticity is relatively close to zero, suggesting that any quality improvements from co-payments are small.

The formation and allegiance of the Romanian military elite originating from the Banat military border

The present thesis examines the formation and loyalties of the Romanian officers originating from the Banat Military Border who reached the rank of general in the Austro-Hungarian army between 1870 and 1918. As such, it covers an important blind spot in English-, German-, and Romanian-language historiography as, on the one hand, it contributes a multiple case study, based on extant personal testimonies, to the historical literature on the Habsburg officer corps and, on the other hand, it validates and brings together into a coherent narrative the snippets of historical evidence invoked in Romanian bibliography on the topic. The thesis goes beyond the above-indicated time span and follows the development of the Banat Military Border from its establishment in the eighteenth century to its dissolution at the end of the nineteenth century. Particular emphasis is placed on the formative environment of the military elites under discussion, whether this means historical or legal precedent, official stereotypes, or community identity and symbolism. The Border generals are presented in their relationships to the state (in its various instantiations), the army and civil authorities, as well as in their relations with the Romanian intelligentsia of the Empire. The main goal of the thesis is to account for their sense of identity and allegiance: who were these generals? to whom were they loyal

Tilted excitation implies odd periodic resonances

This work was supported by the Brazilian agencies FAPESP and CNPq. MSB also acknowledges the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grant Ref. EP/I032606/1. GID thanks Felipe A. C. Pereira for fruitful discussions.Peer reviewedPostprin

Tight coupling in thermal Brownian motors

We study analytically a thermal Brownian motor model and calculate exactly the Onsager coefficients. We show how the reciprocity relation holds and that the determinant of the Onsager matrix vanishes. Such condition implies that the device is built with tight coupling. This explains why Carnot's efficiency can be achieved in the limit of infinitely slow velocities. We also prove that the efficiency at maximum power has the maximum possible value, which corresponds to the Curzon-Alhborn bound. Finally, we discuss the model acting as a Brownian refrigerator

Analysis of the confirmation time in proof-of-work blockchains

In blockchain networks driven by Proof of Work, clients spend a certain amount of cryptocurrency (called fees) to control the speed of confirmation of the transactions that they generate. In fact, transactions are confirmed according to a strong priority policy that favors those offering the highest fees. The problem of determining the optimal fee to offer to satisfy certain delay requirements is still widely open and, at the state of the art, mainly reactive methods based on historical data are available. In this work, we propose a queueing model based on the exact transient analysis of a M/MB/1 system to address this problem. The model takes into account (i) the state of the Mempool (the backlog of pending work) when the transaction is generated, (ii) the current transaction arrival intensity and (iii) the distribution of the fees offered by other transactions to the miners. We apply the model to study the performance of the Bitcoin blockchain. Its parameterization is based on an extensive statistical analysis of the transaction characteristics. To this aim, we collected data from over 1.5 million of pending transactions observed in the Mempool of our Bitcoin node. The outcome of our analysis allows us to provide an algorithm to quickly compute the expected transaction confirmation time given the blockchain state, and to highlight new insights on the relations between the transaction fees and confirmation time in BTC blockchain

Paramagnetic spherical nanoparticles by the self-assembly of persistent trityl radicals

et al.Spherical nanoparticles and fibres observable by cryo-electron microscopy are spontaneously formed by the Finland trityl radical at concentrations above 15 mM. These species represent a new class of paramagnetic, metal-free, nanoscale supramolecular materials. Self-association was observed under a variety of experimental conditions, including aqueous solution at room temperature, low temperature frozen glasses and the gas phase. Oligomers formed by at least 5 Finland radicals were detected by ion-mobility mass spectrometry. Magnetic susceptibility data as well as low temperature EPR spectra show coupling between electronic spins in the self-assembled species. Quantum chemical calculations show stacking along the C symmetry axis. Nanoparticle formation requires additional lateral packing that can be provided by hydrogen bonding involving the triangular array of carboxylic acid groups leading to the assembly of geodesic spheres.This work was supported in part by funds from the Spanish government (BIO2013-45793-R, MAT2012-38318-C03-01, and Juan de la Cierva), Cataluña (2009SGR1352 and Beatriu de Pinós) and Aragón (E98-MOLCHIP) governments, The European Comission (BioNMR contract 261863), and the COST action (TD1103).Peer Reviewe