Technology and the Right to Privacy: The Convergence of Surveillance and Information Privacy Concerns

While the privacy concerns raised by advances in surveillance and information technologies are widely recognized, recent developments have led to a convergence of these technologies in many situations, presenting new challenges to the right to privacy. This Note examines this convergence of surveillance and information technologies and its potential impact on individual privacy interests. The Note first discusses the right to privacy, personal information, and surveillance technology separately, noting ways that new technologies create privacy concerns. The Note then describes the merging of surveillance and information technologies and the resulting convergence of two formerly distinct privacy issues. Finally, the Note examines existing protections for privacy, considers why they are insufficient, and proposes measures to enhance the constitutional protection of privacy interests to address these new technologies

Technology management in the effective implementation of change

Organizational fitness is often achieved by making changes in business operations. These changes frequently involve the use of a new technology. The effective implementation of change is achieved by examining the benefits and challenges of technology management when making decisions. Important elements for consideration in technology management are technology evaluation, integration, planning, implementation, training, and change. A solution is proposed to combine and encompass all the elements of technology management to allow for the positive aspects and avoid the negative aspects of change implementation. The tool consists of principles to be addressed for each element

Case-mix methodology for the NHS outcomes framework GP Patient Survey Questionnaire Data

The objective of the research described in the current report was to explore alternative methodologies which could be used to determine whether the health status of people living with long- term conditions in England is changing over time, all other factors being equal. Data from the Health Survey for England (HSE) were used in the analyses and EQ-5D was used to represent health related quality of life (HRQoL). The proposed case mix ratio approach which utilised ordinary least square regressions (with the EQ-5D preference - based score as the dependent variable) was replicated and alternatives using logistic regressions and two part models (both using the responses to the EQ-5D health dimensions as the dependent variables) were explored. An alternative method using the HSE year as a performance indicator (PI) was explored and results presented for the four most prevalent health conditions. Results were compared in terms of errors in predicted scores and the ability to capture changes in the distributions of the preference-based scores. Both expected and simulated values were compared

Predicting the prevalence of chronic kidney disease in the English population: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: There is concern that not all cases of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are known to general practitioners, leading to an underestimate of its true prevalence. We carried out this study to develop a model to predict the prevalence of CKD using a large English primary care dataset which includes previously undiagnosed cases of CKD. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of data from the Quality Improvement in CKD trial, a representative sample of 743 935 adults in England aged 18 and over. We created multivariable logistic regression models to identify important predictive factors. RESULTS: A prevalence of 6.76% was recorded in our sample, compared to a national prevalence of 4.3%. Increasing age, female gender and cardiovascular disease were associated with a significantly increased prevalence of CKD (p < 0.001 for all). Age had a complex association with CKD. Cardiovascular disease was a stronger predictive factor in younger than in older patients. For example, hypertension has an odds ratio of 2.02 amongst patients above average and an odds ratio of 3.91 amongst patients below average age. CONCLUSION: In England many cases of CKD remain undiagnosed. It is possible to use the results of this study to identify areas with high levels of undiagnosed CKD and groups at particular risk of having CKD

A defined medium to investigate sliding motility in a Bacillus subtilis flagella-less mutant

BACKGROUND: We have recently shown that undomesticated strains of Bacillus subtilis can extensively colonize the surfaces of rich, semi-solid media, by a flagellum-independent mechanism and suggested that sliding motility is responsible for surface migration. Here we have used a flagella-less hag null mutant to examine and confirm sliding motility. RESULTS: Using a defined semi-solid medium we determined that a B. subtilis hag mutant colonized the surface in two stages, first as tendril-like clusters of cells followed by a profuse pellicle-like film. We determined the levels of macro- and micro-nutrients required for the tendril-to-film transition. Sufficient levels of each of the macronutrients, glycerol, Na-glutamate, and Na-phosphate, and inorganic nutrients, K(+), Mg(2+), Fe(2+ )and Mn(2+), were required for robust film formation. The K(+ )requirement was quantified in more detail, and the thresholds for complete tendril coverage (50 μM KCl) or film coverage (2–3 mM KCl) were determined. In addition, disruption of the genes for the higher affinity K(+ )transporter (KtrAB), but not the lower affinity K(+ )transporter (KtrCD), strongly inhibited the formation of both tendrils and films, and could be partially overcome by high levels of KCl. Examination of hag tendrils by confocal scanning laser microscopy revealed that tendrils are multicellular structures, but that the cells are not as highly organized as cells in wild-type B. subtilis pellicles. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that B. subtilis can use sliding motility to colonize surfaces, using a tendril-like growth mode when various macronutrients or micronutrients are limiting. If nutrients are balanced and sufficient, the surfaces between tendrils can be colonized by robust surface films. Sliding motility may represent a strategy for nutrient-deprived cells to colonize surfaces in natural environments, such as plant roots, and the media described here may be useful in investigations of this growth phenotype

Association between body mass index and health-related quality of life, and the impact of self-reported long-term conditions - cross-sectional study from the south Yorkshire cohort dataset

Background We sought to quantify the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and health-related quality (HRQoL) of life, as measured by the EQ-5D, whilst controlling for potential confounders. In addition, we hypothesised that certain long-term conditions (LTCs), for which being overweight or obese is a known risk factor, may mediate the association between BMI and HRQoL. Hence the aim of our study was to explore the association between BMI and HRQoL, first controlling for confounders and then exploring the potential impact of LTCs. Methods We used baseline data from the South Yorkshire Cohort, a cross-sectional observational study which uses a cohort multiple randomised controlled trial design. For each EQ-5D health dimension we used logistic regression to model the probability of responding as having a problem for each of the five health dimensions. All continuous variables were modelled using fractional polynomials. We examined the impact on the coefficients for BMI of removing LTCs from our model. We considered the self-reported LTCs: diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, osteoarthritis, breathing problems and high blood pressure. Results The dataset used in our analysis had data for 19,460 individuals, who had a mean EQ-5D score of 0.81 and a mean BMI of 26.3 kg/m2. For each dimension, BMI and all of the LTCs were significant predictors. For overweight or obese individuals (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2), each unit increase in BMI was associated with approximately a 3% increase in the odds of reporting a problem for the anxiety/depression dimension, a 8% increase for the mobility dimension, and approximately 6% for the remaining dimension s. Diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis and high blood pressure were identified as being potentially mediating variables for all of the dimensions. Conclusions Compared to those of a normal weight (18.5 < BMI < 25 kg/m2), overweight and obese individuals had a reduced HRQoL, with each unit increase in BMI associated with approximately a 6% increase in the odds of reporting a problem on any of the EQ-5D health dimensions. There was evidence to suggest that diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis and high blood pressure may mediate the association between being overweight and HRQoL

Lunar mission performance evaluation procedure for orbit-launched nuclear vehicles

Lunar mission performance evaluation procedure for orbit-launched vehicles with nuclear propulsion syste

Predicting preference-based utility values using partial proportional odds models.

BACKGROUND: The majority of analyses on utility data have used ordinary least square (OLS) regressions to explore potential relationships. The aim of this paper is to explore the benefits of response mapping onto health dimension profiles to generate preference-based utility scores using partial proportional odds models (PPOM). METHODS: Models are estimated using EQ-5D data collected in the Health Survey for England and the predicted utility scores are compared with those obtained using OLS regressions. Explanatory variables include age, acute illness, educational level, general health, deprivation and survey year. The expected EQ-5D scores for the PPOMs are obtained by weighting the predicted probabilities of scoring one, two or three for the five health dimensions by the corresponding preference-weights. RESULTS: The EQ-5D scores obtained using the probabilities from the PPOMs characterise the actual distribution of EQ-5D preference-based utility scores more accurately than those obtained from the linear model. The mean absolute and mean squared errors in the individual predicted values are also reduced for the PPOM models. CONCLUSIONS: The PPOM models characterise the underlying distributions of the EQ-5D data better than models obtained using OLS regressions. Additional research exploring the effect of modelling conditional responses and two part models could potentially improve the results further

Calibration of liquid argon and neon detectors with 83Krm^{83}Kr^m

We report results from tests of $^{83}$Kr$^{\mathrm{m}}$, as a calibration source in liquid argon and liquid neon. $^{83}$Kr$^{\mathrm{m}}$ atoms are produced in the decay of $^{83}$Rb, and a clear $^{83}$Kr$^{\mathrm{m}}$ scintillation peak at 41.5 keV appears in both liquids when filling our detector through a piece of zeolite coated with $^{83}$Rb. Based on this scintillation peak, we observe 6.0 photoelectrons/keV in liquid argon with a resolution of 6% ($\sigma$/E) and 3.0 photoelectrons/keV in liquid neon with a resolution of 19% ($\sigma$/E). The observed peak intensity subsequently decays with the $^{83}$Kr$^{\mathrm{m}}$ half-life after stopping the fill, and we find evidence that the spatial location of $^{83}$Kr$^{\mathrm{m}}$ atoms in the chamber can be resolved. $^{83}$Kr$^{\mathrm{m}}$ will be a useful calibration source for liquid argon and neon dark matter and solar neutrino detectors.Comment: 7 pages, 12 figure