TRADE-MARKS: MONOPOLY OR COMPETITION?

Three articles have appeared in the Georgetown Law Journal in which the thesis is asserted that trade-marks are monopolies in restraint of trade under the Anti-Trust Acts. Their publication seems to have been caused in part by the proposed revision of the United States Trade-Mark Statutes, which was started by a bill originally introduced into the House on January 19, 1938. The thesis of this present article is that a trade-mark in fact distinguishes one man\u27s product from the products of his competitors, with the result that the consumer can make a choice among them

Should health professionals screen women for domestic violence? : systematic review

Objective To assess the evidence for the acceptability and effectiveness of screening women for domestic violence in healthcare settings. Design Systematic review of published quantitative studies. Search strategy Three electronic databases (Medline, Embase, and CINAHL) were searched for articles published in the English language up to February 2001. Included studies Surveys that elicited the attitudes of women and health professionals on the screening of women in health settings; comparative studies conducted in healthcare settings that measured rates of identification of domestic violence in the presence and absence of screening; studies measuring outcomes of interventions for women identified in health settings who experience abuse from a male partner or ex­partner compared with abused women not receiving an intervention. Results 20 papers met the inclusion criteria. In four surveys, 43­85% of women respondents found screening in healthcare settings acceptable. Two surveys of health professionals' views found that two thirds of physicians and almost half of emergency department nurses were not in favour of screening. In nine studies of screening compared with no screening, most detected a greater proportion of abused women identified by healthcare professionals. Six studies of interventions used weak study designs and gave inconsistent results. Other than increased referral to outside agencies, little evidence exists for changes in important outcomes such as decreased exposure to violence. No studies measured quality of life, mental health outcomes, or potential harm to women from screening programmes. Conclusion Although domestic violence is a common problem with major health consequences for women, implementation of screening programmes in healthcare settings cannot be justified. Evidence of the benefit of specific interventions and lack of harm from screening is needed

An exploration of Global Women’s Health: findings from a pilot online course elective for Health Sciences Studies at GW

In 1995, 189 countries endorsed the Platform for Action, designed to address issues of gender equality, including health. Despite this 23 year old initiative, women’s health issues continue to be a global crisis (WHO, 2015). The SMHS piloted an 8-week online 1-credit course in Fall 2017 to educate GW students on the top ten issues for women’s health delineated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Each of the eight weeks covered a core women’s health WHO issue while tying in a global human rights perspective. Issues included but were not limited to reproductive health, STIs, violence against women, to name a few. This course was designed to address two key gaps at GWU: 1) there is currently no other course at GW focused on Global Women’s Health offered to undergraduate students, and 2) this is the first 1 credit hybrid elective course, in Health Sciences, to be offered to undergraduate residency students. The teaching platform adopted for this course offered an “inter-school” student body. Enrollees included 7 students from the Elliott School of International Affairs, 6 from the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, and 1 had a major from the Milken Institute School of Public Health. Course evaluations revealed that students wanted to delve deeper into covered topics and expand to additional topics if we had more time. 90% of students said they would recommend it to others. Qualitative feedback was categorized to indicate that students enjoyed the types of course assignments, the range of topics that were covered throughout the course, as well as the online resources that were provided to supplement the reading material of the course textbook. About half of the students who took this course indicated they would enroll in the course regardless of the delivery platform, face-to-face, blended or online. Pilot course assessment findings also suggest that this course could be expanded into a 3-credit course, could be taught in person, and could be offered as an elective that could count for credit towards other majors within different departments in order to increase its reach. It is imperative to continue to raise awareness within our student body of the importance of addressing women’s health issues worldwide, so that they too can be a part of the commitment to achieve gender equality that began at the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action

Missed Opportunities in HPV Vaccination

Objective: To use the 3 dose Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine administration (given at 0, 1-2 and 6 months) to quantify opportunities to improve efficacy in the delivery of preventive health services. Methods: This was a retrospective, claims-based analysis using data provided by a single managed care plan. Female patients aged 9-26 who were continuously enrolled between 2009 through 2011 and received ≥ dose of the HPV vaccine during 2010 were analyzed. The proportion of initiators who did and did not completed the vaccine series, the timing and location of doses, and the number of outpatient visits during which the vaccine could have been given to non-completers were determined. Results: 1,830 patients were analyzed in the 2010 sample. 843 (46%) were continuously enrolled during the three-year observation period. 500 (59%) completed 3 doses. Among completers, the interval range between doses 1 and 2 was 27-619 days (median 96 days). The interval range between doses 2 and 3 was 32-621 days (median 127 days). 261 (52%) completers received dose 2, and 139 (28%) received does 3 over 1 month late. Among the 343 non-completers, 137 (40%), and 206 (60%) completed 1 and 2 doses, respectively. 63% of single-dose recipients and 17% of 2-dose recipients had at least 1 visit within the eligible time period for administration. Conclusion: Nearly half of HPV vaccine initiators do not complete the vaccine series. Of those who do, a large percentage complete it late. This example quantifies the potential for reminders, registries and outreach to improve on-time dosage and completion

State Indicators for Early Childhood

Virtually all State Early Childhood Comprehensive System Initiatives have adopted or identified indicators for monitoring program performance and child outcomes related to early childhood systems. These are primarily based on nationally recommended indicators or on state initiatives. However, although a functional set of indicators is needed to monitor progress of ECCS initiatives across the states, there is no one overarching set of indicators consistently being used. The challenge for states' ECCS leadership is to select an indicator set that is both comprehensive enough to monitor system developments and specific and limited enough to be useful and manageable. This Short Take reviews the characteristics of good indicators and proposes 36 indicators, based on a review of the literature, an analysis of key national indicator sets, and a comparative review of indicators set out in State ECCS reports and plans

Key performance indicators in humanitarian logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-87).Non-profit humanitarian relief organizations have typically been unable to measure the performance of their supply chains due to an inability to centrally capture data from operations. With the recent development and implementation of information technology systems that can support the logistics function of these organizations, the data is now available to measure performance, but what is still lacking is a central framework of metrics that measures performance according to the organization's strategic goals. First, this thesis reviews the best practices noted in performance measurement systems of the logistics functions in military and commercial organizations and applies them to the humanitarian sector. Second, the thesis suggests a framework of key performance indicators to be implemented in an international non-profit humanitarian organization based on the unique strategic goals of the sector. The thesis then applies this proposed framework to two actual operations performed by this organization.(cont.) The analysis performed herein proves that a measurement system would help strengthen the organization's ability to deliver goods to beneficiaries more efficiently and effectively. Finally, the thesis addresses feasibility issues of implementing a measurement system in the non-profit sector and also describes the next steps of opportunities related to measurement systems within humanitarian logistics.by Anne Leslie Davidson.M.Eng.in Logistic

Developing a Cognition Scale Using Items from Three Federally Mandated Assessments in Post-Acute Care

The purpose of this work is to create a cognitive measure detecting change in cognitive deficits for post-acute stroke patients. Many individuals with stroke experience cognitive impairment contributing to ongoing disability. Identifying change in cognitive skills in response to treatment is important for demonstrating the value of rehabilitation services. Yet, the ability of federally mandated post-acute assessments to detect change has not been described. A total of 147 stroke patients in post-acute care receiving rehabilitation services were assessed using 26 cognition items from the federally mandated assessments. Rasch analysis, using the partial credit model, was conducted to evaluate the construct validity of these items. The standardized effect size (ES), response mean (SRM), and minimal detectable change (MDC) were calculated using MedCalc. Six items created a logical hierarchy for the cognition construct. Two items--long-term and short-term memory—represented the easiest and hardest items, respectively. The remaining items are problem-solving, memory, decision-making, and cognitive function. Evidence of good construct validity: Eigenvalue=2.13, unexplained variance in first contrast=7.5%, and person separation reliability of 0.87, person strata=3.8. Evidence of person-item alignment: adequate person fit, moderate ceiling effect, and person mean=1.53. Evidence of responsiveness: improvers (n=74) large ES 0.72, large SRM 1.19, 10% of patients made a change beyond the MDC. The six identified cognitive items from the federally mandated post-acute care assessment tools represents a continuum of cognitive performance areas, from foundational arousal skill through higher level problem-solving. Advancing meaningful, precise cognitive assessment will help identify effective occupation-based cognitive skill training strategies for stroke survivors

Familial angiosarcoma of the heart

Primary cardiac tumors are rare and about 75% are benign, of which 75% are atrial myxomas. Angiosarcomas are the most common malignant primary cardiac tumors, with 90% arising in the left atrium and 10% in the right atrium. This is the first report of a primary cardiac tumor, an angiosarcoma, with a familial incidence.peer-reviewe

Adolescent relationship violence and acculturation among NYC Latinos

Acculturation has been shown to positively and negatively affect Latino health. Little research investigates the overlap between acculturation and the different types of relationship violence among Latino youth and most research in this area predominantly involves Mexican-American samples. The current study examined associations between indices of acculturation (language use at home, chosen survey language, and nativity) and relationship physical violence and sexual coercion, both received and delivered, among predominantly Dominican and Puerto Rican adolescents from New York City. From 2006 to 2007, 1,454 adolescents aged 13-21 years in New York City completed an anonymous survey that included the Conflict in Adolescent Relationships Inventory which estimates experiences of physical violence and sexual coercion, both received and delivered, in the previous year. This analysis includes bivariate and multivariate methods to test the associations between language use at home, chosen survey language, and nativity with the different types of relationship violence. Among females, there is a significant association between language use at home and overall level of acculturation with delivering and receiving relationship physical violence; however, we did not find this association in delivering and receiving relationship sexual coercion. We found no association between acculturation and any type of relationship violence among males. Among Latina females, language spoken at home is an indicator of other protective factors of physical relationship violence. Future research in this area should explore the potential protective factors surrounding relationship violence among Latina females of various subgroups using comprehensive measures of acculturation, household composition and family engagement

State-level Indicators for Social-emotional Development: Building Better Systems

Research repeatedly suggests that experiences and skills acquired early in life have a long lasting effect. Many interventions that promote social-emotional well-being and preventing mental health problems in children and their caregivers are clinically sound and cost effective. Social-emotional well-being is also seen as a crucial determinant of school readiness, while school readiness is critical to educational and health outcomes. Research evaluating appropriate interventions and investigating the importance of school readiness makes a strong case for creating a system to monitor social-emotional development in the effort to improve the well-being of young children. Indicators are a key part of this monitoring system and promote accountability by providing decision-makers and researchers with information they need to understand and meet local and state needs, to assess the provision and quality of interventions, and to address gaps in services to young children and families. The ability to track and assess social-emotional development of young children in a community poses a special challenge to policymakers. For many other areas within early childhood it is possible to understand the status and trends for child well-being at the population level. For instance, data on infant mortality, immunizations, and child welfare at the local, state and national level can be accessed to inform health promotion and prevention efforts. Currently, such multi-level data on social-emotional development for young children is not easily available. The challenge to quantify social-emotional wellness at a population level stems in part from the lack of universally accepted indicators and infrastructure for collecting information in this domain of child development. This report addresses the process of creating a system of indicators for social-emotional wellness, examines recent state experiences in this area, and describes a framework for moving forward in the development of social-emotional indicators for state policymakers