Comparison of Compliance with Cervical Cancer Screening among Women aged 18 and above in Arkansas and the United States

Introduction: Cervical cancer preys on women without access to preventative screening. Any woman who has developed an invasive case of cervical cancer should be regarded as a failure of screening. Disparities in access to screening, triage, and treatment fuel an uneven distribution in the burden of cervical cancer within the United States; weighing unusually heavy on the Southern States like Arkansas. The purpose of this study was to evaluate demographic and behavioral risk factors for cervical cancer and identify potential barriers which may influence the likelihood of complying with current Pap test recommendations on a state level, in Arkansas, and also a national scale, in the United States. Materials and Methods: National data from the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Survey System (BRFSS) was used to collect demographic characteristics and behavioral risk factors among females aged 18 and above in Arkansas and the United States. BFRSS data included a total of 1,587 women in Arkansas and 162,222 in the United States who were aged 18 and above and eligible to receive Pap tests. Women with a medical history of hysterectomy that included the removal of the cervix were excluded from analysis because they are not considered to be medically eligible to receive Pap tests. Results: Socioeconomic status, age, race, and health insurance were significantly associated with likelihood to comply with current screening recommendations among women in both Arkansas and the United States. Arkansan women who had less than a 12-year education (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.41, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.04, 1.64) and were without health insurance (OR = 3.56, 95% CI = 1.66, 7.66) were more likely to be non-compliant with Pap testing, which is similar to the finding on the national level. The prevalence of Pap test compliance was significantly lower among women in Arkansas when compared to US average in every sociodemographic sector. Discussion: According to US Census data collected in 2013, Arkansas had the highest cervical cancer incidence of 10.6 per 100,000 person-years, while the national average was 7.7 per 100,000 person-years. Therefore, future population-based cervical cancer interventions in Arkansas should target the promotion of Pap test compliance among the most vulnerable subpopulations (i.e., low socioeconomic status, minority, medically under or uninsured). Organized screening interventions might include offering free or reduced cost Pap testing in both urban and rural locations

My Lady Nicotine

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/5438/thumbnail.jp

Optimization and Redesign of a Dual Rotary Cutter

This design report records the actions taken by the Spin to Win team to optimize and redesign a cutter assembly in a dual rotary sheeter, as well as design a gear reduction in the same assembly. The optimization and redesign of the cutter system focuses on two main factors, inertia and torsional stiffness. The sponsor for this project is MAXSON Automatic Machinery. Wear and tear on a machine and its parts could be costly or even jeopardize the integrity of the system. Spin to Win came up with a redesign that can theoretically decrease the inertia by up to 40% and grant an increase of the torsional stiffness of the cutter assembly. The gear reduction will change the motor that can be used to propel the system, including a 1.8 : 1 reduction allowing for a smaller motor, thus lowering the cost of the entire assembly. By lowering the inertia and increasing the stiffness of the cutter system MAXSON could see longer part life and less wear as well as lower overall system costs. The optimization and redesign solution incorporates a wheel and spoke design to add torsional stiffness and decrease inertia. The spokes are inserted along the cutter on an inner shaft and are connected to the outer shell to give the design the added stiffness in the direction of rotation. A prototype was created to show the ease of assembly of the redesign and the apparent decrease in inertia from the current cutter design. The prototype has design considerations to accommodate some of the existing hardware, so that the system integrates into the sheeter system seamlessly. The design created by Spin to Win suffered in terms of manufacturability, and a simplified design was created for testing. The tests themselves encountered unexpected difficulties flowing to the design of the tests for the available equipment. In the end, the viability of the design was not definitively proved but was suggested, paving the way for further work

The Bottom Line: Accounting for Revenues and Expenditures in Intercollegiate Athletics

This paper examines the profitability of Division I athletic programs at colleges and universities in the United States under a variety of accounting definitions of profit. The data identify several broad themes. First, a majority of athletic departments rely heavily on direct and indirect subsidization of their programs by the student body, the institution itself, and state governments in order to balance their books. Without such funding, less than a third of BCS athletic departments and no non-BCS departments are in the black. Second, athletic programs rely heavily on contributions to balance their books. Donations to athletic departments may serve as a substitute for donations to the rest of the university, lowering giving to other programs. Third, football and men’s basketball programs are generally highly profitable at BCS schools, but below this top tier, fewer than 10% of football programs and 15% of men’s basketball programs show a profit by any reasonable accounting measures