The Implementation of Monetary Policy in New Zealand: What Factors Affect the 90-Day Bank Bill Rate?

This paper discusses the implementation of monetary policy in New Zealand and its flow-on effects on the 90-day bank bill rate over the 1999-2005 period. The effects of external factors are considered as well. Our findings indicate that the maturity spectrum ratio exerted a positive effect on the 90-day rate while the allotment ratio did not. This interest rate had a tendency to revert to the level set by its Australian counterpart. No such link exists between the NZ 90-day rate and the US 90-day rate. Neither the maturity spectrum nor the allotment ratio contributed to the volatility of the New Zealand 90-day rate.90-Day Bank Bill Rate; Open-Market Operations; Allotment Ratio; Maturity Spectrum Ratio; Foreign Interest Rate Linkage

Body-freedom flutter of a 1/2-scale forward-swept-wing model, an experimental and analytical study

The aeroelastic phenomenon known as body-freedom flutter (BFF), a dynamic instability involving aircraft-pitch and wing-bending motions which, though rarely experienced on conventional vehicles, is characteristic of forward swept wing (FSW) aircraft was investigated. Testing was conducted in the Langley transonic dynamics tunnel on a flying, cable-mounted, 1/2-scale model of a FSW configuration with and without relaxed static stability (RSS). The BFF instability boundaries were found to occur at significantly lower airspeeds than those associated with aeroelastic wing divergence on the same model. For those cases with RSS, a canard-based stability augmentation system (SAS) was incorporated in the model. This SAS was designed using aerodynamic data measured during a preliminary tunnel test in which the model was attached to a force balance. Data from the subsequent flutter test indicated that BFF speed was not dependent on open-loop static margin but, rather, on the equivalent closed-loop dynamics provided by the SAS. Servo-aeroelastic stability analyses of the flying model were performed using a computer code known as SEAL and predicted the onset of BFF reasonably well

Public Health Education in the United States: Then and Now

It was against a background of no formal career path for public health officers that, in 1915, the seminal Welch-Rose Report1 outlined a system of public health edu­cation for the United States. The first schools of public health soon followed, but growth was slow, with only 12 schools by 1960. With organization and growing numbers, accreditation became an expectation. As the mission of public health has grown and achieved new urgency, schools have grown in number, depth and breadth. By mid-2011, there were 46 accredited schools of public health, with more in the pipeline. While each has a unique character, they also must possess certain core characteristics to be accredited. Over time, as schools developed, and concepts of public health expanded, so too did curricula and missions as well as types of people who were trained. In this review, we provide a brief summary of US public health education, with primary emphasis on professional public health schools. We also examine public health workforce needs and evaluate how education is evolving in the context of a growing maturity of the public health profession. We have not focused on programs (not schools) that offer public health degrees or on preventive medicine programs in schools of medicine, since schools of public health confer the majority of master’s and doctoral degrees. In the future, there likely will be even more inter-professional education, new disciplinary perspectives and changes in teaching and learning to meet the needs of millennial students

Campus & alumni news

Boston University Medicine was published by the Boston University Medical Campus, and presented stories on events and topics of interest to members of the BU Medical Campus community. It followed the discontinued publication Centerscope as Boston University Medicine from 1991-2005, then continued as Campus & Alumni News from 2006-2013 before returning to the title Boston University Medicine from 2014-present

Pusat Pendidikan Dan Pengembangan Anak Autis Di Manado ‘Implementasi Metode Lovaas Terhadap Ruang Dalam Arsitektur'

Anak merupakan generasi penerus bangsa yang, memiliki anak yang sehat tanpa kekurangan merupakan impian setiap pasangan, Namun tidak semua anak terlahir dengan sempurna tetapi ada juga anak yang lahir tidak sempurna yang terkadang sulit di terima oleh orang tua dan lingkungan sekitar, salah satu contohnya adalah anak Autis. Di Manado Autisme sudah sangat dikenal oleh masyarakat luas, tapi masih banyak juga yang belum mengetahui bahwa kelainan ini bisa disembuhkan, itu dibuktikan dengan masih kurangnya sekolah atau yayasan yang menangani / melakukan proses terapi penyembuhan kepada anak – anak autis. Menghadirkan suatu bangunan / fasilitas yang dapat mewadahi kegiatan pendidikan serta mengembangkan potensi dan prilaku anak autis serta menjadi tempat untuk mendapatkan informasi mengenai autisme bagi masyarakat luas. Menyediakan wadah yang bisa menampung aktivitas – aktivitas yang berhubungan dengan anak autis itu sendiri, sehingga anak autis dapat berkembang dan dapat diterima oleh masyarakat. Dalam rancangan objek “Pusat Pendidikan Dan Pengembangan Anak Autis Di Manado” ini menggunakan tema “implementasi metode Lovaas terhadap ruang dalam arsitektur”, dimana metode Lovaas merupakan metode yang sering dilakukan para terapis/guru untuk penyembuhan / terapis bagi anak – anak autis dan anak – anak yang berprilaku khusus lainnya, yang kemudian dituangkan dalam perancangan ruang dalam serta sirkulasi dalam bangunan, sehingga arsitektur dapat berperan dalam proses penyembuhan anak autis

Early Onset of Kinetic Roughening due to a Finite Step Width in Hematin Crystallization

The structure of the interface of a growing crystal with its nutrient phase largely determines the growth dynamics. We demonstrate that hematin crystals, crucial for the survival of malaria parasites, transition from faceted to rough growth interfaces at increasing thermodynamic supersaturation Δμ. Contrary to theoretical predictions and previous observations, this transition occurs at moderate values of Δμ. Moreover, surface roughness varies nonmonotonically with Δμ, and the rate constant for rough growth is slower than that resulting from nucleation and spreading of layers. We attribute these unexpected behaviors to the dynamics of step growth dominated by surface diffusion and the loss of identity of nuclei separated by less than the step width w. We put forth a general criterion for the onset of kinetic roughening using w as a critical length scale.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1R21AI126215-01)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant DMR-1710354)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNX14AD68G)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNX14AE79G)Robert A. Welch Foundation (Grant E-1794

Challenges of Integrating Tobacco Cessation Interventions in TB Programmes : Case Studies from Nepal and Pakistan

Introduction: Offering tobacco cessation interventions to TB patients is highly desirable due to the interaction between TB and tobacco use and the potential benefits of quitting. However, implementing such interventions in TB programmes remains a challenge and an under-researched area. Using two initiatives to implement tobacco cessation within TB programmes in Nepal and Pakistan as case studies, we describe these challenges and highlight lessons learnt in the process. Methods: We first conducted a documentary review of all published and unpublished reports of the two initiatives including relevant qualitative and quantitative data and its’ analyses. We then analysed this information using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) under the five domains of implementation: intervention characteristics, outer settings, inner settings, participant characteristics and the process of implementation. Findings: We faced a number of challenges in implementing tobacco cessation within TB programmes both in Nepal and in Pakistan. These included: doubts about the contextual relevance of the intervention, environments conducive to smoking and political inertia for a cultural shift, service providers’ workload, priorities, and their motivation and capacity to deliver tobacco cessation, and inadequate training and support during implementation. We learned that by adapting intervention to the local context, securing mandate from higher authorities, aligning tasks to service providers’ roles and receptivity, building capacity through adequate training and providing support, monitoring and feedback during implementation can help in integrating tobacco cessation within TB programmes. Conclusions: Lessons from existing studies can help TB programmes in implementing tobacco cessation interventions and enable greater integration and sustainability of cessation services within routine TB care

Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions (Review)

Background Decision aids prepare people to participate in ’close call’ decisions that involve weighing benefits, harms, and scientific uncertainty. Objectives To conduct a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the efficacy of decision aids for people facing difficult treatment or screening decisions. Search strategy We searched MEDLINE (Ovid) (1966 to July 2006); Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library; 2006, Issue 2); CINAHL (Ovid) (1982 to July 2006); EMBASE (Ovid) (1980 to July 2006); and PsycINFO (Ovid) (1806 to July 2006). We contacted researchers active in the field up to December 2006. There were no language restrictions. Selection criteria We included published RCTs of interventions designed to aid patients’ decision making by providing information about treatment or screening options and their associated outcomes, compared to no intervention, usual care, and alternate interventions. We excluded studies in which participants were not making an active treatment or screening decision, or if the study’s intervention was not available to determine that it met the minimum criteria to qualify as a patient decision aid. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently screened abstracts for inclusion, and extracted data from included studies using standardized forms. The primary outcomes focused on the effectiveness criteria of the International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) Collaboration: attributes of the decision and attributes of the decision process. We considered other behavioural, health, and health system effects as secondary outcomes. We pooled results of RCTs using mean differences (MD) and relative risks (RR) using a random effects model. Main results This update added 25 new RCTs, bringing the total to 55. Thirty-eight (69%) used at least one measure that mapped onto an IPDAS effectiveness criterion: decision attributes: knowledge scores (27 trials); accurate risk perceptions (11 trials); and value congruence with chosen option (4 trials); and decision process attributes: feeling informed (15 trials) and feeling clear about values (13 trials). This review confirmed the following findings from the previous (2003) review. Decision aids performed better than usual care interventions in terms of: a) greater knowledge (MD 15.2 out of 100; 95% CI 11.7 to 18.7); b) lower decisional conflict related to feeling uninformed (MD -8.3 of 100; 95% CI -11.9 to -4.8); c) lower decisional conflict related to feeling unclear about personal values (MD -6.4; 95% CI -10.0 to -2.7); d) reduced the proportion of people who were passive in decision making (RR 0.6; 95% CI 0.5 to 0.8); and e) reduced proportion of people who remained undecided post-intervention (RR 0.5; 95% CI 0.3 to 0.8). When simpler decision aids were compared to more detailed decision aids, the relative improvement was significant in knowledge (MD 4.6 out of 100; 95% CI 3.0 to 6.2) and there was some evidence of greater agreement between values and choice. In this review, we were able to explore the use of probabilities in decision aids. Exposure to a decision aid with probabilities resulted in a higher proportion of people with accurate risk perceptions (RR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4 to 1.9). The effect was stronger when probabilities were measured quantitatively (RR 1.8; 95% CI 1.4 to 2.3) versus qualitatively (RR 1.3; 95% CI 1.1 to 1.5). As in the previous review, exposure to decision aids continued to demonstrate reduced rates of: elective invasive surgery in favour of conservative options, decision aid versus usual care (RR 0.8; 95% CI 0.6 to 0.9); and use of menopausal hormones, detailed versus simple aid (RR 0.7; 95% CI 0.6 to 1.0). There is now evidence that exposure to decision aids results in reduced PSA screening, decision aid versus usual care (RR 0.8; 95% CI 0.7 to 1.0) . For other decisions, the effect on decisions remains variable. As in the previous review, decision aids are no better than comparisons in affecting satisfaction with decision making, anxiety, and health outcomes. The effects of decision aids on other outcomes (patient-practitioner communication, consultation length, continuance, resource use) were inconclusive. There were no trials evaluating the IPDAS decision process criteria relating to helping patients to recognize a decision needs to be made, understand that values affect the decision, or discuss values with the practitioner. Authors’ conclusions Patient decision aids increase people’s involvement and are more likely to lead to informed values-based decisions; however, the size of the effect varies across studies. Decision aids have a variable effect on decisions. They reduce the use of discretionary surgery without apparent adverse effects on health outcomes or satisfaction. The degree of detail patient decision aids require for positive effects on decision quality should be explored. The effects on continuance with chosen option, patient-practitioner communication, consultation length, and cost-effectiveness need further evaluation. This review is published as a Cochrane Review in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 3. Cochrane Reviews are regularly updated as new evidence emerges and in response to comments and criticisms, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews should be consulted for the most recent version of the Review.</p

Controlling Hazardous Releases While Protecting Passengers in Civil Infrastructure Systems

The threat of accidental or deliberate toxic chemicals released into public spaces is a significant concern to public safety, and the real-time detection and mitigation of such hazardous contaminants has the potential to minimize harm and save lives. Furthermore, the safe evacuation of occupants during such a catastrophe is of utmost importance. This research entails a comprehensive means to address such scenarios, through both the sensing and control of contaminants, and the modeling of and potential communication to occupants as they evacuate. First, a computational fluid dynamics model has been developed that is capable of detecting and mitigating the hazardous contaminant over several time horizons using model predictive control optimization. Next, an evacuation agent-based model has been designed and coupled with the flow control model to simulate agents evacuating while interacting with a dynamic, threatening environment. Finally, a physical prototype (blower wind tunnel) has been constructed with capability of detection (via Ethernet-connected camera) of and mitigation (via compressed-air operated actuators) of a `contaminant' (i.e. smoke) to test the real-time feasibility of the computational fluid dynamics flow control model.PHDEnvironmental EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135812/1/srimer_1.pd