1,917 research outputs found
A Glossary of Theories for Understanding Policymaking
Public health practitioners and researchers often seek to influence public policies in order to improve population health and/or reduce health inequalities. However, these efforts frequently appear to be uninformed by the many empirically-based theories about policymaking that have been developed within political science. This glossary provides a brief overview of some of the most popular of these theories, describing how each: frames the policymaking process; portrays the relationships and influence of specific policy actors; and depicts the potential for policy change (or inertia). Examples of their application to public health are provided to help improve understanding of the material presented. Throughout the article, the implications of the different theories for public health researchers and advocates seeking to inform policy decisions are emphasised. The glossary aims to provide an accessible overview to key theories about policy and decision-making, with a view to supporting public health efforts to achieve healthier public policies. Copyright Article author (or their employer) 2012
Tree amplitudes at multiparticle threshold in a model with softly broken symmetry
Tree amplitudes of the production of two kinds of scalar particles at
threshold from one virtual particle are calculated in a model of two scalar
fields with symmetric quartic interaction and unequal masses. These
amplitudes exhibit interesting factorial and exponential behaviour at large
multiplicities. As a by-product we observe that the kinematically allowed decay
of one real particle into real particles of another kind, all at rest, has
zero tree amplitude in this model for .Comment: 17 pages. Preprint INR-823/9
Gravitational waves from coalescing binaries: detection strategies and Monte Carlo estimation of parameters
The paper deals with issues pertaining the detection of gravitational waves
from coalescing binaries. We introduce the application of differential geometry
to the problem of optimal detection of the `chirp signal'. We have also carried
out extensive Monte Carlo simulations to understand the errors in the
estimation of parameters of the binary system. We find that the errors are much
more than those predicted by the covariance matrix even at a high SNR of 10-15.
We also introduce the idea of using the instant of coalescence rather than the
time of arrival to determine the direction to the source.Comment: 28 pages, REVTEX, 12 figures (bundled via uufiles command along with
this paper) submitted to Phys. Rev.
Inside an Environmental Data Archive WWW Site
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC), which is associated with NASA`s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), provides access to tabular and imagery datasets used in ecological and environmental research. Because of its large and diverse data holdings, twin challenges for the ORNL DAAC are to help users find data of interest from the hundreds of thousands of files available at the DAAC without overwhelming them and to manage such a large collection of data. Therefore, the ORNL DAAC has developed a number of World Wide Web (WWW) tools such as the Biogeochemical Information Ordering Management Environment (BIOME), a WWW search and order system, as well as WWW-based data management and configuration control tools. This paper describes the specialized attributes incorporated into these systems that allow for easy access to and management of the data
Multilayered feed forward Artificial Neural Network model to predict the average summer-monsoon rainfall in India
In the present research, possibility of predicting average summer-monsoon
rainfall over India has been analyzed through Artificial Neural Network models.
In formulating the Artificial Neural Network based predictive model, three
layered networks have been constructed with sigmoid non-linearity. The models
under study are different in the number of hidden neurons. After a thorough
training and test procedure, neural net with three nodes in the hidden layer is
found to be the best predictive model.Comment: 19 pages, 1 table, 3 figure
Two-species percolation and Scaling theory of the metal-insulator transition in two dimensions
Recently, a simple non-interacting-electron model, combining local quantum
tunneling via quantum point contacts and global classical percolation, has been
introduced in order to describe the observed ``metal-insulator transition'' in
two dimensions [1]. Here, based upon that model, a two-species-percolation
scaling theory is introduced and compared to the experimental data. The two
species in this model are, on one hand, the ``metallic'' point contacts, whose
critical energy lies below the Fermi energy, and on the other hand, the
insulating quantum point contacts. It is shown that many features of the
experiments, such as the exponential dependence of the resistance on
temperature on the metallic side, the linear dependence of the exponent on
density, the scale of the critical resistance, the quenching of the
metallic phase by a parallel magnetic field and the non-monotonic dependence of
the critical density on a perpendicular magnetic field, can be naturally
explained by the model.
Moreover, details such as the nonmonotonic dependence of the resistance on
temperature or the inflection point of the resistance vs. parallel magnetic are
also a natural consequence of the theory. The calculated parallel field
dependence of the critical density agrees excellently with experiments, and is
used to deduce an experimental value of the confining energy in the vertical
direction. It is also shown that the resistance on the ``metallic'' side can
decrease with decreasing temperature by an arbitrary factor in the degenerate
regime ().Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
First-principles Calculation of the Formation Energy in MgO-CaO Solid Solutions
The electronic structure and total energy were calculated for ordered and
disordered MgO-CaO solid solutions within the multiple scattering theory in
real space and the local density approximation. Based on the dependence of the
total energy on the unit cell volume the equilibrium lattice parameter and
formation energy were determined for different solution compositions. The
formation energy of the solid solutions is found to be positive that is in
agreement with the experimental phase diagram, which shows a miscibility gap.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Trial of the Effect of Combined Therapy With Deferoxamine and Deferiprone on Myocardial Iron in Thalassemia Major Using Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
Background—
Cardiac complications secondary to iron overload are the leading cause of death in β-thalassemia major. Approximately two thirds of patients maintained on the parenteral iron chelator deferoxamine have myocardial iron loading. The oral iron chelator deferiprone has been demonstrated to remove myocardial iron, and it has been proposed that in combination with deferoxamine it may have additional effect.
Methods and Results—
Myocardial iron loading was assessed with the use of myocardial T2* cardiovascular magnetic resonance in 167 patients with thalassemia major receiving standard maintenance chelation monotherapy with subcutaneous deferoxamine. Of these patients, 65 with mild to moderate myocardial iron loading (T2* 8 to 20 ms) entered the trial with continuation of subcutaneous deferoxamine and were randomized to receive additional oral placebo (deferoxamine group) or oral deferiprone 75 mg/kg per day (combined group). The primary end point was the change in myocardial T2* over 12 months. Secondary end points of endothelial function (flow-mediated dilatation of the brachial artery) and cardiac function were also measured with cardiovascular magnetic resonance. There were significant improvements in the combined treatment group compared with the deferoxamine group in myocardial T2* (ratio of change in geometric means 1.50 versus 1.24;
P
=0.02), absolute left ventricular ejection fraction (2.6% versus 0.6%;
P
=0.05), and absolute endothelial function (8.8% versus 3.3%;
P
=0.02). There was also a significantly greater improvement in serum ferritin in the combined group (−976 versus −233 μg/L;
P
<0.001).
Conclusions—
In comparison to the standard chelation monotherapy of deferoxamine, combination treatment with additional deferiprone reduced myocardial iron and improved the ejection fraction and endothelial function in thalassemia major patients with mild to moderate cardiac iron loading
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Hospital Differences in Cesarean Deliveries in Massachusetts (US) 2004–2006: The Case against Case-Mix Artifact
Objective: We examined the extent to which differences in hospital-level cesarean delivery rates in Massachusetts were attributable to hospital-level, rather than maternal, characteristics. Methods: Birth certificate and maternal in-patient hospital discharge records for 2004–06 in Massachusetts were linked. The study population was nulliparous, term, singleton, and vertex births (NTSV) (n = 80,371) in 49 hospitals. Covariates included mother's age, race/ethnicity, education, infant birth weight, gestational age, labor induction (yes/no), hospital shift at time of birth, and preexisting health conditions. We estimated multilevel logistic regression models to assess the likelihood of a cesarean delivery. Results: Overall, among women with NTSV births, 26.5% births were cesarean, with a range of 14% to 38.3% across hospitals. In unadjusted models, the between-hospital variance was 0.103 (SE 0.022); adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic and preexisting medical conditions did not reduce any hospital-level variation 0.108 (SE 0.023). Conclusion: Even after adjusting for both socio-demographic and clinical factors, the chance of a cesarean delivery for NTSV pregnancies varied according to hospital, suggesting the importance of hospital practices and culture in determining a hospital's cesarean rate
Quantum magneto-oscillations in a two-dimensional Fermi liquid
Quantum magneto-oscillations provide a powerfull tool for quantifying
Fermi-liquid parameters of metals. In particular, the quasiparticle effective
mass and spin susceptibility are extracted from the experiment using the
Lifshitz-Kosevich formula, derived under the assumption that the properties of
the system in a non-zero magnetic field are determined uniquely by the
zero-field Fermi-liquid state. This assumption is valid in 3D but, generally
speaking, erroneous in 2D where the Lifshitz-Kosevich formula may be applied
only if the oscillations are strongly damped by thermal smearing and disorder.
In this work, the effects of interactions and disorder on the amplitude of
magneto-oscillations in 2D are studied. It is found that the effective mass
diverges logarithmically with decreasing temperature signaling a deviation from
the Fermi-liquid behavior. It is also shown that the quasiparticle lifetime due
to inelastic interactions does not enter the oscillation amplitude, although
these interactions do renormalize the effective mass. This result provides a
generalization of the Fowler-Prange theorem formulated originally for the
electron-phonon interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
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