Latent Tuberculosis Infection and Dyslipidemia among Refugees Attending a Community Based Clinic in Georgia

Background: Emerging epidemiologic evidence indicates tuberculosis (TB) disease may increase the risk of non-communicable disease, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, limited data exists on the association between latent TB infection (LTBI) and dyslipidemia, a key precursor to CVD. Objective: To determine the association between LTBI and dyslipidemia among newly arrived refugees to the US. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among new refugees who received care at the DeKalb County Board of Health Refugee Clinic, Atlanta, Georgia between 1st October 2013 and 31st August 2014. Eligible participants included adult refugees (age ≥21 years) who had valid QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) and blood lipid test results. Results: Among eligible participants (n=684), the prevalence of LTBI was 31.9%. Overall 30.6% (209/684) had elevated total cholesterol, 44% (301/684) had low HDL-C, and 40.7% (276/684) had elevated TGL. Participants with LTBI had a similar prevalence of elevated total cholesterol (35.3% vs 28.3%, p-value=0.06) and elevated triglycerides (44.5% vs 38.4%, p-value=0.13) compared to participants without LTBI. Low HDL-C was also similar in participants with and without LTBI (45.7 vs 40.4%, p-value=0.64). After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index and diabetes mellitus, LTBI was non-significantly associated with elevated total cholesterol (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.27; 95%CI 0.89-1.82) and elevated triglycerides (aOR 1.18; 95% CI 0.84-1.67). Conclusion: Among recently arrived refugees in the US, we did not observe a statistically significant association between LTBI and dyslipidemia. Additional research is needed to determine mechanisms that may increase the risk of non-communicable disease in patients with TB disease and infection

Condition assessment of bridge structures by damage localisation based on the DAD-method and close-range UAV photogrammetry

The provided dissertation presents a so-called “Deformation Area Difference (DAD)” method for condition assessment of existing bridges, especially for the detection of stiffness-reducing damages. The method is based on the one hand on conventional static load deflection experiments and on the other hand on a high-precision measurement of the structural deflection. The experimental load on the bridge should be generated within the serviceability limit state in order to enable a non-destructive inspection. In the course of the laboratory tests, the most innovative measuring techniques were applied, whereby the photogrammetry has delivered promising results. With the help of additional studies on the influences of camera quality and calibration, the measuring precision of photogrammetry could be brought to its limits. Both the theoretical investigations and the laboratory tests showed the successful use of the DAD method for the identification of local damages. Therefore, the first in-situ experiment was carried out on a single-span, prestressed bridge in Luxembourg. The knowledge gained from this was combined with statistical investigations based on finite element calculations and artificially generated measurement noise effect in order to determine the application limits, such as the achievable measurement precision, identifiable degree of damage, required number of measurement repetitions, influence of the damage position, optimal size of the structural deformation, etc. The development of the DAD method ready for application usefully supplements the state of the art and contributes to the reliable assessment of the bridge condition

Democratic Revolution and Capitalist Development of Mongolia

Abstract Mongolia, commonly referred to as Minegolia, was one of the longest, purely communist countries in existence. In 1921, political elites and military leaders successfully created a communist revolution (People’s Revolution), established their first constitution, and announced independency to the world, with support of the Soviet government and army. For eighty years MPRP, a one-party system, ruled the country. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, eastern European and other communist countries demonstrated change and a new era of development. This democratic revolution was a western way of civilization, but it didn’t exclude Mongolia. Young scholars, elites, students, teachers, and workers wanted freedom, human rights, a market economy, and private property, thus 1990 democratic revolution demonstrations succeeded in bringing capitalist development to the country. However, after 26 years of democratic capitalist development, there aren’t greater economic opportunities, freedoms, or equality. In fact, people are actually getting poorer while unemployment is at an all-time high. Furthermore, the government, politicians, and political parties are corrupt, which adds to peoples’ dissatisfaction. The presence of multinational corporations, combined with exploitations of Mongolian mineral resources, allows for only a few percent of elites and already wealthy business individuals to make even more money, while everyone else is poorer than ever before. The first step to fixing the problems in the country lies within education; every citizen needs to be made aware of what has happened in order to find the cause behind the problems. Once the contributing factors behind the system failure are brought to light, they can be analyzed and the policy can be put onto the right path for development

On the Expectations Hypothesis in US Term Structure

We extend the vector autoregression (VAR) based expectations hypothesis (EH) test of term structure, considered in Bekaert & Hodrick (2001), B&H thereafter, using recent developments in bootstrap literature. Modifications include the use of wild bootstrap to allow for conditional heteroskedasticity in the VAR residuals without imposing strict parameterization, while keeping their contemporaneous correlation, endogeneous model selection procedure in the bootstrap replications to reflect true uncertainty and the stationarity correction designed to prevent finite- sample bias adjusted VAR parameters from becoming explosive. Since Lagrange Miltiplier, Wald and Distance Metric test statistics used in this study are all asymptotically pivotal we estimate their finite sample distributions using a computer simulation, rather than relying on the approximation provided by the first order asymptotic theory. When the modified B&H methodology is applied to extensive US zero coupon term structure data ranging from 1 month to 10 years we find less rejections for the theory in a sub-sample of Jan 1982- Dec 2003 than in Jan 1952- Dec 1978, and when it is rejected it occurs at the very short and long ends of the maturity spectrum. It is also relieving to note that this inference seems to be robust to both AIC and SIC model selection methods. In terms of the conclusions made about the validity of the EH of term structure, the main difference between this study and its counterpart of Sarno, Thornton & Valente (2006), which uses the original B&H methodology, is that we reject the theory less often than they do. This is probably as one would expect, since we test the EH theory of term structure only as opposed to Sarno et al (2006) who, in effect, are testing a joint null hypothesis of the conditional homoskedasticity in the residuals and exogenous lag length of the VAR along with the EH.expectations hypothesis, term structure of interest rates, vector autoregression

Application of the DAD method for damage 1 localisation on an existing bridge structure using 2 close-range UAV photogrammetry

A novel damage detection and localisation method, the so-called Deformation Area Difference method for localisation of damages in bridge structures is introduced. The method is based on static load-deflection experiments with the prerequisite of high precise deflection measurement. This study presents the first experiences of applying the DAD method on a real bridge structure. The investigated structure is a prestressed concrete slab bridge with a span of about 27 m, which was built in 2013. The loading on the bridge is applied using six heavy trucks, each weighing up to 32 t. A wide range of the modern measurement technologies were used to achieve high precision measurements of the bridge deflection along the longitudinal axis, namely the photogrammetry using a big size drone, laser scanner, total station, levelling and displacement sensors. The performed load-deflection test was non-destructive since the maximum deformation did not exceed the serviceability limit state. The exercise of the novel damage detection and localisation method on a real structure initiated further optimisation opportunities of the DAD method and the study of its limits. Several boundary conditions and methodical influence factors related to the applicability of the proposed method were analysed, such as impacts of measurement precision, damage degree, the position of damage, and the number of measurement repetitions

Physics-chemical study of hydration process of three calcium aluminate phase and Metakaolin

This research based on X-Ray Diffraction, SEM and chemical analyses were revealed that decreasing of Ca(OH)2 phase content and increasing of C3AH6 and trisulfate aluminate calcium-3 as the stable phases for the hydration period of first 30 to 60 minutes when comparing K-crent doping to the phase to without any doping. Also results have been proposed in case of doping metakaoline to draw structural analogies as formation of stable hydrated phases and the decrease of new formed unstable crystalline metaphases in the early stage of 3CAO·Al2O3 hydration process.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5564/mjc.v12i0.183 Mongolian Journal of Chemistry Vol.12 2011: 107-112

The Composite Leading Indicator of Mongolia

Mongolia’s first composite leading indicator (CLI) is designed here to give early signals of turning-points in economic activity in the near future. This information is of prime importance for economists, businesses and policy makers to enable timely analysis of the current and short term economic situation. Mongolia’s CLI uses monthly GDP as a proxy measure for economic activity. It focuses on the business cycle, defined as the difference between the smoothed GDP data and its long-term trend. Mongolia’s CLI aims to predict turning-points in this business cycle estimate. The CLI is composed from a set of selected economic indicators whose composite provides a robust signal of future turning points. Out of 51 monthly time series covering the real economy, financial markets, international trade and the government sector that pass these criteria the quantity of imported diesel, M2, FDI, total import, international gold price and new real estate loans were selected on the basis of their predictive precision of turning points. The composite leading indicator based on these 6 components not only successfully predicts the turning points but also is highly correlated with the cyclical movements of the GDP growth

Changes in the global oil market

Using a new iterative algorithm that tests for possible breaks in the coefficients and residual variances of recursively identified structural equations, we examine changes in the parameters of the oil market model of Kilian (2009). Our analysis reveals breaks in the coefficients of the oil production and price equations, together with volatility shifts in all equations. In particular, the medium term response of production to aggregate demand shocks increases after 1980 and the price response to supply shocks is more persistent from the mid-1990s. All variables evidence changes in the relative contributions of individual shocks to their forecast error variances

Medical Cost of Burn Patient in National Trauma and Orthopedic Research Center, Mongolia

Department of Hospital Administration/석사Abstract Background: The accidents and injuries are the major causes of the morbidity and mortality as the 90% of them occurring in the low- and middle-income countries. And the burn injuries are becoming more public health issues throughout the world. The cost of caring for a burns patient is known to be higher than for non-burns patients. However, there is little written on the cost of burns care. Studies of burn injuries are commonly related to hospital utilizations and its costs but there are needs to define how much money spent from the patient for the burn care. Methods: Totally 116 burn patients who hospitalized at National Traumatology and Orthopedic Reseach Center (NTORC) participated in the study between the August 1st, 2016 and August 31st, 2016. We analyzed demographics and medical costs of adult (age>20) and child (age<11) patients. In this study, we created multiple linear regression model and logistic regression model to predict the medical cost of the burn patient. Results: The mean of total out-of-pocket costs of burn injuries in NTORC were 536902.65 MNT (241.89 USD) per inpatient. As a result of multiple regression model among adult patients, that inpatient who lives in the rural area spend 461327 MNT more than inpatient who lives in the urban area. Besides, insured patients spend 261973 MNT more than the uninsured patient. The employed patient pays 433732 MNT more than the unemployed patient. The total cost of burn inpatient treatment for the adult patient will increase 16284 MNT if the percent of total body surface area (%TBSA) increase by 1 percent. And multiple regression model among child patients, inpatient who live in the urban area spent 127801 MNT more than inpatients who live in rural area. Also, insured patients spend 65951 MNT more than the uninsured patient. The only %TBSA was a significant predictor of the total cost of burn inpatient treatment. The total cost of burn inpatient treatment for child patient will increase 10955 MNT if %TBSA increase by 1 percent. We did not find many statistically significant variables from logistic regression models of both adult and child patients. However, middle education levels for both models of adult and child patients were statistically significant. Exp (B) value indicates that when middle education is raised by one unit the odd ratio is 33 times as large and therefore children are 33 more times likely to show high-cost and it was almost two times higher than adult patients in our study. Discussion: Our study objective was to determine the medical cost of burn patients in burn inpatients. The mean total medical cost per burn patient was 536902.65 MNT (241.89 USD) per patient within one-month treatment in NTORC. Our result of mean total medical cost per burn patient can not represent the true cost of the burn patient. Because we only studied one-month costs which paid by burn patient. Sanchez et al., (2007)’s study mentioned medical costs represent only 10% of total costs. In other words, other 90% of costs include costs of productivity losses and informal care (Sánchez et al., 2007). Mashreky et al., (2008) assessed the burden of burn injury costs and burn admission was significantly (p=0.000) high in a younger age group in their study results (Mashreky et al., 2008). But in our case, mean total cost of burn patient among adult patients (667677 MNT) was higher than child patients (443776 MNT). Similarly, Hop et al., (2016)’s study results show that adult patients were significantly costly than children. Klein et al., (2008)’s study conducted to evaluate the potential impact of the urban and rural area on hospital costs of the burn patient. The most rural areas tended to have higher costs in this study (Klein et al., 2008). It is similar to our result of location. According to our results, the size of burn surface area, location, employment status, insurance are the most influential indicators. More statistically significant variables found in multi...ope