11,521 research outputs found
Global logistics indicators, supply chain metrics, and bilateral trade patterns
Past research into the determinants of international trade highlighted the importance of the basic spatial gravity model augmented by additional variables representing sources of friction. Studies modeled many sources of friction using various proxies, including indices based on expert judgment in some cases. This paper focuses on logistics friction and draws on a data set recently compiled by the World Bank with specific quantitative metrics of logistics performance interms of time, cost, and variability in time. It finds that the new variables that relate directly to logistics performance have a statistically significant relationship with the level of bilateral trade. It also finds that a single logistics index can capture virtually all of the explanatory power of multiple logistics indicators. The findings should spur public and private agencies that have direct or indirect power over logistics performance to focus attention on reducing sources of friction so as to improve their country's ability to compete in today's global economy. Moreover, since the logistics metrics are directly related to operational performance, countries can use these metrics to target actions to improve logistics and monitor their progress.Common Carriers Industry,Transport and Trade Logistics,Economic Theory&Research,Free Trade,Trade Policy
Family planning methods among women in a vaginal microbicide feasibility study in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
This study investigated contraceptive use among women in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Of 866 sexually active women not intending pregnancy and screened for a microbicide feasibility study, 466 (54%) reported currently using modern contraceptives: injectables (31%), condoms (12%), sterilization (60%) and pills (4%). Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed statistically significantly higher odds of current contraceptive use among married vs. engaged/unmarried women (aOR 1.64), multiparous vs. nulliparous (aOR 4.45) and women who completed secondary education or above vs. primary or less (aOR 1.64). Significantly lower odds of use were observed among women aged 40+ vs. age 15-19 (aOR 0.38). Age, marital status, education level and parity were associated with different contraceptive method choices. Among 195 women followed longitudinally for 9 months, contraceptive use increased significantly from 56% to 70%, largely due to increased condom use (15% to 28%). Results highlight the importance of integrating family planning and HIV/STI prevention counseling and informing promotion of further contraceptive uptake among women not intending pregnancy
Reasons for female neonaticide in India
Invited commentary on âNeonaticide in India and the stigma of female gender: report of two casesâ, Mishra et al
Cooperative Cleaning for Distributed Autonomous Robot Systems Using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps
Cooperative Autonomous Cleaning is a simple challenge that can be implemented with the help of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM) by simulating the actual thinking process of the human. The human mind organizes its thoughts in priorities and this feature could be exploited well if a priori knowledge of the system exists. This technique has been attempted here for a DARS
A Unified treatment of small and large- scale dynamos in helical turbulence
Helical turbulence is thought to provide the key to the generation of
large-scale magnetic fields. Turbulence also generically leads to rapidly
growing small-scale magnetic fields correlated on the turbulence scales. These
two processes are usually studied separately. We give here a unified treatment
of both processes, in the case of random fields, incorporating also a simple
model non-linear drift. In the process we uncover an interesting plausible
saturated state of the small-scale dynamo and a novel analogy between quantum
mechanical (QM) tunneling and the generation of large scale fields. The steady
state problem of the combined small/large scale dynamo, is mapped to a
zero-energy, QM potential problem; but a potential which, for non-zero mean
helicity, allows tunneling of bound states. A field generated by the
small-scale dynamo, can 'tunnel' to produce large-scale correlations, which in
steady state, correspond to a force-free 'mean' field.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Physical Review Letters, in pres
Adherence to Cardiovascular Disease Medications: Does Patient-Provider Race/Ethnicity and Language Concordance Matter?
BACKGROUND: Patientâphysician race/ethnicity and
language concordance may improve medication adherence
and reduce disparities in cardiovascular disease
(CVD) by fostering trust and improved patientâphysician
communication.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of patient
race/ethnicity and language and patientâphysician
race/ethnicity and language concordance on medication
adherence rates for a large cohort of diabetes
patients in an integrated delivery system.
DESIGN: We studied 131,277 adult diabetes patients in
Kaiser Permanente Northern California in 2005. Probit
models assessed the effect of patient and physician
race/ethnicity and language on adherence to CVD
medications, after controlling for patient and physician
characteristics.
RESULTS: Ten percent of African American, 11 % of
Hispanic, 63% of Asian, and 47% of white patients had
same race/ethnicity physicians.24% of Spanish-speaking
patients were linguistically concordant with their physicians.
African American (46%), Hispanic (49%) and Asian
(52%) patients were significantly less likely than white
patients (58%) to be in good adherence to all of their CVD
medications (p<0.001). Spanish-speaking patients were
less likely than English speaking patients to be in good
adherence (51%versus 57%, p<0.001). Race concordance
for African American patients was associated with adherence
to all their CVD medications (53% vs. 50%, p<0.05).
Language concordance was associated with medication
adherence for Spanish-speaking patients (51% vs. 45%,
p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: Increasing opportunities for patientâ
physician race/ethnicity and language concordance
may improve medication adherence for African American
and Spanish-speaking patients, though a similar
effect was not observed for Asian patients or Englishproficient
Hispanic patients
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