U.S. Global Health Policy: Donor Funding for Health in Low- & Middle- Income Countries, 2001-2007

Compares 2001 and 2007 data on overseas development assistance from member states of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and examines trends by donor, region, and sector, with a focus on health and its subsectors

The acceptability and implementation of a PhysioDirect service: A qualitative investigation of multi-perspectives

In response to long waiting lists and problems with access to primary care physiotherapy, several Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) developed physiotherapy-led telephone assessment and treatment services. The MRC-funded PhysioDirect trial was a randomised trial in four PCTs, with a total of 2252 patients that compared this approach with usual physiotherapy care. This nested qualitative study aimed to explore and understand the key issues that determine the acceptability of PhysioDirect services from the perspectives of patients, physiotherapists, physiotherapy managers, (General Practitioners) GPs and commissioners

Impacts of calving management, calf risk factors, and difficult calvings on health and performance of beef calves

Calf health and survival is crucial to successful cow-calf operations. Assisted calves are at a disadvantage compared to their herdmates because they may be injured, oxygen deprived, or less vigorous at birth. Determining evidence-based management practices to mitigate the effects of calving assistance on calf health and survival, as well as investigating risk factors associated with assisted calvings that affect transfer of passive immunity (TPI), morbidity, mortality, and growth, will help improve calf wellbeing. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis were to: benchmark the incidence of calving assistance and health outcomes, and describe current calving and colostrum management practices; to determine the impacts of subclinical trauma on calf vigour and TPI; and to investigate the impact of implementing pain mitigation at birth to assisted beef calves. Chapter 2 described current calving and colostrum management practices found on western Canadian cow-calf operations. Although the incidence of assisted calvings was low, the majority of producers assisted at least one calving, indicating the importance of understanding intervention and management strategies in compromised calves such as those assisted at birth. Chapter 3 quantified subclinical trauma associated with the degree of calving difficulty, and evaluated associations between subclinical trauma and calf vigour and TPI. Calves experiencing difficult births had elevated levels of subclinical trauma and decreased vigour. Subclinical trauma and reduced vigour were also associated with inadequate TPI. Chapters 4 and 5 investigated the clinical impacts of administering a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug to assisted beef calves at birth. In Chapter 4, calves administered meloxicam had greater average daily gain in the first week of life compared to placebo treated calves, but no effect was seen on pain and inflammatory mediators, vigour, TPI, health, or weaning growth. In Chapter 5, there was no effect of administering meloxicam to assisted calves on TPI, health, or growth, but vigour assessment and colostrum management were found to be important management tools associated with TPI, calf health, and growth. Therefore, calves assisted at birth experience subclinical trauma that affects their vigour and TPI. Pain mitigation strategies, vigour assessment, and colostrum management may be important tools to improve wellbeing in assisted beef calves

An in-depth examination of the implementation of the Disability Equality Duty in England

This seven-month study examined the implementation of the Disability Equality Duty (DED) in England. The DED, introduced through the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, applies to public authorities in England, Wales and Scotland

An In-Depth Examination of the Implementation of the Disability Equality Duty in England: Report for the Office for Disability Issues

This seven-month study examined the implementation of the Disability Equality Duty (DED) in England. The DED, introduced through the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, applies to public authorities in England, Wales and Scotland. The DED comprises a general duty and specific duties. The general duty requires public authorities to carry out their functions with due regard to the need to promote equality between disabled and non-disabled people. The specific duties require public authorities to publish a Disability Equality Scheme (DES) setting out how they intend to fulfil their general duty and specific duties. In addition, certain Secretaries of State must publish an overarching report for their policy sectors every three years. A Code of Practice1 to assist authorities with implementing the Duty was published by the then Disability Rights Commission

Preconditioners for Krylov subspace methods: An overview

When simulating a mechanism from science or engineering, or an industrial process, one is frequently required to construct a mathematical model, and then resolve this model numerically. If accurate numerical solutions are necessary or desirable, this can involve solving large-scale systems of equations. One major class of solution methods is that of preconditioned iterative methods, involving preconditioners which are computationally cheap to apply while also capturing information contained in the linear system. In this article, we give a short survey of the field of preconditioning. We introduce a range of preconditioners for partial differential equations, followed by optimization problems, before discussing preconditioners constructed with less standard objectives in mind

When should patients with mitral valve prolapse get endocarditis prophylaxis?

Patients with suspected mitral valve prolapse (MVP)should undergo echocardiography before any procedure that may place them at risk for bacteremia. Patients with MVP and documented absence of mitral regurgitation or valvular thickening likely do not need antibiotic prophylaxis against subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE). Patients with MVP with documented mitral regurgitation, valvular thickening, or an unknown degree of valvular dysfunction may benefit from antibiotics during procedures that often lead to bacteremia (strength of recommendation: C)

What is the diagnostic approach to a 1-year-old with chronic cough?

Very few studies examine the evaluation of chronic cough among young children. Based on expert opinion, investigation of chronic cough should begin with a detailed history, physical examination, and chest radiograph (strength of recommendation [SOR]: C, expert opinion). Before pursuing additional studies, remove potential irritants from the patient's environment. Work-up for persisting cough should consider congenital anomalies and then be directed toward common causes of chronic cough like those seen in older children and adults, including postnasal drip syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and asthma (SOR: C)

PaperChains: Dynamic Sketch+Voice Annotations

In this paper we present a novel interface for collaborative creation of evolving audio-visual documents. PaperChains allows users to sketch on paper and then augment with digital audio, allowing both the physical and digital objects to evolve simultaneously over time. The technique we have developed focuses on affordability and accessibility in its design, using standard cameraphones and telephone connections, which allow it to be used in regions where literacy, technological ex-perience and data connections cannot necessarily be taken for granted. The main use-case that we focus on in this paper is for collaborative storytelling, an area which has been well studied and previously proven to be of value in resource constrained environments. To investigate the relevance of the approach in these contexts, we undertook two usability evaluations in India and South Africa. Results from these investigations indicate users ’ ability to both create and interpret stories using the software, as well as demonstrating high overall usability and enjoyment. We end with a discussion of the implications of our design and opportunities for use in other contexts. Author Keywords Sketching; audio; photographs; cameraphones