Health System Reform: The Value and Price of Innovation

Explores the role of innovation in healthcare by reviewing the literature on international, federal, state, and local examples of system change; barriers to change; the contributions of research, academia, and industry; and the financing of innovation

Selected economic instruments to limit water deficit in an international perspective

The article presents the issue of water prices for the population in conditions – on one hand – compliance with EU rule on the costs recovery of water services – and the recommendations of the European Union and the UN so as not to pay for water greater load of household income than 4%. In developed countries, this is much easier than in poor countries, where the rate reaches as high as 10%. Among the consequences of the costs recovery of water services principle, the author analyzes trade issues of water in the stock market and the competition between bottled water and tap water.W artykule przedstawiono kwestię cen wody dla ludności w warunkach, z jednej strony, przestrzegania regulacji UE w sprawie zwrotu kosztów usług wodnych, a z drugiej strony – zaleceń UE i ONZ, aby płatności za wodę nie przekraczały 4% dochodów gospodarstwa domowego. W krajach rozwiniętych jest to o wiele łatwiejsze niż w krajach biednych, gdzie wskaźnik ten sięga nawet 10%. Wśród opisu skutków przestrzegania zasady zwrotu kosztów usług wodnych autorka analizuje zagadnienia związane z handlem wodą na giełdzie oraz konkurencją między wodą mineralną i wodą z kranu

Singular order parameter interaction at nematic quantum critical point in two dimensional electron systems

We analyze the infrared behavior of effective N-point interactions between order parameter fluctuations for nematic and other quantum critical electron systems with a scalar order parameter in two dimensions. The interactions exhibit a singular momentum and energy dependence and thus cannot be represented by local vertices. They diverge for all N greater or equal 4 in a collinear static limit, where energy variables scale to zero faster than momenta, and momenta become increasingly collinear. The degree of divergence is not reduced by any cancellations and renders all N-point interactions marginal. A truncation of the order parameter action at quartic or any other finite order is therefore not justified. The same conclusion can be drawn for the effective action describing fermions coupled to a U(1) gauge field in two dimensions.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur

\u3ci\u3eAnaphes\u3c/i\u3e (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) Reared from the Eggs of a Shore Fly (Diptera: Ephydridae)

Members of the family Mymaridae are obligate parasitoids of insect eggs, and some species attack the eggs of aquatic insects. Only one account of egg parasitism by the mymarid genus Anaphes on Diptera has been disclosed in the literature. Bakkendorf (1971) bred Anaphes autumnalis Foerster from an egg of Tipula autumnalis Loew

Evaluation of ultrasound data from the MARES Sinusoidal Perturbation Protocol for the analysis of vibration-induced changes in fascicle length and pennation angle as a function of vibration frequency and muscular preload

Background: Vibration exposure has proven to be a useful training method and examination method in a variety of contexts. Nevertheless, not much is known about the mechanical properties of muscle tendon unit during vibration exposure. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to get an insight into vibration-induced changes in fascicle length and pennation angle at different frequencies and levels of contraction. Methods: 23 subjects performed the sinusoidal perturbation protocol before and after 60 days of bed rest. Ultrasound videos of gastrocnemius medialis were recorded during vibration exposure at 10 different frequencies (4 – 16 Hz) and 4 levels of contraction (0, 25, 50 and 75% MVC). Excursion of fascicle length (FL) and pennation angle (PEN) was evaluated using an ultrasound tracking software. Results: Excursion of FL and PEN was significantly smaller when muscle was contracted. For the range from 7 to 10 Hz there was a significant increase in excursion for pre-tensioned muscle, especially for FL. After bed rest, excursion was significantly greater at 9 Hz and 10 Hz vibration for FL and at 8, 9 and 10 Hz for PEN, respectively. Conclusion: Fascicle excursion decreases as the muscle contracts. However, no further correlation between the level of contraction and the decrease in excursion could be found. The main finding of this study was a significant resonance effect at 7-10 Hz vibration and contracted muscle. Resonance was even more evident after bed rest