The objective of this study was to determine the impact of iron depletion without anemia on performance in a sample of female collegiate rowers at the beginning of a training season (August 2008, January 2009, and September 2009). One hundred sixty-five female collegiate rowers from 5 colleges and universities in ...

OBJECTIVES: To assess the level of agreement and interchangeability among different software programs for calculation of T2* values for iron overload. METHODS: T2* images were analysed in 60 patients with thalassaemia major using the truncation method in three software programs. Levels of agreement were assessed using Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman ...

Background: In 1999, the Indiana University School of Medicine implemented a new curriculum based on the attainment of core competencies beyond medical knowledge. Purpose: The objective was to document how the Student Promotions Committee (SPC) has adjudicated students' competency-related deficiencies over the past decade. Methods: Using SPC records, the authors ...

SUMMARY: Multiple spaced seeds represent the current state-of-the-art for similarity search in bioinformatics, with applications in various areas such as sequence alignment, read mapping, oligonucleotide design, etc. We present SpEED, a software program that computes highly sensitive multiple spaced seeds. SpEED can be several orders of magnitude faster and computes ...

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the number of syllables collected and performance end effects had a significant effect on phonation threshold pressure (PTP) estimates. METHODS: Ten adult females with normal voices produced five- and seven-syllable trains of /pi/ at low, modal, and high pitches. The ...

Reliability and construct validity of the 11-item College Student Stress Scale were investigated with exploratory (N = 273) and confirmatory factor analyses (N = 185) in undergraduate college students. Two factors were observed; however, reliability of the 3-item factor was too low and one item failed to load on either ...

Objective assessment of technical skill is an important component of skills training: trainees require that deficiencies are clearly and objectively identified if a model of deliberate practice with feedback on skill acquisition is to be employed. There are several types of reliable and valid assessments for technical skill currently available.

To date, there has been little empirical evidence to support the broader use of value-based insurance design, which lowers copayments for services with high value relative to their costs. To address this lack of data, we evaluated the impact of the value-based insurance program of a US corporation, Pitney Bowes. ...

Milk and feed price volatility are the major source of dairy farm risk. Since August 2008 a new federally reinsured insurance program has been available to many US dairy farmers to help minimize the negative effects of adverse price movements. This insurance program is referred to as Livestock Gross Margin ...

We determined whether state Medicaid programs cover recommended treatments for adult and pediatric obesity and to what extent states regulate the treatment and coverage of obesity by private insurers. We conducted a state-by-state document review of Medicaid manuals and private insurance laws and regulations. Eight state Medicaid programs appear to ...

Funds from the Driver Responsibility Program (DRP) help make it possible for trauma centers to treat every trauma patient who comes through their doors, regardless of insurance status. But the Texas Legislature has held in reserve almost as much money as it has doled out since it approved the DRP ...

Historically, the poor have been excluded from asset-building policies, and consequently have accumulated very little wealth. The discrepancy between those with the highest incomes and those with the lowest continues to widen dramatically, with little hope of change unless asset-building polices are created to include the poor. Not only is ...

Over the past decade, health coverage for millions of low-income children and their families has been impacted by publicly funded programs such as the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid. There are more than six million children currently eligible for coverage. The Obama administration increased funding for the program that ...

Palliative care is a heavy burden to many Canadians who have dying relatives or friends. The Canadian government implemented a sub-program under the Employment Insurance - Compassionate Care Benefits Program (CCBs) to financially assist informal end-of-life caregivers (1). Since the current Employment Insurance Program's regulations pose a number of barriers ...

The different aspects of security auditing and the role of the security auditor is explained in detail by the author in this primer for security professionals with specific advice on what should be included in a security audit report.

The concepts of solvency, sustainability, and budget impact are common in discussions of Social Security, but are not well understood. Currently, the Social Security Board of Trustees projects program cost to rise by 2035 so that taxes will be enough to pay for only 75 percent of scheduled benefits. This ...

Is the historical development of the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program unique or similar to the development of social security programs in other industrialized countries? The U.S. Social Security program was adopted some 40 to 50 years after those of most Western European nations. The United States thus ...

In 2010, the Social Security Administration (SSA) celebrates the 75th anniversary of the passage of the Social Security Act. In those 75 years, SSA has been responsible for programs providing unemployment insurance, child welfare, and supervision of credit unions, among other duties. This article focuses on the administration of the ...

Poor planning of a security project can result in cost overruns and, sometimes, an unsuccessful project, the authors report. Based on their experience in dealing with vendors, contractors, and management, they present in this article the planning steps that should be taken to insure successful completion of the project from ...

This article describes the de facto standards of low income and resources reflected in the eligibility standards of the largest means-tested programs that serve the elderly and then applies these standards to a near-elderly cohort. Through juxtaposing retirement resources in the near-elderly time period with program participation in the elderly ...

The author, chairman of the Northern Ohio Chapter of IAHSS, describes the Chapter's Shadowing Program which involves participation of his hospital's security staff as hosts for security officers from other hospitals. The article sets forth the practical benefits that he feels can be gained from such a networking program.

This article presents the results of a first effort to create and statistically analyze a data set containing detailed information on the Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE), which is part of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. It presents descriptive statistics on (1) demographic characteristics of SSI recipients with SEIE; ...

This article examines Japan's permanent disability social insurance programs. Because there is limited information available about these programs in the literature outside Japan, this analysis helps to further international disability research. Primary public pension systems and their corresponding programs for permanently disabled workers and their families are described, including trends ...

Initial reports about the new COBRA premium subsidy program for recently laid-off workers indicate that enrollment in COBRA continuation coverage has increased substantially, with a healthier mix of individuals enrolling than before. Moreover, implementation has gone smoothly, and most eligible people have heard about the subsidy. Still, many of those ...

In this article, we hypothesize that in addition to participation status and household characteristics, the impact of China's Sloping Land Conversion Program on income growth and labor transfer is determined by local economic conditions, program range, and political leadership, and the degree of impact on income may vary among different ...

INTRODUCTION: We report on the effect of an incentive-based wellness program on medical claims and hospital admissions among members of a major health insurer. The focus of this investigation was specifically on fitness-related activities in this insured population. METHODS: Adult members of South Africa's largest private health insurer (n = ...

Organizations that have limited resources need to conduct clinical studies in a cost-effective, but secure way. Clinical data residing in various individual databases need to be easily accessed and secured. Although widely available, digital certification, encryption, and secure web server, have not been implemented as widely, partly due to a ...

The overall goal of the paper is to understand the progress of the design and implementation of China's New Cooperative Medical System (NCMS) program between 2004 (the second year of the program) and 2007. In the paper we seek to assess some of the strengths and weaknesses of the program ...

The potential of secondary prevention measures, such as cancer screening, to produce cost savings in the healthcare sector is a controversial issue in healthcare economics. Potential savings are calculated by comparing treatment costs with the cost of a prevention program. When survivors' subsequent unrelated health care costs are included in ...

Although most academic disciplines evolve at a measured pace, the emerging field of homeland security must, for reasons of safety and security, evolve rapidly. The Department of Homeland Security sponsored the establishment of a graduate educational program for key officials holding homeland security roles. Because homeland security is a nascent ...

The Social Security Administration (SSA) receives reports of earnings for the U.S. working population each year. Earnings data are used to administer the Social Security programs and to conduct research on the populations served by those programs. The administrative needs of SSA and other agencies have changed over time and, ...

By implementing a solid security plan and providing essential staff training, hospitals can help make the Emergency Department a safer place, the article says, outlining steps to make it less vulnerable to violence. These include a risk and security assessment, training staff and security members to mitigate potentially violent situations, ...

The best methods of improving program performance are via employing compliance techniques on a periodic basis, according to the authors. Results of these audits can help security administrators to better measure the effectiveness of in-place security initiatives while also offering guidance for future enhancements, they say. In this article they ...

COPIC Insurance Company is a Colorado-based medical liability carrier. From October of 2000 to the present, it has employed an early intervention program called the 3Rs program standing for recognize, respond, and resolve. The program emphasizes disclosure, transparency, apology, and patient benefits. The origins of the program, its operational aspects, ...

FHA hospital mortgage insurance, also called the Section 242 program, acts as a credit enhancement that allows borrowers to issue bonds up to the equivalent of an "AAA" rating, with the benefits of lower interest rates. Although the program has operated in relative obscurity over its 40 years of existence, ...

BACKGROUND: The 1997 State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) program allowed states to expand Medicaid to uninsured children through age 18 in families under 200% of the federal poverty level. Prepregnancy insurance coverage of adolescents may help reduce unintended pregnancies, address other medical issues, and allow for early and adequate ...

All states offer telephone quit lines but they are under-used in part because of the costs associated with promotion. Offering nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) as well as behavioral counseling can increase treatment participation and abstinence rates, but is expensive. Offering less than a full NRT 8-week course can also generate ...

Comparative epidemiological study of minor cervical spine trauma (frequently referred to as whiplash injury) based on data from the Comité Européen des Assurances (CEA) gathered in ten European countries. To determine the incidence and expenditure (e.g., for assessment, treatment or claims) for minor cervical spine injury in the participating countries. ...

This regulation revises Federal requirements for establishing and enforcing medical support obligations in Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program cases receiving services under title IV-D of the Social Security Act (the Act). The changes: require that all support orders in the IV-D program address medical support; redefine reasonable-cost health insurance; require ...

OBJECTIVE: Consultants employed by the NHS in England are allowed to undertake private practice to supplement their NHS income. Until the introduction of a new contract from October 2003, those employed on full-time contracts were allowed to earn private incomes no greater than 10% of their NHS income. In this ...

There are strong arguments that national catastrophic drug insurance should be established in Canada with assistance from the federal government. The author of this paper projects the long-run program costs for two proposals for such a program: that of the Kirby Committee and that of the Romanow Commission. He concludes ...

Young adults, ages 19 to 29, are one of the largest segments of the U.S. population without health insurance: 13.7 million lacked coverage in 2006. They often lose coverage at age 19 or upon high school or college graduation--most two of five (38%) high school graduates who do not enroll ...

Voluntary wellness programs have been shown to effect positive outcomes and can benefit both individuals and employer group health insurance plans. Such programs often offer individuals a specific reward--cash incentives, rebates, discounts, or modified co-payments--if they participate in the program and meet certain health "targets" or standards (e.g., obtaining a ...

There is substantial interest in attempts to reduce the number of uninsured persons by providing subsidies to small businesses. To measure the responsiveness of small businesses to offers of subsidized coverage, the authors conducted a randomized controlled trial in which selected groups of San Diego businesses were offered the opportunity ...

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based medicine (EBM), a comprehensive method to support clinical decision making by using evidence, has been instrumental in clinical specialties but not yet in insurance medicine. AIMS: We developed and evaluated a workshop on EBM for Dutch social insurance physicians who perform disability evaluations. METHODS: Sixty-six social insurance physicians ...

Using an interrupted time series design and a census of births in California over a 6-year period, we show that state and federal laws passed in the late 1990s designed to increase the length of postpartum hospital stays reduced considerably the fraction of newborns that were discharged early. The law ...

Systems and procedures for locking doors after hours to prevent criminal and other intrusions may not necessarily provide the security they promise even if they are found operational during officer rounds. The authors describe an inspection program involving security and engineering which is used at their medical center to anticipate ...

Recently various analysts have called attention to the apparent success of the Canadian social assistance system in reducing poverty among the elderly and have suggested that there may be lessons to be drawn from the Canadian experience that are relevant to the evolution of the U.S. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) ...

In the 1930s, amidst concern about the ability of existing pension programs to provide former railroad workers with adequate assistance in old age, Congress established a national Railroad Retirement system. This system is primarily administered by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), which is an independent federal agency charged with providing ...

The renewed effort on the part of law enforcement and private security to prevent crimes from happening, given new emphasis after the events of 9/11, is described by the author who provides guidance in fashioning a proactive crime control program. The article also presents a number of ways for mitigating ...