Search results

This paper presents an alternative calculation procedure to calculate the mortality rate, exploiting the data available in the Eurostat demography database for Spain. This methodology has been devised based on two of the most widely known and widespread models to establish the mortality rate: The Gompertz-Makeham (GM) and Lee-Carter (LC) models. Our main goal is to obtain a model yielding a similar accuracy than LC or GM, but able to capture the variation of their parameters over time and ages. The method proposed herewith works by applying simple or double fitting, with non-linear functions, to the values of the parameters considered by each one of such models. One of the main advantages of our approach is that we considerably reduce the amount of data that is required to establish the mortality rate, with respect to what would be needed if the traditional models were used. On the other hand, it also allows analyzing the evolution of the mortality rate, even if no real data was available for a particular year. The results evince that, besides fulfilling the two aforementioned goals, the proposed scheme yields an estimation error that is comparable with that offered by the traditional approach. ; This work has been supported in part by the Spanish Government (MINECO) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) by means of the ADVICE (TEC2015-71329) project. Ramon Aguero was also partially supported by the Future Internet Enabled Resilient Cities (FIERCE) project, RTI2018-093475-A-100 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER/UE).

Location of this research in Sendang Duwur district of Lamongan. The condition of tourism Sendang Duwur Village have big potential in giving economic contribution to local society. This is the purpose of this research. Based on the above research that revealed three problems, namely what the uniqueness from tourism product in Sendang Duwur Village, how was the tourist shopping behavior in Sendang Duwur Tourism Village, And how was contribution of Sendang Duwur Tourism Village for Local Comunnity Economic. To express the above problem this research using primary and secondary data source, while type of data used is the qualitative data and quantitative data. The technique in order to obtain the validity of data using flow model method and quantitative analyzing. Data which collect by questionnaire, in-depht interview, observation and documentation. The results of this study related to tourism product unique of Sendang Duwur Tourism Village as attraction, amenities, accessibility and ancillary services. The type of tourist shopping behavior is tourist who like to look for variety with percentage of 80%. Sendang Duwur Tourism Village has not contributed optimally to improve community local economic because visitor spending whose amount is determind by length of stay cannot be used because there is no tourist staying. Tourist only make shorts visit. Some advice will be given for the local people so that keep specificity of tourism product. For the government to more active to promote Sendang Duwur Village to be known to many people. Keywords : contribution economy, tourism village, local community

PURPOSE: We set out to develop a real-time computerised decision support system (CDSS) embedded in the electronic health record (EHR) with information on risk factors, estimated risk, and guideline-based advice on treatment strategy in order to improve adherence to cardiovascular risk management (CVRM) guidelines with the ultimate aim of improving patient healthcare. METHODS: We defined a project plan including the scope and requirements, infrastructure and interface, data quality and study population, validation and evaluation of the CDSS. RESULTS: In collaboration with clinicians, data scientists, epidemiologists, ICT architects, and user experience and interface designers we developed a CDSS that provides 'live' information on CVRM within the environment of the EHR. The CDSS provides information on cardiovascular risk factors (age, sex, medical and family history, smoking, blood pressure, lipids, kidney function, and glucose intolerance measurements), estimated 10-year cardiovascular risk, guideline-compliant suggestions for both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment to optimise risk factors, and an estimate on the change in 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease if treatment goals are adhered to. Our pilot study identified a number of issues that needed to be addressed, such as missing data, rules and regulations, privacy, and patient participation. CONCLUSION: Development of a CDSS is complex and requires a multidisciplinary approach. We identified opportunities and challenges in our project developing a CDSS aimed at improving adherence to CVRM guidelines. The regulatory environment, including guidance on scientific evaluation, legislation, and privacy issues needs to evolve within this emerging field of eHealth.

Public rangelands are managed by a mixture of federal, state, and local governments. Often, these groups are charged with managing adjacent lands that are part of the same greater landscape. To do this effectively, communication and collaboration is required. This dissertation examines federal, state, and local agencies' level of communication through three projects. The first project examined barriers to agencies adopting management tools from each other. I found that individuals within agencies were mainly staying within their own agency when seeking advice, so individuals were not communicating about tools or their findings across agencies. Furthermore, agency policies and fear of being sued restricted individuals' ability to adopt management tools. The second project studied how land and wildlife managers in Southeastern Utah work together, or not, in managing mule deer populations that migrate to and from land managed by different agencies. I found that managers are working together to manage mule deer populations, but there are only a few individuals that tie everyone together. The third project looked at how federal, state, and local governments work together to rehabilitate lands after a wildfire that burned parts of Southwestern Idaho and Southeastern Oregon. I found that policy decisions at the federal level can heavily impact who works together and when. All three projects revealed that there are still barriers to federal, state, and local governments working together to manage the same landscape. However, the results from this dissertation also highlight opportunities for bridging the gap between agencies and, ultimately, improving management of rangelands.

Facing the problems of corruption, inefficient bureaucracy, a lack of property rights or of the rule of law in developing countries, Paul Romer, the current Chief Economist of the World Bank, has chosen a radical approach when he provided advice to the Honduran government in 2010. His idea was to establish a new constitution of the regional administrations and the legal framework in areas of developing countries where no settlements exist. To establish such a special administrative region, so called Charter City, a developing country requires a partner country which already enjoys credibility in terms of a functional administrative order. A high level of trust is presupposed, because the Charter City will be highly independent from the state ruling government. In fact Romer assumes that it is far easier to establish a new framework under the condition of good governance in a region which will attract citizens and investors than to change an existing system. Certainly the possibilities of a far-reaching independence contain some fundamental problems at the same time. The cultural heritage of a society and the country-specific characteristics might oppose the new order. Even when no one should be forced to live in a Charter City such problems will occur, because not only the region will change but also the rest of the country will be affected in the long term. In this context the activities of a partner country could be seen as an act of paternalism. The paper deals with the theoretical background of trust and compatibility in international administrative cooperation such as Charter Cities.

Problem Statement: Female veterans are growing in record numbers and are the fastest growing segment of the veteran population in the United States(U.S.). After discharge from the military, female veterans face a difficult challenge in finding quality, efficient, and gender-specific health care following active duty. The growing number of female veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care facilities has highlighted gaps in access to care and quality of care for female veterans. Methodology: Interpretive phenomenology was used to better understand the meaning of 11 U.S. female veterans' experiences. Semi-structured telephone interviews and the analytic approach of Martin Heidegger (1962) permitted the exploration of contextual aspects of participants' lives and the in-depth meaning of their experiences. Results: The results of this study reflect the needed areas for further health education and the advice from the participants for all female veterans to be advocates for themselves when attaining health care following active duty. The findings in this study have important implications for women's health care providers and policy makers within both the VA and civilian health care systems related to screening, barriers to care and knowledge deficits of female veterans on how to attain post— active— duty health care. Conclusions: The females in this study had varied reintegration experiences to both the VA and the American medical system. Although the VA offers a variety of services for transitioning veterans, this study promotes additional specific health programs before and after transitioning out of the military.

Under the low-carbon background, with the aid of the Malmquist&ndash ; Luenberger SBM (Slack-based Measure) model of unexpected output, the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of the logistics industry in Jiangsu Province, China, was measured and decomposed in this study based on the reality and experience of logistics industry development in 13 cities in three regions of Jiangsu Province in the years 2006&ndash ; 2018 by taking resource consumption into the input system and discharged pollutants into the output system. It is concluded that the environmental regulation (ER) has a significant positive effect on the growth of the GTFP of the logistics industry, and technological progress has become an important endogenous force that promotes the GTFP of the logistics industry in Jiangsu Province. On this basis, a dynamic GMM (Generalized method of moment) model and a Tobit model were constructed to further study the possible temporal and spatial effects of ER on the GTFP of the logistics industry. The research results reveal that the ER can exert both promoting and inhibitory effects on the GTFP of the logistics industry, and there is a temporal turning point for the effects. Besides, the effects notably differ spatially and temporally. Finally, some policies and advice for the green sustainable development of the logistics industry were proposed. For example, the government and enterprises should pay attention to the green and efficient development of the logistics industry and dynamically adjust the ER methods. They should consider the greening of both forward logistics links and reverse logistics system in the supply chain.

OBJECTIVES: To understand approaches to priority setting for healthcare service resource allocation at an operational level in a nationally commissioned but regionally delivered service. DESIGN: Qualitative study using semistructured interviews and a Framework analysis. SETTING: National Health Service dentistry commissioning teams within subregional offices in England. PARTICIPANTS: All 31 individuals holding the relevant role (dental lead commissioner in subregional offices) were approached directly and from this 14 participants were recruited, with 12 interviews completed. Both male and female genders and all regions were represented in the final sample. RESULTS: Three major themes arose. First, 'Methods of priority setting and barriers to explicit approaches' was a common theme, specifically identifying the main methods as: perpetuating historical allocations, pressure from politicians and clinicians and use of needs assessments while barriers were time and skill deficits, a lack of national guidance and an inflexible contracting arrangements stopping resource allocation. Second, 'Relationships with key stakeholders and advisors' were discussed, showing the important nature of relationships with clinical advisors but variation in the quality of these relationships was noted. Finally, 'Tensions between national and local responsibilities' were illustrated, where there was confusion about where power and autonomy lay. CONCLUSIONS: Commissioners recognised a need for resource allocation but relied on clinical advice and needs assessment in order to set priorities. More explicit priority setting was prevented by structure of the commissioning system and standard national contracts with providers. Further research is required to embed and simplify adoption of tools to aid priority setting.

Background Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is considered an emerging infectious disease threat in the European Union. Since 2000, the incidence and geographic range of confirmed CCHF cases have markedly increased, following changes in the distribution of its main vector, Hyalomma ticks. Aims To review scientific literature and collect experts' opinion to analyse relevant aspects of the laboratory management of human CCHF cases and any exposed contacts, as well as identify areas for advancement of international collaborative preparedness and laboratory response plans. Methods We conducted a literature review on CCHF molecular diagnostics through an online search. Further, we obtained expert opinions on the key laboratory aspects of CCHF diagnosis. Consulted experts were members of two European projects, EMERGE (Efficient response to highly dangerous and emerging pathogens at EU level) and EVD-LabNet (Emerging Viral Diseases-Expert Laboratory Network). Results Consensus was reached on relevant and controversial aspects of CCHF disease with implications for laboratory management of human CCHF cases, including biosafety, diagnostic algorithm and advice to improve lab capabilities. Knowledge on the diffusion of CCHF can be obtained by promoting syndromic approach to infectious diseases diagnosis and by including CCHFV infection in the diagnostic algorithm of severe fevers of unknown origin. Conclusion No effective vaccine and/or therapeutics are available at present so outbreak response relies on rapid identification and appropriate infection control measures. Frontline hospitals and reference laboratories have a crucial role in the response to a CCHF outbreak, which should integrate laboratory, clinical and public health responses. ; Peer Reviewed

Water, is in Spain a scarce commodity and although we have an age-old water culture, with an emblematic Court, such as the "Tribunal de las Aguas de Valencia", hydraulic infrastructure, hydrological basin plans, legislation and hydraulic administration since the 20th Century, there are problems of scarcity, water quality and extreme events that often lead to conflicts between users and also among the responsible administrations for their management. Within this framework, it is of a great interest the training of technicians in matters related to planning, quality and integrated water resources management for sustainable development. In Argentina (especially in the NOA) and until a few years ago, water has not been considered as a scarce commodity. In addition to this, they do not have the history and culture of Spain on issues related to their management, planning and governance. Now, they have begun to establish laws and regulations, as well as, an Association of Consortia of Public Water Users, needing external advice. Therefore, it is necessary, to train technicians in water resources capable of working in areas related to their planning and sustainable management, with knowledge related to the quality required by users. These technicians could be integrated, both in the responsible water administrations', as well as, in private companies. The project that is the object of this paper is based on preparing a double master 's degree, in which the training needs of the students graduated of Spanish and Argentina Engineering Schools are taken into account. ; Peer Reviewed

Background Allelopathy has been suggested as one potential mechanism facilitating the successful colonisation and expansion of invasive plants. The impacts of the ongoing elevation in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) on the production of allelochemicals by invasive species are of great importance because they play a potential role in promoting biological invasion at the global scale. Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia var. elatior), one of the most notorious invasive exotic plant species, was used to assess changes in foliar mono- and sesquiterpene production in response to CO2 elevation (389.12 ± 2.55 vs. 802.08 ± 2.69 ppm). Results The plant growth of common ragweed significantly increased in elevated CO2. The major monoterpenes in the essential oil extracted from common ragweed leaves were β-myrcene, dl-limonene and 1,3,6-octatriene, and the major sesquiterpenes were β-caryophyllene and germacrene-D. The concentrations of 1,3,6-octatriene (258%) and β-caryophyllene (421%) significantly increased with CO2 elevation. Conclusions These findings improve our understanding of how allelochemicals in common ragweed respond to CO2 elevation. ; The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Samsik Kang (College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University) and Dr. Jonghee Kim (Department of Biology, Gyeongnam University) for the technical advice and supportive discussion and Dr. Changsuk Kim (National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology) for the seed collection. This work has been supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT)(2018R1C1B6005351). We are grateful to NRF (2016R1D1A1A02937049, 2017096A001719BB01) for the financial support.

Government intervention for village development is carried out with various policies. The establishment of BUMDes is one of the government's efforts to accelerate rural development, advance the local economy, and develop the village partnerships and/or third party's partnerships. This study exploits comparative institutional analysis framework to examine further how institutional aspects can affect the application of BUMDes in the rural development. The institutional aspects of BUMDes utilization for rural development is worth emphasizing since it will be employed as a foundation between the actors in a specific social area (structure) in its various forms such as rules, norms, or a certain routine, and the institution as a form of authority for the social behavior of the village organization. Furthermore, the successful implementation of BUMDes in the rural development is also affected by how stakeholder system can manage the institutional aspects. The result of this study, from the standpoint of comparative institutional analysis, underlines: (1) the limited authority of the Ministry of Villages, Underdeveloped Regions and Transmigration for rural development suggests that this Ministry must establish a specific institutional arrangement with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises as well as banking institutions; (2) The village government has not fully taken advantage of the flexibility of its institutional arrangement to use BUMDes as a source of rural development; and (3) there is considerable scope to increase the role of BUMDes. This paper will propose some practical advices while considering the existing institutional arrangement.

This guide provides extended information to support the Healthy Ireland Food Pyramid 2016, which is based on international best practice and tailored to meet the specific needs of Ireland?s population. These healthy eating guidelines are designed to protect people at every age and stage (from five years old) against heart disease and cancer, which are the major causes of diet-related ill health in this country. This guide provides the reasons behind recommendations such as why eating different-coloured vegetables is protective and why different fats and oils are best, as well as covering issues such as how to use nutrition labelling to select the best foods, etc. This food guide includes information on food safety and food legislation relating to nutrition in Ireland. For example, it explains in detail how to safely maintain vitamin D status at Ireland?s latitude given the natural food sources, fortified food and food supplements available. Now that nutrition labelling is mandatory, this guide includes advice on how these labels can be used to guide consumers towards healthy choices from the ever-increasing variety of foods on offer (e.g. cereals and yogurts). In addition, this guide describes how exposure to contaminants such as acrylamide can be minimised and how reformulation by the food industry can positively impact Ireland?s food environment. Finally, it highlights the importance of accurate allergen labelling in keeping consumers safe, in addition to the many other nutritional issues that health professionals, catering services and food businesses in Ireland encounter.

Government intervention for village development is carried out with various policies. The establishment of BUMDes is one of the government's efforts to accelerate rural development, advance the local economy, and develop the village partnerships and/or third party's partnerships. This study exploits comparative institutional analysis framework to examine further how institutional aspects can affect the application of BUMDes in the rural development. The institutional aspects of BUMDes utilization for rural development is worth emphasizing since it will be employed as a foundation between the actors in a specific social area (structure) in its various forms such as rules, norms, or a certain routine, and the institution as a form of authority for the social behavior of the village organization. Furthermore, the successful implementation of BUMDes in the rural development is also affected by how stakeholder system can manage the institutional aspects. The result of this study, from the standpoint of comparative institutional analysis, underlines: (1) the limited authority of the Ministry of Villages, Underdeveloped Regions and Transmigration for rural development suggests that this Ministry must establish a specific institutional arrangement with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises as well as banking institutions; (2) The village government has not fully taken advantage of the flexibility of its institutional arrangement to use BUMDes as a source of rural development; and (3) there is considerable scope to increase the role of BUMDes. This paper will propose some practical advices while considering the existing institutional arrangement.

The democratizing effect of second-generation, web-based technologies has significantly diminished traditional barriers to information. A multitude of financial literacy programs and tools are now available online, giving rise to an increased access to financial education. Despite this, persistent financial struggles among Canadians suggest that access to financial literacy interventions may not be enough to bridge the financial literacy divide. The use of Online Self-Organizing Social Systems (OSOSSes) in providing emergent and situationally-relevant financial advice may present an opportunity to support existing modes of financial education and improve individuals' personal finance success. In addition, observational learning through OSOSSes may provide participants positive and negative models to reinforce existing financial knowledge or encourage financial behaviours. Applying a qualitative research methodology involving participants of a popular knowledge-based Reddit community, r/PersonalFinanceCanada (r/PFC), this study explored the following research questions: RQ1: In what ways does participation in OSOSS influence participants' financial knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours? RQ2: How does examining this phenomenon through the lens of social learning inform future research and development of financial literacy programs? Semi-structured interviews yielded a data corpus that was analyzed using a combination of conventional and directed content analysis. Findings suggest that as a result of observations and, to a lesser degree, interactions with other OSOSS participants lead to in an increase in financial awareness and confidence, and result to a positive effect on participants' financial behaviours. This study provides a foundation for future research on the impact of OSOSSes participation on individuals' personal finance outcomes.