BACKGROUND Although the fetal death rate has declined over the past 30 years among women of all ages, it is unknown whether particular characteristics of the mother, such as age, still affect the risk of fetal death. We undertook a study to determine whether older age, having a first child (nulliparity), or other characteristics of the mother are risk factors for fetal death. METHODS We used ...

Malpractice insurance premiums for physicians have increased at an average rate of over 30 percent per year. This rate is significantly higher than health care cost inflation and the increase in physician costs. Trends indicate that malpractice related costs, both liability insurance and defensive medicine costs, will continue to increase for the near future. Pressures to limit physician costs ...

The paper discusses the issues of practical implementation increasing accuracy signal extraction, which is achieved by eliminating «flip» approximating function when dividing measured process into intervals under conditions a priori uncertainty about function, significantly increases error allocating useful signal. probability depends on variance additive noise and sample length. use proposed m...

nterest rates have varied substantially in recent years. Since 1981, for example, the monthly average three-month Treasury bill rate has ranged between 5.18 percent and 16.30 percent while the Baa corporatebond rate ranged between 9.61 percent and 17.18 percent; the prime rate during this time reached a high of 20.5 percent and fell to a low of 7.5 percent. Interest rate movements are important...

Anticoagulant treated grain baits have been used to control vertebrate pest depredations in California for over 30 years. The use of anticoagulant treated baits has increased seven (7) times in the past seven (7) years; the majority for the use of ground squirrel, Spermophilus spp., control. Since 1968-69, an average of 1,747,828 net over 5,700,919 gross acres per year has been treated for grou...

In 1994 MetLife paid claims from group health policy insured for 1,004 radical prostatectomies and 1,597 transurethral resections of the prostate (TURPs). The total average hospital and physician charges were $18,680 and $7,600, respectively, with marked geographic variation evident for both procedures by area and state. The Pacific area led with a total charge of $20,790 for a radical prostate...

Introduction Stand establishment is the first step in producing a good wheat crop, and most producers intend to obtain a uniform stand of wheat. However, intentions are not always the same as reality when it comes to wheat establishment. A study conducted in the early 1990s by the OSU Small Grains Extension Program compared producer perception of wheat seeding accuracy with actual field measure...

BACKGROUND Some have the opinion that patients cared for in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals receive care of poorer quality than those cared for in non-VHA institutions. To assess the quality of care in VHA hospitals, we compared the outcome of acute myocardial infarction among patients in VHA and non-VHA institutions while controlling for potential confounders, including coexisti...