BACKGROUND Preference-based health measures yield summary scores that are compatible with cost-effectiveness analyses. There is limited comparative information, however, about how different measures weight health conditions in the U.S. population. METHODS We examined data from 11,421 adults in the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationally representative sample of the U.S. general po...

Multivariate versions of classical orthogonal polynomials such as Jacobi, Hahn, Laguerre, Meixner are reviewed and their connection explored by adopting a probabilistic approach. Hahn and Meixner polynomials are interpreted as posterior mixtures of Jacobi and Laguerre polynomials, respectively. By using known properties of Gamma point processes and related transformations, an infinite-dimension...

The use of the gold weight is an established procedure in the treatment of lagophthalmos and usually produces successful results. The critical technical issues are the firm suture fixation to the tarsal plate and the high location of the weight on this plate. However, the estimated weight of the implant from the trials on the skin of the upper lid fails to obtain the expected eye closure outcom...

The high prevalence of iron deficiency in the population is widely acknowledged, but there are not yet sufficient studies that explain the reasons for this problem at local and national level. Thus, the scope of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of anemia and its relation with socio-demographic and anthropometric aspects of children living in Vitoria, Espírito Santo. This is a cross-sec...

The development of effective and sustainable interventions to treat childhood obesity remains both a priority and a challenge. Previous studies support that dogs provide social support in overweight adults in obesity interventions, but the child-dog relationship is not as well understood. The goal of the study was to examine the child-dog relationship among children to inform novel childhood ob...

Weigh-in-Motion systems are tools to prevent road pavements from the adverse phenomena of vehicle overloading. However, the effectiveness of these systems can be significantly increased by improving weighing accuracy, which is now insufficient for direct enforcement of overloaded vehicles. Field tests show that the accuracy of Weigh-in-Motion axle load sensors installed in the flexible (asphalt...

Resolution, the ability to separate closely occurring events, is an important criterion for most analytical instrument techniques since it effects the ability to obtain accurate, quantitative results. Thermal Analysis techniques are no exception to this basic rule. A good example is thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) which measures weight changes with temperature, providing information about mate...

OBJECTIVE Despite the manufacturer's recommendation that fluoxetine not be used by women while breastfeeding, many women choose to do so. There is little information available in the literature to suggest that this practice is or is not safe. The purpose of this study was to examine weight gain in infants who are breastfed by mothers who take fluoxetine, compared with weight gain in infants who...

Recently, cyber security has become an important topic on the agenda of many organisations. It is already widely acknowledged that attacks do happen, and decision makers face the problem of how to respond. As it is almost impossible to secure a complex system completely, it is important to have an adequate estimate of the effectiveness of security measures when making investment decisions. Risk...