OBJECTIVE The annual outbreak of influenza is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among the elderly population around the world. While there is an annual vaccine available to prevent or reduce the incidence of disease, not all older people in Korea choose to be vaccinated. There have been few previous studies to examine the factors influencing influenza vaccination in Korea. Thus...

This paper presents a success story of specifying a complex real-life protocol (MIL-STD 188-220) in Estelle and generating test sequences from the formal specification. 188-220 is being developed in the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps systems for mobile combat network radios. A key factor in this success story has been the collaboration among the researchers of the University of Delaware and the...

Weight and Mortality To the Editor: In a recent article, Dr Hu states1 that the findings regarding weight and mortality in Flegal et al2 are “most likely” the result of “methodologic flaws,” namely the failure to exclude subjects on the basis of smoking and preexisting illness. In August 2005, we replied3 to a similar assertion by Willett, Hu, and colleagues.4 In that reply we stated, “To deter...

BACKGROUND The effects of antiretroviral treatment on the HIV epidemic are complex. HIV-infected individuals survive longer with treatment, but are less likely to transmit the disease. The standard coverage measure improves with the deaths of untreated individuals and does not consider the fact that some individuals may acquire the disease and die before receiving treatment, making it susceptib...

UNLABELLED The 2009 pandemic in Italy has been viewed as a false alarm, and it has not been properly understood based on historical precedents and more in-depth studies that have been conducted in other countries. Some of these studies have pointed to a phenomenon of sudden and fulminant death among healthy children, which is not the sole prerogative of pandemic influenza, but was, in 2009, a m...

Childbirth is a major event in the lives of mothers and their families. Critical illness in pregnancy is uncommon but may arise from conditions unique to pregnancy, conditions exacerbated by pregnancy and coincidental conditions. According to the latest Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths in the UK, haemorrhage remains a leading direct cause of mortality; however, there has been an increa...

BACKGROUND Despite differences in body shape and adiposity characteristics according to sex and age, a single range of healthy weight [body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) of 18.5-24.9) regardless of sex and age has been recommended. The aim of the study is to examine whether the association between BMI and all-cause mortality varies by sex and age, and, if relevant, to estimate sex-age-specific opti...

OBJECTIVE To determine the factors that influence immunisation coverage. DESIGN Cross section destrictive study. SETTING Mathare valley slums in Central district of Nairobi, Kenya. SUBJECTS Seven hundred and twelve children aged 12-23 months. RESULTS Access to immunisation services was excellent at 95.6%. However, utilisation of immunisation services was found to be suboptimal as indica...

OBJECTIVES To describe the immunization coverage of the influenza vaccine for pregnant women, and factors associated to vaccination compliance. METHODS This is a prospective, descriptive study including 300 women who had just given birth at Hospital and Maternity Santa Joana in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Data were collected through a pre-tested questionnaire applied by a trained evaluator during Octo...

BACKGROUND Immunisation coverage in New Zealand is lower than what is necessary to prevent large epidemics of pertussis. Primary care is where most immunisation delivery occurs. General practices vary in their structure and organisation, both in a general sense and specifically with respect to immunisation delivery. AIM To identify the structural and organisational characteristics of general ...