The indoor radio source search using received signal strength (RSS) is difficult due to the multipath effects. Robots driven by the RSS gradient-based searching methods are always stuck by local basins which are the areas around local maxima. In this paper, we propose a force field searching (FFS) algorithm which is cost efficient in environments with RSS local basins. The FFS algorithm fuses t...

CONTEXT Few studies have compared patterns of care in health maintenance organization (HMO) and fee-for-service (FFS) settings. OBJECTIVE To examine breast cancer stage at diagnosis and, for those at an early stage, treatment patterns for elderly women in HMO and FFS settings. DESIGN Cancer registry data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program linked to Medicare ...

The basic building blocks of data-path structures are Flipflops. Indeed, data processed by combinational circuits are stored and the operations at a given clock frequency[1] are synchronized in FFs. Speed and energy of FFs affect the overall performance of a data path [2], [3] significantly because of multistage structure, high clock switching activity and increasing portion of clock period occ...

Injured adult tendons do not exhibit optimal healing through a regenerative process, whereas fetal tendons can heal in a regenerative fashion without scar formation. Hence, we compared FFs (mouse fetal fibroblasts) and AFs (mouse adult fibroblasts) as seed cells for the fabrication of scaffold-free engineered tendons. Our results demonstrated that FFs had more potential for tendon tissue engine...

the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of farmer field school (ffs) approach on adoption of biological control by rice farmers. the research population consisted of 72 farmers who had participated in ffs and 346 who had not participated in ffs, selected through randomized sampling method. the methodological approach of the study was twofold: descriptive-correlative and causal-com...

BACKGROUND Our aim was to compare access to effective care among elderly Medicare patients in a Staff Model and Group Model HMO and in Fee-for-Service (FFS) care. METHODS We used a retrospective cohort study design, using claims and automated medical record data to compare achievement on quality indicators for elderly Medicare recipients. Secondary data were collected from 1) HMO data sets an...

This study is to evaluate the efficacy of additional concurrent chemotherapy for intermediate risk (stage II and T3N0M0) NPC patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).440 patients with intermediate risk NPC were studied retrospectively, including 128 patients treated with IMRT alone [radiotherapy group (RT group)] and 312 paitents treated with IMRT plus concurrent chemothera...

Fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy (FFS) quantifies interactions of fluorescently labeled proteins inside living cells by brightness analysis. Conventional FFS implicitly requires that the sample thickness exceeds the size of the observation volume. This condition is not always fulfilled when measuring cells. Cytoplasmic sections, especially, can be thinner than the axial size of the observa...

OBJECTIVES To compute a benchmark for tracking readmission rates among patients enrolled in Medicare's private comprehensive Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and to develop preliminary comparisons with the fee-for-service (FFS) readmission rates. STUDY DESIGN Descriptive data presentation with analytic discussion. METHODS We computed a benchmark for rehospitalization rates among MA patients us...

OBJECTIVE To compare the clinical quality of care between Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) and Medicare Advantage (MA) programs. METHODS We compared 11 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) quality measures nationwide for MA managed care plans and the FFS program in 2006 and 2007. We adjusted FFS measures to match the geographic distribution of MA. RESULTS Medicare Advanta...