We consider a Morse function f and a Morse-Smale gradient-like vector field X on a compact connected oriented 3-manifold M such that f has only one critical point of index 3. Based on Laudenbach’s ideas [1], we will show that the flow of X can be isotoped into one so that the trajectory spaces of the new flow provide a stratification for M . We will construct ”natural” tubular neighborhoods abo...

The costs attributed to employee health problems are usually measured by employers in terms of direct health care costs, such as medical plan claims. Although it has been understood that employee health problems also produce indirect costs for employers, their measurement has been far less frequent. At best, studies have recorded one component of indirect health costs: the time lost to employee...

Influenza disease burden is recognized as one of the major public health problems globally. Much less is known about the economic burden of influenza especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A recent systematic review on the economic burden of influenza in LMICs suggests that information is scarce and/or incomplete and that there is a lack of standardized approaches for cost eval...

BACKGROUND We performed a cost-benefit analysis of a previously described self-management program for adult asthma. METHODS Direct and indirect cost data from 47 subjects who participated in the self-management program were analyzed. In particular, costs incurred by the subjects 1 year before participation were compared with costs incurred 1 year after participation. RESULTS The cost-benefi...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the burden of acute otitis media (AOM) on Canadian families. DESIGN Telephone survey using random-digit dialing. SETTING All Canadian provinces between May and June 2008. PARTICIPANTS Caregivers of 1 or more children aged 6 months to 5 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Caregivers' reports on the number of AOM episodes experienced by the child in the past 12 months, as w...

OBJECTIVE Suicide risk is highest in later life; however, little is known about the risk of suicide among older adults in long-term care facilities (e.g., nursing homes and assisted living facilities). The goal of this paper is to review and synthesize the descriptive and analytic epidemiology of suicide in long-term care settings over the past 25 years. METHODS Four databases (PubMed, CINAHL...

one of the strong points of islamic banking, compared to conventional banking system, is the bank's sharing of both profits and losses of  funded activities in the framework of collaborative agreements. the proper implementation of partnership facilities requires respecting religious as well as financial and economic codes. as shown by the evidence, the objections made against the activiti...

BACKGROUND In the past few decades many countries have worked to increase the number of women delivering in facilities, with the goal of improving maternal and neonatal health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to explore the current situation of facility deliveries in Africa and Asia to understand where and with whom women deliver. Furthermore, we aim to test potential drivers of facility ...

The DISCUS framework is a generic reusable software architecture that provides high levels of interoperability between Imagery related applications. DISCUS is also a working government furnished testbed that integrates commercial and government software together including imagery applications, mensuration, office automation, mapping, and databases. In the DISCUS experiment we have shown that it...