Four criteria to evaluate providers' service-delivery response to new contraceptive introduction

This article presents an evaluation framework developed to assess the first-level effects of introducing the Standard Days Method (SDM) in Peru Ministry of Health clinics. Four questions are asked: 1) To what extent do providers routinely achieve SDM service delivery standards? 2) Is the time invested in SDM delivery consistent with program norms? 3) How does SDM delivery compare with delivery of established methods? and 4) How does SDM introduction affect delivery of established methods? A study at 62 clinics demonstrated the framework's usefulness. The Standard Days Method introduction had positive overall effects on the quality of care but provider training needed adjustments.     

Thinking politics and fashion in 1960s Cuba: How not to judge a book by its cover

Theory and Society - This article presents fashion as a mechanism of domination and political legitimacy, focusing on Soviet-type state socialist regimes. In particular, it documents some dynamics...     

Lower posterior death probabilities from a quick medical response in road traffic accidents

Introduction: We use data from Spain on roads and motorways traffic accidents in May 2004 to quantify the statistical association between quick medical response time and mortality rate. Method: Probit and logit parameters are estimated by a Bayesian method in which samples from the posterior densities are obtained through an MCMC simulation scheme. We provide posterior credible intervals and posterior partial effects of a quick medical response at several time levels over which we express our prior beliefs. Results: A reduction of 5 min, from a 25-min response-time level, is associated with lower posterior probabilities of death in roads and motorways accidents of 24% and 30%, respectively.     

Dirty money? The politics of representation in Cuban revolutionary banknotes

This article examines the visual politics of Cuban postrevolutionary banknotes, focusing on the series minted in 1961. It is argued that the iconography of this series – which stresses the revolutionary merits of Fidel Castro and his movement, and associates the latter with the independence wars – portrays the Castro-led Cuban Revolution as the fulfilment of the nation’s aspiration to sovereignty. The article maintains that the design of the 1961 banknote series articulates tropes that convey a fidelista imaginary, presenting the visual rhetoric of currencies as a mechanism of propaganda and persuasion.     

Erectile dysfunction is a marker for obstructive sleep apnea

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with and without any other comorbidities.

Methods: The patient group was newly diagnosed as having OSA (apnea–hypopnea index [AHI]?>?5/h) using a polysomnographic examination. A group of subjects with simple snoring were included into the control group. Clinically relevant comorbidities were systematically assessed in face-to-face interviews. All patients were asked to complete the 15-item International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15) questionnaire for the evaluation of ED. The patients with OSA and ED were evaluated according to these comorbidities.

Results: Of the 94 patients, 39 patients were excluded because of severe diseases. OSA was observed in 38 (69.1%) of the 55 patients. ED was seen in 24 (63.2%) patients with OSA, and in 8 (47.1%) patients without OSA (p?>?0.05). There were no statistical differences between the groups’ ages, IIEF scores, and body mass index (BMI) scores. There were statistically significant differences between the groups’ AHI scores (p?p?Conclusion: The rate of ED was higher in patients with OSA who had no other comorbidities. Therefore, ED can be a sensitive marker of OSA.     

LEVERAGE ADJUSTMENTS FOR DISPERSION MODELLING IN GENERALIZED NONLINEAR MODELS

For normal linear models, it is generally accepted that residual maximum likelihood estimation is appropriate when covariance components require estimation. This paper considers generalized linear models in which both the mean and the dispersion are allowed to depend on unknown parameters and on covariates. For these models there is no closed form equivalent to residual maximum likelihood except in very special cases. Using a modified profile likelihood for the dispersion parameters, an adjusted score vector and adjusted information matrix are found under an asymptotic development that holds as the leverages in the mean model become small. Subsequently, the expectation of the fitted deviances is obtained directly to show that the adjusted score vector is unbiased at least to O(1/n) . Exact results are obtained in the single‐sample case. The results reduce to residual maximum likelihood estimation in the normal linear case.     

An integrated environmental risk assessment framework for coal-fired power plants: A fuzzy logic approach

This study quantifies the environmental risk of a coal-fired thermal power plant during operation by using environmental monitoring data, site surveys, and documented evidence. The following criteria are assessed: emissions (CO, SO₂, NO_x, PM₁₀), impact on aquatic ecosystem (fish protection at cooling water intake and cooling water discharge temperature), and waste management (fly ash and bottom ash). Fuzzy sets were defined for each criterion, taking environmental regulatory context as an expert judgment. A survey was conducted with multiple stakeholders to determine the relative importance of risk factors. The survey results showed that the most concerned risks are SO₂ and NO_x emissions. The proposed method estimates the risk of each environmental criterion separately and then accumulates them into an environmental risk index (ERI). Accordingly, we assessed the Catalagzi coal-fired power plant, which has been in operation on the Black Sea coast in northwestern Turkey. For this case study, the ERI resulted in a value of 0.78 (on a scale of 0–1), showing high environmental risk to the facility. Moreover, the applicability of the proposed framework was tested in several existing coal-fired power plants using simultaneous measurements. All studied coal-fired power plants in Turkey have unacceptable pollutants (PM₁₀, SO₂, and NO_x) concentration levels indicating high health risk potential. The application of the integrated environmental risk assessment framework showed that new environmental regulations are needed in Turkey to specify more strict emission limits and to monitor CO₂, fine particulate matter emissions, cooling water discharge, and fish protection at cooling water intake.     

Estimating a Single Shelf‐Life for Multiple Batches

Pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of food products are legally required to label the product's shelf‐life on the packaging. For pharmaceutical products the requirements for how to determine the shelf‐life are highly regulated. However, the regulatory documents do not specifically define the shelf‐life. Instead, the definition is implied through the estimation procedure. In this paper, the focus is on the situation where multiple batches are used to determine a label shelf‐life that is applicable to all future batches. Consequently, the short‐comings of existing estimation approaches are discussed. These are then addressed by proposing a new definition of shelf‐life and label shelf‐life, where greater emphasis is placed on within and between batch variability. Furthermore, an estimation approach is developed and the properties of this approach are illustrated using a simulation study. Finally, the approach is applied to real data.     

Are the closed landfills recovered habitats for small rodents? A case study in a riparian site,Buenos Aires,Argentina

The establishment of landfills in urban areas leads to extensive disturbances. Their development after landfill closure depends on the characteristics of the soil cover, the surrounding communities and the dispersal of plants and animals. This study was carried out in a landfill closed in 2004, surrounded by an urban area, freshwater marshes and a riparian forest. The aim of this study was to determine the role that the closed landfill may play in maintaining rodent communities typical of this zone and its relation to characteristics of the sites. Four rodent and plant samplings were carried out from December 2005 to September 2006 at five sites inside the landfill: three filled cells and two areas of the riparian margin. We recorded a total of 433 individual rodents. The rodent community of the closed landfill included species typical of rural, riparian and rural habitats: Akodon azarae (358), Oligoryzomys flavescens (32), Deltamys kempi (14), Rattus rattus (14), Cavia aperea (11) and Scapteromys aquaticus (4). Rodent species composition varied among sites, but A. azarae was usually the dominant species. We found a rich rodent community mostly composed of wild species. The relictual riparian margin may have served as a major refuge for native rodent community while the landfill was in operation, and after closure it possibly acted as a source for some species to colonize the covered cells.