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Kinds of Licenses Selected AbstractsGENOMIZER: an integrated analysis system for genome-wide association data,HUMAN MUTATION, Issue 6 2006Andre Franke Abstract Genome-wide association analysis appears to be a promising way to identify heritable susceptibility factors for complex human disorders. However, the feasibility of large-scale genotyping experiments is currently limited by an incomplete marker coverage of the genome, a restricted understanding of the functional role of given genomic regions, and the small sample sizes used. Thus, genome-wide association analysis will be a screening tool to facilitate subsequent gene discovery rather than a means to completely resolve individual genetic risk profiles. The validation of association findings will continue to rely upon the replication of "leads" in independent samples from either the same or different populations. Even under such pragmatic conditions, the timely analysis of the large data sets in question poses serious technical challenges. We have therefore developed public-domain software, GENOMIZER, that implements the workflow of an association experiment, including data management, single-point and haplotype analysis, "lead" definition, and data visualization. GENOMIZER (www.ikmb.uni-kiel.de/genomizer) comes with a complete user manual, and is open-source software licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License. We suggest that the use of this software will facilitate the handling and interpretation of the currently emerging genome-wide association data. Hum Mutat 27(6), 583,588, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] GenX: an extensible X-ray reflectivity refinement program utilizing differential evolutionJOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2007Matts Björck GenX is a versatile program using the differential evolution algorithm for fitting X-ray and neutron reflectivity data. It utilizes the Parratt recursion formula for simulating specular reflectivity. The program is easily extensible, allowing users to incorporate their own models into the program. This can be useful for fitting data from other scattering experiments, or for any other minimization problem which has a large number of input parameters and/or contains many local minima, where the differential evolution algorithm is suitable. In addition, GenX manages to fit an arbitrary number of data sets simultaneously. The program is released under the GNU General Public License. [source] Administering Medicine Without a License: Missionary Women in Rhodesia's Nursing History, 1890,19011THE HISTORIAN, Issue 2 2006Ruramisai Charumbira First page of article [source] Developing Nations and the Compulsory License: Maximizing Access to Essential Medicines While Minimizing Investment Side EffectsTHE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS, Issue 2 2009Robert C. Bird This manuscript addresses how developing countries can maximize access to essential medicines and minimize unwanted side-effects within the legal environment of a compulsory license regime. While compulsory licensing can play a role in improving public health, external social and political conditions must be considered in order to make licensing an effective practice. [source] DIBER: protein, DNA or both?ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 6 2010Grzegorz Chojnowski The program DIBER (an acronym for DNA and FIBER) requires only native diffraction data to predict whether a crystal contains protein, B-form DNA or both. In standalone mode, the classification is based on the cube root of the reciprocal unit-cell volume and the largest local average of diffraction intensities at 3.4,Ĺ resolution. In combined mode, the Phaser rotation-function score (for the 3.4,Ĺ shell and a canonical B-DNA search model) is also taken into account. In standalone (combined) mode, DIBER classifies 87.4 ± 0.2% (90.2 ± 0.3%) of protein, 69.1 ± 0.3% (78.8 ± 0.3%) of protein,DNA and 92.7 ± 0.2% (90.0 ± 0.2%) of DNA crystals correctly. Reliable predictions with a correct classification rate above 80% are possible for 36.8 ± 1.0% (60.2 ± 0.4%) of the protein, 43.6 ± 0.5% (59.8 ± 0.3%) of the protein,DNA and 83.3 ± 0.3% (82.6 ± 0.4%) of the DNA structures. Surprisingly, selective use of the diffraction data in the 3.4,Ĺ shell improves the overall success rate of the combined-mode classification. An open-source CCP4/CCP4i -compatible version of DIBER is available from the authors' website at http://www.iimcb.gov.pl/diber and is subject to the GNU Public License. [source] Moving From Copyright Assignment to Exclusive License to PublishARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 11 2005Paul S. Malchesky D. Eng. No abstract is available for this article. [source] Does a license ensure or censure?DIAGNOSTIC CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2006Ann T. Moriarty M.D. No abstract is available for this article. [source] Requiring suspended drunk drivers to install alcohol interlocks to reinstate their licenses: effective?ADDICTION, Issue 8 2010Robert B. Voas ABSTRACT Aims To evaluate a new method being used by some states for motivating interlock installation by requiring it as a prerequisite to reinstatement of the driver's license. Design The driving records of Florida DWI offenders convicted between July 2002 and June 2008 were analyzed to determine the proportion of offenders subject to the interlock requirement who installed interlocks. Setting Most driving-while-impaired (DWI) offenders succeed in avoiding state laws requiring the installation of a vehicle alcohol interlock. Participants A total of 82 318 Florida DWI offenders. Findings Due to long periods of complete suspension when no driving was permitted and the failure to complete all the requirements imposed by the court, only 21 377 of the 82 318 offenders studied qualified for reinstatement, but 93% of those who qualified did install interlocks to be reinstated. Conclusions Because of the lengthy license suspensions and other barriers that the offenders face in qualifying for reinstatement, it is not clear that requiring a period on the interlock as a prerequisite to reinstating will greatly increase the current installment rate. [source] Individual, partner and relationship factors associated with non-medical use of prescription drugsADDICTION, Issue 8 2010Gregory G. Homish ABSTRACT Aims The objective of the current report was to examine individual, partner and relationship factors (e.g. relationship satisfaction) associated with the non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) in a community sample of married adults. Design The current report used two waves of data from an ongoing study of couples who were recruited at the time they applied for their marriage license and are now in the 10th year of follow-up. Logistic regression models examined the relation between individual, partner and relationship factors and NMUPD. Participants This report is based on 273 couples. Measurements Participants completed questionnaires that assessed prescription drug use, alcohol use, other substance use, depression, marital satisfaction and socio-demographic factors. Findings Among wives, there was evidence that a partner's prescription drug use and relationship factors were associated with increased risk for NMUPD. There was some evidence suggesting that it was the increased access or availability, and not the partner's use per se, that was related to the NMUPD. These results persisted after controlling for other illicit drug use, heavy drinking, depressive symptomatology and socio-demographic factors. Among men, neither partner use nor relationship factors were associated with NMUPD after considering the impact of individual-level risk factors. Conclusion Prevention and intervention efforts directed at reducing the risk for NMUPD should consider the influence of partner and relationship factors in addition to individual-level risk factors. [source] The Effects of Geography and Spatial Behavior on Health Care Utilization among the Residents of a Rural RegionHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 1 2005Thomas A. Arcury Objective. This analysis determines the importance of geography and spatial behavior as predisposing and enabling factors in rural health care utilization, controlling for demographic, social, cultural, and health status factors. Data Sources. A survey of 1,059 adults in 12 rural Appalachian North Carolina counties. Study Design. This cross-sectional study used a three-stage sampling design stratified by county and ethnicity. Preliminary analysis of health services utilization compared weighted proportions of number of health care visits in the previous 12 months for regular check-up care, chronic care, and acute care across geographic, sociodemographic, cultural, and health variables. Multivariable logistic models identified independent correlates of health services utilization. Data Collection Methods. Respondents answered standard survey questions. They located places in which they engaged health related and normal day-to-day activities; these data were entered into a geographic information system for analysis. Principal Findings. Several geographic and spatial behavior factors, including having a driver's license, use of provided rides, and distance for regular care, were significantly related to health care utilization for regular check-up and chronic care in the bivariate analysis. In the multivariate model, having a driver's license and distance for regular care remained significant, as did several predisposing (age, gender, ethnicity), enabling (household income), and need (physical and mental health measures, number of conditions). Geographic measures, as predisposing and enabling factors, were related to regular check-up and chronic care, but not to acute care visits. Conclusions. These results show the importance of geographic and spatial behavior factors in rural health care utilization. They also indicate continuing inequity in rural health care utilization that must be addressed in public policy. [source] Adaptations for Nothing in ParticularJOURNAL FOR THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR, Issue 1 2004Simon J. Hampton An element of the contemporary dispute amongst evolution minded psychologists and social scientists hinges on the conception of mind as being adapted as opposed to adaptive. This dispute is not trivial. The possibility that human minds are both adapted and adaptive courtesy of selection pressures that were social in nature is of particular interest to a putative evolutionary social psychology. I suggest that the notion of an evolved psychological adaptation in social psychology can be retained only if it is accepted that this adaptation is for social interaction and has no rigidly fixed function and cannot be described in terms of algorithmic decision rules or fixed inferential procedures. What is held to be the reason for encephalisation in the Homo lineage and some of best atested ideas in social psychology offers license for such an approach. [source] Melatonin and sleep disorders associated with intellectual disability: a clinical reviewJOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 1 2007S. G. Sajith Abstract Background Melatonin is used to treat sleep disorders in both children and adults with intellectual disability (ID), although it has no product license for such use. The evidence for its efficacy, potential adverse effects and drug interactions are reviewed in the context of prescribing to people with ID. Methods A literature search was performed using multiple electronic databases. More literature was obtained from the reference lists of papers gathered through the searches. Results Most of the studies were uncontrolled and the few controlled trials available were of small size. Melatonin appears effective in reducing sleep onset latency and is probably effective in improving total sleep time in children and adolescents with ID. It appears to be ineffective in improving night-time awakenings. Melatonin is relatively safe for short-term use. Its safety for long-term use is not established. Potential drug interactions, possible effects on puberty and concerns regarding the use of melatonin in epilepsy, asthma and depressive disorders are discussed. Conclusions Melatonin appears to be an effective sleep-initiator for children and adolescents with ID and probably has a similar effect for adults. There may be heterogeneity of response depending on the nature of the sleep problem and cause of the ID or associated disabilities. Further studies are necessary before firm conclusions can be drawn and guidelines for the use of melatonin for people with ID formulated. [source] An automated quantitation of short echo time MRS spectra in an open source software environment: AQSESNMR IN BIOMEDICINE, Issue 5 2007Jean-Baptiste Poullet Abstract This paper describes a new quantitation method called AQSES for short echo time magnetic resonance spectra. This method is embedded in a software package available online from www.esat.kuleuven.be/sista/members/biomed/new/ with a graphical user interface, under an open source license, which means that the source code is freely available and easy to adapt to specific needs of the user. The quantitation problem is mathematically formulated as a separable nonlinear least-squares fitting problem, which is numerically solved using a modified variable-projection procedure. A macromolecular baseline is incorporated into the fit via nonparametric modelling, efficiently implemented using penalized splines. Unwanted components such as residual water are removed with a maximum-phase FIR filter. Constraints on the phases, dampings and frequencies of the metabolites can be imposed. AQSES has been tested on simulated MR spectra with several types of disturbance and on short echo time in vivo proton MR spectra. Results show that AQSES is robust, easy to use and very flexible. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] DISPOSITIONAL INFLUENCES ON TRANSFER OF LEARNING IN MULTISTAGE TRAINING PROGRAMSPERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2002DAVID M. HEROLD The training effectiveness literature has paid little attention to the potentially dynamic interaction of individual differences with various phases of training in determining ultimate training success. This study investigates the role of individual differences in explaining the transfer of learning from 1 phase of training to another among pilot trainees in a multistage, aviation training program. Using 3 of the Big Five factors (Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Openness to Experience), the results showed these measures to contribute to the prediction of the number of hours it took for trainees to attain their private pilot's license. Significant interactions between some of these measures and success on an earlier, simulator phase of the training program were also found. The results are discussed in terms of both the role of individual differences in training research as well as the broader issue of transfer of learning between phases of training. [source] Evolution of Funnel-Revolver Flowers and Ornithophily in Nasa (Loasaceae)PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2006M. Weigend Abstract: Floral morphology, distribution, and flower visitors for 60 taxa of Nasa are investigated and compared to molecular trees inferred both from a combined marker analysis (ITS1 and trnLUAA) and from a single marker (ITS1). Flowers conform to two different floral types: Firstly, "tilt-revolver flowers", with spreading to reflexed, white to yellow petals and small, brightly coloured floral scales contrasting with the petals and firmly enclosing the nectar (Saccatae and Carunculatae); secondly, "funnel-revolver flowers", with half-erect to erect, orange to red petals and floral scales not contrasting with the petals, or enclosed in the corolla, and nectar freely accessible by funnel-shaped floral scales (Alatae, Grandiflorae, and N. venezuelensis species group). Phylogenetic analysis shows that "tilt-revolver flowers" represent the plesiomorphic condition by outgroup comparison. The two groups with tilt-revolver flowers in Nasa are not monophyletic (Saccatae are paraphyletic, Carunculatae are polyphyletic). Most Saccatae fall into two monophyletic assemblages, the N. poissoniana species group and the N. triphylla species group. The remainder of Saccatae group either with Grandiflorae (N. insignis species group) or with Alatae (N. laxa species group). The clades retrieved in the molecular analysis contradict the traditional classification, but are congruent with vegetative morphology, details of the flower morphology, and biogeography. "Funnel-revolver flowers" represent the derived condition, but molecular data suggest a convergent development (at least twice independently), since the corresponding species do not constitute a monophyletic group. "Tilt-revolver flowers" are visited and pollinated by bees (especially Colletidae), whereas "funnel-revolver flowers" are mostly visited by hummingbirds. The transition from melittophily to ornithophily may have been the license for the colonization of, and the diversification in, both cloud forest and high Andean habitats. [source] OMSSAGUI: An open-source user interface component to configure and run the OMSSA search enginePROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 12 2008Ravi Tharakan Abstract We here present a user-friendly and extremely lightweight tool that can serve as a stand-alone front-end for the Open MS Search Algorithm (OMSSA) search engine, or that can directly be used as part of an informatics processing pipeline for MS driven proteomics. The OMSSA graphical user interface (OMSSAGUI) tool is written in Java, and is supported on Windows, Linux, and OSX platforms. It is an open source under the Apache 2 license and can be downloaded from http://code.google.com/p/mass-spec-gui/. [source] Proteomics FASTA Archive and Reference ResourcePROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 9 2008Jayson A. Falkner Abstract A FASTA file archive and reference resource has been added to ProteomeCommons.org. Motivation for this new functionality derives from two primary sources. The first is the recent FASTA standardization work done by the Human Proteome Organization's Proteomics Standards Initiative (HUPO-PSI). Second is the general lack of a uniform mechanism to properly cite FASTA files used in a study, and to publicly access such FASTA files post-publication. An extension to the Tranche data sharing network has been developed that includes web-pages, documentation, and tools for facilitating the use of FASTA files. These include conversion to the new HUPO-PSI format, and provisions for both citing and publicly archiving FASTA files. This new resource is available immediately, free of charge, and can be accessed at http://www.proteomecommons.org/data/fasta/. Source-code for related tools is also freely available under the BSD license. [source] American board of medical specialties and repositioning for excellence in lifelong learning: Maintenance of certificationTHE JOURNAL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS, Issue 3 2005FACS President, Stephen H. Miller MD Abstract The board certification movement was founded out of a concern for the quality of care, and today, more than 85% of all physicians licensed to practice medicine in the United States have been certified by an American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) member board. There is increasing evidence of a need for continuous monitoring and promotion of quality as well as for assessment and documentation that certified medical specialists are keeping up-to-date so that their continuing competence can be documented. To help, the ABMS established a program called Maintenance of Certification, a system that includes periodic examination of knowledge and the comprehensive evaluation of practice. Maintenance of Certification includes 4 major components: professional standing, including an unrestricted license to practice medicine; lifelong learning and self-assessment; demonstrated cognitive expertise; and practice performance assessment. The efforts of the Conjoint Committee on Continuing Medical Education press continuing medical education providers to facilitate self-directed learning and directed self-learning while driving lifelong learning and assessment into the clinical practices of all physicians who seek to continuously upgrade their knowledge, skills, and behaviors to provide quality medical care. [source] Príncipe eclipsed: Commemorating the confirmation of Einstein's Theory of General RelativityANTHROPOLOGY TODAY, Issue 5 2009Gisa Weszkalnys This article reflects on the West African island of Príncipe as the venue of one of the most significant events in 20th century science, the confirmation of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity during an eclipse expedition led by Arthur Eddington. It takes as its starting point the 2009 commemoration of the event, involving international institutions promoting scientific knowledge and tourism, and overlays this with another, colonial history of Príncipe as the focus of a controversy around the alleged use of slave labour in its early 20th century cocoa plantations. What is the anthropologist's license in problematising the commemoration, and what are the specific ethnographic insights afforded by this unique event? [source] Digging Deep for Justice: A Radical Re-imagination of the Artisanal Gold Mining Sector in GhanaANTIPODE, Issue 4 2009Petra Tschakert Abstract:, This article explores the concept of "contact zones" to counteract misrecognition and exclusion in the artisanal gold mining sector of Ghana. The large majority of the 300,000,500,000 Ghanaian artisanal miners work without an official license, illegally. Due to their encroachment on corporate concession lands, the use of toxic mercury in the gold extraction process, and the social disruption caused by their migratory activities, these miners are often marginalized and criminalized. Yet, devaluation and misrecognition hamper environmental stewardship and participation in political decision-making. Through parity-fostering participatory research, I propose a radical re-imagination of the sector that encourages agency and flourishing among these ostracized men and women diggers. [source] The new CCP4 Coordinate Library as a toolkit for the design of coordinate-related applications in protein crystallographyACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 12-1 2004E. B. Krissinel The new CCP4 Coordinate Library is a development aiming to provide a common layer of coordinate-related functionality to the existing applications in the CCP4 suite, as well as a variety of tools that can simplify the design of new applications where they relate to atomic coordinates. The Library comprises a wide spectrum of useful functions, ranging from parsing coordinate formats and elementary editing operations on the coordinate hierarchy of biomolecules, to high-level functionality such as calculation of secondary structure, interatomic bonds, atomic contacts, symmetry transformations, structure superposition and many others. Most of the functions are available in a C++ object interface; however, a Fortran interface is provided for compatibility with older CCP4 applications. The paper describes the general principles of the Library design and the most important functionality. The Library, together with documentation, is available under the LGPL license from the CCP4 suite version 5.0 and higher. [source] Untangle, a tool for filtering overlapping diffraction patterns from multicrystalsACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 5 2004Lieven Buts Standard crystallographic data-processing protocols are based on single-crystal models; data from aggregates of multiple crystals with different orientations are difficult to process. In certain cases, it is possible to separately index the diffraction patterns from the dominant crystals in the aggregate. Untangle is a program designed to identify and eliminate overlapping spots from such patterns in order to improve data quality. The program has a Python core with a simple and highly portable graphical user interface, permitting visual verification of the process and interactive modification of the overlap threshold. The software is available under an open-source license. [source] Epilepsy and driving: considerations on how eligibility should be decidedACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2010R. Lossius Lossius R, Kinge E, Nakken KO. Epilepsy and driving: considerations on how eligibility should be decided. Acta Neurol Scand: 2010: 122 (Suppl. 190): 67,71. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Although few neurologists are formally trained in traffic medicine, they are frequently asked to assess whether a patient is medically fit to drive. For patients with epilepsy, the physician must assess the risk of the patient having a seizure while driving, and decide what is an acceptable risk. The legislation on this subject is aiming at finding a reasonable balance between two important considerations: public safety and a patient's individual need to drive. For the neurologist to explain and put into practice the legislation may be a demanding task and a challenge to the doctor,patient alliance. The decision on driving capability should be tailored to the individual patient and based on careful evaluation and informed judgement. In Norway, to qualify for a driver's license, a seizure-free interval of at least 12 months is currently required for group 1 drivers (passenger cars), whereas group 2 drivers (heavy motor vehicles, commercial driving) must have been seizure-free for at least 10 years and not have experienced epileptic seizures from the age of 18 years. Norwegian physicians are obliged to report patients with seizures to driving authorities, although this is an unpopular rule. In reviewing the available literature, it is apparent that despite there being relatively few sound studies, the risks of car accidents among persons with epilepsy may previously have been overestimated. [source] Lifestyle-related risk factors for Parkinson's disease: a population-based studyACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 4 2003M. Baldereschi Objectives , To investigate the association of major lifestyle-related risk factors with the prevalent cases of Parkinson's disease (PD) identified by the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Methods , A total of 5632 individuals randomly selected from the population registers of eight centers were screened for parkinsonism using both a questionnaire and a neurologic examination. Screened positives underwent a structured clinical work-up for the diagnosis of parkinsonism and parkinsonism subtypes. Results , We identified 113 prevalent cases of PD. Age, male gender, and pesticide-use license were significantly related to PD. Heavy smoking was inversely related to PD. Age (OR = 1.1; 95% CI, 1.06,1.15) and pesticide-use license (OR = 3.7; 95% CI, 1.6,8.6) kept their significant correlation with the disease in the multivariate analysis to adjust for all the variables under investigation. Multivariate analyses were made for men and women separately: pesticide exposure was positively associated with PD only in men. Conclusions , Pesticide exposure might represent a candidate for environmental factors involved in PD. [source] Operated and unoperated cataract in AustraliaCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL OPHTHALMOLOGY, Issue 2 2000Catherine A McCarty PhD MPH ABSTRACT Purpose: To quantify the prevalence of cataract, the outcomes of cataract surgery and the factors related to unoperated cataract in Australia. Methods: Participants were recruited from the Visual Impairment Project: a cluster, stratified sample of more than 5000 Victorians aged 40 years and over. At examination sites interviews, clinical examinations and lens photography were performed. Cataract was defined in participants who had: had previous cataract surgery, cortical cataract greater than 4/16, nuclear greater than Wilmer standard 2, or posterior subcapsular greater than 1 mm 2. Results: The participant group comprised 3271 Melbourne residents, 403 Melbourne nursing home residents and 1473 rural residents. The weighted rate of any cataract in Victoria was 21.5%. The overall weighted rate of prior cataract surgery was 3.79%. Two hundred and forty-nine eyes had had prior cataract surgery. Of these 249 procedures, 49 (20%) were aphakic, 6 (2.4%) had anterior chamber intraocular lenses and 194 (78%) had posterior chamber intraocular lenses. Two hundred and eleven of these operated eyes (85%) had best-corrected visual acuity of 6/12 or better, the legal requirement for a driver's license. Twenty-seven (11%) had visual acuity of less than 6/18 (moderate vision impairment). Complications of cataract surgery caused reduced vision in four of the 27 eyes (15%), or 1.9% of operated eyes. Three of these four eyes had undergone intracapsular cataract extraction and the fourth eye had an opaque posterior capsule. No one had bilateral vision impairment as a result of cataract surgery. Surprisingly, no particular demographic factors (such as age, gender, rural residence, occupation, employment status, health insurance status, ethnicity) were related to the presence of unoperated cataract. Conclusions: Although the overall prevalence of cataract is quite high, no particular subgroup is systematically under-serviced in terms of cataract surgery. Overall, the results of cataract surgery are very good, with the majority of eyes achieving driving vision following cataract extraction. [source] Requiring suspended drunk drivers to install alcohol interlocks to reinstate their licenses: effective?ADDICTION, Issue 8 2010Robert B. Voas ABSTRACT Aims To evaluate a new method being used by some states for motivating interlock installation by requiring it as a prerequisite to reinstatement of the driver's license. Design The driving records of Florida DWI offenders convicted between July 2002 and June 2008 were analyzed to determine the proportion of offenders subject to the interlock requirement who installed interlocks. Setting Most driving-while-impaired (DWI) offenders succeed in avoiding state laws requiring the installation of a vehicle alcohol interlock. Participants A total of 82 318 Florida DWI offenders. Findings Due to long periods of complete suspension when no driving was permitted and the failure to complete all the requirements imposed by the court, only 21 377 of the 82 318 offenders studied qualified for reinstatement, but 93% of those who qualified did install interlocks to be reinstated. Conclusions Because of the lengthy license suspensions and other barriers that the offenders face in qualifying for reinstatement, it is not clear that requiring a period on the interlock as a prerequisite to reinstating will greatly increase the current installment rate. [source] New Mexico's 1998 drive-up liquor window closure.ADDICTION, Issue 5 2004Study I: effect on alcohol-involved crashes ABSTRACT Aims To determine the spatial relationship between drive-up liquor window locations and alcohol-related traffic crashes for 2 years before and after New Mexico banned drive-through alcohol sales. Design Current liquor licenses, crash data, roadway information and US Census data were used in this analysis. Cross-sectional and longitudinal regression analyses were applied to the entire state, and to Albuquerque only. Findings Of all NM liquor licenses, 189 (9%) included drive-up sales, which co-occurred with on- or off-premise licenses (94%). The rate of non-pedestrian alcohol-related crashes relative to non-pedestrian total crashes showed an increasing trend prior to closure and a decreasing trend after the closure. Cross-sectional analyses in Albuquerque revealed that the percentage of alcohol-involved crashes was not related to densities of on- or off-premise outlets per kilometer of roadway, or to percentage of drive-up outlets. Statewide, the percentage of drive-up outlets was not significantly related to the percentage of alcohol-related crashes within census tracts but was associated positively with the percentage of alcohol-related crashes in surrounding census tracts. There was no statistically significant relationship between number of drive-ups and percentage of alcohol-related crashes in either longitudinal model. Conclusions Despite the declining rate of alcohol-related crashes following closure of drive-up liquor windows, both in Albuquerque and statewide, regression models using spatial data do not demonstrate definitively an association between the decline and the closure of the drive-up liquor windows. [source] Spatially explicit fisheries simulation models for policy evaluationFISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 4 2005Dominique Pelletier Abstract This paper deals with the design of modelling tools suitable for investigating the consequences of alternative policies on the dynamics of resources and fisheries, such as the evaluation of marine protected areas (MPA). We first review the numerous models that have been developed for this purpose, and compare them from several standpoints: population modelling, exploitation modelling and management measure modelling. We then present a generic fisheries simulation model, Integration of Spatial Information for FISHeries simulation (ISIS-Fish). This spatially explicit model allows quantitative policy screening for fisheries with mixed-species harvests. It may be used to investigate the effects of combined management scenarios including a variety of policies: total allowable catch (TAC), licenses, gear restrictions, MPA, etc. Fisher's response to management may be accounted for by means of decision rules conditioned on population and exploitation parameters. An application to a simple example illustrates the relevance of this kind of tool for policy screening, particularly in the case of mixed fisheries. Finally, the reviewed models and ISIS-Fish are discussed and confronted in the light of the underlying assumptions and model objectives. In the light of this discussion, we identify desirable features for fisheries simulation models aimed at policy evaluation, and particularly MPA evaluation. [source] Open source in Swedish companies: where are we?INFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 6 2010Björn Lundell Abstract Open Source (OS) is a phenomenon of increasing significance for organizations, offering the prospect of effective alternative business solutions and new business opportunities. A number of surveys have been conducted in various countries with the purpose of understanding the state of practice with respect to OS in companies. In this paper we report on a study of the perceptions of OS and the uptake of OS products and development models in Swedish companies. The study used purposeful sampling of companies that have an expressed interest in OS, and the survey was conducted using a set of pre-prepared questions. Its goal was to investigate the extent to which OS has influenced business thinking, as seen from the standpoint of stakeholders. We found that uptake is much higher than reported in earlier studies, but as with previous studies, activity is still concentrated in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). There is increased evidence of interest beyond the simple use of OS components at the infrastructure level. Further, a significant proportion of the companies studied are supporting the OS community as well as benefiting from it. Support includes participation in existing projects and the release of new software under OS licenses. [source] Road not taken: lessons to be learned from Queen v. GillettINTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL, Issue 5 2007R. G. Beran Abstract Following the decision in the Gillet Case it may no longer be safe to rely on the Austroads guidelines when considering fitness to drive. This paper examines the case and its implications. Although the Guidelines claimed ,, the identification and application of world best-practice,', they were disregarded by the court in Gillet. Both expert witnesses testified that on disclosure of epilepsy the accused would have been endorsed as fit for a licence application to the Roads & Traffic Authority, on the basis of 10 years of only nocturnal seizures, in accordance with the guidelines. The Court rejected this evidence and interpreted failure to disclose epilepsy as recognition of perceived risk and the previously undiagnosed sleep apnoea as the basis for that risk, despite being diagnosed after the accident. There needs to be greater certainty in the application of the guidelines, with legislative intervention and licenses should display a bold statement advising drivers of their responsibility to notify authorities of illnesses that could potentially affect driving. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||