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Representative Application (representative + application)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Benefit-Cost Analysis of Addiction Treatment: Methodological Guidelines and Empirical Application Using the DATCAP and ASI

HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 2 2002
Michael T. French
Objective. To provide detailed methodological guidelines for using the Drug Abuse Treatment Cost Analysis Program (DATCAP) and Addiction Severity Index (ASI) in a benefit-cost analysis of addiction treatment. Data Sources/Study Setting. A representative benefit-cost analysis of three outpatient programs was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and value of the methodological guidelines. Study Design. Procedures are outlined for using resource use and cost data collected with the DATCAP. Techniques are described for converting outcome measures from the ASI to economic (dollar) benefits of treatment. Finally, principles are advanced for conducting a benefit-cost analysis and a sensitivity analysis of the estimates. Data Collection/Extraction Methods. The DATCAP was administered at three outpatient drug-free programs in Philadelphia, PA, for 2 consecutive fiscal years (1996 and 1997). The ASI was administered to a sample of 178 treatment clients at treatment entry and at 7-months postadmission. Principal Findings. The DATCAP and ASI appear to have significant potential for contributing to an economic evaluation of addiction treatment. The benefit-cost analysis and subsequent sensitivity analysis all showed that total economic benefit was greater than total economic cost at the three outpatient programs, but this representative application is meant to stimulate future economic research rather than justifying treatment per se. Conclusions. This study used previously validated, research-proven instruments and methods to perform a practical benefit-cost analysis of real-world treatment programs. The study demonstrates one way to combine economic and clinical data and offers a methodological foundation for future economic evaluations of addiction treatment. [source]

Guidelines for the pathoanatomical examination of the lower brain stem in ingestive and swallowing disorders and its application to a dysphagic spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 patient

NEUROPATHOLOGY & APPLIED NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
U. Rüb
U. Rüb, E. R. Brunt, D. Del Turco, R. A. I. de Vos, K. Gierga, H. Paulson and H. Braak (2003) Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology 29, 1,13 Guildelines for the pathoanatomical examination of the lower brain stem in ingestive and swallowing disorders and its application to a dysphagic spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 patient Despite the fact that considerable progress has been made in the last 20 years regarding the three-phase process of ingestion and the lower brain stem nuclei involved in it, no comprehensive descriptions of the ingestion-related lower brain stem nuclei are available for neuropathologists confronted with ingestive malfunctions. Here, we propose guidelines for the pathoanatomical investigation of these nuclei based on current knowledge with respect to ingestion and the nuclei responsible for this process. The application of these guidelines is described by drawing upon the example of the lower brain stem of a male patient with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3, also known as Machado-Joseph disease, who displayed malfunctions during the preparatory phase of ingestion, as well as lingual and pharyngeal phases of swallowing. By way of the representative application of the recommended investigation procedure to 100 µm serial sections through the patient's brain stem stained for lipofuscin pigment and Nissl material, we observed neuronal loss together with astrogliosis in nearly all of the ingestion-related lower brain stem nuclei (motor, principal and spinal trigeminal nuclei; facial nucleus; parvocellular reticular nucleus; ambiguus nucleus, motor nucleus of the dorsal glossopharyngeal and vagal area; gelatinous, medial, parvocellular and pigmented solitary nuclei; hypoglossal nucleus). In view of their known functional role in the three-phase process of ingestion, damage to these nuclei not only offers an explanation of the patient's malfunctions related to the preparatory phase of ingestion and lingual and pharyngeal phases of swallowing, but also suggests that the patient may have suffered from additional esophageal phase swallowing malfunctions not mentioned in his medical records. [source]

A definition of and linguistic support for partial quiescence

CONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 8 2008
Billy Yan-Kit Man
Abstract The global quiescence (GQ) of a distributed computation (or distributed termination detection) is an important problem. Some concurrent programming languages and systems provide GQ detection as a built-in feature so that programmers do not need to write special synchronization code to detect quiescence. This paper introduces partial quiescence (PQ), which generalizes quiescence detection to a specified part of a distributed computation. PQ is useful, for example, when two independent concurrent computations that both rely on GQ need to be combined into a single program. The paper describes how we have designed and implemented a PQ mechanism within an experimental version of the JR concurrent programming language, and have gained experience with several representative applications. Our early results are promising qualitatively and quantitatively. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Cover Picture: Fabrication of Stable Metallic Patterns Embedded in Poly(dimethylsiloxane) and Model Applications in Non-Planar Electronic and Lab-on-a-Chip Device Patterning (Adv. Funct.

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 4 2005
Mater.
Abstract A composite image is shown that highlights examples of device architectures that either incorporate or exploit polymer-embedded metallic microstructures. In work reported by Nuzzo and co-workers on p.,557, new applications of soft lithography, in conjunction with advanced forms of multilayer metallization, are used to construct these exceptionally durable structures. They are suitable for use in non-planar lithographic patterning, and as device components finding applications ranging from microelectronics to Lab-on-a-Chip analytical systems. This article describes the fabrication of durable metallic patterns that are embedded in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and demonstrates their use in several representative applications. The method involves the transfer and subsequent embedding of micrometer-scale gold (and other thin-film material) patterns into PDMS via adhesion chemistries mediated by silane coupling agents. We demonstrate the process as a suitable method for patterning stable functional metallization structures on PDMS, ones with limiting feature sizes less than 5,,m, and their subsequent utilization as structures suitable for use in applications ranging from soft-lithographic patterning, non-planar electronics, and microfluidic (lab-on-a-chip, LOC) analytical systems. We demonstrate specifically that metal patterns embedded in both planar and spherically curved PDMS substrates can be used as compliant contact photomasks for conventional photolithographic processes. The non-planar photomask fabricated with this technique has the same surface shape as the substrate, and thus facilitates the registration of structures in multilevel devices. This quality was specifically tested in a model demonstration in which an array of one hundred metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) devices was fabricated on a spherically curved Si single-crystalline lens. The most significant opportunities for the processes reported here, however, appear to reside in applications in analytical chemistry that exploit devices fabricated using the methods of soft lithography. Toward this end, we demonstrate durably bonded metal patterns on PDMS that are appropriate for use in microfluidic, microanalytical, and microelectromechanical systems. We describe a multilayer metal-electrode fabrication scheme (multilaminate metal,insulator,metal (MIM) structures that substantially enhance performance and stability) and use it to enable the construction of PDMS LOC devices using electrochemical detection. A polymer-based microelectrochemical analytical system, one incorporating an electrode array for cyclic voltammetry and a microfluidic system for the electrophoretic separation of dopamine and catechol with amperometric detection, is demonstrated. [source]