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This paper presents the outcomes of a pediatric bilateral condylar fracture treated with intermaxillary fixation (IMF) and an occlusal stop.A 6-year-old girl presented with the complaint of pain on her chin. She had fallen down, whereas riding a bicycle and her face hit the road. She had limited mouth-opening (10 mm). Panoramic radiography and computed tomography confirmed a bilateral condylar fracture. The inclination of the fractured condyle (IFC) was 39.2° and 42.4° on the left and right sides, respectively. On the third post-trauma day, arch bars were applied and IMF was performed with a prefabricated wafer (occlusal stop) and rubber bands. The rubber bands were changed to wires on post-IMF day (PMF) 4.Immediately after IMF, the IFCs increased (left: 50.1° and right: 68.1°). On PMF 1, the IFCs had improved (44.5° and 46.9°, respectively). On PMF 3, 12, 28, and 35, the left and right IFCs were 46.9° and 70.7°, 38.9° and 72.0°, 38.0° and 56.5°, and 36.4° and 44.6°, respectively. On PMF 42, the IFCs had changed to 34.5° and 36.1°, and wires were changed to rubber bands. On PMF 49, the IFCs were 34.0° and 36.5°, and rubber bands were applied at night only. On PMF 56, the IFCs had improved to 35.0° and 34.8°, and the arch bars were removed. The changes of IFC were fitted to an exponential regression model (left: y = 44.134e-0.005x and right: y = 11.378e-0.043x).This case shows that pediatric bilateral mandibular condyle fractures can be treated by vertical lengthening using an occlusal stop and IMF.

This paper employed the intelligent approach based on machine learning categorized as base and ensemble methods in classifying the disaster risk in the Philippines. It focused on the Decision Trees, Support Vector Machine, Adaptive Boosting Algorithm with Decision Trees, and Support Vector Machine as base estimators. The research used the Exponential Regression for missing value imputation and converted the number of casualties, damaged houses, and properties into five (5) risk levels using Quantile Method. The 10-fold cross-validation was used to validate the proposed algorithms. The experiment shows that Decision Trees and Adaptive Decision Trees are the most suitable models for the disaster data with the score of more than 90%, more than 75%, more than 75% in all the classification metrics (accuracy, precision, recall f1-score) when applied to classification risk levels of casualties, damaged houses and damaged properties respectively.

OBJECTIVE To quantify the effect of age on two-dimensional (2D) radiographic lung and diaphragm morphology and determine if 2D radiographic lung measurements can be used to estimate computer tomography (CT)-derived lung volume in normative pediatric subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS Digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) were created using retrospective chest CT scans from 77 pediatric male and female subjects aged birth to 19 years. 2D lung and diaphragm measurements were made on the DRRs using custom MATLAB code, and Spearman correlations and exponential regression equations were used to relate 2D measurements with age. In addition, 3D lung volumes were segmented using CT scans, and power regression equations were fitted to predict each lung's CT-derived volume from 2D lung measurements. The coefficient of determination (R2 ) and standard error of the estimate (SEE) were used to assess the precision of the predictive equations with p

Background Monitoring of decrease in fibrinogen levels with surgical blood loss is crucial for timely transfusion of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) to avoid coagulopathic bleeding. Here, we validated a simulation model to predict hemorrhagic reductions in fibrinogen levels during major noncardiac surgery. Methods We retrospectively performed exponential regression analysis of intraoperative blood loss and fibrinogen levels to develop a simulation model in the initial 50 patients and applied the model to another 59 patients to compare the measured and simulated fibrinogen levels. We examined the relationship between FFP transfusion and the measured fibrinogen levels or blood loss. The fibrinogen trigger level of FFP transfusion was below 130 mg/dL, although the decision of a perioperative blood transfusion was at the discretion of the anesthesiologists and surgeons. Results Application of the simulation model based on the initial 50 patients to another 59 patients showed no difference between the measured and estimated fibrinogen levels (189 ± 61 versus 186 ± 62, P = 0.60, mean difference: −2.28, limits of agreement: −69.42 to 64.84). The estimated fibrinogen level (mg/dL) = preoperative fibrinogen × exp (−1.90 × [blood loss/estimated circulation volume]), in which the estimated circulation volume = (70 [mL/kg] × body weight [kg]). FFP transfusion was significantly related to the measured fibrinogen level (cutoff: 145; 95% confidence intervals: 124-168; P = 0.0003) but not blood loss (P = 0.12). Conclusions Fibrinogen level simulation predicted a hemorrhagic fibrinogen decline, thereby guiding FFP transfusion during active surgical bleeding. Further studies on the usefulness of fibrinogen level simulation are warranted.

Purpose In spinal surgery, surgical site infections (SSI) after dorsal spondylodesis lead to severe short- and long-term complications. Despite various clinical and serological evidence, the detection of a postoperative SSI remains crucial. In this retrospective cohort study, we determined the prognostic value of C-reactive protein (CRP) kinetics after open reduction and dorsal spondylodesis in the development of a SSI. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 192 patients from 2016 to 2018 undergoing open reduction and dorsal spondylodesis with and without SSI for 20 days at a level-I trauma center and assessed their serological and clinical characteristics. Results On day 7 and 8 after surgery, patients who developed a SSI displayed significantly higher CRP levels. A second peak after the initial maximum of CRP and a restricted failure to decline as well as a maximum CRP of more than 225 mg/l predict an infectious complication with a sensitivity of 92.9%, and a specificity of 78.2%. A binary logistic regression leads to 85.7% and 69.7%, respectively. A one-phase decay exponential regression can predict 75.6% of the variance after the initial peak of CRP. Conclusion Our study demonstrates a high value of postoperative CRP kinetics in SSI detection after dorsal spondylodesis. Moreover, we observed typical CRP levels with a specific course as indicative predictors that may facilitate an early SSI detection in clinical practice.

Objectives With only limited information available on dimensional changes after jaw cyst surgery, postoperative cyst shrinkage remains largely unpredictable. We aimed to propose a model for volumetric shrinkage based on time elapsed since cyst surgery. Material and methods We used data from patients that underwent cyst enucleation or decompression between 2007 and 2017 and had at least three computed tomography (CT) scans per patient. We fitted one simple exponential decay model [V(t) = V0 · e−ɑt] and one model with a patient-specific decay rate [Vk(t) = V0 · e−βt + γkt]. Results Based on 108 CT scans from 36 patients (median age at surgery: 45.5 years, IQR: 32.3–55.3, 44% female), our simple exponential decay model is V(t) = V0· e−0.0035t where V(t) is the residual cyst volume after time t elapsed since surgery, V0 is the initial cyst volume, and e is the base of the natural logarithm. Considering a patient-specific decay rate, the model is Vk(t) = V0· e−0.0049t + γkt where γk is normally distributed, with expectation 0 and standard deviation 0.0041. Conclusions Using an exponential regression model, we were able to reliably estimate volumetric shrinkage after jaw cyst surgery. The patient-specific decay rate substantially improved the fit of the model, whereas adding specific covariates as interaction effects to model the decay rate did not provide any significant improvement. Clinical relevance Estimating postoperative cyst shrinkage is relevant for both treatment planning of jaw cyst surgery as well as evaluating the clinical success of the surgical approach.

Background Both opioid use and COVID-19 affect respiratory and pulmonary health, potentially putting individuals with opioid use disorders (OUD) at risk for complications from COVID-19. We examine the relationship between OUD and subsequent hospitalization, length of stay, risk for invasive ventilator dependence (IVD), and COVID-19 mortality. Methods Multivariable logistic and exponential regression models using electronic health records data from the Cerner COVID-19 De-Identified Data Cohort from January through June 2020. Findings Out of 52,312 patients with COVID-19, 1.9% (n=1,013) had an OUD. COVID-19 patients with an OUD had higher odds of hospitalization (aOR=3.44, 95% CI=2.81–4.21), maximum length of stay ( e β ^ =1.16, 95% CI=1.09–1.22), and odds of IVD (aOR=1.26, 95% CI=1.06–1.49) than patients without an OUD, but did not differ with respect to COVID-19 mortality. However, OUD patients under age 45 exhibited greater COVID-19 mortality (aOR=3.23, 95% CI=1.59–6.56) compared to patients under age 45 without an OUD. OUD patients using opioid agonist treatment (OAT) exhibited higher odds of hospitalization (aOR=5.14, 95% CI=2.75–10.60) and higher maximum length of stay ( e β ^ =1.22, 95% CI=1.01–1.48) than patients without OUDs; however, risk for IVD and COVID-19 mortality did not differ. OUD patients using naltrexone had higher odds of hospitalization (aOR=32.19, 95% CI=4.29–4,119.83), higher maximum length of stay ( e β ^ =1.59, 95% CI=1.06–2.38), and higher odds of IVD (aOR=3.15, 95% CI=1.04–9.51) than patients without OUDs, but mortality did not differ. OUD patients who did not use treatment medication had higher odds of hospitalization (aOR=4.05, 95% CI=3.32–4.98), higher maximum length of stay ( e β ^ =1.14, 95% CI=1.08–1.21), and higher odds of IVD (aOR=1.25, 95% CI=1.04–1.50) and COVID-19 mortality (aOR=1.31, 95% CI=1.07–1.61) than patients without OUDs. Interpretation This study suggests people with OUD and COVID-19 often require higher levels of care, and OUD patients who are younger or not using medication treatment for OUDs are particularly vulnerable to death due to COVID-19.

Indonesia as a country with a Muslim population reaching 87.18% has the potential to develop Muslim-friendly tourism. In this study, observations were made in two provinces, namely Banten Province and East Java Province with the majority of the Muslim population. This study aims to obtain an overview of the existing conditions of Muslim Friendly Tourism (PRM) and program proposals to the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy / Baparekraf as policymakers related to Muslim-friendly tourism value chains. This study uses a quantitative approach with a direct survey to the location and distributing questionnaires of 114 respondents. A qualitative approach with a Review Paper that uses the exponential regression method and discussions with key informants of policymakers, namely the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy / Baparekraf and the Coordinating Ministry for Marves. The survey results show that the respondents agree that the tourism potential in Indonesia is Muslim-friendly tourism by providing additional facilities to develop Muslim-friendly tourism, for example, prayer places, halal food and drinks, etc. Respondents agreed with the Clean, Health, Safety & Environment (CHSE) principles that the government is implementing in the tourism sector. The results of a review paper with a quantitative approach to research conducted in Banten show that the proportion of local sons working in their regions will affect the level of innovation capability and thus the competition for the use of the same infrastructure and resources. This is supported by the fact that the Bappeda of Lebak Regency has an innovative vision and that Lebak Regency develops Muslim-friendly tourism. Meanwhile, in East Java Province, there was an increase in the percentage of innovation capability due to an increase in the proportion of the number of schools and also due to an increase in the level of competence that took advantage of the added value of raw materials.

ObjectiveTo estimate surge capacities and demands of Brazil’s health system in view of severe cases of the novel coronavirus disease.MethodsThree types of hospital equipments demanded by severe COVID-19 patients are considered: available intensive care unit (ICU) beds, existing surgery operating rooms and respirators located in other hospital areas. They are taken into account on a cumulative basis forming three levels of hospital equipment usage. Based on a mean duration of hospitalization for the disease, it is estimated the daily admission capacity of infected patients per state and for the entire country for each level of hospital equipment usage. Furthermore, an exponential regression model is fitted by means of the daily national number of new documented patients. The prediction intervals for the number of new patients for certain days in the immediate future are then calculated and compared to the admissible daily demand for the three incremental groups of equipments. The data are made publicly available by the Brazilian federal government and are gathered and analyzed by means of the Python programming language.Results41% of the (adult) ICU beds in Brazil were available during 2019, indicating that this hospital equipment has not been on average operating near capacity in national numbers. Nevertheless, there is a marked heterogeneity in the absolute and relative numbers of available and existing ICU beds and existing surgery operating rooms and extra respirators between its states.ConclusionsThe remarkable differences between states’ hospital resources directly reflect into the number of possible daily admissions of COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure for the three considered levels of hospital equipment usage. In national numbers, Brazil’s health system is estimated to be capable of daily admitting 693, 1243 and 2166 severe patients under the three studied scenarios. The fitted model predicted that only the first limit, if any, would be reached.

Background Dual mobility (DM) bearings are increasingly popular and second-generation designs contain highly cross-linked polyethylene. The purpose of this study is to report head penetration rates in modern DM bearings. Methods A review of 63 consecutive DM bearings was performed. Radiographs were analyzed for head penetration using Martell methodology at regular postoperative intervals. Results Thirty-four DM bearings were analyzed. Mean linear head penetration was 1.59 mm/y at 1 year, 1.07 mm/y at 2 years, and 0.27 mm/y at 5 years following an exponential regression model (R2 = 0.999). Mean volumetric wear was 783 mm3/y at 1 year, 555 mm3/y at 2 years, and 104 mm3/y at 5 years following an exponential regression model (R2 = 0.986). Conclusion Initial head penetration of DM bearings is larger than contemporary cross-linked polyethylene bearings; however, rates approach steady state after 2 years, analogous to traditional bearings. The larger “bedding-in” head penetration may be due to the additional convex bearing surface, creating 2 surfaces for deformation/wear.

Author(s): Pourat, Nadereh; Choi, Moonkyung Kate; Chen, Xiao | Abstract: OBJECTIVES:Preventive dental health services are intended to reduce the likelihood of development of tooth decay and the need for more intensive treatment overtime. The evidence on the effectiveness of preventive dental care in reducing treatment services and expenditures is lagging for adults, particularly those with lower incomes and chronic conditions. We assessed the impact of preventive dental services on dental treatment service use and expenditures overall and by category of service. METHODS:We calculated the annual numbers of preventive (periodic diagnostic and prophylactic procedures) and treatment (restorative, surgery, prosthodontic, endodontic, and periodontic) services per beneficiary using Medicaid enrollment and claims data for beneficiaries with three categories of conditions (diabetes, heart disease, and respiratory disease) from 10 largest California counties. We used Cragg hurdle exponential regression models controlling for past service use, demographics, length of enrollment, and county. RESULTS:We found that using preventive services in 2005-2007 was associated with higher likelihood and number of treatment dental services used, but associated with lower treatment expenditures in 2008. The reduction in expenditures was noted only in restorative, prosthodontics, and periodontic services. CONCLUSIONS:The findings provide much needed evidence of the contribution of preventive dental care in maintaining oral health of low-income adults with chronic conditions and potential for savings to the Medicaid program. Providing lower cost preventive dental care to the individuals with chronic conditions would achieve better oral health and lower treatment expenditures.

Smart Cities will leverage the Internet-of-Things (IoT) paradigm to enable cyber-physical loops over urban processes. Vehicular backhauls contribute to IoT platforms by allowing sensor/actuator nodes near roads to explore opportunistic connections to passing vehicles when other communication backhauls are unavailable. A placement process of nodes that includes vehicular networks as a connectivity backhaul requires estimates of infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) wireless service at potential deployment sites. However, carrying out I2V measurement campaigns at all potential locations can be very expensive; so, predictive models are necessary. To this end, qualitative characteristics of a potential site, such as infrastructural points-of-interest (POI) relating to traffic (i.e., traffic lights, crosswalks) and fleet activities (i.e., bus stops, garbage bins) can inform about the vehicles’ mobility patterns and quality of the I2V service. In this paper, we show the contribution of POI (and site-specific information) to I2V transfers, leveraging a real-world dataset of geo-referenced I2V WiFi link measurements in urban settings. We present the distributions of throughput with respect to distance per POI class and site, and apply exponential regression to obtain practical throughput/distance models. We then use these models to compare I2V transfer estimation methodologies with different levels of POI-specific data and data resolution. We observe that I2V transfer estimate accuracy can improve from an average over-estimation of 18.3% with respect to measured values, if site or POI-specific information metrics are not used, to 9.3% in case such information is used.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by CAG triplet repeats expansion in exon 1 of the Huntingtin gene (HTT). In China, HD is considered to have a low prevalence. The goal of this study was to describe the clinical characteristic and genetic profiles of HD in a Chinese cohort. A total of 322 individuals with expanded CAG repeats were consecutively recruited from the neurologic clinics of three medical centers in Southeastern China between 2008 and 2018. Among them, 80 were pre-symptomatic mutation carriers and 242 were symptomatic patients. The mean age at onset (AAO), defined here as the age at motor symptom onset, of the 242 manifest HD individuals was 40.3 ± 11.9 years and the mean CAG repeat length was 46.1 ± 7.5 in the group of symptomatic patients. Initial symptoms were abnormal movements in 88.8% of the patients with psychiatric symptoms in 6.2%, cognitive impairment in 3.3% and others in 1.7%. The AAO of motor was negatively correlated with the CAG repeat length in an exponential regression analysis (R 2 = 0.74, P

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) task group 204 has recommended the use of size-dependent conversion factors to calculate size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) values from volume computed tomography dose index (CTDIvol) values. However, these conversion factors do not consider the effects of 320-detector-row volume computed tomography (CT) examinations or the new CT dosimetry metrics proposed by AAPM task group 111. This study aims to investigate the influence of these examinations and metrics on the conversion factors reported by AAPM task group 204, using Monte Carlo simulations. Simulations were performed modelling a Toshiba Aquilion ONE CT scanner, in order to compute dose values in water for cylindrical phantoms with 8-40-cm diameters at 2-cm intervals for each scanning parameter (tube voltage, bow-tie filter, longitudinal beam width). Then, the conversion factors were obtained by applying exponential regression analysis between the dose values for a given phantom diameter and the phantom diameter combined with various scanning parameters. The conversion factors for each scanning method (helical, axial, or volume scanning) and CT dosimetry method (i.e., the CTDI100 method or the AAPM task group 111 method) were in agreement with those reported by AAPM task group 204, within a percentage error of 14.2 % for phantom diameters ≥11.2 cm. The results obtained in this study indicate that the conversion factors previously presented by AAPM task group 204 can be used to provide appropriate SSDE values for 320-detector-row volume CT examinations and the CT dosimetry metrics proposed by the AAPM task group 111.

Resumo Objetivo Analisar a tendência temporal da mortalidade infantil na cidade de Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil e avaliar a contribuição da vigilância do óbito como instrumento para aprimoramento das estatísticas vitais e planejamento de ações. Métodos Foram calculados os coeficientes de mortalidade infantil, neonatal e pós-neonatal para o período de 1980 a 2012. Utilizou-se o modelo de regressão exponencial para análise da tendência. Para avaliar a contribuição da vigilância do óbito infantil foi realizado um estudo sobre as variáveis, causas básicas e associadas da Declaração de Óbito, e da evitabilidade. Resultados A tendência do coeficiente de mortalidade infantil e seus componentes etários foram decrescentes. Após a investigação da vigilância do óbito infantil nenhuma variável da Declaração de Óbito ficou incompleta e, em 52% dos óbitos, a causa básica foi melhor definida. Quase 80% dos óbitos foram classificados como evitáveis e 51,3% reduzíveis por adequada atenção à mulher na gestação. Conclusão A mortalidade infantil apresentou tendência decrescente e a vigilância do óbito infantil contribuiu para aprimorar as estatísticas vitais, fundamental para o planejamento das ações de saúde materno-infantil. Abstract Objective To analyze the temporal trend in infant mortality in the city of Recife, state of Pernambuco, Brazil and evaluate the contribution of death surveillance as an instrument for improving vital statistics and action planning. Methods Infant, neonatal, and post-neonatal mortality rates were calculated from 1980 to 2012. An exponential regression model was used for trend analysis. A study on the variables, the basic and associated causes of death certificates, and avoidability was conducted to evaluate the contribution of infant death surveillance. Results The trend in infant mortality rate and its age components was shown to be decreasing. After research on infant death surveillance, no death certificate variable remained incomplete, and the underlying cause of death was better determined in 52% of deaths. Almost 80% of deaths were classified as preventable, and 51.3% were classified as reducible by appropriate care provided to women during their pregnancy. Conclusion Infant mortality presented a decreasing trend, and infant death surveillance contributed to improve vital statistics, which are essential for maternal-infant health planning actions.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the time to referral (TTR) to psychiatric consultation and the length of stay (LOS) after adjusting for medical comorbity.Using a naturalistic study design, we collected and analyzed inpatient consultation-liaison psychiatry service data over a 12-month period from 2 Canadian hospital sites. Data collected included demographic characteristics, referral characteristics, Charlson Comorbidity Index to measure medical comorbidity severity, psychiatric diagnoses, type of psychiatric intervention, and time variables, namely TTR and LOS. We modeled the relationship LOS and TTR after adjusting for Charlson Index using a 3-component finite mixture of exponential regression models.A total of 814 patients were included. The median LOS was 12 days (interquartile range : 4-28 days). Median TTR was 3 days (interquartile range: 1,9), and median Charlson Index was 5 (interquartile range 3,6). Bivariate analysis indicated a strong positive correlation among LOS and TTR (Spearman correlation: 0.77, p0.0001) and Charlson Index(Spearman correlation: 0.34, p0.0001), respectively. After controlling for Charlson Index, we observe that TTR was significantly associated with LOS in each of the 3 components of the mixture of exponential regression models. Persons with longer TTR have longer expected LOS. Graphical summaries suggest that the mixture of exponential regression model provides a good fit to these LOS response data.Patients with longer TTR had significantly longer LOS. The association between TTR and LOS holds after controlling for severity of medical comorbidity. Our results support the role of integrated and proactive consultation-liaison psychiatry programs aimed at reducing TTR to improve LOS outcomes.

Intranidal vessel geometry and organization underlying flow within cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVM) is poorly understood. We examine the relationship between intranidal vessel characteristics and AVM flow. Records of patients with AVM evaluated at our institution between 2007 and 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were included if surgical specimens were available and flows were obtained before treatment using quantitative magnetic resonance angiography. Intranidal vessels were identified and the diameter and cross-sectional area of each vessel were measured from digitized images of specimen slides. The relationship between vessel diameter, vessel cross-sectional area, AVM volume, and AVM flow was assessed. Twenty-nine patients were included. Mean total number of vessels per specimen was 133. Mean total AVM flow was 340 ± 276 mL/min. Mean vessel diameter ranged from 0.18-2.37 mm and mean vessel cross-sectional area ranged from 0.09-9.46 mm(2). Linear regression analysis showed that total flow is significantly associated with larger AVM volume (R(2)=0.28, P=0.007), but not with number of vessels per section of the specimen (P=0.20) or mean vessel diameter (P=0.92). Exponential regression analysis demonstrated that AVM flow is significantly correlated to the sum of the cross-sectional vessel areas within each specimen (R(2)=0.16, P=0.05). Total AVM flow is significantly related to sum of the cross-sectional areas of all vessels within each nidus, rather than to total number of vessels or mean nidal vessel diameter. This finding suggests that the sum of the cross-sectional areas of intranidal vessels likely determines the resistance to flow within a cerebral AVM.

By estimating a flexible nonlinear regression model of savings on an original dataset of service procurements conducted by the Spanish Armed Forces, this paper provides robust and precise novel econometric evidence on the extent and sources of cost savings in public procurement. The net effect on savings of the policy-amenable and economically advantageous variables that we estimate, such as the size of the procured function, the importance of price in the contract award criteria, and the number of bidders who participate in the tendering, may help contracting agencies to select management practices and to forecast the price paid out. We find that savings increase proportionally to the size of the procured function, that an increase of 10 percentage points in the importance of price increases savings by approximately 2% of the function’s size, and that savings are generally reduced by restricting the number of bidders. A comparison with estimates reported in previous studies is also made.

Objective Simultaneously evaluate postoperative mortality, length of stay (LOS), and readmission. Data Source National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP). Design Retrospective cohort. Methods Data from elective general surgical patients were obtained from the 2012 NSQIP Participant Use File. For each postoperative day, each patient's state was classified as index hospitalization, discharged home, discharged to long-term care (LTC), readmitted, or dead. Transition rates were estimated using exponential regression, assuming constant rates for specified time periods. These estimates were combined into a multistate model, simulated results of which were compared to observed outcomes. Findings Age, comorbidities, more complex procedures, and longer index LOS were associated with lower rates of discharge home and higher rates of death, discharge to LTC, and readmission. The longer patients had been discharged, the less likely they were to die or be readmitted. The model predicted 30-day mortality 0.38 percent (95 percent CI: 0.36–0.41), index LOS 2.85 days (95 percent CI: 2.83–2.86), LTC discharge 2.76 percent (95 percent CI: 2.69–2.82), and readmissions 5.53 percent (95 percent CI: 5.43–5.62); observed values were 0.39 percent, 2.82 days, 2.87 percent, and 5.70 percent, respectively. Conclusions Multistate models can simultaneously predict postoperative mortality, LOS, discharge destination, and readmissions, which allows multidimensional comparison of surgical outcomes.

Uno de los aspectos más importan tes en la selecci ón de plantas de tratamiento de aguas residual es son los costos de inversión debidos a los costos de interconexión, el nivel de tratamiento, la calidad de las aguas residuales crudas, el flujo de diseño y el destino f inal de las aguas residuales tratadas. A través de análisis multivariado de regre sión exponencial, se analizaron datos de 51 proyectos de nuevas plantas de tratamiento. En este proceso, se obtuvieron datos de elasticida d de la escala de costos y se apreció un crecimiento lento en c omparación con el flujo diseñado para cada una de las tecnologías de trata miento analizadas.

The idea of sensorless position sensing of switched reluctance motor (SRM) is attractive to researchers because of the increased reliability, robustness, and cost reduction compared to conventional drives. Sensorless drive is particularly useful in electric transportation applications where the environment is too hostile for physical position sensors, such as inside an electric car or bus. This paper presents a new method to estimate the motor positions during startup or at flying restart. Unlike most of the methods described in the literature, the algorithm, based only on the general magnetic characteristics of an SRM, can provide exact rotor positions without specific motor magnetic information. The calculation is simple and can be implemented easily and efficiently with a microcontroller by users in industry.

Alzheimer's disease is the most prevalent type of dementia in the elderly worldwide. To evaluate the mortality trend from Alzheimer's disease in Brazil, a descriptive study was conducted with the Mortality Information System of the Brazilian Ministry of Health (2000-2009). Age and sex-standardized mortality rates were calculated in Brazil's state capitals, showing the percentage variation by exponential regression adjustment. The state capitals as a whole showed an annual growth in mortality rates in the 60 to 79 year age bracket of 8.4% in women and 7.7% in men. In the 80 and older age group, the increase was 15.5% in women and 14% in men. Meanwhile, the all-cause mortality rate declined in both elderly men and women. The increase in mortality from Alzheimer's disease occurred in the context of chronic diseases as a proxy for increasing prevalence of the disease in the population. The authors suggest healthcare strategies for individuals with chronic non-communicable diseases La enfermedad de Alzheimer es la demencia más frecuente entre adultos mayores en el mundo. Para evaluar la evolución de la mortalidad por la enfermedad de Alzheimer en Brasil, se ha desarrollado un estudio con datos del Sistema de Información sobre Mortalidad del Ministerio de Salud, durante el período 2000-2009. Se calcularon las tasas de mortalidad estandarizadas por edad y sexo en las capitales brasileñas y se registró la variación porcentual mediante ajuste de la regresión exponencial. El conjunto de las capitales presentó un aumento anual de las tasas de mortalidad en el grupo de edad de 60 a 79 años, de un 8,4% en mujeres y un 7,7% en hombres. En el grupo de 80 o más años, el aumento fue de un 15,5% en mujeres y un 14% en hombres. No obstante, hubo una disminución en la tasa de mortalidad por todas las causas entre los adultos mayores de ambos sexos. Se destaca un aumento de la mortalidad por enfermedad de Alzheimer en el contexto de las enfermedades crónicas como un proxy para la prevalencia de la enfermedad en la población, y se indican estrategias de asistencia en el cuidado de pacientes con enfermedades de larga duración A doença de Alzheimer é o tipo de demência que mais prevalece entre os idosos no mundo. Para avaliar a evolução da mortalidade por doença de Alzheimer no Brasil foi desenvolvido um estudo descritivo com os dados do Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade do Ministério da Saúde, no período de 2000 a 2009. Calcularam-se as taxas de mortalidade padronizadas por idade e sexo nas capitais brasileiras e se observou a variação percentual por meio de ajuste por regressão exponencial. Para o conjunto das capitais houve um crescimento anual nas taxas de mortalidade na faixa etária de 60 a 79 anos de 8,4% entre as mulheres e 7,7% entre os homens. No grupo etário de 80 anos e mais, o aumento foi de 15,5% entre as mulheres e 14% entre os homens. Contrariamente, verificou-se declínio da taxa de mortalidade por todas as causas entre os idosos em ambos os sexos. Destaca-se o aumento da mortalidade por doença de Alzheimer no contexto das doenças crônicas como um indicador aproximado da prevalência da doença na população, e são apontadas estratégias de assistência ao cuidado dos portadores de doenças de longa duração.

This study aims to determine the age of first infection of pulmonary tuberculosis in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Registered cases at an arbitrarily selected chest disease clinic in Dhaka under the National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) of Bangladesh was considered for this study. From the study of the sample of 303 cases, it was revealed that women are more likely to be affected by Tuberculosis bacilli at earlier ages as compared to men in Dhaka. Mann Whitney Median test showed a significant difference between the median age of first infection of male and female (p-value < 0.001). In addition it is also observed that there is a significant difference (p-value

PURPOSE To compare the assessment of serial visual fields (VFs) based on subjective expert evaluation with the fast and slow VF component rates determined with pointwise exponential regression (PER) and pointwise linear regression (PLR). MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 5272 VF examinations from 376 eyes diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma were included. Three glaucoma specialists assessed each VF qualitatively to evaluate progression status and the qualitative rate of progression. The rates of VF decay were determined with PER and PLR at each VF location, which were ranked according to the regression coefficient and partitioned into 2 groups (fast and slow). A mean rate for the fast and slow partitions was obtained based on the average of the regression coefficients in each partition. κ-values were used to measure the agreement among the experts and the PER and PLR algorithms. RESULTS The average baseline VF mean deviation for the study sample was -6.6 (±5.9) dB. The agreement of the likelihood of progression among the dichotomized experts' score and PER was moderate (κ=0.41, P

Introduction Transradial access (TRA) for endovascular procedures is associated with fewer complications and decreased recovery time compared to the traditional transfemoral approach. Further, in an aging population, anatomical conditions may frequently be better suited to a transradial approach for neurointerventional procedures, including cerebral angiography. While the feasibility and technical details of performing transradial cerebral angiography is well described, the learning curve for adopting a transradial approach to cerebral angiography has not been assessed. Here we report our early experience at a major academic, tertiary care center, in adopting a transradial approach to cerebral angiography and quantify the TRA learning curve for neurointerventional fellows previously trained in transfemoral angiography. Methods Records of 115 consecutive TRA cerebral angiograms performed between January 2016 to February 2017 at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL were reviewed. Learning curve was assessed by comparing efficiency (defined as minutes of fluoroscopy time divided by number of vessels catheterized for each angiogram) for each of the four operators between their initial and subsequent performance (Group 1 – angiograms #1–5; Group 2 – angiograms #11–15). Additionally, each fellow’s experience was assessed longitudinally over the course of their training. Results No major access site complications or permanent neurological injuries occurred. Selective vessel catheterization was performed frequently: the RICA was selected in 69.5% of cases (n=80), LICA in 48.7% (n=56), RVA in 71.3% (n=82), LVA in 23.4% (n=27), RECA in 24.3% (n=28) and LECA in 19.1% (n=22). Overall, a 31.6% improvement in procedural efficiency was observed between Group 1 (5.3 min/vessel) and Group 2 (3.6 min/vessel), consistent among all fellows (range 28.3%–35.4% improvement). Longitudinal efficiency plots for each fellow by number of angiograms performed, and days from initial exposure are shown in Figure 1 (Panel A and B, respectively), with accompanying exponential regression trendlines. Conclusions Although there are several benefits to adopting a transradial technique for cerebral angiography, transitioning to this practice from the traditional transfemoral technique is associated with a learning curve. Nonetheless, technical efficiency can be improved significantly with relatively brief experience. Disclosures S. Sur: None. B. Snelling: None. P. Khandelwal: None. J. Caplan: None. R. Starke: None. D. Yavagal: None. E. Peterson: None.

Many groups developed the methods to quantitatively analyze low attenuation area (LAA) on chest CT in patients with cystic lung diseases. Especially in COPD, it was reported that the cumulative size distribution of LAA clusters follows a power law characterized by the exponent D, which reflect the fractal dimension of terminal airspace geometry. We hypoyhesized that the quantitative charateristics of LAA clusters including fractal property might indicate the different features of the progression of cysts in cystic lung diseases. The aim of this study was to apply the CT image-based method of characterizing the size distribution of LAA clusters for lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome (BHDS) to disclose their features of the progression of pulmonary cysts. 40 patients with COPD, 52 patients with LAM, and 18 patients with BHDS who had undergone CT scans at our institute between January 2002 and August 2009 were included. Differences among these diseases in the quantitative characteristics of LAA clusters {i.e., extent, number, size, fractal property, and the relationship between these quantitatives} were assessed. The Chi-sqsuare test, unpaired t-test, and one-way analyses of variance with Tukey post-hoc tests were used to compare groups, spline model with an interaction terms were used to assess the relationship between extent and number, and exponential regression model was used to assess the relationship between extent and size. Statistically significant differences separated the three diseases in extent and number (P < 0.001). Number was significantly correlated with extent in COPD (P < 0.001), but was not so in LAM and BHDS when extent exceeded 11.5% and 20.8%, respectively. Size was significantly correlated with extent in COPD and LAM (P < 0.001), but was not so in BHDS. The percentage of CT images with fractal property was higher in COPD than that in LAM and BHDS (95.8%, 92.9% and 63.0%, respectively). In conclusion, our study has demonstrated for the first time the different characteristics of the size distribution of LAA clusters among COPD, LAM and BHDS, and indicated that this method is useful for exploration of the pathophysiology in cystic lung diseases.

Today, faced with the problem of international energy supply difficulties, due to the nuclear power’s fewer of its resources consumption, little environmental pollution and other advantages, it has become one of the essential pillars of the electricity supply. This paper analyzed from a comprehensive localization of nuclear power plants, then use the non-equidistant GM (1,1) model and the exponential regression model to predict the construction cost of nuclear power, and do the error analysis. The conclusion that by increasing the degree of localization of domestic nuclear power construction, which can effectively reduce the cost of building nuclear power plants conclusions.

To evaluate whether pointwise regression analysis of serial measures of retinal sensitivity can predict future visual field (VF) loss.Medical records of 158 patients with glaucomatous eyes with at least 6 years follow-up and 10 reliable VF exams were retrospectively analyzed. The entire follow-up period was divided into two, roughly corresponding to the first (early period) and second (late period) half of follow-up. Retinal sensitivity data obtained from the Swedish interactive threshold algorithm standard or full-threshold VF tests were analyzed, and linear and first-order exponential regression analyses of retinal sensitivity against time were performed to obtain the slope of regression analysis in each VF test location. Paired t tests were used to compare the slopes of the early and late period in each regression analysis.When assessed by linear regression analysis, inferior nasal location showed highest rate of change (-0.52 dB/year) in early period. Late period showed generally faster rate of progression compared to early period. Superior arcuate and superior and inferior nasal locations showed that early and late slopes did not show significant difference (p value, 0.19 ∼ 0.49). Central and edged locations showed significant difference between the two slopes (p value 0.05). First-order exponential regression analysis showed similar result.Superior arcuate and superior and inferior nasal areas in VF had a consistent rate of change of retinal sensitivity, indicating that these locations may have the higher capability for prediction of future deterioration. These results suggest that location should be considered when predicting glaucomatous VF progression.

Since the last two decades, several modeling approaches have been developed in road safety literature to establish the relationship between traffic accidents and road characteristics. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no extensive research work has been published on application of Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) on road accident modelling. Therefore, the present paper aims to develop an ANFIS technique for modelling traffic accidents as a function of road and roadside characteristics. To achieve the objective, accident data and road characteristics were collected over a two-year period along the Qazvin-Loshan intercity roadway in Iran. The candidate set of explanatory variables included the Mean Horizontal Curvature (MHC), Shoulder Width (SW), Road Width (RW), Land Use (LU), Access Points (AP), Longitudinal Grade (LG), and Horizontal Curve Density (HCD). The results showed that RW, SW, LU, and AP significantly affected accident frequencies. Using statistical performance indices, the ANFIS model was compared with the Poisson, negative binomial, and non-linear exponential regression models. Based on the comparative results, the proposed model had higher prediction performance than the other three traditional models which has been widely used in the literature. To conclude, the proposed model could be used as a robust approach to handle uncertainty and complexity existed in accident data. In general, ANFIS model can be an effective tool for transportation agencies since intervention decisions and plans aiming at improving road safety depend on the prediction capabilities of a system.

Background Intracranial aneurysms (IAs) occur more frequently at certain bifurcations than at others. Hemodynamic stress, which promotes aneurysm formation in animal models, also differs among bifurcations, depending on flow and vessel geometry. Objective To determine whether locations that are more likely to develop IAs experience different hemodynamic stresses that might contribute to higher IA susceptibility. Methods We characterized the hemodynamic microenvironment at 10 sites in or around the circle of Willis where IAs commonly occur and examined statistical relationships between hemodynamic factors and the tendency for a site to form IAs. The tendency for each site to develop IAs was quantified on the basis of the site distribution from systematic literature analysis of 19 reports including 26418 aneurysms. Hemodynamic parameters for these sites were derived from image-based computational fluid dynamics of 114 cerebral bifurcations from 31 individuals. Wall shear stress and its spatial gradient were calculated in the impact zone surrounding the bifurcation apex. Linear and exponential regression analyses evaluated correlations between the tendency for IA formation and the typical hemodynamics of a site. Results IA susceptibility significantly correlated with the magnitudes of wall shear stress and positive wall shear stress gradient within the hemodynamic impact zone calculated for each site. Conclusion IAs occur more frequently at cerebral bifurcations that typically experience higher hemodynamic shear stress and stronger flow acceleration, conditions previously shown to promote aneurysm initiation in animals.

Hydrocyclones are devices worldwide used in mineral processing and used for desliming, classification, selective classification, thickening and pre-concentration. Versatile in application, the hydrocyclone is the standard classifier used in closed circuit milling in mineral processing plants. A hydrocyclone is composed by a cylindrical and a conical section joint together, without any moving parts and it is capable of perform granular material separation in pulp. The pulp is feed under pressure tangentially to the cylindrical section. The granular separation mechanism is complex and its mathematical modelling is empirical. The most used model for hydrocyclone dimensioning was proposed by Plitt (1976). Combining the first industrial database on cyclones generated at JKMRC with his own laboratory data, Plitt developed an alternative general- purpose cyclone model. Over the years many revisions and corrections to Plitt's model were proposed. The present paper shows a modification in the Plitt's model constant, obtained by exponential regression of simulated data for three different hydrocyclones geometries (Rietema, Bradley and Krebs). The proposed model validation used literature data obtained from phosphate ore using fifteen different hydrocyclones geometries. The proposed model shows a correlation equals to 88.2% between experimental and calculated corrected cut size, while the correlation obtained using Plitt's model was 11.5%

The development of new strategies of integrate pest management to improve processing tomato yield and sustainable quality, are requested by the market. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of foliar applications of glucosinolates and certain medicinal plant essential oils in open field cultivation management. Tomato yield from plots treated with rosemary oil and glucosinolates resulted, on average, significantly higher, until 28%, than that of the control plots. However thyme and oregano oil treated plots showed statistically lower values. Plant vegetative status, including phytosanitary aspects, had the same trend as the production as showed by the exponential regression between two parameters. Findings allow us to conclude that foliar spray of glucosinolates and rosemary essential oils prove to be highly effective treatments inducing increases of tomato yield through plant health improvement.

ProblemThe purpose of this work is to provide some validation methods for evaluating the hemodynamic assessment of Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformation (CAVM). This article emphasizes the importance of validating noninvasive measurements for CAVM patients, which are designed using lumped models for complex vessel structure.MethodsThe validation of the hemodynamics assessment is based on invasive clinical measurements and cross-validation techniques with the Philips proprietary validated software’s Qflow and 2D Perfursion.ResultsThe modeling results are validated for 30 CAVM patients for 150 vessel locations. Mean flow, diameter, and pressure were compared between modeling results and with clinical/cross validation measurements, using an independent two-tailed Studentttest. Exponential regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between blood flow, vessel diameter, and pressure between them. Univariate analysis is used to assess the relationship between vessel diameter, vessel cross-sectional area, AVM volume, AVM pressure, and AVM flow results were performed with linear or exponential regression.DiscussionModeling results were compared with clinical measurements from vessel locations of cerebral regions. Also, the model is cross validated with Philips proprietary validated software’s Qflow and 2D Perfursion. Our results shows that modeling results and clinical results are nearly matching with a small deviation.ConclusionIn this article, we have validated our modeling results with clinical measurements. The new approach for cross-validation is proposed by demonstrating the accuracy of our results with a validated product in a clinical environment.

In this work the evaluation of indoor air quality in a classroom equipped with cross-flow ventilation is presented. A numerical methodology, based on comparison with experimental data, used in the evaluation of the air exchange rate, airflow rate and the age of the air, was applied in the first phase of this work. The evolution of carbon dioxide inside spaces, with different airflow typologies, was then predicted in the second part. The study was based on a school located in the South of Portugal. In the experimental methodology the tracer gas decay method was applied. In order to reduce the experimental time, the first minutes of the test were measured, while the remaining decay was obtained using a numerical exponential regression. Natural and forced cross-flow ventilation topologies were analyzed. In the case of forced ventilation, fresh air from the external environment was driven into the classroom through an air inlet using a supply fan. An extract strategy was also used in which stale air w...

Hydrocyclones are devices worldwide used in mineral processing for desliming, classification, selective classification, thickening and pre-concentration. A hydrocyclone is composed by one cylindrical and one conical section joint together, without any moving parts and it is capable of perform granular material separation in pulp. The mineral particles separation mechanism acting in a hydrocyclone is complex and its mathematical modelling is usually empirical. The most used model for hydrocyclone corrected cut size is proposed by Plitt. Over the years many revisions and corrections to Plitt´s model were proposed. The present paper shows a modification in the Plitt´s model constant, obtained by exponential regression of simulated data for three different hydrocyclones geometry: Rietema, Bradley and Krebs. To validate the proposed model literature data obtained from phosphate ore using fifteen different hydrocyclones geometry are used. The proposed model shows a correlation equals to 88.2% between experimental and calculated corrected cut size, while the correlation obtained using Plitt´s model is 11.5%

Este artículo se propone describir la distribución de la tuberculosis en Argentina y analizar la desigualdad social y de género de la distribución en el período 1990-2011. Para ello, se emplearon las cifras oficiales de notificación de casos de tuberculosis del país, se calcularon tasas por 100.000 habitantes por jurisdicción y departamentos, por grupos de edad y por sexo. La desigualdad en la distribución se analizó mediante el índice de Gini y su asociación con las condiciones sociales mediante el índice de concentración y el índice de efecto; la tendencia se estudió mediante regresión exponencial. Los resultados muestran que las tasas de tuberculosis son mayores entre los 20 y 34 años de edad y son superiores en varones. Existe una marcada desigualdad entre jurisdicciones (índice de Gini = 0,273) y es mayor por departamentos (índice de Gini = 0,391), superior en mujeres (0,411) que en varones (0,394). La distribución de la tuberculosis se asoció a peores condiciones sociales (índice de efecto = -0,212), y esta asociación fue mayor en las mujeres (índice de efecto = 11,4; 6,4; 16,4). La tendencia del problema al descenso entre 1990 y 2011 no ha contribuido a reducir las brechas entre jurisdicciones y departamentos ni tampoco a reducir la desigualdad en la distribución de la tuberculosis asociada a las desfavorables condiciones sociales de la población.

The Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is proposed to simulate and analyze the mapping between the physical properties of tactile textures and people's affective responses. People were asked to rate the tactile feeling of 37 tactile textures against six pairs of adjectives on a semantic differential questionnaire. The friction coefficient, average roughness, compliance, and a thermal parameter of each tactile texture were measured. ANFIS models were built to predict the affective responses to tactile textures. The resulting ANFIS models demonstrated a good match between predicted and actual responses, and always yielded better performance when compared to linear and exponential regression models. The effects of physical properties of textures on affective responses were also analyzed by simulating the synthetic data with ANFIS. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Demand for transport is an indirect request (derived demand) means journey is not done solely for the trip it self but because of the needs that must be met in the course. Demand for transport is influenced by many factors directly related to transportation or not. These factors are always changing along with the dynamics of society and the passage of time. With the changes in factors, transport demand would be changing.Changes in demand will be increased or decreased depending on the nature of these factors in influencing demand. By using exponential regression will know the level of change in the number of passengers Mataram-Jakarta route. The result showed that the elasticity of transport demand for Mataram-Jakarta route is -0.04. The fast time travel is a dominant factor affecting of the air transport mode choice, followed by comfort, tariffs and no one chose the factor of safety. In case of price increase some of air would be switch to alternative mode such buses.

Demand for trarsport is influenced by many factors either directly related to transport or not. These factors are always changing along with the dynamics of society and the passage of time. One of the factors that affect to air transport demand is the change in tariffs. By using exponential regression will know the level of of demand for passenger air transport Denpasar-Jakarta. The results showed that elasticity of the Jakarta-Denpasar flight route of -0.082.Factors affecting the air transport made choice is a quick time by 85% to be the dominant factor, followed by 12.1% comfort of a Cheap rate 2.82% and no one chose the factor of safety. Alternative modes of choice or a replacement in case of air freight rate increase on every presentaseperubahan fare to Denpasar-Jakarta route passengers will switch to buses.

Summary The main aim of the Glentress Trial Area has been to study the transformation of even-aged plantations to a permanently irregular structure using group selection. The Trial Area was established in 1952 when most of the plantations were 20-30 years old. The 117-ha area was divided into six Blocks and the plan was to transform the area over a 60-year period by felling and regenerating groups totalling 2 ha in each Block every 6 years. The objectives of this paper are (1) to examine the design, implementation and monitoring of the process of transformation and (2) to investigate if the data collected can be used to quantify the progress of transformation to an irregular structure. The Trial Area has been driven by a clear objective but unfortunately the management plan has not been revised and there has not been a consistent approach to record keeping. This has made it difficult to relate management interventions to the development of the forest structure. An earlier analysis claimed that transformation was almost complete; this was based on a comparison of diameter distributions of the 1990 data with an exponential regression. However, the analysis in this paper includes all the data collected between 1952 and 1990 and shows that the diameter distribution of all Blocks has been similar to an exponential since the start of the Trial. The main reason for this is that the monitoring unit has been the Block, and a spatial scale of ~20 hectares is probably too coarse to detect the changes that are clear in aerial photographs.

In this study an attempt is made to establish new bibliometric indicators for the assessment of research in the Humanities. Data from a Dutch Faculty of Humanities was used to provide the investigation a sound empirical basis. For several reasons (particularly related to coverage) the standard citation indicators, developed for the sciences, are unsatisfactory. Target expanded citation analysis and the use of oeuvre (lifetime) citation data, as well as the addition of library holdings and productivity indicators enable a more representative and fair assessment. Given the skew distribution of population data, individual rankings can best be determined based on log transformed data. For group rankings this is less urgent because of the central limit theorem. Lifetime citation data is corrected for professional age by means of exponential regression.

The aerosol transmittance on the transmission route can not be ignored in atmosphere transmittance calculation. The classical mathematic models at present just calculate the vertical transmittance. MODTRAN is a good choice, but it is difficult called in users own project. In this paper, we build a model of the vertical transmittance for aerosol patterns by exponential regression analysis, and calculate aerosol transmittance on slant route by the simple mathematical relationship of vertical transmittance and horizontal transmittance. In this way, the aerosol transmittance on common route can be calculated just by the altitude of detector and slant angle of the route. We suggest the method in this paper can be easily used for the calculation in users project of real-time infrared simulation of missile-borne or airborne detector. According to the experiments, the average residuals of transmittance on slant route is less than 0.0005, while that on horizontal route is less than 0.0003.

Our objective was to estimate the 5-year survival to death in insured warmblooded riding horses (as reflected by a life-insurance claim) in horses with or without at least one costly veterinary-care event (VCE) in 1997. We also determined the impacts of gender, age, previous diagnosis of veterinary claim, geographic variables, cost for veterinary claims and life-insurance value upon the survival. The design was a retrospective cohort study using a population of warmblooded riding horses insured in a Swedish animal-insurance company (Agria Insurance, P.O. 70306, SE-107 23 Stockholm, Sweden) in 1997. All horses in this population had insurance both for veterinary-care and life ("complete" insurance reimbursing the insurance holder for most medical problems). We followed two cohorts (2,495 horses with > or = 1 VCE and 15,576 horses with no VCE in year 1997). The median VCE cost in horses with > or =1 VCE was 3,800 SEK, with 10th and 90th percentiles of 1,400 and 11,400 SEK respectively. In total 944 of the 2,495 horses (38%) in the VCE-positive cohort and 2,962 of the 15,576 horses (19%) in the VCE-negative cohort had died (had a settled life-insurance claim) after the follow-up time. An exponential-regression model showed that geldings had a higher risk of claimed death compared to mares and mares had a higher risk compared to stallions. The risk of death increased linearly with age. The risk of death increased with increasing life-insurance value. Horses with previous lameness had the lowest survival, and for high-cost claims this increased risk was not associated with age.

SUMMARY There is an ongoing discussion regarding the relative effectiveness of the hydroxy analog of methionine (liquid MHA-FA) relative to DL-methionine (DLM). Five experiments were carried out under local conditions in 4 different countries to further test and determine the relative effectiveness of liquid MHA-FA. Additionally, multiexponential regression was used to determine if it is the proper mathematical model for estimation of Met relative effectiveness. The trials were carried out at the Research Center Foulum, Perdue Farms Inc., a major Mexican integrator, the University of Arkansas, and at the University of Rio Grande do Sul. Basal diets in all trials were formulated to be deficient in Met but adequate in all other nutrients and energy. Broilers performed well in each experiment; significant responses showed the Met deficiency of the basal diets. Relative effectiveness estimates of diluted DLM (65%) was 63% on average (n = 6, based on 3 trials), confirming that simultaneous regression analysis represents the proper mathematical model for comparative nutritional purposes. Relative effectiveness of liquid MHA-FA relative to DLM was 64% (n = 11, based on all 5 trials) on average for weight gain, feed conversion, and breast meat yield.

In korea, Freight generation models developed in korea were estimated by spatial unit method which predict freight flow by traffic zone. But it is difficult to predict freight generation using these models, because there are the difference of the totality method of sampling data on freight volume and the variability of the variables by these models on each case study, This study developed new estimation model to predict freight flow which is generated from each company using the characteristics of each company such as the freight outbound & inbound volume, the number of employee, sales, gross area, land area. This model is simpler than the that of spatial unit and can apply to the other region. The subjects of study were companies in metropolitan area and types of model were exponential regression models. The adequate explanatory variable in the models were sales. this study have a uniqueness apply micro research method to estimate freight generation not use spatial unit method but use flow unit method by each company unit.

To assess the diagnosis-based impact of donor parameters and trephination diameter as predictive factors on corneal endothelial cell density with an exponential regression model after nonmechanical penetrating keratoplasty (PK).Six hundred thirty-one eyes [291 keratoconus (group I, trephination diameter 8.0 mm); 202 Fuchs' dystrophies (group II, trephination diameter 7.5 mm)-84 PK only (IIa) and 118 triple procedures (IIb); and 138 pseudophakic bullous keratopathies (group III, trephination diameter 6.5-8.0 mm)] were included in this retrospective study. The time course of the endothelial cell density (specular microscope EM 1100, Tomey, Erlangen) after PK was assessed. Endothelial cell density was analyzed in a longitudinal manner considering at least three valid postoperative cell counts (follow-up 29+/-17 months) with an exponential regression model (minimizing the residuum between observed and predicted endothelial cell count). The following potentially predictive parameters were assessed: donor age (DA), post-mortem time (PM), storage time (ST) and trephination diameter (group III).In the exponential regression model endothelial cell count decreased in I/II/III by 3.1+/-24.2% / 12.6+/-20.2% (IIa: 8.9+/-17.3%, IIb: 14.8+/-22.0%) / 18.7+/-27.3% annually. PM ( P=0.16 / P=0.10 / P=0.25) and DA ( P=0.20, / P=0.12 / P=0.16) did not correlate with the cell loss, but ST ( P=0.04 / P=0.04 / P=0.02) showed a mild correlation, especially in short-term-stored corneas. In group III the trephination diameter ( P=0.01) correlated inversely with the cell loss. Between short-term-preserved and organ-cultured donor corneas there was no statistically significant difference in the cell loss in any group.The post-mortem time and the donor age is not associated with a chronic endothelial cell loss after keratoplasty, whereas a long storage time may exaggerate the endothelial cell loss. Between short-term-preserved and organ-cultured donor corneas there was no difference in the time gradient. In bullous keratopathy patients a larger trephination size reduces the chronic endothelial cell loss.

This paper describes an investigation in the design of an improved model of an immersion-depth contact temperature sensor for dry-well heated block temperature calibrators, using experimental design methods. The obtained experimental results exhibit good agreement with the exponential regression model for measured temperature as a result of an appropriate immersion depth of the temperature sensor probe and optimal temperature of the dry-well calibrator developed by using a one-dimensional analysis of the heat transfer through the stem of the sensor probe. It is shown that, use with a dry-well temperature calibrator, which applies a much smaller number of measurements than the standard calibration procedure, reduces the total measurement uncertainty considerably. It is also important to note the correlation between the immersion depth of the heated block of the temperature calibrator and the total length of the sensor probe.

Because no national guidelines exist on establishing pavement marking service life, the scheduling of road striping has been inconsistent among maintenance agencies. This study establishes a way to set striping schedules that accounts for factors affecting scheduling, mainly application cost, service lifetime, and user cost relative to crashes during the striping lifetime. Striping useful lifetime is defined as the striping age beyond which pavement markings become ineffective in relaying necessary vehicle positioning information, when deteriorated pavement marking retroreflectivity reaches a minimum acceptable value. An exponential regression model was used to depict the relationship between striping age and average daily traffic (ADT), using a retroreflectivity threshold of 150 mcd/m2/1x. Striping useful lifetime was established for ADT levels using exponential regression analysis. Application costs were based on the latest available unit costs from the Alabama Department of Transportation for white and yellow longitudinal stripes of paint and thermoplastic markings. Using the National Safety Council estimates of crash severities, user costs were based on the dollar equivalency of the damage to vehicles and occupants in retroreflectivity-related crashes. The data were extracted from the crash experience of approximately 1,300 mi (2100 km) of state highways in 32 Alabama counties. For use in scheduling striping, paint and thermoplastic striping costs were compared on an equivalent annual basis, accounting for application and user costs. Although the crash data and retroreflectivity data were collected on Alabama roads, the findings and conclusions are applicable to areas of warmer climate where snowfall is uncommon.