Additional Money Research Articles

More 911 calls may get a mental health co‐responder in Denver

Since it launched in 2020, Denver's Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) mental distress response unit has expanded exponentially. After starting with a skeleton crew and just one van, it now has a fleet of eight vans and responds to nonviolent crises citywide, Denverite reported Oct. 22. The police alternative is set to expand again in 2025, thanks to a grant from an external group and a bump in city funding, although Mayor Mike Johnston has denied a request for additional money beyond that. STAR started four years ago as advocates across the city called for police reform. Through STAR, paramedics and mental health professionals are sent to respond to nonviolent crises, especially people who are in distress or experiencing a mental health issue. Staff are trained in medical assessment, crisis intervention and de‐escalation. The new $1.5 million grant will help STAR continue its partnerships for one year with the nonprofits Servicios de la Raza and WellPower, which help to operate the program. The one‐year grant will allow WellPower to hire a behavioral health clinical supervisor and “create a more organized, responsive and effective operational structure for STAR,” among other things. The grants have averaged roughly $650,000 a year, so this year's grant represents a significant expansion. The Denver City Council approved the grant last week. STAR officials said they could increase their response rates through more funding, which would allow the service to hire more staff, purchase more vehicles for its fleet and become a 24/7 service.

On increase of land tax in Kazakhstan

Land tax is one of the sources of formation of local budgets, filling their revenue part. The aim is to analyze the legal framework of the existing system of land taxation, to substantiate the need to increase mandatory payments for land. The following methods were used - monographic - to study the foreign experience of land taxation, statistical - to collect data on tax revenues, the state of the land fund, analytical - in the study of methods of tax payment, on the basis of abstract-logical method problems were identified and ways of their solution were proposed. Results - foreign experience of tax regulation has shown that fiscal policy is aimed at creating favorable preferential conditions for agricultural producers and improving soil quality. The existing domestic methodology of tax payments depending on the purposes of application is considered. The analysis of tax payments in dynamics for 7 years is presented. Land tax rates and rent in the context of target use are calculated. It is revealed that the tax for peasant (farm) farms in accordance with the income from the sale of agricultural products is not quite acceptable, as the costs of its production are not taken into account. Conclusions - it is established that a 40-fold increase in the land tax is premature, since to date such a measure is legislatively approved in the amount of 20-fold. It is recommended to increase the tax burden on residential lands for individual residential construction, shopping and entertainment centers and industrial facilities. Involvement in agricultural turnover of 62.5 million hectares of pastures, concentrated in the category of reserve lands, will make it possible to improve their quality level and receive additional money for the state budget.

Optimal Bargaining and Moral Hazard

In this paper we attempt to find the answer to the question of how the professional boxers behave ex post to additional money share negotiated ex ante. We find that for each fighter under a certain stake threshold there is an incentive to put in huge efforts for the forthcoming fight and that above that threshold, the opposite is true leading to a phenomenon of moral hazard. We also find that bargaining is successful in the absence of moral hazard. Finally, the optimal effort of the fighter will increase (decrease) for his (his opponents’) additional outside option.

Beyond the basics: Sigma scores in laboratory medicine with variable total allowable errors (TEa)

BackgroundTo diagnose diseases, track the effectiveness of treatments and make well-informed clinical decisions, doctors rely on results from laboratories. Accurate and precise results minimize the necessity for additional testing, saving time and money while enhancing patient satisfaction.. Internal quality control and an external quality assurance scheme(EQAS) are metrics used to evaluate a clinical laboratory’s performance. One of the numerous quality indicators that can be used to gauge the amount of errors is sigma metrics. To calculate the sigma scores bias%, CV%, and Total Error Allowable (TEa) are needed. Total Error allowable(TEa) is a crucial benchmark that establishes allowed limits on the degree of deviation from the target value for a certain analyte. Nevertheless, a proper consensus for establishing a TEa goal has not been reached and the impact of this limiting factor in standard laboratory practice and sigma calculation has not been sufficiently established. Choosing the right Total Error allowable(TEa) goal is one of the greatest challenges when employing sigma metrics as depending on the source, several measurands of TEa values may exhibit alteration. Material and methodsOur study aims to determine the sigma scores of 20 routine chemistry parameters using six different TEa sources: Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA 88′), CLIA(Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment) 24, BDV (Biological Variation Desirable), RCPA(Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia), RiliBak(Guideline of the German Medical Association for Quality Assurance of Laboratory Medical Examinations), and EMC/Spain(Measurement and Control Scheme) over a 12-month period using the bias percent from the External Quality Assessment Scheme (EQAS) and coefficient of variation (CV) from the Internal Quality Control (IQC). Detection system was automated, multi-channel, selective analyzer, the Beckman Coulter AU680 which works on the principle of spectrophotometry. To compute the Sigma metrics, formula used was Sigma = (TEa – Bias%) / CV%. By comparing the sigma values from the different TEa sources, TEa variance on the evaluation of the sigma metric was ascertained after which an internal quality control plan and QGI(Quality Goal Index) for underperforming parameters were devised. ResultsThe study discovered that the sigma values of common chemical parameters varied significantly based on the TEa sources used. Maximum parameters in the above three-sigma zone were TBil, HDL, CK, ALP, amylase and uric acid in CLIA’88 while RCPA and Biological variation were determined to be the most severe, with the highest performing parameters falling below three sigma zones. Rilibaek was the most liberal, with only sodium in the lower three sigma zones along with CLIA’88. The findings indicate that there is the substantial influence of various Total Error Allowable (TEa) sources on the sigma metric evaluation. A quality control plan was devised depending on different sigma scores of the analytes using biorad unity 2.0 software(westgard sigma multirules). The origins of errors that resulted in low sigma ratings liked enhanced cleaning of electrodes, electrode replacement, ageing of reagents, instrument maintainence were pinpointed and addressed. ConclusionThe study highlights the necessity of harmonizing and standardizing sigma metrics, stressing the significance of choosing suitable total error allowable goals (TEa). The creation of worldwide standards and recommendations for total error allowable (TEa) can lead to its harmonization. Establishing a consensus on the acceptable levels of error for various laboratory tests would necessitate the cooperation of specialists from many nations and organizations in order to set such guidelines and standards.

SALARY DEDUCTIONS: CAN EMPLOYERS RESORT TO “SELF- HELP”?

In the context of an employment relationship, an employee may cause the employer to incur loss or damages. In such an event, an employer would be entitled, with the employee’s consent, to recover the loss or damage caused by the employee by deducting the corresponding amount from the employee’s remuneration. It is also common for employers to enter into loan agreements with employees, in terms of which employees are required to repay a loan in instalments by way of deductions from their remuneration. These situations do not, in practice, tend to be controversial.The controversy, however, tends to lie in respect of instances where an employer pays an employee additional money to which the employee is not contractually entitled. This may occur as a result of an administrative payroll error. In other instances, the employee may receive additional remuneration in respect of hours or days not worked. The latter instance may also be attributed to an administrative error resulting in erroneous overpayment, depending on the circumstances. The employer, upon realising such an administrative error, may want to recover the additional remuneration paid to the employee.However, an employer may be faced with an employee who contends that they are not to blame for the administrative error, or that they are entitled to the remuneration, and that, as a result, the employer may not proceed to deduct amounts from future remuneration without their consent. This impasse raises questions regarding the employer’s ability to resort to “self-help” by proceeding to effect deductions from the employee’s remuneration without the employee’s consent. It further raises questions regarding whether the employer may rely on the common-law doctrine of set-off in effecting deductions. This article considers whether the employer is empowered to effect deductions from the employee’s remuneration without the employee’s consent and, if so, whether the employer is required to follow a process in making the deductions.

Effect of medication adherence on quality of life, activation measures, and health imagine in the elderly people: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundUsually, old age brings a poor quality of life due to illness and frailty. To prolong their lives and ensure their survival, all elderly patients with chronic diseases must adhere to their medications. In our study, we investigate medication adherence for elderly patients and its impact on the general health of the patient.MethodsWe implemented a cross-sectional survey‐based study with four sections in April 2022 in Saudi Arabia. Data about the participants’ demographic characteristics, the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, Patient Activation Measure (PAM) 13, and EQ-5D-5 L.ResultsA total of 421 patients participated in this study, their mean age was 60.4 years, and most of them were males. Most of our population is living independently 87.9%. The vast majority of people have a low adherence record in the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (8-MMAS) classes (score = < 6). Moreover, the average PAM13 score is 51.93 (Level2) indicating a low level of confidence and sufficient knowledge to take action. Our analysis showed a significant correlation between socioeconomic status and medication adherence. Also, there was an association between housing status and medication adherence. On the other hand, we found no correlation between medication adherence and quality of life (QOL) by EQ-5D-5 L.ConclusionMedication adherence is directly affected by living arrangements, as patients who live with a caretaker who can remind them to take their medications at the appropriate times have better medication adherence than those who live alone. Medication adherence was also significantly influenced by socioeconomic status, perhaps as a result of psychological effects and the belief of the lower-salaried population that they would be unable to afford the additional money required to cure any comorbidities that arose as a result of the disease. On the other hand, we did not find any correlation between medication adherence and quality of life. Finally, awareness of the necessity of adherence to medication for the elderly is essential.

Continuation of the reform and opening-up policy in China in the 21st century in the focus of transformation of the mechanism of household budgetary decisions

Subject. The article considers features of the second stage (since 2000) of the reform and opening-up policy implementation in China, specifically, household income, expenditure, and investment decisions. Objectives. The focus is on the analysis of problems relevant to Chinese households, like population aging, rapid pace of digital transformation of the economy, and on the assessment of the impact of China's foreign policy on living standards. Methods. The study draws on methods of statistical analysis. Results. The study shows that measures aimed at changing the way households are registered in urban and rural areas, the higher education reform, large-scale marketization of medical care, commercialization of housing construction, and China's accession to the World Trade Organization have provided Chinese households not only with unprecedented dividends, but also with potential risks and opportunities. The key risk is the accelerated aging of the population, which requires households to spend additional money on elderly relatives. Conclusions. To maximize the impact of the reform and opening-up policies, it is important to focus both on minimizing the risks caused by population ageing and on the prospects for digital transformation, which significantly affect household budget decisions. Based on foreign experience and considering the national conditions, it is necessary to develop a system for improving digital literacy for the entire population.

Role of Business Correspondents (BCs) in Financial Services – Reaching in Unreached Rural Areas – A Case Study in Tamil Nadu

BCs are honest workers working in rural India, elevating the country from the viewpoint of financial services to world-level recognition in terms of financial inclusion by opening bank accounts and collecting deposits, as well as other financial services having networks with commercial banks. As per the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) FY22 annual report, the total number of business correspondents in villages has increased from more than 11.9 lakh in 2020 to 18.44 lakh in 2021, reflecting the penetration and scale that banks generate partnering with BCs. Ultimately, the rural people who opened a bank account under PMJDY got the benefit. With this background, the study has attempted to study the role played by the BCs in rural areas and to find the problems faced by the BCs, especially women, while rendering services. This present research is carried out based on a case study method and is descriptive in nature. The study was undertaken purposefully in two districts of Tamil Nadu, Dharmapuri and Dindigul. In Dharmapuri, the Indian Bank Morappur Branch and in Dindigul District, the Canara Bank Gandhigram Branch have been selected for the study. It was concluded that the average salary for the BCs here ranges between Rs. 3000 and Rs. 6000. It should be increased considerably; otherwise, the BCs will try to charge additional money from the account holder for their doorstep services. Adopting the BC model in the cooperative sector leads to faster financial inclusion.

Equity implications of tobacco taxation: results from WHO FCTC investment cases

BackgroundAcross time, geographies and country income levels, smoking prevalence is highest among people with lower incomes. Smoking causes further impoverishment of those on the lower end of the income spectrum...

Effectiveness and economic outcomes in patients undergoing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy with a new surgical shear with an integrated energy system: A retrospective study based on a tertiary hospital database in China

ObjectiveThis study aimed to demonstrate a new surgical shear with an integrated energy system (Harmonic ACE®+7) value by determining its effectiveness and economic outcomes compared with conventional ultrasonic shears (CUSs) in a real-world setting. MethodsThis was a retrospective study of adults with prostate cancer undergoing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy with the ACE®+7 shear or CUSs between August 2019 and April 2021 at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital (the headquarters and Luwan Center in China). Demographic and diagnosis information, intraoperative and postoperative clinical outcomes, and total and categorical costs were collected. Propensity score matching was performed to form the study population for each clinical group. Data were compared between the two groups using t-test and Chi-squared test. ResultsThe ACE®+7 was associated with a lower mean number of hemostatic clips used per surgery compared with CUSs (12.8 vs. 19.8, p<0.001), a moderate but not significant difference in mean postoperative drainage duration (6.6 [standard deviation, SD 2.2] days vs. 7.9 [SD 4.1] days, p=0.082), a reduction on mean total drainage volume (275.5 [SD 374.3 mL vs. 492.9 [SD 1495.0] mL, p=0.321), and a lower average rate of postoperative hemostatic drug usage (16.0% vs. 52.0%, p<0.001). There was no significant difference in total costs between the ACE®+7 and CUS groups. ConclusionThis study provides real-world data demonstrating that the ACE®+7 shear with an integrated energy system improves clinical outcomes compared with CUSs and can offer cost savings for hospitals and health systems. Using the ACE®+7 during laparoscopic radical prostatectomy allows physicians to help their patients achieve better outcomes and not spend additional money.

Café Therapy: Integrating Mental Health Care with Organizational Resilience

Café Therapy is a novel technique that blends the convenience of coffee shop settings with counseling and therapy services, with the goal of making mental health care more accessible and stigma-free. Café Therapy not only creates additional money but also lowers barriers to getting treatment and builds social resilience through community ties by integrating mental health services into a popular and friendly coffee shop setting. This novel idea is consistent with community psychology ideas, emphasizing the need of addressing social concerns and developing support networks. Café Therapy intends to improve its effectiveness and scalability through in-depth interviews, observations, and literature research, ultimately enhancing mental health outcomes and community resilience. Café Therapy creates a holistic and supportive environment that benefits individuals and the community as a whole by providing a safe space for therapy sessions, offering group programs and workshops, promoting nutritious food and relaxation, and collaborating with local mental health organizations.

Sharing instant delivery UAVs for crowdsensing: A data-driven performance study

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in demand for instant deliveries, such as rapid delivery of takeaway food and medicine. Many logistics companies are planning to realize real-time delivery services through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, costs of running such an autonomous delivery system are too expensive. Fortunately, urban management departments (UMD) that are responsible for monitoring urban environments have the intentions to cooperate with external companies and design crowdsensing methods, so that the duty can be ensured in an autonomous and low-cost method. Motivated by this, instant delivery UAVs are introduced into crowdsensing, so that UAVs can earn additional money for logistics companies while ensuring priority completion of instant deliveries, as well as provide environmental monitoring data to UMD. To be specific, some challenges are firstly identified to combine these two tasks based on real-world data in China. Then a set of data-driven UAVs sharing algorithms is proposed to achieve sensing for urban POIs (Points of Interest) and urban anomaly events. The results of simulations based on real-world datasets demonstrate the efficiency of our methods. The average sensing interval of the POIs within a 368.64π km2 area can be only ≈2.6 min. more than 81% of stochastic events are successfully predicted, over 84% (401 out of 476) of events are successfully sensed, and 60% of events have a UAV to arrive within 6.65min of their occurrence.

Prospective evaluation of patient-reported outcomes of invisible ink tattoos for the delivery of external beam radiation therapy: the PREFER trial.

Invisible ink tattoos (IITs) avoid cosmetic permanence of visible ink tattoos (VITs) while serving as more reliable landmarks for radiation setup than tattooless setups. This trial evaluated patient-reported preference and feasibility of IIT implementation. In an IRB-approved, single institution, prospective trial, patients receiving proton therapy underwent IIT-based treatment setup. A survey tool assessed patient preference on tattoos using a Likert scale. Matched patients treated using our institutional standard tattooless setup were identified; treatment times and image guidance requirements were evaluated between tattooless and IIT-based alignment approaches. Distribution differences were estimated using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests or Chi-square tests. Of 94 eligible patients enrolled, median age was 58 years, and 58.5% were female. Most common treatment sites were breast (18.1%), lung (17.0%) and pelvic (14.9%). Patients preferred to receive IITs versus VITs (79.8% pre-treatment and 75.5% post-treatment, respectively). Patients were willing to travel farther from home to avoid VITs versus IITs (p<0.01). Females were willing to travel (45.5% vs. 23.1%; p=0.04) and pay additional money to avoid VITs (34.5% vs. 5.1%; p<0.01). Per-fraction average +treatment time and time from on table/in room to first beam were shorter with IIT-based vs. tattooless setup (12.3min vs. 14.1min; p=0.04 and 24.1min vs. 26.2min; p=0.02, respectively). In the largest prospective trial on IIT-based radiotherapy setup to date, we found that patients prefer IITs to VITs. Additionally, IIT-based alignment is an effective and efficient strategy in comparison with tattooless setup. Standard incorporation of IITs for patient setup should be strongly considered.

Fostering Economic Sustainability within Rural Families in South Africa through Visual Arts and Crafts

This paper investigated interventions that can restore the importance of visual arts and crafts in fostering economic sustainability within rural families, in particular, young rural community members. Prior to colonization, visual arts and crafts played a significant role in providing economic subsistence for many households in South Africa. During the inception of formal education, that practice was replaced by scholastic education, prioritizing theoretical knowledge over practical experiential learning, leading to a gradual decline in the subsistence lifestyle. Marxism Theory (1848), which underpins this study, posits that within a capitalist economic framework, workers are exploited whilst company owners amass additional money. Craft manufacturing has the potential to augment self-generated income, making a valuable contribution to economic growth whilst avoiding any form of exploitation. The qualitative convenient sample comprised fifteen school dropouts and graduates from both South Africans and foreign nationals and was studied through face-to-face and telephonically informal conversations. The findings revealed that insufficient application of traditional visual arts and crafts skills in elementary education; inadequate delivery of government services to promote visual arts and crafts entrepreneurship; and the divergent perspectives in defining the concept of “civilization and freedom” impede efforts to achieve economic sustainability. The study recommended that community members should not only rely on government support services but instead utilize government grants to acquire knowledge, develop skills, and adopt subsistence lifestyles that rely on natural resources for sustainable economic growth. The government should also support the establishment of training centres where skilled individuals can impart knowledge and skills to the younger generation and monitor the efficacy of non-governmental organizations. This study not only enhances the well-being of people and communities but also offers valuable material for academic research in several fields. It strengthens comprehension of cultural, economic, and social phenomena within the framework of sustainable development. Keywords: Visual Arts and Crafts, Economic Development, Skills Development, Rural Families

Problematics of Execution of Assets of Convictions in Efforts Recovery of State Losses

The management of State Property originating from State-Confiscated Goods and Gratification Goods normally differentiates the position and criteria of Execution Confiscated Goods originating from State-Confiscated Goods from Execution Confiscated Goods which are assets or belongings of the convict or the convict's family, assets related to the convict, including related corporations convicts, which are confiscated by the Executing Attorney or Asset Recovery Attorney to be sold or auctioned in order to implement the fine decision. This becomes a problem for the executing prosecutor in implementing the Judge's Decision which has permanent legal force to carry out the execution of the Additional Replacement Money Crime in article 18 paragraph 2 of the Non-Corruption Crime Law. This research focuses on the problems of implementing and reformulating Article 18 paragraph 2 of Law No. 31 of 1999 concerning Corruption Crimes in an effort to recover state losses. The normative juridical research method in this research is carried out by analyzing theories, concepts, legislation and court decisions which have a correlation with asset execution problems. Methodologically, the constructivism paradigm applies the hermeneutic method in the process of reaching the truth. The results of this research are: The principle of asset execution as a criminal implementation of additional compensation money in settling state losses is the confiscation of assets resulting from crime which is actually rooted in a very fundamental principle of justice, where a crime should not provide benefits for the perpetrator (crime should not pay). This means that a person must not profit from the illegal activities he carries out. In rem confiscation is an action by the state to take over assets through a court decision in a civil case based on stronger evidence that the assets are suspected to have originated from a criminal act or were used for a criminal act. Confiscation of assets in personam, which is an action directed at an individual person, therefore requires proof of the defendant's guilt first before seizing assets from the defendant. Assets confiscated from court executions under Article 18 paragraph (2) of the Corruption Crime Law cannot yet be made into state property, because it is not concretely stated that the confiscated goods are state confiscated goods.

Concept of Additional Criminal Replacement Money in the Crime of Corruption under Law No. 20 of 2001 Concerning Eradication Criminal Acts of Corruption

The research article entitled The Criminal Concept of Additional Compensation Money in Corruption Crimes Based on Law no. 20 of 2001 concerning the Eradication of Corruption Crimes with the formulation of the problem and research objectives: What is the concept of additional criminal charges for replacement money in criminal acts of corruption based on Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning the Eradication of Corruption Crimes. The approach method used is normative juridical research, and uses a statutory approach and a conceptual approach. Resulting in the following findings/conclusions. The Prosecutor's failure to execute the compensation money in criminal acts of corruption is not optimal, basically it is not something that is desired or intentional, but there are juridical obstacles to the court's decision. The juridical obstacle referred to is the lack of clarity regarding when the execution of a court decision that has permanent legal force is carried out, including Article 270 of the Criminal Procedure Code which states that the execution of a court decision that has permanent legal force is carried out by the prosecutor, after the clerk sends a copy of the decision letter to him, the provisions This requires that the execution can only be carried out and carried out by the prosecutor, after the clerk sends him a copy of the decision letter, so that the defendant refuses to be executed based on a quote from the final decision, in addition to the court decision not providing a legal basis for what the defendant's belongings have been confiscated.

Just enough unless my community needs more! The necessity shopper scale and the mediating effect of connectedness on buying more

PurposeConsumer choice theory (CCT) and the law of diminishing marginal utility help to explain shoppers that value less and prioritize needs. Additional units provide a marginal return on investment. Buying more does not mean equivalent gains for additional money spent. The researchers developed and validated the necessity shopper scale (NSS) to study need-focused shoppers.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers followed standard psychometric practices to create and validate the NSS. The researchers performed item development, data collection, exploratory analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and predictive validity analysis using survey data (N = 1,266).FindingsDiscriminant and convergent validity analyses demonstrated that the measure was distinct from existing measures. Predictive validity analysis found necessity shoppers (NS) are more likely to buy one over buy one get one half off (BOGOHO). NS were associated with a higher connection to community/group (CTCG). Higher hyperopia (i.e. disinclination to indulgence) with necessity shopping beliefs heightened this CTCG. A higher CTCG was associated with a greater likelihood to select BOGOHO.Originality/valueNS (more connected to others) buy more to share with others, while buying just enough for themselves. Social connections are long-term investments involving more people and more needs to fulfill. Brands marketed with communal values and able to enhance social connections are discussed as implications to encourage NS to buy more.

Long-term social assistance recipients' experiences with an increased monthly payment: a qualitative pilot study.

Ten long-term social assistance recipients in a Norwegian municipality received a greater-than-average fixed monthly payment for 12 months. This study aimed to explore whether these recipients with reduced administrative requirements and a fixed monthly payment that was greater than the average social assistance experienced reduced poverty, increased feelings of independence, better daily living, and an improved quality of life. The study's explorative design included 20 qualitative, in-depth, semi-structured interviews and a longitudinal electronic survey for 12 months. The 10 participants had been selected by the local labour and welfare agency based on stringent criteria and are therefore not representative of social assistance recipients in general. Individual interviews were conducted during autumn 2021 and spring 2022. The interview data were analysed using systematic text condensation, and the survey results are presented using descriptive statistics. The participants included in the project described a reduced experience of poverty. They could buy additional items and set aside money, something they had not been able to do in the past, and meant a great deal to them. They expressed experiencing freedom, gaining a stronger sense of independence, and having lessened feelings of shame. Many of the participants described health issues that were incompatible with working. Being given this opportunity led to a feeling of increased dignity and greater inclusion in society among this selected group of participants. They appreciated the simplified conditions and reduced requirements for administrative matters. All expressed that spending 8 months without contact with the social welfare office was a liberation.

Consumer Willingness to Pay for Food Defense and Food Hygiene in Japan: Cross-Sectional Study.

In Japan, incidents of falsified expiration dates on popular cookie brands and health hazards associated with frozen Chinese dumplings have raised food safety awareness. To prevent the intentional contamination of food by foreign substances, large food manufacturing companies have adopted the concept of food defense. The aim of this study was to assess people's willingness to pay for food protection measures. In addition, the impact of participants' personalities and considerations regarding their purchase choices on how much they were willing to pay when shopping for food and other products were measured. A questionnaire on willingness to pay for food hygiene and food defense was administered via a web survey and 1414 responses were included in the analysis. Univariate logistic regression analyses were performed with individuals willing and unwilling to pay additional costs as the objective variable and other questionnaire items as explanatory variables. A principal component analysis was performed on 12 questions regarding how much additional money people were willing to pay, and the principal component scores and other questions were examined for implications and other information. Approximately one-third of the respondents stated that they were unwilling to pay additional costs and reported a willingness to consume delivery food even if it contained items that were not part of the original order. The first principal component reflected the extent to which people were willing to pay additional money, and if so, how much. This tendency existed even if the individual foods and amounts varied. The third principal component reflected the amount of extra money that people were willing to pay, which was determined by the amount people had to pay toward food safety measures. Those who answered "zero" were more likely to believe that consumers should not have to pay to ensure food safety. The second principal component reflected an axis separating food defense and food hygiene. Some items not directly related to food were correlated with this axis. In Japan, the concept of food hygiene is well-established and is generally taken for granted. In contrast, the concept of food defense is relatively new and has not yet fully penetrated the Japanese market. Our research shows that people who think that clothing brands provided added value to clothing products may have similar feelings about food defense. In addition, food hygiene efforts to prevent outbreaks of food poisoning are common in Japan and have been established as the basis of food safety. While food defense efforts are spreading, mainly in companies, it is presumed that they are valuable for the general public as supplementary measures to routine (or basic) food hygiene.

Prospective Evaluation of Patient-Reported Outcomes of Invisible Ink Tattoos for the Delivery of External Beam Radiation Therapy: The PREFER Trial

Invisible ink tattoos allow for setup accuracy while avoiding the cosmetic permanence of visible ink tattoos. The goal of this trial was to evaluate patient-reported preference for the use of invisible ink tattoos in a radiation oncology clinic. In an IRB-approved, prospective, feasibility trial, patients at a single institution receiving pencil beam scanning proton therapy to the thorax, abdomen, or pelvis underwent invisible ink tattoo-based treatment setup. Patient preference surveys comparing visible and invisible ink tattoos were completed prior to simulation (17 questions), immediately following simulation (5 questions), and at the end of treatment (18 questions), with preference scored on a 5-point Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree, and cosmesis scored on a 4-point Likert scale of excellent-good-fair-poor. Differences in distributions were examined using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, Fisher's exact tests, or chi-square tests, where statistical significance was considered at p<0.05. Of 107 patients screened, 102 were enrolled and 94 completed all surveys. Mean age was 55.0 years, and 58.5% were female. Most patients were white (79.1%) and non-Hispanic (92.6%). Patients most commonly had breast (34.0%), prostate (16.0%), and lung (9.6%) cancer. An average of 5 (range 3-8) invisible ink tattoos were placed per patient. Overall, 75.5% of patients reported that they would prefer to receive invisible tattoos vs. visible tattoos, and 88.3% rated the overall cosmetic outcome of invisible ink tattoo marks as excellent or good. Compared to males, females were more willing to travel farther from their home in order to avoid receiving visible tattoos (45.4% vs. 23.1%, p = 0.035) and would pay additional money to avoid receiving visible tattoos (34.5% vs. 5.1%, p = 0.002). Patients who had previously received any tattoo (cosmetic or visible RT tattoos) were more satisfied with the appearance of their invisible ink tattoos compared to those who had never previously received tattoos (82.9% vs. 61.5%, p = 0.022). Patients receiving definitive intent RT were more satisfied with the appearance of the tattoos compared to those receiving palliative intent RT (67.1% vs. 38.9%, p = 0.011). Patients with at least a college education were less satisfied with the appearance of tattoos compared to those without a college education (67.0% vs. 95.0% p = 0.018). These findings demonstrate stronger avoidance of visible tattoos and patient preference for invisible tattoos. The standard incorporation of invisible ink tattoos for patient setup should be strongly considered.