Federal Rules Research Articles

Tobit Kalman fusion filtering under dynamic event-triggering protocol with token bucket specification

This paper addresses the multi-sensor fusion filtering problem for a class of linear discrete time-varying systems with censored measurement, described by the Tobit model, and scheduled by dynamic event-triggering protocols with token bucket specification. A dynamic event-triggering mechanism is first used to determine whether to transmit measurements under the token bucket specification, allowing transmission only if there are sufficient tokens and if the event-triggering condition is satisfied. Next, two indicator variables are denoted to represent the combined impact of the dynamic event-triggering protocol and the token bucket specification. A local Tobit Kalman filtering algorithm is then designed for each node by minimizing the trace of the filtering error covariance matrix under censoring and information transmission protocols' influence. Subsequently, all local estimates from each node are transmitted to the fusion center, where global estimates are generated using a federal fusion rule. The global estimates with suitable weights are sent back to every node for predictions at subsequent time instants. Finally, an illustrative simulation example is used to evaluate performance of this fused filtering scheme proposed in this paper.

The Impact of Federal Fiscal Rules on Debt: Insights from the European Union Countries

AbstractThis study analyzes the impact of federal fiscal rules on government debt in European Union countries. We describe the growth and institutional reforms of fiscal rules in European Union countries and conduct an empirical analysis to examine their impact on central government debt to draw comparative implications for federal fiscal rules in the United States. Our empirical results suggest that more stringent expenditure rules can reduce central or federal government debt relative to GDP, while other types of fiscal rules are found to be insignificant. We also find that certain design and structural features of fiscal rules are more important than others. Our findings offer timely and pertinent policy implications for the mounting federal budget and debt challenges of the United States.

Procedural Politicking for What? Bureaucratic Reputation and Democratic Governance

Abstract As the bureaucratic policymaking process has frequently deviated from conventional procedures contemplated by administrative law statutes, recent research suggests that bureaucrats strategically use rulemaking procedures to pursue their own goals and circumvent political interventions. However, the literature has often neglected implementation issues that bureaucrats confront in the policymaking process. Building on a bureaucratic reputation perspective that explicitly recognizes bureaucrats’ concern for implementation failure and reputational damage, this study examines when and why U.S. federal agencies issue rules without prior notice and comment instead of proposing rules through the conventional notice-and-comment process. Using logistic regressions with fixed effects, based on over 16,000 rules published between 2000 and 2020, we find that agencies are more likely to solicit prior public comment when making more complex and stringent rules. However, they tend to bypass it when making new rules and joint rules with other agencies. This study also shows that the positive effect of rule stringency on agencies’ use of the conventional notice-and-comment process tends to be more pronounced in agencies with higher proportions of professional bureaucrats. Overall, our findings indicate that bureaucrats’ choices of rulemaking procedures might be shaped by their incentives to prevent implementation failure and preserve agency reputation, which can be compatible with the norms of democratic governance.

Final parity rule strengthens consumer protections, improves MH, SUD access

In the first update to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) in nearly 10 years, the federal government on Sept. 9 enacted final federal rules to ensure that people with mental health and substance use disorders (SUDs) receive similar insurance coverage for their care as they would for physical health conditions.

Trauma Activation Fees Vary Widely Across US Trauma Centers.

Trauma activation fees are intended to help trauma centers cover the costs of providing lifesaving care at all times, but they have fallen under greater scrutiny because of a lack of regulation and wide variability in charges. We leveraged the federal Hospital Price Transparency rule to systematically describe trauma activation fees as captured in the Turquoise Health database for all Level I-III trauma centers nationally and across payer types. As of April 18, 2023, a total of 38percent of US trauma centers published trauma activation fees. These fees varied widely by payer type. The minimum fee charged was $40 (for a Medicaid contract); the maximum fees charged were $28,356 (self-pay) and $28,893 (commercial payers). Trauma centers that were larger, metropolitan, located in the West, and associated with proprietary (investor-owned, for-profit) hospitals had higher trauma activation fees. Proprietary hospitals posted fees that were 60percent higher than those published by public, nonfederal hospitals. Unmerited variation in trauma activation fees may suggest that the current funding strategy is equitable neither for trauma centers nor for the severely injured patients who rely on them for lifesaving care.

Filling the Red State Federal Judicial Vacancies

District vacancies without nominees that plague red jurisdictions deserve emphasis in this Essay for several reasons. First, there are myriad district court jurists who trigger greater numbers of empty posts when they assume senior status, retire, or die, which triggers more issues. Legislators have created 677 active trial court positions, which dwarf the 179 active court of appeals judicial posts. The trial courts are tribunals of last resort for most cases; their numerous jurists are the only court members that many litigants encounter, and significantly more district court openings lack nominees. In contrast, appellate courts explicitly articulate considerable policy, include multiple states, and enunciate precedent, which strictly binds trial level judges in each circuit’s purview. Vacancies’ substantial quantity and protracted character impose serious complications. Extensive openings increase pressure on all jurists, court staff, and litigants by prolonging resolution. Litigants who file civil suits particularly feel the pressure of judicial vacancies. The prevalence and duration of many red state trial court vacancies without nominees essentially inflict adverse effects that may prevent judges from satisfying their duties to ensure expeditious, inexpensive, and equitable disposition under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 1. Accordingly, that issue requires scrutiny, which this Essay undertakes.

U.S. federal court rules in favor of decides in favor of Salvadoran refugees

No abstract available. ECA Estudios Centroamericanos, Vol. 43, No. 476, 1988: 545-548.

Comparing methadone policy and practice in France and the US: Implications for US policy reform

Despite being among the most effective treatments for opioid use disorder, methadone is largely unavailable in the United States, due primarily to federal and other policies that limit its availability and regulate clinical decisions about doses, visit frequency, and drug testing. There is unprecedented momentum to change decades-old US methadone policies. Yet uncertainty remains as to whether reforms will be adopted and how policies will be implemented. France has among the best methadone access and lowest overdose death rates worldwide. 87 % of French people with opioid use disorder receive methadone or buprenorphine, versus an estimated 13-20 % in the US. France's opioid-related overdose rates are far lower than the US. This article compares French and US systems, including current and proposed US policies, and underscores potential implications for US policymakers.In France, methadone can be initiated in specialty addiction settings and hospitals, with subsequent handoff to primary care. Methadone can be dispensed in community pharmacies and filled like other opioids, without requirements for supervised dosing. Decisions about visit frequency, medication doses, and drug testing are governed by clinical best practices and patient-clinician shared decision-making. In the US, methadone for opioid use disorder is regulated unlike any other medication (including methadone for pain) and is governed by strict federal controls, including from law enforcement and healthcare. With few exceptions, methadone for opioid use disorder is only available in Opioid Treatment Programs. US clinicians cannot prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder. Federal rules determine minimum visit frequency, initial dose limits, and other conditions of treatment, which states may further limit.Policies assert strong influence on patient experience, treatment access, and health outcomes. Despite being less restrictive than the US, the French model includes limits designed to avoid or minimize potential harms. French policies have important implications for potential US reforms.

Why Are Unemployment Insurance Claims So Low?

The authors investigate reasons unemployment insurance (UI) claims have declined dramatically over the past 3 decades. The fall is concerning because it suggests a reduced countercyclical effectiveness of the UI program. Additionally, weekly initial UI claims are an important leading indicator of aggregate economic activity, so their meaning has changed. The authors identify the main factors that changed with the decline in claims. Their procedure suggests what the level of claims would have been later in the period, had values of variables or parameters of the system been at levels observed earlier in the period. The analysis of state-year data suggests that the decline in UI claims stems largely from changes in the industrial and occupational mix of employment interacting with changes in UI program features set by individual states. This decline could be offset by federal rules for states to improve benefit access, replacement rates, and potential UI durations.

Mobile Crisis Teams' Implementation in the Context of new Medicaid Funding Opportunities: Results from a National Survey.

This cross-sectional survey study describes characteristics of mobile crisis teams (MCTs) in the United States. Mobile crisis teams (MCTs) are increasingly recognized as essential responders to help those experiencing mental health crises get urgent and appropriate care. Recent enhanced federal funding is designed to promote adoption of MCTs, but little is known about their current structure and function and whether teams meet new Medicaid rules governing their utilization. Survey participants (N = 554) are a convenience sample of MCT representatives recruited through professional organizations, listservs, and individual email contacts from October 2021 - May 2022. Respondents most frequently identified themselves as MCT program director/manager (N = 237, 43%). 63% (N = 246) of respondents reported billing insurance for services provided (including Medicaid), while 25% (N = 98) rely on state or county general funds only. Nearly all respondents (N = 390, 98%) reported including behavioral health clinicians on their teams, and 71% (N = 281) reported operating on a 24/7 basis, both of which are required by Medicaid's enhanced reimbursement. Just over half of respondents (N = 191, 52%) reported being staffed with 11 or more FTE staff members, our estimated number required for adequate 2-person coverage on a 24/7 basis. MCTs are a popular policy initiative to reduce reliance on law enforcement to handle mental health emergencies, and enhanced federal funding is likely to expand their utilization. Federal rule makers have a role in establishing guidelines for best practices in staffing, billing, and outcomes tracking, and can help ensure that stable financing is available to improve stability in service delivery.

О применении федеральных норм и правил, регулирующих организацию работ на опасных производственных объектах горно-металлургической промышленности

The article considers the regulatory and legal control of industrial safety as to the organization of safe work at hazardous production facilities of the mining and metallurgical industry of the Russian Federation. The historical aspects of the development of the regulatory framework of occupational safety in the Russian Federation that earlier divided the requirements for the organization of safe work into occupational safety and industrial safety have been mentioned. The analysis of the systems of regulatory and legal framework of the international and Russian legislations, as well as the industrial practices of occupational safety management implies that the activities to ensure the organization of safe work must be constantly developing. The evaluation of the Russian legislation has demonstrated that the tight links between the legal areas of occupational safety and industrial safety did not consider some aspects of the requirements for industrial safety regulation. General industrial safety requirements provide for the development of regulatory and legal acts such as federal norms and rules that contain more detailed requirements for ensuring the safety of workflows, employees, and other specific types of activities. In order to resolve the issues of the organization of safe work, the Federal norms and rules «Ensuring industrial safety in the organization of work at hazardous production facilities of the mining and metallurgical industry» approved by the Order of Rostechnadzor on November 13, 2020, № 440 (hereinafter FNP), were developed. When developing the Federal norms and rules for industrial safety, the entire range of requirements for the safety of the organization of various jobs has been analyzed; the requirements for the work organization at hazardous production facilities of the mining and metallurgical industry have been formulated. Earlier, these jobs were regulated only by the requirements contained in the regulatory and legal acts of occupational safety. The article refers to the sections of the Federal norms and rules for industrial safety where classification of the types of jobs at hazardous production facilities at the current stage are explained as the basis for further development of legal regulation. Explanations for the following sections are provided: on the work organization during operation, maintenance, and repair of equipment and building construction and repairs; on determining and controlling high-risk jobs; on organizational and engineering measures regulating high-risk jobs; on work permits for high-risk jobs; and on the decision-making when choosing safety tools for the work organization. The current aspects of regulatory and legal control over high-risk jobs contained in the Federal norms and rules for industrial safety will be a significant contribution to the understanding of occupational safety processes as to their use by senior officials of enterprises in order to ensure further reduction of accident rate at enterprises of the mining and metallurgical industry of the Russian Federation.

HIPAA: A Demand to Modernize Health Legislation

In the 21st-century digital age, health data privacy remains a crucial concern. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA. More specifically, it demonstrates a need for a unified federal framework in the U.S. that aligns with General Data Protection Regulation’s protections to address modern-day cybersecurity threats better. This article argues that in an era of increased globalization, the United States should confront the task of reforming its healthcare data protection law to align with current cybersecurity risks.  We begin by examining landmark legislation across American states to reveal inconsistencies between state and federal protective rulings. Later, we uncover the reactive nature of HIPAA, in contrast to GDPR’s proactive and citizen-centric approach. Through evaluating past lawsuits related to patient protection noncompliance, this paper depicts significant differences in the purpose, coverage, and execution of data protection laws between the United States and the European Union. It highlights GDPR’s effectiveness in granting individuals greater control over their data. Furthermore, this article proposes the adoption of newfound systems for standardized risk analysis and enhanced security across healthcare providers. As healthcare becomes more accessible to the American public, the amount of data in this system increases. This nationwide surge in data underscores the critical need to assess whether privacy laws established in the 1990s remain sufficient. Therefore, updates to healthcare legislation are essential to establishing stringent patient protections in response to the significant rise in data breach incidents within the healthcare network.   

Use of Artificial Intelligence to Monitor the Reliability of Removable Load-Handling Devices

Introduction. The malfunction of removable load-handling devices (RLHD) poses significant production risks. That is why research in this field is relevant. The problem has often become a topic of scientific investigation. The authors propose using artificial intelligence more extensively to monitor the state of RLHD. This paper presents a study on how to improve the machine vision model to better identify the absence of locks on RLHD hooks. A probable occurrence of such an issue in production is noted. A storage and monitoring system for RLHD condition is proposed. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the potential for further training of neural networks to significantly enhance the efficiency of RLHD monitoring, ensuring their safe use.Materials and Methods. The work is based on the results of a survey conducted at the LLC “KZ Rostselmash” plant from 2022 to 2023, involving 144 RLHD. Mathematical statistics methods were used to process the data. A neural network model previously trained using the YOLO computer vision algorithm was studied. It was retrained taking into account the norms of the rejection of RLHD, specified in federal rules and standards. Images of RLHD with defects and missing parts were collected from these sources and used to create a training database. The database was expanded by augmentation. The Roboflow platform was used for work.Results. The array of images used for further training of the neural network was divided into three samples: training (88%), validation (8%) and test (4%). These samples were used to train and validate its results. The training was completed after 260 epochs, with a steady increase in accuracy. The neural network model of computer vision obtained in this way automatically detected a common defect in the RLHD hook — the absence of a lock. Its performance was assessed using three indicators: average accuracy (94%), prediction accuracy (88.8%) and response (89.2%). The neural network could receive images from a video camera in real-time and recognize hook defects. During the RLHD inspection at the Rostselmash plant, a grab for lifting engines was found to have all three hooks defective — without locks. To avoid such situations, at the end of work, it was recommended to place the RLHD on a special stand equipped with a microcontroller device that could monitor for a number of potential issues using radio frequency identification.Discussion and Conclusions. The main goal of this proposed solution is to detect and address signs of non-compliance with the established standards. This task can be implemented in facilities that use lifting equipment. In this case, the timely noticed RLHD defects will allow preventing production incidents. As a result, material damage can be reduced and injury statistics improved.

The Swiss Debt Brake Is Democratic, Strict, Transparent, and Binding. A Model to Follow?

Abstract The Swiss debt brake at the federal level was accepted in 2001 by a direct democratic referendum, where it received an overwhelming approval rate of almost 85 percent “yes” votes. The fiscal rule mandates that budgeted expenditures cannot exceed cyclically adjusted expected revenues, targeting gross debt while prohibiting new structural debt. Violations due to ordinary or extraordinary expenditures are transparently recorded in separate accounts, which must be balanced within three and six years, respectively. The federal rule is complemented by decentralized debt brakes at the cantonal level. Compared to a synthetic Switzerland without the federal debt brake, the fiscal rule did not decrease public investments, with the notable exception of military expenditure. Additionally, the accuracy of budget forecasts has improved, evidenced by reduced discrepancies between projected and actual revenues and expenditures.

Academic Freedom and International Students, Part 5: The gray areas

Computer science and software engineering students and researchers are busy with their courses, in their labs, working on their studies and research - for the most part not really thinking about the impact of politics on their research. However, there are increasing restrictions on the information researchers are allowed to share with their students, and who researchers are allowed to collaborate with respect to national security and increasing concerns with China. To an increasing extent researchers are made aware at grant time. Research institutions must follow federal rules in the grant and hiring process and are conducting workshops and roundtables on issues of national security. The AIP, The American Institute of Physics provides through their mailing list an informative brief on national science policy titled "FYI: Science Policy News from AIP, This Week." The issue for January 23, 2023, invited those interested to join a National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine workshop called a "Meeting of experts," on the topic of "Fundamental Research, Openness, and Protecting the U.S. Technological Advantage: NSDD-189 in the New Global Context."

Payer-Negotiated Price Variation and Relationship to Surgical Outcomes for the Most Common Cancers at NCI-Designated Cancer Centers.

Federal rules mandate that hospitals publish payer-specific negotiated prices for all services. Little is known about variation in payer-negotiated prices for surgical oncology services or their relationship to clinical outcomes. We assessed variation in payer-negotiated prices associated with surgical care for common cancers at National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers and determined the effect of increasing payer-negotiated prices on the odds of morbidity and mortality. A cross-sectional analysis of 63 NCI-designated cancer center websites was employed to assess variation in payer-negotiated prices. A retrospective cohort study of 15,013 Medicare beneficiaries undergoing surgery for colon, pancreas, or lung cancers at an NCI-designated cancer center between 2014 and 2018 was conducted to determine the relationship between payer-negotiated prices and clinical outcomes. The primary outcome was the effect of median payer-negotiated price on odds of a composite outcome of 30 days mortality and serious postoperative complications for each cancer cohort. Within-center prices differed by up to 48.8-fold, and between-center prices differed by up to 675-fold after accounting for geographic variation in costs of providing care. Among the 15,013 patients discharged from 20 different NCI-designated cancer centers, the effect of normalized median payer-negotiated price on the composite outcome was clinically negligible, but statistically significantly positive for colon [aOR 1.0094 (95% CI 1.0051-1.0138)], lung [aOR 1.0145 (1.0083-1.0206)], and pancreas [aOR 1.0080 (1.0040-1.0120)] cancer cohorts. Payer-negotiated prices are statistically significantly but not clinically meaningfully related to morbidity and mortality for the surgical treatment of common cancers. Higher payer-negotiated prices are likely due to factors other than clinical quality.

An Overview of Nursing Regulation.

The rules and regulations that govern nursing practice are topics rarely covered in nursing education programs. This article aims to provide a basic understanding of state and federal rules that govern nursing practice; the role and duties of nurse regulatory boards; types of legal actions that nurses may face; and an overview of discipline, complaint, and reporting processes.

Keep your eye on…

Safety of using ADHD therapeutic stimulants during pregnancy Links between maternal autistic traits and adverse birth outcomes New federal rules make it easier for all patients — including youth — to get methadone

Consideration of the tail dependence of copula functions in the selection of combinations of natural hazards

In accordance with the Federal rules and regulations of the Russian Federation (paragraphs 2.8, 2.9 of RR-064-17) and international standards (IAEA SSG-3), the OUAE (the object of the use of atomic energy) project should provide information on interrelated processes, phenomena and factors of natural origin identified during engineering surveys and studies, and the parameters of relevant combinations of external hazards are determined, for which an analysis of their impact on the safety of the NPP as part of the NPP design and beyond-design accidents should be performed. Combinations of hazards can have a stronger impact on the safety of the station than each impact considered separately, and the frequency of occurrence of the combination can be comparable to the frequency of occurrence of individual impacts. Currently, probabilistic approaches are not presented in the regulatory documents of the Russian Federation and international norms. The paper [1] presents a methodology based on the theory of copula functions, the practice of which has shown that the determination of the frequency and intensity of combinations is influenced by taking into account the empirical parameters of the distribution function: correlation coefficients, tail dependencies. The analysis of the effect of taking into account the value of tail dependencies on the result of choosing a model copula function within the selection of combinations of external natural factors that should be taken into account in the project of the OUAE is carried out. It is shown that the approach presented in [1] needs to be supplemented with an estimate of the value of the upper tail dependence based on statistical data, since due to a more complete application of the properties of copula functions, the depth of justification of the results increases.

Concurrently assessing water supply and demand is critical for evaluating vulnerabilities to climate change

AbstractAligning water supply with demand is a challenge, particularly in areas with large seasonal variation in precipitation and those dominated by winter precipitation. Climate change is expected to exacerbate this challenge, increasing the need for long‐term planning. Long‐term projections of water supply and demand that can aid planning are mostly published as agency reports, which are directly relevant to decision‐making but less likely to inform future research. We present 20‐year water supply and demand projections for the Columbia River, produced in partnership with the Washington State Dept. of Ecology. This effort includes integrated modeling of future surface water supply and agricultural demand by 2040 and analyses of future groundwater trends, residential demand, instream flow deficits, and curtailment. We found that shifting timing in water supply could leave many eastern Washington watersheds unable to meet late‐season out‐of‐stream demands. Increasing agricultural or residential demands in watersheds could exacerbate these late‐season vulnerabilities, and curtailments could become more common for rivers with federal or state instream flow rules. Groundwater trends are mostly declining, leaving watersheds more vulnerable to surface water supply or demand changes. Both our modeling framework and agency partnership can serve as an example for other long‐term efforts that aim to provide insights for water management in a changing climate elsewhere around the world.