Substantial Assistance Research Articles

ЕКОНОМІКО-МАТЕМАТИЧНЕ МОДЕЛЮВАННЯ ВПЛИВУ COVID-19 НА ФУНКЦІОНУВАННЯ АВТОТРАНСПОРТНОГО ПІДПРИЄМСТВА

The article covers the trends of COVID-19 influence on the economic situation of the motor transport enterprise in Ukraine. As a result of the pandemic, Ukraine has seen a reduction in production, reduction of corporate incomes, an increase of unemployment, and impoverishment. The paper investigates the consequences of the pandemic the motor transport. In the example of a small trucking company, profits and profitability decrease of the company during a pandemic is considered. An economic-mathematical model based on net present value and internal profitability is created. By changing the key parameters of the model, the sensitivity analysis is performed, which consists of substituting various hypothetical values of critical parameters into the financial model of the project with their subsequent calculation. Calculated indicators of variation. The coefficient of variation used to estimate the risk per unit of return is calculated. Recommendations on the work of the enterprise after the pandemic are given. Possibilities of basic expenses optimization are analyzed. As a result of the spread of the coronavirus, the expected reduction in employment in passenger traffic is 21%. During a pandemic, bank loans and deposits are important. However, given the economic and political instability in the country, banks face significant difficulties in formulating and implementing effective interest rate policies. Interest rates on active and passive operations of the NBU have currently risen to 7.5%. Because any loans need to be given, the internal rate of return, or internal rate of return (IRR), is analyzed. The internal rate of return is calculated using the IRR function MS Excel. For the case considered in the work, it will be impossible to give loans. Substantial assistance during a pandemic should be state support. The situation in which enterprises found themselves during the pandemic proved the need to develop new methods for the management and planning of medium and large transport enterprises. Currently, all models are based on outdated and inaccurate methods, which leads to significant differences between the desired and achieved results.

Social Peculiarities of the Family Planning Problem in Tropical Africa

The subject is reflected in the important international documents of the UN – the Millennium development Goals 2001 and the Sustainable develop-ment Goals 2015. The article examines implementing family planning pro-grams in Tropical Africa, analyzes the attitude of ruling circles and people masses to this problem in the context of centuries-old traditions of having many children, great value of free child labor in agriculture, polygyny, re-ligiosity and other socio-cultural stereotypes. Despite the efforts of interna-tional organizations, most of the 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing a slow spread of contraception, the birth rate is “stalling” at high rates, or the decline in fertility is slow. But there are some positive examples of countries, where the use of con-traception reaches the 70% level recommended by international experts-demographers, and the birth rate is decreasing, approaching the replace-ment level. These countries are Ethiopia, Rwanda, Madagascar, Ghana, Kenya, and the countries of the South African region. It is likely that the success of family planning and the reduction of the birth rate are due to the consolidated approach of government circles, NGOs, private, public and international organizations, with the crucial role of international donors and financial funds. In the course of evolutionary socio-economic development, fertility rates will decrease. But in the next decades, there will still be an increase in the population of a number of SSA countries by 2–3 times. Without substantial foreign financial assistance peoples of Africa, especially the peoples of Cen-tral and West Africa, will not be able to cope with this problem.

Control Home Appliances Through Internet of Things To Assist Elderly In Their Daily Routine

Aging population rate in Malaysia is getting higher every year. When people becoming older, they start losing their abilities to do some of the activities properly and easily that they were able to do when they were younger. Basic tasks like cooking and cleaning, which were once part of manageable daily routine, become too difficult to perform as they enter to the elderly age. Despite this, many elderlies choose to live independently in their own home. This paper presents a new approach to utilize advanced Internet of Things (IoT) based pulse sensors for elderly. This proposed solution is an embedded scheme that support elderly with controlled automation solution that control and operates various home electrical appliances such as lights, fans, and televisions based on the measurement of pulse rate and instructions. The solution consists of pulse sensors, microcontrollers which integrated with Blynk server as a communication protocol. The proposed solution aims to minimize elderly movement by providing substantial assistance to the physically challenged elderly without assistance from any third person. The scope of the article focuses on enhancing and improving quality life of elderly. The main advantage of the proposed solution is that it is sensible and required zero technology knowledge that provides users with an automation solution with minimum movement needed. The proposed solution reduces human labours, effort, and energy conservation in the meantime. This study is limited to the scale of elderly in Malaysia rather than the whole world.

Healthy Diet Assistance for the Most Deprived in Post-Crisis Greece: An Evaluation of the State Food Provision Program

In 2016, the European Union set up the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) as its first structured food provision program to combat food insecurity. Computational analysis and a cross-sectional survey took place from January 2016 to June 2018 to calculate FEAD’s contribution to its beneficiaries’ diets and to collect beneficiary satisfaction data. Dairy, fresh meat, legumes, sugar, olive oil, and tomato concentrate were the most commonly procured items. The program’s contribution to vegetable, dairy, and grains intake was 3.4%, 6.1%, and 6.0%, respectively, as opposed to discretionary calories (12.2%) and fats/oils (24.5%). The program’s algorithm greatly favors (almost 3-fold) single-person applications, compared with applications with four or more people. Beneficiaries valued each food provision at 21.23 ± 23.4 euros, which, for 64.4% of them, translated to a high positive impact on the household budget. FEAD had a highly positive impact on feelings of anxiety and security, for 50.7% and 41.6% of its beneficiaries. Satisfaction with the foods provided was also high for ~70% of the beneficiaries. The program is met with high beneficiary satisfaction and is perceived as a substantial assistance. Increases in the amounts and variety of foods delivered, with a focus on fruit, vegetables, and fish, should be considered to further improve the program’s dietary impact.

Longitudinal Effects of Becoming a Family Caregiver: The Caregiving Transitions Study

Taking on caregiving responsibilities for older adult family members with disabilities is often considered to be a highly stressful experience that may adversely affect the health of caregivers. However, the vast majority of studies in this area compare existing samples of caregivers with questionably matched non-caregiving controls. In this symposium, we will present findings for a population-based sample of persons who became family caregivers while participating in a longitudinal epidemiological study. Changes in health and well-being are compared between these caregivers and non-caregiving control participants who were matched on multiple demographic and pre-caregiving health history variables. All persons enrolled as caregivers were providing sustained and substantial caregiving assistance. Presentations will include 1) a descriptive overview of the screening, eligibility, and enrollment methods used to construct these unique, population-based samples; 2) comparisons of within-person changes on measures of self-reported health and well-being for dementia and non-dementia caregivers; 3) changes in the caregivers’ social networks, social engagement, and leisure time activities; 4) comparisons of longitudinal changes on circulating inflammatory biomarkers (e.g., IL-6, CRP, TNF alpha receptor 1) and cellular aging (telomere length); and 5) examinations of individual differences in caregiver outcomes using a stress process model. Becoming a family caregiver can be stressful, but the opportunity to help a loved one and the related feelings of purpose and deepening family connections may also promote resilience and enhance health. These questions are far from resolved, and rigorous, prospective, population-based studies like the Caregiving Transitions Study promise to provide compelling new insights.

Reproductive ability of holstina cows in different status of the reproductive system in the postpartum period

In the article are considered the effect of postpartum course and periodicity of manifestation of dystocia and reproductive capacity of Holstein cows of different age. The experimental part of the research was performed at the industrial complex for milk production of cows of Holstein breed of “Agro-Soyuz”. Assessment of ease of calving in cows of different age was determined in points (V. Berglund, J. Phillipson et al., 1987): 1 – easy calving; 2 – normal calving, only some help is required (slight dystocia); 3 – heavy calving, full intervention is required (dystocia). And was determined the live weight of the calves (kg). It is found that about 83 % of cows the calving pass easily enough. At the same time, more than 10 % of the calving, operators had to spend only the final help of the calves release from the animal's birth canal. However, almost 7 % of calving animals care required sufficiently substantial assistance, which included several operators. It is proved that the age of the cows is not crucial, which determines the dystocia. In this case, a direct relationship was established between the live weight of calves at birth and the display of dystocia during calving of cows. The live weight of the newborn at 37 kg causes a slight dystocia, and weighs about 39 kg – a dystocia. The live weight of the calves at birth at the level of 34 kg provides a normal course of calving. In 74.4 % of first-heifers there is a complication of recovery of the reproduction system after calving. The rate of cows in fourth lactation is quite high – 72.5 %. Close to this indicator are characterized by cows of the second lactation, in which symptomatic infertility is 69.6 %. The average index of insemination is 1.9 units is typical for cows with a normal postpartum period. Symptomatic infertility leads to a lengthening of the service period by almost a month, compared to calving cows and the postpartum period proceeded normally. Heavy dystocia during calving is characteristic of 12 % of the animals, which were predominantly cows of the first calving. Keywords: holstein breed, service period, calving, index of insemination, dystocia, symptomatic infertility.

Automatic Pavement Type Recognition for Image-Based Pavement Condition Survey Using Convolutional Neural Network

Image-based systems are becoming popular to collect pavement condition data for pavement management activities. Pavement engineers define various distress categories based on pavement types. However, software solutions today have limitations in correctly recognizing pavement types from the collected images in an automated way. This paper presents a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based PvmtTPNet to automatically recognize pavement types at acceptable levels of consistency, accuracy, and high-speed. Pavement images on asphalt concrete pavements, jointed plain concrete pavements, and continuously reinforced concrete pavements in varying conditions were collected via the PaveVision3D system in 2018. A total number of 21,000 two-dimensional (2D) images were prepared, while 80% and 20% of them were randomly selected for training and testing. The CNN network included six layers with 992,979 tuned hyperparameters and achieved 99.85% and 98.37% prediction accuracies for training and testing in pavement type recognition. Images obtained from another two data collections in 2019 were used to validate the PvmtTPNet, and 91.27% and 96.66% prediction accuracies were reached, individually. In addition, the PvmtTPNet shows the highest precision, recall, and F1-score for asphalt concrete (AC) images, which is followed by jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) and continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) images. The developed methodology can provide substantial assistance toward a fully automated pavement condition data analysis for image-based systems, even though a near 100% accuracy is the final objective of the continuing research.

Palliative care needs and utilization of specialist services for people imminently dying with dementia: A national population-based study

BackgroundThere is a growing emphasis on the importance of availability of specialist palliative care for people living with dementia. However, for people imminently dying with dementia, we still have little knowledge about their palliative care needs and utilization of different specialist services. ObjectivesTo (i) assess palliative care needs and other clinical and social characteristics of people imminently dying with dementia on their last admission in the context of community and inpatient palliative care services before death; (ii) compare care needs between patients requiring community-based and inpatient services; (iii) determine how and whether such care needs affect utilization of different palliative care services. DesignObservational study using data from the Australian Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration. SettingsSpecialist palliative care services across Australia registered in the Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration. ParticipantsA total of 3361 people who required specialist palliative care principally for dementia (including Alzheimer's disease and other dementias), and whose death occurred between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2018. MethodsFive validated clinical instruments were used to collect point-of-care outcomes on each individual's function (Resource Utilisation Groups - Activities of Daily Living & Australia-modified Karnofsky Performance Status), symptom distress (Symptoms Assessment Scale & Palliative Care Problem Severity Score) and other clinical characteristics (Palliative Care Phases). We fitted multivariate logistic regression models to examine the association between these clinical outcomes and utilization of different specialist palliative care services. ResultsThe majority of people imminently dying with dementia had absent or mild levels of symptom distress but experienced high levels of functional decline and needed substantial assistance with basic tasks of daily living in their last days of life. Large disparities in symptoms distress and functional decline between inpatient and community groups were not observed although differences in assessment scores were often statistically significant. Poor functional outcomes (odds ratio = 1.77, 95% confidence interval: 1.24–2.52) and “non-stable” palliative care phases (odds ratio =24.51, 95% confidence interval: 12.03–49.96) were positively associated with use of inpatient versus community palliative care, whereas there was no clear association between the majority of symptoms and use of different care services. ConclusionsThe majority of people imminently dying with dementia could potentially benefit from greater access to supportive services in the community. Development of a dementia-specific palliative care pathway is needed to promote needs-based palliative care delivery models. Tweetable abstractthe majority of people imminently dying with dementia could potentially benefit from greater access to supportive services in community.

Overview of green business practices within the Bangladeshi RMG industry: competitiveness and sustainable development perspective.

Green business initiatives have become a prime driving force towards sustainable development across the world. The economy of Bangladesh is now on a pick as she has been moving towards nearly hitting the target for becoming a middle-income economy by 2021, and for attaining so, the development of industrial sectors is unavoidable. The booming industrial sectors have been resulting in a massive depletion of natural resources, greenhouse gas erosion, and toxic waste disposal, which further can cause uncontrolled degradation of air, soil, and water. In this highly competitive world, like most other businesses, ready-made garment (RMG) firms are facing tremendous pressure for being more competitive and availing a decisive position towards the reduction of pollution and impacts of ecological footprint. This nation brings a new paradigm of doing business called green business (GB). Principles of green business compact with emerging approaches for producing, marketing, and disposing of the products, which maintain environmental safety and business competitiveness. Green-oriented business strategy can act as a crucial tactic for gaining a competitive advantage over the potential competitors and assess them with a better way to uphold their stand towards attaining sustainable development. Since the modern purchaser is continuously being attracted to green-oriented RMG industries, they want to attain their responsibility to Mother Nature. Especially for the RMG sectors of Bangladesh, environmental concern is highly crucial since it is the most significant economic sectors of this country. The prime objective of this study is to provide an overview of green business strategy associated with the RMG sectors of Bangladesh, which further assist the sectors with competitive advantages. In order to fulfill the prime objectives of the paper, the authors conferred various books, journals, and research papers related to green business and competitiveness within the context of Bangladeshi RMG sectors. Furthermore, the study arranged some casual discussions with industry professionals in corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental protectionist, sustainable development executives, and ecology-friendly performance officer to provide substantial assistance for focusing on the precise direction of foundation evaluation and synthesis. In contextualization of the intensification of green business strategy and environmental degradation, we proposed a framework to quantify the green business strategy with the view of gain competitive advantages across the RMG sectors in Bangladesh.

Is there an association between social determinants and care dependency risk? A multi-state model analysis of a longitudinal study.

Despite a growing body of knowledge about the morbidities and functional impairment that frequently lead to care dependency, the role of social determinants is not yet well understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of social determinants on care dependency onset and progression. We used data from the Berlin Initiative Study, a prospective, population-based cohort study including 2,069 older participants living in Berlin. Care dependency was defined as requiring substantial assistance in at least two activities of daily living for 90 min daily (level 1) or 3+ hours daily (level 2). Multi-state time to event regression modeling was used to estimate the effects of social determinants (partnership status, education, income, and sex), morbidities, and health behaviors, characteristics, and conditions. During the study period, 556 participants (27.5%) changed their status of care dependency. Participants without a partner at baseline were at a higher risk to become care-dependent than participants with a partner (hazard ratio [HR], 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24 (1.02-1.51)). After adjustment for other social determinants, morbidities and health behaviors, characteristics, and conditions the risk decreased to a HR of 1.19 (95% CI: 0.79-1.79). Results indicate that older people without a partner may tend to be at higher risk of care dependency onset but not at higher risk of care dependency progression. Clinicians should inquire about and consider patients' partnership status as they evaluate care needs.

Preface

The 1st National Conference on “Recent Advancements in Physical Sciences” (NCRAPS-2019) during December 19-20, 2019 at National Institute of Technology, Uttarakhand, Satellite Campus, MNIT Jaipur, India is jointly organized by Departments of Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics, NIT, Uttarakhand.NCRAPS-2019 has been deliberated to showcase research accomplishments and to enrich the educational experience in Basic Sciences with focus on emerging multidisciplinary research areas viz. Biophysics, Nanotechnology & Materials Science, Fluid Mechanics & Biomechanics, Applied Mathematics & Analysis, Optical Sensors/Devices, Modelling and Simulation of Molecules/Advanced Materials, etc. The details of the conference are available at www.nituk.ac.in/ncraps19/. The conference organizing committee has invited three keynote speakers and over dozen domain experts to deliver expert talks. The three keynote speakers covered the different areas of the conference i.e. 1. Prof. Rama Bhargava (Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee) on “Exploring The Potential Of Mathematics”, 2. Prof. B. L. Ahuja (MLS University, Udaipur) will be talking on “Compton Spectroscopy and Electronic Response of Functional Materials”and 3. Prof. Rajeev Gupta (University of Delhi, Delhi) on “Designer Molecular Architectures: Applications In Catalysis, Solid-State Sensing And Energy Transfer”.The conference received in all 65 extended abstract submissions which were peer reviewed and 55 have been accepted for oral presentation. The abstracts have been split between two technical sessions in conference broad subject areas of Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. The participants across the great country India made the conference of national scope. The two day conference with nearly 55 oral presentations created the heart of the conference and provided ample opportunity for discussion during the conference. The organizing committee will stringently examine the best research accomplishments out of 56 shortlisted abstracts and the work selected in second round will be processed to the full paper publication in Institute of Physics (IOP) as conference proceedings.As conferencechairs/secretaries, we have many people to thank and would like to put the appreciation of their contribution on record. In this regard, the largest burden fell upon the experienced shoulders of Keynote speakers, Invited speakers, Session chairs and our technical reviewers along with substantial assistance received from active student volunteers. Therefore, these are the foremost in the list of people to be thanked.We also thank to all the authors who submitted their papers. It was both a privilege and a great responsibility to oversee the reviewing of submitted papers. We sincerely thank to our Patron, Prof.Shyam Lal Soni, Director, NITUK and Sponsors State Bank of India and Paru Graphics Srinagar (Garhwal), Uttarakhand for generous financial support to the conference and helping us to make this event successful.Welcome you all to the pink City of Jaipur!Thank you!Conference Chair(s)/Secretaries

Economic Models of Mongolia and Vietnam: Common and Distinctive Features

New economic models began to develop in Mongolia and Vietnam after the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), when former Soviet republics formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Further development after the USSR’s dissolution was especially difficult for Mongolia, which almost entirely relied on the economic aid from the USSR. The US and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) immediately took advantage of the crisis in Mongolia. They offered tranches to Mongolia under the condition of complete democratization of political power and establishment of market-based development institutions within the framework of a standby arrangement. Vietnam embarked on a course of destroying the socialist model in 1986, i.e. before the USSR’s collapse, and its transition to a market economy was peculiar, yet significantly different from Mongolia’s.Aim. The presented study aims to examine the benefits and drawbacks of the economic models of Vietnam and Mongolia as well as their common and distinctive features.Methods. The study uses general methods of analyzing the international experience of transforming economic models.Results. The authors prove the efficiency of the current Mongolian and Vietnamese models in the context of global instability and crises. Emergence of new, highly efficient technological paradigms and absence of internal political protests in Mongolia and Vietnam ensure economic sustainability and high growth rate. Russia’s military aid to these countries also plays an important role.Conclusions. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mongolia received substantial assistance from the United States and was able to maintain state independence and develop its economy under the market conditions of economic activity. Relying on cooperation with Russia and China, in the 21st century Mongolia engaged in the processes of integration in the Asia-Pacific region (APR). The Vietnamese model was forming during the country’s participation in the ASEAN free trade zone and cooperation with the developed economies of Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States. Unlike Mongolia, Vietnam retained full political leadership of the Communist party, the unity of its people, and support for the development of market economy. In confronting difficult challenges, Vietnam receives assistance from the Donor Club.

Power tariffs for groundwater irrigation in India: A comparative analysis of the environmental, equity, and economic tradeoffs

Abstract Groundwater irrigation using electric pumps plays a key role in India’s agricultural water supply. Power utilities across different states use two common tariff modes to charge groundwater consumers: flat tariffs, where payments are fixed according to a pump’s power rating, and metered tariffs based on units of power actually consumed. In this review, we use empirical evidence from past studies across multiple jurisdictions in India to compare the two tariff structures in terms of three key features: administrative burden on utilities; equity of groundwater access between high-income and low-income farmers; and influence on farmers’ pumping behavior. Our analysis shows that flat tariffs have low administrative costs and more equitable distributional outcomes, but provide no incentive to farmers for water conservation. Conversely, metered tariffs have the potential to encourage judicious consumption, but are expensive to manage and disadvantageous to low-income farmers who often buy water from wealthier groundwater well owners. Flawed tariff policies, in conjunction with large subsidies for agricultural power, have caused rapid groundwater depletion in many regions as well as massive financial losses to power utilities and governments – both state and central. Since there is considerable heterogeneity in agricultural practices and groundwater availability across India, we propose location-specific strategies for rationalizing agricultural power tariffs in different regions. While the groundwater-abundant eastern regions can benefit from a hybrid flat-cum-metered tariff that encourages farmer-to-farmer water sales, western states facing unsustainable groundwater exploitation should develop tariff policies that ration power, prioritize its supply during the most critical seasons, and reward farmers who reduce their groundwater consumption. Not only will such tariff policies help conserve groundwater, but also augment government financial resources for social welfare programs such as education, health, energy access etc. Thus, improved power policies can provide substantial assistance in India’s progress towards multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Redesigning the EITC: Issues in Design, Eligibility, Delivery, and Administration

The earned income tax credit provides substantial assistance to low- and moderate-income workers. Benefits tilt heavily to families with children. Prompted in part by the success of the credit and in part by shortcomings in the credit, policymakers, advocates, and analysts have offered up reform proposals. In this report, we describe the credit’s current effects and then analyze the credit’s basic elements (its eligibility requirements, design, timing, administration, and effects on other programs including State EITCs and transfer programs) to help guide thinking on these potential reforms.

Effectiveness of Poverty Alleviation Provisions in Nepal with Reference to Periodic Plans

This study seeks to build a better understanding of the poverty alleviation progress in Nepal and to provide an affordable set of strategic options to the government of Nepal for reducing poverty. Despite significant improvements in economic and social indicators over the past four decades, the study shows that poverty is still widespread in Nepal. The study shows that there is significant progress in poverty alleviation in Nepal. The study indicates that poverty incidence has increased over the past 3 decades in Nepal, a period in which Nepal received substantial development assistance. Poverty is the main factor of declining the quality of living standard of Nepalese people. The objective of the government is to attain prosperity of people. The present study attempts to observe the effectiveness of poverty alleviation trends of Nepal on the basis of different plans. Furthermore, my findings emphasize on the effective measures of poverty alleviation. My argument is that Nepal needs to pay more attention for generating employment opportunities of the nation by increasing investment and modernization in agriculture.

Aiding and Abetting Matters

Abstract Aiding and abetting is a popular and well-known basis of criminal liability. Yet its civil counterpart, civil aiding and abetting, exists in relative obscurity. Like criminal aiding and abetting, civil aiding and abetting is of ancient origin, but it has only achieved contemporary popularity in particular niche areas like business torts and human rights statutes. In some states, it currently exists in a strange legal limbo, with perhaps some specific forms of civil aiding and abetting recognized (like aiding and abetting fraud), but with its status as a general fount of tort liability uncertain. This Article argues that the disregard for civil aiding and abetting is an error, as civil aiding and abetting can play an important role in remedying contemporary harms. Specifically, civil aiding and abetting can bridge gaps left by duty rules in negligence. This gap-filling function will be further enhanced if courts continue the nascent trend of accepting that in certain circumstances, a failure to act can be a form of substantial assistance. As our cultural understandings of complicity broaden, aiding and abetting can serve as an important tool for allocating responsibility and achieving just compensation. Although it is often mistakenly eclipsed by other forms of joint liability, civil aiding and abetting has significant independent value.

Is there an association between social determinants and care dependency risk?

Abstract Background Despite a growing body of knowledge about the morbidities and functional impairment which frequently lead to care dependency, the role of social determinants is not yet well understood. The purpose of this study was 1) to examine the effect of social determinants on care dependency onset and progression, and 2) to analyse the effect of social determinants on various levels of care dependency. Methods We used data from the Berlin Initiative Study (BIS), a prospective, longitudinal, population-based cohort study including 2069 older participants (≥70 years of age) with visits in 2009, 2011 and 2013. Care dependency was assessed if participants require substantial assistance in at least two activities of daily living for 90 minutes daily (level 1) or three hours+ daily (level 2). Social determinants were defined as partnership status, education, income, age and gender. Data were analysed with multi-state time to event regression modeling which simultaneously model several competing events, as well as not only first but also second or third event in one model. Results During the study period, 556 participants (27.5%) changed their status of care dependency. Persons who reported having no partner at baseline were care-dependent more often than participants with a partner (43.7% ’no partner’ / 27.1% ’with partner’). In the multiple model having no partner compared to having a partner was associated with a higher risk of transition from no care dependency to level 1 (HR: 1.25, 95%CI: 0.97-1.64), however failed significance. The significant association between care dependency and income and between care dependency and education ceased as well after adjustment for co-morbidities. Conclusions Results indicate that older people without a partner tend to be on a higher risk of care dependency onset but not on a higher risk of care dependency progression. Inequality between education and income groups can be explained in terms of morbidity. Key messages The significant association between care dependency and income and between care dependency and education can be explained in terms of morbidity. Results indicate that older people without a partner tend to be on a higher risk of care dependency onset but not on a higher risk of care dependency progression.

Hospitalized Children: Anxiety, Coping Strategies, and Pretend Play.

The aim of this paper was to assess strengths and fragilities in children aged 6 to 10 who suffered one or more hospitalizations. State and trait anxiety, coping abilities, and cognitive and affective functioning through play were assessed using a triangulation approach. Fifty hospitalized children aged 6–10 were compared to 50 non-hospitalized children, and children at first admission were compared with children with more than one hospitalization experience. The State-Trait Anxiety Scales Inventory for Children was administered for assessing trait and state anxiety, and the Children's Coping Strategies Checklist (Revision 1) was administered to assess coping dimensions. The Affect in Play Scale - Preschool - Brief (Extended version) was used to assess cognitive and affective dimensions of play. No significant differences were found for trait anxiety between hospitalized vs. non-hospitalized children. Instead, as expected, state anxiety was significantly higher in hospitalized childen than in the non-hospitalized children. Hospitalized children reported higher scores than non-hospitalized children in support-seeking strategies. As for pretend play, hospitalized children showed significantly higher cognitive scores than non-hospitalized children. However, hospitalized children appeared significantly more restricted in their affect expressions. No significant differences were found for play and anxiety scores between children admitted for the first time in the hospital ward and children with more than one admission. However, children at first admission scored higher in coping and positive cognitive restructuring and in avoidance-coping strategies than children with more than one admission. The initial assessment of the interplay of key variables such as anxiety, coping and play can inform healthcare professionals by serving as a guide in order to determine a child's risk for negative psychological outcomes due to hospitalization, to plan appropriate interventions and to provide substantial assistance to hospitalized children in the future.

A Partial Fix of a Broken Guideline: A Proposed Amendment to Section 2G2.2 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines

Except for the federal criminal penalties for crack cocaine offenses, no specific non-capital penalty structure has been more widely criticized than USSG § 2G2.2 and the corresponding federal penal statutes, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252 & 2252A. Together, those provisions govern penalties for child pornography offenses other than those involving actual production of child pornography. Indeed, one of the leading sources of criticism has been the United States Sentencing Commission, whose 300-plus-page report to Congress in December 2012 made a compelling case for changing both the guideline and, to a lesser degree, the statutes. The current sentencing guideline for non-production offenses is fundamentally broken, as evidenced by the fact that only 28.4 percent of defendants sentenced under section 2G2.2 receive within-range sentences and 69.1 percent of defendants receive downward variances or departures (unrelated to their substantial assistance or participation in a fast-track program). The vast majority of child pornography defendants receive downward variances from their guideline ranges based on sentencing judges’ subjective senses of what appropriate sentences should be. Because judges have no meaningful national benchmark from which to render sentencing decisions, widespread sentencing disparities exist – in conflict with the central purpose of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. In addition, because the current guideline fails to offer any meaningful benchmark, federal prosecutors around the country engage in a wide variety of different charging and plea-bargain practices resulting in significant sentencing disparities among similar defendants. Although the best solution to the problems with the current child pornography sentencing scheme would require congressional intervention, Congress appears unwilling to make any changes in the statutory handcuffs currently on the Commission. Therefore, I have set forth a detailed proposed amendment to section 2G2.2 that could be adopted by the Commission without congressional authorization. If the Commission does not amend the guideline, then my proposal provides a detailed roadmap for federal district judges to “vary” from the current, broken guideline pursuant to the authority granted by the Supreme Court in United States v. Booker and Kimbrough v. United States.

The Meta-Analysis Review: A Valuable Resource for Special Educators

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) both require that educators utilize instructional practices based on evidence in the literature when providing special education and related services to students with disabilities. This article provides a description of a special type of literature review, the meta-analysis, that may be of substantial assistance to educators. The essential characteristics of a meta-analysis are described as well as how they are performed, where to find them, and how to interpret their findings. A concluding comment on the relevance of meta-analysis to the implementation of evidence-based practices is presented.