PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Program Efficiency”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Two-phased oncology orientation program. A resource efficient teaching strategy.

Orientation is an important component in assuring the assimilation and adequate performance of new employees. In settings that require the integration of high-level technical skills and critical thinking, employees must learn essential information in a short time. In this article, the authors review the process used in a critical care oncology setting to develop a curriculum for a two-phased orientation program. Implementation and evaluation strategies are presented to assist others in the process of developing orientation programs that achieve desired objectives in a resource-efficient environment.

Curriculum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Hemoglobin screening: response of a Brazilian community to optional programs].

The efficiency and the viability of three hemoglobin screening programs were investigated. They were offered on a voluntary basis to a Brazilian population and started with the analysis of blood donors, pregnant women and students. The hemoglobin screening was done through optional exams which included electrophoresis of hemoglobin and complementary hematological tests. A total of 13,670 people were tested over a period of 39 months and a total of 644 individuals with hereditary hemoglobin disorders were detected - 4. 7% of the samples examined. The programs showed satisfactory indicators of viability and efficiency, expressed by the significative proportion of exams performed among the probands and their relatives.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

A fractional programming approach to efficient DNA melting temperature calculation.

MOTIVATION: In a wide range of experimental techniques in biology, there is a need for an efficient method to calculate the melting temperature of pairings of two single DNA strands. Avoiding cross-hybridization when choosing primers for the polymerase chain reaction or selecting probes for large-scale DNA assays are examples where the exact determination of melting temperatures is important. Beyond being exact, the method has to be efficient, as these techniques often require the simultaneous calculation of melting temperatures of up to millions of possible pairings. The problem is to simultaneously determine the most stable alignment of two sequences, including potential loops and bulges, and calculate the corresponding melting temperature. RESULTS: As the melting temperature can be expressed as a fraction in terms of enthalpy and entropy differences of the corresponding annealing reaction, we propose to use a fractional programming algorithm, the Dinkelbach algorithm, to solve the problem. To calculate the required differences of enthalpy and entropy, the Nearest Neighbor model is applied. Using this model, the substeps of the Dinkelbach algorithm in our problem setting turn out to be calculations of alignments which optimize an additive score function. Thus, the usual dynamic programming techniques can be applied. The result is an efficient algorithm to determine melting temperatures of two DNA strands, suitable for large-scale applications such as primer or probe design. AVAILABILITY: The software is available for academic purposes from the authors. A web interface is provided at http://www.zaik.uni-koeln.de/bioinformatik/fptm.html

Algorithms↗
PubMed1992

Programmed electrical stimulation of the ventricle: an efficient, sensitive, and specific protocol.

A relatively simple and efficient ventricular programmed electrical stimulation (PES) protocol was developed, capable of achieving high degrees of sensitivity and specificity. In a series of 481 subjects, 1, 2, and 3 extrastimuli (ES) were used successively during sinus rhythm and ventricular pacing at two drive cycle lengths, at one or more ventricular sites, together with rapid ventricular pacing, and other maneuvers such as isoproterenol infusion. Three ES were used immediately after two ES at each drive rate, rather than returning after completion of the protocol with two ES. Using the protocol, appropriate arrhythmias could be induced in 88% of all patients with ventricular fibrillation, 84% of all patients with sustained ventricular tachycardia (91% with underlying coronary disease), and 58% of patients with severe nonsustained ventricular tachycardia. There were significant differences in inducibility between patients whose ventricular arrhythmias were due to coronary artery disease and other causes. In contrast, sustained ventricular arrhythmias (all ventricular fibrillation) could be induced in only 5% of a control group of control patients, for a specificity of 95%. The protocol described is simpler and more efficient than those that use exhaustive testing of two ES before going to three ES. Three ES during sinus rhythm proved to be the most productive step, with a higher yield ratio (true: false-positives) than two ES or three ES during pacing, especially at faster rates. Greater efficiency is also achieved by leaving the timing of an extrastimulus just beyond its effective refractory period when an additional extrastimulus is to be added, compared to protocols in which the extrastimulus is moved later in the cycle and then decremented in tandem with the additional extrastimulus. Coupling intervals less than 200 msec produced some false-positives, but fewer overall than intervals greater than or equal to 200 msec, and with yield ratios comparable to other protocol steps. The protocol described meets NASPE standards for ventricular programmed stimulation protocols, and with its demonstrated specificity and relative simplicity and efficiency may be useful as a model for groups not yet committed to an alternative protocol.

Cardiac Pacing, Artificial↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Disparate effects of out-patient cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs on work efficiency and peak aerobic capacity in patients with coronary disease or severe obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND: Exercise intolerance is an integral component of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) and is caused by several mechanisms that ultimately impact overall functional capacity. We assessed various components of exercise function in patients with CHD and COPD during the course of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation to evaluate changes unique to each condition. METHODS: Work efficiency (WEf, defined as delta watts/delta VO2) and peak VO2 were measured and compared at baseline and after 3 months (36 sessions) of outpatient cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs in 25 patients (mean age = 66 +/- 7 years) with severe COPD (mean FEV1.0 = 0.90 +/- 0.35 L) and in 25 patients (mean age = 65 +/- 8 years) with CHD. RESULTS: At baseline, patients with COPD had significantly reduced values of WEf (2.04 +/- 0.86 versus 3.23 +/- 1.38 watts/mL/kg/min; P = 0.004) and peak VO2 (13.2 +/- 3.9 versus 17.1 +/- 3.9 mL/kg/min; P = 0.005) compared with patients with CHD. After rehabilitation, patients with CHD increased peak VO2 by 12% (17.1 +/- 3.9 to 19.1 +/- 4.9 mL/kg/min; P = 0.01) with no change in WEf (3.23 +/- 1.38 to 3.32 +/- 1.43 watts/mL/kg/min; P = not significant). In contrast, patients with COPD increased peak VO2 by only 5% (13.2 +/- 3.9 to 13.9 +/- 3.8 mL/kg/min; P = 0.0008), but WEf increased by 36% (2.04 +/- 0.86 to 2.78 +/- 0.84 watts/mL/kg/min; P = 0.0002). Subjective measures of functional status improved similarly in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to patients with CHD, work inefficiency contributes significantly to exercise intolerance in patients with severe COPD. Outpatient rehabilitation programs enhance functional status in patients with CHD and COPD by differing mechanisms, depending on the underlying disease. These data show the disparate effects of out-patient rehabilitation on peak VO2 and WEf in cardiac and pulmonary patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1996

Mathematical programming for the efficient allocation of health care resources.

Previous discussions of methods for the efficient allocation of health care resources subject to a budget constraint have relied on unnecessarily restrictive assumptions. This paper makes use of established optimization techniques to demonstrate that a general mathematical programming framework can accommodate much more complex information regarding returns to scale, partial and complete indivisibility and program interdependence. Methods are also presented for incorporating ethical constraints into the resource allocation process, including explicit identification of the cost of equity.

Budgets↗
PubMed2003

Efficiency of a programmed -1 ribosomal frameshift in the different subtypes of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 group M.

The synthesis of the Gag-Pol polyprotein, the precursor of the enzymes of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), requires a programmed -1 ribosomal frameshift. This frameshift has been investigated so far only for subtype B of HIV-1 group M. In this subtype, the frameshift stimulatory signal was found to be a two-stem helix, in which a three-purine bulge interrupts the two stems. In this study, using a luciferase reporter system, we compare, for the first time, the frameshift efficiency of all the subtypes of group M. Mutants of subtype B, including a natural variant were also investigated. Our results with mutants of subtype B confirm that the bulge and the lower stem of the frameshift stimulatory signal contribute to the frameshift in addition to the upper stem-loop considered previously as the sole participant. Our results also show that the frameshift stimulatory signal of all of the other subtypes of group M can be folded into the same structure as in subtype B, despite sequence variations. Moreover, the frameshift efficiency of these subtypes, when assessed in cultured cells, falls within a narrow window (the maximal deviation from the mean value calculated from the experimental values of all the subtypes being approximately 35%), although the predicted thermodynamic stability of the frameshift stimulatory signal differs between the subtypes (from -17.2 kcal/mole to -26.2 kcal/mole). The fact that the frameshift efficiencies fall within a narrow range for all of the subtypes of HIV-1 group M stresses the potential of the frameshift event as an antiviral target.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1987

Syntactic, semantic, and rhythmic influences on children's and adults' motor programming of speech.

The influence of linguistic and paralinguistic structure on speech motor programming was investigated for 5-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and adults. Subjects repeated verbal stimuli, each at maximum rate on numerous consecutive trials. It was hypothesized that structure in an utterance would allow a speaker to organize its motor program more efficiently than would be possible for an otherwise identical utterance that lacked such structure, although the types of structure employed might change with age. Differences in the efficiency of motor program organization were expected to be evidenced in the syllable duration and the relative variability of the syllable duration of subjects' repetitions. At all ages, repetition durations were shorter for stimuli with a sentencelike rhythm than for unstructured stimuli. Stimuli that were syntactically structured and contained a sentencelike rhythm were spoken with shorter durations than nonsyntactic stimuli with sentential rhythm but only by 8-year-olds and adults.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

VISUAL EFFICIENCY--a microcomputer program for the analysis of action spectra.

A microcomputer program for the analysis of complex action spectra is described. This program can take data gathered in a series of spectral ranges and fit them to a model consisting of multiple pigments, varying pigment concentrations, and absorption before the photosensitive pigment. Chi square and correlation analysis are performed on the final fit.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

A simple, efficient and inexpensive program for preventing prematurity.

Prevention of prematurity and of low birth weight is--because of the associated increased risk of mortality and morbidity--one of the most urgent tasks of perinatal medicine. Whereas the rate of prematures all over the world does not vary very much (5-10%), the rate of infants born with low birth weight lies between 3.6% and 10% in the industrial countries and between 9.8% and 43% in the developing countries, where the main cause of low birth weight is intrauterine malnutrition. As there are different causes for prematurity and low birth weight, but also because various countries have different resources and have therefore to set their priorities differently, there is no global solution. The situation in each country must be considered individually. However, as far as basic means are available for the majority--such as basic health care, monitoring the nutritional state of the mothers and acting to prevent infectious diseases (malaria in particular can cause prematurity)--determined prevention of prematurity should take the form of screening and the treatment of disturbances of the vaginal milieu or genital infections. This policy can be recommended because one of the most important avoidable causes of prematurity is ascending genital infection (mostly combined with bacterial vaginosis), which very frequently starts with a disturbance of the vaginal milieu and then often takes its course asymptomatically. Regular screening for signs of such a disturbance using vaginal pH-measurements (and if necessary further diagnostics and therapy) makes possible the detection of an "early marker" to prevent prematurity in an effective and inexpensive way. Our prematurity-prevention-program, which has been successful for many years, is based on an anamnestic assessment of prematurity risk, the early detection of warning signs (including regular measurement of the vaginal pH) and, if necessary, the appropriate therapeutic measures. In cases of disturbance of the vaginal milieu, the latter consists of a therapy with lactobacillus preparations or in a combination of lactobacillus preparation with an acidifying therapy which may lead to earlier normalization of the vaginal milieu. In cases of bacterial vaginosis local therapy, for example with metronidazol or clindamycin, is undertaken, and in other infections specific treatment. It is encouraging to note that particularly the rate of the very small prematures is reduced when pregnant patients take part in our self-care-program, measuring their own vaginal pH-value twice a week, and also searching for any other warning signs. In this way in our collective the rate of very small low birth weight infants could be reduced from 7.8% in the immediate previous pregnancy to 1.3%. In a prospective study performed in Erfurt the rate of very early premature births (< 32 + 0 gw) amounted to only 0.3% in contrast to 3.3% in a control group who had not taken part in the self-care activity. According to a differentiated classification of the control group the success of the self-care activity was even clearer: In patients who did not take part because their doctors did not support the self-care activity, the rate of very early premature births amounted to 4.1%. In patients who did not take part in the self-care activity, but who were in the care of doctors who were interested and had taken part in the prevention-program, the rate was 2.2%; in the group with active participation in the self-care activity it was only 0.3%. To date measurement of the vaginal pH-value was performed intravaginally using either indicator strips or pH-measuring test gloves. A short time ago we developed a panty liner coated with an indicator strip, which enables reading of the pH-value by just checking the indicator on the panty liner. First results with this panty liner are very promising.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1993

An effective, efficient elder care program. Providence ElderPlace focuses on maintaining the continuum of care.

Providence ElderPlace, Portland, OR, is an innovative long-term care health maintenance organization. The program is a type of integrated delivery network, offering comprehensive benefits and coordinating the delivery of healthcare services in a specific geographic market. Providence ElderPlace is based on the Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), which was developed 20 years ago by On Lok Health Services of San Francisco. PACE helps frail elderly persons remain in their homes as long as possible. PACE is financed through an integrated funding pool of Medicare, Medicaid, and private fees. To be eligible for PACE, an individual must be in need of nursing home care but able to live in the community, with support. Providence ElderPlace provides all healthcare, community-based, and long-term care support services from an adult day healthcare setting. Participants usually attend the day center three times a week. When participants are not at the center, a team of workers visit their homes to observe participants and provide personal and chore support services.

Aged↗