BACKGROUND Preference-based health measures yield summary scores that are compatible with cost-effectiveness analyses. There is limited comparative information, however, about how different measures weight health conditions in the U.S. population. METHODS We examined data from 11,421 adults in the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationally representative sample of the U.S. general po...

Multivariate versions of classical orthogonal polynomials such as Jacobi, Hahn, Laguerre, Meixner are reviewed and their connection explored by adopting a probabilistic approach. Hahn and Meixner polynomials are interpreted as posterior mixtures of Jacobi and Laguerre polynomials, respectively. By using known properties of Gamma point processes and related transformations, an infinite-dimension...

The use of the gold weight is an established procedure in the treatment of lagophthalmos and usually produces successful results. The critical technical issues are the firm suture fixation to the tarsal plate and the high location of the weight on this plate. However, the estimated weight of the implant from the trials on the skin of the upper lid fails to obtain the expected eye closure outcom...

This study was conducted to investigate innovative solutions to a measurement problem pertaining to self-reported body weight data as a key component of the Stepped Approach Model (SAM) of service delivery. Subjects (n = 223) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: Informed Group (of self-report and weight measurement) + six body weighing habit items (IG, n = 113) and Uninformed Group ...

The high prevalence of iron deficiency in the population is widely acknowledged, but there are not yet sufficient studies that explain the reasons for this problem at local and national level. Thus, the scope of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of anemia and its relation with socio-demographic and anthropometric aspects of children living in Vitoria, Espírito Santo. This is a cross-sec...

The development of effective and sustainable interventions to treat childhood obesity remains both a priority and a challenge. Previous studies support that dogs provide social support in overweight adults in obesity interventions, but the child-dog relationship is not as well understood. The goal of the study was to examine the child-dog relationship among children to inform novel childhood ob...