5,119 research outputs found
The dynamic field of pharmacoeconomics
No full textMaarten Jacobus Postma is Professor in Pharmacoeconomics at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands), Department of Pharmacy, Unit of PharmacoEpidemiology & PharmacoEconomics. Next to teaching, he coordinates the research of a group of ten PhD students, one postdoctoral researcher and five (annually changing) MSc students. The majority of this research is related to the cost-effectiveness of vaccinations and methodological issues surrounding this (dynamic modeling and discounting), besides other health-economic and pharmacoeconomic topics. He is President of the section Public Health Economics of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA). Furthermore, he is on the Scientific Advisory Board of two worldwide consultancy firms. Finally, he advises the Dutch government on the reimbursement of new drugs and vaccines in two high-impact committees (Health Council and Committee Pharmaceutical Help). Here, Professor Postma speaks to Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology about the dynamic field of pharmacoeconomics
Vacuum Insulation Panels Applied in Building Constructions
No full textDue to sustainability and due to international treaties, it is desired and required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically. One contributor to these emissions is the burning of fossil fuels for generating power and electricity to be used in and for buildings. Buildings and building-related processes are responsible for about 40% of the primary energy consumption in the European Union. More than half of this energy is applied for heating systems in dwellings and commercial buildings. The European Union therefore has laid down new energy performance requirements for buildings in the European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings. Moreover, a reduction of energy losses of buildings during their occupational phase is important for facilitating the implementation of sustainable energy sources in the built environment. Increasing the insulation value of the envelope of buildings may contribute to this reduction of primary energy use. Two strategies can be followed. The first strategy is to increase the thickness of the thermal insulation layer. Until recently, this strategy has primarily been adopted. If, however, German or Swiss Passivhaus standard is applied, the thickness of this insulation layer would increase to beyond 30 cm, resulting in very thick building enclosures. The second, more innovative, strategy for reducing energy losses through the building skin would be the application of more effective thermal insulators. One such more effective thermal insulator is a vacuum insulation panel, abbreviated as VIP. A VIP consists of an open-celled core material which is evacuated and then tightly sealed into a barrier envelope to maintain this vacuum. The vacuum inside the pores of the core material reduces the thermal conductivity of the product significantly, as a result of which the thickness of the insulation layer can be reduced to obtain a certain performance. This reduction of thickness is among the most promising features for large-scale application of VIPs in the building industry. However, integration of VIPs into buildings must be performed very meticulously for several reasons; first, due to its nature a VIP cannot be processed on site and needs careful planning in advance; second, it is very sensitive to mechanical damage thus requiring careful handling; third, thermal bridges along the panel’s edges reduce its performance; fourth, the composite system is highly subjected to aging. This dissertation therefore looks into many of these aspects, presents several calculation tools and shows how VIPs can be applied in façade panels, EPS insulation boards and as under-floor insulation. With the wide-spread proliferation of VIPs in buildings a more sustainable and healthy environment can then be achieved.Building TechnologyArchitectur
Book Review: Reginald M.J. Oduor’s Introduction to Ethics
No full textTITLE OF BOOK: Introduction to Ethics
AUTHOR: Reginald M.J. Oduor
Nairobi: Sophia Publications Ltd., 2009, 116 pages
COVER: Paperback
ISBN: 9966-7457-0-X
This book is a product of more than a decade of Oduor’s experience in teaching ethics (moral philosophy) at the University of Nairobi. In the course of this introduction, the reader gets to see the techniques of philosophic reflection in action, as they are employed to scrutinise various pertinent moral questions
Research Report 1: Recalculation of Drugs’ Cost-effectiveness after Patent-Expiry
No full textDe begeleider en/of auteur heeft geen toestemming gegeven tot het openbaar maken van de scriptie.
The supervisor and/or the author did not authorize public publication of the thesis.
Cost-effectiveness of pertussis booster vaccination in the Netherlands
No full textThe aim of the current study is to estimate the epidemiological and economical consequences of several extended pertussis booster vaccination strategies and to explore the impact of parameters surrounded by large uncertainty on the cost-effectiveness. We developed an age structured transmission dynamic model to evaluate the impact of programs targeting (i) adolescents or adults using a single booster dose, (ii) a combination of adolescent and adult vaccination, and (iii) an every 10 years booster dose. The base case analysis, that is a single adolescent booster administered at the age of 12 years, resulted in a reduction of pertussis infections. However, due to an increase in the number of symptomatic infections in adults, the benefits in terms of QALYs gained and costs saved in children were partly offset. Despite these negative indirect effects in the adult population, administering an additional booster dose could still be considered cost effective with an ICER of euro4200 per QALY gained. Combining an adolescent booster dose at the age of 10 (most cost-effective age for a single adolescent booster dose) with an adult (18-30 years) booster dose always resulted in favorable ICERs (<euro10,000/QALY). Finally the every 10 year booster dose resulted in an ICER of euro16,900 per QALY. The impact of different assumptions regarding the disease epidemiology, disease-related parameters, and vaccination program-related issues was limited. To conclude, we show that extended pertussis booster vaccination strategies are likely to be considered as cost-effective
Comments on “Precipitation kinetics of Al–1.12Mg2Si–0.35Si and Al–1.07Mg2Si–0.33Cu alloys”
No full textIt is shown that in analysing DSC data of precipitation reactions in Al–1.12Mg2Si–0.35Si, Al–1.07Mg2Si–0.33Cu and Al–1.0Mg2Si–0.5Ag alloys in work by Gaber et al., accurate values for the activation energies are obtained by applying the method derived by the present author (the Type B-1.92 method). Values obtained from other analysis methods reported by Gaber et al. are less accurate. Averaging activation energies obtained by different methods introduces inaccuracies and obscures these inaccuracies, especially if the set of methods applied includes highly inaccurate ones, such as the Ozawa and Takhor methods
Optical Flow Based State Estimation for an Indoor Micro Aerial Vehicle
No full textThis work addresses the problem of indoor state estimation for autonomous flying vehicles with an optic flow approach. The paper discusses a sensor configuration using six optic flow sensors of the computer mouse type augmented by a three-axis accelerometer to estimate velocity, rotation, attitude and viewing distances. It is shown that the problem is locally observable for a moving vehicle. A Kalman filter is used to extract these states from the sensor data. The resulting approach is tested in a simulation environment evaluating the performance of three Kalman filter algorithms under various noise conditions. Finally, a prototype of the sensor hardware has been built and tested in a laboratory setup. Paper published: Verveld, M.J., Chu, Q.P., De Wagter, C. and Mulder, J.A. “Optic Flow Based State Estimation for an Indoor Micro Air Vehicle” AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, August 2010, Toronto, Canada AIAA 2010-8209, DOI: 10.2514/6.2010-8209Aerospace EngineeringControl & Simulatio
The impact of vaccination programmes on public health in the Netherlands: A historical analysis of mortality, morbidity, and costs.
No full textOn September 14, 2018, Maarten van Wijhe was promoted at the University of Groningen on his PhD thesis entitled ‘The public health impact of vaccination programmes in the Netherlands. A historical analysis of mortality, morbidity, and costs’. The research was performed at the University of Groningen in collaboration with the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, under supervision of prof. dr. M.J. Postma and prof. dr. J. Wallinga. This article summarizes the most important findings of this thesis
Transient time-averaged spectra of rapidly-modulated semiconductor lasers
No full textUsing the computed solution of multimode rate equations, and including wavelength-chirping effects via the dependence of the refractive index on carrier concentration, it is possible to calculate time-averaged spectra of rapidly-modulated lasers. The averaging time may be used to simulate the effects of measuring equipment with a specific time response. The results show a characteristic line structure within the dominant longitudinal mode spectrum, and are in qualitative agreement with experimental measurements reported by other author
Gift inscription in Minions of the Moon: a little book of song and story
No full textThis edition includes a gift inscription possibly penned by the author, Madison Julius Cawein, "Frank on Valentines Day, 1914. M.J." Madison Julius Cawein (1865-1914).Cawein, Madison Julius, 1865-1914
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