A Review on Parameters of Internet Gateway Discovery in MANETS

The input parameters are very crucial in simulation tools for the analysis of data after the implementation. Authors in Mobile ad hoc Networks and particularly in Internet gateway discovery, face some challenges on how to decide on the choice of specific parameters. A wrong choice of input parameters could lead to a doubtful result by other researchers. A best practice is to follow what other authors are using as input parameters in their paper. This review analyses 72 proceeding papers and articles in different digital libraries: google scholar, IEEE Xplore, Elsevier, Springer, and snowball from 2010-2020. We present the result of our survey in this paper. We recommend the input parameters research should use base on the high utilisation as reference. Our review will help the community in MANET and Internet gateway to improve the credibility of the input parameters.

Mapping resource effectiveness across urban systems

Cities and their growing resource demands threaten global resource security. This study identifies the hotspots of imports in cities to redirect resources to where they are most needed, based on the system overall resource effectiveness to maximise the use of all resources available. This paper develops a taxonomy of resource-use behaviour based on the clustering patterns of resource utilisation and conversion across interconnected urban systems. We find high tendencies of consumer-like behaviour in a multi-city system because tertiary sectors are concentrated in urban areas while the producing sectors are located outside and hence, results in high utilisation but low output. The clustering taxonomy emphasises that the absence of producers in the system causes cities to rely on the imported resources for growth. Cities can be resource-effective by having a more diversified industrial structure to extend the pathways of resource flows, closing the circularity gap between the suppliers and consumers.

Influenza-associated pneumonia as reference to assess seriousness of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Information on severity of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (transmissibility, disease seriousness, impact) is crucial for preparation of healthcare sectors. We present a simple approach to assess disease seriousness, creating a reference cohort of pneumonia patients from sentinel hospitals. First comparisons exposed a higher rate of COVID-19 patients requiring ventilation. There were more case fatalities among COVID-19 patients without comorbidities than in the reference cohort. Hospitals should prepare for high utilisation of ventilation and intensive care resources.

Antimicrobial Resistance and the Private Sector in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is considered a regional hotspot for the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). A commonality across countries in the region, particularly those with lower incomes such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Lao PDR and Vietnam, is the high utilisation of private healthcare providers, often unregulated, which may play a role in driving AMR. In this chapter we discuss challenges to the control of AMR in Southeast Asia, with a focus on the role of the private sector. After providing an overview of the problem and current policy responses, we consider ethical issues of equity and fairness that may arise from the implementation of established and proposed interventions.

Bicycle-Friendly Roundabouts: A Case-Study

Roundabouts constrain speeds and impact angles for vehicles as they approach. Therefore, they are considered to be a ‘Safe System’ solution for intersections. Though roundabouts are a positive road safety treatment for cars they do not show as dramatic a reduction in road trauma for bicyclists. New Zealand crash data for 2001-2011, found almost 28% of injury crashes at roundabouts involve cyclists, while at priority-controlled intersections and signalised intersections the proportions are 8% and 5.5% respectively. VicRoads specifies technical guidance in relation to road safety treatments at roundabouts specifically targeted for the protection of cyclists and pedestrians. In 2018 this guidance was used to design and build two cycle-friendly protected roundabouts in Moray St, South Melbourne, as part of the Metro Tunnel Project. The project upgraded the Moray Street bicycle path to provide cyclists with a safe path in the north-south route and raised pedestrian crossings at all branches of the roundabout during Metro Tunnel works on St Kilda Road. Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd evaluated the performance and found a moderate utilisation rate of cyclists on the dedicated bicycle lanes and a high utilisation rate of pedestrians using raised crossings. The evaluation also found no significant issues with near-crashes for bicycle-and-pedestrian and bicycle-and-vehicle interaction. There were no significant problems with vehicle drivers using the protected roundabout. However, it was noted that when pedestrians are crossing at the raised crossings then vehicles would sometimes stop in the middle of the roundabout thus blocking traffic.

Systematic review of high-cost patients’ characteristics and healthcare utilisation

ObjectivesTo investigate the characteristics and healthcare utilisation of high-cost patients and to compare high-cost patients across payers and countries.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesPubMed and Embase databases were searched until 30 October 2017.Eligibility criteria and outcomesOur final search was built on three themes: ‘high-cost’, ‘patients’, and ‘cost’ and ‘cost analysis’. We included articles that reported characteristics and utilisation of the top-X% (eg, top-5% and top-10%) patients of costs of a given population. Analyses were limited to studies that covered a broad range of services, across the continuum of care. Andersen’s behavioural model was used to categorise characteristics and determinants into predisposing, enabling and need characteristics.ResultsThe studies pointed to a high prevalence of multiple (chronic) conditions to explain high-cost patients’ utilisation. Besides, we found a high prevalence of mental illness across all studies and a prevalence higher than 30% in US Medicaid and total population studies. Furthermore, we found that high costs were associated with increasing age but that still more than halve of high-cost patients were younger than 65 years. High costs were associated with higher incomes in the USA but with lower incomes elsewhere. Preventable spending was estimated at maximally 10% of spending. The top-10%, top-5% and top-1% high-cost patients accounted for respectively 68%, 55% and 24% of costs within a given year. Spending persistency varied between 24% and 48%. Finally, we found that no more than 30% of high-cost patients are in their last year of life.ConclusionsHigh-cost patients make up the sickest and most complex populations, and their high utilisation is primarily explained by high levels of chronic and mental illness. High-cost patients are diverse populations and vary across payer types and countries. Tailored interventions are needed to meet the needs of high-cost patients and to avoid waste of scarce resources.

Lorne Peak Station - achieving sustainable profitability in challenging Southland hill country

Lorne Peak Station, near Garston in Northern Southland is a 5650 ha station, which until recently, has been run as an extensive store sheep and beef property. Major constraints for this hill country property, like many others in the region, are long winters with occasional snowfall, low pasture growth rates, dry summers, unpredictable autumns and limited cash flow to develop and improve the land. The intensification of New Zealand's hill country farms is a critical aspect in ensuring financial viability. Since 2009, Lorne Peak has undergone a rigorous intensification program, initially aided by income produced from wintering dairy cows on the property. With careful selection of crops and pastures, farm profitability has increased, through selection of different stock breeds/classes and high utilisation of feed supply over the year. FARMAX® modelling software has been used retrospectively to analyse these changes, and compare it with the current scenario. The analysis clearly shows that the use of lucerne for grazing, fodder beet for beef production, subdivision and increasing soil fertility have been real game changers for Lorne Peak. A 292% increase in farm profit before tax is testament to this achievement. However, an increase of 26% for total farm working expenses, highlights the need for investment to be planned to build resilience into the farming operation. Keywords: hill country, intensification, dryland, lucerne, fodder beet, sheep, beef, FARMAX®, profitability