Search results for "utility"

The relationship between demographic- and disease-related variables and health-related quality of life in patients with axial spondyloarthritis

2017

Background Axial spondyloarthritis (ax-SpA) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the spine causing pain, stiffness, loss in physical function, and fatigue. Therefore, the physical and psychological burden of having this chronic disease can reduce the quality of life. We aimed to explore the relationship between demographic- and disease-related variables and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with ax-SpA. Methods Demographic- and disease-related, HRQoL-related and treatment data were collected. Disease measures included the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), the BAS Functional Index (BASFI), the BAS Global (BAS-G) score, the Maastricht Ankylosing Spo…

Bezskuteczność i zaskarżanie czynności dłużnika w postępowaniu sanacyjnym

2016

Reliability and validity of the Finnish version of the prosthesis evaluation questionnaire

2018

Background: Thus far there have been no specific patient-reported outcome instrument in Finnish for health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessment after major lower extremity amputation and successful prosthesis fitting. Methods: The prosthesis evaluation questionnaire (PEQ) was translated and cross-culturally adapted into Finnish. Participants completed a questionnaire package including the Finnish version of the PEQ and the 15 D HRQoL instrument. Scales (n = 10) were tested for internal consistency, floor-ceiling effect, and reproducibility for which participants completed the PEQ twice within a 2-week interval. Validity was tested by estimating the correlation between the 15 D index a…

Older volunteers in France: Recognising their social utility in a less and less corporatist welfare state

2014

International audience

Liberalising European electricity markets: opportunities and risks for a sustainable power sector

2003

The process of liberalising European electricity markets, encompassing a wide range of restructuring activities, has mainly been spurred by the attempt to increase the economic efficiency of the whole sector. This process might be used to trigger a development towards a sustainable power sector by increasing the use of renewable energy sources and enhancing energy efficiency on the supply and demand side. However, by taking a closer look at the current trends of the European electricity markets, it becomes obvious that the liberalisation not only implies opportunities but also risks for the creation of a sustainable power sector. Many of these risks are due to market distortions and imperfe…

Intellectual capital in the italian Public Service sector: analysis on management and governance

2011

Today measurement of companies economic, financial and social performance must take into account the role played by intangible assets. It is widely accepted in the literature that the latter, in the sense of resources without physical substance, are key factors in ensuring competitiveness. For this reason, more and more companies are anxious to develop effective and efficient tools to define, manage, monitor, evaluate and communicate the importance of their intangible assets. The definition and classification of intangible assets is still an open question (Zambon 2004; Marr and Neely 2004). We sometimes speak of intangible assets, and at other times intellectual capital. Recognition of the …

Obtaining the best value for money in adaptive sequential estimation

2010

Abstract In [Kujala, J. V., Richardson, U., & Lyytinen, H. (2010). A Bayesian-optimal principle for learner-friendly adaptation in learning games. Journal of Mathematical Psychology , 54(2), 247–255], we considered an extension of the conventional Bayesian adaptive estimation framework to situations where each observable variable is associated with a certain random cost of observation. We proposed an algorithm that chooses each placement by maximizing the expected gain in utility divided by the expected cost. In this paper, we formally justify this placement rule as an asymptotically optimal solution to the problem of maximizing the expected utility of an experiment that terminates when the…

Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis of the treatment of emotional disorders in primary care: psicap clinical trial. description of the sub-s…

2018

Introduction: In the primary care (PC) setting in Spain, the prevalence of emotional disorders (EDs) such as anxiety, depression and somatoform disorder is high. In PC patients, these disorders are not always managed in accordance with the recommendations provided by clinical practice guidelines, resulting in major direct and indirect economic costs and suboptimal treatment outcomes. The aim is to analyze and compare the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of group-based psychological therapy versus treatment as usual (TAU). Methods: Multicenter, randomized controlled trial involving 300 patients recruited from PC centers in Madrid, Spain, with symptoms or possible diagnosis of anxiety, moo…

Demand for life annuities from married couples with a bequest motive

2006

The aim of this paper is to explain the ‘annuities puzzle’ in greater depth by introducing the bequest motive. It will try to determine whether this motive really is a relevant feature influencing the demand for life annuities from married couples. With this aim in mind, we develop an optimization model of the utility provided by purchasing a life annuity with contingent survivor benefit or a joint survivor life annuity. Our model is based on that first put forward by Brown and Poterba (2000), to which we have added elements from other models, such as Friedman and Warshawsky's (1990) and Vidal and Lejárraga's (2004), which include the bequest motive. This will enable us to calculate the ann…

2020

(1) Background: Assessments of intervertebral disc (IVD) changes, and IVD tissue adaptations due to physical activity, for example, remains challenging. Newer magnetic resonance imaging techniques can quantify detailed features of the IVD, where T2-mapping and T2-weighted (T2w) and Dixon imaging are potential candidates. Yet, their relative utility has not been examined. The performances of these techniques were investigated to characterize IVD differences in asymptomatic individuals with distinct physical activity histories. (2) Methods: In total, 101 participants (54 women) aged 25–35 years with distinct physical activity histories but without histories of spinal disease were included. T1…