nÃo hà / Apesar de existir desde à dÃcada de 1950/60, o mercado de saÃde suplementar passou a ser regulado apÃs a criaÃÃo da Lei de Planos de SaÃde em 1998, e a criaÃÃo, em 2000, da autarquia federal denominada AgÃncia Nacional de SaÃde Suplementar â ANS, que passou a acompanhar a atuaÃÃo das operadoras nesse mercado. Dentre as diversas competÃncias desta AgÃncia Reguladora està o de retirar a Operadora do mercado de saÃde suplementar, seja por nÃo obedecer as normas reguladoras, seja por decretaÃÃo de sua liquidaÃÃo extrajudicial em razÃo de graves problemas econÃmico-financeiros que o impedem de permanecer assistindo a sua massa de beneficiÃrios. Diante desse cenÃrio, verificamos que muitas operadoras tÃm saÃdo do mercado, na maioria das vezes causando uma sÃrie de âproblemasâ sÃcio-econÃmicos para os agentes que nele participam, como desassistÃncia por algum perÃodo dos beneficiÃrios, inadimplÃncia da Operadora perante diversos prestadores, muitas vezes levando estes a suportarem os calotes e passarem por algum nÃvel de dificuldade financeira, imprevista necessidade de atuaÃÃo do ÃrgÃo regulador para realocaÃÃo dos beneficiÃrios Ãs outras operadoras e dificuldades destas em suportar a entrada desses beneficiÃrios sem carÃncia e com demanda reprimida, aumentando a sinistralidade etc. Assim, torna-se importante investigar se existe um perfil de operadoras que estÃo fadadas ao insucesso, à partir de caracterÃsticas que se entende como pontos que fortalecem ou nÃo as finanÃas dessas empresas. Para isso, utilizamos variÃveis escolhidas com base em estudos cientÃficos ou conhecimentos empÃricos, a serem utilizadas uma sÃrie temporal de 129 meses em um modelo de regressÃo de Cox, sendo este indicado pela comunidade cientÃfica um importante modelo de anÃlise de sobrevivÃncia. / In spite of its existence dating since the 1950âs, it wasnât until the creation of the Brazilian Law on Health Insurance in 1998 and of the federal autarchy (independent agency) named ANS â National Agency for Supplementary Health â in 2000, that supplementary health market came to being regulated. Amongst the Agencyâs many attributions is taking the Health Care Operator out of the supplementary market, either for not obeying the regulatory norms or for having its extrajudicial liquidation declared on account of dire financial and economic problems that prevent the Operator from assisting its beneficiaries. In this perspective, we notice a number of Health Care Operators exiting the market usually causing a series of social-economic âissuesâ for the participant agents such as temporary health care assistance stoppage, financial default by the Operator regarding providersâ services â at times bringing the providers to endure financial difficulties due to lack of payment, unforeseen necessity of action by the regulatory agency in order to relocate beneficiaries to different Operators - thus creating complications to these Operators in receiving new beneficiaries with no grace period and restrained demand increasing loss, and so forth. Therefore it proves to be relevant an investigation towards defining a profile of Operators fated to failure, from traits that are known to determine the financial strength of these companies. To this end we use variables, chosen based on scientific studies or empirical knowledge, to be applied on a 129 monthsâ time series Cox regression model, which is recommended by the scientific community as an important Survival Analysis model.

Class of 2017 Abstract / Objectives: To assess the general public’s knowledge of the benefits and sources of calcium and vitamin D dietary and supplemental intake and to identify any pertinent demographic characteristics that influence such knowledge. Methods: Participants were convenience sampled from Walmart locations in Safford, Arizona and Tucson, Arizona. Each participant completed a brief survey assessing their knowledge about the benefits and sources of calcium and vitamin D and optional questions regarding demographics. Results: 51 participants in Safford and 51 participants in Tucson completed the questionnaire. Of the 51 responders in Safford, 18 were men and 24 were women with a mean age of 49.52 (SD = 14.53, 80.49% white). Of the 51 responders in Tucson, 22 were men and 17 were women with a mean age of 50.97 (SD = 17.32, 71.79% white). Baseline demographics were equivalent. Statistical significant was observed when the mean total scores from Tucson and Safford were compared. On average, the participants in Tucson scored higher when compared to participants in Safford with mean scores of 55.5% and 49.0% respectively (p= 0.0412). Conclusions: Tucson participants scored statistically significantly higher when compared to Safford participants. This may be due to the health disparity between urban and rural populations. Gender, ethnicity, supplement use, personal or family history of osteoporosis, and education level did not appear to affect response scores on the questionnaire.

Class of 2015 Abstract / Objectives: To determine the effects of the dietary supplement, “Omega Q Plus ® Resveratrol” on cardiovascular health. More specifically, to review randomized controlled trials to determine the effects of resveratrol, coenzyme Q10, and omega-3-fatty acids on lipid levels and blood pressure. Methods: Randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trials were searched using PubMed and Embase. Studies that assessed the effects of either resveratrol, coenzyme Q10, or omega-3 fatty acids on lipid levels and/or blood pressure in humans were included. Studies that did not use less than 1 gram of EPA and DHA were excluded. Data extraction and validity assessment was conducted by one reviewer; validity for trials were assessed using the Potential for Methodological Bias Assessment Tool (PBMAT). Results: A total of 24 studies were included; 11 for resveratrol, seven for coenzyme Q10, and six for omega-3 fatty acids, totaling to 1633 participants combined. Doses ranged from 8 mg to 3,000 mg of resveratrol per day, 100 mg to 200 mg of coenzyme Q10 per day, and 67 mg EPA + 33 mg DHA to 1944 mg EPA + 1686 mg DHA. Results across trials were inconsistent in regards to efficacy on lipid levels and blood pressure. Subjects with metabolic syndrome or hypertriglyceridemia seemed to benefit from omega-3 fatty acids through improvement in triglyceride levels, however effects with healthy patients were less clear. Conclusions: Overall, the interventions demonstrated mixed results in affecting lipid levels and blood pressure. No conclusions can be made at this point about the efficacy of Omega Q Plus® Resveratrol on cardiovascular health. Further research into these dietary supplements need to be conducted in order to assess their efficacy

M.Tech. (Engineering: Chemical) / South Africa has the second largest fluorspar reserves in the world, but about 95% of the mined fluorspar is exported without local beneficiation that would otherwise increase foreign exchange earnings., Creamer Mining Weekly G-Other Trade Topic- Investment, (2005). The first step of a possible local beneficiation process would be the feeding of fluorspar solid from a hopper fitted with a screw feeder, using nitrogen gas to transport the powder into a non-transfer plasma reactor system. This study had as a main goal the optimization of the applicable continuous feeding parameters. The objectives of the investigation were: (a) Evaluation of the feeding system. (b) Evaluation of pumping/vacuum generation requirements. (c) Evaluation of the effect of using solid powder with non - uniform particle size. (d) To develop a model to enable the design and preliminary costing of a fullscale plant. Tests were performed in a test rig constructed for this purpose using different pipe diameters and nitrogen flow rates for the transport of the powder. It was found that the level in the hopper would have to be kept constant or a control system would have to be implemented in order to maintain a constant powder feed rate. In addition, a model was developed for the transport of the powder, and was used to optimize the pipe diameter required. An initial estimate of the operating cost and earnings of a possible full scale plant indicated that the beneficiation process would be very profitable. It is therefore suggested that this process be investigated further for conditions closer to the optimum modelled in a mini-pilot plant operation that includes the plasma reactor system in preparation of full scale implementation

This study was undertaken to determine the effect of protein and wheat germ oil supplements upon selected measures of junior high school boys. The measures selected were for weight, arm strength, speed and endurance, and urinalyses for urea nitrogen. Thirty-six ninth grade athletes at Memorial Junior High School in Alice, Texas, were used as subjects. The subjects were placed in three groups of twelve each with one group receiving the supplements and the other two groups serving as control groups.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Weaning stress in young calves is often compounded with stress from transport, marketing, and commingling. The result is a weakened immune system, which can lead to increased incidence of diseases, especially bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC). Backgrounding cattle post-weaning and prior to feedlot entry may alleviate some of the more common stresses and typically diminished feed intake. Five trials were conducted with a total of 228 weaned calves to evaluate different backgrounding systems. Drylot diets with 70:30 and 40:60 forage to concentrate total mixed rations with Se and vitamin E injections were studied. No differences were observed in daily gains or feed efficiency among treatments. Steers receiving Se injections had higher (P < 0.05) blood Se concentrations on d 7, 14, 28, and 42. Steers grazed four types of stockpiled pastures with previous pasture treatments: control, poultry litter fed to previous grazing cattle, poultry litter applied, and inorganic fertilizer. Supplements (16% CP) for each pasture treatment were none, soy hulls + SBM (0.5% BW), and corn + SBM (0.5% BW). On d 7, unsupplemented steers had higher (P < 0.05) daily gains than steers supplemented with corn + SBM. No differences were detected on any other day. Heifers grazed stockpiled fescue and were fed three 16% CP supplements: corn gluten feed + soy hulls (0.5% BW), corn gluten feed + soy hulls (1.0% BW), and soy hulls + SBM (0.5% BW). On d 14, heifers supplemented with soy hulls + SBM had higher (P < 0.05) cumulative daily gains. No other differences were detected in gains among treatments. Steers were allotted to four injection treatments: none, Se, vitamin E, and combination of Se and vitamin E. There were no differences in daily gain or blood Se concentrations on any day among all treatments. Steers grazed two pasture types: fescue and fescue + alfalfa, with the following injections: none, vitamin E, and Se. There were no differences in daily gains among all treatments. On d 7, 14, 28, and 42, steers receiving Se injections had higher (P < 0.05) blood Se concentrations. On d 7 and 14, steers grazing fescue pastures had higher serum alpha-tocopherol concentrations than steers grazing fescue + alfalfa pastures. There were no differences in serum alpha-tocopherol concentrations due to injection treatment on any day. No consistent differences were detected in forage and blood serum mineral concentrations in all trials. There were no differences in gains from by-product supplementation versus "traditional" corn-based supplementation, suggesting that by-product feedstuffs may be of value for backgrounding rations. Selenium and vitamin E supplementation did not have any significant effect on calf morbidity. / Master of Science

Nutritional supplements are a combination of complementary medicines and functional foods. While research suggests that the usage of nutritional supplements is increasing worldwide, the growth of the industry is being hampered by a lack of understanding on the part of consumers. The main aim of this study was to determine the usage pattern of nutritional supplements amongst University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Masters of Business Administration (MBA) students registered in 2011. Research data for this study was obtained by surveying UKZN MBA students. From a population of 250, a probability sample of 152 responses was statistically analysed for the research. Quantitative data obtained from a questionnaire was used and analysed to meet the study’s objectives. A salient finding of the study was that there is an “uptapped” market amongst Black consumers that the nutritional supplement businesses should target. The study revealed that the majority of the respondents did not fully understand the benefits of nutritional supplements. The overall results of the study revealed the usage patterns of nutritional supplements amongst UKZN MBA students. The results also identified which population group and which gender consumed nutritional supplements. This study could assist nutritional supplement businesses to gain market share. The results can be used to formulate marketing strategies and to provide businesses with a competitive advantage. The recommendations of the study were that growth in the nutritional supplement industry could be achieved by targeting the Black market and that additional marketing campaigns were needed to educate and inform consumers about the benefits of nutritional supplements. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012