Learning to Minimize Energy Costs and Maximize Mechanical Work in a Bimanual Coordination Task

The authors addressed the hypothesis that economy in motor coordination is a learning phenomenon realized by both reduced energy cost for a given workload and more external work at the same prepractice metabolic and attentional energy expenditure. "Self-optimization" of movement parameters has been proposed to reflect learned motor adaptations that minimize energy costs. Twelve men aged 22.3 ± 3.9 years practiced a 90° relative phase, upper limb, independent ergometer cycling task at 60 rpm, followed by a transfer test of unpracticed (45 and 75 rpm) and selfpaced cadences. Performance in all conditions was initially unstable, inaccurate, and relatively high in both metabolic and attentional energy costs. With practice, coordinative stability increased, more work was performed for the same metabolic and attentional costs, and the same work was done at a reduced energy cost. Selfpaced cycling was initially below the metabolically optimal, but following practice at 60 rpm was closer to optimal cadence. Given the many behavioral options of the motor system in meeting a variety of everyday movement task goals, optimal metabolic and attentional energy criteria may provide a solution to the problem of selecting the most adaptive coordination and control parameters.     

医疗保健政策与医患关系

医疗保健政策深刻地影响着医患关系,并左右着医患关系的发展与变化.在实行"以公平为主,兼顾效益"的福利性的医疗保健政策时期,我国的医患关系是和谐的.但自从医疗保健政策向"经济导向型"方向转变之后,国家大幅度减少了对卫生事业的投入,医院必须从病人身上取得卫生发展必要的资金,医药费用上涨是必然的,也失去了公平和公正,并最终导致医患关系的恶化.调整医患关系不能仅从医、患两方面着手,建立符合医学伦理的卫生政策,才是问题的关键.     

拉丁美洲国家医疗保障制度探析

拉丁美洲国家的经济发展水平较高,公共健康开支和私人健康开支也比较高,医疗保障制度覆盖面较大,财政的健康开支公平性较高。但是国别之间,健康开支水平与经济发展水平之间以及健康开支水平与财政负担的公平性之间缺乏紧密的联系。这说明,社会医疗保险制度模式、收入差距等因素制约了医疗保障制度的作用的发挥和财政负担公平性的实现。     

Influence of Accelerometer Placement and/or Heart Rate on Energy Expenditure Prediction during Uphill Exercise

Studies using a triaxial accelerometer and heart rate (HR) simultaneously for estimating energy expenditure (EE) during uphill exercise are rare. Exploring the optimal location for placing the accelerometer for predicting EE during uphill exercise is essential. Sixteen healthy male participants (M ± SEM; age 25.00 ± 0.61 years; body weight 74.13 ± 2.51 kg; body height 1.74 ± 0.01 m; body mass index 24.30 ± 0.63 kg/m²) exercised on a treadmill under 12 conditions (4 speeds and 3 gradients) on 3 days. Triaxial accelerometers, an HR recorder, and a metabolic measurement system were simultaneously used. Accelerometer outputs from various anatomical locations (upper arm, chest, lower back, waist, thigh, and instep) showed significant positive correlations with EE (0.819, 0.846, 0.816, 0.820, 0.672, and 0.669, respectively; p < .05). The linear regression equation for changes in HR showed the highest coefficient of determination (r²) of .837 with 87.9% reliability. When the HR signal was included, the r² value (> .842) and reliability (87.9%) between the accelerometer outputs and EE improved. Accelerometer outputs from the waist position alone provide highly accurate EE values. Using both accelerometer outputs and HR for EE estimation during uphill exercise is feasible and improves the accuracy of EE prediction.     

中国社会医疗保险财务收支中的障碍与突破

财务收支是社会医疗保险制度运行的物质基础。近年来,财务收支失衡问题已经开始显现于我国社会医疗保险的部分统筹地区。其原因主要有责任主体、人口结构、财务机制、医疗递送等因素。为此,应该在走向全民医疗保险制度、加强医患双方的道德风险规避、扩展个人医疗账户的使用范围、适时建立退休人员的缴费制度等方面进行改革与发展。     

Addendum to Killeen's (2019) Bidding for Delayed Rewards

Killeen (2019) portrayed an intimate relation between diverse economic indices, in particular compensation functions, discount functions, and demand functions. The article bemused some experts, however, by its counterintuitive prediction of an increase in the amount bid as the delay increased. Furthermore, the article failed to provide an explicit treatment of the small–soon versus large–late choice paradigm, to cite several papers that provided precedent for the current work, and to demonstrate the adequacy of his expenditure functions for data on purchasing decisions. These shortcomings are remedied in the current note, and some additional extensions offered.     

Interlimb Coordination During Step-to-Step Transition and Gait Performance

Most energy spent in walking is due to step-to-step transitions. During this phase, the interlimb coordination assumes a crucial role to meet the demands of postural and movement control. The authors review studies that have been carried out regarding the interlimb coordination during gait, as well as the basic biomechanical and neurophysiological principles of interlimb coordination. The knowledge gathered from these studies is useful for understanding step-to-step transition during gait from a motor control perspective and for interpreting walking impairments and inefficiency related to pathologies, such as stroke. This review shows that unimpaired walking is characterized by a consistent and reciprocal interlimb influence that is supported by biomechanical models, and spinal and supraspinal mechanisms. This interlimb coordination is perturbed in subjects with stroke.     

按病种支付医疗保险费用与病种成本核算研究

医疗服务具有垄断性、委托代理双重性和需求刚性.在利益机制驱动下,医疗项目的选择变成供方偏好,是医疗费用快速攀升的症结之一.变按项目支付为按病种支付,是控制医疗费用快速上涨、深化卫生改革的重要措施之一.最科学的方法是进行病种成本核算.     

医疗服务价格调整与医疗费用控制的关系研究

因政府、社会和病人无法承受越来越高的医疗费用,以致于控制医疗费用已成为我国卫生政策的核心。现代医院应将医疗服务价格调整作为切入点,降低医疗成本,用比较低廉的费用提供比较优质的医疗服务。     

新疆农村医疗救助制度实施效果评价

为评价新疆农村医疗救助制度实施效果,利用2008年和2012年两次横断面调查资料,分析医疗救助对象和非医疗救助对象的卫生服务需要、利用及费用变化.救助对象的两周患病率由2008年的181.34‰下降到2012年的87.81‰,2008年两周患病率救助对象高于非救助对象.救助对象两周就诊率由2008年的110.92‰下降至2012年的46.93‰,2012年两周就诊率救助对象高于非救助对象.年住院率救助对象均高于非救助对象.新疆农村医疗救助制度提高了贫困人口对卫生服务的利用,应将医疗救助制度与新农合紧密结合,持续资助贫困家庭参合.