Association of 12-Month Contraceptive Supply Policy and Months of Oral Contraception Prescribed by Obstetrics and Gynecology Physicians: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study

Objective This study sought to determine if there was a difference in the months of oral contraception prescribed by physicians living in U.S. states with a 12-month supply policy compared to physicians in states without a policy. Methods We conducted an exploratory descriptive study using a convenience sample of Obstetrics & Gynecology resident physicians (n=275) in the United States. Standard bivariate analyses were used to compare the difference between groups. Results Few physicians in both groups (3.8% with a policy and 1.4% without a policy) routinely prescribed a 12-month supply of contraception. The mean coverage prescribed by providers in states with and without a policy was 2.81 and 2.07 months (p<0.05). Conclusions The majority of physicians were unaware of 12-month contraceptive supply policies and unable to correctly write a prescription for 12-months of contraception, regardless of whether they lived in a state with a 12-month contraceptive supply policy. Physician education may be needed to effectively implement 12-month contraceptive supply policies.

Agricultural Workforce Crisis in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 and the restrictive measures towards containing the spread of its infections have seriously affected the agricultural workforce and jeopardized food security. The present study aims at assessing the COVID-19 pandemic impacts on agricultural labor and suggesting strategies to mitigate them. To this end, after an introduction to the pandemic background, the negative consequences on agriculture and the existing mitigation policies, risks to the agricultural workers were benchmarked across the United States’ Standard Occupational Classification system. The individual tasks associated with each occupation in agricultural production were evaluated on the basis of potential COVID-19 infection risk. As criteria, the most prevalent virus transmission mechanisms were considered, namely the possibility of touching contaminated surfaces and the close proximity of workers. The higher risk occupations within the sector were identified, which facilitates the allocation of worker protection resources to the occupations where they are most needed. In particular, the results demonstrated that 50% of the agricultural workforce and 54% of the workers’ annual income are at moderate to high risk. As a consequence, a series of control measures need to be adopted so as to enhance the resilience and sustainability of the sector as well as protect farmers including physical distancing, hygiene practices, and personal protection equipment.

Brute Force Attack pada Algoritma SHA-256

Brute force attack adalah salah satu serangan praktis (bersifat praktek) yang dapat digunakan untuk memecahkan teknik pengamanan kriptografi dengan cara mencoba seluruh kemungkinan jawaban/kunci yang ada. Secara umum seluruh jenis algoritma kriptografi dapat dipecahkan dengan menggunakan brute force attack, namun dalam pelaksanaannya brute force attack memerlukan perangkat, power, trials, waktu dan memory yang sangat besar, dimana semakin kompleks teknik/informasi yang harus dipecahkan, maka proses pencarian solusinya akan semakin lama, sehingga dalam hal ini terdapat pertimbangan terhadap kemunculan faktor keberuntungan (luck) untuk menemukan solusi serangan. Pada tulisan ini akan dibahas mengenai teknik dan paramter yang dibutuhkan dalam melakukan brute force attack terhadap password yang telah dihash dengan menggunakan algoritma SHA-256, yaitu algoritma fungsi hash standar Amerika Serikat berdasarkan pada dokumen NIST Federal Information Processing 180-3 – Secure Hash Standard (SHS). Brute force attack is one of the practical attacks that could be used to solve cryptographic security techniques by trying all possible answers / keys. Generally, all types of cryptographic algorithms could be solved by using brute force attack, but practically brute force attack implementation requires huge devices, powers, trials, times and memories, where the more complex techniques / information to be solved, means the longer search process will be, beside also considers the emergence of luck factor to find an attack solution. This paper will discuss about the techniques and parameters required in performing brute force attack against passwords that have been hashed using SHA-256 algorithm, that is United States standard hash function algorithm based on NIST document Federal Information Processing 180-3 - Secure Hash Standard (SHS).

Botanical Agents for the Treatment of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer

Nonmelanoma skin cancers, including basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, are common neoplasms worldwide and are the most common cancers in the United States. Standard therapy for cutaneous neoplasms typically involves surgical removal. However, there is increasing interest in the use of topical alternatives for the prevention and treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancer, particularly superficial variants. Botanicals are compounds derived from herbs, spices, stems, roots, and other substances of plant origin and may be used in the form of dried or fresh plants, extracted plant material, or specific plant-derived chemicals. They possess multiple properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties and are, therefore, believed to be possible chemopreventive agents or substances that may suppress or reverse the process of carcinogenesis. Here, we provide a review of botanical agents studied for the treatment and prevention of nonmelanoma skin cancers.

Global atmospheric effects on the gravity field quantities

Global atmospheric effects on the gravity field quantitiesWe compile the global maps of atmospheric effects on the gravity field quantities using the spherical harmonic representation of the gravitational field. A simple atmospheric density distribution is assumed within a lower atmosphere (< 6 km). Disregarding temporal and lateral atmospheric density variations, the radial atmospheric density model is defined as a function of the nominal atmospheric density at the sea level and the height. For elevations above 6 km, the atmospheric density distribution from the United States Standard Atmosphere 1976 is adopted. The 5 × 5 arc-min global elevation data from the ETOPO5 are used to generate the global elevation model coefficients. These coefficients (which represent the geometry of the lower bound of atmospheric masses) are utilized to compute the atmospheric effects with a spectral resolution complete to degree and order 180. The atmospheric effects on gravity disturbances, gravity anomalies and geoid undulations are evaluated globally on a 1 × 1 arc-deg grid.

Prediction of barometric pressures at high altitudes with the use of model atmospheres

West, John B. Prediction of barometric pressures at high altitudes with the use of model atmospheres. J. Appl. Physiol. 81(4): 1850–1854, 1996.—It would be valuable to have model atmospheres that allow barometric pressures (Pb) to be predicted at high altitudes. Attempts to do this in the past using the International Civil Aviation Organization or United States Standard Atmosphere model have brought such models into disrepute because the predicted pressures at high altitudes are usually much too low. However, other model atmospheres have been developed by geophysicists. The critical variable is the change of air temperature with altitude, and, therefore, model atmospheres have been constructed for different latitudes and seasons of the year. These different models give a large range of pressures at a given altitude. For example, the maximum difference of pressure at an altitude of 9 km is from 206 to 248 Torr, i.e., ∼20%. However, the mean of the model atmospheres for latitude of 15° (in all seasons) and 30° (in the summer) predicts Pb at many locations of interest at high altitude very well, with predictions within 1%. The equation is Pb(Torr) = exp (6.63268 − 0.1112 h − 0.00149 h2), where h is the altitude in kilometers. The predictions are good because many high mountain sites are within 30° of the equator and also many studies are made during the summer. Other models should be used for latitudes of 45° and above. Model atmospheres have considerable value in predicting Pb at high altitude if proper account is taken of latitude and season of the year.