A process involving chance used in therapeutic trials or other research endeavor for allocating experimental subjects, human or animal, between treatment and control groups, or among treatment groups. It may also apply to experiments on inanimate objects.

The injection of drugs, most often analgesics, into the spinal canal without puncturing the dura mater.

A rapid-onset, short-acting cholinesterase inhibitor used in cardiac arrhythmias and in the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis. It has also been used as an antidote to curare principles.

Works about clinical trials that involve at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table.

Production of an image when x-rays strike a fluorescent screen.

A plan for collecting and utilizing data so that desired information can be obtained with sufficient precision or so that an hypothesis can be tested properly.

Drugs that block nerve conduction when applied locally to nerve tissue in appropriate concentrations. They act on any part of the nervous system and on every type of nerve fiber. In contact with a nerve trunk, these anesthetics can cause both sensory and motor paralysis in the innervated area. Their action is completely reversible. (From Gilman AG, et. al., Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 8th ed) Nearly all local anesthetics act by reducing the tendency of voltage-dependent sodium channels to activate.

Societal or individual decisions about the equitable distribution of available resources.

A method of studying a drug or procedure in which both the subjects and investigators are kept unaware of who is actually getting which specific treatment.

Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.

Planning for the equitable allocation, apportionment, or distribution of available health resources.

The administrative procedures involved with acquiring TISSUES or organs for TRANSPLANTATION through various programs, systems, or organizations. These procedures include obtaining consent from TISSUE DONORS and arranging for transportation of donated tissues and organs, after TISSUE HARVESTING, to HOSPITALS for processing and transplantation.

Total mass of all the organisms of a given type and/or in a given area. (From Concise Dictionary of Biology, 1990) It includes the yield of vegetative mass produced from any given crop.

Prospective patient listings for appointments or treatments.

The number of males per 100 females.

The total process by which organisms produce offspring. (Stedman, 25th ed)

Available manpower, facilities, revenue, equipment, and supplies to produce requisite health care and services.

Detailed financial plans for carrying out specific activities for a certain period of time. They include proposed income and expenditures.

Criteria and standards used for the determination of the appropriateness of the inclusion of patients with specific conditions in proposed treatment plans and the criteria used for the inclusion of subjects in various clinical trials and other research protocols.

The above-ground plant without the roots.

Planning for health resources at a regional or multi-state level.

Focusing on certain aspects of current experience to the exclusion of others. It is the act of heeding or taking notice or concentrating.

An interactive process whereby members of a community are concerned for the equality and rights of all.

Expanded structures, usually green, of vascular plants, characteristically consisting of a bladelike expansion attached to a stem, and functioning as the principal organ of photosynthesis and transpiration. (American Heritage Dictionary, 2d ed)

Final stage of a liver disease when the liver failure is irreversible and LIVER TRANSPLANTATION is needed.

Individuals supplying living tissue, organs, cells, blood or blood components for transfer or transplantation to histocompatible recipients.

An element with the atomic symbol N, atomic number 7, and atomic weight [14.00643; 14.00728]. Nitrogen exists as a diatomic gas and makes up about 78% of the earth's atmosphere by volume. It is a constituent of proteins and nucleic acids and found in all living cells.

Preferentially rated health-related activities or functions to be used in establishing health planning goals. This may refer specifically to PL93-641.

The number of offspring produced at one birth by an oviparous or ovoviviparous animal.

The usually underground portions of a plant that serve as support, store food, and through which water and mineral nutrients enter the plant. (From American Heritage Dictionary, 1982; Concise Dictionary of Biology, 1990)

A class of free-living freshwater flatworms of North America.

New immature growth of a plant including stem, leaves, tips of branches, and SEEDLINGS.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

The transference of a part of or an entire liver from one human or animal to another.

Woody, usually tall, perennial higher plants (Angiosperms, Gymnosperms, and some Pterophyta) having usually a main stem and numerous branches.

Federal, state, or local government organized methods of financial assistance.

Parts of plants that usually grow vertically upwards towards the light and support the leaves, buds, and reproductive structures. (From Concise Dictionary of Biology, 1990)

Sexual activities of animals.

A philosophically coherent set of propositions (for example, utilitarianism) which attempts to provide general norms for the guidance and evaluation of moral conduct. (from Beauchamp and Childress, Principles of Biomedical Ethics, 4th ed)

A nonmetallic element with atomic symbol C, atomic number 6, and atomic weight [12.0096; 12.0116]. It may occur as several different allotropes including DIAMOND; CHARCOAL; and GRAPHITE; and as SOOT from incompletely burned fuel.

The amounts spent by individuals, groups, nations, or private or public organizations for total health care and/or its various components. These amounts may or may not be equivalent to the actual costs (HEALTH CARE COSTS) and may or may not be shared among the patient, insurers, and/or employers.

The cycle by which the element carbon is exchanged between organic matter and the earth's physical environment.

The principles of professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the physician, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the physician in patient care and interpersonal relations with patient families.

System of recording financial transactions.

The spurge family of flowering plants, in the order Euphorbiales, contains some 7,500 species in 275 genera. The family consists of annual and perennial herbs and woody shrubs or trees.

The synthesis by organisms of organic chemical compounds, especially carbohydrates, from carbon dioxide using energy obtained from light rather than from the oxidation of chemical compounds. Photosynthesis comprises two separate processes: the light reactions and the dark reactions. In higher plants; GREEN ALGAE; and CYANOBACTERIA; NADPH and ATP formed by the light reactions drive the dark reactions which result in the fixation of carbon dioxide. (from Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2001)

Processes orchestrated or driven by a plethora of genes, plant hormones, and inherent biological timing mechanisms facilitated by secondary molecules, which result in the systematic transformation of plants and plant parts, from one stage of maturity to another.

The unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.

A functional system which includes the organisms of a natural community together with their environment. (McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

A plant family of the order Caryophyllales, subclass Caryophyllidae, class Magnoliopsida. The species are diverse in appearance and habitat; most have swollen leaf and stem joints.

A method in which either the observer(s) or the subject(s) is kept ignorant of the group to which the subjects are assigned.

Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of systems, processes, or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

A method of comparing the cost of a program with its expected benefits in dollars (or other currency). The benefit-to-cost ratio is a measure of total return expected per unit of money spent. This analysis generally excludes consideration of factors that are not measured ultimately in economic terms. Cost effectiveness compares alternative ways to achieve a specific set of results.

Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of biological processes or diseases. For disease models in living animals, DISEASE MODELS, ANIMAL is available. Biological models include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

Tissue, organ, or gamete donation intended for a designated recipient.

A plant genus of the family ASTERACEAE. The common name of snakeroot is also used for POLYGALA; SANICULA; ARISTOLOCHIA and others.

Absolute, comparative, or differential costs pertaining to services, institutions, resources, etc., or the analysis and study of these costs.

The intrinsic moral worth ascribed to a living being. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

The introduction of error due to systematic differences in the characteristics between those selected and those not selected for a given study. In sampling bias, error is the result of failure to ensure that all members of the reference population have a known chance of selection in the sample.

Abstract standards or empirical variables in social life which are believed to be important and/or desirable.

The number of units (persons, animals, patients, specified circumstances, etc.) in a population to be studied. The sample size should be big enough to have a high likelihood of detecting a true difference between two groups. (From Wassertheil-Smoller, Biostatistics and Epidemiology, 1990, p95)

The process by which decisions are made in an institution or other organization.

Animals and plants which have, as their normal mode of reproduction, both male and female sex organs in the same individual.

Decisions, usually developed by government policymakers, for determining present and future objectives pertaining to the health care system.

Statistical formulations or analyses which, when applied to data and found to fit the data, are then used to verify the assumptions and parameters used in the analysis. Examples of statistical models are the linear model, binomial model, polynomial model, two-parameter model, etc.

The process of cumulative change over successive generations through which organisms acquire their distinguishing morphological and physiological characteristics.

The selection or choice of sexual partner in animals. Often this reproductive preference is based on traits in the potential mate, such as coloration, size, or behavioral boldness. If the chosen ones are genetically different from the rejected ones, then NATURAL SELECTION is occurring.

The transference of a kidney from one human or animal to another.

A dead body, usually a human body.

The physical measurements of a body.

In gonochoristic organisms, congenital conditions in which development of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical sex is atypical. Effects from exposure to abnormal levels of GONADAL HORMONES in the maternal environment, or disruption of the function of those hormones by ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS are included.

A system of medical care regulated, controlled and financed by the government, in which the government assumes responsibility for the health needs of the population.

A technique of operations research for solving certain kinds of problems involving many variables where a best value or set of best values is to be found. It is most likely to be feasible when the quantity to be optimized, sometimes called the objective function, can be stated as a mathematical expression in terms of the various activities within the system, and when this expression is simply proportional to the measure of the activities, i.e., is linear, and when all the restrictions are also linear. It is different from computer programming, although problems using linear programming techniques may be programmed on a computer.

The transference of either one or both of the lungs from one human or animal to another.

The absence of certain expected and acceptable cultural phenomena in the environment which results in the failure of the individual to communicate and respond in the most appropriate manner within the context of society. Language acquisition and language use are commonly used in assessing this concept.

Severe inability of the LIVER to perform its normal metabolic functions, as evidenced by severe JAUNDICE and abnormal serum levels of AMMONIA; BILIRUBIN; ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE; ASPARTATE AMINOTRANSFERASE; LACTATE DEHYDROGENASES; and albumin/globulin ratio. (Blakiston's Gould Medical Dictionary, 4th ed)

The act of making a selection among two or more alternatives, usually after a period of deliberation.

A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable.

The process of laying or shedding fully developed eggs (OVA) from the female body. The term is usually used for certain INSECTS or FISHES with an organ called ovipositor where eggs are stored or deposited before expulsion from the body.

Plant tissue that carries nutrients, especially sucrose, by turgor pressure. Movement is bidirectional, in contrast to XYLEM where it is only upward. Phloem originates and grows outwards from meristematic cells (MERISTEM) in the vascular cambium. P-proteins, a type of LECTINS, are characteristically found in phloem.

The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea.

A plant family of the order Ebenales, subclass Dilleniidae, class Magnoliopsida.

The capacity of an organization, institution, or business to produce desired results with a minimum expenditure of energy, time, money, personnel, materiel, etc.

The reproductive organs of plants.

A plant genus of the family HAMAMELIDACEAE. The sap is a source of storax, which should not be confused with the similar named STYRAX genus.

Divisions of the year according to some regularly recurrent phenomena usually astronomical or climatic. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

The time from the onset of a stimulus until a response is observed.

Precise and detailed plans for the study of a medical or biomedical problem and/or plans for a regimen of therapy.

The application of mathematical formulas and statistical techniques to the testing and quantifying of economic theories and the solution of economic problems.

The encapsulated embryos of flowering plants. They are used as is or for animal feed because of the high content of concentrated nutrients like starches, proteins, and fats. Rapeseed, cottonseed, and sunflower seed are also produced for the oils (fats) they yield.

Planning for needed health and/or welfare services and facilities.

Temporary visual deficit or impaired visual processing occurring in a rapid serial visual presentation task. After a person identifies the first of two visual targets, the ability to detect the second target is impaired for the next few hundred milliseconds. This phenomenon is called attentional blink.

Health services required by a population or community as well as the health services that the population or community is able and willing to pay for.

The act of feeding on plants by animals.

A plant species of the family POLYGONACEAE. Itadori tea is prepared from the root of this genus.

A plant genus of the family FAGACEAE.

Areawide planning for hospitals or planning of a particular hospital unit on the basis of projected consumer need. This does not include hospital design and construction or architectural plans.

Any of numerous winged hymenopterous insects of social as well as solitary habits and having formidable stings.

A plant genus in the family PINACEAE, order Pinales, class Pinopsida, division Coniferophyta. They are evergreen trees mainly in temperate climates.

The concept concerned with all aspects of providing and distributing health services to a patient population.

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

The actual costs of providing services related to the delivery of health care, including the costs of procedures, therapies, and medications. It is differentiated from HEALTH EXPENDITURES, which refers to the amount of money paid for the services, and from fees, which refers to the amount charged, regardless of cost.

The capacity to conceive or to induce conception. It may refer to either the male or female.