Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cross-Jurisdictional Resource Sharing in Local Health Departments: Implications for Services, Quality, and Cost

Background Forty one percent of local health departments in the U.S. serve jurisdictions with populations of 25,000 or less. Researchers, policymakers, and advocates have long questioned how to strengthen public health systems in smaller municipalities. Cross-jurisdictional sharing may increase quality of service, access to resources, and efficiency of resource use. Objective To characterize perceived strengths and challenges of independent and comprehensive sharing approaches, and to assess cost, quality, and breadth of services provided by independent and sharing health departments in Connecticut (CT) and Massachusetts (MA). Methods We interviewed local health directors or their designees from 15 comprehensive resource-sharing jurisdictions and 54 single-municipality jurisdictions in CT and MA using a semi-structured interview. Quantitative data were drawn from closed-ended questions in the semi-structured interviews; municipal demographic data were drawn from the American Community Survey and other public sources. Qualitative data were drawn from open-ended questions in the semi-structured interviews. Results The findings from this multistate study highlight advantages and disadvantages of two common public health service delivery models – independent and shared. Shared service jurisdictions provided more community health programs and services, and invested significantly more ($120 per thousand (1K) population vs. $69.5/1K population) on healthy food access activities. Sharing departments had more indicators of higher quality food safety inspections (FSIs), and there was a non-linear relationship between cost per FSI and number of FSI. Minimum cost per FSI was reached above the total number of FSI conducted by all but four of the jurisdictions sampled. Independent jurisdictions perceived their governing bodies to have greater understanding of the roles and responsibilities of local public health, while shared service jurisdictions had fewer staff per 1,000 population. Implications There are trade-offs with sharing and remaining independent. Independent health departments serving small jurisdictions have limited resources but strong local knowledge. Multi-municipality departments have more resources but require more time and investment in governance and decision-making. When making decisions about the right service delivery model for a given municipality, careful consideration should be given to local culture and values. Some economies of scale may be achieved through resource sharing for municipalities <25,000 population.
Evaluating Microwave Diathermy Results Using Robotic Arm Guided Temperature Measurement System

1 Abstract— Microwave diathermy is used for thermal rehabilitation to inhibit the early stages of osteoarthritis (OA). Thermal therapy focusing on the deep joint tissue effectively prevents cartilage degradation. However, our previous experimental results using agar phantoms show that microwave diathermy heat penetration depth is less than 20mm, which is not enough to heat the deep tissue for effective treatment of OA.
Cohort Sampling Schemes for the Mantel–Haenszel Estimator

Abstract. In many epidemiological studies, disease occurrences and their rates are naturally modelled by counting processes and their intensities, allowing an analysis based on martingale methods. Applied to the Mantel–Haenszel estimator, these methods lend themselves to the analysis of general control selection sampling designs and the accommodation of time‐varying exposures.
Regression-Discontinuity Analysis: An Alternative to the Ex-Post Facto Experiment

This study presents a method of testing casual hypotheses, called regression-discontinuity analysis, in situations where the investigator is unable to randomly assign Ss to experimental and control groups. The Ss were selected from near winners--5126 students who received certificates of merit and 2848 students who merely received letters of commendation. Comparison of the results obtained from the new mode of analysis with those obtained when the ex post facto design was applied to the same data. The new analysis suggested that public recognition for achievement tends to increase the likelihood that the recipient will receive a scholarship but did not support the inference that recognition affects the student's attitudes and career plans. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:1AF09T. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)
Grouper: graph-based clustering and annotation for improved de novo transcriptome analysis

Motivation De novo transcriptome analysis using RNA-seq offers a promising means to study gene expression in non-model organisms. Yet, the difficulty of transcriptome assembly means that the contigs provided by the assembler often represent a fractured and incomplete view of the transcriptome, complicating downstream analysis. We introduce Grouper, a new method for clustering contigs from de novo assemblies that are likely to belong to the same transcripts and genes; these groups can subsequently be analyzed more robustly. When provided with access to the genome of a related organism, Grouper can transfer annotations to the de novo assembly, further improving the clustering. Results On de novo assemblies from four different species, we show that Grouper is able to accurately cluster a larger number of contigs than the existing state-of-the-art method. The Grouper pipeline is able to map greater than 10% more reads against the contigs, leading to accurate downstream differential expression analyses. The labeling module, in the presence of a closely related annotated genome, can efficiently transfer annotations to the contigs and use this information to further improve clustering. Overall, Grouper provides a complete and efficient pipeline for processing de novo transcriptomic assemblies. Availability and implementation The Grouper software is freely available at https://github.com/COMBINE-lab/grouper under the 2-clause BSD license. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Introduction to Latent Class Analysis With Applications

Latent class analysis (LCA) is a statistical method used to group individuals (cases, units) into classes (categories) of an unobserved (latent) variable on the basis of the responses made on a set of nominal, ordinal, or continuous observed variables. In this article, we introduce LCA in order to demonstrate its usefulness to early adolescence researchers. We provide an application of LCA to empirical data collected from a national survey carried out in 2010 in Italy to assess mathematics and reading skills of fifth-grade primary school pupils (10 years in age). The data were used to measure pupils’ supplies of cultural capital by specifying a latent class model. This article aims to describe and interpret results of LCA, allowing users to replicate the analysis. All LCA examples included in the text are illustrated using the Latent GOLD package, and command files needed to reproduce all analyses with SAS and R are available as supplemental online appendix files along with the example data files.
Contribution EX VIVO STUDY OF QUANTITATIVE ULTRASOUND PARAMETERS IN FATTY RABBIT LIVERS

A tics Re neering St, Urb Abstract—Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects more than 30% of Americans, and with increasing problems of obesity in the United States, NAFLD is poised to become an even more serious medical concern. At present, accurate classification of steatosis (fatty liver) represents a significant challenge. In this study, the use of high-frequency (8 to 25 MHz) quantitative ultrasound (QUS) imaging to quantify fatty liver was explored. QUS is an imaging technique that can be used to quantify properties of tissue giving rise to scattered ultrasound. The changes in the ultrasound properties of livers in rabbits undergoing atherogenic diets of varying durations were investigated using QUS. Rabbits were placed on a special fatty diet for 0, 3, or 6 weeks. The fattiness of the livers was quantified by estimating the total lipid content of the livers. Ultrasonic properties, such as speed of sound, attenuation, and backscatter coefficients, were estimated in ex vivo rabbit liver samples from animals that had been on the diet for varying periods. Two QUS parameters were estimated based on the backscatter coefficient: effective scatterer diameter (ESD) and effective acoustic concentration (EAC), using a spherical Gaussian scattering model. Two parameters were estimated based on the backscattered envelope statistics (the k parameter and the m parameter) according to the homodyned K distribution. The speed of sound decreased from 1574 to 1565 m/s and the attenuation coefficient increased from 0.71 to 1.27 dB/cm/MHz, respectively, with increasing fat content in the liver. The ESD decreased from 31 to 17 mm and the EAC increased from 38 to 63 dB/cm with increasing fat content in the liver. A significant increase in the m parameter from 0.18 to 0.93 scatterers/mm was observed with increasing fat content in the liver samples. The results of this study indicate that QUS parameters are sensitive to fat content in the liver. (E-mail: oelze@illinois.edu) 2012 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.
Burniat surfaces I: fundamental groups and moduli of primary Burniat surfaces

This is the first in a series of articles on the moduli spaces of Burniat surfaces. We prove that Burniat surfaces are Inoue surfaces and we calculate their fundamental groups. As a main result of this paper we prove that every smooth projective surface which is homotopically equivalent to a primary Burniat surface (i.e., a Burniat surface with K^2 = 6) is indeed a primary Burniat surface.
Correlates of health information seeking between adults diagnosed with and without cancer

Purpose To examine predictors of information seeking behavior among individuals diagnosed with cancer versus those without. Methods Cross-sectional data from the Health Information National Trends Survey 4 Cycles 1–3 (October 2011 to November 2013) were analyzed for 10,774 survey respondents aged ≥18 years. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the effect of socio-demographic and behavioral factors on health information seeking. Results Cancer diagnosis did not predict health information seeking. However, respondents diagnosed with cancer were more likely to seek health information from a healthcare practitioner. Compared to males, females were more likely to seek health information irrespective of cancer diagnosis. Regardless of cancer diagnosis, those without a regular healthcare provider were less likely to seek health information. Likelihood of seeking health information declined across education strata, and significantly worsened among respondents without high school diplomas irrespective of cancer diagnosis. Conclusions Respondents sought health information irrespective of cancer diagnosis. However, the source of health information sought differed by cancer diagnosis. Gender, education, and having a regular healthcare provider were predictors of health information seeking. Future health communication interventions targeting cancer patients and the general public should consider these findings for tailored interventions to achieve optimal results.
Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology: Interpersonal Processes

evaluations (e.g., “My relationship is a good one”). We use this terminology primarily for heuristic and metaphoric purposes as our data cannot show that such hierarchical structures actually exist in memory. 6. Again, this effect emerged in analyses where we controlled for the number of faults individuals perceived in their partners.
Label-Free in situ Raman Analysis of Opposite and Tension Wood in Populus nigra

Label-free in situ confocal Raman microscopy has been used to investigate the differences in cell morphology and components distribution between opposite wood (OW) and tension wood (TW) in Populus nigra. In the Raman images showing the ratio of the 1657 cm-1 to the 1603 cm-1 band, the spatial heterogeneity in coniferyl alcohol and coniferyl aldehyde (Lignin-CAA) was visualized within both samples. Enrichment of Lignin-CAA was visualized in the CC and CML regions where there was the highest lignin concentration. In fiber S2, which had the highest content of cellulose, there was apparent deficiency in the Lignin-CAA concentration. Raman spectra analysis revealed that the band at 1097.0 cm-1 in OW fiber S2 shifted to lower wavenumbers in TW fiber S2 (1094.4 cm-1) and GL (1094.0 cm-1), which resulted from the stretch of the glycosidic C-O-C bond of the cellulose molecular. The negative band shift at 1097 cm-1 indicated that the microfibrils in the TW fiber S2 and GL were stretched during TW formation and the microfibrils still kept the tensional deformation even after the fibers were transversally cut. The sub-cellular localization of cellulose and lignin together with the variation in molecular deformation will contribute to understanding the morphological and chemical properties of TW as a desirable woody biomass, as well as the development of its high tensile strength.
Distribution and shaping of magnetic field of wireless energy transfer system

This paper deals with the design of finite element simulation model of wireless energy transfer “WET” system suited for investigation of electromagnetic (EM) field distribution and its possible coordinated shaping. Due to this, the designed model has to have the possibility of detailed modeling of the electromagnetic field around and between two or more coils with non-resonant and resonant coupling and further with the possibility of mutual position reconfiguration in order, to determine inductance and mutual inductance at the various condition. Furthermore, proposed model is serving for investigation of the possibilities for EMI shielding, thus shaping or coordinated direction of electromagnetic field will be investigated. Expectations are given on the reduction of the flaring field around the WET system.
Mechanics of hydrogenated amorphous carbon deposits from electron-beam-induced deposition of a paraffin precursor

Many experiments on the mechanics of nanostructures require the creation of rigid clamps at specific locations. In this work, electron-beam-induced deposition (EBID) has been used to deposit carbon films that are similar to those that have recently been used for clamping nanostructures. The film deposition rate was accelerated by placing a paraffin source of hydrocarbon near the area where the EBID deposits were made. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron-energy-loss spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, secondary-ion-mass spectrometry, and nanoindentation were used to characterize the chemical composition and the mechanics of the carbonaceous deposits. The typical EBID deposit was found to be hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) having more sp2- than sp3-bonded carbon. Nanoindentation tests revealed a hardness of ∼4GPa and an elastic modulus of 30–60GPa, depending on the accelerating voltage. This reflects a relatively soft film, which is built out of precursor molecular ions impacting .
Resistant starch reduces large intestinal pH and promotes fecal lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in pigs.

Dietary resistant starch (RS) may have prebiotic properties but its effects on fermentation and the microbial population are inconsistent. This meta-analysis aimed to quantify the relationship between RS type 2 (RS2) and intestinal short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and pH as well as certain key bacterial taxa for intestinal health in pigs. From the 24 included articles with sufficient information about the animal, and dietary and physiological measurements published between 2000 and 2017, individual sub-data sets for fermentation metabolites, pH, bacterial abundances and apparent total tract digestibility were built and used to parameterize prediction models on the effect of RS2, accounting for inter- and intra-study variability. In addition, the effect of pig's BW at the start of the experiment and duration of the experimental period on response variables were also evaluated using backward elimination analysis. Dietary RS levels ranged from 0% to 78.0% RS, with median and mean RS levels of 28.8% and 23.0%, respectively. Negative relationships could be established between dietary RS and pH in the large intestine (P<0.05), with a stronger effect in the mid and distal colon, and feces (R 2=0.64 to 0.81; P<0.001). A dietary level of 15% RS would lower the pH in the proximal, mid-, distal colon and feces by 0.2, 0.6, 0.4 and 0.6 units, respectively. Increasing RS levels, however, did not affect SCFA concentrations in the hindgut, but enhanced the molar proportion of propionate in mid-colon and reduced those of acetate in mid-colon and of butyrate in mid- and distal colon (R 2=0.46 to 0.52; P<0.05). Backward elimination indicated an age-related decrease in mid-colonic propionate proportion and increase in mid- and distal colonic butyrate proportion (P<0.05), thereby modulating RS2 effects. In feces, increasing RS levels promoted fecal lactobacilli (R 2=0.46; P<0.01) and bifidobacteria (R 2=0.57; P<0.01), whereby the slope showed the need for a minimal RS level of 10% for a 0.5 log unit-increase in their abundance. Best-fit equations further supported that a longer experimental period increased fecal lactobacilli but decreased fecal bifidobacteria (P<0.05). In conclusion, dietary RS2 seems to effectively decrease digesta pH throughout the large intestine and increase lactic acid-producing bacteria in feces of pigs which may limit the growth of opportunistic pathogens in the hindgut. To achieve these physiologically relevant changes, dietary RS should surpass 10% to 15%.
Economic Evaluation of Pediatric Telemedicine Consultations to Rural Emergency Departments

Background. Comprehensive economic evaluations have not been conducted on telemedicine consultations to children in rural emergency departments (EDs). Objective. We conducted an economic evaluation to estimate the cost, effectiveness, and return on investment (ROI) of telemedicine consultations provided to health care providers of acutely ill and injured children in rural EDs compared with telephone consultations from a health care payer prospective. Methods. We built a decision model with parameters from primary programmatic data, national data, and the literature. We performed a base-case cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), a probabilistic CEA with Monte Carlo simulation, and ROI estimation when CEA suggested cost-saving. The CEA was based on program effectiveness, derived from transfer decisions following telemedicine and telephone consultations. Results. The average cost for a telemedicine consultation was $3641 per child/ED/year in 2013 US dollars. Telemedicine consultations resulted in 31% fewer patient transfers compared with telephone consultations and a cost reduction of $4662 per child/ED/year. Our probabilistic CEA demonstrated telemedicine consultations were less costly than telephone consultations in 57% of simulation iterations. The ROI was calculated to be 1.28 ($4662/$3641) from the base-case analysis and estimated to be 1.96 from the probabilistic analysis, suggesting a $1.96 return for each dollar invested in telemedicine. Treating 10 acutely ill and injured children at each rural ED with telemedicine resulted in an annual cost-savings of $46,620 per ED. Limitations. Telephone and telemedicine consultations were not randomly assigned, potentially resulting in biased results. Conclusions. From a health care payer perspective, telemedicine consultations to health care providers of acutely ill and injured children presenting to rural EDs are cost-saving (base-case and more than half of Monte Carlo simulation iterations) or cost-effective compared with telephone consultations.
Optimal quantum error correcting codes from absolutely maximally entangled states

Absolutely maximally entangled (AME) states are pure multi-partite generalizations of the bipartite maximally entangled states with the property that all reduced states of at most half the system size are in the maximally mixed state. AME states are of interest for multipartite teleportation and quantum secret sharing and have recently found new applications in the context of high-energy physics in toy models realizing the AdS/CFT-correspondence. We work out in detail the connection between AME states of minimal support and classical maximum distance separable (MDS) error correcting codes and, in particular, provide explicit closed form expressions for AME states of n parties with local dimension q a power of a prime for all q⩾n−1. Building on this, we construct a generalization of the Bell-basis consisting of AME states and develop a stabilizer formalism for AME states. For every q⩾n−1 prime, we show how to construct stabilizer QECCs that encode a logical qudit into a subspace spanned by AME states. Under a conjecture for which we provide numerical evidence, this construction produces a family of quantum error correcting codes [[n,1,n/2]]q for n even with the highest distance allowed by the quantum Singleton bound.
L/sub 2/-sensitivity minimization for a class of 2D digital filters using a quasi-Newton method

The minimization problem of an L2-sensitivity measure subject to L2-norm dynamic-range scaling constraints is formulated for a class of two-dimensional (2D) state-space digital filters. First, the problem is converted into an unconstrained optimization problem by using linear-algebraic techniques. Next, the unconstrained optimization problem is solved by applying an efficient quasi-Newton algorithm with closed-form formula for gradient evaluation. The coordinate transformation matrix obtained is then used to synthesize the optimal 2D state-space filter structure that minimizes the L2 -sensitivity measure subject to the L2-scaling constraints. Finally, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the utility of the proposed technique
Microscopic Evaluation of the Role of Yeast Extract in Flutamide Hepatotoxicity

The possible protective role of yeast extract from hepatotoxicity produced by flutamide administration was evaluated using histological, quantitative histochemical and immunohistochemical methods. Twenty four adult male albino rats were divided into three groups: the control group was drenched water; the flutamide treated group was drenched 100mg/kg/ day aqueous flutamide solution; and the flutamide and yeast extract treated group was drenched 4.8mg/kg/day yeast extract for 15 days then flutamide and yeast extract for another 15 days. At the end of the experiment, the rats were sacrificed and their livers were fixed, processed for wax embedding. Six micrometer sections were prepared for study of general structural changes using Hematoxylin and eosin stain, DNA evaluation using Feulgen method, and immunohistochemical evaluation of PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen). Morphometry and cytophotometric measurements were performed using Image Pro Plus image analysis software (Media Cybernetics Inc. 2002). The quantitative data were statistically analyzed using Microsoft Excel XP 2003. Liver of rats treated with flutamide presented several signs of injury which was ameliorated in livers of animals treated with yeast plus flutamide. (Journal of American Science 2010;6(8):14-18). (ISSN: 1545-1003).
Adaptive estimation of the sparsity in the Gaussian vector model

Consider the Gaussian vector model with mean value {\theta}. We study the twin problems of estimating the number |{\theta}|_0 of non-zero components of {\theta} and testing whether |{\theta}|_0 is smaller than some value. For testing, we establish the minimax separation distances for this model and introduce a minimax adaptive test. Extensions to the case of unknown variance are also discussed. Rewriting the estimation of |{\theta}|_0 as a multiple testing problem of all hypotheses {|{\theta}|_0 <= q}, we both derive a new way of assessing the optimality of a sparsity estimator and we exhibit such an optimal procedure. This general approach provides a roadmap for estimating the complexity of the signal in various statistical models.