Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Joint Association of Polygenic Risk and Social Determinants of Health with Coronary Heart Disease in the United States

Background: The joint effects of polygenic risk and social determinants of health (SDOH) on coronary heart disease (CHD) in the United States are unknown. Methods: In 67,256 All of Us (AoU) participants with available SDOH data, we ascertained self-reported race/ethnicity and calculated a polygenic risk score for CHD (PRSCHD). We used 90 SDOH survey questions to develop an SDOH score for CHD (SDOHCHD). We assessed the distribution of SDOHCHD across self-reported races and US states. We tested the joint association of SDOHCHD and PRSCHD with CHD in regression models that included clinical risk factors. Results: SDOHCHD was highest in self-reported black and Hispanic people. Self-reporting as black was associated with higher odds of CHD but not after adjustment for SDOHCHD. Median SDOHCHD values varied by US state and were associated with heart disease mortality. A 1-SD increase in SDOHCHD was associated with CHD (OR=1.36; 95% CI, 1.29 to 1.46) and incident CHD (HR=1.73; 95% CI, 1.27 to 2.35) in models that included PRSCHD and clinical risk factors. Among people in the top 20% of PRSCHD, CHD prevalence was 4.8% and 7.8% in the bottom and top 20% of SDOHCHD, respectively. Conclusions: Increased odds of CHD in self-reported black people are likely due to higher SDOH burden. SDOH and PRS were independently associated with CHD in the US. Our findings emphasize the need to consider both PRS and SDOH for equitable disease risk assessment.
Efecto de la restricción hídrica invernal en olivo (Olea europaea L.): el potencial hídrico xilemático y la conductancia estomática

During the application of a winter water restriction in the seasons of 2011 and 2012, was quantified and related the water status of olive (Olea europaea L.) with soil moisture content and ambient temperature. The experiment was conducted in olive trees cv. Arbequina 10 years old in EEA San Juan INTA (San Juan, Argentina). The treatments were: T1, full irrigation with replacement of 100% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) throughout the cycle and two treatments with water restriction (21 June to 31 August), T2, irrigated with 50% ETc and T3, 1Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Juan, INTA, Calle 11 y Vidart (5427). Villa Aberastaín. Pocito. San Juan. Argentina. Correo electrónico: ibanez.antonio@inta.gob. ar; parera.carlos@inta.gob. ar Recibido 25 de septiembre de 2015 // Aceptado 17 de noviembre de 2015 // Publicado online 18 de mayo de 2016 IBAÑEZ, A.A. 1; PARERA, C.1; TORRES, M.1
Examining the Impact of Federal Employee Wellness Programs and Employee Resilience in the Federal Workplace

The term “family-friendly” has been broadened to “employee-friendly” to encompass employees who may not benefit from traditional familial benefits. This change in terminology, focusing on employees in a general sense, has not necessarily resulted in policies that are beneficial to a dynamic, diverse public service. As demographics and lifestyles of federal government employees change, human resource policies will need to adapt to meet the needs of this population. This research explores the impact that employee-friendly policies (i.e. family, health, and socio-economic) have on the employee, and the workplace environment. This project attempts to bridge the gap between the theory- driven creation of employee-friendly policies and the practice of beneficial policies that employees will take advantage of. Results suggest that as demographics of the public service change, the need for human resource practices to be modified becomes even more apparent to achieve an appropriate work-life balance. In order to address these challenges, this work offers policy recommendations for increased levels of job satisfaction, which focus on benefits useful in improving federal public servants’ wellness.
Understanding Care Coordination Experiences in A State Medicare-Medicaid Financial Alignment Demonstration

Known as dual eligible beneficiaries, individuals receiving Medicare and Medicaid benefits often have complex needs and account for a disproportionate share of healthcare spending. In 2014, Virginia implemented Commonwealth Coordinated Care, a managed care financial alignment demonstration authorized under the Affordable Care Act, to improve care for these individuals. Given the complexity of their needs, examining how dual eligible beneficiaries along with their care coordinators and providers experienced the demonstration is important. By analyzing qualitative data collected as part of a larger mixed-methods evaluation, several themes were identified illustrating individuals’ experiences. The study findings suggest that how individuals interacted and formed relationships influenced how beneficiaries’ health and social needs were met during the program. By providing insight into individuals’ experiences in a managed care program that integrated medical and long term services and supports for Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries, the study can inform the development of future initiatives for similar populations.
Challenges of Increased Diabetes Prevalence: Implications of Cardio and Renal Comorbidities for Hispanic and White Middle-Aged Nursing Home Residents Diagnosed with Diabetes in Texas, 1999 and 2009

Increased prevalence of diabetes and related comorbidities has emerged as a major challenge for community resilience in the United States. While attention has been directed towards the impacts of this development for the general population, the nursing home population has received little examination. This research analyzes change in the prevalence of particular cardio and renal comorbidities for Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White nursing home residents in Texas aged 50–64 diagnosed with diabetes for 1999 and 2009 using data from the federal Minimum Data Set. Comparisons are made by ethnicity and gender to identify trends and possible disparities. Important findings include that the prevalence of congestive heart failure increased for all groups, and the changes were statistically significant for Hispanic Women and Non-Hispanic White Men. Statistically significant differences were found in the prevalence of peripheral vascular disease as rates were higher for Hispanics of both genders for both years, indicating substantial and ongoing disparities. Disturbingly high rates for renal failure were found for Hispanics that indicate substantial disparities. Recommendations for meeting this challenge include emphasizing prevention measures and updating for models regarding the dynamics nursing home admission.
The Prevalence of Community Benefit Participation in the Hospital Region and Its Relationship to Community Health Outcomes

The structure of the U.S. health care industry has long emphasized individual outcomes, but there is a growing recognition that hospitals may be able to provide more cost-effective care through community-focused initiatives. Few assessments have been established to measure outcomes of these increasing community benefit efforts. This study uses the rate of ambulatory care sensitive condition admissions in the Medicare population as a mechanism for understanding the effectiveness of a range of hospital community benefit practices. This study is based on national data collected through the American Hospital Association Annual Survey for the years 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010 and supplemented by demographic, region, and policy information collected from other sources. The outcome measure and the region definition are established through the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression modeling is used to analyze the relationship between community benefit participation levels within a region and the region's ambulatory care sensitive condition prevalence. Community health education was found to be associated with a reduced prevalence of ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs). ACSC rates were also connected to several other factors, including health needs and demographic characteristics in a region. The finding that community education appears to have the greatest link to limiting ACSC admissions is in line with other studies showing community education initiatives to be effective in improving health outcomes. This may be particularly important for hospitals seeking to best direct their resources in a way that addresses broader community health outcomes.
Approach to housing justice from a capability perspective: bridging the gap between ideals and policy practices

Abstract When correcting policies to tackle rising housing inequality, certain principles of housing justice are necessary. Recently, the capability approach to justice has attracted the attention of housing scholars, as promising guidance to compensate for problems in conventional policy approaches. However, the practicality of its policy application remains uncertain. This article suggests how to manage the issues creating gaps between the philosophy of the capability approach and housing policy practices, along the chain of essential questions of justice theories (which ideal institutions, metrics of justice, and distributive pattern rules? ). Building on this reasoning, the article proposes that housing policy be guided by the changes in unjust housing situations in terms of people’s capability for housing, instead of by absolute principles of distribution, or characteristics of welfare state/housing regimes. For evaluating housing capability, this article proposes to assess housing opportunities, housing securities and housing abilities. The article concludes with implications for the roles of comparative housing research in implementing the proposed approach.
Unraveling the seasonal dynamics of ixodid ticks: A flexible matrix population model with delayed life history effects

Many vector-borne diseases are sensitive to changes in land use and climate, making it crucial to understand the factors that govern the vector populations. Ixodid ticks, which serve as vectors for multiple diseases, have a slow life cycle compared to many of their hosts. The duration of each active life stage (larvae, nymph, adult) varies greatly and depends on factors such as timing of questing and development, host availability throughout the seasons, and photoperiod-related behavioral and developmental diapause. Importantly, the observable questing population only represents a fraction of the total tick population and may include overlapping generations in each stage. Mathematical models are therefore essential to understand how complex life cycle transitions and host interactions impact the dynamics of the tick population. In this study, we present a flexible seasonal matrix model for ixodid ticks that feed on small and large hosts varying in seasonal availability. This model incorporates the delayed life history effects of overwintering and seasonal timing of feeding, density regulation through limited host capacity, and scramble competition among larvae and nymphs for small hosts. We extract the equilibrium seasonal numbers of questing, feeding, and emerging ticks for each life stage, as well as the seasonal patterns of host use. We also calculate key life history characteristics including the mean generation time, stable stage structure, and reproductive values. The baseline model represents a northern life history of the sheep tick (Ixodes ricinus) feeding on a seasonal small host and constant large host, which is compared to a scenario without host seasonality and a scenario representing a southern ecosystem. Our findings support the importance of small hosts in regulating tick populations, and highlight that feeding of larvae is a critical transition. Our analyses shed light on the complex mechanisms underlying the seasonal composition of the questing population, with its important implications for disease risk. The model can be applied to other ixodid tick species and provides a framework for future investigations into population dynamics under various tick and host scenarios.
Aberrant non-canonical NF-κB signalling reprograms the epigenome landscape to drive oncogenic transcriptomes in multiple myeloma

In multiple myeloma, abnormal plasma cells establish oncogenic niches within the bone marrow by engaging the NF-κB pathway to nurture their survival while they accumulate pro- proliferative mutations. Under these conditions, many cases eventually develop genetic abnormalities endowing them with constitutive NF-κB activation. Here, we find that sustained NF-κB/p52 levels resulting from such mutations favours the recruitment of enhancers beyond the normal B-cell repertoire. Furthermore, through targeted disruption of p52, we characterise how such enhancers are complicit in the formation of super-enhancers and the establishment of cis-regulatory interactions with myeloma dependencies during constitutive activation of p52. Finally, we functionally validate the pathological impact of these cis- regulatory modules on cell and tumour phenotypes using in vitro and in vivo models, confirming RGS1 as a novel p52-dependent myeloma driver. We conclude that the divergent epigenomic reprogramming enforced by aberrant non-canonical NF-κB signalling potentiates transcriptional programs beneficial for multiple myeloma progression.
A 39.8kb flavi-like virus uses a novel strategy for overcoming the RNA virus error threshold

It is commonly held that there is a fundamental relationship between genome size and error rate, manifest as a notional “error threshold” that sets an upper limit on genome sizes. The genome sizes of RNA viruses, which have intrinsically high mutation rates due to a lack of mechanisms for error correction, must therefore be small to avoid accumulating an excessive number of deleterious mutations that will ultimately lead to population extinction. The proposed exceptions to this evolutionary rule are RNA viruses from the order Nidovirales (such as coronaviruses) that encode an error correcting exonuclease, enabling them to reach genome lengths greater than 40kb. The recent discovery of large genome flavi-like viruses (Flaviviridae), which comprise genomes up to 27kb in length yet seemingly do not encode exonuclease domains, has led to the proposal that a proofreading mechanism is required to facilitate the expansion of RNA virus genomes above 30kb. Herein, we describe a 39.8kb flavi-like virus identified in a Haliclona sponge metatranscriptome that does not encode an exonuclease. Structural analysis revealed that this virus may have instead captured bacterial domains associated with nucleic acid metabolism that have not been previously found in RNA viruses. Phylogenetic analysis placed this virus as a divergent pesti-like lineage, such that we have provisionally termed it Maximus pesti-like virus. This virus represents the first instance of a flavi-like virus achieving a genome size comparable to that of the Nidovirales and demonstrates that RNA viruses have evolved multiple solutions to overcome the error threshold.
A VLSI Circuit Model Accounting For Wire Delay

Given the need for ever higher performance, and the failure of CPUs to keep providing single-threaded performance gains, engineers are increasingly turning to highly-parallel custom VLSI chips to implement expensive computations. In VLSI design, the gates and wires of a logical circuit are placed on a 2-dimensional chip with a small number of layers. Traditional VLSI models use gate delay to measure the time complexity of the chip, ignoring the lengths of wires. However, as technology has advanced, wire delay is no longer negligible; it has become an important measure in the design of VLSI chips [Markov, Nature (2014)]. Motivated by this situation, we define and study a model for VLSI chips, called wire-delay VLSI , which takes wire delay into account, going beyond an earlier model of Chazelle and Monier [ JACM 1985]. We prove nearly tight upper bounds and lower bounds (up to logarithmic factors) on the time delay of this chip model for several basic problems. For example, And , Or and Parity require Θ( n 1 / 3 ) delay, while Addition and Multiplication require ˜Θ( n 1 / 2 ) delay, and Triangle Detection on (dense) n -node graphs requires ˜Θ( n ) delay. Interestingly, when we allow input bits to be read twice, the delay for Addition can be improved to Θ( n 1 / 3 ). We also show that proving significantly higher lower bounds in our wire-delay VLSI model would imply breakthrough results in circuit lower bounds. Motivated by this barrier, we also study conditional lower bounds on the delay of chips based on the Orthogonal Vectors Hypothesis from fine-grained complexity.
Geometric quality assessment of multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle borne remote sensing products for precision agriculture

Sub-meter level spatial resolution remote sensing products are essential for Precision Agriculture (PA) applications. Recent development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with imaging sensors provides opportunity to generate sub-meter level, timely, and cloud free remote sensing products. This study is a preliminarily assessment of a multi-rotor UAV with consumer grade optical camera and five spectral band multispectral camera for PA applications especially in geometric aspect. The UAV was flown over the agriculture area and images from both cameras were acquired and Digital Surface Models (DSM) and Ortho-Mosaics were derived from the collected image data. Geometric and visual quality of the derived products were assessed and limitations were identified regarding to PA applications. The optical camera images derived 2.1 cm spatial resolution orthomosaic while multispectral ortho-mosaic from the UAV multipsectral images gave 5.6 cm spatial resolution. The horizontal geometric accuracies of the optical camera product and multispectral camera product were 2 pixels and less than one pixel respectively. Relative average elevation difference of agriculture crop area and non-crop area were 0.27 m and 0.14 m in derived DSM from optical images and multispectral images respectively. Blurriness of the UAV-borne images was identified as a limitation of the UAV remote sensing exercise and UAV motion blur, cloud shadow, and wind were noted as possible causes for the blurriness in this study. (Less)
A Unified Bayesian Framework for Adaptive Visual Tracking

We propose a novel method for tracking objects in a video scene that undergo drastic changes in their appearance. These changes may arise due to out-of-plane rotation, abrupt or gradual changes in illumination in outdoor scenarios, or changing position with respect to near light-sources indoors. The key problem with most existing models is that they are either non-adaptive (rendering them non-robust to object appearance change) or use a single tracker output to heuristically update the appearance model at each iteration (rendering them vulnerable to drift). In this paper, we take a step toward general real-world tracking, in a principled manner, proposing a unified generative model for Bayesian multi-feature, adaptive target tracking. We show the performance of our method on a wide variety of video data, with a focus on surveillance scenarios.
An efficient technique for analysis of minimal buffer requirements of synchronous dataflow graphs with model checking

Synchronous Dataflow (SDF) is a widely-used model of computation for digital signal processing and multimedia applications, which are typically implemented on memory constrained hardware platforms. SDF can be statically analyzed and scheduled, and the memory requirement for correct execution can be predicted at compile time. In this paper, we present an efficient technique based on model-checking for exact analysis of minimal buffer requirement of an SDF graph to guarantee deadlock-free execution. Performance evaluation shows that our approach can achieve significant performance improvements compared to related work.
Probability, Risk, and Extremes

This chapter is about classes of statistical distributions that deliver extreme events, and how we should deal with them for both statistical inference and decision making. It draws on the author’s multi-volume series, Incerto [1] and associated technical research program, which is about how to live in a real world with a structure of uncertainty that is too complicated for us. The Incerto tries to connects five different fields related to tail probabilities and extremes: mathematics, philosophy, social science, contract theory, decision theory, and the real world. (If you wonder why contract theory, the answer is at the end of this discussion: option theory is based on the notion of contingent and probabilistic contracts designed to modify and share classes of exposures in the tails of the distribution; in a way option theory is mathematical contract theory). The main idea behind the project is that while there is a lot of uncertainty and opacity about the world, and incompleteness of information and understanding, there is little, if any, uncertainty about what actions should be taken based on such incompleteness, in a given situation.
Fusion multi-attributs d'images sonar

L'utilisation de sonar haute resolution pour la guerre des mines permet d'envisager la classification d'un objet immerge a partir de l'ombre acoustique portee sur le fond. Le leve des ambiguites inherentes a la classification monovue peut etre realise en utilisant plusieurs images presentant les ombres acquises selon des points de vue distincts. Nous proposons ainsi d'effectuer une classification supervisee multivues par fusion des attributs caracteristiques extraits d'images sonar constituant trois points de vue imprecis (angles de vue inconnus) d'une meme cible. La methode repose sur l'analyse de la repartition d'attributs caracteristiques extraits d'images sonar haute resolution dans le cadre de la theorie des ensembles flous et la definition de modeles de fusion adaptes. L'evaluation de ces modeles a ete realisee sur une base d'images simulees avec cinq types de mines.
Processing methods for Canarium nuts in the Pacific

Nuts have huge potential to improve the livelihood of the rural poor in developing countries and meet the Millennium Development Goal to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Nuts often have a high protein and oil content, giving them excellent nutritional value. They can be processed and stored for long periods and therefore can improve food security, be sold for cash or be processed and exported to distant markets, thus helping the rural poor to participate in the cash economy. We report here on three processing systems for Canarium indicum nuts developed in three Pacific Island countries: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Centralized processing has been developed in Papua New Guinea and fruit is purchased from smallholders at a central processing facility. The fruit is depulped, the nut-in-shell is cracked, the testa is removed and the kernel is dried using ovens in this facility. This provides a very high quality product and reduces the risk of microbial contamination. In decentralized processing systems, the farmers in remote locations crack and dry the nuts using traditional methods (Solomon Islands) or solar driers (Vanuatu) then sell the dried kernel to a centralized processor. This reduces transport costs and requires no infrastructure, but there is a greater risk of poor quality kernels or microbial contamination. In village cracking systems in Vanuatu, the fruits are processed and cracked in the village and supplied as fresh, high moisture content kernel-in-testa to secondary processors. This is a hybrid system that minimizes transport costs and risks of contamination. However, this system requires delivery to the processor immediately after cracking to stabilize the kernel. The most appropriate system for processing will depend on the unique circumstances of each country.