Yoxas/statistical_literacy huggingface dataset:
Many recent advances in multiple target tracking aim at finding a (nearly) optimal set of trajectories within a temporal window. To handle the large space of possible trajectory hypotheses, it is typically reduced to a finite set by some form of data-driven or regular discretization. In this work, we propose an alternative formulation of multitarget tracking as minimization of a continuous energy. Contrary to recent approaches, we focus on designing an energy that corresponds to a more complete representation of the problem, rather than one that is amenable to global optimization. Besides the image evidence, the energy function takes into account physical constraints, such as target dynamics, mutual exclusion, and track persistence. In addition, partial image evidence is handled with explicit occlusion reasoning, and different targets are disambiguated with an appearance model. To nevertheless find strong local minima of the proposed nonconvex energy, we construct a suitable optimization scheme that alternates between continuous conjugate gradient descent and discrete transdimensional jump moves. These moves, which are executed such that they always reduce the energy, allow the search to escape weak minima and explore a much larger portion of the search space of varying dimensionality. We demonstrate the validity of our approach with an extensive quantitative evaluation on several public data sets.
Many recent studies suggest the existence of a relationship between oral health and the occurrence of depressive symptoms. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the number of lost teeth and the occurrence of depressive symptoms in middle-aged adults. An analysis was performed on the data obtained from the PONS project (POlish-Norwegian Study), conducted in the Świętokrzyskie Province in Poland in 2010-2011. The research material included the cross-sectional data of 11,901 individuals aged 40-64 years (7967 women). Depressive symptoms, used as outcome variables, were assessed with a questionnaire. The participants provided the responses to questions concerning the occurrence of eight symptoms over the last 12 months. The answers were scored as 1 point or 0 points. The participants were divided into three tercile groups based on their total scores: no or mild (0-2 points), moderate (3-5 points), and severe depressive symptoms (6-8 points). The self-reported number of lost teeth was analysed according to the following categories: 0-4, 5-8, 9-27, and a complete lack of natural teeth. Multivariable logistic regression analysis for depressive symptoms was used in relation to the number of lost teeth. The following covariates were included in the adjusted model: age, sex, place of residence, education, marital status, BMI, diabetes status, stressful life events in the last year, use of antidepressants, smoking, and sugar and sweet consumption. The likelihood of both moderate (OR = 1.189; 95%CI: 1.028-1.376; p < .020) and severe (OR = 1.846; 95%CI: 1.488-2.290; p < .001) depressive symptoms showed the strongest relationship with a total lack of natural teeth. A loss of more than 8 natural teeth was also significantly associated (OR = 1.315; 95%CI: 1.075-1.609; p < .008) with the occurrence of severe depressive symptoms. The loss of natural teeth was positively related to the occurrence of depressive symptoms in middle-aged adults. Thus, there is an urgent need to intensify stomatological prophylaxis, education and treatment for middle-aged individuals.
Many scales have been developed to assess health literacy. These scales have been developed extensively in clinical populations in developed countries. Our study describes the process of development and validation of the Health Literacy Questionnaire to measure health literacy in the general Iranian population. We followed the scale development process outlined by Schwab in 1980. After a comprehensive review of the research published on Nutbeam's definition of health literacy and its measurement, two focus groups were considered to generate a pool of items. We then assessed the face validity and content validity of the items. The final version of the questionnaire was subject to independent exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. Finally, construct validity was assessed using bivariate analysis between the total scores on the scale and theoretically relevant variables. The results of exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor 14-item structure for the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis provided a good statistical and conceptual fit for the data. The analysis of the internal consistency of the scale was satisfactory (α = 0.798). Further, health literacy was significantly associated with participants' age, educational level, self-rated household income, smoking history, self-rated health, and self-rated health literacy. The results we obtained indicate that this newly constructed health literacy tool is highly valid and reliable. Prospective studies are required to evaluate the predictive validity of the scale with regard to health outcomes.
Many school-based physical activity statutes and regulations have been enacted, with the expectation that schools will comply. However, policy alone does not equate to implementation, and many policies fail for a variety of reasons. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the strength of reported state, district, and school-level physical activity policies were associated with reported recess, physical education, and other school-based physical activity practices at elementary schools in Arizona. A modified Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) Questionnaire was administered to staff at elementary schools across Arizona (N = 171). Summative indices of the number of school physical activity policies and best practices at the state, district, and school levels were created. Relationships between policy strength and best practices were examined using linear regression analyses stratified by recess, physical education, and other school-based physical activity practices. Stronger physical activity-related policies were associated with a greater number of recess (F1,142 = 9.87, P < .05), physical education (F4,148 = 4.58, P < .05, Adj. R2 = .09), and other school-based physical activity (F4,148 = 4.04, P < .05, Adj. R2 = .07) best practices at all levels while controlling for school-level demographic factors. The strength of policies may improve opportunities for comprehensive physical activity for children in schools. Strengthening policy language (eg, specifying duration and frequency) may contribute to better physical activity practices in schools, improving children's health at the population level.
Many scientific questions can be formulated as hypotheses about conditional correlations. For instance, in tests of cognitive and physical performance, the trade-off between speed and accuracy motivates study of the two variables together. A natural question is whether speed-accuracy coupling depends on other variables, such as sustained attention. Classical regression techniques, which posit models in terms of covariates and outcomes, are insufficient to investigate the effect of a third variable on the symmetric relationship between speed and accuracy. In response, we propose a conditional correlation model with association size, a likelihood-based statistical framework to estimate the conditional correlation between speed and accuracy as a function of additional variables. We propose novel measures of the association size, which are analogous to effect sizes on the correlation scale while adjusting for confound variables. In simulation studies, we compare likelihood-based estimators of conditional correlation to semiparametric estimators adapted from genomic studies and find that the former achieves lower bias and variance under both ideal settings and model assumption misspecification. Using neurocognitive data from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, we demonstrate that greater sustained attention is associated with stronger speed-accuracy coupling in a complex reasoning task while controlling for age. By highlighting conditional correlations as the outcome of interest, our model provides complementary insights to traditional regression modeling and partitioned correlation analyses.
Many students assume a molecular structure for all substances, even after being instructed on the topic. But why do students struggle to understand key concepts like chemical bonding? One of the reasons is students' tendency to overgeneralize: Students wrongfully transfer characteristics from familiar (e.g., molecular substances) to lesser-known concepts (e.g., ionic compounds). In this article, possible reasons behind this commonly observed tendency are discussed and a possible didactical solution is proposed. Comparing and contrasting approaches increased students' ability to distinguish between similar concepts in mathematics. [1] The method of comparing and contrasting is therefore applied by simultaneously introducing the three types of chemical bonding to effectively tackle students' overgeneralization tendencies.
Many students do not recognize that individual organisms within populations vary, and this may make it difficult for them to recognize the essential role variation plays in natural selection. Also, many students have weak scientific reasoning skills, and this makes it difficult for them to recognize misconceptions they might have. This paper describes a 2-h laboratory for college students that introduces them to genetic diversity and gives them practice using hypothetico-deductive reasoning. In brief, the lab presents students with DNA sequences from Africans, Europeans, and Asians, and asks students to determine whether people from each continent qualify as distinct "races." Comparison of the DNA sequences shows that people on each continent are not more similar to one another than to people on other continents, and therefore do not qualify as distinct races. Ninety-four percent of our students reported that the laboratory was interesting, and 79% reported that it was a valuable learning experience. We developed and used a survey to measure the extent to which students recognized variation and its significance within populations and showed that the lab increased student awareness of variation. We also showed that the lab improved the ability of students to construct hypothetico-deductive arguments.
Many students who enroll in a public U.S. 4-y college will not graduate. The odds of completing a college degree are even lower for students who have been marginalized in higher education, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. Can undergraduate research increase a student's likelihood of graduating college and close educational equity gaps in college completion? To answer this question, we use data from six public U.S. universities (N = 120,308 students) and use Propensity Score Matching to generate a comparison group for analyses. We conducted logistic regressions on graduation rates and equity gaps in 4 and 6 y using the matched comparison group and undergraduate researchers in STEM (n = 2727). When being compared with like-peers and controlling for background characteristics and prior academic performance, students who participated in undergraduate research were twice as likely to graduate in 4 y and over 10 times as likely to graduate in 6 y. We also found that equity gaps in 4-y graduation rates for students of color, low-income, and first-generation students were cut in half for undergraduate researchers. At 6 y, these gaps were completely closed for undergraduate researchers. As we seek ways to close education gaps and increase graduation rates, undergraduate research can be a meaningful practice to improve student success.
Many studies and interventions have been conducted to combat differential academic outcomes between majority and minoritized student populations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) higher education; however, few studies have examined resource use as a factor impacting these differences. Resource use is critical to success in myriad fields, and we posit that understanding resource use in graduate education, including the use and perception of resources, may be important in understanding differential outcomes and success among STEM graduate students. We employed a national survey of life science graduate students (N = 534) to describe student resource use outcomes and how these outcomes may be related to student demographic characteristics. The survey collected data on the following resource use outcomes: what resources students use, how often they use them, and how useful they perceive them to be. Academic stipend was the most frequently used resource and was perceived to be the most useful resource. Analysis of variance modeling and Tukey post hoc tests indicated that year in program, racial identity, gender identity, and college generation status all impacted student frequency of use or perception of usefulness for some resources, with the greatest differentials between white and non-white students. We conclude with recommendations for policy, practice, and future research.
Many studies have indicated that inadequate health-related behavior is associated with the progression of cancer and cardiometabolic disorders. Because patients with hepatocellular carcinoma may adopt inadequate health behaviors, they are at risk for cancer recurrence, mortality, cardiometabolic disease progression, and worse quality of life. To explore the prevalence of cardiometabolic risks and health-promoting behaviors associated with quality of life among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after treatment. A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2021 to August 2022. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire, and cardiometabolic information was recorded from medical charts. In total, 115 patients with liver cancer after treatment were enrolled; 73% were male. The mean age was 67.7 years, and high prevalence rates of central obesity (72.2%) and metabolic syndrome (47%) were noted. Inadequate exercise, oral hygiene, and cigarette smoking were common. The health-promoting score was significantly associated with exercise, the number of remaining teeth, and metabolic syndrome, which correlated with quality of life, including positive functional and negative symptoms dimensions. The findings demonstrated a high prevalence of cardiometabolic risks and inadequate health-related behaviors among patients with liver cancer after treatment. This study highlights the need for healthcare providers to help patients increase health literacy for preventing cardiometabolic risks at outpatient clinics. Findings from this study can be used to advise healthcare providers to educate patients with liver cancer during and after treatment on improving their health-promoting behaviors.
Many studies have shown increased academic problems in children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL). However, whether hearing devices can ameliorate the educational difficulties associated with UHL is not well studied. Therefore, the objective of the current systematic review was to answer the question: Do non-surgical amplification devices, bone-anchored hearing aids, and/or cochlear implants improve academic outcomes in school-aged children and adolescents with UHL? Embase, MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Cochrane databases were searched from inception to 12/21/22. Published, peer-reviewed studies comparing academic outcomes in patients with UHL aged ≥ 5 and ≤ 19 years with and without hearing devices (non-surgical amplification devices, bone-anchored hearing aids, or cochlear implants) were included. Results of studies were qualitatively synthesized, and the risk of bias was evaluated with the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) Quality Assessment Tool. A total of 5,644 non-duplicate publications were identified by the search, and four studies were included for synthesis, every one of which was investigating non-surgical amplification. One small, single-arm study demonstrated significant improvement in subjective classroom listening difficulties after a 3- to 4-month trial with a BTE hearing aid. The other three studies of non-surgical amplification devices showed no benefit across multiple academic outcomes with FM systems and conventional and CROS-style hearing aids. The small sample sizes, heterogeneous and/or ill-defined study samples, and overall low quality of the available literature ultimately make it hard to draw definitive conclusions regarding non-surgical amplification devices' effectiveness in improving academic outcomes in children with UHL. No articles were identified that studied cochlear implants or bone-anchored hearing aids. Further studies with high-quality study design, large sample sizes, and long-term follow-up are needed to answer this clinically important question.
Many studies have shown that the quality of life for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is significantly impaired, but the impact on family function is still unclear. This study aims to evaluate the family function and quality of life in patients with AF using scales, to analyze the correlation between family function and quality of life, and to predict the influencing factors of quality of life. A total of 223 patients with AF who were admitted to the Department of Cardiology and General Medicine of the Lanzhou University Second Hospital from January 1, 2021 to May 1, 2022, were selected as research subjects, the general information of patients with AF were collected via a questionnaire, the family function and quality of life were assessed by the Family Assessment Device (FAD) and Atrial Fibrillation Effect on Quality-of-Life (AFEQT) scale. The patients were divided into a non-family functional disorder group and a family functional disorder group on the basis of their FAD scores. The above data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 statistical software. Among the 223 patients, 64 (28.70%) were in the non-family functional disorder group, and 159 (71.30%) were in the family functional disorder group. The total score of FAD and scores of all dimensions in the family functional disorder group were higher than those in the non-family functional disorder group (all P<0.01). AFEQT total score and symptoms, treatment concerns and daily activities in the non-family functional disorder group were significantly higher than those in the family functional disorder group (all P<0.01). The Pearson linear analysis showed that there was a linear negative correlation between the total score and each dimension of FAD with the total score and each dimension of AFEQT (all P<0.01). The variables with statistical significance in the univariate analysis were included in the multiple linear regression analysis, and the result showed that female, and the problem solving, role, affective involvement, and general functioning dimensions of family function had an impact on the quality of life (all P<0.01). Most patients with AF have different degrees of family dysfunction. The quality of life in patients with family functional disorder group is generally low. Female, and the problem solving, role, affective involvement, and general functioning of family function have a significant impact on the quality of life in patients with AF. In clinical treatment of AF, attention should be paid to the family function of patients, and family members can be involved in clinical intervention to improve family function and improve the quality of life.
Many traditional quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models are based on correlation with high-dimensional, highly variable molecular features in their raw form, limiting their generalizing capabilities despite the use of large training sets. They also lack elements of causality and reasoning. With these issues in mind, we developed a method for learning higher-level abstract representations of the effects of the interactions between molecular features and biology. We named the representations as the reason vectors. They are composed of a series of computed activity of substructures obtained from stepwise reconstruction of the molecule. This representation is very different from fingerprints, which are composed of molecular features directly. These vectors capture reasons of bioactivity of chemicals (or absence thereof) in an abstract form, uncover causality in interactions between chemical features, and generalize beyond specific chemical classes or bioactivity. Reason vectors contain only a few key attributes and are much smaller than molecular fingerprints. They allow vague and conceptual similarity searches, less susceptible to failure on novel combinations of query molecule features and more likely to identify reasons of activity in chemical classes that are absent in training data. Reason vectors can be compared with each other and their activity can be computed by matching with vectors from molecules with known bioactivity. A single molecule produces as many reason vectors as heavy atoms in it, and a simple count of these vectors in a series of activity ranges is all what is needed to predict its bioactivity. Thus, the prediction method is devoid of gradient optimization or statistical fitting.
Many undergraduates struggle to interpret abstract concepts in molecular biology. Modeling can facilitate learning by making these abstract concepts tangible. Here, we present an exercise based on the lac operon designed for undergraduate students using LEGO bricks. The lac operon is a classic example of transcriptional regulation taught in a variety of undergraduate biology courses and is fundamental to understanding the regulation of gene expression. This easy-to-implement active learning exercise demonstrates how the various components of the lac operon are oriented under a variety of nutritional conditions to control gene expression. In addition, higher-order concepts, such as the effect of mutation on lac operon expression, can be readily modeled. Overall, students not only found this exercise to be enjoyable but also helpful as a tool to engage with this course material.
Many youth in the criminal justice system are affected by mental health and/or substance use (MHS) challenges, yet only a minority receive treatment. One way to increase access to MHS care is integrated youth services (IYS), a community-based model of service delivery where youth can access evidence-based treatment for their MHS problems and other wellbeing needs, in one location. However, it is unknown what IYS services justice-involved youth prioritize. This study explored what components of IYS justice-involved youth deem to be the most important in meeting their MHS service needs, in comparison with non-justice-involved youth, by conducting a secondary analysis of data gathered from a larger Ontario-wide study. Using a conjoint analysis, n = 55 justice-involved youth, and n = 188 non-justice-involved youth, completed thirteen choice tasks representing different combinations of IYS. Both justice-involved and non-justice-involved youth exhibited preferences for a broad range of core health services, including mental health services, substance misuse counseling, medication management, and physical or sexual health services. They also preferred a broad range of additional support services, in addition to fast access to care in a community setting that specializes in mental health services, with the incorporation of e-health services. Justice-involved youth prioritized working with a trained peer support worker to learn life skills and help them with the services they need. The importance of youth playing a leadership role in making decisions within IYS organizations was also a distinguishing preference among justice-involved youth. Tailoring IYS to meet the service preferences of justice-involved youth may enhance service utilization, potentially leading to better outcomes for justice-involved youth and their communities.