Generate an explanation for the given claim using the provided supporting material from the paragraph. Please consider the following points while generating an output. 1) The claim will always have supporting proof in the paragraph, and the paragraph will have a clear point of view supporting the claim. 2) There can be instances where direct correlation to the claim is not available. Make use of the sentences in the paragraph to provide a corresponding output supporting the claim. 3) The explanation should be at least one and at most twelve sentences long.
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Question: Paragraph: The story mentions that the Internet-based program is a “low-cost” option for treating insomnia; however, nothing more specific regarding cost is provided. It is presumed that the site will be proprietary; if so, what are the expected usage fees? The story states that compared to the control group, the treatment group woke up fewer times, spent fewer minutes awake, and had an improved score; however, the reader is not given any quantitative data or context to determine if these improvements are really meaningful in a person’s life. The story does not mention any possible harms that may be associated with managing insomnia via an Internet-based program. For example, might people develop worsening insomnia because of reinforcement of bad habits? A comment regarding the lack of identifiable harms would have been sufficient. The story accurately described the methodology and the participants; although this could have been further improved by providing more information about the control group, namely, that they did receive any type of treatment for insomnia. Additionally, the story effectively conveyed that this was a small study with a fairly homogenous population. This story does not directly address the prevalence of insomnia, but the overall tone does not suggest disease-mongering. This story includes comments from two independent experts, as well as a study co-author. The writer also mentions that the study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. This story includes information on the benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy and working with a therapist for treating insomnia and briefly mentions sleep medications. The story states that this Internet-based program “could one day” be an option for treating insomnia, which suggests that it is not yet ready for prime time. The story conveyed that this is a novel treatment modality for insomnia. The story does not appear to rely on a press release and quotes multiple sources that appear to be from interviews. Claim: Internet-based therapy shows promise for insomnia

Answer: This was a generally well written and balanced story about a small exploratory study on a possible new therapy for insomnia. The story effectively describes the methodology and patient population and includes expert commentary from independent sources. The story also appropriately cautions that larger studies with a more diverse patient population are warranted to verify the results and determine their generalizability. While the story meets many of our criteria, it would have been greatly improved by providing the reader with quantitative data and some context to help determine if the results translated to any real, meaningful benefit in peoples’ lives. For example, information on the Insomnia Severity Index, which was used to measure efficacy of the Internet-based program, would have been helpful. A brief exploration of cost, and of any potential harms (or lack of), would also have substantially strengthened the piece.


Question: Paragraph: Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said Tuesday a proposed $11.4 million expansion of the health department includes hiring four epidemiologists and about 140 new employees to work on COVID-19 data analysis and contact tracing. More teams will be formed to focus on nursing homes and jail detainees, Harris said during an online news conference. Nurses also will he hired to work on testing. Shelby County, which includes Memphis, has received nearly $50 million from the federal CARES Act. The city also has received federal money. “Most of these positions will only exist while we have the federal funding to pay for them,” Harris said. The proposal has been presented to the county commission. Also in Shelby County, district attorney Amy Weirich said grand juries could begin meeting next week. Grand juries will be seated starting Monday, Weirich said in a statement. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause severe illness, or even death. Claim: Tennessee county adding public health jobs with fed funds  .

Answer: The mayor of Tennessee’s largest county says the health department wants to hire scores of employees from funds provided by the federal coronavirus response assistance package.


Question: Paragraph: After Germany’s top administrative court on Tuesday allowed local authorities to bar heavily polluting diesel cars in major cities, the federal government is scrambling to find ways to avert driving bans that would hurt consumers and automakers. Environmental and motorist lobbies are raising the pressure on Volkswagen (VW) and its peers to modify the exhaust systems of older diesels which they say are a major source of toxic nitrogen oxide emissions that can cause respiratory disease. “I don’t want to say now that I’m ruling it out,” VW Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said on Friday at an auto industry event. But he voiced misgivings. Hardware changes would cost between 1,500 ($1,845.30) and 7,000 euros per car, and the development as well as testing of new exhaust cleaning systems would take 2-3 years, Mueller said. Also, retrofitted vehicles might consume more fuel and emit more carbon dioxide, which would affect the level of car tax, he added. Of the 15 million diesel cars on Germany’s roads, only 2.7 million are equipped with the latest Euro-6 emissions technology. Research firm Evercore ISI has estimated that upgrading the exhaust cleaning of the 6 million Euro-5 vehicles could cost up to 14.5 billion euros ($17.9 billion). “I would compare hardware changes on a Euro-5 vehicle to an open-heart surgery,” Mueller said. There is no way that VW could shoulder major costs for such modifications as it is stretched by the costs and fines related to its “Dieselgate” emissions scandal, he said. “We had to pay about 25 billion in America, we cannot again pay 17 billion for hardware refits,” Mueller said. “That is simple not possible.” Claim: Diesel vehicle refits costly and could affect performance, Volkswagen says.

Answer:
Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is not against upgrading the exhaust systems of older diesel cars to make them cleaner, but could not afford to pay for such a huge undertaking itself and is concerned it might impair vehicle performance, its CEO said.