Cost- Benefit Model For Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

This paper presents a literature review and a specification for a Cost-Benefit model applied to substance abuse treatment programs. It is important in adapting a model that is not only theoretically and methodologically sound, but also seeks to utilize the best existing cost benefit analysis techniques. Ideas, concepts, and procedures found in other studies are used to support the model developed. Model specification involves the determination of the appropriate variables and statistical techniques, keeping in mind the data most readily available from the programs intended for analysis. Cost-benefit analysis is commonly used to provide guidance to policy makers when considering appropriate projects to fund

Retirement Plans, Attitudes, and Expectations of Kansas Board of Regents Faculty

This data set enables the examination of investment choices of a mature group of faculty, where saving for retirement is a major investment objective. Consideration of future retirement-related policy proposals by universities should be evaluated with an understanding of the relative importance of economic and non-economic influences upon the retirement decision by university faculty.https://scholars.fhsu.edu/fort_hays_studies_series/1017/thumbnail.jp

Autonomous UAS-Based Agriculture Applications: General Overview and Relevant European Case Studies

Emerging precision agriculture techniques rely on the frequent collection of high-quality data which can be acquired efficiently by unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The main obstacle for wider adoption of this technology is related to UAS operational costs. The path forward requires a high degree of autonomy and integration of the UAS and other cyber physical systems on the farm into a common Farm Management System (FMS) to facilitate the use of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for decision support. Such a solution has been implemented in the EU project AFarCloud (Aggregated Farming in the Cloud). The regulation of UAS operations is another important factor that impacts the adoption rate of agricultural UAS. An analysis of the new European UAS regulations relevant for autonomous operation is included. Autonomous UAS operation through the AFarCloud FMS solution has been demonstrated at several test farms in multiple European countries. Novel applications have been developed, such as the retrieval of data from remote field sensors using UAS and in situ measurements using dedicated UAS payloads designed for physical contact with the environment. The main findings include that (1) autonomous UAS operation in the agricultural sector is feasible once the regulations allow this; (2) the UAS should be integrated with the FMS and include autonomous data processing and charging functionality to offer a practical solution; and (3) several applications beyond just asset monitoring are relevant for the UAS and will help to justify the cost of this equipment.publishedVersio

Rapid climate changes during the Lateglacial and the early Holocene as seen from plant community dynamics in the Polar Urals, Russia

A detailed, well-dated record of pollen and sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) for the period 15 000–9500 cal a bp describes changes at Lake Bolshoye Shchuchye in the Polar Ural Mountains, located far east of the classical Lateglacial sites in western Europe. Arctic tundra rapidly changed to lusher vegetation, possibly including both dwarf (Betula nana) and tree birch (B. pubescens), dated in our record to take place 14 565 cal a bp, coincident with the onset of the Bølling in western Europe; this was paralleled by increased summer temperatures. A striking feature is an early decline in Betula pollen and sedaDNA reads 300 years before the onset of the Younger Dryas (YD) in western Europe. Given the solid site chronology, this could indicate that the YD cooling started in Siberia and propagated westwards, or that the vegetation reacted to the inter-Allerød cooling at 13 100 cal a bp and did not recover during the late Allerød. During the YD, increases in steppe taxa such as Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae suggest drier conditions. At the onset of the Holocene, the vegetation around the lake reacted fast to the warmer conditions, as seen in the increase of arboreal taxa, especially Betula, and a decrease in herbs such as Artemisia and Cyperaceae.publishedVersio

The Prognostic Value of Pre-Treatment Circulating Biomarkers of Systemic Inflammation (CRP, dNLR, YKL-40, and IL-6) in Vulnerable Older Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Receiving Palliative Chemotherapy—The Randomized NORDIC9-Study

Appropriate patient selection for palliative chemotherapy is crucial in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We investigated the prognostic value of C-reactive protein (CRP), derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR), Interleukin (IL)-6, and YKL-40 on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in the NORDIC9 cohort. The randomized NORDIC9-study included patients ≥70 years with mCRC not candidates for standard full-dose combination chemotherapy. Participants received either full-dose S1 (Teysuno) or a dose-reduced S1 plus oxaliplatin. Blood samples were collected at baseline and biomarkers were dichotomized according to standard cut-offs. Multivariable analyses adjusted for age, sex, ECOG performance status, and treatment allocation; furthermore, C-statistics were estimated. In total, 160 patients with a median age of 78 years (IQR: 76–81) were included between 2015 and 2017. All investigated biomarkers were significantly elevated in patients with either weight loss, ≥3 metastatic sites, or primary tumor in situ. In multivariable analyses, all markers showed significant association with OS; the highest HR was observed for CRP (HR = 3.40, 95%CI: 2.20–5.26, p < 0.001). Regarding PFS, statistically significant differences were found for CRP and IL-6, but not for dNLR and YKL-40. Applying C-statistics, CRP indicated a good prognostic model for OS (AUC = 0.72, 95%CI: 0.67–0.76). CRP is an easily available biomarker, which may support therapeutic decision-making in vulnerable older patients with mCRC

The Prognostic Value of Pre-Treatment Circulating Biomarkers of Systemic Inflammation (CRP, dNLR, YKL-40, and IL-6) in Vulnerable Older Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Receiving Palliative Chemotherapy—The Randomized NORDIC9-Study

Appropriate patient selection for palliative chemotherapy is crucial in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We investigated the prognostic value of C-reactive protein (CRP), derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR), Interleukin (IL)-6, and YKL-40 on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in the NORDIC9 cohort. The randomized NORDIC9-study included patients ≥70 years with mCRC not candidates for standard full-dose combination chemotherapy. Participants received either full-dose S1 (Teysuno) or a dose-reduced S1 plus oxaliplatin. Blood samples were collected at baseline and biomarkers were dichotomized according to standard cut-offs. Multivariable analyses adjusted for age, sex, ECOG performance status, and treatment allocation; furthermore, C-statistics were estimated. In total, 160 patients with a median age of 78 years (IQR: 76–81) were included between 2015 and 2017. All investigated biomarkers were significantly elevated in patients with either weight loss, ≥3 metastatic sites, or primary tumor in situ. In multivariable analyses, all markers showed significant association with OS; the highest HR was observed for CRP (HR = 3.40, 95%CI: 2.20–5.26, p < 0.001). Regarding PFS, statistically significant differences were found for CRP and IL-6, but not for dNLR and YKL-40. Applying C-statistics, CRP indicated a good prognostic model for OS (AUC = 0.72, 95%CI: 0.67–0.76). CRP is an easily available biomarker, which may support therapeutic decision-making in vulnerable older patients with mCRC