Building an opt-out model for service-level consent in the context of new data regulations

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced in 2018 to harmonize data privacy and security laws across the European Union (EU). It applies to any organization collecting personal data in the EU. To date, service-level consent has been used as a proportionate approach for clinical trials, which implement low-risk, routine, service-wide interventions for which individual consent is considered inappropriate. In the context of public health research, GDPR now requires that individuals have the option to choose whether their data may be used for research, which presents a challenge when consent has been given by the clinical service and not by individual service users. We report here on development of a pragmatic opt-out solution to this consent paradox in the context of a partner notification intervention trial in sexual health clinics in the UK. Our approach supports the individual’s right to withhold their data from trial analysis while routinely offering the same care to all patients

Trends in sexually transmitted infections in general practice 1990-2000: population based study using data from the UK general practice research database

Objective: To describe the contribution of primary care to the diagnosis and management of sexually transmitted infections in the United Kingdom, 1990-2000, in the context of increasing incidence of infections in genitourinary medicine clinics. Design: Population based study. Setting: UK primary care. Participants: Patients registered in the UK general practice research database. Main outcome measures: Incidence of diagnosed sexually transmitted infections in primary care and estimation of the proportion of major such infections diagnosed in primary care. Results: An estimated 23.0% of chlamydia cases in women but only 5.3% in men were diagnosed and treated in primary care during 1998-2000, along with 49.2% cases of non-specific urethritis and urethral discharge in men and 5.7% cases of gonorrhoea in women and 2.9% in men. Rates of diagnosis in primary care rose substantially in the late 1990s. Conclusions: A substantial and increasing number of sexually transmitted infections are diagnosed and treated in primary care in the United Kingdom, with sex ratios differing from those in genitourinary medicine clinics. Large numbers of men are treated in primary care for presumptive sexually transmitted infections

Perencanaan unit pengawasan mutu pabrik pembekuan udang windu block frozen (bf) head less (hl) dengan kapasitas bahan baku 15.000 kg/hari

Indonesia merupakan negara kepulauan yang kaya akan sumber daya alam di bidang perikanan. Salah satu contoh hasil perikanan Indonesia yang banyak diekspor ke luar negeri adalah udang tetapi udang mudah mengalami kerusakan (most perishable food) sehingga perlu dilakukan suatu proses yang dapat mempertahankan mutu bahan selama distribusi, yakni dengan pembekuan dalam bentuk Block Frozen (BF). Unit pengendalian mutu dibutuhkan agar mutu produk tetap bagus dan terjaga kualitasnya sehingga produk yang dihasilkan konsisten sesuai standar yang telah ditetapkan dan dapat diterima oleh konsumen. Unit pengawasan mutu direncanakan pada pabrik pembekuan udang windu block frozen head less dengan kapasitas bahan baku 15.000 kg/hari. Pengawasan mutu dilakukan terhadap bahan baku yang digunakan, proses produksi, serta produk akhir yang dihasilkan. Kelayakan suatu unit pengawasan mutu ditentukan oleh aspek teknis dan ekonomis. Aspek teknis meliputi sumber daya manusia, prosedur dan pelaksanaan kegiatan pengawasan mutu serta sarana dan prasarana yang digunakan. Aspek ekonomis meliputi total biaya unit pengawasan mutu yang direncanakan terhadap harga jual produk akhir. Perencanaan unit pengawasan mutu pembekuan udang windu block frozen head less dengan kapasitas bahan baku 15.000 kg/hari layak secara teknis karena sumber daya manusia yang digunakan berkualifikasi, prosedur dan pelaksanaan kegiatan pengawasan mutu sesuai dengan standar yang ditetapkan, letak ruang pengawasan mutu strategis sehingga kegiatan pengawasan mutu dapat berlangsung efektif dan efisien serta tersedianya sarana dan prasarana yang memadai dan lengkap. Unit pengawasan mutu dikatakan layak dari aspek ekonomis apabila tidak melebihi 4% dari total biaya produksi. Jadi, unit pengawasan mutu yang direncanakan dapat dikatakan layak secara ekonomis karena biaya unit pengawasan mutu per unit BF (1,814kg) adalah Rp. 264,99 dengan presentase sebesar 0,24% dari total biaya produksi

Evaluación de la viabilidad de distintas dietas para la producción de Lombrihumus con las especies Eisenia foetida y Eudrillus sp

The current environmental crisis has not left outside its scope the affectation to the health and fertility of the soil when causing an accelerated deterioration of its productive capacity directly affected to the agricultural yields at global level. In response and for the increase of the resilience of the agroecosystems to the unproductiveness of the soils the lombrihumus is used. In this study we test the adaptive and productive capacity of earthworms with different diets: fresh kitchen waste, wet paper, chopped grass and cow manure - control. Previously, the viability of care of the diets was determined with the characterization of waste produced by the campus canteen where the experiment was carried out. The red Californian (Eisenia foetida) and Cuban red (Eudrillus sp) species were used in canoes of one cubic meter (1 m3) where they were fed. The total production, the speed and percentage of assimilation of the diet were measured. In addition, the nutritional analysis of lombrihumus was performed for each treatment. The Variance Analysis (ANOVA) and the Minimum Significant Difference (DMS) were applied to the data obtained in the statistical program SPSS 23.0. The treatments T1 (fresh kitchen waste) and T2 (wet paper) showed significant results in the productive and nutritional aspects, so they can be used as a substitute for the T4 treatment (cow manure - control). The test should be repeated at different times of the year, variable environmental conditions, with a higher number of repetitions and a combination of treatments.La actual crisis medioambiental no ha dejado fuera de su alcance la afectación a la salud y fertilidad del suelo al causar un acelerado deterioro de su capacidad productiva afectado directamente a los rendimientos agrícolas a nivel global. En respuesta y para el aumento de la resiliencia de los agroecosistemas a la improductividad de los suelos se utiliza el lombrihumus. En este estudio testamos la capacidad de adaptación y productiva de las lombrices con distintas dietas: residuos frescos de cocina, papel húmedo, pasto picado y estiércol vacuno - testigo. Previamente se determinó la viabilidad de atención de las dietas con la caracterización de residuos producidos por el comedor universitario del campus donde se llevó el experimento. Se usaron las especies roja californiana (Eisenia foetida) y roja cubana (Eudrillus sp) en canoas de un metro cúbico (1 m3) donde se les suministro el alimento. Se midió la producción total, la velocidad y porcentaje de asimilación de la dieta. Complementariamente se realizó el análisis nutricional del lombrihumus por cada tratamiento. A los datos obtenidos se les aplico el Análisis de la Varianza (ANOVA) y la Diferencia Mínima Significativa (DMS) en el programa estadístico SPSS 23.0. Los tratamientos T1 (residuos frescos de cocina) y T2 (papel húmedo) mostraron resultados significativamente en los aspectos productivos y nutricionales, por ello pueden ser utilizados como sustito del tratamiento T4 (estiércol de vaca – testigo). Deben de repetirse el ensayo en distintas épocas del año, condiciones ambientales variables, con mayor número de repeticiones y combinación de los tratamientos

Measurement of the Charged Multiplicities in b, c and Light Quark Events from Z0 Decays

Average charged multiplicities have been measured separately in $b$, $c$ and light quark ($u,d,s$) events from $Z^0$ decays measured in the SLD experiment. Impact parameters of charged tracks were used to select enriched samples of $b$ and light quark events, and reconstructed charmed mesons were used to select $c$ quark events. We measured the charged multiplicities: $\bar{n}_{uds} = 20.21 \pm 0.10 (\rm{stat.})\pm 0.22(\rm{syst.})$, $\bar{n}_{c} = 21.28 \pm 0.46(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.41}_{-0.36}(\rm{syst.})$ $\bar{n}_{b} = 23.14 \pm 0.10(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.38}_{-0.37}(\rm{syst.})$, from which we derived the differences between the total average charged multiplicities of $c$ or $b$ quark events and light quark events: $\Delta \bar{n}_c = 1.07 \pm 0.47(\rm{stat.})^{+0.36}_{-0.30}(\rm{syst.})$ and $\Delta \bar{n}_b = 2.93 \pm 0.14(\rm{stat.})^{+0.30}_{-0.29}(\rm{syst.})$. We compared these measurements with those at lower center-of-mass energies and with perturbative QCD predictions. These combined results are in agreement with the QCD expectations and disfavor the hypothesis of flavor-independent fragmentation.Comment: 19 pages LaTex, 4 EPS figures, to appear in Physics Letters

Climate and genotypes of Pneumocystis jirovecii

ABSTRACTThis study explored whether seasonal and/or climatic factors influenced detection of specific genotypes of Pneumocystis jirovecii. Between 1989 and 2001, 155 isolates of P. jirovecii were obtained from patients undergoing bronchoscopic alveolar lavage. For each isolate, the month and climatic conditions were noted. Genotypes of P. jirovecii were distinguished by polymorphisms in the mitochondrial large-subunit rRNA gene. There were monthly and seasonal variations in the frequency of detection of mixed genotypes (p 0.018 and p 0.031, respectively) and genotype 2 (p 0.029 and p 0.086, respectively). There was no association between month/season and genotypes 1, 3 and 4, or between monthly temperature or rainfall and any genotype

Chlamydia screening in general practice: views of professionals on the key elements of a successful programme.

OBJECTIVES: Chlamydia trachomatis is a common sexually transmitted infection with serious consequences if not treated. Chlamydia screening pilots in England have established feasibility in primary care but there are currently no examples of good practice in general practice. The objectives of the study were to understand issues of using general practice as a setting for chlamydia screening and to explore ways of implementing a successful screening strategy. METHODS: Based on findings of a literature review, a semi-structured schedule was constructed to interview a purposive sample of policymakers, consultants in sexual and reproductive health and primary care professionals. A thematic framework was used for qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-two themes were identified and were ranked in order of word count. The topic that generated most discussion was heterogeneity of knowledge, attitudes and skills in general practice. When broken down by professional group, this topic ranked the highest for practice nurses and consultants in sexual health; general practitioners (GPs) and the chlamydia screening coordinator spoke most about financial incentives while the public health consultant spoke most about access. CONCLUSIONS: Most believed screening can and should be done and general practice can offer better population coverage. It needs to have little impact on clinicians' workload, for example, by using urine tests and self-taken vaginal swabs. Financial recognition needs to reflect the administrative costs and the impact on reception staff, but this and the innovative tests might add to the cost of the screening programme. Incentives have to be handled sensitively to reduce inequity among GPs and other services offering screening

Compound gesture generation: a model based on ideational units

This work presents a hierarchical framework that generates continuous gesture animation performance for virtual characters. As opposed to approaches that focus more on realizing individual gesture, the focus of this work is on the relation between gestures as part of an overall gesture performance. Following Calbris’ work [3], our approach is to structure the performance around ideational units and determine gestural features within and across these ideational units. Furthermore, we use Calbris’ work on the relation between form and meaning in gesture to help inform how individual gesture’s expressivity is manipulated. Our framework takes in high level communicative function descriptions, generates behavior descriptions and realizes them using our character animation engine. We define the specifications for these different levels of descriptions. Finally, we show the general results as well as experiments illustrating the impacts of the key features