Value of Single Source and Backgrounded Cattle as Measured by Health and Feedlot Profitability

Commingling cattle in the feedlot increases the odds of cattle getting sick. However, backgrounded cattle are less susceptible to diseases which allow the generalizing statements like "backgrounding is just like single source". Using data from over 15,000 cattle fed in 12 Iowa feedlots, we show that although backgrounded cattle do better than preconditioned cattle commingled in the feedlot, they have poorer carcass quality, health, and performance than single source cattle. Backgrounded cattle should be discounted $8.24/head relative to single source, and only received a small premium over multi-source preconditioned cattle though not significantly different.Livestock Production/Industries,

A Limited Information Bayesian Forecasting Model of the Cattle SubSector

The first step towards forecasting the price and output of the cattle industry is understanding the dynamics of the livestock production process. This study follows up on the Weimar and Stillman (1990) paper by using data from 1970 to 2005 to estimate the parameters that characterizes the cattle output supply. The model is then used to estimate forecast values for the periods 2006 and 2007. Bayesian limited information likelihood method is used to estimate the parameters when endogeneity exists between these variables. The forecasting ability of the model for a two-step ahead forecast for majority of the variables are relatively good and test statistic of the forecast are reported.Cattle, Bayesian, forecasting, Inventory, Slaughter, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Financial Economics, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, Production Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Using wearable sensors for remote healthcare monitoring system

Recent technological advances in wireless communications and wireless sensor networks have enabled the design of low-cost, intelligent, tiny, and lightweight medical sensor nodes that can be strategically placed on human body, create a wireless body area network (WBAN) to monitor various physiological vital signs for a long period of time and providing real-time feedback to the user and medical staff. WBANs promise to re-volutionize health monitoring. In this paper, medical sensors were used to collect physiological data from patients and transmit it to Intelligent Personal digital Assistant (IPDA) using ZigBee/IEEE802.15.4 standard and to medical server using 3G communications. We introduced priority scheduling and data compression into the system to increase transmission rate of physiological critical signals which improve the bandwidth utilization. It also extends the life time of hand-held personal server by reducing power consumption during transmission

Racial disparities in treatment patterns and clinical outcomes in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Data characterizing demographics, treatment patterns, and clinical outcomes in black patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are limited. registHER is a large, observational cohort study of patients (n = 1,001) with HER2-positive MBC diagnosed ≤6 months of enrollment and followed until death, disenrollment, or June 2009 (median follow-up of 27 months). Demographics, treatment patterns, and clinical outcomes were described for black (n = 126) and white patients (n = 793). Progression-free survival (PFS) following first-line therapy and overall survival (OS) were examined. Multivariate analyses adjusted for baseline and treatment factors. Black patients were more likely than white patients to be obese (body mass index ≥30), to have diabetes, and to have a history of cardiovascular disease; they were also less likely to have estrogen receptor or progesterone receptor positive disease. In patients treated with trastuzumab, the incidence of cardiac safety events (grade ≥3) was higher in black patients (10.9 %) than in white patients (7.9 %). Unadjusted median OS and PFS (months) were significantly lower in black patients than in white patients (OS: black: 27.1, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 21.3-32.1; white: 37.3, 95 % CI 34.6-41.1; PFS: black: 7.0, 95 % CI 5.7-8.2; white: 10.2, 95 % CI 9.3-11.2). The adjusted OS hazard ratio (HR) for black patients compared with white patients was 1.29 (95 % CI 1.00-1.65); adjusted PFS HR was 1.29 (95 % CI 1.05-1.59). This real-world evaluation of a large cohort of patients with HER2-positive MBC shows poorer prognostic factors and independently worse clinical outcomes in black versus white patients. Further research is needed to identify potential biologic differences that could have predictive impact for black patients or that could explain these differences

On the use of analysis of variance under unequal group variances

In this study, we imposed Analysis of variances test (ANOVA) which use when we have more than two treatments or different levels of a single factors that we wish to compare then we assume homogeneity of variances across the groups being compared although most of the earlier works that have addressed the problem of testing equality of mean variance overestimates the appropriate variance and the test statistic becomes conservative. This is the well-known Behrens – Fisher problem.  Then we are interested in comparing several treatments means in this work, we made use the analysis of variance under unequal variances when the groups variances differ. It will be very inappropriate to use the pooled sample variance (S2P) as a single value for the variances, instead the sample harmonic mean of variances (S2H) is proposed as an alternative to the pooled sample variance when there is heterogeneity of variances. The distribution theoretically and confirmed using simulation studies and this proposed harmonic mean of variance was, examined in this work and found useful for unequal variances. Data set from Kwara State Ministry of Health on the incidence of diabetes diseases for male patients was used to illustrate the relevance of our proposed test statistic

Ensuring the security and privacy of information in mobile health-care communication systems

The sensitivity of health-care information and its accessibility via the Internet and mobile technology systems is a cause for concern in these modern times. The privacy, integrity and confidentiality of a patient’s data are key factors to be considered in the transmission of medical information for use by authorised health-care personnel. Mobile communication has enabled medical consultancy, treatment, drug administration and the provision of laboratory results to take place outside the hospital. With the implementation of electronic patient records and the Internet and Intranets, medical information sharing amongst relevant health-care providers was made possible. But the vital issue in this method of information sharing is security: the patient’s privacy, as well as the confidentiality and integrity of the health-care information system, should not be compromised. We examine various ways of ensuring the security and privacy of a patient’s electronic medical information in order to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the information

Effect of Qualification and Experience of Biology Teachers on the Status of Ecology Teaching in Kwara State

This study examined the effect of qualification and experience of Biology teachers on the status of ecology teaching in Kwara State.  This study sample included one hundred and forty two (142) Secondary Schools selected by random sampling technique. The researcher designed teachers’ questionnaire which were administered to four hundred and fifty (450) teachers selected from eight (8) Local Government Areas of Kwara State.  Researcher-designed validated questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents on the status of ecology teaching. Three research questions and two hypotheses were formulated.  Frequency counts and chi- square statistics were used to analysis the data collected. Finding of this study revealed that 68% of Biology teachers agreed with the contents while 32% disagreed. However both qualified and unqualified teachers had viewed ecology teaching the same way that is ecology teaching was not properly done due to the fact that some Biology teachers skip certain areas of the syllabus that they find difficult to teach.  Similarly, experienced and less experienced teachers had the same views about ecology teaching in Kwara State.  Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made: fieldwork and practicals on Ecology should be carried out satisfactory in the schools, teachers should be sponsored to seminars and workshops specifically on Ecology teaching

Model uncertainty in characterizing recreation demand

A Bayesian variable selection procedure is used to control for uncertainty in the specification of a recreational demand model. Specifically, we propose a model that draws on the Bayesian paradigm to integrate the variable selection process into the model and reflect the accompanying uncertainty about which is the best specification used for counterfactual predictions. The advantage of this procedure over previous non-Bayesian approaches is that overcomes the problem of pre-testing in specification searches

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Mothers to Childhood Immunization in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of mothers in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria, on childhood immunization. Descriptive cross sectional study method was employed. A multistage sampling was used to select two hundred mothers who participated in the study. Data was collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Mothers who were still in their reproductive age and whose children are under the age of 5 years were interviewed after they had been duly briefed about the study and informed consent was obtained. Results showed that awareness on various childhood immunizations was quite high in majority of the respondents. Out of the mothers interviewed, 89.5%, 85.5%, 78.5%, 71.0%, 73.5%, 42.0% and 6.5% of them knew about Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG), oral polio, dipthteria, pertusis and tetanus (DPT), yellow fever, measles, hepatitis B virus (HBV), and meningococcal vaccinations respectively. However, not more than 54.5% of these respondents actually knew the diseases that these vaccinations prevent in their children even though almost all (95.5%) of them perceived immunization to be beneficial and showed good attitude. Although majority of the mothers demonstrated appreciable knowledge, attitude and practice on childhood immunization, more awareness programmes in developing countries are required.Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Childhood immunization