Are Changing Demographics Fostering a New Role for Farmers?

Skill sets, profitability, management skills, ordered probit, Agribusiness,

The Response to BSE in the United States

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

QuicK-means: Acceleration of K-means by learning a fast transform

K-means -- and the celebrated Lloyd algorithm -- is more than the clustering method it was originally designed to be. It has indeed proven pivotal to help increase the speed of many machine learning and data analysis techniques such as indexing, nearest-neighbor search and prediction, data compression, Radial Basis Function networks; its beneficial use has been shown to carry over to the acceleration of kernel machines (when using the Nyström method). Here, we propose a fast extension of K-means, dubbed QuicK-means, that rests on the idea of expressing the matrix of the $K$ centroids as a product of sparse matrices, a feat made possible by recent results devoted to find approximations of matrices as a product of sparse factors. Using such a decomposition squashes the complexity of the matrix-vector product between the factorized $K \times D$ centroid matrix $\mathbf{U}$ and any vector from $\mathcal{O}(K D)$ to $\mathcal{O}(A \log A+B)$, with $A=\min (K, D)$ and $B=\max (K, D)$, where $D$ is the dimension of the training data. This drastic computational saving has a direct impact in the assignment process of a point to a cluster, meaning that it is not only tangible at prediction time, but also at training time, provided the factorization procedure is performed during Lloyd's algorithm. We precisely show that resorting to a factorization step at each iteration does not impair the convergence of the optimization scheme and that, depending on the context, it may entail a reduction of the training time. Finally, we provide discussions and numerical simulations that show the versatility of our computationally-efficient QuicK-means algorithm

Unlocking Access to Health Care: A Federalist Approach to Reforming Occupational Licensing

Several features of the existing occupational licensing system impede access to health care without providing appreciable protections for patients. Licensing restrictions prevent health care providers from offering services to the full extent of their competency, obstruct the adoption of telehealth, and deter foreign-trained providers from practicing in the United States. Scholars and policymakers have proposed a number of reforms to this system over the years, but these proposals have had a limited impact for political and institutional reasons. Still, there are grounds for optimism. In recent years, the federal government has taken a range of initial steps to reform licensing requirements for health care providers, and these steps have the potential to improve access to health care. Together, they illustrate a federalist approach to licensing reform, in which the federal government encourages the states to reform their licensing regimes, while largely preserving states’ control over the system. These steps include: (1) easing federal licensing restrictions for health care providers in certain areas where the federal government possesses regulatory authority; (2) creating incentives for states and professional bodies to experiment with reforms; (3) intensifying the Federal Trade Commission’s focus on licensing boards’ anti-competitive conduct; and (4) generating additional pressure for state-level reforms through expanding health insurance and promoting delivery system reforms under the Affordable Care Act. This article argues that a federalist approach represents the most promising path toward reforming occupational licensing in health care. Federal intervention in licensing is necessary, due to states’ lack of incentives to experiment with licensing reforms, the externalities of their licensing regimes, and their inability to resolve their own collective action problems. Nevertheless, large-scale federal preemption of state licensing laws is unlikely, due to a combination of interest group politics, Congress’s tendency toward incrementalism, and its reliance on the states to administer federal policies. A federalist approach also has functional advantages over outright federal preemption: it allows for more experimentation in constructing new licensing regimes, and it enables the federal government to take advantage of states’ institutional expertise in regulating occupations. Finally, this approach presents a model for how the federal government can play a constructive role in occupational licensing in other fields besides health care, and in other areas of state regulatory policy

Humans versus robots: Converting golf putter trajectories for robotic guidance

Robotic devices are used to provide physical guidance when teaching different movements. To advance our knowledge of robotic guidance in training complex movements, this investigation tested different kinematic data filtering methods of individual’s golf putts to convert them into trajectories to be employed by a robot arm. The purpose of the current study was to identify a simple filtering method to aptly replicate participants’ individual golf putter trajectories which could be used by the robot to execute them with greater consistency and accuracy than their human counterpart. Participants putted towards 3 targets where three-dimensional data of the putter’s head was filtered and then fitted by using one- or two-dimensions of the participant’s putter head trajectories. As expected, both filtering methods employed with the robot outperformed the human participants in ball endpoint accuracy and consistency. Further, after comparing the filtered to the human participants trajectories, the two-dimensional method best replicated the kinematic features of human participants natural putter trajectory, while the one-dimensional method failed to replicate participant’s backstroke position. This investigation indicates that a two-dimensional filtering method, using Y-forward and Z-vertical position data, can be used to create accurate, consistent, and smooth trajectories delivered by a robot arm

Predicting the burden of cancer in Switzerland up to 2025

Predicting the short-term evolution of the number of cancers is essential for planning investments and allocating health resources. The objective of this study was to predict the numbers of cancer cases and of the 12 most frequent cancer sites, and their age-standardized incidence rates, for the years 2019–2025 in Switzerland. Projections of the number of malignant cancer cases were obtained by combining data from two sources: forecasts of national age-standardized cancer incidence rates and population projections from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Age-standardized cancer incidence rates, approximating the individual cancer risk, were predicted by a low-order Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model. The contributions of changes in cancer risk (epidemiological component) and population aging and growth (demographic components) to the projected number of new cancer cases were each quantified. Between 2018 and 2025, age-standardized cancer incidence rates are predicted to stabilize for men and women at around 426 and 328/100,000, respectively (<1% change). These projected trends are expected for most cancer sites. The annual number of cancers is expected to increase from 45,676 to 52,552 (+15%), more so for men (+18%) than for women (+11%). These increases are almost entirely due to projected changes in population age structure (+12% for men and +6% for women) and population growth (+6% for both sexes). The rise in numbers of expected cancers for each site is forecast to range from 4.15% (thyroid in men) to 26% (bladder in men). While ranking of the three most frequent cancers will remain unchanged for men (1st prostate, 2nd lung, 3rd colon-rectum), colorectal cancer will overtake by 2025 lung cancer as the second most common female cancer in Switzerland, behind breast cancer. Effective and sustained prevention measures, as well as infrastructural interventions, are required to counter the increase in cancer cases and prevent any potential shortage of professionals in cancer care delivery

0200: Predictors of angiographically visible distal embolization in ST elevation myocardial infarction patients treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention and thrombectomy

Aspiration thrombectomy during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI) in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been proposed to restore myocardial reperfusion. But important controversies remain concerning the usefulness of thrombectomy to improve this perfusion. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of manual thrombectomy on the occur-rence of angiographically visible distal embolization (AVDE) during p-PCI in STEMI. 346 consecutive patients admitted for STEMI who underwent p-PCI and thrombectomy were included. Clinical, angiographic and therapeutics characteristics were assessed. AVDE was defined as an abrupt vessel closure occurring at any point during the PCI procedure and that was not present at baseline. Patients were divided into 2 groups: with AVDE (59 patients) and without AVDE 287 patients.Comparing the 2 groups, patients with AVDE were more likely to be older than 60 year-old (67 vs. 50%; p=0.014), with a higher proportion of women (34 vs. 20%; p=0,027), of right coronary artery lesion (57 vs. 34.5%; p=0.001).Conversely, smoking and left anterior descending coronary artery lesion were more frequent in patients without AVDE (respectively 63 vs. 46%; p=0.014 and 50 vs. 30%; p=0.005).Univariate analysis identify age>60 (OR[95% CI]:2.09(1.15-3.78), p=0.015), female gender (OR[95% CI]:2.02(1.09-3.73), p=0,024), culprit coronary diameter>3mm (OR[95% CI] as predictors of AVDE during p-PCI for STEMI.By multivariate analysis, culprit coronary diameter>3mm (OR[95% CI]: 1.90 (1.01-3.56); p=0.048) and and the right coronary artery culprit lesion site (OR[95% CI]:2.48(1.36-4.52); p=0.003) were independent factors associated with AVDE. AVDE complicating p-PCI during STEMI is frequent (17%). Strikingly we found that successful thrombectomy does not prevent from AVDE. Conversely, we highlight that patients with culprit coronary artery diameter>3mm and STEMI due to right coronary artery occlusion are more likely to develop AVDE

Physiological differences between wild and cultured bivalves in Prince Edward Island, Canada

Bivalve culture in Canada increased by 25% from 2000 to 2016. In Prince Edward Island (PEI), bivalves are cultivated in bays and estuaries and there is limited space for further aquaculture expansion. Thus, there is merit in developing a numerical model determining the abundance of bivalve populations in relation to their food availability in order to assess the carrying capacity of shellfish growing areas. This modelling will take into account the different bivalve species present in the bay, as the cultivated Mytilus edulis and Crassostrea virginica and wild, M. edulis, C. virginica, Mya arenaria and Mercenaria mercenaria. As a first step toward a modelling goal, this study compared the physiological differences of the 6 bivalve groups. Three physiological parameters were measured: clearance rate, oxygen consumption and assimilation to determine the energy budget or scope for growth (SFG). These measurements were carried out on individuals contained in metabolic chamber at summer and autumn temperatures (20 and 8 °C, respectively). Our results show that M. edulis is best adapted to these temperature in PEI as it maintains high SFG at both temperatures. For C. virginica and M. arenaria, high physiological parameters under summer conditions were observed, followed by a decrease in autumn. For M. mercenaria rates were low at both temperatures indicating a persistently low growth potential. These results demonstrate the adaptive physiological capacity of each species and provide insight into the underlying reasons some species such as C. virginica and M. mercenaria are at their northern distribution limit in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Finally, no differences in the SFG between cultivated and wild bivalves have been observed. These results are discussed within the context of estimating the impact of each bivalve group in bays environment from PEI and particularly on food availability

Predicting the Surface Tension of Liquids: Comparison of Four Modeling Approaches and Application to Cosmetic Oils

The efficiency of four modeling approaches, namely group contributions, corresponding-states principle, σ-moment-based neural networks, and graph machines, are compared for the estimation of the surface tension (ST) of 269 pure liquid compounds at 25 °C from their molecular structure. This study focuses on liquids containing only carbon, oxygen, hydrogen or silicon atoms since our purpose is to predict the surface tension of cosmetic oils. Neural network estimations are performed from σ-moment descriptors as defined in the COSMO-RS model, while methods based on group contributions, corresponding-states principle and graph machines use 2D molecular information (SMILES codes). The graph machine approach provides the best results, estimating the surface tensions of 23 cosmetic oils, such as hemisqualane, isopropyl myristate or decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5), with accuracy better than 1 mN.m–1. A demonstration of the graph machine model using the recent Docker technology is available for download in the Supplementary Information