Modelling mortality rates using GEE models

Generalised estimating equation (GEE) models are extensions of generalised linear models by relaxing the assumption of independence. These models are appropriate to analyze correlated longitudinal responses which follow any distribution that is a member of the exponential family. This model is used to relate daily mortality rate of Maltese adults aged 65 years and over with a number of predictors, including apparent temperature, season and year. To accommodate the right skewed mortality rate distribution a Gamma distribution is assumed. An identity link function is used for ease of interpretating the parameter estimates. An autoregressive correlation structure of order 1 is used since correlations decrease as distance between observations increases. The study shows that mortality rate and temperature are related by a quadratic function. Moreover, the GEE model identifies a number of significant main and interaction effects which shed light on the effect of weather predictors on daily mortality rates.peer-reviewe

Magnetic properties of polypyrrole - coated iron oxide nanoparticles

Iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared by sol -gel process. Insitu polymerization of pyrrole monomer in the presence of oxygen in iron oxide ethanol suspension resulted in a iron oxide - polypyrrole nanocomposite. The structure and magnetic properties were investigated for varying pyrrole concentrations. The presence of the gamma - iron oxide phase and polypyrrole were confirmed by XRD and FTIR respectively. Agglomeration was found to be comparatively much reduced for the coated samples, as shown by TEM. AC susceptibility measurements confirmed the superparamagnetic behaviour. Numerical simulations performed for an interacting model system are performed to estimate the anisotropy and compare favourably with experimental results.Comment: 11 pages,8 figure

The Serums Tool-Chain:Ensuring Security and Privacy of Medical Data in Smart Patient-Centric Healthcare Systems

Digital technology is permeating all aspects of human society and life. This leads to humans becoming highly dependent on digital devices, including upon digital: assistance, intelligence, and decisions. A major concern of this digital dependence is the lack of human oversight or intervention in many of the ways humans use this technology. This dependence and reliance on digital technology raises concerns in how humans trust such systems, and how to ensure digital technology behaves appropriately. This works considers recent developments and projects that combine digital technology and artificial intelligence with human society. The focus is on critical scenarios where failure of digital technology can lead to significant harm or even death. We explore how to build trust for users of digital technology in such scenarios and considering many different challenges for digital technology. The approaches applied and proposed here address user trust along many dimensions and aim to build collaborative and empowering use of digital technologies in critical aspects of human society

A phase type survival tree model for clustering patients’ hospital length of stay

Clinical investigators, health professionals and managers are often interested in developing criteria for clustering patients into clinically meaningful groups according to their expected length of stay. In this paper, we propose phase-type survival trees which extend previous work on exponential survival trees. The trees are used to cluster the patients with respect to length of stay where partitioning is based on covariates such as gender, age at the time of admission and primary diagnosis code. Likelihood ratio tests are used to determine optimal partitions. The approach is illustrated using nationwide data available from the English Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) database on stroke-related patients, aged 65 years and over, who were discharged from English hospitals over a 1-year period.peer-reviewe

Modelling stroke patient pathways using survival analysis and simulation modelling

Stroke disease is the third leading cause of death in the UK, placing a heavy burden on society at a cost of 7 billion pounds per year. Prolonged length of stay in hospital is considered to be an inefficient use of hospital resources. In this paper we present results of survival analysis that utilise length of stay and destination as outcome measures, based on data from the Belfast City Hospital. Survival probabilities were determined using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and log rank tests. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were also fitted to identify independent predictors of length of stay including age, gender and diagnosis. Elderly patients showed a decreased hazard ratio of discharge. However, gender was not a significant hazard risk for length of stay in hospital. Those patients with a diagnosis of cerebral haemorrhage showed an increased hazard ratio and hence were most likely to have a shorter length of stay and to die in hospital. Those who were eventually discharged to a Private Nursing Home had the lowest probability of early discharge. On the basis of these results we have created several groups, stratified by age, gender diagnosis and destination. These groups are then used to form the basis of a simulation model where each group is a patient pathway within the simulation. Various scenarios are explored with a particular focus on the potential efficiency gains if length of stay in hospital, prior to discharge to a Private Nursing Home, can be reduced.peer-reviewe

Better measurement and monitoring of data for development

The performance indexes and assessment tools included in this analysis were selected by Open Data Watch after a review of possible candidates and consultations with other index or tool producers. To ensure their relevance and comparability to the GDB, only indexes and tools applicable to government data in multiple sectors were included. Assessment tools that are currently in use and performance indexes that have at least one edition available since 2019 were included in the research inventory. Seven performance indexes provide cross-country comparisons using a numeric score, while five assessment tools enable countries or organizations to conduct assessments of government data and statistical systems based on qualitative and quantitative measures. All indexes and tools included in the inventory seek to measure some element of data governance, availability, quality, openness, or use and impact

Proceedings of 1988 International Symposium on Data on Aging

The International Symposium was convened from December 7 to 9, 1988, in Bethesda, Maryland, to develop proposals for research in measuring the health and health care of the aging, The Proceedings include papers from the plenary sessions, where measurement issues were identified, and the workshops, where specific proposals for research were outlined, Speakers and participants were distinguished International experts from a dozen different countries and a variety of organizations, They were selected for their expertise in the six topics addressed by the International Symposium: Common chronic diseases, health promotion, vitality, functioning, mortallty statistics, and outcomes of nursing home care.Part I. Introduction -- 1. Measuring the health and health care of the aging / by Manning Feinleib. -- 2. My grandmother said, "If you have your health, you have everything." What did she mean? / by Harvey Jay Cohen -- -- Part II. Comparing cardiovascular and cancer statistics -- Introduction / by Harry M. Rosenberg. -- 3. Morbidity and mortality information on old age: Comments on availability, validity, and comparability / by Thomas Strasser -- 4. Validity of diagnosis of cancer in the elderly / by C.S. Muir -- 5. Causes of death among the elderly: Information from the death certificate / by Harry Rosenberg, Frances Chevarley, Eve Powell-Griner, Kenneth Kochanek, and Manning Feinleib -- 6. Diagnosisofcardiovascular diseaseinelderlypopulations / by Millicent W. Higgins -- -- Part III.. Health promotion and disease prevention among the aged -- Introduction / by Gerry E. Hendershot. -- 7. Statistics on health promotion and dsease prevention in The Netherlands / by Henk Swinkels. -- 8. Health promotion among the aged in the United States / by Gerry E. Hendershot -- 9. Optimal survey research methods for studying health-related behaviors of older people / by John B. McKinlay -- -- Part IV. Functional disability -- Introduction / by Mary Grace Kovar -- 10. Functional ability and the need for care: Issues for measurement research / by Mary Grace Kovar -- ll. Surveys of the situation of the elderly in Hungary / by Andads Klinger -- 12. A comparison of demographic, health, and housing variables in studies of elderly populations in Canada and the United States / by W.F. Forbes, L.M. Hayward, and B.D.McPherson -- 13. Functioning old age: Measurement, comparability, and service planning / by A. Michael Davies -- 14. Functional disability issues / by Mary Grace Kovar -- -- Part V. International health care research -- Introduction / by Jacob J. Feldman -- 15. Cross-national research in health care / by Gary Robert Andrews -- -- Part VI. Comparative analysis of health statistics for selected diseases common in older persons in the United States -- Introduction / by Tamara Harris -- 16. Opportunities for international collaboration: Comparisons of morbidity and mortality for chronic diseases in older persons by Jacob A. Brody -- 17. Epidemiology of aging in Hong Kong: Health status of the Hong Kong Chinese elderly / by Suzanne C. Ho -- 18. The utility of cross-national comparisons of diseases of older persons / by Tamara Harris -- 19. Utility of cross-national comparisons of diseases of older persons: Osteoporosis as an example / by Jennifer L. Kelsey -- -- Part VII. Measuring risk factors and outcomes of institutional long-term care -- Introduction/ by Joan F. Van Nostrand. -- 20. Research on institutional long-term care in Australia / by Anna L. Howe -- 21. Long-term care in the United States: Issues in measuring nursing home outcomes / by Joan F. Van Nostrand -- 22. Measuring outcomes of institutional long-term care: The problem of both the dependent and independent variables / by Rosalie A. Kane -- 23. Outcomes of community and institutional long-term care / by Betty Havens -- -- Part VIII. Assessment of vitality and aging -- Introduction / by Richard J. Havlik -- 24. Quality of life among the elderly in Veneto, Italy: across-sectional study / by Stefania Maggi, Trudy L . Bush, Giuliano Enzi, and Gaetano Crepaldi -- 25. Physical, social, and mental vitality / by Richard J. Havlik. -- 26. Measurement of vitality in the Americans' Changing Lives study / by A. Regula Herzog -- -- Part IX. Special activities related to measuring health and health care -- 27. Contribution of the World Health Organization Program for Research on Aging to activities related to measuring health and health care / by Jorge Liwak -- 28. Health for the elderly by the year 2000: statistical needs / by Ronald G. Blankenbaker -- -- Part X. Summary -- 29. Overview / by Manning Feinleib -- 30. Comparing cardiovascular and cancer statistics / by Harry M Rosenberg -- 31. Health promotion and disease prevention among the aged / by Gerry E. Hendershot -- 32. Functional disability / by Mary Grace Kovar -- 33. Comparative analysis of health statistics for selected diseases common in older persons in the United States / by Tamara Harris -- 34. International collaboration in measuring outcomes of nursing home care / by Joan F. Van Nostrand -- 35. Assessment of vitality and aging / by Richard J. HavlikManning Feinleib, editor."Symposium ... convened from December 7 to 9, 1988, in Bethesda, Maryland."Also available via the World Wide Web as an Acrobat .pdf file (20.57 MB, 243 p.).Includes bibliographical references

The African Open Science Platform: The Future of Science and Science for the Future

This document presents a draft strategy and makes the scientific case for the African Open Science Platform (AOSP). It is based on an expert group meeting held in Pretoria on 27-28 March 2018. Its purpose is to act as a framework for detailed, work on the creation of the Platform and as a basis for discussion at a stakeholder meeting to be held on 3-4 September 2018, which will lead to a definitive strategy for implementation from 2019. Expert group members at the March meeting were drawn from the following organisations: African Academy of Sciences (AAS), Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA), International Council for Science (ICSU), National Research and Education Networks (NRENS), Research Data Alliance (RDA), South African Department of Science & Technology (DST) and National Research Foundation (NRF), Square Kilometre Array (SKA), UNESCO. The African Open Science Platform The Future of Science and Science for the Future 4 The African Open Science Platform. The Platform’s mission is to put African scientists at the cutting edge of contemporary, data-intensive science as a fundamental resource for a modern society. Its building blocks are: • a federated hardware, communications and software infrastructure, including policies and enabling practices, to support Open Science in the digital era; • a network of excellence in Open Science that supports scientists & other societal actors in accumulating and using modern data resources to maximise scientific, social and economic benefit. These objectives will be realised through seven related strands of activity: Strand 0: Register & portal for African & related international data collections & services. Strand 1: A federated network of computational facilities and services. Strand 2: Software tools & advice on policies & practices of research data management. Strand 3: A Data Science Institute at the cutting edge of data analytics and AI. Strand 4: Priority application programmes: e.g. cities, disease, biosphere, agriculture. Strand 5: A Network for Education & Skills in data & information. Strand 6: A Network for Open Science Access and Dialogue. The document also outlines the proposed governance, membership and management structure of the Platform, the approach to initial funding and the milestones in building up to the launch. The case for Open Science is based on the profound implications for society and for science, of the digital revolution and of the storm of data that it has unleashed and of the pervasive and novel means of communication that it has enabled. No state should fail to recognise this potential or to adapt their national intellectual infrastructure in exploiting benefits and minimising risks. Open Science is a vital enabler in maintaining the rigour and reliability of science; in creatively integrating diverse data resources to address complex modern challenges; in open innovation and in engaging with other societal actors as knowledge partners in tackling shared problems. It is fundamental to realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals. National science systems worldwide are struggling to adapt to this new paradigm. The alternatives are to do so or risk stagnating in a scientific backwater, isolated from creative streams of social, cultural and economic opportunity. Africa should adapt and capitalise on the opportunities, but in its own way, and as a leader not a follower, with broader, more societally-engaged priorities. It should seize the challenge with boldness and resolution