Sentiment Analysis on Social Media Via Machine Learning

Social media are shaping users\u27 attitudes and behaviors through spreading information anytime and anywhere. Monitoring user opinions on social media is an effective solution to measure users\u27 preferences towards brands or events. Currently, supervised machine learning-based methods dominate this area. However, as far as we know, there is no comprehensive comparison of performances of different models to figure out which model will be better for individual datasets. The focus of this thesis is to compare the performance of different supervised machine learning models. In detail, we built six classifiers, including support vector machine, random forest, neural network, Adaboost, decision tree, and Naive Bayes on two datasets and compare their performance. Furthermore, we introduced feature selection to remove unrelated attributes to preprocess the data and compare performance by building classifiers on the preprocessed data. Experimental results show that without feature selection, there is no significant difference in the performance. After feature selection, random forest outperformed other classifiers

UR-INE Good Hands in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit

Purpose: The purpose of this performance improvement project was to decrease the harm to patients related to catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (NSICU). Historically, the NSICU had the highest CAUTI rates in our organization with as many as 6 CAUTIs per calendar year quarter. A core group of nurses partnered with providers, hospital infection preventionists and nursing leaders to improve practices for placing, removing, and managing urinary catheters and to implement guidelines for urine testing stewardship. Description: Significance: In 2020, the NSICU had 12 CAUTIs, the highest number of CAUTIs in the entire healthcare enterprise (n=16). The Standard Infection Ratio (SIR) reached a high of 5.12 despite a Standard Utilization Ratio (SUR) less than 1.0. Catheter associated urinary tract infection is a common healthcare associated infection. Approximately 14% of hospitalized adults will have a urinary catheter during their hospitalization and with each day the risk of CAUTI increases by 3- 7%. CAUTIs are associated with increased length of stay, increased cost and increased mortality and morbidity (NHSN, 2023). With an estimated additional cost of $14,000 to treat a CAUTI, reducing this HAI in NSICU was a top organizational priority. Strategy: The NSICU had previously implemented multiple strategies to reduce CAUTIs (male and female alternative devices, daily review for necessity, chlorhexidine (CHG) bath treatment, and utilization of the organizational nurse-led bladder management algorithm for urinary catheter removal). We included these strategies as well as compliance with CAUTI related process measures (hand hygiene, CHG bathing, daily review for necessity) in our annual education. We held skills fairs for nursing team members to demonstrate aseptic insertion technique, daily catheter care and best practices for management of the system. Each CAUTI was thoroughly investigated, and, seeing no change in our CAUTI rates, nurses were asked to redouble their efforts in catheter care and maintenance and timely removal. Due to the lack of overall improvement in CAUTI rates, we consulted with our infection preventionist (IP) who provided data on urine testing practices in the NSICU. Like many other providers, NSICU physicians routinely ordered urine cultures as part of a fever work-up. Urine cultures without the presence of indication is considered inappropriate based on CDC guidelines. Our IP noted that many of our patients did not have clinical indications for urine culture testing. It was possible that our CAUITs were the result of colonization of the catheter with the development of biofilm or catheter-associated asymptomatic bacteriuria (CDC, 2019). As this pattern of inappropriate urine testing emerged, we decided to add urine testing stewardship (UTS) to our bundle of strategies to reduce CAUTIs. Our goal was to obtain urine cultures only when indicated (i.e. recent kidney transplant recipients, neutropenia, recent genitourinary surgery, known genitourinary obstruction or stents, pregnancy, spinal cord injury with signs or symptoms of autonomic dysreflexia, organ donor or patient with classic signs of urinary tract infection without alternative explanation). Implementation: In November 2020 NSICU nurse leaders partnered with the IP and medical director to identify opportunities to implement UTS. All strategies were developed with the understanding that this was not simply a practice change but also a culture change. Team meetings (nursing and physician) were held to discuss the new approach to urine testing. Signs with testing criteria were affixed to each computer so that providers would use that information when placing orders. To ensure adherence to the change, in January 2021 all orders for urine cultures were to be reviewed by nurse leaders before being obtained. Nurse leaders were well versed in the literature supporting the reduction of unnecessary testing and frequently provided just-in-time education to nurses and providers to answer any questions and address concerns about urine testing. Evaluation and Implications for Nursing Practice and Patient Outcomes:   With the addition of urine testing stewardship, CAUTI rates dropped from a high of 5.12 in 2020 Q3 to 0.0 in 2021 Q3. Between 2020 Q1 and 2021 Q3 there were 16 CAUTIs. From May 27, 2021 to April 24, 2023 (696 days) there were no CAUTIs. As of July 2023, no patients hospitalized in the NSICU with an indwelling urinary catheter were readmitted with a UTI or urosepsis. In addition to the CAUTI in April 2023, there was a second patient with a CAUTI on July 23, 2023. In both cases, the patients did not meet testing criteria nor were nursing leaders notified of the order. Combined with previous strategies, the introduction of urine testing stewardship reduced patient harm. We eliminated the unnecessary use of antimicrobials which, in turn, increases the proliferation of resistant organisms (AHRQ, May 2023). Furthermore, providers have become more likely to approve catheter removal earlier in the course of hospitalization.   These initiatives were successful in that we reduced our CAUTI rates and changed the culture on the unit. Implementation of UTS in particular required collaboration among all team members and support from providers. Nurses are more confident in asking the “why” for other tests and procedures ordered on their patients. Nurse leader review of routine urine cultures was adopted as a best practice across the organization

Scalable Designs for Quasiparticle-Poisoning-Protected Topological Quantum Computation with Majorana Zero Modes

We present designs for scalable quantum computers composed of qubits encoded in aggregates of four or more Majorana zero modes, realized at the ends of topological superconducting wire segments that are assembled into superconducting islands with significant charging energy. Quantum information can be manipulated according to a measurement-only protocol, which is facilitated by tunable couplings between Majorana zero modes and nearby semiconductor quantum dots. Our proposed architecture designs have the following principal virtues: (1) the magnetic field can be aligned in the direction of all of the topological superconducting wires since they are all parallel; (2) topological $T$-junctions are not used, obviating possible difficulties in their fabrication and utilization; (3) quasiparticle poisoning is abated by the charging energy; (4) Clifford operations are executed by a relatively standard measurement: detection of corrections to quantum dot energy, charge, or differential capacitance induced by quantum fluctuations; (5) it is compatible with strategies for producing good approximate magic states.Comment: 34 pages, 17 figures; v4: minor changes, final versio

Adapting an anti‐bullying programme for UK special schools

Bullying is a public health priority but to date, there is a lack of evidence‐based anti‐bullying programmes or interventions designed for use in special schools. KiVa is a successful anti‐bullying programme for mainstream schools currently used in 23 countries. This brief paper outlines the co‐development and adaptation of two KiVa lessons into KiVa‐SEND lessons and their implementation in two special schools in the UK. One school supports pupils with a primary need of Autism, the other supports pupils with severe and complex learning disabilities. Engagement with the lessons was high from both pupils and staff; the content was perceived as acceptable by staff, complementing the curriculum and perceived as suitable for their pupils. Minor adjustments need to be made to ensure all pupils can comprehend and access the concepts. Further development of the KiVa‐SEND programme and testing its potential effectiveness to reduce bullying and associated negative outcomes in special schools is now warranted. Key Points: There is a lack of evidence‐based anti‐bullying programmes for use in special schools. This paper details the piloting of an adaptation of KiVa (a successful, evidence‐based anti‐bullying programme for mainstream schools) for use in special schools. The adaption (KiVa‐SEND) was a co‐design between a couple of special school teachers, and educational and psychological researchers to ensure the materials and approach were in line with school requirements and teaching practices. The KiVa‐SEND lesson engagement was excellent from the 12 staff and 62 learners involved and the materials were deemed acceptable via direct feedback and researcher observations. Suggestions were provided on how to make the materials even more suitable for diverse learning needs. KiVa‐SEND has the potential to be embedded within the special school curriculum and then be tested for its effectiveness at reducing bullying and associated negative outcomes of bullying amongst the special school population

Healthy-lifestyle behaviors associated with overweight and obesity in US rural children

BackgroundThere are disproportionately higher rates of overweight and obesity in poor rural communities but studies exploring children’s health-related behaviors that may assist in designing effective interventions are limited. We examined the association between overweight and obesity prevalence of 401 ethnically/racially diverse, rural school-aged children and healthy-lifestyle behaviors: improving diet quality, obtaining adequate sleep, limiting screen-time viewing, and consulting a physician about a child’s weight.MethodsA cross-sectional analysis was conducted on a sample of school-aged children (6–11 years) in rural regions of California, Kentucky, Mississippi, and South Carolina participating in CHANGE (Creating Healthy, Active, and Nurturing Growing-up Environments) Program, created by Save the Children, an independent organization that works with communities to improve overall child health, with the objective to reduce unhealthy weight gain in these school-aged children (grades 1–6) in rural America. After measuring children’s height and weight, we17 assessed overweight and obesity (BMI ≥ 85th percentile) associations with these behaviors: improving diet quality18 (≥ 2 servings of fruits and vegetables/day), reducing whole milk, sweetened beverage consumption/day; obtaining19 adequate night-time sleep on weekdays (≥ 10 hours/night); limiting screen-time (i.e., television, video, computer,20 videogame) viewing on weekdays (≤ 2 hours/day); and consulting a physician about weight. Analyses were adjusted 21 for state of residence, children\u27s race/ethnicity, gender, age, and government assistance.ResultsOverweight or obesity prevalence was 37 percent in Mississippi and nearly 60 percent in Kentucky. Adjusting for covariates, obese children were twice as likely to eat ≥ 2 servings of vegetables per day (OR=2.0,95% CI 1.1-3.4), less likely to consume whole milk (OR=0.4,95% CI 0.2-0.70), Their parents are more likely to be told by their doctor that their child was obese (OR=108.0,95% CI 21.9-541.6), and less likely to report talking to their child about fruits and vegetables a lot/sometimes vs. not very much/never (OR=0.4, 95%CI 0.2-0.98) compared to the parents of healthy-weight children.ConclusionsRural children are not meeting recommendations to improve diet, reduce screen time and obtain adequate sleep. Although we expected obese children to be more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors, we found the opposite to be true. It is possible that these groups of respondent parents were highly aware of their weight status and have been advised to change their children’s health behaviors. Perhaps given the opportunity to participate in an intervention study in combination with a physician recommendation could have resulted in actual behavior change

Generalized Hartree-Fock Theory for Interacting Fermions in Lattices: Numerical Methods

We present numerical methods to solve the Generalized Hartree-Fock theory for fermionic systems in lattices, both in thermal equilibrium and out of equilibrium. Specifically, we show how to determine the covariance matrix corresponding to the Fermionic Gaussian state that optimally approximates the quantum state of the fermions. The methods apply to relatively large systems, since their complexity only scales quadratically with the number of lattice sites. Moreover, they are specially suited to describe inhomogenous systems, as those typically found in recent experiments with atoms in optical lattices, at least in the weak interaction regime. As a benchmark, we have applied them to the two-dimensional Hubbard model on a 10x10 lattice with and without an external confinement.Comment: 16 pages, 22 figure

The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Control

This monograph, a joint effort of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and World Health Organization, examines economic issues in tobacco and tobacco control, including the supply and demand of tobacco products. This first chapter frames the issues addressed in the monograph and describes its organization around key topic areas. Each monograph chapter focuses on the global evidence on these issues, particularly the evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The closing sections of this chapter present chapter conclusions and major overall conclusions generated by the work presented here. Experts in economics, tobacco control, public policy, public health, and other related fields from every region in the world, including high-income countries and LMICs, were assembled to provide the research and analyses presented within these pages. It is hoped that this monograph will help inform the implementation of global tobacco control efforts in the 21st century.Additional co-authors: Dongbo Fu, C.K. Gajalakshmi, Vendhan Gajalakshmi, Mark Goodchild, Emmanuel Guindon, Prakash Gupta, Reviva Hasson, Luminita S Hayes, Sara Hitchman, Kinh Hoang-Van, Jidong Huang, Andrew Hyland, Nathan Jones, John Keyser, Pierre Kopp, Harry Lando, David Levy, James Lightwood, Christine Logel, Benn McGrady, Yumiko Mochizuki-Kobayashi, Mario Monsour, Nigar Nargis, Richard J. O’Connor, Maizurah Omar, Zeynep Önder, William Onzivu, Anne-Marie Perucic, Armando Peruga, Vinayak M. Prasad, Martin Raw, Cecily S. Ray, Lyn Reed, Bung-on Ritthiphakdee, Hana Ross, Jennifer Ruger, Henry Saffer, Genevieve Sansone, Natalie Sansone, Fatwa Sari Tetra Dewi, Kerstin Schotte, Omar Shafey, Yoon-Jeong Shin, Giorgio Sincovich, John Tauras, Mark Travers, Édouard Tursan d’Espaignet, Marco Vargas, Mandeep K. Virk-Baker, Corné van Walbeek, Charles W. Warren, Marzenna Anna Weresa, Xin Xu, Eduard Zaloshnja, Lei Zhang, Ping Zhan

Ontogenetic De Novo Copy Number Variations (CNVs) as a Source of Genetic Individuality: Studies on Two Families with MZD Twins for Schizophrenia

Genetic individuality is the foundation of personalized medicine, yet its determinants are currently poorly understood. One issue is the difference between monozygotic twins that are assumed identical and have been extensively used in genetic studies for decades [1]. Here, we report genome-wide alterations in two nuclear families each with a pair of monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia evaluated by the Affymetrix 6.0 human SNP array. The data analysis includes characterization of copy number variations (CNVs) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs). The results have identified genomic differences between twin pairs and a set of new provisional schizophrenia genes. Samples were found to have between 35 and 65 CNVs per individual. The majority of CNVs (∼80%) represented gains. In addition, ∼10% of the CNVs were de novo (not present in parents), of these, 30% arose during parental meiosis and 70% arose during developmental mitosis. We also observed SNPs in the twins that were absent from both parents. These constituted 0.12% of all SNPs seen in the twins. In 65% of cases these SNPs arose during meiosis compared to 35% during mitosis. The developmental mitotic origin of most CNVs that may lead to MZ twin discordance may also cause tissue differences within individuals during a single pregnancy and generate a high frequency of mosaics in the population. The results argue for enduring genome-wide changes during cellular transmission, often ignored in most genetic analyses

Formation of Complex and Unstable Chromosomal Translocations in Yeast

Genome instability, associated with chromosome breakage syndromes and most human cancers, is still poorly understood. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, numerous genes with roles in the preservation of genome integrity have been identified. DNA-damage-checkpoint-deficient yeast cells that lack Sgs1, a RecQ-like DNA helicase related to the human Bloom's-syndrome-associated helicase BLM, show an increased rate of genome instability, and we have previously shown that they accumulate recurring chromosomal translocations between three similar genes, CAN1, LYP1 and ALP1. Here, the chromosomal location, copy number and sequence similarity of the translocation targets ALP1 and LYP1 were altered to gain insight into the formation of complex translocations. Among 844 clones with chromosomal rearrangements, 93 with various types of simple and complex translocations involving CAN1, LYP1 and ALP1 were identified. Breakpoint sequencing and mapping showed that the formation of complex translocation types is strictly dependent on the location of the initiating DNA break and revealed that complex translocations arise via a combination of interchromosomal translocation and template-switching, as well as from unstable dicentric intermediates. Template-switching occurred between sequences on the same chromosome, but was inhibited if the genes were transferred to different chromosomes. Unstable dicentric translocations continuously gave rise to clones with multiple translocations in various combinations, reminiscent of intratumor heterogeneity in human cancers. Base substitutions and evidence of DNA slippage near rearrangement breakpoints revealed that translocation formation can be accompanied by point mutations, and their presence in different translocation types within the same clone provides evidence that some of the different translocation types are derived from each other rather than being formed de novo. These findings provide insight into eukaryotic genome instability, especially the formation of translocations and the sources of intraclonal heterogeneity, both of which are often associated with human cancers