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This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit presents the results of a survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries. The survey addressed the following questions about numeric data (i.e., any information resource, print or non-print, with considerable numeric content) in academic libraries: (1) What relationships exist between libraries and other academic units that have responsibility for numeric data? (2) What are the principle sources for numeric data? (3) How much are libraries spending to acquire numeric data resources? (4) How much staff time are libraries devoting to numeric data? and (5) How do libraries evaluate their own performance regarding numeric data? The survey was divided into six topical areas: background; numeric data product collections; access to machine-readable numeric data products; staffing; budget; and evaluation of numeric data collections and services. A total of 66 of 121 ARL member libraries responded to the survey. A copy of the questionnaire with tabulated results is presented. Representative documents include collection policies, user guides, data service descriptions, job descriptions, and access policies from participating libraries. Selected resources, including books, journal articles, and World Wide Web sites are listed. (Contains 21 references.) (MES)

A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Ljubljana compared the prevalence of mental health issues using survey and administrative data in Slovenia. The study found significant differences in the estimates of mental health issues between the two data sources, with only 45.9% of self-reported cases matching administrative data. Socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, education, and employment status were found to influence the likelihood of identification in specific data sources. The research highlights the importance of selecting appropriate data sources and assessment methods for accurate estimation of mental health burden. [Extracted from the article]

Massey University researchers have provided new insights into sustainability research, focusing on global protein sustainability and its connection to the United Nations' 2030 agenda. The importance of protein in agriculture, health, food security, and nutrition is highlighted, with proteins playing a crucial role in all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations. The research emphasizes the significance of protein in achieving zero hunger, promoting sustainable agriculture, and improving nutrition worldwide. [Extracted from the article]

A small-scale study conducted at the University of Gothenburg found that tactile massage can help relieve hyperactivity, impulsivity, and attention deficit in young people with ADHD. The massage, given once a week for 10 weeks, also made it easier for participants to fall asleep. Positive effects were observed in reducing symptoms of ADHD, irritability, and defiance, with some benefits lasting even after the treatment ended. The lead author of the study, Anna-Carin Robertz, suggests that tactile massage could be a safe and effective treatment for adolescents with ADHD, potentially offering an alternative to sleep medication for those experiencing sleep problems. [Extracted from the article]

A recent study conducted at the University of British Columbia examined the dietary intakes of Canadian adults and their association with mortality and cardiovascular disease. The study used nutrient profiling models to rank foods based on nutritional composition and assessed their relationship with health outcomes. The findings revealed that adults with lower diet quality, as determined by the nutrient profiling models, were more likely to experience all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events, particularly among males. Overall, the study suggests that Canadians have moderately healthy dietary intakes. For more information, the full research article can be accessed through the Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. [Extracted from the article]

Sweden's core inflation rate has reached the Riksbank's target of 2% for the first time since 2021. The central bank is now considering its next move to stimulate domestic demand. Economists are debating whether the Riksbank will make a half-point cut in borrowing costs or continue with quarter-point cuts. The decision will depend on the health of the economy, particularly household consumption. The Swedish economy has been stagnant for almost three years, putting pressure on the central bank to act quickly. [Extracted from the article]

Sweden's core inflation rate has reached the Riksbank's target of 2% for the first time since 2021. The central bank is now considering its next move to stimulate domestic demand. There is speculation about whether the Riksbank will make a larger interest rate cut or continue with smaller cuts throughout the year. The Swedish economy has been stagnant for almost three years, putting pressure on the central bank to act quickly. This is the first time that Statistics Sweden has released a flash estimate of inflation without providing details on specific product groups. [Extracted from the article]

A study conducted by L'Oreal Research & Innovation in Aulnay-sous-Bois, France, has developed a defined approach (DA) for identifying eye hazards of solid chemicals according to the three UN GHS categories. The DA combines two test methods and was developed based on statistical analysis of a database on solids. The performance of the DA was assessed and found to meet the minimum performance values established by the OECD expert group. This new approach provides non-animal testing methods for assessing the eye hazard of both liquids and solids, reducing the need for animal testing. [Extracted from the article]

A report from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia discusses the increasing incidence of Enterobacterales bloodstream infections (E-BSI) in children in Queensland. The study, conducted between 2000 and 2019, found that the overall age- and sex-standardized incidence rate of E-BSI was 9.9 cases per 100,000 child years, with an increase of 3.9% per year. The incidence of E. coli bloodstream infections increased annually by 4.7%, while the incidence of Salmonella sp. bloodstream infections increased by 13.7% per year. The study highlights the need for antimicrobial clinical trials in children due to increasing resistance to E. coli. [Extracted from the article]

A rapid assessment of mortality surveillance in Uganda was conducted from November 2023 to June 2024. The assessment aimed to identify gaps in the mortality surveillance system and provide recommendations for improvement. The assessment found that 66.9% of deaths occur in communities, but there are data completeness gaps in feeding this information into the national health statistics database. Issues with data quality were also identified in health facility-generated data. Despite these challenges, the assessment highlights opportunities for improved mortality surveillance in Uganda through the adoption of strategies such as strengthening governance, raising awareness, and improving resource allocation. [Extracted from the article]

A recent study conducted at the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in St. Polten, Austria, examined the postoperative survival of patients over 80 years old who were treated for keratinocyte-derived skin cancer (KC). The study included 940 patients, with a median postoperative survival of 57 months. The researchers concluded that surgery remains a valid treatment option for KC at the end of life, although some patients died within a year after surgery, suggesting that preoperative assessment could help avoid overtreatment in certain cases. The study was supported by the Austrian national demographic database at Statistics Austria. [Extracted from the article]

We present an approach to efficiently construct stepwise regression models in a very high dimensional setting using a multidimensional index. The approach is based on an observation that the collections of available predictor variables often remain relatively stable and many models are built based on the same predictors. Example scenarios include data warehouses against which multiple ad hoc analytical models are built or collections of publicly available open data which remain relatively fixed and are used as a source of predictor variables for many models. We propose an approach where the user simply provides a target variable and the algorithm uses a pre-built multidimensional index to automatically select predictors from millions of available variables, yielding results identical to standard stepwise regression, but an order of magnitude faster. The algorithm has been tested on the large statistical database available from Eurostat, and has been demonstrated to produce interpretable and accurate models. We demonstrate experimentally that our approach produces results that are significantly better than other approaches to modeling with ultra-high dimensional data. Finally, we discuss potential pitfalls such as the presence of highly correlated variables, and show how they can be overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study conducted at the University Medical Center Mainz in Germany examined the epidemiological trends of pyogenic spondylodiscitis, a condition that presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. The study analyzed data from the German Federal Statistical Office database from 2005 to 2021 and found a significant increase in the incidence of spondylodiscitis, particularly among the aging population. Inpatient mortality also rose significantly during the same period. The study also noted a shift towards surgical interventions for treatment. The findings highlight the need for further research to guide optimized therapeutic strategies. [Extracted from the article]

As you might imagine putting together a statistical database takes a lot of time, so if you are able to support the team at Rugby Database it would be greatly appreciated. Rugby Database is an entirely voluntary project created to establish a digital database of every first-class Rugby Union game played Iboth in New Zealand and abroad by our National and Provincial team(s). HIGHEST ALL-TIME POINT SCORER FOR CHIEFS Damian McKenzie overtook Stephen Donald on 17/03/23 910 Damian McKenzie 886 Stephen Donald 721 Aaron Cruden 481 Glen Jackson 389 David Hill CHECK RUGBY DATABASE OUT!!. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: Ottawa; Canada; North and Central America; Cancer; Cancer Prevention; Health and Medicine; Oncology; Risk and Prevention EN Ottawa Canada North and Central America Cancer Cancer Prevention Health and Medicine Oncology Risk and Prevention 1504 1504 1 10/30/23 20231031 NES 231031 2023 OCT 31 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Cancer Weekly -- New research on Cancer is the subject of a report. Ottawa, Canada, North and Central America, Cancer, Cancer Prevention, Health and Medicine, Oncology, Risk and Prevention. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the changing role of database administrators (DBAs) in the era of cloud computing. Topics include the need for DBAs to embrace cloud technologies, manage data security and compliance, monitor and optimize performance, collaborate with DevOps teams, understand cloud provider contracts, and adapt to a more application-focused approach.

Keywords: Bioengineering; Information Technology EN Bioengineering Information Technology 2291 2291 1 07/10/23 20230714 NES 230714 2023 JUL 14 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Week -- Investigators publish new report on information technology. In perspective, the database of the computed muscle lengths and strains will be integrated into our available clinical decision support system for automatically detecting malfunctioning muscles and proposing patient-specific rehabilitation serious games.". [Extracted from the article]

We develop a probabilistic variant of k -anonymous microaggregation which we term p -probabilistic resorting to a statistical model of respondent participation in order to aggregate quasi-identifiers in such a manner that k -anonymity is concordantly enforced with a parametric probabilistic guarantee. Succinctly owing the possibility that some respondents may not finally participate, sufficiently larger cells are created striving to satisfy k -anonymity with probability at least p . The microaggregation function is designed before the respondents submit their confidential data. More precisely, a specification of the function is sent to them which they may verify and apply to their quasi-identifying demographic variables prior to submitting the microaggregated data along with the confidential attributes to an authorized repository. We propose a number of metrics to assess the performance of our probabilistic approach in terms of anonymity and distortion which we proceed to investigate theoretically in depth and empirically with synthetic and standardized data. We stress that in addition to constituting a functional extension of traditional microaggregation, thereby broadening its applicability to the anonymization of statistical databases in a wide variety of contexts, the relaxation of trust assumptions is arguably expected to have a considerable impact on user acceptance and ultimately on data utility through mere availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imprecise probabilities and the theory of coherent previsions offer a rigorous and powerful framework for modelling subjective uncertainty and solving problems of statistical inference, decision making or risk analysis. The paper introduces formulas for computing imprecise probabilities when statistical data and expert arguments are available to a subject. We then show how to use these imprecise probabilities (dialectical probabilities) for comparing the likelihood of events, conditioning on events, comparing decisions, computing optimal decisions or assessing financial risk. We apply the method to stock trading and show in this experiment the added value both of imprecision and of expert arguments derived from Technical Analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemizygous deletions encompassing the entire F9 and proximate genes may express extra-haematological clinical phenotypes." Keywords: Buenos Aires; Argentina; South America; Bariatrics; Diet and Nutrition; Genetics; Health and Medicine; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases and Conditions; Obesity; Overnutrition; Pediatrics EN Buenos Aires Argentina South America Bariatrics Diet and Nutrition Genetics Health and Medicine Nutrition Disorders Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases and Conditions Obesity Overnutrition Pediatrics 230 230 1 04/03/23 20230407 NES 230407 2023 APR 8 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Pediatrics Week -- New research on Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases and Conditions - Obesity is the subject of a report. [Extracted from the article]

The article provides an answer to a question related to extracting the professional development units (PDU) values and transferring them as numeric values in the Microsoft Excel list.

Fears and risks of a global pandemic. Statisticians: the data samurai? The persuasive power of graphs. A statistical model for Broadway success. Predicting who lives and who dies in Game of Thrones. The Veterans Affairs ban on How to Lie with Statistics Fears and risks of a global pandemic. Statisticians: the data samurai? The persuasive power of graphs. A statistical model for Broadway success. Predicting who lives and who dies in Game of Thrones. The Veterans Affairs ban on How to Lie with Statistics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistical analysis suggests that pregnant women are at greater risk of traffic incidents. Is 'baby brain' to blame - or is this an outrageous insult? Donald Redelmeier and Sharon May investigate [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statisticians need to prioritise clear communication over numerical detail, says Ed Swires-Hennessy as he discusses his new book, Presenting Data, with Allan Reese [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies that attempt to evade these new controls would face the prospect of themselves being cut off from U.S.-origin technology and corporate executives risk going to jail for violations. (Bloomberg) -- Washington is expected to lean on major Chinese companies from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. to Lenovo Group Ltd. to join U.S.-led sanctions against Russia, aiming to cripple the country's ability to buy key technologies and components. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses data clustering algorithms, a demo program based on Naive Bayes inference, and the Iterative Naive Bayesian Inference Agglomerative Clustering (INBIAC) algorithm. Key data structures used by the demo program are presented. It explains how to implement the clustering method and recommends experimenting with different algorithms to get the best results. An algorithm that can deal with both categorical and numeric data is also cited.

The article explains how to use neural networks to solve classification and prediction problems. The main decisions to make when using neural networks in such case include how to normalize numeric input data, how to encode categorical output data and how to measure error when training. The choices made perform a linear transformation on numeric input data, use 1-of-N encoding for categorical output data and use a Softmax activation function for the output layer.

The article offers step-by-step instructions on how to automatically assign categories to numeric ranges on worksheets in Microsoft Excel software.

The article presents several control language (CL) programming capabilities that can boost the productivity of a programmer. It states that CL in Version 2 had no idea of binary data and trying to write Display Subsystem Display File would consume time. CL was enhanced with the built-in, %binary, letting a developer of CL to treat a Character (CHAR) variable as it comprised a binary numeric value starting with Version 2.2.

The article offers techniques in creating a 60% solution budget template using the Microsoft Excel software. It outlines the basic theory behind the 60-percent budget solution, in which all of the fixed or committed expenses equal no more than 60% of the income, freeing up the other 40% for retirement or savings. It suggests that the formulas in the worksheet that create totals and find percentages only apply to a particular worksheet and should not contain three-dimensional (3-D) references.

Abstract: Given discrete samples from Ornstein–Uhlenbeck processes, we consider two kinds of approximated MLE’s for the drift parameter, which are asymptotically efficient in ergodic case. Our interest is the rate of convergence of those estimators when the process is non-recurrent. We add a remark when the underlying process has a slightly more general drift. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper introduces the robust empirical likelihood (REL) inference for the longitudinal data. We propose the REL method by constructing robust auxiliary random vectors, and employ bounded scores and leverage-based weights in the auxiliary random vectors to achieve robustness against outliers in both the response and covariates. Simulation studies are conducted to demonstrate the good performance of our proposed REL method in terms of both robustness and efficiency improvement. The proposed method is also illustrated by analyzing a real data set from epileptic seizure study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We discuss the problem of influence analysis for the particular situation in which the observations must satisfy a set of homogeneous linear restrictions. We present the proof of a theoretical result showing, that for this situation, we can define a system of orthogonal influence directions, as in the unrestricted problem. As an illustration, we discuss a linear regression model where some of the explanatory variables are in the form of proportions, giving also an example with a numerical data set. Our example shows that the influence measure that is here discussed can be quite effective in identifying relevant perturbations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression model is a popular approach to the analysis of count data with excess zeros. For correlated count data where the observations are either repeated or clustered outcomes from individual subjects, ZIP mixed regression model may be appropriate. However, ZIP model may often fail to fit such data either because of over-dispersion or because of under-dispersion in relation to the Poisson distribution. In this paper, we extend the ZIP mixed regression model to zero-inflated generalized Poisson (ZIGP) mixed regression model, where the base-line discrete distribution is generalized Poisson (GP) distribution, which is a natural extension of standard Poisson distribution. Furthermore, the random effects are considered in both zero-inflated and GP components throughout the paper. An EM algorithm for estimating parameters is proposed based on the best linear unbiased prediction-type (BLUP) log-likelihood and the residual maximum likelihood (REML). Meanwhile, several score tests are presented for testing the ZIP mixed regression model against the ZIGP mixed regression model, and for testing the significance of regression coefficients in zero-inflation and generalized Poisson portion. A numerical example is given to illustrate our methodology and the properties of score test statistics are investigated through Monte Carlo simulations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Analyzing functional data often leads to finding common factors, for which functional principal component analysis proves to be a useful tool to summarize and characterize the random variation in a function space. The representation in terms of eigenfunctions is optimal in the sense of approximation. However, the eigenfunctions are not always directed towards an interesting and interpretable direction in the context of functional data and thus could obscure the underlying structure. To overcome such difficulty, an alternative to functional principal component analysis is proposed that produces directed components which may be more informative and easier to interpret. These structural components are similar to principal components, but are adapted to situations in which the domain of the function may be decomposed into disjoint intervals such that there is effectively independence between intervals and positive correlation within intervals. The approach is demonstrated with synthetic examples as well as real data. Properties for special cases are also studied. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Generalized lambda distributions (GLD) can be used to fit a wide range of continuous data. As such, they can be very useful in estimating confidence intervals for quantiles of continuous data. This article proposes two simple methods (Normal–GLD approximation and the analytical-maximum likelihood GLD approach) to find confidence intervals for quantiles. These methods are used on a range of unimodal and bimodal data and on simulated data from ten well-known statistical distributions (Normal, Student’s , Exponential, Gamma, Log Normal, Weibull, Uniform, Beta, and Chi-square) with sample sizes for five different quantiles . In general, the analytical-maximum likelihood GLD approach works better with shorter confidence intervals and has closer coverage probability to the nominal level as long as the GLD models the data with sufficient accuracy. This technique can also be used to find confidence interval for the mode of a continuous data as well as comparing two data sets in terms of quantiles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Extra-dispersion (overdispersion or underdispersion) is a common phenomenon in practice when the variance of count data differs from that of a Poisson model. This can arise when the data come from different subpopulations or when the assumption of independence is violated. This paper develops a procedure for testing the equality of the means of several groups of counts, when extra-dispersions among the treatment groups are unequal, based on the adjusted counts using the concept of the design and size effects employed by Rao and Scott, [Rao, J.N.K., Scott, A.J., 1999. A simple method for analyzing overdispersion in clustered Poisson data. Statist. Med. 18, 1373–1385]. We also obtain the score-type test statistics based on quasi-likelihoods using the mean-variance structure of the negative binomial model, and study the properties and performance characteristics of these. The simulation results indicate that the statistic based on the adjusted count data, which has a very simple form and does not require the estimates of the extra-dispersion parameters, performs best among all the statistics considered in this paper. Finally, the proposed test statistic and the score-type statistic based on double-extended quasi-likelihood are illustrated by an analysis of a set of fetal implants in mice arising from a developmental toxicity study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The problem of unbiased estimation of the mean life and the reliability for an exponential life distribution using time censored sample data are considered. We prove that there does not exist an unbiased estimator of the mean life based on a time censored sample. On the other hand, for reliability estimation at an arbitrarily specified time point, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of (i) an unbiased estimator (ii) the uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimator. We also provide a characterization of the class of unbiased estimators of the reliability, based on a sufficient statistic in situations where unbiased estimators exist. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article offers instructions on how to calculate percentiles and percentile ranks of statistical data using the T-SQL. The author describes and explains how to calculate percentile ranks, which is the percent of values from a certain data set that are smaller than a certain value, using T-SQL's rank and count function. He also describes the way Microsoft Excel calculates the percentile function and then explains how to implement similar logic with T-SQL.

Opioid analgesic-related adverse reactions (ARs) reported in Canada have generally increased since 1965 but there have been fluctuations, say authors of a study published in I Drugs - Real World Outcomes i . In total, 18 397 ARs for 18 opioid analgesics authorised in Canada were reported during the study period, and the annual reporting rate ranged from 0.1 per 100 000 patient-years in 1965 to 3.8 per 100 000 patient-years in 2012. Knowing that the number of opioid-related AR cases is likely to be underestimated, future studies should focus on how to close the gap, as well as the sex and gender variations, in opioid-related AR declarations", said the authors. [Extracted from the article]

The article offers information related to the Statistical databases and risks associated with their confidentiality, as stated by authors Rudolf Ahlswede and Harout Aydinian in the SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics. Aydinian then states that it is necessary to provide security against the disclosure of confidential information. As mentioned query restriction is one of several general approaches that can be used for security control.

The article offers information on the simple ways to transform between data types provided by the structured query language (SQL). It cites on converting numeric data into character data with SQL which is considered as a CHAR function, which takes a numeric argument and returns a string. On the other hand, it details the ways in converting character data into numeric data and constructing a program the way it is.

Many patients who receive proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for the prevention of GI adverse effects while taking NSAIDs or low-dose aspirin continue PPI use inappropriately after cessation of NSAID or low-dose-aspirin use. The data analysis revealed that in 2014, a substantial number of patients inappropriately continued to use a PPI after cessation of NSAID or low-dose aspirin treatment (11.0% and 5.0%, respectively). Cost-Utility and Budget Impact Analysis for Stopping the Inappropriate Use of Proton Pump Inhibitors After Cessation of NSAID or Low-Dose Acetylsalicylic Acid Treatment. [Extracted from the article]