41 research outputs found
Southeastern PA\u27s Chronic Care Initiative
No full textGeorge Valko, MD is the Gustave and Valla Amsterdam Professor of Family and Community Medicine and Vice-Chair for Clinical Programs at the Department of Family and Community Medicine of Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. He is also the Medical Director of Jefferson Family Medicine Associates and the lead Physician Advocate for the Jefferson University Physicians Electronic Medical Record Project. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine and registered with the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. He received his BS degree in Biology from Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA and his MD degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia where he also completed his residency training.
He is a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, a member the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine and other organizations, including Bridging the Gaps, a consortium of all Philadelphia medical schools that links the training of health and social service professionals with the provision of health-related services for underserved and economically disadvantaged populations. In addition to his service on multiple committees at Jefferson, which includes Chair of the Professorial Faculty Advisory Committee and President of the Jefferson Medical College Alumni Association, he was also a subcommittee member to the Chronic Care Commission of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Health Care Reform Commission.
Dr. Valko has lectured extensively on improving the clinical office environment for patient care and physician satisfaction as well as on resident teaching. He is known nationally for successfully implementing open access scheduling in an academic medical department and has lead workshops for other academic departments that are moving toward that goal. Along with implementing the electronic medical record at Jefferson, the improvements made in the Jefferson clinical office have earned his department the NCQA Patient Centered Medical Home designation, the highest ranking from that organization. He is the author of several medical journal and book articles and is a peer reviewer for multiple medical journals as well as on the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Medical Quality.
His devotion to patient care and love of teaching are intertwined and have earned him honors such as the Jefferson Family and Community Medicine Residency Teaching Award and the JeffHOPE award for precepting at the Jefferson Medical College student-run homeless shelter clinics, as well as the “Top Doc” designation from Philadelphia Magazine and “Best Doctors in America” from his peers.
Dr. Valko lives in Collegeville, Pennsylvania with his wife Cynthia, and although has no children of his own, is a devoted uncle to many nieces and nephews
BENCHMARKING AND CREATION OF A DEEP LEARNING COMPUTER VISION DATASET IN THE TAXONOMIC REVISION OF THE PALO SANTO TREE HERBARIUM SPECIMENS
No full textPremise of the studyHerbarium collections have historically been used as a manual data source for taxonomies and there are large collections that have been digitized since the start of the 21st century. Few have been curated for computer vision problems beyond image classification, and even fewer are available to the public. In this study, I investigated the steps and effort it takes both human and computer to create a publically-available data set that can be used for image classification, object detection, and segmentation. Secondly, while benchmarking the data set, I investigated the relationship between the algorithm class, data augmentation, and network size. Our hypothesis for the first research question is that, despite the tools and technology out there to help expedite the process, that it still requires a substantial amount of human effort to complete the task. Secondly, I believe that there will be signals within the data, and that there is a relationship between the class of algorithm, data augmentation, and network size. Methods: A team of three people, one botanist, a data scientist, and research assistant contributed to the creation of this benchmark data set. Data was collected both from historical and new field samples and digitized in Washington D.C. B. graveolens and B. penicillata were selected as the benchmarking species, as they are rare tree species to reduce variability and ensure and were able to collect most of the known herbarium samples around the world. Supervisely, a web-based tool to scale image annotations, was used to annotate objects such as plant features, and to track efforts [1]. Python 3.7 was used for post- processing and creation of the data sets from Supervisely [2]. Descriptive statistics for univariate and bivariate were conducted using mean (sd), frequency counts, and appropriate statistical graphing. Deep learning models were created via PyTorch and torchvision for classification (B.graveolens and B. penicillata), semantic segmentation (plant pixel versus non-plant pixel), and instance segmentation (index card, stamp, measurement bar, color bar, barcode, compound leaf, terminal leaf, and woody material), and evaluated over different augmentation strategies and network sizes [3], [4]. Results: 1,081 images were taken of 794 biologically unique samples. 115,279 actions across 1,200 human hours were taken to annotate data. 15 types of objects were annotated across the images, resulting in 19,834 objects. For classification, a model without pretrained weights based on VGG-11 performed best with an accuracy of .727, AUC of 0.685, specificity .742, and precision .265, as compared to the second best model of ResNet- 18 .565, .665, .530, and .201. FCN-100, without upsampling and a dilation factor of 1, recorded the highest dice coefficient 0.7566. MASK R-CNN V1.0 performed better for both the non-biologic and biological models with MAP full .846 and .736, respectively optimized at 50x and 25x upsampled. Classification and semantic segmentation of larger networks for ResNet and MASK R-CNN in comparison performed worse regardless of the upsample size.Conclusion: Although a substantial amount of time was spent creating this data set, it is a modular process, and the toolkits of the 21st century have made this a process tractable with a small research team. The amount of training data is different for each algorithm class despite it being a single set of images. The smaller the training data, the greater the impact of upsampling, and conversely network size. I hope that this newly-created benchmarking data and findings help researchers interested in computer vision in herbarium research make progress toward bridging known gaps in the field
Європейський досвід регламентації права особи на безоплатну вторинну правову допомогу
No full textThe author has analyzed the opinions of scholars on the necessity of introducing the European experience of regulating human right to free secondary legal aid into the national system of protecting human rights. It has been proved that the experience of the European countries is the key to creating the institutional and regulatory base necessary for providing free legal aid, ensuring the financial capacity and stability of the functioning of human rights protection system in Ukraine.
There author has defined two key conditions for ensuring human right to free legal aid: 1) the condition of the state or the “poverty and need test”, which is based on a financial criterion, which allows to determine the lack of sufficient funds to pay for legal aid of a lawyer; 2) a condition of the essence or a “test for the interest of justice” that links the provision of free legal aid to the requirements of justice.
On the basis of the analysis of the basic normative acts of the European countries and the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, the author has distinguished basic criteria of the necessity of rendering a person free legal aid: 1) demand of interests of justice; 2) the complexity of the court case; 3) the need for the services of a lawyer in regard to the particular circumstances of the case; 4) financing of legal aid by the state.У статті на підставі аналізу наукових позицій учених, а також аналізу європейських нормативних актів, спрямованих на забезпечення права людини на безоплатну правову допомогу, та рішень Європейського суду з прав людини виокремлено основні критерії необхідності надання особі безоплатної правової допомоги та можливості адаптації європейського досвіду в Україні
Making of The Color of Oil: a contemporary pattern for unleashing the potential of science and technology journalism
No full textIdeologies, intellectually and religiously driven, color both politics and
economics. The relationship between government and the governed, human rights and
the rule of law all are affected by such ideologies. However, unless humans are willing
to change dramatically lifestyles honed in hundreds of years of historic developments,
energy and energy abundance are arguably the most critical needs of modern society. In
many ways energy has transcended ideology although there are still unrepentant
ideologues advocating otherwise. It was this realization, augmented by a few events,
that brought about the writing of The Color of Oil. The authors felt a need to combat
popular errors being promulgated by the media in an area of such great importance to the
entire human enterprise: Energy. A nonsensical 1999 cover story by the usually reliable
Economist magazine provided the last straw. Someone had to set the record straight.
But the dour-to-hostile climate that surrounded oil and energy at the turn of the
century presented certain challenges to getting the work published. As it turned out, the
unique qualifications of a science and technology journalist, the author of this thesis,
played a key role in making the publication a reality, and then a phenomenon of sorts. In
some ways, The Color of Oil suggests a meaningful new role for science and technology journalism and journalists in a media environment driven by movie stars and media
profits. The book was produced on a short timeline and with limited resources. The
book's message has played a role in key political decisions in the United States and
around the world; as a direct result of the book, the authors were invited and participated
extensively in development of energy policy in Texas and at the national level. It has
effected billions of dollars of commercial enterprise, providing as it did the blueprint for
development of Cheniere Energy, Inc., a $2 billion Houston company that today is one
of North America's premier LNG receiving companies. And testimonies from readers
of The Color of Oil suggest that the book has produced meaningful personal wealth
for many of its 30,000-plus readers
Decline Curve Analysis for Unconventional Reservoir Systems - Variable Pressure Drop Case
No full textThe premise of this work is the development, validation, and application of a methodology to forecast production data in unconventional reservoirs where variable rate and pressure drop producing conditions are typically observed. In unconventional reservoirs, it is not common practice to maintain or even arrive quickly upon a constant flowing bottomhole pressure which is the primary assumption for the application of traditional time-rate decline curve analysis. As a result, the application of traditional time-rate relations to these cases yields misleading results at best.
The methodology presented herein involves the application of the rigorous convolution/superposition theory traditionally relied upon for pressure transient or production analysis. Empirical pressure drop normalized rate decline relations are utilized as a proxy for analytical models in the convolution integral and superposed with either measured or calculated flowing bottomhole pressure drop data for the well(s) in question. The ability to incorporate non-linearities such as compressible gas flow and pressure dependent permeability is investigated using pseudopressure transformations and the limitations are outlined clearly.
A three step workflow consisting of diagnostics, model calibration, and production forecasting is first developed before ultimately being validated and applied for a number of simulation and field data cases. The diagnostic stage of the workflow provides the foundation for the proceeding analysis by providing insight into prevailing performance signatures for the well in question. The primary tool for achieving this is the so called ���qDb��� plot, which is referenced throughout the work. Incorporation of diagnostics minimizes non-uniqueness and guides model parameter selection for the second stage of the workflow. Ultimately, production is forecast into the future according to any number of defined pressure drawdown schedules.
The validation examples in this work successfully demonstrate the workflow for a range of oil and gas cases with and without pressure dependent permeability introduced into the system. In each of the cases, the data was synthetic and was generated by a commercial simulator using unstructured Voronoi gridding. Validation was achieved using a total of five decline models that are relied upon throughout the work and detailed in dedicated Appendices.
Application examples were chosen to reflect representative field cases where the author has found the methodology to be useful from a practical standpoint. Each example aims to emphasize a different problem and outline the strength and limitations of the methodology applied to each. It is here noted that the primary weakness of the methodology is its ability to handle cases with high degrees of non-linearity. This is evident when forecasting a high-pressure/high-temperature shale gas well where drawdowns are very high.
The work is rounded out with the conclusion that the approach introduced herein provides a useful tool for quickly forecasting production under variable pressure drop conditions for both producing and undeveloped wells. The methodology is particularly useful for scenarios where more detailed analytical and numerical modeling techniques may not be feasible analysis options due to data or time limitations
MATHEMATICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE WELL PRODUCTIVITY INDEX FOR FAST FORCHHEIMER (NON-DARCY) FLOWS IN POROUS MEDIA
No full textMotivated by the reservoir engineering concept of the well Productivity Index, we introduced and analyzed a functional, denoted as "diffusive capacity", for the solution of the initial-boundary value problem (IBVP) for a linear parabolic equation.21 This IBVP described laminar (linear) Darcy flow in porous media; the considered boundary conditions corresponded to different regimes of the well production. The diffusive capacities were then computed as steady state invariants of the solutions to the corresponding time-dependent boundary value problem. Here similar features for fast or turbulent nonlinear flows subjected to the Forchheimer equations are analyzed. It is shown that under some hydrodynamic and thermodynamic constraints, there exists a so-called pseudo steady state regime for the Forchheimer flows in porous media. In other words, under some assumptions there exists a steady state invariant over a certain class of solutions to the transient IBVP modeling the Forchheimer flow for slightly compressible fluid. This invariant is the diffusive capacity, which serves as the mathematical representation of the so-called well Productivity Index. The obtained results enable computation of the well Productivity Index by resolving a single steady state boundary value problem for a second-order quasilinear elliptic equation. Analytical and numerical studies highlight some new relations for the well Productivity Index in linear and nonlinear cases. The obtained analytical formulas can be potentially used for the numerical well block model as an analog of Piecemann. © 2009 World Scientific Publishing Company.The research of the first author was partially supported by the NSF Grant DMS-0813825 and by the ARP Grant 0212-44-C399. The research of the fourth author was supported by Award No. KUS-C1-016-04, made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
PFC herd replacement comparisons (version 1) - worksheet
No full textSeptember 2017.In the production cycle of a cow-calf enterprise, the producer will face the decision of replacing their older cows. The producer deciding to replace older cows with heifers has the following options: raise their own replacement heifers, buy open heifers and breed them, or buy bred heifers. The options vary in price, timing, and expense. The tool created is a cost-effective analysis between the three options: buying bred, buying open, or raising their own heifers
In-depth interviews with state public health practitioners on the United States National Physical Activity Plan
No full textabstract: Background
The United States National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP; 2010), the country’s first national plan for physical activity, provides strategies to increase population-level physical activity to complement the 2008 physical activity guidelines. This study examined state public health practitioner awareness, dissemination, use, challenges, and recommendations for the NPAP.
Methods
In 2011–2012, we interviewed 27 state practitioners from 25 states. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded using a standard protocol, verified and reconciled by an independent coder, and input into qualitative software to facilitate development of common themes.
Results
NPAP awareness was high among state practitioners; dissemination to local constituents varied. Development of state-level strategies and goals was the most frequently reported use of the NPAP. Some respondents noted the usefulness of the NPAP for coalitions and local practitioners. Challenges to the plan included implementation cost, complexity, and consistency with other policies. The most frequent recommendation made was to directly link examples of implementation activities to the plan.
Conclusions
These results provide early evidence of NPAP dissemination and use, along with challenges encountered and suggestions for future iterations. Public health is one of eight sectors in the NPAP. Further efforts are needed to understand uptake and use by other sectors, as well as to monitor long-term relevance, progress, and collaboration across sectors.The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1479-5868-10-7
Application of drug efficiency index in drug discovery: a strategy towards low therapeutic dose
No full textTetrahydrocurcumin protects against cadmium-induced hypertension, raised arterial stiffness and vascular remodeling in mice
No full textCopyright: 2014 Sangartit et al. This is an
open-access article distributed under the terms of
the Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and repro-
duction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Cadmium (Cd) is a nonessential heavy metal, causing oxidative damage to various tissues and associated with hypertension. Tetrahydrocurcumin (THU), a major metabolite of curcumin, has been demonstrated to be an antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive and anti-inflammatory agent. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of THU against Cd-induced hypertension, raised arterial stiffness and vascular remodeling in mice
