This document discusses using XS to create Perl modules that interface with C code. It provides examples of creating XS files for Foo::Bar and Foo::Baz modules, combining them in an XS.xs file, and building the modules using h2xs and Module::Install. The examples show compiling C code into XS files, building the modules, and calling the functions from Perl.
Crowdsourcing for Journalism: KipCamp 2014Mandy Jenkins
Crowdsourcing tools and tips for journalists, including tips on verifying information found on social media. From the April 201r edition of the Kiplinger Fellowship program at Ohio State University.
A presentation aimed at NGOs, non-profit organizations and activists in India about how social media has changed the dynamic with the audience. Delivered in September 2014.
Crowdsourcing, Searching Social Media and Curation Resource ListMandy Jenkins
Tools to help journalists find eyewitnesses during breaking news, find sources for stories, curate social media and conduct crowdsourcing projects with readers.
Dollars to Doughnuts: Predicting Prescription Drug Costs of Beneficiaries and...M. Christopher Roebuck
ABSTRACT
Title
Dollars to Doughnuts: Predicting Prescription Drug Costs of Beneficiaries and the Medicare Program Under Part D
Authors
M. Christopher Roebuck, MBA1
Dominick Esposito, PhD2
Meredith Lewis, BS1
1 Caremark, Hunt Valley, MD
2 Mathematica Policy Research, Princeton, NJ
Research Objective
To examine drug utilization and out-of-pocket costs of Medicare beneficiaries using a Medicare prescription drug discount card, including beneficiaries who qualified for the Transitional Assistance Program (TAP).
Study Design
Data included eligibility and prescription claims for enrollees in 34 separate Medicare drug discount card programs managed by Caremark. We used claims data to calculate annualized utilization and costs for beneficiaries and, in turn, simulated Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs (excluding premiums) and costs to Medicare under the Part D benefit. We estimated a generalized linear model (GLM; gamma distribution with log link function) for both beneficiary costs and Medicare payments under Part D to identify factors associated with drug expenditures. A probit model for the likelihood of falling into the doughnut hole was also specified. Explanatory variables in the models included demographic characteristics (age, gender, region, and TAP status), the generic dispensing rate, and 62 disease indicators derived using a pharmacy-based classification system.
Population Studied
Beneficiaries enrolled for a minimum of six months with at least one claim between June 2004 and November 2005 (n=37,425). Participants were largely female (67%), between the ages of 65 and 80 (70%), and had an average of 2.2 medical conditions, with hypertension (52%), hypercholesterolemia (27%), and diabetes (16%) being among the most prevalent.
Principal Findings
On average, beneficiaries in the sample filled 19 prescriptions at an annual cost of $538. Under the standard Part D benefit, mean total drug expenditures for these seniors would be $849 annually with $412 paid by the beneficiary and $437 paid by Medicare. About 6% of these beneficiaries have annual spending greater than $2,250 (the benefit’s “doughnut hole”). TAP beneficiaries (46%) would have higher out-of-pocket costs under Part D than the drug discount card ($429 versus $256; p<0><0><0><0.001).
Conclusions
TAP beneficiaries who do not qualify for subsidized coverage under Part D will face higher out-of-pocket costs than under the discount drug card program, assuming fixed drug utilization. Increased use of generic drugs in proportion to brand name drugs would benefit the Medicare program more than beneficiaries, on average, due to the standard benefit’s structure.
Implications for Policy, Delivery, and Practice
In choosing whether or not to enroll in Medicare Part D, seniors will compare their annual premium with the expected payout of the Medicare program. These results suggest the average, risk-neutral beneficiary would only enroll at monthly premiums below $36 ($437 divided by 12). If faced with higher out-of-pocket costs, low-income beneficiaries who do not qualify for subsidies may reduce their prescription drug utilization potentially resulting in adverse health effects. Finally, to reduce costs to both beneficiaries and taxpayers, Medicare should promote the substitution of generic medications whenever possible. Assuming 29 million Medicare Part D enrollees, the Medicare program could save more than $1.2 billion annually by increasing the generic dispensing rate 10%.
A catalogue of mosaic products , produced by Martin Brown Mosaics .
Ideal for both interior and exterior spaces .
Commercial and domestic environments .
Python Programming in Entertainment Industry: Coding StyleShuen-Huei Guan
In part 2 of python series (Python Programming in Entertainment Industry), we are talking about 6 basic coding style in python that would help RD/TD in animation/game studio that would help me a lot when they are doing more and more coding in the future.
Crowdsourcing for Journalism: KipCamp 2014Mandy Jenkins
Crowdsourcing tools and tips for journalists, including tips on verifying information found on social media. From the April 201r edition of the Kiplinger Fellowship program at Ohio State University.
A presentation aimed at NGOs, non-profit organizations and activists in India about how social media has changed the dynamic with the audience. Delivered in September 2014.
Crowdsourcing, Searching Social Media and Curation Resource ListMandy Jenkins
Tools to help journalists find eyewitnesses during breaking news, find sources for stories, curate social media and conduct crowdsourcing projects with readers.
Dollars to Doughnuts: Predicting Prescription Drug Costs of Beneficiaries and...M. Christopher Roebuck
ABSTRACT
Title
Dollars to Doughnuts: Predicting Prescription Drug Costs of Beneficiaries and the Medicare Program Under Part D
Authors
M. Christopher Roebuck, MBA1
Dominick Esposito, PhD2
Meredith Lewis, BS1
1 Caremark, Hunt Valley, MD
2 Mathematica Policy Research, Princeton, NJ
Research Objective
To examine drug utilization and out-of-pocket costs of Medicare beneficiaries using a Medicare prescription drug discount card, including beneficiaries who qualified for the Transitional Assistance Program (TAP).
Study Design
Data included eligibility and prescription claims for enrollees in 34 separate Medicare drug discount card programs managed by Caremark. We used claims data to calculate annualized utilization and costs for beneficiaries and, in turn, simulated Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs (excluding premiums) and costs to Medicare under the Part D benefit. We estimated a generalized linear model (GLM; gamma distribution with log link function) for both beneficiary costs and Medicare payments under Part D to identify factors associated with drug expenditures. A probit model for the likelihood of falling into the doughnut hole was also specified. Explanatory variables in the models included demographic characteristics (age, gender, region, and TAP status), the generic dispensing rate, and 62 disease indicators derived using a pharmacy-based classification system.
Population Studied
Beneficiaries enrolled for a minimum of six months with at least one claim between June 2004 and November 2005 (n=37,425). Participants were largely female (67%), between the ages of 65 and 80 (70%), and had an average of 2.2 medical conditions, with hypertension (52%), hypercholesterolemia (27%), and diabetes (16%) being among the most prevalent.
Principal Findings
On average, beneficiaries in the sample filled 19 prescriptions at an annual cost of $538. Under the standard Part D benefit, mean total drug expenditures for these seniors would be $849 annually with $412 paid by the beneficiary and $437 paid by Medicare. About 6% of these beneficiaries have annual spending greater than $2,250 (the benefit’s “doughnut hole”). TAP beneficiaries (46%) would have higher out-of-pocket costs under Part D than the drug discount card ($429 versus $256; p<0><0><0><0.001).
Conclusions
TAP beneficiaries who do not qualify for subsidized coverage under Part D will face higher out-of-pocket costs than under the discount drug card program, assuming fixed drug utilization. Increased use of generic drugs in proportion to brand name drugs would benefit the Medicare program more than beneficiaries, on average, due to the standard benefit’s structure.
Implications for Policy, Delivery, and Practice
In choosing whether or not to enroll in Medicare Part D, seniors will compare their annual premium with the expected payout of the Medicare program. These results suggest the average, risk-neutral beneficiary would only enroll at monthly premiums below $36 ($437 divided by 12). If faced with higher out-of-pocket costs, low-income beneficiaries who do not qualify for subsidies may reduce their prescription drug utilization potentially resulting in adverse health effects. Finally, to reduce costs to both beneficiaries and taxpayers, Medicare should promote the substitution of generic medications whenever possible. Assuming 29 million Medicare Part D enrollees, the Medicare program could save more than $1.2 billion annually by increasing the generic dispensing rate 10%.
A catalogue of mosaic products , produced by Martin Brown Mosaics .
Ideal for both interior and exterior spaces .
Commercial and domestic environments .
Python Programming in Entertainment Industry: Coding StyleShuen-Huei Guan
In part 2 of python series (Python Programming in Entertainment Industry), we are talking about 6 basic coding style in python that would help RD/TD in animation/game studio that would help me a lot when they are doing more and more coding in the future.
This talk will show how it's possible to mock PerlOps using XS and provide a convenient Pure Perl hook for each of the file check -X.
Overload::FileCheck provides a way to mock one or more file checks. It is also possible to mock stat/lstat functions using "mock_all_from_stat" and let Overload::FileCheck mock for you for any other -X checks.
How to write rust instead of c and get away with itFlavien Raynaud
Ever tried optimizing a slow Python application and thought: “Oh! I wish I could just write this bit it in Rust”? Well, turns out you can! Let’s discuss why Rust is a better choice than C, how to use Rust to make your apps lightning fast and how to get away with it; without your users even noticing.
As Infrastructure Engineers at Yelp, the challenge we face everyday is: scale. Yelp is mostly a Python shop, so our work often revolves around making Python applications run faster. Until now, we have been using different techniques: faster interpreters, or, more often, C code.
Given its safety guarantees, performance and promise of better tooling than C, we decided we had to give Rust a try. The initial results helped reinforce that there was a lot of opportunity for Rust to play an important role in our production code.
Yelp heavily relies on the Apache Avro serialization format for its internal infrastructure. During the talk, we will show how we implemented avro-rs, an Avro serialization/deserialization library in Rust, how we were able to call it from Python (and in theory from any other language) with very little code, using tools such as cbindgen, CFFI and Milksnake.
This talk would outline how easy it is to write interoperable code in a performant language like Rust and why a company should invest in Rust, over the many other available alternatives, to run production services.
Those slides, inspired by the works and ideas of many, are a state of what PHP gets in upgrades as of Q4 2018.
Market share and evolution.
PHP 7.3
PHP 7.4
PHP 8.0