Random Forests are a powerful classification technique, consisting of a collection of decision trees. One useful feature of Random Forests is the ability to determine the importance of each variable in predicting the outcome. This is done by permuting each variable and computing the change in prediction accuracy before and after the permutation. This variable importance calculation is similar t...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of mother-infant early skin-to-skin contact on breastfeeding behavior of infants. STUDY DESIGN A randomized controlled trial. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY The study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, from November to December 2009. METHODOLOGY Eligible mothers were assessed for the successful ...

a simple emergency risk prediction tool should be developed for clinicians to quickly identify the prognosis of patients with acute aortic dissection.we enrolled 280 patients with acute aortic dissection admitted to emergency department between may 2010 and february 2013. multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of in-hospital death.the in-hospi...

INTRODUCTION Increasing breastfeeding is a public health priority supported by strong evidence. In 2009, New York passed Public Health Law § 2505-a, requiring that hospitals support the World Health Organization's (WHO's) recommended "Ten Steps for Successful Breastfeeding" (Ten Steps). This legislation strengthened and codified existing New York State's hospital perinatal regulations. The purp...

BACKGROUND The Assessment of Recruit Motivation and Strength (ARMS) study was designed to pilot-test the use of a physical fitness screening tool for Army applicants before basic training. METHODS The ARMS test consists of two components, namely, a 5-minute step test and push-ups. Attrition among 7,612 recruits who underwent preaccession ARMS testing and began service between May 2004 and Dec...

Background The positive effect of breastfeeding on the health of the mother, child and community has been globally accepted, but the rate of breastfeeding is still not at an acceptable level. Breastfeeding support can greatly influence the continuity and success of breastfeeding. This qualitative study aimed to explain the Iranian women’s experiences of breastfeeding support. Materials and Meth...

BACKGROUND Studies report mixed findings about rates of both exclusive and partial breastfeeding amongst women who are migrants or refugees in high income countries. It is important to understand the beliefs and experiences that impact on migrant and refugee women's infant feeding decisions in order to appropriately support women to breastfeed in a new country. The aim of this paper is to repor...

INTRODUCTION Breast feeding is associated with many health benefits for mothers and infants. But despite extensive public health efforts to promote breast feeding, many mothers do not achieve their own breastfeeding goals; and, inequities in breastfeeding rates persist between high and low-income mother-infant dyads. Developing targeted programme to support breastfeeding dyads and reduce inequi...