Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The alignment and blending of payment incentives within physician organizations.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the blend of retrospective (fee-for-service, productivity-based salary) and prospective (capitation, nonproductivity-based salary) methods for compensating individual physicians within medical groups and independent practice associations (IPAs) and the influence of managed care on the compensation blend used by these physician organizations. DATA SOURCES Of the 1,587 medical groups and IPAs with 20 or more physicians in the United States, 1,104 responded to a one-hour telephone survey, with 627 providing detailed information on physician payment methods. STUDY DESIGN We calculated the distribution of compensation methods for primary care and specialty physicians, separately, in both medical groups and IPAs. Multivariate regression methods were used to analyze the influence of market and organizational factors on the payment method developed by physician organizations for individual physicians. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Within physician organizations, approximately one-quarter of physicians are paid on a purely retrospective (fee-for-service) basis, approximately one-quarter are paid on a purely prospective (capitation, nonproductivity-based salary) basis, and approximately one-half on blends of retrospective and prospective methods. Medical groups and IPAs in heavily penetrated managed care markets are significantly less likely to pay their individual physicians based on fee-for-service than are organizations in less heavily penetrated markets. CONCLUSIONS Physician organizations rely on a wide range of prospective, retrospective, and blended payment methods and seek to align the incentives faced by individual physicians with the market incentives faced by the physician organization.
Motoneuron Axosomatic Synapses Are Altered in Axonopathy

This study was designed to answer two questions: 1) are synapses on motoneuron cell bodies affected during toxic neuropathy and 2) what is the nature and extent of the changes? We describe synaptic alterations on motoneuron cell bodies during intoxication with 2, 5-hexanedione, a prototype neurotoxin known to induce axonal degeneration. Ultrastructural study of lumbar motoneurons from experimental and control rats revealed an array of pathologic changes including: partial and, less frequently, complete detachment of synaptic boutons; synaptic degeneration in a minority of boutons; and involvement of both microglia and astrocytes. Quantitatively, there was a significant decrease in the percent of neuronal membrane contacted by both F and S boutons and a significant increase in F boutons displaying degeneration. These results suggest that some neurotoxin-induced diseases of axons are associated with alterations of synaptic complexes that may have important implications for neuronal functioning.
Calbindin‐containing interneurons are a target for VIP‐immunoreactive synapses in rat primary somatosensory cortex

Inhibitory interneurons in cerebral cortex are morphologically and physiologically extremely heterogeneous. This greatly interferes with an understanding of their functions. Progress has been made by classifying these neurons with the aid of molecular markers, e.g., neuropeptides or calcium‐binding proteins, which are reliably expressed by certain subpopulations. We have used this approach to demonstrate an output of a subpopulation of cortical interneurons which express vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). By double immunostaining and correlated light and electron microscopy, we show that calbindin (CB)‐containing interneurons located in layers II–VI of rat barrel cortex are targets of symmetric VIP‐immunoreactive synapses. All CB‐immunoreactive interneurons showed numerous contacts of VIP boutons on proximal and distal dendritic segments. A great majority of CB‐immunoreactive interneurons (214/222) displayed such close appositions with VIP boutons on their soma as well. Quantification revealed that the number of VIP‐immunoreactive boutons on CB‐immunoreactive somata and dendrites of specified order is comparable for the different cortical layers. In conclusion, all calbindin‐containing cortical interneurons seem to be under direct influence of other GABAergic interneurons expressing the peptide VIP. An indirect functional consequence of this may be disinhibition of pyramidal cells, which are considered the major target of calbindin interneurons. However, since the examined types of interneurons are intricately embedded in networks of yet different interneurons, the outcome of these multiple inhibitory interactions is likely to be less simplistic. It may be related to the timing of pyramidal cell discharge within and across layers of cortical columns. J. Comp. Neurol. 468:179–189, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Well-being and computer-mediated work of various occupational groups in banking and insurance

The association of VDT use, job demands, and job characteristics with the well‐being of banking and insurance employees was studied in a group of 1,124 employees. Special attention was devoted to the differences among 4 occupational subgroups: customer service employees, office employees, ADP experts, and managers and supervisors. The data were collected by a structured questionnaire. Questions on subjective symptoms, job demands, and job characteristics were factor analyzed separately for various content areas, and sum scales were formed. The occupational subgroups differed quite clearly according to job demands and characteristics. Customer service employees and office employees had, in general, less control over their work situation than managers and supervisors. The characteristics of VDT use and the job explained 10–30% of the variance of the subjective symptoms. Difficulty of the tasks was one of the main predictors for all symptoms. Unspecific somatic symptoms were directly related mostly to the am.
Frequency-dependent time delays for strong outbursts in selected blazars from the Metsahovi and UMRAO monitoring data bases - II

We analyse the radio light curves of the blazars 1308+326, 2223−052 and 2251+158 using University of Michigan Radio Observatory and Metsahovi Radio Observatory multifrequency monitoring data combined with high-resolution very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) ob- servations in order to extract the properties of prominent outbursts. The outbursts are classified as 'core' and 'jet' events according to their behaviour at different frequencies and their associa- tions with features appearing in the VLBI jet. We define the activity cycle for each blazar as the time interval between successive 'core' outbursts. The durations of the activity cycle derived in this way are � 14 yr for 1308+326, ∼12 yr for 2223−052 and 12.4 ± 0.6 yr for 2251+158. We find an unusual frequency dependence for the time profiles for a major flare in 1308+326, which may provide evidence for acceleration or bending of the jet flow in the optically thick part of the emission region. Analysis of these activity cycles, combined with our earlier results, leads us to suggest that more luminous blazars possess shorter activity cycles, consistent with the accretion rates being higher in more powerful sources (relative to the Eddington rate).
U.S. Elementary and Secondary Schools: Equalizing Opportunity or Replicating the Status Quo?

Although education pays off handsomely in the United States, children from low-income families attain less education than children from more advantaged families. In this article, Cecilia Elena Rouse and Lisa Barrow investigate why family background is so strongly linked to education. The authors show that family socioeconomic status affects such educational outcomes as test scores, grade retention, and high school graduation, and that educational attainment strongly affects adult earnings. They then go on to ask why children from more advantaged families get more or better schooling than those from less advantaged families. For low-income students, greater psychological costs, the cost of forgone income (continuing in school instead of getting a job), and borrowing costs all help to explain why these students attain less education than more privileged children. And these income-related differences in costs may themselves be driven by differences in access to quality schools. As a result, U.S. public schools tend to reinforce the transmission of low socioeconomic status from parents to children. Policy interventions aimed at improving school quality for children from disadvantaged families thus have the potential to increase social mobility. Despite the considerable political attention paid to increasing school accountability, as in the No Child Left Behind Act, along with charter schools and vouchers to help the children of poor families attend private school, to date the best evidence suggests that such programs will improve student achievement only modestly. Based on the best research evidence, smaller class sizes seem to be one promising avenue for improving school quality for disadvantaged students. High teacher quality is also likely to be important. However, advantaged families, by spending more money on education outside school, can and will partly undo policy attempts to equalize school quality for poor and nonpoor children.
Saving the Next Generation: Political Capacity and Infant Mortality Decline in India's States

National political development and its effect on economic and demographic changes are topics extensively addressed by power transition theory. Studies in political demography demonstrate that the political capacity of national governments plays a critical role in altering mortality and fertility patterns in developing nations. We test the effects of political capacity on infant mortality rates in fifteen Indian states in the period 1981 to 2000. We find that the political capacity of a state government lowers infant mortality in the low and middle income states. This effect gets weaker across higher income levels. We also find that the wealthier states tend to be healthier. Female education exerts a negative effect on infant mortality within urban populations but its effects diminish in rural populations. A key implication of our study is that the politically capable states in India are positioned to complete the demographic transition and are likely to emerge as the regional drivers of economic growth. Sustained gains in economic productivity will eventually determine India's role in world politics in the twenty-first century.
Prognostic value of kidney biopsy in myeloma cast nephropathy: a retrospective study of 70 patients.

Background. Light chain myeloma cast nephropathy (MCN) is the major cause of renal failure in multiple myeloma and strongly impacts patient survival. The role of kidney biopsy in the management of MCN is unclear. Methods. Renal pathological ﬁ ndings were retrospectively studied in 70 patients with multiple myeloma and MCN. Patients were categorized according to the achievement or not of renal response, as de ﬁ ned by estimated glomerular ﬁ ltration rate (eGFR) ≥ 30 mL/min/1.73 m 2 and/or dialysis independence at 3 months. Results. Thirty-two patients (46%) achieved a renal response. In the whole study population, the following parameters differed signi ﬁ cantly between patients with and without renal response, respectively: baseline median eGFR (13.3 versus 9.3 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , P = 0.017), Acute Kidney Injury Network Stage 3 (68.8 versus 92.1%, P = 0.019), haematological response rate (94 versus 34%, P < 0.0001), median percentage of free light chain (FLC) reduction at Day 21 (92 versus 24%, P = 0.006) and median number of casts/10 ﬁ elds (14 versus 25, P = 0.005). The extent of interstitial ﬁ brosis and tubular atrophy was similar. In multivariate analysis, only FLC reduction at Day 21 was signi ﬁ cantly associated with renal response. However, when considering only the subgroup of haematological responders, both median number of casts [odds ratio (OR) = 0.93, 95% con ﬁ dence interval (95% CI): 0.88 – 0.98, P = 0.01] and extent of tubular atrophy (OR = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.00 – 0.52, P = 0.02) were independent predictors of renal response. Conclusions. In MCN, the presence of numerous casts and diffuse tubular atrophy is associated with poor renal prognosis. These data suggest that additional strategies to reduce FLC burden should be considered in patients with extensive cast formation.
Complete Genome Sequence of the First Canine Circovirus

ABSTRACT We found a highly divergent circovirus in serum samples from several dogs. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that canine circovirus genotype 1 (CaCV-1) represents the first circovirus reported in dogs and is genetically most closely related to the only known mammalian circovirus, porcine circovirus. Here we report the complete genome sequence of the CaCV-1 strain NY214, which will help toward understanding the evolutionary and pathogenic characteristics of mammalian circoviruses.
Some characteristics of isolates of infectious bronchitis virus from commercial vaccines.

SUMMARY Six isolates of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) from commercial vaccines were studied and compared by respiratory signs incited in chickens, by protection from IBV challenge with homologous and heterologous serotypes, and by virus-neutralizing (VN) antibodies stimulated. Five of the isolates were Massachusetts-type, and one was Connecticut-type. Three of the vaccine viruses induced moderate to severe respiratory signs. Three isolates (two Massachusetts and one Connecticut) induced only mild signs. When heterologous viruses were employed for immunity challenge, all the Massachusetts-type vaccines proved superior to the Connecticut-type. Responses to challenge differed among the Massachusetts-type vaccines themselves, however, and were not necessarily correlated with the intensity of respiratory reaction in the immediate postvaccination period. Variations within the Massachusetts-type were clearly evident from the results of immunity challenge. Furthermore, some serological variations in results were seen from VN tests with homologous and heterologous viruses and the serum antibodies detected. VN test results correlated little with resistance to immunity challenge with the heterologous IBV types employed. The need for more complete characterization of IBV isolates, and types, for vaccine use is discussed with reference to improved predictability of field performance, purity of the seed virus, and a clearer description of the individual IB vaccine when marketed.
The expanding role of somatostatin analogs in the management of neuroendocrine tumors.

BACKGROUND Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are neoplasms arising most often in the GI tract, pancreas, or lung. Diagnosis of NETs is often delayed until the disease is advanced, because of the variable and nonspecific nature of the initial symptoms. Surgical resection for cure is therefore not an option for most patients. METHODS Somatostatin analogues represent the cornerstone of therapy for patients with NETs. This article reviews the important role that somatostatin analogues continue to play in the treatment of patients with NETs. RESULTS Octreotide was the first somatostatin analogue to be developed; more than 30 years of data have accumulated demonstrating its efficacy and safety. Lanreotide is another somatostatin analogue in clinical use, and pasireotide is a promising somatostatin analogue in development. Newer long-acting depot formulations are now available offering once-monthly administration. Although octreotide was initially developed for symptom control, recent results indicate that it also has an antiproliferative effect, significantly increasing time to progression in patients with midgut NETs. Combinations of octreotide with other targeted therapies may further improve patient outcomes. Findings in recent studies of the combination of octreotide and the mTOR inhibitor everolimus are encouraging. The combinations of octreotide with other agents (eg, interferon-α, bevacizumab, cetuximab, AMG-706, and sunitinib) are being investigated. CONCLUSIONS Somatostatin analogues have been used to treat the symptoms of NETs for decades and also have an antineoplastic effect, markedly prolonging progression-free survival. Somatostatin analogues are likely to remain the cornerstone of treatment for most patients with advanced NETs. Promising new combination therapies are undergoing clinical investigation.
Simplified quantitation of myeloid dendritic cells in peripheral blood using flow cytometry.

BACKGROUND Recognition of the importance of dendritic cells (DC) in the initiation of T-cell-dependent immune responses has led to increasing interest in methods for the identification of DC within the circulation. We sought to develop a flow cytometric method that would allow the reliable enumeration of absolute myeloid DC counts in minimally manipulated blood samples. METHODS Myeloid DC were identified by three-color staining of whole blood leukocytes as a discrete population of mononuclear cells expressing high levels of HLA-DR and CD33, yet having little or no expression of CD14 and CD16. This method was analyzed for reproducibility and variation in blood DC number during typical clinical day hours and after exercise. The new method was compared to an established commercial kit method. RESULTS FACS sorting of the CD33(+) DC showed that they morphologically resembled immature DC, and developed cytoplasmic projections typical of mature DC following overnight culture in granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Within peripheral blood, these DC were found at a mean concentration of 17. 4 +/- 5.4 x 10(6) per liter, corresponding to 0.93 +/- 0.27% of mononuclear cells. Comparison of duplicate samples stained and analyzed in parallel showed that the intrasample variability was very low, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.95. The frequency of CD33(+) myeloid DC and their light scatter characteristics were similar to that of CD11c(+) myeloid cells. Four-color FACS analysis revealed complete identity of CD11c(hi), HLA-DR(+) DC with CD33(+), HLA-DR(+) DC. Only rare CD33(+) DC coexpressed CD123 and HLA-DR. Numbers of blood myeloid DC, identified by CD33 staining, showed no significant variation during standard laboratory hours. However, their numbers rose significantly during vigorous exercise, in parallel to other blood cells. CONCLUSIONS The method described herein is rapid, reproducible, requires only small volumes of blood, can be readily used by a clinical immunology laboratory, and requires fewer antibodies than a currently available commercial method.
The effect of processing and preservation methods on the oxalate levels of some Nigerian leafy vegetables

Titrimetric analysis was used to estimate the level of oxalate in some Nigerian leafy vegetables treated in different ways in two sets of experiments. The treatments were boiling with retention of the water used for boiling, and freezing followed by boiling without retention of the water used for boiling. Results obtained showed that the former in which five different vegetables were used led to significant increases (p in the oxalate content after boiling. The latter in which three selected vegetables were used however led to significant decrease (p water used for boiling vegetables provides a good means of reducing the oxalate content of leafy vegetables and consequently the associated food safety problems.
The Effect Of Lateral Sphincterotomy On The Anal Sphincter Complex In Chronic Anal Fissure Assesed By Perioperative Transperineal Ultrasonography

Transperineal ultrasonography has not been previously utilized in the evaluation of the anal sphincter in patients with chronic anal fissure. Objective: To assess the morphological and pathological effects of lateral internal sphincterotomy on anal sphincter complex using transperineal ultrasonography. Method: A prospective case series of 50 consecutive patients presented to the colorectal clinic, between January 2012 and June 2013. Patients were not excluded for age or sex. Preoperative transperineal ultrasonography was performed within 14 days of the planned date of surgery. Postoperative transperineal ultrasonography was performed four to six months postoperatively). Results: Postoperative external anal sphincter changes included; thinning in 9 patients (5 nonspecific thinning and 4 thinning opposite to the site of the internal anal sphincter defect), 2 evolving fistulae, 6 granulomatous reactions within or adjacent to the external anal sphincter, poor recognition of both sphincters in 3 patients, defect of both sphincters at same area with hypertrophy of other parts in 6 patients, thinning of both sphincters at same area in 4 patients and granulomatous changes related to both sphincters in 3 patients. Conclusion: Sphincterotomy induces significant diffuse thinning of both sphincters at all levels of anal canal. Preoperative occult external anal sphincter defects had no postoperative clinical significance. While transperineal ultrasonography is a feasible and convenient technique, further studies of its role are recommended.
Magneto-Acoustic Emission and Magnetic Barkhausen Emission for Case Depth Measurement in En36 Gear Steel

There is a need in industry to supply safe, economical, and reliable techniques to characterize surface treatments such as case hardening and peening of steel components and structures, both at the manufacturing stage and in service. Magnetic Barkhausen emission (MBE) has proved successful for these tasks, but has severe limitations in terms of measurement depth of the technique and deeper treatments such as laser peening and case hardening often fall outside the scope of MBE inspection. The domain wall motion that generates MBE also causes a release of elastic energy known as magneto-acoustic emission (MAE), which has a much greater measurement depth, and so offers a complementary technique to extend the measurement depth for the characterization of surface treatments in steel. In this paper, comparative MBE and MAE results from case hardened En36 gear steels are presented in the form of signal profiles and correlations are drawn between MBE and MAE profile features and domain activity within the soft core and the case hardened layer. The results show that the overall amplitudes for both MBE and MAE exhibit a good correlation with case depth, but profile analysis for MAE is ambiguous, so possible interpretations of the MAE profile are discussed.
North-East Asia interconnection scenario map, and power reserve strategy in South Korea

The purpose of This work is to obtain the reserve power for the future power shortages faced by the metropolitan areas of the Korean Peninsula and by the southeastern area of the South Korea in North-East Asia. The assumed scenarios will be proposed in the cases of without or with connection to the Sinpo nuclear power plant which is to be constructed with 2,000 MW capacity in the future. In this connection, the types of a power transmission for interconnection consist of the 765 kV HVAC and the HVDC. Here, the various scenarios for providing the interconnection of the power systems among Far-East Russia, North-East China, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan are presented, and the resulting interconnected power systems are simulated by means of a power flow analysis performed with the PSS/E tool. The power flow map is drawn from the data simulated and the comparative study is done.