Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Business of Healthcare: Physician Integration in Bundled Payments

Problem Definition: Under the prevailing fee-for-service payments (FFS), hospitals receive a fixed fee while physicians receive payments for each treatment or procedure performed. Under FFS, incentives of hospitals and physicians are misaligned, leading to large inefficiencies. Bundled payments, an alternative to FFS unifying payments to the hospital and physician, is expected to encourage care coordination and reduce costs. However, as hospitals differ in their relationships with physicians in influencing care (level of physician alignment or physician integration), it remains unclear what spectrum of physician integration will facilitate bundling. Academic/Practical Relevance: There is a lack of both academic and practical understanding of hospitals’ and physicians’ bundling incentives. Our study builds on and expands the recent OM literature on alternative payment models. Methodology: We formulate game-theoretic models to study the impact of alignment level between the hospital and physicians, and cost and quality characteristics of a care context that facilitate bundling. Results: We find that (1) hospitals with high physician alignment or with low physician alignment are less likely to gain from bundled payments, while the hospitals that lie in between these two cases will benefit the most; (2) although bundled payments decrease costs, quality may also decrease; (3) initiatives that promote quality awareness in hospitals may dampen the incentives for bundling in hospitals with independent physicians, whereas they are likely to enhance incentives for bundling in hospitals with salaried physicians. Managerial Implications: Our findings have important managerial implications for both hospitals and payers: (1) in deciding whether to enroll or not in bundled payments, hospitals should take their level of physician alignments into account, (2) payers should be aware of and account for potential negative effects of bundling, including a possible quality reduction, and even a cost increase in certain cases.
Implications of strong ground motion complexity for seismic hazard assessment

The use of deterministic ground motion simulations in seismic hazard assessment is currently a rapidly growing field of research. The advantage of such methodologies is that detailed information about the characteristics of strong ground motion can be obtained because they are based on earthquake scenarios. A method for calculating the broadband frequency ground motion due to a scenario earthquake will be presented. In our hybrid model we combine the deterministic simulation of the low frequencies with a semi-stochastic simulation of the high frequencies using empirical Green’s functions. Examples from two case studies (the Dec 26, 2004 Sumatra earthquake and an expected future earthquake in the Marmara Sea) are used to illustrate the various aspects of the method. Furthermore, the effects of varying the input source and attenuation parameters on the simulated ground motion are quantified. One limitation of the deterministic methodologies is that the hazard assessment is usually conducted due to a single scenario earthquake. In many regions, however, the seismic hazard is combined from the threat of several active faults for which several scenario earthquakes can be defined with different probabilities of occurrence. Future plans towards the implementation of deterministic earthquake scenarios in probabilistic seismic hazard calculations are investigated.
DNA determinants of structural and regulatory variation within the murine beta-glucuronidase gene complex

The murine beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene complex, [Gus], encompasses the GUS structural element, Gus-s, and a set of regulatory elements which serve to modulate Gus-s expression. Three common GUS haplotypes representing virtually all inbred strains of laboratory mice have been compared with respect to GUS mRNA sequence. Results of such comparisons revealed sequence variations which target the location of one of the GUS regulatory elements to sequences within Gus-s and which account for known electrophoretic and heat stability differences among GUS allozymes of the three common GUS haplotypes.
New Insights into DNA Recognition by Zinc Fingers Revealed by Structural Analysis of the Oncoprotein ZNF217*

Background: Classical zinc finger proteins are extremely abundant and interact with DNA using a well defined recognition code. Results: We solved the structure of ZNF217 bound to its cognate DNA. Conclusion: ZNF217 presents a unique DNA interaction pattern including a new type of protein-DNA contact. Significance: This study deepens our understanding of DNA recognition by classical zinc fingers. Classical zinc fingers (ZFs) are one of the most abundant and best characterized DNA-binding domains. Typically, tandem arrays of three or more ZFs bind DNA target sequences with high affinity and specificity, and the mode of DNA recognition is sufficiently well understood that tailor-made ZF-based DNA-binding proteins can be engineered. We have shown previously that a two-zinc finger unit found in the transcriptional coregulator ZNF217 recognizes DNA but with an affinity and specificity that is lower than other ZF arrays. To investigate the basis for these differences, we determined the structure of a ZNF217-DNA complex. We show that although the overall position of the ZFs on the DNA closely resembles that observed for other ZFs, the side-chain interaction pattern differs substantially from the canonical model. The structure also reveals the presence of two methyl-π interactions, each featuring a tyrosine contacting a thymine methyl group. To our knowledge, interactions of this type have not previously been described in classical ZF-DNA complexes. Finally, we investigated the sequence specificity of this two-ZF unit and discuss how ZNF217 might discriminate its target DNA sites in the cell.
MICROFLUIDIC CELL ANALYSIS PLATFORM : CELL CULTURE AND ELECTROCHEMICAL LYSIS

We present an integrated microfluidic platform developed for automated cell culture and lysate analysis. Through the combination of previous technologies developed in our lab on-chip cell culture and electrochemical lysis we have designed, fabricated and characterized a platform that cultures cells for extended periods and lyses them on demand without the need for the addition of lysing or washing reagents. We have accomplished the successful culture and lysis of four cell lines: HeLa, MCF7, Jurkat, and CHO. Cells were cultured successfully for greater than five days, and complete on-demand lysis was demonstrated by local electrochemical generation of hydroxide. Lysate was shown to contain both nucleic acids and proteins. Additionally, the biological activity of the lysate was investigated by studying the effects of electrochemical lysis on the enzymatic activity of a model enzyme.
Winners and Losers in Industrial Policy 2.0: An evaluation of the impacts of the Tunisian Industrial Upgrading Program

Large scale business subsidies tied to national industrial development promotion pro-grams are notoriously difficult to study and inseparable from the political economy aspect of large government programs. The Tunisian Industrial Upgrading Program, initiated in the late 80’s, to improve the competitiveness of Tunisian firms increasingly exposed to international competition through firm subsidies, is such an example. The continuation and resurgence of industrial devlopment programs, such as the Tunisian IUP, makes the rigorous evaluation of this type of program within the political economy framework, increasingly important. We use the Tunisian national firm registry database and a perceptions’ survey administered by the national research institute to measure the impact of the IUP and its beneficiaries. Using inverse propensity score re-weighted differences-in-differences regressions, we find that when program recipients are large firms, gains of the program are mostly retained by capital-owners, while when subsidies are distributed to small-sized firms, more gains go to labor.
A library of Analytically Reduced Chemical schemes for a large range of CFD applications : from methane to aviation kerosene

Reacting numerical simulations today are often based on either fitted global reaction schemes, comprised of a few empirical reactions, or pre-tabulated laminar flame solutions computed with detailed chemistry. Although both methods can accurately predict global quantities such as laminar flame speed and burnt gas composition, they have significant limitations. In particular, neither are able to directly and adequately describe the complexity of pollutant chemistry. In the context of reducing harmful emissions, however, including these needed additional kinetic details in combustion simulations is becoming essential. Direct integration of detailed chemistry in accurate turbulent combustion models is not a viable option in the foreseeable future. In this context, Analytically Reduced Chemistry (ARC) represents an attractive compromise between accuracy and efficiency, and is already employed in relatively complex Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) and Large Eddy Simulations (LES). ARCs are knowledge-based compact mechanisms retaining only the most relevant kinetic information as extracted directly, and without fitting, from detailed chemical models using specialized reduction techniques. YARC is a multi-step automated reduction tool, composed of a selected subset of very efficient reduction techniques (DRGEP, Chemical Lumping, and QSS species identification), that generates ARCs from detailed mechanisms with minimum input and knowledge from the user. This paper presents a review of recently YARC-derived ARCs for fuels ranging from methane to Jet-A aviation kerosene, along with validations in canonical test cases and, whenever possible, references of use in 3D DNS and LES.
NANOCAVITY NETWORK-BASED IMPEDANCE SENSOR FOR MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTICS

We demonstrate label-free detection of a molecular binding event using a nanocavity network-based impedance technique. A micro-affinity column of biotinylated beads is packed inside of a glass microchip, and the binding of avidin occludes the nanocavities between beads and is measured as a change of impedance through the packed column. We developed a model that indicates a ~8% increase in resistance upon saturated binding of avidin to the 1 μm diameter beads in the column. Preliminary data in 0.84 μm beads indicates a 20% increase in resistance upon saturation with avidin.
Novel technique for fabricating double-layered tubular constructs consisting of two vascular cell types in collagen gels used as templates for three-dimensional tissues.

Double-layered tubular constructs consisting of two vascular cell types in collagen gels were fabricated using a previously developed technique [Takei et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. , 95, 1-7 (2006)]. Histological examination suggested that shear stress (4.0 dyn/cm2) on the luminal surface of the constructs induced morphological changes in their walls.
DS_CABOSFV clustering algorithm for high dimensional data stream

Data stream clustering has become a hot research issue. The high-dimensional data stream clustering is a difficult problem for the data stream mining because the large volumes of data arriving in a stream make most traditional algorithms too inefficient. In this paper, DS_CABOSFV, a high-dimensional data stream clustering algorithm based on CABOSFV algorithm is presented. Our empirical tests show that DS_CABOSFV has low computational complexity and good efficiency for high-dimensional data stream clustering.
Calreticulin inhibits inflammation‐induced osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption

Osteoclasts play key roles in bone remodeling and pathologic osteolytic disorders such as inflammation, infection, bone implant loosening, rheumatoid arthritis, metastatic bone cancers, and pathological fractures. Osteoclasts are formed by the fusion of monocytes in response to receptor activators of NF‐κB‐ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony stimulating factor 1 (M‐CSF). Calreticulin (CRT), a commonly known intracellular protein as a calcium‐binding chaperone, has an unexpectedly robust anti‐osteoclastogenic effect when its recombinant form is applied to osteoclast precursors in vitro or at the site of bone inflammation externally in vivo. Externally applied Calreticulin was internalized inside the cells. It inhibited key pro‐osteoclastogenic transcription factors such as c‐Fos and nuclear factor of activated T cells, cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1)‐in osteoclast precursor cells that were treated with RANKL in vitro. Recombinant human Calreticulin (rhCRT) inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced inflammatory osteoclastogenesis in the mouse calvarial bone in vivo. Cathepsin K molecular imaging verified decreased Cathepsin K activity when rhCalreticulin was applied at the site of LPS application in vivo. Recombinant forms of intracellular proteins or their derivatives may act as novel extracellular therapeutic agents. We anticipate our findings to be a starting point in unraveling hidden extracellular functions of other intracellular proteins in different cell types of many organs for new therapeutic opportunities. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:2658–2666, 2017.
Influence of Irreparability Fragility on Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Buildings

The probability that a building is sanctioned to demolition following an earthquake depends on several geotechnical, structural, strategic and financial decision variables. This paper explores the literature on post-earthquake reparability assessment of buildings focusing on structural characteristics and evaluates their approaches for four midrise code-compliant structural systems, namely, steel moment frame, reinforced concrete moment frame, light frame wood, and steel braced frame. The structural responses are estimated using incremental dynamics analysis (IDA) in accordance with FEMA P-695 provisions and the IDA results are relayed to a building-specific loss assessment framework to estimate their seismic vulnerability in terms of monetary losses. To estimate the impact of irreparability fragility, the loss assessment framework evaluates the vulnerability for each reference model at four levels of irreparability thresholds as well as for a case which excludes irreparability. The results show that the projected losses for these reference models are very sensitive to the assumptions for irreparability fragility. The impact of irreparability fragility on the final loss estimates, while varying by reference model, is relatively limited at lower levels of shaking intensity and tends to grow when incrementing toward higher levels of shaking. The paper also discusses a potential numerical issue with the framework to include irreparability PhD Candidate and Graduate Research Assistant, Glenn Dept. of Civil Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson SC 29634 (email: asafiey@g.clemson.edu) Post Doctoral Fellow, Glenn Dept. of Civil Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson SC 29634 (email: eziaei@clemson.edu) Post Doctoral Fellow, Glenn Dept. of Civil Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson SC 29634 (email: mengzhg@g.clemson.edu) Associate Professor, Glenn Dept. of Civil Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson SC 29634 (email: wpang@clemson.edu) Manager of Earthquake Modeling, Research and Development, AIG, 1650 Market St, 39th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (email: keivan.rokneddin@aig.com) Adjunct Associate Professor, Glenn Dept. of Civil Engineering, Clemson University, SC 29634, and Director of CRS Product Development, AIG, New York (email: mjavanb@g.clemson.edu) in loss estimation, called ‘irreparability anomaly’, which arises from merely linking irreparability to peak residual drift. The observations emphasize the significance of the underlying assumptions for irreparability fragility in seismic vulnerability and loss assessment of building and call for further studies to establish more robust procedures.
Cost / benefit assessment for large-scale smart grids projects : the case of Project of Common Interest for smart grid “ GREEN-ME ”

In 2014, the Italian Regulatory Authority for Elect ri ity Gas and Water (AEEGSI), with the support of experts from ACER (Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators) and ISGAN (International Smart Grid Act ion Network), was involved in a real case of cost benef it assessment for a large scale smart grid project, “G rid integration of REnewables Energy sources in the Nor thMEditerranean” (GREEN-ME). The project has been conceived by a consortium involving two transmission system operators and two distribution system operators from Italy and France . The paper describes in detail the indicators used f or assessing benefits which include both network-relat ed and dispatching-related benefits .
Attachment and Burnout: Exploring the Predictive Nature of Self-Efficacy in a Sample of Direct-Care Staff Members

The push for least-restrictive care and associated policies has increased the prevalence of youth with higher levels of acuity requiring admission to residential treatment centers. This increased psychiatric severity of children and adolescents served in residential centers places the largest burden on direct-care staff members. As a result, direct-care staff members experience workplace stressors such as staff-member shortages/unplanned call-outs, poor morale, high stress, and burnout. Burnout is widely recognized as a significant hazard for professional caregivers and is a potent barrier to clinical effectiveness. Extant literature on burnout examines individual and organizational factors that lead to burnout experiences, and this study utilized attachment theory and social learning theory to explore the potential predictive nature of self-efficacy on the relationship between staff members’ attachment style and burnout experiences. Correlation analysis revealed that emotional exhaustion correlated positively with depersonalization, but neither component correlated to lack of personal accomplishment. Personal accomplishment correlated negatively with attachment anxiety. Conditional process analysis did not demonstrate a statistically significant predictive effect of self-efficacy across attachment and burnout variables, despite a positive correlation with personal accomplishment, and a negative correlation with attachment anxiety. These findings contribute to the literature on burnout and highlight the importance of identifying protective factors within direct-care staff members that buffer against the effects of burnout.
Antibody-Mediated Rejection in Kidney Transplant Recipients

This paper provides a review of the significant problem of humoral, or antibody-mediated rejection, in kidney transplantation. The main cause of antibody-mediated rejection is donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies. Patients with anti-HLA antibodies are called sensitised patients. The outcome of humoral rejection is unfavourable: graft dysfunction and failure have been frequent from the early post-transplant period and are continuing. International laboratories and clinics offer sensitive and accurate methods to determine antibodies before and after kidney transplantation, but the methods are not always successful in recognition of sensitised patients. For diagnostics of humoral rejection the important issue is detecting complement breakdown deposition (C4d) in peritubular capillaries during immunohistological examination. On the one hand, their presence is characteristic for humoral rejection, but on the other hand, they can occur without any clinical changes or can remain undetected during severe humoral rejection. Current methods of prevention, diagnostics and treatment of humoral rejection are discussed. Difficulties of evaluation of chronic antibody-mediated injury are particularly highlighted. Šis pārskats ir veltīts svarīgai nieru transplantācijas problēmai - humorālai, jeb antivielu vadītai atgrūšanai (tremei). Galvenais iemesls antivielu vadītai tremei ir donorspecifiskās anti-HLA antivielas. Pacientus ar anti-HLA antivielām sauc par sensitizētiem pacientiem. Humorālai tremei ir nelabvēlīgi rezultāti: transplantāta disfunkcija un funkcijas zudums ir bieži novērojams kā agrinajā, tā arī vēlīnajā pēctransplantācijas periodā. Starptautiskās laboratorijas un klīnikas piedāvā jūtīgas un precīzas metodes lai noteiktu antivielas pirms un pēc transplantācijas, tomēr tās ne vienmēr identificē sensitizētus pacientus. Viens no svarīgiem momentiem humorālas tremes diagnostikā ir komplementa sabrukuma depozītu (C4D) noteikšana peritubulāro kapilāru bioptātu histoloģiskās izmeklēšanas laikā. No vienas puses, C4D depozīti ir raksturīgi humorālai tremei, bet, no otrās puses, tie var parādīties arī bez klīniskām izpausmēm, un otrādi, smagas humorālas tremes gadījumā tie ne vienmēr ir atrodami. Speciālistu vidū notiek plaša diskusija par humorālas tremes profilaksi, diagnostiku un ārstēšanu. īpaši izceltas grūtības ar hroniskās antivielu vadītas tremes novērtēšanu.
Real-Time 2 D to 3 D Conversion from H . 264 Video Compression

We present a real-time procedure for an automatic conversion of 2D H.264 video into a 3D stereo. The proposed algorithm works with H.264 compressed videos by taking advantage of its advanced motion compensation (MC) features such as multiple references and quarter-pixel accuracy. The algorithm is based on incorporating our Depth-From-Motion-Compensation (DFMC) algorithm into H.264 decoding process. The DFMC algorithm uses the MC data in the compressed video to estimate a depth map for each video frame. These depth maps are then used to generate in real time a stereo video via a Depth-Image-Based-Rendering
SensorID: Sensor Calibration Fingerprinting for Smartphones

Sensors are an essential component of many computer systems today. Mobile devices are a good example, containing a vast array of sensors from accelerometers and GPS units, to cameras and microphones. Data from these sensors are accessible to application programmers who can use this data to build context-aware applications. Good sensor accuracy is often crucial, and therefore manufacturers often use per-device factory calibration to compensate for systematic errors introduced during manufacture. In this paper we explore a new type of fingerprinting attack on sensor data: calibration fingerprinting. A calibration fingerprinting attack infers the per-device factory calibration data from a device by careful analysis of the sensor output alone. Such an attack does not require direct access to any calibration parameters since these are often embedded inside the firmware of the device and are not directly accessible by application developers. We demonstrate the potential of this new class of attack by performing calibration fingerprinting attacks on the inertial measurement unit sensors found in iOS and Android devices. These sensors are good candidates because access to these sensors does not require any special permissions, and the data can be accessed via both a native app installed on a device and also by JavaScript when visiting a website on an iOS and Android device. We find we are able to perform a very effective calibration fingerprinting attack: our approach requires fewer than 100 samples of sensor data and takes less than one second to collect and process into a device fingerprint that does not change over time or after factory reset. We demonstrate that our approach is very likely to produce globally unique fingerprints for iOS devices, with an estimated 67 bits of entropy in the fingerprint for iPhone 6S devices. In addition, we find that the accelerometer of Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 devices can also be fingerprinted by our approach.