cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
TESD: A Novel Ground Truth Estimation Method

Knowledge of the exact shape of a lesion, or ground truth (GT), is necessary for algorithm validation, measurement metric analysis, accurate size estimation. When multiple readers provide their documentations of a lesion that can ultimately be described with occupancy regions, estimating the unknown GT is achieved by aptly merging those occupancy regions into a single outcome. Several methods are already available but, even when they consider the spatial location of pixels, e.g. thresholded probability-map (TPM) or STAPLE, pixels are assumed spatially independent (even when STAPLE proposes a hidden-Markov-random-field fix). In this paper we propose Truth Estimate from Self Distances (TESD): a new voting scheme, for all the voxels inside and outside the occupancy region, in order to take in account three key characteristics: (a) critical shape conformations, like holes or spikes, that are defined by the reciprocally surrounding pixels, (b) marking co-locations, meaning the closeness without intersection of one reader’s marking to other readers’ ones and c) the three-dimensionality of lesions as imaged by CT scanners. In TESD each voxel is labeled into four categories according to its signed distance transform and then the labeled images are combined with a center of gravity method to provide the GT estimation. This theoretical approach was validated on a subset of the publicly available Lung Image Database Consortium archive, where a total of 35 nodules documented on 26 scans by all four radiologists were available. The results obtained are reasonable estimates, with GT obtained close to TPM and STAPLE; at the same time this method is not limited to the intersections of readers’ marked regions.
Measuring The Association Of Point Processes: A Case History

Modern applied statistics typically involves elements of computation, probability theory, statistical theory and collaboration with specialists in the subject matter of some substantive field. In this article I shall describe part of a continuing experience of collaboration with two neurophysiologists from U.C.L.A., H. L. Bryant Jr. and J. P. Segundo. In formal terms, the problem considered is one of measuring the degree of association of points of two different sorts distributed along a straight line in an irregular manner.
Observations of the fine structure of the hamster cheek pouch epithelium.

Abstract The general fine structure of the hamster cheek pouch epithelium is described. A thin homogeneous basement membrane about 360 A in width separates basal cells from dense, randomly arranged collagen fibres in the adjacent lamina propria. The basal cells and stratum spinosum contain a profusion of fine granules and tonofibrils. Desmosomes appear throughout the various cell layers. Numerous well-preserved mitochondria with transverse cristae are identified in the basal cells, stratum spinosum and stratum granulosum of the cheek pouch epithelium. In the stratum corneum they occur less frequently and when seen, appear disintegrated. Small, very dense granules about 0.1 μ in diameter are seen in the cytoplasm of the upper stratum spinosum and stratum granulosum cells. Their function is unknown. Densely compacted tonofibrils appear to be the principal intracellular constituent of the cornified layer.
A Markov Chain Model to Account for Multi-Rate Transmission and Node Cooperative Behavior in IEEE 802.11 Data Link Protocol

This paper presents an analytical model which extends Markov Chain models previously proposed for IEEE 802.11 data link protocol. Unlike already published models, the proposed Markov Chain accounts jointly for the following three factors. First, in addition to collision, it accounts for frames that may be lost due to a low signal-to-noise ratio value at the link receiver (frame corruption). Second, it accounts for the various link transmission rate options which affect both the frame transmission time and probability of frame corruption. Third, it accounts for co-operative protocol variants of the IEEE 802.11 protocol. According to these protocols, a third node (relay) - besides the sender and receiver - may help improve the link capacity. In such a case, the active participation of the relay node must be properly captured by the analytical model. All the above factors are combined into one single Markov Chain model by leveraging a multi-dimensional approach.
Quasi-diabatic representations of adiabatic potential energy surfaces coupled by conical intersections including bond breaking: a more general construction procedure and an analysis of the diabatic representation.

The analytic representation of adiabatic potential energy surfaces and their nonadiabatic interactions is a key component of accurate, fully quantum mechanical descriptions of nonadiabatic dynamics. In this work, we describe extensions of a promising method for representing the nuclear coordinate dependence of the energies, energy gradients, and derivative couplings of Nstate adiabatic electronic states coupled by conical intersections. The description is based on a vibronic coupling model and can describe multichannel dissociation. An important feature of this approach is that it incorporates information about the geometry dependent interstate derivative couplings into the fitting procedure so that the resulting representation is quantifiably quasi diabatic and quasi diabatic in a least squares sense. The reported extensions improve both the rate of convergence and the converged results and will permit the optimization of nonlinear parameters including those parameters that govern the placement of the fu...
Radiation epidemiology and recent paediatric computed tomography studies.

Recent record-linkage studies of cancer risk following computed tomography (CT) procedures among children and adolescents under 21 years of age must be interpreted with caution. The reasons why the...
The Importance of Interest: The Role of Achievement Goals and Task Values in Promoting the Development of Interest

We review studies that document the role of interest in promoting academic achievement, course choices, and career decisions, and discuss the process of interest development. In particular, we focus on the role of achievement goals in promoting the perception of task values and subsequent interest, and review randomized field trials in which we tested an experimental utility value intervention designed to promote interest in educational contexts. We discuss the implications for educational policy and theory development. Why would Sandy, a high school basketball player, spend countless hours shooting baskets in her driveway, until her arms were so tired that she could hardly move? Why would Jean, a high school student, spend his weekends attending science competitions, often traveling many hours in a car each way? Some researchers who study motivation would say that these two individuals were exhibiting well-developed interests in basketball and science, respectively. In this study, we consider how interest in activities and topics develops, and why interest is so important to our daily lives.
Visual, auditory and somatosensory convergence in output neurons of the cat superior colliculus: multisensory properties of the tecto-reticulo-spinal projection

A select population of superior colliculus (SC) neurons receives and integrates information from the visual, auditory and somatosensory systems. Determining which SC neurons comprise this population and where they send their multisensory messages is important in understanding the functional impact of the SC on attentive and orientation behavior. One of the major routes by which the SC influences these behaviors is the tecto-reticulo-spinal tract, a descending pathway that plays an integral role in the orientation of the eyes, ears and head. Of the 182 tecto-reticulo-spinal neurons (TRSNs) encountered in the present study, almost all (94%) responded to sensory stimuli and the overwhelming majority (84%) were multisensory. The present results demonstrate that the TRSN serves as an important link among the different sensory systems and provides a substrate through which they may gain access to the circuitry mediating orientation behavior.
The mechanism and pattern of yolk consumption provide insight into embryonic nutrition in Xenopus

Little is known about how metabolism changes during development. For most animal embryos, yolk protein is a principal source of nutrition, particularly of essential amino acids. Within eggs, yolk is stored inside large organelles called yolk platelets (YPs). We have gained insight into embryonic nutrition in the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis by studying YPs. Amphibians follow the ancestral pattern in which all embryonic cells inherit YPs from the egg cytoplasm. These YPs are consumed intracellularly at some point during embryogenesis, but it was not known when, where or how yolk consumption occurs. We have identified the novel yolk protein Seryp by biochemical and mass spectrometric analyses of purified YPs. Within individual YPs, Seryp is degraded to completion earlier than the major yolk proteins, thereby providing a molecular marker for YPs engaged in yolk proteolysis. We demonstrate that yolk proteolysis is a quantal process in which a subset of dormant YPs within embryonic cells are reincorporated into the endocytic system and become terminal degradative compartments. Yolk consumption is amongst the earliest aspects of differentiation. The rate of yolk consumption is also highly tissue specific, suggesting that nutrition in early amphibian embryos is tissue autonomous. But yolk consumption does not appear to be triggered by embryonic cells declining to a critically small size. Frog embryos offer a promising platform for the in vivo analysis of metabolism.
Satellite Outreach Services Program to Under-Represented Students: Being in Their Space, Not on MySpace

A strategic goal of the University of New Mexico is student retention, especially for underrepresented students. To assist in reaching that goal, the University Libraries offered the Satellite Outreach Services Program, which included reference and instruction, and was provided in the university's multicultural student services centers. This article describes the program's planning, implementation, and statistics and includes a detailed description of outreach activities for one of the student centers, American Indian Student Services.
Pathological changes in benign and malignant prostatic tissue following androgen deprivation therapy

Several retrospective studies, as well as prospective trials, have demonstrated that neoadjuvant total androgen ablation therapy leads to involutional changes in prostatic carcinoma and may have the potential to downstage operable prostate cancer. Following androgen deprivation therapy, virtually all prostates contain residual adenocarcinoma, although it may be extremely focal in up to 25% of cases. Morphological changes observed in treated prostatic adenocarcinoma include loss of glandular architecture, cytoplasmic vacuolization, and nuclear pyknosis. Involutional changes may be so dramatic that pathologists unaware of these changes will have difficulty in identifying residual disease. Similar changes may be seen in metastatic sites. Electron microscopy of treated tumors suggest that involution is due to programmed cell death (apoptosis). High grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia is present less frequently and usually only focally. Treated carcinoma exhibits a paradoxical high Gleason score but its proliferation rate and degree of aneuploidy is less than grade-matched, untreated tumors. Thus, grading of pretreated adenocarcinoma by conventional methods may be misleading and should be avoided. Treatment-related changes are also present in benign prostatic tissue and these include glandular atrophy, basal cell prominence and hyperplasia, and stromal hypercellularity. Several studies suggest pathologic downstaging of the tumor, but it remains unclear whether this finding will result in increased local control.
Unfolding and retiming for high-level DSP synthesis

A method of determining the minimum unfolding factor needed to synthesize a data path for a given sample rate is presented. Minimizing the unfolding factor is important because the time complexity for scheduling and allocation increases linearly with the unfolding factor. The authors discuss the iterative algorithm which calculates the minimum unfolding factor necessary to achieve a given sample rate with and without retiming. This algorithm is utilized within the MARS (the Minnesota architecture synthesis) design system to preprocess a dataflow graph prior to resource scheduling and allocation. >
North American Pancontinental Droughts in Model Simulations of the Last Millennium

Pancontinental droughts in North America, or droughts that simultaneously affect a large percentage of the geographically and climatically distinct regions of the continent, present significant on-the-ground management challenges and, as such, are an important target for scientific research. The methodology of paleoclimate-model data comparisons is used herein to provide a more comprehensive understanding of pancontinental drought dynamics. Models are found to simulate pancontinental drought with the frequency and spatial patterns exhibited by the paleoclimate record. They do not, however, agree on the modes of atmosphere‐ocean variability that produce pancontinental droughts because simulated El Nino‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) dynamics, and their teleconnections to North America, are different between models and observations. Despite these dynamical differences, models are able to reproduce large-magnitude centennial-scale variability in the frequency of pancontinental drought occurrence—an important feature of the paleoclimate record. These changes do not appear to be tied to exogenous forcing, suggesting that simulated internal hydroclimate variability on these time scales is large in magnitude. Results clarify our understanding of the dynamics that produce real-world pancontinental droughts while assessing the ability of models to accurately characterize future drought risks.
Nanoengineering approaches to the design of artificial antigen-presenting cells

Artificial antigen-presenting cells (aAPCs) have shown great initial promise for ex vivo activation of cytotoxic T cells. The development of aAPCs has focused mainly on the choice of proteins to use for surface presentation to T cells when conjugated to various spherical, microscale particles. We review here biomimetic nanoengineering approaches that have been applied to the development of aAPCs that move beyond initial concepts about aAPC development. This article also discusses key technologies that may be enabling for the development of nano- and micro-scale aAPCs with nanoscale features, and suggests several future directions for the field.
Determination of Intraparticulate Mass Transfer Coefficients via Permeation Measurements: Theory and Experimental Validation

ABSTRACTA mathematical model of mass transfer through a heterogeneous, multiphase barrier has been developed where the dispersed phase is capable of uptake of the diffusant according to a linear relationship. The model was used to describe the penetration of drugs through dispersions of permeable globules in media of known diffusional properties. Water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) multiple emulsions have been studied by this method. When used to analyze data obtained with a simple diffusion cell, the model allows the calculation of the mass transfer coefficient which characterizes the diffusional mass transfer across oil-water interfaces within the emulsions. The mass transfer coefficient is directly related to the drug release rate from the internal phases of multiple emulsions. Those cases where instantaneous equilibria are established or where impermeable globules are present can be treated as special limiting cases. Differential equations which express diffusant concentrations as functions of time, space, ...
Nanofibers of asymmetrically substituted bisphenazine through organogelation and their acid sensing properties

This paper reports the formation of an organogel of an asymmetric bisphenazine through the growth of one-dimensional nanofibers via a coopertive interplay of pi-pi interaction, hydrogen bonding, and van der Waals interaction and the colorimetric acid sensing property of the nanofibers.
Cycles in Agricultural Production: The Case of Aquaculture

The problem of determining optimal harvest and restocking time and levels is considered. A continuous time deterministic control problem is used to study the case where production occurs in a controlled environment. A stochastic control problem is then used to determine rules for the cultivation of P. stylirostris which occurs in a stochastic environment. The deterministic analog of the problem is also solved. The two solutions are used to develop a measure for the value of a controlled environment and for the value of information about the stochastic environment.
Family history and perceptions about risk and prevention for chronic diseases in primary care: A report from the Family Healthware™ Impact Trial

Purpose: To determine whether family medical history as a risk factor for six common diseases is related to patients' perceptions of risk, worry, and control over getting these diseases. Methods: We used data from the cluster-randomized, controlled Family Healthware™ Impact Trial (FHITr). At baseline, healthy primary care patients reported their perceptions about coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and breast, ovarian, and colon cancers. Immediately afterward, intervention group participants used Family Healthware™ to record family medical history; this web-based tool stratified familial disease risks. Multivariate and multilevel regression analyses measured the association between familial risk and patient perceptions for each disease, controlling for personal health and demographics. Results: For the 2330 participants who used Family Healthware™ immediately after providing baseline data, perceived risk and worry for each disease were strongly associated with family history risk, adjusting for personal risk factors. The magnitude of the effect of family history on perceived risk ranged from 0.35 standard deviation for ovarian cancer to 1.12 standard deviations for colon cancer. Family history was not related to perceived control over developing diseases. Risk perceptions seemed optimistically biased, with 48–79% of participants with increased familial risk for diseases reporting that they were at average risk or below. Conclusions: Participants' ratings of their risk for developing common diseases, before feedback on familial risk, parallels but is often lower than their calculated risk based on family history. Having a family history of a disease increases its salience and does not change one's perceived ability to prevent the disease.
Parental Divorce and Disordered Eating: An Investigation of a Gene-Environment Interaction

Objective: We investigated gene-environment interactions (GxE) for associations between parental divorce and disordered eating (DE). Method: Participants were 1,810 female twins from the Michigan State University Twin Registry and the Minnesota Twin Family Study. The Minnesota Eating Behaviors Survey was used to assess DE. We tested for GxE by comparing the heritability of DE in twins from divorced versus intact families. It was hypothesized that divorce would moderate the heritability of DE, in that heritability would be higher in twins from divorced than twins from intact
Arthroscopic treatment of symptomatic discoid meniscus in children: classification, technique, and results.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review the operative results of children and young adults treated arthroscopically for symptomatic discoid lateral menisci. Methods: The medical records and radiographic studies of 27 consecutive patients (30 knees) who underwent arthroscopic treatment for symptomatic discoid meniscus between 1998 and 2002 were reviewed. Results: The mean patient age was 10.1 years (range, 3 to 20 years), with 19 female and 8 male patients. The mean duration of symptoms before surgery was 13.9 months, with 28 knees (93%) having pain and 20 knees (67%) having mechanical symptoms. All patients were treated arthroscopically. Arthroscopic saucerization was successful in 28 of 30 knees. In 2 cases with large complex tears meniscal salvage was not possible and a complete arthroscopic meniscectomy was performed. Operative classification of the menisci revealed 22 complete (4 Wrisberg type) and 8 incomplete discoid menisci, with meniscal tears being present in 23 of 30 (77%). Meniscal instability was noted in 77% of knees (23 of 30), with anterior horn instability in 53% (n = 16), posterior instability in 16% (n = 5), and combined anterior and posterior instability in 6% (n = 2). All cases of anterior horn instability were treated with an outside-in arthroscopic repair technique, whereas all cases of posterior horn instability were treated with meniscal repair via an inside-out arthroscopic technique. Twenty-one patients (23 knees) had full follow-up of greater than 1 year. For these 21 patients, the mean length of follow-up was 37.4 months (range, 12 to 77 months), and at final follow-up, all patients exhibited full knee flexion beyond 135°. Three patients reported residual knee pain, and four reported intermittent mechanical symptoms. At final follow-up, 2 patients felt that their activity level remained partially limited. Conclusions: Our results show the short-term efficacy of arthroscopic saucerization and repair to the capsule in selected cases of symptomatic discoid menisci. On the basis of this experience and other recent reports documenting a high rate of anterior horn instability, an arthroscopic classification system for discoid lateral menisci is proposed. Menisci are classified as complete or incomplete discoid and are then subclassified based on the presence of instability as a result of deficient capsular attachment and, finally, based on the location of the absent capsular attachment. Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic case series.
Breast Cancer in Young Women: Research Priorities. A Report of the Young Survival Coalition Research Think Tank Meeting.

Breast cancer in young women is a significant issue—7% of all female breast cancer is diagnosed in women under 40 years of age. Young women with breast cancer (YWBC) face significant and unique challenges, including a higher likelihood of biologically aggressive disease and metastatic disease at diagnosis, leading to poorer prognosis, more aggressive treatment and long-term treatment-related toxicities, and unique psychosocial concerns. This article summarizes the Young Survival Coalition (YSC) Research Think Tank Meeting, held in Arlington, Virginia, in February 2013, and presents the process that led to YSC's priorities for YWBC research. The meeting's participants focused on six broad categories of investigation in which additional advancements in research on YWBC are crucial: risk factors; treatment; fertility; pregnancy-associated breast cancer; quality of life and survivorship; and metastasis. Several key themes emerged from this meeting. Researchers and advocates felt that a large-scale data regist...
High field hole velocity and velocity overshoot in silicon inversion layers

We report measurements of the drift velocity of holes in silicon inversion layers. The saturation velocity of holes at 300 K is found to be strongly dependent on the effective vertical field. No hole velocity overshoot was observed down to 0.16 /spl mu/m channel length at room temperature. At 77 K, hole velocity saturation is much less pronounced, and a 10% higher average velocity is observed for 0.16 /spl mu/m channel length as compared to 0.36 /spl mu/m channel length.
Healthy Eating Index and abdominal obesity.

Objective: Although diet is a modifiable lifestyle factor to reduce abdominal obesity risk, the relationship between the Health Eating Index (HEI) and waist circumference (WC) has not been studied. The present study aimed to describe relationships between the HEI and abdominal obesity among adults. Design: Secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional national survey, the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). The HEI data, including the total HEI score and HEI component scores, were collected with a 24h recall. WC measures were taken during a physical examination. Abdominal obesity was defined as WC $102cm for men and WC $88cm for women. Other covariates were collected during an interview. Subjects: In total 15658 US adults, men (n 7470) and non-pregnant women (n 8188). Results: The odds of abdominal obesity was 8?3% (95% CI 1?8, 14?9%,P 50?014) lower for women and 14?5% (95% CI 6?8, 21?9%,P #0?001) lower for men with each 10-unit increase in total HEI score (HEI scale, 0‐100). For each point increase for the fruit score, abdominal obesity risk decreased by 2?6% (95% CI 0?8, 4?4%,P 50?007) for women. Abdominal obesity risk decreased for men with each point increase in saturated fat and variety scores, by 3?1% (95% CI 0?1, 6?0%,P 50?042) and 4?0% (95% CI 0?1, 7?7%,P 50?043) respectively. Conclusions: Dietary consumption that follows the HEI is associated with a lower risk for abdominal obesity.
Feature-aided global nearest pattern matching with non-Gaussian feature measurement errors

System-level discrimination performance for missile defense relies on how well data can be associated between participating sensors. Under the existing architecture, there may be a handover of tracks between two sensors in which tracks formed by one sensor are passed to another sensor to improve knowledge of the targets. The global nearest pattern matching (GNPM) problem is a mathematical programming formulation that has proven to be successful at correctly correlating tracks based solely on kinematic data from two sensors, while simultaneously removing inter-sensor bias and accounting for false tracks and missed detections. Despite this success, there is continued interest to improve correlation performance by exploiting feature data collected on targets. This paper addresses this issue by extending the GNPM formulation to account for feature observations whose measurement errors follow an arbitrary distribution. This is accomplished by augmenting the GNPM likelihood function to include a term representing the incremental likelihood of track-to-track assignments based solely on feature observations. Computational results are presented to illustrate the success of this approach.
Novel Systems and Dynamics Teaching Techniques using Bicycles

This paper reports on an innovative approach, based upon open ended bicycle related design questions, for the teaching of dynamic systems concepts in an undergraduate mechanical engineering environment. The paper outlines: the needs related to improved classroom learning, an outline of the pedagogical methods and underlying philosophy, how the bicycle was introduced as a main portion of the instruction in systems and control theory, the detailed steps as to how the class was managed, the supporting materials used, and a summary of the major benefits achieved.
Spreading resistance in submicron MOSFET's

The spreading resistance due to current crowding at the end-points of an FET channel is investigated. An analytic expression is derived giving this resistance as function of a few parameters. Two-dimensional numerical simulations, using finite-element techniques, confirm the accuracy of the simple analytical approach. For short channel devices the current crowding effect is found to give a nonnegligible contribution to the total source resistance. In order to optimize the FET performance, the geometry and conductivity of the source/drain regions must be carefully designed, trading off short channel effect and transconductance degradation.
Universal magnetic properties of frustrated quantum antiferromagnets in two dimensions.

We present a theory of frustrated, two-dimensional, quantum antiferromagnets in the vicinity of a quantum transition from a noncollinear, magnetically ordered ground state to a quantum-disordered phase. Using a sigma model for bosonic, spin-1/2, spinon fields, we obtain universal scaling forms for a variety of observables. Our results are compared with numerical data on the spin-1/2 triangular antiferromagnet.
Master Regulators of Infiltrate Recruitment in Autoimmune Disease Identified through Network-Based Molecular Deconvolution

Network-based molecular modeling of physiological behaviors has proven invaluable in the study of complex diseases such as cancer, but these approaches remain largely untested in contexts involving interacting tissues such as autoimmunity. Here, using Alopecia Areata (AA) as a model, we have adapted regulatory network analysis to specifically isolate physiological behaviors in the skin that contribute to the recruitment of immune cells in autoimmune disease. We use context-specific regulatory networks to deconvolve and identify skin-specific regulatory modules with IKZF1 and DLX4 as master regulators (MRs). These MRs are sufficient to induce AA-like molecular states in vitro in three cultured cell lines, resulting in induced NKG2D-dependent cytotoxicity. This work demonstrates the feasibility of a network-based approach for compartmentalizing and targeting molecular behaviors contributing to interactions between tissues in autoimmune disease.
Engraftment for CD34 selected stem cell products is not compromised by cryopreservation.

BACKGROUND The coinfusion of haploidentical CD34+ selected peripheral blood stem cell products with umbilical cord blood (UCB) provides early neutrophil recovery, long-term UCB engraftment, and a lower incidence of graft-versus-host disease; however, this complex transplant presents a scheduling challenge for both the cellular therapy laboratory and the clinical team. Cryopreservation of the haploidentical product can facilitate scheduling, but has been previously shown to be associated with infusion reactions and delayed platelet (PLT) engraftment in allogeneic hematopoietic progenitor cell transplant. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS To test whether cryopreservation of the CD34+ selected product compromises the graft, we compared neutrophil and PLT engraftment kinetics for patients receiving freshly infused or cryopreserved products. Seventy-two products collected from haploidentical related donors were CD34+ selected and infused in a combined transplant with UCB: 32 were cryopreserved before infusion and 40 were infused fresh. RESULTS No adverse infusion events were reported in either group and there was no difference in neutrophil and PLT engraftment time between fresh and cryopreserved products. CONCLUSION Cryopreservation of a CD34+-selected product can be safely used in a combined transplant with UCB and does not affect engraftment time.
The Need for College Recovery Services

For too many college students, college represents the last bastion of adolescent irresponsibility. On most college campuses, drugs and alcohol are widely available, and students are loudly exhorted by peers and other social and cultural influences to drink and use drugs, with excessive substance use often seen as a rite of passage (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University [CASA], 2007).
Trends in Employment-Based Coverage Among Workers, and Access to Coverage Among Uninsured Workers, 1995-2011

This paper examines the state of employment-based health benefits, updating prior EBRI research that examined trends in coverage on a monthly basis, over the time period from December 1995 to July 2011. Examining these data on a monthly basis allows a more accurate identification of changes in trends, and can also more clearly indicate the effects of recession and employment on coverage. Trends in offer rates and reasons for being uninsured among uninsured workers are also examined. Between December 2007-August 2009, the percentage of workers with employment-based coverage in their own name fell from 60.4 percent to 55.9 percent, recovering to 56.5 percent by December 2009. However, by April 2011, the percentage of workers with employment-based coverage had slipped back to 55.8 percent. Most uninsured workers reported that they did not have coverage because of cost: anywhere from 70 percent to 90 percent over the December 1995-July 2011 period. Between December 1995 and early 1997, uninsured workers citing cost as a reason for that status increased from about 73 percent to 84 percent, and then settled in the low-80 percent range through 1999. An economic expansion in 2000 resulted in an unemployment rate of 3.8 percent, while the percentage of workers reporting cost as a reason for not having coverage fell to 71.5 percent. However, the percentage of uninsured workers reporting cost as a reason for not having coverage started increasing in late 2000, and continued to do so during the 2001 recession. That percentage remained in the low-80 percent range through 2003, and then jumped to the mid-80 percent range through 2007. It dropped again to about 77 percent in mid-2008 but then rose sharply during the latest recession, reaching 86 percent by May 2009, continuing to climb to 90 percent by June 2011. Uninsured workers reporting that they were not offered employment-based health benefits totaled roughly 40 percent from the mid-1990s through 2003, reaching 23 percent in mid-2011. The PDF for the above title, published in the May 2012 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another May 2012 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “Retirement Income Adequacy for Boomers and Gen Xers: Evidence from the 2012 EBRI Retirement Security Projection Model®.”
Semi-automatic Metadata Generation Workflow for Developing a Continuing Education Resource Repository

This paper presents a high-level conceptualized workflow for the development of a repository related to continuing educational resources for the metadata professions. One of the major challenges facing cataloging and metadata communities concerns current developments and emerging trends in standards and technologies for managing digital information. Through utilization and integration of available open-source semiautomatic metadata generation tools, we attempted to design a repository that maximizes the selfsufficiency of the system components while also generating high quality metadata records for metadata resources. We also attempted to design a workflow that will permit the repository to serve its primary function as a continually updated warehouse of material that will constitute a centralized resource of continuing education needs of metadata.
Inhibition of IFN-γ-induced STAT1 activation by 15- deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2

The inhibitory actions of 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)-prostaglandin J(2) (PGJ(2)) on inflammatory gene expression have been attributed to the ability of this prostaglandin to inhibit the activation of NF-kappaB. In this study, we have identified an additional signaling pathway sensitive to inhibition by PGJ(2). We show that PGJ(2) inhibits interferon (IFN)-gamma-stimulated phosphorylation and DNA-binding activity of STAT1. The inhibitory actions on STAT1 phosphorylation are first apparent after a 1- to 2-h incubation and are maximal after a 6-h incubation with PGJ(2), and they correlate with the expression of heat shock protein (HSP)70 in islets. In previous studies, we have correlated the inhibitory actions of PGJ(2) on inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression and NF-kappaB activation in response to IL-1 with the increased expression of HSP70. Using overexpression and antisense depletion, we provide evidence that HSP70 does not mediate the inhibitory actions of PGJ(2) on IL-1-induced NF-kappaB or IFN-gamma-induced STAT1 activation or cytokine-stimulated iNOS expression by beta-cells. Last, we show that the inhibitory actions of a short 6-h pulse with PGJ(2) on IL-1 plus IFN-gamma-stimulated iNOS expression and NO production by beta-cells are persistent for extended periods (< or =48 h). These findings suggest that PGJ(2) inhibits multiple cytokine-signaling pathways (IL-1 and IFN-gamma), that the inhibitory actions are persistent for extended periods, and that increased HSP70 expression correlates with, but does not appear to mediate, the inhibitory actions of PGJ(2) on IL-1 and IFN-gamma signaling in beta-cells.
Mostly Lossless: Quantum Hyperbolic Metamaterials

We propose a new approach to drastically reduce losses in optical metamaterials, based on electronic quantum state engineering in a strongly anisotropic geometry, and present a practical design for a transparent THz hyperbolic metamaterial.
Bringing a Perspective From Outside the Field A Commentary on Davis et al.’s (2010) Use of a Modified Regression Discontinuity Design to Evaluate a Gifted Program

In this commentary of “Evaluating the Gifted Program of an Urban School District Using a Modified Regression Discontinuity Design” by Davis, Engberg, Epple, Sieg, and Zimmer, we examine the backgro...
Oregon Youth Peer Courts: Grand Jury Style

Youth Courts are diversionary programs for first time misdemeanors committed by youth. The court is made up of the youth’s peers who interact with the defendant and ultimately impose a sentence. In this study two Oregon Youth Courts are examined to discover if the program goals of restorative justice are present. The courts utilize a specific style of peer jury model, called the “Grand Jury style” because the jurors ask the questions and decide the case. Eight cases are observed with a subset of jurors surveyed about sentencing decisions. Restorative justice principles are found through both modes of data collection. The observation describes the unique program while the survey supplements with an insight into juror thought processes. Social control and empowerment theories are also considered as plausible explanations of behavior. Running head Oregon Youth Peer Courts: Grand Jury Style 3 Table of
Bone Marrow Takes Center Stage in Cardiovascular Disease.

Atherosclerosis is a lipid-driven inflammatory disease that underpins myocardial infarction and stroke,1 and it is the leading cause of death worldwide.2 It is not unusual to think of cardiovascular disease as a product of lifestyle,3 and indeed, as countries become wealthier and their populations become more sedentary, cardiovascular disease incidence increases. Over the years, epidemiological and experimental research has identified many factors that influence an individual’s cardiovascular risk. Although some of these are inevitable consequences of genetics and the passage of time—sex and age, for example, because men are at higher risk and everyone’s risk increases with age—many others are inextricably linked to lifestyle. Consuming fatty foods, lack of exercise, smoking, excessive psychosocial stress, and poor sleep contribute to measurable risk factors, such as high low-density lipoprotein, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus, all of which increase the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke. These connections sometimes lead to the popular misunderstanding that cardiovascular disease can be prevented by making healthy lifestyle choices. Unfortunately, the causes of myocardial infarction and stroke are not exclusively behavioral. An article by Wang et al4 in this issue of Circulation Research is an excellent illustration of how inheritance crucially shapes our responsiveness to environmental stimuli. Article, see p e91 We have all heard it: the diet-conscious runner who collapses from a heart attack at 40 years and the obese life-long drinker and smoker who dies at 90 years. Although anecdotal, do these examples nevertheless tell us something meaningful about cardiovascular disease? Over the past 15 years, genome-wide association studies have revealed that certain mutations can either increase the risk of or protect against myocardial infarction.5,6 In other words, …
Manifestations of Familial Hemiplegic Migraine

Researchers at University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR report 3 cases of familial hemiplegic migraine complicated by reversible cerebral edema and followed by neurocognitive impairment.
Mechanisms linking circadian clocks, sleep, and neurodegeneration

Disruptions of normal circadian rhythms and sleep cycles are consequences of aging and can profoundly affect health. Accumulating evidence indicates that circadian and sleep disturbances, which have long been considered symptoms of many neurodegenerative conditions, may actually drive pathogenesis early in the course of these diseases. In this Review, we explore potential cellular and molecular mechanisms linking circadian dysfunction and sleep loss to neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease. We examine the interplay between central and peripheral circadian rhythms, circadian clock gene function, and sleep in maintaining brain homeostasis, and discuss therapeutic implications. The circadian clock and sleep can influence a number of key processes involved in neurodegeneration, suggesting that these systems might be manipulated to promote healthy brain aging.
Weekend Update: Identity, Culture, Politics and Anthropology since the 1980s

In periods of hegemonic power there is a tendency for indigenous groups to be eradicated, assimilated, or turned into stigmatized minorities. Where hegemony weakens, the process is reversed with groups who were previously suppressed or assimilated reasserting their identities, cultures, and political claims on territorial sovereignty. The two processes are different phases of a historical cycle. The decline of Western hegemony provides a space for the rise of culturally-based identity movements, such as the Hawaiian and Maori sovereignty movements. Such movements in turn foster the emergence of new elites.
Communication Among Melanoma Family Members.

Interventions to improve communication among family members may facilitate information flow about familial risk and preventive health behaviors. This is a secondary analysis of the effects of an interactive website intervention aimed at increasing communication frequency and agreement about health risk among melanoma families. Participants were family units, consisting of one family member with melanoma identified from a previous research study (the Case) and an additional first degree relative and a parent of a child 0–17. Family triads were randomized to receive access to the website intervention or to serve as control families. Family communication frequency and agreement about melanoma prevention behaviors and beliefs were measured at baseline and again at 1 year post randomization. Intervention participants of all three types significantly increased the frequency of communication to their first degree relatives (Parents, siblings, children; range = 14–18 percentage points; all p < .05). At baseline, ...
The Effect of Market Orientation and Organizational Flexibility on Corporate Entrepreneurship

Corporate entrepreneurship (CE), flexibility (F), and market orientation (MO) are being recognized as key success factors in our increasingly competitive, global economy. This study builds a model ...
Electronic Health Records and the Disappearing Patient

With rapid consolidation of American medicine into large-scale corporations, corporate strategies are coming to the forefront in health care delivery, requiring a dramatic increase in the amount and detail of documentation, implemented through use of electronic health records (EHRs). EHRs are structured to prioritize the interests of a myriad of political and corporate stakeholders, resulting in a complex, multi-layered, and cumbersome health records system, largely not directly relevant to clinical care. Drawing on observations conducted in outpatient specialty clinics, we consider how EHRs prioritize institutional needs manifested as a long list of requisites that must be documented with each consultation. We argue that the EHR enforces the centrality of market principles in clinical medicine, redefining the clinician's role to be less of a medical expert and more of an administrative bureaucrat, and transforming the patient into a digital entity with standardized conditions, treatments, and goals, without a personal narrative.
TSPYL Family Regulates CYP17A1 and CYP3A4 Expression: Potential Mechanism Contributing to Abiraterone Response in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

The testis-specific Y-encoded-like protein (TSPYL) gene family includes TSPYL1 to TSPYL6. We previously reported that TSPYL5 regulates cytochrome P450 (CYP) 19A1 expression. Here we show that TSPYLs, especially TSPYL 1, 2, and 4, can regulate the expression of many CYP genes, including CYP17A1, a key enzyme in androgen biosynthesis, and CYP3A4, an enzyme that catalyzes the metabolism of abiraterone, a CYP17 inhibitor. Furthermore, a common TSPYL1 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs3828743 (G/A) (Pro62Ser), abolishes TSPYL1's ability to suppress CYP3A4 expression, resulting in reduced abiraterone concentrations and increased cell proliferation. Data from a prospective clinical trial of 87 metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients treated with abiraterone acetate/prednisone showed that the variant SNP genotype (A) was significantly associated with worse response and progression-free survival. In summary, TSPYL genes are novel CYP gene transcription regulators, and genetic alteration within these genes significantly influences response to drug therapy through transcriptional regulation of CYP450 genes.
Students Supported by Medical Technology: Making the Transition From School to Adult Life

Transition planning for young adults with disabilities has been identified as a critical element if students are to successfully move from the safety-net of high school into adult life. Focusing on transition has become a priority for two disciplines: education and medicine. Yet, despite the importance these two fields have placed on it, few studies have addressed the transition planning issues specifically related to students with disabilities supported by medical technology. This research employed longitudinal interview techniques to gather information regarding the transition experiences of family members and students supported by medical technology. Three major themes emerged: (a) future expectations of students and parents; (b) implementation of transition planning; and (c) participation and involvement in transition planning. The unexpected factor of a student's level of cognitive impairment appeared to impact several of the findings. Overall, results of this study indicated that the majority of students supported by medical technology appeared to be receiving minimal planning during transition. The findings are discussed in terms of implications both for planning for the transition from school to adult life as well as the transition to adult health care systems.