cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Health sector reform in the Pacific: a Fijian divisional perspective.

Before the reforms the Fiji Ministry of Health structure consisted of a Central Office and its four Divisions: Primary Health and Preventive Health Services (Public Health), Health Planning (which has been converted to Health Services Development Division), Hospital Services (which has been converted to Health System Standards Division and includes Nursing) and the Administration and Finance Division (which has been renamed Corporate Services Division). In the Public Health Division there was an increased focus on public health activities, with expanded coordination of public health programs, and provision of high-level professional support to those who work in that division and who no longer have responsibility for the management of the divisions or hospitals (as that has passed to divisional management).
Experimental study on the flow characteristics of air curtains at building entrances

Abstract Air infiltration through building entrances is one of the main sources of energy loss in modern buildings. Previous studies have shown that air curtains, when used at building entrances, can reduce infiltration-related energy loss significantly. A recent computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study proposed a new empirical model to capture air curtain door infiltration/exfiltration characteristics under varying operation conditions and pressure differences. Extending the recent CFD study, this paper presents an experimental study to verify and further investigate the flow characteristics of building entrances equipped with air curtains. A small scale chamber of 2.44 m × 2.44 m × 1.3 m (L × W × H) was constructed and used for the measurements of infiltration/exfiltration and pressure differentials, which were then used for developing the empirical model across the operating air curtain. A 2-D particle image velocimetry (PIV) system with helium filled soap bubbles as seeds was used to visualize the airflow fields captured at the doorway. Both the PIV and the measurement-based correlations were also compared to CFD simulations. The flow/pressure measurements confirmed that, for the tested pressure difference range, air curtains can significantly reduce infiltration. The PIV results confirmed the existence of multiple flow characteristics subject to pressure differences across the air curtain. The experimental results also validated the CFD modeling methods for air curtain, and verified that the empirical model of air curtain from the literature is valid in estimating infiltration through building entrances equipped with air curtains.
Generation of wavelength-independent and sub-wavelength Bessel beams by meta-axicons

We report meta-axicons with high numerical aperture for generating Bessel beams with λ/3 spot size. The spot size of the generated Bessel beams is independent of wavelength of incident light because of tailored phase profile.
Dynamics of polymer chains from expanded coils to the collapsed state

Static and dynamic laser light scattering and viscometry have been used to study the dynamics and structure of coil-to-globule transition. With the prism-cell laser light scattering spectrometer, very small scattering angles of the order of 3o could be reached which enabled us to determine the pure translational motion of large polymer chains. The contraction size of a polymer chain during the collapse process has been measured in terms of the radius of gyration, the hydrodynamic radius and the intrinsic viscosity. In the thermodynamically stable region, the coil size obeyed the scaling theory. However, a kinetic study of the collapse has demonstrated a two-stage collapse process in agreement with the theoretical prediction of Grosberg et al. Experimental results of the coil-to-globule transition from polystyrene in cyclohexane and from a polyelectrolyte (sodium polystyrene solfonate) in aqueous solution are presented.
"A Structural Theory of Power, Strategy, and Performance"

We develop a structural theory of organization power to explain major organization decisions, strategies, and firm performance. We explain why the structural position of a firm in the resource exchange network can grant it structural power (dis)advantages over exchange partners, influencing the firm’s decisions to acquire, ally with, or coopt these exchange partners. In addition, we theorize that a firm’s structural power (dis)advantages can influence a wide range of other major decisions, including product diversification, international diversification, innovation, political activities, and executive succession. We propose that structural power advantage is a fundamental source of a firm’s superior performance and offer an analytical tool to empirically operationalize our key constructs and test our theoretical predictions. We discuss the contributions of our structural power theory to research on organization power and the implications of this theory for transaction cost economics, social networks, and ...
DUSP4 Is the Key Protein Modulating Cardiovascular Function in Response to NAC Pre-Treatment

Our previous work on the redox activation of DUSP4 by NAC in endothelial cells demonstrated that DUSP4 is an antioxidant protein, critical in the modulation of MAPK signal pathways and eNOS expression by protecting against oxidant-induced stress. More recently, we demonstrated that DUSP4 -/- mouse hearts suffer greater infarct than wild-type (WT) and have poor post-ischemic functional recovery when subjected to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. DUSP4 is an inducible nuclear phosphatase whose main function is to regulate MAPKs (ERK, JNK and p38) via dephosphorylation, and it has been demonstrated to be important for cardiovascular function. In this designed study, DUSP4 -/- mouse is used to test that DUSP4 is the critical gene in response to NAC activation, which provides a beneficial effect against oxidant stress. WT or DUSP4 -/- mice were first treated with NAC for two weeks, and subsequently hearts were isolated and subjected to 30 min ischemia and 30 min reperfusion. At the end of reperfusion period, the rate pressure product (RRP %) and coronary flow (CF %) were recorded to evaluate the functional recovery. The result indicated that WT hearts with NAC pre-treatment have a better functional recovery in both RPP (24.2% ± 7.7% vs 13.8% ± 2.9%) and CF (57.0% ±9.2% vs 36.8% ±2.8%) compared to non-treated WT hearts. However, DUSP4 -/- hearts with NAC treatment exhibited poor functional recovery (lower in RPP (5.1% ± 1.0% s 3.0% ±1.8%) and CF (33.8% ±1.5% vs 27.2 ±2.7%)) after I/R compared to DUSP4 -/- hearts without NAC treatment. Thus, these results further support our hypothesis that the activation of DUSP4 by NAC is important against I/R injury. From immunoblotting analysis, the results revealed that eNOS is up-regulated in WT hearts after two weeks of NAC treatment; however, eNOS is down-regulated in DUSP4 -/- hearts in response to NAC treatment. These results are consistent with the functional changes (RPP % and CF %) post-ischemia. Therefore, DUSP4 plays a critical role in response to NAC treatment against oxidant stress via the activation of eNOS for post-ischemic functional recovery, and is a potential target for the treatment of the oxidant-induced cardiovascular diseases.
Review: Genetic research on alcohol use outcomes in African American populations: A review of the literature, associated challenges, and implications.

Background and Objectives There have been remarkable advances in understanding genetic influences on complex traits; however, individuals of African descent have been underrepresented in genetic research. Methods We review the limitations of existing genetic research on alcohol phenotypes in African Americans (AA) including both twin and gene identification studies, possible reasons for underrepresentation of AAs in genetic research, the implications of the lack of racially diverse samples, and special considerations regarding conducting genetic research in AA populations. Results There is a marked absence of large-scale AA twin studies so little is known about the genetic epidemiology of alcohol use and problems among AAs. Individuals of African descent have also been underrepresented in gene identification efforts; however, there have been recent efforts to enhance representation. It remains unknown the extent to which genetic variants associated with alcohol use outcomes in individuals of European and African descent will be shared. Efforts to increase representation must be accompanied by careful attention to the ethical, legal, and social implications of genetic research. This is particularly true for AAs due to the history of abuse by the biomedical community and the persistent racial discrimination targeting this population. Conclusions and Scientific Significance Lack of representation in genetic studies limits our understanding of the etiological factors that contribute to substance use and psychiatric outcomes in populations of African descent and has the potential to further perpetuate health disparities. Involving individuals of diverse ancestry in discussions about genetic research will be critical to ensure that all populations benefit equally from genetic advances. (Am J Addict 2017;XX:1–8)
Structural Equation Modeling

Scholars rely on a variety of structural equation models to study constructs that cannot be measured directly such as stress and coping. Structural equation models merge multivariate regression and factor analysis procedures to study a variety of models that assess causal relationships between variables to models that examine change over time. The components and applications of structural equation models in adulthood and aging research are discussed in this entry. Keywords: full structural model; path analysis; structural equation modeling
Past and Future Steps for Adaptive Storage Data Systems: From Shallow to Deep Adaptivity

Data systems with adaptive storage can autonomously change their behavior by altering how data is stored and accessed. Such systems have been studied primarily for the case of adaptive indexing to automatically create the right indexes at the right granularity. More recently work on adaptive loading and adaptive data layouts brought even more flexibility. We survey this work and describe the need for even deeper adaptivity that goes beyond adjusting knobs in a single architecture; instead it can adapt the fundamental architecture of a data system to drastically alter its behavior.
Children’s Literature in the People’s Republic of China: Its Purposes and Genres

The purpose of this chapter is to describe and analyze contemporary children’s literature in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Children’s literature in the PRC has grown rapidly during the last two decades. With increased quantity and improved quality in children’s books, literature for children is earning acceptance and respect from parents and teachers. Currently, publishers, authors, and illustrators share a strong and unified educational mission regarding children’s literature: to transfer cultural heritage, to establish moral values, to sharpen thinking skills, to expand the knowledge horizon, and to enhance language development. In this chapter we describe four major genres of children’s literature (traditional tales, realistic stories, informational books, and poetry) and examine how they fulfill their intended goals.
The Background Noise Environment During the 2013 Target and REverberation eXperiment

This paper presents an analysis of the time- and frequency-domain properties of a multiday series of background noise during the Target and REverberation eXperiment (TREX13) that took place off the coast of Panama City, FL, USA. Background noise was measured at two locations approximately 5 and 6 km south-east of the location of the R/V Sharp where monostatic reverberation was measured. The median spectral density level estimated for a frequency band centered at 2.7 kHz with a bandwidth of 1800 Hz was comparable to the median level at 3.5 kHz averaged over a bandwidth of 100 Hz; both were estimated to be 60 dB re 1 $\mu$ Pa $^2$ /Hz when averaged during the day or night. In contrast, the level at 4.5 kHz, estimated by averaging over a bandwidth of 100 Hz, increased by 14 dB at night. While the data suggest a degree of consistency in the background environment for the purposes of modeling, when assessing levels in the 80–8000 Hz frequency band, time of day was found to be influential. The median spectral levels presented may be used to assess the influence of background noise at a given time of day. Biological noise likely from fish was revealed to be a significant contributor to background noise at night, and daytime background noise levels were primarily influenced by wind.
Soft material for soft actuators

Inspired by natural muscle, a key challenge in soft robotics is to develop self-contained electrically driven soft actuators with high strain density. Various characteristics of existing technologies, such as the high voltages required to trigger electroactive polymers ( > 1KV), low strain ( < 10%) of shape memory alloys and the need for external compressors and pressure-regulating components for hydraulic or pneumatic fluidicelastomer actuators, limit their practicality for untethered applications. Here we show a single self-contained soft robust composite material that combines the elastic properties of a polymeric matrix and the extreme volume change accompanying liquid–vapor transition. The material combines a high strain (up to 900%) and correspondingly high stress (up to 1.3 MPa) with low density (0.84 g cm−3). Along with its extremely low cost (about 3 cent per gram), simplicity of fabrication and environment-friendliness, these properties could enable new kinds of electrically driven entirely soft robots. The development of self-contained electrically driven soft actuators with high strain density is difficult. Here the authors show a single self-contained soft robust composite material that combines the elastic properties of a polymeric matrix and the extreme volume change accompanying liquid vapour transition.
A Short Course on the Impact of Gene Duplications on the Evolution of Novelty

Abstract Geneticist M. Freeling has constructed a short course on the general subject of DNA, gene and genome duplication and questions concerning the evolution of novelty, also providing foundational information relevant to these questions. Following an introductory session, there are fifteen 1 and 1.5 h discussion outlines. While lectures could easily be worked in to this plan, the style of this course is concentrated self-study followed by peer presentation of focal papers and peer discussion, including consideration of questions suggested by the author. The object of this “seminar” is to help “students” (in the broad sense, i.e. including researchers seeking entry into this new area) develop their own conceptual frameworks so they can recognize and keep up with advances in this important area. The work and thought of Lewis, Ohno, Goldschmidt and more modern thinkers/researchers on duplication and selection, polyploidy, subfunctionalization, the gene balance hypothesis, balanced gene drive and genome dominance are covered. Most importantly, this lesson plan—with its 34 references—is based on the assumption that research in any area is a network of thought, not a timeline of facts. Since almost everything is unknown, what exactly do we students need to know urgently to approach intellectual satisfaction? This course should help students stay up-to-date with the bits of data that—presented with a “good idea”—should naturally fall into place within their own prepared minds.
Corporatist Institutions and Militant Actions: Building an Industrial Relations System in Myanmar

Drawing on data from archives and fieldwork in Myanmar, a country in political change from a five-decade authoritarian regime to a quasi-civilian one, this study explores the reasons for a prevalence of corporatist aspects at the early stage of reforms. The early introduction of corporatism in Myanmar diverges from other Asian countries that experienced transitions accompanied by labour militancy, and only later embraced corporatism when political power shifted to elected pro-labour parties. This article argues, first, that corporatism prevails in the rhetoric of the labour movement and in Myanmar’s industrial relations institutions, while labour militancy has simultaneously increased; second, corporatism in Myanmar has few historical precedents but has recently been promoted primarily by the International Labour Organisation ( ILO ); and third, while corporatism has failed to bring about industrial peace, the rhetoric and institutions of corporatism may limit the political potential of Myanmar’s labour movement by restricting unions’ activities to economic concerns.
Motivation for participating in a journal club: Perceptions of the participants

The purpose of this survey study was to describe the motivation and perceived outcomes from registered nurses (RNs) who participated in a hospital-based journal club. Using a web-based format, data were collected from 40 registered nurses who completed at least one journal club activity in the previous six months. The majority of these participants (78%) disclosed career ladder points as the primary reason for completing the activity. The most frequently cited perceived outcome was an increased desire to provide evidence-based care. Age and number of years as a RN influenced the perception of the benefit of journal club participation.
Cross-Linking-Mass Spectrometry Studies of Cholesterol Interactions with Human α1 Glycine Receptor.

The glycine receptor (GlyR) belongs to a superfamily of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) that mediate fast neurotransmission. GlyR typically modulates inhibitory transmission by antagonizing membrane depolarization through anion influx. Allosteric interactions between the receptor and its lipid surroundings affect receptor function, and cholesterol is essential for pLGIC activity. Cholesterol at compositions below ∼33 mol percent has been shown to have negligible chemical activity, suggesting that specific interactions between membrane proteins and cholesterol become significant only at concentrations above this stoichiometric threshold. Human α1 GlyR was purified from baculovirus infected insect cells and reconstituted in unilamellar vesicles at cholesterol/lipid ratios above and below the cholesterol activity threshold with equivalent aliquots of azi-cholesterol, a photoactivatable nonspecific cross-linker. After photoactivation, cross-linked cholesterol-GlyR was trypsinized and mass finger...
The African American Eye Disease Study: Design and Methods

ABSTRACTPurpose: To describe the study design, operational and recruitment strategies, procedures, and baseline characteristics of the African American Eye Disease Study (AFEDS), a population-based...
A new design paradigm for GaN based LLC converter

In today's power electronics products, quality and reliability are given. Great emphases are placed on efficiency, power density and cost. With recent advances made in gallium nitride power devices (GaNs), it is expected that GaNs will make significant impacts to all three areas mentioned above. Thanks to the significantly reduced output capacitance of GaN devices, it enables GaN to operate at a switching frequency more than ten times higher than its silicon counterparts. To illustrate the impact of GaN on efficiency, density and even design practices, three decades of development of LLC resonant converter for computer server are highlighted. By virtue of higher switching frequency beyond 1MHz, the bulky magnetic components for LLC converters are replaced with distributed magnetics and then integrated in a form of matrix transformer with simple PCB winding. The new generation of DC/DC converters are characterized with an order of magnitude higher power density, and with higher efficiency and additionally with dramatic reduction of labor contents in the manufacturing process. Even though this paper only demonstrated the impact of GaN for computer server application, similar can be said for wide range of application for for IT, communication equipment, consumer electronics, lightings and other electronics equipment.
Conceptualizing the Personal Touch: Experiential Knowledge and Gendered Strategies in Community Supervision Work:

Tasked with a fractured institutional mandate of ensuring public safety while facilitating the rehabilitation of their criminalized clients, community supervision workers exercise a considerable am...
Parent and child antisocial problems: Moderation by emerging adult religiosity and gender

Abstract Parental antisocial problems have a strong influence upon their children's antisocial problems but studies suggest that personal religiosity can serve as a protective factor. No studies have yet examined personal religiosity in connection to parental and child antisocial problems. The current study asked 435 emerging adults aged 18 to 25 years attending a large Southern United States university to report upon the antisocial problems of their parents via the Antisocial Problems DSM subscale of the Adult Behavior Checklist (ABCL), and their own antisocial problems on the Antisocial Problems DSM subscale of the Adult Self-Report (ASR) and religiosity on the Stearns-McKinney Assessment of Religious Traits (SMART). Structural equation modeling was used to measure whether personal religiosity and gender (parent and participant) moderated the relationship between perceived parental and child antisocial problems. Results indicated that emerging adult religiosity was associated with a weaker the association between maternal and emerging adult antisocial problems for sons and daughters; however, emerging adult religiosity was associated with a weaker association between paternal and emerging adult antisocial problems only for daughters. For male participants, emerging adult religiosity served as a stronger moderator between maternal and emerging adult antisocial problems than paternal and emerging adult problems, indicating a 3-way interaction by parental gender.
Rethinking Virtual Network Embedding in Reconfigurable Networks

The virtual network embedding (VNE) problem of mapping virtual network (VN) requests to a substrate network is a key component of network virtualization in datacenters. In a bid to improve datacenter network's performance and cost, there has been recent interest in "reconfigurable" network architectures, wherein the network topology can be changed at runtime to better handle current traffic patterns. Such reconfigurable networks seem naturally well-suited for efficient network virtualization- as networks can be "tailored" to accommodate the incoming VN requests. Motivated by the above, in this paper, we address the problem of virtual network embedding in reconfigurable networks; to the best of our knowledge, this has not been addressed before. In particular, we address the VNE problem in reconfigurable networks under two different models of VN link demands: fixed-bandwidth and stochastic-bandwidth demands. The former is the traditional model, while we propose the the latter to improve network utilization and leverage the runtime reconfiguration capability of reconfigurable networks. For the stochastic demand model, we employ a novel concept of embedding with "runtime-binding", wherein the embedding of a VN link is "configured" at runtime (via network reconfiguration) depending on the prevailing network state and traffic. We evaluate the efficiency of our proposed models and techniques via simulation using real VN requests and traffic statistics from large datacenters, and show that our proposed models and techniques offer significant performance advantages (up to 30-40%) over traditional models.
Biology of Mitral Valve Disease

Understanding the biology of the mitral valve is becoming increasing important as surgical valve repair, percutaneous techniques and potential medical therapies are becoming important in this disease process. The mitral valve’s structure, anatomy and function are quite complex making it a difficult valve lesion to treat with interventions and medical therapies. The pathology has many classifications in terms of degrees of valve severity and classification of disease pathology. As the science in the field of mitral valve biology increases so will our understanding towards treatment options for these patients. This chapter will discuss the scientific studies to date and approaches for future studies.
Transcardiac Method of Jugular Bulb Catheterization

The measurement of cerebral venous oxygen content obtained by jugular bulb catheterization (JBC) allows bedside assessment of adequacy of cerebral blood flow. The usual technique for JBC is by direct internal jugular vein (IJ) puncture and cannulation. Neck swelling from soft tissue injury, subcutaneous emphysema, burns or infection, spine trauma, and severe coagulopathy all are relative contraindications to direct IJ cannulation. Direct IJ puncture may prove difficult for the inexperienced operator in very small infants. We devised the transcardiac method via the femoral vein (FV) for the JBC (TCJBC) for the above conditions.
Love and Hatred in the Moral Life: Educational Investigations

How might democratic educators work more fruitfully with such powerful emotions as hatred and love? In a search for answers, this chapter draws upon diverse wisdom traditions as New England poetry, John Dewey’s pragmatism, Native American lore, and western as well as eastern Buddhism. This exploration leads to the discovery of suggestive clues for educative possibilities. FIRE AND ICE Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if I had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. Robert Frost
Protein kinase Cδ constrains the S-pathway to phrenic motor facilitation elicited by spinal 5-HT7 receptors or severe acute intermittent hypoxia.

KEY POINTS Concurrent 5-HT2A (Q pathway) and 5-HT7 (S pathway) serotonin receptor activation cancels phrenic motor facilitation due to mutual cross-talk inhibition. Spinal protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ) or protein kinase A inhibition restores phrenic motor facilitation with concurrent Q and S pathway activation, demonstrating a key role for these kinases in cross-talk inhibition. Spinal PKCδ inhibition enhances adenosine-dependent severe acute intermittent hypoxia-induced phrenic long-term facilitation (S pathway), consistent with relief of cross-talk inhibition. ABSTRACT Intermittent spinal serotonin receptor activation elicits long-lasting phrenic motor facilitation (pMF), a form of respiratory motor plasticity. When activated alone, spinal Gq protein-coupled serotonin 2A receptors (5-HT2A ) initiate pMF by a mechanism that requires ERK-MAP kinase signalling and new BDNF protein synthesis (Q pathway). Spinal Gs protein-coupled serotonin 7 (5-HT7 ) and adenosine 2A (A2A ) receptor activation also elicits pMF, but via distinct mechanisms (S pathway) that require Akt signalling and new TrkB protein synthesis. Although studies have shown inhibitory cross-talk interactions between these competing pathways, the underlying cellular mechanisms are unknown. We propose the following hypotheses: (1) concurrent 5-HT2A and 5-HT7 activation undermines pMF; (2) protein kinase A (PKA) and (3) NADPH oxidase mediate inhibitory interactions between Q (5-HT2A ) and S (5-HT7 ) pathways. Selective 5-HT2A (DOI hydrochloride) and 5HT7 (AS-19) agonists were administered intrathecally at C4 (three injections, 5-min intervals) in anaesthetized, vagotomized and ventilated male rats. With either spinal 5-HT2A or 5-HT7 activation alone, phrenic amplitude progressively increased (pMF). In contrast, concurrent 5-HT2A and 5-HT7 activation failed to elicit pMF. The 5-HT2A -induced Q pathway was restored by inhibiting PKA activity (Rp-8-Br-cAMPS). NADPH oxidase inhibition did not prevent cross-talk inhibition. Therefore, we investigated alternative mechanisms to explain Q to S pathway inhibition. Spinal protein kinase C (PKC) inhibition with Go6983 or PKCδ peptide inhibitor restored the 5-HT7 -induced S pathway to pMF, revealing PKCδ as the relevant isoform. Spinal PKCδ inhibition enhanced the S pathway-dependent form of pMF elicited by severe acute intermittent hypoxia. We suggest that powerful constraints between 5-HT2A and 5-HT7 or A2A receptor-induced pMF are mediated by PKCδ and PKA, respectively.
Association Between Home Health Services and Facility Admission in Older Adults With and Without Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the association between home health (HH) services, including skilled nursing (SN), physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy, social work (SW), and homemaking aide assistance with the hazard of unplanned facility admissions among Medicare patients with and without Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Design Analysis of the Outcome and Assessment Information Set and billing records. Setting A not-for-profit HH agency serving multiple counties in New York State. Participants Adults ≥65 years old who received HH from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017. Measures Outcome was time from HH start of care to an unplanned facility admission of any type, including the hospital, nursing home, and rehabilitation facility. Independent variables included weekly intensity (visits/week, hours/week) of SN, PT, occupational therapy, SW, and, homemaking aide assistance separately. ADRD was identified by diagnosis (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes in billing records) and cognitive impairment assessment (Outcome and Assessment Information Set). Results Of the sample (N = 6153), 14.9% had an unplanned facility admission. In multivariable Cox proportional hazard models that adjusted for time-varying effects of HH intensity and covariates, receiving the highest intensity of SN (3.3 visits of 2.78 hours per week) and PT (2.5 visits of 2 hours per week) was related to up to a 54% and 86% decrease, respectively, in the hazard of unplanned facility admission among patients with ADRD (n = 1525), and decreases of 56% and 90%, respectively, among patients without ADRD (n = 4628). Receiving any SW was related to 40% decreased in the hazard of facility admission in patients without ADRD only. Other HH services were not consistently related to the risk of facility admission. Conclusions and Implications Receiving a higher intensity of SN and PT was associated with reduced hazards of unplanned facility admission among HH patients with and without ADRD. Policies should ensure that patients with ADRD receive a sufficient amount and appropriate mix of HH services.
Comfort Women: Enhancing Students’ Global Awareness through Human Right Education

Teaching about the comfort women of World War II offers a compelling case study for the social studies classroom and human rights education. The topic will educate students to become knowledgeable ...
Chapter 3 – MANAGED COMPETITION

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the tools available to sponsors to use in counteracting tendencies to market failure. The effective use of these tools to achieve equity and efficiency is the essence of managed competition. The chapter reviews some of the issues that arise in design and choice of sponsor agencies. In many communities, a majority of the doctors participate in at least one limited provider plan. However, there has been rather little progress in achieving cost-conscious choice. Employers have found it very difficult to convert from a defined benefit or open-ended entitlement approach to a defined contribution approach. The effect of the tax laws is that government heavily subsidizes the marginal cost of more costly employer-paid health plans, thus undermining cost-consciousness. Moreover, a predictable consequence of price competition is the destruction of the existing system of internal cross subsidies for the uninsured, which is beginning to happen in the United States.
Could application of leader-member exchange theory have saved a residency mentorship program?

Mentorship may offer proteges numerous benefits including improved self-esteem, increased interest in research, and/or enhanced productivity. Without proper planning, reflection, and evaluation, however, mentorship programs may result in undesirable consequences. In this paper we describe a mentorship program designed to improve psychosocial support and professional development for residents, that while initially successful, was terminated due to perceptions of inequity that led to strife among residents and ultimately created a toxic learning climate. Leader-member exchange theory provides a lens through which to view our program’s failure and to offer some potential solutions to mitigate such challenges for other programs. Leader-member exchange theory focuses on the importance of relationships, communication, and awareness of biases to optimize interactions between dyads such as a mentor and a protege. We highlight opportunities during the stranger, acquaintance, and mature partnership phases that could have helped to save a residency mentorship program.
MAC Trade-offs Between Age and Reachability of Information in Vehicular Safety Applications

Vehicular networking offers the promise of greatly improving transportation safety but has stringent requirements on information age as well as information reachability, where the later refers to the range over which information is propagated. We consider an idealized model of a one-dimensional vehicular networks and show that there is a basic trade-off between these two metrics: a smaller age can be obtained by reducing the reachability of information. We apply this to two current technologies: Cellular V2X (C-V2X) and Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) and derive an equation that characterizes the trade-off between these two metrics for both technologies. In the case of exponential path loss and negligible noise, this relationship becomes a fixed invariant ratio. Given this relationship, under high congestion, these two protocols tradeoff these metrics differently. C-V2X tends to achieve a smaller age while DSRC tends to maintain a larger reachability. The idealized model is also applied to analyze the steady state of rate control and power control mechanisms such as those in the SAE standard J2945/1. We show that the ratio of age and reachability is still governed by the same trade-off curve: rate control tries to maintain a large reachability, while power control helps improve the age.
A porcine ligated loop model reveals new insight into the host immune response against Campylobacter jejuni

The symptoms of infectious diarrheal disease are mediated by a combination of a pathogen's virulence factors and the host immune system. Campylobacter jejuni is the leading bacterial cause of diarrhea worldwide due to its near-ubiquitous zoonotic association with poultry. One of the outstanding questions is to what extent the bacteria are responsible for the diarrheal symptoms via intestinal cell necrosis versus immune cell initiated tissue damage. To determine the stepwise process of inflammation that leads to diarrhea, we used a piglet ligated intestinal loop model to study the intestinal response to C. jejuni. Pigs were chosen due to the anatomical similarity between the porcine and the human intestine. We found that the abundance of neutrophil related proteins increased in the intestinal lumen during C. jejuni infection, including proteins related to neutrophil migration (neutrophil elastase and MMP9), actin reorganization (Arp2/3), and antimicrobial proteins (lipocalin-2, myeloperoxidase, S100A8, and S100A9). The appearance of neutrophil proteins also corresponded with increases of the inflammatory cytokines IL-8 and TNF-α. Compared to infection with the C. jejuni wild-type strain, infection with the noninvasive C. jejuni ∆ciaD mutant resulted in a blunted inflammatory response, with less inflammatory cytokines and neutrophil markers. These findings indicate that intestinal inflammation is driven by C. jejuni virulence and that neutrophils are the predominant cell type responding to C. jejuni infection. We propose that this model can be used as a platform to study the early immune events during infection with intestinal pathogens.
Fast and accurate statistical inference of phylogenetic networks using large-scale genomic sequence data

Abstract An emerging discovery in phylogenomics is that interspecific gene flow has played a major role in the evolution of many different organisms. To what extent is the Tree of Life not truly a tree reflecting strict “vertical” divergence, but rather a more general graph structure known as a phylogenetic network which also captures “horizontal”gene flow? The answer to this fundamental question not only depends upon densely sampled and divergent genomic sequence data, but also compu-tational methods which are capable of accurately and efficiently inferring phylogenetic networks from large-scale genomic sequence datasets. Re-cent methodological advances have attempted to address this gap. How-ever, in the 2016 performance study of Hejase and Liu, state-of-the-art methods fell well short of the scalability requirements of existing phy-logenomic studies. The methodological gap remains: how can phylogenetic networks be ac-curately and efficiently inferred using genomic sequence data involving many dozens or hundreds of taxa? In this study, we address this gap by proposing a new phylogenetic divide-and-conquer method which we call FastNet. We conduct a performance study involving a range of evolu-tionary scenarios, and we demonstrate that FastNet outperforms state-of-the-art methods in terms of computational efficiency and topological accuracy.
Overcoming barriers to direct current power: Lessons learned from four commercial building case studies

While distribution systems deliver power to buildings using alternating current (AC), the loads in commercial buildings have increasingly shifted to those using direct current (DC) power. In addition, on-site generation, such as rooftop solar (which provides a DC source of electricity), is becoming more common in commercial buildings. As a consequence, numerous DC-to-AC and AC-to-DC conversions occur in commercial buildings, each of which results in wasted energy. This makes converting building electrical systems from AC to DC power an attractive energy efficiency measure. In the present study, barriers and advantages of DC power in commercial buildings were examined by interviewing personnel who worked on four commercial construction projects in Colorado. The cases, two new construction and two retrofits, varied in their level of successful implementation. The participants included general contractors, facilities managers, engineers, and financial officers. Interviews were coded for statements about people, technology, and the construction process. The results revealed that successful implementation required an owner who championed the project, along with a team that demonstrated positive motivations (e.g., enjoying a challenge, accepting uncertainty). Technological issues faced by the projects were largely due to limited availability and incompatibility of DC parts. Finally, pre-construction processes (financing, bidding, and contracting) emerged as important differentiators between successful and unsuccessful projects. These findings provide a roadmap for increasing successful implementation of DC power in commercial construction projects.
Black/African American Breastfeeding Experience: Cultural, Sociological, and Health Dimensions Through an Equity Lens.

Background: Disparities in breastfeeding (BF) continue to be a public health challenge, as currently only 42% of infants in the world and 25.6% of infants in the United States are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life. In 2019, the infants least likely to be exclusively breastfed at 6 months are African Americans (AA) (17.2%). Materials and Methods: A scoping review of the literature was undertaken by using Arksey and O'Malley's six-stage framework to determine key themes of AA women's experience BF through an equity lens. Electronic databases of CINAHL and PubMed were searched for peer-reviewed, full-text articles written in the English language within the past 5 years by using the terms BF, AA, Black, sociological, cultural, equity, health, attitude, exposure, initiation, continuation, barriers, and facilitators. Results: Initially, 497 articles were identified, and 26 peer-reviewed articles met the eligibility criteria. Through an equity lens, three main themes emerged, which summarized AA women's BF experience: cultural (family, peers and community support; misconceptions; personal factors), sociological (prejudices, racism, home environment; financial status; sexuality issues; BF role models; employment policies), and health dimensions (family involvement; timely and honest information from staff; baby-friendly hospital initiatives; postnatal follow-up; special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children). Conclusion: For AA women, exclusively BF is beset with diverse cultural, health, and sociological challenges. Multifaceted approaches are needed for successful resolution of BF challenges to bridge the racial gap in BF in the United States. Future studies may explore interventions targeted to modifiable barriers to improve BF outcomes.
Predictors of mortality among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in a large hospital system

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in the Houston city area in the first week of March 2020. Soon hospitals in the city were overrun with COVID-19 patients. By October, COVID-19 had resulted in 216,025 deaths in the US1. Older patients and Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Natives, Black, and Asian patients have experienced the highest excessive deaths1. The aim of our research was to study the factors associated with mortality among COVID-19 patients. Methods: The study was conducted on patients at a large university-affiliated multi-hospital system. The study used data from electronic medical records with an inpatient admission from March-October 2020 and a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. The data included demographic information, prescreening information, length of stay, discharge disposition, diagnoses and comorbidity, respiratory support, medications, and laboratory test results. The dependent variable in all analyses was defined as a discharge disposition of in-hospital death or hospice. Unadjusted logistic regression analyses were carried out on all variables, and a multivariable logistic regression model was built using variables that lowered the Akaike information criterion. Laboratory values missing at random were imputed by multiple imputations using chained equations. Results: There were 8,341 inpatients admissions, of whom 1,139 died or received hospice. The median age was 72 years among dead/hospice patients and 55 years among patients discharged alive (p<0.01). Death/hospice was higher among men (15% of all men vs. 12% of all women) and people who were Asian (20%), White (15%), and African American (12%). 10% of Hispanics and 13% of Non-Hispanic died or received hospice. The multivariable logistic regression model showed that receiving mechanical ventilation (OR 19.171), Non-invasive ventilation, using non-rebreather masks, high flow nasal cannula, ICU admission had higher odds of death/hospice. Increase in age, Charlson comorbidity index of 2 &3, and receiving convalescent plasma also had higher odds of death/hospice. Not receiving supplemental oxygen and increase in the anticoagulants administration days reduced the likelihood of death/hospice. Among laboratory values, an increase in the initial lactic acid, blood urea nitrogen, total bilirubin, and alkaline phosphatase were associated with higher death/hospice odds. Conclusion: COVID-19 mortality has decreased over time due to a better understanding of managing the patients. This study highlights the most important predictors of mortality, which must be followed up by future studies. (Table Presented).
Citizen attitudes towards the public release of police body-worn camera video footage

This study investigated citizen attitudes about the public release of police body-worn camera (BWC) video. We examined quantitative and qualitative survey data from a convenience sample of 535 citi...
On Automotive Body Closure Panel Dent Resistance

The definitions and evaluation methods used to determine dent resistance for automotive closure panels are reviewed. Although dent resistance is required under both static and dynamic loading conditions, dynamic dent resistance is emphasized because the basic definitions and methods for evaluating dynamic denting are still not well established. In order to design automotive body panels to resist denting, a fundamental understanding of the interaction between the evaluation method and the material's mechanical, and panel's geometric parameters is required. Currently there is no standard for indenter type, speed, or indenter material to be utilized or on the basic definition of "acceptable" dent resistance. The interpretation of results is dependent on these parameters. Predictive methodologies using the finite element method are reviewed. Technical challenges in developing a quantitative measure of dent resistance are highlighted. (A) For the covering abstract see ITRD E121867.
Maximizing organizational leadership capacity for the future

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and present a model of self‐leadership, innovation and creativity.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing upon existing theoretical and empirical evidence the paper develops and presents a conceptual model of the relationships between self‐leadership, innovation, creativity, and organizational support. The paper also presents research propositions based upon the relationships suggested by the model.Findings – The model suggests that individuals with strong self‐leadership will consider themselves to have more innovation and creativity potential than individuals who have weak self‐leadership, and that individuals who have innovation and creativity potential will be more likely to practise innovation and creativity when they perceive strong support from the workplace than individuals who perceive weak support from the workplace.Research limitations/implications – Future researchers should examine empirically the linkages suggested by this model along with othe...