Network support for integrated design

A framework of network support for utilization of integrated design over the Internet has been developed. The techniques presented also applicable for Intranet/Extranet. The integrated design system was initially developed for local application in a single site. With the network support, geographically dispersed designers can collaborate a design task through out the total design process, quickly respond to clients’ requests and enhance the design argilty. In this paper, after a brief introduction of the integrated design system, the network support framework is presented, followed by description of two key techniques involved: Java Saverlet approach for remotely executing a large program and online CAD collaboration

Allosteric modulation of DNA by small molecules

Many human diseases are caused by dysregulated gene expression. The oversupply of transcription factors may be required for the growth and metastatic behavior of human cancers. Cell permeable small molecules that can be programmed to disrupt transcription factor-DNA interfaces could silence aberrant gene expression pathways. Pyrrole-imidazole polyamides are DNA minor-groove binding molecules that are programmable for a large repertoire of DNA motifs. A high resolution X-ray crystal structure of an 8-ring cyclic Py/Im polyamide bound to the central 6 bp of the sequence d(5′-CCAGGCCTGG-3′)2 reveals a 4 Å widening of the minor groove and compression of the major groove along with a >18 ° bend in the helix axis toward the major groove. This allosteric perturbation of the DNA helix provides a molecular basis for disruption of transcription factor-DNA interfaces by small molecules, a minimum step in chemical control of gene networks

Intergenerational transmission of paternal trauma among US Civil War ex-POWs.

We study whether paternal trauma is transmitted to the children of survivors of Confederate prisoner of war (POW) camps during the US Civil War (1861-1865) to affect their longevity at older ages, the mechanisms behind this transmission, and the reversibility of this transmission. We examine children born after the war who survived to age 45, comparing children whose fathers were non-POW veterans and ex-POWs imprisoned in very different camp conditions. We also compare children born before and after the war within the same family by paternal ex-POW status. The sons of ex-POWs imprisoned when camp conditions were at their worst were 1.11 times more likely to die than the sons of non-POWs and 1.09 times more likely to die than the sons of ex-POWs when camp conditions were better. Paternal ex-POW status had no impact on daughters. Among sons born in the fourth quarter, when maternal in utero nutrition was adequate, there was no impact of paternal ex-POW status. In contrast, among sons born in the second quarter, when maternal nutrition was inadequate, the sons of ex-POWs who experienced severe hardship were 1.2 times more likely to die than the sons of non-POWs and ex-POWs who fared better in captivity. Socioeconomic effects, family structure, father-specific survival traits, and maternal effects, including quality of paternal marriages, cannot explain our findings. While we cannot rule out fully psychological or cultural effects, our findings are most consistent with an epigenetic explanation

Controlling Costs and Increasing Access to Prescription Drugs: State and Federal Solutions

Spending on health care in the United States continues to increase rapidly, consuming a greater share of the total economy each year. Over the past decade, prescription drug spending has been the fastest growing component of health care expenditures both nationwide and in Washington state. The federal government, state governments, individuals and employers all pay for prescription drugs, and everyone is affected by rising costs. While it is true that overall drug prices have gone up, and in many cases at more than triple the rate of inflation, price increases alone do not account for the drastic increase in spending on pharmaceuticals. The three biggest cost drivers, in order, are:1) the average person fills more prescriptions than ever before (increased utilization),2) new classes of drugs arrive on the market in high demand and at high prices, and3) pharmaceutical companies hike prices on existing drugs. Double-digit increases in total prescription drug costs create two interrelated problems. First, higher prices mean less access for uninsured individuals, and often a difficult choice for the poor: to treat or eat? Second, increased drug spending forces state governments to face a similar choice: to continue funding drug coverage for seniors, the disabled and others at escalating prices and pay for it by cutting teacher salaries, raising taxes, and underfunding firehouses, or to roll back drug benefits and eligibility for already vulnerable groups? While Congress has thus far failed to pass Medicare prescription drug or generic drug legislation, and the executive branch has taken a hands-off approach, the states have taken the lead in designing innovative policies to reduce manufacturer prices and expand access to necessary drugs. Legislation in Washington state, debated in 2002 and expected to be reintroduced in 2003, would allow the state to evaluate the benefits and costs of various and competing prescription drugs, negotiate price discounts for the best-value drugs, and pass the savings on to those who lack prescription drug coverage. Allowing the state to shop smarter is a sensible, near-term way for Washington to address the related problems of access and cost. Furthermore, an emerging consensus among states may drive more fundamental policy changes at the federal level

Conducción y valor empresarial en Brasil (y Chile)

(Disponible en idioma inglés únicamente) En este trabajo se elabora un índice de prácticas de conducción empresarial (CGI, por sus siglas en inglés) basándose en un conjunto de 24 preguntas que se pueden responder objetivamente a partir de información disponible públicamente. El objetivo es cuantificar la calidad general de las prácticas de conducción empresarial del mayor número posible de compañías. Los niveles del CGI en Brasil han venido mejorando con el tiempo, y un análisis de sus componentes indica que las compañías brasileñas tienen un desempeño mucho mejor en cuanto a la información que suministran que en cuanto a otros aspectos de la gestión empresarial. En este trabajo se hallan niveles sumamente elevados de concentración de derechos de voto, apalancados por el uso generalizado de estructuras de control indirecto y acciones sin derecho a voto. No se hallan indicios ni de afianzamiento firme ni de incentivos en cuanto al uso de porcentajes de propiedad en Brasil, pero sí se hallan indicios de que la separación del control de los derechos sobre el flujo de caja destruye el valor. El CGI mantiene una relación positiva, significativa y robusta con el valor de la empresa. Una mejora de peor a mejor en el CGI en 2002 conduciría a un aumento de 0,38 del coeficiente de Tobin, lo cual representa un aumento de 95% del valor de la acción de una compañía con apalancamiento promedio y las proporciones del coeficiente de Tobin. Tomando en cuenta nuestro coeficiente CGI más bajo, un aumento de un punto del CGI conduciría a un aumento de 6,8% del precio de la acción de la compañía promedio en 2002. No se halló relación significativa alguna entre la conducción empresarial y el pago de dividendos. Los resultados se ponen en contexto mediante un análisis comparativo con Chile.

Primary Care Health Workforce in the United States

Synthesizes findings about trends in the composition, supply, and distribution of the primary care workforce; demand for and pressures on primary care providers; and the impact of technologies, payment policies, market forces, and scope of practice laws

The Impact of State Medicaid Expansion Under the Affordable Care Act on Health Insurance Coverage at the County Level

The purpose of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act was to make health care more accessible to low-income populations. By early 2015, 28 states had expanded Medicaid eligibility. The expansion by some states but not by others provides a unique opportunity to examine the impact of this new policy on changes in health insurance coverage. Moreover, as the newly elected Republican President and the Republican-controlled Congress consider the future of health care reform, understanding the efficacy of components of the Affordable Care Act, such as Medicaid expansion, will be essential for continuing efforts to increase coverage rates and subsequently minimize the associated consequences of low coverage rates. In this brief, author Danielle Rhubart reports that counties in states that did not expand Medicaid compared to counties in states that did experienced significantly smaller increases in non-elderly adult health insurance coverage between 2013 and 2015, even after controlling for other county characteristics. Counties in states that did not expand Medicaid compared to counties in states that did had larger shares of the vulnerable populations. Within states that did not expand Medicaid, counties with larger shares of vulnerable residents experienced smaller improvements in health insurance coverage rates than did counties with smaller shares of vulnerable residents. She concludes that any proposed revisions to the ACA, and especially the curtailment of Medicaid, would reduce county-level insurance coverage rates and thus require counties to find new ways to deal with an increase in uninsured non-elderly adults. For counties with large shares of vulnerable populations located in states that did not expand Medicaid, leaders interested in reducing the impact of lack of health insurance coverage should focus on increasing access to low-cost health care and preventive health