Determinants of Vessel Targeting in Vasculitis

Studies of autoimmune diseases have not yet elucidated why certain organs or vessels become the objects of injury while others are spared. This paper will explore the hypothesis that important differences exist in regions of the aorta that determine vulnerability to diseases, such as atherosclerosis, aortitis, giant cell arteritis and Takayasu's disease. The reader is invited to reassess; (1) whether the aorta is indeed a single homogeneous structure, and (2) whether the initial stage of aortitis (and indeed other diseases considered “autoimmune”) may be primarily due to acquired alterations of substrate, that influence unique immune profiles, which by themselves may not be pathogenic. Disease susceptibility and patterns are influenced by many factors that are inborn and acquired. Examples include genetic background, gender, ethnicity, aging, prior and concomitant illnesses, habits, diet, toxin and environmental exposures. Studies of vascular diseases must assess how such variables may affect regional differences in endothelial cells, subendothelial matrix, vascular smooth muscle and the response of each to a variety of stimuli

Eliminating Fruit and Vegetable Planting Restrictions: How Would Markets Be Affected?

Eighty-nine percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2005, meaning that they had access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households were food insecure at least some time during that year. The prevalence of food insecurity declined from 11.9 percent of households in 2004 to 11.0 percent in 2005, while the prevalence of very low food security remained unchanged at 3.9 percent. This report, based on data from the December 2005 food security survey, provides the most recent statistics on the food security of U.S. households, as well as on how much they spent for food and the extent to which food-insecure households participated in Federal and community food assistance programs. Survey responses indicate that the typical food-secure household in the U.S. spent 34 percent more on food than the typical food-insecure household of the same size and household composition. Just over one-half of all food-insecure households participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food assistance programs during the month prior to the survey. About 22 percent of food-insecure households—3.5 percent of all U.S. households—obtained emergency food from a food pantry at some time during the year.Food security, food insecurity, food spending, food pantry, hunger, soup kitchen, emergency kitchen, material well-being, Food Stamp Program, National School, Crop Production/Industries,

Measures for explainable AI: Explanation goodness, user satisfaction, mental models, curiosity, trust, and human-AI performance

If a user is presented an AI system that portends to explain how it works, how do we know whether the explanation works and the user has achieved a pragmatic understanding of the AI? This question entails some key concepts of measurement such as explanation goodness and trust. We present methods for enabling developers and researchers to: (1) Assess the a priori goodness of explanations, (2) Assess users\u27 satisfaction with explanations, (3) Reveal user\u27s mental model of an AI system, (4) Assess user\u27s curiosity or need for explanations, (5) Assess whether the user\u27s trust and reliance on the AI are appropriate, and finally, (6) Assess how the human-XAI work system performs. The methods we present derive from our integration of extensive research literatures and our own psychometric evaluations. We point to the previous research that led to the measurement scales which we aggregated and tailored specifically for the XAI context. Scales are presented in sufficient detail to enable their use by XAI researchers. For Mental Model assessment and Work System Performance, XAI researchers have choices. We point to a number of methods, expressed in terms of methods\u27 strengths and weaknesses, and pertinent measurement issues

Improving Communication between Doctors and Parents after Newborn Screening

Background: Newborn screening (NBS) enables early treatment, and some consider it a natural vehicle for genetic screening. Bioethicists argue for caution since families of infants with carrier status can develop psychosocial complications. This paper describes the methods and feasibility of Wisconsin’s statewide project for quality improvement of communication and psychosocial outcomes after NBS. Methods: When NBS identifies carrier status for cystic fibrosis or sickle cell, we contact primary care providers (PCPs), answer questions, and invite them to rehearse informing the parents. Three months later, we telephone the parents, assess knowledge and psychosocial outcomes, provide counseling, and assist with self-referral to further resources. Afterward, evaluation surveys are provided to the parents, to be returned anonymously. Results: Birthing facilities provided accurate PCP names for 73% of 817 infants meeting inclusion criteria; we identified PCPs for 21% more. We reached 47.3% of PCPs in time to invite a rehearsal; 60% of these accepted. We successfully called 50.2% of eligible parents; 61% recalled a PCP explanation, and 48.5% evaluated the explanation favorably. Evaluations by parents with limited health literacy were less favorable. Conclusion: It is feasible to follow parents for psychosocial outcomes after NBS. Preliminary data about communication is mixed, but further data will describe psychosocial outcomes and investigate outcomes’ associations with communication