Concert recording 2018-11-06

[Track 1]. Fantasie no. 9 in E major. I. Affettuoso II. Allegro III. Grave IV. Vivace / Georg Philipp Telemann -- [Track 2]. Oboe concerto in C major. I. Allegro aperto II. Adagio non troppo / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- [Track 3]. Niobe for oboe and pre-recorded soundtrack / Thea Musgrave -- [Track 4]. Flower duet from Lakme / Leo Delibes arranged by Perry

Who needs XAI in the Energy Sector? A Framework to Upgrade Black Box Explainability

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based methods in the energy sector challenge companies, organizations, and societies. Organizational issues include traceability, certifiability, explainability, responsibility, and efficiency. Societal challenges include ethical norms, bias, discrimination, privacy, and information security. Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) can address these issues in various application areas of the energy sector, e.g., power generation forecasting, load management, and network security operations. We derive Key Topics (KTs) and Design Requirements (DRs) and develop Design Principles (DPs) for efficient XAI applications through Design Science Research (DSR). We analyze 179 scientific articles to identify our 8 KTs for XAI implementation through text mining and topic modeling. Based on the KTs, we derive 15 DRs and develop 18 DPs. After that, we discuss and evaluate our results and findings through expert surveys. We develop a Three-Forces Model as a framework for implementing efficient XAI solutions. We provide recommendations and a further research agenda

Examining the benefits of the 340b drug discount program

The 340B Drug Discount Program required drug manufacturers to provide discounted outpatient drugs to health care organizations serving vulnerable patient populations to allow these institutions to offer more services to more people. As the 340B program expanded, controversy centered on which entities have benefited from the program. Many health care organizations sold 340B drugs to well-insured patients at full price and have thus been financially rewarded. Amendments to the program have permitted 340B providers to use contract pharmacies to dispense 340B medications, furthering the debate over which stakeholders are benefiting from the program. The purpose of this study was to determine which stakeholders benefited because of the 340B Drug Discount Program and what have been the drivers of recent changes to the program. The study used a literature review. One database aggregator and six academic databases were used to collect 70 total sources. These sources were reviewed and reduced to 39 sources, which were used in the written research. Of these, 20 sources were used in the Results section. Research showed that 340B eligible entities and contract pharmacies have financially benefited from the 340B program. Patient benefit has been indirect, as qualified providers have expanded service offerings and increased access to health care services. Regulatory reform, as well as profit potential, has driven the expansion of 340B as more providers have expanded eligible service lines. Although the goal of the 340B program has often been misconstrued, direct financial benefits to eligible providers have allowed for this expansion of access

Coupling spectral imaging and laboratory analyses to digitally map sediment parameters and stratigraphic layers in Yeha, Ethiopia

Quantitative analyses of soil and sediment samples are often used to complement stratigraphic interpretations in archaeological and geoscientific research. The outcome of such analyses often is confined to small parts of the examined profiles as only a limited number of samples can be extracted and processed. Recent laboratory studies show that such selectively measured soil and sediment characteristics can be spatially extrapolated using spectral image data, resulting in reliable maps of a variety of parameters. However, on-site usage of this method has not been examined. We therefore explore, whether image data (RGB data and visible and near infrared hyperspectral data), acquired under regular fieldwork conditions during an archaeological excavation, in combination with a sampling strategy that is close to common practice, can be used to produce maps of soil organic matter, hematite, calcite, several weathering indices and grain size characteristics throughout complex archaeological profiles. We examine two profiles from an archaeological trench in Yeha (Tigray, Ethiopia). Our findings show a promising performance of RGB data and its derivative CIELAB as well as hyperspectral data for the prediction of parameters via random forest regression. By including two individual profiles we are able to assess the accuracy and reproducibility of our results, and illustrate the advantages and drawbacks of a higher spectral resolution and the necessary additional effort during fieldwork. The produced maps of the parameters examined allow us to critically reflect on the stratigraphic interpretation and offer a more objective basis for layer delineation in general. Our study therefore promotes more transparent and reproducible documentation for often destructive archaeological fieldwork

Benefits of the 340B Drug Discount Program

Introduction: The 340B Drug Discount Program required drug manufacturers provide discounted outpatient drugs to healthcare organizations which serve vulnerable patient populations to allow these institutions to offer more services to more people. As the 340B program expanded, controversy has centered on which entities have benefited from the program. Many healthcare organizations sold 340B drugs to well-insured patients at full price, and thus have been financially rewarded. Amendments to the program have permitted 340B providers to utilize contract pharmacies to dispense 340B medication, which has furthered the debate over which stakeholders are benefiting from the program. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this study was to determine which stakeholders benefited because of the 340B Drug Discount Program, and what have been the drivers of recent changes to the program. Methodology: This study utilized a literature review. One database aggregator and 6 academic databases were used to collect 70 total sources. These sources were reviewed and reduced to 39 sources which were used in the written research. Of these, 20 sources were used in the Results section. Results: Research showed that 340B eligible entities and contract pharmacies have financially benefited from the 340B program. Patient benefit has been indirect, as qualified providers have expanded service offerings and increased access to healthcare services. Regulatory reform, as well as profit potential, have driven the expansion of 340B as more providers have expanded eligible service lines. Discussion/Conclusion: The 340B program has realized its purpose in allowing healthcare organizations serving vulnerable populations to expand access opportunities to these patient populations through increased capacity and expanded services. While the goal of the 340B program has often been misconstrued, direct financial benefits to eligible providers have allowed for this expansion of access

Decision support for efficient XAI services - A morphological analysis, business model archetypes, and a decision tree

The black-box nature of Artificial Intelligence (AI) models and their associated explainability limitations create a major adoption barrier. Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) aims to make AI models more transparent to address this challenge. Researchers and practitioners apply XAI services to explore relationships in data, improve AI methods, justify AI decisions, and control AI technologies with the goals to improve knowledge about AI and address user needs. The market volume of XAI services has grown significantly. As a result, trustworthiness, reliability, transferability, fairness, and accessibility are required capabilities of XAI for a range of relevant stakeholders, including managers, regulators, users of XAI models, developers, and consumers. We contribute to theory and practice by deducing XAI archetypes and developing a user-centric decision support framework to identify the XAI services most suitable for the requirements of relevant stakeholders. Our decision tree is founded on a literature-based morphological box and a classification of real-world XAI services. Finally, we discussed archetypical business models of XAI services and exemplary use cases

Proteomic and immunoproteomic characterization of a DIVA subunit vaccine against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protection of pigs by vaccination against <it>Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae</it>, the causative agent of porcine pleuropneumonia, is hampered by the presence of 15 different serotypes. A DIVA subunit vaccine comprised of detergent-released proteins from <it>A. pleuropneumoniae </it>serotypes 1, 2 and 5 has been developed and shown to protect pigs from clinical symptoms upon homologous and heterologous challenge. This vaccine has not been characterized in-depth so far. Thus we performed i) mass spectrometry in order to identify the exact protein content of the vaccine and ii) cross-serotype 2-D immunoblotting in order to discover cross-reactive antigens. By these approaches we expected to gain results enabling us to argue about the reasons for the efficacy of the analyzed vaccine.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified 75 different proteins in the vaccine. Using the PSORTb algorithm these proteins were classified according to their cellular localization. Highly enriched proteins are outer membrane-associated lipoproteins like OmlA and TbpB, integral outer membrane proteins like FrpB, TbpA, OmpA1, OmpA2, HgbA and OmpP2, and secreted Apx toxins. The subunit vaccine also contained large amounts of the ApxIVA toxin so far thought to be expressed only during infection. Applying two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2-D DIGE) we showed different isoforms and variations in expression levels of several proteins among the strains used for vaccine production. For detection of cross-reactive antigens we used detergent released proteins of serotype 7. Sera of pigs vaccinated with the detergent-released proteins of serotypes 1, 2, and 5 detected seven different proteins of serotype 7, and convalescent sera of pigs surviving experimental infection with serotype 7 reacted with 13 different proteins of the detergent-released proteins of <it>A. pleuropneumoniae </it>serotypes 1, 2, and 5.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A detergent extraction-based subunit vaccine of <it>A. pleuropneumoniae </it>was characterized by mass spectrometry. It contained a large variety of immunogenic and virulence associated proteins, among them the ApxIVA toxin. The identification of differences in expression as well as isoform variation between the serotypes implied the importance of combining proteins of different serotypes for vaccine generation. This finding was supported by immunoblotting showing the induction of cross-reactive antibodies against several surface associated proteins in immunized animals.</p