Observational Intensity Bias Associated with Illness Adjustment: Cross Sectional Analysis of Insurance Claims

Objective: To determine the bias associated with frequency of visits by physicians in adjusting for illness, using diagnoses recorded in administrative databases. Setting: Claims data from the US Medicare program for services provided in 2007 among 306 US hospital referral regions. Design: Cross sectional analysis. Participants 20% sample of fee for service Medicare beneficiaries residing in the United States in 2007 (n=5 153 877)

CLIP and complementary methods

RNA molecules start assembling into ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes during transcription. Dynamic RNP assembly, largely directed by cis-acting elements on the RNA, coordinates all processes in which the RNA is involved. To identify the sites bound by a specific RNA-binding protein on endogenous RNAs, cross-linking and immunoprecipitation (CLIP) and complementary, proximity-based methods have been developed. In this Primer, we discuss the main variants of these protein-centric methods and the strategies for their optimization and quality assessment, as well as RNA-centric methods that identify the protein partners of a specific RNA. We summarize the main challenges of computational CLIP data analysis, how to handle various sources of background and how to identify functionally relevant binding regions. We outline the various applications of CLIP and available databases for data sharing. We discuss the prospect of integrating data obtained by CLIP with complementary methods to gain a comprehensive view of RNP assembly and remodelling, unravel the spatial and temporal dynamics of RNPs in specific cell types and subcellular compartments and understand how defects in RNPs can lead to disease. Finally, we present open questions in the field and give directions for further development and applications

Addendum to the Calcined Waste Storage at the Idaho Nuclear Technology Center

This report is an addendum to the report Calcined Waste Storage at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, INEEL/EXT-98-00455 Rev. 1, June 2003. The original report provided a summary description of the Calcined Solids Storage Facilities (CSSFs). It also contained dozens of pages of detailed data tables documenting the volume and composition (chemical content and radionuclide activity) of the calcine stored in the CSSFs and the liquid waste from which the calcine was derived. This addendum report compiles the calcine composition data from the original report. It presents the compiled data in a graphical format with units (weight percent, curies per cubic meter, and nanocuries per gram) that are commonly used in regulatory and waste acceptance criteria documents. The compiled data are easier to use and understand when comparing the composition of the calcine with potential regulatory or waste acceptance criteria. This addendum report also provides detailed explanations for the large variability in the calcine composition among the CSSFs. The calcine composition varies as a result of reprocessing different types of fuel that had different cladding materials. Different chemicals were used to dissolve the various types of fuel, extract the uranium, and calcine the resulting waste. This resulted in calcine with variable compositions. This addendum report also identifies a few trace chemicals and radionuclides for which the accuracy of the amounts estimated to be in the calcine could be improved by making adjustments to the assumptions and methods used in making the estimates

Ursinus College Alumni Journal, July 1955

Commencement address 1955 • The college honors Dr. I. S. Leinbach • Ground broken for the new women\u27s dormitories • News from the registrar\u27s office • Armstrong preaches baccalaureate sermon • Summer program offered again at Ursinus • Meistersingers make spring tour • The magic hour May Day theme • New student union in Bomberger basement • Alpha Phi Omega campus project • Alumni celebrate graduation anniversary • Class of \u2755 elects permanent class officers • Keyser \u2710 and Krug \u2737 honored by educators • Alumni elect new officers for 1955-57 • York County alumni sponsor Noss film • J. A. Hunsicker \u2792 recipient of award • Regional alumni groups hold annual meetings • French Department faculty member active in research • Barbara Yerkes \u2749 teacher and friend of Bristol High students • Sports review • 1955 baseball season • 1955 tennis season • Varsity Club honors outstanding athletes • 1955 women\u27s sports • 1955 track season • Ursinus participates in Ford foundation program for teachers • Alumni participate in Red Lion jubilee • News about ourselves • Weddings • Birthshttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/alumnijournal/1052/thumbnail.jp

Local circuits targeting parvalbumin-containing interneurons in layer IV of rat barrel cortex

Interactions between inhibitory interneurons and excitatory spiny neurons and also other inhibitory cells represent fundamental network properties which cause the so-called thalamo-cortical response transformation and account for the well-known receptive field differences of cortical layer IV versus thalamic neurons. We investigated the currently largely unknown morphological basis of these interactions utilizing acute slice preparations of barrel cortex in P19-21 rats. Layer IV spiny (spiny stellate, star pyramidal and pyramidal) neurons or inhibitory (basket and bitufted) interneurons were electrophysiologically characterized and intracellularly biocytin-labeled. In the same slice, we stained parvalbumin-immunoreactive (PV-ir) interneurons as putative target cells after which the tissue was subjected to confocal image acquisition. Parallel experiments confirmed the existence of synaptic contacts in these types of connection by correlated light and electron microscopy. The axons of the filled neurons differentially targeted barrel PV-ir interneurons: (1) The relative number of all contacted PV-ir cells within the axonal sphere was 5–17% for spiny (n = 10), 32 and 58% for basket (n = 2) and 12 and 13% for bitufted (n = 2) cells. (2) The preferential subcellular site which was contacted on PV-ir target cells was somatic for four and dendritic for five spiny cells; for basket cells, there was a somatic and for bitufted cells a dendritic preference in each examined case. (3) The highest number of contacts on a single PV-ir cell was 9 (4 somatic and 5 dendritic) for spiny neurons, 15 (10 somatic and 5 dendritic) for basket cells and 4 (1 somatic and 3 dendritic) for bitufted cells. These patterns suggest a cell type-dependent communication within layer IV microcircuits in which PV-ir interneurons provide not only feed-forward but also feedback inhibition thus triggering the thalamo-cortical response transformation

ICPP Tank Farm planning through 2012

Historically, liquid high-level waste (HLW) generated at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant has been stored in the Tank Farm after which it is calcined with the calcine being stored in stainless steel bins. Following the curtailment of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing in 1992, the HLW treatment methods were re-evaluated to establish a path forward for producing a final waste form from the liquid sodium bearing wastes (SBW) and the HLW calcine. Projections for significant improvements in waste generation, waste blending and evaporation, and calcination were incorporated into the Tank Farm modeling. This optimized modeling shows that all of the SBW can be calcined by the end of 2012 as required by the Idaho Settlement Agreement. This Tank Farm plan discusses the use of each of the eleven HLW tanks and shows that two tanks can be emptied, allowing them to be Resource Conservation and Recovery Act closed by 2006. In addition, it describes the construction of each tank and vault, gives the chemical concentrations of the contents of each tank, based on historical input and some sampling, and discusses the regulatory drivers important to Tank Farm operation. It also discusses new waste generation, the computer model used for the Tank Farm planning, the operating schedule for each tank, and the schedule for when each tank will be empty and closed

Defining dual diagnosis : a qualitative study of the views of health care workers

Background: \u27Dual diagnosis\u27 is the term of choice in many countries to describe clients with co-occurring mental health and alcohol and other drug (AOD) issues. However, it is not known if its meaning is consistently represented within and across health care services. This uncertainty has significant implications for referral, consultation and research.Aim: To obtain information about the way that different health care professionals understand the term \u27dual diagnosis\u27.Method: Twenty-nine health care workers across five service types (medical, mental health, AOD, dual diagnosis and community health) in Victoria, Australia were interviewed about their understanding of the term \u27dual diagnosis\u27.Results: The findings indicated that service providers working in AOD and Mental Health had a shared general understanding of what was meant by \u27dual diagnosis\u27, despite uncertainties about more specific inclusion criteria. In contrast, medical and community health staff lacked a similar shared understanding, and were more likely to recommend change, but offered no consensus on alternatives.Conclusion: The results indicate that while the term \u27dual diagnosis\u27 has value in efficiently directing attention to the complexity of treatment issues, health practitioners cannot assume it will convey the intended meaning outside mental health or AOD services. Clear articulation of the intended definition may be a necessary requirement in wider health care communication. <br /

Ursinus College Alumni Journal, March 1958

What is college for? • Founders\u27 Day ceremonies honor Dean Camilla B. Stahr • Library receives grant • Chemistry Department receives DuPont grant • Women\u27s dormitory group dedicated • Dedication service • Language and the liberal arts • Ursinus Woman\u27s Club • New York area alumni change Spring dinner date • Alumni Day Saturday, June 7, 1958 • Reunion Committee chairmen • Lehigh Valley alumni to meet April 25 • May Day activities • January 1958 report of the Loyalty Fund campaign • Alumni funds in thirteen Pennsylvania colleges • Mid-year Loyalty Fund report • Philadelphia alumni hold fifth annual dinner dance • New Ursinus College alumni directory 1949-1957 • The Ursinus chair • Washington alumni plan banquet Friday, May 23, 1958 • Longacre scholarship • July issue: Alumni Journal • Winterthur Museum included in History Department curriculum • The campus song • Alumni elections • Soccer 1957 • Alumnae hockey team goes undefeated • Aucott, Stadler and Gros secure All American honors • Varsity Belles complete successful season • Football 1957 • Wrestling 1958 • News about ourselves • Weddings • Births • Necrology • Two chemical corporations announce gift matching programs • Collegeville alumni in local politics • 20th anniversary Messiahhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/alumnijournal/1061/thumbnail.jp