Geospatial Analysis of Spatial Patterns of U.S. Hospital Readmission Rates

Unplanned hospital readmission after a recent hospitalization is an indication of poor healthcare quality and a waste of healthcare resources. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) initiated the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) to improve healthcare quality and reduce costs; however, studies found the risk adjustment method used in calculating the standardized readmission rate was less accurate without hospital region or community factors. Accordingly, this cross-sectional quantitative study was designed to examine spatial patterns in hospital readmission rates following Andersen\u27s behavioral model of health service utilization. This study was the first geospatial analysis on risk standardized hospital readmissions (RSRR) based on hospital geographic locations. Secondary data from the CMS was used in assessing the global and local geospatial cluster patterns using Global Moran\u27s Index, Anselin local Moran\u27s Index, and graphical analysis tool to identify cluster groups. The study found hospital-wide RSRR was significantly clustered across the country or at the local level. A total of 15 optimal cluster groups were identified with wide variability in cluster size. The hospital-wide and other seven CMS published RSRRs were significantly different among all clusters. The geographically bounded hospital RSRRs provided evidence in support of adding community or regional layer to risk adjustment of RSRR. The specific cluster groups with extremely high or low readmission rates can assist national and local policymakers and hospital administrators to identify specific targets to take actions. This research has social change implications for reducing hospital readmission rates and saving healthcare costs

Character of frustration on magnetic correlation in doped Hubbard model

The magnetic correlation in the Hubbard model on a two-dimensional anisotropic triangular lattice is studied by using the determinant quantum Monte Carlo method. Around half filling, it is found that the increasing frustration $t'/t$ could change the wave vector of maximum spin correlation along ($\pi,\pi$)$\rightarrow$($\pi,\frac{5\pi}{6}$)$\rightarrow$($\frac{5\pi}{6},\frac{5\pi}{6}$)$\rightarrow$ ($\frac{2\pi}{3},\frac{2\pi}{3}$), indicating the frustration's remarkable effect on the magnetism. In the studied filling region =1.0-1.3, the doping behaves like some kinds of {\it{frustration}}, which destroys the $(\pi,\pi)$ AFM correlation quickly and push the magnetic order to a wide range of the $(\frac{2\pi}{3},\frac{2\pi}{3})$ $120^{\circ}$ order when the $t'/t$ is large enough. Our non-perturbative calculations reveal a rich magnetic phase diagram over both the frustration and electron doping.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Light Field Saliency Detection with Deep Convolutional Networks

Light field imaging presents an attractive alternative to RGB imaging because of the recording of the direction of the incoming light. The detection of salient regions in a light field image benefits from the additional modeling of angular patterns. For RGB imaging, methods using CNNs have achieved excellent results on a range of tasks, including saliency detection. However, it is not trivial to use CNN-based methods for saliency detection on light field images because these methods are not specifically designed for processing light field inputs. In addition, current light field datasets are not sufficiently large to train CNNs. To overcome these issues, we present a new Lytro Illum dataset, which contains 640 light fields and their corresponding ground-truth saliency maps. Compared to current light field saliency datasets [1], [2], our new dataset is larger, of higher quality, contains more variation and more types of light field inputs. This makes our dataset suitable for training deeper networks and benchmarking. Furthermore, we propose a novel end-to-end CNN-based framework for light field saliency detection. Specifically, we propose three novel MAC (Model Angular Changes) blocks to process light field micro-lens images. We systematically study the impact of different architecture variants and compare light field saliency with regular 2D saliency. Our extensive comparisons indicate that our novel network significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods on the proposed dataset and has desired generalization abilities on other existing datasets.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figure

Nitrato[N,N,N′,N′-tetra­kis(1H-benzimid­azol-2-ylmeth­yl)ethane-1,2-diamine]­calcium(II) nitrate methanol trisolvate

In the title compound, [Ca(NO3)(C34H32N10)]NO3·3CH4O, the CaII ion is coordinated by six N atoms of the EDTB ligand {EDTB is N,N,N′,N′-tetra­kis[(2-benzimidazol­yl)meth­yl]-1,2-ethanediamine} and two O atoms from the nitrate ligand, to form a distorted dodeca­hedral geometry. The crystal packing is stabilized by inter­molecular N—H⋯O, N—H⋯N and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, which link the constituent units into a three-dimensional network. The uncoordinated nitrate anion is disordered over two sites, with fixed occupancies of 0.77 and 0.23

Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Studies of Elacestrant, A Novel Oral Selective Estrogen Receptor Degrader, in Healthy Post-Menopausal Women

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Advanced estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer is currently treated with endocrine therapy. Elacestrant is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective estrogen receptor degrader with complex dose-related ER agonist/antagonist activity that is being developed as a treatment option for ER+ breast cancer. METHODS: Two first-in-human phase 1 studies of elacestrant in healthy postmenopausal women (Study 001/Study 004) were conducted to determine its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile as well as its safety and maximum tolerated dose. RESULTS: In total, 140 postmenopausal subjects received at least one dose of study drug (114 received elacestrant and 26 received placebo). Single-ascending dose and multiple-ascending dose assessments showed that doses up to 1000 mg daily were safe and well tolerated, and the maximum tolerated dose was not reached. Oral administration of elacestrant had an absolute bioavailability of 10% and a mean half-life ranging from 27 to 47 h, reaching steady state after 5-6 days. Mean occupancy of the ER in the uterus after seven daily doses was 83% for 200 mg and 92% for 500 mg daily. The median ratio of elacestrant concentrations in the cerebral spinal fluid vs. plasma was 0.126% (500 mg dose) and 0.205% (200 mg dose). Most adverse events were related to the upper gastrointestinal tract. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that elacestrant has good bioavailability when administered orally with a half-life that supports once-daily administration. Engagement of the ER and some ability to cross the blood-brain barrier was demonstrated in addition to an acceptable safety profile

Correction to:Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Studies of Elacestrant, A Novel Oral Selective Estrogen Receptor Degrader, in Healthy Post-Menopausal Women (European Journal of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, (2020), 45, 5, (675-689), 10.1007/s13318-020-00635-3)

Authors would like to correct the errors in table 2

Breviscapine alleviates MPP+-induced damage and apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells by activating Nrf2 pathway

Purpose: To investigate the role and mechanism of action of breviscapine (Brp) in 1-methyl-4- phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+)-induced cell injury in human neuroblastoma cell line, SH-SY5Y.Methods: The injury on SH-SY5Y cells was induced using MPP+. Cell viability and apoptotic ability were determined by CCK8 assay and Annexin V/PI staining, respectively. Protein expressions of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and its related downstream proteins - hemeoxygenase 1(HO-1) and NAD(P)H-quinoneoxido reductase 1(NQO1), were determined using Western blotting.Results: Brp dose-dependently attenuated MPP+ induced reduction in the viability of SH SY5Y cells, but alleviated MPP+-induced oxidative stress (OS) and cell injury, as evidenced by the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), and dopaminetransporter (DAT) (p < 0.05). Brp decreased the amount of apoptotic cells induced by MPP+, as well as the protein levels of Bax and cleaved-caspase 3, and also induced the activation of Nrf2 signaling pathway (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Brp alleviates MPP+-induced cellular damage and cell apoptosis in SH-SY5Y cells by activating Nrf2 pathway. Thus, Brp is a potential therapeutic candidate for the treatment of PD