Properties of Healthcare Teaming Networks as a Function of Network Construction Algorithms

Network models of healthcare systems can be used to examine how providers collaborate, communicate, refer patients to each other. Most healthcare service network models have been constructed from patient claims data, using billing claims to link patients with providers. The data sets can be quite large, making standard methods for network construction computationally challenging and thus requiring the use of alternate construction algorithms. While these alternate methods have seen increasing use in generating healthcare networks, there is little to no literature comparing the differences in the structural properties of the generated networks. To address this issue, we compared the properties of healthcare networks constructed using different algorithms and the 2013 Medicare Part B outpatient claims data. Three different algorithms were compared: binning, sliding frame, and trace-route. Unipartite networks linking either providers or healthcare organizations by shared patients were built using each method. We found that each algorithm produced networks with substantially different topological properties. Provider networks adhered to a power law, and organization networks to a power law with exponential cutoff. Censoring networks to exclude edges with less than 11 shared patients, a common de-identification practice for healthcare network data, markedly reduced edge numbers and greatly altered measures of vertex prominence such as the betweenness centrality. We identified patterns in the distance patients travel between network providers, and most strikingly between providers in the Northeast United States and Florida. We conclude that the choice of network construction algorithm is critical for healthcare network analysis, and discuss the implications for selecting the algorithm best suited to the type of analysis to be performed.Comment: With links to comprehensive, high resolution figures and networks via figshare.co

The RunSmart Training Program: Effect on Oxygen Consumption and Lower Extremity Biomechanics During Running

As recreational running continues to gain popularity, more individuals are seeking ways to improve running performance. RunSmart is a running intervention program designed to enhance a runner’s form. In addition to correcting flaws in a runner’s form, RunSmart offers the opportunity for runners to continue a regular regimen while slowly integrating changes in form. The purpose of this case series was twofold: to determine if the RunSmart program coincides with improvements in oxygen consumption (VO2), a variable often associated with better running performance times, and to evaluate the RunSmart program in regard to enhancing gait biomechanics. Five recreational runners volunteered to participate in this program. Subjects initially reported to the clinic for an initial submaximal VO2 treadmill test and lower extremity biomechanical analysis. After the initial testing session, each subject attended one session of one-on-one individualized RunSmart instruction per week for 6 weeks. At the first RunSmart session, subjects received a biomechanical analysis to determine their foot strike pattern and areas of muscular weakness and range of motion limitations. Throughout the 6-week run-ning program, participants ran 5 days every week for predetermined times each day; 2 runs every week were designated as interval training runs. Subjects then underwent a follow-up submaximal VO2 treadmill test and lower extremity biomechanical analysis at the end of 6 weeks. Descriptive statistics were used to assess data pertaining to VO2 and biomechanical analysis and compare initial and follow-up testing sessions. Following completion of the RunSmart program, subjects demonstrated improvements in VO2 and also improved several biomechanical factors related to the lower extremity running gait. Based on the results from this case series, the RunSmart training program may have the potential to change a runner’s form and improve VO2, thus resulting in improved distance running times. However, this is speculation given the nonexperimental nature of this case series. Future research on this topic should include a greater number of participants in randomized controlled trials on injury prevention and running efficiency

Downscaling land-use data to provide global 30″ estimates of five land-use classes

Land‐use change is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity globally. The effects of land use on biodiversity manifest primarily at local scales which are not captured by the coarse spatial grain of current global land‐use mapping. Assessments of land‐use impacts on biodiversity across large spatial extents require data at a similar spatial grain to the ecological processes they are assessing. Here, we develop a method for statistically downscaling mapped land‐use data that combines generalized additive modeling and constrained optimization. This method was applied to the 0.5° Land‐use Harmonization data for the year 2005 to produce global 30″ (approx. 1 km2) estimates of five land‐use classes: primary habitat, secondary habitat, cropland, pasture, and urban. The original dataset was partitioned into 61 bio‐realms (unique combinations of biome and biogeographical realm) and downscaled using relationships with fine‐grained climate, land cover, landform, and anthropogenic influence layers. The downscaled land‐use data were validated using the PREDICTS database and the geoWiki global cropland dataset. Application of the new method to all 61 bio‐realms produced global fine‐grained layers from the 2005 time step of the Land‐use Harmonization dataset. Coarse‐scaled proportions of land use estimated from these data compared well with those estimated in the original datasets (mean R2: 0.68 ± 0.19). Validation with the PREDICTS database showed the new downscaled land‐use layers improved discrimination of all five classes at PREDICTS sites (P < 0.0001 in all cases). Additional validation of the downscaled cropping layer with the geoWiki layer showed an R2 improvement of 0.12 compared with the Land‐use Harmonization data. The downscaling method presented here produced the first global land‐use dataset at a spatial grain relevant to ecological processes that drive changes in biodiversity over space and time. Integrating these data with biodiversity measures will enable the reporting of land‐use impacts on biodiversity at a finer resolution than previously possible. Furthermore, the general method presented here could be useful to others wishing to downscale similarly constrained coarse‐resolution data for other environmental variables

Watson Brake, A Middle Archaic Mound Complex in Northeast Louisiana

Middle Archaic earthen mound complexes in the lower Mississippi valley are remote antecedents of the famous but much younger Poverty Point earthworks. Watson Brake is the largest and most complex of these early mound sites. Wry extensive coring and stratigraphic studies, aided by 25 radiocarbon dates and six huninescence dates, show that minor earthworks were begun here at ca. 3500 B.C. in association with an oval arrangement of burned rock middens at the edge of a stream terrace. The full extent of the first earthworks is not yet known. Substantial moundraising began ca. 3350 B.C. and continued in stages until some time after 3000 B.C. when the site was abandoned. All 11 mounds and their connecting ridges were occupied between building bursts. Soils,formed on some of these temporary surfaces, while lithics. fire-cracked rock. and,fired clay/loam objects became scattered throughout the mound fills. Faunal and floral remains from a basal midden indicate all-season occupation, supported by broad-spectrum foraging centered on nuts, fish, and deer All the overlying fills are so acidic that organics have not survived. The area enclosed by the mounds was kept clean of debris, suggesting its use as ritual space. The reasons why such elaborate activities first occurred here remain elusive. However some building bursts covary with very well-documented increases in El Nino/Southern Oscillation events. During such rapid increases in ENSO frequencies, rainfall becomes extremely erratic and unpredictable. It may be that early moundraising was a communal response to new stresses of droughts and flooding that created a suddenly more unpredictable food base

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Examining Perceptions and Priorities of Heavy-Duty Transportation Electrification Projects: How Considerations of Justice Can Improve Project Implementation in Environmental Justice Communities

ABSTRACTScope/Background The focus on deployed charging for EJCs1 has been largely facilitated by Senate Bill 350 (SB 350) or, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act. SB 350 mandates an allocation of proceeds to projects that provide a benefit to “disadvantaged communities (DACs)” with provisions requiring that these proceeds be given to projects located in EJCs. Research Gap Policy alone is not enough for constituents to visualize long-term benefits in a quantitative manner. Currently, there is no clear method for quantifying EJC benefits or evaluating whether money disbursed for EJCs was used for this purpose. This paper dissects the implications of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), particularly charging stations, installed near or within environmental justice communities (EJCs). It also considers possible methods of calculating benefits to EJCs in relation to electrification projects sought by investor-owned utilities (IOUs) and energy regulators. Research Questions This paper investigates and offers suggestions to support the actualization of tangible benefits for EJCs through the implementation of TE programs. The associated research questions are: 1. Does the allocation of funds spent through SB 350 target the correct areas of investment necessary to support EJCs? 2. How are public and private investments in EJCs informed by the barriers associated with ensuring energy justice, transportation justice, and equity? 3. How do the perceptions and priorities of stakeholders inform the implementation of TE programs? By considering each of these research questions, this paper also provides additional clarity for policymakers who work closely with EJCs in creating regulations that best serve their needs. Methods In order to frame the importance of energy justice considerations in relation to SB 350’s focus on EJCs, a literature review was done to connect energy justice to the implementation of transportation electrification (TE) projects and the growth of initiatives centered on heavy-duty EVSE. This literature review was then used to inform the creation of metrics for use in the evaluation of equity implications within SB 350’s projects and their consideration of impacts to EJCs. Key Findings TE projects focused on HDVs should primarily consider the economic advancement of EJCs and the tangible benefits associated with this advancement. Key Policy Takeaways The success of TE implementation is contingent on the success of community engagement and communication across all disciplines and professions that not only sufficiently acknowledges the needs of all stakeholders, but also holds itself accountable through implementation strategies that can be tracked and measured. In this way, the distribution of benefits will be more equitable and socially responsible. Strategies that increase the autonomy of EJCs will be of great benefit to policymakers as this will allow for more nuanced TE implementation that covers all areas of interest that address the most prominent needs of EJCs. Keywords: EV, EVSE, DAC, EJC, charging stations, adoption, transportation electrification, heavy-duty vehicles, energy justice, transportation justice, equity Acknowledgements: I would like to sincerely thank Prof. Alissa Kendall, Prof. Deb Niemeier, and Prof. Jesus M. Barajas for their support and guidance in the completion of this thesis. I appreciate you all for helping me grow as a research scholar. I would also like to thank the Energy and Efficiency Institute (EEI), the Energy Graduate Group (EGG), and the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) for supporting me and providing opportunities for both professional and personal growth during my time at UC Davis. I would like to especially thank Prof. Alissa Kendall, Annemarie Schaaf, Ali Loge, and Ben Finkelor for their leadership and support in helping to keep EEI, EGG, and ITS running, connecting students to amazing opportunities, and providing a caring environment. I would also like to thank the people that I was fortunate enough to meet and get to know during my time at UC Davis for their friendship and encouragement. You have all been an inspiration to me, and I cannot wait to see the things you’ll all accomplish in the future! Lastly, I would like to thank my family for their continued love, support, and encouragement during this time. You always uplift me and encourage me to keep going for my goals. You all have given me so much strength. I am very thankful to have you all in my life, and I love you all very much! The research conducted and detailed throughout this paper was made possible in part by the support of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation (NCST) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) through the “Improving Our Understanding of Transport Electrification Benefits for Disadvantaged Communities” research project

Step Into STEAM : Your Standards-Based Action Plan for Deepening Mathematics and Science Learning, Grades K-5

Make the most of your limited instructional time and become part of the Step into STEAM movement! Seamlessly design and implement K-5 STEAM inquiries that align carefully to key mathematics and science content and practices and prepare elementary students for their bright futures. Taking an opposite approach to existing resources that provide collections of disjointed STEAM activities, this book empowers teachers and schools to build cohesive and sustainable STEAM infrastructures―grounded in grade-level standards and purposeful assessment―to deepen the mathematics and science learning of each and every student.https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/fac_book_gallery/1049/thumbnail.jp

*WINNER* Caribbean Delphinidae Click Classifications

This research focuses on identifying animals of the Delphinidae family found in the Caribbean by analyzing acoustic signals. Delphinids produce large numbers of acoustic signals identified as echolocation clicks which provides a useful classification system. Recent studies have established that the fundamental frequency of the majority of whistles used for social communications covers the frequency range of 2–35 kHz and up to 100 kHz for the harmonic frequencies. The challenge in click classification results from recognizing patterns among many sources of variability. Our findings will be presented by figures of network relationships between clicks and a detailed exploratory analysis to highlight clusters and subsets of training and test data along with clustering algorithms