scholarly journals The Importance of Spatial Data to Open-Access National Archaeological Databases and the Development of Paleodemography Research

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick Robinson ◽  
Christopher Nicholson ◽  
Robert L. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Past ◽  
Generous Support

AbstractWith generous support from the National Science Foundation, we have spent the past four years developing an archaeological radiocarbon database for the United States. Here, we highlight the importance of spatial data for open-access, national-scale archaeological databases and the development of paleodemography research. We propose a new method for analyzing radiocarbon time series in the context of paleoclimate models. This method forces us to confront one of the central challenges to realizing the full potential of national-scale databases: the quality of the spatial data accompanying radiocarbon dates. We seek to open a national discussion on the use of spatial data in open-source archaeological databases.

scholarly journals The Value of Citizen Science in Increasing Our Knowledge of Under-Sampled Biodiversity: An Overview of Public Documentation of Auchenorrhyncha and the Hoppers of North Carolina

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle D. Kittelberger ◽  
Solomon V. Hendrix ◽  
Çağan Hakkı Şekercioğlu
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
The United States ◽  
Undescribed Species ◽  
The Past ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Temporal And Spatial

Due to the increasing popularity of websites specializing in nature documentation, there has been a surge in the number of people enthusiastic about observing and documenting nature over the past 2 decades. These citizen scientists are recording biodiversity on unprecedented temporal and spatial scales, rendering data of tremendous value to the scientific community. In this study, we investigate the role of citizen science in increasing knowledge of global biodiversity through the examination of notable contributions to the understanding of the insect suborder Auchenorrhyncha, also known as true hoppers, in North America. We have compiled a comprehensive summary of citizen science contributions—published and unpublished—to the understanding of hopper diversity, finding over fifty previously unpublished country and state records as well as dozens of undescribed and potentially undescribed species. We compare citizen science contributions to those published in the literature as well as specimen records in collections in the United States and Canada, illuminating the fact that the copious data afforded by citizen science contributions are underutilized. We also introduce the website Hoppers of North Carolina, a revolutionary new benchmark for tracking hopper diversity, disseminating knowledge from the literature, and incorporating citizen science. Finally, we provide a series of recommendations for both the entomological community and citizen science platforms on how best to approach, utilize, and increase the quality of sightings from the general public.

scholarly journals Publication Trends on Mitophagy in the World and China: A 16-Year Bibliometric Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingli Chen ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
Yifan Jia ◽  
Zhongyuan Xia ◽  
Jishi Ye
Keyword(s):  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Progress ◽  
Publication Trends ◽  
Quality Of Results ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World

In the past 16 years, research on mitophagy has increasingly expanded to a wider range of subjects. Therefore, comprehensively analyzing the relevant progress and development trends on mitophagy research requires specific methods. To assess the hotspots, directions, and quality of results in this field worldwide, we used multiple tools to examine research progress and growing trends in research on the matter during the last 16 years (from 2005 to 2020). We also compared the quantity and quality of the literature records on mitophagy published by research institutions in China and other developed countries, reviewed China’s contribution, and examined the gap between China and these developed countries. According to the results of our bibliometric analysis, the United States and its research institutes published the most papers. We identified cell biology as the most commonly researched subject on mitophagy and AUTOPHAGY as the most popular journal for research on mitophagy. We also listed the most cited documents from around the world and China. With gradually increased funding, China is progressively becoming prominent in the field of mitophagy; nevertheless, the gap between her and major countries in the world must be closed.

Use of Geo-Information in Environmental Policy

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-58
Author(s):  
Wies Vullings ◽  
Jandirk Bulens ◽  
Dennis Walvoort
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Spatial Thinking ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Data Infrastructure

To date, use of the full potential of geo-information is not often applied in the daily practice of policy makers. The main questions explored by this research are: Why is geo-information not widely used in policy and how can this be improved? A conceptual framework was developed to evaluate the use of geo-information. For five cases, the use of geo-information was evaluated by means of this framework. The results of the evaluation, as well as the usefulness of the framework, are discussed. Recommendations on spatial thinking and practice, availability and quality of a spatial data infrastructure and implementation of new geo-applications in policy-making are also made.

Joint programmes in paediatric cardiothoracic surgery: a survey and descriptive analysis

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (S2) ◽  
pp. 159-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. DeCampli
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Past ◽  
Perceived Success ◽  
Primary Hospital ◽  
Primary Institutions ◽  
Cardiac Surgeons ◽  
And Function

AbstractBackgroundJoint programmes, as opposed to regionalisation of paediatric cardiac care, may improve outcomes while preserving accessibility. We determined the prevalence and nature of joint programmes.MethodsWe sent an online survey to 125 paediatric cardiac surgeons in the United States in November, 2009 querying the past or present existence of a joint programme, its mission, structure, function, and perceived success.ResultsA total of 65 surgeon responses from 65 institutions met the criteria for inclusion. Of the 65 institutions, 22 currently or previously conducted a joint programme. Compared with primary institutions, partner institutions were less often children's hospitals (p = 0.0004), had fewer paediatric beds (p = 0.005), and performed fewer cardiac cases (p = 0.03). Approximately 47% of partner hospitals performed fewer than 50 cases per year. The median distance range between hospitals was 41–60 miles, ranging from 5 to 1000 miles. Approximately 54% of partner hospitals had no surgeon working primarily on-site, and 31% of the programmes conducted joint conferences. Approximately 67% of the programmes limited the complexity of cases at the partner hospital, and 83% of the programmes had formal contracts between hospitals. Of the six programmes whose main mission was to increase referrals to the primary hospital, three were felt to have failed. Of the nine programmes whose mission was to increase regional quality, eight were felt to be successful.ConclusionJoint programmes in paediatric cardiac surgery are common but are heterogeneous in structure and function. Programmes whose mission is to improve the quality of regional care seem more likely to succeed. Joint programmes may be a practical alternative to regionalisation to achieve better outcomes.

scholarly journals At the Click of a Button

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Azadbakht ◽  
Teresa Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Research University ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Research ◽  
Usability Study ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
The Past ◽  
Browser Extension ◽  
Public Research University

A number of browser extension tools have emerged in the past decade aimed at helping information seekers find open versions of scholarly articles when they hit a paywall, including Open Access Button, Lazy Scholar, Kopernio, and Unpaywall. While librarians have written numerous reviews of these products, no one has yet conducted a usability study on these tools. This article details a usability study involving six undergraduate students and six faculty at a large public research university in the United States. Participants were tasked with installing each of the four tools as well as trying them out on three test articles. Both students and faculty tended to favor simple, clean design elements and straightforward functionality that enabled them to use the tools with limited instruction. Participants familiar with other browser extensions gravitated towards tools like Open Access Button, whereas those less experienced with other extensions preferred tools that load automatically, such as Unpaywall.

Archaeology and the Ainu

1959 ◽  
Vol 24 (4Part1) ◽  
pp. 426-427
Author(s):  
Howard A. MacCord
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Army ◽  
The United States ◽  
Western World ◽  
Past Century ◽  
National Museum ◽  
Southwestern Part ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Many

At the present time little is known in the Western world about the archaeology of Hokkaido, Japan. Groot (1951) is of limited value for most of his explorations were in the Tokyo area. This dearth of evidence is extremely regrettable in view of the so-called "Ainu problem" about which so many speculations have been published during the past century. During 1953-54 while stationed in Hokkaido with the United States Army, I explored and visited a number of prehistoric sites and made several collections which are now in the U. S. National Museum. Of the many sites visited, three in the southwestern part of Hokkaido in the Sapporo area were chosen for partial excavation. Radiocarbon dates for these sites were determined by the U. S. Geological Survey Radiocarbon Laboratory through the courtesy of Meyer Rubin.

Horizontal Mergers in the United States Health Field: Some Practical Realities

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. P. Weil
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Horizontal Mergers ◽  
Health Networks ◽  
General Management ◽  
The Past ◽  
Regulatory Strategies ◽  
The Us ◽  
Integration Of Services ◽  
Health Field

During the past decade, ‘merger mania’ has been a striking trend in the US health field as a strategy to improve the integration of services, to reduce expenses, and to increase the ability of providers to manage risk-based payment. However, during the past quarter of a century limited operational and fiscal evidence has been published in both the health and general management literature that strongly supports the efficacy of horizontal mergers. This article further argues that a likely scenario over the next decade, in spite of disappointments among these mergers in effecting significant cost reductions, is for the US health networks to continue acquiring additional providers and insurers. After these alliances gain significant market penetration, they are expected to behave as oligopolists. For these mergers to eventually achieve their earlier projected savings, the health field's leadership will be forced to implement cost-cutting measures such as: more vigorously coordinating the network's key clinical services to reduce competition for revenues among the partners within an alliance, closing superfluous hospitals and centralizing expensive tertiary services, encouraging surplus physicians to relocate to under-served areas, and providing direction to carefully integrate the best elements of what the competitive and regulatory strategies are able to offer to improve access, social equity, quality of care, and to reduce total health expenditures.

scholarly journals Longevity and personality in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew M Altschul ◽  
James E King ◽  
Miho Inoue-Murayama ◽  
Stephen R Ross ◽  
Alexander Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Personality Factor ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
All Cause Mortality ◽  
Accelerated Failure ◽  
Personality Questionnaires

Over the past 20 years, the study of personality has blossomed within primatology. Rating inventories have been extensively used across species to identify personality factor structures for different species. Chimpanzees share a common six-factor structure, composed of Dominance, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Extraversion, have been tied to positive effects on overall health and longevity in humans, while Neuroticism is associated with shorter life span. In captive gorillas, Extraversion alone is associated with longevity. We undertook a study of all captive, personality questionnaire-rated chimpanzees; the Chimpanzee and Hominoid Personality Questionnaires have been used to assess almost 600 chimpanzees from Europe, Australia, Japan, and the United States. With these data we investigated which personality dimensions and other life history characteristics might predict all-cause mortality. In an accelerated failure survival analysis, we found a strong effect of Extraversion (b = -4.74, p<0.0001), as well as lesser but significant effects of Agreeableness (b = 2.87, p<0.01) and Dominance (b = 1.64, p<0.05). Female and wild born chimpanzees appear to also live significantly longer (ps<0.01). The robustness of an animal's social network and the quality of its social interactions play a role in the health of social organisms. This is reflected in the importance of Extraversion for gorilla and chimpanzee health, and Agreeableness and Dominance for chimpanzees. Yet, the effect of Agreeableness is also similar to what has been found in humans.

scholarly journals Trends and Disparities in Quality of Diabetes Care in the US: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2016

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Shweta Kamat ◽  
Yolene Gousse ◽  
Jagannath Muzumdar ◽  
Anna Gu
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Diabetes Care ◽  
Low Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Density Lipoprotein ◽  
The United States ◽  
Original Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Diabetes Educator ◽  
Quality Of Diabetes Care

Objectives: To examine trends and disparities in the quality of diabetes care among US adults with diabetes. Methods: Individuals aged 20 years or older with diabetes from NHANES (1999-2016) were included in the study. Quality indicators for diabetes care included Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) < 8%, Blood Pressure (BP) < 130/80 mm Hg, Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL-C) < 100 mg/dL, triglycerides < 150 mg/dL, receiving eye and foot examinations in the past year, and meeting with a diabetes educator in the past year. Results: A total of 7,521 adults with diabetes were identified. During the 18-year study period, significant improvements in diabetes care were observed in the overall study sample. Adjusted regression analyses showed that compared with their White counterparts, Blacks were more likely to have received eye (OR=1.37; P=0.01) and foot (OR=1.42;P=0.01) examinations and met a diabetes educator (OR=1.40;P<0.01) over the past year. However, Blacks were significantly less likely to achieve treatment goals for HbA1c (OR=0.77, P=0.02), BP (OR=0.75, P<0.01), LDL-C (OR=0.68, P<0.01). Hispanics in general had suboptimal healthcare utilization for diabetes but the Hispanic-white disparities in diabetes care outcomes were attenuated after controlling for patient sociodemographic, clinical and utilization characteristics. Overall, suboptimal quality of diabetes care were particularly prominent among adults without health insurance and those with lower educational attainment. Conclusions: In the United States, despite persistent efforts, racial disparities in quality of diabetes care still persist. Lack of health insurance and lower socioeconomic status are among the strongest predictors of poor quality of diabetes care. These findings provide valuable information in developing policies and practices to promote racial equity in diabetes care.    Article Type: Original Research

scholarly journals Longevity and personality in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew M Altschul ◽  
James E King ◽  
Miho Inoue-Murayama ◽  
Stephen R Ross ◽  
Alexander Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Personality Factor ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
All Cause Mortality ◽  
Accelerated Failure ◽  
Personality Questionnaires

Over the past 20 years, the study of personality has blossomed within primatology. Rating inventories have been extensively used across species to identify personality factor structures for different species. Chimpanzees share a common six-factor structure, composed of Dominance, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Extraversion, have been tied to positive effects on overall health and longevity in humans, while Neuroticism is associated with shorter life span. In captive gorillas, Extraversion alone is associated with longevity. We undertook a study of all captive, personality questionnaire-rated chimpanzees; the Chimpanzee and Hominoid Personality Questionnaires have been used to assess almost 600 chimpanzees from Europe, Australia, Japan, and the United States. With these data we investigated which personality dimensions and other life history characteristics might predict all-cause mortality. In an accelerated failure survival analysis, we found a strong effect of Extraversion (b = -4.74, p<0.0001), as well as lesser but significant effects of Agreeableness (b = 2.87, p<0.01) and Dominance (b = 1.64, p<0.05). Female and wild born chimpanzees appear to also live significantly longer (ps<0.01). The robustness of an animal's social network and the quality of its social interactions play a role in the health of social organisms. This is reflected in the importance of Extraversion for gorilla and chimpanzee health, and Agreeableness and Dominance for chimpanzees. Yet, the effect of Agreeableness is also similar to what has been found in humans.

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