The contingency of medicare physician spending on population densities and sizes

The exploration of the spatial association between Medicare physician spending and population densities and sizes could possibly facilitate the investigation of the causal mechanisms beneath the variation in medical care. We acquired the U.S. Medicare physician expenditures and regional demographic and geographic data in 2006 from the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. Six geographic units—states, counties, Hospital Referral Regions, Hospital Service Areas, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and state non-Metropolitan Statistical Areas—were used as units of study. Pearson correlation analysis, multivariable regression, and partial correlation analysis were employed. Among six geographic units, Pearson correlation coefficients between Medicare physician expenditures and logarithmic population densities ranged from 0.42 to 0.63 (p < 0.05 for all), and between the expenditures and logarithmic population sizes from 0.31 to 0.65 (p < 0.05 for all). When population health, differential demand, market structure, and data reporting bias were controlled, population densities and sizes were positively associated with Medicare physician expenditures in most models. Population densities and sizes could explain considerable amounts of regional variation in Medicare physician spending. We concluded that Medicare physician spending was contingent on population densities and sizes. Because population densities and sizes are produced by more fundamental qualities such as natural environments and resources and thus are not easily manipulated, they are suggestive in health policy studies. Further research might investigate population distribution associated properties such as geographic distribution of health care resources, spatial dynamics of medical technology distribution, and cultural and psychological factors.     

Diagenesis and hydrocarbon emplacement in the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation tight sandstones in the southern Ordos Basin,China

The Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation in the southern Ordos Basin is a tight sandstone but productive hydrocarbon exploration target. A variety of analyses, including thin-sections, cathodoluminescence (CL), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), fluorescence, isotope and fluid inclusion, have been used to analyse the reservoir petrology and diagenesis to understand the evolution of reservoir porosity. The sandstones are mostly feldspathic litharenites and lithic arkoses with low porosities (7.6% on average) and extremely low permeabilities (0.49 mD on average). A complex diagenetic alteration history of the reservoir caused different kinds of reduction in reservoir porosity. The carbonate cements are sourced from adjacent organic-rich mudstone and precipitated with a higher content near the edges of sandstone units and a lower content at the centres of sandstone units, resulting in two different diagenetic evolution paths. The analysis of porosity evolution history and hydrocarbon emplacement produced the following conclusions: (1) during the eodiagenesis period, mechanical compaction reduced the primary porosity dramatically from 40 to 19%; and (2) during the mesodiagenesis period, the first-phase oil charged the reservoir (porosity ranging from 14 to 19%) as bitumen along detrital grains forming a preferential pathway for subsequent oil emplacements. In the second-phase of oil charge, the reservoir porosity ranged from 9 to 14% limiting water–rock reactions. During the third-phase of oil charge, porosity of the reservoir remained at 9%. In general, the densification period (with a porosity close to 10%) of the reservoir occurs at the same time as the major oil emplacement and may be an explanation for the low oil saturation of the Chang 8 tight sandstone.     

Experimental research on the effect of slope morphology on bank collapse in mountain reservoir

Farmers along the Amazon River each year face multiple natural hazards that threaten crop production and limit the potential for agricultural development of the expansive floodplain and active channel. In this paper we report the findings of a study of natural hazard-related risk associated with rice production on silt bars in the active channel of the Amazon River near Iquitos, Peru. Data were gathered in four rice producing communities in 2014 using household surveys (n = 83 households), focus group discussions, surveying of land elevations along the Amazon River, and interpretation of remote sensing imagery. The probability, extent, and severity of rice crop shortfalls were estimated for recent production years and the economic losses to farming households were also assessed. Our findings point to a very high risk of crop shortfalls due to natural hazards, suggesting that a good year brings rice farmers bounty and a bad year, near penury. River stage reversals (repiquetes) and edaphic conditions were found to be more problematic than the often cited hazard of high and/or early floods. Also surprisingly, farmers’ perceptions of hazards and risk diverged markedly from actual shortfalls experienced during the production years studied. Our results provide the first quantitative estimates of risk due to the multiple natural hazards along the Amazon River and point to the need to assist lowland farmers with risk mitigation so as to unlock the considerable potential of Amazon floodlands for agricultural production.     

Modeling coastal tsunami hazard from submarine mass failures: effect of slide rheology,experimental validation,and case studies off the US East Coast

Natural Hazards - We perform numerical simulations to assess how coastal tsunami hazard from submarine mass failures (SMFs) is affected by slide kinematics and rheology. Two types of two-layer SMF...     

磨刀门河口洪季波生流及其泄洪影响

磨刀门已由"径流型"向"径流-波浪型"河口转变,波浪已是该河口主要动力之一,但波浪对河口洪季水流及泄洪的影响缺少研究。在2-D潮流数学模型中添加随潮位实时变化的波浪辐射应力,建立波浪潮流耦合数学模型;波浪求解采用缓坡方程,背景水深由潮流模型实时提供,可通过比较考虑和未考虑波浪影响的河口流场来分析波浪对泄洪的影响。在年均常浪作用下,磨刀门河口洪季涨落潮阶段均有明显的波生环流结构。由于波浪作用方向向陆,波生流减弱了浅滩区的向海余流,增大了浅滩向陆余流;受浅滩向海余流减弱影响,河口动力自调整后形成归槽水流,促使深槽内向海余流增大。波浪有顶托河口泄洪之势,可改变滩槽泄洪分配比例;年均常浪的波高较小,其对潮流及泄洪的影响区域限制在浅水区,故对泄洪的负面影响有限。     

稳健总体最小二乘Helmert方差分量估计

对于总体最小二乘而言,经常需要处理不同精度或者不同类型的观测数据,根据先验方差来定权往往不准确,同时观测数据中可能含有粗差。针对这两个问题,提出稳健总体最小二乘Helmert方差分量估计,将稳健估计和Helmert方差分量估计同时应用于总体最小二乘中。最后通过两个实验的计算结果表明,该方法是可行的、有效的。     

Sources of uncertainty in exploring rangeland phenology: A case study in an alpine meadow on the central Tibetan Plateau

Global climate change has been found to substantially influence the phenology of rangeland, especially on the Tibetan Plateau. However, there is considerable controversy about the trends and causes of rangeland phenology owing to different phenological exploration methods and lack of ground validation. Little is known about the uncertainty in the exploration accuracy of vegetation phenology. Therefore, in this study, we selected a typical alpine rangeland near Damxung national meteorological station as a case study on central Tibetan Plateau, and identified several important sources influencing phenology to better understand their effects on phenological exploration. We found man-made land use was not easily distinguished from natural rangelands, and therefore this may confound phenological response to climate change in the rangeland. Change trends of phenology explored by four methods were similar, but ratio threshold method (RTM) was more suitable for exploring vegetation phenology in terms of the beginning of growing season (BGS) and end of growing season (EGS). However, some adjustments are needed when RTM is used in extreme drought years. MODIS NDVI/EVI dataset was most suitable for exploring vegetation phenology of BGS and EGS. The discrimination capacities of vegetation phenology declined with decreasing resolution of remote sensing images from MODIS to GIMMS AVHRR datasets. Additionally, distinct trends of phenological change rates were indicated in different terrain conditions, with advance of growing season in high altitudes but delay of season in lower altitudes. Therefore, it was necessary to eliminate interference of complex terrain and man-made land use to ensure the representativeness of natural vegetation. Moreover, selecting the appropriate method to explore rangelands and fully considering the impact of topography are important to accurately analyze the effects of climate change on vegetation phenology.     

Influence of white spot syndrome virus infection on hepatopancreas gene expression of ‘Huanghai No. 2’ shrimp (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Fenneropenaeus chinensis</Emphasis>)

To elucidate the molecular response of shrimp hepatopancreas to white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection, microarray was applied to investigate the differentially expressed genes in the hepatopancreas of ‘Huanghai No. 2’ (Fenneropenaeus chinensis). A total of 59137 unigenes were designed onto a custom-made 60K Agilent chip. After infection, the gene expression profiles in the hepatopancreas of the shrimp with a lower viral load at early (48–96 h), peak (168–192 h) and late (264–288 h) infection phases were analyzed. Of 18704 differentially expressed genes, 6412 were annotated. In total, 5453 differentially expressed genes (1916 annotated) expressed at all three phases, and most of the annotated were either up- or down-regulated continuously. These genes function diversely in, for example, immune response, cytoskeletal system, signal transduction, stress resistance, protein synthesis and processing, metabolism among others. Some of the immune-related genes, including antilipopolysaccharide factor, Kazal-type proteinase inhibitor, C-type lectin and serine protease encoding genes, were up-regulated after WSSV infection. These genes have been reported to be involved in the anti-WSSV responses. The expression of genes related to the cytoskeletal system, including β-actin and myosin but without tubulin genes, were down-regulated after WSSV infection. Astakine was found for the first time in the WSSV-infected F. chinensis. To further confirm the expression of differentially expressed genes, quantitative real-time PCR was performed to test the expression of eight randomly selected genes and verified the reliability and accuracy of the microarray expression analysis. The data will provide valuable information to understanding the immune mechanism of shrimp’s response to WSSV.     

Isolation and characterization of melanin pigment from yesso scallop <Emphasis Type="Italic">Patinopecten yessoensis</Emphasis>

Melanin is one of the essential compounds in the pigments of molluscan shells. However, the effects of melanin on color variations in molluscs are largely unknown. Our previous study suggests that Yesso scallop Patinopecten yessoensis might contain melanin pigment in the dark brown shell. We therefore isolated melanin from the pigmented shells using hydrochloric acid method, and characterized the types of melanin pigments by spectrophotometry. The purified melanin, which was verified by spectrophotometry scanning and HPLC analysis, showed the typical characteristics of melanin absorption spectra and HPLC chromatograms. The contents of pheomelanin and eumelanin in pigmented shells, which were determined by the linear standard curve of melanin at 405 nm and 350 nm absorbance, were 48.23 ± 1.350 and 157.65 ± 5.905 mg, respectively. The present results indicate that the brown-pigmented shells of scallops comprise approximately 76.6% of eumelanin and 23.4% of pheomelanin, which supports the presence of eumelanin-rich pigment in scallop shells. Therefore, the combination of hydrochloric acid extraction and spectrophotometric quantification is a rapid and efficient method to isolate and quantify melanin in shells. This will facilitate the melanin studies related to shell color polymorphism and the selective breeding of bivalves with different shell colors.     

GRACE卫星观测到的与汶川Ms8.0地震有关的重力变化

利用GRACE卫星重力资料,计算了中国大陆及周边的卫星重力时变场和地表密度变化分布,获取了具有代表性的点位区域的每月重力变化时间序列.同时获得了WUSH、LHAS、KUNM、LUZH站相对于区域参考框架的GPS位移时间序列.卫星重力观测结果显示喜马拉雅弧形带的重力在2004年苏门答腊M_w9.3地震后快速下降, 2006~2008年尤为明显,西域地块西北边界带上震后重力下降也较为显著;而沿青藏高原北至东边界2007年出现明显的重力上升沿构造边界的弧形分布,且2008年南北地震带中南段重力上升变化显著.这些苏门答腊地震后的重力变化趋势到汶川地震发生后才开始改变.GPS位移结果显示四个台站均记录到苏门答腊大地震的同震信号,震后WUSH、LHAS、KUNM站水平位移向量出现明显的运动趋势改变,且一直持续到2008年汶川M_s8.0地震的发生.GRACE卫星揭示的青藏高原及周边地表质量的变化为解释汶川地震的动力机制提供了新的观测途径和资料.本文结合区域构造运动的特点和GPS位移,对GRACE观测的时变重力场特征及汶川地震的动力机制进行了初步解释和讨论.