Comparison of structural differences between yeast β-glucan sourced from different strains of saccharomyces cerevisiae and processed using proprietary manufacturing processes.

In this study, we explored structural differences of five commercial samples of yeast β-glucan. Samples were assayed for their β-glucan content and the yeast storage carbohydrate, glycogen. The β-glucan content ranged from 74% to 86%, the glycogen content varied from 0 to 20%.

Paternal provisioning results from ecological change.

Paternal provisioning among humans is puzzling because it is rare among primates and absent in nonhuman apes and because emergent provisioning would have been subject to paternity theft. A provisioning "dad" loses fitness at the hands of nonprovisioning, mate-seeking "cads." Recent models require exacting interplay between male provisioning and female choice to overcome this social dilemma.

Changes in Health Care Costs and Mortality Associated With Transitional Care Management Services After a Discharge Among Medicare Beneficiaries.

Importance: Medicare adopted transitional care management (TCM) payment codes in 2013 to encourage clinicians to furnish TCM services after beneficiaries were discharged to the community from medical facilities. To bill for the 30-day service, a care team member must communicate with the beneficiary or the caregiver within 2 business days after the discharge and the clinician must provide an office visit within 14 days.

Objective: To investigate whether the receipt of TCM services was associated with the subsequent health care costs and mortality of the beneficiaries in the month after the service was provided.

Most Marketplace Plans Included At Least 25 Percent Of Local-Area Physicians, But Enrollment Disparities Remained.

The Affordable Care Act allows commercial insurers participating in the Marketplaces to vary the size of their provider networks as long as the providers are "sufficient" in numbers and types. Concerns have been growing over the increasing use of restricted-provider or narrow networks in Marketplace plans because of their implications for reduced access to care, but little is known about the breadth and stability of these networks over time or what types of enrollees choose such plans. Using national data, we found that in 2016, 60 percent of provider networks in plans offered in the federally facilitated Marketplaces included at least one-quarter of local-area physicians, and that consumers' access to broad-network plans remained stable between 2015 and 2016.

Efficient and accurate whole genome assembly and methylome profiling of E. coli.

Background: With the price of next generation sequencing steadily decreasing, bacterial genome assembly is now accessible to a wide range of researchers. It is therefore necessary to understand the best methods for generating a genome assembly, specifically, which combination of sequencing and bioinformatics strategies result in the most accurate assemblies. Here, we sequence three E.

The Evolution of Altruistic Preferences: Mothers versus Fathers.

What can evolutionary biology tell us about male-female differences in preferences concerning family matters? Might mothers be more solicitous toward offspring than fathers, for example? The economics literature has documented gender differences-children benefit more from money put in the hands of mothers rather than fathers, for example-and these differences are thought to be partly due to preferences. Yet for good reason family economics is mostly concerned with how prices and incomes affect behavior against a backdrop of exogenous preferences. Evolutionary biology complements this approach by treating preferences as the outcome of natural selection.

Whole-genome gene expression profiling of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples.

Background: We have developed a gene expression assay (Whole-Genome DASL), capable of generating whole-genome gene expression profiles from degraded samples such as formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens.

Methodology/principal Findings: We demonstrated a similar level of sensitivity in gene detection between matched fresh-frozen (FF) and FFPE samples, with the number and overlap of probes detected in the FFPE samples being approximately 88% and 95% of that in the corresponding FF samples, respectively; 74% of the differentially expressed probes overlapped between the FF and FFPE pairs. The WG-DASL assay is also able to detect 1.

Oxazole- and imidazole-based Ser-Leu dipeptide mimetics in potent inhibitors of antigen presentation by MHC class II DR molecules.

Imidazole and oxazole derivatives 1 to 4 were designed and prepared as dipeptide mimetics to replace the Ser-Leu dipeptide sequence of Ro-25-9980 (Ac-(Cha)-RAMA-S-L-NH2), a peptidic inhibitor of antigen binding to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II DR molecules linked to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The most potent analog in binding assays (IC50 = 30 nM in DRB1*0401 binding; 1.6 times as potent as Ro 25-9980) was 16, Ac-(Cha)RAMA-(S)S-psi(oxazole)-L-NH2.

Assessing Medicare Health Plan Performance in Serving Beneficiary Subpopulations.

In this analysis, the authors examined differences in managed care health plan performance ratings between selected subgroups of the Medicare population who may have exceptional health care needs (EHCNs) or may require special plan efforts to facilitate effective service use compared with the residual enrolled population. Findings indicated that disabled enrollees have lower plan ratings across all dimensions of performance than do other enrollees. Aged enrollees in self-reported fair/poor health and those with limited independence have lower ratings for most dimensions of performance.

Electron Impact Excitation of Hydrogen Lyman- Radiation.

An experimental investigation of electron impact excitation of the 2 state of atomic hydrogen is described. A beam of electrons was passed through a chopped beam of hydrogen atoms in a high vacuum apparatus. The modulated flux of Lyman- photons emitted in the radiative decay of the 2 state was taken as a measurement of the excitation probability resulting from direct excitation plus indirect excitation resulting from cascading.