University Of Arizona Research Articles

Helen R. Beiser, MD (1915-2018)

Dr. Helen R. Beiser died in the presence of her loving family in March 2018 at 103 years young, but her legacy lives on. Her impact on the field of child and adolescent psychiatry is deep. She was a prolific teacher, author, and clinician who left us lessons to use today. In her plenary address as AACAP President in 1983, she spoke about “curiosity as a powerful motivating force in human behavior and creativity, as well as a lot of fun.”1Beiser H.R. On curiosity: a developmental approach.J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1984; 23: 517-526Google Scholar Her life and legacy is a reflection of this curiosity. Born in Chicago, Dr. Beiser’s parents, brother, sister, and several nieces and nephews preceded her in death. She received her medical degree in 1941 from the University of Illinois after earning a degree in Biosystems Engineering at the University of Arizona in 1935. Dr. Beiser’s achievements include serving as Chairperson of the Child Analysis Committee of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis; Clinical Associate Professor, Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine, University of Illinois; Senior Consultant, Institute for Juvenile Research, Chicago; and Consultant at the Barr-Harris Clinic on Parent Loss, Institute for Psychoanalysis, Chicago. Dr. Beiser was a valued teacher of child psychiatry and child analysis at the Illinois Psychoanalytic Institute, the University of Illinois, and the Institute for Juvenile Research. One of her trainees said that supervision with her was like being with Yoda, with her simple but insightful comments. To honor Dr. Beiser as a dedicated teacher, the Illinois Regional Organization of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry gives the Helen Beiser Resident Membership Award to cover AACAP membership dues. She published 24 scholarly articles in JAACAP alone, as well as 17 other articles spread across other journals. Interestingly, she wrote several papers on the difficulty of teaching child theory to students who are not interested in children, expressing her concern that not all clinicians care deeply about child development.2Beiser H.R. Can the psychology of childhood be taught to students of psychoanalysis? Problems and prospects.J Am Psychoanal Assoc. 1973; 21: 727-744Google Scholar She considered it a privilege to work with children. She recognized that every child seen clinically should have a physical examination and a neurological examination when appropriate. Dr. Beiser pioneered the AACAP’s representation in the AMA House of Delegates in 1986, where AACAP is currently represented by two delegates. But her academic and clinical achievements do not define who Helen Beiser was. She was humble and kind, always ready with a belly laugh. As a child, Helen was told that her mother would die young (she didn’t) so, she had better be independent… so Helen was. She gave selflessly in support of many causes devoted to the well-being of children. She would call any colleague who could give her a ride to a local meeting and then in return, the driver would receive a lesson on the way there! She was an Elder at the Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, 1972 to 1989. She lived independently into her 90s, organizing activities within her retirement community. Dr. Beiser was passionate about toys, believing that a toy was not just a toy, but the tool of a child psychiatrist. She wrote that toys should be consistent, unbroken, and used in observing play to know the inner life of the child.3Beiser H.R. Formal games in diagnosis and therapy.J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1979; 18: 480-491Google Scholar, 4Beiser H.R. Therapeutic play techniques; symposium, 1954. 8. Play equipment for diagnosis and therapy.Am J Orthopsychiatry. 1955; 25: 761-770Google Scholar Helen also understood play as a painter and a travel writer. Her love of travel led her on global adventures, many of which she painted and wrote about. She published some of her writing in a book, Travel Is in My Genes.5Beiser H.R. Travel Is in My Genes. Vantage Press, New York1998Google Scholar While listening to lectures at the Illinois Psychoanalytic Society, Dr. Beiser would sketch portraits of members and give them away. The yearly art show at AACAP’s Annual Meeting is named in her honor. She was a lifelong fan of the Chicago Cubs and passed away with the knowledge that they finally won the World Series in 2016. May we emulate Dr. Beiser’s teaching: to champion children, to always be curious, and to laugh often.

P140 The University of Arizona's SNAP-Ed Used the Health Food Pantry Assessment Tool to Identify Policy, Systems, and Environmental Changes in Food Pantries

Objective To use the Health Food Pantry Assessment Tool (HFPAT) to identify policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes in Arizona's food pantries. Use of Theory or Research The HFPAT was selected as an observational survey that measured the healthfulness of food pantry environments and provided PSE resources to guide food pantries and the University of Arizona Supplemental Nutrition Education - Program (UA SNAP-Ed) programming. Target Audience Four food pantries (Apache-2, Maricopa-2 Counties) that participated in SNAP-Ed completed the HFPAT. Program Description The SNAP-Ed sent the HFPAT in advance of site visits. Two Arizona SNAP-Ed staff independently completed the observational portions of the survey and results were compared. The survey was completed by interviewing the food pantry staff. Reports were generated using Qualtrics® and given to the food pantries. The HFPAT Resource Guide, which provides a resource for each section, was included. Evaluation Methods The HFPAT contained 69 questions divided into five sections: pantry location and entrance, food available to clients, policies of the food pantry, frozen chilled, dry storage and food safety, and services for clients. It provided a numeric score on a scale of 0-100; with a score of 100 signifying the healthiest food pantry environment. Results Four food pantries were assessed. The total scores ranged from 41 to 50 (mean: 46.25 out of 100). The food pantries’ mean scores for each section were: a) 9.25 out of 15 possible points; b) 19.25 out of 57 possible points; c) 6 out of 12 possible points; d) 6.25 out of 10 possible points; and e) 4.5 out of 6 possible points. Conclusions The UA SNAP-Ed used the HFPAT to assist food pantries in identifying potential PSE interventions. This evaluation tool provided direction to the UA SNAP-Ed to give specified technical assistance to the food pantries, and resources to improve their low-scoring areas. Funding None.

Prediction and Diagnosis of Infection in Acutely Decompensated Cirrhosis Patients: Value of MELD Score

Background: Infection in acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) patients is known to cause higher mortality. The current approach is to culture all patients. We aim to identify clinical factors predictive of infections within ACLF patients and to assess compliance to obtain diagnostic work up within 24 hours of hospital admission. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the charts of 457 adult, ACLF patients seen at the University of Arizona, all campuses, between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014. We used logistic regression to identify potential risk indicators for bacterial, fungal, and any infections. Findings: 60.61% of patients were identified with established infection. Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria alone predicted infections in ACLF patients with C-statistic of 0.71 (OR 6.85, 95% CI: 4.33, 10.85) for any infection, 0.63 (OR 2.88, 95% CI: 1.96, 4.23) for bacterial infection, and 0.53 (OR 1.32, 95% CI: 0.59, 2.96) for fungal infection. After controlling for other significant variables, predictive ability improved, C-statistic 0.83 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.90) for any infection and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.65, 0.77) for bacterial infections. Combination of MELD and Hb predicted fungal infections with C-statistic 0.74 (95% CI: 0.63, 0.84). Basic work up within 24 hours of admission was obtained in 12% of patients. Interpretation: SIRS criteria alone poorly predicts infections in ACLF patients. The addition of other factors moderately improves predictions. Compliance is very poor to obtain diagnostic work up efficiently, and better tools are needed to predict infection upon admission. Funding Statement: This research was funded by Liver Institute PLLC. Declaration of Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Ethics Approval Statement: The University of Arizona’s Institutional Review Board approved the study protocol. The patient consent requirement was waived by the Institutional Review Board. We followed the ethical guidelines set forth by the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki.

Author Correction: A corridor of exposed ice-rich bedrock across Titan’s tropical region

In the version of this Article originally published, the author Rosaly Lopes was mistakenly affiliated with Northern Arizona University. Her affiliation has now been corrected to: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.

General Editor's Introduction

General Editor's Introduction

Contributors

Previous articleNext article FreeContributorsPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreRichard A. Benton is assistant professor in the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois. His research examines board interlock networks, corporate governance, and elite power.J. Adam Cobb is assistant professor in the Department of Business, Government, and Society at the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin. His research examines the historical development and reconfiguration of employment relations and their implications.Jeremy E. Fiel is assistant professor of sociology at the University of Arizona. His research uses quantitative methods to examine stratification processes, with particular interests in contemporary school segregation and intergenerational educational stratification.Yongjun Zhang is a sociology Ph.D. candidate at the University of Arizona. His research interests broadly include political sociology, organizational behavior, social inequality, and demography. His current projects use statistical, network, and computational methods to study shareholder activism and corporate political behavior.Alexander E. Kentikelenis is assistant professor of sociology and political economy at Bocconi University. He has published extensively on global governance issues and on the social and political consequences of austerity.Sarah Babb is professor of sociology at Boston College. She is author of Behind the Development Banks (University of Chicago, 2009), as well as other works on international financial institutions and market-liberalizing reforms in developing countries.Craig M. Rawlings is assistant professor of sociology at Duke University and a faculty affiliate of the Duke Network Analysis Center. His work uses relational methods to examine how meanings, ideas, beliefs, and feelings take shape and spread in groups, and the consequences of these processes for social cohesion and fragmentation. His article with Daniel McFarland and Dan Jurafsky on social bonding in courtship rituals won the 2015 AJS Gould Prize.Clayton Childress is assistant professor of sociology at University of Toronto. His work on the creation, production, and reception of culture has been published in American Sociological Review, Poetics, and other venues. His book, Under the Cover: The Creation, Production, and Reception of a Novel (Princeton University Press), was 2018 cowinner of the Mary Douglas Prize for Best Book.Xiang Zhou is assistant professor in the Department of Government at Harvard University. He received a PhD in sociology and statistics from the University of Michigan. His research focuses on social stratification and mobility, quantitative methodology, and contemporary Chinese society. His work has appeared in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Sociological Review, Sociological Methodology and other peer-reviewed journals.Yu Xie is the Bert G. Kerstetter ’66 University Professor of Sociology and the director of the Paul and Marcia Wythes Center on Contemporary China at Princeton University. His main areas of interest are social stratification, demography, statistical methods, Chinese studies, and sociology of science. Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Sociology Volume 124, Number 6May 2019 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/704332 © 2019 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Dual-mode snapshot interferometric system for on-machine metrology

National Science Foundation (NSF) [1455630]; TRIF Space Exploration and Optical Sciences (SEOS), University of Arizona; Oculus VR LLC

Text-linguistic approaches to register variation

AbstractDouglas Biber, Regents’ Professor of Applied Linguistics at Northern Arizona University, authors this article exploring the connections between register and a text-linguistic approach to language variation. He has spent the last 30 years pursuing a research program that explores the inherent link between register and language use, including at the phraseological, grammatical, and lexico-grammatical levels. His seminal bookVariation across Speech and Writing(1988, Cambridge University Press) launched multi-dimensional (MD) analysis, a comprehensive framework and methodology for the large-scale study of register variation. This approach was innovative in taking a text-linguistic approach to characterize language use across situations of use through the quantitative and functional analysis of linguistic co-occurrence patterns and underlying dimensions of language use. MD analysis is now used widely to study register variation over time, in general and specialized registers, in learner language, and across a range of languages. In 1999, theLongman Grammar of Spoken and Written English(Biber et al.) became the first comprehensive descriptive reference book to systematically consider register variation in describing the grammatical and lexico-grammatical patterns of use in English. Douglas Biber’s quantitative linguistic research has consistently demonstrated the importance of register as a predictor of language variation. In his own words, “register always matters” (Gray 2013: 360, Interview with Douglas Biber,English Language & Linguistics).

Report from the Physiology Majors Interest Group (P‐MIG): Core Concepts of Physiology

The Physiology Majors Interest Group (P‐MIG) is a consortium of educators from institutions with undergraduate degree programs in Physiology interested in building a network of peers to share ideas and best practices in teaching undergraduate students. P‐MIG held two stand‐alone conferences in May 2017 at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI and in June 2018 at University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. A primary goal of these initial conferences was to discuss the establishment of national guidelines for undergraduate Physiology programs. Subsequently, P‐MIG members self‐selected into two working subcommittees: 1) Core Concepts of Physiology subcommittee; and 2) Professional Skills subcommittee. Fifteen Core Concepts of Physiology have been proposed and developed by Michael, Cliff, McFarland, Modell, and Wright. P‐MIG conference attendees completed surveys prior to the 2017 and 2018 P‐MIG conferences and were asked to choose the top 5 most important core concepts for their program goals and student populations. In 2017, the top responses were: 1) homeostasis (84% of 26 respondents), 2) structure function (81%), 3) cell‐cell communication (50%); 4) scientific reasoning (46%), and 5) levels of organization (42%). In 2018, the top 4 ranked responses were the same as in 2017. The 5th ranked response was a three‐way tie between energy, flow down gradients, and interdependence. During Spring 2018 a student survey was administered by P‐MIG to elicit feedback regarding perceptions of various aspects of their undergraduate experiences. Students (N=667) from 9 institutions completed this informational survey. Students reported the top 5 core concepts taught within their physiology courses to be: 1) homeostasis (4.5±0.8; based upon a 5‐point likert scale: 1 = I do not understand this concept, 5 = I have mastered this concept; 0 = this information was not presented in my physiology course), 2) cell membrane (4.3±0.9, 3) structure‐function (4.3±0.9), 4) interdependence (4.2±0.9), and 5) tie between cell‐cell communication (4.2±0.9) and energy (4.2±0.9). When asked to evaluate the core concepts relevant to their desired future career, students reported (1 = unimportant, 5 = vitally important, 0 = not applicable): 1) homeostasis (4.3±1.0), 2) structure‐function (4.3±1.0), interdependence (4.3±1.0), 4) causality (4.1±1.1), and 5) scientific reasoning (4.1±1.1). Future directions include administering a program self‐assessment rubric to determine which core concepts are currently being taught in (self)‐selected Physiology programs. This data and previously published faculty survey results on the core concepts will be considered in the development of the core concepts portion of the national guidelines for Physiology undergraduate programs. The two subcommittees will present their work at the 3rd Annual P‐MIG Conference on June 18–20, 2019 at University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.Support or Funding InformationAmerican Physiological Society; Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology; Michigan State University; University of Arizona; University of Iowa; University of Minnesota; University of OregonThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Small Changes, Large Rewards: How Individualized Emails Increase Performance in an Upper Division Physiology Course

“I really do appreciate your concern! Very rare to find a professor like that!” This was a sentence in an email I received from a struggling student in my Cardiovascular Physiology course, an upper division elective course in the Physiology Department at the University of Arizona in Tucson.As teachers, we tend to gravitate towards the students who seem engaged, who are interactive, who are interested in what we're talking about. The ones who struggle are often forgotten, hiding in large classes, rarely adding to the conversation.So, how do we engage these students, who can make up a significant fraction of the student (or classroom) population? Show them we care!Four years ago, I started sending personalized emails (in which the body of each email was the same, but they were addressed to each student individually) to students who received a failing score on the first of three exams, approximately 10% of a class of 200. In the email, I pointed out that the student didn't do as well as expected on the exam, and that, however, it was still early in the semester; that changing habits now could turn their grade around. Then I asked them whether they knew why they hadn't performed well. I gave some suggestions, such as: coming to class, participating in discussions; attending office hours, creating and using study groups. I finished by reiterating the fact that together we could improve their standing in the class.When schools around the country are worried about graduation rates, there is an increased emphasis on retention. Schools are adding programs to help at‐risk students, hiring tutors, working with underserved populations. All of which is slowly increasing the number of graduates.Perhaps, just a short email to a struggling student might help.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Noteworthy Professional News

Noteworthy Professional News

Assessing Self‐assessment in Anatomy

IntroductionFormative self‐assessments are frequently utilized in anatomy courses to gauge learning. Self‐assessment tools have been demonstrated to improve student learning and performance on exams. However, few studies have assessed how specific elements, such as the inclusion of visual components, Bloom's taxonomy level, and the degree of topic integration, influence the efficacy of self‐assessments in an anatomy course.AimThis study retrospectively examined the relationships between self‐assessment construction characteristics, exam construction characteristics, and student exam performance. Specifically, 1) What elements of exam question construction correlated with performance? and 2) What elements of self‐assessment questions correlated with performance on corresponding exam questions?MethodsSelf‐assessment and exam questions administered during the Clinical Anatomy Block at the University of Arizona College of Medicine ‐ Phoenix from 2014–2018 for the Thorax and Abdomen and Pelvis and Lower Extremity units were examined. Self‐assessment questions were distributed to students via email, while exams took place in the anatomy laboratory, with a majority of questions incorporating structures on the donors, images, or anatomical models. For all questions, the constituent learning objectives, use of visual components, Bloom's taxonomy level, and degree of topic integration were noted. Exam performance data were collected for each class as the percentage correct for each question. These variables were entered into linear multiple regression models to assess their relationship to student performance for individual learning objectives. Because no individually identifiable data were utilized in this study, IRB approval was waived by the University of Arizona Office of Research, Discovery & Innovation (Protocol #: 1810045386).ResultsRegression analysis indicates that having visual components in exam questions is negatively associated with performance (t = −5.53, p <0.00). Conversely, a higher average Bloom's level for targeted learning objectives in self‐assessments (t = 2.02, p = 0.04), and a greater number of image‐based questions (t = 2.33, p = 0.02) are positively correlated with performance on corresponding exam questions.ConclusionsThese findings provide evidence that elements of self‐assessment construction, such as a visual component and a higher cognitive level, influence student exam performance when the exam format also incorporates these elements.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Development of an optimizing method for the operation rule curves of a multipurpose reservoir in a Southeast Asian watershed

Water scarcity and flooding constitute major problems for developing countries located within the tropical climatic region of Southeast Asia. In addition, regional water consumption is increasing, and water usage patterns have been changing recently. Therefore, an advanced water resource management framework that considers both water supply and flood control is needed. Multipurpose reservoirs are widely used to manage water resources efficiently; however, water-related problems occur with reservoirs in Southeast Asian watersheds because of inadequate operation rule curves. We developed a method for constructing optimal operation rule curves for Dau Tieng Reservoir, which is one of the largest multipurpose reservoirs in Vietnam. The reservoir is used for flood control, domestic water supply, industrial uses, environmental flows, and agricultural uses, in the order of priority. The operation rule curves of the Dau Tieng Reservoir comprise five reference water levels: the retarding water level, upper water level, lower water level, critical water level, and dead water level. Water release from the reservoir is determined based on the relationship between the reservoir level and the rule curves. In this study, the rule curves were newly determined using the shuffled complex evolution method of the University of Arizona (SCE-UA method). The objective function for optimization was defined by focusing on the improvement in insufficient supply for agricultural uses and environmental flow downstream of the Dau Tieng Reservoir. Inadequate solutions were prevented by introducing penalty functions into the objective function. Experimental results indicate that the proposed optimization method efficiently searches for optimal rule curves.

Cultivating a Network of Citizen-Scientists to Track Change in the Sonora-Arizona Foodshed

Over the past couple of years, the University of Arizona has launched both a new under­graduate degree program in Food Studies and a Center for Regional Food Studies (CRFS). The mission of the CRFS is “to integrate social, behavioral, and life sciences into interdisciplinary studies and community dialogue regarding change in regional food systems. We involve students and faculty in the design, implementation, and evalua­tion of pilot interventions and participatory community-based research in the Arizona-Sonora borderlands foodshed surrounding Tucson, a UNESCO-designated City of Gastronomy, in a manner that can be replicated, scaled up, and applied to other regions globally.” The CRFS’s annual State of the Tucson Food System (STFS) report seeks to support the efforts of diverse social actors and institutions working across various sectors of the Sonora-Arizona borderlands foodshed by collecting and synthe­sizing the most recent data available to underscore successes, problems, and barriers. The intended use of the report is to help inform policy at various scales and within both informal and formal policy settings. . . .

Paclitaxel-Based Therapies for Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease.

Paclitaxel-Based Therapies for Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease.

How young Earth stayed warm

Around 2.4 billion years ago, conditions on Earth changed dramatically. Oxygen levels soared, methane levels dropped, and the planet entered an ice age. Thankfully, this ice age wasn’t severe enough to prevent complex life from forming. Geochemists are still trying to figure out what happened during the Great Oxidation Event. Now, using nickel-isotope analysis, chemists have found more of the story. New kinds of rock weathering during this time could have continued to seed the oceans with metals needed by methane-producing bacteria, allowing the microbes to continue to produce the planet-warming gas (Nat. Geosci. 2019, DOI: 10.1038/s41561-019-0320-z). “We could have been a planet with primitive life forever, but something happened,” says Laura Wasylenki, a geochemist at Northern Arizona University who led the research. On ancient Earth, oxygen had no chance to accumulate because there was so much methane in the atmosphere, Wasylenki says. Methane and oxygen react to form carbon

Author Correction: Origin and evolution of the octoploid strawberry genome.

In the version of this article originally published, author Joshua R. Puzey was incorrectly listed as having affiliation 7 (School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA); affiliation 6 (Department of Biology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA) is the correct affiliation. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

Of Time Loops and Derivatives: Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar and the Logic of the Futures Market

Research Article| March 01 2019 Of Time Loops and Derivatives: Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar and the Logic of the Futures Market Marcia Klotz Marcia Klotz University of Arizona, Tucson Marcia Klotz is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson, teaching in both English and Gender and Women’s Studies. She is currently at work on a manuscript titled Forgive Us Our Debts: Economic Theology in the Age of Finance Capital. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google CR: The New Centennial Review (2019) 19 (1): 277–298. https://doi.org/10.14321/crnewcentrevi.19.1.0277 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Marcia Klotz; Of Time Loops and Derivatives: Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar and the Logic of the Futures Market. CR: The New Centennial Review 1 March 2019; 19 (1): 277–298. doi: https://doi.org/10.14321/crnewcentrevi.19.1.0277 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveMichigan State University PressCR: The New Centennial Review Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © Michigan State University Board of Trustees Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Retrospective Review of Exceptions for Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor or Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker Recommendations for a Diabetic Medicare Population.

Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) antagonists are recommended for people with diabetes and hypertension or with elevated urinary albumin excretion. RAS antagonists are beneficial for some, yet clinically inappropriate for others. The percentage of patients for whom RASs are clinically inappropriate has not been compared across health plans. To (a) identify reasons why RAS therapy was not recommended and (b) compare exception percentages between health plans. This retrospective, cross-sectional analysis included Medicare Part D beneficiaries with diabetes, enrolled in health plans (n = 96) participating in a university-based medication therapy management (MTM) program between January 1 and December 31, 2013. The MTM program evaluated patient eligibility for RAS therapy via (1) a clinically derived software system assessing demographics and medication history, and (2) telepharmacist-delivered medication reviews. The MTM program database calculated the number of patients with diabetes and percentage of RAS therapy exceptions. An average of 55% of patients with diabetes qualified for MTM (range: 19%-88%). Of the 218,589 eligible, 94,359 had 1 or more reasons contraindicating RAS therapy (exception). For an average of 29% of patients, it was inappropriate to recommend the addition of an RAS antagonist; the overall exception rate ranged from 3% to 83%, suggesting a wide variation of exception rates for all health plans. A substantial difference existed across health plans where RAS therapy was considered clinically inappropriate to recommend for patients with diabetes. Future research must examine variations in therapy exceptions to understand the effect of encouraging broad-population RAS antagonist use. SinfoníaRx provided funding for this project. Wild, Boesen, and Werner are employed by SinfoniaRx, which provided grant funding to the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy for the conduct of this study. This project was presented at the AMCP 27th Annual Meeting and Expo; April 8-10, 2015; San Diego, CA.

Early-career researchers: an interview with Marianne Porter.

Marianne Porter is an Assistant Professor at Florida Atlantic University, USA, where she studies biomechanics, functional morphology, and bioinspired robotics. She received her Bachelor's degrees in Zoology from Northern Arizona University, USA, in 2000 before completing her PhD with Adam Summers at the University of California, Irvine, USA in 2007. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship with John Long at Vassar College, USA, before rejoining Summers at Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, USA.