Digital Commons Network^™

Estimation Of Uninsurance Rate: Comparison Of Four Estimation Methods, Jackie Zhang, Renee Hotchkiss, Thomas Wan

Thomas T.H. Wan

Objective: Although high percentage of the uninsured is an important public policy issue, the discrepancies in both state and national estimates of the numbers of uninsured are reported. This study compares four advanced estimation methods for uninsurance, by using Florida Health Insurance Survey data as an example. Design: The four predictive models include decision tree, neural network, general logistic regression, and two-stage logistic regression. Risk factors to uninsurance are identified. Population: The study sample comes from the Florida Health Insurance Study data collected for the Florida Agency of Health Care Administration in 1999, representing the first large-scale study designed exclusively …

Environmental Equity Is Child's Play: Mapping Public Provision Of Recreation Opportunities In Urban Neighbourhoods, Jason Gilliland, Martin Holmes, Jennifer Irwin, Patricia Tucker

Trish Tucker

This paper examines the spatial distribution of recreational opportunities for children and youth in a mid-sized Canadian city (London, Ontario), in relation to the socioeconomic status of neighbourhoods and estimated local need for publicly provided recreation spaces. Public recreation facilities (N = 537) throughout the city were identified, mapped and analysed in a geographic information system. To explore potential socio-environmental inequities, neighbourhoods (N = 22) were characterized by socioeconomic and environmental variables, an index of neighbourhood social distress, a neighbourhood play space needs index, and measures of the prevalence and density of recreational opportunities. The results of the spatial analysis …

Feasibility Of A Campus-Based "Buddy System" To Promote Physical Activity: Canadian Students' Perspectives, Patricia Tucker, Jennifer Irwin

Trish Tucker

Objective: To explore the characteristics of a university-wide buddy system that students would be receptive to using. Methods: This study targeted a heterogeneous sample of undergraduate university students age 18 to 25 y. An experienced moderator, using a semi-structured interview guide, conducted 13 focus groups (n = 65). Focus group discussions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive content analysis was conducted independently by two researchers. Measures were incorporated throughout to ensure data trustworthiness. Results: The value of this campus-based physical activity intervention was emphasized by the vast majority of participants. Five main themes exemplified students' preferences: sign-up methods; matching …

The Role Of Bnp Testing In Heart Failure, Jenny Doust, Richard Lehman, Paul Glasziou

Jenny Doust

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels are simple and objective measures of cardiac function. These measurements can be used to diagnose heart failure, including diastolic dysfunction, and using them has been shown to save money in the emergency department setting. The high negative predictive value of BNP tests is particularly helpful for ruling out heart failure. Treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-II receptor blockers, spironolactone, and diuretics reduces BNP levels, suggesting that BNP testing may have a role in monitoring patients with heart failure. However, patients with treated chronic stable heart failure may have levels in the normal range (i.e., BNP …

Airborne Measurements Of Carbonaceous Aerosol Soluble In Water Over Northeastern United States: Method Development And An Investigation Into Water-Soluble Organic Carbon Sources, A. P. Sullivan, Richard E. Peltier, C. A. Brock, J. A. De Gouw, J. S. Holloway, C. Warneke, A. G. Wollny, R. J. Weber

Richard E. Peltier

A particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS) was coupled to a total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer for 3 s integrated measurements of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in PM1 ambient particles. The components of the instrument are described in detail. The PILS-TOC was deployed on the NOAA WP-3D aircraft during the NEAQS/ITCT 2004 program to investigate WSOC sources over the northeastern United States and Canada. Two main sources were identified: biomass burning emissions from fires in Alaska and northwestern Canada and emissions emanating from urban centers. Biomass burning WSOC was correlated with carbon monoxide (CO) and acetonitrile (r2 > 0.88). These plumes were intercepted in …

Concentrations And Sources Of Organic Carbon Aerosols In The Free Troposphere Over North America, Colette L. Heald, Daniel J. Jacob, Solène Turquety, Rynda C. Hudman, Rodney J. Weber, Amy P. Sullivan, Richard E. Peltier, Eliot L. Atlas, Joost A. De Gouw, Carsten Warneke, John S. Holloway, J. Andrew Neuman, John H. Seinfeld, Frank M. Flocke

Richard E. Peltier

Aircraft measurements of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) aerosol over NE North America during summer 2004 (ITCT-2K4) are simulated with a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) to test our understanding of the sources of organic carbon (OC) aerosol in the free troposphere (FT). Elevated concentrations were observed in plumes from boreal fires in Alaska and Canada. WSOC aerosol concentrations outside of these plumes average 0.9 ± 0.9 mg C m 3 in the FT (2–6 km). The corresponding model value is 0.7 ± 0.6 mg C m 3, including 42% from biomass burning, 36% from biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA), and …

Traditional Medicine And Traditional Music In Madagascar, Nat Quansah

Nat Quansah

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Timing Of Radiotherapy After Breast-Conserving Surgery In Patients With Positive Or Close Resection Margins, Young Age, And Node-Negative Disease, With Long Term Follow-Up, Olga Vujovic, Anil Cherian, Edward Yu, A. Dar, Larry Stitt, Francisco Perera

Edward Yu

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of timing of radiotherapy after conservative breast surgery on local recurrence in women with positive resection margins and young age, treated without systemic therapy. Methods and materials: A total of 568 patients with T1 and T2, N0 breast cancer were treated with breast-conserving surgery and breast irradiation, between January 1, 1985, and December 31, 1992, at the London Regional Cancer Centre. 63 patients (11.1%) had positive/close resection margins (< 2 mm) and 48 patients (8.4%) were age < or = 40 years. For patients with positive resection margins, the time intervals from breast surgery to breast irradiation used for analysis were, 0 to 8 weeks, > 8 to 12 weeks and > 12 weeks. For patients < or = 40 years, the intervals used for analysis were 0 to 8 weeks and > 8 weeks. Results: Median follow up was 11.2 years. For patients …

Internet Chat Rooms: Connecting With A New Generation Of Young Men Of Color At Risk For Hiv Infection Who Have Sex With Other Men., Sheldon Fields

Sheldon D. Fields

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of gay-related Internet chat rooms by young men who have sex with other men of color (YMSMC) in a specific catchment area. Participants were 104 YMSMC age 18 to 24 (M = 21.56) who were encountered in two gay-related Internet chat rooms during April 2005. Participants were mainly African American (53.7%, n = 56), HIV-negative (57.6%, n = 60), and online looking for some type of sexual encounter (80.7%, n = 84). The results of this study support the need to develop specific culturally appropriate HIV prevention Internet outreach protocols …

Exposure To Environmentally Relevant Doses Of The Xenoestrogen Bisphenol-A Alters Development Of The Fetal Mouse Mammary Gland, Laura Vandenberg, Maricel V. Maffini, Perinaaz R. Wadia, Carlos Sonnenschein, Beverly S. Rubin, Ana M. Soto

Laura Vandenberg

Humans are routinely exposed to bisphenol-A (BPA), an estrogenic compound that leaches from dental materials, food and beverage containers, and other plastic consumer products. Effects of perinatal BPA exposure on the mouse mammary gland have been observed in puberty and adulthood, long after the period of exposure has ended. The aim of this study was to examine fetal mammary gland development at embryonic day (E)18 and assess changes in the tissue organization and histoarchitecture after exposure to an environmentally relevant dose of BPA. In unexposed fetuses, the relative position of the fetus with respect to its female and male siblings …

Information-Seeking Behavior Of Faculty In One School Of Public Health, Lisa C. Wallis

Lisa C. Wallis, MSPH, MS

Single-Particle Mass Spectrometry Of Tropospheric Aerosol Particles, D. M. Murphy, D. J. Cziczo, K. D. Froyd, P. K. Hudson, B. M. Matthew, A. M. Middlebrook, Richard E. Peltier, A. Sullivan, D. S. Thomson, R. J. Weber

Richard E. Peltier

The Particle Analysis by Laser Mass Spectrometry (PALMS) instrument has measured the composition of single particles during a number of airborne and ground-based campaigns. In the regions studied, 30% to over 80% of the aerosol mass in the free troposphere was carbonaceous material. Most of this carbonaceous material was probably organic. Although there were variations in their amounts, over 90% of accumulation mode particles away from local sources were internal mixtures of sulfates and carbonaceous material. Within this internal mixing, there was variation in the pattern of carbonaceous peaks in the spectra, especially in peaks related to organic acids. Particles …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Androgen Receptor Gene And Risk Of Breast Cancer: Results From The National Cancer Institute Breast And Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (Bpc3), David G. Cox, Hélène Blanché, Celeste L. Pearce, Eugenia E. Calle, Graham A. Colditz, Malcolm C. Pike, Demetrius Albanes, Naomi E. Allen, Pilar Amiano, Goran Berglund, Heiner Boeing, Julie Buring, Noel Burtt, Federico Canzian, Stephen Chanock, Françoise Clavel-Chapelon, Heather S. Feigelson, Matthew Freedman, Christopher A. Haiman, Susan E. Hankinson, Brian E. Henderson, Robert Hoover, David J. Hunter, Rudolf Kaaks, Laurence Kolonel, Peter Kraft, Loic Lemarchand, Eiliv Lund, Domenico Palli, Petra H.M. Peeters, Elio Riboli, Daniel O. Stram, Michael Thun, Anne Tjonneland, Dimitrios Trichopoulos, Meredith Yeager

Graham Andrew Colditz

Introduction: Androgens have been hypothesised to influence risk of breast cancer through several possible mechanisms, including their conversion to estradiol or their binding to the oestrogen receptor and/or androgen receptor (AR) in the breast. Here, we report on the results of a large and comprehensive study of the association between genetic variation in the AR gene and risk of breast cancer in the National Cancer Institute Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3). Methods: The underlying genetic variation was determined by first sequencing the coding regions of the AR gene in a panel of 95 advanced breast cancer cases. Second, …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Androgen Receptor Gene And Risk Of Breast Cancer: Results From The National Cancer Institute Breast And Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (Bpc3), David G. Cox, Hélène Blanché, Celeste L. Pearce, Eugenia E. Calle, Graham A. Colditz, Malcolm C. Pike, Demetrius Albanes, Naomi E. Allen, Pilar Amiano, Goran Berglund, Heiner Boeing, Julie Buring, Noel Burtt, Federico Canzian, Stephen Chanock, Françoise Clavel-Chapelon, Heather S. Feigelson, Matthew Freedman, Christopher A. Haiman, Susan E. Hankinson, Brian E. Henderson, Robert Hoover, David J. Hunter, Rudolf Kaaks, Laurence Kolonel, Peter Kraft, Loic Lemarchand, Eiliv Lund, Domenico Palli, Petra H.M. Peeters, Elio Riboli, Daniel O. Stram, Michael Thun, Anne Tjonneland, Dimitrios Trichopoulos, Meredith Yeager

Susan E. Hankinson

Introduction: Androgens have been hypothesised to influence risk of breast cancer through several possible mechanisms, including their conversion to estradiol or their binding to the oestrogen receptor and/or androgen receptor (AR) in the breast. Here, we report on the results of a large and comprehensive study of the association between genetic variation in the AR gene and risk of breast cancer in the National Cancer Institute Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3). Methods: The underlying genetic variation was determined by first sequencing the coding regions of the AR gene in a panel of 95 advanced breast cancer cases. Second, …

Beliefs About Essences And The Reality Of Mental Disorders, Woo-Kyoung Ahn, Elizabeth H. Flanagan, Jessecae K. Marsh, Charles A. Sanislow

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Do people believe mental disorders are real and possess underlying essences? The current study found that both novices and practicing clinicians held weaker essentialist beliefs about mental disorders than about medical disorders. They were also unwilling to endorse the idea that mental disorders are real and natural. Furthermore, compared with novices, mental health clinicians were less likely to endorse the view that there is a shared cause underlying a mental disorder and that one needs to remove the cause to get rid of the mental disorder. Clinicians were polarized on their views about whether mental disorders are categorical or dimensional. …

Supporting Young People To Seek Professional Help For Mental Health Problems: Cover Feature., Coralie J. Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

No abstract provided.

Descriptive And Longitudinal Observations On The Relationship Of Borderline Personality Disorder And Bipolar Disorder, John G. Gunderson, Igor Weinberg, Maria T. Daversa, Karsten D. Kueppenbender, Mary C. Zanarini, M. Tracie Shea, Andrew E. Skodol, Charles A. Sanislow, Shirley Yen, Leslie C. Morey, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Robert L. Stout, Ingrid R. Dyck

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to test whether borderline personality disorder is a variant of bipolar disorder by examining the rates of co-occurrence in both disorders, the effects of co-occurrence on a longitudinal course, and whether the presence of either disorder confers the risk for new onsets of the other.

METHOD: A prospective repeated-measures design with reliable independent diagnostic measures and 4 years of follow-up was used to assess 196 patients with borderline personality disorder and 433 patients with other personality disorders.

RESULTS: Patients with borderline personality disorder had a significantly higher co-occurrence of bipolar disorder (19.4%) than …

An Integrated Approach To Educating Working Environmental Health Practitioners, R. Konkel, Joe Beck

Steve Konkel

No abstract provided.

Fahasalamana Sy Ny Tontolo Iainana (Health & Environment), Nat Quansah

Nat Quansah

No abstract provided.

Injury Prevalence Among Children And Adolescents With Mental Retardation, Elspeth M. Slayter, Deborah W. Garnick, Joanna M. Kubisiak, Christine E. Bishop, Daniel M. Gilden, Rosemarie B. Hakim

Elspeth Slayter

Relationship Between Mechanisms And Activities At The Time Of Pedestrian Injury And Activity Limitation Among School Adolescents In Kathmandu, Nepal, Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar, Shinji Nakahara, Masao Ichikawa, Krishna Poudel, Susumu Wakai

Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar

Evidence Of Altered Brain Sexual Differentiation In Mice Exposed Perinatally To Low, Environmentally Relevant Levels Of Bisphenol A, Beverly S. Rubin, Jenny R. Lenkowski, Cheryl M. Schaeberle, Laura Vandenberg, Paul M. Ronsheim, Ana M. Soto

Laura Vandenberg

Humans are routinely exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogenic chemical present in food and beverage containers, dental composites, and many products in the home and workplace. BPA binds both classical nuclear estrogen receptors and facilitates membrane-initiated estrogenic effects. Here we explore the ability of environmentally relevant exposure to BPA to affect anatomical and functional measures of brain development and sexual differentiation. Anatomical evidence of alterations in brain sexual differentiation were examined in male and female offspring born to mouse dams exposed to 0, 25, or 250 ng BPA/kg body weight per day from the evening of d 8 of …

“Pour En Savoir Plus A Propos Des Plantes Médicinales.” Quinzaine Scientifique : Exposition Sur La Célébration De L’Année De La Science, Nat Quansah

Nat Quansah

No abstract provided.

Les Plantes Médicinales Et L’Homme, Nat Quansah

Nat Quansah

No abstract provided.

Anomalia Anorretal: Relato De Caso Clínico / Anorectal Malformations: A Case Report, Everton Fernando Alves, Jucélia Lins Dos Santos Oliveira, Maria Do Rosário Martins

Everton Fernando Alves

A Anomalia Anorretal é uma importante causa de obstrução gastrintestinal, com alta taxa de morbi-mortalidade em recém-natos. Há diversos mecanismos patológicos possíveis para explicar esta malformação e duas explicações clássicas de sua gênese são um defeito de recanalização do tubo intestinalou uma interrupção no suprimento sanguíneo durante a vida intra-uterina, entretanto a causa ainda é desconhecida. Desta forma, o presenteestudo tem por objetivo descrever um caso clínico de uma criança internada em um Hospital do Município de Maringá-PR, portadora de uma anomalia anorretal (Ânus imper-furado). Para este estudo, foram coletados dados do prontuário da criança, exame físico e uma entrevista …

A Study To Determine How To Improve The Dissemination And Implementation Of Evidence-Based Practices In Cancer Care, Gloria Difulvio

Gloria T. DiFulvio

No abstract provided.

Prospective Assessment Of Treatment Use By Patients With Personality Disorders, Donna S. Bender, Andrew E. Skodol, Maria E. Pagano, Ingrid R. Dyck, Carlos M. Grilo, M. Tracie Shea, Charles A. Sanislow, Mary C. Zanarini, Shirley Yen, Thomas H. Mcglashan, John G. Gunderson

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the utilization of mental health treatments over a three-year period among patients with schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, or obsessive-compulsive personality disorders compared with patients with major depressive disorder and no personality disorder.

METHODS: A prospective, longitudinal study design was used to measure treatment use for 633 individuals aged 18 to 45 years during a three-year period.

RESULTS: Patients with borderline personality disorder were significantly more likely than those with major depressive disorder to use most types of treatment. Furthermore, all patients continued using high-intensity, low-duration treatments throughout the study period, whereas individual psychotherapy attendance declined significantly after …

Reaching Hard-To-Reach Migrants By Letters: An Hiv/Aids Awareness Programme In Nepal, Krishna C. Poudel, Masamine Jimba, Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar, Susume Wakai

Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar

Reaching Hard-To-Reach Migrants By Letters: An Hiv/Aids Awareness Programme In Nepal, Krishna C. Poudel, Masamine Jimba, Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar, Susume Wakai

Krishna C. Poudel

Environmental Health As The Safety Net For Influenza Immunizations--Protecting The Population Or The Individual At Risk: The U.S. Public Health Dilemma, R. Konkel, Joe Beck

Steve Konkel

No abstract provided.