Digital Commons Network^™

Could Distance Be A Proxy For Severity-Of-Illness? A Comparison Of Hospital Costs In Distant And Local Patients., H G. Welch, E B. Larson, W P. Welch

Dartmouth Scholarship

We test the hypothesis that hospital costs, after adjusting for DRG mix, are higher in distant patients than in local patients. Data were obtained from the Washington State Commission Hospital Abstract Reporting System (CHARS) and included all patients discharged from 15 metropolitan hospitals in the state of Washington during fiscal year 1987 (N = 181,072).

Ochrobactrum Anthropi Bacteremia In A Child., Joel D. Klein, Stephen C. Eppes

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

Children undergoing chemotherapy for cancer are at increased risk of supervening infection, including bacteremia. This may be due to immunosuppression as well as the presence of intravascular devices such as central venous catheters. Bacteria responsible for these infections include those found in the child's endogenous flora as well as in environmental sources. We report the case of a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who developed bacteremia secondary to Ochrobactrum anthropi. Details of this extremely rare infection are the focus of this report.

Estimation Of The Incidence Of A Rare Genetic Disease Through A Two-Tier Mutation Survey, R Chakraborty, M R Srinivasan, S Raskin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recent attempts to detect mutations involving single base changes or small deletions that are specific to genetic diseases provide an opportunity to develop a two-tier mutation-screening program through which incidence of rare genetic disorders and gene carriers may be precisely estimated. A two-tier survey consists of mutation screening in a sample of patients with specific genetic disorders and in a second sample of newborns from the same population in which mutation frequency is evaluated. We provide the statistical basis for evaluating the incidence of affected and gene carriers in such two-tier mutation-screening surveys, from which the precision of the estimates …

Sequencing Of Cdna From 50 Unrelated Patients Reveals That Mutations In The Triple-Helical Domain Of Type Iii Procollagen Are An Infrequent Cause Of Aortic Aneurysms., Gerard Tromp, Yuli Wu, Darwin J. Prockop, Swarna L. Madhatheri, Caren Kleinert, James J. Earley, Jiapiao Zhuang, Orjan Norrgård, R. Clement Darling, William M. Abbott, C. William Cole, Pekka Jaakkola, Markku Ryynanen, William H. Pearce, James S.T. Yao, Kari Majamaa, Stanton N. Smullens, Zoran Gatalica, Robert E. Ferrell, Sergio A. Jimenez, Charles E. Jackson, Virginia V. Michels, Michael Kaye, Helena Kuivaniemi

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

Detailed DNA sequencing of the triple-helical domain of type III procollagen was carried out on cDNA prepared from 54 patients with aortic aneurysms. The 43 male and 11 female patients originated from 50 different families and five different nationalities. 43 patients had at least one additional blood relative who had aneurysms. Five overlapping asymmetric PCR products, covering all the coding sequences of the triple-helical domain of type III procollagen, were sequenced with 28 specific sequencing primers. Analysis of the sequencing gels revealed only two nucleotide changes that altered the structure of the protein. One was a substitution of threonine for …

Regulation Of Human Lung Fibroblast Alpha 1(I) Procollagen Gene Expression By Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha, Interleukin-1 Beta, And Prostaglandin E2., Arturo Diaz, Elena Munoz, Rosemary Johnston, Joseph H. Korn, Sergio A. Jimenez

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

We investigated the participation of prostaglandin (PG) E2 in the regulation of the alpha 1(I) procollagen gene expression by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) in normal adult human lung fibroblasts. TNF alpha (100 units/ml) and IL-1 beta (100 units/ml) stimulated the production of PGE2 and caused a dose-dependent inhibition of up to 54 and 66%, respectively, of the production of type I procollagen. Preincubation of cultures with indomethacin partially reversed the inhibition of procollagen production induced by the cytokines. Cytokine-stimulated endogenous fibroblast PG accounted for 35 and 68% of the inhibition induced by TNF …

Can An Anesthesia Machine Flush Valve Provide For Effective Jet Ventilation?, S D Gaughan, J L Benumof, G T Ozaki

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Transtracheal jet ventilation (TTJV) using a percutaneously inserted intravenous (IV) catheter for the patient who cannot be ventilated or tracheally intubated or, using a jet stylet for changing endotracheal tubes (ETT) in patients for whom subsequent ventilation and/or tracheal reintubation may be difficult, are extremely valuable therapeutic options. The jet ventilation system must have a sufficiently high pressure-oxygen source to drive oxygen through noncompliant tubing and through relatively small IV catheters and/or jet stylets in order to achieve adequate ventilation and oxygenation. There is no evidence that using the common gas outlet of an anesthesia machine by activating the flush …

A Model To Promote Activity Competence In Elders., Ruth E. Levine, Laura N. Gitlin

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

This paper describes an occupational therapy home-based intervention in which purposeful activities were used to promote adaptation and competence in older adults with chronic disabilities. Seven home care therapists visited 17 randomly selected, community-living elders who were chronically disabled and who volunteered to participate in the program. The number of visits ranged from 3 to 10 and occurred over a 3-month period according to clients' needs and wishes. Therapists enhanced their ability to enter the client's social and cultural system by using participant-observation techniques and collaboratively identified activities. Therapists documented each home visit with a structured fieldnote form. An analysis …

Health Care Reform.... Practical Manifestations Of Theoretical Values, David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Plasma Total Glutathione In Humans And Its Association With Demographic And Health-Related Factors, Elaine W. Flagg, Ralph J. Coates, J. William Eley, Raymond S. Greenberg, Dean P. P. Jones, Elaine W. Gunter, Bethany Jackson

Faculty Publications

The tripeptide glutathione is proposed to be protective against a number of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, there have been few studies of plasma glutathione levels in humans and in those studies the numbers of participants have been very small. In an exploratory analysis the determinants of plasma total glutathione (GSHt) were investigated in a group of 100 volunteers aged 18–61 years in Atlanta, Georgia, USA during June and July 1989. Data on demographic and health-related factors were collected by interview and plasma GSHt was measured using a recently modified laboratory method. The mean concentration of plasma …

Gender Differences In Dementia Management Plans Of Spousal Caregivers: Implications For Occupational Therapy., Mary A. Corcoran

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

Occupational therapists treating older people with Alzheimer disease know that they must also consider the others who are affected by the disease, the informal caregivers. Intervention is most effective when it enables both the impaired person and the primary caregiver to manage the secondary symptoms of dementia. Unfortunately, little is understood about how caregivers approach and carry out their tasks and about why male and female caregivers respond differently to their caregiving role in terms of depression, burden, stress, and substance abuse. This paper discusses the effects of gender on dementia management plans of spousal caregivers. Husbands and wives have …

A Phorbol Ester Response Element Within The Human T-Cell Receptor Beta-Chain Enhancer., Haydn M. Prosser, David Wotton, Anne Gegonne, Jacques Ghysdael, Shuwen Wang, Nancy A. Speck, Michael J. Owen

Dartmouth Scholarship

The activity of the T-cell receptor beta-chain gene enhancer is increased by activators of the protein kinase C pathway during T-cell activation. Analysis of mutant enhancer constructs identified two elements, beta E2 and beta E3, conferring phorbol ester inducibility. Multimerized beta E2 acted in isolation as a phorbol ester-responsive element. Both beta E2 and beta E3, which contain a consensus Ets-binding site, were shown to bind directly to the product of the c-ets-1 protooncogene. Both regions also bound a second factor, core-binding factor. Mutation of the beta E2 Ets site abolished the inducibility of the beta E2 multimer. beta E2 …

Childhood Typhoid Fever Diagnosed In An Urban U.S. Setting., Surinder K. Sodhi, Stephen C. Eppes, Joel D. Klein

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

The majority of cases of childhood typhoid fever diagnosed in the United States occur in persons recently returned from travel abroad. We report two childhood cases of typhoid fever acquired in Mexico and India and diagnosed in an urban United States setting. This report describes these cases and provides insights into the pitfalls in recognizing this condition in a nonendemic setting as well as information concerning differential diagnosis and treatment.

Modulation Of Cisplatin Sensitivity And Growth Rate Of An Ovarian Carcinoma Cell Line By Bombesin And Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha., Seiji Isonishi, Antti P. Jekunen, Doreen K. Hom, Alan Eastman, Peter S. Edelstein, Franz B. Thiebaut, Randolph D. Christen, Stephen B. Howell

Dartmouth Scholarship

A twofold change in the cisplatin (DDP) sensitivity of 2008 human ovarian carcinoma cells is sufficient to reduce tumor response in vivo. The DDP sensitivity of these cells can be enhanced by activation of the epidermal growth factor and protein kinase C signal transduction pathways. We report here that two endogenous growth factors, bombesin and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), enhanced DDP sensitivity by factors of 1.7 +/- 0.1 (SD)-fold and 1.8 +/- 0.1 (SD)-fold, respectively. Both agents also produced sensitization in an 11-fold DDP-resistant 2008 subline. Neither bombesin nor TNF alpha changed the accumulation of DDP, glutathione content, …

Dementia Management: An Occupational Therapy Home-Based Intervention For Caregivers., Mary A. Corcoran, Laura N. Gitlin

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

This paper describes an occupational therapy intervention designed for family caregivers of persons with dementia. The intervention, based on the framework of a competence-environmental press model and the principle of collaboration, was implemented during 5 home visits. Each visit was designed to build caregiving skills through collaboration in identifying problem areas, developing and implementing environmental strategies, and modifying management approaches. A case vignette illustrates the therapeutic process and outcomes. The theoretical rationale and structure of the intervention and innovative documentation for evaluation of the theoretic process are also presented.

Antibodies Against Epstein-Barr Nuclear Antigen (Ebna) In Multiple Sclerosis Csf, And Two Pentapeptide Sequence Identities Between Ebna And Myelin Basic Protein., Patrick F. Bray, J Luka, Paul F. Bray, K W. Culp, J P. Schlight

Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes infectious mononucleosis and is linked to several disparate malignancies. Prior studies on patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) showed that 100% are EBV-seropositive and that their blood contains higher antibody titers than those of controls to both transformation and lytic cycle antigens. We performed three different assays for antibodies in CSF to three major EBV antigens from patients with MS and controls. Among 93 patients with MS, 79 (85%) had CSF that reacted with a 70 kD protein, shown to be the nuclear antigen, EBNA-1, whereas only 11 (13%) of 81 EBV-seropositive controls reacted, p less …

Alternative Splicing Of Human Prostaglandin G/H Synthase Mrna And Evidence Of Differential Regulation Of The Resulting Transcripts By Transforming Growth Factor Beta 1, Interleukin 1 Beta, And Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha., Arturo Diaz, Anthony M. Reginato, Sergio A. Jimenez

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Prostaglandin G/H synthase (PGG/HS) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins and thromboxanes. We screened a human lung fibroblast cDNA library with an ovine PGG/HS cDNA and isolated a 2.3-kilobase clone (HCO-T9). Sequence analysis of this clone showed that (a) it contained the entire translated region of PGG/HS and (b) it displayed an in-frame splicing of the last 111 base pairs encoded by exon 9, which resulted in the elimination of the N-glycosylation site at residue 409. Polymerase chain reaction amplification with specific oligonucleotides of reverse-transcribed mRNA from diverse human tissues and cultured cells yielded …

Mp92-64 The Stable Fly: A Pest Of Humans And Domestic Animals, Gustave D. Thomas, Steven R. Skoda

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Many species of flies are pests. Many people, if you were to ask them about flies, would be at least vaguely aware of the potential to flies to transmit disease organisms. But yet, for the most part, a fly is a fly is a fly. Sayings like "It must be about to rain, the house flies are biting" are still common and show a general need for more, readily accessible information, particularly about some of the pest flies.

Stable flies, obligate blood-feeders, are very important pests to the cattle industry and, at times, are pests to other groups (they're most …

Measurement Of Beliefs About Consciousness And Reality, Imants Barušs, Robert J. Moore

Psychology

No abstract provided.

G92-1106 Controlling Rats, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Dallas R. Virchow

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Ways to recognize rat problems and control rats are covered here.

The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) (also known as the common brown rat) is a destructive pest. Found in and around towns and farms throughout Nebraska, these rodents eat and contaminate large amounts of feed, damage structures by their gnawing and burrowing, and spread diseases that affect livestock and humans.