bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rising trend of asthma prevalence among Turkish schoolchildren (ISAAC phases I and III)
Authors: Ones U. , Akcay A. , Tamay Z. , Guler N. , Zencir M. 
Published: August 2006

Background:  Asthma is a common chronic illness in childhood. The aim of the study was to examine time trends in the prevalence of asthma using the ISAAC questionnaire in 6‐ to 12‐year‐old schoolchildren in Istanbul and factors affecting asthma prevalence.Methods:  Two cross‐sectional surveys were performed, 9 years apart (1995 and 2004) using the ISAAC protocol. The survey conducted in 1995 was repeated in 2004 using the same questionnaire in the same age group, in the same schools in the same season. The 2500 questionnaires were distributed to the children to be completed by their parents at home.Results:  A total of 2387 children (response rate 95.5%) in the 2004 study and 2216 children (response rate 94.3%) in 1995 were included in the final analysis. The overall lifetime prevalence of wheeze increased from 15.1% to 25.3%; prevalence odds ratio (POR) = 1.91, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.64–2.21, and P < 0.001. The overall 12‐month prevalence of wheeze increased from 8.2% to 11.3%; POR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.18–1.75, and P < 0.001. The prevalence of asthma increased significantly from 9.8% to 17.8%; POR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.67–2.36, and P < 0.001. In both 1995 and 2004, family history of asthma, eczema diagnosed by a physician, food allergy diagnosed by a physician, frequent otitis, frequent sinusitis were associated significantly with high risk for asthma.Conclusions:  In the 9‐year period from 1995 to 2004, the prevalence of asthma symptoms has increased in 6‐ to 12‐year‐old schoolchildren in Istanbul. Risk factors affecting asthma prevalence remained unchanged during the 9‐year period.
Pathogenic Variation of Fusarium Isolates Associated with Head Blight of Wheat in Australia
Authors: Akinsanmi O. A. , Backhouse D. , Simpfendorfer S. , Chakraborty S. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThis paper examines the level of pathogenic diversity in Australian Fusarium pseudograminearum and Fusarium graminearum isolates for head blight from the assessment of 51 wheat germplasm lines, barley, triticale, rye, maize and sorghum plants. A set of nine putative wheat differentials were selected and assessed with 10 F. graminearum and 12 F. pseudograminearum isolates. Isolates of both species were pathogenic on all the wheat germplasm lines, barley triticale and rye. The isolates differed largely in a quantitative way with only small differential effects and were statistically demarcated into three pathogenicity groups: low, intermediate and high. Such distribution patterns suggest that wheat germplasm lines employ different resistance mechanisms to each group of isolates and the three pathogenicity groups may have different mechanisms controlling pathogenicity. The aggressiveness of F. graminearum and F. pseudograminearum isolates on the wheat germplasm lines were marginally correlated (r = 0.40). Durum wheats were ranked as the most susceptible while Sumai 3, Ituo Komugi, Sotome A, Sotome and Nobeokabouzu komugi were consistently grouped as resistant by both species. These findings reiterate the need to consider pathogen variability in the screening, selection and improvement of resistance to head blight in wheat.
A Suspension Culture Method for the Rapid Mass Culture of Cistella japonica Mycelium
Authors: Yamanobe T. , Oribe Y. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractDifferent methods were investigated for the rapid mass culture of Cistella japonica by using water extracts of some nutritional sources. In an agar culture test, there was little difference in mycelial growth in water extracts of wheat bran, rice bran and potato. In suspension culture with wheat bran extract, which is easily and cheaply available, the mycelium of C. japonica increased seven times more than that in agar culture after a month's incubation. C. japonica from suspension culture was pathogenic to Chamaecyparis obtusa. These results suggest that suspension culture in water extract of wheat bran can be adopted for the rapid mass culturing of C. japonica for use in inoculation tests.
Genetic Variability in Phytophthora palmivora (Butl.) Using RAPD Markers
Authors: Sudheesh K. G. , Sreekumar V. B. 
Published: August 2006

Abstract Phytophthora palmivora causes bud rot, fruit and immature nut fall in India, and causes significant coconut yield losses. Genetic variability was estimated in 70 isolates representing seven populations from the Kerala and Karnataka regions using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. RAPDs generated a total of 163 markers with 15 decamer primers, of which 92% were found to be polymorphic. The number of polymorphic loci within a single population varied from 45 to 92 with estimated hetrozygosities ranging from 0.08 to 0.23. The majority of the genetic diversity was distributed within populations (68.25%) and only 31.75% were among populations. Genetic relationships estimated by the unweighted pair‐group method with arithmatic averaging (UPGMA) revealed clear separation of Kerala and Karnataka populations.
Evaluation of Food Additives and Low‐toxicity Compounds for the Control of Bean Rust and Wheat Leaf Rust
Authors: Arslan U. , Ilhan K. , Karabulut O. A. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe efficacy of low‐toxicity chemicals as possible alternatives to synthetic fungicides for the control of Uromyces appendiculatus and Puccinia triticina was evaluated. A preliminary selection of food additives was performed through in vitro and in vivo preliminary screenings. The ED50 and minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values showed that most of the food additives used in this study were more toxic to U. appendiculatus than to P. triticina. Acetic acid, potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate and sodium molybdate were the food additives that were more toxic to the urediniospores of P. triticina. Selected compounds and concentrations were tested on bean and wheat plants grown in pots under controlled conditions. Acetic acid, ammonium bicarbonate, potassium acetate, potassium benzoate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium acetate and sodium citrate at 0.03, 0.09, 0.03, 0.006, 0.012, 0.012, 0.03 and 0.03 m, respectively, significantly reduced the disease severity of U. appendiculatus without causing any injury to bean leaves. Ammonium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate and sodium citrate at 0.12, 0.03, 0.12 and 0.03 m, respectively, were the most effective in reducing the disease severity caused by P. triticina without causing any injury to wheat leaves.
Analysis of Genetic Diversity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli Isolates, Pathogenic and Non‐pathogenic to Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)
Authors: Zanotti M. G. S. , De Queiroz M. V. , Dos Santos J. K. , Rocha R. B. , De Barros E. G. , Araújo E. F. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractTwenty isolates of Fusarium oxysporum from Brazil, pathogenic and non‐pathogenic to common bean, were analysed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPDs) to study the genetic diversity. RAPD analysis using 23 oligonucleotides resulted in the amplification of 229 polymorphic and 7 monomorphic DNA fragments ranging from 234 to 2590 bp. High genetic variability was observed among the isolates, with the distances varying between 8% and 76% among pathogenic, 2% and 63% among the non‐pathogenic and 45% and 76% between pathogenic and non‐pathogenic isolates. The analysis of genetic distance data showed that the pathogenic isolates tended to group in one group and the non‐pathogenic in another. The genetic distance values of 30% among the pathogenic isolates in cluster A are compatible with the genetic distance values observed within the physiological races, but the distance values among the pathogenic isolates in clusters B and G are not compatible with the distance values observed within the race. Although our results are preliminary, it was not possible to exclude the existence of more than one race of this fungus in Brazil.
State Trading and Tariff Rate Quotas: The Case of Korea’s Rice Imports
Authors: Hranaiova Jana , Gorter Harry de 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThis paper analyzes the effects of trade liberalization of tariff‐rate quotas under import “state trading enterprises” (STEs) in agriculture. An analytical framework is provided to determine the importance of which instrument is binding under competition (the in‐quota or out‐of‐quota tariff or the quota) and under the initial STE equilibrium. It also depends on whether or not the STE controls both the domestic market prices and owns/controls the import quota (and whether it is obligated to fill the quota or not). An empirical example of the rice STE in South Korea has simulations showing that an increase in imports can be achieved through a moderate expansion of the quota or a decrease in the out‐of‐quota tariff to the level where it becomes binding. However, a significant level of quota expansion induces the STE to switch to the autarky solution and social welfare declines.
The Influence of Others on Migration Plans
Authors: Epstein Gil S. , Gang Ira N. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe willingness to migrate and locational choice may be influenced by others’ choices or plans, particularly if the “other people,” such as family and friends, are migrants, former migrants, or potential migrants themselves. We examine the roles “other people” play in influencing an individual’s potential migration decision. In analyzing the influence of others on migration decisions, we rely on the concepts of migration networks and herd effects.
Political Competition Between Countries and Economic Growth
Authors: Chaudhry Azam , Garner Phillip 
Published: August 2006

AbstractPolitical competition between European countries has been viewed as being a stimulus to the innovation process and part of the reason why Europe was the first region of the world to experience sustained growth. Countries that fell behind their rivals technologically and economically became more vulnerable to exploitation. In this way, the presence of rival states provided added incentive to innovate. This paper uses a simple model of conflict between countries to study the role of political competition in economic growth. The governments of each country are threatened politically by innovation and, hence, face a trade‐off between the stability of their regime and keeping up with their rivals. The model shows that “institutional spillovers,” such as a decrease in the level of rent‐seeking in one country, can affect growth in a competing country. Thus, political fragmentation can be growth enhancing as it can result in more political competition.
Isolation of polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite markers for the silky short‐tailed bat Carollia brevicauda
Authors: BARDELEBEN CAROLYNE , CAMPBELL POLLY , LARA MARCIA , MOORE RACHAEL L. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractWe isolated 10 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the silky short‐tailed bat, Carollia brevicauda, from genomic libraries enriched for (AAGG)n repetitive elements. The number of alleles ranged from six to 25 per locus with the observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.29 to 0.95. These markers will be useful for analysis of questions concerning population genetic structure and models of speciation. Results of cross‐species amplification in Carollia castanea and Carollia perspicillata are also reported.
Impact of the Medicare Short Stay Transfer Policy on Patients undergoing Major Orthopedic Surgery
Authors: FitzGerald John D. , John Boscardin W. , Hahn Bevra H. , Ettner Susan L. 
Published: August 2006

Objective. To examine the impact of the Short Stay Transfer Policy (SSTP) on practice patterns.Data Sources. This study uses data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) file, Home Health Standard Analytical File, 1999 Provider of Service file, and data from the 2000 United States Census.Study Design. An interrupted time‐series analysis was used to examine the length of stay (LOS) and probability of “early” discharge to post acute care (PAC).Data Collection. Separate 100percent samples of all fee‐for‐service Medicare recipients undergoing either elective joint replacement (JR) surgery or surgical management of hip fracture (FX) between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 2000 were selected.Principal Findings. Prior to implementation of the SSTP. LOS had been falling by 0.37 and 0.30 days per year for JR and FX patients respectively. After implementation of the SSTP, there was an immediate increase in LOS by 0.20 and 0.17 days, respectively. Thereafter, LOS remained flat. The proportion of patients discharged “early” to PAC had been rising by 4.4 and 2.6 percentage points per year for JR and FX patients respectively, to a peak of 28.8percent and 20.4percent early PAC utilization in September 1998. Immediately after implementation of the SSTP, there was a 4.3 and 3.0 percentage point drop in utilization of “early” PAC. Thereafter utilization of early PAC increased at a much slower rate (for JR) or remained flat (for FX). There was significant regional variation in the magnitude of response to the policy.Conclusion. Implementation of the SSTP reduced the financial incentive to discharge patients early to PAC. This was accomplished primarily through longer LOS without meaningful change in PAC utilization. With the recent expansion of the SSTP to 29 DRGs (representing 34percent of all discharges), these findings have important implications regarding patient care.
Does Type of Gatekeeping Model Affect Access to Outpatient Specialty Mental Health Services?
Authors: Hodgkin Dominic , Merrick Elizabeth L. , Horgan Constance M. , Garnick Deborah W. , McLaughlin Thomas J. 
Published: August 2006

Objective. To measure how a change in gatekeeping model affects utilization of specialty mental health services.Data Sources/Study Setting. Secondary data from health insurance claims for services during 1996–1999. The setting is a managed care organization that changed gatekeeping model in one of its divisions, from in‐person evaluation to the use of a call‐center.Study Design. We evaluate the impact of the change in gatekeeping model by comparing utilization during the 2 years before and 2 years after the change, both in the affected division and in another division where gatekeeping model did not change. The design is thus a controlled quasi‐experimental one. Subjects were not randomized. Key dependent variables are whether each individual had any specialty mental health visits in a year; the number of visits; and the proportion of users exceeding eight visits in a year. Key explanatory variables include demographic variables and indicators for patient diagnoses and their intervention status (time‐period, study group).Data Collection/Extraction Methods. Claims data were aggregated to create analytic files with one record per member per year, with variables reporting demographic characteristics and mental health service use.Principal Findings. After controlling for secular trends at the other division, the division which changed gatekeeping model eventually experienced an increase in the proportion of enrollees receiving specialty mental health treatment, of 0.5 percentage point. Similarly, there was an increase of about 0.6 annual visits per user, concentrated at the low end of the distribution. These changes occurred only in the second year after the gatekeeping changes.Conclusions. The results of this study suggest that the gatekeeping changes did lead to increases in utilization of mental health care, as hypothesized. At the same time, the magnitude of the increase in access and mean number of visits that we found was relatively modest. This suggests that while the change from face‐to‐face specialty gatekeeping to call‐center intake does increase utilization, it is unlikely to overwhelm a system with new demand or create huge cost increases.
Clinical Practice Guideline Implementation Strategy Patterns in Veterans Affairs Primary Care Clinics
Authors: Hysong Sylvia J. , Best Richard G. , Pugh Jacqueline A. 
Published: August 2006

Background. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mandated the system‐wide implementation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) in the mid‐1990s, arming all facilities with basic resources to facilitate implementation; despite this resource allocation, significant variability still exists across VA facilities in implementation success.Objective. This study compares CPG implementation strategy patterns used by high and low performing primary care clinics in the VA.Research Design. Descriptive, cross‐sectional study of a purposeful sample of six Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) with high and low performance on six CPGs.Subjects. One hundred and two employees (management, quality improvement, clinic personnel) involved with guideline implementation at each VAMC primary care clinic.Measures. Participants reported specific strategies used by their facility to implement guidelines in 1‐hour semi‐structured interviews. Facilities were classified as high or low performers based on their guideline adherence scores calculated through independently conducted chart reviews.Findings. High performing facilities (HPFs) (a) invested significantly in the implementation of the electronic medical record and locally adapting it to provider needs, (b) invested dedicated resources to guideline‐related initiatives, and (c) exhibited a clear direction in their strategy choices. Low performing facilities exhibited (a) earlier stages of development for their electronic medical record, (b) reliance on preexisting resources for guideline implementation, with little local adaptation, and (c) no clear direction in their strategy choices.Conclusion. A multifaceted, yet targeted, strategic approach to guideline implementation emphasizing dedicated resources and local adaptation may result in more successful implementation and higher guideline adherence than relying on standardized resources and taxing preexisting channels.
Effect of Medicaid Managed Care on Racial Disparities in Health Care Access
Authors: Lê Cook Benjamin 
Published: August 2006

Objective. To evaluate the impact of Medicaid Managed Care (MMC) on racial disparities in access to care consistent with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) definition of racial disparity, which excludes differences stemming from health status but includes socioeconomic status (SES)‐mediated differences.Data Sources. Secondary data from the Adult Samples of the 1997–2001 National Health Interview Survey, metropolitan statistical area (MSA)‐level Medicaid Health Maintenance Organization (MHMO) market share from the 1997 to 2001 InterStudy MSA Trend Dataset, and MSA characteristics from the 1997 to 2001 Area Resource File.Study Design. I estimate multivariate regression models to compare racial disparities in doctor visits, emergency room (ER) use, and having a usual source of care between enrollees in MMC and Medicaid Fee‐for‐Service (FFS) plans. To contend with potential selection bias, I use a difference‐in‐difference analytical strategy and assess the impact of greater MHMO market share at the MSA level on Medicaid enrollees' access measures. To implement the IOM definition of racial disparity, I adjust for health status but not SES factors using a novel method to transform the distribution of health status for minority populations to approximate the white health status distribution.Principal Findings. MMC enrollment is associated with lowered disparities in having any doctor visit in the last year for blacks, and in having any usual source of care for both blacks and Hispanics. Increasing Medicaid HMO market share lowered disparities in having any doctor visits in the last year for both blacks and Hispanics. Although disparities in most other measures were not much affected, black–white ER use disparities exist among MMC enrollees and in areas of high MHMO market share.Conclusions. MMC programs' reduction of some disparities suggests that recent shifts in Medicaid policy toward managed care plans have benefited minority enrollees. Future research should investigate whether black–white disparities in ER use within MMC groups represent the flexibility of MMC plans to locate primary care in ERs or an inefficient delivery of care.
Survey Conditioning in Self‐Reported Mental Health Service Use: Randomized Comparison of Alternative Instrument Formats
Authors: Duan Naihua , Alegria Margarita , Canino Glorisa , McGuire Thomas G. , Takeuchi David 
Published: August 2006

Objective. To test the effect of survey conditioning (whether observed survey responses are affected by previous experience in the same survey or similar surveys) in a survey instrument used to assess mental health service use.Data Sources. Primary data collected in the National Latino and Asian American Study, a cross‐sectional household survey of Latinos and Asian Americans residing in the United States.Study Design. Study participants are randomly assigned to a Traditional Instrument with an interleafed format placing service use questions after detailed questions on disorders, or a Modified Instrument with an ensemble format screening for service use near the beginning of the survey. We hypothesize the ensemble format to be less susceptible to survey conditioning than the interleafed format. We compare self‐reported mental health services use measures (overall, aggregate categories, and specific categories) between recipients of the two instruments, using 2 × 2 χ2 tests and logistic regressions that control for key covariates.Data Collection. In‐person computer‐assisted interviews, conducted in respondent's preferred language (English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Tagalog, or Vietnamese).Principal Findings. Higher service use rates are reported with the Modified Instrument than with the Traditional Instrument for all service use measures; odds ratios range from 1.41 to 3.10, all p‐values <.001. Results are similar across ethnic groups and insensitive to model specification.Conclusions. Survey conditioning biases downward reported mental health service use when the instrument follows an interleafed format. An ensemble format should be used when it is feasible for measures that are susceptible to survey conditioning.
Regional Variations in the Realignment of American Politics, 1944–2004*
Authors: Bullock Charles S. , Hoffman Donna R. , Gaddie Ronald Keith 
Published: August 2006

Objective. Perennial questions in electoral studies are what constitutes realignment, and when and where do realignments occur? Using the concepts of critical and secular realignments as a framework, we model change in the end product of realignment, election outcomes. We test for secular and critical changes in partisan strength across six geographic regions of the United States, focusing on office‐holding data at both the federal and state legislative level.Methods. Using an interrupted time‐series model, we examine evidence for secular realignment and posit five critical interventions that have affected American politics since World War II.Results. Our findings suggest that there are elements of both critical and secular realignments at work with different patterns in each region, and that different regions have been affected by a variety of elections associated with critical events since 1944.Conclusions. The collapse of Republican hegemony in the Northeast and Pacific West has gone largely unnoticed, buried in the intense examination of the growth of the Republican Party in the American South. The 1994 election is the most prominent in terms of its impact on seat holding by the parties at both the state and national level, and constitutes a realigning election.