bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How Does Cash and Counseling Affect Costs?
Authors: Dale Stacy B. , Brown Randall S. 
Published: January 2007

Objective. To test the effect of a consumer‐directed model (Cash and Counseling) of Medicaid personal care services (PCS) or home‐ and community‐based waiver services (HCBS) on the cost of Medicaid services.Data Sources/Study Setting. Medicaid claims data were collected for all enrollees in the Cash and Counseling demonstration. Demonstration enrollees included those eligible for PCS (in Arkansas), those assessed to receive such services (in New Jersey), and recipients of Medicaid HCBS (in Florida). Enrollment occurred from December 1998 through April 2001. The follow‐up period covered up to 24 months after enrollment.Study Design. Demonstration volunteers were randomly assigned to have the option to participate in Cash and Counseling (the treatment group), or to receive Medicaid services as usual from an agency (the control group). Ordinary least squares regressions were used to estimate the effect of the program on costs for Medicaid PCS/waiver services and other Medicaid services, while controlling for consumers' preenrollment characteristics and preenrollment Medicaid spending. Models were estimated separately for nonelderly and elderly adults in each state and for children in Florida.Data Extraction Methods. Each state supplied claims data for demonstration enrollees.Principal Findings. Largely because the program increased consumers' ability to get the authorized amount of paid care, expenditures for personal care/waiver services were higher for the treatment group than for the control group in each state and age group, except among the elderly in Florida. Higher costs for personal care/waiver services were partially offset by savings in other Medicaid services, particularly those related to long‐term care. During year 1, total Medicaid costs were generally higher for the treatment group than for the control group, with treatment–control cost differences ranging from 1 percent (and statistically insignificant) for the elderly in Florida to 17 percent for the elderly in Arkansas. In year 2, these cost differences were generally greater than in year 1. Only in Arkansas did the treatment–control difference in total cost shrink over time—to less than 5 percent (and statistically insignificant) in year 2.Conclusions. Medicaid costs were generally higher under Cash and Counseling because those in the traditional system did not get the services they were entitled to. Compared with the treatment group, (1) control group members were less likely to receive any services at all (despite being authorized for them), and (2) service recipients received a lower proportion of the amount of care that was authorized. In addition, a flaw in Florida's reassessment procedures led to treatment group members receiving more generous benefit amounts than control group members. To keep total Medicaid costs per recipient at the level incurred under the traditional system, consumer‐directed programs need to be carefully designed and closely monitored.
Systemic dermatological treatment with relevance for male fertility
Authors: Grunewald Sonja , Paasch Uwe , Glander Hans‐Jürgen 
Published: January 2007

SummaryThe dermatologist employs systemic agents with likely gametotoxic side effects, including cytotoxic, immunosuppressive, immunomodulatory and biological agents. The impact of chemotherapy on male fertility depends on the treatment protocol as well as the pre‐treatment spermatogenesis status. Sperm concentration starts to drop about 2 weeks after beginning chemotherapy and reaches a maximum after 2–3 months. About half show recovery after 12–36 months. One year after therapy is completed, a treated patient has no increased risk of fathering a malformed child. There are no reports of methotrexate patients fathering children with malformations, most likely because impaired fertility or embryogenesis arrest. Cryopreservation of male gametes should be recommended prior to cytotoxic treatment, since the likelihood of post‐treatment fertility is unpredictable. The cryopreservation causes a loss of vital spermatozoa by 30–70% but does not influence the genetic information of gametes. Males treated with retinoids have no reproductive safety risk. Biologicals inhibiting TNF α show a positive effect on sperm function in vitro.
FAULT CONTROLS ON SEDIMENT DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS, LIMÓN BASIN, COSTA RICA
Authors: Brandes C. , Astorga A. , Back S. , Littke R. , Winsemann J. 
Published: January 2007

The Limón back‐arc basin on the Caribbean Seaboard of Costa Rica is an excellent area in which to study the influence of fault activity on patterns of sediment dispersal. The basin can be divided into northern and southern sub‐basins which are characterized by different structural histories. Whereas the North Limón Basin is dominated by extension, the South Limón Basin has been deformed by northeastward directed compression. Data from a grid of seismic lines in the offshore parts of these two sub‐basins allowed us to map the basin‐fill architecture and the key tectonic elements. Sediment thickness maps were used to infer the sediment distribution during the Middle Miocene, Late Miocene, Pliocene and Quaternary.The results of this study show that the extensional North Limón Basin has the characteristics of a passive continental margin. A wide and structurally homogeneous depocentre developed in relative tectonic quiescence. Tectonic activity increased in Plio‐Pleistocene times and pronounced normal faulting led to the formation of structurally‐controlled depocentres. The configuration in the South Limón Basin is different, since compressional tectonics created a heterogeneous pattern of accommodation space and sediment thickness. In this region, a number of small depocentres have been active since the Middle Miocene and their location changed continuously through time. These changes are most obvious in the Plio‐Pleistocene, where a succession of piggy‐back basins evolved in response to offshore activity on the Limón fold‐and‐thrust belt. Today, ongoing thrust tectonics causes topographic breaks at the sea‐floor of the South Limón Basin. These morphological features control the position of recent submarine channels.The data and interpretations presented here document the influence of fault activity on depositional patterns in a sedimentary basin. This study shows that tectonically controlled depocentres can be highly variable in space and time.
Protective Effect of Human Heat Shock Protein 60 Suggested by Its Association with Decreased Seropositivity to Pathogens
Authors: Steptoe A. , Shamaei-Tousi A. , Gylfe Å. , Bailey L. , Bergström S. , Coates A. R. , Henderson B. 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTThe presence of heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60) in human plasma has been linked with cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this study, the examination of the relationship between Hsp60 in plasma and seropositivity for three microbial agents, which are thought to be risk factors for CVD, surprisingly revealed a negative association between Hsp60 and seropositivity, suggesting a protective effect of this circulating stress protein.
Dynamics of
Helicobacter pylori
-Specific Immunoglobulin G for 2 Years after Successful Eradication of
Helicobacter pylori
Infection in an American Indian and Alaska Native Population
Authors: Miernyk Karen M. , Bruden Dana L. , Bruce Michael G. , McMahon Brian J. , Hennessy Thomas W. , Peters Helen V. , Hurlburt Debby A. , Sacco Frank , Parkinson Alan J. 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACT

Helicobacter pylori
antibodies were measured over 24 months in American Indian and Alaska Native persons who cleared their infections. Two months after treatment, 82% of
H. pylori
-negative persons remained seropositive. While there were declines in
H. pylori
antibodies for 12 months, after 24 months 71% of persons remained seropositive.
Enzymatic Defects of the nsP2 Proteins of Semliki Forest Virus Temperature-Sensitive Mutants
Authors: Balistreri Giuseppe , Caldentey Javier , Kääriäinen Leevi , Ahola Tero 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTWe have analyzed the biochemical consequences of mutations that affect viral RNA synthesis in Semliki Forest virus temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants. Of the six mutations mapping in the multifunctional replicase protein nsP2, three were located in the N-terminal helicase region and three were in the C-terminal protease domain. Wild-type and mutant nsP2s were expressed, purified, and assayed for nucleotide triphosphatase (NTPase), RNA triphosphatase (RTPase), and protease activities in vitro at 24°C and 35°C. The protease domain mutants (ts4, ts6, and ts11) had reduced protease activity at 35°C but displayed normal NTPase and RTPase. The helicase domain mutation ts1 did not have enzymatic consequences, whereas ts13a and ts9 reduced both NTPase and protease activities but in different and mutant-specific ways. The effects of these helicase domain mutants on protease function suggest interdomain interactions within nsP2. NTPase activity was not directly required for protease activity. The similarities of the NTPase and RTPase results, as well as competition experiments, suggest that these two reactions utilize the same active site. The mutations were also studied in recombinant viruses first cultivated at the permissive temperature and then shifted up to the restrictive temperature. Processing of the nonstructural polyprotein was generally retarded in cells infected with viruses carrying the ts4, ts6, ts11, and ts13a mutations, and a specific defect appeared in ts9. All mutations except ts13a were associated with a large reduction in the production of the subgenomic 26S mRNA, indicating that both protease and helicase domains influence the recognition of the subgenomic promoter during virus replication.
Political Songs, Collective Memories and Kikuyu Indi Schools
Authors: Wilson James A. 
Published: January 2007

Korwo nĩNdemi MathaathiBaba ndagwĩtia kĩrugũNjoke ngwĩtie itimũ na ngo,Riu baba ngũgwĩtia gĩthoomo.Ndegwa rĩu gũititũire,Thenge no iranyihanyiha,Ndiri kĩrugũ ngagwitia,Riu baba ngugwitia gĩthoomo.Maitũ nĩakwĩrĩte kaing,Ona niĩ nĩngũmenyithl˜tie,Ndirĩ kĩrugũ ngagwĩtia,Rĩu baba ngũgwĩtia gĩthoomo.Njamba ĩrĩa nene Kĩnyatta,Rĩu rĩoimĩte Rũraaya,Jomo nĩoimĩte na thoome,Ningĩ Jomo mũthigaani witũ.Njamba ya bata hĩndĩ ĩno,Kaarĩkayo no gĩtboomo,Wambu githĩto gĩthoomo,Baba, niĩno ngakĩina kaarĩ.Njambo cia baba hĩndĩ ĩno,]omo njamba ĩnyuagwo ĩmwe,Jomo mũraata wa andũairũ,Nowe Jotno mũraata wa twana1.1If this were Ndemi and Mathaathi's era,Father, I would plead for a feast,Then demand a spear and a shield,But now, father, I plead for education.Bulls are now depleted,He-goats are also fewer,No banquet shall I ask,Now, father, I plead for education.Mother has often told you,Even I have informed you,No feast shall I demand,Now, father, I plead for education.The courageous warrior Kenyatta,Has now arrived from Europe,Jomo came through open gates,Equally, he was our negotiator,The important warrior of today,His song of joy is education,Is Wambu's honor not education?Father, how then shall I find my joy?Brave warriors of today,We drink to Jomo the fearless one,Jomo, friend of all Black people,And Jomo the friend of children.2Peris Wanjira Gachaũ was eleven years old when she first attended Ngoigo Independent School in 1948. She enjoyed, most of all, singing the songs her teachers taught her and other students concerning the significance of education, stolen Kikuyu land, and the promise of African independence in Kenya. “Our teachers taught us lessons of our history, culture, elders, as well as our future; and we sang in the mornings, in the afternoons, and on our way home from school, everyday.” According to Mrs. Gachaũ, the song Korwo nĩ Ndemi Mathaathi was popular among her classmates and the Kikuyu elders of her community because “everyone understood the importance of education and uhuru.” But this song most likely represented more than education and freedom to the people of Ngoigo. This song also acknowledges the memory of Kikuyu customs, the continuous transformation of Kikuyu tradition to modernity, the changing armature of Kikuyu leadership, and the future negotiation process for communicating with the outside world.
Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy using the lateral focused mini-incision technique without intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring
Authors: Pang T , Stalberg P , Sidhu S , Sywak M , Wilkinson M , Reeve T S , Delbridge L 
Published: January 2007

Abstract

Background
Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) involves scan-directed removal of a single adenoma through a 2·0-cm mini-incision without intraoperative monitoring. The aim of this study was to analyse the outcomes of MIP using such a simplified technique.

Methods
The study group comprised 500 consecutive patients undergoing MIP via a lateral mini-incision from August 2000 to September 2005. Levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) were measured after operation solely to aid informed discharge.

Results
Some 97·4 per cent of patients were initially cured by MIP. Eight patients remained hypercalcaemic and a further five were normocalcaemic on the day after surgery but became hypercalcaemic again within 3 months of the procedure. Eleven of these patients were cured with subsequent re-exploration. Analysis of postoperative PTH data indicated that, at best, the use of intraoperative PTH measurement during surgery would have increased the cure rate by only a further 1 per cent. Three (0·6 per cent) of 500 patients had permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy after MIP.

Conclusion
MIP performed by the lateral focused mini-incision technique, without the use of intraoperative PTH monitoring, is a safe and effective procedure that results in outcomes equal to those of bilateral neck exploration.
Social experience organizes parallel networks in sensory and limbic forebrain
Authors: Yang Eun‐Jin , Wilczynski Walter 
Published: January 2007

AbstractSuccessful social behavior can directly influence an individual's reproductive success. Therefore, many organisms readily modify social behavior based on past experience. The neural changes induced by social experience, however, remain to be fully elucidated. We hypothesize that social modulation of neural systems not only occurs at the level of individual nuclei, but also of functional networks, and their relationships with behavior. We used the green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis), which displays stereotyped, visually triggered social behaviors particularly suitable for comparisons of multiple functional networks in a social context, to test whether repeated aggressive interactions modify behavior and metabolic activity in limbic–hypothalamic and sensory forebrain regions, assessed by quantitative cytochrome oxidase (a slowly accumulating endogenous metabolic marker) histochemistry. We found that aggressive interactions potentiate aggressive behavior, induce changes in activities of individual nuclei, and organize context‐specific functional neural networks. Surprisingly, this experiential effect is not only present in a limbic–hypothalamic network, but also extends to a sensory forebrain network directly relevant to the behavioral expression. Our results suggest that social experience modulates organisms' social behavior via modifying sensory and limbic neural systems in parallel both at the levels of individual regions and networks, potentially biasing perceptual as well as limbic processing. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2007
A clinical profile of participants in an online support group
Authors: Darcy Alison M. , Dooley Barbara 
Published: January 2007

AbstractObjectiveTo explore the clinical characteristics of users of an online support group for people with eating disorders (EDs).MethodOne hundred and thirty‐eight support group participants were recruited online and completed measures that were specifically adapted for internet administration. These included two subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory‐2 (EDI‐2); the 26‐item version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT‐26); the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); and the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (RSE).ResultsParticipants scored significantly higher than published normative data on all measures. In addition, while the group scored in line with traditional clinical samples, some self‐reported diagnostic groups scored significantly higher on all of the factors.DiscussionParticipants demonstrated a clinical profile, in terms of reported distress, comparable to, and on some measures in excess of, samples diagnosed with an ED. Online support groups may be ideally placed to offer support and information to some people with EDs. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
Proinflammatory mediators released by activated microglia induces neuronal death in Japanese encephalitis
Authors: Ghoshal Ayan , Das Sulagna , Ghosh Soumya , Mishra Manoj Kumar , Sharma Vivek , Koli Preeti , Sen Ellora , Basu Anirban 
Published: January 2007

AbstractWhile a number of studies have documented the importance of microglia in central nervous system (CNS) response to injury, infection and disease, little is known regarding its role in viral encephalitis. We therefore, exploited an experimental model of Japanese Encephalitis, to better understand the role played by microglia in Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) infection. Lectin staining performed to assess microglial activation indicated a robust increase in reactive microglia following infection. A difference in the topographic distribution of activated, resting, and phagocytic microglia was also observed. The levels of various proinflammatory mediators, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase‐2 (Cox‐2), IL‐6, IL‐1β, TNF‐α, and MCP‐1 that have been implicated in microglial response to an activational state was significantly elevated following infection. These cytokines exhibited region selective expression in the brains of infected animals, with the highest expression observed in the hippocampus. Moreover, the expression of neuronal specific nuclear protein NeuN was markedly downregulated during progressive infection indicating neuronal loss. In vitro studies further confirmed that microglial activation and subsequent release of various proinflammatory mediators induces neuronal death following JEV infection. Although initiation of immune responses by microglial cells is an important protective mechanism in the CNS, unrestrained inflammatory responses may result in irreparable brain damage. Our findings suggest that the increased microglial activation following JEV infection influences the outcome of viral pathogenesis. It is likely that the increased microglial activation triggers bystander damage, as the animals eventually succumb to infection. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Gene transfer of the CD40‐ligand to human dendritic cells induces NK‐mediated antitumor effects against human carcinoma cells
Authors: Tomihara Kei , Kato Kazunori , Masuta Yukari , Nakamura Kiminori , Tanaka Toshihiro , Hiratsuka Hiroyoshi , Hamada Hirofumi 
Published: January 2007

AbstractThe CD40‐ligand (CD40L) is a key molecule for the activation of dendritic cells (DCs), followed by the induction of DC maturation and cytokine production. Here we found that DC infected with adenovirus vector encoding human CD40L (CD40L‐DC) displayed significantly higher levels of immune accessory molecules and IL‐12 production than did uninfected cells, and that CD40L‐DC produced much higher levels of IFN‐γ. To investigate whether CD40L‐DC‐derived these soluble factors could stimulate NK cells without physical cell‐to‐cell contact, we cocultured NK cells with CD40L‐DC in transwell culture plates. NK cells showed up‐regulated cytotoxic activity toward various squamous oral cell carcinoma (OSC‐70, HSC‐2, HSC‐3), and we determined that both IL‐12 and IFN‐γ contributed to the CD40L‐DC‐mediated NK cell activation. NK cells stimulated with CD40L‐DC resulted in the induction of the cell surface expression of TRAIL, the production of IFN‐γ and intracellular accumulation of granzyme B. The cytotoxic activity of NK cells stimulated with CD40L‐DC could be mostly inhibited by neutralizing antibody for TRAIL and completely abrogated by the combination of antibody and exocytosis inhibitor, indicating that this was mainly mediated by a TRAIL‐TRAIL‐receptor interaction and granule exocytosis. Moreover, CD40L‐DC‐activated NK cells could induce up‐regulation of a death‐receptor TRAIL‐R2 (DR5) and down‐regulation of a decoy receptor TRAIL‐R3 (DcR1) on carcinoma cells. Overall, these results have revealed that CD40L‐DC could activate an innate immune reaction by stimulating NK cells followed by carcinoma cells, supporting that administration of CD40L‐DC may have potential as an anticancer therapy. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Enhanced levels of glutathione and protein glutathiolation in rat tongue epithelium during 4‐NQO‐induced carcinogenesis
Authors: Huang Zhishan , Komninou Despina , Kleinman Wayne , Pinto John T. , Gilhooly Elaine M. , Calcagnotto Ana , Richie John P. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractHigh glutathione (GSH) levels are commonly found in oral tumors and are thought to play an important role in tumorigenesis. While posttranslational binding of GSH to cellular proteins (protein glutathiolation) has recently been recognized as an important redox‐sensitive regulatory mechanism, no data currently exist on this process during carcinogenesis. Our goal was to determine the effects of 4‐nitroquinoline‐N‐oxide (4‐NQO)‐induced carcinogenesis on tongue levels of protein‐bound and free GSH and related thiols in the rat. Male F‐344 rats (6 weeks of age) were administered either 4‐NQO (20 ppm) in drinking water or tap water alone (controls) for 8 weeks. Twenty‐four weeks after cessation of 4‐NQO, squamous cell carcinomas of the tongue were observed in all rats. The levels of both free and bound GSH in tumors, as well as in adjacent tissues, were 2‐ to 3‐fold greater than in tongue epithelium from control rats (p < 0.05). Prior to tumor formation, at 8 weeks after cessation of 4‐NQO, hyperplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma in situ were observed in 100%, 25% and 12.5% of 4‐NQO‐treated rats, respectively. At this early stage of carcinogenesis, levels of free and bound GSH were increased 50% compared with tongue tissues from control rats (p < 0.05). Glutathione disulfide (GSSG) levels were also 2‐fold greater in tongue tissues from 4‐NQO treated vs. control rats (p < 0.05). Altogether, these results suggest that protein glutathiolation, together with GSH and GSSG levels, are induced during oral carcinogenesis in the rat possibly as a result of enhanced levels of oxidative stress. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.