The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment: Evidence from the First Year

In 2008, a group of uninsured low-income adults in Oregon was selected by lottery to be given the chance to apply for Medicaid. This lottery provides an opportunity to gauge the effects of expanding access to public health insurance on the health care use, financial strain, and health of low-income adults using a randomized controlled design. In the year after random assignment, the treatment group selected by the lottery was about 25 percentage points more likely to have insurance than the control group that was not selected. We find that in this first year, the treatment group had substantively and statistically significantly higher health care utilization (including primary and preventive care as well as hospitalizations), lower out-of-pocket medical expenditures and medical debt (including fewer bills sent to collection), and better self-reported physical and mental health than the control group.National Institutes of Health. Department of Health and Human ServicesCalifornia HealthCare FoundationJohn D. and Catherine T. MacArthur FoundationNational Institute on Aging (P30AG012810)National Institute on Aging (RC2AGO36631)National Institute on Aging (R01AG0345151)Robert Wood Johnson FoundationAlfred P. Sloan FoundationSmith Richardson FoundationUnited States. Social Security Administration (grant 5 RRC 08098400-03-00 to the National Bureau of Economic Research as part of the SSA Retirement Research Consortium)Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (U.S.

Mitral valve surgery for mitral regurgitation caused by Libman-Sacks endocarditis: a report of four cases and a systematic review of the literature

Libman-Sacks endocarditis of the mitral valve was first described by Libman and Sacks in 1924. Currently, the sterile verrucous vegetative lesions seen in Libman-Sacks endocarditis are regarded as a cardiac manifestation of both systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Although typically mild and asymptomatic, complications of Libman-Sacks endocarditis may include superimposed bacterial endocarditis, thromboembolic events, and severe valvular regurgitation and/or stenosis requiring surgery. In this study we report two cases of mitral valve repair and two cases of mitral valve replacement for mitral regurgitation (MR) caused by Libman-Sacks endocarditis. In addition, we provide a systematic review of the English literature on mitral valve surgery for MR caused by Libman-Sacks endocarditis. This report shows that mitral valve repair is feasible and effective in young patients with relatively stable SLE and/or APS and only localized mitral valve abnormalities caused by Libman-Sacks endocarditis. Both clinical and echocardiographic follow-up after repair show excellent mid- and long-term results

Cross-Modulation of Homeostatic Responses to Temperature, Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide inC. elegans

Different interoceptive systems must be integrated to ensure that multiple homeostatic insults evoke appropriate behavioral and physiological responses. Little is known about how this is achieved. Using C. elegans, we dissect cross-modulation between systems that monitor temperature, O₂ and CO₂. CO₂ is less aversive to animals acclimated to 15°C than those grown at 22°C. This difference requires the AFD neurons, which respond to both temperature and CO₂ changes. CO₂ evokes distinct AFD Ca²⁺ responses in animals acclimated at 15°C or 22°C. Mutants defective in synaptic transmission can reprogram AFD CO₂ responses according to temperature experience, suggesting reprogramming occurs cell autonomously. AFD is exquisitely sensitive to CO₂. Surprisingly, gradients of 0.01% CO₂/second evoke very different Ca²⁺ responses from gradients of 0.04% CO₂/second. Ambient O₂ provides further contextual modulation of CO₂ avoidance. At 21% O₂ tonic signalling from the O₂-sensing neuron URX inhibits CO₂ avoidance. This inhibition can be graded according to O₂ levels. In a natural wild isolate, a switch from 21% to 19% O₂ is sufficient to convert CO₂ from a neutral to an aversive cue. This sharp tuning is conferred partly by the neuroglobin GLB-5. The modulatory effects of O₂ on CO₂ avoidance involve the RIA interneurons, which are post-synaptic to URX and exhibit CO₂-evoked Ca²⁺ responses. Ambient O₂ and acclimation temperature act combinatorially to modulate CO₂ responsiveness. Our work highlights the integrated architecture of homeostatic responses in C. elegans

A method for measuring sulfide toxicity in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Cysteine catabolism by gut microbiota produces high levels of sulfide. Excessive sulfide can interfere with colon function, and therefore may be involved in the etiology and risk of relapse of ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how cells/animals regulate the detoxification of sulfide generated by bacterial cysteine catabolism in the gut. Here we describe a simple and cost-effective way to explore the mechanism of sulfide toxicity in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). • A rapid cost-effective method to quantify and study sulfide tolerance in C. elegans and other free-living nematodes. • A cost effective method to measure the concentration of sulfide in the inverted plate assay

N-Heterocyclic Carbene Based Nanolayer for Copper Film Oxidation Mitigation.

The wide use of copper is limited by its rapid oxidation. Main oxidation mitigation approaches involve alloying or surface passivation technologies. However, surface alloying often modifies the physical properties of copper, while surface passivation is characterized by limited thermal and chemical stability. Herein, we demonstrate an electrochemical approach for surface-anchoring of an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) nanolayer on a copper electrode by electro-deposition of alkyne-functionalized imidazolium cations. Water reduction reaction generated a high concentration of hydroxide ions that induced deprotonation of imidazolium cations and self-assembly of NHCs on the copper electrode. In addition, alkyne group deprotonation enabled on-surface polymerization by coupling surface-anchored and solvated NHCs, which resulted in a 2 nm thick NHC-nanolayer. Copper film coated with a NHC-nanolayer demonstrated high oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures and under alkaline conditions

Natural variation in a neural globin tunes oxygen sensing in wild Caenorhabditis elegans.

(Note:A. Persson and E Gross contributed equally to this study.)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

N‑Heterocyclic Carbene Monolayers on Metal-Oxide Films: Correlations between Adsorption Mode and Surface Functionality

N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands have been self-assembled on various metal and semimetal surfaces, creating a covalent bond with surface metal atoms that led to high thermal and chemical stability of the self-assembled monolayer. This study explores the self-assembly of NHCs on metal-oxide films (CuOx, FeOx, and TiOx) and reveals that the properties of these metal-oxide substrates play a pivotal role in dictating the adsorption behavior of NHCs, influencing the decomposition route of the monolayer and its impact on work function values. While the attachment of NHCs onto CuOx is via coordination with surface oxygen atoms, NHCs interact with TiOx through coordination with surface metal atoms and with FeOx via coordination with both metal and oxygen surface atoms. These distinct binding modes arise due to variances in the electronic properties of the metal atoms within the investigated metal-oxide films. Contact angle and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy measurements have shown a significantly higher impact of F-NHC adsorption on CuOx than on TiOx and FeOx , correlated to a preferred, averaged upright orientation of F-NHC on CuOx

Electrochemical Deposition of Addressable N-Heterocyclic Carbene Monolayers

Herein, we introduce an electrochemical based approach for surface-anchoring of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) monolayers. The deposition process is based on in-situ formation of hydroxide ions by water reduction under negative potential. The hydroxide ions function as a base for deprotonation of the imidazole cations for the formation of active carbenes that self-assemble on the electrode\u27s surface. Therefore, the electrochemical deposition does not require dry conditions or the addition of external base for carbene activation. The high temporal and spatial proximity between the NHC\u27s activation and surface anchoring enabled the formation of well-ordered monolayers of NHCs on Au surfaces with higher density and stability than those achieved using liquid-phase deposition.</div

Electrochemical deposition of N-heterocyclic carbene monolayers on metal surfaces.

N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have been widely utilized for the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on various surfaces. The main methodologies for preparation of NHCs-based SAMs either requires inert atmosphere and strong base for deprotonation of imidazolium precursors or the use of specifically-synthesized precursors such as NHC(H)[HCO3] salts or NHC-CO2 adducts. Herein, we demonstrate an electrochemical approach for surface-anchoring of NHCs which overcomes the need for dry environment, addition of exogenous strong base or restricting synthetic steps. In the electrochemical deposition, water reduction reaction is used to generate high concentration of hydroxide ions in proximity to a metal electrode. Imidazolium cations were deprotonated by hydroxide ions, leading to carbenes formation that self-assembled on the electrode's surface. SAMs of NO2-functionalized NHCs and dimethyl-benzimidazole were electrochemically deposited on Au films. SAMs of NHCs were also electrochemically deposited on Pt, Pd and Ag films, demonstrating the wide metal scope of this deposition technique