A Comparison of Hospital Utilization in Urban and Rural Areas of South Carolina

Background: Previous studies have described health care utilization based on insurance status and ethnicity. Few investigations, however, have looked at rural populations in relation to distance in securing health care. Methods: The 2008 to 2009 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Database (SID) for South Carolina was used to assess the relationship of living in rural versus urban communities and the demographic variables related to insurance coverage. By use of bivariate and multivariate analyses, patient socio-demographic characteristics were explored for working-aged groups in relation to their income and for payer status (Medicaid or uninsured) relative to those privately insured. Results: Of hospitalizations, 68.89% were for those living in urban areas, 20.52% in large rural areas, 6.57% small rural areas, and 4.02% in isolated rural areas. Blacks lived predominantly in small rural (53.65%) and isolated rural communities (51.55%). As income decreased, the percentage of hospital admissions increased, from 5.83% for those earning $66,000 to 43.29$1 and $39,999. Conclusions: Hospital admissions may not be entirely dependent on race, income or insurance, but could also be influenced by geographic access. Further, having private insurance, higher incomes, and living in urban areas are positive predictors for better health outcomes

The Military Trial at Rennes: Text and Subtext of the Dreyfus Affair

Discusses the Dreyfus affair and how the outside world viewed France\u27s conduct. This article provides insight into how the trial was conducted and the evidence that was offered

Hybrid vehicle assessment. Phase 1: Petroleum savings analysis

The results of a comprehensive analysis of near term electric hybrid vehicles are presented, with emphasis on their potential to save significant amounts of petroleum on a national scale in the 1990s. Performance requirements and expected annual usage patterns of these vehicles are first modeled. The projected U.S. fleet composition is estimated, and conceptual hybrid vehicle designs are conceived and analyzed for petroleum use when driven in the expected annual patterns. These petroleum consumption estimates are then compared to similar estimates for projected 1990 conventional vehicles having the same performance and driven in the same patterns. Results are presented in the form of three utility functions and comparisons of sevral conceptual designs are made. The Hybrid Vehicle (HV) design and assessment techniques are discussed and a general method is explained for selecting the optimum energy management strategy for any vehicle mission battery combination. Conclusions and recommendations are presented, and development recommendations are identified

Magnetic Color Flavor Locking Phase in High Density QCD

We investigate the effects of an external magnetic field in the gap structure of a color superconductor with three massless quark flavors. Using an effective theory with four-fermion interactions, inspired by one-gluon exchange, we show that the long-range component $\widetilde{B}$ of the external magnetic field that penetrates the color-flavor locked (CFL) phase modifies its gap structure, producing a new phase of lower symmetry. A main outcome of our study is that the $\widetilde{B}$ field tends to strengthen the gaps formed by $\widetilde{Q}$-charged and $\widetilde{Q}$-neutral quarks that coupled among themselves through tree-level vertices. These gaps are enhanced by the field-dependent density of states of the $\widetilde{Q}$-charged quarks on the Fermi surface. Our considerations are relevant for the study of highly magnetized compact stars.Comment: version to be published in PR

E-Cigarette Use Among Undergraduate Liberal Arts and Health Sciences Students: A Study Protocol

Background: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery operated devices that deliver nicotine as an inhaled vapor. Use of e-cigarettes has gained in popularity since 2007, and their use is often promoted as a safer alternative to tobacco smoking. A concern among public health experts is whether e-cigarettes can be used as an alternative method for tobacco cessation or whether they lead to nicotine dependence and use of other tobacco products. Several studies have shown a higher prevalence of use of e-cigarettes among young adults between the ages of 18 and 25, but varying results on the association between their use and perceptions of harm. For the present survey, this age group was selected because, in this group, addiction to tobacco and the likelihood for adverse effects would be lower. Thus, for this group, the chances of not starting or consideration for quitting would be higher. The purpose of this study is to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about using tobacco products, smoking, and e-cigarettes among undergraduate students on liberal arts and health sciences campuses of a university. Methods: Participants will be invited via email and directed to a secure website where the survey can be completed anonymously. To assess knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs, the survey will include validated questions based on recommendations by the World Health Organization ((2000) appendix A)). Anticipated Results: We anticipate that the results will show an improvement in the behavioral aspect among undergraduates at the liberal arts and health sciences campuses. We also expect that results will show an improvement in knowledge among liberal arts students but less improvement in knowledge for health sciences students. Finally, we predict an overall improvement in attitudes about tobacco use and e-cigarette use

Combined population dynamics and entropy modelling supports patient stratification in chronic myeloid leukemia

Modelling the parameters of multistep carcinogenesis is key for a better understanding of cancer progression, biomarker identification and the design of individualized therapies. Using chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) as a paradigm for hierarchical disease evolution we show that combined population dynamic modelling and CML patient biopsy genomic analysis enables patient stratification at unprecedented resolution. Linking CD34+ similarity as a disease progression marker to patientderived gene expression entropy separated established CML progression stages and uncovered additional heterogeneity within disease stages. Importantly, our patient data informed model enables quantitative approximation of individual patients’ disease history within chronic phase (CP) and significantly separates “early” from “late” CP. Our findings provide a novel rationale for personalized and genome-informed disease progression risk assessment that is independent and complementary to conventional measures of CML disease burden and prognosis

Cell Death and Neuronal Replacement during Formation of the Avian Ciliary Ganglion

AbstractProgrammed cell death is a prominent feature of embryonic development and is essential in matching the number of neurons to the target tissues that are innervated. Although a decrease in neuronal number which coincides with peripheral synaptogenesis has been well documented in the avian ciliary ganglion, it has not been clear whether cell death also occurs earlier. We observed TUNEL-positive neurons as early as stage 24, with a large peak at stage 29. This cell death at stage 29 was followed by a statistically significant (P < 0.0001) decrease in total neuron number at stage 31. The total number of neurons was recovered by stage 33/34. This suggested that dying neurons were replaced by new neurons. This replacement process did not involve proliferation because bromodeoxyuridine applied at stages 29 and 31 was unable to label neurons harvested at stage 33/34. The peak of cell death at stage 29 was increased 2.3-fold by removal of the optic vesicle and was reduced by 50% when chCNTF was overexpressed. Taken together, these results suggest that the regulation of neuron number in the ciliary ganglion is a dynamic process involving both cell death and neural replacement from postmitotic precursors prior to differentiation and innervation of target tissues