'Aus oekonomischer Sicht ...'

Economists, and notably health economists, very often add to their policy recommendations the formula ,from an economic point of view'. The contribution starts by exploring what the message of this clause to non-economists might be. The vagueness that it brings about as to the general acceptability of claims to ,rational' allocation, ,best' outcomes etc. is then, first, assessed with respect to the recent debate about IQWiG's (the German equivalent to Britain's NICE) unorthodox methodology of health care evaluation. Weaknesses within the theoretical basis of standard health economist's evaluations, well-known by theoretical economists but rarely mentioned when it comes to policy advice, are then, second, pointed out. Finally, some consequences are drawn for what has to be done to enhance the quality and impact of policy advice in the area of health resource allocation.health economics, policy recommendations, economic point of view, methodology, rationality, maximization

Forage Availability and Quality of No-till Forage Crops for Grazing Cattle

No-till forage crops were planted to determine forage quantity and quality for grazing cattle. Seven combinations were evaluated using different mixtures containing forage peas, oats, winter triticale, turnips, radishes, clover, vetch, and sunflower. The cover crops were planted April 9 and sampled three times (day 54, 70, and 86 after planting) to determine forage mass and nutrient content. Mixtures containing forage peas and oats yielded the greatest quantity of DM/acre. The NDF and CP content of the mixtures are comparable to native range during the growing season. When used in place of fallow in crop rotations, grazing cover crops may provide an alternativeto native range

Adolescent Depression, Sensitivity to Social Feedback, and Social Functioning

Major depression is particularly prevalent in adolescence, especially for girls (Hankin & Abela, 2005). Important in this phase of life is social functioning, as it can determine a variety of factors later in life (Spear, 2011). Thus, elucidating the ways in which depression affects social functioning is of special importance. The present study was conducted with the aims of reinforcing the existing literature linking depression to deficits in social functioning for adolescent females (Aim 1) as well as identifying two important mechanisms that mediate this relation: individual differences in sensitivity to social reward and sensitivity to social punishment (Aim 2). A sample of 112 female adolescents (M = 16.89, SD = 1.47) was used to investigate whether depressive symptoms were associated with decreased approach to social reward and increased avoidance of social punishment, with each in turn related to deficits in social functioning. Moderate support for hypotheses was found using a behaviorally informed multi-method design

Medication adherence in patients with myotonic dystrophy and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) are the two most common adult muscular dystrophies and have progressive and often disabling manifestations. Higher levels of medication adherence lead to better health outcomes, especially important to patients with DM and FSHD because of their multisystem manifestations and complexity of care. However, medication adherence has not previously been studied in a large cohort of DM type 1 (DM1), DM type 2 (DM2), and FSHD patients. The purpose of our study was to survey medication adherence and disease manifestations in patients enrolled in the NIH-supported National DM and FSHD Registry. The study was completed by 110 DM1, 49 DM2, and 193 FSHD patients. Notable comorbidities were hypertension in FSHD (44 %) and DM2 (37 %), gastroesophageal reflux disease in DM1 (24 %) and DM2 (31 %) and arrhythmias (29 %) and thyroid disease (20 %) in DM1. Each group reported high levels of adherence based on regimen complexity, medication costs, health literacy, side effect profile, and their beliefs about treatment. Only dysphagia in DM1 was reported to significantly impact medication adherence. Approximately 35 % of study patients reported polypharmacy (taking 6 or more medications). Of the patients with polypharmacy, the DM1 cohort was significantly younger (mean 55.0 years) compared to DM2 (59.0 years) and FSHD (63.2 years), and had shorter disease duration (mean 26 years) compared to FSHD (26.8 years) and DM2 (34.8 years). Future research is needed to assess techniques to ease pill swallowing in DM1 and to monitor polypharmacy and potential drug interactions in DM and FSHD

Wheat Straw, Distillers Grains, and Beet Pulp for Late Gestation Beef Cows

The feeding value of a mixture of 30:70 wet distillers grains:wheat straw or 20:20:60 wet distillers grains:beet pulp:wheat straw (DM) for late gestation beef cows was estimated. In Experiment 1, cows limit fed distillers grains and wheat straw gained as much weight and body condition as cows limit fed alfalfa hay. In Experiment 2, cows fed wet distillers grains and wheat straw or wet distillers grains, beet pulp, and wheat straw gained more weight and improved body condition compared with cows fed alfalfa hay. The results of these experiments indicate cows in late gestation will maintain body condition when limit fed by-products and crop residues to meet their energy requirements

The Effects of Supplementing Wet Distillers Grains Mixed With Wheat Straw to Growing Steers

A growing study compared feeding wet distillers grains, dried distillers grains, and a mix of 66% wet distillers grains and 33% wheat straw as supplements to a forage-based diet. Steers were supplemented 0, 2, 4, or 6 lb distillers grains/head daily. Wet distillers grains and dried distillers grains produced higher final body weight and dry matter intake compared to the mix. Increasing levels of distillers grains increased performance in forage based diets and wet grains mixed with straw reduced forage intake

Wheat Straw, Distillers Grains, and Beet Pulp for Late Gestation Beef Cows

The feeding value of a mixture of 30:70 wet distillers grains:wheat straw or 20:20:60 wet distillers grains:beet pulp:wheat straw (DM) for late gestation beef cows was estimated. In Experiment 1, cows limit fed distillers grains and wheat straw gained as much weight and body condition as cows limit fed alfalfa hay. In Experiment 2, cows fed wet distillers grains and wheat straw or wet distillers grains, beet pulp, and wheat straw gained more weight and improved body condition compared with cows fed alfalfa hay. The results of these experiments indicate cows in late gestation will maintain body condition when limit fed by-products and crop residues to meet their energy requirements

Effect of Adding Urea to Finishing Diets Containing Two Different Inclusions of Distillers Grains on Steer Performance and Carcass Characteristics

The effects of adding urea to a dry rolled corn based finishing diet containing low inclusions of distillers grains was evaluated. Treatments were designed as a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement with factors consisting of wet distillers inclusion (either 12 or 20% of diet DM) and urea inclusion (0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.2% of diet DM). There were no significant interactions observed between distillers inclusion and urea inclusion in the diet. Increasing inclusion of distillers grains improved carcass adjusted average daily gain and feed conversion and reduced dry matter intake. Increasing distillers inclusion also increased 12th rib fat and had a tendency to increase hot carcass weight. There were no significant linear or quadratic responses for increasing urea inclusion in the diet. These data suggest that when feeding at least 12% distillers in the diet, supplemental urea has minimal impact on animal performance