Access to Oral Health for Children on MaineCare in the Lakes Region Towns of Bridgton, Casco, Sebago, and Naples

Although we know that children covered by Medicaid often do not receive needed dental services, the extent of the problem in Maine is not fully understood. In particular, rural communities in Maine may face challenges for families to access dental services for their children given low reimbursement rates and fewer available providers. This project addresses these gaps in knowledge by examining MaineCare- funded utilization and dental care access for children with MaineCare in four rural Maine towns in the Lakes Region

The Concept of Social Exclusion and Rural Development Policy

Since the early 1970s rural research and public education programs have been intensified in efforts to improve living conditions and strengthen community life in rural America (Southern Perspectives 2000). During much of the 1990s, the nation, including the rural South, experienced a growing economy, a booming stock market, and declining unemployment rates (Gibbs 2001). However, many serious social problems traditionally associated with the rural South remain to this day (Gibbs 2001). This paper introduces the concept of social exclusion, used extensively in European countries and now part of the European Union\u27s official lexicon. Social exclusion is defined as the process and the resulting condition in which specific social entities are fully or partially prevented from acquiring the basic necessities of life. Further components are that it is seen as a product of the social system, not an individual attribute, and that it is multi-dimensional and dynamic in time and space. It is argued that the concept of social exclusion should be incorporated into rural development policy discourse in the United States. This would aid in countering the predominant pattern of neglect in rural development policies and programs in addressing the persistent problems which exist

Changing the Health Care System: Opinions of Rural and Urban Residents

This paper examines the opinions of rural and urban residents toward a full health care system provided by the government. The data used in the study come from a statewide poll conducted by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. Because of a greater need for health care reform in rural areas, it was assumed that rural Louisianians might be more supportive of a government health care system than their urban counterparts. However, analysis of the data indicates that a person\u27s residence had no statistically significant effect on attitudes toward government sponsored health care

Government Sponsored Health Care: A Cluster Profile of Supporters and Nonsupporters

While there has been a great deal of information revealing the public\u27s dissatisfaction with our current health care system, there is little detailed analysis of these attitudes, and of the individuals who are most likely to support or reject such a system. This becomes more and more important as health policy debates shift toward a questioning of the viability of the current health care system and possible alterations to that system. In this paper we use cluster analytic methods on data collected from a public opinion survey of Louisiana residents to develop profiles of those people who support and who reject government-sponsored health care for all citizens. We then use these profiles to develop informed strategies for use by sociologists to impact health care policy. Much of the literature on attitudes toward human resource spending were confirmed by the multivariate analysis we performed. However, the cluster analysis illuminated the true diversity that exists. Quite often, rather weak statistical relationships tend to be overgeneralized. In attempting to develop these profiles, the cluster analysis allowed us to regain the diversity in a comprehensive fashion. We found that there are clear groupings of both supporters and nonsupporters, but probably of greater importance is that there is more similarity between supporters and nonsupporters than distinctiveness

Élaboration de normes DRIS provisoires pour des transplants de céleri

Nous avons utilisé une banque de données contenant 215 observations pour obtenir des normes DRIS (Diagnosis and Recommandation Integrated System) provisoires pour des transplants de céleri (Apium graveolens var. Dulce). La détermination des normes s'est faite en considérant un groupe de tête au rendement supérieur ou égal à 1600 g/plant (27 % de la population). Sur 45 rapports nutritionnels mesurés dans la partie aérienne des transplants, 26 ont présenté des rapports de variance permettant de distinguer significativement le groupe produisant des rendements supérieurs. Le coefficient de corrélation entre l'indice de déséquilibre nutritionnel (IDN) et les rendements s'est révélé très significatif. Les normes provisoires ont été confrontées à un ensemble indépendant de données obtenues chez des producteurs de la région du sud de Montréal (Québec). Les IDN calculés sur ces plantes échantillonnées au stade implantation (environ 27 jours après la plantation) ont été significativement corrélés aux rendements, malgré le fait que le tissu échantillonné et le stade de croissance aient été relativement éloignés de ceux correspondant aux normes. Les normes ont permis d'identifier la cause probable d'un problème de croissance induit par l'utilisation d'une solution fertilisante ne convenant pas à la production de transplants.A data bank of 215 observations was used to elaborate preliminary DRIS norms for celery (Apium graveolens var.Dulce) transplants. The threshold yield for high yielders was set at 1600 g/plant (27% of the population). Of the 45 nutrient ratios obtained, 26 presented significant variance ratios between low and high yielders. The correlation coefficient between nutrient imbalance index (Nil) and yield was highly significant. The norms were tested on an independent set of data obtained from celery growers located south of Montreal (Quebec). The Nil obtained from plants at the implantation stage (about 27 days after transplanting) was significantly correlated to yield even if the sampled tissue was different from that used for norm calculations. The norms were also used to identify the likely cause of a growth problem induced by a nutrient solution not suited for transplant production

Compositional analysis of phosphorus pools in Canadian Mollisols

During cultivation, the internal phosphorus cycle of Mollisols (Chernozems) of the Canadian Prairies is perturbed by crop sequences including wheat phases, tillage practices, and regular applications of fertilizers. To monitor these changes, a proximate sequential phosphorus (P) fractionation procedure was developed by Hedley et al. (1982) to extract inorganic and organic P fractions as very labile (resin-P), labile (NaHCO3-P), slowly available (NaOH-P), and very slowly available (HCl-P) pools. Models used so far to monitor P pools do not address the interactive behaviour of P fractions constrained to a closed compositional space. Compositional data analysis using isometric log ratio (ilr) coordinates is appropriate for modelling the interactive P pools using sequential binary partitions of P pools. Our objective was to model changes of P pools in Mollisols in response to management and time using ilr coordinates. We used a dataset with treatments and another where a Mollisol was analyzed at time zero and 4, 65, and 90 yr after sod breakup. Seven P fractions were assigned to P reactivity groups to compute six ilr coordinates. The ilr2 contrasting inorganic (geochemical) and organic (biological) P pools and ilr4 between the most readily available and less P bioavailable pools were the most sensitive to crop sequence and fertilization. Using composition at time zero as reference, the Aitchison distance reached a plateau after the 4th year in the Bm horizon compared to continuous change in the Ah horizon. Time changed the P balance of cultivated Mollisols primarily in the inorganic vs. organic P pools. The risks of yield loss and environmental damage can be minimized using soil tests that quantify the rapidly bioavailable inorganic P pools and crop management strategies that promote biological P pools

CURRENT THERAPEUTIC APPROACH OF THE WHITE SPONGE NAEVUS OF THE ORAL CAVITY.

We report a case of White Sponge Naevus of the tongue in a 50 years-old man. White Sponge Naevus of the oral cavity is a rare, benign and dominant autosomic inherited disorder, which presents in the form of a white, hyperplasic and verrucous or spongious lesion of the oral mucosa. Differential diagnosis is clinically difficult with more common white lesions of the oral cavity. Various therapeutic approaches have been proposed. Systemic antibiotics or local applications of retinoic acid provide limited benefits but are poorly effective. To our knowledge, CO2 Laser has never been tried to treat a White Sponge Naevus of the oral cavity. We performed a complete removal of the lesion with CO2 Laser, but complete recurrence occurred. Finally, a surgical resection was realized, which proved to be effective. Two years later, the patient is free of recurrence. This article proposes a review of the literature on what is known on White Sponge Naevus of the oral mucosa. We stress the importance of confrontation between anamnesis, clinical examination and pathologic findings to lead to the proper diagnosis of this rare disease