Collecting State-level Oral Health Data When Resources Are Limited: an Approach to Oral Health Surveillance

Many states and localities do not have the resources to conduct oral health surveys of their whole populations, but the demands for data collection continue to increase for both program administration and for Maternal and Child Health Block Grant funding. As one response to this problem, the Oral Health Program of the Michigan Department of Public Health developed an oral health surveillance system as a low-cost method of collecting usable data from the service populations of local health agencies providing direct patient care in Michigan. A record form, to be completed by dentists or hygienists in those agencies at initial or recall examinations, was developed and pilot-tested for all patients of target age groups who presented over a specified four-week period. This paper gives the results from 19 agencies that participated in the pilot test in Michigan. Results showed that 40.5 percent of 2–5-year-olds (n/341) had some caries experience, their d/dft was 78.2 percent, and mean dft was 4.8 (SD±3.5). Among the 6–19-year-olds (n/710), 61.4 percent had experienced caries, the D/DFT was 41.8 percent, and the mean DFT was 4.2 (SD±3.2). Among the adults examined, 45.1 percent of 20–64-year-olds (n = 820) and 38.1 percent of those 65 years or older (n = 105) had two or more teeth with untreated decay. These data suggest a high level of untreated disease among the service populations of the local dental health agencies. The method of data collection was well accepted by the staff of the agencies concerned and proved to be simple and inexpensive to conduct. While the population examined is not representative of the state population, it reflects a good cross-section of the population seeking clinical dental services through public health agencies. The data will be used in program development and to address the Maternal and Child Health reporting requirements of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989. We intend to conduct this oral health surveillance survey periodically in Michigan to demonstrate trends in oral disease.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66051/1/j.1752-7325.1993.tb02713.x.pd

The visualisation of fingermarks on Pangolin scales using gelatine lifters

Recent media reports document the plight of the Pangolin and its current position as “the most trafficked mammal in the world”. They are described by some as scaly anteaters as all species are covered in hard keratinous tissue in the form of overlapping scales acting as a “flexible dermal armour”. It is estimated that between 2011 and 2013, 117,000–234,000 pangolins were slaughtered, but the seizures may only represent as little as 10% of the true volume of pangolins being illegally traded. In this paper, methods to visualise fingermarks on Pangolin scales using gelatine lifters is presented. The gelatine lifters provide an easy to use, inexpensive but effective method to help wildlife crime rangers across Africa and Asia to disrupt the trafficking. The gelatine lifting process visualised marks producing clear ridge detail on 52% of the Pangolin scales examined, with a further 30% showing the impression of a finger with limited ridge detail. The paper builds on an initial sociotechnical approach to establishing requirement, then it focuses on the methods and outcomes relating to lifting fingermarks off Pangolin scales using gelatine lifters, providing an evaluation of its use in practice

Early Results from NASA's Assessment of Satellite Servicing

Following recommendations by the NRC, NASA's FY 2008 Authorization Act and the FY 2009 and 2010 Appropriations bills directed NASA to assess the use of the human spaceflight architecture to service existing/future observatory-class scientific spacecraft. This interest in satellite servicing, with astronauts and/or with robots, reflects the success that NASA achieved with the Shuttle program and HST on behalf of the astronomical community as well as the successful construction of ISS. This study, led by NASA GSFC, will last about a year, leading to a final report to NASA and Congress in autumn 2010. We will report on its status, results from our March satellite servicing workshop, and recent concepts for serviceable scientific missions

A method to determine the impact of patient-centered care interventions in primary care

The implementation of patient-centered care (PCC) innovations continues to be poorly understood. We used the implementation effectiveness framework to pilot a method for measuring the impact of a PCC innovation in primary care practices

Challenges in the care of familial hypercholesterolemia: a community care perspective

Familial hyperchoelsterolaemia (FH) remains under-diagnosed and under-treated in the community setting. Earlier evidence suggested prevalence of 1:500 worldwide but newer evidence suggests it is more common. Less than 15% of FH patients are ever diagnosed with children and young adults rarely tested despite having most to gain given their lifetime exposure. Increasing awareness among primary care teams is critical to improve detection profile for FH. Cascade testing in the community setting needs a sustainable approach to be developed to facilitate family tracing of index cases. The use of the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network Criteria score to facilitate a phenotypic diagnosis is the preferred approach adopted in Australia and eliminates the need to undertake genetic testing for all suspected FH cases

Povratak u prošlost: bakreno doba u sjevernoj Hrvatskoj

Knjiga Povratak u prošlost. Bakreno doba u sjevernoj Hrvatskoj nastala je u sklopu istoimene izložbe postavljene u Arheološkom muzeju u Zagrebu u suradnji s Odsjekom za arheologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu i Arheološkim muzejom u Osijeku. Publikacija sadrži 16 tekstova koje pokrivaju različite bakrenodobne teme kroz razdoblje od približno 2000 godina – od načina života i organizacije naselja, izrade i upotrebe predmeta od različitih materijala, iskorištavanja različitih sirovina do zagrobnog života. Osim područja sjeverne Hrvatske u tekstovima je naglašena i međuovisnsot i komunikacija s ostalim dijelovima europskog kontinenta.Knjiga Povratak u prošlost. Bakreno doba u sjevernoj Hrvatskoj nastala je u sklopu istoimene izložbe postavljene u Arheološkom muzeju u Zagrebu u suradnji s Odsjekom za arheologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu i Arheološkim muzejom u Osijeku. Publikacija sadrži 16 tekstova koje pokrivaju različite bakrenodobne teme kroz razdoblje od približno 2000 godina – od načina života i organizacije naselja, izrade i upotrebe predmeta od različitih materijala, iskorištavanja različitih sirovina do zagrobnog života. Osim područja sjeverne Hrvatske u tekstovima je naglašena i međuovisnsot i komunikacija s ostalim dijelovima europskog kontinenta

Pilot of a charter to improve management of medicines and oral care for residents with dysphagia in care homes

Research in care homes has demonstrated that medication management practices in patients with dysphagia and those receiving medicines covertly may be inappropriate, illegal, and potentially cause harm. This paper presents the results of a feasibility study piloting a resident and healthcare professional best practice charter to improve such practices in care home residents with dysphagia. A charter was developed through a multi-professional expert panel, implemented in one care home, and then piloted in 22 homes in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. A website was setup and developed iteratively to support the process. Care home staff and residents provided initial feedback on the implementation process and on perceived outcomes six months post implementation. A total of 16 (88.9%) out of 18 respondents from nine homes for six months reported a positive response to the charter. More than 80% of responses regarding the implementation process, impact on staff confidence, and perceived usefulness of the charter were positive. Perceived effectiveness and usefulness could, however, be further improved especially the perceived effect on frequency of medication review, which is reliant on external stakeholder involvement. The charter and supporting website were well received with respondents believing that it was useful, staff showing more confidence, and residents having enhanced care. Approaches to enhancing the charter’s effectiveness were identified

Birth weight and stuttering:Evidence from three birth cohorts

Purpose Previous studies have produced conflicting results with regard to the association between birth weight and developmental stuttering. This study sought to determine whether birth weight was associated with childhood and/or adolescent stuttering in three British birth cohort samples. Methods Logistic regression analyses were carried out on data from the Millenium Cohort Study (MCS), British Cohort Study (BCS70) and National Child Development Study (NCDS), whose initial cohorts comprised over 56,000 individuals. The outcome variables were parent-reported stuttering in childhood or in adolescence; the predictors, based on prior research, were birth weight, sex, multiple birth status, vocabulary score and mother's level of education. Birth weight was analysed both as a categorical variable (low birth weight, <2500 g; normal range; high birth weight, ≥ 4000 g) and as a continuous variable. Separate analyses were carried out to determine the impact of birth weight and the other predictors on stuttering during childhood (age 3, 5 and 7 and MCS, BCS70 and NCDS, respectively) or at age 16, when developmental stuttering is likely to be persistent. Results None of the multivariate analyses revealed an association between birth weight and parent-reported stuttering. Sex was a significant predictor of stuttering in all the analyses, with males 1.6 to 3.6 times more likely than females to stutter. Conclusion Our results suggest that birth weight is not a clinically useful predictor of childhood or persistent stuttering