Insights into measuring health disparities using electronic health records from a statewide network of health systems: A case study.

Within Wisconsin, our residents experience some of the worst health disparities in the nation. Public reporting on disparities in the quality of care is important to achieving accountability for reducing disparities over time and has been associated with improvements in care. Disparities reporting using statewide electronic health records (EHR) data would allow efficient and regular reporting, but there are significant challenges with missing data and data harmonization.

New Ceramic Tiles Produced Using Old Technology Applied on Historic Roofs-Possibilities and Challenges.

In the case of historic buildings, especially those under protection, it is important to replace elements of the roof covering, while maintaining current technical standards, to meet the requirements of the conservator. The authors of the article present alternatives to commonly used solutions, based on their experience with replacing historic building roofing with ceramic tiles made according to the production and firing technology of the nineteenth century. They emphasize that the correct/specialized restoration of existing tiles in a building makes it possible to preserve and reuse them, which is in line with the principles of historic preservation.

Using Statewide Electronic Health Record and Influenza Vaccination Data to Plan and Prioritize COVID-19 Vaccine Outreach and Communications in Wisconsin Communities.

The University of Wisconsin Neighborhood Health Partnerships Program used electronic health record and influenza vaccination data to estimate COVID-19 relative mortality risk and potential barriers to vaccination in Wisconsin ZIP Code Tabulation Areas. Data visualization revealed four groupings to use in planning and prioritizing vaccine outreach and communication based on ZIP Code Tabulation Area characteristics. The program provided data, visualization, and guidance to health systems, health departments, nonprofits, and others to support planning targeted outreach approaches to increase COVID-19 vaccination uptake.

Occurrence of Mycoplasma spp. in wild birds: phylogenetic analysis and potential factors affecting distribution.

Different Mycoplasma species have been reported in avian hosts. However, the majority of studies focus on one particular species of Mycoplasma or one host. In our research, we screened a total of 1141 wild birds representing 55 species, 26 families, and 15 orders for the presence of mycoplasmas by conventional PCR based on the 16S rRNA gene.

Identifying Substantial Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Outcomes and Care in Wisconsin Using Electronic Health Record Data.

Background: Our goal was to identify racial and ethnic disparities in health outcome and care measures in Wisconsin.

Methods: We used electronic health record data from 25 health systems submitting to the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality to identify disparities in measures, including vaccinations, screenings, risk factors for chronic disease, and chronic disease management.

Results: American Indian/Alaska Native and Black populations experienced substantial disparities across multiple measures.

Elements of Pathway for Quick and Reliable Health Monitoring of Concrete Behavior in Cable Post-Tensioned Concrete Girders.

The paper discusses the problems connected with long-term exploitation of reinforced concrete post-tensioned girders. The scale of problems in the world related to the number of cable post-tensioned concrete girders built in the 1950s and still in operation is very large and possibly has very serious consequences. The paper presents an analysis and evaluation of the results of measurements of the deflection and strength and homogeneity of concrete in cable-concrete roof girders of selected industrial halls located in Poland, exploited for over 50 years.

A Proposal of a Method for Ready-Mixed Concrete Quality Assessment Based on Statistical-Fuzzy Approach.

Control of technical parameters obtained by ready-mixed concrete may be carried out at different stages of the development of concrete properties and by different participants involved in the construction investment process. According to the European Standard EN 206 "Concrete-Specification, performance, production and conformity", mandatory control of concrete conformity is conducted by the producer during production. As shown by the subject literature, statistical criteria set out in the standard, including the method for concrete quality assessment based on the concept of concrete family, continue to evoke discussions and raise doubts.

Monitoring of Thermal and Moisture Processes in Various Types of External Historical Walls.

In order to create and make available the following: Design guidelines, recommendations for energy audits, data for analysis and simulation of the condition of masonry walls susceptible to biological corrosion, deterioration of comfort parameters in rooms, or deterioration of thermal resistance, the article analyzes various types of masonry wall structures occurring in and commonly used in historical buildings over the last 200 years. The summary is a list of results of particular types of masonry walls and their mutual comparison. On this basis, a procedure path has been proposed which is useful for monitoring heat loss, monitoring the moisture content of building partitions, and improving the hygrothermal comfort of rooms.

Blood Pressure Control and Other Quality of Care Metrics for Patients with Obesity and Diabetes: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Introduction: There are no population-level estimates in the United States for achievement of blood pressure goals in patients with diabetes and hypertension by obesity weight class.

Aim: We sought to examine the relationship between the extent of obesity and the achievement of guideline-recommended blood pressure goals and other quality of care metrics among patients with diabetes.

Methods: We conducted an observational population-based cohort study of electronic health data of three large health systems from 2010-2012 in rural, urban and suburban settings of 51,229 adults with diabetes.

Increasing Consumer Engagement by Tailoring a Public Reporting Website on the Quality of Diabetes Care: A Qualitative Study.

Background: The majority of health care utilization decisions in the United States are made by persons with multiple chronic conditions. Existing public reports of health system quality do not distinguish care for these persons and are often not used by the consumers they aim to reach.

Objective: Our goal was to determine if tailoring quality reports to persons with diabetes mellitus and co-occurring chronic conditions would increase user engagement with a website that publicly reports the quality of diabetes care.

Listening to the voices of important others: how adolescents make sense of troubled dating relationships.

Nearly one third of adolescents experience dating relationship maltreatment. Grounded theory methods were used to explicate a typology of ways by which adolescents incorporate views of others in making sense of their troubled dating relationships. Interviews with 90 young adults (ages 18-21 years) who had troubled adolescent dating relationships were analyzed using constant comparative techniques.

Redefining cancer-related asthenia-fatigue syndrome.

Background: Asthenia fatigue syndrome (AFS) is a common symptom perceived by patients with cancer and consists of reported pathologic fatigue, poor endurance, and impaired motor and cognitive function.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between a traditional measure of AFS, visual analogue scale (VAS) fatigue ratings, and a set of more objective functional and physiologic measures (Dietz oncology classification, C-reactive protein, serum albumin, hemoglobin, body mass index [BMI]), Motor Functional Independence Measure (FIM) Score, Cognitive FIM Score. We hypothesized a relationship could suggest the utility of alternative means of assessing and addressing AFS.

Rehabilitation for elderly patients with cancer asthenia: making a transition to palliative care.

The transition from curative to palliative care for elderly patients with cancer-related asthenia presents complex challenges to oncologists. A result of this complexity is a lack of regard for the maintenance of physical and mental function. This study examined the effects of comprehensive, multidisciplinary, inpatient rehabilitation on the physical and mental function of elderly cancer patients with asthenia.

Functional recovery in cancer rehabilitation.

Objective: To assess the impact of inpatient rehabilitation on the motor and cognitive functional status of cancer patients, and to determine whether cancer diagnosis, rehabilitation impairment, physician-determined rehabilitation goals, and active cytotoxic treatment affect the magnitude of functional improvement.

Design And Setting: A retrospective, case series of patients with an oncology diagnosis undergoing inpatient rehabilitation at a rehabilitation hospital.

Participants: A sample of 200 patients admitted for rehabilitation services due to disability resulting from impairments caused by cancer or its treatment.

Hyperactivity and behavioral seizures in rodents following treatment with the dopamine D1 receptor agonists A-86929 and ABT-431.

A-86929 ((-)-trans-9,10-dihydroxy-2-propyl-4,5,5a,6,7,11b-hexahydro-3- thia-5-azacyclopent-1-ena[c]phenanthrene) is a potent and selective full agonist at the dopamine D1 receptor. Both A-86929 and ABT-431 ((-)-trans-9,10-diacetyloxy-2-propyl-4,5,5a,6,7,11b- hexahydro-3-thia-5-azacyclopent-1-ena[c]phenanthrene hydrochloride), the diacetyl prodrug derivative of A-86929, were evaluated for their effects on behavioral excitability in rodents. In rats, A-86929 produced a dose-dependent increase in locomotor activity that was attenuated by the selective dopamine D1 receptor antagonist, SCH 23390, as well as by higher doses of the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, haloperidol.

MK-801 differentially affects dopamine D1 and D2 receptor agonist-induced behavioral tolerance and desensitization.

In this study we explored the effects of repeated MK-801 (0.10 mg/kg) treatment on rotation in rats with unilateral forebrain dopamine depletions. Daily injections of MK-801 across a 13-day period produced mild ipsilateral rotation which did not change significantly across days compared to daily injections of vehicle.

Persistent activation of the dopamine D1 receptor contributes to prolonged receptor desensitization: studies with A-77636.

A-77636 is a dopamine (DA) D1 receptor-selective agonist that was previously shown to elicit beneficial responses in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD) (Kebabian et al.: Eur. J.

Rotation and striatal c-fos expression after repeated, daily treatment with selective dopamine receptor agonists and levodopa.

The available evidence suggests that daily injections of selective dopamine (DA) D2 receptor agonists to DA depleted rats typically leads to behavioral sensitization, but the effects of repeated treatment with selective DA D1 receptor agonists are more equivocal. In this study we examined the effects of acute and repeated treatment with DA receptor agonists with various D1/D2 receptor selectivities on rotation and striatal c-fos activation in rats with unilateral DA depletions. Lesioned rats were treated daily for 10 d with either the novel, selective DA D1 receptor agonist, A-85653, the DA D2 receptor agonist, quinpirole, a combination of these compounds, or the indirect D1/D2 receptor agonist levodopa (L-DOPA).

CCK-A-selective tetrapeptides containing lys(N epsilon)-amide residues: favorable in vivo and in vitro effects of N-methylation at the aspartyl residue.

Previous structure-activity studies on a series of CCK-A selective tetrapeptide agonists, typified by A-71623 (Boc-Trp-Lys(CONH-Ph-o-Me)-Asp-(N-Me)Phe-NH2), have shown that replacement of the Lys(N epsilon-carbamoyl) substituent with N epsilon-acyl substituents resulted in partial agonists with moderate to high affinities for the CCK-A receptor and that replacement of the C-terminal dipeptide with either (N-Me)Asp-Phe or (N-Me)Asp-(N-Me)Phe was highly favorable to in vitro and in vivo CCK activity. The present study demonstrates that although analogues in the epsilon-amide series that are N-methylated at the Phe position are weakly active or inactive in an in vivo rat appetite suppression assay, incorporation of (N-Me)Asp or (N-Me)Asp-(N-Me)Phe modifications in this series results in analogues with markedly improved in vivo activity. In in vitro assays, there is minimal effect of N-methylation pattern on binding affinity, whereas there is a trend toward improved functional activity in the phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis assay in analogues containing (N-Me)Asp.

Tetrapeptide CCK-A agonists: effect of backbone N-methylations on in vitro and in vivo CCK activity.

N-Methylation of backbone amide bonds was conducted on a tetrapeptide that had been identified previously (Shiosaki, K.; et al. J.

A-71623, a selective CCK-A receptor agonist, suppresses food intake in the mouse, dog, and monkey.

The anorectic actions of cholecystokinin (CCK)-8 and of a selective CCK-A agonist, A-71623, were examined in CD1 mice, beagle dogs, and cynomolgus monkeys. A-71623 suppressed intakes in all species tested, and the effects were blocked by a selective CCK-A antagonist, A-70104. In the dog only, CCK-8 was more potent on a molar basis compared to A-71623, although the effects of both CCK agonists were more short-lived in the dog compared to the other species tested.

Synthesis and biological activity of CCK heptapeptide analogues. Effects of conformational constraints and standard modifications on receptor subtype selectivity, functional activity in vitro, and appetite suppression in vivo.

A series of modifications of the CCK7 analogue (des-NH2)Tyr(SO3-)-Nle-Gly-Trp-Nle-Asp-Phe-NH2 was prepared and tested for binding to guinea pig CCK-A and CCK-B receptors and in CCK-A-mediated functional assays. Selected analogues also were tested for appetite suppressant activity in rats. Several conformationally restricted residues in the C-terminal tetrapeptide region, including delta Z-Phe33, (N-Me)Phe33, (N-Me)Asp32, (N-Me)Leu31, and 3PP31 (3PP = trans-3-n-propyl-L- proline) were found to be acceptable modifications at one or both receptor subtypes.

Behavioral effects of A71623, a highly selective CCK-A agonist tetrapeptide.

We studied the behavioral effects of a novel cholecystokinin tetrapeptide (CCK-4) analogue, A71623, with full agonist activity and high affinity and selectivity for the CCK-A receptor subtype relative to the CCK-B receptor. In tests for anorectic activity, A71623 was found to suppress 60-min intakes of a liquid diet in both deprived and sated rats, and the effects were blocked by a selective CCK-A antagonist, A70104. Compared with CCK-8, A71623 was found to have improved potency and duration of action; the most potent route of administration was intraperitoneal.

Differential effects of CCK-JMV-180 on food intake in rats and mice.

Boc-Tyr(SO3)-Nle-Gly-Trp-Nle-Asp-2-phenylether ester (CCK-JMV-180) has been reported to be a CCK-based heptipeptide with novel in vitro properties. Based on studies conducted in rat and mouse pancreatic acini, it has been proposed that the compound acts as an agonist at the high-affinity site and an antagonist at the low-affinity site in the rat, but as an agonist at both sites in the mouse. In the present study, we examined the effects of CCK-JMV-180 on locomotor activity in the rat and on intake of a liquid diet in the rat and mouse.