Serum Nutrients, Periodontitis and Biological Ageing.

Introduction: Telomeres are nucleotide sequences found at the end of chromosomes, and their shortening is associated with chronological and biological ageing, oxidative stress and malnutrition. Shorter telomeres have been shown to be associated with periodontitis. Dietary nutrients are also influential factors in the aetiology and progression of periodontitis and other chronic inflammatory diseases.

Use of biosecurity practices to prevent chronic wasting disease in Minnesota cervid herds.

The objective of this study was to evaluate biosecurity practices related to chronic wasting disease (CWD) transmission pathways and prevention in active cervid herds in Minnesota in 2019 by species, size and location of herds. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to all cervid producers in Minnesota to gather demographic, management, and biosecurity practices. Among producers (N=136), 63.

Chronic Wasting Disease Transmission Risk Assessment for Farmed Cervids in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

CWD (chronic wasting disease) has emerged as one of the most important diseases of cervids and continues to adversely affect farmed and wild cervid populations, despite control and preventive measures. This study aims to use the current scientific understanding of CWD transmission and knowledge of farmed cervid operations to conduct a qualitative risk assessment for CWD transmission to cervid farms and, applying this risk assessment, systematically describe the CWD transmission risks experienced by CWD-positive farmed cervid operations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A systematic review of literature related to CWD transmission informed our criteria to stratify CWD transmission risks to cervid operations into high-risk low uncertainty, moderate-risk high uncertainty, and negligible-risk low uncertainty categories.

Implications of farmed-cervid movements on the transmission of chronic wasting disease.

Chronic wasting disease is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that affects cervids with a clinical picture of muscle wasting in infected animals. The objective of this study was to quantify movement patterns of farmed cervids in the state of Minnesota as a model for identifying potential disease mitigation points. Time aggregated network analysis was performed on data consisting of 1221 intra-state cervid movements from farms located within Minnesota (n = 432 farms).

Effect of nursing-calf implant timing on growth performance and carcass characteristics.

The objective of this study was to compare pre- and postweaning growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality attributes of calves that did not receive an implant or were implanted early or late in the nursing period. Crossbred steer calves ( = 135) were stratified by birth date and birth weight and randomly assigned to the following implant treatments: control (CON; no preweaning implant), 58 d (EARLY; 36 mg zeranol, administered at an average of 58 ± 13 d of age), and 121 d (LATE; 36 mg zeranol, administered at an average 121 ± 13 d of age). After weaning, steers were blocked by initial feed yard BW to 15 pens (5 pens/treatment and 9 steers/pen).

Independent state health surveys: responding to the need for local population health data.

Context: There is high demand for local-level population health data. A national system of state and local data collection would help improve both population health and health care delivery. The primary source of state-level population health data for adults is the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

States' use of local population health data: comparing the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and independent state health surveys.

Objectives: To identify and compare key features of independent comprehensive state health surveys (SHS) with those of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for addressing the need for statewide and local population health data.

Methods: We developed inclusion criteria, systematically collected information about federal and SHS that met these criteria, and obtained supplemental information from SHS leaders.

Results: We identified comprehensive independent SHS in 11 states and BRFSS surveys in all 50 states.

Accuracy in self-reported health insurance coverage among Medicaid enrollees.

The largest portion of the Medicaid undercount is caused by survey reporting error--that is, Medicaid recipients misreport their enrollment in health insurance coverage surveys. In this study, we sampled known Medicaid enrollees to learn how they respond to health insurance questions and to document correlates of accurate and inaccurate reports. We found that Medicaid enrollees are fairly accurate reporters of insurance status and type of coverage, but some do report being uninsured.

Determinants of children's participation in California's Medicaid and SCHIP programs.

Objective: To develop a comprehensive predictive model of eligible children's enrollment in California's Medicaid (Medi-Cal [MC]) and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP; Healthy Families [HF]) programs.

Data Sources/study Setting: 2001 California Health Interview Survey data, data on outstationed eligibility workers (OEWs), and administrative data from state agencies and local health insurance expansion programs for fiscal year 2000-2001.

Study Design: The study examined the effects of multiple family-level factors and contextual county-level factors on children's enrollment in Medicaid and SCHIP.

Can we trust population surveys to count Medicaid enrollees and the uninsured?

Health foundations, such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), make multimillion-dollar investments in programs to expand insurance coverage. These efforts are driven largely by estimates of the number of uninsured people derived from population surveys, which might overestimate the number of uninsured people if they under-count people enrolled in Medicaid. This paper reports the results of the RWJF-funded California Medicaid Undercount Experiment (CMUE) to estimate the extent of underreporting of Medicaid in the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) and its effect on estimates of uninsurance.

Congressman Greg Walden speaks out in support of home care.

Support for the mission of home care and hospice from Congress continues to expand as more members of the House and Senate take time out of their busy schedules to visit with a home care or hospice patient. Take the case of Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR) who is currently in his fourth term representing the people of Oregon's Second Congressional District, which includes twenty counties in central, southern and eastern Oregon. He is a passionate advocate for home care and hospice who as chair of the Congressional Rural Health Care Coalition, is a key figure in the fight to restore the 5% rural add on for home health services to rural patients.

The challenge. Protecting consumers. Alleviating public burdens.

The Private Long Term Care Insurance Conference is the only conference of its kind, bringing together individuals from the public and private sectors, the for-profit and not-for-profit worlds, and from a myriad of consumer and provider organizations, to discuss and debate long-term care and the role of insurance. No other national meeting provides an opportunity for these groups to come together to discuss ways the private market and government can work together to meet consumer need and reduce public Medicaid expenditures.

Breaking the cycle of dependency: dual diagnosis and AFDC families.

This paper proposes that a comprehensive, long-term program with a case-management focus will produce better outcomes and be more cost-effective than the current approach to managing the illnesses of women on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (or TANF, formerly known as AFDC) who are afflicted with both drug dependency and mental illness, i.e. a dual diagnosis.

Access and choice--the legislative future of health care in America.

Thanks to the growing influence of managed care, both health care consumers and state and federal policymakers are raising concerns about today's health care plans. A key concern is whether or not the plans provide adequate access and choice for consumers.

Psychophysical measurement on pain perception after administration of a topical anesthetic.

Topical anesthetics are routinely used to reduce the discomfort that patients perceive during dental injections. The purpose of this investigation was to correlate the expectancy of pain and the effect of pretreatment instructions with the severity of pain perceived upon topical anesthetic use and dental injection. The treatment, topical placebo versus topical anesthetic, was administered in a double-blind manner.