The 2010 expansion of activity-based hospital payment in Israel: an evaluation of effects at the ward level.

Background: In 2010, Israel intensified its adoption of Procedure-Related Group (PRG) based hospital payments, a local version of DRG (Diagnosis-related group). PRGs were created for certain procedures by clinical fields such as urology, orthopedics, and ophthalmology. Non-procedural hospitalizations and other specific procedures continued to be paid for as per-diems (PD).

Survey of family doctors' attitudes towards statin treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Aims: Clinical guidelines advocate that cardiovascular benefits of statin treatment overweigh the risk of impairment of glucose metabolism. The aim of the study was to examine the attitudes of family doctors towards statin treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: We disseminated a questionnaire examining doctors' attitudes to existing clinical guidelines and the factors leading to a doctor's decision to prescribe statins to diabetic patients.

Why and how did Israel adopt activity-based hospital payment? The Procedure-Related Group incremental reform.

Historically, Israel paid its non-profit hospitals on a perdiem (PD) basis. Recently, like other OECD countries, Israel has moved to activity-based payments. While most countries have adopted a diagnostic related group (DRG) payment system, Israel has chosen a Procedure-Related Group (PRG) system.

Two-generation reproductive study in mink fed diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP).

Two generations of "Ranch Wild" mink (Mustela vison) were fed the organophosphate diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP) at 0, 150, 450, or 1250ppm, to determine potential toxicity to the dams. Chemical, hematologic, necropsy, and microscopic examinations were performed on all parental animals and representative kits. The F0 and F1 dams had 3.

The comparative metabolism of diisopropyl methylphosphonate in mink and rats.

This study reports the metabolism of carbon-14labeled diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP) in mink and rats, undertaken to better understand the dose-related mortality reported for mink in a previous study. In both male and female mink and rats, DIMP was rapidly absorbed after oral administration; it was metabolized by a saturable pathway to a single metabolite, isopropyl methylphosphonate (IMPA), which was rapidly excreted, primarily in the urine (90%). Fecal radioactivity, also identified as IMPA, was 1.

Hematologic and serum chemistry reference values for adult brown mink.

Hematologic and serum chemistry reference values were determined for 160 12-month-old brown untamed captive mink (Mustela vision). Blood was obtained by jugular venipuncture after administration of ketamine and xylazine. There were no statistically significant differences between male and female mink.

Hematologic response of adult brown mink to oxidative stress.

We evaluated the response of mink to oral administration of the oxidant compound propylene glycol (PG) to better understand the relative susceptibility of mink red blood cells (RBC) to oxidant injury. Feeding a diet containing 12% PG to 6 mink for 1 w resulted in a 17% decrease in hematocrit, a 21% decrease in RBC count and a 4.8-fold increase in reticulocyte count.

Subchronic oral toxicity study of diisopropyl methylphosphonate in mink.

Diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP), produced during manufacture of the chemical agent GB (Sarin), is a groundwater contaminant at Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado. DIMP was fed for 90 days to dark brown "Ranch Wild" mink housed under controlled indoor conditions. One-year-old mink, 10 of each sex, were fed 0, 50, 450, 2700, 5400, or 8000 ppm in standard ranch diet.

Assessment of the hematopoietic system in ruminants.

The hemic system is examined to evaluate clinical signs referable to the hemic system, establish a data base, or monitor the course of disease processes. Clinical signs of hemic disorders include pale mucous membranes, icterus, hemorrhage, hemoglobinuria, and tachycardia. Compared to other species, ruminants have small red blood cells, respond to anemia by releasing stippled red blood cells, commonly become neutropenic during acute bacterial sepsis, and fail to develop marked neutrophilia or left shift in response to inflammation.

Hematological alterations in kittens induced by 6 and 12% dietary propylene glycol.

Soft-moist cat foods containing 6-13% propylene glycol (PG) induce Heinz body formation and decreased red blood cell (RBC) lifespan in adult cats in a dose dependent manner. Since kittens eat relatively more food/kg of body weight and must expand their blood volume in addition to replacing senescent RBC, the hematologic dyscrasia associated with consumption of PG-containing diets may be exaggerated. To test this hypothesis 21 kittens were divided into 3 groups of 7 each and fed diets containing, 0,6 or 12% PG for 13 w.

Hematologic alterations in adult cats fed 6 or 12% propylene glycol.

Cat foods containing propylene glycol (PG) induce Heinz body formation in feline erythrocytes. To further study the hematologic importance of dietary PG, 21 adult cats were allotted to 3 groups of 7 each and fed diets containing 0, 6, or 12% PG on a dry-weight basis. Cats fed PG had a dose-related increase in Heinz bodies within 2 weeks, and the increase persisted throughout the study.

Effects of propylene glycol-containing diets on acetaminophen-induced methemoglobinemia in cats.

Soft-moist cat foods contain 7 to 13% propylene glycol (PG) on a dry-weight basis. These diets induce Heinz body formation in feline RBC. In this study, we evaluated cats on a control diet and on a commercial diet containing 8.

Surface-activated bovine platelets do not spread, they unfold.

The present study has examined the response of bovine platelets to surface activation and compared it to the reaction of human cells. Human platelets react to surfaces by losing their discoid shape, extending pseudopods, converting to dendritic forms, and finally, spreading into thin films resembling pancakes. Bovine platelets do not spread, they unfold.

Contribution of propylene glycol-induced Heinz body formation to anemia in cats.

Propylene glycol (PG) is a common preservative and source of synthetic carbohydrates in soft-moist pet foods. Propylene glycol was fed to cats for 5 weeks at concentrations found in commercial diets (1.6 g/kg of body weight; 12% of diet on a dry-weight basis) and for 3 weeks at concentrations exceeding usual intake (8 g/kg; 41% of diet).

Reassessment of cytologic values in canine cerebrospinal fluid by use of cytocentrifugation.

Using cytocentrifugation, nearly one fourth of canine cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples with cell counts in the normal range had abnormalities in cell type or morphologic features. Cerebrospinal fluid samples from 145 dogs with neurologic disorders were evaluated by use of this method. These results indicate that low hemacytometer counts in canine CSF should not be interpreted as normal.

Canine prostatic disease--comparison of radiographic appearance with morphologic and microbiologic findings: 30 cases (1981-1985).

A retrospective analysis was made of radiographs from 24 clinically normal young adult male Beagles used in previously reported base-line research on the distal male urinary tract. The ventrodorsal and craniocaudal prostate gland dimensions were measured, as visualized on the lateral radiographic view, and expressed as a ratio of the distance between the cranial aspect of the public bone and the sacral promontory. In 17 of these 24 dogs, there was sufficient image clarity to permit confident measurement of prostatic dimensions.

Canine prostatic disease--comparison of ultrasonographic appearance with morphologic and microbiologic findings: 30 cases (1981-1985).

A retrospective analysis was made of 30 cases of canine prostatic disease, with the objective of identifying (via a prepubic approach) the 2-dimensional, gray-scale ultrasonographic appearance most often associated with the various spontaneous prostatic diseases. Ultrasonography was of value in characterizing the parenchymal architecture as normal vs focally hyperechoic and diffusely hyperechoic (associated with chronic inflammation and neoplasia) or focally hypoechoic or anechoic (either accompanied by distant enhancement), which was associated with retention cyst or abscess. Further specificity based only on abnormal echotexture was not possible.

Cytochemical reactions in cells from leukemic dogs.

Leukemic cells from 17 dogs with spontaneous leukemia were stained with leukocyte alkaline phosphatase, alpha naphthyl acetate esterase with and without fluoride, peroxidase, and periodic acid-Schiff. Cytochemistry was necessary for identification or confirmation of leukemic cell type in most dogs and resulted in changing the light microscopic morphologic diagnosis in eight of 17 dogs. Leukemic cell types diagnosed were myelomonocytic leukemia in seven dogs, monocytic leukemia in five dogs, lymphocytic leukemia in four dogs, and myelocytic leukemia in one dog.

Chemical reactions in cells from leukemic cats.

Cytochemical staining for leukocyte alkaline phosphatase(LAP), nonspecific esterase (NSE), nonspecific esterase with fluoride inhibition (NSE-F), periodic acid Schiff (PAS) reactivity, and peroxidase (PO) was valuable in identification of the neoplastic cell type in 10 leukemic cats. Staining both blood and bone marrow smears was often necessary for making the correct diagnosis. Cytochemical staining resulted in changing the morphologic diagnosis of leukemia in two of the 10 cats.

Urate nephrolithiasis in ranch mink.

Urate nephrolithiasis with epistaxis and bleeding around foot pads was diagnosed in ranch mink. Investigation of affected, unaffected-related, and unaffected-unrelated mink did not disclose the cause of these problems but did eliminate inherited bleeding disorders as a cause of the bleeding. All affected mink were males, had been sired by related sires, and were affected in the 1st year of life.

A comparison of polychromasia and reticulocyte counts in assessing erythrocytic regenerative response in the cat.

Three staining techniques were evaluated for use in assessing the erythrocytic regenerative responses in the cat. Using new methylene blue as a vital stain, the aggregate reticulocyte count closely corresponded to the reticulocyte count on air-dried smears stained with new methylene blue and to the polychromatophilic erythrocyte count on Wright's stained smears.

Carboxyhemoglobin concentrations in normal cattle.

Percentage carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) values were determined in 29 cows and 24 bulls in Minnesota during the summer of 1973. Results indicated that, in normal cattle, the HbCO value was 0.3%.