Health care utilization and costs among coordinated care patients in Southeastern Ontario: A difference-in-differences study of a double propensity score-matched cohort.

Objectives: Coordinated care plans (CCPs) for high-cost health care system users aim to improve system-level performance. We evaluated health care resource use and costs among CCP patients (enrollees) versus a control group that did not receive coordinated care (comparators) in Southeastern Ontario.

Methods: A difference-in-differences analysis of a quasi-experimental, double propensity score-matched and adjusted cohort was conducted.

A laser parameter study on enhancing proton generation from microtube foil targets.

The interaction of an intense laser with a solid foil target can drive [Formula: see text] TV/m electric fields, accelerating ions to MeV energies. In this study, we experimentally observe that structured targets can dramatically enhance proton acceleration in the target normal sheath acceleration regime. At the Texas Petawatt Laser facility, we compared proton acceleration from a [Formula: see text] flat Ag foil, to a fixed microtube structure 3D printed on the front side of the same foil type.

Enhancements in laser-generated hot-electron production via focusing cone targets at short pulse and high contrast.

We report on the increase in the accelerated electron number and energy using compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) targets from a short-pulse (∼150 fs), high-intensity (>10^{18} W/cm^{2}), and high-contrast (∼10^{8}) laser-solid interaction. We report on experimental measurements using CPC targets where the hot-electron temperature is enhanced up to ∼9 times when compared to planar targets. The temperature measured from the CPC target is 〈T_{e}〉=4.

Laser-driven x-ray and proton micro-source and application to simultaneous single-shot bi-modal radiographic imaging.

Radiographic imaging with x-rays and protons is an omnipresent tool in basic research and applications in industry, material science and medical diagnostics. The information contained in both modalities can often be valuable in principle, but difficult to access simultaneously. Laser-driven solid-density plasma-sources deliver both kinds of radiation, but mostly single modalities have been explored for applications.

Culturally tailored tobacco control: Aboriginal community perspectives in Sydney, Australia.

Introduction: A community-based project was developed to support quit attempts and denormalise smoking in Aboriginal communities. This qualitative study evaluates the effectiveness of project strategies, messages and the partnership process, and explores impacts observed by Aboriginal community members, complementing findings from a quantitative evaluation.

Methods: The study comprised five focus groups (40 participants) and 14 in-depth interviews (with 15 community members).

The response function of Fujifilm BAS-TR imaging plates to laser-accelerated titanium ions.

Calibrated diagnostics for energetic particle detection allow for the systematic study of charged particle sources. The Fujifilm BAS-TR imaging plate (IP) is a reusable phosphorescent detector for radiation applications such as x-ray and particle beam detection. The BAS-TR IP has been absolutely calibrated to many low-Z (low proton number) ions, and extending these calibrations to the mid-Z regime is beneficial for the study of laser-driven ion sources.

Evaluating an Aboriginal tobacco social marketing project in Sydney, Australia.

Introduction: A partnership between three Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and a mainstream health service was formed to develop, implement and evaluate a comprehensive and culturally appropriate social marketing project which aimed to encourage smokers to quit smoking. The project also supported quit attempts and promoted denormalisation of smoking.

Methods: The project was evaluated through baseline (n = 427) and follow-up (n = 611) surveys carried out face-to-face with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander participants 18 years and older recruited through convenience sampling at community events and venues during 2010-2011 and 2015.

Associations between patient factors and adverse events in the home care setting: a secondary data analysis of two canadian adverse event studies.

Background: Early identification of patients at who have a higher risk for the occurrence of harm can provide patient safety improvement opportunities. Patient factors contribute to adverse event occurrence. The study aim was to identify a single, parsimonious model of home care patient factors that, regardless of location and differences in home care program management and design factors, could provide a means of locating patients at higher and lower risk of harm.

Proton acceleration by irradiation of isolated spheres with an intense laser pulse.

We report on experiments irradiating isolated plastic spheres with a peak laser intensity of 2-3×10^{20}Wcm^{-2}. With a laser focal spot size of 10 μm full width half maximum (FWHM) the sphere diameter was varied between 520 nm and 19.3 μm.

Smoking among Aboriginal adults in Sydney, Australia.

Issue addressed Tobacco consumption contributes to health disparities among Aboriginal Australians who experience a greater burden of smoking-related death and diseases. This paper reports findings from a baseline survey on factors associated with smoking, cessation behaviours and attitudes towards smoke-free homes among the Aboriginal population in inner and south-western Sydney. Methods A baseline survey was conducted in inner and south-western Sydney from October 2010 to July 2011.

Circulating Fat-Soluble Vitamin Concentrations and Nutrient Composition of Aquatic Prey Eaten by American Oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus palliatus) in the Southeastern United States.

The American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus palliatus) is currently listed as a species of high concern by the United States Shorebird Conservation Plan. Because nutritional status directly impacts overall health and reproduction of individuals and populations, adequate management of a wildlife population requires intimate knowledge of a species' diet and nutrient requirements. Fat-soluble vitamin concentrations in blood plasma obtained from American oystercatchers and proximate, vitamin, and mineral composition of various oystercatcher prey species were determined as baseline data to assess nutritional status and nutrient supply.

The "medical neighborhood": integrating primary and specialty care for ambulatory patients.

As health care organizations create larger networks, better coordination of primary and specialty care is paramount. Attention has focused on strengthening primary care by creating patient-centered medical homes. The "medical neighborhood" provides a framework for structured, reciprocal relationships that integrate specialty care and extend the principles of the medical home to all practicing physicians.

Quasi-monoenergetic laser-plasma acceleration of electrons to 2 GeV.

Laser-plasma accelerators of only a centimetre's length have produced nearly monoenergetic electron bunches with energy as high as 1 GeV. Scaling these compact accelerators to multi-gigaelectronvolt energy would open the prospect of building X-ray free-electron lasers and linear colliders hundreds of times smaller than conventional facilities, but the 1 GeV barrier has so far proven insurmountable. Here, by applying new petawatt laser technology, we produce electron bunches with a spectrum prominently peaked at 2 GeV with only a few per cent energy spread and unprecedented sub-milliradian divergence.

The Second National Sun Survey: overview and methods.

The Second National Sun Survey (NSS2) was carried out in 2006 to estimate ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure, sun protection and related knowledge, attitudes and beliefs among Canadians. This paper provides a detailed overview of NSS2 methods and discusses the strengths and limitations of the survey. The NSS2 consists of two questionnaires administered to two samples of adults (age 16+ years).

Antiviral activity obtained from aqueous extracts of the Chilean soapbark tree (Quillaja saponaria Molina).

Natural, aqueous extracts of Quillaja saponaria, the Chilean soapbark tree, contain several physiologically active triterpenoid saponins that display strong adjuvant activity when used in either human or animal vaccines. In this paper, we describe studies that demonstrate a novel antiviral activity of Quillaja extracts against six viruses: vaccinia virus, herpes simplex virus type 1, varicella zoster virus, human immunodeficiency viruses 1 and 2 (HIV-1, HIV-2) and reovirus. We demonstrate that microgram amounts of extract, while exhibiting no cell cytotoxicity or direct virucidal activity, prevent each of the six viruses tested from infecting their host cells.

Borrelia, Coxiella, and Rickettsia in Carios capensis (Acari: Argasidae) from a brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) rookery in South Carolina, USA.

Argasid ticks are vectors of viral and bacterial agents of humans and animals. Carios capensis, a tick of seabirds, infests the nests of brown pelicans, Pelecanus occidentalis, and other ground nesting birds along the coast of South Carolina. This tick is associated with pelican nest abandonment and could pose a threat to humans visiting pelican rookeries if visitors are exposed to ticks harboring infectious agents.

Daisy Ayris Lecture. Looking back, looking forward.

This was the second time that Mary Spinks, a former Chairman of NATN, has given the Daisy Ayris Lecture. This unprecedented move indicates the Association's respect for Mary's influence and commitment to patient care in her current role as Director of the Florence Nightingale Foundation. Her address, given below in full, covers key themes of education, reasoning and communication.

Effects of screening mammography on the comparative survival rates of African American, white, and Hispanic beneficiaries of a comprehensive health care system.

This study reviewed mammographic screening related to breast carcinoma diagnosis and treatment between 1987 and 1997 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, TX. Epidemiologic data from the Department of Defense Automated Central Tumor Registry were merged with data from patients' medical records and responses of the patients or their families to a mailed survey. The cases of 907 women grouped by race-white, African American, and Hispanic-were analyzed.