Physicians' career satisfaction, quality of care and patients' trust: the role of community uninsurance.

There is evidence that health care providers located in communities with relatively large uninsured populations face financial difficulties because of low service demand and high levels of uncompensated care. Data on 4,920 physicians from the 2000-2001 Community Tracking Study Physician Survey and from 25,637 adults from the 2003 Community Tracking Study Household Survey were used to analyze whether the relative size of the local uninsured population is associated with the level of career satisfaction and the quality of care provided by physicians and to assess whether patient trust is associated with the level of community uninsurance. The results indicate that the proportion of uninsured adults in a given community is negatively related to physicians' career satisfaction and the perceived quality of health care provided.

Linear time probabilistic algorithms for the singular haplotype reconstruction problem from SNP fragments.

In this paper, we develop a probabilistic model to approach two realistic scenarios regarding the singular haplotype reconstruction problem--the incompleteness and inconsistency that occurred in the DNA sequencing process to generate the input haplotype fragments, and the common practice used to generate synthetic data in experimental algorithm studies. We design three algorithms in the model that can reconstruct the two unknown haplotypes from the given matrix of haplotype fragments with provable high probability and in linear time in the size of the input matrix. We also present experimental results that conform with the theoretical efficient performance of those algorithms.

Fabrication of two-layer integrated phase mask for single-beam and single-exposure fabrication of three-dimensional photonic crystal.

In this paper, we report a new design and fabrication of an integrated two-layer phase mask for five-beam holographic fabrication of three-dimensional photonic crystal templates. The phase mask consists of two layers of orthogonally oriented gratings produced in a polymer. The vertical spatial separation between two layers produces a phase shift among diffractive laser beams, which enables the holographic fabrication of inter-connected three-dimensional photonic structures.

Metal-organic framework with rationally tuned micropores for selective adsorption of water over methanol.

A microporous metal-organic framework 1, Cu(R-GLA-Me)(4,4'-Bipy) 0.5.0.

Comparison of polymerase chain reaction and bacterial culture for Salmonella detection in the Muscovy duck in Trinidad and Tobago.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence and serovar identity of Salmonella, at the national level, in farmed Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) in Trinidad and Tobago, and to compare the relative benefits of bacterial culture to those of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for use in the routine detection and surveillance of Salmonella in these ducks.

Methods: From March-September 2003, 110 fecal samples were collected from 82 farms across the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Salmonella was isolated from fresh and frozen samples and the serotype of each was determined through bacterial culture.

A luminescent microporous metal-organic framework for the recognition and sensing of anions.

A luminescent microporous metal-organic framework Tb(BTC)G has been developed for the recognition and sensing of anions, exhibiting a high-sensitivity sensing function with respect to fluoride.

Keeping hospitals healthy: focus centers translate into greater net revenue.

The author explored the relation between focus centers in multihospital systems and net revenue. Research included related topics such as the multihospital system as a response to regulatory banning of specialty hospitals and the relations between the number of focus centers, median income, bed size, morbidity rates, net revenue, and patient days. To conduct the analysis, the author examined 20 randomly selected multihospital systems.

Recall Latencies, Confidence, and Output Positions of True and False Memories: Implications for Recall and Metamemory Theories.

Recall latency, recall accuracy rate, and recall confidence were examined in free recall as a function of recall output serial position using a modified Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm to test a strength-based theory against the dual-retrieval process theory of recall output sequence. The strength theory predicts the item output sequence to be in the descending order of memory strength. The dual-retrieval process theory postulates two phases in a free recall, a first direct access phase in which items are output verbatim in the weakest-to-strongest order (cognitive triage) and a second reconstructive phase in which reconstructed items are output in the strongest-to-weakest order.

Surface interactions and quantum kinetic molecular sieving for H2 and D2 adsorption on a mixed metal-organic framework material.

A rational strategy has been used to immobilize open metal sites in ultramicroporosity for stronger binding of multiple H 2 molecules per unsaturated metal site for H 2 storage applications. The synthesis and structure of a mixed zinc/copper metal-organic framework material Zn 3(BDC) 3[Cu(Pyen)] .(DMF) 5(H 2O) 5 (H 2BDC = 1,4 benzenedicarboxylic acid and PyenH 2 = 5-methyl-4-oxo-1,4-dihydro-pyridine-3-carbaldehyde) is reported.

Lack of community insurance and mammography screening rates among insured and uninsured women.

Purpose: To evaluate whether the proportion of the local population without health insurance coverage is related to whether women undergo mammography screening.

Methods: Survey data on 12,595 women 40 to 69 years of age from the 2000 to 2001 Community Tracking Study Household Survey were used to analyze the relation between community lack of insurance and whether the respondent had a mammogram within the past year.

Results: Women age 40 to 69 were less likely to report that they had a mammogram within the last year if they resided in communities with a relatively high uninsurance rate, even after adjusting for other factors.

Zinc cysteine active sites of metalloproteins: a density functional theory and x-ray absorption fine structure study.

Density functional theory (DFT) and x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy are complementary tools for the biophysical study of active sites in metalloproteins. DFT is used to compute XAFS multiple scattering Debye Waller factors, which are then employed in genetic algorithm-based fitting process to obtain a global fit to the XAFS in the space of fitting parameters. Zn-Cys sites, which serve important functions as transcriptional switches in Zn finger proteins and matrix metalloproteinases, previously have proven intractable by this method; here these limitations are removed.

Effect of Healing Touch on stress perception and biological correlates.

The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the effect of Healing Touch on state/trait anxiety and physiological measures of heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, skin conductance, and skin temperature in healthy adults. The study used a single group, repeated measures design with a nonprobability convenience sample of 30 subjects. Physiological data were collected for 10 minutes before intervention, during 30 minutes of Healing Touch treatment, and for 10 minutes posttreatment.

A two-dimensional assessment of selected medical websites.

Two major dimensions are commonly used for assessing the breadth and depth of the information content in medical websites. The first dimension deals with quality characteristics consisting of authorship, attribution, confidentiality, currency, disclosure, legitimacy and purpose. Functional variables such as access to medical libraries, reference books, health organisations, information sites, guidelines and reviews, clinical trial sites, drug questions, locating an expert and alternative medicine make up the second dimension.

Formation of traveling waves in nematics due to material parameter ramps.

We propose a simple one-dimensional linear model to describe the formation of localized traveling waves due to material parameter ramps in nematic liquid crystals. We assume that due to some external perturbation the material parameters (conductivity, dielectric constants, viscosity, elasticity) of the liquid crystal become slowly varying functions of position. Temperature gradient in localized regions induced by a laser beam could be one such perturbation.

Contextual factors in the appearance of consumer robots: exploratory assessment of perceived anxiety toward humanlike consumer robots.

The authors use the "uncanny valley theory" as a diagnostic lens to better understand consumers' perceptions of humanlike consumer robots in different contexts. The results demonstrate that individuals were indifferent about the extent of the humanness of robotic images in the context of touching the robots. However, respondents showed more concern for robotic images' similarity to humans in the contexts of communicating with robots, watching robots in a movie, and living in the same house with robots.

Acculturation and the use of complementary and alternative medicine.

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been growing substantially in the US in recent years. Such a growth in CAM use coincides with an ongoing increase in the proportion of the foreign-born population in the US. The main objective of this study is to examine the relation between acculturation and the use of CAM therapies among immigrants.

Language of administration and neuropsychological test performance in neurologically intact Hispanic American bilingual adults.

This study compared the performance of Hispanic American bilingual adults on Spanish and English language versions of a neuropsychological test battery. Language achievement test scores were used to divide 36 bilingual, neurologically intact, Hispanic Americans from south Texas into Spanish-dominant, balanced, and English-dominant bilingual groups. They were administered the eight subtests of the Bateria Neuropsicologica and the Matrix Reasoning subtest of the WAIS-III in Spanish and English.

Selective gas sorption within a dynamic metal-organic framework.

A microporous metal-organic framework 1 Co(NDC)(4,4'-Bipy)(0.5).G(x) (NDC = 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate; 4,4'-Bipy = 4,4'-bipyridine; G = guest molecules) was synthesized and structurally characterized of a doubly interpenetrated primitive cubic net.

A triply interpenetrated microporous metal-organic framework for selective sorption of gas molecules.

A microporous metal-organic framework Zn(ADC)(4,4'-Bpe)(0.5).xG [1; ADC = 4,4'-azobenzenedicarboxylate, 4,4'-Bpe = trans-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene, G = guest molecules] with a triply interpenetrative primitive cubic net was synthesized and characterized.

Fluorescence-enhanced three-dimensional lifetime imaging: a phantom study.

Near-infrared fluorescence optical imaging has the unique opportunity of differentiating diseased lesions from normal lesions based upon environmentally indicated changes in the lifetime of a fluorescent imaging agent. In this paper, we demonstrate three-dimensional lifetime tomography using the gradient-based penalty modified barrier function with simple bounds truncated Newton with trust region method to reconstruct lifetime maps in a clinically relevant, single breast-shaped ( approximately 1081 cm(3)) phantom from point-frequency-domain photon migration measurements at 100 MHz. A reverse differentiation technique is used to calculate the gradients.

Subclinical self-harm: range of behaviors, extent, and associated characteristics.

This study examined characteristics associated with mildly injurious (fingernail biting, skin picking, etc.) and more injurious (cutting, burning, etc.) self-harm (SH) in an undergraduate sample (N = 280); 31% reported mildly injurious SH within the past 3 years with no more injurious SH, whereas 20% reported more injurious SH within the past 3 years.

Health insurance coverage and the use of preventive services by Mexican adults.

The lack of health insurance coverage could be a potentially important deterrent to the use of preventive health care by older adults with high rates of chronic co-morbidities. We use survey data from 12 100 Mexican adults ages 50 and older who participated in the 2001 Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) to analyze the relation between health insurance coverage and the use of preventive health-care services in Mexico. Uninsured adults were less likely to use preventive screenings for hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and (breast, cervical and prostate) cancer than insured adults.