Typing of Haemophilus influenzae by Coagglutination and Conventional Slide Agglutination

Coagglutination was compared with conventional slide agglutination for the typing of 297 clinical isolates of Haemophilus sp. A 100% correlation was found with the H. influenzae type b isolates. Coagglutination showed no false-positive reactions with the nontypable strains of H. influenzae and H. parainfluenzae isolates; however, conventional slide agglutination exhibited many false-positive and non-interpretable reactions.     

Racial/ethnic disparities in potentially preventable readmissions: the case of diabetes

OBJECTIVES: Considerable differences in prevalence of diabetes and management of the disease exist among racial/ethnic groups. We examined the relationship between race/ethnicity and hospital readmissions for diabetes-related conditions. METHODS: Nonmaternal adult patients with Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance coverage hospitalized for diabetes-related conditions in 5 states were identified from the 1999 State Inpatient Databases of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Racial/ethnic differences in the likelihood of readmission were estimated by logistic regression with adjustment for patient demographic, clinical, and socioeconomic characteristics and hospital attributes. RESULTS: The risk-adjusted likelihood of 180-day readmission was significantly lower for non-Hispanic Whites than for Hispanics across all 3 payers or for non-Hispanic Blacks among Medicare enrollees. Within each payer, Hispanics from low-income communities had the highest risk of readmission. Among Medicare beneficiaries, Blacks and Hispanics had higher percentages of readmission for acute complications and microvascular disease, while Whites had higher percentages of readmission for macrovascular conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Racial/ethnic disparities are more evident in 180-day than in 30-day readmission rates, and greatest among the Medicare population. Readmission diagnoses vary by race/ethnicity, with Blacks and Hispanics at higher risk for those complications more likely preventable with effective postdischarge care.     

Gene cuisine or Frankenfood? The theory of reasoned action as an audience segmentation strategy for messages about genetically modified foods

Genetically modified (GM) foods are currently a controversial topic about which the lay public in the United States knows little. Formative research has demonstrated that the lay public is uncertain and concerned about GM foods. This study (N = 858) extends focus group research by using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) to examine attitudes and subjective norms related to GM foods as a theoretical strategy for audience segmentation. A hierarchical cluster analysis revealed four unique audiences based on their attitude and subjective norm toward GM foods (ambivalent-biotech, antibiotech, biotech-normer, and biotech individual). Results are discussed in terms of the theoretical and practical significance for audience segmentation.     

Constant and variable aspects of the dichotic listening right-ear advantage: a comparison of standard and signal detection tasks

The study was designed to disentangle perceptual and attentional components of the dichotic listening right-ear advantage (REA). A total of 120 normal adults (108 right-handers and 12 left-handers) were administered the Halwes Fused Dichotic Words Test (FDWT) under standard conditions, which entail a forced-choice response format and no attention instructions. Two weeks later, the same stimuli were administered in a signal detection format with varied attention instructions (left, right, and equally divided). The standard task yielded the expected REA. The signal detection task yielded an REA for detection of targets that remained invariant across attention conditions. In contrast, ear asymmetry for localisation of targets varied with attention instructions. The REA on the standard task was correlated with the asymmetry of target detection (r = .57) on the signal detection task but not with the asymmetry of localisation or response bias. Ear asymmetry on the standard test seems to reflect an early stage of processing that is not altered by shifts of attention. Volitional shifts of attention influence the localisation of targets, but this component of signal processing is unrelated to the REA obtained on the standard test.