University of Nebraska project. University of Nebraska College of Nursing; Omaha, Nebraska.
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The results of the Nebraska Heart Transplant Program are presented. Survival at one and four years, cost, waiting time and return to work rates are reported and compared to known standards. Survival is 91 percent at one year and 76 percent at four years after transplant. These data as well as costs, waiting time and return to work compare favorably with published and reported data. We conclude the results of the Nebraska Heart Transplant Program by all parameters evaluated are excellent. Referral of patients to distant programs causes needles inconvenience and higher patient costs, and is not justified.
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Two hundred thirty-four consecutive cases of malignant lymphoma (192 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and 42 Hodgkin's disease) from Guangzhou, China, and 589 cases (498 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and 91 Hodgkin's disease) from the University of Nebraska Lymphoma Registry were examined in a retrospective histopathologic analysis and the results compared to those of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Working Formulation Summary. Aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was excessive in Guangzhou (82.3 per cent; P less than 0.001) and Nebraska (80.3 per cent; P less than 0.001) when compared with the NCI data (54.2 per cent). The small noncleaved cell, lymphoblastic, and diffuse mixed-cell subtypes were more frequent in China (15.6 per cent each; P less than 0.001), whereas the small lymphocytic, follicular large cell, and immunoblastic subtypes predominated in Nebraska (8 per cent, 8.4 per cent, and 21.8 per cent, respectively; P less than 0.001). The overall median age of onset for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was 42.0 years in Guangzhou and 63.5 years in Nebraska. Hodgkin's disease represented 18 per cent of the malignant lymphomas in Guangzhou and 15 per cent in Nebraska. The mixed-cellularity type was most common in Guangzhou (52 per cent; P less than 0.001) and the nodular-sclerosing type in Nebraska (56 per cent; P less than 0.010). The low median age and excess of certain aggressive subtypes of non-Hodgkin's disease in Guangzhou suggest a possible viral etiology, whereas the excess of certain subtypes of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Nebraska may be related to intense agricultural activity.
To further determine the distribution and prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis in the central United States, 245 wild canids (125 red foxes, 120 coyotes) and 33 bobcats were collected from Nebraska, Kansas, and Wyoming and examined for this parasite. Animals examined included 11 red foxes from the western panhandle of Nebraska; 5 red foxes and 30 coyotes from southern Nebraska; 56 red foxes and 1 coyote from northeastern Nebraska; 20 red foxes, 63 coyotes, and 13 bobcats from northern Kansas; 2 red foxes, 26 coyotes, and 20 bobcats from southern Kansas; and 31 red foxes from east-central Wyoming. Of these, 27 of 72 (37.5%) red foxes from Nebraska were positive, including 2 of 11 (18.2%) from the western panhandle and 25 of 56 (44.6%) from the northeastern part of the state. Mean intensity of infection was 282 worms (range, 1-5,150). New distribution records were established for E. multilocularis in western Nebraska as well as for several northeastern counties. These findings support previous estimates that the southernmost front of the parasite's range extends along the southern border of Wyoming, eastward through central Nebraska and central Illinois into Indiana and Ohio.
The effect of age upon the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB) was studied by administering the LNNB and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale to three groups of subjects: A group aged 17-30, a group aged 50-55, and a group aged 65 and older. No subject had any history of brain pathology or psychotic emotional disturbance. Two of the Luria-Nebraska subtests, the Motor and Visual, showed a significant sex-effect in that males performed better than females. Age was related significantly to performance on 11 of 16 Luria Nebraska subscales; older subjects rather consistently showed poorer performance than younger subjects. When intelligence (i.e., Wechsler IQs) and education were controlled statistically, partial correlations still revealed that age had significant effects upon 13 of 16 Luria-Nebraska subscales. These results closely parallel earlier data that concern age-effects on the Luria-Nebraska Battery.
In the past few years nursing home care expenditures in Nebraska and the U.S. have been the fastest growing component of total health care expenditures. This rate of increase is particularly alarming in view of the fact that nursing home care is financed primarily by the Medicaid program or direct out-of-pocket payments. In fact, given the cutbacks in federal and state funds for this program, consumers will be forced to allocate a larger share of their income to meet the costs of nursing home care. Although nursing home expenditures have grown at an extremely rapid rate, relatively few empirical studies exist which analyze the cost function of nursing home providers. The purpose of this study is to identify factors which have directly influenced the cost of nursing home care in Nebraska and to evaluate the current Nebraska Medicaid reimbursement system in terms of its impact upon nursing home costs. The study was limited to a sample of 40 nursing homes in Nebraska which represents 42% of the total proprietary nursing homes in the state. The sample was limited to those facilities licensed only as an Intermediate Care Facility--I and they had to be receiving some Medicaid revenue. The data were averaged over the period of 1977-79, but the year of analysis corresponded to 1978. Multiple regression analysis was used to measure the effect of the hypothesized independent variables upon two different measures of cost--the average total cost per patient day and the average variable cost per patient day. In the first regression model 76% of the variance was explained and 71% was explained in the second equation. The results of this analysis are basically consistent with the findings of other studies and indicate that the number of staffing hours, patient mix, facility age, administrator experience and administrative intensity are significant determinants of nursing home costs. The most important finding from a policy perspective is that the current retrospective cost-related Medicaid reimbursement system does not provide incentives for minimizing costs. In fact, the present system encourages administrators to overutilize resources and charge higher prices. Considerable evidence exists which suggests that a prospective system would encourage a more efficient allocation of resources without adversely affecting the quality of care. Given the increase in the state's share of the total Medicaid budget, it would appear that a change to a prospective system is critical in order to maintain the financial accessibility to nursing home care by all Nebraska residents.
The extent of anabolic steroid use among adolescent sports participants and nonparticipants in Nebraska schools was studied. The Nebraska Secondary School Survey administered in 1991 contained 19 new items designed to determine rates of use of anabolic steroids and to measure participation in school sports. Schools participating in the survey are part of the Toward a Drug Free Nebraska training project; when the 1991 survey was conducted, training did not address ergogenic drug use. The survey was administered on a voluntary and confidential basis to Nebraska students in grades 7 through 12. A total of 4722 students in 62 secondary schools were surveyed; 3183 (67.4%) identified themselves as participants in school-sponsored sports. Of all the respondents, 117 (2.5%) reported having used anabolic steroids in the preceding 30 days. Some 4.5% of all the male respondents were steroid users, versus 0.8% of all the females. Of the students who reported using anabolic steroids, 72.6% were sports participants. Steroid users, whether they participated in sports or not, were more likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs than were nonusers of steroids. Among sports participants and nonparticipants, anabolic steroid users were more likely than nonusers to report acting violently. Nebraska students (grades 7 through 12) who participated in school-sponsored sports were more likely than non-participants to use anabolic steroids. Steroid-using athletes were more likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs than athletes who did not use steroids.
Data on 2,744 calves produced in Clay Center, Nebraska and Brooksville, Florida were used to evaluate the importance of genotype x location interactions on the reproductive and maternal performance of eight breed groups of F1 crossbred cows. A total of 648 F1 crossbred cows included Bos taurus x Bos taurus (Bt x Bt) crosses: Hereford x Angus reciprocal crossbreds (HA and AH), Pinzgauer x Angus (PA), Pinzgauer x Hereford (PH); and Bos indicus x Bos taurus (Bi x Bt) crosses: Brahman x Angus (BA), Brahman x Hereford (BH), Sahiwal x Angus (SA) and Sahiwal x Hereford (SH). The first calf crop was sired by Red Poll bulls. All remaining calf crops were sired by Simmental bulls. Although the pregnancy rate was 9% higher in Nebraska, the rate of unassisted calvings and calf survival rate were both 4.6% lower in Nebraska. Calf birth and weaning weights were 8.0 and 15.6 kg heavier in Nebraska than in Florida. Bi x Bt dams exceeded (P less than .001) Bt x Bt crossbred dams for all traits except age of calf at weaning and calf-survival rates (P greater than .10). Birth weights of calves from Bi x Bt crossbred dams were 3.4 kg lighter than those from the Bt x Bt crossbred dams. The interaction of location with the breed group comparison of Bi x Bt vs Bt x Bt crossbred dams was significant for pregnancy rate, calf age at weaning, rate of unassisted calving and all weight traits. Adjusted weaning weights of calves from HA, AH, PA, PH, BA, BH, SA and SH cows were as follows: HA, 194 and 222; AH, 202 and 230; PA, 213 and 242; PH, 217 and 245; BA, 251 and 254; BH, 252 and 254; SA, 236 and 238; and SH, 238 and 243 kg, respectively, in Florida and Nebraska. Bos indicus-sired cows (BA, BH, SA and SH) weaned essentially equal-weight calves at both locations, whereas calves from Bt x Bt crossbred cows (HA, AH, PA, PH) were about 28 kg lighter in Florida.
A questionnaire was used to determine why pharmacists in Nebraska chose urban or rural practice sites and to help the University of Nebraska College of Pharmacy encourage students to consider rural practice. Questionnaires were mailed to 1427 Nebraska pharmacists to gather data about their practice, job satisfaction, location of rearing, location of spouse's rearing, and prepharmacy and clerkship training. Usable responses were sorted into those from urban pharmacists (residing in Omaha and Lincoln and their suburban areas) and those from rural pharmacists (all others). Of the 689 usable responses, 315 (45.7%) were from urban pharmacists and 374 (54.3%) were from rural pharmacists. Of the rural pharmacists, 93% [corrected] grew up in communities of fewer than 100,000 people and 60% grew up in communities of fewer than 5,000 people. Respondents cited income potential, desirability of practice site, influence of spouse and family, and quality of children's schools as factors that most influenced their choice of practice site. Based on the survey results, the University of Nebraska College of Pharmacy took actions to recruit students from rural communities and increase students' exposure to rural practice settings. Pharmacists who were reared or trained in rural areas were more likely to practice in rural Nebraska than pharmacists who had only urban experience.
Data from the Nebraska Cancer Registry indicate that the State's female breast cancer incidence rate did not increase or decrease significantly during the period 1987-1993, although the percentage of in situ diagnoses increased from 8% to 13%. Similarly, breast cancer mortality among Nebraska women has remained relatively constant during the past decade (1985-1994). According to Nebraska's Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, screening mammography rates among Nebraska women have shown striking increases in recent years: in 1994, nearly half (48%) of all women 50 and older reported that they had had a mammogram within the past year, up from 24% in 1988. Nebraska's breast cancer incidence, mortality, and screening rates remain lower than U.S. rates.
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether a novel immobilization collar called the Nebraska collar would restrict motion of the cervical spine better than three traditional designs: the Philadelphia collar, the sterno occipital mandibular immobilizer (S.O.M.I.), and the Lehrman-Minerva cervical orthosis. DESIGN: Cervical spine radiographs and a compass were used to assess motion allowed by four separate cervical collars placed on volunteers. SETTING: University-affiliated level one trauma center. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Fourteen paid volunteers (six females and eight males) between the ages of twenty and thirty-five years (mean twenty-five years) were recruited. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: The maximum amount of flexion, extension, and lateral bending permitted by each collar was assessed by cervical radiographs taken of the volunteers while wearing each of the four collars. Maximum rotation was measured with a compass positioned on the top of the head of the volunteers and oriented in the horizontal plane. RESULTS: The Nebraska collar restricted rotation (p < 0.0001) and lateral bending (p < 0.0001) significantly more than did the other three orthoses. In total maximum extension from occiput to C7, the Nebraska collar was found to be more restrictive than the Philadelphia collar (p < 0.05) and the S.O.M.I. (p < 0.05). In total maximum flexion, there was no statistically significant difference among the four collars. When the total maximum flexion-to-extension motion was measured, both the Nebraska and Lehrman-Minerva cervical collars were found to be more restrictive than the Philadelphia collar (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The new Nebraska collar provides stabilization that is significantly more rigid than the other models tested, with no difference in patient comfort.