Georgia College & State University

About: Georgia College & State University is a education organization based out in Milledgeville, Georgia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 950 authors who have published 1591 publications receiving 37027 citations.

Economic impact of a Medicaid population health management program.

Abstract: A population health management program was implemented to assess growth in health care expenditures for the disabled segment of Georgia's Medicaid population before and during the first year of a population health outcomes management program, and to compare those expenditures with projected costs based on various cost inflation trend assumptions. A retrospective, nonexperimental approach was used to analyze claims data from Georgia Medicaid claims files for all program-eligible persons for each relevant time period (intent-to-treat basis). These included all non-Medicare, noninstitutionalized Medicaid aged-blind-disabled adults older than 18 years of age. Comparisons of health care expenditures and utilization were made between base year (2003–2004) and performance year one (2006–2007), and of the difference between actual expenditures incurred in the performance year vs. projected expenditures based on various cost inflation assumptions. Demographic characteristics and clinical complexity of the population (as measured by the Chronic Illness and Disability Payment System risk score) actually increased from baseline to implementation. Actual expenditures were less than projected expenditures using any relevant medical inflation assumption. Actual expenditures were less than projected expenditures by $9.82 million when using a conservative US general medical inflation rate, by $43.6 million using national Medicaid cost trends, and by $106 million using Georgia Medicaid's own cost projections for the non-dually eligible disabled segment of Medicaid enrollees. Quadratic growth curve modeling also demonstrated a lower rate of increase in total expenditures. The rate of increase in expenditures was lower over the first year of program implementation compared with baseline. Weighted utilization rates were also lower in high-cost categories, such as inpatient days, despite increases in the risk profile of the population. Varying levels of cost avoidance could be inferred from differences between actual and projected expenditures using each of the health-related inflation assumptions. (Population Health Management 2011;14:215–222)

What Do We Know about Trade Promotions? Contributions, Limitations, and Further Research

Abstract: The trade promotion area remains seriously under-researched compared with its share of the overall marketing mix budget. This review attempts to provide an up-to-date account of what we know about trade promotions. For eight major topics we elaborate on what that topic means in the context of trade promotions, why it has been deemed important, what empirical findings have emerged in that area, and proposeareas for future research.

Occlusion effect in bone conduction pure tone and speech audiometry.

Abstract: Two experiments were conducted to determine the occlusion effect (OE) for pure tone and spondee stimuli. Results of experiment I using mastoid placement and unilateral occlusion yielded a mean OE for bone conduction speech reception thresholds of 4.67 dB, which was in agreement with the average OEs of 0.50, 1.0 and 2.0 kHz, or simply the same as the OE for 1.0 kHz. However, the magnitude of the observed OEs for test frequencies of 0.25 to 4.0 kHz was considerably less than the OEs reported in previous investigations. In an attempt to explain this discrepancy, experiment II used unilateral and bilateral occlusion with mastoid and forehead placement for pure tone stimuli. Significant differences (p less than 0.05) were found between OEs obtained with mastoid versus forehead placement and for unilateral versus bilateral occlusion.

Reconstruction of Cyclooxygenase Evolution in Animals Suggests Variable, Lineage-Specific Duplications, and Homologs with Low Sequence Identity

Abstract: Cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymatically converts arachidonic acid into prostaglandin G/H in animals and has importance during pregnancy, digestion, and other physiological functions in mammals. COX genes have mainly been described from vertebrates, where gene duplications are common, but few studies have examined COX in invertebrates. Given the increasing ease in generating genomic data, as well as recent, although incomplete descriptions of potential COX sequences in Mollusca, Crustacea, and Insecta, assessing COX evolution across Metazoa is now possible. Here, we recover 40 putative COX orthologs by searching publicly available genomic resources as well as ~250 novel invertebrate transcriptomic datasets. Results suggest the common ancestor of Cnidaria and Bilateria possessed a COX homolog similar to those of vertebrates, although such homologs were not found in poriferan and ctenophore genomes. COX was found in most crustaceans and the majority of molluscs examined, but only specific taxa/lineages within Cnidaria and Annelida. For example, all octocorallians appear to have COX, while no COX homologs were found in hexacorallian datasets. Most species examined had a single homolog, although species-specific COX duplications were found in members of Annelida, Mollusca, and Cnidaria. Additionally, COX genes were not found in Hemichordata, Echinodermata, or Platyhelminthes, and the few previously described COX genes in Insecta lacked appreciable sequence homology (although structural analyses suggest these may still be functional COX enzymes). This analysis provides a benchmark for identifying COX homologs in future genomic and transcriptomic datasets, and identifies lineages for future studies of COX.