University of Colorado Denver

About: University of Colorado Denver is a education organization based out in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 27444 authors who have published 57213 publications receiving 2539937 citations. The organization is also known as: CU Denver & UCD.

Recent Advances and Developments in Composite Dental Restorative Materials

Abstract: Composite dental restorations represent a unique class of biomaterials with severe restrictions on biocompatibility, curing behavior, esthetics, and ultimate material properties. These materials are presently limited by shrinkage and polymerization-induced shrinkage stress, limited toughness, the presence of unreacted monomer that remains following the polymerization, and several other factors. Fortunately, these materials have been the focus of a great deal of research in recent years with the goal of improving restoration performance by changing the initiation system, monomers, and fillers and their coupling agents, and by developing novel polymerization strategies. Here, we review the general characteristics of the polymerization reaction and recent approaches that have been taken to improve composite restorative performance.

Prevalence of chronic medical conditions among jail and prison inmates in the USA compared with the general population

Abstract: Background: Despite growing inmate populations in the USA, inmates are excluded from most national health surveys and little is known about whether the prevalence of chronic disease differs between inmates and the non-institutionalised population. Methods: Nationally representative, cross-sectional data from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities and 2002–4 National Health Interview Survey Sample Adult Files on individuals aged 18–65 were used. Binary and multinomial logistic regression were used to compare the prevalence of self-reported chronic medical conditions among jail (n = 6582) and prison (n = 14 373) inmates and non-institutionalised (n = 76 597) adults after adjusting for age, sex, race, education, employment, the USA as birthplace, marital status and alcohol consumption. Prevalence and adjusted ORs with 95% CIs were calculated for nine important chronic conditions. Results: Compared with the general population, jail and prison inmates had higher odds of hypertension (OR jail 1.19; 95% CI 1.08 to 1.31; OR prison 1.17; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.27), asthma (OR jail 1.41; 95% CI 1.28 to 1.56; OR prison 1.34; 95% CI 1.22 to 1.46), arthritis (OR jail 1.65; 95% CI 1.47 to 1.84; OR prison 1.66; 95% CI 1.54 to 1.80), cervical cancer (OR jail 4.16; 95% CI 3.13 to 5.53; OR prison 4.82; 95% CI 3.74 to 6.22), and hepatitis (OR jail 2.57; 95% CI 2.20 to 3.00; OR prison 4.23; 95% CI 3.71 to 4.82), but no increased odds of diabetes, angina or myocardial infarction, and lower odds of obesity. Conclusions: Jail and prison inmates had a higher burden of most chronic medical conditions than the general population even with adjustment for important sociodemographic differences and alcohol consumption.

The geographic diversity of nontuberculous mycobacteria isolated from pulmonary samples: an NTM-NET collaborative study

Abstract: A significant knowledge gap exists concerning the geographical distribution of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolation worldwide. To provide a snapshot of NTM species distribution, global partners in the NTM-Network European Trials Group (NET) framework (www.ntm-net.org), a branch of the Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (TB-NET), provided identification results of the total number of patients in 2008 in whom NTM were isolated from pulmonary samples. From these data, we visualised the relative distribution of the different NTM found per continent and per country. We received species identification data for 20 182 patients, from 62 laboratories in 30 countries across six continents. 91 different NTM species were isolated. Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) bacteria predominated in most countries, followed by M. gordonae and M. xenopi. Important differences in geographical distribution of MAC species as well as M. xenopi, M. kansasii and rapid-growing mycobacteria were observed. This snapshot demonstrates that the species distribution among NTM isolates from pulmonary specimens in the year 2008 differed by continent and differed by country within these continents. These differences in species distribution may partly determine the frequency and manifestations of pulmonary NTM disease in each geographical location.

A comparison of recombinant human thyrotropin and thyroid hormone withdrawal for the detection of thyroid remnant or cancer.

Abstract: Recombinant human TSH has been developed to facilitate monitoring for thyroid carcinoma recurrence or persistence without the attendant morbidity of hypothyroidism seen after thyroid hormone withdrawal. The objectives of this study were to compare the effect of administered recombinant human TSH with thyroid hormone withdrawal on the results of radioiodine whole body scanning (WBS) and serum thyroglobulin (Tg) levels. Two hundred and twenty-nine adult patients with differentiated thyroid cancer requiring radioiodine WBS were studied. Radioiodine WBS and serum Tg measurements were performed after administration of recombinant human TSH and again after thyroid hormone withdrawal in each patient. Radioiodine whole body scans were concordant between the recombinant TSH-stimulated and thyroid hormone withdrawal phases in 195 of 220 (89%) patients. Of the discordant scans, 8 (4%) had superior scans after recombinant human TSH administration, and 17 (8%) had superior scans after thyroid hormone withdrawal (P = 0.108). Based on a serum Tg level of 2 ng/mL or more, thyroid tissue or cancer was detected during thyroid hormone therapy in 22%, after recombinant human TSH stimulation in 52%, and after thyroid hormone withdrawal in 56% of patients with disease or tissue limited to the thyroid bed and in 80%, 100%, and 100% of patients, respectively, with metastatic disease. A combination of radioiodine WBS and serum Tg after recombinant human TSH stimulation detected thyroid tissue or cancer in 93% of patients with disease or tissue limited to the thyroid bed and 100% of patients with metastatic disease. In conclusion, recombinant human TSH administration is a safe and effective means of stimulating radioiodine uptake and serum Tg levels in patients undergoing evaluation for thyroid cancer persistence and recurrence.

Eviction for Conservation: A Global Overview

Abstract: Displacement resulting from the establishment and enforcement of protected areas has troubled relationships between conservationists and rural groups in many parts of the world. This paper examines one aspect of dis- placement: eviction from protected areas. We examine divergent opinions about the quality of information available in the literature. We then examine the literature itself, discussing the patterns visible in nearly 250 reports we compiled over the last two years. We argue that the quality of the literature is not great, but that there are signs that this problem is primarily concentrated in a few regions of the world. We show that there has been a remarkable surge of publications about relocation after 1990, yet most protected areas reported in these publications were established before 1980. This reflects two processes, first a move within research circles to recover and rediscover pro- tected areas' murky past, and second stronger enforcement of existing legisla- tion. We review the better analyses of the consequences of relocation from protected areas which are available and highlight areas of future research.