Biomedical subjects

Timothy E Hanson

Publications and source records attributed to Timothy E Hanson.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Geographic variability in alcohol-related crashes in response to legalized Sunday packaged alcohol sales in New Mexico.

On July 1, 1995 the state of New Mexico lifted its ban on Sunday packaged alcohol sales. Legislation lifting the ban included a local option allowing individual communities within the state to hold an election to reinstitute the ban on Sunday packaged alcohol sales. Previous research has shown a clear statewide increase in alcohol-related crash and crash fatality rates after the ban was lifted. The goal of this study is to measure county-level variability in changes in alcohol-related crash rates while adjusting for county socio-demographic characteristics, spatial patterns in crash rates and temporal trends in alcohol-related crash rates. Bayesian hierarchical binomial regression models were fit to the observed quarterly crash counts for all counties between July 1, 1990 and June 30, 2000. Results show marked variability in the impact of legalized Sunday packaged alcohol sales on alcohol-related crash rates. Relative risks of an alcohol-related crash for the post-repeal versus pre-repeal period vary across counties from 1.04 to 1.90. Counties with older population suffered a greater negative impact of legalized Sunday packaged alcohol sales. Counties with communities that quickly passed the local option to re-ban packaged sales on Sundays were able to mitigate most of the deleterious impact of increased alcohol availability that was observed across the state.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2005

Bayesian inference for prevalence and diagnostic test accuracy based on dual-pooled screening.

We propose a useful protocol for the problem of screening populations for low-prevalence characteristics such as HIV or drugs. Current HIV screening of blood that has been donated for transfusion involves the testing of individual blood units with an inexpensive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test and follow-up with a more accurate and more expensive western blot test for only those units that tested positive. Our cost-effective pooling strategy would enhance current methods by making it possible to accurately estimate the sensitivity and specificity of the initial screening test, and the proportion of defective units that have passed through the system. We also provide a method of estimating the distribution of prevalences for the characteristic throughout the population or subpopulations of interest.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗

PubMed2004

Comparison of direct immunofluorescence, modified acid-fast staining, and enzyme immunoassay techniques for detection of Cryptosporidium spp in naturally exposed kittens.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a modified Ziehl-Neelsen acid-fast staining technique (mZN), a direct immunofluorescence detection procedure (DIF), and 3 commercial enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in fecal specimens from kittens. DESIGN: Prospective study. SAMPLE POPULATION: 416 fecal specimens collected from 104 randomly selected domestic shorthair kittens (8 to 16 weeks of age) that were naturally exposed to Cryptosporidium spp. PROCEDURE: Fresh fecal specimens were collected once daily for 4 consecutive days and processed immediately. Sensitivities of mZN, DIF, and 3 commercial EIAs (EIA-1, EIA-2, and EIA-3) were estimated and compared. RESULTS: EIA-2 had the highest sensitivity on day 1 (89%), followed by EIA-1 (80%), and mZN (72%). EIA-3 had the lowest sensitivity on day 1 (15%). EIA-2, EIA-1, and mZN had similar sensitivities after 2 consecutive fecal examinations (approx 90%). Determination of specificities was compromised by the small number of cats that had negative results for all tests (n = 3). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that EIA-2 and EIA-1 had the highest sensitivities when only a single fecal specimen was examined; however, mZN and EIA-1 had similar sensitivities when 2 consecutive fecal specimens were examined. The higher costs of EIA-2 and EIA-1 may be offset by the tests' high sensitivity, simplicity of use, and ease of interpretation and by savings in technician time.

Acids↗