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Sidr honey is used as food and medicine in many countries. Study of immunomodulatory and anticancer activity of Sidr honey did not tested before. The aim of this work was to study the anticancer activity and immunomodulatory as well as antimicrobial potential of Sidr honey and its synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Sidr honey from three sources (two from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and one from Pakistan) was diluted to 20% and tested for its biological activities and to synthesize AgNPs. The results demonstrated that honeys could produce AgNPs (spherical shape), modulated the growth of normal splenic cells, and have antimicrobial activities. Sidr honey has anticancer activity against HepG2 but not Hela cells. Sidr honey can be used as antimicrobial agent, but can be used as anticancer agent with care as it stimulated cell growth of some lines (e.g., Hala) and inhibited another (e.g., HepG2).

We examined the association between states' legislative mandates that private insurance cover autism services and the health care-related financial burden reported by families of children with autism. Child and family data were drawn from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (N  =  2,082 children with autism). State policy characteristics were taken from public sources. The 3 outcomes were whether a family had any out-of-pocket health care expenditures during the past year for their child with autism, the expenditure amount, and expenditures as a proportion of family income. We modeled the association between states' autism service mandates and families' financial burden, adjusting for child-, family-, and state-level characteristics. Overall, 78% of families with a child with autism reported having any health care expenditures for their child for the prior 12 months. Among these families, 54% reported expenditures of more than $500, with 34% spending more than 3% of their income. Families living in states that enacted legislation mandating coverage of autism services were 28% less likely to report spending more than $500 for their children's health care costs, net of child and family characteristics. Families living in states that enacted parity legislation mandating coverage of autism services were 29% less likely to report spending more than $500 for their children's health care costs, net of child and family characteristics. This study offers preliminary evidence in support of advocates' arguments that requiring private insurers to cover autism services will reduce families' financial burdens associated with their children's health care expenses.

This paper examines the role of state residence and Medicaid reimbursement rates in explaining the relationship between having autism and access to care for children. Three questions are addressed: (1) Is there variation across states in the relationship between having autism and access to care? (2) Does taking account of state residence explain a significant amount of the variation in this relationship? (3) Does accounting for Medicaid reimbursement rates enhance our understanding of this relationship? Data from the 2005 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs were combined with state characteristics to estimate a hierarchical generalized linear model of the association between state residence, Medicaid reimbursement rate and problems accessing care for children with special health care needs with and without autism. Findings indicate there is significant variation between states in the relationship between having autism and problems accessing care, and accounting for state residence explains a significant amount of variation in the model. Medicaid reimbursement rates have an independent effect on access to care for children with autism: when families raising children with autism live in states with higher reimbursement rates, they have lower odds of experiencing problems accessing care. The state context in which families live impacts access to care for children with autism. Moreover, when families live in states with higher Medicaid reimbursement rates, they are less likely to experience problems getting care. The value of this analysis is that it helps identify where to look for strategies to improve access.

We examined the association between state Medicaid spending for children with disabilities and the financial burden reported by families of children with autism. Child and family data were from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (n  =  2,011 insured children with autism). State characteristics were from public sources. The 4 outcomes included any out-of-pocket health care expenditures during the past year, expenditure amount, expenditures as a proportion of family income, and whether additional income was needed to care for a child. We modeled the association between state per capita Medicaid spending for children with disabilities and families' financial burden, controlling for child, family, and state characteristics. Overall, 78% of families raising children with autism had health care expenditures for their child for the prior 12 months; 42% reported expenditures over $500, with 34% spending over 3% of their income. Families living in states with higher per capita Medicaid spending for children with disabilities were significantly less likely to report financial burden. There is a robust relationship between state Medicaid spending for children with disabilities and the financial burdens incurred by families raising children with autism.

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