The impact of past and present preferences on stimulus engagement in nursing home residents with dementia

Objectives: We examined engagement with stimuli in 193 nursing home residents with dementia. We hypothesized that activities and stimuli based on a person's past and current preferences would result in more engagement than other activities/stimuli.

Method: The expanded version of the self-identity questionnaire [Cohen-Mansfield, J., Golander, H. & Arheim, G. (2000)] was used to determine participants’ past/present interests (as reported by relatives) in the following areas: art, music, babies, pets, reading, television, and office work. We utilized the observational measurement of engagement (Cohen-Mansfield, J., Dakheel-Ali, M., & Marx, M.S. (2009).

Results: Analysis revealed that residents with current interests in music, art, and pets were more engaged by stimuli that reflect these interests than residents without these interests.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate the utility of determining a person's preferences for stimuli in order to predict responsiveness. Lack of prediction for some stimuli may reflect differences between past preferences and activities that are feasible in the present.     

Prospective,Randomized Comparison of Lansoprazole Suspension,and Intermittent Intravenous Famotidine on Gastric pH and Acid Production in Critically ill Neurosurgical Patients

Background  

There is a paucity of studies comparing stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) agents in high-risk neurosurgical patients.     

Identification of cerebellin2 in chick and its preferential expression by subsets of developing sensory neurons and their targets in the dorsal horn

The cerebellins are a family of four secreted proteins, two of which, Cbln1 and Cbln3, play an important role in the formation and maintenance of parallel fiber‐Purkinje cell synapses. We have identified the chicken homologue of Cbln2 and, through the use of in situ hybridization, shown that it is expressed by specific subsets of neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) and spinal cord starting shortly after those neurons are generated. In the developing spinal cord, Cbln2 is highly expressed by dI1, dI3, dI5, and dILB dorsal interneurons and to a lesser extent by dI2, dI4, dI6, and dILA dorsal interneurons, but not by ventral (v0–v3) interneurons. After the spinal cord has matured and neurons have migrated to their final destinations, Cbln2 is abundant in the dorsal horn. In the DRGs, Cbln2 is expressed by TrkB+ and TrkC+ sensory neurons, but not by TrkA+ sensory neurons. Interestingly, regions of the spinal cord where TrkB+ and TrkC+ afferents terminate (i.e., laminae II, III, IV, and VI) exhibit the highest levels of Cbln2 expression. Cbln2 is also expressed by preganglionic sympathetic neurons and their targets in the sympathetic chain ganglia. Thus, the results show that Cbln2 is frequently expressed by synaptically connected neuronal populations. This, in turn, raises the possibility that if Cbln2, like Cbln1, plays a role in the formation and maintenance of synapses, it may somehow mediate bi‐directional communication between discrete populations of neurons and their appropriate neuronal targets. J. Comp. Neurol. 518:2818–2840, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

A Hip Analysis Protocol for Pediatric Bone Densitometry: The Iowa Bone Development Study

Pediatric proximal femur dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans present analytic challenges because of the lack of standard points of reference in the growing skeleton. The Iowa Bone Development Study (IBDS) developed a modified pediatric-specific proximal femur analysis protocol using Hologic software. Serial DXA measurements were obtained for 214 children at approximate ages 5, 8, 11, and 13 yr. Standard analysis procedures as described by the manufacturer (Hologic default) were compared with the IBDS protocol. The IBDS protocol yielded lower but more stable results for bone area, bone mineral content (BMC), and bone mineral density for total hip, femoral neck, trochanter, and intertrochanter as a result of more precisely controlling the regions of interest. Linear regression models with body size, age, and gender as predictors were developed to examine variation in measurements. Coefficients of determination (R²) with the IBDS protocol were greater for each time point, demonstrating that the modified protocol was better aligned with body size. Similarly, Spearman correlation coefficients between total hip and hip subregions were consistently higher for BMC and bone area with the IBDS protocol with differences more notable among younger children. The IBDS protocol provides a reproducible method for evaluating pediatric proximal femur DXA scans during growth.     

Inverted left atrial appendage presenting as a large left atrial mass

Inverted left atrial appendage (ILAA) is a rare phenomenon. We describe a patient with mitral stenosis who presented with a homogenous mass in the left atrium, mimicking a large thrombus. The patient was sent to surgery and no thrombus was found; intraoperative examination by the surgeon revealed an ILAA. We briefly discuss the main features of this entity and also some aspects of the differential diagnosis.     

Physical activity and survival in postmenopausal women with breast cancer: results from the women's health initiative

Although studies have shown that physically active breast cancer survivors have lower all-cause mortality, the association between change in physical activity from before to after diagnosis and mortality is not clear. We examined associations among pre- and postdiagnosis physical activity, change in pre- to postdiagnosis physical activity, and all-cause and breast cancer-specific mortality in postmenopausal women. A longitudinal study of 4,643 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer after entry into the Women's Health Initiative study of postmenopausal women. Physical activity from recreation and walking was determined at baseline (prediagnosis) and after diagnosis (assessed at the 3 or 6 years post-baseline visit). Women participating in 9 MET-h/wk or more (～ 3 h/wk of fast walking) of physical activity before diagnosis had a lower all-cause mortality (HR = 0.61; 95% CI, 0.44-0.87; P = 0.01) compared with inactive women in multivariable adjusted analyses. Women participating in ≥ 9 or more MET-h/wk of physical activity after diagnosis had lower breast cancer mortality (HR = 0.61; 95% CI, 0.35-0.99; P = 0.049) and lower all-cause mortality (HR = 0.54; 95% CI, 0.38-0.79; P < 0.01). Women who increased or maintained physical activity of 9 or more MET-h/wk after diagnosis had lower all-cause mortality (HR = 0.67; 95% CI, 0.46-0.96) even if they were inactive before diagnosis. High levels of physical activity may improve survival in postmenopausal women with breast cancer, even among those reporting low physical activity prior to diagnosis. Women diagnosed with breast cancer should be encouraged to initiate and maintain a program of physical activity.     

Exercise counters diet-induced obesity,proteinuria, and structural kidney alterations in rat

We studied the effects of exercise training in treating renal impairment due to hypertension and obesity in rats.     

Molecular characterization and phylogeny of two begomoviruses infecting <Emphasis Type="Italic">Malvastrum americanum</Emphasis> in Jamaica: evidence of the contribution of inter-species recombination to the evolution of malvaceous weed-associated begomoviruses from the Northern Caribbean

Two distinct full-length begomovirus DNA-A components and a DNA-B component were PCR amplified, cloned and sequenced from Jamaican Malvastrum americanum plants exhibiting yellow mosaic symptoms. Whereas one of the DNA-A components is from a potentially new species that we have tentatively named Malvastrum yellow mosaic Helshire virus (MaYMHV), the other DNA-A and the DNA-B form a cognate pair and represent a new virus species tentatively named Malvastrum yellow mosaic Jamaica virus (MaYMJV). The MaYMJV genome components together infected M. americanum and produced yellow mosaic symptoms similar to those seen in naturally infected plants. Both the MaYMJV and MaYMHV DNA-A components are typical of those of bipartite begomoviruses from the Western Hemisphere. The DNA-As of MaYMJV and MaYMHV are most closely related to each other (sharing 84% sequence identity) and cluster phylogenetically with begomoviruses found infecting malvaceous weeds in Cuba and Florida. The DNA-B component of MaYMJV is most similar to that of Sida golden mosaic virus-[USA:Florida] (SiGMV-[US:Flo]) and Sida golden mosaic Costa Rica virus-[Costa Rica] (SiGMCRV-[CR]). As with many other geminivirus species, the genomes of MaYMJV and MaYMHV bear traces of inter-species recombination.