Unpacking the COVID-19 roadway fatality paradox: an analysis of motor vehicle crashes in Michigan 2019-2022.

Objectives: Motor vehicle travel shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in fewer vehicle miles traveled yet paradoxically higher fatality rates. Anecdotally, the paradox was blamed on increases in risky behavior in the absence of regular traffic and enforcement. We examined three hypotheses to explain the fatality paradox using Michigan crash data: (1) lack of congestion led to higher-speed impacts; (2) increased risky driver/driving; and (3) low-risk driving miles decreased.

Evaluating a Virtual Reality Game to Enhance Teen Distracted Driving Education: Mixed Methods Pilot Study.

Background: Inexperienced adolescent drivers are particularly susceptible to engaging in distracted driving behaviors (DDBs) such as texting while driving (TWD). Traditional driver education approaches have shown limited success in reducing motor vehicle crashes among young drivers.

Objective: We tested an innovative approach to help address the critical issue of DDB among teenagers.

On the road to retirement: Predicting nighttime driving difficulty and cessation using self-reported health factors.

Introduction: Older drivers now expect to drive longer than previous cohorts and will make up about 25% of licensed U.S. drivers by 2050.

Efficacy of the residential care transition module: A telehealth intervention for dementia family caregivers of relatives living in residential long-term care settings.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Residential Care Transition Module, a six-session, psychosocial, and psychoeducational telehealth intervention for family caregivers of cognitively impaired relatives living in a residential long-term care setting. Eligible participants (including care recipients, regardless of time since admission) were randomized to treatment or usual care control conditions. Survey data were collected at baseline, 4 months, 8 months, and 12 months ( = 240).

CarFreeMe™-Dementia: Potential Benefits of a Driving Retirement Intervention Supporting Persons With Dementia and Their Families.

Background And Objectives: Driving retirement can be a necessary but challenging and emotionally complex transition, especially for people living with dementia. This pilot study evaluated the utility of CarFreeMe™-Dementia (CFM™-D), a telehealth intervention providing tailored education and social support to those living with dementia and their care partners, as they prepare for or adjust to driving retirement. Delivered by empathetic health professionals, CFM™-D is a person-centric, flexible program tailored to address challenges specific to the participants' driving retirement stage and individualized contexts.

Short- and Long-Term High-Fat Diet Exposure Differentially Alters Phasic and Tonic GABAergic Signaling onto Lateral Orbitofrontal Pyramidal Neurons.

The chronic consumption of caloric dense high-fat foods is a major contributor to increased body weight, obesity, and other chronic health conditions. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is critical in guiding decisions about food intake and is altered with diet-induced obesity. Obese rodents have altered morphologic and synaptic electrophysiological properties in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC).

Sex Differences in Plasma, Adipose Tissue, and Central Accumulation of Cannabinoids, and Behavioral Effects of Oral Cannabis Consumption in Male and Female C57BL/6 Mice.

Background: Cannabis edibles are an increasingly popular form of cannabis consumption. Oral consumption of cannabis has distinct physiological and behavioral effects compared with injection or inhalation. An animal model is needed to understand the pharmacokinetics and physiological effects of oral cannabis consumption in rodents as a model for human cannabis edible use.

What interventions keep older people out of nursing homes? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Nursing home admission remains a central outcome in many healthcare systems and community-based programs. The objective of this meta-analysis was to determine the efficacy of pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions in preventing nursing home admission for adults aged 65 years or older.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycInfo, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library were all last searched in March 2022 to identify up-to-date eligible studies for the meta-analysis.

Caring for a Relative With Dementia in Long-Term Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.

Background And Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic introduced unprecedented threats and disruptions for caregivers of people with dementia living in residential long-term care (LTC) facilities. Qualitative and cross-sectional studies have reported substantial negative effects of the pandemic on dementia caregivers' well-being, but little to no prospective research has examined the impact of COVID-19 on caregiver well-being using pre-pandemic assessments. The present study used longitudinal data from an ongoing randomized controlled trial of a psychosocial intervention to support family caregivers whose relatives had entered LTC.

"We Moved Her Too Soon": Navigating Guilt Among Adult Child and Spousal Caregivers of Persons Living with Dementia Following a Move into Residential Long-Term Care.

Guilt is a complex and multifaceted emotion navigated by many family caregivers. Guilt is sometimes experienced following a transition into a residential long-term care facility, even when the move is necessary given high care needs related to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. This mixed methods study identifies and compares areas of guilt most frequently experienced by spouse and adult child caregivers (N=83) of a family member with dementia following transition into residential long-term care.

Refining a Driving Retirement Program for Persons With Dementia and Their Care Partners: A Mixed Methods Evaluation of CarFreeMe™-Dementia.

Objectives: We adapted the CarFreeMe™-Dementia program created by The University of Queensland for drivers in the United States. CarFreeMe™-Dementia aims to assist drivers living with dementia and their care partners as they plan for or adjust to driving retirement. This semistructured program focuses on driving retirement education and support.

Delivering Personalized Recommendations to Support Caregivers of People Living With Dementia: Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Estimates suggest that 6.2 million Americans aged ≥65 years are living with Alzheimer dementia in 2021, and by 2060, this number could more than double to 13.8 million.

Caring for a Relative With Dementia in Long-Term Care During COVID-19.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic created unique stressors for caregivers of persons with dementia living in long-term care (LTC) facilities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the challenges associated with caring for a relative with dementia in LTC during the pandemic, as well as resources, strategies, and practices caregivers found helpful in coping with COVID-19.

Design: This study was conducted within the context of an ongoing randomized controlled trial of a psychosocial intervention to support caregivers.

Remote activity monitoring for family caregivers of persons living with dementia: a mixed methods, randomized controlled evaluation.

Background: The goal of the present study was to determine whether a remote activity monitoring (RAM) system benefited caregivers who aided relatives with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (ADRD) living at home. We hypothesized that over 18 months, families randomly assigned to receive RAM technology in the home of the person with ADRD would experience statistically significant (p < .05): 1) improvements in caregiver self-efficacy and sense of competence when managing their relative's dementia; and 2) reductions in caregiver distress (e.

To speed or not to speed: Thematic analysis of American driving narratives.

Introduction: Speeding is a major cause of unintentional roadway death in the United States. Existing data show that U.S.

The Feasibility and Utility of a Personal Health Record for Persons With Dementia and Their Family Caregivers for Web-Based Care Coordination: Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Managing the complex and long-term care needs of persons living with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) can adversely impact the health of informal caregivers and their care recipients. Web-based personal health records (PHRs) are one way to potentially alleviate a caregiver's burden by simplifying ADRD health care management.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate Personal Health Record for Persons with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers (PHR-ADRD), a free web-based information exchange tool, using a multiphase mixed methods approach.

The ResidentialCare Transition Module: a single-blinded randomized controlled evaluation of a telehealth support intervention for family caregivers of persons with dementia living in residential long-term care.

Background: Families do not fully disengage from care responsibilities following relatives' admissions to residential long-term (RLTC) care settings such as nursing homes. Caregiver stress, depression, or other key outcomes remain stable or sometimes increase following a relative's RLTC entry. Some interventions have attempted to increase family involvement after institutionalization, but few rigorous studies have demonstrated whether these interventions are effective in helping families navigate the potential emotional and psychological upheaval presented by relatives' transitions to RLTC environments.

Caregivers dying before care recipients with dementia.

Introduction: Although a handful of studies have examined mortality among caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD), the proportion of caregivers who die before their cognitively impaired care recipients remains unknown.

Methods: We conducted descriptive and survival analyses on up to 17 years of data from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study to evaluate the proportion of spouse caregivers who died before their care recipients.

Results: Eighteen percent of spouse ADRD caregivers died before their care recipients, and spouse caregivers had a significantly lower risk of mortality than their husbands or wives with ADRD.

The transcriptome of the rat subfornical organ is altered in response to early postnatal overnutrition.

Early postnatal overnutrition in humans is associated with long-term negative outcomes including obesity, increased risk of type-II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Hypothalamic neurons from rodents exposed to early postnatal overnutrition show altered expression of satiety signals and receptors, and exhibit altered responses to many satiety signals, suggesting a hypothalamic link between early overnutrition and development of these sequelae. Importantly, several hypothalamic nuclei receive information regarding circulating hormones (such as insulin, leptin and ghrelin) from the subfornical organ (SFO), a forebrain sensory circumventricular organ which lacks a blood brain barrier.

Six-Month Effectiveness of Remote Activity Monitoring for Persons Living With Dementia and Their Family Caregivers: An Experimental Mixed Methods Study.

Background And Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate if and how remote activity monitoring (RAM) improves caregiver outcomes for family members providing care for persons living with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD).

Research Design And Methods: We conducted an embedded experimental mixed methods study of 132 persons living with ADRD and their family caregivers (n = 64 randomly assigned to RAM treatment condition). In addition to baseline and 6-month quantitative survey data on context of care, primary objective stressors, resources, self-efficacy/competence, and distress collected from caregivers, 6-month RAM review checklists contained open-ended, qualitative information on perceived acceptability of the technology.

Lack of current observed in HEK293 cells expressing NALCN channels.

The sodium leak channel NALCN is poorly understood, but is reported as a Na-permeable, nonselective cation leak channel which regulates resting membrane potential and electrical excitability. Previous work has indicated that NALCN currents can be stimulated by activation of several G protein coupled receptors, including the M3 muscarinic receptor. We undertook a study using voltage clamp electrophysiology to investigate NALCN currents.

"It's Like a Cyber-Security Blanket": The Utility of Remote Activity Monitoring in Family Dementia Care.

Technologies have emerged that aim to help older persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs) remain at home while also supporting their caregiving family members. However, the usefulness of these innovations, particularly in home-based care contexts, remains underexplored. The current study evaluated the and utility of an in-home remote activity monitoring (RAM) system for 30 family caregivers of persons with ADRD via quantitative survey data collected over a 6-month period and qualitative survey and interview data collected for up to 18 months.

Characteristics of a Favorable Weight Status Change From Adolescence to Young Adulthood.

Purpose: To explore 10-year longitudinal predictors (personal, psychological, behavioral, and socioenvironmental) of exiting obesity from adolescence to young adulthood.

Methods: Data were collected from a population-based cohort of adolescents (n = 2,287) attending middle/high schools in Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1998-1999 (mean age = 14.

The Hazardous Drinking Games Measure (HDGM): a multi-site implementation.

Background: Drinking game participation has been associated with increased frequency and quantity of alcohol use, as well as alcohol-related problems, in college students. To date, the assessment of drinking games typically entails the use of self-developed measures of frequency of participation and amount of alcohol consumed while playing.

Objectives: The Hazardous Drinking Games Measure (HDGM) is the first effort to create a comprehensive yet concise method of assessing drinking game participation.