Distinct requirements within the Msh3 nucleotide binding pocket for mismatch and double-strand break repair.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, repair of insertion/deletion loops is carried out by Msh2-Msh3-mediated mismatch repair (MMR). Msh2-Msh3 is also required for 3' non-homologous tail removal (3' NHTR) in double-strand break repair. In both pathways, Msh2-Msh3 binds double-strand/single-strand junctions and initiates repair in an ATP-dependent manner.

Eliminating inequities in health care: understanding perceptions and participation in an antiracism initiative.

Antiracism training for staff of health care institutions is a promising intervention strategy to address racial and ethnic disparities in health care. In 2001, Southern County Public Health Department (SCPHD) staff completed a mandatory Dismantling Racism (DR) training, and some continued with an optional DR process to challenge institutional racism within their agency. To explore factors influencing participation in optional DR activities (i.

Considering organizational factors in addressing health care disparities: two case examples.

Policy makers and practitioners have yet to successfully understand and eliminate persistent racial differences in health care quality. Interventions to address these racial health care disparities have largely focused on increasing cultural awareness and sensitivity, promoting culturally competent care, and increasing providers' adherence to evidence-based guidelines. Although these strategies have improved some proximal factors associated with service provision, they have not had a strong impact on racial health care disparities.

Roles of FGFR3 during morphogenesis of Meckel's cartilage and mandibular bones.

To address the functions of FGFR2 and FGFR3 signaling during mandibular skeletogenesis, we over-expressed in the developing chick mandible, replication-competent retroviruses carrying truncated FGFR2c or FGFR3c that function as dominant negative receptors (RCAS-dnFGFR2 and RCAS-dnFGFR3). Injection of RCAS-dnFGFR3 between HH15 and 20 led to reduced proliferation, increased apoptosis, and decreased differentiation of chondroblasts in Meckel's cartilage. These changes resulted in the formation of a hypoplastic mandibular process and truncated Meckel's cartilage.

FGF signaling in mandibular skeletogenesis.

Objective: To examine the functions of FGF/FGFR signaling during mandibular skeletogenesis in ovo.

Design: We examined the effects of inhibition of FGF signaling during mandibular skeletogenesis by overexpressing replication-competent RCAS virus encoding a truncated form of FGFR3 in the chicken mandibular process between stages 17 and 26.

Results: Injection of RCAS-dnFGFR3 into the developing mandible resulted in abnormalities in a stage- and region-dependent manner.

Tissue-specific expression of Fgfr2b and Fgfr2c isoforms, Fgf10 and Fgf9 in the developing chick mandible.

Experimental evidence has demonstrated the importance of FGF signalling in morphogenesis of the mandibular processes. FGFs transmit their signals through four tyrosine kinase transmembrane receptors (FGFRs). Alternative splicing in FGFRs including FGFR2 generates different isoforms that exhibit different ligand-specificities, exclusive tissue distributions and specific biological functions.

Loneliness among older adults in The Netherlands, Italy, and Canada: a multifaceted comparison.

Loneliness is experienced in many cultures. To properly assess cross-cultural differences, attention should be paid to the level, determinants, and measurement of loneliness. However, cross-cultural studies have rarely taken into account more than one of these.

Social isolation and loneliness: differences between older rural and urban Manitobans.

The purpose of this paper was to identify predictors of social isolation and loneliness for very old rural and urban adults. With data from the 1996 Aging in Manitoba Study (N = 1,868; age range 72-104), separate multiple regression models were constructed for rural and urban sub-samples, using the life space index (LSI) to measure social isolation as one outcome, and a loneliness index created by the authors from a combination of items to measure loneliness as a second outcome. Different factors were found to predict the outcomes for the two sub-samples.

Cross-national comparisons of social isolation and loneliness: introduction and overview.

This article provides an introduction to the special volume on research related to issues of social isolation and loneliness for older people. It discusses some key concepts and provides a brief overview of the articles included in the volume.

Finding and using rural aging data: an international perspective.

This article reports on a workshop in which participants identified sources of data on rural aging. Such sources are typically part of larger data collection efforts or special aging studies with large rural components. Finding and using data on rural aging are not only two different processes but they also face somewhat different obstacles and the solutions are likewise different.

Gender differences in the relationship between marital status transitions and life satisfaction in later life.

This study examined life satisfaction among individuals who had undergone a transition in marital status and those whose marital status remained stable over a 7-year period. In particular, using data from a large-scale, longitudinal study we assessed life satisfaction as measured in 1983 and 1990 among 2,180 men and women between the ages of 67 and 102. Groups of individuals were identified on the basis of whether a spouse was present or absent at the two measurement points.

An international psychometric testing of the care dependency scale.

In an international study, psychometric properties of the Care Dependency Scale (CDS) were examined by analysing data gathered in Dutch, Canadian, Italian and Norwegian nursing homes. For that purpose, from these countries a convenience sample was developed consisting of 525 patients with dementia. The English, Italian and Norwegian research instruments were translations of the original Dutch CDS.

Evaluating support services to seniors. A discussion of collaborative research.

The difficulties involved in attempting to turn collaboration into partnership are revealed in this article about the relationship between research funders and researchers, specifically government funders and university researchers. Some discussion revolves around the relationships between researchers and among the researchers, practitioners, and consumers. This article also discusses collaborative research relationships by using the evaluation of a support program to seniors as an illustration.

Living longer but doing worse: assessing health status in elderly persons at two points in time in Manitoba, Canada, 1971 and 1983.

Comparisons of the health status of 1971 and 1983 samples of elderly persons in Manitoba, Canada suggest that while elderly individuals were living longer in 1983, their health was poorer. This was true in both age- and sex-specific comparisons and in comparisons made of individuals in the two samples who were relatively close to death. 'Compression of morbidity' has not taken place.

Predictors of successful aging: a twelve-year study of Manitoba elderly.

In Manitoba, Canada, a representative cohort of elderly individuals ages 65 to 84 (n = 3,573) were interviewed in 1971 and the survivors of this cohort were reinterviewed in 1983. This analysis assesses the determinants of successful aging--whether or not an individual will live to an advanced age, continue to function well at home, and remain mentally alert. Over 100 separate indicators of demographic and socio-economic status, social supports, health and mental status in 1971 were available as potential predictors of successful aging.

A continuing education model for community health nursing practice.

Although community health nursing standards of practice state that the baccalaureate degree (BSN) is the entry level for practice, the reality is that over 60% of the work-force has less than a bachelor's degree. Furthermore, BSN programs have been criticized for not putting sufficient emphasis on content areas critical for effective entry-level practice. This article presents a continuing education model that could guide agencies in developing programs to correct these deficits, incorporating both initial orientation, ongoing staff development, and formal advanced preparation.

A content analysis of educational media about menstruation.

Researchers and practitioners frequently have criticized educational media's coverage of menstruation as being too oriented toward the "hygienic crisis" while de-emphasizing the emotional and other developmental aspects of puberty. In the present study, 31 audiovisual media currently available for sale/rental were reviewed for content related to the physical and psychological aspects of menstruation, the portrayal of adolescent girls, parents, and peers, and the relationship of menstruation to the developmental process. Seven films were produced by sanitary product manufacturers; 24 by other commercial filmmakers.

Using administrative data to predict important health outcomes. Entry to hospital, nursing home, and death.

This paper assesses our ability to use administrative data for developing indicators of health status. Traditionally, measures of health status have been derived from interviews. Here indicators from administrative data and from interviews are compared, i.