A case for revisiting peer review: Implications for professional self-regulation and quality improvement.

Background: Quality improvement in healthcare has often been promoted as different from and more valuable than peer review and other professional self-regulation processes. In spite of attempts to harmonize these two approaches, the perception of dichotomous opposition has persisted. A sequence of events in the troubled California prison system fortuitously isolated workforce interventions from more typical quality improvement interventions.

Community Environmental Contamination of Toxigenic .

Background: infection is often considered to result from recent acquisition of a isolate in a healthcare setting. However, spores can persist for long periods of time, suggesting a potentially large community environmental reservoir. The objectives of this study were to assess community environmental contamination of toxigenic and to assess strain distribution in environmental versus clinical isolates.

Physical Activity Is Associated With Reduced Risk of Executive Function Impairment in Older Women.

Objective: To examine whether baseline levels of physical activity, measured by total caloric expenditure, predicted domain-specific cognitive impairments over a 9-year period.

Method: Participants included 376 community-dwelling older women aged 70 to 80 years at baseline from the Women's Health and Aging Study II. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the associations between self-reported physical activity and risk of cognitive impairments in psychomotor speed, executive function, and verbal memory.

Impact of the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial on cortical and hippocampal volumes.

Introduction: There is a substantial interest in identifying interventions that can protect and buffer older adults from atrophy in the cortex and particularly, the hippocampus, a region important to memory. We report the 2-year effects of a randomized controlled trial of an intergenerational social health promotion program on older men's and women's brain volumes.

Methods: The Brain Health Study simultaneously enrolled, evaluated, and randomized 111 men and women (58 interventions; 53 controls) within the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial to evaluate the intervention impact on biomarkers of brain health at baseline and annual follow-ups during the 2-year trial exposure.

Evaluation of enzyme immunoassays and real-time PCR for detecting Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in Southern Alberta, Canada.

Two immunoassays (Shiga Toxin Chek and Shiga Toxin Quik Chek) and real-time PCR were used to detect Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. For enriched culture, the sensitivity and specificity of the three methods ranged from 80.0% to 98.

Increases in lifestyle activities as a result of experience Corps® participation.

Experience Corps® (EC) was designed to simultaneously increase cognitive, social, and physical activity through high-intensity volunteerism in elementary school classrooms. It is, therefore, highly likely that EC participation may alter pre-existing patterns of lifestyle activity. This study examined the impact of "real-world" volunteer engagement on the frequency of participation in various lifestyle activities over a 2-year period.

A systematic review of strategies to foster activity engagement in persons with dementia.

Dementia is a growing public health issue. Activity, a positive therapeutic modality, has potential to enhance quality of life and reduce behavioral symptoms in persons with dementia--outcomes eluding pharmacological treatments. However, it is unclear how to effectively engage persons with dementia in activities for them to derive desired benefits.

Interactions of marine mammals and birds with offshore membrane enclosures for growing algae (OMEGA).

Background: OMEGA is an integrated aquatic system to produce biofuels, treat and recycle wastewater, capture CO2, and expand aquaculture production. This system includes floating photobioreactors (PBRs) that will cover hundreds of hectares in marine bays. To assess the interactions of marine mammals and birds with PBRs, 9 × 1.

Cognitive performance profiles by latent classes of drug use.

Background And Objectives: The relationship between substance use and cognitive deficits is complex and requires innovative methods to enhance understanding. The present study is the first to use LCA to examine associations of drug use patterns with cognitive performance.

Methods: Cocaine/heroin users (N = 552) completed questionnaires, and cognitive measures.

The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative: Annual change in biomarkers and clinical outcomes.

Background: The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Phase 1 (ADNI-1) is a multisite prospective study designed to examine potential cerebrospinal fluid and imaging markers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their relationship to cognitive change. The objective of this study was to provide a global summary of the overall results and patterns of change observed in candidate markers and clinical measures over the first 2 years of follow-up.

Methods: Change was summarized for 210 normal controls, 357 mild cognitive impairment, and 162 AD subjects, with baseline and at least one cognitive follow-up assessment.