Multimedia education increases elder knowledge of emergency department care.

Introduction: Elders who utilize the emergency department (ED) may have little prospective knowledge of appropriate expectations during an ED encounter. Improving elder orientation to ED expectations is important for satisfaction and health education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a multi-media education intervention as a method for informing independently living elders about ED care.

Potential influence of total parenteral nutrition on body composition at discharge in preterm infants.

Objective: This study was undertaken to assess the potential influence of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) on body composition (BC) in preterm infants.

Study Design: This prospective, observational study of infants born <35 weeks measured BC at discharge using air displacement plethysmography. The % body fat (BF) at discharge was correlated with variables gestational age (GA), severity of illness, days on oxygen, time to regain birth weight and duration of TPN.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis and athletic participation: are we adequately preparing for sports integration?

Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) now have well-controlled disease due to improved therapies and management strategies. Children with JIA are more active than in the past and often participate in dynamic, high-loading sports. Standard measures of disease control include examination findings, laboratory values, and patient-directed surveys.

Ezrin and moesin are required for efficient T cell adhesion and homing to lymphoid organs.

T cell trafficking between the blood and lymphoid organs is a complex, multistep process that requires several highly dynamic and coordinated changes in cyto-architecture. Members of the ezrin, radixin and moesin (ERM) family of actin-binding proteins have been implicated in several aspects of this process, but studies have yielded conflicting results. Using mice with a conditional deletion of ezrin in CD4+ cells and moesin-specific siRNA, we generated T cells lacking ERM proteins, and investigated the effect on specific events required for T cell trafficking.

Electrochemical processing of discrete single-walled carbon nanotube anions.

The dissolution of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) remains a fundamental challenge, reliant on aggressive chemistry or ultrasonication and lengthy ultracentrifugation. In contrast, simple nonaqueous electrochemical reduction leads to spontaneous dissolution of individualized SWCNTs from raw, unprocessed powders. The intrinsic electrochemical stability and conductivity of these nanomaterials allow their electrochemical dissolution from a pure SWCNT cathode to form solutions of individually separate and distinct (i.

Premature cardiac contractions and risk of incident ischemic stroke.

Background: The etiologies of ischemic stroke remain undetermined in 15% to 40% of patients. Apart from atrial fibrillation, other arrhythmias are less well-characterized as risk factors. Premature cardiac contractions are known to confer long-term cardiovascular risks, like myocardial infarction.

Activation of structural carbon fibres for potential applications in multifunctional structural supercapacitors.

The feasibility of modifying conventional structural carbon fibres via activation has been studied to create fibres, which can be used simultaneously as electrode and reinforcement in structural composite supercapacitors. Both physical and chemical activation, including using steam, carbon dioxide, acid and potassium hydroxide, were conducted and the resulting fibre properties compared. It was proven that the chemical activation using potassium hydroxide is an effective method to prepare activated structural carbon fibres that possess both good electrochemical and mechanical properties.

Gone but not forgotten: virginity loss and current sexual satisfaction.

Although loss of virginity remains a salient experience throughout a person's lifetime, little is known about whether this experience has implications for later sexual functioning (e.g., sexual satisfaction).

Higher iron in the red nucleus marks Parkinson's dyskinesia.

Dopamine cell loss and increased iron in the substantia nigra (SN) characterize Parkinson's disease (PD), with cerebellar involvement increasingly recognized, particularly in motor compensation and levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) development. Because the red nucleus (RN) mediates cerebellar circuitry, we hypothesized that RN iron changes might reflect cerebellum-related compensation, and/or the intrinsic capacity for LID development. We acquired high resolution magnetic resonance images from 23 control and 38 PD subjects (12 with PD and history of LID [PD+DYS]) and 26 with PD and no history of LID (PD-DYS).

Applications of graphene electrophoretic deposition. A review.

This Review summarizes research progress employing electrophoretic deposition (EPD) to fabricate graphene and graphene-based nanostructures for a wide range of applications, including energy storage materials, field emission devices, supports for fuel cells, dye-sensitized solar cells, supercapacitors and sensors, among others. These carbonaceous nanomaterials can be dispersed in organic solvents, or more commonly in water, using a variety of techniques compatible with EPD. Most deposits are produced under constant voltage conditions with deposition time also playing an important role in determining the morphology of the resulting graphene structures.

The use of an audience response system in an elementary school-based health education program.

Background: The audience response system (ARS) allows students to respond and interact anonymously with teachers via small handheld wireless keypads. Despite increasing popularity in classroom settings, the application of these devices to health education programming has not been studied. We assessed feasibility, engagement, and learning among children using an ARS compared with traditional pencil-paper formats, (ARS) for a stroke health education program.

Characterization of in vivo Dlg1 deletion on T cell development and function.

Background: The polarized reorganization of the T cell membrane and intracellular signaling molecules in response to T cell receptor (TCR) engagement has been implicated in the modulation of T cell development and effector responses. In siRNA-based studies Dlg1, a MAGUK scaffold protein and member of the Scribble polarity complex, has been shown to play a role in T cell polarity and TCR signal specificity, however the role of Dlg1 in T cell development and function in vivo remains unclear.

Methodology/principal Findings: Here we present the combined data from three independently-derived dlg1-knockout mouse models; two germline deficient knockouts and one conditional knockout.

Imaging nigral pathology and clinical progression in Parkinson's disease.

The pattern of dopamine cell loss in Parkinson's disease (PD) is known to be prominent in the ventrolateral and caudal substantia nigra (SN), but less severe in the dorsal and rostral region. Both diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and R2* relaxometry of the SN have been reported as potential markers for PD, but their relative ability to mark disease progression and differences in pathophysiological bases remains unclear. High-resolution T2-weighted, R2*, and DTI were obtained from 28 controls and 40 PD subjects [15 early stage [disease duration ≤1 year], 14 mid stage [duration 2-5 years], and 11 late stage [duration >5 years]).

Relationships of race and socioeconomic status to postpartum depressive symptoms in rural African American and non-Hispanic white women.

This study examines the potential racial disparity in postpartum depression (PPD) symptoms among a cohort of non-Hispanic white and African American women after taking into consideration the influence of socioeconomic status (SES). Participants (N = 299) were recruited from maternity clinics serving rural counties, with oversampling of low SES and African Americans. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was administered 1 and 6 months postpartum, and subjective SES scale at 6 months postpartum.

The study of pathogen resistance and antimicrobial use in dementia: study design and methodology.

Advanced dementia is characterized by the onset of infections and antimicrobial use is extensive. The extent to which this antimicrobial use is appropriate and contributes to the emergence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria is not known. The object of this report is to present the methodology established in the Study of Pathogen Resistance and Exposure to Antimicrobials in Dementia (SPREAD), and describe how challenges specific to this research were met.

Insomnia with objective short sleep duration and incident hypertension: the Penn State Cohort.

Insomnia with objective short sleep duration appears to be a biologically more severe phenotype of the disorder. No longitudinal study to date has examined the association of this type of insomnia with incident hypertension using polysomnography. From a random, general population sample of 1741 adults of the Penn State Cohort, 1395 were followed-up after 7.

Long-term learning of stroke knowledge among children in a high-risk community.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of Hip Hop Stroke, a school-based multimedia musical stroke literacy intervention that targets children aged 8-12 in high-risk minority communities, on the long-term learning of stroke knowledge.

Methods: We enrolled a cohort of 104 fifth and sixth grade children from 2 schools in Central Harlem into a single course of Hip Hop Stroke (3 1-hour classroom sessions, delivered over 3 consecutive days). Tests evaluating knowledge of stroke symptoms and behavioral intent to call 911 using hypothetical stroke scenarios were conducted at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 15 months after the initial and only intervention.

Promotion orientation explains why future-oriented people exercise and eat healthy: evidence from the two-factor consideration of future consequences-14 scale.

The authors extended research linking individual differences in consideration of future consequences (CFC) with health behaviors by (a) testing whether individual differences in regulatory focus would mediate that link and (b) highlighting the value of a revised, two-factor CFC-14 scale with subscales assessing concern with future consequences (CFC-Future) and concern with immediate consequences (CFC-Immediate) proper. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the revised CFC-14 scale supported the presence of two highly reliable factors (CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate; αs from .80 to .

Sleep apnoea and visceral adiposity in middle-aged male and female subjects.

In obese male subjects, visceral adiposity has been associated with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), while studies in overweight males and females are limited. Our goal was to examine the association between OSA and visceral fat in a relatively nonobese population and assess the effects of 2 months placebo-controlled continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) use on abdominal fat. 81 subjects, 22 middle-aged males and 20 post-menopausal females with OSA, and 19 male and 20 female controls were studied in the sleep laboratory for four nights.

Association between serum retinol-binding protein 4 concentrations and clinical indices in subjects with type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis.

Background: Retinol-binding protein (RBP4) is an adipokine that may be important in type 2 diabetes. Previous studies have examined the association between serum RBP4 concentrations and clinical indices in patients with type 2 diabetes, although the results obtained have been inconsistent. We conducted a meta-analysis aiming to investigate the association between serum RBP4 concentrations and clinical indicators of diabetes, renal function, metabolic syndrome and obesity in subjects with type 2 diabetes.

Structure and morphology of charged graphene platelets in solution by small-angle neutron scattering.

Solutions of negatively charged graphene (graphenide) platelets were produced by intercalation of nanographite with liquid potassium-ammonia followed by dissolution in tetrahydrofuran. The structure and morphology of these solutions were then investigated by small-angle neutron scattering. We found that >95 vol % of the solute is present as single-layer graphene sheets.

Clinical and polysomnographic predictors of the natural history of poor sleep in the general population.

Study Objectives: Approximately 8-10% of the general population suffers from chronic insomnia, whereas another 20-30% of the population has insomnia symptoms at any given time (i.e., poor sleep).

Serum cholesterol and nigrostriatal R2* values in Parkinson's disease.

Background: The occurrence of Parkinson's disease (PD) is known to be associated both with increased nigrostriatal iron content and with low serum cholesterol and PD, but there has been no study to determine a potential relationship between these two factors.

Methods: High-resolution MRI (T1-, T2, and multiple echo T2*-weighted imaging) and fasting lipid levels were obtained from 40 patients with PD and 29 healthy controls. Iron content was estimated from mean R2* values (R2* = 1/T2*) calculated for each nigrostriatal structure including substantia nigra, caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus.

Unweaving the rainbow: a review of the relationship between single-walled carbon nanotube molecular structures and their chemical reactivity.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are a fundamental family of distinct molecules, each bearing the possibility of different reactivities due to their intrinsically distinct chemical properties. SWNT syntheses generate a heterogeneous mixture of species with varying electronic character, lengths, diameters and helicities, (n,m), as well as other amorphous, graphitic and metal catalyst impurities. In recent years, selective syntheses and post-synthetic separation strategies have advanced, driven by the requirement for pure SWNTs displaying particular features.