Development and validation of a scale to assess the belief that 'age causes illness'.

Objectives: Self-directed ageism is the application of stereotypic age-related beliefs to oneself, and is known to negatively impact health-related motivation (Levy, 2003;  2022). This study focused on the specific self-directed stereotype that 'age causes illness' and aimed to develop and test a multi-item measure to assess this implicit, limiting belief.

Methods And Measures: Survey data was collected from  = 347 adults in southeastern Idaho (ages 45-65 years old, 60% female).

mRNA vaccination boosts S-specific T cell memory and promotes expansion of CD45RA T-like CD8 T cells in COVID-19 recovered individuals.

SARS-CoV-2 infection and mRNA vaccination both elicit spike (S)-specific T cell responses. To analyze how T cell memory from prior infection influences T cell responses to vaccination, we evaluated functional T cell responses in naive and previously infected vaccine recipients. Pre-vaccine S-specific responses are predictive of subsequent CD8 T cell vaccine-response magnitudes.

Effectiveness of telepharmacy diabetes services: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Although pharmacist-provided diabetes services have been shown to be effective, the effectiveness of telepharmacy (TP) in diabetes management has not been clearly established. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effectiveness of diabetes TP services.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched (from inception through September 2021) to identify published studies that evaluated the effect of TP services in patients with diabetes mellitus and reported either glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) or fasting blood glucose (FBG) outcomes.

Investigating the detection of underground nuclear explosions by radon displacement.

A novel approach is proposed to detect underground nuclear explosions (UNEs) through the displacement of natural radon isotopes (Rn and Rn). Following an explosion, it is hypothesized that the disturbance and pressurization of the sub-surface would facilitate the movement of radon from the depth of the UNE towards the surface resulting in increased soil gas activity. The resulting signal may be magnified by a factor of 2.

Effectiveness of Telepharmacy Versus Face-to-Face Anticoagulation Services in the Ambulatory Care Setting: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Effectiveness of anticoagulation services managed via telepharmacy (TP) has not been clearly demonstrated.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis compares the effectiveness of TP anticoagulation services to face-to-face (FTF) anticoagulation services in the ambulatory care setting.

Methods: A literature search for studies assessing the effectiveness of TP services was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central databases, from inception through November 18, 2020.

Protocolized exercise improves frailty parameters and lower extremity impairment: A promising prehabilitation strategy for kidney transplant candidates.

Background: Frailty and decreased functional status are risk factors for adverse kidney transplant (KT) outcomes. Our objective was to examine the efficacy of an exercise intervention on frailty and decreased functional status in a cohort of patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: We conducted a prospective study involving 21 adults with ≥stage 4 CKD who were (a) frail or pre-frail by Fried phenotype and/or (b) had lower extremity impairment [short physical performance battery score ≤10].

Efficient and effective precepting of pharmacy students in acute and ambulatory care rotations: A Delphi expert panel study.

Purpose: Using the Delphi process, a panel of experienced preceptors achieved consensus on best practices to increase preceptor efficiency and effectiveness.

Methods: The Delphi panelists completed 3 survey rounds and a face-to-face meeting. Survey questions covered several topics, including preparation of students for rotations, preceptor efficiency and effectiveness, potential resident contributions to precepting, methods of developing critical-thinking skills and providing assessment and feedback, precepting time metrics, and barriers to preceptor effectiveness.

Challenges With Research Contract Negotiations in Community-Based Cancer Research.

Purpose: Community-based research programs face many barriers to participation in clinical trials. Although the majority of people with cancer are diagnosed and treated in the community setting, only roughly 3% are enrolled onto clinical trials. Research contract and budget negotiations have been consistently identified as time consuming and a barrier to participation in clinical trials.

Transvaginal cervical length scans to prevent prematurity in twins: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Twin pregnancies are associated with an increased risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality primarily due to spontaneous preterm deliveries. The mean gestational age for delivery is 35.3 weeks and twins account for 23% of preterm births <32 weeks.

Motivation-focused thinking: Buffering against stress-related physical symptoms and depressive symptomology.

Developmental transitions are experienced throughout the life course and necessitate adapting to consequential and unpredictable changes that can undermine health. Our six-month study (n = 239) explored whether selective secondary control striving (motivation-focused thinking) protects against the elevated levels of stress and depressive symptoms increasingly common to young adults navigating the challenging school-to-university transition. Path analyses supplemented with tests of moderated mediation revealed that, for young adults who face challenging obstacles to goal attainment, selective secondary control indirectly reduced long-term stress-related physical and depressive symptoms through selective primary control and previously unexamined measures of discrete emotions.

Intracranial pseudoaneurysm associated with orbitozygomatic complex fracture.

Fractures of the orbitozygomatic complex are one of the most common facial fractures encountered by plastic surgeons. Many would consider this to be primarily a cosmetic deformity; however, these injuries can be associated with acute life-threatening complications. Intracranial pseudoaneurysm, although rare, is a well-documented complication of blunt facial trauma, which most plastic surgeons are unaware of.

Attributing heart attack and stroke to "Old Age": Implications for subsequent health outcomes among older adults.

This study assessed the extent to which older adults attribute a recent heart attack/stroke to "old age," and examined consequences for subsequent lifestyle behavior and health-care service utilization. Community-dwelling adults (N = 57, ages 73-98 years) were interviewed about their heart attack/stroke, and an objective health registry provided data on health-care utilization over a 3-year period. Endorsement of "old age" as a cause of heart attack/stroke negatively predicted lifestyle behavior change, and positively predicted frequency of physician visits and likelihood of hospitalization over the subsequent 3 years.

Personal goals as predictors of intended classroom goals: comparing elementary and secondary school pre-service teachers.

Background And Aims: The literature documents fewer classroom mastery goal structures in secondary school compared to elementary. However, little is known about how personal achievement goals may influence classroom goal structures. This is especially true at the level of pre-service teachers.

Optimization and qualification of a memory B-cell ELISpot for the detection of vaccine-induced memory responses in HIV vaccine trials.

Various aspects of the human immune system can be analyzed to determine the efficacy of a vaccine. We have developed a B-cell ELISpot to measure HIV-specific antibody-secreting B cells in the peripheral blood as a result of vaccination or natural infection. Our method includes stimulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells with interleukin-2 and a polyclonal activator, R848, to induce memory B cells to differentiate into antibody-secreting cells.

Downward social comparison and subjective well-being in late life: the moderating role of perceived control.

Objective: Drawing from Heckhausen and Schulz's Motivational Theory of Life-span Development, this study examined perceived control as a moderator of the protective relationship between downward social comparison and subjective well-being among older adults.

Methods: Community-dwelling older adults (N = 97, 63% female, ages 79-97) were interviewed in their own homes at three time-points over a nine-year period. Interviews assessed older adults' perceived control over daily tasks, their use of downward social comparison in response to task restriction, and their subjective well-being.

The use of laser Doppler imaging as a predictor of burn depth and hypertrophic scar postburn injury.

Hypertrophic scarring (HTS) is a fibroproliferative disorder that commonly develops after severe burn injuries. Overexpression of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) by an increased number of fibrocytes has been associated with increased extracellular matrix molecule expression leading to HTS. The most widely accepted adjuvant to clinical assessment of burn depth is laser Doppler imaging (LDI) and may predict injury to the dermis that corresponds to cellular and molecular changes associated with HTS.

Consequences of loneliness on physical activity and mortality in older adults and the power of positive emotions.

Objectives: This study examined the longitudinal relationships between loneliness, physical activity, and mortality in older adults. This study also tested the implication of Fredrickson's Broaden and Build Theory (1998, 2001) that positive emotions (happiness) might serve to "undo" the detrimental effects of negative emotions (loneliness).

Method: Participants (n = 228; 62% female; aged 77-96 years) took part in the Aging in Manitoba Study (2001) and the Successful Aging Study (2003).

Complications of chlorine inhalation in a pediatric chemical burn patient: a case report.

The majority of burn injuries in the pediatric population occur at home, and a significant proportion are the result of exposure to household cleaning products. A common injury-causing agent is bleach, which has the potential to release chlorine gas, a potent respiratory irritant that leads to the added risk of inhalation injury. The survival of pediatric patients with chemical burns is extremely high, and the 3 strongest predictors of mortality are large burn size, age <48 months, and the presence of inhalation injury.

Sense of control in late life: health and survival implications.

Believing that one can influence outcomes presumably fosters a psychological sense of control. So too, however, might adaptive ways of thinking known as secondary control (SC) processes that operate when outcomes are believed to be unattainable. Using a 5-year prospective design and a representative sample of adults (ages 79-98), folk beliefs (e.

Attributing illness to 'old age:' consequences of a self-directed stereotype for health and mortality.

Stereotypic beliefs about older adults and the aging process have led to endorsement of the myth that 'to be old is to be ill.' This study examined community-dwelling older adults' (N = 105, age 80+) beliefs about the causes of their chronic illness (ie, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.), and tested the hypothesis that attributing the onset of illness to 'old age' is associated with negative health outcomes.

Extraction of nucleic acids from bone.

Here, we present methods for extracting DNA and RNA from samples of whole bone tissue and culture bone cells and describe methods quantitative and qualitative measurement of the extracted nucleic acids. These protocols described provide high-quality nucleic acids suitable for downstream applications such as quantitative PCR and microarrays.

Adverse experiences with implantable defibrillators in Oregon hospices.

Background: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) improve survival in patients at risk for recurrent, sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation. Unless deactivated, ICDs may deliver unwanted shocks to terminally ill patients near the time of death. This study sought to determine the frequency and nature of adverse experiences with ICDs in hospice programs and what preventative measures the programs had taken.