Quantification of nutritive sucking among preterm and full-term infants.

Purpose: We developed summaries of oral bottle-feeding skills among preterm (<37 gestational weeks) and full-term (≥37 gestational weeks) infants using a mechanical device (Orometer) to measure intraoral pressure changes, with accompanying automated software and analytics. We then compared the rates of change in feeding skills over several weeks (feeding trends) between preterm and full-term infants. We also compared group means at 40 weeks post menstrual age (PMA).

Cognitive trajectories in relation to hospitalization among older Swedish adults.

Introduction: Research indicate that cognitive impairment might be related to hospitalization, but little is known about these effects over time.

Objective: To assess cognitive change before and after hospitalization among older adults in a population-based longitudinal study with up to 25 years of follow-up.

Method: A longitudinal study on 828 community living men and women aged 50-86 from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Ageing (SATSA) were linked to The Swedish National Inpatient Register.

Student Misconceptions about Plants - A First Step in Building a Teaching Resource.

Plants are ubiquitous and found in virtually every ecosystem on Earth, but their biology is often poorly understood, and inaccurate ideas about how plants grow and function abound. Many articles have been published documenting student misconceptions about photosynthesis and respiration, but there are substantially fewer on such topics as plant cell structure and growth; plant genetics, evolution, and classification; plant physiology (beyond energy relations); and plant ecology. The available studies of misconceptions held on those topics show that many are formed at a very young age and persist throughout all educational levels.

Oncologic doses of zoledronic acid induce site specific suppression of bone modelling in rice rats.

Objectives: To examine the effect of zoledronic acid (ZOL) on cortical bone modelling and healing of extraction sockets in the jaw bones of a rodent model. We hypothesized ZOL suppresses both the bone formation in the modelling mode in the jaw bones and alters the extraction site healing.

Material & Methods: Rice rats were administered saline solution and two dose regimens of ZOL: 0.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Longitudinal Trajectories of Functional Biological Age: Comparisons Across Gender.

We used an alternate age variable, functional biological age (fBioAge), which was based on performance on functional body measures. The aim was to examine development of fBioAge across the adult life span, and to also examine potential gender differences and genetic and environmental influences on change with age. We used longitudinal data (n = 740; chronological age (ChronAge) range 45-85 at baseline) from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging.

Motor functioning differentially predicts mortality in men and women.

Introduction: Research indicates gender differences in functional performance at advanced ages, but little is known about their impact on longevity for men and women.

Objective: To derive a set of motor function factors from a battery of functional performance measures and examine their associations with mortality, incorporating possible gender interactions.

Method: Analyses were performed on the longitudinal Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) including twenty-four assessments of motor function up to six times over a 19-year period.

Is more always better? An examination of the nonlinear effects of perceived organizational support on individual outcomes.

A wide range of research has accumulated detailing the positive associations of perceived organizational support (POS) with desirable workplace outcomes (e.g., high performance, high commitment, low deviance).

The Effects of Test Trial and Processing Level on Immediate and Delayed Retention.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of test trial and processing level on immediate and delayed retention. A 2 × 2 × 2 mixed ANOVAs was used with two between-subject factors of test trial (single test, repeated test) and processing level (shallow, deep), and one within-subject factor of final recall (immediate, delayed). Seventy-six college students were randomly assigned first to the single test (studied the stimulus words three times and took one free-recall test) and the repeated test trials (studied the stimulus words once and took three consecutive free-recall tests), and then to the shallow processing level (asked whether each stimulus word was presented in capital letter or in small letter) and the deep processing level (whether each stimulus word belonged to a particular category) to study forty stimulus words.

Disclosing Mental Illness Information to a Friend: Exploring How the Disclosure Decision-Making Model Informs Strategy Selection.

Within the context of mental illness disclosure between friends, this study tested the disclosure decision-making model (DD-MM; Greene, 2009) to comprehensively investigate factors that predict disclosure enactment strategies. The DD-MM describes how individuals determine whether they will reveal or conceal non-visible health information. Processes of revealing, called disclosures, take various forms including preparation and rehearsal, directness, third-party disclosure, incremental disclosures, entrapment, and indirect mediums (Afifi & Steuber, 2009).

Gender Differences in Longitudinal Trajectories of Change in Physical, Social, and Cognitive/Sedentary Leisure Activities.

Objective: We examined changes in participation in cognitive, social, and physical leisure activities across middle and older adulthood and tested moderation of trajectories of change in participation by gender.

Method: In all, 1,398 participants in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) completed a 7-item leisure activity questionnaire up to 4 times over 17 years. Mean baseline age was 64.

Aging, motor function, and sensitivity to calcium channel blockers: An investigation using chronic methylmercury exposure.

Methylmercury (MeHg) neurotoxicity is thought to be mediated, in part, by dysregulation of calcium (Ca(2+)) homeostasis, a mechanism that may also slowly and progressively degrade neuronal function during normal aging. Longitudinal studies of MeHg exposure provide a powerful approach to studying neural and behavioral mechanisms by which both MeHg toxicity and aging affect motor function. Wheel-running and rotarod performance were assessed in two age groups of BALB/c mice chronically exposed to 0 or 1.

NAP SACC: Implementation of an Obesity Prevention Intervention in an American Indian Head Start Program.

Low-income American Indian preschoolers are at greatest risk for overweight and obesity among children aged 2-5 years. The Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) program is an evidence-based intervention that promotes healthy weight development for children enrolled in child care centers. The goal of this continuous quality improvement program is for the child care staff to establish environmental policies and practices that positively influence nutrition and physical activity-related behaviors.

Reliable transformation system for Microbotryum lychnidis-dioicae informed by genome and transcriptome project.

Microbotryum lychnidis-dioicae is a member of a species complex infecting host plants in the Caryophyllaceae. It is used as a model system in many areas of research, but attempts to make this organism tractable for reverse genetic approaches have not been fruitful. Here, we exploited the recently obtained genome sequence and transcriptome analysis to inform our design of constructs for use in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation techniques currently available for other fungi.

A bout analysis reveals age-related methylmercury neurotoxicity and nimodipine neuroprotection.

Age-related deficits in motor and cognitive functioning may be driven by perturbations in calcium (Ca(2+)) homeostasis in nerve terminals, mechanisms that are also thought to mediate the neurotoxicity of methylmercury (MeHg). Calcium-channel blockers (CCBs) protect against MeHg toxicity in adult mice, but little is known about their efficacy in other age groups. Two age groups of BALB/c mice were exposed to 0 or 1.

A microstructural analysis distinguishes motor and motivational influences over voluntary running in animals chronically exposed to methylmercury and nimodipine.

Adult-onset methylmercury (MeHg) exposure produces sensorimotor impairment and related changes in behavior. The present study investigated MeHg effects on the microstructure of spontaneous wheel running in adult BALB/c mice chronically exposed to 0ppm or 15ppm MeHg via daily drinking water. To test the hypothesis that MeHg neurotoxicity is related to impaired calcium homeostasis, MeHg-exposed mice received 0, 20, or 200ppm of the L-type calcium-channel blocker nimodipine in their daily chow diet.

Facets of Subjective Health From Early Adulthood to Old Age.

Objective: Subjective health is a complex indicator predicting longevity independent of objective health. Few studies examine genetic and environmental mechanisms underlying different facets of subjective health across the life course.

Method: Three subjective health measures were examined in 12,900 twins ( M = 63.

Interaction of the role of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDS).

Most significant change in the evolution of the influenza virus is the rapid growth of the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) on a global scale. These industrial agricultural operations have the potential of housing thousands of animals in a relatively small area. Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs) event can be considered as a shift in the pathogen-host-environment interplay characteristics described by Engering et al.

Data Harmonization in Aging Research: Not so Fast.

Background/study Context: Harmonizing measures in order to conduct pooled data analyses has become a scientific priority in aging research. Retrospective harmonization where different studies lack common measures of comparable constructs presents a major challenge. This study compared different approaches to harmonization with a crosswalk sample who completed multiple versions of the measures to be harmonized.

Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Behavioral Stability and Change in Children 6-36 months of Age Using Louisville Twin Study Data.

The Infant Behavior Record (IBR) from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development has been used to study behavioral development since the 1960s. Matheny (1983) examined behavioral development at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months from the Louisville Twin Study (LTS). The extracted temperament scales included Task Orientation, Affect-Extraversion, and Activity.

Gender Differences in Marital Status Moderation of Genetic and Environmental Influences on Subjective Health.

From the IGEMS Consortium, data were available from 26,579 individuals aged 23 to 102 years on 3 subjective health items: self-rated health (SRH), health compared to others (COMP), and impact of health on activities (ACT). Marital status was a marker of environmental resources that may moderate genetic and environmental influences on subjective health. Results differed for the 3 subjective health items, indicating that they do not tap the same construct.

Applying Biometric Growth Curve Models to Developmental Synchronies in Cognitive Development: The Louisville Twin Study.

Biometric latent growth curve models were applied to data from the LTS in order to replicate and extend Wilson's (Child Dev 54:298-316, 1983) findings. Assessments of cognitive development were available from 8 measurement occasions covering the period 4-15 years for 1032 individuals. Latent growth curve models were fit to percent correct for 7 subscales: information, similarities, arithmetic, vocabulary, comprehension, picture completion, and block design.

Temporal Dynamics of Motor Functioning and Cognitive Aging.

Background: Because of the possible implications for intervention and thus successful aging, researchers have striven to determine whether the age changes in physical and cognitive functioning are coincident or does functioning in one domain change before, and possibly contribute to, functioning in the other.

Methods: Bivariate dual change score models were applied to four cognitive factors and three motor functioning factors available from 813 adults who participated in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging. Participants were aged 50-88 at the first of six waves of testing covering a 19-year follow-up period; 68% participated in at least three waves.

Effects of Preretirement Work Complexity and Postretirement Leisure Activity on Cognitive Aging.

Objectives: We examined the influence of postretirement leisure activity on longitudinal associations between work complexity in main lifetime occupation and trajectories of cognitive change before and after retirement.

Methods: Information on complexity of work with data, people, and things, leisure activity participation in older adulthood, and four cognitive factors (verbal, spatial, memory, and speed) was available from 421 individuals in the longitudinal Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging. Participants were followed for an average of 14.

Grip Strength and Cognitive Abilities: Associations in Old Age.

Objectives: Both physical functioning and cognitive abilities are important for well-being, not least in old age. Grip strength is often considered an indicator of general vitality and, as such, may predict cognitive functioning. Few longitudinal studies have examined the relationship between grip strength and cognition, especially where specific cognitive abilities have been targeted.