Balancing structure and choice in intergenerational service-learning.

Intergenerational service-learning has become an important component of many educational gerontology programs. The model at the University of North Carolina Charlotte incorporates multiple elements of student choice within a very structured service-learning experience. A review of the literature reveals some discussion of the value of choice, but very little utilization of choice within a structured intergenerational service-learning model.

A preliminary evaluation of BMI status in moderating changes in body composition and eating behavior in ethnically-diverse first-year college women.

The present pilot investigation explored whether BMI status at college entry moderated changes in body composition and eating behavior in a sample of 134 first-time, first-year undergraduate females (40% Black/African American). Participants had their body measurements [i.e.

Effects of Supraphysiological Doses of Sex Steroids on Wheel Running Activity in Mice.

The regulatory mechanisms of physical activity are postulated to include environmental and biological/genetic factors. In particular, the sex steroids appear to have profound effects on wheel running in rodents. The purpose of this project was to investigate the effects of 17β-estradiol and testosterone on wheel running distance, duration, and speed in male and female C57BL/6J mice.

Relationship between mechanical ankle joint laxity and subjective function.

Background: An increase in ankle joint laxity has been reported in patients with chronic ankle instability (CAI). However, it is not known if this increase in joint laxity is responsible for the subjective level of functional deficits also reported in these patients.

Methods: One hundred twenty subjects with unilateral CAI (55 males, 65 females; age, 20.

Roommate's race and the racial composition of white college students' ego networks.

We develop and test a new hypothesis about how the race of a college freshman's roommate affects the racial composition of the student's ego network. Together, three principles of social structure-proximity, homophily, and transitivity-logically imply that college students assigned a roommate of a given race will have more friends (other than their roommate) of that race than will students assigned a roommate not of that race. A test with data collected from 195 white freshmen at Stanford University in the spring of 2002 supports this prediction.

The fate of duplicated genes in a polyploid plant genome.

Polyploidy is generally not tolerated in animals, but is widespread in plant genomes and may result in extensive genetic redundancy. The fate of duplicated genes is poorly understood, both functionally and evolutionarily. Soybean (Glycine max L.

The Independent Living Scales in civil competency evaluations: initial findings and prediction of competency adjudication.

We address a gap in the literature on civil competency by examining characteristics of those who undergo civil competency evaluations and how well Managing Money and Health and Safety subscales of the Independent Living Scales (ILS) predict legal competency adjudications. We were also interested whether these subscales are more accurate in making such predictions than the Mini-Mental State Examination and Trail-Making Test, Parts A and B, well-known measures of neuropsychological functioning. Actual legal competency decisions were obtained from public court records on 71 individuals with either mental retardation/borderline intellectual functioning (MR/BIF) or psychiatric, neurological, or combined psychiatric or neurological diagnoses.

The mechanism of the converter domain rotation in the recovery stroke of myosin motor protein.

Upon ATP binding, myosin motor protein is found in two alternative conformations, prerecovery state M* and postrecovery state M**. The transition from one state to the other, known as the recovery stroke, plays a key role in the myosin functional cycle. Despite much recent research, the microscopic details of this transition remain elusive.

Behavioral cues to expand a pain model of the cognitively impaired elderly in long-term care.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between hypothesized pain behaviors in the elderly and a measurement model of pain derived from the Minimum Data Set-Resident Assessment Instrument (MDS-RAI) 2.0 items.

Methods: This work included a longitudinal cohort recruited from Medicare-certified longterm care facilities across the United States.

Engaging vulnerable adolescents in a pregnancy prevention program: perspectives of Prime Time staff.

Introduction: Evaluating interventions for reducing unintended adolescent pregnancy is necessary to ensure quality and efficacy. The purpose of this study was to examine core case management practices and processes for engaging high-risk girls in Prime Time, an intensive multi-component intervention from the perspectives of intervention program staff.

Method: Structured individual interviews were conducted with the entire Prime Time program staff (N = 7) to assess successes and challenges in engaging adolescent girls at high risk for early pregnancy.

Simple statistical inference algorithms for task-dependent wellness assessment.

Stress is a key indicator of wellness in human beings and a prime contributor to performance degradation and errors during various human tasks. The overriding purpose of this paper is to propose two algorithms (probabilistic and non-probabilistic) that iteratively track stress states to compute a wellness index in terms of the stress levels. This paper adopts the physiological view-point that high stress is accompanied with large deviations in biometrics such as body temperature, heart rate, etc.

Rapid injection NMR reveals η3 'π-allyl' Cu(III) intermediates in addition reactions of organocuprate reagents.

By using rapid injection NMR, it has now been possible to prepare and characterize the η(3) 'π-allyl' copper(III) intermediate that has been proposed for addition reactions of organocopper(I) reagents and α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds.

Hospice and palliative care access issues in rural areas.

All individuals deserve to have access to quality end-of-life care. In rural communities within the United States, significant barriers limit access to hospice and palliative care. They include issues related to geography and supply, health care system eligibility criteria, limitations of the available workforce, educational deficits, and differences in cultural values.

Interactions between relay helix and Src homology 1 (SH1) domain helix drive the converter domain rotation during the recovery stroke of myosin II.

Myosin motor protein exists in two alternative conformations, prerecovery state M* and postrecovery state M**, on adenosine triphosphate binding. The details of the M*-to-M** transition, known as the recovery stroke to reflect its role as the functional opposite of the force-generating power stroke, remain elusive. The defining feature of the postrecovery state is a kink in the relay helix, a key part of the protein involved in force generation.

Aromatherapy as treatment for postoperative nausea: a randomized trial.

Background: Postoperative nausea (PON) is a common complication of anesthesia and surgery. Antiemetic medication for higher-risk patients may reduce but does not reliably prevent PON. We examined aromatherapy as a treatment for patients experiencing PON after ambulatory surgery.

Minimization of organocuprate complexity through self-organization: remarkable orientation effect in mixed cuprate π complexes.

They "know" where to go: a powerful orientation effect has been observed in complexes of mixed organocuprates [R(T)R(NT)CuLi] and substrates with C-C, C-N, and C-S double bonds (see scheme; Th=thienyl). The preferred geometry of the intermediate complex sets up the facile addition of R(T) to the double bond, rather than addition of the "dummy ligand", R(NT) .

Progranulin stimulated by LPA promotes the migration of aggressive breast cancer cells.

Activator and inhibitor roles for the 88-kDa-secreted glycoprotein progranulin (PGRN) have been demonstrated in ovarian cancer cells. Here, we investigated the effects of PGRN in breast cancer migration. Testing MCF7, MDA-MB-453, and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells and the MCF10A breast epithelial cell line, we demonstrate that LPA-induced PGRN stimulation led to a significant increase in cell invasion of MDA-MB-453 and MDA-MB-231 cells only (p<0.

Pediatric periodic limb movement disorder: sleep symptom and polysomnographic correlates compared to obstructive sleep apnea.

Study Objectives: Although periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS) have been described in multiple pediatric publications, periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) has not. The aims of this study were to describe the prevalence, sleep-related correlates, and polysomnographic correlates of PLMD in a large pediatric case series, and compare these to pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods: All PLMD cases (defined by International Classification of Sleep Disorders, 2nd edition criteria + respiratory disturbance index [RDI] < 3) and OSA cases (defined by RDI ≥ 3 + PLMS < 5), from a single pediatric sleep practice, over a 2-year time span, were included.

The future of nursing and the health of North Carolinians: The North Carolina summit.

Nurse leaders in North Carolina convened the Statewide Summit for Creating the Future of Nursing and Health Care in North Carolina on April 11, 2011. This article summarizes the summit and lays out the way ahead for implementing, in North Carolina, recommendations from the report on the future of nursing recently published by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (IOM). A synopsis of the commentaries composing the policy forum of this issue of the NCMJ follows, linking them to the IOM report.

Effects of Aromatase Inhibition on the Physical Activity Levels of Male Mice.

Increasing activity levels in an inactive population can lead to associative increases in health and well-being. Both biologic and genetic factors have been identified that alter physical activity levels in humans and rodents with an extensive early literature regarding sex steroid effects on physical activity. Currently, it is suggested that the androgens require conversion to estrogens prior to eliciting any effects on activity patterns.

Early stages of the recovery stroke in myosin II studied by molecular dynamics simulations.

The recovery stroke is a key step in the functional cycle of muscle motor protein myosin, during which pre-recovery conformation of the protein is changed into the active post-recovery conformation, ready to exersice force. We study the microscopic details of this transition using molecular dynamics simulations of atomistic models in implicit and explicit solvent. In more than 2 μs of aggregate simulation time, we uncover evidence that the recovery stroke is a two-step process consisting of two stages separated by a time delay.

Successful aging theory and the patient with chronic renal disease: application in the clinical setting.

As life expectancies increase, nurses will care for more individuals with chronic conditions, one of which is chronic renal disease. Increasing diversity and complexity of older adult healthcare needs signals a need to reconceptualize perceptions of successful aging. By emphasizing health promotion and adaptation, successful aging is possible for those with chronic renal disease.

Gender differences in predictors of mental health among older adults in South Korea.

As aging is occurring at a rate never before seen in South Korea, the present study examines the predictors of mental health in a nationally representative sample of older adults (n = 4,155), drawn from Wave I of the Korean Longitudinal Study on Aging. Findings show that sociodemographic factors, chronic health conditions, level of cognition, and social activities contribute to life satisfaction and mental health among older adults in South Korea. Life satisfaction is mainly determined by sociodemographic factors for both women and men.

Adult age and gender differences in perceptions of facial attractiveness: beauty is in the eye of the older beholder.

The authors examined ratings of facial attractiveness, rankings of faces and reasons given by young, middle-aged, and older men and women for young, middle-aged, and older male and female face attractiveness. No support for predictions derived from similarity, interest, and cohort hypotheses was obtained. In support of the expertise hypothesis, young and middle-aged adults rated younger faces as more attractive than old faces, whereas older adults rated all aged faces equally.