Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Hobbies”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

Functional benefits following coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

While some studies of patients who undergo cardiac surgery have included such outcome measures as amounts of symptom reduction and rates of resumption of employment, little attention has been focused on the extent to which these patients have experienced the simple, yet very important, broad range of functional benefits that might be anticipated by clinicians to result from operation. The present report seeks to document the extent of improvement that does exist in terms of physical, sexual, and social-role functioning. In a cohort of 340 patients (age, 32 to 69 years) studied before and six months after coronary artery bypass operation, improvements were noted in each of three dimensions of functional benefit: physical functioning (fewer total activity restrictions or incapacitated days per month), sexual functioning (through increased energy and desire and decreased pain and worry), and role functions (ability to work, social participation, and pursuit of hobbies). Further improvements might be anticipated with additional months of recovery.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Malignant mesothelioma with minimal asbestos exposure.

The association of malignant mesothelioma and asbestos fibers is well established. The minimal exposure that may produce the tumor is not known. The present report documents the minimal exposure by thorough examination of occupational history and personal hobbies, and counting of the number of asbestos fibers in the lungs. The evidence for the elemental composition of asbestos fibers by electron probe (EDAX) is also presented.

Asbestos↗

The medicolegal autopsy.

Considerable disparity exists from area to area in the United States in the quality of medicolegal investigation. Much of this type of investigation in this country is still conducted by physicians in general practice, who possess neither specialized medicolegal training nor experience. Forensic autopsies are being performed mostly by hospital pathologists without forensic expertise, who conduct these autopsies in their spare time or as a paid hobby. This article provides guidelines for improved medicolegal investigation and formulation of autopsy reports, including opinions, which have been found to be advantageous in a medicolegal setting of a major metropolitan area and are, in my opinion, also applicable to smaller, even rural, types of jurisdiction.

Autopsy↗

Psychological linguistics: implications for a theory of initial development and a method for research.

Presented here are an hypothesis of language development and a description of a method for studying language, both based on Kantor's psychological linguistics. According to our hypothesis, language develops in four stages. In the first, which spans the first 9 to 15 months, random movements evolve into body management, manual, and locomotor skills that enable an infant to engage in play activities, among other things, with the mother and others. Simple gestural communication soon follows. Random babbling progresses beyond the sounds that are more universal in the language to the family's particular pattern of intonations and inflections, and receptive speech begins, that is, the infant learns to react to simple verbal-vocal requests. During the second stage, which coincides with the child's second year, vocalizations evolve into "idiosyncratic expressions" and rough approximations of heard sound patterns. Language is now holophrastic--one-word utterances--mostly of the mediative variety. During the third stage, which extends to about 30 months of age, language skills are described as first-approximation referential interactions: they are longer and more detailed, include some narrative interchanges, and refer to past and future events. Typically the child now talks to him or herself, or engages in expressive referential interactions. In the fourth stage, when the child reaches the age of 52 months or so, second-approximation speech begins. By now the vocal apparatus is sufficiently developed to enable a child to make most of the vowel sounds, and the enhanced language skills set the occasion for more frequent linguistic interchanges. He or she also begins to respond to symbols and other representations of objects and events. In other words, he or she begins to engage in symbolizing behavior. Language obviously continues to develop beyond the fourth stage. Social conditions outside of the family further affect language style and generate specialized forms of speech, notably the jargon of a particular occupation or hobby. The method for studying language interactions involves, through the use of TV tapes, a description of the behavior of a speaker and the listener, the referent, and the setting conditions. The behavior of a speaker is analyzed in terms of the frequency with which he or she begins a language interchange, the average length of the initiation, the modality (verbal-vocal, gestural, or both) and the accompanying behavior. It is also analyzed for content, including time frame, actuality, and persons, animals, objects, activities, and others. Noted, too, are the feeling reactions regarding the referents.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Child↗

Attitudes of Finnish dog-owners about programs to control canine genetic diseases.

A mailed questionnaire survey was done to study dog-owners' knowledge of canine inherited diseases and the present screening and control programs in Finland, as well as to study the importance of health-related matters and well-being to dog-owners. The purpose was also to study the owners' role in programs and the influence of health and well-being in their decision-making process and choices when purchasing a puppy. This study showed that dog-owners highly valued health-related matters and well-being. The present programs were considered to have a positive effect on the prevention of canine inherited diseases. Dog-owners estimated that their own knowledge could be better but they believed in veterinarians' and dog-breeders' ability to inform them. Inherited skeletal and ocular diseases were thought to be important to canine well-being; the importance of other diseases or behaviour problems was assessed to be lower. In choosing a suitable breed, behaviour and temperament were the most-important factors but health-related matters were essential in actually choosing a puppy's breeder and the litter. Well-being and health were also considered very important to the image of the dog hobby.

Adolescent↗

Does glucose tolerance affect quality of life in an elderly population?

The aim of the present study was to describe the associations between glucose tolerance and quality of life in an unselected non-institutionalised elderly population aged 73 years or over (n = 259, of whom 93 were men). Diabetes was assessed on the basis of self-reports and 2-h oral glucose tolerance tests (1985 WHO criteria). Quality of life was evaluated with the Nottingham Health Profile instrument (NHP). A greater proportion of the previously diagnosed diabetic patients reported to have problems on all the three energy items, on nearly all the physical mobility items and on half of the pain items compared to the subjects with undiagnosed diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance or normal glucose tolerance. The results of the second part of the NHP were in line with those of the first part, showing that more of the persons with previously diagnosed diabetes had problems on the following items: jobs around the house, hobbies and holidays compared to the other study groups. As for the six quality of life dimensions in the first part of the NHP, the previously diagnosed diabetic persons scored clearly higher on the energy, pain and physical mobility dimensions of the NHP compared to all the other subjects. To conclude, elderly subjects with previously diagnosed diabetes had a poorer quality of life compared to those with undiagnosed diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance or normal glucose tolerance.

Aged↗

Human rabies.

A 40-year-old man who farmed in Mexico and raised dogs as a hobby presented with dysphagia, hydrophobia, insomnia, anorexia, malaise, fever, and decreased strength and sensation in his dominant arm. After a repetitive three-hour history and physical examination, a tentative diagnosis of rabies was made in an atmosphere of patient denial followed by reluctance of hospital personnel to accept such a rare diagnosis. Upon confirmation of the diagnosis by the Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, the patient underwent aggressive therapy, including maximum respiratory support, anticonvulsants, steroids, pressors, hemodialysis and interferon treatment, but died on the 16th day following admission. This case is presented because of its rarity and to review the disease, clinical history, current therapy, and recent literature regarding emergency department differential diagnosis.

Adult↗

Smoking among kibbutz youth. Patterns, perceptions, and determinants.

A population of 54 high-school-aged kibbutz youth in Israel were studied to assess their smoking habits. Twenty (37%) were smokers. Among the smokers, 15 (75%) smoked daily, with four smoking as many as 10-20 cigarettes per day. Nearly half of the group believed smoking affected their health and were interested in stopping their use of cigarettes. Smokers when compared to nonsmokers had more positive peer relations (chi 2 = 9.308; p less than 0.01), less positive relations with parents (chi 2 = 8.293; p less than 0.01), more boredom with kibbutz life (chi 2 = 3.468; p less than 0.10), and less involvement with a hobby, sport, or reading (chi 2 = 3.133, p less than 0.10). Parents' smoking habits, marital status of the parents, students' self-evaluation of their academic performance, and youths' age and sex did not differentiate smokers from nonsmokers.

Adolescent↗

Hand injuries at leisure.

In a survey of 383 moderate and severe hand injuries in adults, 246 (64.4%) occurred outwith work. Falling (sixty-four patients) and punching (forty-eight patients) were the commonest mechanisms of blunt injury. Glass (eight), knives (seven) and "do-it-yourself" materials (eight) were most frequently implicated in sharp trauma. No outstandingly dangerous hobbies or social activities were identified.

Adolescent↗

A second Leonardo da Vinci?

We describe a young woman who suddenly began mirror writing with her right hand and has not reverted to normal writing for more than 6 years, although she writes normally with her left hand. She is ambidextrous, although she had previously used only her right hand for writing and drawing. Since it is much easier for her to use right-handed mirror writing, she uses her left hand only for writing meant to be read by others and her right hand for all other writing. Her hobbies are sculpture and painting, and her chief complaint is migraine accompanied by sensory and perceptive disturbances.

Adult↗

An investigation of hemisphere differences for moderately imageable words across high and low image contexts.

The RVF/LH advantage typically found for high image nouns may be reduced or eliminated when they are mixed with other types of words, such as low image nouns ([Chiarello et al., 2001]). Global stimulus context thus appears to affect the distribution of processing across the hemispheres ( [Chiarello et al., 2001]). This idea was further investigated in the present study by presenting moderately imageable words (e.g., HOBBY) intermixed with either low or high image nouns. It was predicted that these medium image words would show a RVF advantage when mixed with high image nouns. However, this RVF advantage was expected to disappear when they were mixed with low image nouns, because the medium image words would be relatively more imageable in that context. This hypothesis was not supported, as similar RVF advantages were found for each imageability condition. It is suggested that more heterogenous stimulus distributions may be necessary for context-dependent alterations of cerebral asymmetries to occur.

Brain↗

The role of the brain reward system in depression.

The goal of this review is to familiarize the reader about the potential involvement of the brain reward system (BRS) in symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The authors introduce a novel approach to study the pathophysiology of MDD that includes pharmacological probing of BRS pathways (e.g. d-amphetamine, hydromorphone) together with an elicited and measurable behavioral component (e.g. pleasant effects, increased energy, altered cognition). To this date, the major focus of MDD pathophysiology studies has been to characterize biological differences between healthy subjects and depressed patients such as alteration in the monoaminergic and endocrine systems. The relative importance of the various biological changes has not been elucidated, that is, linking these with specific behavioral manifestations in MDD have rarely been attempted. One core symptom of MDD is a decreased experience of pleasure or interest in previously enjoyed activities (i.e. anhedonia) such as work or hobbies, and is accompanied by decreased motivation or drive. The BRS consists of the neural pathways involved in eliciting rewarding experiences in animals and humans. The hypothesis is that altered BRS function may be an underlying brain mechanism of the loss of pleasure/interest experienced in MDD, and will be manifested through an altered response to a BRS probe. The authors have examined BRS function in MDD by introducing a pharmacological probe (i.e. d-amphetamine/d-amph). Amphetamine is defined as a probe due to its ability to release dopamine within major components of the BRS (i.e. the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system.) In addition to the objective pharmacological effects (e.g. altered heart rate), BRS probes like d-amph elicit reliable and measurable behavior, that is, the hedonic effects. A review of the neurobiology of MDD, the BRS, the rationale for implicating the BRS in depressive symptoms, and preliminary data, are presented in this article.

Amphetamine↗

Family structure, personality, drinking, smoking and illicit drug use: a study of UK teenagers.

Data from a survey of 7722 15-16 year old school students in the United Kingdom were used to examine relationships between family structure and using alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs. Respondents living with both parents were significantly less likely to participate in all of these, with girls more affected, particularly as regards cigarette smoking and illicit drugs. For other families, it made little further difference whether the mother, the father or both were absent. The effects were reduced on controlling four other variables. The latter were: psychological symptoms, social support, involvement in hobbies and reading, and engagement in behaviours such as riding mopeds, going out with friends, aggression and delinquency. It is suggested that these variables may mediate the effects of family structure.

Adolescent↗

Sexing mammalian sperm for production of offspring: the state-of-the-art.

Predetermination of sex in livestock offspring is in great demand and is of critical importance to providing for the most efficient production of the world's food supply. With the changes that have taken place in animal agriculture over the past generation the application of sex preselection to production systems becomes increasingly necessary. The current technology is based on the well-known difference in X- and Y-sperm in the amount of DNA present. The method has been validated on the basis of live births, laboratory reanalysis of sorted sperm for DNA content and embryo biopsy for sex determination. The technology incorporates modified flow cytometric sorting instrumentation to sort X- and Y-bearing sperm. Resulting populations of X or Y sperm can be used in conjunction with IVF in swine and in cattle for the production of sexed embryos to be transferred to eligible recipients for the duration of gestation. It can also be used for intratubal insemination and for deep-uterine and conventional insemination in cattle. This semipractical sexing method, though currently impractical for some production systems (where large numbers of sperm are required for fertilization) could be used to provide a more flexible progeny-producing option in many livestock operations. Improvements in the production rate of sexed sperm continue as new technology is developed. High-speed sorting is one of the newer technological advances and is being used in our laboratory to increase sorted sperm throughput. With our original technology we sorted 350,000 sperm/h. We now sort 6 million of each sex, under routine conditions. Sorting only the X population results in about 18 million sperm/h. Improvements in the technology will no doubt lead to much greater usage of sexed sperm, depending on the species involved. Insemination of lower sperm numbers in cattle has proven to be an effective means of utilizing the sexing technology. Solving the problems associated with inseminating low sperm numbers in the pig would be advantageous to the utilization of sexed sperm for some type of deep artificial insemination. Such a development would also enhance the economy of using lower sperm numbers with conventional artificial insemination (AI) and aid the swine industry worldwide. The use of sexed sperm for non-ordinary applications such as endangered species, laboratory animals, hobby or pet species is also of interest and will become a part of the move to be more reproductively efficient in the next millennium. Sexed sperm on demand over the next several years will provide livestock producers with many options in seeking to improve efficiency of production and improve quality of products to enhance consumer acceptability.

Animals↗

Hitting the moving target of program choice.

The changes in what 2,927 people wanted and got for programs in 1988 were compared with what 3,934 people wanted and received in 1996 in Wyoming and South Dakota. As recommendations change, they present a "moving target" for these service-delivery systems. In 1988, 51% of those served in Wyoming and 62% of those served in South Dakota were in their preferred setting. By 1996, the Wyoming percentage rose to 84%, whereas South Dakota's percentage moved up to 72%. These increases enhanced other "quality of life" measures. Comparing 1996 with 1988, for example, fewer individuals in both states reported no social or leisure activities. Fewer reported the lack of transportation as a barrier and fewer reported having no one to accompany them to activities. More individuals reported family contact, family visits, and identified a hobby or personal leisure activity. The 8-year expansion of services and supports had increased positive social activities.

Adult↗

Two-Stage Machine Learning model for guideline development.

We present a Two-Stage Machine Learning (ML) model as a data mining method to develop practice guidelines and apply it to the problem of dementia staging. Dementia staging in clinical settings is at present complex and highly subjective because of the ambiguities and the complicated nature of existing guidelines. Our model abstracts the two-stage process used by physicians to arrive at the global Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDRS) score. The model incorporates learning intermediate concepts (CDRS category scores) in the first stage that then become the feature space for the second stage (global CDRS score). The sample consisted of 678 patients evaluated in the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of California, Irvine. The demographic variables, functional and cognitive test results used by physicians for the task of dementia severity staging were used as input to the machine learning algorithms. Decision tree learners and rule inducers (C4.5, Cart, C4.5 rules) were selected for our study as they give expressive models, and Naive Bayes was used as a baseline algorithm for comparison purposes. We first learned the six CDRS category scores (memory, orientation, judgement and problem solving, personal care, home and hobbies, and community affairs). These learned CDRS category scores were then used to learn the global CDRS scores. The Two-Stage ML model classified as well as or better than the published inter-rater agreements for both the category and global CDRS scoring by dementia experts. Furthermore, for the most critical distinction, normal versus very mildly impaired, the Two-Stage ML model was 28.1 and 6.6% more accurate than published performances by domain experts. Our study of the CDRS examined one of the largest, most diverse samples in the literature, suggesting that our findings are robust. The Two-Stage ML model also identified a CDRS category, Judgment and Problem Solving, which has low classification accuracy similar to published reports. Since this CDRS category appears to be mainly responsible for misclassification of the global CDRS score when it occurs, further attribute and algorithm research on the Judgment and Problem Solving CDRS score could improve its accuracy as well as that of the global CDRS score.

Algorithms↗

Fatal hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

BACKGROUND: Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an uncommon, non-IgE-mediated interstitial lung disease caused by the inhalation of a variety of organic dusts, most commonly from exposure at work or in the pursuit of hobbies. Typically, after the disease is recognized, the causative allergen or environment is identified and treatment initiated through avoidance measures and corticosteroids. Progression of the disease is then usually halted and even reversed. Fatal cases of HP are unusual. OBJECTIVE: To report a case of progressive and deadly HP in a 40-year-old printer who developed subacute bird fancier's disease with its clinical characteristics and positive precipitins to pigeon proteins. METHODS: Chest x-ray examinations and tests of lung function were performed in the patient. Two months after initial consultation, when the diagnosis was still elusive, an open lung biopsy was performed and the patient was treated with prednisone for 3 months. A subsequent chest x-ray examination was performed 4 months after the biopsy. RESULTS: With avoidance of birds and treatment with corticosteroids, the patient's symptoms resolved and lung function normalized. He was subsequently diagnosed as having asthma followed by bronchitis and 2 episodes of pneumonia. He did not fully recover from these but developed progressive dyspnea. After linking his symptoms to work by history, he underwent lung biopsy with findings consistent with chronic HP. Serum antibody titers were positive for Aspergillus but not pigeon proteins. Based on exposure to water-based coolants, he was suspected of having chronic occupational HP, although this could not be confirmed. Despite aggressive treatment, he developed a progressive course that was ultimately fatal. CONCLUSIONS: This report details the progressive disease course in an individual who presented initially with subacute HP. Unfortunately, even after appropriate diagnosis and management, the course of the disease can be fatal.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Lower extremity orthoses and applications for rehabilitation populations.

There are many psychologic effects to trauma and disease. Patients often exhibit a grief reaction and loss of identity in the early stages of recovery. Fear and anxiety about the physical condition and future independence can contribute to feelings of separation and loneliness in patients. Loss of self-confidence and decreased self-esteem follow patients' efforts to overcome permanent decrements in functional abilities. Early intervention with an effective multidisciplinary treatment program can enable patients to perform mobility and self-care tasks. Functional independence and quality-of-life issues are important, and realistic individual goals must be identified and addressed throughout the rehabilitation process. The improvements in overall quality of life, provided by a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program, are as important as saving lives. Orthotic treatment programs are one component of an effective rehabilitation program and should be used to enhance the walking potential and abilities of patients with lower extremity dysfunctions. Ongoing home exercise programs and periodic reevaluation ensure the success of the program. Rehabilitation adds quality to the remaining life of patients by enabling them to return to or develop activities and hobbies as well as maintain higher levels of functional independence. The focus is always on the patient, and the best method to obtain success is an integrated team approach.

Cerebral Palsy↗