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 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Nutrition of ornamental fish.

Because thousands of species comprise the aquarium hobby, ornamental fish nutrition is an art and a science that must be approached systematically and holistically. Examinations of species-specific anatomy and natural history are useful starting points. Food fish research provides fundamental nutritional information, but food fish are not ideal models for all ornamentals. This article briefly addresses freshwater and marine fish issues, including considerations for pond fish and live foods.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed1996

Changing the way we practice: how to thrive and not just survive in veterinary medicine.

Today's veterinarians face unprecedented competition such as veterinary clinics on every corner; hobby veterinarians who "give it away;" human pharmacies promoting do-it-yourself pet vaccinations; and corporate megastores with sophisticated management, overpowering marketing, and veterinary wellness clinics. Many veterinarians are experiencing flat or decreasing practice growth and are facing a severe financial squeeze. So, what's the answer? Give up? Take whatever comes? Accept less? Swing blindly at the problems? Remain blinded to the opportunities? No! We have got to fight back "to win" with better skills, increased attention to detail, and the sense-of-urgency that comes from being threatened! Start "competing to win" by building on our traditional strengths with the latest tools! This article offers a look forward at the demographics, trends, problems, and opportunities that face veterinarians in these ultracompetitive, fast-changing, yet opportunity-laden times. It's your choice--"To Thrive Or To Survive." This article shares the ideas, principles, emotions and winning tactics used by the great achievers in veterinary medicine. These are not anecdotal "pie-in-the-sky" schemes. These are proven "in-the-trenches" techniques and systems that have helped craft several million dollar practices. Follow the leaders!

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Restrictiveness-permissiveness of their environment as perceived by kibbutz twins and singletons.

This research compares similarities and differences between kibbutz twins and singletons on individual perceptions of extent of restriction imposed by their fathers and mothers, teachers, caretakers and peers with regard to the children's choices, plans, and actual activities. During the past two years, the parents of all kibbutz twins in Israel of age 1 to 18 have been contacted. They provided background information about themselves and their twin children. In each kibbutz, two control singletons were selected of the same sex and age for each twin pair, yielding a "quartet". With the aid of a mapping sentence, questionnaires were constructed to help ascertain the child's role in life areas such as family, friendship, school, hobbies, work, amusement. Questionnaires with the same facet design are being administered to children (twin and singleton), mothers, fathers, teachers, and caretakers. In addition, each child is given a battery of tests--including the verbal WISC, Block Design, Raven Matrices, and Reading Comprehension. The children will be interviewed and tested in three successive years, beginning either in grade 4 or 5. Data will thus be obtained on changes in perception of permissiveness-restrictiveness and their relation to performance at ages 9 to 13. To date 9-year-olds in 14 kibbutzim have been interviewed. Analyses of responses to four questions are presented in this paper. The preliminary analyses indicate that twins and singletons have similar means and distributions with regard to the extent to which the children feel they are told what to do by either parent.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Life events and psychosocial factors in elderly suicides--a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Stressful life events, such as family conflicts, separation, bereavement, somatic illness and financial problems are common antecedents of suicide. Studies on suicide among younger persons dominate the literature, despite the fact that a large proportion of suicides occur among elderly persons. METHODS: The occurrence of stressful life events was investigated among elderly suicide cases and population controls. The study was conducted in the southwestern part of Sweden and included 85 persons (46 males and 39 females) 65 years and above who had committed suicide from January 1994 to May 1996. Population controls (84 males and 69 females) were randomly selected. Interviews were carried out with the controls and with informants for the suicide cases. Questions on sociodemographic background, mental and somatic health status, and life events (0-6, 7-12 and 13-24 months preceding suicide/interview) were included in the interviews. RESULTS: Somatic illness, family discord and financial trouble were significant risk factors during all three time periods. Other risk factors were mental disorder, lower education, feelings of loneliness and previous suicide in the family. Factors associated with a decreased risk included active participation in organizations and having a hobby. Variables that remained in the multivariate logistic regression model were mental disorder (men, odds ratio (OR) = 62.4, 95% CI 17.9-217.5; women, OR = 55.9, 95% CI 14.1-222.3) and family discord (men, OR = 10.0. 95% CI 1.7-59.8; women, OR = 9.2, 95% CI 1.9-44.8). CONCLUSIONS: Mental disorder and family discord were the two major risk factors for suicide among elderly men and women.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Five-year prognosis for depression in old age.

The 5-year prognosis for 264 depressed elderly Finns (60 years or older) living in the community and treated through the primary health care service is described. The majority of the patients were suffering from dysthymic disorder. It was found that 25% of the men and 35% of the women had recovered, 29% of the men and 24% of the women were still suffering from depression after the five-year period, 9% of the men and 11% of the women had become demented, 33% of the men and 26% of the women had died, and 4% of the cases were not contacted. The prognosis did not differ between the sexes, neither was it associated with age. Poor psychic health and pronounced depressive symptoms at the beginning of the treatment, and the occurrence of a serious disease or a decline in functional capacities during the follow-up were related to a poor prognosis in both sexes. The specific disease group related to a poor prognosis in women was that of cardiovascular diseases. A close connection between a poor prognosis and a low socioeconomic status was found in the depressed men, while a favorable prognosis was shown for relatively healthy, even widowed, depressed women who moved to live alone during the follow-up period, women who increased their amount of physical exercise, and men and women whose hobby activities increased.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1997

Clinical dementia rating: a reliable and valid diagnostic and staging measure for dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Global staging measures for dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) assess the influence of cognitive loss on the ability to conduct everyday activities and represent the "ultimate test" of efficacy for antidementia drug trials. They provide information about clinically meaningful function and behavior and are less affected by the "floor" and "ceiling" effects commonly associated with psychometric tests. The Washington University Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) is a global scale developed to clinically denote the presence of DAT and stage its severity. The clinical protocol incorporates semistructured interviews with the patient and informant to obtain information necessary to rate the subject's cognitive performance in six domains: memory, orientation, judgment and problem solving, community affairs, home and hobbies, and personal care. The CDR has been standardized for multicenter use, including the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) and the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, and interrater reliability has been established. Criterion validity for both the global CDR and scores on individual domains has been demonstrated, and the CDR also has been validated neuropathologically, particularly for the presence or absence of dementia. Standardized training protocols are available. Although not well suited as a brief screening tool for population surveys of dementia because the protocol depends on sufficient time to conduct interviews, the CDR has become widely accepted in the clinical setting as a reliable and valid global assessment measure for DAT.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Gender-related traits in transsexuals and nontranssexuals.

Thirty-eight male-to-female (M-to-F) transsexuals, 7 female-to-male (F-to-M) transsexuals, 135 nontranssexual men, and 225 nontranssexual women were assessed on the following: gender diagnosticity (GD) measures, which assessed male- vs. female-typical occupational and hobby preferences; instrumentality; expressiveness; self-ascribed masculinity; and self-ascribed femininity. M-to-F transsexuals differed strongly and significantly from nontranssexual men on GD and self-ascribed femininity (effect sizes from 1.84 to 3.40) and more weakly on instrumentality, expressiveness, and self-ascribed masculinity (effect sizes from 0.40 to 0.56). F-to-M transsexuals differed strongly and significantly from nontranssexual women on GD and on self-ascribed masculinity and femininity (effect sizes from 2.45 to 3.97), but not on instrumentality or expressiveness (effect sizes of 0.07 and 0.39). The degree to which the six assessed gender-related traits distinguished transsexual from nontranssexuals was strongly correlated with the degree to which these same traits distinguished nontranssexual men from nontranssexual women. Using comparison data from past research, M-to-F transsexuals were quite similar to gay men on all gender-related traits except self-ascribed femininity, but F-to-M transsexuals were considerably more masculine than lesbian women on all gender-related traits except for instrumentality and expressiveness.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

[South American camelids in Switzerland. I. Population, management and health problems].

At the beginning of 2000, a population of 1622 South American camelids in 257 herds was living in Switzerland. The origin of the animals, their age, the management systems, their feeding habits, their use as well as the observed medical conditions and the indications for treatment were assessed with a questionnaire. Results of this study show that 60% of the South American camelid population in Switzerland consisted of llamas (999 animals) and 40% of alpacas (623), and that females younger than 4 years of age made up the majority of the animals. South American camelids were predominantly kept for hobby, breeding or trekking. The most frequent health problems were related to the digestive tract, the skin, the eyes and the metabolism. Veterinarians were consulted for deworming, vaccinations, castrations or obstetric interventions. The parasitological examination of 204 fecal samples showed that llamas and alpacas were infested with the same endoparasites as ruminants (i.e. nematodes, trematodes and protozoas).

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2003

[Quality of life despite illness. How does diabetes type 2 change quality of life of patients and how can it be modified?].

UNLABELLED: The research-question, posed in this study, was: How does diabetes type 2 change the quality of life of the persons involved and how can this be influenced? As these perceptions are subjective a qualitative approach was chosen. The interpretations of the persons involved were collected by using both a focus group discussion and individual interviews. CONCLUSION: The quality of life of the persons with diabetes type 2 questioned in this study, was altered especially in the functional health area. The concepts named here, were house-keeping, nutrition and mobility. But also the area of spare-time-management with concepts as hobbies and holidays, as well as the area of control with the concept of self-control, were named as being compromised by the illness. Information was recognized as a very important influencing factor. Information can positively influence the strength of the impact of diabetes type 2 on the quality of life.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2000

Visual neglect as a predictor of functional outcome one year after stroke.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to study the role of visual neglect in acute right hemisphere brain infarct as a predictor of poor functional outcome during the first year after stroke. In particular, we were interested in the additional value of neglect measures besides hemiparesis, hemianopia, cognitive deficits and age. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of 57 patients with a neuroradiologically verified right hemisphere infarct was examined within 10 days of the stroke. Fifty patients were followed up for 1 year. Neglect was measured with the Conventional and the Behavioural subtests of the Behavioural Inattention Test (BITC and BITB, respectively). The predictors were determined at the 10-day examination. Functional outcome was assessed 3, 6 and 12 months after the onset with the Frenchay Activities Index. RESULTS: Neglect in BITB was the best single predictor, which together with high age formed the best combination of predictors for poor functional outcome at each follow-up. Hemiparesis was also included in this prediction model at the 3-month follow-up, but hemianopia, BITC, or visuoconstructional and memory deficits showed no additional predictive value. However, neglect usually recovered soon. When neurological and cognitive deficits were assessed at the same time as the outcome, hemiparesis rather than neglect was the strongest correlate of poor outcome. CONCLUSION: Neglect in acute stroke is an important predictor of poor functional recovery. Residual neglect, which could be compensated in the follow-up tests, may nevertheless restrict patients' real-life activities and hobbies.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

Some psychometric characteristics of gender diagnosticity measures: reliability, validity, consistency across domains, and relationship to the big five.

Preferences for various occupations, school subjects, everyday activities, and hobbies and amusements were rated by 119 male and 145 female Ss. Discriminant analyses were conducted to compute gender diagnostic probabilities. Ss also rated themselves on Big Five traits and completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). Results indicated that (a) gender diagnosticity measures showed high reliability, (b) gender diagnosticity predicted sex of S and self-ascribed masculinity (M) and femininity (F) better than contrasted-groups M-F scales, (c) gender diagnosticity measures displayed substantial consistency across domains both within and across the sexes, and (d) gender diagnosticity measures were independent of the Big Five and PAQ and BSRI scales both within and across the sexes, whereas PAQ and BSRI scales loaded highly on Big Five dimensions.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1987

Common and distinctive features of verbal and pictorial stimuli as determinants of psychophysiological responsivity.

The present study focuses on the relation between stimulus features and psychophysiological responsivity by using a modified version of the information detection paradigm. Compound pictorial and verbal stimuli (schematic faces with beard, glasses, and hat, and descriptions of people in terms of occupation, city of residence, a hobby, and a personality trait) were used as the relevant stimuli that subjects were instructed to memorize. Skin conductance responses were measured during the subsequent presentation of a sequence of test stimuli. Each sequence included a critical stimulus that shared from one to four common components with the relevant stimulus in each of two pictorial and two verbal experiments. We hypothesized that the electrodermal responsivity to the critical stimulus would reflect the degree it matches the relevant one. The results indicated that when the critical stimulus was identical to the relevant stimulus, responsivity was maximal. Neutral stimuli (i.e., those that shared no components with the relevant stimulus) produced minimal responsivity, and critical stimuli that only partially matched the relevant one produced intermediate levels of responsivity (in spite of the subjects' awareness of the differences between the critical and the relevant stimuli). The monotonic relation between the degree of match and responsivity supports the proposed model, which assumes that each stimulus in the sequence is being compared with the relevant stimulus by a feature-matching process, and electrodermal responsivity is related to the outcome of this process. In a fifth experiment, we compared geometric and contrast models for similarity and found that the pattern of responsivity violated the minimality and symmetry assumptions of the geometric model. The relation between cognitive processes and psychophysiological responsivity is discussed, as are implications for the application of the guilty knowledge technique for detecting information.

Arousal↗
PubMed2003

Beyond keeping active: concomitants of being a volunteer in old-old age.

This study examines concomitants of volunteering in the context of other lifestyle activities. Investigating formal volunteering in old-old age, the authors analyzed data of 148 volunteers versus 1,195 nonvolunteers in a national sample of the Israeli Jewish population aged 75-94. As hypothesized, being a volunteer related (whether as a cause or effect) to more positive functioning on psychosocial markers and prospectively resulted in reduced mortality risk even when other activity outlets (physical activity, everyday activities, having a hobby) were controlled. These findings suggest that the benefits of volunteering in late life are not reducible to those of other activities.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Puzzling thoughts for H. M.: can new semantic information be anchored to old semantic memories?

Researchers currently debate whether new semantic knowledge can be learned and retrieved despite extensive damage to medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures. The authors explored whether H. M., a patient with amnesia, could acquire new semantic information in the context of his lifelong hobby of solving crossword puzzles. First, H. M. was tested on a series of word-skills tests believed important in solving crosswords. He also completed 3 new crosswords: 1 puzzle testing pre-1953 knowledge, another testing post-1953 knowledge, and another combining the 2 by giving postoperative semantic clues for preoperative answers. From the results, the authors concluded that H. M. can acquire new semantic knowledge, at least temporarily, when he can anchor it to mental representations established preoperatively.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Mortality and quality of life after trochanteric hip fracture.

The objective was to evaluate the survival and some aspects of the quality of life of patients with trochanteric hip fracture after long-term follow-up in comparison with the age- and sex-matched controls without fracture. Two hundred consecutive patients (mean age at fracture 77 y) with trochanteric hip fractures were compared with the age- and sex-matched controls representing an average population from the same area. After a mean 7 y follow-up period a questionnaire concerning their place of residence, ambulation, causes leading to impairment, need for locomotor aids and management of activities in daily living (ADL) functions was sent to the surviving patients and controls. Mortality increased gradually being 4.5 percent above the control level one month after the fracture, 6.0 percent above at three months, 3.5 percent above at one year, 4.5 percent above at two years, 6.5 percent above at five years and 9.0 percent above at six years. Thirty (48%) of the surviving 62 patients and 83 (90%) of the 92 surviving controls were living in their own homes and 2 (3%) and 4 (4%) in service apartments respectively. Seventeen (27%) of patients alive were institutionalized in a chronic care hospital unit and 13 (21%) in an old people's home as compared with 2 (2%) and 3 (3%) of the controls respectively. Twenty-two (35%) of the patients and 73 (79%) of the controls were able to move about independently. The patients were significantly worse at ADL-management, required more home help and had fewer social contacts and outdoor hobbies than the controls. In conclusion surgically-treated trochanteric hip fractures markedly increase mortality rate, reduce independence and impair walking ability and ADL-functions, and thus seriously affect the health-related quality of life of the patients. This fact should be considered in the planning of the healthcare of elderly people.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2001

Treatment of 100 patients with sentinel node-negative breast cancer without further axillary dissection.

BACKGROUND: The sentinel node biopsy technique for breast cancer has been validated extensively in phase I and II studies. However, no data from phase III randomized clinical studies are available. It remains controversial whether a histologically negative sentinel node biopsy without further axillary dissection can be considered to be good clinical practice. METHODS: One hundred consecutive patients with breast cancer who had a negative sentinel node biopsy without additional axillary dissection were studied prospectively between 1997 and 2000 in order to identify tumour recurrence and to assess the morbidity of the sentinel node procedure. Special attention was paid to axillary or locoregional recurrence, distant metastases and overall survival. One year after the procedure patients were sent a questionnaire to assess any functional impairment of the arm or shoulder. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 24 (range 16-40) months. One patient had an axillary relapse 14 months after the initial diagnosis of breast cancer. She died after 2 years from metastatic disease. There were no other local axillary recurrences. There was a 94 per cent response rate to the questionnaire. Twelve patients developed mild disabilities, of whom two said that they had to change their hobbies, sports or daily activities owing to the sentinel node procedure. No patient developed lymphoedema or needed physiotherapy after the operation. CONCLUSION: When strict criteria for the sentinel node biopsy procedure are used, the sentinel node biopsy without further axillary dissection after a negative histological investigation is a safe procedure. It may therefore be considered to be the standard of care for the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Patch testing for Compositae allergy.

The main allergenic constituents of Compositae plants are the sesquiterpene lactones (SLs). In recent years, a mixture of three SLs, each with a different sesquiterpene skeleton (alantolactone, dehydrocostuslactone or costunolide), has been routinely used to detect Compositae allergy. The purpose of our study was to establish the value of testing with a range of Compositae extracts. Ninety-seven consecutive patients with exposure pattern dermatitis or hand eczema and gardening as a hobby or occupation were patch tested to the European standard series including SL mix 0.1% pet., Compositae extracts and other relevant allergens. Twenty-six of the 97 patients tested showed allergic reactions to SL mix or Compositae extracts. Fifteen of these showed positive reactions to both the SL mix and Compositae extracts. Eleven patients showed a negative reaction to the SL mix but positive reaction to the Compositae extracts. Dandelion elicited a positive reaction in eight of the 11 SL mix-negative patients and three patients reacted to feverfew. The SL mix failed to detect 38% of our Compositae-sensitive patients. Dandelion extract alone detected 73% of SL-negative patients. Additional testing with feverfew extract would have detected 91% of the SL mix-negative individuals. Our study highlights the importance of testing the response of SL-negative patients to additional Compositae extracts when there is a clinical suspicion of Compositae allergy.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Environmental risk factors and gender in nasal polyposis.

The aetiology of nasal polyps remains obscure. Although clinically associated with asthma, notably in women, there is a marked male preponderance of polyposis. This study aimed to explore environmental pollutant triggers and gender differences in risk factors for nasal polyps. In total, 900 patients having surgery for polyposis and 120 new patients with nasal polyps completed a questionnaire with regard to occupational dust and chemical exposure. The male to female ratio was 2:1, and 52% were smokers, although only 37% of women smoked compared with 66% of men. Exposure to occupational dusts and chemicals was noted in 45% (retrospective) and 53% (prospective) of respondents. Women were 1.6 times more likely to be asthmatic and 2.7 times more likely to have allergic rhinitis than men. Men were 2.25 times more likely to be smokers and 2.48 times more likely to have been exposed to chemicals and dusts than women (all statistically significant differences). No significant gender associations were found for hayfever, eczema, aspirin intolerance, alcohol intake or hobby dust exposure.

Air Pollutants↗