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At least 649 records · Page 36Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Decreased neural specialization in old adults on a working memory task.

Compelling evidence shows that there is decreased neural specialization in the ventral visual cortex in older adults under passive viewing conditions. We assessed whether such specialization would be maintained on a working memory task and whether decreased specialization co-occurred with increased prefrontal activations. Participants encoded three faces or houses and maintained the set across an 8-s interval. Results provided evidence for less specialization of faces and houses in older adults than in younger adults, while the middle and inferior frontal cortex showed increased activation in elders compared with the young.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Structural rRNA characters support monophyly of raptorial limbs and paraphyly of limb specialization in water fleas.

The evolutionary success of arthropods has been attributed partly to the diversity of their limb morphologies. Large morphological diversity and increased specialization are observed in water flea (Cladocera) limbs, but it is unclear whether the increased limb specialization in different cladoceran orders is the result of shared ancestry or parallel evolution. We inferred a robust among-order cladoceran phylogeny using small-subunit and large-subunit rRNA nuclear gene sequences, signature sequence regions, novel stem-loops and secondary structure morphometrics to assess the phylogenetic distribution of limb specialization. The sequence-based and structural rRNA morphometric phylogenies were congruent and suggested monophyly of orders with raptorial limbs, but paraphyly of orders with reduced numbers of specialized limbs. These results highlight the utility of complex molecular structural characters in resolving ancient rapid radiations.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Peptidoglycan degradation by specialized lytic transglycosylases associated with type III and type IV secretion systems.

Specialized lytic transglycosylases are muramidases capable of locally degrading the peptidoglycan meshwork of Gram-negative bacteria. Specialized lytic transglycosylase genes are present in clusters encoding diverse macromolecular transport systems. This paper reports the analysis of selected members of the specialized lytic transglycosylase family from type III and type IV secretion systems. These proteins were analysed in vivo by assaying their ability to complement the DNA transfer defect of the conjugative F-like plasmid R1-16 lacking a functional P19 protein, the specialized lytic transglycosylase of this type IV secretion system. Heterologous complementation was accomplished using IpgF from the plasmid-encoded type III secretion system of Shigella sonnei and TrbN from the type IV secretion system of the conjugative plasmid RP4. In contrast, neither VirB1 proteins (Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Brucella suis) nor IagB (Salmonella enterica) could functionally replace P19. In vitro, IpgF, IagB, both VirB1 proteins, HP0523 (Helicobacter pylori) and P19 displayed peptidoglycanase activity in zymogram analyses. Using an established test system and a newly developed assay it was shown that IpgF degraded peptidoglycan in solution. IpgF was active only after removal of the chaperonin GroEL, which co-purified with IpgF and inhibited its enzymic activity. A mutant IpgF protein in which the predicted catalytic amino acid, Glu42, was replaced by Gln, was completely inactive. IpgF-catalysed peptidoglycan degradation was optimal at pH 6 and was inhibited by the lytic transglycosylase inhibitors hexa-N-acetylchitohexaose and bulgecin A.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1979

Distribution of Photosynthetic Enzymes between Mesophyll, Specialized Parenchyma and Bundle Sheath Cells of Arundinella hirta.

Arundinella hirta L. is a C(4) plant having an unusual C(4) leaf anatomy. Besides mesophyll and bundle sheath cells, A. hirta leaves have specialized parenchyma cells which look morphologically like bundle sheath cells but which lack vascular connections and are located between veins, running parallel to them. Activities of phosphoenolpyruvate and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylases and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, NADP-and NAD-malic enzymes were determined for whole leaf extracts and isolated mesophyll protoplasts, specialized parenchyma cells, and bundle sheath cells. The data indicate that A. hirta is a NADP-malic enzyme type C(4) species. In addition, specialized parenchyma cells and bundle sheath cells are enzymatically alike. Compartmentation of enzymes followed the C(4) pattern with phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase being restricted to mesophyll cells while ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase and decarboxylating enzymes were restricted to bundle sheath and specialized parenchyma cells.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

The contribution of quality of life to developing therapeutic nursing in special hospitals.

Many changes have been made to the management of special hospitals (state hospitals which house patients for an indeterminate stay who are mentally ill, who may have committed a serious offence, and who are considered to be a danger to society and/or to themselves). A key objective of the authority which currently manages these hospitals is to ensure a good quality of life (QoL) for patients and staff. This paper argues first that in order to meet their obligation to treat detained patients, mental health nurses in special hospitals must aim to improve the QoL of those in their care. This viewpoint is echoed by Coid (1993), who considers that society has a moral responsibility, which should be expressed formally in legislation to ensure that detained patients have a high QoL. The paper then addresses the issues involved in attaining an adequate QoL for detained patients, examines the methodological problems in QoL research and its indications for nurses working in this field, and outlines appropriate indicators for examining QoL for patients living in special hospitals. The intention is to initiate debate and outline an approach for mental health nurses towards development of a QoL measure for use in special hospitals. This is considered a necessary first stage if an adequate QoL is to be attained for detained patients.

Hospitals, Psychiatric↗
PubMed1994

The experience of special hospital patients in regional secure units.

Regional secure units provide one of the main routes of release for special hospital patients; a route that in many cases is unsuccessful as the patient is subsequently readmitted to the special hospital. Processes underlying this were investigated in this UK study using a grounded theory approach. The interview data obtained in 1993 from a sample of 14 readmitted special hospital patients were analysed and five explanatory categories were generated. This paper concentrates on descriptive data from two categories. One describes negative experiences of a group of patients in regional secure units; an experience often considered a 'backward step'. The second data category identifies four principal reasons for readmission; one reason, inappropriate sexual behaviour, was of particular concern due to its frequency and the possibility that it resulted from the special hospital practice of gender segregation.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1998

Limiting life support. Experiences with a special protocol.

BACKGROUND: Different aspects of withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment have been described in the literature. However, there are few descriptions of local policies or protocols regarding the limiting of life support. The present study describes the pattern of limiting life support in a Scandinavian intensive care unit (ICU) and the experience with a special protocol for such decisions. METHOD: Prospective study of decisions to limit life support in the ICU of a tertiary referral hospital during 1 year using a special protocol and medical records. RESULTS: A decision to limit life support was documented in the special protocol in 61/1008 (6%) of the patients and in 39/79 (49%) of the patients dying in the ICU. Poor prognosis and failure to respond to treatment were the most common reasons for foregoing life-sustaining treatment. Of the 61 patients with a special protocol, 7 survived more than 3 months. The decision was altered for 5 patients towards additional limitations and for 4 patients towards fewer or no limitations. CONCLUSION: Decisions to limit life support in the ICU are common. There is a substantial survival rate. A structured clinical protocol can be used for continuous follow-up of decisions and the decision-making process.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The legacy of Child Development's 1990 special issue on minority children: an editorial retrospective.

Sixteen years have passed since the publication of Child Development's Special Issue on Minority Children. It is suggested that the most critical legacy of the special issue is the conceptual and ideological zeitgeist it fostered. The issue set culture and ecological context in the foreground of analyses, advanced a cultural-variant perspective, and further discredited the deficit perspective that long dominated the study of ethnic minority children and families. The special issue is also significant for its role in shaping post-1990 research agenda. In addition, it underscored the need for more nuanced articulations of what cultural or ethnic characteristics are of special relevance for understanding specific domains of development and the need for well-crafted methodological tools with which to test these ideas.

Child↗
PubMed2000

A specialized home care intervention improves survival among older post-surgical cancer patients.

CONTEXT: Changes in the healthcare system have resulted in shortened hospital stays, moving the focus of care from the hospital to the home. Patients are discharged post-operatively with ongoing needs, and whether they receive nursing care post-hospitalization can influence their recovery and survival. Little information is available about the factors that influence outcomes, including the survival of older cancer patients after cancer surgery. OBJECTIVE: To compare the length of survival of older post-surgical cancer patients who received a specialized home care intervention provided by advanced practice nurses (APNs) with that of patients who received usual follow-up care in an ambulatory setting. We also assessed potential predictors of survival in terms of depressive symptoms, symptom distress, functional status, comorbidities, length of hospital stay, age of patient, and stage of disease. DESIGN: A randomized controlled intervention study. SETTING: Discharged older cancer patients after surgery at a Comprehensive Cancer Center in southeastern Pennsylvania. PATIENTS: Three hundred seventy-five patients aged 60 to 92, newly diagnosed with solid cancers, were treated surgically between February 1993 and December 1995. One hundred ninety patients were randomized to the intervention groups and 185 to the usual care group. INTERVENTION: The intervention was a standardized protocol that consisted of standard assessment and management post-surgical guidelines, doses of instructional content, and schedules of contacts. The intervention lasted 4 weeks and consisted of three home visits and five telephone contacts provided by APNs. Both the patients and their family caregivers received comprehensive clinical assessments, monitoring, and teaching, including skills training. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Time from enrollment of patients into the study until death or last date known alive at the end of November 1996. RESULTS: During the 44-month follow-up period, 93 (24.8%) of 375 patients died. Forty-one (22%) of those who died were patients in the specialized home care intervention group, compared with 52 (28%) in the usual care group. Stage of disease at diagnosis differed between the two groups at baseline (38% late stage patients in the intervention group compared with 26% in the control group, P = .01), so stratified analysis was performed. Overall, the specialized home care intervention group was found to have increased survival (P = .002 using stratified log-rank test). Among early stage patients only, there was no difference in survival between the intervention and control groups. Among late stage patients, there was improved survival in the intervention group. For example, 2-year survival among late stage intervention group cases was 67% compared with 40% among control cases. When Cox's proportional hazard model was used to adjust for significant baseline covariates, the relative hazard of death in the usual care group was 2.04 (CI: 1.33 to 3.12; P = .001) after adjusting for stage of disease and surgical hospitalization length of stay. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first empirical study of post-surgical cancer patients to link a specialized home care intervention by advanced practice nurses with improved survival. Additional research is needed to test home care interventions aimed at maintaining quality of life outcomes and their effects on survival of post-surgical cancer patients.

Aftercare↗
PubMed1985

Application of the Psychiatric Reform Act in the city of Naples. A survey of requests for compulsory admission to the special unit at the University Psychiatric Department I.

One of the most patent inconsistencies in the application of the 1978 Psychiatric Reform Act in many areas of Southern Italy has resulted from the irrational choice, by regional governments, of the general hospitals in which Psychiatric Special Units had to be implemented, and from the inappropriate determination of territorial boundaries defining the competence of such Units. Thus, in the city of Naples, it was decided, in June 1978, to set up Psychiatric Special Units only in the two University Psychiatric Departments and in the Psychiatric Emergency Ward at S. Gennaro Hospital. These Units, equipped with an overall number of 39 beds, were put in charge with the whole province of Naples (about three millions inhabitants). Quite arbitrarily, it was established that University Departments had to admit patients coming from the city of Naples and S. Gennaro Hospital those residing in the rest of the province. By an equally arbitrary choice, female patients from the city of Naples were entrusted to the University Department I and male patients to the Psychiatric Department II. In the following years, from 1979 to 1983, some additional Units were set up in general hospitals of the Naples province. Nonetheless, available beds have not exceeded the overall number of 69, and the catchment areas of the three pre-existing Special Units have not been modified. The chaotic situation engendered by this incongruous application of the Reform Act is outlined, by means of an analysis of the requests for compulsory admission addressed to the Special Unit at the Psychiatric Department I of Naples University during the periods June 16, 1978-December 31, 1979 and June 16, 1982-December 31, 1983.

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗
PubMed2006

Periodontology as a recognized dental speciality in Europe.

The impetus of the Bologna Process under the auspices of European Union governments has raised enormous expectations. It is the major educational change in Europe within the last 50 years and all the focus from university institutions, learned societies and thematic networks has shifted to this process, with the aim of developing consensus schemes in order to arrive at the expected European Convergence in Higher Education (to be completed by 2010). Dentistry as one of the health professions with clear Educational Standards, as defined by the European Dental Directives, is also reviewing its educational processes within this Bachelor-Master-Doctorate scheme and evaluating how the current and future dental specialities should be accommodated within this framework. Among these specialities, Periodontology is currently considered a formal dental speciality in 11 countries belonging to the EU however it lacks this legal status in the rest of the 14 EU countries. The purpose of this position paper is to provide evidence for the need for a recognized specialty in Periodontology at European level focusing on both the educational and professional perspective, with the hope of providing discussions that may contribute to facilitate its legal establishment as a new dental speciality in Europe.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1976

Opinions among Norweigian dentists on specialization and/or general practice.

Three special areas of dental practice are recognized by the Norwegian Dental Association: oral surgery, orthodontics, and periodontics. A representative, nationwide sample comprising 50 dentists in Norway was surveyed through personal interviews concerning opinions about specialists and further specialization. Two dentists in the sample were specialists, the remaining general practitioners. Two-thirds of this group thought that the specialization of dentistry would continue. Only 11 dentists, however, considered this development to be desirable. Every second stated nevertheless that there was a shortage of specialists, particularly orthodonists, in the district where they practice. Most respondents had good experiences cooperating with specialists but they were against astablishing new specialities; they were concerned about their own scope of acitivity. Some pointed out that it requires greater skill and ability to be a solo general practitioner in a rural district than to be an urban, centrally located specialist. However, only 13 dentists considered it right to make general practice a "specialty".

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Oral health status in individuals with dementia living in special facilities.

AIM: The aim of this review was to retrieve data describing the oral health status of individuals with dementia living in special facilities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search on the MEDLINE database (Entrez PubMed) was performed. The literature search yielded 208 papers, of which seven publications were selected for evaluation. RESULTS: From the available studies poorer oral hygiene, decreased saliva flow rates and a higher caries incidence were reported in individuals with dementia living in special facilities when compared with healthy individuals. Oral health problems were more pronounced in the severe stage of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: There is limited scientific data describing the oral health status of individuals with dementia living in special facilities. However, available data indicate that individuals with dementia living in special facilities have more oral health problems than individuals without dementia.

Aged↗
PubMed1977

Lateral specialization and psychiatric issues: speculations on development and the evolution of consciousness.

At the start of this lecture, I invited you to indulge with me in a "dessert" of speculations. I hope it has been a sufficiency, not a surfeit. In summary, we have examined a hypothetical model of some dissociations of consciousness and the expression of unconscious symptoms in adults; we then explored some possible conditions that would account for the development of separate mental streams. In the course of this exploration we were led to question some basic assumptions about the unity of the self, and we proposed some possible mechanisms by which lateral specialization develops in children. This model of the development of lateral specialization has some implications for the study of evolution of the human brain and consciousness. It would seem useful to examine the relationship between the evolution of the commissural systems and the evolution of different capacities for consciousness. According to this model, the full development of lateral specialization depends upon the later myelination of the commissures, which makes possible the autonomy and competition between hemispheres. By this means, only minimal differences between hemispheres need to be specified genetically, since the rest of lateralization can be produced by progressive differentiation, through interactions with the environment. Thus man's eternal, internal struggle may be the price paid for the evolution of lateral specialization.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

A five-year study of residents of a special hostel for people with dementia.

In order to consider whether admission to a special hostel was a desirable policy in view of the likelihood of subsequent transfer to a nursing home, this study compared the time spent by residents in a special hostel with the period in a nursing home after they were transferred out of the hostel. We also estimated the number of nursing home places necessary for residents who were transferred and studied the reasons for transfer. The setting was a special hostel in Perth, Western Australia, for 36 people with moderate or severe dementia. The periods spent in the hostel or a nursing home were calculated for all residents admitted between 1985 and 1990. Forty-two of the 84 residents admitted during the study period were transferred to nursing homes. About two thirds of the total time in the two institutions was spent in the hostel. The two principal reasons necessitating transfer to a nursing home were advancing dementia and the addition of a physical impairment. Because a major proportion of the care of selected people with dementia (who can no longer remain at home) can be undertaken in a special hostel, this facility should be included with standard hostel and nursing home in arrangements for institutional care. Between 20 and 25 nursing home places are necessary for residents transferred from a hostel of this size.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Survey results of reduced-fee and free-of-charge dental services by the membership of the Federation of Special Care Organizations in Dentistry.

In 1996, a questionnaire was mailed to all members of the Federation of Special Care Organizations in Dentistry (FSCO) in an attempt to learn more about their professional practices. Questions focused primarily on the amount of free and reduced-fee dentistry that the membership provided to the public. The questionnaire asked respondents to identify their field of practice; estimate the amount of time, the number of patients, and the monetary value of the dentistry provided; as well as to classify the types of patients to whom they provided these dental services for free or at reduced fees. Each of the FSCO respondents reported providing an average of $14,820 in free dentistry in 1995. Not surprisingly, the respondents reported treating a significant number of special-needs patients. Members also reported spending 31.0% of their clinical time working at reduced fees and 7.4% of the time working for free. This questionnaire revealed that the Federation of Special Care member respondents are donating a significant amount of dentistry and treating a large segment of special-needs patients.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Practical protocols for the prevention of dental disease in community settings for people with special needs: preface.

This issue of Special Care in Dentistry presents protocols that were designed during a conference, Practical Protocols for the Prevention of Dental Disease in Community Settings for People with Special Needs, which was held at the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry on February 1, 2002. After each expert reviewed and reported on one area of the literature, which included risk assessment; chlorhexidine mouth rinses; xylitol chewing gum; topical fluoride and fluoride varnish applications; and methods to control or treat periodontal disease, practical protocols were developed. Next, a strategy of implementation and dissemination will be designed using nurses, case managers, social workers, caregivers, and others to encourage people with special needs to use these protocols. A plan will also be implemented to increase social and health care provider awareness about these interventions through professional publications and educational opportunities. The goal is to reduce dental disease in special needs populations and thereby decrease the need for difficult and costly treatment.

Clinical Protocols↗
PubMed1994

Special peptidyl-tRNA molecules can promote translational frameshifting without slippage.

Recently we described an unusual programmed +1 frameshift event in yeast retrotransposon Ty3. Frameshifting depends on the presence of peptidyl-tRNA(AlaCGC) on the GCG codon in the ribosomal P site and on a translational pause stimulated by the slowly decoded AGU codon. Frameshifting occurs on the sequence GCG-AGU-U by out-of-frame binding of a valyl-tRNA to GUU without slippage of peptidyl-tRNA(AlaCGC). This mechanism challenges the conventional understanding that frameshift efficiency must correlate with the ability of mRNA-bound tRNA to slip between cognate or near-cognate codons. Though frameshifting does not require slippery tRNAs, it does require special peptidyl-tRNAs. We show that overproducing a second isoacceptor whose anticodon had been changed to CGC eliminated frameshifting; peptidyl-tRNA(AlaCGC) must have a special capacity to induce +1 frameshifting in the adjacent ribosomal A site. In order to identify other special peptidyl-tRNAs, we tested the ability of each of the other 63 codons to replace GCG in the P site. We found no correlation between the ability to stimulate +1 frameshifting and the ability of the cognate tRNA to slip on the mRNA--several codons predicted to slip efficiently do not stimulate frameshifting, while several predicted not to slip do stimulate frameshifting. By inducing a severe translational pause, we identified eight tRNAs capable of inducing measurable +1 frameshifting, only four of which are predicted to slip on the mRNA. We conclude that in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, special peptidyl-tRNAs can induce frameshifting dependent on some characteristic(s) other than the ability to slip on the mRNA.

Anticodon↗