Search

Examines the effect of preformed plasmas on kiloelectronvolt x-ray generation for the case of low energy picosecond ultraviolet laser pulses. Factors that affect a pair of KrF laser pulses; Information on the gain recovery time for an excimer laser; Description of the experimental layout of the beam delay system and target chamber system; Details of the effective plasma profile observed by the second laser pulse.

Features a study that described the operational characteristics of a gas discharge under the influence of a transverse rotating magnetic field. Cause of the discharge of instabilities that eventually result in serious plasma restriction; Main features of the experimental system; Effects of the rotating magnetic field on the gas-discharge V-I characteristic.

Objective: Caring for the elderly with dementia imposes a substantial burden on family members and likely accounts for more than half of the total cost of dementia for those living in the community. However, most past estimates of this cost were derived from small, nonrepresentative samples. We sought to obtain nationally representative estimates of the time and associated cost of informal caregiving for the elderly with mild, moderate, and severe dementia.Design: Multivariable regression models using data from the 1993 Asset and Health Dynamics Study, a nationally representative survey of people age 70 years or older (N = 7,443).Setting: National population-based sample of the community-dwelling elderly.Main Outcome Measures: Incremental weekly hours of informal caregiving and incremental cost of caregiver time for those with mild dementia, moderate dementia, and severe dementia, as compared to elderly individuals with normal cognition. Dementia severity was defined using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status.Results: After adjusting for sociodemographics, comorbidities, and potential caregiving network, those with normal cognition received an average of 4.6 hours per week of informal care. Those with mild dementia received an additional 8.5 hours per week of informal care compared to those with normal cognition (P < .001), while those with moderate and severe dementia received an additional 17.4 and 41.5 hours (P < .001), respectively. The associated additional yearly cost of informal care per case was 3,630 dollars for mild dementia, 7,420 dollars for moderate dementia, and 17,700 dollars for severe dementia. This represents a national annual cost of more than 18 billion dollars.Conclusion: The quantity and associated economic cost of informal caregiving for the elderly with dementia are substantial and increase sharply as cognitive impairment worsens. Physicians caring for elderly individuals with dementia should be mindful of the importance of informal care for the well-being of their patients, as well as the potential for significant burden on those (often elderly) individuals providing the care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a case study involving problems of interest to the operational research community in the insurance industry and deals with solving the problems. Data mining methodology; Customer retention analysis; Claims analysis.

Considerable evidence supports the premise that higher levels of education lead to enhanced health, including protective health behaviors. This paper focuses on how education affects one health behavior known to lead to enhanced health: the cessation of smoking. In particular, the authors examine the extent to which education influences the decision by middle-aged adults to quit smoking following a heart attack, a potentially life-threatening health event. We first hypothesize that middle-aged adults with more formal education will stop smoking more readily than people with less formal education following the experience of a heart attack. Second, we ask what other factors might underlie and explain that hypothesized effect. Using longitudinal data, the authors track changes in individual smoking behaviors after a heart attack among preretirement-age Americans. We control for documented correlates of smoking and heart attack plus other factors associated with education, heart attack, and smoking that may also influence whether a person quits smoking. In addition to confirming evidence on the education-health association as well as the documented connection between heart attack and smoking cessation, this study provides a surprising twist on those links: Our results show that the move to quit smoking following the experience of a heart attack among middle-aged adults is significantly and dramatically moderated by their level of educational attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxic substances are generated by microsomes undergoing NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation. In the present experiments the nature of the haemolytic material extracted from peroxidized microsomes is further examined. Suspensions of peroxidized rat liver microsomes were extracted with lipid solvents and the haemolytic material obtained subjected to get exclusion chromatography. The haemolytic activity eluted as a single broad peak with an average size of 720 daltons. There was no evidence of haemolytic compounds less than 500 daltons. On a silicic acid column the activity eluted with the phospholipid. In both separations the presence of haemolytic activity correlated well with the peroxide content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the salinity and waterlogging tolerance of some populations of Melaleuca ericifolia Smith. Seed germination of Melaleuca ericifolia is delayed by submergence in water but the final percentage germination after removing seeds from water is unaffected; some seeds will germinate and the cotyledons emerge whilst submerged. Seedling growth may be increased by waterlogging conditions and the degree of response differs for different seed sources. Inundation stimulates root growth and new roots are thick and aerenchymatous.

Cites a study conducted by researchers in Australia which examines the changes in levels of tissue nucleotides and glutathione after hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Destruction of tissue constituents by autoxidation; Factors that influenced the changes in glutathione and pyridine nucleotides; Detection of the small amounts of lipid peroxide in the erythrocytes of mice.

The article presents information on a study conducted on mild cognitive impairment without dementia among older adults in the U.S. It is mentioned that mild cognitive impairment might affect attention, language, judgment, and memory, but it doesn't severely impair activities of daily living. In the study, many neuropsychological tests were done on 856 people above 71 years. The researchers found that about 22% of the older people had cognitive impairment that did not develop into dementia.