Understanding the measurement of hunger and food insecurity in the elderly

The elderly are one of the population subgroups at greatest risk for hunger and food insecurity. To date, no accurate measures of this problem have been developed. What is needed are a thorough understanding of the phenomenon, and an assessment of how the elderly perceive and answer items commonly used to measure hunger and food insecurity in other subgroups. In-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted with forty-one low-income urban black and rural white residents of upstate New York. Results suggest a conceptual framework of food insecurity in the elderly with two significant differences from frameworks proposed for younger families: the major role of health problems and physical disabilities, and the impact of personal history on perceptions of food insecurity. In a telephone follow-up (approximately six months after the initial interviews) twenty-four respondents were asked commonly used food insecurity questionnaire items from six different sources. Results suggest that hunger and food insecurity among the elderly can be measured directly. The commonly used measures tested here will help categorize the stages of food insecurity. However, these direct measures might underestimate the prevalence of food insecurity because of a perceived reluctance to report problems with food.

MEXIT: Maximal un-coupling times for stochastic processes

Classical coupling constructions arrange for copies of the \emph{same} Markov process started at two \emph{different} initial states to become equal as soon as possible. In this paper, we consider an alternative coupling framework in which one seeks to arrange for two \emph{different} Markov (or other stochastic) processes to remain equal for as long as possible, when started in the \emph{same} state. We refer to this "un-coupling" or "maximal agreement" construction as \emph{MEXIT}, standing for "maximal exit". After highlighting the importance of un-coupling arguments in a few key statistical and probabilistic settings, we develop an explicit \MEXIT construction for stochastic processes in discrete time with countable state-space. This construction is generalized to random processes on general state-space running in continuous time, and then exemplified by discussion of \MEXIT for Brownian motions with two different constant drifts.Comment: 28 page

Dynamic filtering of static dipoles in magnetoencephalography

We consider the problem of estimating neural activity from measurements of the magnetic fields recorded by magnetoencephalography. We exploit the temporal structure of the problem and model the neural current as a collection of evolving current dipoles, which appear and disappear, but whose locations are constant throughout their lifetime. This fully reflects the physiological interpretation of the model. In order to conduct inference under this proposed model, it was necessary to develop an algorithm based around state-of-the-art sequential Monte Carlo methods employing carefully designed importance distributions. Previous work employed a bootstrap filter and an artificial dynamic structure where dipoles performed a random walk in space, yielding nonphysical artefacts in the reconstructions; such artefacts are not observed when using the proposed model. The algorithm is validated with simulated data, in which it provided an average localisation error which is approximately half that of the bootstrap filter. An application to complex real data derived from a somatosensory experiment is presented. Assessment of model fit via marginal likelihood showed a clear preference for the proposed model and the associated reconstructions show better localisation

Registration of B99 and B100 Inbred Lines of Maize

Inbreds B99 (Reg. no. PL-174, P1 584528) and B100 (Reg. no. PL-175, P1 584529) are yellow dent maize (Zea mays L.) lines developed cooperatively by the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station and the USDA-ARS. The lines were released 12 May 1993 for their potential value in the production of hybrid seed and as sources of germplasm in pedigree-selection breeding programs

Registration of B97 and B98, Two Parental Inbred Lines of Maize

Inbreds B97 (Reg. no. PL-169, P1 564682) and B98 (Reg. no. PL-170, P1 564683) are yellow dent maize (Lea mays L.) lines developed cooperatively by the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station and the USDA-ARS. The lines were released (on 20 Mar. 1992) because of their potential value in the production of hybrid seed and as sources of germplasm in pedigree selection breeding programs of the hybrid seed industry

The identification and psychological treatment of panic disorder in adolescents: a survey of CAMHS clinicians

Background Panic disorder is experienced by around 1% of adolescents, and has a significant impact on social and academic functioning. Preliminary evidence supports the effectiveness of panic disorder specific treatment in adolescents with panic disorder, however panic disorder may be overlooked in adolescents due to overlapping symptoms with other anxiety disorders and other difficulties being more noticeable to others. The aim of this study was to establish what training National Health Service (NHS) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) clinicians have received in psychological therapies and panic disorder and how they identify and treat panic disorder in adolescents. Method CAMHS clinicians from a range of professions (n = 427), who were delivering psychological treatments to children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, participated. They completed a cross-sectional, online survey, including a vignette describing an adolescent with panic disorder, and were asked to identify the main diagnosis or presenting problem. Results Less than half the clinicians (48.6%) identified panic disorder or panic symptoms as the main presenting problem from the vignette. The majority of clinicians suggested CBT would be their treatment approach. However, few identified an evidence-based treatment protocol for working with young people with panic disorder. Almost half the sample had received no training in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and around a fifth had received no training in delivering psychological treatments. Conclusions Only half of CAMHS clinicians identified panic disorder from a vignette and although CBT treatments are widely offered, only a minority of adolescents with panic disorder are receiving treatments developed for, and evaluated with young people with panic disorder. There is a vital need for clinician training, the use of tools that aid identification and the implementation of evidence-based treatments within CAMHS

Problems Associated with the Preparation of Cell Suspensions for X-Ray Microanalysis Highlighted by the Comparison of Results with Those Obtained from Tissue Sections

Fully quantitative X-ray microanalysis of freeze dried frozen sections allowed the concentration of monovalent ions in the nuclei of mouse thymocytes in tissue sections to be compared with those from thymocytes which had been isolated by a simple preparation procedure. Isolated cells showed increased concentrations of Na and Cl. This was further investigated in the rat where the size of the thymus a 11 owed comparison between different isolation media using cells derived from the same animal. Use of autologous serum as the final suspending medium gave reproducible results, whereas with suspension in BSS, or 20% dextran the results were more variable. When the results obtained for the cells isolated in serum were compared with values for tissue thymocytes elevated levels of Na and Cl were still apparent although these were not as great as the differences recorded for the mouse. The effect of the drop in temperature which occurs during the isolation procedure could not account for the observed differences

Adam and Eve had a Wonderful Time

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/1035/thumbnail.jp