The Need for National Training Standards and Guidelines for Privately Paid Geriatric Home Caregivers

Contrary to public opinion, America's institution-centered long-term care (LTC) system does not serve the majority of older adults. Currently, nursing homes serve less than 20% of older adults needing care, and thus do not provide a viable solution for future caregiving needs. While these LTC institutions will continue to play an important role in providing care for our most frail older adults who need skilled nursing and/or medical care, they will not be necessary for the vast majority of older adults who simply need nonmedical caregiving, that is, help with activities of daily living. There is, and will continue to be, an urgent need for a large cadre of trained caregivers for older adults who live at home. This issue brief calls for the development of national training standards and a caregiver certifying organization that provides national oversight

Alzheimers: The Disease of the Century

Alzheimer's disease is the major cause of dementia in the United States, with spending in the range of $100 billion annually. It affects 5 to 7 percent of people over 65 years of age and 20 to 40 percent over 80, and is estimated to be the fourth to fifth most common cause of death in the United States. Concerted research efforts in the clinical and basic neurosciences in the last 30 years have resulted in marked advances in our understanding of the clinical course and mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease as well as new therapeutic directions. This review provides a short history of the progress that has been made in Alzheimer's disease research during this time, and identifies some of the seminal discoveries and insights that contributed to this progress

G93-1182 Best Management Practices for Agricultural Pesticides to Protect Water Resources

This NebGuide discusses what happens to pesticides after application, factors affecting pesticide movement, and best management practices to minimize the potential for pesticide contamination of ground and surface water. Users of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals must take appropriate precautions to reduce the risks of moving these materials into ground or surface water. The primary consideration should be whether the chemical is needed. If pesticides are needed, then the characteristics of the chemical, the sensitivity of the application site and the method of application should be considered

Theoretical study of Si+(2PJ)-RG complexes and transport of Si+(2PJ) in RG (RG = He – Ar)

We calculate accurate interatomic potentials for the interaction of a singly-charged silicon cation with a rare gas atom of helium, neon or argon. We employ the RCCSD(T) method, and basis sets of quadruple- and quintuple- quality; each point is counterpoise corrected and extrapolated to the basis set limit. We consider the lowest electronic state of the silicon atomic cation, Si+(2P), and calculate the interatomic potentials for the terms that arise from this: 2and 2+. We additionally calculate the interatomic potentials for the respective spin-orbit levels, and examine the effect on the spectroscopic parameters; we also derive effective ionic radii for C+ and Si+. Finally, we employ each set of potentials to calculate transport coefficients, and compare these to available data for Si+ in He

Interaction potentials, spectroscopy and transport properties of C+(2PJ) and C+(4PJ) with helium

We calculate accurate interatomic potentials for the interaction of a singly-charged carbon cation with a helium atom. We employ the RCCSD(T) method, and basis sets of quadruple-zeta and quintuple-zeta quality; each point is counterpoise corrected and extrapolated to the basis set limit. We consider the two lowest C+(2P) and C+(4P) electronic states of the carbon cation, and calculate the interatomic potentials for the terms that arise from these: 2-PI and 2-SIG+, and 4-PI and 4-SIG- , respectively. We additionally calculate the interatomic potentials for the respective spin-orbit levels, and examine the effect on the spectroscopic parameters. Finally, we employ each set of potentials to calculate transport coefficients, and compare these to available data. Critical comments are made in the cases where there are discrepancies between the calculated values and measured data

Characterization of a Chromosomally Encoded 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid/a-Ketoglutarate Dioxygenase from \u3ci\u3eBurkholderia\u3c/i\u3e sp. Strain RASC

The findings of previous studies indicate that the genes required for metabolism of the pesticide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) are typically encoded on broad-host-range plasmids. However, characterization of plasmid-cured strains of Burkholderia sp. strain RASC, as well as mutants obtained by transposon mutagenesis, suggested that the 2,4-D catabolic genes were located on the chromosome of this strain. Mutants of Burkholderia strain RASC unable to degrade 2,4-D (2,4-D- strains) were obtained by insertional inactivation with Tn5. One such mutant (d1) was shown to have Tn5 inserted in tfdARASC, which encodes 2,4-D/alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenase. This is the first reported example of a chromosomally encoded tfdA. The tfdARASC gene was cloned from a library of wild-type Burkholderia strain RASC DNA and shown to express 2,4-D/alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenase activity in Escherichia coli. The DNA sequence of the gene was determined and shown to be similar, although not identical, to those of isofunctional genes from other bacteria. Moreover, the gene product (TfdARASC) was purified and shown to be similar in molecular weight, amino-terminal sequence, and reaction mechanism to the canonical TfdA of Alcaligenes eutrophus JMP134. The data presented here indicate that tfdA genes can be found on the chromosome of some bacterial species and suggest that these catabolic genes are rather mobile and may be transferred by means other than conjugation

Reflections on the Writing Process: Guiding the Work of Writing

A heuristic process was used to examine the experience of teaching writing for publication. Faculty and student reflections are presented