Family Caregivers’ Knowledge of Delirium and Preferred Modalities for Receipt of Information

Delirium is a life-threatening, frequently reversible condition that is often a sign of an underlying health problem. In-hospital mortality alone for older adults with delirium ranges from 25% to 33%. Early recognition of delirium is critical because prolonged duration poses a greater risk of poor functional outcomes for older adults. Family caregivers, who are familiar with the older adult’s usual behaviors, are most likely to recognize delirium symptoms but might dismiss them as due to aging. It is important to learn what family caregivers know about delirium to ascertain their need for education. The aims of this study were to describe family caregivers’ knowledge of delirium and preferred modalities for receipt of information about delirium. A cross-sectional design was used for this study and a survey distributed to family caregivers for older adults. Analysis of 134 usable surveys indicated that family caregivers need and want information about delirium. The preferred modalities for receipt of information included Internet, in-person classes, and newsletters

Public Health Model Identifies Recruitment Barriers among Older Adults with Delirium and Dementia

Recruiting older adults and their family caregivers into research studies presents challenges. Although the literature notes some general recruitment challenges, no studies specifically address the unique challenges of recruiting older adults who have Alzheimer\u27s Disease (AD) and their family caregivers in studies about delirium or suggest using a framework to identify barriers to recruiting this population. In conducting a pilot study about preparing family caregivers to detect delirium symptoms in older adults with (AD) the researchers used the Public Health Model for identifying barriers to recruitment. The goals of this methodological article are to: (1) briefly describe the methodology of the pilot study to illustrate how the Public Health Model was applied in the context of the present study and (2) discuss the benefits of the Public Health Model for identifying the barriers to recruitment in a study that prepared family caregivers to detect delirium symptoms in older adults with AD. The Public Health Model helped us to identify four specific barriers to recruitment (lack of knowledge about delirium, desire to maintain normalcy, protective caregiving behaviors, and older adult\u27s fears) and ways to overcome them. The Public Health Model might also help other researchers address similar issues

Formaldehyde measurements by Proton transfer reaction – Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS): correction for humidity effects

Formaldehyde measurements can provide useful information about photochemical activity in ambient air, given that HCHO is formed via numerous oxidation processes. Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) is an online technique that allows measurement of VOCs at the sub-ppbv level with good time resolution. PTR-MS quantification of HCHO is hampered by the humidity dependence of the instrument sensitivity, with higher humidity leading to loss of PTR-MS signal. In this study we present an analytical, first principles approach to correct the PTR-MS HCHO signal according to the concentration of water vapor in sampled air. The results of the correction are validated by comparison of the PTR-MS results to those from a Hantzsch fluorescence monitor which does not have the same humidity dependence. Results are presented for an intercomparison made during a field campaign in rural Ontario at Environment Canada's Centre for Atmospheric Research Experiments

Protection afforded by heat shock protein 60 from Francisella tularensis is due to copurified lipopolysaccharide.

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) have attracted significant attention as protective antigens against a range of diseases caused by bacterial pathogens. However, more recently there have been suggestions that the protective response is due to the presence of peptide components other than Hsps. We have shown that mice that had been immunized with purified heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60) isolated from Francisella tularensis were protected against a subsequent challenge with some strains of the bacterium. However, this protection appeared to be due to trace amounts of lipopolysaccharide, which were too low to be detected by using the Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay. This finding raises the possibility that the protection afforded by other bacterial Hsp60 proteins may be due to trace quantities of polysaccharide antigens carried by and acting in conjunction with the Hsps

Oral History Collection: A Finding Aid

The Oral History Collection comprises transcripts of interviews conducted from 2006 to 2015 by Ellen S. More, Ph.D., founding director of Lamar Soutter Library’s Office of Medical History and Archives (OMHA) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS). The interviews were conducted as part of Dr. More’s research into the history of UMMS, which is chronicled in her book, Beating the Odds: The University of Massachusetts Medical School, A History, 1962–2012 (2017). Interviewees include former and current members of the administration, faculty, staff, students, politicians, and community members

University of Massachusetts Medical School Yearbook Collection, 1974 – ongoing: A Finding Aid

This collection contains Iatros, the annually published yearbook of the University of Massachusetts Medical School

Office of Ethics Records, 1977-1999: A Finding Aid

The records in this collection from the University of Massachusetts Medical School consist of documents, correspondence, publications, and other materials created by the Office of Ethics between 1977 and 2000

Union Medical Association Papers (1758 – 1858): A Finding Aid

The Union Medical Association was officially established at Blackstone Village, Mendon, Massachusetts, on May 12, 1834 by local doctors Hiram Allen, Abel Wilder, Metcalf Marsh, Ariel Ballou and Moses D. Southwick. The goal of the Union Medical Association was to maintain and advance the medical knowledge of its members. This collection includes reports and transcripts of lectures on interesting medical cases, new remedies, medical ethics, and statistics created from 1834 to 1858 by the Association’s members. Also included in this collection are autograph letters of different French, English, and American physicians dated 1758 - 1836. Currently, the papers of the Union Medical Association are the part of the Worcester District Medical Society collection housed at the Worcester Historical Museum

Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems (MaPS) Papers, 2010 - present (formerly Department of Physiology, 1968 – 2009): A Finding Aid

The Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems (MaPS) Papers document the establishment of the Department of Physiology and chronicle its early history, development, and merger with the Department of Microbiology to form the Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems (MaPS)

A. Robert Schell Papers: A Finding Aid

The A. Robert Schell Papers chronicle A. Robert Schell’s time as a student in the first class of the University of Massachusetts Medical School