Women’s Work? Gender Differences Among High Need Caregivers

Background. A growing body of research suggests female informal caregivers fair worse physically, socially and emotionally than males. As the prevalence of male caregivers is increasing there is a critical need to understand why some caregivers fair worse than others. Aim. The purpose of this study is to determine what gender and relational differences exist among service-seeking informal caregivers. Methods. This is a retrospective, cross sectional study of 467 caregivers utilizing the Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) or the University of Southern California Family Caregiver Support Center (USC FCSC) services between January 2017 and March 2018. Results. Twenty percent of caregivers were male. No gender differences were observed in the amount and caregiving tasks provided. More females reported severe levels of burden (p=0.013), and we saw no differences in physical health and social connectedness. Compared to adult children, spouses provided higher amounts of care and no differences in burden, physical health, and social connectedness were found. Discussion. Few gender differences were observed, however this sample differed from national estimates. In our sample (versus national estimates) there were half as many males (20% vs. 40%) , caregivers were more likely to provide over 40 hours of care per week (60% vs. 25%) and assist with more activities of daily living (4 vs. 1). Despite these differences, we found caregivers reporting high burden was comparable to national estimates (44% vs. 40%). Our findings suggest service-seeking informal caregivers are performing more intensive caregiving. More research should be done to understand their specific needs

A standard magnetic tape format for digital image exchange

Journal ArticleThis proposal describes a simple yet flexible magnetic tape format for exchanging digital image information. Multi-dimensional arrays of raster scan data are stored as sequential files, with descriptive information related to the sefiles stored in an initial directory file. Directory information is stored as ASCII "key value pair" character strings that can be read by people as well as computer programs. Key value pairs are used for directory searches, also to identify and provide supplementary information about the images. Since the directory is relatively self explanatory it is possible in many cases to write a program for reading an AAPM tape without reference to a published standard

Patient characteristics can influence the incidence of perioperative microemboli during carotid artery interventions

Purpose. Perioperative cerebral microembolization demonstrated on diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) can occur following carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting (CAS). We sought to explore potential risk factors for this in the large patient cohort. Methods. We reviewed a 6-year consecutive patient cohort that received either CEA or CAS, and perioperative DWI evaluations. Results. 303 patients were reviewed, and 56 (19.4%) patients were found to have perioperative microemboli. The incidence was higher among patients who received CAS (P &lt; 0.001). Hypertension (P = 0.03), smoking (P = 0.001), and a history of transient ischemic attacks (P = 0.04) were risk factors for microembolization. The risk was higher among CEA patients with obesity (P = 0.05), and among CAS patients with coronary artery disease (P = 0.03). Conclusion. Specific patient populations are likely more prone to develop perioperative cerebral microemboli following carotid intervention. Continued risk stratification may help decrease future perioperative cerebral microembolization rates.</jats:p

The extraordinary evolutionary history of the reticuloendotheliosis viruses

The reticuloendotheliosis viruses (REVs) comprise several closely related amphotropic retroviruses isolated from birds. These viruses exhibit several highly unusual characteristics that have not so far been adequately explained, including their extremely close relationship to mammalian retroviruses, and their presence as endogenous sequences within the genomes of certain large DNA viruses. We present evidence for an iatrogenic origin of REVs that accounts for these phenomena. Firstly, we identify endogenous retroviral fossils in mammalian genomes that share a unique recombinant structure with REVs—unequivocally demonstrating that REVs derive directly from mammalian retroviruses. Secondly, through sequencing of archived REV isolates, we confirm that contaminated Plasmodium lophurae stocks have been the source of multiple REV outbreaks in experimentally infected birds. Finally, we show that both phylogenetic and historical evidence support a scenario wherein REVs originated as mammalian retroviruses that were accidentally introduced into avian hosts in the late 1930s, during experimental studies of P. lophurae, and subsequently integrated into the fowlpox virus (FWPV) and gallid herpesvirus type 2 (GHV-2) genomes, generating recombinant DNA viruses that now circulate in wild birds and poultry. Our findings provide a novel perspective on the origin and evolution of REV, and indicate that horizontal gene transfer between virus families can expand the impact of iatrogenic transmission events

Faktor-Faktor Yang Mempengaruhi Motivasi Para Investor Pada Keputusan Pembelian Residensial Properti Di Yogyakarta

Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui pengaruh faktorlokasi, keuangan, fitur rumah, lingkungan sekitar terhadap motivasi konsumen terhadap pembelian residensial properti di Yogyakarta. Teori yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah teori investasi dari Sharpe et al 2006, teori motivasi konsumen dari buku Kotler 2016 dan teori pendukung lainnya. Pada penelitian ini disebarkan sebanyak 150 kuesioner. Penelitian ini menggunakan alat analisis regresi linear berganda dengan program SPSS 19for windows. Hasil penelitian ini didapatkan faktorlokasi, keuangan, fitur rumah, lingkungan sekitar berpengaruh positif terhadap motivasi konsumen terhadap pembelian residensial properti di Yogyakarta

Equivalent glycemic load (EGL): a method for quantifying the glycemic responses elicited by low carbohydrate foods

BACKGROUND: Glycemic load (GL) is used to quantify the glycemic impact of high-carbohydrate (CHO) foods, but cannot be used for low-CHO foods. Therefore, we evaluated the accuracy of equivalent-glycemic-load (EGL), a measure of the glycemic impact of low-CHO foods defined as the amount of CHO from white-bread (WB) with the same glycemic impact as one serving of food. METHODS: Several randomized, cross-over trials were performed by a contract research organization using overnight-fasted healthy subjects drawn from a pool of 63 recruited from the general population by newspaper advertisement. Incremental blood-glucose response area-under-the-curve (AUC) elicited by 0, 5, 10, 20, 35 and 50 g CHO portions of WB (WB-CHO) and 3, 5, 10 and 20 g glucose were measured. EGL values of the different doses of glucose and WB and 4 low-CHO foods were determined as: EGL = (F-B)/M, where F is AUC after food and B is y-intercept and M slope of the regression of AUC on grams WB-CHO. The dose-response curves of WB and glucose were used to derive an equation to estimate GL from EGL, and the resulting values compared to GL calculated from the glucose dose-response curve. The accuracy of EGL was assessed by comparing the GL (estimated from EGL) values of the 4 doses of oral-glucose with the amounts actually consumed. RESULTS: Over 0–50 g WB-CHO (n = 10), the dose-response curve was non-linear, but over the range 0–20 g the curve was indistinguishable from linear, with AUC after 0, 5, 10 and 20 g WB-CHO, 10 ± 1, 28 ± 2, 58 ± 5 and 100 ± 6 mmol × min/L, differing significantly from each other (n = 48). The difference between GL values estimated from EGL and those calculated from the dose-response curve was 0 g (95% confidence-interval, ± 0.5 g). The difference between the GL values of the 4 doses of glucose estimated from EGL, and the amounts of glucose actually consumed was 0.2 g (95% confidence-interval, ± 1 g). CONCLUSION: EGL, a measure of the glycemic impact of low-carbohydrate foods, is valid across the range of 0–20 g CHO, accurate to within 1 g, and at least sensitive enough to detect a glycemic response equivalent to that produced by 3 g oral-glucose in 10 subjects