Health economic issues relevant to countries with aging populations

This article investigates the health economic impacts of aging populations, using scenario techniques and economic systems analysis. Age-related data on hospital utilization and health care expenditure are linked with demographic models for Germany from 1990 to 2040. Findings indicate that the demographic component may not play a major role in determining long-term trends as compared with other, not yet fully elucidated components of utilization and expenditure, both of which are the result of the interplay between supply and demand in health care, and of interactions with the general economy. This acts as a deterrent against the use of simple extrapolations of current indicators (or their trends), but more adequate theoretical economic models are still lacking.     

Coagglutination test: a simple and rapid immunodiagnostic test for parvovirus infection in dogs

Pheochromocytoma is rarely observed during pregnancy and not easily diagnosed, especially since the clinical manifestations may mimic common gravid hypertension. The maternal and fetal prognosis depends on early diagnosis and multidisciplinary management preparing for tumor resection. Appropriate laboratory tests easily provide the positive diagnosis, if they are ordered. The tumor is localized by ultrasonography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). By prescribing an alpha-blocker, it is possible to prepare the resection as a function of term, before or after delivery. This strategy allows a reduction in maternal and fetal mortality which is high if the pheochromocytoma goes undiagnosed.     

Rank transformations and the power of the Student t test and Welch t' test for non-normal populations with unequal variances.

In the present computer simulation study, the Student t test and the Welch version of the t test (the t′ test) were performed first on the initial sample values and then on ranks of the sample values. Unequal variances together with unequal group sizes markedly altered the probability of Type 1 and Type 2 errors for normal and for 8 kinds of nonnormal distributions, including mixed-normal, exponential, lognormal, and Cauchy distributions. Substitution of the Welch t′ test for the Student t test eliminated effects of unequal variances, but not effects of non-normality. The t test on ranks, which is equivalent to the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test, was more powerful than the Student t test for several nonnormal distributions, but exhibited a substantial power loss when variances were unequal. The Welch t′ test in conjunction with the rank transformation simultaneously counteracted effects of both nonnormality and unequal variance. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of rapid tolerance to pentobarbital and cross-tolerance to ethanol on a motor performance test with intoxicated practice

Male Wistar rats given a single moderate dose (1.7 mg/kg, IP) of pentobarbital (PB), followed by six trials on the moving belt apparatus during the next hour, showed tolerance to the motor-impairing effects of a second dose of 17 mg/kg given 24 h later. A control group that received saline before the first test showed the usual initial sensitivity when tested with PB 24 h later. Three weeks later, the first group showed cross-tolerance to the effects of ethanol (1.7 g/kg, IP) on the same test, while the second group did not. These findings support the suggestion that rapid tolerance is closely similar to chronic tolerance and that the contribution of intoxicated practice results in a long-lasting component that applies to cross-tolerance to ethanol on the same test.     

Relationship of age and education to Halstead test performance in different patient populations

Examined the effects of age and education on Halstead Neuropsychological Test Battery performance in a cross-validation of the A. Vega and O. A. Parsons's study (see record 1968-01419-001). Ss in the present study were 32 male and 3 female brain-damaged patients (mean age, 34.6 yrs) and 18 male and 7 female non-brain-damaged medical-surgical and psychiatric controls (mean age, 33.2 yrs). Age was significantly correlated with performance on the Category Test, Tactual Performance Test Time, Memory, Location, and the Impairment Index but not with Speech, Rhythm, or Tapping in brain-damaged patients. In medical-surgical and psychiatric patients, however, age was significantly correlated with all Halstead test performances. Education was not significantly correlated with performance in brain-damaged or psychiatric patients but was correlated with 6 Halstead tests in the medical-surgical group. Differences between correlation in psychiatric patients and medical-surgical control Ss are discussed. The importance of taking age into consideration as well as differences in various "control" or reference groups when making clinical inferences about the presence of brain dysfunction is stressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Colour discrimination thresholds in Parkinson's disease: results obtained with a rapid computer-controlled colour vision test

A dysfunction of dopaminergic retinal neurons is thought to occur in Parkinson's disease, manifesting itself in impaired performance on various visual discrimination tasks. We have investigated whether differences in colour discrimination could readily be detected between a normal group and a Parkinsonian group, using a computer-controlled test of colour vision. Although some individual Parkinsonian patients showed an abnormal elevation of colour discrimination thresholds, there was no significant difference between the normal group and the Parkinsonian group.     

Comparison of CAPTIA syphilis G enzyme immunoassay with rapid plasma reagin test for detection of syphilis

The CAPTIA Syphilis G enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay compared favorably with the rapid plasma reagin test when used to screen for syphilis in a low-risk population. The sensitivity and specificity of the CAPTIA Syphilis G test were 100 and 97.8%, respectively, for 646 routine specimens and 100 and 99.2%, respectively, for 265 specimens from obstetrics patients. Overall, for 911 specimens, the CAPTIA Syphilis G test showed a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 98.2%, and positive and negative predictive values of 78.9 and 100%, respectively. For the same population, the rapid plasma reagin test showed a sensitivity and a specificity of 96.4 and 97.5%, respectively, and positive and negative predictive values of 72 and 99.8%, respectively.     

基于AutoCAD三维功能进行相贯投影的教学研究与实践

运用AutoCAD绘图软件的三维功能对制图课程重点内容相贯投影教学进行探索,充分利用AutoCAD软件提供的各种辅助工具,结合计算机辅助设计技术与传统的制图课程真枪实练的方式进行研究,提高了制图课程的教学效果.     

Generalization of learning from picture books to novel test conditions by 18- and 24-month-old children.

Researchers know little about whether very young children can recognize objects originally introduced to them in a picture book when they encounter similar looking objects in various real-world contexts. The present studies used an imitation procedure to explore young children's ability to generalize a novel action sequence from a picture book to novel test conditions. The authors found that 18-month-olds imitated the action sequence from a book only when the conditions at testing matched those at encoding; altering the test stimuli or context disrupted imitation (Experiment 1A). In contrast, the 24-month-olds imitated the action sequence with changes to both the test context and stimuli (Experiment 1B). Moreover, although the 24-month-olds exhibited deferred imitation with no changes to the test conditions, they did not defer imitation with changes to the context and stimuli (Experiment 2). Two factors may account for the pattern of results: age-related changes in children's ability to utilize novel retrieval cues as well as their emerging ability to understand the representational nature of pictures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of blood, meconium, and temperature on the rapid surfactant test

Four cases are presented in which intermittent ischemic symptomatology was referable to a cerebral hemisphere. Arteriography in each case showed complete occlusion of the ipsilateral internal carotid artery in the neck with collateral filling of the ipsilateral intracranial carotid artery into the cavernous portion. Endarterectomy was performed successfully in each case from 1 to 5 weeks after the demonstrated complete occlusion. The collateral circulation to the intracranial portion of the internal carotid artery and the probable reasons for the technical success of these operations are discussed.     

Memory interference effects and aging: Findings from a test of frontal lobe function.

Performance on behavioral measures of self-ordered pointing and 2-choice recognition memory was evaluated in young adults (aged 18–23 yrs) and 2 groups of older adults (aged 61–70 yrs and 71–80 yrs). The self-ordered pointing test involves working memory and has been used as an index of frontal lobe dysfunction; to perform well, Ss must organize stimulus information and monitor responses. Both groups of older adults exhibited impairment on the pointing test, but the pattern of impairment was different for the 2 groups. Individuals in their 60s exhibited impairment on a 2nd block of trials but not on the 1st block. Individuals in their 70s exhibited deficits on both blocks of trials. On the recognition test, only individuals in their 70s exhibited impairment. The findings suggest that age-related impairments occur in both working memory and recognition memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bacteriologic detection and sensitivity determination combined: a rapid test for use in practice?

In this investigation the results obtained with a testkit for detecting bacteria and their antibiotic sensitivity (ABcheck, Vétoquinol) were compared with those obtained using standard bacteriological procedures. Ten urine samples, ten skin samples, and ten cerumen samples were examined in parallel. The results indicate that the testkit is not reliable with respect to whether antibiotics should be administered and with respect to which antibiotics should be used.     

Modifications of circadian and circannual rhythms with aging

Whereas biological rhythms are now fairly well documented in young healthy adults, reports in elderly are relatively few for obvious reasons, including the difficulty of setting groups matched in age, sociological and professional background, medical history, and not in need of specific medication. Aging may modify one or several parameters characterizing biological rhythms. The modifications are different from one function to the next, and great care should be given not to mistake changes attributable to the aging process with those resulting from physical and physiological impairment caused by passed environmental aggressions and diseases. Nevertheless, the increasing number of subjects reaching the age of 65 or older, thanks to medical progress, makes necessary establishing time-qualified references values in the aged, as this kind of investigation should lead to an improvement of the conditions and quality of life of elderly subjects.     

Investigation of the robust rank-order test for non-normal populations with unequal variances: The case of reaction time.

Evaluated the performance of the robust rank-order (Fligner-Policello) test of treatment effects for populations with unequal variances. Both symmetric (normal) and skewed (ex-Gaussian) distributions were examined. The ex-Gaussian distribution is particularly relevant because it is representative of skewed distributions found in experimental psychology, most notably reaction time data. Results indicate that when testing the hypothesis of equal medians for the symmetric distribution, the Fligner-Policello test is conservative, whereas it performs inconsistently for the skewed population. In light of the findings, the authors discuss the various options presently available to researchers confronted with unequal variances and skewed data, including a discussion of whether testing for treatment effects for populations with unequal variances is of practical relevance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mitochondrial DNA deletions associated with aging and presbyacusis

BACKGROUND: The membrane hypothesis of aging proposes an association between reactive oxygen metabolites and aging processes. Reactive oxygen metabolites are a normal by-product of oxidative phosphorylation and are also formed under conditions of ischemia, hypoperfusion, and as a result of environmental contaminants. Among the many detrimental activities of reactive oxygen metabolites, also known as free oxygen radicals, is direct damage to mitochondrial DNA. Progressive accumulation of mitochondrial DNA damage renders cells unable to conduct oxidative phosphorylation reactions effectively, thereby leading to a bioenergetically deficient cell. Over time, mitochondrial DNA damage accumulates and leads to cellular dysfunction with subsequent organ failure, aging, and ultimately, death. This sequence forms the basis of the membrane hypothesis of aging. OBJECTIVE: To determine if the membrane hypothesis of aging may be involved in the development of presbyacusis. DESIGN: Fischer rats from 4 age groups were tested for auditory sensitivity using the auditory brainstem response. Brain, stria vascularis, and auditory nerve tissues were harvested and mitochondrial DNA was amplified to identify the highly conserved cytochrome b and ND1-16S ribosomal RNA segment of the NADH genes, as well as a 4834-base pair (bp) deletion associated with aging. SUBJECTS: Fischer rats (n=28) from 4 age groups were used: young (2-4 months [n=9]), mid-young (9-11 months [n=5]), mid-old (18-20 months [n=5]), and old (30-34 months [n=9]). RESULTS: The results demonstrate a progressive reduction in auditory sensitivity with age. The mitochondrial DNA studies identify a significant increase in the presence of the 4834-bp deletion in the aged subjects compared with the young. CONCLUSIONS: These findings raise the possibility that the 4834-bp deletion may be associated with presbyacusis, as well as with aging.     

Identification of "Streptococcus milleri" group isolates to the species level with a commercially available rapid test system

Clinical isolates of the "Streptococcus milleri" species group were examined by conventional methods and a rapid, commercially available method for the identification of these strains to the species level. The levels of agreement between the identifications obtained with the commercially available system (Fluo-Card Milleri; KEY Scientific, Round Rock, Tex.) and conventional methods were 98% for 50 Streptococcus anginosus strains, 97% for 31 Streptococcus constellatus strains, and 88% for 17 isolates identified as Streptococcus intermedius. Patient records were also studied in order to gain information on the frequency and sites of isolation of each of the three "S. milleri" group species.