The link between knowledge and remembering in Alzheimer''s disease

This article presents results from a retrospective study of psychological assessments of elderly persons with chronic mental illness residing in nursing homes. All residents (N = 570) received this assessment as part of federally mandated screening for mentally ill persons residing in long-term care. The process, the Preadmission Screening and Resident Review, was mandated by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA 87). These assessments were the first stage in a process to determine if the nursing home was the most appropriate placement for each resident. If nursing home care was deemed appropriate, then a psychological treatment program was to be established within the nursing home setting. The sample ranged in age from 50 to 104 (mean of 70). The majority had a diagnosis of schizophrenia and a history of psychiatric hospitalization occurring early in their life. The assessments did not include any quantifiable data on activities of daily living, cognitive functioning, or level of psychiatric impairment. Therefore, the researchers coded the narrative data so that it could be interpreted. The majority functioned within the none-to-mild range of cognitive impairment, and very few were completely dependent in the need for physical care. The most recorded symptom was social withdrawal. Neuroleptic medications were administered to 64% of elderly persons with chronic mental illness. Importantly, there was no relationship between demographic or clinical information and treatment recommendations. Implications of these findings for psychiatric nurses are discussed.     

The clinical link between migraine and cluster headaches

We describe seven patients with vascular headaches. Five of them had cluster headaches, which were preceded by migrainous scotamata (two patients), weakness contralateral to the pain (one), accompanied by ipsilateral photopsias (one), or by contralateral paresthesias (one). The other two patients had "clusters" of daily common migraine headaches separated by long free intervals. The symptoms of these patients suggest a common root for cluster and migraine headaches.     

The link between population density and welfare participation

This article explores a neglected topic in the social welfare, poverty, and demographic literatures--the link between population density and welfare participation in the United States. Longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics are used to meet two objectives: first, to test whether a relationship exists between population density and use of the food stamp program among eligible households; second, to explore the potential reasons for such a relationship. Our findings show that population density has a strong, positive impact on the likelihood of participating in the food stamp program. Low-income respondents in urban areas are significantly more likely to use food stamps in both an aggregate and a multivariate context. In analyzing the dynamic underlying such an effect, we find that those in urban areas are more likely to possess accurate eligibility information and to hold less adverse attitudes toward the use of welfare. These factors in turn increase the likelihood of food stamp participation.     

The link between phylogeny and virulence in Escherichia coli extraintestinal infection

BACKGROUND: Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) induces endothelial cell growth and angiogenesis in vitro. The mechanisms are unknown. Because an increase in endothelial cell survival could play a role in this process, we examined the effect of rHuEPO on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced apoptosis in bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells (BPAECs). METHODS: Four groups of cells were studied. The first group was preincubated in serum-free medium followed by treatment with LPS. The second group was preincubated with rHuEPO followed by LPS. The third group was treated with only rHuEPO. Control cells were cultured in the absence of rHuEPO and LPS. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometric DNA analysis, propidium iodide staining, cellular DNA fragmentation by ELISA, and gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: LPS-treated cells showed an increase in hypodiploid DNA (36.4 +/- 6.1%) compared with controls (9.8 +/- 3.3%, P < 0.001). Preincubation with rHuEPO decreased this effect to 14.7 +/- 5.1% (P < 0.001). Apoptosis determined by propidium iodide was observed in 33 +/- 8% of LPS-treated cells, but in only 9 +/- 3% of cells preincubated with rHuEPO cells (P < 0.001). Similarly, DNA fragmentation was decreased in rHuEPO pretreated cells compared with LPS alone (0.155 OD +/- 0.02 vs. 0.538 +/- 0.09 OD, P < 0.001). DNA breakdown was observed in only LPS-treated cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that rHuEPO prevents LPS-induced apoptosis in endothelial cells. This protective effect could be an important factor in the action of rHuEPO on vascular endothelium.     

The link between drug use and heart valve disease

We report MRI and angiographic findings of an unusual giant arachnoid granulation in the left sigmoid sinus in a boy with headache. Its signal intensity was lower than that of cerebral cortex on T1-weighted images and higher on T2 weighting, mimicking dural sinus thrombosis.     

The missing link: the role of interhemispheric interaction in attentional processing

Although interhemispheric interaction via the callosum is most often conceived as a mechanism for transferring sensory information and coordinating processing between the hemispheres, it will be argued here that the callosum also plays an important role in attentional processing. Experiments will be presented that support this viewpoint, both when attention is conceptualized as a resource and when it is conceptualized as a selective mechanism for gating sensory information. Interhemispheric interaction is posited to aid attentional processing because it allows for a division of labor across the hemispheres, and allows for parallel processing so that operations performed in one hemisphere can be insulated from those executed in the other. Given this additional role for interhemispheric processing, it is suggested that the corpus callosum should be considered a component in the network of neural structures that underlie attentional control.     

The link between the prognostic factors in acute leukemia and patient age

A total of 464 case records of those patients with acute leukosis 15 to 80 years old have been analysed. Age was found to have unfavourable potential for achieving complete remission as well as length of life of the patients. Other parameters of prognostic significance for the course of acute leukosis (cellularity of bone marrow, enlargement of peripheral lymph nodes, percentage of blast cells in haemogramme and myelogramme, thrombocytopenia) were not recognized to be directly age-associated. Age appeared to correlate significantly with infectious complications, pneumonia, as an immediate cause of death of the patients.     

The paraprofessional as a referral link in the mental health delivery system

The role of the paraprofessional in the delivery of mental health services is often ambiguously defined. Even while performing the specific task of making a referral, the activities of the paraprofessional are subject to controversy. In this study the clients, the agency board members, and the community mental health agency workers all have different expectations of the qualifications, the knowledge, and the activities of the paraprofessional referral worker. It is suggested that the disparate views the participants bring to the referral situation make it unlikely that the paraprofessional will satisfy the expectations of all of them.     

The link between local recurrence and distant metastases in human breast cancer

PURPOSE: To distinguish between two possible explanations for the increased incidence of distant metastases observed in patients with locoregional recurrences (LR). Either LR is the signature of tumor aggressiveness, and avoiding recurrences (i.e., by radiotherapy) is of little value. The alternative is that LR is a nidus for metastatic dissemination. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Four thousand patients consecutively treated in the same institution from 1954 to 1975 were studied. None of them had received adjuvant chemotherapy. Tumor characteristics, local recurrence, and distant metastases had been prospectively registered. Duration of metastatic growth and probability of metastatic dissemination were estimated in the subsets of patients. RESULTS: The proportion of metastasis-free patients was reduced by about 80% in all subsets of patients with LR. In patients without LR, the monthly rate of distant metastases incidence decreases continuously with time after initial treatment. Conversely, in patients with local recurrence, this rate increases during the first year at initial treatment and the metastases in excess appear slightly later than in patients without local recurrence. Using a mathematical model, it can be shown that, in patients with local recurrence, nearly all of the metastases in excess had been initiated after initial treatment. The data also suggest that each year a small proportion of grade 1 residual tumors progresses toward a more malignant histologic type. CONCLUSIONS: Our results are not consistent with the hypothesis that a greater tumor aggressiveness in patients with LR could explain the excess of metastases. This conclusion is supported by the analysis of the delays between metastases' emergence, and death, which shows that tumors with or without LR have similar biological characteristics.     

长图记录的数字图象识别与拼接

本文提出了一种基于数字图象处理和模式识别技术的方法，用于对无数值显示的长图记录曲线的数据提取、自动识别、区分每日记载，并直接形成月报表输出。     

The link between Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease: 2

In this article, the second of two parts, the needs of family and professional carers of people with Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease are examined. Substantial numbers of people with Down's syndrome survive to the age of 50 and beyond and so work still needs to be done on finding solutions to the problems faced by this client group and its carers. As well as the difficulties faced by any family carer of a person with dementia, those caring for someone with Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease may also have to deal with additional worries and problems. Consideration is given to service provision and the implications for nursing. A case study will illustrate some of the points made.