Health care policy and long-term care.

Discusses changes in the age structure of the nation, the locus of care, the nature of disease, and the cost of care as factors that have led to recent proposed revisions in health-care policy. The need for increased future involvement of a rehabilitation philosophy as a response to the current crisis in policy is examined. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of therapeutic group programs in a nursing home.

Notes that nursing homes have traditionally focused their care on 3 areas—basic custodial services (e.g., food and shelter), physical health care, and personal care (e.g., grooming and toileting). Psychosocial services have been absent from the long-term care setting. A range of group therapeutic options is available, including activities therapy, occupational therapy, reality orientation, remotivation, and behavioral therapy; these and other approaches are discussed. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual models of aging: The challenge of a new frontier.

Explores a range of social, professional, and scientific conceptual models to examine their potential impact on the scientific and professional approach to the aging. These models include an economic/productive model, the behavioral medical model, and conceptual models of mental health care. Narrow models have led to beliefs, training, and approaches to practice that reinforce the models and perpetuate a mythology of aging to the detriment of all involved. An opportunity to broaden conceptual horizons by learning about the aged is described. It is proposed that a biopsychosocial model best conceptualizes the complexity of the situation. A commitment to a broad model must incorporate a stance by which strategies are examined in terms of how effective they are, where they are best applied and where they are appropriate, what insights they provide, what risks and benefits accrue to patient and family, and who makes decisions about care. (1 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stimulus exposure time as a factor in serial learning in an aged sample.

Stimulus exposure and learning in old (O) and young (Y) Ss was investigated. Lists of 8 words equated for size, association value, and structure were used in a serial rote learning task with a 1-sec. interword interval and a 45-sec. intertrial interval. 3 groups of Y (M = 37.3 yr.) and O (M = 66.5 yr.) men received exposure times of 4, 6, or 8 sec., comprising a 3 X 2 A of V design (N = 81). WAIS Vocabulary scores served as a control. Conclusions are: (a) Y Ss learned better than O (p     

Homicide-suicide in older persons

The plant vacuole has long been suspected of being a site for accumulation of Ni in plant roots, but testing this hypothesis directly by vacuole isolation is technically difficult and has not been reported. Here, we have attempted to determine if Ni can be transported into isolated oat (Avena sativa L.) root tonoplast vesicles as an alternative approach toward understanding the importance of the vacuole in Ni accumulation in roots. We found that, in contrast to Ca and Cd, Ni did not affect the proton gradient of vesicles (MgATP energized or artificially created), and further, that Cd/H antiport activity was not affected by the presence of Ni. Nickel was associated with vesicles, but relative rates of accumulation/association of metals with vesicles were Ca > Cd > Ni. Protonophores and the potential Ni ligands citrate and histidine, and nucleoside triphosphates or PPi did not stimulate Ni association with vesicles. Comparison of Ni versus Ca and Cd associated with vesicles using various membrane perturbants indicated that while Ca and Cd are rapidly and principally antiported to the vesicle sap, Ni is only slowly associated with the membrane in a not-easily dissociated condition. Our results indicate the absence of an Ni/H antiport or Ni-nucleotide-dependent pump in oat root tonoplasts, and support the contention that the vacuole is not a major compartment for Ni accumulation in oat roots.     

EXPERIMENTAL STRESS AND LEARNING IN THE AGED.

SERIAL ROTE VERBAL LEARNING UNDER FAST (4 SEC.) AND SLOW (10 SEC.) PACING WAS ADMINISTERED TO 6 GROUPS OF AGED MEN OVER 60 (MEAN AGE = 67.8, N = 54) UNDER 3 LEVELS OF EXPERIMENTAL STRESS. MAXIMAL EFFECTS OF INDUCED STRESS INCLUDING RESPONSE INHIBITION WERE PREDICTED FOR SLOWER PACING. RESULTS CONFIRMED THE HYPOTHESIS AND SUGGEST THAT THE INCREASED LEARNING AND RESPONSIVITY OF AGED SS WITH LONGER EXPOSURE DURATION MAY BE A FUNCTION OF ANXIETY REDUCTION. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special issue on long-term care.

There are over 1.3 million American residents in long-term care (LTC) facilities of one type or another. We have a considerably greater number of patients in LTC facilities than in general hospitals. Because of the projections that in the next several decades millions more will become residents of LTC institutions, it is remarkable that so little attention has been directed to the psychological issues that involve elderly residents in these settings. In recognition of the variety of recent changes in the relationship between acute care settings and LTC institutions, because of an emerging body of research being developed about the nursing home, and in view of the large number and projected growth of the LTC institutional population, our focus in this special issue is largely upon the institutional setting. Individual articles in this issue focus upon aspects of a range of subjects. These include broad issues of health policy in the United States as they relate to LTC; the future of nursing homes; staff-patient relationships in LTC institutions; and the clinical and social-psychological issues that must be addressed by rehabilitation psychology in LTC settings. The hope is that this issue of Rehabilitation Psychology will stimulate greater interest among psychologists and allied professionals in the field of LTC and in addressing the needs of the millions of persons who could profit from help. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serotonin uptake and its kinetics in platelets of women with Alzheimer's disease

The uptake of serotonin (14C-5-hydroxytryptamine, 5HT) in platelets and its kinetic characteristics were investigated in a group of women (n = 20) with probable Alzheimer's Disease (mean age = 76.0, years, SD = 8.27, range = 63-88) and in healthy normal women (n = 18, mean age = 72.6 years, SD = 7.24, range = 61-84). Both the apparent affinity of binding of 5HT to the platelet membrane (Km) and the maximum velocity (Vmax) of the rate of transport of 14C-5HT into platelets were significantly higher in the Alzheimer's Disease group than in the normal comparison group. Initial velocity of 14C-5HT uptake not passive diffusion (nonspecific uptake of 14C-5HT at 4 degrees C) differed significantly in the two groups. Our findings suggest abnormalities in the kinetic mechanisms involved in the uptake of 14C-5HT by platelets in women with Alzheimer's Disease.     

The generality of the WAIS standardization for the aged: A regional comparison.

"This study reports WAIS data on 239 elderly subjects above age 60 from the Durham, North Carolina, area. In view of the absence of national norms above age 65 for the WAIS and the suggested use of data from 352 subjects from a Kansas City study as tentative norms, it seemed especially appropriate to compare these latter with the Duke data. Stable differences were found between the samples, with the Duke groups showing supriority in the Verbal subtest scores and lower achievement in the Performance subtests. No satisfactory explanation of these differences is offered, other than the possibility of regional influences. The need for establishing national norms on a national sample of the aged is demonstrated." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4FI20E. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A colorimetric method for determining small amounts of trichloroethylene in vegetable oils

Summary An accurate method for determining small amounts of trichloroethylene in vegetable oils has been presented. The method employs a distillation procedure to separate the trichloroethylene from the oil and a colorimetric procedure based on the Fujiwara reaction to determine the trichloroethylene in the distillate. The method has been tested on known samples of crude and refined soybean and cottonseed oils varying in trichloroethylene content from 0.001% to 0.6% with excellent results.