1,649 research outputs found
Cross-cultural evaluation of learning and memory using a consonant-vowel-consonant trigram list
Get PDFObjective: Word list-learning tasks are commonly used to evaluate auditory-verbal learning and memory. However, different frequencies of word usage, subtle meaning nuances, unique word phonology, and different preexisting associations among words make translation across languages difficult. We administered lists of consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) nonword trigrams to independent American and Italian young adult samples. We evaluated whether an auditory list-learning task using CVC nonword trigrams instead of words could be applied cross-culturally to evaluate similar learning and associative memory processes. Participants and methods: Seventy-five native English-speaking (USA) and 104 native Italian-speaking (Italy) university students were administered 15-item lists of CVC trigrams using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test paradigm with five study-test trials, an interference trial, and short- and long-term delayed recall. Bayesian t tests and mixed-design ANOVAs contrasted the primary learning indexes across the two samples and biological sex. Results: Performance was comparable between nationalities on all primary memory indices except the interference trial (List B), where the Italian group recalled approximately one item more than the American sample. For both nationalities, recall increased across the five learning trials and declined significantly on the postinterference trial, demonstrating susceptibility to retroactive interference. No effects of sex, age, vocabulary, or depressive symptoms were observed. Conclusions: Using lists of unfamiliar nonword CVC trigrams, Italian and American younger adults showed a similar performance pattern across immediate and delayed recall trials. Whereas word list-learning performance is typically affected by cultural, demographic, mood, and cognitive factors, this trigram list-learning task does not show such effects, demonstrating its utility for cross-cultural memory assessment
World Alzheimer report 2016: improving healthcare for people living with dementia: coverage, quality and costs now and in the future
Get PDFThe World Alzheimer Report 2016, Improving healthcare for people living with dementia: Coverage, quality and costs now and in the future, reviews research evidence on the elements of healthcare for people with dementia, and, using economic modelling, suggests how it should be improved and made more efficient. The report argues that current dementia healthcare services are over-specialised, and that a rebalancing is required with a more prominent role for primary and community care. This would increase capacity, limit the increased costs associated with scaling up coverage of care, and, coupled with the introduction of care pathways and case management, improve the coordination and integration of care. Modelling of the costs of care pathways was carried out in Canada, China, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and Switzerland, to estimate the costs of dementia healthcare under different assumptions regarding delivery systems. The report was researched and authored by Prof Martin Prince, Ms Adelina Comas-Herrera, Prof Martin Knapp, Dr Maëlenn Guerchet and Ms Maria Karagiannidou from The Global Observatory for Ageing and Dementia Care, King’s College London and the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU), London School of Economics and Political Science
Variability of Red Supergiants in M31 from the Palomar Transient Factory
Get PDFMost massive stars end their lives as Red Supergiants (RSGs), a short-lived
evolution phase when they are known to pulsate with varying amplitudes. The RSG
period-luminosity (PL) relation has been measured in the Milky Way, the
Magellanic Clouds and M33 for about 120 stars in total. Using over 1500 epochs
of R-band monitoring from the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) survey over a
five-year period, we study the variability of 255 spectroscopically cataloged
RSGs in M31. We find that all RGSs brighter than M_K~ -10 mag
(log(L/L_sun)>4.8) are variable at dm_R>0.05 mag. Our period analysis finds 63
with significant pulsation periods. Using the periods found and the known
values of M_K for these stars, we derive the RSG PL relation in M31 and show
that it is consistent with those derived earlier in other galaxies of different
metallicities. We also detect, for the first time, a sequence of likely
first-overtone pulsations. Comparison to stellar evolution models from MESA
confirms the first overtone hypothesis and indicates that the variable stars in
this sample have 12 M_sun<M<24 M_sun. As these RSGs are the immediate
progenitors to Type II-P core-collapse supernovae (SNe), we also explore the
implication of their variability in the initial-mass estimates for SN
progenitors based on archival images of the progenitors. We find that this
effect is small compared to the present measurement errors.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure
Healthy ageing and the prediction of mortality and incidence dependence in low- and middle- income countries: a 10/66 population-based cohort study.
Get PDFBACKGROUND: In the absence of a consensus on definition and measurement of healthy ageing, we created a healthy ageing index tallying with the functional ability framework provided by the World Health Organization. To create this index, we employed items of functional ability and intrinsic capacity. The current study aims to establish the predictive validity and discrimination properties of this healthy ageing index in settings in Latin American, part of the 10/66 cohort. METHODS: Population-based cohort studies including 12,865 people ≥65 years old in catchment areas of Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico and Peru. We employed latent variable modelling to estimate the healthy ageing scores of each participant. We grouped participants according to the quintiles of the healthy ageing score distribution. Cox's proportional hazard models for mortality and sub-hazard (competing risks) models for incident dependence (i.e. needing care) were calculated per area after a median of 3.9 years and 3.7 years, respectively. Results were pooled together via fixed-effects meta-analysis. Our findings were compared with those obtained from self-rated health. RESULTS: Participants with lowest levels, compared to participants with highest level of healthy ageing, had increased risk of mortality and incident dependence, even after adjusting for sociodemographic and health conditions (HR: 3.25, 95%CI: 2.63-4.02; sub-HR: 5.21, 95%CI: 4.02-6.75). Healthy ageing scores compared to self-rated health had higher population attributable fractions (PAFs) for mortality (43.6% vs 19.3%) and incident dependence (58.6% vs 17.0%), and better discriminative power (Harrell's c-statistic: mortality 0.74 vs 0.72; incident dependence 0.76 vs 0.70). CONCLUSION: These results provide evidence that our healthy ageing index could be a valuable tool for prevention strategies as it demonstrated predictive and discriminative properties. Further research in other cultural settings will assist moving from a theoretical conceptualisation of healthy ageing to a more practical one
O uso da videoconferência no interrogatório judicial e sua (in)constitucionalidade
Get PDFO presente artigo analisa a Lei nº 11.900/09, seu histórico, conceitos, caracterÃsticas, justificativas e os fatores que possibilitam sua introdução no ordenamento jurÃdico brasileiro. Questiona o uso de recursos tecnológicos no interrogatório do acusado ou réu por meio da videoconferência com os princÃpios e garantias assegurados a todos os seres humanos na Constituição Federal de 1988. Para isso, observa-se toda a legislação ordinária e a doutrina a respeito do assunto, possibilitando, assim, concluir pela constitucionalidade da dita lei.https://repositorio.uniceub.br/jspui/retrieve/36889/21434649.pd
Healthy ageing and the prediction of mortality and incidence dependence in low- and middle- income countries: a 10/66 population-based cohort study
Get PDFBackground: In the absence of a consensus on definition and measurement of healthy ageing, we created a healthy ageing index tallying with the functional ability framework provided by the World Health Organization. To create this index, we employed items of functional ability and intrinsic capacity. The current study aims to establish the predictive validity and discrimination properties of this healthy ageing index in settings in Latin American, part of the 10/66 cohort. Methods: Population-based cohort studies including 12,865 people ≥65 years old in catchment areas of Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico and Peru. We employed latent variable modelling to estimate the healthy ageing scores of each participant. We grouped participants according to the quintiles of the healthy ageing score distribution. Cox's proportional hazard models for mortality and sub-hazard (competing risks) models for incident dependence (i.e. needing care) were calculated per area after a median of 3.9 years and 3.7 years, respectively. Results were pooled together via fixed-effects meta-analysis. Our findings were compared with those obtained from self-rated health. Results: Participants with lowest levels, compared to participants with highest level of healthy ageing, had increased risk of mortality and incident dependence, even after adjusting for sociodemographic and health conditions (HR: 3.25, 95%CI: 2.63-4.02; sub-HR: 5.21, 95%CI: 4.02-6.75). Healthy ageing scores compared to self-rated health had higher population attributable fractions (PAFs) for mortality (43.6% vs 19.3%) and incident dependence (58.6% vs 17.0%), and better discriminative power (Harrell's c-statistic: mortality 0.74 vs 0.72; incident dependence 0.76 vs 0.70). Conclusion: These results provide evidence that our healthy ageing index could be a valuable tool for prevention strategies as it demonstrated predictive and discriminative properties. Further research in other cultural settings will assist moving from a theoretical conceptualisation of healthy ageing to a more practical one
Knowledge and attitudes towards dementia in adolescent students
Get PDFBackground: Improving people’s knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of dementia is important in the formation of dementia-friendly communities. However, at present, there is very little evidence from adolescents, who are already the junior members of such communities and will be carers in their own rights in the future. Our aim was to evaluate adolescents’ knowledge and attitudes of dementia.
Methods: Four-hundred and fifty adolescents, aged 15–18 years, from schools in Sussex (UK) were invited to complete a series of questions that assessed their dementia knowledge and attitudes.
Results: A total of 359 adolescent students completed the questionnaire. Out of 15 questions on dementia knowledge, participants were on average able to answer less than half correctly (M = 6.65, standard deviation = 2.34). Responses to the attitudes questionnaire showed that adolescent students had both positive and negative attitudes toward dementia.
Discussion: There is scope for adolescents attending school to improve their dementia knowledge and attitudes. More effort is needed to embed initial dementia understanding in the school curriculum which will improve awareness about dementia at an earlier age and will enhance dementia-friendly communities
Fatores associados ao uso do preservativo entre jovens homens que fazem sexo com homens
Get PDFIntroduction: The increase of HIV infections in Brazil among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), aged between 15 and 24 years, has the low condom use as one of the factors.This research aims to describe the factors that are associated or not to condom use among young MSM. Methodology: Descriptive study, of quantitative nature, using sample for convenience. The scenario was six LGBT nightclubs in the city of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil, selected through a gay nightclub guide. Participants are MSM in the age group between 18 and 24 years who reported having had sex with men. Data collection took place during October 2012. A total of 220 young people were interviewed with the aid of a data collection instrument. Data analysis was performed through the EpiInfo program. Results: Condom use is associated with disease prevention. The justifications for not using condom in oral sex, in the first and last sexual relation were discomfort, lack of experience/knowledge and confidence in the partner respectively. Conclusion: This study indicates that the interviewees are susceptible to HIV infection when they abandon or do not use the condom because of their lack of knowledge and/or experience. Guidance and clarification activities with informative material are relevant, considering the vulnerability of this group to STIs.Introducción: El aumento de las infecciones por el VIH en Brasil entre los hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (HSH), en el grupo de edad de15-24 años de edad, tiene como uno de los factores la baja utilización del condón. Objetivo: Describir los factores que se asocian o no con el uso del condón entre los jóvenes HSH. MetodologÃa: Estudio descriptivo, cuantitativo, con el uso de una muestra de conveniencia. El escenario fue seis discotecas dirigidas a un publico de lesbianas, gays, bisexuales, travestis y transexuales, en la ciudad de Rio de Janeiro - Brasil, seleccionados mediante un guÃa de discotecas gays. Los participantes fueran hombres que hacen sexo com hombres, con edades entre 18-24 años. La recolección de datos se realizó durante el mes de octubre de 2012. Hemos entrevistado a 220 jóvenes con la ayuda de un instrumento de recolección de datos. Se realizó el análisis utilizando el programa EpiInfo. Resultados: El uso del preservativo está asociado a la prevención de enfermedades. La falta del uso del condón en el sexo oral, en la primera y última relación sexual fue justificada por la incomodidad que causa, la falta de experiencia/conocimiento y confianza en el compañero, respectivamente. Conclusión: El estudio indica que los entrevistados son susceptibles a la infección por VIH cuando abandonan el uso de condones por su confianza en el compañero, la falta de conocimiento y/o experiencia. Orientación de las acciones y aclaraciones con materiales de información son relevantes, teniendo en cuenta la vulnerabilidad de este grupo a las infecciones de transmisión sexual.Introdução: O aumento das infecções pelo HIV no Brasil entre Homens que fazem Sexo com Homens, na faixa etária de 15 a 24 anos, tem como um dos fatores a baixa utilização do preservativo. Objetivo: Descrever os fatores que estão associados ou não a utilização do preservativo entre jovens HSH. Metodologia: Estudo descritivo, de natureza quantitativa, com emprego de amostra por conveniência. O cenário foram seis boates direcionadas para o público de lésbicas, gays, bissexuais, travestis e transexuais no MunicÃpio do Rio de Janeiro - Brasil, selecionadas por meio de um guia de boates gay. Os participantes foram homens que fazem sexo com homens na faixa etária entre 18 a 24 anos. A coleta de dados ocorreu durante o mês de outubro de 2012. Foram entrevistados 220 jovens com auxÃlio de um instrumento de coleta de dados. A análise dos dados foi realizada utilizando o programa EpiInfo.  Resultados: O uso do preservativo está associado à prevenção de doenças. A falta de uso do preservativo no sexo oral, na primeira e última relação sexual, foi justificada pelo incômodo que causa, falta de experiência/conhecimento e a confiança no parceiro, respectivamente. Conclusão: O estudo sinaliza que os entrevistados apresentam suscetibilidade à infecção pelo HIV quando abandonam ou não utilizam o preservativo pela confiança no parceiro, falta de conhecimento e/ou experiência. Ações de orientação e esclarecimento com material informativo são relevantes, considerando a vulnerabilidade desse grupo à s infecções sexualmente transmissÃveis
Living with the HIV/AIDS carrier: opinion of carnival participants
Get PDFObjective: to identify people’s opinion about the coexistence with HIV bearer. Method: this was a descriptive research with a quantitative approach, held in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. The sample was randomly composed by 630 participants of the samba school parades, by applying a structured interview script. The data were tabulated, organized and analyzed using descriptive statistics; being approved by the CEP of the University Veiga de Almeida number 270/11. Results: the majority of respondents would not have protected sex with a person with HIV/AIDS; they consider that this person should always work and would not worry that their child studies with a virus carrier. Conclusion: The results indicate that living with a person with HIV at work or school, have higher acceptance than the maintenance of sexual relationship, and is necessary to highlight the importance of demystifying the subject
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