Cohort Differences in Cognitive Aging in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine cohort differences in cognitive performance and rates of change in episodic memory, processing speed, inductive reasoning, and general cognitive performance and to investigate whether these cohort effects may be accounted for by education attainment. METHOD: The first cohort (N = 705) was born between 1920 and 1930, whereas the second cohort (N = 646) was born between 1931 and 1941. Both birth cohorts were aged 65 to 75 years at baseline and were followed up 3 and 6 years later. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models. RESULTS: The later born cohort had better general cognitive performance, inductive reasoning, and processing speed at baseline, but cohort differences in inductive reasoning and general cognitive performance disappeared after adjusting for education. The later born cohort showed steeper decline in processing speed. Memory decline was steeper in the earlier born cohort but only from Time 1 to Time 3 when the same memory test was administered. Education did not account for cohort differences in cognitive decline. DISCUSSION: The later born cohort showed better initial performance in certain cognitive abilities, but no better preservation of cognitive abilities overtime compared with the earlier born cohort. These findings carry implications for healthy cognitive aging

Pengaruh Jumlah Blade Dan Variasi Panjang Chord Terhadap Performansi Turbin Angin Sumbu Horizontal (Tash)

The willingness of electrical energy is one energy system has a very important role in the economic development of a country's survival. As one energy source (wind) can be converted into electrical energy with the use of a horizontal axis wind turbine. Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) that we know are two wind turbines in general, ie the horizontal axis wind turbine and vertical axis wind turbine is one type of renewable energy use wind as an energy generator. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the number of blade and the radius chord of rotation (n), Torque (T), Turbine Power (P), Power Coefficient (CP) and Tip Speed Ratio (λ) generated by the horizontal axis wind turbine with form linear taper. The results show that by at the maximum radius of the chord R3 the number blade 4 is at rotation = 302.700 rpm, Pturbine = 7.765 watt, Torque = 0.245 Nm, λ = 3.168 and Cp = 0.403 or 40.3%

Research roadmap for nanosafety - Part III: Closer to the market (CTTM)

Nano-products and nano-enabled applications need a clear and easy-to-follow human and environmental safety framework for the development along the innovation chain from initial idea to market and beyond that facilitates navigation through the complex regulatory and approval processes under which different product categories fall. The missing framework results in a lack of (i) solid data regarding roadblocks to market penetration of nano-enabled products as well as the absence of (ii) transparency in terms of which products (e.g. containing nanomaterials (NMs); nano-enabled products) are on the market (e.g. registries) and voluntary schemes and labelling requirements for cosmetics and food, which processes are used for manufacturing nano-enabled products, and (iii) meager inclusiveness in the dialogue (between all stakeholders) most likely exist as a result of the missing framework. The Closer-to-the-Market-Roadmap (abbrev. CTTM) aims at speeding up the progress towards market implementation of nanotechnologies by outlining the steps needed to develop such a framework. In its current form it is addressed towards policy makers, but the ultimate framework will be designed for use by SME and enterprise organisations

High throughput toxicity screening and intracellular detection of nanomaterials

EC FP7 NANoREG (Grant Agreement NMP4-LA-2013-310584)Free PMC Article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5215403/With the growing numbers of nanomaterials (NMs), there is a great demand for rapid and reliable ways of testing NM safety—preferably using in vitro approaches, to avoid the ethical dilemmas associated with animal research. Data are needed for developing intelligent testing strategies for risk assessment of NMs, based on grouping and read-across approaches. The adoption of high throughput screening (HTS) and high content analysis (HCA) for NM toxicity testing allows the testing of numerous materials at different concentrations and on different types of cells, reduces the effect of inter-experimental variation, and makes substantial savings in time and cost.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A multiple indicators multiple causes model of late-life depression in Latin American countries

\ua9 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Background The Euro-D depression scale consists of symptom clusters that may be differentially related to demographic and cognitive characteristics in older adults. This hypothesis needs further investigation and the role of measurement bias on substantive conclusions remains to be established. Method The study sample comprised 10,405 community-dwelling older adults from six Latin American countries. We applied a Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model for a concurrent investigation of measurement bias and of the association between Euro-D symptom clusters and background variables. Results The factorial validity of Euro-D, with a two-dimensional structure - affective suffering and motivation disturbance, was consistently supported in all countries. Although complete measurement invariance could not be assumed across countries, measurement bias was minor. Both Euro-D factors were unrelated to age, but related to gender, as well as to impairment in memory and verbal fluency. Gender differences were larger for affective suffering than for motivation disturbance, whereas differences in verbal fluency impairment were more strongly related to motivation disturbance. Limitations Our analytic strategies could only examine invariance at the level of indicator thresholds. The generalisability of current findings needs to be examined in clinical populations. A wider set of cognitive tests is needed. We did not examine the compositional factors that could have accounted for the variation in Euro-D scores across countries, as this was beyond the aims of the paper. Conclusion The current study adds evidence for the construct validity of Euro-D and for the possible differential association of depression symptom-clusters with gender and verbal fluency in older adults. An understanding of the heterogeneity of late-life depression may carry clinical implications for the diagnosis and treatment of depression in old age

Planck pre-launch status : The Planck-LFI programme

Peer reviewe

Multistate survival modelling of multimorbidity and transitions across health needs states and death in an ageing population

ckground Unmet health needs have the potential to capture health inequality. Nevertheless, the course of healthcare needs fulfilment, and the role of multimorbidity in this process remains unclear. This study assessed the bidirectional transitions between met and unmet health needs and the transition to death and examined the effect of multimorbidity on transitions. Methods This study was based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative survey in 2011-2015 among 18 075 participants aged 45 and above (average age 61.1; SD 9.9). We applied a multistate survival model to estimate the probabilities and the instantaneous risk of state transitions, and Gompertz hazard models were fitted to estimate the total, marginal and state-specific life expectancies (LEs). Results Living with physical multimorbidity (HR=1.85, 95% CI 1.58 to 2.15) or physical-mental multimorbidity (HR=1.45, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.82) was associated with an increased risk of transitioning into unmet healthcare needs compared with no multimorbidity. Conversely, multimorbidity groups had a decreased risk of transitioning out of unmet needs. Multimorbidity was also associated with shortened total life expectancy (TLEs), and the proportion of marginal LE for having unmet needs was more than two times higher than no multimorbidity. Conclusion Multimorbidity aggravates the risk of transitioning into having unmet healthcare needs in the middle and later life, leading to a notable reduction in TLEs, with longer times spent with unmet needs. Policy inputs on developing integrated person-centred services and specifically scaling up to target the complex health needs of ageing populations need to be in place