A detailed exploration of changes in everyday task performance in people with dementia

For most people, everyday tasks, such as tea making, are familiar, routine tasks that are normally performed without effort. A diagnostic feature of dementia, however, is an insidious decline in the ability to perform everyday tasks. Through a series of six studies, I examined how everyday task performance changes in people with dementia and I piloted two behavioural strategies that might enhance memory for everyday tasks in people with dementia. Study 1 developed a detailed error and error-monitoring taxonomy to explore the minutia of everyday task performance in healthy ageing. The study demonstrated that older adults without dementia rarely make errors in everyday tasks, even when conditions are manipulated to reduce cognitive resources. Study 2 documented errors and error-monitoring of everyday task performance in individuals with a developing dementia, using archive data to chart performance change over 5 years. While errors increased with dementia progression, there was no reactive increase in error-monitoring, suggesting a lack of awareness characterises the breakdown of task performance. Study 3a explored the impact of verbally instructing another person how to perform an everyday task on recall of an everyday task. People with dementia were able to do this surprisingly well, appearing to use both visual and motor cues to support recall. Study 3b piloted the impact of verbal self-explanation on everyday task performance, in four people with dementia. Self-explanation did not benefit recall and implementation of a familiar task. Study 4a compared observation with verbal instruction on acquisition of a novel routine. Results showed that people with mild-moderate dementia learned a new routine better under observation compared to verbal instruction. Study 4b tested observational learning of an everyday task over five weeks in three people with dementia. The initial benefit over verbal instruction was sustained, but did not increase over time. These studies constitute a detailed and meticulous exploration of everyday task performance in people with dementia and provide pilot evidence of a potential strategy that could support memory of everyday tasks in people with dementia

Narratives of traumatic birth: Quality and changes over time

Childbirth is a highly emotive event that can involve complications. Around 1% of births in the United Kingdom involve life-threatening complications to the mother (Waterstone, Bewley, & Wolfe, 2001) and 0.8% result in stillbirth or perinatal death (Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health [CEMACH], 2009). A review found that 3.1% of women report posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after birth (Grekin & O'Hara, 2014). The aim of this study was to examine whether narrative characteristics of traumatic birth were specific to women with PTSD or observed in all women who experience a highly emotive and potentially traumatic birth. Parturient women were matched for birth events, but either had severe PTSD symptoms (n = 22) or no, or very low, PTSD symptoms (n = 22). Women were interviewed about the birth 3 and 6 months postpartum, and their birth narratives were examined for content, coherence, and cognitive and perceptual processing. Results showed birth narratives became shorter and more coherent over time. Consistent with PTSD literature, birth memories were more likely to be recalled and involuntarily triggered in women with PTSD symptoms. However, women with PTSD symptoms had more coherent narratives, used more causal and fewer tentative words. These latter findings are inconsistent with research finding that PTSD is associated with fragmented or incoherent memories but are consistent with the view that highly emotive events result in improved memory (e.g., Berntsen, Willert, & Rubin, 2003). Possible reasons for this are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Recor

New records about helminth parasites of the marsh frog, Rana ridibunda ridibunda (Anura: Ranidae) from the north of Iran

A field trials were conducted to assess the helminth parasites of 12 marsh frogs (Rana ridibunda ridibunda) in the Anzali, Astara and Aghbaba regions in the north of Iran in May 1994. Experimental results showed that 83.8% of the Anzali marsh frogs were infected by one or two kinds of metacercarian cysts of digenetic trematodes. The helminth parasites were included Skrjabinoeces breviansa, S. smilis, Gorgodera dollfusi, Opisthioglyphe ranae, Prosotocus confusus, Encyclometra colubrimurorum and Codonocephalus urniger. Frogs collected from the Astara region was infected by the helminth parasites such as Diplodiscus subclavatus, P. confusus, C. urniger and Cosmocerca ornata. There were only one digenetic trematodes cysts such as Pleurogenoides medians in the Aghbaba region. In this paper, except the S. smilis, C. urniger and O. ranae we report 7 new helminth parasites in the north Iranian freshwater system for the first time

PCM- oMaRS Algorithm: Parallel Computation of Median - omniscient Maximal Reduction Steps

The goal of a distributed computation algorithm is to determine the result of a function of numerical elements, which are distributed in n multi sets.It is known that computation of holistic aggregation functions on distributed multi sets indeed requires more work than non holistic aggregation functions. But with this article we will prove that the computation of a holistic function, which named exact median, can be computed efficiently by providing both a candidate finding and a deterministic location algorithms which computes the position of exact median, dispelling the misconception that solving distributed median computation through parallel aggregation is infeasible. Some of most important part in Big Data field is to evaluate massive data values. A special case in this field is the calculation of kthsmallest values (specially the median) of distributed multi sets containing enormous data. Many approximation algorithms and algorithms with iterative or recursive steps of determination of median give solutions for the computation of median. But firstly sometime approximate value is dangerous for some data evaluation projects or researchs and secondly with other algorithms, the data blocking time is too long through the iteration or the recursion between global node and local nodes. This article focuses on a solution that gives a best effectively computation for this problem named PCM-oMaRS algorithm. The PCM-oMaRS algorithm guarantees the maximal reduction steps of the computation of the exact median in distributed multi sets and proves that we can compute the exact median effectively without needing the usage of recursive or iterative methods at the global communication level, which reduces the blocking time maximally. This algorithm provides more efficient execution not only in distributed multi sets even in local multi set with enormous data

Dementia awareness, beliefs and barriers among family caregivers in Pakistan

OBJECTIVES: Dementia research and services in Pakistan are limited. The following was explored in experiences of family caregivers of people with dementia in Pakistan: a) to determine whether culture and religion play a role in caregiving; b) to draw insights on how family caregivers cope, what barriers they face, and what help they would be willing to accept; and c) to determine how these findings could be used to raise awareness and influence public policies in improving the lives of families living with dementia. METHODS: The experiences of family caregivers of people with dementia in Pakistan were explored via semi-structured interviews (10 in Lahore; 10 in Karachi). This was part of a larger qualitative study conducted about dementia in Pakistan. Caregivers interviewed were aged 35-80 (14 female). Most caregivers in the study were educated and affluent. Interviews were conducted in Urdu, translated into English and thematically analysed. RESULTS: Five themes emerged: Knowledge & Awareness; Stigma; Importance of Religion and Duty to Care; Use of Day Care Centres and Home-help; and Barriers. A lack of dementia awareness exists in Pakistan. The religious duty to care for family influenced caregiving decisions. Day care centres and home-help were accessed and viewed positively. The caregivers also wanted extracurricular activities for people with dementia, support groups for caregivers, and better training for healthcare staff. Novel findings included that caregivers felt that dementia should not be stigmatized, and awareness should be raised in Pakistan via TV, radio and social media, but not inside mosques. DISCUSSION: Additional research is necessary to determine if positive views of day care centres and home-help exist more widely. Attitudes and experiences regarding stigma may be different for caregivers of people with more advanced dementia. We recommend raising dementia awareness, allocating more funds to dementia services, and an emphasis on home-based care

Social networks and loneliness in people with Alzheimer's dementia

Objectives Modifiable lifestyle risk factors are of great interest in the prevention and management of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Loneliness and social networks may influence onset of AD, but little is known about this relationship in people with AD. The current study aimed to explore the relationship between loneliness and social networks (social measures) and cognitive and psychopathology decline (AD outcomes) in people with AD. Methods Ninety‐three participants with mild‐moderate AD were recruited from memory clinics, in a cross‐sectional study. Social networks (measured by the Lubben Social Network Scale), feelings of loneliness (measured by De Jong Loneliness Scale), cognition (measured by the Standardized Mini Mental State Examination) and psychopathology (measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory) were assessed in an interview setting. Two multiple regressions with Bootstrap were conducted on cognition and psychopathology as outcome variables. Family and Friends subsets of social networks and loneliness were entered as predictors and age, gender and depression as covariates. Results The friendship subset of social networks was significantly related to cognition (independent of age, gender, depression, loneliness and family subset of social network): B = .284, p = .01. Neither loneliness nor social networks predicted psychopathology (ps > .05). Conclusions Maintaining or developing a close friendship network could be beneficial for cognition in people with AD. Alternatively, greater dementia severity may lead to fewer friends. More research on the direction of this relationship in people with AD is needed

Protease signaling regulates apical cell extrusion, cell contacts, and proliferation in epithelia.

Mechanisms that sense and regulate epithelial morphogenesis, integrity, and homeostasis are incompletely understood. Protease-activated receptor 2 (Par2), the Par2-activating membrane-tethered protease matriptase, and its inhibitor, hepatocyte activator inhibitor 1 (Hai1), are coexpressed in most epithelia and may make up a local signaling system that regulates epithelial behavior. We explored the role of Par2b in matriptase-dependent skin abnormalities in Hai1a-deficient zebrafish embryos. We show an unexpected role for Par2b in regulation of epithelial apical cell extrusion, roles in regulating proliferation that were opposite in distinct but adjacent epithelial monolayers, and roles in regulating cell-cell junctions, mobility, survival, and expression of genes involved in tissue remodeling and inflammation. The epidermal growth factor receptor Erbb2 and matrix metalloproteinases, the latter induced by Par2b, may contribute to some matriptase- and Par2b-dependent phenotypes and be permissive for others. Our results suggest that local protease-activated receptor signaling can coordinate cell behaviors known to contribute to epithelial morphogenesis and homeostasis