Preprints in Medicine: Useful or Harmful?

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Can Mobile Technology Help Prevent the Burden of Dementia in Low- and Mid-Income Countries?

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Divination et révélation en Grèce ancienne

Si la divination est l’une des données les plus fondamentales de la cité antique, l’apparente contradiction entre la divination et le rationalisme, dont les Grecs furent les « inventeurs », a en général conduit les modernes à estomper les signes, les oracles et les prophéties, et ce tant dans les histoires de la religion que dans celles des institutions politiques et sociales. Ce projet d’enseignement est la continuation de plus d’une décennie de recherche sur la divination, et plus particulièrement sur un des oracles les mieux documentés, celui de Trophonios en Béotie. Ce dernier servira de base à l’approfondissement de certains points fondamentaux, tous liés à l’approche méthodologique de la mantique grecque autant qu’au fond du problème

Divination et révélation en Grèce ancienne

Si la divination est l’une des données les plus fondamentales de la cité antique, l’apparente contradiction entre la divination et le rationalisme, dont les Grecs furent les « inventeurs », a en général conduit les modernes à estomper les signes, les oracles et les prophéties, et ce tant dans les histoires de la religion que dans celles des institutions politiques et sociales. Ce projet d’enseignement est la continuation de plus d’une décennie de recherche sur la divination, et plus particulièrement sur un des oracles les mieux documentés, celui de Trophonios en Béotie. Ce dernier servira de base à l’approfondissement de certains points fondamentaux, tous liés à l’approche méthodologique de la mantique grecque autant qu’au fond du problème

Brain training using cognitive apps can improve cognitive performance and processing speed in older adults.

Managing age-related decrease of cognitive function is an important public health challenge, especially in the context of the global aging of the population. Over the last years several Cognitive Mobile Games (CMG) have been developed to train and challenge the brain. However, currently the level of evidence supporting the benefits of using CMG in real-life use is limited in older adults, especially at a late age. In this study we analyzed game scores and the processing speed obtained over the course of 100 sessions in 12,000 subjects aged 60 to over 80 years. Users who trained with the games improved regardless of age in terms of scores and processing speed throughout the 100 sessions, suggesting that old and very old adults can improve their cognitive performance using CMG in real-life use

Travail décent et modernisation du droit du travail

Le thème de la flexicurité passe par une nouvelle articulation plaçant le social au cœur de l’économique. Il conduit à réfléchir sur la signification en droit du travail des concepts de flexibilité et de sécurité, ainsi qu’aux rapports entre le droit du travail et l’économie. Quant aux orientations que peut donner ce thème à la « modernisation » du droit du travail, elles ne peuvent ignorer : 1. les exigences des normes internationales du travail et des normes communautaires, qui imposent la motivation du licenciement, l’information et la consultation des représentants des salariés, et ne vont pas dans le sens d’un contrat de travail unique ; 2. le caractère irréversible du contrôle judiciaire de la qualification, ainsi que des mobilités et des licenciements économiques, parce que des obligations sont attachées au contrat de travail, au premier rang desquelles l’obligation de reclassement. L’optique du « travail décent » pose le problème de la qualité de l’emploi et du respect des droits fondamentaux.Flexicurity refers to a new approach that puts social questions at the heart of economic concerns. This leads to reflect more deeply on the significance for labor and employment law, of the concepts of flexibility and security and on the relationship between them and the economy. In any event, any new directions that flexicurity may provide for the modernization of that law cannot disregard: 1) the requirements of international and Community norms, which mandate that reasons be given for dismissals and that employee representatives be formally consulted and informed; norms which do not require a single form of employment contract; 2) the fact that judicial control of the reasons for transfers and dismissals for economic motives, and of the definition of what are such dismissals, is not given to change because a number of legal obligations are an inherent part of every employment contract, in particular the obligation of a reassignment in the same firm in the event of the elimination of a position. Finally, the wish to promote Decent work raises the problem of the quality of the employment and of the protection of fundamental rights

Physical Activity Level, Barriers, and Facilitators for Exercise Engagement for Chronic Community-Dwelling Stroke Survivors in Low-Income Settings: A Cross-Sectional Study in Benin

After a stroke incident, physical inactivity is common. People with stroke may perceive several barriers to performing physical activity (PA). This study aimed to document the PA level and understand the barriers and facilitators to engaging in PA for community-dwelling stroke survivors in Benin, a lower middle-income country. A cross-sectional study was conducted in three hospitals in Benin. Levels of PA were recorded by means of the Benin version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire long form (IPAQ-LF-Benin), which is validated for stroke survivors in Benin. The perceived exercise facilitators and barriers were assessed by the Stroke Exercise Preference Inventory-13 (SEPI-13). A descriptive analysis and associations were performed with a Confidence Interval of 95% and <0.05 level of significance. A total of 87 participants (52 men, mean age of 53 ± 10 years, mean time after a stroke of 11 (IQR: 15) months and an average of 264.5 ± 178.9 m as distance on the 6 min walking test (6MWT) were included. Overall, stroke survivors in Benin reached a total PA of 985.5 (IQR: 2520) metabolic equivalent (METs)-minutes per week and were least active at work, domestic, and leisure domains with 0 MET-minutes per week. The overview of PA level showed that 52.9% of participants performed low PA intensity. However, 41.4% performed moderate PA or walking per day for at least five days per week. Important perceived barriers were lack of information (45.3%), hard-to-start exercise (39.5%), and travelling to places to exercise (29.9%). The preference for exercise was with family or friends, outdoors, for relaxation or enjoyment (90.2%), and receiving feedback (78.3%). Several socio-demographic, clinical, and community factors were significantly associated with moderate or intense PA (p < 0.05) in stroke survivors in this study. Our findings show that the PA level among chronic stroke survivors in Benin is overall too low relative to their walking capacity. Cultural factors in terms of the overprotection of the patients by their entourage and/or the low health literacy of populations to understand the effect of PA on their health may play a role. There is a need for new approaches that consider the individual barriers and facilitators to exercise

The use of commercial computerised cognitive games in older adults: a meta-analysis

Funder: Fondation Philippe Wiener - Maurice Anspach; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003138Funder: NIHR MedTech and in vitro diagnostic Co-operative (MIC)Funder: NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Mental Health themeAbstract: Brain training programs are currently one effective solution to prevent cognitive decline in healthy aging. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials assessing the use of commercially available computerised cognitive games to improve cognitive function in people aged above 60 years old without cognitive impairment. 1,543 participants from sixteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. Statistically significant improvements were observed for processing speed (SMD increased 0.40 [95% CI 0.20–0.60], p < 0.001), working memory (0.21 [95% CI 0.08–0.34], p = 0.001), executive function (0.21 [95% CI 0.06–0.35], p = 0.006), and for verbal memory (0.12 [95% CI 0.01–0.24, p = 0.031), but not for attention or visuospatial abilities. No relationship between the age of the participants and the amount of training was found. Commercially available computerised cognitive games are effective in improving cognitive function in participants without cognitive impairment aged over 60 years