A Saxon Fish Weir and undated fish trap frames near Ashlett Creek, Hampshire, UK: static structures on a dynamic foreshore

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this record.The remains of a wooden V-shaped fish weir and associated structures have been discovered near Ashlett Creek on the tidal mudflats of Southampton Water in Hampshire, southern Britain. Radiocarbon dating of oak roundwood stakes taken from the main weir structure date it to the middle Saxon period. Clusters of as-yet undated roundwood posts within the catchment area of the weir are interpreted as the frames for fish traps that are assumed to pre- or post-date the operational period of the weir itself. The weir is contemporary with wooden V-shaped fish weirs found elsewhere in southern and central Britain, and also Ireland, but its circular catchment ‘pound’ remains restricted, in these islands, to the Solent and Severn estuaries: it has a close parallel with another Saxon-era weir on the nearby Isle of Wight. It also shows striking structural similarities with examples in use today in Basse Normandy, on the southern shore of the English Channel. The paper discusses the function and operation of the weir, and places it in its social and historical context. Regressive cartography demonstrates that the structures have become exposed as a result of saltmarsh retreat in this area of Southampton Water since the 19th century. The radiocarbon dates returned for the posts demonstrate that this transgression of the marsh must have been preceded by a prolonged period of progradation, which covered and preserved the site; its subsequent re-exposure has negative implications for its survival.The fieldwork underpinning this research was carried out using equipment and facilities provided by the Centre for Maritime Archaeology of the University of Southampton. The authors themselves met incidental costs. Radiocarbon dating was financed from an internal University of Exeter research allowance

Extracellular Nucleotides Regulate Arterial Calcification by Activating Both Independent and Dependent Purinergic Receptor Signaling Pathways

Arterial calcification, the deposition of calcium-phosphate crystals in the extracellular matrix, resembles physiological bone mineralization. It is well-known that extracellular nucleotides regulate bone homeostasis raising an emerging interest in the role of these molecules on arterial calcification. The purinergic independent pathway involves the enzymes ecto-nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterases (NPPs), ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolases (NTPDases), 5′-nucleotidase and alkaline phosphatase. These regulate the production and breakdown of the calcification inhibitor—pyrophosphate and the calcification stimulator—inorganic phosphate, from extracellular nucleotides. Maintaining ecto-nucleotidase activities in a well-defined range is indispensable as enzymatic hyper- and hypo-expression has been linked to arterial calcification. The purinergic signaling dependent pathway focusses on the activation of purinergic receptors (P1, P2X and P2Y) by extracellular nucleotides. These receptors influence arterial calcification by interfering with the key molecular mechanisms underlying this pathology, including the osteogenic switch and apoptosis of vascular cells and possibly, by favoring the phenotypic switch of vascular cells towards an adipogenic phenotype, a recent, novel hypothesis explaining the systemic prevention of arterial calcification. Selective compounds influencing the activity of ecto-nucleotidases and purinergic receptors, have recently been developed to treat arterial calcification. However, adverse side-effects on bone mineralization are possible as these compounds reasonably could interfere with physiological bone mineralization

How does cognitive reserve impact on the relationships between mood, rumination, and cognitive function in later life?

© 2014 Taylor and Francis. Objectives: Higher levels of cognitive reserve (CR) are associated with better cognitive function in later life. In contrast, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and rumination are associated with diminished cognitive function. There has been limited research to date examining the influence of CR on the relationship between mood and cognitive function, and results are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate the role CR plays in the relationships between mood, rumination, and cognitive function in later life.Method: Two hundred and thirty-six healthy people aged 60+ completed measures of CR, depression, anxiety, rumination, recall, and verbal fluency. Participants were dichotomised at the median into those with lower and higher levels of CR.Results: CR, mood, and rumination together accounted for between 13% and 15.6% of the variance in scores on the cognitive tasks in the sample as a whole. Mood and rumination explained a significant amount of variance in cognitive test scores in those with lower levels of CR, but not in those with higher levels of CR.Conclusion: The way in which mood and rumination are related to cognitive function differs depending on the individual's level of CR. These results support the view that it is important to continue to build on CR as people move into later life in order to maintain cognitive health

Cognitive reserve as a moderator of the negative association between mood and cognition: evidence from a population-representative cohort

BACKGROUND: Cognitive reserve (CR) has been associated with better cognitive function and lower risk of depression in older people, yet it remains unclear whether CR moderates the association between mood and cognition. This study aimed to investigate whether a comprehensive indicator of CR, including education, occupation and engagement in cognitive and social activities, acts as a moderator of this association. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study utilising baseline data from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study II (CFAS II), a large population-based cohort of people aged 65+ in England. Complete data on the measures of CR, mood and cognition were available for 6565 dementia-free individuals. Linear regression models were used to investigate the potential modifying effect of CR on the association between cognition and mood with adjustment for age, sex and missing data. RESULTS: Levels of CR did moderate the negative association between mood and cognition; the difference in cognition between those with and without a clinical level mood disorder was significantly smaller in the middle (-2.28; 95% confidence interval (CI) -3.65 to -0.90) and higher (-1.30; 95% CI -2.46 to -0.15) CR groups compared with the lower CR group (-4.01; 95% CI -5.53 to -2.49). The individual components of CR did not significantly moderate the negative association between mood and cognition. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that CR, indexed by a composite score based on multiple indicators, can moderate the negative association between lowered mood and cognition, emphasising the importance of continuing to build CR across the lifespan in order to maintain cognitive health.CFAS II has been supported by the UK Medical Research Council (research grant: G06010220) and received additional support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), comprehensive clinical research networks in West Anglia, Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County NHS Primary Care trusts and the dementias and neurodegenerative disease research Network (DeNDRoN) in Newcastle. FEM is supported by the MRC (research grant, U105292687). The funders are represented on the CFAS management committee and the biological resource advisory committee but they had no role in the study design, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report

Correlates of felt age in caregivers of people with dementia: findings from the IDEAL study

Objective: Family relationships influence how people appraise their own aging and how their appraisals impact their health. We analyzed felt age (FA) among family caregivers of people with dementia. Methods and measures: We used a stratified sample of 1,020 spousal and 202 adult-child caregivers from the IDEAL study. We estimated cross-sectional associations and bidirectional influences between caregivers' FA and their health and wellbeing (depression, number of health conditions, stress, positive aspects of caregiving) over 2 years. Results: Among spousal caregivers, 25% had a younger FA and 36% had an older FA. Among adult-child caregivers, 21.8% had a younger FA and 36.1% had an older FA. In spousal and adult-child caregivers an older FA was cross-sectionally associated with higher depression, number of health conditions, and stress, and fewer positive aspects of caregiving. In spousal caregivers, hours of care per day moderated the association between FA and depression, and FA was associated with stress 1 year later. Conclusion: Caregiving may impact FA and its relationship with health. We urge continued research on the connections between caregiving and FA, and how interventions might support caregivers' positive views on their own aging, which will translate views on aging scholarship to meaningfully improve caregivers' lives

A core outcome set for nonpharmacological community-based interventions for people living with dementia at home: A systematic review of outcome measurement instruments

YesIt is questionable whether existing outcome measurement instruments (OMIs) in dementia research reflect what key stakeholders' value. We attained consensus from over 300 key stakeholders, including people living with dementia, and identified 13 core outcome items for use in nonpharmacological and community-based interventions for people with dementia living at home. In this systematic review we review OMIs that have previously been used in dementia care research to determine how, or even if, the 13 core outcome items can be measured. We extracted self-reported OMIs from trials, reviews and reports of instrument development. Searches were undertaken in the ALOIS database, Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, socINDEX and COSMIN database. We aimed to assess the psychometric properties of OMI items for face validity with the core outcome items, content validity, internal consistency and responsiveness. We held a co-research workshop involving people living with dementia and care partners in order to ratify the findings. In total 347 OMIs were located from 354 sources. Of these 76 OMIs met the inclusion criteria. No OMIs were deemed to have sufficient face validity for the COS items, and no OMIs proceeded to further assessment. The 'best' available OMI is the Engagement and Independence in Dementia Questionnaire (EID-Q). This study provides a practical resource for those designing dementia research trials. Being able to measure the COS items would herald a paradigm shift for dementia research, be responsive to what key stakeholders value and enhance the ability to make comparisons.This study was funded jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). ESRC is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Cognitive reserve and cognitive function in healthy older people: a meta-analysis

The associations between proxy measures of cognitive reserve (CR) and cognition vary across studies and cognitive domains. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the relationship between CR and cognition in multiple domains (memory, executive function, visuospatial ability, and language). CR was considered in terms of three key proxy measures – educational level, occupational status, and engagement in cognitively stimulating activities – individually and in combination. One-hundred and thirty-five studies representing 128,328 participants were included. Of these, 109 used a measure of education, 19 used a measure of occupation, 31 used a measure of participation in cognitively stimulating activities, and 6 used a combination of these. All three proxy measures had a modest positive association with cognition; occupational status and cognitive activities showed the most variation across cognitive domains. This supports the view that the commonly used proxy measures of CR share an underlying process but that each additionally provides a unique contribution to CR

Developing a core outcome set for people living with dementia at home in their neighbourhoods and communities: study protocol for use in the evaluation of non-pharmacological community-based health and social care interventions

Background: The key aim of the study is to establish an agreed standardised core outcome set (COS) for use when evaluating non-pharmacological health and social care interventions for people living at home with dementia. Methods/design: Drawing on the guidance and approaches of the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET), this study uses a four-phase mixed-methods design: 1 Focus groups and interviews with key stakeholder groups (people living with dementia, care partners, relevant health and social care professionals, researchers and policymakers) and a review of the literature will be undertaken to build a long list of outcomes. 2 Two rounds of Delphi surveys will be used with key stakeholder groups. Statements for the Delphi surveys and participation processes will be developed and informed through substantial member involvement with people living with dementia and care partners. A consensus meeting will be convened with key participant groups to discuss the key findings and finalise the COS. 3 A systematic literature review will be undertaken to assess the properties of tools and instruments to assess components of the COS. Measurement properties, validity and reliability will be assessed using the Consensusbased Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement (COSMIN) and COMET guidance. 4 A stated preference survey will elicit the preferences of key stakeholders for the outcomes identified as important to measure in the COS. Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to use a modified Delphi process to involve people living with dementia as a participant group. Though the study is confined to collecting data in the United Kingdom, use of the COS by researchers will enhance the comparability of studies evaluating non-pharmacological and community-based interventions