Neuropsychological Assessment for Early Detection and Diagnosis of Dementia: Current Knowledge and New Insights

Dementia remains an underdiagnosed syndrome, and there is a need to improve the early detection of cognitive decline. This narrative review examines the role of neuropsychological assessment in the characterization of cognitive changes associated with dementia syndrome at different states. The first section describes the early indicators of cognitive decline and the major barriers to their identification. Further, the optimal cognitive screening conditions and the most widely accepted tests are described. The second section analyzes the main differences in cognitive performance between Alzheimer’s disease and other subtypes of dementia. Finally, the current challenges of neuropsychological assessment in aging/dementia and future approaches are discussed. Essentially, we find that current research is beginning to uncover early cognitive changes that precede dementia, while continuing to improve and refine the differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders that cause dementia. However, neuropsychology faces several barriers, including the cultural diversity of the populations, a limited implementation in public health systems, and the adaptation to technological advances. Nowadays, neuropsychological assessment plays a fundamental role in characterizing cognitive decline in the different stages of dementia, but more efforts are needed to develop harmonized procedures that facilitate its use in different clinical contexts and research protocols

Covid-19: uso y abuso de internet y teléfono móvil en estudiantes universitarios.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a change in the life habits of the general population. In the last year, technology has constituted an effective resource for the student, at an academic, social and family level. However, despite the usefulness of new technologies, inappropriate or abusive use can lead to negative consequences in the student’s family, social and academic life. The objective of this work is to analyze the effects that the pandemic caused by COVID-19 has produced on the habits of young university students; use of new technologies, daily time dedicated to the use of the internet and mobile phone, as well as the possible problematic use of them. The simple consisted of 671 university students with different degrees from the University of Jaen. The questionnaire by Oliva et al., (2012) on the habit of using new technologies. The questions refer to the age of onset, level of use, daily time of use before and after COVID-19, type of activities that they habitually carry out on the internet and the problematic use of the internet and mobile phone in the academic, social and family. The results indicate that COVID-19 has caused an increase in the number of hours dedicated to using the internet and mobile phone. The activities for which they use the internet most frequently are academic work, email and social networks, chats or forums. Finally, among those who indicate abusive use of the internet and mobile phone, they indicated having academic, social and family problems. We can conclude that, although there is an increase in the use of new technologies as a result of COVID-19, their use in university students is mainly intended for academic training, although it is also causing some problems in different areas of life of the students.La pandemia provocada por el COVID-19 ha provocado un cambio en los hábitos de vida de la población en general. En el último año, la tecnología ha constituido para el estudiante un recurso eficaz, no solo a nivel académico sino también social y familiar. Sin embargo, a pesar de la utilidad de las nuevas tecnologías, un uso inadecuado o abusivo puede producir consecuencias negativas en la vida familiar, social y académica del estudiante. El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en analizar los efectos que ha producido la pandemia provocada por el COVID-19 en los hábitos de jóvenes universitarios; uso de las nuevas tecnologías, tiempo diario dedicado al uso de internet y teléfono móvil, así como en el posible uso problemático de los mismos. La muestra estaba compuesta por 671 estudiantes universitarios de diferentes titulaciones de la Universidad de Jaén. Se utilizó una adaptación del cuestionario de Oliva et al. (2012) sobre el hábito de uso de las nuevas tecnologías. Las cuestiones hacen referencia a la edad de inicio, nivel de uso, tiempo diario de uso antes y después del COVID-19, tipo de actividades que realizan habitualmente en internet y el uso problemático de internet y el teléfono móvil en el ámbito académico, social y familiar. Los resultados indican que la COVID-19 ha provocado un incremento en el número de horas dedicadas al uso de internet y teléfono móvil. Las actividades para las que utilizan internet con más frecuencia son la realización de trabajos académicos, correo electrónico y redes sociales, chats o foros. Finalmente, aquellos que indican hacer un uso abusivo de internet y teléfono móvil, señalaban tener problemas académicos, sociales y familiares. Podemos concluir que, aunque se produce un aumento en el uso de las nuevas tecnologías como consecuencia del COVID-19, su uso, en estudiantes universitarios se destina mayormente a la formación académica, aunque también está provocando algunos problemas en los diferentes ámbitos de la vida de los estudiantes

Prácticas educativas paternas y agresividad en estudiantes universitarios

This study analyzes the relationship between parents’ educational practices and aggressive behavior (physical aggression, verbal, anger and hostility) presented by a group of 437 university students . The instruments used were the Aggression questionnaire (Buss and Perry, 1992) and the Parental Style Assessment Scale (Oliva, Parra, Sánchez-Queija and López, 2007). The results indicate that affection, autonomy, revelation and humor manifested by both parents, are negatively related to the aggressive behavior reported by students. However, psychological control exercised by fathers and mothers was positively related to the aggressive behavior. No relationship was found between the behavioral control of fathers and mothers and the manifestation of aggressive behavior.Este estudio examina la relación existente entre las prácticas educativas paternas y el comportamiento agresivo (agresión física, verbal, ira y hostilidad) presentado por un grupo de 437 estudiantes universitarios. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron el Cuestionario de Agresividad (Buss y Perry, 1992) y la Escala para la evaluación del Estilo Parental (Oliva, Parra, Sánchez-Queija y López, 2007). Los resultados muestran que el afecto, el fomento de la autonomía, la revelación y el humor manifestados por ambos progenitores, se relacionan negativamente con el comportamiento agresivo informado por los estudiantes. Sin embargo, el control psicológico ejercido por los padres y madres se relacionó positivamente con el comportamiento agresivo. No se encontraron relaciones entre el control conductual de padres y madres y la manifestación de comportamientos agresivos

Consistencia/inconsistencia en los estilos educativos de padres y madres, y estrés cotidiano en la adolescencia

Este estudio analiza las diversas situaciones de consistencia y de inconsistencia en los estilos educativos de ambos progenitores y su relación con el estrés cotidiano que informan sus hijos e hijas adolescentes en los contextos más significativos de su vida. Los participantes fueron 840 estudiantes de E.S.O. con edades entre los 12 y 16 años. Para establecer los estilos educativos parentales se utilizó el análisis de clúster. Los resultados muestran que, cuando se atribuye un estilo democrático a ambos padres, los hijos informan los menores niveles de estrés cotidiano. Las situaciones de consistencia en los estilos de ambos padres reducen el estrés frente a las situaciones de inconsistencia. La presencia de un sólo progenitor democrático en la familia se asocia con menor estrés; sin embargo, no basta que uno de los padres ejerza un estilo democrático, sino que depende además del estilo desarrollado por el otro miembro de la pareja

Consistencia/inconsistencia en los estilos educativos de padres y madres, y estrés cotidiano en la adolescencia

Este estudio analiza las diversas situaciones de consistencia y de inconsistencia en los estilos educativos de ambos progenitores y su relación con el estrés cotidiano que informan sus hijos e hijas adolescentes en los contextos más significativos de su vida. Los participantes fueron 840 estudiantes de E.S.O. con edades entre los 12 y 16 años. Para establecer los estilos educativos parentales se utilizó el análisis de clúster. Los resultados muestran que, cuando se atribuye un estilo democrático a ambos padres, los hijos informan los menores niveles de estrés cotidiano. Las situaciones de consistencia en los estilos de ambos padres reducen el estrés frente a las situaciones de inconsistencia. La presencia de un sólo progenitor democrático en la familia se asocia con menor estrés; sin embargo, no basta que uno de los padres ejerza un estilo democrático, sino que depende además del estilo desarrollado por el otro miembro de la pareja

Remote near-field spectroscopy of vibrational strong coupling between organic molecules and phononic nanoresonators

Vibrational strong coupling (VSC) promises ultrasensitive IR spectroscopy and modification of material properties. Here, nanoscale mapping of VSC between organic molecules and individual IR nanoresonators is achieved by remote near-field spectroscopy. Phonon polariton (PhP) nanoresonators can dramatically enhance the coupling of molecular vibrations and infrared light, enabling ultrasensitive spectroscopies and strong coupling with minute amounts of matter. So far, this coupling and the resulting localized hybrid polariton modes have been studied only by far-field spectroscopy, preventing access to modal near-field patterns and dark modes, which could further our fundamental understanding of nanoscale vibrational strong coupling (VSC). Here we use infrared near-field spectroscopy to study the coupling between the localized modes of PhP nanoresonators made of h-BN and molecular vibrations. For a most direct probing of the resonator-molecule coupling, we avoid the direct near-field interaction between tip and molecules by probing the molecule-free part of partially molecule-covered nanoresonators, which we refer to as remote near-field probing. We obtain spatially and spectrally resolved maps of the hybrid polariton modes, as well as the corresponding coupling strengths, demonstrating VSC on a single PhP nanoresonator level. Our work paves the way for near-field spectroscopy of VSC phenomena not accessible by conventional techniques.This work was supported by the MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 under the María de Maeztu Units of Excellence Program (CEX2020-001038-M) and the Projects RTI2018-094830-B-100, PID2021-123949OB-I00, PID2019-107432GB-I00 and PID2021-122511OB-I00, as well as by the Graphene Flagship (GrapheneCore3, No. 881603). J.L. and J.H.E. are grateful for support from the Office of Naval Research (Award No. N00014-20-1-2474), for the BN crystal growth. S.V. acknowledges financial support by the Comunidad de Madrid through the Atracción de Talento program (grant no. 2020-T1/IND-20041). C.M.-E., R.E., and J.A. received funding from grant no. IT 1526-22 from the Basque Government for consolidated groups of the Basque University

Constraints on the structure and seasonal variations of Triton's atmosphere from the 5 October 2017 stellar occultation and previous observations

Context. A stellar occultation by Neptune's main satellite, Triton, was observed on 5 October 2017 from Europe, North Africa, and the USA. We derived 90 light curves from this event, 42 of which yielded a central flash detection. Aims. We aimed at constraining Triton's atmospheric structure and the seasonal variations of its atmospheric pressure since the Voyager 2 epoch (1989). We also derived the shape of the lower atmosphere from central flash analysis. Methods. We used Abel inversions and direct ray-tracing code to provide the density, pressure, and temperature profiles in the altitude range similar to 8 km to similar to 190 km, corresponding to pressure levels from 9 mu bar down to a few nanobars. Results. (i) A pressure of 1.18 +/- 0.03 mu bar is found at a reference radius of 1400 km (47 km altitude). (ii) A new analysis of the Voyager 2 radio science occultation shows that this is consistent with an extrapolation of pressure down to the surface pressure obtained in 1989. (iii) A survey of occultations obtained between 1989 and 2017 suggests that an enhancement in surface pressure as reported during the 1990s might be real, but debatable, due to very few high S/N light curves and data accessible for reanalysis. The volatile transport model analysed supports a moderate increase in surface pressure, with a maximum value around 2005-2015 no higher than 23 mu bar. The pressures observed in 1995-1997 and 2017 appear mutually inconsistent with the volatile transport model presented here. (iv) The central flash structure does not show evidence of an atmospheric distortion. We find an upper limit of 0.0011 for the apparent oblateness of the atmosphere near the 8 km altitude.J.M.O. acknowledges financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the European Social Fund (ESF) through the PhD grant SFRH/BD/131700/2017. The work leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Community's H2020 2014-2021 ERC grant Agreement nffi 669416 "Lucky Star". We thank S. Para who supported some travels to observe the 5 October 2017 occultation. T.B. was supported for this research by an appointment to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Post-Doctoral Program at the Ames Research Center administered by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) through a contract with NASA. We acknowledge useful exchanges with Mark Gurwell on the ALMA CO observations. This work has made use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/gaia), processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium).Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, in particular the institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement. J.L.O., P.S.-S., N.M. and R.D. acknowledge financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award to the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709), they also acknowledge the financial support by the Spanish grant AYA-2017-84637-R and the Proyecto de Excelencia de la Junta de Andalucia J.A. 2012-FQM1776. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under Grant Agreement no. 687378, as part of the project "Small Bodies Near and Far" (SBNAF). P.S.-S. acknowledges financial support by the Spanish grant AYA-RTI2018-098657-J-I00 "LEO-SBNAF". The work was partially based on observations made at the Laboratorio Nacional de Astrofisica (LNA), Itajuba-MG, Brazil. The following authors acknowledge the respective CNPq grants: F.B.-R. 309578/2017-5; R.V.-M. 304544/2017-5, 401903/2016-8; J.I.B.C. 308150/2016-3 and 305917/2019-6; M.A. 427700/20183, 310683/2017-3, 473002/2013-2. This study was financed in part by the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior -Brasil (CAPES) -Finance Code 001 and the National Institute of Science and Technology of the e-Universe project (INCT do e-Universo, CNPq grant 465376/2014-2). G.B.R. acknowledges CAPES-FAPERJ/PAPDRJ grant E26/203.173/2016 and CAPES-PRINT/UNESP grant 88887.571156/2020-00, M.A. FAPERJ grant E26/111.488/2013 and A.R.G.Jr. FAPESP grant 2018/11239-8. B.E.M. thanks CNPq 150612/2020-6 and CAPES/Cofecub-394/2016-05 grants. Part of the photometric data used in this study were collected in the frame of the photometric observations with the robotic and remotely controlled telescope at the University of Athens Observatory (UOAO; Gazeas 2016). The 2.3 m Aristarchos telescope is operated on Helmos Observatory by the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens. Observations with the 2.3 m Aristarchos telescope were carried out under OPTICON programme. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730890. This material reflects only the authors views and the Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. The 1. 2m Kryoneri telescope is operated by the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens. The Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley (OAVdA) is managed by the Fondazione Clement Fillietroz-ONLUS, which is supported by the Regional Government of the Aosta Valley, the Town Municipality of Nus and the "Unite des Communes valdotaines Mont-Emilius". The 0.81 m Main Telescope at the OAVdA was upgraded thanks to a Shoemaker NEO Grant 2013 from The Planetary Society. D.C. and J.M.C. acknowledge funds from a 2017 'Research and Education' grant from Fondazione CRT-Cassa di Risparmio di Torino. P.M. acknowledges support from the Portuguese Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia ref. PTDC/FISAST/29942/2017 through national funds and by FEDER through COMPETE 2020 (ref. POCI010145 FEDER007672). F.J. acknowledges Jean Luc Plouvier for his help. S.J.F. and C.A. would like to thank the UCL student support observers: Helen Dai, Elise Darragh-Ford, Ross Dobson, Max Hipperson, Edward Kerr-Dineen, Isaac Langley, Emese Meder, Roman Gerasimov, Javier Sanjuan, and Manasvee Saraf. We are grateful to the CAHA, OSN and La Hita Observatory staffs. This research is partially based on observations collected at Centro Astronomico HispanoAleman (CAHA) at Calar Alto, operated jointly by Junta de Andalucia and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (IAA-CSIC). This research was also partially based on observation carried out at the Observatorio de Sierra Nevada (OSN) operated by Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC). This article is also based on observations made with the Liverpool Telescope operated on the island of La Palma by Liverpool John Moores University in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias with financial support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council. Partially based on observations made with the Tx40 and Excalibur telescopes at the Observatorio Astrofisico de Javalambre in Teruel, a Spanish Infraestructura Cientifico-Tecnica Singular (ICTS) owned, managed and operated by the Centro de Estudios de Fisica del Cosmos de Aragon (CEFCA). Tx40 and Excalibur are funded with the Fondos de Inversiones de Teruel (FITE). A.R.R. would like to thank Gustavo Roman for the mechanical adaptation of the camera to the telescope to allow for the observation to be recorded. R.H., J.F.R., S.P.H. and A.S.L. have been supported by the Spanish projects AYA2015-65041P and PID2019-109467GB-100 (MINECO/FEDER, UE) and Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT1366-19. Our great thanks to Omar Hila and their collaborators in Atlas Golf Marrakech Observatory for providing access to the T60cm telescope. TRAPPIST is a project funded by the Belgian Fonds (National) de la Recherche Scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS) under grant PDR T.0120.21. TRAPPIST-North is a project funded by the University of Liege, and performed in collaboration with Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakesh. E.J. is a FNRS Senior Research Associate

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Prácticas educativas de los padres y problemas de ajuste en estudiantes universitarios

Este estudio tiene como objetivo analizar las relaciones entre el afecto/rechazo y los tipos de disciplina que muestran tanto el padre como la madre y los problemas internalizantes y externalizantes que informan los estudiantes universitarios. Se aplicaron la Escala de Afecto «EA» y la Escala de Normas y Exigencias «ENE» (Fuentes, Motrico y Bersabé, 1999; Bersabé, Fuentes y Motrico, 2001) en su versión para hijos (EA-H y ENEH), así como el Youth Self- Report (Achenbach (1991) mediante la propuesta de Ivanova et al., (2007) quienes agrupan los ítems en ocho síndromes. Cinco de estas ocho categorías se agrupan en dos dimensiones más amplias: problemas internalizantes (ansioso/depresivo, introvertido/depresivo y quejas somáticas) y problemas externalizantes (infringir las normas y conducta agresiva). Los resultados indican que tanto el afecto como la disciplina inductiva de los padres constituyen prácticas positivas que correlacionan negativamente con algunos de los problemas analizados. Por el contrario, las prácticas negativas, tales como el rechazo y la disciplina rígida tanto del padre como de la madre, se relacionan positivamente con la mayoría de los problemas analizados.This study aims to analyze the relationships between affection / rejection and the types of discipline that show both the father and the mother and the internalizing and externalizing problems reported by university students. The Escala de Afecto «EA» and the Escala de Normas y Exigencias «ENE» (Fuentes, Motrico and Bersabé, 1999; Bersabé, Fuentes and Motrico, 2001) were applied in their version for children (EA H and ENE-H). We also use the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach, 1991) by the proposal of Ivanova et al. (2007), who group the items into eight síndromes. Five of these eight categories are grouped into two dimensions: internalizing problems (anxious / depressed, introverted / depressed and somatic complaints) and externalizing problems (delinquent behavior and aggressive behavior). The results indicate that both affection and the inductive discipline of parents are positive practices that correlate negatively with some of the problems analyzed. On the contrary, negative practices, such as rejection and rigid discipline of both father and mother, are positively related to most of the problems analyzed.peerReviewe

Prácticas educativas de los padres y problemas de ajuste en estudiantes universitarios

This study aims to analyze the relationships between affection / rejection and the types of discipline that show both the father and the mother and the internalizing and externalizing problems reported by university students. The Escala de Afecto «EA» and the Escala de Normas y Exigencias «ENE» (Fuentes, Motrico and Bersabé, 1999; Bersabé, Fuentes and Motrico, 2001) were applied in their version for children (EAInternational H and ENE-H). We also use the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach, 1991) by the proposal of Ivanova et al. (2007), who group the items into eight síndromes. Five of these eight categories are grouped into two dimensions: internalizing problems (anxious / depressed, introverted / depressed and somatic complaints) and externalizing problems (delinquent behavior and aggressive behavior). The results indicate that both affection and the inductive discipline of parents are positive practices that correlate negatively with some of the problems analyzed. On the contrary, negative practices, such as rejection and rigid discipline of both father and mother, are positively related to most of the problems analyzed.Este estudio tiene como objetivo analizar las relaciones entre el afecto/rechazo y los tipos de disciplina que muestran tanto el padre como la madre y los problemas internalizantes y externalizantes que informan los estudiantes universitarios. Se aplicaron la Escala de Afecto «EA» y la Escala de Normas y Exigencias «ENE» (Fuentes, Motrico y Bersabé, 1999; Bersabé, Fuentes y Motrico, 2001) en su versión para hijos (EA-H y ENEH), así como el Youth Self- Report (Achenbach (1991) mediante la propuesta de Ivanova et al., (2007) quienes agrupan los ítems en ocho síndromes. Cinco de estas ocho categorías se agrupan en dos dimensiones más amplias: problemas internalizantes (ansioso/depresivo, introvertido/depresivo y quejas somáticas) y problemas externalizantes (infringir las normas y conducta agresiva). Los resultados indican que tanto el afecto como la disciplina inductiva de los padres constituyen prácticas positivas que correlacionan negativamente con algunos de los problemas analizados. Por el contrario, las prácticas negativas, tales como el rechazo y la disciplina rígida tanto del padre como de la madre, se relacionan positivamente con la mayoría de los problemas analizados