The Effects of Poetry in Elderly Populations with Memory Impairment

Introduction. A small body of research on therapeutic use of poetry in individuals with memory impairment demonstrates benefits similar to that of more widely studied music interventions. This project aims to assess the effects of participation in a poetry group on the residents of a memory care floor within the Converse Home, an assisted living facility in Burlington, Vermont. Methods.. We evaluated the effects of twelve group poetry sessions on residents\u27 well-being in several domains. Each session included a reading and writing portion, which were evaluated separately to assess differences in measures of communication, interest, and enjoyment. These measures, along with negative responses, were recorded on Likert scales. T-tests, ANOVA, and post-hoc comparisons were used to compare behavioral and affective observations in the reading versus writing sessions. Results.. Positive responses were significantly higher in reading sessions (p Conclusion.. Although the limitations of this project preclude us from drawing individual conclusions regarding the therapeutic efficacy of poetry in individuals with memory impairment, we demonstrate that poetry sessions have a positive impact on global quality of life outcomes and introduction of poetry sessions in this population has a beneficial effect.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1242/thumbnail.jp

Test Characteristics of Urinary Lipoarabinomannan and Predictors of Mortality among Hospitalized HIV-Infected Tuberculosis Suspects in Tanzania.

Tuberculosis is the most common cause of death among patients with HIV infection living in tuberculosis endemic countries, but many cases are not diagnosed pre-mortem. We assessed the test characteristics of urinary lipoarabinomannan (LAM) and predictors of mortality among HIV-associated tuberculosis suspects in Tanzania. We prospectively enrolled hospitalized HIV-infected patients in Dar es Salaam, with ≥2 weeks of cough or fever, or weight loss. Subjects gave 2 mLs of urine to test for LAM using a commercially available ELISA, ≥2 sputum specimens for concentrated AFB smear and solid media culture, and 40 mLs of blood for culture. Among 212 evaluable subjects, 143 (68%) were female; mean age was 36 years; and the median CD4 count 86 cells/mm(3). 69 subjects (33%) had culture confirmation of tuberculosis and 65 (31%) were LAM positive. For 69 cases of sputum or blood culture-confirmed tuberculosis, LAM sensitivity was 65% and specificity 86% compared to 36% and 98% for sputum smear. LAM test characteristics were not different in patients with bacteremia but showed higher sensitivity and lower specificity with decreasing CD4 cell count. Two month mortality was 64 (53%) of 121 with outcomes available. In multivariate analysis there was significant association of mortality with absence of anti-retroviral therapy (p = 0.004) and a trend toward association with a positive urine LAM (p = 0.16). Among culture-negative patients mortality was 9 (75%) of 12 in LAM positive patients and 27 (38%) of 71 in LAM negative patients (p = 0.02). Urine LAM is more sensitive than sputum smear and has utility for the rapid diagnosis of culture-confirmed tuberculosis in this high-risk population. Mortality data raise the possibility that urine LAM may also be a marker for culture-negative tuberculosis

Cognitive performance is associated with cerebral oxygenation and peripheral oxygen saturation, but not plasma catecholamines, during graded normobaric hypoxia

What is the central question of this study? What are the mechanisms responsible for the decline in cognitive performance following exposure to acute normobaric hypoxia? What are the main findings and their importance? We found that 1) performance of a complex central executive task (n-back) was reduced FiO 0.12; 2) there was a strong correlation between performance of the n-back task and reductions in SpO and cerebral oxygenation; and 3) plasma adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol, and copeptin were not correlated with cognitive performance. It is well established that hypoxia impairs cognitive function; however, the physiological mechanisms responsible for these effects have received relatively little attention. This study examined the effects of graded reductions in fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO ) on oxygen saturation (SpO ), cerebral oxygenation, cardiorespiratory variables, activity of the sympathoadrenal system (adrenaline, noradrenaline) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (cortisol, copeptin), and cognitive performance. Twelve healthy males (mean [SD], age: 22 [4] yrs, height: 178 [5] cm, mass: 75 [9] kg, FEV /FVC ratio: 85 [5] %) completed a 4-task battery of cognitive tests to examine inhibition, selective attention (Eriksen Flanker), executive function (n-back) and simple and choice reaction time (Deary-Liewald). Tests were completed before and following 60 minutes of exposure to FiO 0.2093, 0.17, 0.145, and 0.12. Following 60 minutes of exposure response accuracy in the n-back task was significantly reduced in FiO 0.12 compared to baseline (82 [9] vs. 93 [5] %; p < 0.001) and compared to all other conditions at the same time point (FiO 0.2093: 92 [3] %, FiO 0.17: 91 [6] %, FiO 0.145: 85 [10] %, FiO 12: 82 [9] %; all p < 0.05). The performance of the other tasks was maintained. Δ accuracy and Δ reaction time of the n-back task was correlated with both Δ SpO (r (9) = 0.66; p < 0.001 and r (9) = - 0.36; p = 0.037 respectively) and Δ cerebral oxygenation (r (7) = 0.55; p < 0.001 and r (7) = - 0.38; p = 0.045 respectively). Plasma adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol and copeptin were not significantly elevated in any condition or correlated with any of the tests of cognitive performance. These findings suggest that reductions in peripheral oxygen saturation and cerebral oxygenation, and not increased activity of the sympathoadrenal system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, as previously speculated, are responsible for a decrease in cognitive performance during normobaric hypoxia

From Creating Spaces for Civic Discourse to Creating Resources for Action

In this paper, we investigate the role of technology to address the concerns of a civil society group carrying out community-level consultation on the allocation of £1 million of community funds. We explore issues of devolved decision-making through the evaluation of a sociodigital system designed to foster deliberative virtues. We describe the ways in which this group used our system in their consultation practices. Our findings highlight how they adopted our technology to privilege specific forms of expression, ascertain issues in their community, make use of and make sense of community data, and create resources for action within their existing practices. Based on related fieldwork we discuss the impacts of structuring and configuring tools for ‘talk-based’ consultation in order to turn attention to the potential pitfalls and prospects for designing civic technologies that create resources for action for civil society

Development of a Standardized Screening Rule for Tuberculosis in People Living with HIV in Resource-Constrained Settings: Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis of Observational Studies

Haileyesus Getahun and colleagues report the development of a simple, standardized tuberculosis (TB) screening rule for resource-constrained settings, to identify people living with HIV who need further investigation for TB disease

Adherence with isoniazid for prevention of tuberculosis among HIV-infected adults in South Africa

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is the most common opportunistic infection in HIV-infected adults in developing countries. Isoniazid (INH) is recommended for treatment of latent TB infection, however non-adherence is common. The purpose of this study was to apply in-house prepared isoniazid (INH) urine test strips in a clinical setting, and identify predictors of positive test results in an adherence questionnaire in HIV-infected adults taking INH for prevention of TB. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of adherence using a questionnaire and urine test strips for detection of INH metabolites at two hospitals in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Participants were aged at least 18 years, HIV positive, and receiving INH for prevention of tuberculosis disease. Univariate and multivariate analyses are used to identify factors relevant to adherence. RESULTS: 301 consecutive patients were recruited. 28% of participants had negative urine tests. 32 (37.2%, 95% CI25.4, 45.0) of the 86 patients who received INH from peripheral pharmacies said the pharmacy had run out of INH at some time, compared with central hospital pharmacies (p = 0.0001). In univariate analysis, a negative test was associated with self-reported missed INH doses (p = 0.043). Each 12-hour increment since last reported dose increased the likelihood of a negative test by 34% (p = 0.0007). Belief in INH safety was associated with a positive test (p = 0.021). In multivariate analysis, patients who believed INH is important for prevention of TB disease were more likely to be negative (p = 0.0086). CONCLUSION: Adequate drug availability at peripheral pharmacies remains an important intervention for TB prevention. Key questions may identify potentially non-adherent patients. In-house prepared urine tests strips are an effective and cheap method of objectively assessing INH adherence, and could be used an important tool in TB control programs

Environment and shipping drive environmental DNA beta-diversity among commercial ports

The spread of nonindigenous species by shipping is a large and growing global problem that harms coastal ecosystems and economies and may blur coastal biogeographical patterns. This study coupled eukaryotic environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding with dissimilarity regression to test the hypothesis that ship-borne species spread homogenizes port communities. We first collected and metabarcoded water samples from ports in Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. We then calculated community dissimilarities between port pairs and tested for effects of environmental dissimilarity, biogeographical region and four alternative measures of ship-borne species transport risk. We predicted that higher shipping between ports would decrease community dissimilarity, that the effect of shipping would be small compared to that of environment dissimilarity and shared biogeography, and that more complex shipping risk metrics (which account for ballast water and stepping-stone spread) would perform better. Consistent with our hypotheses, community dissimilarities increased significantly with environmental dissimilarity and, to a lesser extent, decreased with ship-borne species transport risks, particularly if the ports had similar environments and stepping-stone risks were considered. Unexpectedly, we found no clear effect of shared biogeography, and that risk metrics incorporating estimates of ballast discharge did not offer more explanatory power than simpler traffic-based risks. Overall, we found that shipping homogenizes eukaryotic communities between ports in predictable ways, which could inform improvements in invasive species policy and management. We demonstrated the usefulness of eDNA metabarcoding and dissimilarity regression for disentangling the drivers of large-scale biodiversity patterns. We conclude by outlining logistical considerations and recommendations for future studies using this approach.Fil: Andrés, Jose. Cornell University. Department Of Ecology And Evolutionary Biology;Fil: Czechowski, Paul. Cornell University. Department Of Ecology And Evolutionary Biology; . University of Otago; Nueva Zelanda. Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research; AlemaniaFil: Grey, Erin. University of Maine; Estados Unidos. Governors State University; Estados UnidosFil: Saebi, Mandana. University of Notre Dame; Estados UnidosFil: Andres, Kara. Cornell University. Department Of Ecology And Evolutionary Biology;Fil: Brown, Christopher. California State University Maritime Academy; Estados UnidosFil: Chawla, Nitesh. University of Notre Dame; Estados UnidosFil: Corbett, James J.. University of Delaware; Estados UnidosFil: Brys, Rein. Research Institute for Nature and Forest; BélgicaFil: Cassey, Phillip. University of Adelaide; AustraliaFil: Correa, Nancy. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Instituto Universitario Naval de la Ara. Escuela de Ciencias del Mar; Argentina. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Servicio de Hidrografía Naval; ArgentinaFil: Deveney, Marty R.. South Australian Research And Development Institute; AustraliaFil: Egan, Scott P.. Rice University; Estados UnidosFil: Fisher, Joshua P.. United States Fish and Wildlife Service; Estados UnidosFil: vanden Hooff, Rian. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality; Estados UnidosFil: Knapp, Charles R.. Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research; Estados UnidosFil: Leong, Sandric Chee Yew. National University of Singapore; SingapurFil: Neilson, Brian J.. State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources; Estados UnidosFil: Paolucci, Esteban Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Pfrender, Michael E.. University of Notre Dame; Estados UnidosFil: Pochardt, Meredith R.. M. Rose Consulting; Estados UnidosFil: Prowse, Thomas A. A.. University of Adelaide; AustraliaFil: Rumrill, Steven S.. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; Estados UnidosFil: Scianni, Chris. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; Argentina. Marine Invasive Species Program; Estados UnidosFil: Sylvester, Francisco. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; ArgentinaFil: Tamburri, Mario N.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Therriault, Thomas W.. Pacific Biological Station; CanadáFil: Yeo, Darren C. J.. National University of Singapore; SingapurFil: Lodge, David M.. Cornell University. Department Of Ecology And Evolutionary Biology

Interaction and Modulation of Two Antagonistic Cell Wall Enzymes of Mycobacteria

Bacterial cell growth and division require coordinated cell wall hydrolysis and synthesis, allowing for the removal and expansion of cell wall material. Without proper coordination, unchecked hydrolysis can result in cell lysis. How these opposing activities are simultaneously regulated is poorly understood. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the resuscitation-promoting factor B (RpfB), a lytic transglycosylase, interacts and synergizes with Rpf-interacting protein A (RipA), an endopeptidase, to hydrolyze peptidoglycan. However, it remains unclear what governs this synergy and how it is coordinated with cell wall synthesis. Here we identify the bifunctional peptidoglycan-synthesizing enzyme, penicillin binding protein 1 (PBP1), as a RipA-interacting protein. PBP1, like RipA, localizes both at the poles and septa of dividing cells. Depletion of the ponA1 gene, encoding PBP1 in M. smegmatis, results in a severe growth defect and abnormally shaped cells, indicating that PBP1 is necessary for viability and cell wall stability. Finally, PBP1 inhibits the synergistic hydrolysis of peptidoglycan by the RipA-RpfB complex in vitro. These data reveal a post-translational mechanism for regulating cell wall hydrolysis and synthesis through protein–protein interactions between enzymes with antagonistic functions