Cognitive differences in the older adults living in the general community: gender and mental occupational state study

Older adults are particularly vulnerable to cognitive impairment with age, and gender differences are remarkable. However, there is very little evidence to identify both baseline cognitive and occupational gender differences prior to older adults’ retirement to design more efficient personalized cognitive interventions. This descriptive observational study examined gender differences in initial cognitive performance in 367 older adults with subjective memory complaints from a primary healthcare center in Zaragoza (Spain). To evaluate initial cognitive performance, the Spanish version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MEC-35) and the set test were used to measure verbal fluency. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were evaluated, and cognitive and occupational differences were analyzed per gender. Men had higher educational and occupational levels, were older and more of them were married (p < 0.001) than women. Regarding cardiovascular risk factors, diabetes and cerebrovascular accidents were more frequent in women, while hypercholesterolemia and obesity were more frequent in men (p < 0.001). High blood pressure was more frequent in women, but not significantly so (p = 0.639). Global cognition was higher in men (p < 0.001) for attention, calculation, and language (p < 0.001). Verbal fluency was higher in women, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.105). These results could be gen-eralized to other health centers in the province and other Spanish autonomous communities as their sociodemographic variables are similar. Individualized interventions that adapt to gender, cognitive and initial occupational performance should be developed and adapted to elderly populations living in the general community to maintain their cognitive capacity and prevent their cognitive impairment and the social health costs this would imply

Analysis of the effect of cognitive stimulation program in older adults with normal cognition: randomized clinical trial

Fundamento. Los programas de estimulación cognitiva en adultos mayores persiguen mejorías cognitivas y emocionales. Existen escasos programas adaptados por niveles cognitivos y ocupacionales en mayores sin deterioro cognitivo. El objetivo fue analizar la efectividad de una intervención de estimulación cognitiva adaptada a dos niveles cognitivos en adultos mayores sobre la cognición y el estado de ánimo. Material y métodos. Ensayo clínico aleatorizado (CONSORT) en un centro de salud, que incluyó 201 participantes = 65 años (101 intervención y 100 control) evaluados tras la intervención, a los seis meses y al año. Los instrumentos de evaluación fueron el mini-examen cognoscitivo (MEC), la escala de ansiedad abreviada de Goldberg y la escala de depresión geriátrica de Yesavage (GDS-15). La intervención se efectuó mediante un programa de estimulación cognitiva de dos niveles cognitivos según MEC (nivel alto: 32-35; nivel bajo: 28-31) con diez sesiones de 45 minutos. El análisis estadístico se realizó mediante t-Student. Resultados. La diferencia de las medias de puntuación MEC entre los grupos control e intervención fue estadísticamente significativa en las tres valoraciones; estas diferencias se observaron independientemente del sexo, edad, nivel cognitivo, y estado de ánimo. Al año se incrementó 1, 48 puntos la puntuación MEC en el grupo de nivel alto y 2, 03 en el de nivel bajo. Las puntuaciones MEC no variaron según ansiedad y depresión en ninguna de las valoraciones. Conclusiones. El programa de estimulación cognitiva, adaptado por niveles cognitivos, muestra beneficios cognitivos en personas mayores sin deterioro cognitivo que viven en la comunidad, independientemente del sexo, edad y nivel educativo. Background. Cognitive stimulation programs in older adults seek cognitive and emotional improvements. The literature makes no reference to programs adapted according to cognitive and occupational levels in older adults with no cognitive impairment. The objective of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of level-adapted cognitive stimulation intervention in older adults in terms of cognition and mood. Methods. Randomized clinical trial (CONSORT) at a health center, which included 201 participants >= 65 years (101 intervention and 100 control) evaluated immediately after the intervention, then at six months and finally at one year. The assessment instruments were the cognitive mini-exam (CME), the abbreviated Goldberg anxiety scale and the Yesavage geriatric depression scale (GDS-15). The intervention was carried out through a cognitive stimulation program with two cognitive levels according to CME (high: 32-35; low: 28-31) with ten sessions of 45 minutes. Statistical analysis was performed by Student''s t-test. Results. The difference observed in the averages between control and intervention groups was statistically significant in the three assessments; these differences were observed regardless of gender, age, cognitive level, and mood. One year after the intervention, CME score reached an increase of 1.48 points in the in the high level group and 2.03 points in the low level. However, no significant differences in CME score were observed in any of the assessments for anxiety or depression. Conclusion. A cognitive stimulation program, cognitive level-adapted, has shown cognitive benefits in older adults without cognitive impairment living in the community, regardless of sex, age and educational level

Sex-moderated socio-labor aspects as mediators of a cognitive stimulation program in older adults: randomized clinical trial

Cognitive stimulation is essential for successful aging. The influence of sex and socio-occupational elements on this area remains unknown. This study aimed to analyze the possible mediation of those elements in the effectiveness of a cognitive stimulation program in primary care. A randomized clinical trial was conducted with 232 adults aged 65 years or older without cognitive impairment. The intervention produced significant cognitive improvements. Women improved independently of social and occupational factors, while men’s improvement occurred at a low role level (zero to one), a medium level of interests (two to three), with a medium level of mental occupation (neither high nor low), and with marked personal values. The mediating variables were the intervention group in both sexes and, also in men, a low and medium role level. Therefore, the intervention and roles appear as mediating variables moderated by sex. In conclusion, cognitive stimulation programs should be adapted

Functional differences found in the elderly living in the community

Introduction: Successful aging lies in cognitive and functional maintenance, and in the optimal performance of daily tasks that keep the elderly free of disability and dependence. However, there is little evidence for functional differences for gender and age, and how cognitive and physical demands in past working lives can affect them, to design more personalized occupational therapy interventions to prevent functional and cognitive impairment. Method: This observational descrip-tive study evaluated 367 older adults living in a community with subjective memory complaints and scored between 24 and 35 with the Spanish version of the “Mini-Mental State Examination (MEC-35)”. Basic activities of daily living (BADL) were studied with the Barthel Index, while instrumental ADL (IADL) were examined with the Lawton–Brody scale. Functional differences for gender, age, and physico-mental occupation were examined. Results: The significant differences found for gender indicated that men did better in BADL (p = 0.026) and women better performed IADL (p < 0.001). Differences between age groups suggest that the younger group (aged 64–75) obtained better results for BADL (p = 0.001) and IADL (p < 0.001). For physico-mental occupation, statistically significant differences were found only in IADL for mental (p = 0.034) and physical occupation (p = 0.005). Conclusions: Gender, age, and the cognitive and physical demands of occupational stages, can be important predictors of cognitive and functional impairment. These results can be generalized to other health centers in the province and to other Spanish Autonomous Communities because their socio-demographic variables are similar. It would be interesting to carry out multimodal personalized interventions that consider the factors that might affect functional impairment to preserve personal autonomy. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

A faint extended cluster in the outskirts of NGC 5128: evidence of a low mass accretion

We report the discovery of an extended globular cluster in a halo field in Centaurus A (NGC 5128), situated \sim 38\kpc from the centre of that galaxy, imaged with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope. At the distance of the galaxy, the half-light radius of the cluster is r_h ~ 17pc, placing it among the largest globular clusters known. The faint absolute magnitude of the star cluster, M_(V,o)=-5.2, and its large size render this object somewhat different from the population of extended globular clusters previously reported, making it the first firm detection in the outskirts of a giant galaxy of an analogue of the faint, diffuse globular clusters present in the outer halo of the Milky Way. The colour-magnitude diagram of the cluster, covering approximately the brightest four magnitudes of the red giant branch, is consistent with an ancient, i.e., older than ~8 Gyr, intermediate-metallicity, i.e., [M/H] ~-1.0 dex, stellar population. We also report the detection of a second, even fainter cluster candidate which would have r_h ~ 9pc, and M_(V,o)=-3.4 if it is at the distance of NGC 5128. The properties of the extended globular cluster and the diffuse stellar populations in its close vicinity suggest that they are part of a low mass accretion in the outer regions of NGC 5128.Comment: 9 pages, MNRAS, in pres

A complex storm system in Saturn’s north polar atmosphere in 2018

Producción CientíficaSaturn’s convective storms usually fall in two categories. One consists of mid-sized storms ∼2,000 km wide, appearing as irregular bright cloud systems that evolve rapidly, on scales of a few days. The other includes the Great White Spots, planetary-scale giant storms ten times larger than the mid-sized ones, which disturb a full latitude band, enduring several months, and have been observed only seven times since 1876. Here we report a new intermediate type, observed in 2018 in the north polar region. Four large storms with east–west lengths ∼4,000–8,000 km (the first one lasting longer than 200 days) formed sequentially in close latitudes, experiencing mutual encounters and leading to zonal disturbances affecting a full latitude band ∼8,000 km wide, during at least eight months. Dynamical simulations indicate that each storm required energies around ten times larger than mid-sized storms but ∼100 times smaller than those necessary for a Great White Spot. This event occurred at about the same latitude and season as the Great White Spot in 1960, in close correspondence with the cycle of approximately 60 years hypothesized for equatorial Great White Spots.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (project AYA2015-65041-P)Gobierno Vasco (project IT-366-19

Concentraciones anómalas de oligoelementos contaminantes en aguas subterráneas del partido de José C. Paz, provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina

Los partidos del Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires se caracterizan por un aumento sostenido en la co ntaminación del agua, que causa serios problemas de salud. A través de un proyecto de investigación financiado por la Fundación YPF, se aportó al conocimiento del problema en José C. Paz. Los objetivos fueron: determinar los parámetros fisicoquímicos y composición iónica en muestras de agua; establecer concentraciones anómalas de oligoelementos, reconocer procesos para remediación e interesar a docentes y alumnos en investigaciones relevantes. Se analizaron 102 muestras de aguas subterráneas para consumo y superficiales, 10 de ellas por oligoelementos, en un área de 50 km2, resultando: [As]: 0,40-26,9 μg L-1 (mediana=15,5 μg L-1); [Se]: 17,5-39,9 μg L-1 (mediana=27,65 μg L-1) y [Hg]: 0,8-21,8 μg L-1 (mediana= 1,25 μg L-1). Se destaca que el alto pH y los procesos de sorción y desorción en la superficie de minerales loéssicos contribuyen a la concentración de arsénico.The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area counties are characterized by a steady growth in water pollution, ge nerating serious health problems. Through a research project, financed by YPF Foundation, a better understanding of the problem within José C. Paz County was reached. The objectives were to determine water-samples physicochemical parameters and ionic composition; to establish anomalous oligoelements concentrations in some selected samples, to recognize remediation processes and to interest teachers and students in relevant research. One hundred and two drinking water samples from shallow and deep aquifers and from surface courses were analized, ten of them for oligoelements, in an area of 50 km2; the concentrations being: [As]: 0,40-26,9 μg L-1 (median=15,5 μg L-1); [Se]: 17,5-39,9 μg L-1 (median=27,65μg L-1) and [Hg]: 0,8-21,8 μg L-1 (median= 1,25 μg L-1). Noticeably, the high pH and the surface sorption and desorption processes of loessic minerals, contribute to the arsenic concentration.Universidad Nacional de La Plat

Real space observation of the magnetic coupling between a Co film and a barium hexaferrite film

RIVA ONLINE 2021 – IBERIAN VACUUM ONLINE MEETING. The Iberian Vacuum Conference, (Reunión Ibérica de Vacío, RIVA) is a joint meeting of the Portuguese Vacuum Society (SOPORVAC) and the Spanish Vacuum Society (ASEVA), 2021 RIVA will take place ON-LINE from 4-6th October 2021. .-https://aseva.es/conferences/riva-online/Barium ferrite (BaFe12O19, BFO) is a hexagonal ferrite with applications as permanent magnet in many different devices due to its high magnetocrystalline anisotropy, high coercive field and low cost. However, the moderate saturation magnetization of BFO means that the energy product is orders of magnitude smaller than the one that rare-earth-based magnetic materials offer. To overcome this limitation, a commonly proposed strategy to enhance the energy product is exchange-coupling the magnetically hard component (BFO) with a soft phase in order to improve the combined remanent magnetization without a high loss in coercivity. Nonetheless, the results obtained in other hard/soft systems (SFO/Co bilayers) have pointed out the difficulty to take advantage of this rigid coupling magnetic regime1. In this research, we focus on two steps to investigate the Co/BFO coupling in a bilayer system: first, we sought to obtain BFO films with an in- plane magnetic easy axis to avoid shape anisotropy competition, and second, we deposit Co on top of such a BFO film while monitoring both the BFO and Co magnetic domains