Cognitive Reserve and its Association with Cognitive Abilities and the Big Five

The present study explored the concept of cognitive reserve by using a testing-the-limits paradigm (Kliegl et al., 1989). 140 young (M = 22.8 years, range = 20-30) and 140 older (M = 67.3 years, range = 57-75) adults were provided with extensive retest practice in the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and a visual search task. Cognitive abilities (fluid reasoning, memory, attention) and personality dimensions (Big Five) served as predictors of retest improvement (i.e., cognitive reserve). Latent Growth Curve analyses demonstrated greater DSST improvement for the young group, but similar visual search improvement for both age groups, indicating age-independent cognitive reserve in visual search. Improvement rates for both tasks were weakly correlated, speaking rather for task-specific learning than for a general cognitive reserve. Cognitive reserve was rather independent from cognitive abilities and, with one exception, also from personality dimensions. Implications for cognitive reserve in general and DSST and visual search retest learning in particular are discussed

Elder Orphans Hiding in Plain Sight: A Growing Vulnerable Population

Adults are increasingly aging alone with multiple chronic diseases and are geographically distant from family or friends. It is challenging for clinicians to identify these individuals, often struggling with managing the growing difficulties and the complexities involved in delivering care to this population. Clinicians often may not recognize or know how to address the needs that these patients have in managing their own health. While many such patients function well at baseline, the slightest insult can initiate a cascade of avoidable negative events. We have resurrected the term elder orphan to describe individuals living alone with little to no support system. Using public data sets, including the US Census and University of Michigan’s Health and Retirement Study, we estimated the prevalence of adults 65 years and older to be around 22%. Thus, in this paper, we strive to describe and quantify this growing vulnerable population and offer practical approaches to identify and develop care plans that are consistent with each person’s goals of care. The complex medical and psychosocial issues for elder orphans significantly impact the individual person, communities, and health-care expenditures. We hope to encourage professionals across disciplines to work cooperatively to screen elders and implement policies to prevent elder orphans from hiding in plain sight

Análisis vibracional de pyraclostrobin y su detección por SERS

El presente trabajo se enfoca en la síntesis de sustratos adecuados para emplear la Espectroscopía Raman Intensificada en Superficie (SERS) como método rápido, sencillo y económico para la detección de residuos de pesticidas en cáscara de limón. Nos interesa precisamente determinar la presencia de pyraclostrobin, un fungicida sistémico local, de la familia de las estrobilurinas, recomendado en plantaciones de limonero, naranjo, mandarino y pomelo para el control de lamancha negra. SERS permite el estudio de analitos en muy bajas concentraciones y su sensibilidad se basa en la intensificación, en varios órdenes de magnitud, que experimenta el espectro vibracional de moléculas adsorbidas sobre unasuperficie metálica nanoestructurada, como consecuencia de la resonancia plasmónica inducida por una fuente de excitación adecuada. Dicha superficie metálica puede ser la de una nanopartícula de Cu, Ag u Au. Aquí, empleamos suspensiones coloidales de nanopartículas de plata (NPsAg), sintetizadas a partir de AgNO3 y NH2OH.HCl, como sustrato para SERS y un microscopio Raman equipado con un láser de 532 nm como instrumento de análisis. El sistema estudiado consistió en un stock de soluciones acuosas de concentración decreciente de Comet®, producto comercial cuyo principio activo es elpyraclostrobin. El sustrato permitió obtener espectros SERS con bandas de vibración intensas del pesticida en concentraciones tan diluidas como 10-7 M, sugiriendo que el límite de detección del método propuesto podría extenderse hasta dos o tres órdenes más de dilución del pesticida en agua. La efectividad de las NPsAg sugiere su potencial uso como método para el análisis preliminar de la sanidad e inocuidad de los productos de exportación en cuanto a los residuos de pyraclostrobin (MRLs: 1 mg/kg,es decir, 2,6x10-6 M). Este trabajo reporta también el análisis vibracional completo de la molécula de pyraclostrobin, a partir de los espectros vibracionales, FTIR y Raman, y cálculos mecanocuánticos (B3LYP/6-311g*).Fil: Dominguez, Alfredo Nicolás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Química del Noroeste. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química del Noroeste; ArgentinaFil: Emmert, German Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química Física; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Rosa Maria Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Química del Noroeste. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química del Noroeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química Física; ArgentinaIX Congreso Argentino de CitriculturaSan Miguel de TucumánArgentinaEstación Experimental Agrícola Obispo ColombresMinisterio de Desarrollo Productivo de TucumánInstituto de Desarrollo Productivo de TucumánUniversidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y ZootecniaInstituto Nacional de Tecnología AgropecuariaColegio de Ingenieros Agrónomos y Zootécnicas de Tucumá

FlyBase at 25: looking to the future.

Since 1992, FlyBase (flybase.org) has been an essential online resource for the Drosophila research community. Concentrating on the most extensively studied species, Drosophila melanogaster, FlyBase includes information on genes (molecular and genetic), transgenic constructs, phenotypes, genetic and physical interactions, and reagents such as stocks and cDNAs. Access to data is provided through a number of tools, reports, and bulk-data downloads. Looking to the future, FlyBase is expanding its focus to serve a broader scientific community. In this update, we describe new features, datasets, reagent collections, and data presentations that address this goal, including enhanced orthology data, Human Disease Model Reports, protein domain search and visualization, concise gene summaries, a portal for external resources, video tutorials and the FlyBase Community Advisory Group

The Negative Feedback-Loop between the Oncomir Mir-24-1 and Menin Modulates the Men1 Tumorigenesis by Mimicking the “Knudson’s Second Hit”

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) syndrome is a rare hereditary cancer disorder characterized by tumors of the parathyroids, of the neuroendocrine cells, of the gastro-entero-pancreatic tract, of the anterior pituitary, and by non-endocrine neoplasms and lesions. MEN1 gene, a tumor suppressor gene, encodes menin protein. Loss of heterozygosity at 11q13 is typical of MEN1 tumors, in agreement with the Knudson’s two-hit hypothesis. In silico analysis with Target Scan, Miranda and Pictar-Vert softwares for the prediction of miRNA targets indicated miR-24-1 as capable to bind to the 3′UTR of MEN1 mRNA. We investigated this possibility by analysis of miR-24-1 expression profiles in parathyroid adenomatous tissues from MEN1 gene mutation carriers, in their sporadic non-MEN1 counterparts, and in normal parathyroid tissue. Interestingly, the MEN1 tumorigenesis seems to be under the control of a “negative feedback loop” between miR-24-1 and menin protein, that mimics the second hit of Knudson’s hypothesis and that could buffer the effect of the stochastic factors that contribute to the onset and progression of this disease. Our data show an alternative way to MEN1 tumorigenesis and, probably, to the “two-hit dogma”. The functional significance of this regulatory mechanism in MEN1 tumorigenesis is also the basis for opening future developments of RNA antagomir(s)-based strategies in the in vivo control of tumorigenesis in MEN1 carriers

RNAcentral : a hub of information for non-coding RNA sequences

RNAcentral is a comprehensive database of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) sequences, collating information on ncRNA sequences of all types from a broad range of organisms. We have recently added a new genome mapping pipeline that identifies genomic locations for ncRNA sequences in 296 species. We have also added several new types of functional annotations, such as tRNA secondary structures, Gene Ontology annotations, and miRNA-target interactions. A new quality control mechanism based on Rfam family assignments identifies potential contamination, incomplete sequences, and more. The RNAcentral database has become a vital component of many workflows in the RNA community, serving as both the primary source of sequence data for academic and commercial groups, as well as a source of stable accessions for the annotation of genomic and functional features. These examples are facilitated by an improved RNAcentral web interface, which features an updated genome browser, a new sequence feature viewer, and improved text search functionality. RNAcentral is freely available at https://rnacentral.org

Comparison of proprioceptive acuity of the cervical spine in healthy adults and adults with chronic non-specific low back pain: A cross-sectional study

Background It has been suggested that patients with chronic non-specific low back pain (CNSLBP) perform poorly in postural tasks when compared to healthy individuals. Despite its importance in posture and alignment of the trunk in relation to the head, neck proprioception has not been examined in patients with low back pain. The purpose of this study was to compare neck proprioception in patients with CNSLBP with healthy individuals. Methods Cervical joint reposition error was measured five times consecutively in the neutral head position, 30° and 60° left and right head rotation. The main outcome measure was the mean cervical joint repositioning error of the head. Results Forty-six participants with (n = 24, 54 ± 16yrs SD, 14 females) and without (n = 22, 36 ± 13yrs SD, 13 females) CNSLBP were included in the study. Comparison of mean cervical joint repositioning error between patients and healthy controls showed no statistically significant group difference in any of the applied positions. The range of deviation in CNSLBP patients was between 1.57° and 3.27° compared to 1.46° to 2.26° in healthy controls. An overshooting tendency for both groups was found in the neutral head position. Conclusion The ability to accurately position the head does not seem to be impaired in patients with CNSLBP. This may suggest that sensorimotor control is affected on other levels of the movement system and future research should focus on methods to identify the source of these aberrations.ISSN:1932-620