Patterns and associates of cognitive function, psychosocial wellbeing and health in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

BACKGROUND: Cognitive function, psychosocial wellbeing and health are important domains of function. Consistencies and inconsistencies in patterns of wellbeing across these domains may be informative about wellbeing in old age and the ways it is manifested amongst individuals. In this study we investigated whether there were groups of individuals with different profiles of scores across these domains. We also aimed to identify characteristics of any evident groups by comparing them on variables that were not used in identifying the groups. METHODS: The sample was the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, which included 1091 participants born in 1936. They are a community-dwelling, narrow-age-range sample of 70-year-olds. Most had taken part in the Scottish Mental Survey 1947 at an average age of 11, making available a measure of childhood intelligence. We used latent class analysis (LCA) to explore possible profiles using 9 variables indicating cognitive functioning, psychosocial wellbeing and health status. Demographic, personality, and lifestyle variables – none of which were used in the LCA – were used to characterize the resulting profile groups. RESULTS: We accepted a 3-group solution, which we labeled High Wellbeing (65.3%), Low Cognition (20.3%), and Low Bio-Psychosocial (14.5%). Notably, the High Wellbeing group had significantly higher childhood IQ, lower Neuroticism scores, and a lower percentage of current smokers than the other 2 groups. CONCLUSION: The majority of individuals were functioning generally well; however, there was evidence of the presence of groups with different profiles, which may be explained in part in terms of cognitive ability differences. Results suggested that higher life-long intelligence, personality traits associated with less mental distress, and basic health practices such as avoiding smoking are important associates of wellbeing in old age

Sphingomyelinase D Activity in Model Membranes: Structural Effects of in situ Generation of Ceramide-1-Phosphate

The toxicity of Loxosceles spider venom has been attributed to a rare enzyme, sphingomyelinase D, which transforms sphingomyelin to ceramide-1-phosphate. The bases of its inflammatory and dermonecrotic activity, however, remain unclear. In this work the effects of ceramide-1-phosphate on model membranes were studied both by in situ generation of this lipid using a recombinant sphingomyelinase D from the spider Loxosceles laeta and by pre-mixing it with sphingomyelin and cholesterol. The systems of choice were large unilamellar vesicles for bulk studies (enzyme kinetics, fluorescence spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering) and giant unilamellar vesicles for fluorescence microscopy examination using a variety of fluorescent probes. The influence of membrane lateral structure on the kinetics of enzyme activity and the consequences of enzyme activity on the structure of target membranes containing sphingomyelin were examined. The findings indicate that: 1) ceramide-1-phosphate (particularly lauroyl ceramide-1-phosphate) can be incorporated into sphingomyelin bilayers in a concentration-dependent manner and generates coexistence of liquid disordered/solid ordered domains, 2) the activity of sphingomyelinase D is clearly influenced by the supramolecular organization of its substrate in membranes and, 3) in situ ceramide-1-phosphate generation by enzymatic activity profoundly alters the lateral structure and morphology of the target membranes

A Reliability-Generalization Study of Journal Peer Reviews: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis of Inter-Rater Reliability and Its Determinants

Background: This paper presents the first meta-analysis for the inter-rater reliability (IRR) of journal peer reviews. IRR is defined as the extent to which two or more independent reviews of the same scientific document agree. Methodology/Principal Findings: Altogether, 70 reliability coefficients (Cohen’s Kappa, intra-class correlation [ICC], and Pearson product-moment correlation [r]) from 48 studies were taken into account in the meta-analysis. The studies were based on a total of 19,443 manuscripts; on average, each study had a sample size of 311 manuscripts (minimum: 28, maximum: 1983). The results of the meta-analysis confirmed the findings of the narrative literature reviews published to date: The level of IRR (mean ICC/r 2 =.34, mean Cohen’s Kappa =.17) was low. To explain the study-to-study variation of the IRR coefficients, meta-regression analyses were calculated using seven covariates. Two covariates that emerged in the metaregression analyses as statistically significant to gain an approximate homogeneity of the intra-class correlations indicated that, firstly, the more manuscripts that a study is based on, the smaller the reported IRR coefficients are. Secondly, if the information of the rating system for reviewers was reported in a study, then this was associated with a smaller IRR coefficient than if the information was not conveyed. Conclusions/Significance: Studies that report a high level of IRR are to be considered less credible than those with a low level o

Gaming Simulation Validation: Matching Participants’ Worldviews with Their Decisions

Gaming simulation is a successful approach to many issues where a holistic view is important. However, to use results from gaming simulations, the game has to be validated. This paper proposes a two-step approach for process validation of behavior for the gaming simulation by comparing decisions that players make in a game with the perceptions that affect their real-life decisions. Two case studies, where this approach was applied, are presented and the results are analyzed and discussed. A strong correlation between behavior during the games and in the real world was observed. This correlation indicates that gaming simulations in these cases are validated and represent the real system in an accu-rate manner. Thus, these cases show that the proposed approach works and can be used for validation of gaming simulations.QCR 20190206</p

Wederzijdse stereotypen van jongeren en ouderen en hun relatie met zelfbeeld en zelfwaardering

Contains fulltext : 55919.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)In dit artikel wordt een vergelijking gemaakt tussen jongeren en ouderen omtrent hun stereotyperingen van beide leeftijdsgroepen, hun zelfbeeld en zelfwaardering. Onderzocht is wat de relatie is van leeftijd met stereotypen over jongeren en ouderen, hoe het zelfbeeld van jongeren en ouderen is in vergelijking met het beeld dat ze hebben van de eigen leeftijdsgroep en hoe de samenhang is tussen het zelfbeeld en de zelfwaardering. Stereotiepe beelden en het zelfbeeld werden gemeten op twee dimensies, warmte en competentie. Achtentwintig jongeren (16-25 jaar) en 26 ouderen (65-85 jaar) hebben hun medewerking verleend aan het onderzoek. Door beide leeftijdsgroepen worden jongeren als meer competent gezien dan ouderen en ouderen als warmer dan jongeren. Ouderen schatten zichzelf beter in dan hun leeftijdsgroep op warmte en competentie. Jongeren doen hetzelfde, maar alleen wat betreft warmte. Voor ouderen hangt een hogere beoordeling van zichzelf op de dimensie competentie in vergelijking met de eigen groep samen met zelfwaardering. Zich distantiëren van negatieve stereotypen over de eigen leeftijdsgroep is alleen voor ouderen een belangrijke sleutel bij het in stand houden van de zelfwaardering.9 p