The heterogeneity of subjective cognitive decline: A data‐driven approach on a population‐based sample

AbstractBackgroundSubjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) has been largely studied as a risk condition for cognitive decline, mainly in memory clinics or research settings. SCD samples are highly heterogeneous, including both individuals with early Alzheimer's disease and others with psychological vulnerabilities and/or physical comorbidity. Aims: identify distinct SCD subgroups in a population‐based sample of cognitively normal (CN) older adults; explore cross‐sectional differences among SCD subgroups and controls (noSCD); investigate the effect of SCD status on 8‐year cognitive changes.MethodThe InveCe.Ab population‐based study (NCT01345110) enrolled people aged 70‐74 years residing in Abbiategrasso (Milan). Participants underwent multidimensional assessment (blood sampling, lifestyle interview, medical and neuropsychological assessment) at baseline (Nov 2009‐Jan 2011) and after 2, 4 and 8 years. CN participants at baseline completing at least 60% of neuropsychological assessment were included in the present investigation. Those reporting any cognitive complaints to the geriatrician were classified as SCD. Hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted in SCD including 9 relevant variables: education, depressive symptoms, cardiovascular risk, comorbidity, subjective cognitive complaints (numbers) and 4 neuropsychological scores measuring memory, executive functions, visuospatial abilities and language respectively. Cross‐sectional differences among the SCD subgroups identified and noSCD were performed using Kruskal‐Wallis test. Longitudinal cognitive changes according to baseline SCD status (noSCD, SCD subgroups) were estimated using linear mixed models, adjusted for age and education.ResultTwo clusters were identified in SCD. Table 1 shows cross‐sectional results. SCD1 (N=141), compared to SCD2 and CN, were less educated, have higher comorbidities, depressive symptoms and SCD complaints. SCD1 showed lower performances on executive and visuospatial functions, while SCD2, despite being healthier and more educated, showed reduced episodic memory. At longitudinal analysis, all cognitive functions declined due to aging (Time; p<.001). SCD2 displayed a steeper worsening on executive function (Group*Time; p<.001).ConclusionThe presence of SCD at the population level could be informative of future cognitive decline when reported by individuals with higher education. Future studies are needed to clarify the meaning of this condition in the aged population, in order to identify early those at increased risk of actual cognitive decline

QUOVADIS Project - Organization of Validation Exercises

Waste-to-energy Solid Recovered Fuels (SRF) are prepared from non-hazardous waste. Their use is regulated under EU legislation and requires specifications for commercial or regulatory purposes. SRFs are seen as important contributors to a sustainable EU waste management. Directive 2001/77/EC includes in its scope the production of electricity from biomass, being defined as the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from agriculture, forestry and related industries, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste. In this context the European Commission (EC) gave a mandate to the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) to develop and validate Technical Specification (TS) concerning SRF for energy recovery and to transform these TS into European Standards. To meet these requests, a holistic validation programme covering quality management and the validation exercises for the pre-standards of CEN¿s Technical Committee on Solid Recovered Fuels (CEN TC 343) was designed and carried out by various members of CEN TC 343, interested Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the European Commission¿s Joint Research Centre (JRC). This report gives an overview about the validation programm called QUOVADIS (from QUality Management Organisation, VAlidation of Standards, Developments and Inquiries for Solid-Recovered Fuels). In particular the results stemming from the validation intercomparisons, which were carried out according to the requirements of the ISO Standard 5725 are shown. Upon statistical treatment the respective performance characteristics in terms of repeatability and reproducibility could be obtained.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Contrasting Styles of Inter-Caldera Volcanism in a Peralkaline System: Case Studies from Pantelleria (Sicily Channel, Italy)

The recent (\u3c190 ka) volcanic history of Pantelleria is characterized by the eruption of nine peralkaline ignimbrites, ranging in composition from comenditic trachyte to comendite to pantellerite. The ~46 ka Green Tuff (GT) was the last of these ignimbrites, which was followed by many effusive and explosive low-volume eruptions of pantellerite from vents within the caldera moat and along the caldera rim. Although recent studies have shed additional light on the age, petrochemistry, and volcanology of the older ignimbrites, there is very little knowledge of magmatism that occurred between these older ignimbrites, primarily due to the very scarce exposures. In this paper, we present new field descriptions and geochemical data for three local peralkaline centers never studied before, two pre-GT and one post-GT, which share a similar setting with respect to the caldera scarps but differ in terms of their age, composition, and eruptive style. These centers include: (i) the older (~125 ka) Giache center (comenditic trachyte), (ii) the ~67 ka Attalora center (comendite, pantellerite), and (iii) the younger (~14 ka) Patite center (pantellerite)

Electromagnetic Modeling of C Shape Ferrite Loaded Kickers

The kickers are major contributors to the CERN SPS beam coupling impedance. As such, they may represent a limitation to increasing the SPS bunch current in the frame of an intensity upgrade of the LHC. In this paper, analytical approach and CST Particle Studio time domain electromagnetic simulations are performed to obtain the longitudinal and transverse impedances/wake potentials of models of ferrite loaded kickers. It turns out that the existing models are not sufficient to characterize correctly these components from the coupling impedance point of view. In particular the results show that below few hundred MHz the real C-structure of the magnet cannot be neglected. Therefore an analytical model was developed and benchmarked with EM simulations to take into account the C-shape of the magnet

Monitoraggio Ambientale di un'Area Contaminata nella Provincia di Pavia

Lo scopo di tale indagine è stato quello di valutare il livello di contaminazione, l'estensione e l'entità di contaminanti presenti nei suoli superficiali a suo tempo riscontrati mediante il Progetto Pavia. Il monitoraggio ambientale ha interessato un'area di circa 12 ettari che si trova nel comune di Carpiano. Complessivamente sono state identificate 33 aree di campionamento dove sono stati prelevati campioni di suolo sino alla profondità di 30 cm. In ciascun campione di suolo, dopo adeguati trattamenti, è stata valutata la concentrazione di metalli pesanti, metalloidi, macroelementi, sostanza organica, pH, densità apparente, contenuto d'acqua. In alcuni campioni, precisamente 11, si è analizzata la concentrazione di diossine e furani e si è approntato uno studio che ha visto l'utilizzo dei batteri e dei loro prodotti. Lo studio condotto attraverso l'uso dei batteri ha evidenziato anomalie in alcuni punti ad elevata contaminazione. I risultati analitici ottenuti hanno identificato la presenza di una importante contaminazione di metalli pesanti, metalloidi, diossine e furani che interessa un area di alcuni ettari. Tale livello di contaminazione, per la presenza di sostanza organica e per valori ridotti di acidità dei suoli stessi, potrà arrecare danni ingenti all'ambiente.JRC.DDG.H.7-Land management and natural hazard

Coexistence of mastoid, frontal and vertebral hemangiomas in a patient with diabetic neuropathy: Possible correlation between diabetic angiopathy and intraosseous neoangiogenesis

: Bony hemangiomas are benign vascular lesions with an expansive growth; usually they tend to obliterate the entire bony cavity. They are typical lesion of the spinal bones, but they can rarely arise within other bones of the neurocranium. Diabetic microangiopathy is a condition characterized by the development of aberrant vessel tangles anastomosed to each other due to dysregulated neoangiogenesis. We report the case of a 56-year-old woman, suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus, admitted to the neurology department due to a reported worsening of paresthesias and dysesthesias of the upper and lower limbs. She performed a contrast-enhanced brain CT scan that showed the presence, at the level of the right mastoid process, of an hypervascular angioma. A subsequent MRI study of the brain and spine showed the presence of multiple bone angiomas, at the level of the right frontal theca and C7, Th3, and Th7 vertebral bodies. Due to the absence of further symptoms and clinical and radiological signs of intracranial compression, the patient did not perform surgery. A radiological follow-up was advised. Although possible pathophysiological correlations between diabetes and vertebral hemangiomas are mentioned in literature, vascular lesions of this type involving vertebrae and skull base simultaneously can be discovered in a patient with chronic diabetic disease. As long as these lesions remain asymptomatic, surgical treatment is not indicated, and the patient is followed over time with radiological follow-up

Cyclic Peptoids as Mycotoxin Mimics: An Exploration of Their Structural and Biological Properties

Cyclic peptoids have recently emerged as important examples of peptidomimetics for their interesting complexing properties and innate ability to permeate biological barriers. In the present contribution, experimental and theoretical data evidence the intricate conformational and stereochemical properties of five novel hexameric peptoids decorated with N-isopropyl, N-isobutyl, and N-benzyl substituents. Complexation studies by NMR, in the presence of sodium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate (NaTFPB), theoretical calculations, and single-crystal X-ray analyses indicate that the conformationally stable host/guest metal adducts display architectural ordering comparable to that of the enniatins and beauvericin mycotoxins. Similarly to the natural depsipeptides, the synthetic oligolactam analogues show a correlation between ion transport abilities in artificial liposomes and cytotoxic activity on human cancer cell lines. The reported results demonstrate that the versatile cyclic peptoid scaffold, for its remarkable conformational and complexing properties, can morphologically mimic related natural products and elicit powerful biological activities

Rainfall Field Reconstruction by Opportunistic Use of the Rain-Induced Attenuation on Microwave Satellite Signals: The July 2021 Extreme Rain Event in Germany as a Case Study

This paper presents a practical application of an opportunistic technique for the estimation of rainfall intensity and accumulated precipitation. The proposed technique is based upon signal strength measurements made by commercial-grade interactive satellite terminals. By applying some processing, the rain-induced attenuation on the microwave downlink from the satellite is first evaluated; then the rain attenuation is eventually mapped into a rainfall rate estimate via a tropospheric model. This methodology has been applied to a test area of 30×30 km2 around the city of Dortmund (North Rhine-Westphalia, upper basin of Ermscher river), for the heavy rain event that devastated western Germany in July, 2021. A rainfall map on this area is obtained from the measurements collected by a set of satellite terminals deployed in the region, and successfully compared with a map obtained with a conventional weather radar

The botanical drug PBI-05204, a supercritical CO2 extract of Nerium oleander, sensitizes alveolar and embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma to radiotherapy in vitro and in vivo

: Treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), the most common a soft tissue sarcoma in childhood, provides intensive multimodal therapy, with radiotherapy (RT) playing a critical role for local tumor control. However, since RMS efficiently activates mechanisms of resistance to therapies, despite improvements, the prognosis remains still largely unsatisfactory, mainly in RMS expressing chimeric oncoproteins PAX3/PAX7-FOXO1, and fusion-positive (FP)-RMS. Cardiac glycosides (CGs), plant-derived steroid-like compounds with a selective inhibitory activity of the Na+/K+-ATPase pump (NKA), have shown antitumor and radio-sensitizing properties. Herein, the therapeutic properties of PBI-05204, an extract from Nerium oleander containing the CG oleandrin already studied in phase I and II clinical trials for cancer patients, were investigated, in vitro and in vivo, against FN- and FP-RMS cancer models. PBI-05204 induced growth arrest in a concentration dependent manner, with FP-RMS being more sensitive than FN-RMS, by differently regulating cell cycle regulators and commonly upregulating cell cycle inhibitors p21Waf1/Cip1 and p27Cip1/Kip1. Furthermore, PBI-05204 concomitantly induced cell death on both RMS types and senescence in FN-RMS. Notably, PBI-05204 counteracted in vitro migration and invasion abilities and suppressed the formation of spheroids enriched in CD133+ cancer stem cells (CSCs). PBI-05204 sensitized both cell types to RT by improving the ability of RT to induce G2 growth arrest and counteracting the RT-induced activation of both Non-Homologous End-Joining and homologous recombination DSBs repair pathways. Finally, the antitumor and radio-sensitizing proprieties of PBI-05204 were confirmed in vivo. Notably, both in vitro and in vivo evidence confirmed the higher sensitivity to PBI-05204 of FP-RMS. Thus, PBI-05204 represents a valid radio-sensitizing agent for the treatment of RMS, including the intrinsically radio-resistant FP-RMS