Babesia and Human Babesiosis

EditorialS

Discharge destination from an acute care for the elderly (ACE) unit

Older adults age 65 and over account for a disproportional number of hospital stays and discharges compared to other age groups. The objective of this paper is to describe placement and characteristics of older patients discharged from an acute care for the elderly (ACE) unit. The study sample consists of 1,351 men and women aged 65 years or older that were discharged from the ACE Unit during a 12-month period. The mean number of discharges per month was 109.2 ± 28.4. Most of the subjects were discharged home or home with home health 841, 62.3%. The oldest elderly and patients who had been admitted from long term care institutions or from skilled nursing facilities to the ACE unit were less likely to return to home

Semantic Interference Deficits and the Detection of Mild Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment Without Dementia

Impairment in delayed recall has traditionally been considered a hallmark feature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, vulnerability to semantic interference may reflect early manifestations of the disorder. In this study, 26 mildly demented AD patients (mild AD), 53 patients with mild cognitive impairment without dementia (MCI), and 53 normal community-dwelling elders were first presented 10 common objects that were recalled over 3 learning trials. Subjects were then presented 10 new semantically related objects followed by recall for the original targets. After controlling for the degree of overall memory impairment, mild AD patients demonstrated greater proactive but equivalent retroactive interference relative to MCI patients. Normal elderly subjects exhibited the least amount of proactive and retroactive interference effects. Recall for targets susceptible to proactive interference correctly classified 81.3% of MCI patients and 81.3% of normal elderly subjects, outperforming measures of delayed recall and rate of forgetting. Adding recognition memory scores to the model enhanced both sensitivity (84.6%) and specificity (88.5%). A combination of proactive and retroactive interference measures yielded sensitivity of 84.6% and specificity of 96.2% in differentiating mild AD patients from normal older adults. Susceptibility to proactive semantic interference may be an early cognitive feature of MCI and AD patients presenting for clinical evaluation. (JINS, 2004, 10, 91–100.

EFECTO DEL USO DE TUTORES Y APLICACIÓN DE BIOFERTILIZANTES EN EL CRECIMIENTO Y DESARROLLO DE Plukenetia volubilis L. “SACHA INCHI”

Se evaluó el efecto de dos tutores y cinco tipos de biofertilizantes en el crecimiento y desarrollo de Plukenetia volubilis L. sacha inchi en un suelo de baja fertilidad. La plantación se estableció utilizando el diseño de bloques completos al azar en parcelas divididas, siendo las parcelas principales dos sistemas de tutor y las sub parcelas cinco tipos de biofertilizantes. Los cinco biofertilizantes fueron: Biol, Biol mas frutos de Solanum torvum, Biol más hojas de Carica papaya, Biol más hojas de Cymbopogon citratus y Biol más hojas de Chondrodendron tomentosum,  más un testigo (SB) por cada sistema de tutor, teniendo un total de doce tratamientos y  tres bloques. Las dosis de aplicación fueron de 15 L.ha-1, divididas en aplicaciones quincenales a razón de 1.5 L.ha-1 en campo definitivo, las evaluaciones fueron realizadas cada quince días durante 5 meses. Los resultados indican que con los tratamientos T4 y T8 se redujeron los días para la fructificación, lográndose el mayor número de frutos con los tratamientos T4, T9 y T10, mejorando la productividad de plantas de P. volubilis L

Feasibility of Predicting MCI/AD Using Neuropsychological Tests and Serum β-Amyloid

We examined the usefulness of brief neuropsychological tests and serum Aβ as a predictive test for detecting MCI/AD in older adults. Serum Aβ levels were measured from 208 subjects who were cognitively normal at enrollment and blood draw. Twenty-eight of the subjects subsequently developed MCI (n = 18) or AD (n = 10) over the follow-up period. Baseline measures of global cognition, memory, language fluency, and serum Aβ1–42 and the ratio of serum Aβ1–42/Aβ1–40 were significant predictors for future MCI/AD using Cox regression with demographic variables, APOE ε4, vascular risk factors, and specific medication as covariates. An optimal sensitivity of 85.2% and specificity of 86.5% for predicting MCI/AD was achieved using ROC analyses. Brief neuropsychological tests and measurements of Aβ1–42 obtained via blood warrants further study as a practical and cost effective method for wide-scale screening for identifying older adults who may be at-risk for pathological cognitive decline

A Defective Crosstalk Between Neurons and Müller Glial Cells in the rd1 Retina Impairs the Regenerative Potential of Glial Stem Cells

Müller glial cells (MGC) are stem cells in the retina. Although their regenerative capacity is very low in mammals, the use of MGC as stem cells to regenerate photoreceptors (PHRs) during retina degenerations, such as in retinitis pigmentosa, is being intensely studied. Changes affecting PHRs in diseased retinas have been thoroughly investigated; however, whether MGC are also affected is still unclear. We here investigated whether MGC in retinal degeneration 1 (rd1) mouse, an animal model of retinitis pigmentosa, have impaired stem cell properties or structure. rd1 MGC showed an altered morphology, both in culture and in the whole retina. Using mixed neuron-glial cultures obtained from newborn mice retinas, we determined that proliferation was significantly lower in rd1 than in wild type (wt) MGC. Levels of stem cell markers, such as Nestin and Sox2, were also markedly reduced in rd1 MGC compared to wt MGC in neuron-glial cultures and in retina cryosections, even before the onset of PHR degeneration. We then investigated whether neuron-glial crosstalk was involved in these changes. Noteworthy, Nestin expression was restored in rd1 MGC in co-culture with wt neurons. Conversely, Nestin expression decreased in wt MGC in co-culture with rd1 neurons, as occurred in rd1 MGC in rd1 neuron-glial mixed cultures. These results imply that MGC proliferation and stem cell markers are reduced in rd1 retinas and might be restored by their interaction with "healthy" PHRs, suggesting that alterations in rd1 PHRs lead to a disruption in neuron-glial crosstalk affecting the regenerative potential of MGC.Fil: Volonté, Yanel Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Vallese Maurizi, Harmonie Agostina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Dibo, Marcos Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Ayala Peña, Victoria Belen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Garelli, Andres. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Zanetti, Samanta Romina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Turpaud Barrera, Axel Hector Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Craft, Cheryl Mae. University Of Southern California; Estados UnidosFil: Rotstein, Nora Patricia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Politi, Luis Enrique. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: German, Olga Lorena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentin

Category Fluency Test: Normative Data for English- and Spanish-Speaking Elderly

Category fluency tasks are an important component of neuropsychological assessment, especially when evaluating for dementia syndromes. The growth in the number of Spanish-speaking elderly in the United States has increased the need for appropriate neuropsychological measures and normative data for this population. This study provides norms for English and Spanish speakers, over the age of 50, on 3 frequently used measures of category fluency: animals, vegetables, and fruits. In addition, it examines the impact of age, education, gender, language, and depressed mood on total fluency scores and on scores on each of these fluency measures. A sample of 702 cognitively intact elderly, 424 English speakers, and 278 Spanish speakers, participated in the study. Normative data are provided stratified by language, age, education, and gender. Results evidence that regardless of the primary language of the examinee, age, education, and gender are the strongest predictors of total category fluency scores, with gender being the best predictor of performance after adjusting for age and education. English and Spanish speakers obtained similar scores on animal and fruit fluency, but English speakers generated more vegetable exemplars than Spanish speakers. Results also indicate that different fluency measures are affected by various factors to different degrees. (JINS, 2000, 6, 760–769.

Digital earth:yesterday, today, and tomorrow

The concept of Digital Earth (DE) was formalized by Al Gore in 1998. At that time the technologies needed for its implementation were in an embryonic stage and the concept was quite visionary. Since then digital technologies have progressed significantly and their speed and pervasiveness have generated and are still causing the digital transformation of our society. This creates new opportunities and challenges for the realization of DE. ‘What is DE today?’, ‘What could DE be in the future?’, and ‘What is needed to make DE a reality?’. To answer these questions it is necessary to examine DE considering all the technological, scientific, social, and economic aspects, but also bearing in mind the principles that inspired its formulation. By understanding the lessons learned from the past, it becomes possible to identify the remaining scientific and technological challenges, and the actions needed to achieve the ultimate goal of a ‘Digital Earth for all’. This article reviews the evolution of the DE vision and its multiple definitions, illustrates what has been achieved so far, explains the impact of digital transformation, illustrates the new vision, and concludes with possible future scenarios and recommended actions to facilitate full DE implementation.</p

Planeamiento estratégico para el distrito de San Borja

El distrito de San Borja está ubicado en Lima Metropolitana, al centro oeste del Perú, con una población de 111,928 habitantes y una densidad poblacional de 11,290 personas por kilómetro cuadrado. El distrito se ha destacado por un rápido crecimiento en centros comerciales y por ser el tercero del área metropolitana en cuanto a la cantidad de licencias de construcción que otorga anualmente. Pero tal situación se ha dado en un contexto donde no se han ampliado las vías de tránsito y existe inseguridad, a pesar de contar con centros de control de imágenes y vigilancia. Para el año 2030, se tendrá un distrito seguro con rápido crecimiento en el ámbito comercial, empresarial y residencial, al contar con instituciones de educación superior de alta calidad y áreas verdes que permitirán diferenciarse de otros distritos limeños. Esto se alcanzará mediante la implementación de estrategias que se crearon en el marco de la Matriz FODA y que fueron evaluadas con distintas herramientas. Dentro de estas herramientas se contemplan aspectos como el desarrollo de un servicio integrado de transporte municipal, que se conecte con el tren eléctrico que ya circula por el distrito y con la nueva red. Al tener un método de transporte eficiente, brindar seguridad y servicios educativos, el distrito se hará más atractivo para la inversión en centros comerciales y en edificios residenciales inteligentes, que favorecerán el cuidado del medio ambiente; al mismo tiempo que se mejorará la calidad de vida de las personas. Esto debe conducir a la constitución de más empresas y el establecimiento de universidades de prestigio, para promover que los pobladores laboren y estudien en el mismo distrito; lo que incrementará el uso de las ciclovías y el cuidado de las áreas verdesSan Borja district is located in Lima Metropolitan area, in the center of western Peru, with a population of 111,928 inhabitants and a population density of 11,290 people per square kilometer. The district has been notable for rapid growth in shopping malls as well as being the third largest metropolitan area in terms of the number of construction licenses it grants annually. But this has occurred in a context where the transit routes have not been expanded and there is a presence of insecurity, despite having centers for image control and surveillance. By 2030 there will be a safe district with rapid growth in the commercial, business and residential areas, with high quality institutions of higher education and green areas that will allow to differentiate itself from other districts in the capital. This will be achieved through the implementation of strategies developed within SWOT analysis and followed by a complete evaluation. They include different areas as the development of an integrated municipal transportation system, making easier to connect the whole district with the metropolitan electrical train. This will contribute to attract higher investments for commercial areas or malls as well as for multi-family residences, providing efficiency and using construction technics for a sustainable development. The main purpose is that population makes all their activities inside the same district, spending short time in transportation, using bicycles and enjoying parks while they have access to excellent educational servicesTesi