Cognitive-Motor Integration In Normal Aging And Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease: Neural Correlates And Early Detection

The objectives of the studies included in this dissertation were to characterize how the ability to integrate cognition into action is disrupted by both normal and pathological aging, to evaluate the effectiveness of kinematic measures in discriminating between individuals who are and are not at increased Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk, and to examine the structural and functional neural correlates of cognitive-motor impairment in individuals at increased AD risk. The underlying hypothesis, based on previous research, is that measuring visuomotor integration under conditions that place demands on visual-spatial and cognitive-motor processing may provide an effective behavioural means for the early detection of brain alterations associated with AD risk. To this end, the first study involved testing participants both with and without AD risk factors on visuomotor tasks using a dual-touchscreen tablet. Comparisons between high AD risk participants and both young and old healthy control groups revealed significant performance disruptions in at-risk participants in the most cognitively demanding task. Furthermore, a stepwise discriminant analysis was able to distinguish between high and low AD risk participants with a classification accuracy of 86.4%. Based on the prediction that the impairments observed in high AD risk participants reflect disruption to the intricate reciprocal communication between hippocampal, parietal, and frontal brain regions required to successfully prepare and update complex reaching movements, the second and third studies were designed to examine the underlying structural and functional connectivity associated with cognitive-motor performance. Young adult and both low AD risk and high AD risk older adult participants underwent anatomical, diffusion-weighted, and resting-state functional connectivity scans. These data revealed significant age-related declines in white matter integrity that were more pronounced in the high AD risk group. Decreased functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) was also found in high AD risk participants. Furthermore, measures of white matter integrity and resting-state functional connectivity with DMN seed-regions were significantly correlated with task performance. These data support our hypothesis that disease-related disruptions in visuomotor control are associated with identifiable brain alterations, and thus behavioural assessments incorporating both cognition and action together may be useful in identifying individuals at increased AD risk

Leads league of women voters

Reprinted from the March 1 issue of the St. Louis Globe Democrat."Mrs. Julia Davis Stuart, former Missouri student, uses winning smile to guide 146,000 members."--Table of contents for issue

An Online Module to Promote Self-Care and Resiliency in Nursing Students

Because the demands of nursing education can impact the physical and mental health of nursing students, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s revised Essentials require inclusion of self-care and resilience education in nursing curricula. This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a self-care module in a new online undergraduate course. Using the REST mnemonic (relationships, exercise, soul, and transformative thinking), students developed personalized self-care plans for the semester. End-of-course evaluations revealed an increase in self-care activities. The most used activities were exercise, humor, intentional rest, and healthy eating

Contributing Factors to Withdrawal Decisions of Military and Nonmilitary Nursing Students

Retaining nursing students in courses is key to increasing the number of new nurses. This study examined factors associated with nursing course or program withdrawal among students with and without prior military experience. The purpose of this study was to uncover differences between groups of students who withdrew compared to those who did not. A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire surveyed current or recent nursing students (n = 420) using the Educational Requirement Subscale and the Student Withdrawal Questionnaire from Jeffreys’ toolkit. Uncovering differences between groups of students who did and did not withdraw from nursing courses or programs shows opportunities for nurse educators to improve strategies for student retention. Students with and without prior military experience reported statistically similar confidence levels, withdrawal rates, and reasons for withdrawal. There was a positive relationship between higher confidence levels and rates of withdrawal. Factors with the strongest influence for withdrawal were academic difficulties (mean = 2.56), family responsibilities (mean = 2.59) and family crisis (mean = 2.62). First generation students reported the greatest level of course withdrawals. Participation in nursing clubs and faculty advisement and helpfulness were most helpful to participants who reported past withdrawal. Data from this study can guide nurse educators to create greater program support and opportunity for peer support for students experiencing factors associated with course withdrawal

A Comparison of Factors that Impact Retention of Nursing Students With and Without Military Experience: A Mixed Method Study

Military veteran students have unique characteristics and challenges that influence their academic success. The factors impacting retention of nursing students with prior military experience may differ from students with no military experience. This mixed methods study used an anonymous survey guided by Jeffreys\u27 Nursing Undergraduate Retention and Success Model to identify factors that support or restrict prelicensure nursing program retention of military veteran students compared to students with no history of military service. Statistically significant differences between groups were detected for three factors including financial status, membership in nursing organizations or clubs, and financial aid and/or scholarship. There was a clear distinction between traditional and nontraditional students. Three qualitative themes emerged: Responsibilities and support systems, well-being and coping, program support, and caring. Results of this study can be used by nursing faculty to develop strategies to support the academic success of prelicensure nursing students, and specifically to meet the unique needs of students with prior military experience

Production of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) by cultured human dermal and synovial fibroblasts

AbstractObjective: Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a large disulfide-linked pentameric protein. Each of its five subunits is approximately 100,000 Da in molecular weight. COMP was originally identified and characterized in cartilage and it has been considered a marker of cartilage metabolism because it is currently thought not to be present in other joint tissues, except for tendon. To confirm the tissue specificity of COMP expression we examined cultured human dermal fibroblasts, human foreskin fibroblasts, and normal human synovial cells for the synthesis of COMP in culture.Method: Normal synovial cells and normal human dermal foreskin fibroblasts were isolated from the corresponding tissues by sequential enzymatic digestions and cultured in media containing 10% fetal bovine serum until confluent. During the final 24 h of culture, the cells were labeled with35S-methionine and35S-cysteine in serum- and cysteine/methionine-free medium. The newly synthesized COMP molecules were immunoprecipitated from the culture media with a COMP-specific polyclonal antiserum, or with monoclonal antibodies or affinity-purified COMP antibodies. The immunoprecipitated COMP was analyzed by electrophoresis in 5.5% polyacrylamide gels. For other experiments, synovial cells cultured from the synovium of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) were similarly examined.Results: A comparison of the amounts of COMP produced by each cell type (corrected for the DNA content) revealed that synovial cells produced ≥9 times more COMP than chondrocytes or dermal fibroblasts. COMP could be easily detected by immunoprecipitation in all cell types. Electrophoretic analysis revealed a distinct band with an apparent MW of 115–120 kDa in samples from each of the three cell types, regardless of the antibody used. COMP expression in cultures of synoviocytes derived from OA and RA patients showed that OA and RA synovial cells produced similar amounts of monomeric COMP of identical size to those COMP monomers produced by normal synovial cells. The addition of TGF-β to these cultures resulted in an increase in COMP production in normal, OA and RA synovial cells (45, 116 and 115% respectively).Conclusion: These studies demonstrate that substantial amounts of COMP are produced by several mesenchymal cells including synoviocytes and dermal fibroblasts. These findings raise important concerns regarding the utility of measurements of COMP levels in serum or in synovial fluid as markers of articular cartilage degradation because of the likelihood that a substantial proportion of COMP or COMP fragments in serum or synovial fluid may be produced by cells other than articular chondrocytes

Creating a Primary Care Track in Prelicensure Nursing Education

BACKGROUND: RNs practicing in primary care (PC) increase access to health care and contribute to better patient outcomes and cost savings, yet undergraduate nursing education traditionally focuses on disease-oriented care. This article describes a curricular track for infusing PC prelicensure programs. METHOD: PC content is threaded across four semesters with targeted assignments and clinical experiences. Providing clinical immersion experiences with practicing RNs as preceptors in community and PC settings is a key component of this initiative. RESULTS: Student feedback has been favorable. Students stated they gained insight to the role of RNs in PC through class assignments and clinical rotations. Graduating seniors were offered employment in PC settings where they completed their practicum clinical rotations. CONCLUSION: The PC track contributes to building a nursing workforce to meet health care demands and promote health equity. Nurse educators interested in infusing PC content throughout the curriculum can adapt this model for all student populations

Differential requirement for OBF-1 during antibody-secreting cell differentiation

Resting B cells can be cultured to induce antibody-secreting cell (ASC) differentiation in vitro. A quantitative analysis of cell behavior during such a culture allows the influences of different stimuli and gene products to be measured. The application of this analytical system revealed that the OBF-1 transcriptional coactivator, whose loss impairs antibody production in vivo, has two effects on ASC development. Although OBF-1 represses early T cell–dependent (TD) differentiation, it is also critical for the completion of the final stages of ASC development. Under these conditions, the loss of OBF-1 blocks the genetic program of ASC differentiation so that Blimp-1/prdm1 induction fails, and bcl-6, Pax5, and AID are not repressed as in control ASC. Retroviral complementation confirmed that OBF-1 was the critical entity. Surprisingly, when cells were cultured in lipopolysaccharide to mimic T cell–independent conditions, OBF-1–null B cells differentiated normally to ASC. In the OBF-1−/− ASC generated under either culture regimen, antibody production was normal or only modestly reduced, revealing that Ig genes are not directly dependent on OBF-1 for their expression. The differential requirement for OBF-1 in TD ASC generation was confirmed in vivo. These studies define a new regulatory role for OBF-1 in determining the cell-autonomous capacity of B cells to undergo terminal differentiation in response to different immunological signals