Do informal caregivers of people with dementia mirror the cognitive deficits of their demented patients?:A pilot study

Recent research suggests that informal caregivers of people with dementia (ICs) experience more cognitive deficits than noncaregivers. The reason for this is not yet clear. Objective: to test the hypothesis that ICs ‘mirror' the cognitive deficits of the demented people they care for. Participants and methods: 105 adult ICs were asked to complete three neuropsychological tests: letter fluency, category fluency, and the logical memory test from the WMS-III. The ICs were grouped according to the diagnosis of their demented patients. One-sample ttests were conducted to investigate if the standardized mean scores (t-scores) of the ICs were different from normative data. A Bonferroni correction was used to correct for multiple comparisons. Results: 82 ICs cared for people with Alzheimer's dementia and 23 ICs cared for people with vascular dementia. Mean letter fluency score of the ICs of people with Alzheimer's dementia was significantly lower than the normative mean letter fluency score, p = .002. The other tests yielded no significant results. Conclusion: our data shows that ICs of Alzheimer patients have cognitive deficits on the letter fluency test. This test primarily measures executive functioning and it has been found to be sensitive to mild cognitive impairment in recent research. Our data tentatively suggests that ICs who care for Alzheimer patients also show signs of cognitive impairment but that it is too early to tell if this is cause for concern or not

The COMPlaints After Stroke (COMPAS) study:Protocol for a Dutch cohort study on poststroke subjective cognitive complaints

Background Although many studies have assessed poststroke objective cognitive impairment, only a few have evaluated patients’ subjective cognitive complaints (SCC). Although these SCC are found to be common in the early and chronic phases after stroke, knowledge about their risk factors, course over time, differences with healthy controls and their diagnostic relevance is limited. The aim of the COMPlaints After Stroke (COMPAS) study is therefore to determine the possible risk factors, prognosis, time course and predictive value of SCC in the first 2 years after stroke. Methods and design A prospective cohort study is conducted in which patients are compared to non-stroke controls at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after stroke. Approximately 300 patients are recruited from the stroke units of three hospitals in the Netherlands, while 300 controls are sought among the relatives (spouses excluded) and social networks of participants. A wide range of subjective and objective variables is assessed in both groups using interviews, questionnaires and neuropsychological assessment. The primary outcomes include SCC and objective cognitive impairment, whereas secondary outcomes are quality of life, subjective recovery and daily life functioning. Ethics and dissemination The study is being carried out in agreement with the Declaration of Helsinki and the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act. The protocol has been approved by the medical ethics committees of the participating centres and all participants give written informed consent. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated to the medical society and general public. Discussion The COMPAS study is the first to systematically evaluate poststroke SCC in a prospective longitudinal design, taking a wide range of subjective and objective variables into account. The results obtained can be used to accurately inform patients and their families, as well as to develop patient-tailored intervention programmes to ultimately improve stroke patient care

Psychological factors and subjective cognitive complaints after stroke:Beyond depression and anxiety

Subjective Cognitive Complaints (SCC) are common after stroke and adversely affect quality of life. In the present study, we determined the associations of depression, anxiety, perceived stress and fatigue with post-stroke SCC, and whether these associations were independent of objective cognitive functioning, stroke characteristics and individual differences in personality traits and coping styles. Using a cross-sectional design, SCC and psychological measures were obtained in 208 patients (mean 3.3 ± 0.5 months after stroke; 65.9% men; mean age 64.9 ± 12.4 years). SCC were assessed using the Checklist for Cognitive and Emotional consequences following stroke (CLCE) inventory. Validated questionnaires were used to measure depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), fatigue (Fatigue Assessment Scale), personality traits (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised Short Scale) and coping style (Utrecht Coping List). Multivariate hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to adjust for covariates. Depression (β = 0.35), anxiety (β = 0.38), perceived stress (β = 0.39), and fatigue (β = 0.39) were associated with CLCE scores, independent of demographic, cognitive performance and stroke-related covariates. After including personality traits and coping styles in the model, independent associations with CLCE scores were found for fatigue (β = 0.26, p = .003) and neuroticism (β = 0.21, p = .05). Interventions aimed at improving psychological resilience and increasing energy levels might be a worthwhile addition to stroke rehabilitation programmes by reducing SCC and improving quality of life

Revisiting the 40Ar/39Ar Chronology of Lunar Meteorite NWA 773 Provides New Constraints on its Diachronous Geologic History

No abstract available

Protecting Quantum Information with Entanglement and Noisy Optical Modes

We incorporate active and passive quantum error-correcting techniques to protect a set of optical information modes of a continuous-variable quantum information system. Our method uses ancilla modes, entangled modes, and gauge modes (modes in a mixed state) to help correct errors on a set of information modes. A linear-optical encoding circuit consisting of offline squeezers, passive optical devices, feedforward control, conditional modulation, and homodyne measurements performs the encoding. The result is that we extend the entanglement-assisted operator stabilizer formalism for discrete variables to continuous-variable quantum information processing.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur

Hubbard-U calculations for Cu from first-principles Wannier functions

We present first-principles calculations of optimally localized Wannier functions for Cu and use these for an ab-initio determination of Hubbard (Coulomb) matrix elements. We use a standard linearized muffin-tin orbital calculation in the atomic-sphere approximation (LMTO-ASA) to calculate Bloch functions, and from these determine maximally localized Wannier functions using a method proposed by Marzari and Vanderbilt. The resulting functions were highly localized, with greater than 89% of the norm of the function within the central site for the occupied Wannier states. Two methods for calculating Coulomb matrix elements from Wannier functions are presented and applied to fcc Cu. For the unscreened on-site Hubbard $U$ for the Cu 3d-bands we have obtained about 25eV. These results are also compared with results obtained from a constrained local-density approximation (LDA) calculation.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 5 table

Report from the multinational irritable bowel syndrome initiative 2012

Q1Q1In 2012, a group of 29 internationally recognized experts in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) convened to audit the current state of IBS research. The meeting was preceded by a comprehensive online survey that focused on research needs for IBS diagnosis (particularly the strengths and shortcomings of current criteria), definitions used in clinical trials for IBS patients and “healthy controls,” potential biomarkers for IBS, and outcome measures in drug trials. While the purpose of the meeting was not to make binding recommendations, participants developed a framework for future questions and research needs in IBS. First, participants indicated the need for revised criteria for the diagnosis of IBS; in particular, inclusion of bloating and de-emphasis of pain as criteria were considered critical needs. Second, participants noted that definitions of normal, healthy controls varied widely among clinical trials; these definitions need to be standardized not only to improve the reliability of results, but also to better facilitate inter-trial comparisons and data synthesis. Third, participants highlighted the need for accurate biomarkers of disease. Fourth and finally, participants noted that further defining outcome measures, so that they are functionally relevant and reflect normalization of bowel function, is a critical need. Together, the discussions held at this workshop form a framework to address future research in IBS.https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9219-4548Revista Internacional - Indexad

Addressing the clumsiness loophole in a Leggett-Garg test of macrorealism

The rise of quantum information theory has lent new relevance to experimental tests for non-classicality, particularly in controversial cases such as adiabatic quantum computing superconducting circuits. The Leggett-Garg inequality is a "Bell inequality in time" designed to indicate whether a single quantum system behaves in a macrorealistic fashion. Unfortunately, a violation of the inequality can only show that the system is either (i) non-macrorealistic or (ii) macrorealistic but subjected to a measurement technique that happens to disturb the system. The "clumsiness" loophole (ii) provides reliable refuge for the stubborn macrorealist, who can invoke it to brand recent experimental and theoretical work on the Leggett-Garg test inconclusive. Here, we present a revised Leggett-Garg protocol that permits one to conclude that a system is either (i) non-macrorealistic or (ii) macrorealistic but with the property that two seemingly non-invasive measurements can somehow collude and strongly disturb the system. By providing an explicit check of the invasiveness of the measurements, the protocol replaces the clumsiness loophole with a significantly smaller "collusion" loophole.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

3D-printed patient specific instruments for corrective osteotomies of the lower extremity

3D-printing has become a promising adjunct in orthopedic surgery over the past years. A significant drop in costs and increased availability of the required hardware and software needed for using the technique, have resulted in a relatively fast adaptation of 3D-printing techniques for various indications. In this review, the role of 3D-printing for deformity corrections of the lower extremity is described.</p