The transfer of skills from cognitive and physical training to activities of daily living:a randomised controlled study

Ageing is associated with the deterioration of all cognitive functions, including attention, memory and psychomotor speed. It has not yet been clearly confirmed whether the effects of cognitive and physical interventions can improve activities of daily living (ADL). This study compared the effectiveness of cognitive and physical training on cognitive functions and the transfer to ADL. Eighty older people with mild cognitive impairment (mean age 67.07 +/- 4.3 years) were randomly divided into an experimental group (n = 40) and a control group (n = 40). Data were collected in an outpatient psychiatric clinic in a randomised controlled trial. Primary outcome measures included the following: cognitive functions were evaluated using the mini mental state examination, the AVLT-Auditory verbal learning test, the Stroop test, the TMT-trail making test, the DRT-disjunctive reaction time and the NHPT-nine hole peg test. Secondary outcome measure was the Bristol activities of daily living scale. The experimental group underwent a CogniPlus and physical training; consisting of 20 training sessions over 10 weeks. Both groups went through 30 min of daily physical training for 10 weeks. After the training, significant differences in favour of the experimental group were found in almost all the tests. In memory (AVLT) (p ae 0.0001, effect size (ES) eta (2) = 0.218. In reduction of the response time on attention tasks (Stroop tasks) (p ae 0.006, ES = 0.092-0.115). In lower error rates in all tests: Stroop tasks, DRT, TMT, NHPT (p ae 0.02-0.001, ES = 0.062-0.176). In ADL (p ae 0.0001, ES = 0.176). The combined cognitive and physical training had better efficacy for most cognitive functions and for ADL when compared with the physical training only

Cumulus extracellular matrix is an important part of oocyte microenvironment in ovarian follicles: its remodeling and proteolytic degradation

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is an essential structure with biological activities. It has been shown that the ECM influences gene expression via cytoskeletal components and the gene expression is dependent upon cell interactions with molecules and hormones. The development of ovarian follicles is a hormone dependent process. The surge in the luteinizing hormone triggers ovulatory changes in oocyte microenvironment. In this review, we discuss how proteolytic cleavage affects formation of cumulus ECM following hormonal stimulation; in particular, how the specific proteasome inhibitor MG132 affects gonadotropin-induced cytoskeletal structure, the organization of cumulus ECM, steroidogenesis, and nuclear maturation. We found that after the inhibition of proteolytic cleavage, gonadotropin-stimulated oocyte–cumulus complexes (OCCs) were without any signs of cumulus expansion; they remained compact with preserved cytoskeletal F-actin-rich transzonal projections through the oocyte investments. Concomitantly, a significant decrease was detected in progesterone secretion and in the expression of gonadotropin-stimulated cumulus expansion–related transcripts, such as HAS2 and TNFAIP6. In agreement, the covalent binding between hyaluronan and the heavy chains of serum-derived the inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor, essential for the organization of cumulus ECM, was missing

Self-rated health and employment status in patients with multiple sclerosis

Purpose. The aim is to explore the association between self-rated health and employment status in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) when controlling for age, gender, functional disability, disease duration, anxiety and depression. Method. One hundred eighty-four people with MS completed a sociodemographic questionnaire that included questions on employment status, the first item of the Short Form-36 Health Survey and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Functional disability was assessed using the Expanded Disability Status Scale. The probability of good self-rated health in employed persons was investigated using stepwise logistic regression analyses. Results. Patients with MS who reported good self-rated health were 2.46 times more likely to be employed (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-5.59). Patients without anxiety were 2.64 times more likely to be employed (95% CI: 1.23-5.67). Patients with higher EDSS scores were 0.49 times less likely to be employed (95% CI: 0.33-0.70). Age, gender, disease duration and the presence of depression did not show an increased chance of patient employment. Conclusions. Patients with MS with good self-rated health are more likely to be employed, even after adjusting for age, gender, education, functional disability, disease duration, depression and anxiety. Dependent on the findings of longitudinal studies unravelling the relevant causal pahways, self-rated health might be used as a quick and cheap prognostic marker, which could warn about the possible loss of employment, or changes in functional disability

In Vitro Models of Spinal Cord Injury

Living organisms are extremely complex functional systems. At present, there are many in vivo models of spinal cord injury (SCI) that allow the modeling of any type of central nervous system (CNS) injury, however, with some disadvantages. The production of injury models can be a highly invasive and time‐consuming process and requires high technical requirements, and costly financial issues should also be taken into account. Of course, a large number of animals have been used to obtain the relevant data of statistical significance. All of these aspects can be reduced by carrying out experiments in in vitro conditions. The primary advantage of in vitro method is that it simplifies the system under study. There are two major groups of in vitro model in use: cell culture and organotypic slice (OTS) culture. OTS is an intermediate system of the screening of in vitro cell culture and animal models and represents the in vitro system preserving the basic tissue architecture that able to closely mimic the cellular and physiological characteristics in vivo. In vitro models are the preferred methods for the study of acute or subacute pathophysiology after a trauma stimulus, enabling precise control on the extracellular environment, easy and repeatable access to the cells

Osservazione del processo di refrigerazione della carne di maiale e quella di manzo

Svrha hlađenja svježeg mesa je smanjivanje temperature u najdubljim dijelovima mišića što je brže moguće, a da se pri tome u što većoj mjeri zadrži njegova masa. Ipak, određeni gubici su poželjni jer su suhe površine otpornije na mikrobiološko kvarenje. U našem pokusu je praćen postupak hlađenja svinjetine i govedine u klaonicama u periodu od 2006. do 2007. godine. U prostorijama za hlađenje mjerena je temperatura u mišićima, a u obzir se uzimalo i trajanje postupka. Po završetku hlađenja, u dva je slučaja (13.3%) temperatura svježeg svinjskog mesa prelazila zahtijevanih +7 °C u dubini mišića.The aim of the chilling of carcasses is to decrease the temperature in the deepest parts of muscles as fast as possible while maintaining its weight as high as possible. However, some losses of the weight are desirable because dried surfaces are more resistant to the microbial spoilage. Monitoring of pork and beef chilling process at the slaughterhouses in period 2006 – 2007 was performed in our experiment. Temperature was measured in the muscles, in the chilling rooms and also duration of the process was taken into account. Finally, in two cases (13.3 %) of pork carcasses temperature exceeded required +7 °C in deep part of muscles at the end of process.Der Zweck der Abkühlung von Frischfleisch ist die Verminderung der Temperatur in den tiefsten Muskelteilen in möglichst kurzer Zeit, jedoch soll dabei das Fleischgewicht in möglichst hohem Maße aufbewahrt werden. Doch, manche Gewichtverminderungen sind wünschenswert, weil die trockenen Flächen auf mikrobiologische Blutung widerstandsfähiger sind. In unserem Experiment wurde die Beobachtung des Abkühlungsverfahrens von Schweineund Rindfleisch durchgeführt, dies in Schlachthöfen in der Zeitspanne von 2006 bis 2007. In den Abkühlungsräumen wurde die Temperatur in den Muskeln gemessen, in Betracht wurde auch die Dauer des Verfahrens gezogen. Am Ende des Verfahrens hat die Temperatur in zwei Fällen (13.3%) des frischen Schweinefleisches die verlangenen + 7 ° C in tiefen Muskelteilen überschritten.Lo scopo di refrigerazione della carne fresca è far diminuire al più presto possibile la temperatura nelle parti più profonde del muscolo, cercando di mantenere il suo peso nella maggior parte. Comunque, certe perdite sono pure desiderabili, essendo le superfici asciutte più resistenti al sanguinamento microbiologico. Nel nostro esperimento è stato osservato il processo della refrigerazione di maiale e di manzo nei macelli durante gli anni 2006 e 2007. Nei locali addatti alla refrigerazione è stata misurata la temperatura nei muscoli, ma è stata presa in considerazione anche la durazione del processo. Alla fine del processo, in due casi (13.3 %) della carne di maiale la temperatura superava i richiesti +7°C nelle parti profonde del muscolo

Psychological distress in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea:The role of hostility and coping self-efficacy

We aimed to assess whether hostility and coping self-efficacy are associated with psychological distress in obstructive sleep apnoea patients. Furthermore, we examined whether coping self-efficacy mediates the association between hostility and psychological distress. We included 150 obstructive sleep apnoea patients (Apnoea-Hypopnoea Index > 5; 68% male; mean age: 48.9 +/- 9.5 years). Regression models showed that hostility and poor coping self-efficacy were strongly associated with psychological distress in obstructive sleep apnoea patients. All assessed coping self-efficacy dimensions mediated the association between hostility and psychological distress. Coping self-efficacy for stopping unpleasant emotions and thoughts showed the strongest association with a lower level of psychological distress

Quality of life of obstructive sleep apnoea patients receiving continuous positive airway pressure treatment:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Previous studies have shown conflicting results on the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on quality of life (QoL) in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of CPAP on QoL in OSA patients compared to sham CPAP, placebo pills, and conservative treatment. Methods: Studies were identified via Web of Knowledge, PubMed, PsychInfo, CINAHL, EMBASE, OpenGrey, and the Cochrane Library. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the findings. Results: Meta-analysis of 13 randomised controlled trials showed no significant differences in overall and psychological QoL comparing values of CPAP treated patients with controls; however, physical QoL improved. CPAP significantly affected the overall QoL in studies with controls receiving sham CPAP, parallel design, low risk of bias, and mild OSA patients. Conclusion: CPAP treatment may help to improve physical symptoms of OSA, whereas impaired psychological QoL still cannot be alleviated