Older Adults’ Perception of Successful Aging

Uspješno starenje je pomalo kontroverzan konstrukt kojeg nije lako operacionalizirati. Različiti teorijski pristupi koriste različite kriterije ili definicije uspješnog starenja iz kojih proizlaze različiti pokušaji operacionalizacije ovoga konstrukta. U ovom istraživanju polazi se od subjektivnih ili laičkih koncepcija uspješnog starenja, odnosno od toga kako same starije osobe shvaćaju uspješno starenje. Na prigodnom uzorku od 235 osoba starijih od 60 godina provedeno je istraživanje s ciljem ispitivanja njihove percepcije uspješnog starenja. U istraživanju je korišten hrvatski prijevod (Ambrosi-Randić i Plavšić, 2008) liste od dvadeset obilježja uspješnog starenja za koja su Phelan i sur. (2004) utvrdili da su se najčešće pojavljivala u ranijoj literaturi o ovom konstruktu. Rezultati su pokazali da je od 20 ispitanih obilježja njih 12 preko 70% ispitanih starijih osoba procijenilo važnima za uspješno starenje. Najveći postotak sudionika je važnim za uspješno starenje procijenio dobro zdravlje, sposobnost pojedinca da se brine o sebi i da se osjeća dobro sa samim sobom. Najmanje važnima za uspješno starenje pokazali su se dugovječnost, radni angažman nakon umirovljenja te učenje novih stvari i u starijoj dobi. Utvrđene su i razlike u procjeni važnosti nekih obilježja uspješnog starenja s obzirom na neka sociodemografska obilježja sudionika. Tako se pokazalo da je značajno više žena negoli muškaraca važnim za uspješno starenje procijenilo podršku obitelji i prijatelja, dok su osobe višeg u odnosu na one nižeg stupnja obrazovanja kontinuirano učenje novih stvari procjenjivale važnijim za uspješno starenje. Pokušaji objašnjenja konstrukta uspješnog starenja svakako bi trebali uzeti u obzir i kako same starije osobe vide uspješno starenje.Successful aging is in a way controversial concept which is not easy to measure. Different theoretical approaches use different criteria or definitions of successful aging on which different ways of operationalization of this construct are based upon. This study uses subjective or laypersons’ conceptions of successful aging or the way that older people themselves understand successful aging. The study with the aim of exploring the older adults’ perception of successful aging was conducted on a sample of 235 community-dwelling subjects older than 60. The Croatian translation (Ambrosi-Randić and Plavšić, 2008) of the list of 20 attributes of successful aging, which Phelan et al. (2004) identified in published literature on successful aging, was used in the study. Results showed that 12 out of 20 attributes were rated as important to successful aging by more than 70% of respondents. Good health, being able to take care of oneself and feeling good about oneself were rated as important by the greatest number of respondents. Living a very long time, being able to work after usual retirement age and continuing to learn new things were rated as the least important to successful aging. Additionally, differences in ratings of importance of some attributes of successful aging regarding some sociodemographic characteristics were found. Precisely, significantly more women than men considered support from family and friends as important for successful aging, while participants with higher, compared to those with lower educational background, continuing to learn new things rated as more important to successful aging. Efforts to define successful aging should undoubtedly consider older adults’ beliefs about successful aging as well.</p

SEED PRODUCTION OF SOME FIELD CROPS IN THE Bc INSTITUTE, ZAGREB

Organizirana potrošnja sjemena ratarskih kultura u Hrvatskoj u razdoblju od 1990. do 1998. godine, bila je ovisna o ekonomskom interesu poljoprivrednika za proizvodnju, klimatskim uvjetima za vrijeme sjetve i ratnim uvjetima od 1991 . do 1995. godine. Ovo se posebno odnosi na najvažniju krušaricu ozimu pšenicu koja je u 1992. godini požnjevena sa 169.000 ha. Međutim, u jesen 1998. godine dolazi do daljnjeg smanjenja sjetve ozime pšenice u Hrvatskoj na svega 160.578 ha. Ovim je smanjena potrošnja certificiranog sjemena ozime pšenice u Hrvatskoj na svega 26.687 tona, što je najniža količina u zadnjih nekoliko decenija. Smanjena je potrošnja svih kreacija pa i kreacija Bc Instituta. Kreacije ostalih strnih žitarica Bc Instituta jare zobi i jarog ječma u sjemenskoj proizvodnji imaju blagi trend rasta i na razini su od 300 tona sjemena godišnje. Sjemenarstvo krmnih kultura, poglavito višegodišnjih trava i leguminoza kreiranih u Bc Institutu Zagreb sa svojim visokim potencijalom rodnosti, adaptibilnosti, kakvoćama i stabilnim urodima, imajući u vidu velike mogućnosti i perspektivu razvoja stočarstva uz očekivane poticajne mjere države, ima veliko značenje. Sjemenarstvo krmnih kultura, danas u Hrvatskoj je zabrinjavajuće, jer domaća proizvodnja ne zadovoljava ni umanjene potrebe, pa se ovo sjeme uvozi, često sumnjivog podrijetla i kakvoće.Organized seed consumption of some field crops in Croatia in the period from 1990 to 1998 was dependent on the farmers\u27 economic interest to produce, on climatic conditions during sowing time and on the war conditions from 1991 to 1995. This particularly refers to the most important bread grain, winter wheat, which was harvested from 169.000 ha in 1992. However, in autumn of 1998, there was further reduction in the area planted to winter wheat in Croatia down to 160.578 ha. In this way consumption of certified seed of winter wheat in Croatia was reduced to mere 26.687 t, which is the lowest quantity in the last few decades. Consumption of all varieties was reduced including the Bc Institute\u27s. Seed production of other cereal crops developed by the Bc lnstitute, spring oats and spring barley, has a slight trend of growing and is on the level of 300 t of seed per year. Seed production of fodder crops, particularly perennial grasses and pulses developed by the Zagreb Bc Institute with their high yielding potential, adaptability, quality, and stable yield, is of great importance bearing in mind great possibilities and perspectives for livestock development and with expected measures of government support. Seed production of fodder crops in Croatia is of great concern because domestic production does not meet even the existing reduced needs and the seeds, often of doubtful origin and quality is being imported

Exosome-Producing Follicle Associated Epithelium Is Not Involved in Uptake of PrPd from the Gut of Sheep (Ovis aries): An Ultrastructural Study

In natural or experimental oral scrapie infection of sheep, disease associated prion protein (PrPd) often first accumulates in Peyer's patch (PP) follicles. The route by which infectivity reaches the follicles is unknown, however, intestinal epithelial cells may participate in intestinal antigenic presentation by delivering exosomes as vehicles of luminal antigens. In a previous study using an intestinal loop model, following inoculation of scrapie brain homogenate, inoculum associated PrPd was detected by light microscopy shortly (15 minutes to 3.5 hours) after inoculation in the villous lacteals and sub-mucosal lymphatics. No PrPd was located within the follicle-associated epithelium (FAE), sub-FAE domes or the PP follicles. To evaluate this gut loop model and the transportation routes in more detail, we used electron microscopy (EM) to study intestinal tissues exposed to scrapie or control homogenates for 15 minutes to 10 days. In addition, immuno-EM was used to investigate whether exosomes produced in the FAE may possess small amounts of PrPd that were not detectable by light microscopy. This study showed that the integrity of the intestinal epithelium was sustained in the intestinal loop model. Despite prominent transcytotic activity and exosome release from the FAE of the ileal PP in sheep, these structures were not associated with transportation of PrPd across the mucosa. The study did not determine how infectivity reaches the follicles of PPs. The possibility that the infectious agent is transported across the FAE remains a possibility if it occurs in a form that is undetectable by the methods used in this study. Infectivity may also be transported via lymph to the blood and further to all other lymphoid tissues including the PP follicles, but the early presence of PrPd in the PP follicles during scrapie infection argues against such a mechanism

Binding of Pramipexole to Extrastriatal Dopamine D2/D3 Receptors in the Human Brain: A Positron Emission Tomography Study Using 11C-FLB 457

The purpose of this study was to determine the binding sites of pramipexole in extrastriatal dopaminergic regions because its antidepressive effects have been speculated to occur by activating the dopamine D2 receptor subfamily in extrastriatal areas. Dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) scanning using 11C-FLB 457 for quantification of D2/D3 receptor subtype was performed on 15 healthy volunteers. Each subject underwent two PET scans before and after receiving a single dose of pramipexole (0, 0.125, or 0.25 mg). The study demonstrated that pramipexole significantly binds to D2/D3 receptors in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and medial and lateral thalamus at a dose of 0.25 mg. These regions have been indicated to have some relation to depression and may be part of the target sites where pramipexole exerts its antidepressive effects

Sex in the PAC: A hidden affair in dark septate endophytes?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fungi are asexually and sexually reproducing organisms that can combine the evolutionary advantages of the two reproductive modes. However, for many fungi the sexual cycle has never been observed in the field or <it>in vitro </it>and it remains unclear whether sexual reproduction is absent or cryptic. Nevertheless, there are indirect approaches to assess the occurrence of sex in a species, such as population studies, expression analysis of genes involved in mating processes and analysis of their selective constraints. The members of the <it>Phialocephala fortinii </it>s. l. - <it>Acephala applanata </it>species complex (PAC) are ascomycetes and the predominant dark septate endophytes that colonize woody plant roots. Despite their abundance in many ecosystems of the northern hemisphere, no sexual state has been identified to date and little is known about their reproductive biology, and how it shaped their evolutionary history and contributes to their ecological role in forest ecosystems. We therefore aimed at assessing the importance of sexual reproduction by indirect approaches that included molecular analyses of the mating type (<it>MAT</it>) genes involved in reproductive processes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study included 19 PAC species and > 3, 000 strains that represented populations from different hosts, continents and ecosystems. Whereas <it>A. applanata </it>had a homothallic (self-fertile) <it>MAT </it>locus structure, all other species were structurally heterothallic (self-sterile). Compatible mating types were observed to co-occur more frequently than expected by chance. Moreover, in > 80% of the populations a 1:1 mating type ratio and gametic equilibrium were found. <it>MAT </it>genes were shown to evolve under strong purifying selection.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The signature of sex was found in worldwide populations of PAC species and functionality of <it>MAT </it>genes is likely preserved by purifying selection. We hypothesize that cryptic sex regularely occurs in the PAC and that further field studies and <it>in vitro </it>crosses will lead to the discovery of the sexual state. Although structurally heterothallic species prevail, it cannot be excluded that homothallism represents the ancestral breeding system in the PAC.</p

Mapping anhedonia onto reinforcement learning: A behavioural meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Depression is characterised partly by blunted reactions to reward. However, tasks probing this deficiency have not distinguished insensitivity to reward from insensitivity to the prediction errors for reward that determine learning and are putatively reported by the phasic activity of dopamine neurons. We attempted to disentangle these factors with respect to anhedonia in the context of stress, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Bipolar Disorder (BPD) and a dopaminergic challenge. METHODS: Six behavioural datasets involving 392 experimental sessions were subjected to a model-based, Bayesian meta-analysis. Participants across all six studies performed a probabilistic reward task that used an asymmetric reinforcement schedule to assess reward learning. Healthy controls were tested under baseline conditions, stress or after receiving the dopamine D2 agonist pramipexole. In addition, participants with current or past MDD or BPD were evaluated. Reinforcement learning models isolated the contributions of variation in reward sensitivity and learning rate. RESULTS: MDD and anhedonia reduced reward sensitivity more than they affected the learning rate, while a low dose of the dopamine D2 agonist pramipexole showed the opposite pattern. Stress led to a pattern consistent with a mixed effect on reward sensitivity and learning rate. CONCLUSION: Reward-related learning reflected at least two partially separable contributions. The first related to phasic prediction error signalling, and was preferentially modulated by a low dose of the dopamine agonist pramipexole. The second related directly to reward sensitivity, and was preferentially reduced in MDD and anhedonia. Stress altered both components. Collectively, these findings highlight the contribution of model-based reinforcement learning meta-analysis for dissecting anhedonic behavior