Subjective memory complaints in Portuguese young adults: contributions from the adaptation of the prospective and retrospective memory questionnaire

Self-report instruments that allow to characterize the frequency of daily memory failures are essential for a comprehensive assessment of memory functioning. In this context, we aimed to provide preliminary evidence of validity and reliability for the European Portuguese adaptation of the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ). A total of 1052 healthy participants completed an online survey with the PRMQ. The exploration of the construct validity suggested the tripartite model with a general memory, a prospective memory, and a retrospective memory factors to have the best adjustment to the data. Measurement invariance across age and sex groups was also verified. The questionnaire revealed good convergent validity with a general self-report measure of memory (0.778 < r < 0.853), and satisfactory values of internal consistency (0.779 < Cronbach's alpha < 0.887) and of test-retest reliability (0.815 < r < 0.852). There were no prominent effects of sex and age in the PRMQ scores. Although the sample encompassed mainly younger and highly educated adults, this study presented the first evidence of validity and reliability for the European Portuguese version of the questionnaire.- This work was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under a Doctoral grant (PD/BD/105964/2014) of the FCT PhD Programmes with the support of the Operational Programme for Human Capital (POCH). It was partially conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of Minho, supported by the FCT and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the Portugal2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653). The authors would like to thank particularly the original authors of the questionnaire, and the institutions that responsively helped to spread the word regarding the study, namely University of Porto and University of Beira Anterior. We would like to acknowledge Joana Coutinho, Alberto Crego, and Ana Seara-Cardoso for aiding with the translation procedures. Special thanks are also due to the members of the Neuropsychophysiology Laboratory and the Human Memory Research Group of the University of Minho for the feedback in the early stages of the questionnaire adaptation. The authors would like to acknowledge all the participants that collaborated in this work, and the reviewers whose comments helped to improve the manuscript

Norfloxacin sesquihydrate

In the crystal structure of the title compound [systematic name: 1-ethyl-6-fluoro-4-oxo-7-(piperazin-4-ium-1-yl)-1,4-dihydro­quinoline-3-carboxyl­ate sesquihydrate], C16H18FN3O3·1.42H2O, N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds assemble the mol­ecules in a two-dimensional layered corrugated sheet structure parallel to the b axis. The water mol­ecules are disordered [occupancies 0.741 (11) and 0.259 (11)]

How does performing demanding activities influence prospective memory? A systematic review

This paper is the first systematic review on the role of ongoing task load in prospective remembering, which was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Forty articles published between 1995 and 2020 were included. They evaluated prospective memory (PM) performance (i.e., the ability to remember to execute a delayed intention) in adult samples aged between 19 and 50 years old when the PM cue appeared under cognitively demanding conditions.The results revealed that people are more likely to fail to remember to perform a delayed intention at the appropriate circumstances or time in the future when their cognitive resources are taxed by demanding ongoing activities. We conclude the review by highlighting that the degree of working memory and executive resources seems to account for some of the discrepant findings and by proposing directions for future research.- This project was founded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) with the grant BD/123421/2016 awarded to Patricia Matos and with thegrant PD/BD/105964/2014 awarded to Diana R. Pereira. This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2019), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, through the State Budget (UID/PSI/01662/2019). Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Patricia Fernanda Ferreira Matos, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal

Retinal nerve fiber layer abnormalities in Alzheimer's disease

Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) photographs from 26 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 23 normal, age-matched, control subjects were reviewed for quality and abnormalities by two observers. A higher proportion of Alzheimer's patients showed RNFL abnormalities when compared to control subjects. There was some disagreement between the two observers regarding quality and frequency of abnormalities, reflecting suboptimal quality of the photographs obtained in patients with advanced Alzheimer's disease. Although these findings add to the clinical and histopathological evidence that ganglion cell degeneration occurs in Alzheimer's disease, the difficulty in obtaining and evaluating retinal nerve fiber layer photographs, especially in advanced cases, may limit the clinical usefulness of retinal nerve fiber layer analysis in such patients.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73257/1/j.1600-0420.1996.tb00090.x.pd

A utilização de sémen fresco na fertilização in vitro de embriões ovinos melhora a qualidade dos blastocistos na raça portuguesa Merino

A produção de embriões em ovinos é uma tarefa difícil, exigindo experiência e condições onerosas, principalmente na produção de embriões in vivo. A recolha sistemática de oócitos em animais de matadouro ou em animais vivos por ovum pick-up, permite a produção in vitro de embriões (IVP), em larga escala e menos dispendiosa, nos pequenos ruminantes. Esta possibilidade é importante não só como fonte de embriões mas também de oócitos e zigotos para fins comerciais ou de investigação, facilitando a sua disponibilidade em tecnologias emergentes tais como a clonagem ou a transgénese. Para IVP foram desenvolvidos vários protocolos de maturação, utilizando fertilização in vitro (IVF) com sémen fresco ou congelado. Em Portugal, a produção de embriões in vitro foi somente realizada com sémen congelado dada a sua disponibilidade em condições de rotina. Contudo, o sémen fresco poderá melhorar a produção de embriões frescos ou criopreservados. Este trabalho teve como objectivo comparar a eficiência da IVP em ovinos usando diferentes protocolos de maturação de oócitos e IVF com sémen fresco ou congelado. Oócitos (n=1768) recolhidos em matadouro foram maturados em meio TCM199 com 100 μM cisteamine, 10 ng mL-1 EGF, 10 μg mL-1 E2 e gentamicina (mat A, n=692) ou suplementada com 10 μg mL-1 FSH e 0,3 mM piruvato de sódio (mat B, n=707) a 39 ºC e 5% CO2 durante 22h. O sémen fresco (FS) e congelado/descongelado (TS) de carneiros de raça Merino Branco (n=3) foi lavado ou submetido a swim-up, respectivamente. Após a fertilização (18h p.i.), os presumíveis zigotos foram cultivados em meio de fluido sintético do oviducto (SOF) enriquecido com aminoácidos e BSA a 38,5 ºC, em atmosfera humidificada com 5% O2, 5% CO2 e 90% N2 até ao estadio de 2-4-8 células. Após clivagem, o desenvolvimento embrionário prosseguiu até ao estadio de blastocisto em meio SOF, BSA e 10% FCS. A qualidade foi avaliada no dia 6-7, classificando-se como bons, médios e maus, baseado nos parâmetros IETS. Os dados das taxas de produção embrionária foram analisados utilizando ANOVA. Foi utilizado o teste de Mann-Whitney U para avaliação da qualidade dos embriões. Os diferentes protocolos de maturação não interferiram (p>0,05) quer com as taxas de maturação quer com as taxas de produção de embriões. A qualidade embrionária foi superior (p=0,004) na fertilização com sémen fresco (bom: FS=40,1±8,0% vs TS=32,9±5,6%; média: FS=20,1±4,7% vs TS=35,7±5,8%; má: FS=39,8±9,8% vs TS=31,4±7,6%). Em conclusão, estes resultados preliminares mostram que o sémen fresco de carneiro pode ser facilmente utilizado para fertilização in vitro e melhora a qualidade dos embriões produzidos.#Embryo production in sheep is a difficult task demanding experience and expensive facilities, particularly when dealing with in vivo embryo production. Easy ways to obtain ovine embryos consist of collecting oocytes at slaughterhouses or systematically pick them up from live animals, allowing a large scale and cheaper in vitro embryo production (IVP) for small ruminants. Those are important sources of embryos, oocytes and zygotes for commercial, laboratorial and research proposes, making easier the availability of resources for emerging techniques like cloning or transgenesis. For IVP, several oocyte maturation protocols have been developed using fertilization (IVF) either with fresh or frozen-thawed semen. In Portugal, IVP has been done through IVF using cryopreserved semen because it is easily available for routine use. However, the use of fresh semen could improve embryo production and cryopreservation results. The aim of this work was to compare the efficiency of in vitro embryo production in ovine using different oocyte maturation protocols and fresh or frozen semen for IVF. Abattoir-derived oocytes (n=1768) were matured in TCM199, 10 μM cysteamine, 10 ng mL-1 EGF, 10 μg mL-1 E2 and gentamicin (mat A, n=692) or plus 10 μg mL-1 FSH and 0.3 mM sodium piruvate (mat B, n=707) at 39 ºC and 5% CO2 for 22h. Prior to fertilization, either fresh (FS) or frozen/thawed (TS) semen from Merino rams (n=3) was washed or submitted to swim-up respectively. Presumptive zygotes (18h p.i.) were cultured in synthetic oviductal fluid (SOF) enriched with aminoacids and 6 mg mL-1 BSA at 38.5 ºC, under 5% O2, 5% CO2 and 90% N2 in an humidified atmosphere until the stage of 2-4-8 cell embryos. After assessing cleavage, embryo development proceeded until the blastocyst stage in SOF+BSA and 10% FCS. Quality was evaluated on D6-7 by scoring embryos as good, fair and bad based on IETS guidelines. Data from embryo production rates were analysed using ANOVA. Mann-Whitney U test was used for embryo quality evaluation. Different maturation protocols did not interfere (P>0.05) either on maturation or on embryo quality or production rates. Embryo quality was higher (P=0.004) when fertilization was accomplished with fresh semen (good: FS=40.1±8.0% vs TS=32.9±5.6%; fair: FS=20.1±4.7% vs TS=35.7±5.8%; bad: FS=39.8±9.8% vs TS=31.4±7.6%). Preliminar results show that ram fresh semen can be easily used for in vitro fertilization and improves the quality of produced embryos

Efectividad de las actividades preventivas a los 8 años de su introducción en una consulta de medicina general de un centro de salud

ObjetivoPrincipal: valorar la modificación del riesgo coronario (RC) en pacientes adultos tras 8 años de su incorporación al Programa Actividades Preventivas y Promoción Salud (PAPPS). Secundario: determinar nivel de vacunación antitetánica alcanzado y cumplimiento de actividades.DiseñoEstudio de intervención sin asignación aleatoria «antes-después».EmplazamientoUna consulta de medicina general de un centro de salud.PacientesUn total de 429 pacientes (204 varones, 225 mujeres) de 30-65 años seguidos durante 8 años, captados por búsqueda activa de casos en la consulta diaria.IntervencionesDeterminación de tensión arterial, colesterol, peso, tabaquismo, ingesta etílica, estado vacunal antitetánico, cálculo del RC a los 10 años según Framinghan y grado de cumplimiento de actividades. Estas variables se determinaron al inicio, a los 4 y a los 8 años. Datos obtenidos de la historia clínica.ResultadosPoblación total: a los 8 años descenso del RC, 0,8 (IC diferencia, 0,4-1,2), equivalente al 8,5% del inicial. Incremento obtenido de la vacunación antitetánica correcta del 64,4% (IC diferencia, 59,9-69%). Cumplimiento actividades al inicio y al octavo año: tensión, 100%, 71%; consumo tabaco, 99,5%, 71%; determinación colesterol, 89%, 64%. Subgrupo RC inicial alto: a los 8 años descenso del RC, 6,7 (IC diferencia, 4,9-8,5), equivalente al 24,8% del inicial.ConclusionesEn la población total el descenso del RC obtenido no es clínicamente significativo, mientras que en el subgrupo con RC inicial alto el descenso sí lo ha sido. Probablemente debería hacerse búsqueda activa de los pacientes con RC alto y actuar sobre ellos.ObjectivesMain: to assess the change in coronary risk (CR) in adults after 8 years of their involvement in the Programme of Preventive Activities and Health Promotion (PAPPS). Secondary: to determine the level of anti-tetanus vaccination reached and patients' compliance with activities.Design«Before and after» intervention study without random allocation.SettingA general medical clinic at a health centre.Patients429 patients (204 men, 225 women) between 30 and 65 monitored for 8 years, recruited by active search for cases at daily consultations.InterventionsBlood pressure, cholesterol, weight, tobacco habit, alcohol intake, anti-tetanus vaccination state, CR calculation at 10 years on the Framingham scale, and degree of compliance with activities were all determined at the start, at 4 years and at 8 years. Data was obtained from the clinical notes.ResultsTotal population: a 0.8 drop in CR (CI difference: 0.4-1.2), equivalent to 8.5% of the initial figure. 64.4% increase in correct anti-tetanus vaccination (CI difference: 59.9-69). Compliance with activities at the start and after eight years: pressure 100%, 71%; tobacco consumption 99.5%, 71%; cholesterol determination 89%, 64%. Initially high CR sub-group: 6.7 drop of CR at 8 years (CI difference: 4.9-8.5), equivalent to 24.8% of the initial figure.ConclusionsIn the total population, the CR drop found was not clinically significant, whereas in the initially high CR sub-group the drop was. There should probably be an active search made for patients with high CR and action taken on them

Combined virtual/experimental multicomponent solid forms screening of sildenafil: new salts, cocrystals, and hybrid salt-cocrystals

YesNew multicomponent solid forms of sildenafil have been discovered by means of a combined virtual/experimental cocrystal screening. Coformer selection of candidates was conducted based on an in silico screening method from a database of more than 2000 organic compounds, and the intensive experimental screen produced 23 new solid forms. Since the 12 coformers chosen have a combination of phenol and carboxylic acid groups, a variety of cocrystals, salts, and hybrid salt-cocrystals were discovered and characterized

The Ca2+-EDTA chelation as standard reaction to validate isothermal titration calorimeter measurements (ITC)

A study about the suitability of the chelation reaction of Ca2+with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a validation standard for Isothermal Titration Calorimeter measurements has been performed exploring the common experimental variables (buffer, pH, ionic strength and temperature). Results obtained in a variety of experimental conditions have been amended according to the side reactions involved in the main process and to the experimental ionic strength and, finally, validated by contrast with the potentiometric reference values. It is demonstrated that the chelation reaction performed in acetate buffer 0.1 M and 25 °C shows accurate and precise results and it is robust enough to be adopted as a standard calibration proces