Development of a Daily Diary Method for the Assessment of Everyday Cognitive Failures

Assessing how well an individual can meet real world cognitive demands is an important clinical outcome, particularly for older adults. Research examining real world cognitive functioning has used both lab-based tasks as well as questionnaires. However, these assessments were limited for a number of reasons. Lab-based tasks lack personal relevance which may affect the strategies and amount of effort individuals apply, reducing their ecological validity. Questionnaires are considered more ecologically valid but require individuals to recall cognitive failures over weeks and months depending on an individual\u27s fallible cognitive ability to remember their mistakes over long periods of time. More recent research has attempted to develop methods for the daily reporting of cognitive failures but focus primarily on memory failures and ignore more general types of cognitive failures. These daily diary studies also failed to assess the impact of cognitive failures on daily functioning. The current study built on this previous research and introduced a set of assessment tools designed to capture missed activities, memory failures, and difficulties with attention and concentration that individuals experience on a daily basis as well as the impact of these events on daily functioning. One hundred thirty-one participants, 20 to 80 years old completed these assessments once each day for a period of seven days as well as a series of lab-based cognitive tasks. These data revealed that participants reported missing the most activities due to overload (e.g., running out of time) but found missing activities due to somatic complaints as the most bothersome. With regard to daily memory failures, participants reported equal numbers of retrospective and prospective memory failures but reported expecting more future consequences from prospective memory failures. Older participants reported experiencing more missed activities and memory failures but rated these events as less bothersome, less interfering, and as less likely to bring about future consequences compared with younger adults. Daily failures of attention and concentration were captured using a Likert-style scale that assesses cognitive interference. This questionnaire exhibited adequate reliability and factor structure both between- and within-persons and tapped a construct separable from negative affect. Finally, there was evidence of weak relationships among self-reported cognitive failures and objective cognitive performance. Findings are discussed relative to previous research on self-reported cognitive failures, the importance of assessing other daily processes and their effects on daily cognitive failures, and the continued lack of relationship between self-reported cognitive failures and objective cognitive performance

Anticholinergic Exposure During Rehabilitation: Cognitive and Physical Function Outcomes in Patients with Delirium Superimposed on Dementia

OBJECTIVES: We examined the association between anticholinergic medication exposure and subsequent cognitive and physical function in patients with delirium superimposed on dementia during rehabilitation. We also examined length of stay and discharge disposition by anticholinergic medication exposure. DESIGN: In this secondary analysis we used control group data from an ongoing randomized clinical trial. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Participants with delirium and dementia were enrolled at admission to post-acute care. These 99 participants had a mean age of 86.11 (±6.83) years; 67.6% were women; 98% were Caucasian; and 33% were positive for at least one APOE e4 allele. MEASURES: We obtained daily measures of cognitive and physical function using: Digit Span; memory, orientation and attention items from the Montreal Cognitive Assessment; CLOX; the Confusion Assessment Method; and the Barthel Index. Anticholinergic medication exposure was measured weekly using the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale. RESULTS: Using multilevel models for time we found that greater use of clinically relevant anticholinergic medications in the previous week reduced cognitive and physical function, as measured by Digit Span Backwards and the Barthel index, in the current week. There was no effect of anticholinergic medication use on delirium severity, and APOE status did not moderate any outcomes. Greater use of clinically relevant anticholinergic medications was related to longer length of stay but not discharge disposition. CONCLUSIONS: For vulnerable older adults, anticholinergic exposure represents a potentially modifiable risk factor for poor attention, working memory, physical function, and greater length of stay during rehabilitation

Counselor s Corner: Fall 2018

The Fall 2018 newsletter from the Department of Counselor Education shares news about the program and the profession, as well as updates from faculty, staff, students, and alumni.https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/edc_news/1025/thumbnail.jp

Developing a Template for Logistics Test and Evaluation

Logistics test and evaluation, performed during the developmental test and evaluation effort, is an integral part of the aircraft acquisition process. However, there has been no standard approach to conducting logistics test and evaluation. This study researched past and present approaches to aircraft logistics test and evaluation to determine the most effective method for future programs. We conducted this study using the Delphi method. We solicited the expert opinions of 32 individuals from the logistics test and evaluation field using two rounds of questions. We then statistically analyzed the data to ultimately develop a logistics test and evaluation template. We concluded that the ten ILS elements are indeed a valid baseline for a logistics test and evaluation template, that logistics test and evaluation is worth the resources allocated to it, and that the F-22 logistics test and evaluation approach is the most effective. Logistics test and evaluation, Integrated Logistics Support ILS elements, Developmental test and evaluation

Post-traumatic growth as positive personality change: developing a measure to assess within-person variability

Earlier work has defined post-traumatic growth (PTG) as positive personality change, but measurement of this construct has relied almost exclusively on cross-sectional and retrospective assessments. The aim of this study was to use an experience-sampling procedure to measure the extent to which PTG manifested in individuals’ everyday lives after a recent highly stressful or traumatic adverse event (compared to a control group). In doing so, we developed a state measure of PTG. The factor structure of state PTG was comparable to trait PTG, there was significant variability in individuals’ PTG from moment-to-moment, but individuals’ trait PTG was unrelated to their state PTG. Moreover, individuals who had experienced a recent adversity did not differ from control participants on state PTG

Effect of Parthenium weed manures on rhizosphere mycoflora of maize

The aim of the present investigation was to study the rhizosphere mycoflora of maize under the influence of Parthenium hysterophorus L. weed manures has been investigated. A total of 11 fungal species were isolated viz., Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, A. terrus, Aspergillus sp., Cladosporium fulvum, Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor sp., Penicillium notatum, Phytophthora infestans, Rhizopus stolonifer and Trichoderma viride. Among these, the genus Aspergillus was most predominant. The analysis of soil samples from treated plots showed that more frequent mycoflora due to the application of weed manures. The mycopopulation were greater in the CM amendment followed by VM, DM, GM and NPK as compared to CO treatment

Relations between social comparisons and physical activity among women in midlife with elevated risk for cardiovascular disease: an ecological momentary assessment study.

Women in midlife (ages 40-60) show decreases in physical activity (PA) that exacerbate risk for cardiovascular disease. Social comparisons (i.e., self-evaluations relative to others) are known to influence PA in other groups, but their association in this population is unknown. The present study used ecological momentary assessment to examine this relation among women in midlife with hypertension or another CVD risk condition (N = 75,

Gender differences in relations between social comparison, social support, and sleep disturbance among midlife and older adults.

OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between sleep disturbance, social support, and social comparison among midlife and older adults, including the moderating role of gender. METHODS: Adults ages ≥40 years (N = 557, MAge = 57, 53% men) completed a cross-sectional survey including validated measures of sleep disturbance, perceptions of social support, and social comparison orientation. RESULTS: Sleep disturbance was negatively associated with social support (rs = −0.42 to–0.33, ps = 0.001) and associations were stronger for men than women–particularly perceived support from friends (η 2= 0.01). Sleep disturbance was also associated with upward comparison orientation (r = 0.12, p = 0.003), more strongly for women than men (η 2= 0.01). DISCUSSION: Findings indicate that perceived support from friends (for men) and upward comparison (for women) may have particular influence on sleep among midlife and older adults. Additional work is needed to clarify the nature of these associations and their mechanism(s) of action, to inform potential treatment adaptations for this population