An international evaluation of cognitive reserve and memory changes in early old age in ten European countries

BACKGROUND: Cognitive reserve was postulated to explain individual differences in susceptibility to ageing, offering apparent protection to those with higher education. We investigated the association between education and change in memory in early old age. METHODS: Immediate and delayed memory scores from over 10,000 individuals aged 65 years and older, from 10 countries of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), were modeled as a function of time in the study over an 8-year period, fitting independent latent growth models (LGM). Education was used as a marker of cognitive reserve and evaluated in associations with memory performance and rate of change, while accounting for income, general health, smoking, body mass index (BMI), sex and baseline age. RESULTS: In most countries, more educated individuals performed better on both memory tests at baseline, compared to those less educated. However, education was not protective against faster decline, except for in Spain for both immediate and delayed recall (0.007 (SE=0.003) & 0.006 (SE=0.002), and Switzerland for immediate recall 0.006 (SE=0.003). Interestingly, highly educated Italian respondents had slightly faster declines in immediate recall (-0.006 (SE=0.003)). CONCLUSIONS: We found weak evidence of a protective effect of education on memory change in most European samples, although there was a positive association with memory performance at individuals' baseline assessment

Galinheiro móvel com estrutura metálica para criação de frangos em semiconfinamento.

bitstream/item/85191/1/DCOT-300.pd

Qualidade de sementes de soja submetidas a diferentes volumes de calda no tratamento de sementes, sob efeito do armazenamento.

Edição Especial contendo os Anais do XVIII Congresso Brasileiro de Sementes, Florianópolis, set. 2013

Volume de calda com diferentes produtos e seu efeito na qualidade fisiológica de sementes de soja.

O cultivo de soja de alto rendimento requer o uso de tecnologias tais como fungicidas, inseticidas, micronutrientes e inoculantes que são veiculados com as sementes. Além disso, a aplicação de biorreguladores via semente tem sido indicada por várias empresas. Esses reguladores são substâncias naturais ou sintéticas que podem ser aplicadas nas sementes com a finalidade de incrementar a produção e melhorar a qualidade das sementes. Isso resulta na aplicação de elevados volumes de calda, o que pode afetar as qualidades física e fisiológica das sementes. O objetivo do trabalho foi determinar a influência de diferentes volumes de calda via tratamento de sementes e seu efeito na qualidade fisiológica. Foram utilizadas sementes da cultivar BRS 232, de dois lotes comerciais, um com alto e o outro com vigor médio. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado, com tratamentos em esquema fatorial 2 níveis de vigor (alto e médio vigor) X 4 volumes de calda (0, 500, 1000 e 1500 mL kg-1). Os tratamentos 0, 500, 1000 e 1500 mL kg-1 de sementes foram representados, respectivamente, por uma testemunha, um tratamento reduzido (Fungicida + Inoculante), um tratamento completo (Fungicida + Micronutriente + Inseticida + Inoculante) e um tratamento completo + biorregulador Stimulate®. A qualidade sementes foi avaliada pelos testes de germinação (primeira contagem e contagem final), de envelhecimento acelerado e de comprimento de plântula. O teste F foi conclusivo na comparação das médias dos efeitos dos níveis de vigor. Concluiu-se que, em lotes de alto e médio vigor, é possível utilizar o tratamento completo com o biorregulador Stimulate®, com elevado volume de calda (1500 mL kg-1), sem que ocorram danos fisiológico à semente de soja

Coordinated analysis of age, sex, and education effects on change in MMSE scores

Objectives. We describe and compare the expected performance trajectories of older adults on the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) across six independent studies from four countries in the context of a collaborative network of longitudinal studies of aging. A coordinated analysis approach is used to compare patterns of change conditional on sample composition differences related to age, sex, and education. Such coordination accelerates evaluation of particular hypotheses. In particular, we focus on the effect of educational attainment on cognitive decline.Method. Regular and Tobit mixed models were fit to MMSE scores from each study separately. The effects of age, sex, and education were examined based on more than one centering point.Results. Findings were relatively consistent across studies. On average, MMSE scores were lower for older individuals and declined over time. Education predicted MMSE score, but, with two exceptions, was not associated with decline in MMSE over time.Conclusion. A straightforward association between educational attainment and rate of cognitive decline was not supported. Thoughtful consideration is needed when synthesizing evidence across studies, as methodologies adopted and sample characteristics, such as educational attainment, invariably differ. © 2012 The Author

RANTES correlates with inflammatory activity and synaptic excitability in multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND: Alterations of synaptic transmission induced by inflammatory activity have been linked to the pathogenic mechanisms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed, and secreted (RANTES) is a pro-inflammatory chemokine involved in MS pathophysiology, potentially able to regulate glutamate release and plasticity in MS brains, with relevant consequences on the clinical manifestations of the disease. OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of RANTES in the regulation of cortical excitability. METHODS: We explored the association of RANTES levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of newly diagnosed MS patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and laboratory measures of inflammatory activity, as well its role in the control of cortical excitability and plasticity explored by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and in hippocampal mouse slices in vitro. RESULTS: CSF levels of RANTES were remarkably high only in active MS patients and were correlated with the concentrations of interleukin-1β. RANTES levels were associated with TMS measures of cortical synaptic excitability, but not with long-term potentiation (LTP)-like plasticity. Similar findings were obtained in mouse hippocampal slices in vitro, where we observed that RANTES enhanced basal excitatory synaptic transmission with no effect on LTP. CONCLUSION: RANTES correlates with inflammation and synaptic excitability in MS brains

Density functional calculations of nanoscale conductance

Density functional calculations for the electronic conductance of single molecules are now common. We examine the methodology from a rigorous point of view, discussing where it can be expected to work, and where it should fail. When molecules are weakly coupled to leads, local and gradient-corrected approximations fail, as the Kohn-Sham levels are misaligned. In the weak bias regime, XC corrections to the current are missed by the standard methodology. For finite bias, a new methodology for performing calculations can be rigorously derived using an extension of time-dependent current density functional theory from the Schroedinger equation to a Master equation.Comment: topical review, 28 pages, updated version with some revision

Controlled thermodynamics for tunable electron doping of graphene on Ir(111)

The electronic properties and surface structures of K-doped graphene supported on Ir(111) are characterized as a function of temperature and coverage by combining low-energy electron diffraction, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Deposition of K on graphene at room temperature (RT) yields a stable (√3 × √3) R30° surface structure having an intrinsic electron doping that shifts the graphene Dirac point by ED = 1.30 eV below the Fermi level. Keeping the graphene substrate at 80 K during deposition generates instead a (2 × 2) phase, which is stable until full monolayer coverage. Further deposition of K followed by RT annealing develops a double-layer K-doped graphene that effectively doubles the K coverage and the related charge transfer, as well as maximizing the doping level (ED = 1.61 eV). The measured electron doping and the surface reconstructions are rationalized by DFT calculations. These indicate a large thermodynamic driving force for K intercalation below the graphene layer. The electron doping and Dirac point shifts calculated for the different structures are in agreement with the experimental measurements. In particular, the K4s bands are shown to be sensitive to both the K intercalation and periodicity and are therefore suggested as a fingerprint for the location and ordering of the K dopants