Receiving a dementia diagnosis is a difficult experience for most people and often affects their wellbeing negatively. To support people's wellbeing, in a therapeutic context, life-storytelling, ...reminiscence and mindfulness are used with people with dementia. In an everyday context, traditional games are used as a resource for stimulating memory, cognition and social activity. While an increasing number of creative strategies are available to support people with dementia, the area of board games design and their effect on wellbeing is underexplored.
This paper reports on the evaluation of the This is Me (TIM) mindful life-storytelling board game by the European project MinD. Using a co-design methodology, TIM was developed with and for people with mild to moderate dementia to support their wellbeing by enhancing self-empowerment and social engagement. A focus group methodology was used to evaluate TIM with 50 people with dementia and 19 carers across four countries. TIM was evaluated with regard to the usability and experience of the design as well as people's emotional wellbeing, social engagement and agency.
The thematic analysis demonstrated that the combination of life-storytelling and mindfulness allowed players to engage in meaningful social interaction and, as a result, they reported enjoyment, learning, more acceptance of the past and present situation, and that they perceived looking forward into the future together with others as helpful. The study demonstrates that design can be a useful means to support people with dementia in aspects of emotional wellbeing, social engagement and a sense of agency.
•People need more support in the early stages of dementia, after diagnosis, to support their wellbeing and quality of life.•Targeted, evidence-based design strategies can support the wellbeing of people with mild to moderate dementia.•Evaluating the This is Me mindful life-storytelling board game offers an example of such a design strategy and its benefits.
This interdisciplinary book offers a fresh way to understand present-day Spain in relation to its African and Latin American migrants. It combines readings of a large range of cultural works with a ...clear understanding of political, historical, and social context, in order to rethink migrant identities, their complex cultural representations, and the transnational conceptions of Spain that emerge from the encounter with the foreigner. It offers new comprehensive theories on the border and the Other.
Abstract Here, we set out to study the genetic architecture of Parkinson's disease (PD) through a Genome-Wide Association Study in a Southern Spanish population. About 240 PD cases and 192 controls ...were genotyped on the NeuroX array. We estimated genetic variation associated with PD risk and age at onset (AAO). Risk profile analyses for PD and AAO were performed using a weighted genetic risk score. Total heritability was estimated by genome-wide complex trait analysis. Rare variants were screened with single-variant and burden tests. We also screened for variation in known PD genes. Finally, we explored runs of homozygosity and structural genomic variations. We replicate PD association (uncorrected p -value < 0.05) at the following loci: ACMSD/TMEM163, MAPT, STK39, MIR4697, and SREBF / RAI1 . Subjects in the highest genetic risk score quintile showed significantly increased risk of PD versus the lowest quintile (odds ratio = 3.6, p -value < 4e−7 ), but no significant difference in AAO. We found evidence of runs of homozygosity in 2 PD-associated regions: one intersecting the HLA-DQB1 gene in 6 patients and 1 control; and another intersecting the GBA-SYT11 gene in PD case. The GBA N370S and the LRRK2 G2019S variants were found in 8 and 7 cases, respectively, replicating previous work. A structural variant was found in 1 case in the PARK2 gene locus. This current work represents a comprehensive assessment at a genome-wide level characterizing a novel population in PD genetics.
Chronic, often intractable, pain is caused by neuropathic conditions such as traumatic peripheral nerve injury (PNI) and spinal cord injury (SCI). These conditions are associated with alterations in ...gene and protein expression correlated with functional changes in somatosensory neurons having cell bodies in dorsal root ganglia (DRGs). Most studies of DRG transcriptional alterations have utilized PNI models where axotomy-induced changes important for neural regeneration may overshadow changes that drive neuropathic pain. Both PNI and SCI produce DRG neuron hyperexcitability linked to pain, but contusive SCI produces little peripheral axotomy or peripheral nerve inflammation. Thus, comparison of transcriptional signatures of DRGs across PNI and SCI models may highlight pain-associated transcriptional alterations in sensory ganglia that do not depend on peripheral axotomy or associated effects such as peripheral Wallerian degeneration. Data from our rat thoracic SCI experiments were combined with meta-analysis of published whole-DRG RNA-seq datasets from prominent rat PNI models. Striking differences were found between transcriptional responses to PNI and SCI, especially in regeneration-associated genes (RAGs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). Many transcriptomic changes after SCI also were found after corresponding sham surgery, indicating they were caused by injury to surrounding tissue, including bone and muscle, rather than to the spinal cord itself. Another unexpected finding was of few transcriptomic similarities between rat neuropathic pain models and the only reported transcriptional analysis of human DRGs linked to neuropathic pain. These findings show that DRGs exhibit complex transcriptional responses to central and peripheral neural injury and associated tissue damage. Although only a few genes in DRG cells exhibited similar changes in expression across all the painful conditions examined here, these genes may represent a core set whose transcription in various DRG cell types is sensitive to significant bodily injury, and which may play a fundamental role in promoting neuropathic pain.
A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with a diode array detector (DAD) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was established to obtain the maximum response for the extraction of ...phenolic compounds in plums (Prunus salicina Lindl). The effects of solvent relationship (methanol/water) (0 to 100%, v/v) and ultrasound extraction time (5 to 30 min) using a multivariate design and response surface methodology were studied. All of the studied extracted condition models established showed significant effects (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, the determination of common optimum combination for all compounds was complex and a weighted desirability function was applied to maximize the extraction for each analyte. The optimum conditions of extraction were for a period of 30 min. For the solvent optimized conditions (84/16 methanol/water, v/v), the important phenolic compounds selected in the design model according to the concentration range and insignificant lack of fit p-value were extracted, detected, and quantified with a probability of 84% including hydroxycinnamic acids (chlorogenic and neochlorogenic acids), flavonols (quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, isoharmentin-3-O-rutinoside), and anthocyanins (cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside). The validity and adequacy of the predictive extraction model was checked in plums and no significant differences were detected between the predicted and the actual phenolic contents. The intra-day and inter-day assay repeatabilities for the analysis of real samples were less than 11.5% and 11.7%, respectively. Recovery values between 72.0 and 112% were obtained for all compounds. For all these reasons, the methodology is appropriate for the routine determination of the majority of phenolic compounds in Prunus salicina Lindl.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract Aim This scoping review explores key concepts related to the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of COVID-19, offering insights for future pandemic preparedness and response ...strategies. Subject and methods A scoping review was conducted using electronic databases including PubMed, EBSCO (CINAHL, APA PsycINFO), and Cochrane. The results were filtered for papers published in English, German, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch until 31 December 2022. Eighty-one articles were selected for the scoping review. Moreover, gray literature on guidelines was retrieved from reports by each country’s main institution for pandemic management, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Results From the analyzed articles several key points emerged, highlighting main issues facing the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges in prevention include emphasizing airborne precautions, addressing diverse adherence to social distancing, and overcoming challenges in digital contact tracing. In the realm of treatment, essential considerations include personalized patient management and the significance of holistic care. Rehabilitation efforts should prioritize post-COVID conditions and explore suggested management models. Addressing the social impact involves recognizing psychological effects, advocating for quality improvement initiatives, and for the restructuring of public health systems. Conclusion This scoping review emphasizes the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global and European population, resulting in a significant death toll and widespread long-term effects. Lessons learned include the critical importance of coordinated emergency management, transparent communication, and collaboration between health authorities, governments, and the public. To effectively address future public health threats, proactive investment in infrastructure, international collaboration, technology, and innovative training is crucial.
Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) represents a group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by abnormal iron accumulation in the brain. In Parkinson's Disease (PD), iron ...accumulation is a cardinal feature of degenerating regions in the brain and seems to be a key player in mechanisms that precipitate cell death. The aim of this study was to explore the genetic and genomic connection between NBIA and PD. We screened for known and rare pathogenic mutations in autosomal dominant and recessive genes linked to NBIA in a total of 4481 PD cases and 10,253 controls from the Accelerating Medicines Partnership Parkinsons' Disease Program and the UKBiobank. We examined whether a genetic burden of NBIA variants contributes to PD risk through single-gene, gene-set, and single-variant association analyses. In addition, we assessed publicly available expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) data through Summary-based Mendelian Randomization and conducted transcriptomic analyses in blood of 1886 PD cases and 1285 controls. Out of 29 previously reported NBIA screened coding variants, four were associated with PD risk at a nominal p value < 0.05. No enrichment of heterozygous variants in NBIA-related genes risk was identified in PD cases versus controls. Burden analyses did not reveal a cumulative effect of rare NBIA genetic variation on PD risk. Transcriptomic analyses suggested that DCAF17 is differentially expressed in blood from PD cases and controls. Due to low mutation occurrence in the datasets and lack of replication, our analyses suggest that NBIA and PD may be separate molecular entities.
Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are a heterogeneous cell population that may be enriched by positive selection with antibodies against the low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor (LNGFR or ...CD271), yielding a selective cell universe with higher proliferation and differentiation potential. This paper addresses the need for determining the quantity of ADSCs positive for the CD271 receptor and its correlation with donor's age. Mononuclear cells were harvested from the lower backs of 35 female donors and purified using magnetic beads. Multipotency capacity was tested by the expression of stemness genes and through differentiation into preosteoblasts and adipocytes. A significant statistical difference was found in CD271+ concentrations between defined age intervals. The highest yield was found within women on the 30–40-year-old age range. CD271+ ADSCs from all age groups showed differentiation capabilities as well as expression of typical multipotent stem cell genes. Our data suggest that the amount of CD271+ cells correlates inversely with age. However, the ability to obtain these cells was maintained through all age ranges with a yield higher than what has been reported from bone marrow. Our findings propose CD271+ ADSCs as the primary choice for tissue regeneration and autologous stem cell therapies in older subjects.
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