High Prevalence of Dementia in a Community-Based Survey of Older People from Brazil: Association with Intellectual Activity Rather than Education

Although several surveys have been conducted around the world, few surveys have investigated the prevalence of dementia in Latin America. The aim of this study was to estimate dementia prevalence in a community sample in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, and to evaluate its distribution across several socio-demographic and clinical characteristics and habits. The population was aged 60 years and older and a representative sample from three different social regions. The screening instruments used in the first phase were the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Fuld Object-Memory Evaluation, the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly, and the Bayer Activities of Daily Living Scale. In the second phase, the Cambridge Examination was employed to diagnose dementia according to the DSM-IV criteria. The estimate of dementia prevalence was adjusted for screening instrument performance, using the positive and negative predictive values. The data were weighted to compare frequencies, considering the sampling and the non-response effect, and subjected to multivariate analysis. In all, 1.145 elderly subjects were evaluated (mean age: 70.9 years), of whom 63.4% were female and 52.8% had up to 4 years of schooling (participation rates at the first and the second phases were 62.6 and 60%, respectively). The observed and estimated prevalences of dementia were 5.9% and 12.5%, respectively (n = 68). Alzheimer's disease was the main cause (60.3%). Dementia was associated with old age, low education, stroke, absence of arthritis, and not reading books. The estimated prevalence of dementia was higher than the prevalence previously found. Associated factors confirmed the importance of intellectual activities in prevention.

Physical Activity In Daily Life In Brazilian COPD Patients During and After Exacerbation

Background: Although hospitalization is recognized as an important cause of reduction in physical activity in daily life (PADL) in COPD, there is only one study evaluating this effect, and it was performed in European COPD patients who have a lower PADL than that of South American COPD patients. Objectives: To investigate the effect of hospitalization due to acute exacerbation of PADL in Brazilian COPD patients and to evaluate the factors that determines the physical activity levels during hospitalization and after discharge. Methods: PADL was quantified using a 3-axis accelerometer on the 3rd day of hospitalization and 1 month after discharge in Brazilian COPD patients who were hospitalized due to disease exacerbation. Six-minute walking distance (6MWD), lower limb strength and pulmonary function were also evaluated. Results: A total of 20 patients completed the study. During hospitalization, patients spent most of the time (87%) lying down or sitting; however, 1 month after they were walking >40 min/day. In addition, patients with prior hospitalization had a lower level of physical activity compared to those without a previous history of hospitalization. The time spent walking during hospitalization was significantly explained by the quadriceps strength (r(2) = 0.29; p < 0.05), while 1 month after, the time spent walking was only significantly explained by the 6MWD (r(2) = 0.51; p = 0.02). Conclusions: Brazilian COPD patients are inactive during hospitalization but become active 1 month after discharge. Previously hospitalized are more inactive both during and after exacerbation. The quadriceps strength and 6MWD explain the physical activity levels during hospitalization and at home, respectively.

Adaptation and validation of the Patient Expectations and Satisfaction with Prenatal Care instrument among Brazilian pregnant women

Objective: to adapt and validate the Patient Expectations and Satisfaction with Prenatal Care instrument for use in Brazil. It contains 41 items divided into two dimensions: expectations and satisfaction. The adapted version was submitted to analysis for stability, convergent construct validity, and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for distinct groups and dimensions. Method: 119 pregnant women receiving prenatal care were interviewed and 26 of these women answered the instrument twice (retest). Internal consistency was appropriate (Cronbach’s alpha ≥ 0.70); test-retest presented strong correlation (r=0.82; p<0.001) for the domain expectations and moderate correlation (r=0.66; p<0.001) for the satisfaction domain. The analysis confirmed that the instrument’s adapted version is valid in the studied group. Results: there is strong evidence for the validity and reliability of the instrument’s adaptation. Conclusion: the instrument needs to be tested in groups of pregnant women with different social characteristics.

Prevalence of anxiety, depression and quality of life in HTLV-1 infected patients

The HAM/TSP caused by HTLV-1 infection usually affects patients to disabling states, and sometimes can lead them to paraplegia presenting symptoms of depression and anxiety, impacting on quality of life. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of depression and anxiety and its impact on quality of life in HTLV-1-infected TSP/HAM patients. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including 67 asymptomatic (control group) and 63 with TSP/HAM subjects. The instruments used were a demographic questionnaire, scales for anxiety and depression diagnosis (BDI and BAI), questionnaire for the assessment of Quality of Life of the World Health Organization (WHOQOL-Brief) and neurological scale to measure the disability level (Osame’s Disability Status Scale). All patients had HTLV-I diagnosis by serological and molecular approaches, monitored at Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas from May 2008 to July 2009. Data were analyzed statistically by frequencies, the Mann-Whitney test and the Spearman correlation test. Data among groups were analyzed and correlated with functional and severity aspects. Results: The results showed that patients with HAM/TSP compared to asymptomatic carriers had higher rates of depression (p < 0.001) and anxiety (p < 0.001), and impairment on quality of life in the areas of: dissatisfaction with health (p < 0.001), physical (p < 0.001) and the environment (p = 0.003). The main factors that correlated with levels of depression and anxiety and the domains of the WHOQOL-brief were: education, family income and social class. Conclusion: A well conducted evaluation and counseling may help in treatment, for a better quality of life of these patients.

Dietary intake of environmentally persistent plaguicides in the european population

[EN] Global pollution has become one of the most important problems of the modern societies and pesticides play a major role among the chemical contaminants that are released to the environment every year. Organochlorine compounds have been widely used in the past all over the world as pesticides and some of them are still used for the control of vectors of infectious diseases. Due to their high lipophilicity, stability and resistance to degradation, most of them have been banned or strictly regulated but their levels remain high in the environment as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Their presence in the environment leads to their introduction into the food chain, especially affecting food of animal origin with higher fat content. Due to their liposolubility, these substances tend to be bioaccumulated into the fat tissues of living beings along their entire lives, and to be biomagnificated across trophic levels in the food chain. Thus, the main human source of these pesticides comes from the daily intake of contaminated food from environmental sources. It has been established the role of many of the POPs as endocrine disruptors and even as carcinogenic agents, being thus considered as important risk factors for health. Moreover, chronic exposure to pesticides, even at very low levels, has been related with cancer, fertility problems, immunosuppression and other diseases. For this reason, it is important to know the level of POPs contamination and to identify the main sources contributing to it. Fish, meat and dairy products are the food groups with the highest levels of pollution. However, the residue levels vary by geographic area, and are influenced by several factors as food security policies, local pesticide use patterns, environmental practices, or the time when the study is conducted. Food habits, conditioned by different social and economic factors, as well as several biological factors (i.e. gender, sex and age), determine the levels of POPs exposure in the population. The purpose of this chapter is to give an overview of the dietary intake of environmentally persistent pesticides by the European population, and the potential adverse consequences of this exposure on human health.

Espacios de nadie y de todos: Territorio y sociedad en la frontera andalusí al norte del Tajo extremeño (Siglos VIII-XI)

[ES]Entre mediados del siglo VIII y mediados del siglo XII, el espacio comprendido entre el Sistema Central y el río Tajo en su parte extremeña ejerció como confín territorial de al- Andalus. A lo largo de todo este tiempo se sucedieron distintas fases en las que la frontera fluctuó según vinieran los aires cristianos del norte o islámicos del sur. Ello provocaría que estos territorios actuaran con relativa autonomía en muchos momentos de su historia andalusí y que se convirtieran en zonas donde confluían gentes de toda condición social y religiosa. En el presente trabajo tratamos de vislumbrar las dinámicas territoriales y sociales que se dieron en aquella región hasta finales del siglo XI, cuando se produjeron las conquistas cristianas de las ciudades islámicas más importantes de la frontera. [EN] The geographical area between the Spanish Central System and the part of the Tagus passing through Extremadura served as the boundary of the al-Andalus from the 8th to the 12th century. The boundary had different phases that fluctuated according to the influence exercised by the northern Christians or southern Muslims. This allowed these territories to have relative autonomy during its Andalusian history and turned them into zones where people from different social and religious background converged. The aim of this paper is to analyse the territorial and social dynamics of this area until the end of the 11th century, when the Christians conquered the most important Islamic towns of the borderland.

Sense of Community in contexts of multi culture

The theme “Belongingness” has a central role in the current debate on Community Psychology and in daily life. To try to understand the consequences of these changes, the research focuses on the concept of Sense of Community. In fact, Sense of Community has always been a central tool (Sarason, 1974; MacMillan & Chavis, 1986) to study communities (McMillan, 2011; Nowell & Boyd, 2011) and for a long time has represented positive values and something to aspire to. However, current debates indicate that Sense of Community is an outmoded concept and underline the problematic issue of “promotion of Sense of Community” in contexts of multi culture. The aim of the present research is to analyze Sense of Community in context of multi culture, as we consider that it can still be a fundamental tool to study and understand communities. In particular we are interested in understanding the role of Multiple Sense of Community (Brodsky, 2009) on Identity and Wellbeing (and its dimensions). We focused on a specific context, the Station Zone in Reggio Emilia, that is characterized by high levels of cultural diversity and different social problems (Giovannini & Vezzali, 2011). The research is developed and divided into two parts. The first part consists of an exploratory qualitative study that analyzes meanings of community among leaders of different ethnic groups living in the Station Zone. The second part consists of a “General Model” study and four parallel studies to analyze Multiple Sense of Community in different ethnic groups (Albanians, Moroccans, Chinese and Italians. The results indicate the different role of Multiple SOC in the relation between Identity and Wellbeing, in particular the relevance of Relational SOC and its different implications. Moreover, the factor “culture” represents an significant element in order to consider differences among ethnic groups.

1967-1987: l'altra civiltà del testo. Impulsi storici e scrittura nel teatro d'innovazione francese

Lo studio analizza le svolte nel teatro di innovazione francese prodotte dalla rivolta sociale e dalla sua rivoluzione culturale del 1968. La ricerca si è concentrata su tre livelli di analisi: un'analisi – storica, politica, sociale, culturale – dell'anno-tournant; un'analisi delle reazioni nel mondo del teatro contemporanee alla rivolta; un'analisi delle prassi spettacolari di lunga durata originate dall'evento. Sono stati, quindi, esaminati criticamente i testi cardine degli intellettuali ispiratori, protagonisti e interpreti della breccia culturale, per poi rintracciare i valori emersi all'interno del mondo dello spettacolo. La contestazione sociale ha agito sul mondo del teatro producendo delle ripercussioni immediate – l'occupazione dell'Odéon, la contestazione al XXII Festival d'Avignon, la produzione della Déclaration de Villeurbanne – e delle prassi di lunga durata che hanno agito sui processi formativi e creativi delle compagnie francesi che, dalla fine degli anni Sessanta, hanno prodotto creazioni collettive (in particolare il Théâtre du Soleil e il Théâtre de l'Aquarium, ma anche la Nouvelle Compagnie d'Avignon, il Grand Magic Circus e il Théâtre Populaire di Lorraine) e sul corpus drammaturgico e teorico di Michel Vinaver. Sono state, quindi, analizzate le relazioni che si sono instaurate tra i protagonisti appena nominati e i differenziati contesti, sociali e teatrali, facendo emergere nuove istanze creative. Tali istanze hanno saputo rispondere alle spinte etiche ed estetiche del momento storico, le hanno declinate sul piano delle prassi teatrali e rilanciate verso modalità nuove che hanno favorito l'emersione di una nuova civiltà del testuale.

La storia del cinema muto a Bologna attraverso la documentazione d'epoca. Protagonisti, imprese, spettacoli e luoghi per la gestione dell'immaginario della società urbana (1896-1925).

Studio storiografico condotto su fonti archivistiche, filmiche e sulla stampa locale e specializzata che ricostruisce dettagliatamente l'ambiente cittadino d'inizio Novecento nel quale si sono diffusi i primi spettacoli cinematografici, determinandone le caratteristiche e tracciandone l'evoluzione fra 1896 e 1925. L'avvento della cinematografia è strettamente connesso a un processo di modernizzazione del volto urbano, degli stili di vita, delle idee e il cinema si salda a queste istanze di rinnovamento, con una precisa ricaduta sull'immagine della città e sull'esperienza dei suoi cittadini appartenenti alle diverse classi sociali.

Magnetic actuators for nanosatellite attitude control

The research and the activities presented in the following thesis report have been led at the California Polytechnic State University (US) under the supervision of Prof. Jordi Puig Suari. The objective of the research has been the study of magnetic actuators for nanosatellite attitude control, called magnetorquer. Theese actuators are generally divided in three different kinds: air core torquer, embedded coil and torquerod. In a first phase of the activity, each technology has been analyzed, defining advantages and disadvantages, determining manufacturing procedures and creating mathematical model and designing equation. Dimensioning tools have been then implemented in numerical software to create an instrument that permits to determine the optimal configuration for defined requirements and constraints. In a second phase of the activities the models created have been validated exploiting prototypes and proper instruments for measurements. The instruments and the material exploited for experiments and prototyping have been provided by the PolySat and CubeSat laboratories. The results obtained led to the definition of a complete designing tool and procedure for nanosatellite magnetic actuators, introducing a cost analysis for each kind of solution. The models and the tools have been maintained fully parametric in order to offer a universal re-scalable instrument for satellite of different dimension class.

Analisi del film L'appartamento spagnolo: multilinguismo e comunicazione interculturale

The present research study focuses on intercultural communication and how its dynamics are portrayed in the Italian version of the movie L’appartamento spagnolo (original title: L’auberge espagnol) by Cédric Klapisch. The first chapter introduces the movie in all its main features, such as plot, setting, characters, languages, main themes, and sequels. The second chapter focuses on the dynamics of intercultural communication through the analysis of the most representative scenes of the movie. It is worth noting that the notion of intercultural communication comprises a lot of different kinds of communication, meaning not only communication among people coming from different countries and speaking a different language, but also among different generations, people with different social backgrounds, with a different social status, etc. However, language is indeed crucial to mutual understanding and it plays a fundamental role in communication. For this reason, the third chapter focuses on the multilingual dimension of the movie, since the issue of intercultural communication is also conveyed through a variety of languages. The aim is to analyze the different strategies used in the Italian dubbed version in order to manage the presence of different languages and to examine how such strategies affect the overall consistency of the dialogues and the effect achieved on the audience.

Stratified Boston: The Brahmins, the Irish and the Boston Police Strike of 1919

This thesis explores the Boston Police Strike of 1919 through the lens of class struggle and ethnic tension. Through an examination of the development of Boston’s class structure, particularly focused on the upper class Brahmins and the Irish working class, it concludes that the Brahmins’ success in suppressing the police strikeallowed for their maintenance of socioeconomic power within the city despite their relatively small population. Based on their extreme class cohesion resulting from the growing prominence of Harvard University as well as the Brahmins’ unabashed discrimination against their ethnic neighbors in almost every sphere of society, theBrahmins were able to maintain their power in Boston’s cultural world. The Irish working class, on the other hand, which attempted to use the increasing popularity of public and police unionization to challenge the status and power of the Brahmins through the creation of the Boston Police Union and subsequently through the notorious Boston Police Strike of 1919 was ultimately unsuccessful, and it was left in the same position in which it started, at the bottom of the social ladder. The suppression of the strike by members of the upper class and their allies, particularly those in high government positions, served to preserve and affirm the socioeconomic power of the Brahmins over much of Boston society and brought the era of public police unionization to a close.

Pathways to vicimization. Lessons learned from research in kindergarten

During the last decade interest in bully/victim problems has grown tremendously and still, studies addressing this issue in the years preceding elementary school areextremely rare. Despite obvious methodological challenges, the study of bullying and victimization in settings such as kindergarten opens up unique opportunities to understand early processes in the pathways to victimization, and to investigate different social and individual risk factors and their interactions in the very beginnings of bullying patterns. In this presentation, key findings that shed light on early vulnerability factors for victimization and factors that may maintain bullying patterns will be addressed. First, results from our and others’ studies in kindergarten are generally consistent with results in school. Second, our studies show that patterns of reactions when children witness victimization are already present in kindergarten settings. Third, all findings confirm that bully-victims must be regarded as being distinct from passive victims and other aggressive children (i.e. bullies) already at kindergarten age. Our studies indicate that bully-victims have significantly more problems associated with ADHD or with a lack of behavioral regulation than all their peers and that they clearly differ from bullies in terms of the type of aggression they display. Furthermore, our longitudinal data show different pathways to victimization for victims and bully-victims. This knowledge of early risk factors and pathways mustbe taken into consideration in future research and may contribute to the improvement of prevention programs.

Effects Of Perceived Financial Accessibility Of Colleges And Universities On Studentsâ¿ Assesment Of Institutional Desirability

This study focused on the effects of socioeconomic exclusivity indicators on college students¿ attitudes toward a hypothetical private liberal arts university. Students enrolled in two undergraduate courses in Education at an elite private liberal arts university in the northeast were randomly presented with one of three versions of an admissions brochure describing a fictitious university. The three versions of the brochure varied in their portrayals of the institution¿s financial exclusivity, ranging from high exclusivity to low exclusivity. Each student was asked to review the brochure and respond to a questionnaire, containing items pertaining to the overall desirability of the institution, as well as its student culture, academic program, campus traditions, and alumni network. Based on Thorstein Veblen¿s theory of the leisure class and Pierre Bourdieu¿s theory of social reproduction, it was hypothesized that students would judge the institution most favorably in all areas under the high exclusivity condition and least favorably under the low exclusivity condition. It was further hypothesized that differences in students¿ ratings of institutional desirability would be mediated by their own financial aid statuses. Results of a two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed significant (p < .05) interactive effects of institutional exclusivity and student aid status on the perceived desirability of the academic program and campus traditions of the institution. While recipients of need-based financial aid tended to rate more socioeconomically exclusive institutions more favorably on these two variables, those who were not receiving need-based financial aid tended to rate such institutions less favorably. Implications of the findings for student affairs practice are discussed and recommendations for further research are presented.

Phonetic Aspects of Speech Communication

Nadeina set out to develop methods of speech development in Russian as a mother tongue, focusing on improving diction, training in voice quality control, intonation control, the removal of dialect, and speech etiquette. She began with training in the receptive skills of language, i.e. reading and listening, since the interpretation of someone else's language plays an important role in language production. Her studies of students' reading speed of students showed that it varies between 40 and 120 words per minute, which is normally considered very slow. She discovered a strong correlation between speed of reading and speaking skills: the slower a person reads the worse is their ability to speak and has designed exercises to improve reading skills. Nadeina also believes that listening to other people's speech is very important, both to analyse its content and in some cases as an example, so listening skills need to be developed. Many people have poor pronunciation habits acquired as children. On the basis of speech samples from young Russians (male and female, aged 17-22), Nadeina analysed the commonest speech faults - nasalisation, hesitation and hemming at the end of sense-groups, etc. Using a group of twenty listeners, she looked for a correlation between how voice quality is perceived and certain voice quality parameters, e.g. pitch range, tremulousness, fluency, whispering, harshness, sonority, tension and audible breath. She found that the less non-linguistic segment variations in speech appeared, the more attractive the speech was rated. The results are included in a textbook aimed at helping people to improve their oral skills and to communicate ideas to an audience. She believes this will assist Russian officials in their attempts to communicate their ideas to different social spheres, and also foreigners learning Russian.