Factors favoring a degradation or an improvement in activities of daily living (ADL) performance among nursing home (NH) residents: A survival analysis.

Different factors influence ADL performance among nursing home (NH) residents in long term care. The aim was to investigate which factors were associated with a significant change of ADL performance in NH residents, and whether or not these factors were gender-specific. The design was a survival analysis. The 10,199 participants resided in ninety Swiss NHs. Their ADL performance had been assessed by the Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set (RAI-MDS) in the period from 1997 to 2007. Relevant change in ADL performance was defined as 2 levels of change on the ADL scale between two successive assessments. The occurrence of either an improvement or a degradation of the ADL status) was analyzed using the Cox proportional hazard model. The analysis included a total of 10,199 NH residents. Each resident received between 2 and 23 assessments. Poor balance, incontinence, impaired cognition, a low BMI, impaired vision, no daily contact with proxies, impaired hearing and the presence of depression were, by hierarchical order, significant risk factors for NH residents to experience a degradation of ADL performance. Residents, who were incontinent, cognitively impaired or had a high BMI were significantly less likely to improve their ADL abilities. Male residents with cancer were prone to see their ADL improve. The year of NH entry was significantly associated with either degradation or improvement of ADL performance. Measures aiming at improving balance and continence, promoting physical activity, providing appropriate nourishment and cognitive enhancement are important for ADL performance in NH residents.

Perceptions of diabetes obtained through drawing in childhood and adolescence

Objective: To examine whether drawing is useful in the detection of problems of psychosocial adaptation in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and in improving communication with health professionals. Methods: We performed an exploratory descriptive study in 199 children and adolescents with T1D aged 413 years. The participants were asked to render a drawing on a suggested topic. The variables analyzed were related to the drawing and to clinical and sociodemographic data. Results: Most participants showed evidence of having a well-balanced personality, but there were also signs of affective or psychosocial difficulties. Conclusion: Drawing is a useful technique by which to identify children"s and adolescents" feelings and possible problems in adapting to T1D, as well as to gain information directly from the children themselves. Future studies should delimit the possibilities of this technique in clinical practice in greater detail.

Níveis críticos de boro em solos de várzea para o cultivo do feijoeiro

O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação, com o objetivo de estimar os níveis críticos inferiores (equivalentes a 90% da produção máxima de grãos) e superiores (equivalentes à redução de 10% na produção máxima de grãos) de B nos solos e nas plantas de feijoeiro (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivado em amostras de solos de várzea. O delineamento foi inteiramente casualizado, com quatro repetições, arranjado num esquema fatorial 4 x 7, sendo quatro solos (Glei Pouco Húmico, Aluvial, Glei Húmico e Orgânico) e sete doses de B (0,0, 0,25, 0,5, 1,5, 3,0, 6,0 e 10,0 mg dm-3). As amostras dos solos, incubadas por 24 dias com calcário dolomítico, macro e micronutrientes e B, foram analisadas no tocante a B pelos extratores BaCl2 0,125%, Mehlich I, água quente e CaCl2 0,01 mol L-1. Três plantas foram cultivadas por vaso de 3 dm³: uma, colhida no florescimento, avaliando-se os teores foliares de B, e duas, na maturação de grãos, avaliando-se a matéria seca de grãos. Os resultados mostraram que nos solos, os níveis críticos inferiores de B variaram de 0,57 a 1,87 mg dm-3, e os superiores, de 1,89 a 4,65 mg dm-3, independentemente do extrator utilizado. Nas folhas do feijoeiro, os níveis críticos inferiores estiveram entre 44,2 e 68,1 mg kg-1, e os superiores, entre 143,6 e 199,1 mg kg-1.

Synapse formation in adult barrel cortex following naturalistic environmental enrichment.

Environmental enrichment paradigms in adult laboratory animals, consisting of physical, perceptual, and social stimulation, have been shown to affect synapse and cell morphology in sensory cortex and enhance learning ability, whereas enrichment, which is in harmony with the animal's natural habitat may have even greater implications for plasticity. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that whisker stimulation induced the formation of synapses and spines in the corresponding barrel. In the present study adult C57/Bl6J female laboratory mice at 6 weeks of age were placed during 2 months in a protected enrichment enclosure in a forest clearing at the Chisti Les Biological Station, Tvier, Russia. We analyzed neuropil ultrastructure in the C2 barrel using serial-section electron microscopy on a total of eight mice (n=4 enriched, n=4 standard cagemate controls). Quantitative analyses of volumes of neuropil showed a significant increase in excitatory and inhibitory synapses on spines and excitatory synapses on dendritic shafts in the C2 barrel in the enriched group compared with standard cagemate controls. These results demonstrate that naturalistic experience alters the synaptic circuitry in layer IV of the somatosensory cortex, the first cortical relay of sensory information, leaving a lasting trace that may guide subsequent behavior.