Gestural interaction and reading skills: a case study of people with Down syndrome

People with Down syndrome present cognitive difficulties that affect their reading skills. In this study, we present results about using gestural interaction with the Kinect sensor to improve the reading skills of students with Down syndrome. We found improvements in the visual association, visual comprehension, sequential memory, and visual integration after this stimulation in the experimental group compared to the control group. We also found that the number of errors and delay time in the interaction decreased between sessions in the experimental group.

Psychological symptoms, mental fatigue and behavioural adherence after 72 continuous days of strict lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina

BackgroundAn early and prolonged lockdown was adopted in Argentina during the first wave of COVID-19. Early reports evidenced elevated psychological symptoms.AimsTo explore if the prolonged lockdown was associated with elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms; if mental fatigue was associated with lockdown adherence (a phenomenon called ‘behavioural fatigue’); and if financial concerns were associated with lockdown adherence and emotional symptoms.MethodThe survey included standardised questionnaires to assess depressive (PHQ-9) and anxious (GAD-7) symptoms, mental fatigue, risk perception, lockdown adherence, financial concerns, daily stress, loneliness, intolerance to uncertainty, negative repetitive thinking and cognitive problems. LASSO regression analyses were carried out to predict depression, anxiety and lockdown adherenceResultsThe survey reached 3617 adults (85.2% female) from all provinces of Argentina after 72 days of lockdown. Data were collected between 21 May 2020 and 4 June 2020. In that period, Argentina had an Oxford stringency index of 85/100. Of those surveyed, 45.6% and 27% met the cut-offs for depression and anxiety, respectively. Mental fatigue, cognitive failures and financial concerns were correlated with psychological symptoms, but not with adherence to lockdown. In regression models, mental fatigue, cognitive failures and loneliness were the most important variables to predict depression, intolerance to uncertainty and lockdown difficulty were the most important for anxiety, and perceived threat was the most important for predicting lockdown adherence.ConclusionsDuring the extended lockdown, psychological symptoms increased, being enhanced by mental fatigue, cognitive difficulties and financial concerns. We found no evidence of behavioural fatigue. Thus, feeling mentally fatigued is not the same as being behaviourally fatigued.

Identification of Youthful Neurocognitive Trajectories in Adults Aging with HIV: A Latent Growth Mixture Model

Despite the neurocognitive risks of aging with HIV, initial cross-sectional data suggest a subpopulation of older people with HIV (PWH) possess youthful neurocognition (NC) characteristic of SuperAgers (SA). Here we characterize longitudinal NC trajectories of older PWH and their convergent validity with baseline SA status, per established SuperAging criteria in PWH, and baseline biopsychosocial factors. Growth mixture modeling (GMM) identified longitudinal NC classes in 184 older (age ≥ 50-years) PWH with 1–5 years of follow-up. Classes were defined using ‘peak-age’ global T-scores, which compare performance to a normative sample of 25-year-olds. 3-classes were identified: Class 1Stable Elite (n = 31 [16.8%], high baseline peak-age T-scores with flat trajectory); Class 2Quadratic Average (n = 100 [54.3%], intermediate baseline peak-age T-scores with u-shaped trajectory); Class 3Quadratic Low (n = 53 [28.8%], low baseline peak-age T-scores with u-shaped trajectory). Baseline predictors of Class 1Stable Elite included SA status, younger age, higher cognitive and physiologic reserve, and fewer subjective cognitive difficulties. This GMM analysis supports the construct validity of SuperAging in older PWH through identification of a subgroup with longitudinally-stable, youthful neurocognition and robust biopsychosocial health.

Research Dialogue 2: Atypical language development in children

Research dialogue between Maria Teresa Guasti, Università di Milano-Bicocca and Duncan Astle, University of Cambridge on the topic of atypical language development in children. Maria Teresa Guasti presents her research on 'Dyslexia as a Window into Language', followed by Duncan Astle's presentation 'Beyond the label: A transdiagnostic approach to understanding cognitive difficulties in childhood'. The session is chaired by Prof. Henriëtte Hendriks, Theoretical & Applied Linguistics section, University of Cambridge.

Black book blackboard black book: A drawing-based strategy for knowledge transfer

This paper reflects on a project run in a first-year class of art and design degree, in the Curricular Unit of Art and Design Theory. The objective of the project was to investigate the potential of a teaching protocol where a set of drawings were generated in class by the teacher to facilitate knowledge transfer in the classroom. The drawings generated by the teacher in class have not been treated or explored as a strategy as such, but they supported the delivery of theoretical content in the classroom. As part of the teaching theory protocol, a series of drawings were built as a sequential visual narrative, in the form of a story; these drawings, acting as visual narratives, sought to enable students to understand the theoretical content. At the end of the sessions, all students involved in the project were evaluated through surveys, to gather evidence of their understanding of theory. The results obtained suggest that the use of drawing as a tool in explaining theory facilitates a better understanding of theoretical concepts for students. It also allows the teacher to clarify and adjust unclear points in the lectures, and as such this protocol could function as a recursive strategy. In conclusion, the simplicity of this strategy could benefit students with cognitive difficulties, offering a complementary approach in the dialogue between teacher and student. This approach is particularly useful in contributing to the transfer of knowledge in the classroom in a digital age.

Age, Body Mass Index (BMI) And Cognitive Difficulties In Appalachian West Virginia

Several known factors exacerbate the risk of cognitive difficulties among older adults. In addition to place-based disparities, body weight also predicts cognitive health. In fact, overweight and Obese BMI (Benito-Leon et al., 2013) and underweight BMI (Xiang & An, 2015) are risk factors for cognitive difficulties. Whether the effect of BMI operates similarly across age among adults facing place-based disparities is not clear. In order to better understand the role of BMI among adults already at-risk for health disparities, we used the 2018 BRFSS data to examine the relations among these variables among the 4817 West Virginian adults in the BRFSS database. Approximately 16.5% had difficulty making decisions or remembering. Approximately 73% were overweight or obese, 26% were healthy BMI, and 1% were underweight. A multinomial logistic regression was conducted to examine cognitive difficulties. Healthy BMI and ages 25 – 44 years were the reference groups. The omnibus test was significant, χ2 (5, N = 4817) = 38.71, p < 0.0001. Age and BMI uniquely contributed to the classification. Post hoc inspection of the Odds Ratios showed that adults ages 60 years and older with obesity were 1.27 times more likely to report cognitive difficulties, while those who were underweight were 3.74 times more likely to report cognitive difficulties. That individuals over age 60 with an obese or underweight BMI report more cognitive difficulties highlights the intersection among age, obesity and location on cognitive health disparities in West Virginia.

Daily Cognitive Difficulties and Social Experiences Among Older Adults

Self-reported cognitive difficulties are common in older adults and may be an early indicator of future cognitive decline or dementia. In past retrospective reports, cognitive difficulties have been linked with differences in social engagement or social relationships among older adults. However, little is known about how self-reported cognitive difficulties in daily life, such as memory lapses, relate to older adults’ daily social experiences. This study examined how self-reported cognitive difficulties were related to older adults’ daily social interactions and loneliness. Data were drawn from 312 community-dwelling older adults (aged 70 to 90 years) who reported their social interactions and loneliness throughout the day (five times) as well as cognitive difficulties (e.g., memory lapses, problems with attention) at the end of each day for 14 days. Multilevel models revealed that participants reported fewer memory lapses on days when they reported more frequent interactions with family members (p=.041). Higher levels of disruptions to daily activities caused by cognitive difficulties, in turn, predicted higher levels of loneliness the next day (p=.006), but not changes in social interactions the next day. At the between-person level, more memory lapses in daily life were associated with less frequent social interactions with friends, but more frequent unpleasant social interactions and higher levels of loneliness on average. These results suggest that older adults’ self-reported cognitive difficulties were dynamically associated with their social interactions and loneliness at the daily level and played an important role in older adults’ social life and well-being.

Long COVID 19 Syndrome: Is It Related to Microcirculation and Endothelial Dysfunction? Insights From TUN-EndCOV Study

The COVID-19 disease is a multisystem disease due in part to the vascular endothelium injury. Lasting effects and long-term sequelae could persist after the infection and may be due to persistent endothelial dysfunction. Our study focused on the evaluation of endothelial quality index (EQI) by finger thermal monitoring with E4 diagnosis Polymath in a large cohort of long COVID-19 patients to determine whether long-covid 19 symptoms are associated with endothelial dysfunction. This is a cross-sectional multicenter observational study with prospective recruitment of patients. A total of 798 patients were included in this study. A total of 618 patients (77.4%) had long COVID-19 symptoms. The mean EQI was 2.02 ± 0.99 IC95% [1.95–2.08]. A total of 397 (49.7%) patients had impaired EQI. Fatigue, chest pain, and neuro-cognitive difficulties were significantly associated with endothelium dysfunction with an EQI <2 after adjustment for age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, coronary heart disease, and the severity of acute COVID-19 infection. In multivariate analysis, endothelial dysfunction (EQI <2), female gender, and severe clinical status at acute COVID-19 infection with a need for oxygen supplementation were independent risk factors of long COVID-19 syndrome. Long COVID-19 symptoms, specifically non-respiratory symptoms, are due to persistent endothelial dysfunction. These findings allow for better care of patients with long COVID-19 symptoms.

‘We're happy as we are’: the experience of living with possible undiagnosed dementia

It is estimated that a third of people in the United Kingdom with signs of dementia are living without a formal diagnosis. In Wales, the proportion is nearly half. Some explanations for the gap between prevalence of dementia and number of diagnoses include living with a long-term partner/spouse and systemic barriers to diagnosis. This study recruited participants from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies-Wales (CFAS-Wales) cohort, randomly selected from people aged over 65 living in two areas of Wales, who met study criteria for a diagnosis of dementia and did not have a record of a formal diagnosis in general practice records. We aimed to understand more about the contexts and circumstances of people who live with and cope with cognitive difficulties without having a formal diagnosis of dementia. We conducted qualitative interviews with six participants and their spouses, and additionally with four family members of three invited people who were unable to take part. Themes were generated using thematic analysis. We present the argument that there is an adaptive response to low service levels and a complex interaction between the expectations of levels of service, perceptions of the legitimacy of cognitive problems and the right to make demands on services. This paper concludes that more could be done to address barriers to diagnosis and treatment services for those living with symptoms of dementia, but that the value placed on diagnosis by some individuals might be lower than anticipated by government policy.

Work and everyday life in a digitalized time: Experiences of people with subjective cognitive difficulties related to neurological disorders

Introduction Digitalization has changed working life and increased cognitive demands on employees in general. Nevertheless, the consequences for employees with cognitive impairments and subjective cognitive difficulties are to a large extent unexplored. The aim of this study was to explore and describe how employees with subjective cognitive difficulties who are performing digital work tasks experience their vocational situation and how this situation influences their everyday life. Methods A qualitative, descriptive, multiple-case study was designed. Self-reports, assessments and qualitative interviews were used to collect data from the seven participants with neurological disorders. The data were analysed using pattern matching. Findings The analysed data formed four categories conceptualized as “Working to my full potential”, “Working, but it is largely up to me”, “Working at the expense of everyday life” and “Working without known difficulties”, and these categories included one to four subcategories. Conclusion Managing subjective cognitive difficulties in vocational situations and everyday life was challenging in a digitalized working life for participants with neurological disorders. To provide equal access to preventive measures and rehabilitation and a sustainable working life, it is important to investigate the influence of subjective cognitive difficulties systematically on work, everyday life and management strategies in people with neurological disorders in digitalized work.