Only studies in the UK on individuals dying from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in hospital have been published, to date. Cremation law requires collection of clinical information that can improve understanding of deaths in both hospital and community settings. Age, sex, date and place of death, occupation, comorbidities and where infection acquired was recorded for all deaths from COVID-19, between 6 April and 30 May, for whom an application was made for cremation at a South Wales' crematorium. Of 752 cremations, 215 (28.6%) were COVID-19 (115 (53.5%) male and 100 (46.5%) female). Median age was 82 years (youngest patient 47 and the oldest 103 years). Over half the deaths (121/215: 56.3%) were over 80 years. Males' odds of dying in hospital, rather than the community were 1.96 times that of females (95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.03–3.74, P = 0.054) despite being of similar age and having a similar number of comorbidities. Only 21 (9.8%) of 215 patients had no comorbidities recorded. Patients dying in care homes were significantly older than those dying in hospital (median 88 years (interquartile (IQ) range 82–93 years) vs. 80 years (IQ range 71–87 years): P < 0.0001). Patients dying in hospital had significantly more comorbidities than those dying in care homes (median 2: IQ range 1–3 vs. 1: IQ range 1–2: P < 0.001). Sixty three (29.3%) of infections were hospital acquired and a further 55 (25.6%) acquired in care homes. In a series, of hospital and community deaths, persons over 80 with an average two comorbidities predominated. Men were more likely to die in hospital. Half the infections were acquired in hospitals or care homes with implications for management of the pandemic.

The construct of self-efficacy was grounded on the basis of challenges to diet and fluid restrictions and then the findings were used to develop a questionnaire to quantify patients’ perception of their ability to overcome each challenge. the sample of the qualitative study consisted of 16 haemodialysis patients. for the analysis of the data, template analysis was used. That of quantitative study consisted of 156 haemodialysis patients. the qualitative findings revealed that patients experienced a range of specific challenges to diet and fluid restrictions. Among these were practical constraints, being with others, view of haemodialysis as compensating for dietary non-compliance and emotional challenges including discomfort, distress, boredom with diet and fluid restrictions. the most common challenge to fluid restrictions was eating while not having any fluid allowance left. Boredom with diet was the commonest challenge to diet. Haemodialysis was a justification for a significant number of patients to neglect their diet and fluid restrictions. in the principal components analysis, 17 items of the Management of Diet and Fluid Restrictions Questionnaire for Haemodialysis Patients (MDFRQ-Haemodialysis) were loaded on one factor. the findings suggest that grounded self-efficacy is a unitary phenomenon but it incorporates a wide spectrum of specific challenges. the challenges to diet and fluid restrictions identified have provided an evidence base for educational interventions to improve compliance with these restrictions.

Objectives: Research has shown that analyzing intrusion errors generated on verbal learning and memory measures is helpful for distinguishing between the memory disorders associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurological disorders, including Huntington’s disease (HD). Moreover, preliminary evidence suggests that certain clinical populations may be prone to exhibit different types of intrusion errors. Methods: We examined the prevalence of two new California Verbal Learning Test-3 (CVLT-3) intrusion subtypes – across-trial novel intrusions and across/within trial repeated intrusions – in individuals with AD or HD. We hypothesized that the encoding/storage impairment associated with medial-temporal involvement in AD would result in a greater number of novel intrusions on the delayed recall trials of the CVLT-3, whereas the executive dysfunction associated with subcortical-frontal involvement in HD would result in a greater number of repeated intrusions across trials. Results: The AD group generated significantly more across-trial novel intrusions than across/within trial repeated intrusions on the delayed cued-recall trials, whereas the HD group showed the opposite pattern on the delayed free-recall trials. Conclusions: These new intrusion subtypes, combined with traditional memory analyses (e.g., recall versus recognition performance), promise to enhance our ability to distinguish between the memory disorders associated with primarily medial-temporal versus subcortical-frontal involvement.

Distributed models and a good knowledge of the catchment studied are required to assess mitigation measures for nitrogen (N) pollution. A set of alternative scenarios (change of crop management practices and different strategies of landscape management, especially different sizes and distribution of set-aside areas) were simulated with a fully distributed model in a small agricultural catchment. The results show that current practices are close to complying with current regulations, which results in a limited effect of the implementation of best crop management practices. The location of set-aside zones is more important than their size in decreasing nitrate fluxes in stream water. The most efficient location is the lower parts of hillslopes, combining the dilution effect due to the decrease of N input per unit of land and the interception of nitrate transferred by sub-surface flows. The main process responsible for the interception effect is probably uptake by grassland and retention in soils since the denitrification load tends to decrease proportionally to N input and, for the scenarios considered, is lower in the interception scenarios than in the corresponding dilution zones.

Objectives: Although subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) are an integral component of the diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), previous findings indicate they may not accurately reflect cognitive ability. Within the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, we investigated longitudinal change in the discrepancy between self- and informant-reported SCC across empirically derived subtypes of MCI and normal control (NC) participants. Methods: Data were obtained for 353 MCI participants and 122 “robust” NC participants. Participants were classified into three subtypes at baseline via cluster analysis: amnestic MCI, mixed MCI, and cluster-derived normal (CDN), a presumptive false-positive group who performed within normal limits on neuropsychological testing. SCC at baseline and two annual follow-up visits were assessed via the Everyday Cognition Questionnaire (ECog), and discrepancy scores between self- and informant-report were calculated. Analysis of change was conducted using analysis of covariance. Results: The amnestic and mixed MCI subtypes demonstrated increasing ECog discrepancy scores over time. This was driven by an increase in informant-reported SCC, which corresponded to participants’ objective cognitive decline, despite stable self-reported SCC. Increasing unawareness was associated with cerebrospinal fluid Alzheimer’s disease biomarker positivity and progression to Alzheimer’s disease. In contrast, CDN and NC groups over-reported cognitive difficulty and demonstrated normal cognition at all time points. Conclusions: MCI participants’ discrepancy scores indicate progressive underappreciation of their evolving cognitive deficits. Consistent over-reporting in the CDN and NC groups despite normal objective cognition suggests that self-reported SCC do not predict impending cognitive decline. Results demonstrate that self-reported SCC become increasingly misleading as objective cognitive impairment becomes more pronounced. (JINS, 2018, 24, 842–853)

Objectives: The third edition of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-3) includes a new index termed List A versus Novel/Unrelated recognition discriminability (RD) on the Yes/No Recognition trial. Whereas the Total RD index incorporates false positive (FP) errors associated with all distractors (including List B and semantically related items), the new List A versus Novel/Unrelated RD index incorporates only FP errors associated with novel, semantically unrelated distractors. Thus, in minimizing levels of source and semantic interference, the List A versus Novel/Unrelated RD index may yield purer assessments of yes/no recognition memory independent of vulnerability to source memory difficulties or semantic confusion, both of which are often seen in individuals with primarily frontal-system dysfunction (e.g., early Huntington’s disease [HD]). Methods: We compared the performance of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and HD in mild and moderate stages of dementia on CVLT-3 indices of Total RD and List A versus Novel/Unrelated RD. Results: Although AD and HD subgroups exhibited deficits on both RD indices relative to healthy comparison groups, those with HD generally outperformed those with AD, and group differences were more robust on List A versus Novel/Unrelated RD than on Total RD. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the clinical utility of the new CVLT-3 List A versus Novel/Unrelated RD index, which (a) maximally assesses yes/no recognition memory independent of source and semantic interference; and (b) provides a greater differentiation between individuals whose memory disorder is primarily at the encoding/storage level (e.g., as in AD) versus at the retrieval level (e.g., as in early HD). (JINS, 2018, 24, 833–841)

The anabolic potential of a dietary protein is determined by its ability to elicit postprandial rises in circulating essential amino acids and insulin. Minimal data exist regarding the bioavailability and insulinotropic effects of non-animal-derived protein sources. Mycoprotein is a sustainable and rich source of non-animal-derived dietary protein. We investigated the impact of mycoprotein ingestion, in a dose–response manner, on acute postprandial hyperaminoacidaemia and hyperinsulinaemia. In all, twelve healthy young men completed five experimental trials in a randomised, single-blind, cross-over design. During each trial, volunteers consumed a test drink containing either 20 g milk protein (MLK20) or a mass matched (not protein matched due to the fibre content) bolus of mycoprotein (20 g; MYC20), a protein matched bolus of mycoprotein (40 g; MYC40), 60 g (MYC60) or 80 g (MYC80) mycoprotein. Circulating amino acid, insulin and uric acid concentrations, and clinical chemistry profiles, were assessed in arterialised venous blood samples during a 4-h postprandial period. Mycoprotein ingestion resulted in slower but more sustained hyperinsulinaemia and hyperaminoacidaemia compared with milk when protein matched, with overall bioavailability equivalent between conditions (P>0·05). Increasing the dose of mycoprotein amplified these effects, with some evidence of a plateau at 60–80 g. Peak postprandial leucine concentrations were 201 (sem 24) (30 min), 118 (sem 10) (90 min), 150 (sem 14) (90 min), 173 (sem 23) (45 min) and 201 (sem 21 (90 min) µmol/l for MLK20, MYC20, MYC40, MYC60 and MYC80, respectively. Mycoprotein represents a bioavailable and insulinotropic dietary protein source. Consequently, mycoprotein may be a useful source of dietary protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis rates.

Although dementia has been described in ancient texts over many centuries (e.g., “Be kind to your father, even if his mind fail him.” – Old Testament: Sirach 3:12), our knowledge of its underlying causes is little more than a century old. Alzheimer published his now famous case study only 110 years ago, and our modern understanding of the disease that bears his name, and its neuropsychological consequences, really only began to accelerate in the 1980s. Since then we have witnessed an explosion of basic and translational research into the causes, characterizations, and possible treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias. We review this lineage of work beginning with Alzheimer’s own writings and drawings, then jump to the modern era beginning in the 1970s and early 1980s and provide a sampling of neuropsychological and other contextual work from each ensuing decade. During the 1980s our field began its foundational studies of profiling the neuropsychological deficits associated with AD and its differentiation from other dementias (e.g., cortical vs. subcortical dementias). The 1990s continued these efforts and began to identify the specific cognitive mechanisms affected by various neuropathologic substrates. The 2000s ushered in a focus on the study of prodromal stages of neurodegenerative disease before the full-blown dementia syndrome (i.e., mild cognitive impairment). The current decade has seen the rise of imaging and other biomarkers to characterize preclinical disease before the development of significant cognitive decline. Finally, we suggest future directions and predictions for dementia-related research and potential therapeutic interventions. (JINS, 2017, 23, 818–831)

Developing countries are experiencing an increase in total demand for livestock commodities, as populations and per capita demands increase. Increased production is therefore required to meet this demand and maintain food security. Production increases will lead to proportionate increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions unless offset by reductions in the emissions intensity (Ei) (i.e. the amount of GHG emitted per kg of commodity produced) of livestock production. It is therefore important to identify measures that can increase production whilst reducing Ei cost-effectively. This paper seeks to do this for smallholder agro-pastoral cattle systems in Senegal; ranging from low input to semi-intensified, they are representative of a large proportion of the national cattle production. Specifically, it identifies a shortlist of mitigation measures with potential for application to the various herd systems and estimates their GHG emissions abatement potential (using the Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model) and cost-effectiveness. Limitations and future requirements are identified and discussed. This paper demonstrates that the Ei of meat and milk from livestock systems in a developing region can be reduced through measures that would also benefit food security, many of which are likely to be cost-beneficial. The ability to make such quantification can assist future sustainable development efforts.

Objectives: We examined florbetapir positron emission tomography (PET) amyloid scans across stages of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in cortical, allocortical, and subcortical regions. Stages were characterized using empirically defined methods. Methods: A total of 312 cognitively normal Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative participants completed a neuropsychological assessment and florbetapir PET scan. Participants were classified into stages of preclinical AD using (1) a novel approach based on the number of abnormal biomarkers/cognitive markers each individual possessed, and (2) National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association (NIA-AA) criteria. Preclinical AD groups were compared to one another and to a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) sample on florbetapir standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) in cortical and allocortical/subcortical regions of interest (ROIs). Results: Amyloid deposition increased across stages of preclinical AD in all cortical ROIs, with SUVRs in the later stages reaching levels seen in MCI. Several subcortical areas showed a pattern of results similar to the cortical regions; however, SUVRs in the hippocampus, pallidum, and thalamus largely did not differ across stages of preclinical AD. Conclusions: Substantial amyloid accumulation in cortical areas has already occurred before one meets criteria for a clinical diagnosis. Potential explanations for the unexpected pattern of results in some allocortical/subcortical ROIs include lack of correspondence between (1) cerebrospinal fluid and florbetapir PET measures of amyloid, or between (2) subcortical florbetapir PET SUVRs and underlying neuropathology. Findings support the utility of our novel method for staging preclinical AD. By combining imaging biomarkers with detailed cognitive assessment to better characterize preclinical AD, we can advance our understanding of who is at risk for future progression. (JINS, 2016, 22, 978–990)

Objectives: Prominent impairment of visuospatial processing is a feature of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and diagnosis of this impairment may help clinically distinguish DLB from Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The current study compared autopsy-confirmed DLB and AD patients on the Hooper Visual Organization Test (VOT), a test that requires perceptual and mental reorganization of parts of an object into an identifiable whole. The VOT may be particularly sensitive to DLB since it involves integration of visual information processed in separate dorsal and ventral visual “streams”. Methods: Demographically similar DLB (n=28), AD (n=115), and normal control (NC; n=85) participants were compared on the VOT and additional neuropsychological tests. Patient groups did not differ in dementia severity at time of VOT testing. High and Low AD-Braak stage DLB subgroups were compared to examine the influence of concomitant AD pathology on VOT performance. Results: Both patient groups were impaired compared to NC participants. VOT scores of DLB patients were significantly lower than those of AD patients. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the VOT for patients versus controls was good, but marginal for DLB versus AD. High-Braak and low-Braak DLB patients did not differ on the VOT, but High-Braak DLB performed worse than Low-Braak DLB on tests of episodic memory and language. Conclusions: Visual perceptual organization ability is more impaired in DLB than AD but not strongly diagnostic. The disproportionate severity of this visual perceptual deficit in DLB is not related to degree of concomitant AD pathology, which suggests that it might primarily reflect Lewy body pathology. (JINS, 2016, 22, 609–619)

Quantitative assessment of mitigation measures for nitrogen (N) pollution requires adequate models, good knowledge of catchment functioning and a thorough understanding of agricultural systems and stakeholder constraints. The current paper analyses a set of results from simulations, with two models, of agricultural changes in two catchments in different contexts with different constraints. The results show that reducing N inputs and increasing grassland areas are the most efficient measures, not only because they reduce N fluxes in streams but also because they enhance N use by agriculture and the whole catchment system. Introducing catch crops, hedgerows and riparian buffers are interesting complementary measures but of limited impact when implemented alone. These results are sensitive to the way mitigation measures are translated into model inputs, and their operational implications are discussed.

Subjective cognitive complaints are a criterion for the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), despite their uncertain relationship to objective memory performance in MCI. We aimed to examine self-reported cognitive complaints in subgroups of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) MCI cohort to determine whether they are a valuable inclusion in the diagnosis of MCI or, alternatively, if they contribute to misdiagnosis. Subgroups of MCI were derived using cluster analysis of baseline neuropsychological test data from 448 ADNI MCI participants. Cognitive complaints were assessed via the Everyday Cognition (ECog) questionnaire, and discrepancy scores were calculated between self- and informant-report. Cluster analysis revealed Amnestic and Mixed cognitive phenotypes as well as a third Cluster-Derived Normal subgroup (41.3%), whose neuropsychological and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Alzheimer’s disease (AD) biomarker profiles did not differ from a “robust” normal control group. This cognitively intact phenotype of MCI participants overestimated their cognitive problems relative to their informant, whereas Amnestic MCI participants with objective memory impairment underestimated their cognitive problems. Underestimation of cognitive problems was associated with positive CSF AD biomarkers and progression to dementia. Overall, there was no relationship between self-reported cognitive complaints and objective cognitive functioning, but significant correlations were observed with depressive symptoms. The inclusion of self-reported complaints in MCI diagnostic criteria may cloud rather than clarify diagnosis and result in high rates of misclassification of MCI. Discrepancies between self- and informant-report demonstrate that overestimation of cognitive problems is characteristic of normal aging while underestimation may reflect greater risk for cognitive decline. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–12)

A recent photometric survey in the NGC 3766 cluster led to the detection of stars presenting an unexpected variability. They lie in a region of the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram where no pulsation are theoretically expected, in between the δ Scuti and slowly pulsating B (SPB) star instability domains. Their variability periods, between ~0.1–0.7 d, are outside the expected domains of these well-known pulsators. The NCG 3766 cluster is known to host fast rotating stars. Rotation can significantly affect the pulsation properties of stars and alter their apparent luminosity through gravity darkening. Therefore we inspect if the new variable stars could correspond to fast rotating SPB stars. We carry out instability and visibility analysis of SPB pulsation modes within the frame of the traditional approximation. The effects of gravity darkening on typical SPB models are next studied. We find that at the red border of the SPB instability strip, prograde sectoral (PS) modes are preferentially excited, with periods shifted in the 0.2–0.5 d range due to the Coriolis effect. These modes are best seen when the star is seen equator-on. For such inclinations, low-mass SPB models can appear fainter due to gravity darkening and as if they were located between the δ Scuti and SPB instability strips.

In this study, we investigated dual-language decline in non-balanced bilinguals with probable Alzheimer’s disease (AD) both longitudinally and cross-sectionally. We examined patients’ naming accuracy on the Boston Naming Test (BNT: Kaplan et al., 1983) over three testing sessions (longitudinal analysis) and compared their performance to that of matched controls (cross-sectional analysis). We found different longitudinal and cross-sectional patterns of decline: Longitudinally, the non-dominant language seemed to decline more steeply than the dominant language, but, cross-sectionally, differences between patients and controls were larger for the dominant than for the non-dominant language, especially at the initial testing session. This differential pattern of results for cross-sectional versus longitudinal decline was supported by correlations between decline measures and BNT item characteristics. Further studies will be needed to better characterize the nature of linguistic decline in bilinguals with AD; however, these results suggest that representational robustness of individual lexical representations, rather than language membership, might determine the time course of decline for naming in bilinguals with AD. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–13)

Most individuals with dementia live in the community, receiving care from family or lay carers. Carers’ wellbeing, and the quality of the care they provide, depends on their resilience in the face of the challenges associated with caring for someone with dementia. However, factors associated with carers’ resilience are not yet fully understood. The aim of this review is to present a narrative synthesis of factors, materials and resources associated with carers’ resilience. Electronic and hand searches identified relevant published literature, which was narratively synthesized. A framework consisting of three inter-related domains of factors influencing carers’ resilience emerged, encompassing: social and cultural factors; properties of the care relationship; and carers’ psychological factors. Holistic assessment based on this framework can help practitioners to identify vulnerable carers and to target help on factors that help to make them vulnerable but that are amenable to change.