Pre-amyloid stage of Alzheimer's disease in cognitively normal individuals.

Objective: To study risk factors for decreasing a concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in cognitively unimpaired individuals with initially normal amyloid and tau markers, and to investigate whether such a1-42 decreases are associated with subsequent decline in cognition and other biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: Cognitively normal subjects ( = 83, 75 ± 5 years, 35(42%) female) with normal CSF a and tau and repeated CSF sampling were selected from ADNI. Subject level slopes of a decreases were estimated with mixed models.

Integrating platelet and coagulation activation in fibrin clot formation.

Platelets interact with the coagulation system in a multitude of ways, not only during the phases of thrombus formation, but also in specific areas within a formed thrombus. This review discusses current concepts of platelet control of thrombin generation, fibrin formation and structure, and anticoagulation. Indicated are how combined signalling via the platelet receptors for collagen (glycoprotein VI) and thrombin induces the secretion of (anti)coagulation factors, as well as surface exposure of phosphatidylserine, thereby catalysing thrombin generation.

The coagulation system in atherothrombosis: Implications for new therapeutic strategies.

Clinical manifestations of atherosclerotic disease include coronary artery disease (CAD), peripheral artery disease (PAD), and stroke. Although the role of platelets is well established, evidence is now accumulating on the contribution of coagulation proteins to the processes of atherosclerosis and atherothrombosis. Coagulation proteins not only play a role in fibrin formation and platelet activation, but also mediate various biological and pathophysiologic processes through activation of protease-activated-receptors (PARs).

Creation of a universal language for surgical procedures using the step-by-step framework.

Background: Learning of surgical procedures is traditionally based on a master-apprentice model. Segmenting procedures into steps is commonly used to achieve an efficient manner of learning. Existing methods of segmenting procedures into steps, however, are procedure-specific and not standardized, hampering their application across different specialties and thus worldwide uptake.

Hepatic iron concentration correlates with insulin sensitivity in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Rodent and cell-culture models support a role for iron-related adipokine dysregulation and insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); however, substantial human data are lacking. We examined the relationship between measures of iron status, adipokines, and insulin resistance in patients with NAFLD in the presence and absence of venesection. This study forms part of the Impact of Iron on Insulin Resistance and Liver Histology in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (IIRON2) study, a prospective randomized controlled trial of venesection for adults with NAFLD.

Improved bounds for minimal feedback vertex sets in tournaments.

We study feedback vertex sets (FVS) in tournaments, which are orientations of complete graphs. As our main result, we show that any tournament on nodes has at most 1.5949 minimal FVS.

Training self-assessment and task-selection skills to foster self-regulated learning: Do trained skills transfer across domains?

Students' ability to accurately self-assess their performance and select a suitable subsequent learning task in response is imperative for effective self-regulated learning. Video modeling examples have proven effective for training self-assessment and task-selection skills, and-importantly-such training fostered self-regulated learning outcomes. It is unclear, however, whether trained skills would transfer across domains.

[The Road towards the Responsible and Safe Legalization of Cannabis Use in Portugal].

Introduction: Recently, the world has seen examples of the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes. Due to the diversity of experiences in progress, it is urgent to analyze the impacts of this legalization, from a public health perspective. Therefore, this article aims to review the accumulated knowledge in the states and countries where the use of cannabis is legal and to ponder over the relevance of starting a similar path towards legalization in Portugal, thus supporting political decisions to be properly informed and evidence-based.

[Biologicals and Biosimilars: Gaps in the Pharmacovigilance System in Portugal].

Introduction: Biological and biosimilar medicinal products have specific characteristics that call for a closer monitoring of their safety profile. Since the current legal framework stems from both European and national regulations, some gaps in the operational field may be expected. The goal of this paper is to identify these gaps and propose changes to the current information systems and pharmacovigilance regulations.

Foresight beats hindsight: The neural correlates underlying motor preparation in the pro-/anti-cue paradigm.

Background: Human motor behaviors are characterized by both, reactive and proactive mechanisms. Yet, studies investigating the neural correlates of motor behavior almost exclusively focused on reactive motor processes. Here, we employed the motor preparation paradigm to systematically study proactive motor control in an imaging environment.

The Potential for False Memories is Bigger than What Brewin and Andrews Suggest.

Brewin and Andrews (2016) reviewed the literature on false memory propensity for childhood events. In this commentary, we critically evaluate their basic claim that proneness to false memories of childhood experiences is more limited than has been articulated in the literature. We show that Brewin and Andrews were selective in their inclusion of false memory studies, thereby ignoring relevant research related to autobiographical false memories.

Expression of protocadherin gamma in skeletal muscle tissue is associated with age and muscle weakness.

Background: The skeletal muscle system plays an important role in the independence of older adults. In this study we examine differences in the skeletal muscle transcriptome between healthy young and older subjects and (pre-)frail older adults. Additionally, we examine the effect of resistance-type exercise training on the muscle transcriptome in healthy older subjects and (pre-)frail older adults.