Determinants of Ageism against Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

Ageism is a widespread phenomenon and constitutes a significant threat to older people's well-being. Identifying the factors contributing to ageism is critical to inform policies that minimise its societal impact. In this systematic review, we gathered and summarised empirical studies exploring the key determinants of ageism against older people for a period of over forty years (1970-2017).

Does participation in voluntary organizations protect against risky alcohol and tobacco use? Findings from the UK panel data.

Drawing on the literature that posits heterogeneous influences of social networks on health behaviors, we tested whether different forms of participation in voluntary organizations predicted more or less alcohol and tobacco consumption over time. (Access preregistration at https://osf.io/guzem/) We used panel data from younger (aged 14-29 at baseline), middle-aged (aged 40-50), and older (aged 65-75) UK adults, s = 1280-9073, followed from 1991 to 2014.

No association between Parkinson disease and autoantibodies against NMDA-type glutamate receptors.

Background: IgG-class autoantibodies to N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA)-type glutamate receptors define a novel entity of autoimmune encephalitis. Studies examining the prevalence of NMDA IgA/IgM antibodies in patients with Parkinson disease with/without dementia produced conflicting results. We measured NMDA antibodies in a large, well phenotyped sample of Parkinson patients without and with cognitive impairment ( = 296) and controls ( = 295) free of neuropsychiatric disease.

Climate change drives trait-shifts in coral reef communities.

Climate change is expected to have profound, partly unforeseeable effects on the composition of functional traits of complex ecosystems, such as coral reefs, and some ecosystem properties are at risk of disappearing. This study applies a novel spatially explicit, individual-based model to explore three critical life history traits of corals: heat tolerance, competitiveness and growth performance under various environmental settings. Building upon these findings, we test the adaptation potential required by a coral community in order to not only survive but also retain its diversity by the end of this century under different IPCC climate scenarios.

An International Mapping of Medical Care in Nursing Homes.

Nursing home (NH) residents are increasingly in need of timely and frequent medical care, presupposing not only available but perhaps also continual medical care provision in NHs. The provision of this medical care is organized differently both within and across countries, which may in turn profoundly affect the overall quality of care provided to NH residents. Data were collected from official legislations and regulations, academic publications, and statistical databases.

Modelling spatial patterns of correlations between concentrations of heavy metals in mosses and atmospheric deposition in 2010 across Europe.

Background: This paper aims to investigate the correlations between the concentrations of nine heavy metals in moss and atmospheric deposition within ecological land classes covering Europe. Additionally, it is examined to what extent the statistical relations are affected by the land use around the moss sampling sites. Based on moss data collected in 2010/2011 throughout Europe and data on total atmospheric deposition modelled by two chemical transport models (EMEP MSC-E, LOTOS-EUROS), correlation coefficients between concentrations of heavy metals in moss and in modelled atmospheric deposition were specified for spatial subsamples defined by ecological land classes of Europe (ELCE) as a spatial reference system.

Combining Song-And Speech-Based Language Teaching: An Intervention With Recently Migrated Children.

There is growing evidence that singing can have a positive effect on language learning, but few studies have explored its benefit for children who have recently migrated to a new country. In the present study, recently migrated children ( = 35) received three 40-min sessions where all students learnt the lyrics of two songs designed to simulate language learning through alternating teaching modalities (singing and speaking). Children improved their language knowledge significantly including on tasks targeting the transfer of grammatical skills, an area largely neglected in previous studies.

Effects of voluntary memberships and volunteering on alcohol and tobacco use across the life course: Findings from the German Socio-Economic Panel.

Background: It is unclear whether specific components of individual social capital promote or protect against substance use and whether such effects vary across the life course. In this study, we investigated the effects of voluntary memberships and volunteering on alcohol and tobacco consumption in age comparison.

Methods: Preregistration is accessible at https://osf.

Web-based intervention for depressive symptoms in adults with types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus: a health economic evaluation.

Background: Web-based interventions are effective in reducing depression. However, the evidence for the cost-effectiveness of these interventions is scarce.AimsThe aim is to assess the cost-effectiveness of a web-based intervention (GET.

Site-specific investigation and spatial modeling of canopy drip effect on element concentrations in moss.

In this study, the canopy drip effect on the exposure of forests to atmospheric deposition of potentially toxic metals and nitrogen (N) and element accumulation was investigated. Thereby, the respective element concentrations of metals and N in moss specimens were investigated by example of North-Western Germany. To this end, on the one hand, the concentrations of Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb, Ni, Sb, V, Zn, and N in mosses sampled under, outside, and at the edge of forest canopies were examined for statistical significant differences.

First results from the study 'Disease knowledge and information needs - Diabetes mellitus (2017)'.

Very little research has been undertaken into what people in Germany know about diabetes, the information they may require about the condition, where they look for such information and how they rate the information currently available. In 2017, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) carried out a nationwide telephone survey aimed at answering these questions. The study entitled 'Disease knowledge and information needs - Diabetes mellitus (2017)' focused on people aged at least 18 years.

Selecting and defining indicators for diabetes surveillance in Germany.

Mainly because of the large number of people affected and associated significant health policy implications, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is developing a public health surveillance system using diabetes as an example. In a first step to ensure long-term and comparable data collection and establish efficient surveillance structures, the RKI has defined a set of relevant indicators for diabetes surveillance. An extensive review of the available literature followed by a structured process of consensus provided the basis for a harmonised set of 30 core and 10 supplementary indicators.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a guided internet- and mobile-based depression intervention for individuals with chronic back pain: protocol of a multi-centre randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Depression often co-occurs with chronic back pain (CBP). Internet and mobile-based interventions (IMIs) might be a promising approach for effectively treating depression in this patient group. In the present study, we will evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a guided depression IMI for individuals with CBP (eSano BackCare-D) integrated into orthopaedic healthcare.

Cognitive changes in prodromal Parkinson's disease: A review.

Although other nonmotor phenomena representing possible prodromal symptoms of Parkinson's disease have been described in some detail, the occurrence and characteristics of cognitive decline in this early phase of the disease are less well understood. The aim of this review is to summarize the current state of research on cognitive changes in prodromal PD. Only a small number of longitudinal studies have been conducted that examined cognitive function in individuals with a subsequent PD diagnosis.

Cognitive interventions in patients with dementia living in long-term care facilities: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Previous reviews and meta-analyses demonstrated effects of cognitive interventions in dementia, but none specifically considered residents with dementia in long-term care (LTC) facilities.

Objective: To analyse the efficacy of cognitive interventions in institutionalised individuals with dementia.

Methods: After identifying 27 articles, a systematic review was performed.

Preventing Depression in Adults With Subthreshold Depression: Health-Economic Evaluation Alongside a Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial of a Web-Based Intervention.

Background: Psychological interventions for the prevention of depression might be a cost-effective way to reduce the burden associated with depressive disorders.

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a Web-based guided self-help intervention to prevent major depressive disorder (MDD) in people with subthreshold depression (sD).

Methods: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial was conducted with follow-up at 12 months.

Pollen-mediated gene flow and seed exchange in small-scale Zambian maize farming, implications for biosafety assessment.

Gene flow in agricultural crops is important for risk assessment of genetically modified (GM) crops, particularly in countries with a large informal agricultural sector of subsistence cultivation. We present a pollen flow model for maize (Zea mays), a major staple crop in Africa. We use spatial properties of fields (size, position) in three small-scale maize farming communities in Zambia and estimate rates of cross-fertilisation between fields sown with different maize varieties (e.

Friendship Repertoires and Care Arrangement: A Praxeological Approach.

Friends are important companions and serve as sources for diverse dimensions of social support, including elderly care. Rather than researching populations that have already established care arrangements including friends, the author seeks to understand relationship systems with a focus on the inner logic friendship to consequently describe and understand involved care arrangements, be it with family members or friends. To illustrate the diversity of friendship repertoires, qualitative interviews with older adult Germans are analyzed regarding cognitive concepts of friendships in contrast to familiar ties as well as social practices around relationship systems.

Cognitive Stimulation for People with Dementia in Long-Term Care Facilities: Baseline Cognitive Level Predicts Cognitive Gains, Moderated by Depression.

Background: Increasing evidence demonstrates the efficacy of cognitive stimulation (CS) in individuals with dementia. However, conducting studies in nursing homes engenders specific challenges that have limited the data gathered on this topic so far.

Objective: The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to investigate the effects of CS on cognition, quality of life (QoL), behavioral symptoms, and activities of daily life in persons with dementia living in nursing homes.

Screening for Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease: Improving the Diagnostic Utility of the MoCA through Subtest Weighting.

Background: Given the high prevalence of cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD), cognitive screening is important in clinical practice. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a frequently used screening test in PD to detect mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PD-D). However, the proportion in which the subtests are represented in the MoCA total score does not seem reasonable.

Apolipoprotein E ε4 does not affect cognitive performance in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Cognitive impairment is a common and disabling non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD). The apolipoprotein E (APOE) allele ε4 is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and has also been suggested to be a risk factor for dementia in PD and even a predictor of impairment in certain cognitive domains.

Methods: A total of 447 PD patients (PD patients without cognitive impairment: n = 187; PD patients with mild cognitive impairment: n = 188; PD patients with dementia: n = 72) were included from an ongoing observational German multicenter cohort study (LANDSCAPE study).

Verbal memory declines more in female patients with Parkinson's disease: the importance of gender-corrected normative data.

Background: Data on gender-specific profiles of cognitive functions in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) are rare and inconsistent, and possible disease-confounding factors have been insufficiently considered.

Method: The LANDSCAPE study on cognition in PD enrolled 656 PD patients (267 without cognitive impairment, 66% male; 292 with mild cognitive impairment, 69% male; 97 with PD dementia, 69% male). Raw values and age-, education-, and gender-corrected Z scores of a neuropsychological test battery (CERAD-Plus) were compared between genders.

Empathy Mediates the Effects of Age and Sex on Altruistic Moral Decision Making.

Moral decision making involves affective and cognitive functions like emotional empathy, reasoning and cognitive empathy/theory of mind (ToM), which are discussed to be subject to age-related alterations. Additionally, sex differences in moral decision making have been reported. However, age-related changes in moral decision making from early to late adulthood and their relation to sex and neuropsychological functions have not been studied yet.

Spatially valid data of atmospheric deposition of heavy metals and nitrogen derived by moss surveys for pollution risk assessments of ecosystems.

For analysing element input into ecosystems and associated risks due to atmospheric deposition, element concentrations in moss provide complementary and time-integrated data at high spatial resolution every 5 years since 1990. The paper reviews (1) minimum sample sizes needed for reliable, statistical estimation of mean values at four different spatial scales (European and national level as well as landscape-specific level covering Europe and single countries); (2) trends of heavy metal (HM) and nitrogen (N) concentrations in moss in Europe (1990-2010); (3) correlations between concentrations of HM in moss and soil specimens collected across Norway (1990-2010); and (4) canopy drip-induced site-specific variation of N concentration in moss sampled in seven European countries (1990-2013). While the minimum sample sizes on the European and national level were achieved without exception, for some ecological land classes and elements, the coverage with sampling sites should be improved.