How nursing home residents with dementia respond to the interactive art installation ‘VENSTER’: a pilot study

The goal of this study was (1) to determine whether and how nursing home residents with dementia respond to the interactive art installation in general and (2) to identify whether responses change when the content type and, therefore, the nature of the interaction with the artwork changes. The interactive art installation ‘VENSTER’ evokes responses in nursing home residents with dementia, illustrating the potential of interactive artworks in the nursing home environment. Frequently observed responses were naming, recognizing or asking questions about depicted content and how the installation worked, physically gesturing towards or tapping on the screen and tapping or singing along to the music. It seemed content matters a lot. When VENSTER is to be used in routine care, the choice of a type of content is critical to the intended experience/usage in practice. In this study, recognition seemed to trigger memory and (in most cases) a verbal reaction, while indistinctness led to asking for more information. When (initially) coached by a care provider, residents actively engaged physically with the screen. Responses differed between content types, which makes it important to further explore different types of content and content as an interface to provide meaningful experiences for nursing home residents.

• Implications for rehabilitation

• VENSTER can facilitate different types of responses ranging from verbal reactions to active physical engagement. The choice of a type of content is critical to the intended experience/usage in practice.

• Activating content seems suitable for use as a meaningful experience during the spare time in between existing activities or therapy.

• Sessions with interactive content are short (avg. 30 mins) and intense and can therefore potentially be used as an activating therapy, activity or exercise.

• In order to actively engage residents with dementia, the role of the care provider seems very important.

     

Optical properties of 3-substituted indoles

The optical properties of various donor or acceptor p-phenyl substituted ethenyl indoles were studied in solvents of varying polarity using absorption, fluorescence and TDDFT methods. Ethenyl indole exhibits non-linear optical properties (NLO) in a substituent dependent manner. Compound with a strong electron-attracting substituent, shows large NLO properties with charge transfer behavior, whereas ethenyls with moderate electron withdrawing or electron donating substituent exhibit lower NLO properties with non polar excited state. A highly dipolar excited state for p-nitro phenyl substituted ethenyl indoles (μ_e: 18.2–27.1 debye; Δμ: 9.4–17.8 debye) is observed as compared to other ethenyls (μ_e: 6.6–9.5 debye; Δμ: 4.2–6.2 debye). From TDDFT study, it is shown that the HOMO–LUMO energy of ethenyl is increased with increasing the electron donating ability of the p-phenyl substitution. The optical band gap of ethenyl 3 without substitution, is decreased upon p-phenyl substitution either with an electron withdrawing (Cl, NO₂) or an electron donating (OCH₃, OH, NH₂) substituent. The compound with a strong electron accepting, p-nitrophenyl ethenyl indole 1 shows 12 times better NLO response as compared to the reference ethenyl indole 3 (β: 1: 115 × 10⁻³⁰ esu⁻¹ cm⁵, 3: 9 × 10⁻³⁰ esu⁻¹ cm⁵). Ethenyls 2–6 bearing a weak or moderately electron withdrawing or electron accepting substituent, exhibit lower NLO response. The β of ethenyl is increased with increasing the order of electron withdrawing nature of phenyl ring. Overall, a correlation of β with the optical band gap, ground state dipole moment, % of charge transfer in the ground and excited state is found.

Various donor and acceptor p-phenyl substituted ethenyl indoles were synthesized and studied their optical properties in solvents of varying polarity using absorption, fluorescence and TDDFT methods.     

The effects of coffee consumption on sleep and melatonin secretion

BACKGROUND: In this study we examined the effects of caffeine on sleep quality and melatonin secretion. Melatonin is the principal hormone responsible for synchronization of sleep. Melatonin secretion is controlled by neurotransmitters that can be affected by caffeine. METHODS: In the first part of the study, six volunteers drank either decaffeinated or regular coffee in a double-blind fashion on one day, and the alternate beverage 7 days later. Sleep parameters were assessed by actigraphy. In the second part of the study, the subjects again drank either decaffeinated or regular coffee, and they then collected urine every 3h for quantitation of 6-sulphoxymelatonin (6-SMT), the main metabolite of melatonin in the urine. RESULTS: We found that drinking regular caffeinated coffee, compared to decaffeinated coffee, caused a decrease in the total amount of sleep and quality of sleep, and an increase in the length of time of sleep induction. Caffeinated coffee caused a decrease in 6-SMT excretion throughout the following night. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study confirm the widely held belief that coffee consumption interferes with sleep quantity and quality. In addition, we found that the consumption of caffeine decreases 6-SMT excretion. Individuals who suffer from sleep abnormalities should avoid caffeinated coffee during the evening hours.     

Serial evaluation for myocardial performance in fetuses and neonates using a new Doppler index

BACKGROUND: Fetal echocardiography has been used for non-invasive evaluation of human fetal cardiac anatomy, function and hemodynamics. The Tei index, a new Doppler index known to be independent of both ventricular geometry and heart rate, has recently been applied to the evaluation of myocardial performance. METHODS: In the present study, the Tei index was prospectively and longitudinally determined in 50 normal fetuses, 35 fetuses with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), 30 fetuses of diabetic mothers (DM) and 20 normal infants. The Tei index of both left and right ventricles was calculated from a Doppler ventricular inflow and outflow trace using the following formula: Tei index = (ICT + IRT)/ET, where ICT is isovolumetric contraction time; IRT, isovolumetric relaxation time; and ET, ejection time). RESULTS: The Tei index of the left ventricle decreased linearly with advancing gestational age during 18-33 weeks and decreased acceleratively with increasing gestational age after 34 weeks. The index of the right ventricle decreased slightly and linearly with advancing gestational age during 18-41 weeks. In neonates, the Tci index of the left and right ventricle increased immediately and transitorily after birth and decreased and stabilized after 24 h of life. From 18 to 26 weeks of gestation, the Tei indices in fetuses with IUGR and of DM were not significantly different from controls. However, from 27 to 40 weeks of gestation, the Tei indices in both fetuses with IUGR and of DM were significantly greater than controls. CONCLUSIONS: This gradual decrease in the Tei index during gestation may represent the maturational or developmental alternation of myocardial performance in utero. Fetuses with IUGR and of DM may have abnormal myocardial performance in later gestation.     

Isolating the impact of antipsychotic medication on metabolic health: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of antipsychotic medication versus placebo in antipsychotic medication naïve first-episode psychosis (the STAGES study)

Background

Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases are the leading contributors to the early mortality associated with psychotic disorders. To date, it has not been possible to disentangle the effect of medication and non-medication factors on the physical health of people with a first episode of psychosis (FEP). This study aimed to isolate the effects of antipsychotic medication on anthropometric measurements, fasting glucose and lipids.

Methods

This study utilized data from a triple-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial comparing two groups of antipsychotic-naïve young people with a FEP who were randomized to receive a second-generation antipsychotic medication (FEP-medication group) or placebo (FEP-placebo group) for 6 months. Twenty-seven control participants were also recruited.

Results

Eighty-one participants commenced the trial; 69.1% completed at least 3 months of the intervention and 33.3% completed the full 6 months. The FEP-placebo group gained a mean of 2.4 kg (±4.9) compared to 1.1 kg (±4.9) in the control participants (t = 0.76, p = .45). After controlling for multiple analyses, there was no difference in blood pressure, waist circumference or heart rate between the FEP-placebo group and controls. After 6 months, the FEP medication group had gained 4.1 kg (±4.5), higher than those receiving placebo but not statistically significant (t = 0.8, p = .44). There were no differences in fasting glucose or lipids between the FEP groups after 3 months.

Conclusions

While limited by small numbers and high attrition, these findings indicate that some of the metabolic complications observed in psychotic disorders could be attributable to factors other than medication. This emphasizes the need to deliver physical health interventions early in the course of FEP.