Are There Age Differences in Consolidated Episodic Memory?

Background/Study Context: While most aging research on memory uses a retention interval of one hour or less, episodic consolidation takes longer (e.g., 6–24 hours for synaptic consolidation). In three experiments, we examined age differences in recall followed by recognition in which the retention interval was varied in younger and older adults.

Methods: In Experiment 1 (n = 24 for both age groups), zero-, 1- and 24-hour retention intervals were used for recall for all participants, and a 24-hour retention interval was used for recognition. In Experiment 2 (n = 24 for both age groups), just a 24-hour retention interval was used. In Experiment 3 (n = 20 for both age groups), a within-subjects design was used in which participants recalled one word list after one hour and again after 24 hours, and recalled another word list just after 24 hours (with recognition for both conditions after the 24-hour recall).

Results: In Experiment 1, older adults recalled fewer words at both the 1- and 24-hour retention intervals, but the magnitude of the age difference did not differ. In Experiment 2 (just 24-hour retention interval), there were no age differences in recall. In Experiment 3, in the two-recall condition, older adults showed lower recall at both 1-hour and 24-hour retention intervals (but the magnitude of the age difference remained constant across retention interval). In the single-recall just 24-hour retention condition, there were no age differences. There were no age differences in recognition in any of the three experiments.

Conclusion: These results suggest that recall declines for a 24-hour retention interval relative to a zero or one-hour retention interval (Experiments 1 and 3) for both age groups. However, when the first recall attempt occurs after a 24-hour retention interval, there are no age differences. These replicated results suggest that older adults do not benefit as much as younger adults from pre-consolidated rehearsal, but that rehearsal-based age differences do not increase in magnitude from the last rehearsal to memory consolidation. Furthermore, (along with), the present results indicate that there are no age differences in recall when the first recall attempt occurs after a long retention interval – when memory consolidation is likely to have occurred before the first retrieval attempt.     

Hemostatic plug formation in normal and von Willebrand pigs: the effect of the administration of cryoprecipitate and a monoclonal antibody to Willebrand factor

Hemostatic plug (HP) formation was investigated in the ear bleeding time incision in normal and von Willebrand pigs. HP volume was calculated by integrating the areas of serial sections. In normal pigs (n = 11), platelets immediately formed a layer on the surface of the cut channel. Platelet aggregates formed at the ends of transected vessels and gradually enlarged. Finally, all transected vessels were occluded by HP and bleeding stopped. In contrast, large HPs were formed in the incision in von Willebrand's disease (vWD) pigs (n = 4); these HPs did not cover the ends of the transected vessels, which continued to bleed, allowing the formation of large hemostatically ineffective platelet aggregates in the incision. Canals traversed these HPs, and bleeding from the open vessels may have continued through them. After infusion of cryoprecipitate into a vWD pig, the bleeding time shortened, and the morphological findings of the HPs were similar to those of normal pigs. In normal pigs (n = 3) infused with an anti- Willebrand factor monoclonal antibody, which prolonged the bleeding time, a large HP formed in the incision, similar to that observed in the vWD pig. The volume of the normal and vWD HPs increased with time. These in vivo findings suggest that Willebrand factor is involved in the localization of the HP to the damaged vessel and may also play a role in platelet-platelet interaction. A computerized morphometric technique was used for measuring the volume of the hemostatic plugs and the distance of sequential points on the perimeter of the HP from the center of selected bleeding vessels.     

Perceived professional support and the use of blocking behaviours by hospice nurses

A prospective study of the impact of training 41 hospice nurses in assessment skills was used to test hypotheses that blocking behaviours would be used more when patients disclosed feelings and used less when nurses perceived that they had satisfactory professional support Each nurse was asked to assess a patient's current problems before and after feedback training and 8 months later Audiotape recordings of these interviews were rated by trained raters They determined the frequency of nurses' responses which had the function of blocking patient disclosure and the emotional level of patient disclosure Before each patient assessment each nurse was interviewed and questionnaires administered to measure her perceptions of the support she received Blocking behaviours were most evident when patients disclosed their feelings (Kendalls r=0 36, P < 0 001) In interviews containing most patient disclosure of feeling, blocking was significantly less (r= - 0 24, P < 0 5) when the nurse felt that practical help would be available if needed and when the nurse felt that her direct supervisor was concerned about the nurse's own welfare (r= -0 37, P < 0 005)     

蜂胶对成纤维细胞、单核巨噬细胞系基质金属蛋白酶MMP-9表达的抑制作用

目的探讨蜂胶对糖尿病伤口愈合的作用及其机制。方法采用荧光电泳法,检测不同葡萄糖浓度（5、25mmol／L）和不同蜂胶浓度（10、50、100、200μg／ml）处理的体外培养的人成纤维细胞及单核巨噬细胞系的基质金属蛋白酶MMP-9蛋白的表达。结果高浓度葡萄糖（25mmol／L）状态下,MMP-9表达增加,但与低浓度（5mmol／L）比较,差异无统计学意义。蜂胶可显著降低MMP-9的表达,并呈剂量依赖性（P〈．05）。结论高糖能增加单核巨噬细胞系及成纤维细胞MMP-9的表达,可能会影响糖尿病患者伤口的愈合。蜂胶可抑制这些细胞MMP-9的表达,有益于细胞基质的积聚,从而有益于糖尿病患者伤口的愈合。     

Single-Center Comparison of Overall Survival and Toxicities in Patients with Infiltrative Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Yttrium-90 Radioembolization or Drug-Eluting Embolic Transarterial Chemoembolization

Purpose

To compare overall survival and toxicities after yttrium-90 (⁹⁰Y) radioembolization and chemoembolization with drug-eluting embolics (DEE) in patients with infiltrative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).