Search results for " decline"
showing 10 items of 247 documents
Reflections on the questionnaire at the workshops: Methodology for assessing the campus sustainability from the perspective of multi-level antifragil…
2017
Aim: The author provides a critical reflection of the questionnaire discussed at the workshop “Methodology for assessing the campus sustainability from the perspective of multi-level antifragility” held on Friday 13 May 2016 at the WSB University in Wrocław. The aim is to make a general diagnosis of the current situation in higher education in Poland, and to propose a direction of change than can enable its survival and improve its quality. Design / Research methods: In the article, the author gives his personal reflections regarding the research questionnaire discussed at the workshop “Methodology for assessing the campus sustainability from the perspective of multi-level antifragility” in…
The Role of Human Microbiota in Myasthenia Gravis: A Narrative Review
2023
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease characterized by fluctuating weakness of the skeletal muscles. Although antibodies against the neuromuscular junction components are recognized, the MG pathogenesis remains unclear, even if with a well-known multifactorial character. However, the perturbations of human microbiota have been recently suggested to contribute to MG pathogenesis and clinical course. Accordingly, some products derived from commensal flora have been demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory effects, while other have been shown to possess pro-inflammatory properties. In addition, patients with MG when compared with age-matched controls showed a distinctive …
The effect of obesity combined with low muscle strengthon decline in mobility in older persons - Results from the InCHIANTI Study
2009
Objective: Both obesity and muscle impairment are increasingly prevalent among older persons and negatively affect health and physical functioning. However, the combined effect of coexisting obesity and muscle impairment on physical function decline has been little studied. We examined whether obese persons with low muscle strength experience significantly greater declines in walking speed and mobility than persons with only obesity or low muscle strength. Design: Community-dwelling adults aged ⩾65 years (n=930) living in the Chianti geographic area (Tuscany, Italy) were followed for 6 years in the population-based InCHIANTI study. Measurements: On the basis of baseline measurements (1998–2…
Rats with elevated genetic risk for metabolic syndrome exhibit cognitive deficiencies when young
2021
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a known risk factor for cognitive decline. Using polygenic rat models selectively bred for high and low intrinsic exercise capacity and simultaneously modelling as low and high innate risk factor for MetS respectively, we have previously shown that adult animals with lower exercise capacity/higher MetS risk perform poorly in tasks requiring flexible cognition. However, it is not known whether these deficits in cognition are present already at young age. Also, it is unclear whether the high risk genome is related also to lower-level cognition, such as sensory gating measured as prepulse inhibition. In this study, young and adult (5-8 weeks and ∼9 months) rats sel…
Executive function and life-space mobility in old age
2018
Life-space assessment incorporates all movements in terms of the distance from home, the frequency of movement and the need of assistance for movement. Executive function (EF) is an important higher order cognitive ability that controls and guides people’s goal-directed actions. We examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between EF and life-space mobility, and investigated if perceived walking difficulties, lower extremity performance, and transportation difficulties explain the association. Methods 157 community-dwelling persons aged 76–91 years participated in the study at the baseline, and 103 of them in 2-year follow-up study. Based on the distribution on the Trail Ma…
Implications of fisheries‐induced evolution for population recovery: Refocusing the science and refining its communication
2019
The argument that sufficiently high fishing mortality (selective or not) can effect genetic change in fished populations has gained considerable traction since the late 1970s. The intervening decades have provided compelling experimental and model‐based evidence that fisheries‐induced evolution (FIE) can cause genetic changes in life history, behaviour and body shape, given sufficiently high trait heritability, selection intensity and time. Fisheries‐induced evolution research has also identified or inferred negative implications to population recovery and sustainable yield, prompting calls for evolutionarily enlightened management to reduce the probability of FIE and mitigate its risks. Su…
Sequestrati dalla vendetta: “rimanere chiusi fuori dall’oggetto”
2013
RiassuntoA partire dal loro lavoro di psicoterapeute e attraverso alcuni frammenti clinici che si riferiscono ad un gruppo di adolescenti svoltosi in un quartiere a rischio di Palermo, le Autrici analizzano la dimensione mafiosa non restringendola al solo comportamento criminale; piuttosto declinandola lungo alcuni significanti: non identità e gruppo mafioso che colonizza e sottomette lo psichismo del singolo; fantasmi familiari potenti e spietati che impediscono il costituirsi di sé originali e autonomi; personalità impastate di indifferenza emotiva e vendicatività. Significanti che rendono conto delle vaste aree di desertificazione e pietrificazione – resistenza al cambiamento – avvertita…
The Decline of Political Party Elite
2019
In this article, the author presents a claim that, in parallel to the end of mass parties, it is possible to observe the progressing decline of elites within political parties. This phenomenon manifests itself on the following three levels: 1) a theoretical level—less and less attention is paid to elites in the theory of political parties as their place is being taken over by other approaches, in particular leadership theory; 2) a terminological level—the notion of elites is being removed from analyses devoted to political parties and supplanted by other terms such us “leaders.” They are sometimes considered as the synonyms of the word “elite”; 3) a factual level—there are strong reasons to…
Thinking about industry decline : A qualitative meta-analysis and future research directions
2018
We analyze historical and longitudinal research focusing on industry decline. Our analysis suggests that the literature’s general reliance on a few meta-theoretical arguments has important consequences for how decline is framed and explained. We identify four meta-theoretical clusters in the literature: politics and market dynamics are seen as exogenous factors with deterministic features, whereas technology and management capabilities are framed as firm-internal failures with causally questionable explanations of how firm-level characteristics explain industry-level decline. We propose that it is important to understand the limitations of distinct meta-theoretical arguments for an enhanced…
Serum alkaline phosphatase is elevated and inversely correlated with cognitive functions in subjective cognitive decline: results from the ReGAl 2.0 …
2020
Background: Alkaline phosphatase has been found on neuronal membranes and plasma alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity increases during brain injury and cerebrovascular diseases, suggesting that its levels may reflect the neuronal loss. It is known that ALP is higher in subjects affected by Alzheimer’s dementia and inversely correlated with cognitive functions. No study has investigated the relationship between ALP and cognitive functions in old-age subject with pre-clinical cognitive impairment. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with data gathered from the ReGAl 2.0 project (Rete Geriatrica Alzheimer-Geriatric Network on Alzheimer’s disease), a large Italian multicentric clinical-base…