Biomedical subjects

G Rae

Publications and source records attributed to G Rae.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Health and lifestyle characteristics of older European adults: the ZENITH study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe health and lifestyle factors of participants in the ZENITH study. DESIGN: A prospective multicentre intervention study employing a randomised double-blind design. PARTICIPANTS: Community dwelling older adults (n = 387), aged 55-87 y were recruited from regions in France, Italy and the UK. INTERVENTION: A self-report questionnaire comprising socio-demographic variables, dietary habits, physical activity in the home, at work and recreation. RESULTS: Participants differed with regards dietary habits and physical activity for each region. Recreational activity was higher in France and women generally tend to perform less hours of recreational activity per week than men. CONCLUSIONS: The differences found for these regions of Europe in relation to lifestyle factors will affect health and well-being within these countries and may mediate the impact of zinc supplementation on various biological and psychological parameters.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Positive and negative mood in the elderly: the ZENITH study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of positive and negative affect (mood) in an ageing European sample. BACKGROUND: Mood quality has important implications for both physical and mental wellbeing. Poor quality moods are associated with deficits in the diverse areas of cognitive function, health, and social relationships. The ageing process presents a number of potential challenges to successful mood regulation that could have wider implications. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: The current study examines the quality of positive and negative affect in 387 healthy participants from three European countries. Moods were measured four times a day for 4-7 d with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) mood scales. Measures of zinc (Zn) status were taken also. SETTING: Two centres concentrated on 55-70 yr olds (Coleraine, N.Ireland, n = 93 and Clermont-Ferrand, France, n = 95), and two centres concentrated on 70-87 yr olds (Rome, Italy, n = 108, and Grenoble, France, n = 91). RESULTS: Positive affect scores for the centre in Rome were significantly (P < 0.01) lower than for the other three centres, and the Grenoble centre had significantly (P < 0.05) higher scores on negative affect than the other three centres. Mood was not related to measures of zinc status (all Ps > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The two centres with the oldest participants showed deficits in mood quality that may have implications for broader well-being.

Affect↗

PubMed2005

Cognitive function in healthy older European adults: the ZENITH study.

OBJECTIVE: Baseline data are reported from a study of the effects of zinc supplementation on cognitive function in older adults as assessed by the CANTAB computerised test battery. DESIGN: This is a multicentre prospective intervention study employing a randomised double-blind design. SETTING: European community-based study. PARTICIPANTS: There are 387 healthy adults aged 55-87 y from centres in France, Italy and Northern Ireland. INTERVENTIONS: Measures of visual memory, working memory and attention were obtained at baseline (prior to supplementation). RESULTS: Younger adults (<70 y) performed significantly better than older adults (>70 y) on all tests, with minimal differences between centres. In addition, men outperformed women on tests of spatial span, pattern recognition memory and reaction times, although these gender differences varied somewhat between centres. CONCLUSIONS: The results are generally consistent with previous age- and gender-related effects on cognitive functioning.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2005

Zinc status and taste acuity in older Europeans: the ZENITH study.

BACKGROUND: Age-related decline in taste acuity may be both a cause and an effect of depleted zinc and/or increased zinc requirement. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore associations between zinc status and taste acuity in healthy older European adults aged 55-90 y. SAMPLE: Volunteers were recruited within Italy (n = 108 aged 70-90 y), the United Kingdom (UK) (n = 93 aged 55-70) and two regions of France (n = 186), Grenoble (aged 70-90 y) and Clermont-Ferrand (aged 55-70 y). METHODS: A signal detection theory approach was adopted, employing a three-alternative, forced-choice procedure. The data were converted to R-indices and bivariate correlations were computed to explore relationships between serum zinc, erythrocyte zinc and taste acuity. ANOVA was undertaken to determine regional differences in zinc status. RESULTS: Higher erythrocyte zinc status was associated with better acuity for salt (sodium chloride) taste in the sample as a whole (P = 0.012) (n = 385). Higher serum zinc levels were associated with greater sensitivity to sour taste (citric acid) (P = 0.015) only in the older groups (aged 70-90 y). There were no apparent associations between serum or erythrocyte zinc status and acuity for bitter (quinine) or sweet (sucrose) tastes irrespective of age. CONCLUSION: These results agree with those previously suggesting that age-related detriment in sensitivity for salt taste may be associated with depleted zinc.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2001

Generalisability and classical test theory analyses of Koppitz's scoring system for human figure drawings.

BACKGROUND: Scoring systems to evaluate children's human drawings for intellectual maturity have been found to have good intra- and inter-scorer reliability. However, there is some evidence (McCarthy, 1944) that such scores may not be stable over time. AIM: The aim of the study was to investigate raters and occasions as potential sources of error in children's Draw-a-Person scores using generalisability and classical test theory. SAMPLE: The sample consisted of 85 school children (45 girls and 40 boys) aged between 8 years 1 month to 9 years and 7 months. METHOD: The Koppitz Draw-A-Person (1968) test was administered as a class test on two occasions with exactly a two-week interval between the occasions. All the children's drawings were scored by the same four raters. RESULTS: Generalisability analyses of the Koppitz scores indicated that the variance components for raters and its interaction with both persons and occasions were very small, suggesting that very little measurement error was associated with the raters. However, the estimated variance component for the interaction of persons by occasions was substantial. With four raters and two occasions the generalisability coefficient was .47. These results were consistent with the classical test theory analysis which indicated generally high inter-rater reliabilities but a low test-retest reliability, based on a composite of the four raters. CONCLUSION: If satisfactory levels of reliability/generalisability are to be achieved with the Koppitz scoring system children have to be tested on several occasions.

Art↗

PubMed2001

Predicting early grade retention: a longitudinal investigation of primary school progress in a sample of rural South African children.

BACKGROUND: One hundred and fifty rural South African children, newly enrolled in Grade 2 in 1994, were retraced in 1998 when they were scheduled to have entered Grade 7. Only 39% of the cohort had progressed smoothly to Grade 7; more than a third (36%) had left their original primary school, and 25% had been retained at least once. AIMS: The present study investigated factors that were measurable at the start of Grade 2 which proved useful in predicting subsequent retention. METHOD: Details of children's academic progress from Grade 1 in 1993 through all subsequent years including 1998 were collected. Predictor variables included age at school entry, sex of child, nutritional status, academic achievement in Grade 1, cognitive test status at Grade 2, teacher assessments of children's behaviour, and biographical variables such as caregiver education and household size. RESULTS: Rural children's experience of primary school was relatively disrupted. For those who remained in the same school, a relatively good predictive model for retention was built, with Grade 1 academic achievement as well as caregiver education, and cognitive test scores being important predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Results corroborate those of developed world studies, in showing that early academic achievement is a strong predictor of retention. In addition, they highlight the importance of early curriculum mastery--rather than broader cognitive skills--for smooth progression through school.

Child↗

PubMed1989

The fate of radioiodinated endothelin-1 and endothelin-3 in the rat.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) has been isolated from cultured endothelial cells and might have a role in cardiovascular regulation. To study the fate of labeled ET-1, we prepared [125I]-labeled ET-1 (formerly porcine and human ET) and ET-3 (formerly rat ET). Approximately 0.2 microCi (0.2 pmol) was injected into the left ventricle of anesthetized rats and blood samples analyzed for radioactivity for up to 40 min. The animals were then killed and the distribution of radioactivity determined in various organs. Both ET-1 and ET-3 were rapidly removed from the circulation, with more than 60% of the removal occurring in the first minute. Removal of ET-1 was somewhat faster than that of ET-3. The highest uptake of radioactivity was seen in lung, kidney, and liver. When ET-1 was infused into the isolated perfused lung of the guinea pig, 64 +/- 1.9% of the label was retained. Subcellular fractionation of the lung homogenate following infusion of labeled ET-1 showed that 93% of the label was associated with membranes and intracellular organelles, suggesting internalization of the bound ET-1. Together, the results indicate a high density of ET-1 binding sites in the lung, liver, and kidney and that these organs may be important in removing circulating ET-1.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

A reproducible model for the study of factor X kinetics in AA amyloidosis.

Factor X clearance was examined in a model of rapid AA amyloid deposition. Accelerated equilibration with extravascular compartments and accelerated removal postequilibration mimic features seen in patients with AL amyloidosis. The handling of Factor X was different from that of two other proteins, mouse albumin and IgG. Each protein had its own specific characteristic clearance properties, although in amyloidotic animals all proteins were cleared more rapidly in the postequilibration phase. The liver was by far the major site of Factor X clearance but this was true in all control groups as well. No significant difference was seen in tissue clearance site in any of the treatment groups, perhaps because the amount of AA amyloid in each tissue 3 days into the protocol was not yet large. Nevertheless, a reproducible model that possesses accelerated Factor X clearance is now available to study the mechanism of coagulation factor abnormalities in amyloidosis.

Albumins↗

PubMed1979

Effect of word meaningfulness on primary and secondary memory.

An experiment was carried out to determine the effects of mode of presentation (auditory or visual) and work meaningfulness on primary and secondary components of free recall (N = 80 female undergraduates). The results indicated that (a) word meaningfulness affected both primary and secondary memory, (b) visual presentation was superior to auditory presentation in secondary memory but auditory presentation was superior to visual presentation in primary memory (the modality effect), and (c) the modality effect was independent of word meaningfulness. It is suggested that there are modality-specific stores in primary memory, and that these stores can employ different forms of coding.

Female↗

PubMed1977

Relation of auditory-visual integration to reading and intelligence.

The relation of auditory-visual integration to intelligence and reading achievement was studied in a sample of 165 fifth-grade boys and girls by means of (a) a test to match visual dot patterns to tape-recorded tones (b) a nonverbal intelligence test, and (c) a test of reading comprehension. Results showed that auditory-visual integrative ability was significantly related to intelligence and reading achievement. With the effects of intelligence controlled, intersensory transfer remained a significant predictor of reading achievement.

Achievement↗

PubMed1977