Dataset Information

Writing in the air: Facilitative effects of finger writing in older adults.

ABSTRACT: K?sho, which refers to a behavior in which one moves the index finger as a substitute for a pen in the air or on a surface, mostly used when trying to recall the shape of a written character or the spelling of a word, has been known to facilitate cognitive task performance among kanji writing-system users. This study investigates whether the facilitative effect of k?sho, the existence of which has been exclusively confirmed in younger adults, is present in old age. Moreover, to further understand the interaction between finger movement and cognitive processing, we analyzed the correlation between the k?sho effect and factors such as age, mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score, and number of years of education. The k?sho effect was assessed by a task where participants mentally assembled a set of kanji subparts to form an actual character. The results showed a significant facilitative effect of k?sho and a strong negative correlation between k?sho effect and education. This study confirms the benefits of finger movement for solving cognitive tasks involving visual processing of written language among older adults and suggests the k?sho effect may be mediated by education.

SUBMITTER: Itaguchi Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6934278 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Writing in the air: Facilitative effects of finger writing in older adults.

Itaguchi Yoshihiro Y Yamada Chiharu C Fukuzawa Kazuyoshi K

PloS one 20191227 12

Kūsho, which refers to a behavior in which one moves the index finger as a substitute for a pen in the air or on a surface, mostly used when trying to recall the shape of a written character or the spelling of a word, has been known to facilitate cognitive task performance among kanji writing-system users. This study investigates whether the facilitative effect of kūsho, the existence of which has been exclusively confirmed in younger adults, is present in old age. Moreover, to further understan ...[more]

PMID: 31881067

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Project description:BackgroundOlder adults with type 2 diabetes are at higher risk of developing common geriatric syndromes and have a lower quality of life. To prevent type 2 diabetes in older adults, it's unclear whether the health benefits of physical activity (PA) will be influenced by the harms caused by increased exposure to air pollution during PA, especially in developing countries with severe air pollution problem. We aimed to investigate the joint effects of PA and long-term exposure to air pollution on the type 2 diabetes in older adults from China.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was based on the China Multi-Ethnic cohort (CMEC) study. The metabolic equivalent of PA was calculated according to the PA scale during the CMEC baseline survey. High resolution air pollution datasets (PM10, PM2.5 and PM1) were collected from open products. The joint effects were assessed by the marginal structural mean model with generalized propensity score.ResultsA total of 36,562 participants aged 50 to 79 years were included in the study. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes was 10.88%. The mean (SD) level of PA was 24.93 (18.60) MET-h/d, and the mean (SD) level of PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 were 70.00 (23.32) µg/m3, 40.45 (15.66) µg/m3 and 27.62 (6.51) µg/m3, respectively. With PM10 < 92 µg/m3, PM2.5 < 61 µg/m3, and PM1 < 36 µg/m3, the benefit effects of PA on type 2 diabetes was significantly greater than the harms due to PMs when PA levels were roughly below 80 MET-h/d. With PM10 ≥ 92 µg/m3, PM2.5 ≥ 61 µg/m3, and PM1 ≥ 36 µg/m3, the odds ratio (OR) first decreased and then rose rapidly with confidence intervals progressively greater than 1 and break-even points close to or even below 40 MET-h/d.ConclusionsOur findings implied that for the prevention of type 2 diabetes in older adults, the PA health benefits outweighed the harms of air pollution except in extreme air pollution situations, and suggested that when the air quality of residence is severe, the PA levels should ideally not exceed 40 MET-h/d.

Project description:This study represents the first attempt to perform a profiling analysis of the intergenerational differences in the microRNAs (miRNAs) of melanocytic neoplasms in young adult and older adult groups. Our comparative miRNA profiling provides a novel characterization of the miRnomes of melanocytic neoplasms and melanomas of different age groups and identifies a set of potential diagnostic and potential clinico-pathologic biomarkers that may serve as targets for development of novel miR-based modalities in cancer diagnosis and treatment. An exploratory miRNA analysis of 666 miRs was conducted on formalin fixed and paraffin embedded tissues from 10 adults and 10 young adults including conventional melanoma and melanocytic neoplasms of uncertain biological significance. Age-matched benign melanocytic nevi were used as controls. The comparative profiling was intentionally performed at two extremes of age, i.e., less than 30 years (Mel 30) and greater than 60 years (Mel 60). Primary melanoma in patients greater than 60 years old was characterized by the increased expression of miRs regulating TLR-MyD88-NF-kappaB pathway (hsa-miR -199a), RAS/RAB22A pathway (hsa-miR-204); growth differentiation and migration (hsa-miR337), epithelial mesenchymal transition EMT (let-7b, hsa-miR-10b/10bSTAR(*)), invasion and metastasis (hsa-miR-10b/10bSTAR(*), hsa-miR-30a/e*, hsa-miR-29c*; cellular matrix components (hsa-miR-29c*); invasion-cytokinesis (hsa-miR 99b*) compared to melanoma of younger patients. miR 211 was dramatically downregulated in primary melanoma compared to nevi controls, decreased with increasing age and was among the miRs linked to metastatic processes and potentially targeting the inflammatory receptor CCR10; Primary melanoma in young adult patients was characterized by the increased expression of hsa-miR-449a and decreased expression of hsa-miR146b, hsa-miR 214*. Among the miRs expressed at higher levels in control nevi, compared to adult or young adult melanoma, was hsa-miR 574-3p. Only 2 miRs distinguished adult from young adult-pediatric nevi, hsa-miR374a* and has-miR-566. MiR 30a* appeared to be a strong marker of differentiation in clinical stages I-II adult and pediatric melanoma, and could predict classification of melanoma tissue in the two age groups. Furthermore, lymph node status in the two age groups was characterized by the statistically significant expression of hsa-miR-30a* and hsa-miR-204 (F-test, p-value <0.001).

Dataset Information

Writing in the air: Facilitative effects of finger writing in older adults.

Publications

Writing in the air: Facilitative effects of finger writing in older adults.

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