Communication skills in nursing home residents with dementia : Results of a prospective intervention study over 21 months.

BACKGROUND: The dementia syndrome compromises effective communication and may thus lead to social isolation, psychological distress and decreased quality of life. It is therefore of importance to maintain communication capacity in dementia as long as possible. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 24 professional caregivers from 8 nursing homes were assigned to train 254 of their respective colleagues using the train-the-trainer program MultiTANDEMplus. As in the 6 control nursing homes, severity of dementia, depressive symptoms and communication capacity were assessed in a total of 358 residents at baseline and 21 months later. Overall, 189 residents completed the study. RESULTS: Communication capacity declined in control home residents but remained stable in the intervention group although dementia severity increased in both groups. The intervention group exhibited significantly fewer depressive symptoms after the intervention than the control group. CONCLUSION: A standardized training of communication skills for professional caregivers can stabilize communication capacity and reduce depressive symptoms in nursing home residents. These effects are likely sustainable and could be demonstrated 21 months postintervention.

OCO-2 advances photosynthesis observation from space via solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence.

Quantifying gross primary production (GPP) remains a major challenge in global carbon cycle research. Spaceborne monitoring of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), an integrative photosynthetic signal of molecular origin, can assist in terrestrial GPP monitoring. However, the extent to which SIF tracks spatiotemporal variations in GPP remains unresolved. Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2)'s SIF data acquisition and fine spatial resolution permit direct validation against ground and airborne observations. Empirical orthogonal function analysis shows consistent spatiotemporal correspondence between OCO-2 SIF and GPP globally. A linear SIF-GPP relationship is also obtained at eddy-flux sites covering diverse biomes, setting the stage for future investigations of the robustness of such a relationship across more biomes. Our findings support the central importance of high-quality satellite SIF for studying terrestrial carbon cycle dynamics.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 early science investigations of regional carbon dioxide fluxes.

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission was motivated by the need to diagnose how the increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is altering the productivity of the biosphere and the uptake of CO2 by the oceans. Launched on 2 July 2014, OCO-2 provides retrievals of the column-averaged CO2 dry-air mole fraction ([Formula: see text]) as well as the fluorescence from chlorophyll in terrestrial plants. The seasonal pattern of uptake by the terrestrial biosphere is recorded in fluorescence and the drawdown of [Formula: see text] during summer. Launched just before one of the most intense El Niños of the past century, OCO-2 measurements of [Formula: see text] and fluorescence record the impact of the large change in ocean temperature and rainfall on uptake and release of CO2 by the oceans and biosphere.

Assessing methane emissions from global space-borne observations.

In the past two centuries, atmospheric methane has more than doubled and now constitutes 20% of the anthropogenic climate forcing by greenhouse gases. Yet its sources are not well quantified, introducing uncertainties in its global budget. We retrieved the global methane distribution by using spaceborne near-infrared absorption spectroscopy. In addition to the expected latitudinal gradient, we detected large-scale patterns of anthropogenic and natural methane emissions. Furthermore, we observed unexpectedly high methane concentrations over tropical rainforests, revealing that emission inventories considerably underestimated methane sources in these regions during the time period of investigation (August through November 2003).

Ultrastructure and regression of the tunica vasculosa lentis in newborn Wistar rats.

In this study, regression of the hyaloid vessels has been followed in the tunica vasculosa lentis (TVL) of the Wistar rat using light, transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The investigation extended from the 1st to the 32nd postnatal day. On day one, the posterior tunica vasculosa lentis is made up of radiating capillaries connected by side-arm branches, the vascular walls of which possess a continuous endothelium, a basement membrane and an incomplete pericyte covering. Endothelial cell specialization is apparent in the form of extreme thinning and fenestration in capillary regions lying opposite the lenticular capsule. The earliest detectable regressive changes become apparent on approximately day 3 and initially involve the short connecting capillaries surrounding the posterior pole of the lens and proceed from there. Regression takes place in the presence of rarefaction of vessel wall cells and the accumulation of endothelial cells in the adjacent capillaries. This leads to the formation of acellular channels which are made up of only basement membrane tubes. After the complete disappearance of these transitional acellular channels, the capillary meshwork coarsens. Remnants of these capillaries are detectable until the 30th postnatal day.