title: The effect of type 1 diabetes on executive function in young adults

authors: Reid, Matthew Devon

subjects: executive function

abstract: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic and potentially life-threatening condition affecting the production of insulin, with rapidly increasing incidence worldwide. The disease impacts on nearly all domains of life, including the physical, social, neurological and psychological. Adequate management of the disease requires careful monitoring and self-care to maintain glycaemic control. Executive function (EF) refers to a cluster of top-down cognitive processes engaged in the planning and completion of goal-directed behaviour allowing an individual to plan their actions, contemplate novel challenges, resist temptation and focus attention while avoiding distracting stimuli. Young adulthood represents an important developmental stage during which robust EF is essential. Previously limited research has explored the impact of T1DM on EF specifically within a young adult population. The current study recruited a sample of young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 withT1DM (n=14) and an age and gender matched control group (n=14) of non-diabetic individuals. Groups were assessed on measures of EF while maintaining blood glucose levels within a euglycaemic range. The central aims of the study were to compare and contrast the diabetic and control group EF performance, and to explore the relationship between diabetic related variables and measures of EF. It was found that the diabetic group committed significantly more errors than the control group on a test of set-shifting ability. It was also found that the relationship between performance-based tests of EF and a rating scale measure of EF was unique to each group. HbA1c, a measure of longer term glycaemic control, was found to be significantly related to a rating scale measure of EF but not performance-based measures. It was also found that mean blood glucose level during assessment was significantly related to performance on measures of working memory. Despite a limited sample size, the findings suggest that in a young adult population there is some evidence that T1DM is related to impairments in certain areas of EF — including set-shifting, inhibition and the higher-level construct of problem-solving ability. Future research could extend these findings by specifically exploring the relationship between trail-making tasks and rating scales of EF, examining the role of hot EF in diabetes self-care, and determining the sensitivity of specific EF to subtle changes in blood glucose within a euglycaemic range.

text: The effect of type 1 diabetes on executive function in young adults Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic and potentially life-threatening condition affecting the production of insulin, with rapidly increasing incidence worldwide. The disease impacts on nearly all domains of life, including the physical, social, neurological and psychological. Adequate management of the disease requires careful monitoring and self-care to maintain glycaemic control. Executive function (EF) refers to a cluster of top-down cognitive processes engaged in the planning and completion of goal-directed behaviour allowing an individual to plan their actions, contemplate novel challenges, resist temptation and focus attention while avoiding distracting stimuli. Young adulthood represents an important developmental stage during which robust EF is essential. Previously limited research has explored the impact of T1DM on EF specifically within a young adult population. The current study recruited a sample of young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 withT1DM (n=14) and an age and gender matched control group (n=14) of non-diabetic individuals. Groups were assessed on measures of EF while maintaining blood glucose levels within a euglycaemic range. The central aims of the study were to compare and contrast the diabetic and control group EF performance, and to explore the relationship between diabetic related variables and measures of EF. It was found that the diabetic group committed significantly more errors than the control group on a test of set-shifting ability. It was also found that the relationship between performance-based tests of EF and a rating scale measure of EF was unique to each group. HbA1c, a measure of longer term glycaemic control, was found to be significantly related to a rating scale measure of EF but not performance-based measures. It was also found that mean blood glucose level during assessment was significantly related to performance on measures of working memory. Despite a limited sample size, the findings suggest that in a young adult population there is some evidence that T1DM is related to impairments in certain areas of EF — including set-shifting, inhibition and the higher-level construct of problem-solving ability. Future research could extend these findings by specifically exploring the relationship between trail-making tasks and rating scales of EF, examining the role of hot EF in diabetes self-care, and determining the sensitivity of specific EF to subtle changes in blood glucose within a euglycaemic range.

year: 2017

title: Positive Effects of Blue Light on Postural Control and Motor Coordination in Older Adults: A Pilot Study

authors: Beaven, Christopher Martyn

abstract: Purpose: Falls are a risk factor for mortality in older adults. Light interventions can improve cognitive function and performance in motor tasks, but the potential impact on postural control with relevance to falling is unknown. This study aimed to examine the effect of light on postural control, motor coordination, and cognitive functioning. 
Methods: Sixteen older adults participated in an intervention study that involved four counter-balanced sessions with blue-enriched light delivered visually and/or transcranially for 12 minutes. Postural control in three conditions (60 s eyes open, dual-task, and eyes closed), lower extremity motor coordination, and cognitive function were assessed. Area of sway (AoS), coordination, and cognitive function were compared between the groups via repeated-measured ANOVA. 
Results: Relative to placebo, visual blue-enriched light exposure clearly decreased AoS (d = 0.68 ±0.73; p =0.166) and improved reaction time in the motor coordination task (d = 1.44 ±0.75; p =0.004); however, no signicant effect was seen on cognitive function. 
Conclusion Blue-enriched light demonstrates a novel clinical approach to positively impact on postural control and lower-limb motor coordination in older adults. By impacting on metrics associated with fall risk, blue-enriched light may provide a clinically meaningful countermeasure to decrease the human costs of falls.

text: Positive Effects of Blue Light on Postural Control and Motor Coordination in Older Adults: A Pilot Study Purpose: Falls are a risk factor for mortality in older adults. Light interventions can improve cognitive function and performance in motor tasks, but the potential impact on postural control with relevance to falling is unknown. This study aimed to examine the effect of light on postural control, motor coordination, and cognitive functioning. 
Methods: Sixteen older adults participated in an intervention study that involved four counter-balanced sessions with blue-enriched light delivered visually and/or transcranially for 12 minutes. Postural control in three conditions (60 s eyes open, dual-task, and eyes closed), lower extremity motor coordination, and cognitive function were assessed. Area of sway (AoS), coordination, and cognitive function were compared between the groups via repeated-measured ANOVA. 
Results: Relative to placebo, visual blue-enriched light exposure clearly decreased AoS (d = 0.68 ±0.73; p =0.166) and improved reaction time in the motor coordination task (d = 1.44 ±0.75; p =0.004); however, no signicant effect was seen on cognitive function. 
Conclusion Blue-enriched light demonstrates a novel clinical approach to positively impact on postural control and lower-limb motor coordination in older adults. By impacting on metrics associated with fall risk, blue-enriched light may provide a clinically meaningful countermeasure to decrease the human costs of falls.

year: 2021-12-06

title: The rhetorical organisation of Maori discourse: An illustration

authors: Crombie, Winifred

subjects: Māori medium education

abstract: Almost 20% all Māori students in New Zealand schools are involved in some form of Māori-medium education. These students need to develop competence in using the language for a wide range of purposes. They need, therefore, to understand a range of written discourse conventions. In seeking to assist them in this task, elders and scholars are turning to the works of major Māori figures of the past, works composed when the language was used widely in a range of discourse contexts. However, scholars need ways of analysing these texts and of communicating their findings to others. The primary aim of this paper is to demonstrate one such approach. A single letter of condolence written in Māori is analysed here in terms of rhetorical discourse structure. On the basis of the analysis, a number of hypotheses concerning epistolary discourse in Māori are put forward. The primary hypothesis is that letters of condolence written in Māori by highly competent users of the language are likely to be characterized by an overall Problem-Solution rhetorical prototype involving spiral multilayering.

text: The rhetorical organisation of Maori discourse: An illustration Almost 20% all Māori students in New Zealand schools are involved in some form of Māori-medium education. These students need to develop competence in using the language for a wide range of purposes. They need, therefore, to understand a range of written discourse conventions. In seeking to assist them in this task, elders and scholars are turning to the works of major Māori figures of the past, works composed when the language was used widely in a range of discourse contexts. However, scholars need ways of analysing these texts and of communicating their findings to others. The primary aim of this paper is to demonstrate one such approach. A single letter of condolence written in Māori is analysed here in terms of rhetorical discourse structure. On the basis of the analysis, a number of hypotheses concerning epistolary discourse in Māori are put forward. The primary hypothesis is that letters of condolence written in Māori by highly competent users of the language are likely to be characterized by an overall Problem-Solution rhetorical prototype involving spiral multilayering.

year: 2001-02