Detection of dementia in primary care: comparison of the original and a modified Mini-Cog Assessment with the Mini-Mental State Examination

Background Dementia is considered widely under-detected in primary care, and general practitioners (GPs) frequently ask for easy to use tools to assist in its early detection.Aim To determine the degree of correlation between the Mini-Cog Assessment (Mini-Cog) as performed by GPs and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).Design of study This was a prospective study (2005, 2006) comparing two cognitive screening instruments.Setting Ten general practices in Austria, with patients with a hitherto undiagnosed suspicion of dementia seen consecutively.Method Sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values (PPVs and NPVs) of the Mini-Cog (applying both a colour-coded and the original rating method) were assessed for degree of correlation with the MMSE. In phase one GPs examined patients suspected of having dementia using the Mini-Cog; in phase two a neurologist retested them applying the MMSE, a clock-drawing test (CDT) and a routine clinical examination. A questionnaire on the practicability of the Mini-Cog was answered by GPs.Results Of the 107 patients who participated 86 completed the whole study protocol. The Mini-Cog, as performed by the ten GPs, displayed a sensitivity of 0.85 (95% CI: 0.71, 0.98), a specificity of 0.58 (95% CI: 0.46, 0.71), a PPV of 0.47 (95% CI: 0.33, 0.61) and an NPV of 0.90 (95% CI: 0.80, 0.99) as against the MMSE carried out by neurologists. The GPs judged the Mini-Cog useful and time saving.Conclusion The Mini-Cog has a high sensitivity and acceptable specificity in the general practice setting and has proved to be a practicable tool for the diagnosis of dementia in primary care.     

Endogenous indole-3-acetic acid during adventitious root formation inPopulus £canadensis Moench.

Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), phenylacetic acid (PAA) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) were applied at a concentration of 10^-4 mol dm^-3 to stem cutting bases ofPopulus x canadensis Moench. During adventitious root formation, the content of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in cutting bases was estimated using the fluorimetric method. In the control variant, a rapid increase in endogenous IAA appeared after 24-h cultivation followed by gradual decrease during the following days. In contrast, the variants treated with IBA, PAA, and especially NAA exhibited firstly a decrease in endogenous IAA content and only afterwards an increase, reaching a maximum 48 h after excision. As root regeneration proceeded gradually, a decrease in the level of endogenous IAA occurred in all treatments. The first adventitious roots appeared in all treatments after 216-h cultivation.     

The release of the cotyledonary shoot ofpisum sativum from inhibition in relation to changes in the levels of endogenous auxins,cytokinins, and gibberellins

Both axillary buds belonging to the cotyledons (cotyledonary buds) start to grow on decapitated pea seedlings, but one of them (the dominant shoot) prevails in growth over the other (the inhibited shoot). If the dominant' cotyledonary shoot is removed, the inhibited shoot is released from inhibition and starts to grow. This release from inhibition of the inhibited cotyledonary shoot is accompanied within two hours from the removal of the dominant cotyledonary shoot by a marked increase in the level of endogenous cytokinin-like substances and by a decrease in the level of endogenous IAA. By contrast, a significant increase in IAA level and a decreasing trend in the level of cytokinin-like substances occur in the originally inhibited cotyledonary shoot between hour 4 and hour 48 after the release from inhibition of the inhibited cotyledonary shoot. The level of gibberellin-like substances in the cotyledonary shoot released from inhibition steadily increases from the beginning of the release.     

Changes in the content of indole-3-acetic acid in the needles of dwarf pine in the course of year

The changes in the content of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) were investigated in the youngest needles ofPinus mugo in the course of year. In newly formed needles, the content of IAA increased, starting from July and reaching its maximum in August to October. The IAA content decreased with a decline in the intensity of apical dominance during dormancy but no changes were observed in budbreak (May and June).     

Relationships between nodulation and auxin level in pea roots

In the roots of 4-day-old pea plants germinated in unsterile soil from Rhizobium-inoculated seeds, a higher level of native IAA was determined than in roots of pea plants germinated in sterile soil from superficially sterilized seeds. The IAA level in plants grown from inoculated seeds increased markedly up to the age of 6 days of the plant, while in plants growing under sterile conditions it did not significantly change during the same period. Between the 6th and 10th days of the age of the plant, a decline in the IAA level was observed in roots of plante growing from inoculated seeds. It was not until after 10 days of age of the plant that the level of IAA in nodulated roots again increased.     

Correction to: Comparative de novo transcriptome analysis of barley varieties with different malting qualities

Functional & Integrative Genomics - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10142-021-00783-y     

The release of primordia of marginal buds onbryophyllum crenatum leaves from growth inhibition in relationship to the level of endogenous IAA

The growth of primordia of marginal buds (marginals) which differentiate on leaf margins is correlatively inhibited on intactBryophyllum crenatum plants. Following leaf isolation, the marginals are released from this correlative inhibition, which process is accompanied within 2 to 10 h after leaf isolation with a decrease in the content of endogenous IAA in the leaf blade. This decrease can be enhanced by transversal cutting of the leaf blade into three parts which also results in enhanced subsequent growth of the marginals. The growth which follows after the release of the marginals from correlative inhibition is accompanied in cut leaf blades with an increased content of endogenous IAA in the period from 12 h to 7 d after leaf isolation when compared with uncut leaf blades. The highest content of endogenous IAA was recorded in the middle section, and the lowest IAA content in the basal section of the leaf blade.