The longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health behaviors, psychosocial factors, and cognitive functioning in older adults.

Background: Older adults are at a greater risk for contracting and experiencing severe illness from COVID-19 and may be further affected by pandemic-related precautions (e.g., social distancing and isolation in quarantine). However, the longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults is unclear. The current study examines changes in health behaviors, psychosocial factors, and cognitive functioning in a large sample of older adults using a pre-pandemic baseline and longitudinal follow-up throughout 9 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: One hundred and eighty-nine older adults (ages 65-89) were recruited from a multisite clinical trial to complete additional virtual assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mixed effects models evaluated changes in health behaviors, psychosocial factors, and cognitive functioning during the pandemic compared to a pre-pandemic baseline and over the course of the pandemic (i.e., comparing the first and last COVID-19 timepoints). Results: Compared to their pre-pandemic baseline, during the pandemic, older adults reported worsened sleep quality, perceived physical health and functioning, mental health, slight increases in depression and apathy symptoms, reduced social engagement/perceived social support, but demonstrated better performance on objective cognitive tasks of attention and working memory. Throughout the course of the pandemic, these older adults reported continued worsening of perceived physical health and function, fewer depression symptoms, and they demonstrated improved cognitive performance. It is important to note that changes on self-report mood measures and cognitive performance were relatively small regarding clinical significance. Education largely served as a protective factor, such that greater years of education was generally associated with better outcomes across domains. Conclusions: The present study provides insights into the longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health behaviors, psychosocial factors, and cognitive functioning in a population disproportionately affected by the virus. Replicating this study design in a demographically representative older adult sample is warranted to further inform intervention strategies targeting older adults negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Immigrant and U.S.-born migrant farmworkers: Dual paths to discrimination-related health outcomes.

Research with immigrant Latino populations often point to findings that immigrants tend to evidence better health outcomes than nonimmigrants. When exploring differences based on nativity, comparisons often end with just comparing these two groups. Exploring these variables alone may oversimplify the shared and unique paths of risk and resilience between these groups. Experimental research shows that discrimination is often directed toward immigrants, but U.S.-born Latinos report more frequent exposure. We sought to address this by examining two distinct pathways by which discrimination leads to negative health. A sample of 240 Latino migrant farmworkers completed questionnaires regarding immigration-related fears, discrimination, physical and mental health, demographics, and other outcomes. While U.S.-born participants reported similar or worse outcomes across health measures, the pathways to these outcomes appeared to differ between the two groups, with immigration-related fears accounting for substantial portions of these health outcomes, especially in the dual paths with discrimination (p values < .05). Simply comparing Latino groups across U.S. nativity may paper over important differences in how they arrive at those health outcomes, including that immigration-related concerns may exacerbate exposure to and severity of discrimination, which in turn leads to negative health outcomes. On the other hand, discrimination itself may account for numerous negative health outcomes more directly for U.S.-born Latinos. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Synthesis and antioxidant evaluation of isochroman-derivatives of hydroxytyrosol: structure-activity relationship.

Isochroman-derivatives of the natural olive oil phenol hydroxytyrosol (HT) have been synthesised via Oxa-Pictet-Spengler reaction in high yields. Lipophilicity and antioxidant activity were determined to establish the structure-activity relationship of isochromans compared to HT, BHT and α-tocopherol. Antioxidant capacity was tested in two different media: bulk oils, using the Rancimat test, and brain homogenates, by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) levels as a lipoperoxidation biomarker. In addition, other antioxidant assays (FRAP, ABTS and ORAC) were carried out. Rancimat and MDA results show that antioxidant activity was related with lipophilicity, directly in brain homogenates and inversely in the oils, in agreement with the polar paradox. Free o-diphenolic groups positively determined the activity in the oils, whereas reducing and radical-scavenging activities were related to the number of free hydroxyl moieties. BHT and α-tocopherol showed lower antioxidant activity than isochromans and HT. We conclude that HT-isochromans present significant potential as bioactive compounds.

Soil remediation by an advanced oxidative method assisted with ultrasonic energy.

A new process for the remediation of soil contaminated with hydrocarbons is proposed. The innovation consists on coupling an advanced oxidative method, using a Fenton-type catalyst, with the application of ultrasonic energy. The use of ultrasonic energy not only assists the desorption of the contaminants from the soil, but also promotes the formation of OH radicals, which are the oxidant agents involved in the oxidation process. Different Fenton-like catalysts were employed in the present study; however, the highest removal of toluene and xylenes were obtained with iron sulfate and copper sulfate, respectively. Also, hydrogen peroxide was tested at different concentrations, and it was found that increasing its concentration enhanced the removal of all the contaminants. Finally, it was demonstrated that applying ultrasonic energy to the reacting system process noticeably enhanced the global efficiency of the process due to a synergistic effect in conjunction with the hydrogen peroxide concentration and type of catalyst.