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The paper aims to investigate if the performance of older adults on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were associated or predictive of their functional performance in a geriatric evaluation and management (GEM) inpatient hospital setting. This will inform the occupational therapy assessment and management of older adults admitted to sub-acute GEM settings.

In all, 20 participants (11 men, 9 women, mean age 82 years, SD = 6.93) were recruited from a GEM ward in an Australian hospital. Participants’ cognitive abilities were assessed using the MMSE and MoCA, and their functional performance were assessed using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Spearman’s rho correlations and linear regression analyses were completed. Bootstrapping was applied to the regression analyses to accommodate the small study sample size.

No statistically significant correlations were obtained between the total and subscale scores of the MMSE and FIM or between the total and subscale scores of the MoCA and FIM. In other words, the cognitive and functional abilities of older adults admitted to a GEM setting were not significantly associated in this study.

The findings suggest that the MoCA and the MMSE were not predictive of participants’ functional performance as measure by the FIM in a sub-acute GEM setting. Occupational therapists should be cautious when interpreting participants’ MMSE, MoCA and FIM results and not depend solely on these results in the goal setting and intervention planning processes for clients on GEM wards. Further studies are recommended to confirm these findings.

When a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment cannot be carried out, a quick and discriminant tool of good psychometric properties can be useful to practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in patients with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) and to test its reliability for cognitive assessment in a population with intellectual disabilities.

Thirty-seven adults with PWS took the MoCA. Reliability of the battery was tested using Cronbach’s alphas. The performance of PWS adults in each subtest was then compared to that of a normative population of healthy adults.

The MoCA was found to be unreliable in PWS. The subtests analyses indicated that the PWS sample underperformed the normative population of healthy adults on most subtests of the MoCA. A sub-sample aged between 17and 29 years showed normal performance on Naming and Memory, and a sub-sample aged from 30 to 39 years showed similar performance on Language, Memory and Orientation relative to age-matched normative healthy adults.

Results showed that the current version of the MoCA, if taken as a whole test for cognitive assessment, does not present with adequate psychometric properties, which the authors interpret as reflecting the heterogeneity in PWS cognitive profiles. If used in PWS, the MoCA may however be useful in examining cognitive functions separately using subtest-based comparisons to normative data.

This research contributes to a better assessment of cognitive profile in PWS and people with learning disabilities by arguing that the use of psychometric tests should depend more on the specificity of the population under evaluation.

The purpose of this study was to examine the literature surrounding dementia in the aging correctional population and assess the role of cognitive screening related to dementia detection within corrections. The literature regarding the role of dementia within the justice continuum is scant. Furthermore, correctional health researchers have not reached a consensus on the best age to administer cognitive screening in older persons or prioritizes a screening tool for the early detection of dementia.

A key search term list including dementia screening and was developed to review the literature surrounding dementia and the aging correctional population. PubMed, Criminal Justice Abstracts (Ebsco) and the National Criminal Justice Reference Service were used within the academic search. A gray literature search using these same search terms was conducted reviewing criminal justice federal agencies and organizations for additional information on the dementia experience within correctional settings. Snowballing was used to capture relevant theoretical and empirical knowledge.

Shortages in aging specialized health-care staffing presents a barrier for the clinical interpretation of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) results. Correctional officers are also identified as useful candidates within the administration of cognitive screening with proper training. The MoCA may be the optimal cognitive screening tool for dementia, until an original cognitive screening tool is created specific to the correctional population. An age of 55 years or older may serve as the best cutoff score for classifying incarcerated individuals as older persons, and screening should be prioritized for these individuals. Finally, new specialized programs related to dementia within correctional settings are identified.

A limitation of this research is the conflicting opinions among researchers regarding the use of general cognitive screening tools within the correctional setting.

This research can inform correctional organizational policy and practices regarding the screening of older persons suspected of dementia. Most notably, this research proposes that correctional settings should incorporate the MoCA within initial screening of all individuals 55 years of age or older, enriching the job design of correctional officer's job positions to include cognitive testing, and for correctional settings to provide dementia and age-associated training for correctional officers. Finally, this paper informs future research in the development of a cognitive assessment tool specific to the correctional population.

The growing consumer demand for microbiologically safe and quality products with sensory properties similar to those of natural products has spurred the search for natural flavourings with an antimicrobial effect on foods. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of “malagueta” chili pepper and “dedo de moça” hot pepper on Minas Frescal cheese supplemented with Escherichia coli strains.

Each cheese contained 0, 10, 15 and 20 per cent concentrations of “malagueta” chilli pepper and “dedo de moça” hot pepper supplemented with 200 µL of E. coli/kg cheese. The cheeses were stored under refrigeration at 7 °C for 28 days. The E. coli, pH and titratable acidity were analysed for this cheese.

“Dedo de moça” hot pepper showed a bacteriostatic effect on E. coli strains being more efficient on day 1. However, the “malagueta” hot pepper showed bactericidal effect and was efficient during the 28 days of storage. The pH showed a gradual decrease (p = 0.000) throughout the storage period; therefore, the acidity was increased even when the CFU/g count remained constant. The peppers had an antimicrobial effect on E. coli strains, and thus might be an alternative to extend the shelf life of Minas frescal cheese.

The study of natural condiments as an antimicrobial alternative is important because they prevent infections and food infections, increase shelf life and make it possible to offer differentiated products in the market.

This study aims to calculate the corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure made by companies as per the provisions of Section 135 of Companies Act 2013 and check the status of compliance/non-compliance of these provisions in the mandatory regime of CSR.

Based on a sample of top 500 Indian companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange, the study compares the CSR expenditure required to be incurred by companies with the actual CSR expenditure made by them over a time span of seven years and calculates the extent of surplus or deficit attained by them starting from the year of inception of CSR provisions, 2014–2015, till the most recent year, 2020–2021.

The findings indicate that the average CSR expenditure made by Indian corporate sector is less than the mandatory requirement. More than half of the companies do not comply with the CSR regulations of the country. Even the “Most Profitable” companies fail to contribute the minimum required amount towards social activities akin to their counterparts in the “Less” and “Least” profitable categories.

The disobedience towards the statutory provisions implies that Indian companies are non-compliant towards CSR guidelines despite the regulative institutional pressure that makes CSR a mandatory practice to legitimise it.

The study contributes to the CSR literature in the light of the transformed regulative institutional environment in India. It includes a comprehensive analysis of compliance of companies with the revised statutes over all the years since the inception of new mandatory guidelines on CSR till the most recent time period on a representative sample, thus, making the findings robust and generic with respect to India.

The purpose of this study is to find out a simple cognitive intervention method to use MCI and suffering people with depression. As the elderly society increases around the world, the number of elderly people with diseases and dementia is increasing rapidly. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a pre-stage to dementia, is a critical treatment time to slow disease progression. However, there is currently no appropriate medication. Furthermore, MCI patients with depression are more difficult to treat.

To overcome these problems, the authors confirmed improvements and delayed effects in MCI patients in this study for three years through cognitive intervention, demonstrating its effectiveness. Cognitive interventions were conducted for memory retrieval and steadily stimulated the brain by performing tasks to solve problems during daily conversations.

As a result, the intervention group retained mini-mental state examination and Montreal cognitive assessment scores on the domains of cognitive function and also instrumental activities of daily living in the domain of motion compared to the non-intervention group. Moreover, significant improvements in geriatric depression scales-15 and quality-of-life scales enabled the patients to maintain stable living compared to before the intervention. In addition, the intervention group showed a change in patterns that allowed them to voluntarily devote time to going out at the end of the study.

This study was originally planned to compare the rates of transmission from MCI to dementia by tracking over five years (2016–2021). However, due to the impact of COVID-19, which began to spread around the world in 2020, further face-to-face visits and cognitive intervention became impossible. Thus, only half of the data in the existing plans were collected. Although it is difficult to present accurate results for the rate of transmission from MCI to dementia, the tendency was confirmed, indicating sufficient implications as an intervention.

This study was originally planned to compare the rates of transmission from MCI to dementia by tracking three years (2016–2019). The authors had studied for long-term effect.

This study aims to examine the pattern of corporate social responsibility expenditure (CSRE) incurred by Indian companies after the inception of Companies Act 2013. It also highlights the resultant change brought in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) spends of the companies because of COVID-19 pandemic.

The CSR index provided by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs under Companies (CSR Policy) Rules 2014, is adopted to measure the extent of CSRE made by top 30 Indian companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange. To study the pattern of CSRE in various domains mentioned in the CSR index, the study is conducted over four points of time. Three alternative years since the commencement of the Companies Act 2013 i.e. 2014–2015, 2016–2017 and 2018–2019 have been taken up. Additionally, the financial year 2019–2020 is included as it marks the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings show that the CSRE made by companies is increasing every year over all points of time taken in the study. In addition to this, Indian companies have voluntarily contributed a substantial amount towards COVID-19 relief over and above the required mandatory limits.

The gradual increase in CSR contributions even above the mandated amount and voluntary contribution towards COVID-19 relief by Indian companies implies that the nature of CSR in India is still philanthropic.

The study contributes to the CSR literature after the implementation of the mandatory CSR provisions in India and in the wake of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 as so far there is no such study available in the extant literature.

No studies have evaluated the relationship between cognitive impairment and alcohol treatment outcomes amongst older drinkers. This study aims to explore the extent of cognitive impairment amongst older adults seeking alcohol treatment and examine the relationship between cognitive impairment, treatment retention and alcohol use following treatment.

The study used data from the Drink Wise Age Well programme; an alcohol intervention service for older adults (aged 50+). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment was used to screen for cognitive impairment; alcohol use was assessed using the alcohol use disorders identification test.

In total, 531 participants completed the assessment at treatment entry. Over half the sample were male (57%), with a mean age of 60 years (Standard deviation: 7.09). Almost half (48.4%) had cognitive impairment at the entry to treatment: 51.6% had a normal cognitive function, 41.4% had mild cognitive impairment, 5.8% had moderate cognitive impairment and 1.1% had severe cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment was not associated with increased treatment drop-out and was not predictive of alcohol use following treatment. Alcohol treatment was associated with a significant improvement in cognitive functioning.

This study suggests there may be a significant amount of unidentified cognitive impairment amongst older adults attending alcohol treatment. Assessment and routine screening for cognitive impairment in drug and alcohol services may help in care planning and setting treatment goals; in the absence of routine screening opportunities for treatment planning and intervention may be missed.

This study aims to deal with the evaluation of the antioxidant capacity of lyophilized hydroalcoholic extracts of red peppers in natura. Furthermore, preference was evaluated for the taste and color of soybean oil added red pepper extracts.

The antioxidant capacity was determined by four methods. The content of phenolic compounds, carotenoids and ascorbic acid in the extracts was determined by chromatographic, spectrophotometric and titration methods, respectively.

The results showed that the highest antioxidant capacity was found in Malagueta pepper extract through reducing power (FRAP) method. In this same extract, high amount of phenolic compounds was found. However, the extracts of Bode and Dedo-de-moça peppers had higher amounts of carotenoids and ascorbic acid, respectively. Sensorially, the oil added extracts were preferred.

Red peppers are very popular and consumed worldwide, besides being constituted of important phytochemicals. Results showed high antioxidant activity in the extracts of peppers, and high content of phenolic compounds, carotenoids and ascorbic acid mainly in chili. This study highlights the importance of the extracts of red peppers, genus Capsicum, as a source of antioxidants, in addition to vegetable oils.

It is important to check the acceptance of the application of extract in vegetable oil, so it can be marketed as a natural antioxidant. This study provides valuable information about the antioxidant capacity of extracts of red peppers and its acceptance.