Books on the topic 'Short-term memory Age Factors'

Evidence from dozens of studies of thousands of individuals suggest that as many as half of critical illness survivors experience significant deficits in memory, executive functioning, attention, and processing speed that persist years after discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU). This chapter reviews the prevalence, characteristics, possible mechanisms, and risk factors for long-term cognitive impairment after critical illness. Some key risks factors—notably, delirium—may be modifiable, whereas others, such as genetic markers, are not. Cognitive impairments are associated with psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The impact of critical illness–related cognitive impairment on individuals and society includes financial costs, inability to return to work, impairments in instrumental activities of daily living (financial management, medication management, shopping, home care), reduced quality of life, and caregiver burden. Efforts need to be directed not only at modifying risk factors but also at attempting to prevent, treat, and remediate deficits.

This review examines brain and cognitive processes involved in arithmetic. I take a distinctly developmental perspective because neither the cognitive nor the brain processes involved in arithmetic can be adequately understood outside the framework of how developmental processes unfold. I review four basic neurocognitive processes involved in arithmetic, highlighting (1) the role of core dorsal parietal and ventral temporal-occipital cortex systems that form basic building blocks from which number form and quantity representations are constructed in the brain; (2) procedural and working memory systems anchored in the basal ganglia and frontoparietal circuits, which create short-term representations that allow manipulation of multiple discrete quantities over several seconds; (3) episodic and semantic memory systems anchored in the medial and lateral temporal cortex that play an important role in long-term memory formation and generalization beyond individual problem attributes; and (4) prefrontal cortex control processes that guide allocation of attention resources and retrieval of facts from memory in the service of goal-directed problem solving. Next I examine arithmetic in the developing brain, first focusing on studies comparing arithmetic in children and adults, and then on studies examining development in children during critical stages of skill acquisition. I highlight neurodevelopmental models that go beyond parietal cortex regions involved in number processing, and demonstrate that brain systems and circuits in the developing child brain are clearly not the same as those seen in more mature adult brains sculpted by years of learning. The implications of these findings for a more comprehensive view of the neural basis of arithmetic in both children and adults are discussed.

Confusion is a non-specific, non-diagnostic term to describe a patient with disorientation, impaired memory, or abnormal thought process. Agitation describes an increased level of psychomotor activity, and anxious or aggressive behaviour. Many agitated patients may also be delirious, yet they only represent a minority of all delirious patients. ICU delirium is an acute cognitive disorder of both consciousness and content of thought. The hallmark of ICU delirium is a fluctuating mental status, inattention, and an altered level of consciousness. Delirium is the end product of a sequence of insults and injury that lead to a common measurable manifestation of end-organ brain injury. It does not have a single aetiology, but often has multiple different and potentially interacting aetiologies. Both non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors play important roles in the development of delirium. Importantly, the new onset of delirium should prompt the physician to investigate the underlying cause. Cognitive impairment and age are among the most important non-modifiable risk factors, whereas administration of benzodiazepines is the greatest. The alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist dexmedetomidine shows promise as a sedative reducing the risk for delirium when compared with benzodiazepines.

Basic number processing skills in individuals with reading difficulties (RD) are intact. However, children and adults with RD show clear difficulties in arithmetic, in particular in retrieving known answers from long-term memory (fact retrieval). Fact retrieval deficits are associated with weaknesses in phonological awareness, the ability to segment and manipulate speech sounds. The left angular gyrus has been suggested as a site of neurological overlap between RD and fact retrieval deficits. While there is evidence for an involvement of the angular gyrus in fact retrieval in adults, the evidence for children is less clear. The same genetic risk factors may underlie difficulties in reading and mathematics and cause the high co-morbidity between RD and mathematical difficulties. Implications for interventions are discussed.

In anesthesia, situation awareness (SA) represents the degree to which an anesthetist perceives the information in her or his environment, comprehends the patient’s situation, and projects the patient’s situation into the future. There are three levels of SA: perception, comprehension, and projection. After perception, basic information has to be integrated, and several cognitive mechanisms enable correct, complete, and quick development of SA. These processes require long-term memory content such as mental models, similar (prototypical) situations that have been experienced earlier, automaticity, and medical knowledge including guidelines and algorithms. Several tools have the potential to provide qualitative and quantitative assessment of SA in anesthesia, including goal-directed task analysis (GDTA) and SA error taxonomy. In this chapter, the role of SA in anesthesia is illustrated, and factors are described that have the potential for either enhancing or hindering the development of adequate SA.

Children in the bottom quartile of mathematics achievement are at high risk for underemployment in adulthood. These children include the roughly 7% of students with a mathematical learning disability (MLD) and another 10% of students with persistent low achievement (LA) that is not attributable to intelligence. The poor mathematics achievement of children who compose groups of MLD and LA students appears to be related to one or several deficits; specifically, (1) a delay in the development and poor fidelity of the system for representing approximate magnitudes; (2) difficulty mapping Arabic numerals, number words, and rational numbers onto associated quantities; (3) poor conceptual understanding of some arithmetic concepts; (4) developmental delay in the learning of mathematical procedures; and (5) difficulty committing basic arithmetic facts to or retrieving them from long-term memory. Children with MLD also have concurrent working memory deficits that exacerbate their mathematics-specific deficits and delays.

More than 5 million individuals are admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in North America annually. Due to improvements in treatment, increasing numbers of these individuals survive and go on to develop long-term neurocognitive impairment in a variety of cognitive domains. As evidence from over two dozen studies demonstrates, neurocognitive impairment occurs in up to two-thirds of individuals. While it may be particularly common in those with pre-existing vulnerabilities, even patients who are young with robust health prior to critical illness are at risk of post-ICU neurocognitive impairment. While neurocognitive impairment may improve over time and even dissipate in a subset of ICU survivors, neurocognitive impairment is often permanent and, in some cases may be progressive. As commonly occurs in the context of acquired brain injury, the neurocognitive impairment observed after critical illness is typically diffuse, although domains including memory, attention, and executive functioning are often particularly impaired. This impairment is sufficiently severe to negatively impact daily functioning. Although the risk factors and mechanisms undergirding neurocognitive impairment have yet to be fully elucidated, potential contributors include inflammation, hypoxia, and delirium. While one way to impact on the prevalence and incidence of cognitive impairment after critical illness is to attempt to modify key ‘in-hospital’ risk factors, another approach involves the use of post-ICU cognitive rehabilitation, which is increasingly being successfully employed with other impaired medical populations.

Outcomes evaluate the impact of disease. In rheumatology they span measures of disease activity, end-organ damage, and quality of life. Some outcomes are categorical, such as the presence or absence of remission. Other outcomes involve extended numeric scales such as joint counts, radiographic scores, and quality of life measures. Outcomes can be measured in the short term—weeks and months—or over years and decades. Short-term outcomes, though readily related to treatment, may have less relevance for patients. Clinical trials focus on short-term outcomes whereas observational studies explore longer-term outcomes. The matrix of rheumatic disease outcomes is exemplified by rheumatoid arthritis. Its outcomes span disease activity assessments like joint counts, damage assessed by erosive scores, quality of life evaluated by disease-specific measures like the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) or generic measures like the Short Form 36 (SF-36), overall assessments like remission, and end result such as joint replacement or death. Outcome measures are used to capture the impact of treating rheumatic diseases, and are influenced by both disease severity and the effectiveness of treatment. However, they are also influenced by a range of confounding factors. Demographic factors like age, gender, and ethnicity can all have crucial impacts. Deprivation is important, as poverty invariably worsens outcomes. Finally, comorbidities affect outcomes and patients with multiple comorbid conditions usually have worse quality of life with poorer outcomes for all diseases. These multiple confounding factors mean comparing outcomes across units without adjustment will invariably show major differences.

Outcomes evaluate the impact of disease. In rheumatology they span measures of disease activity, end-organ damage, and quality of life. Some outcomes are categorical, such as the presence or absence of remission. Other outcomes involve extended numeric scales such as joint counts, radiographic scores, and quality of life measures. Outcomes can be measured in the short term—weeks and months—or over years and decades. Short-term outcomes, though readily related to treatment, may have less relevance for patients. Clinical trials focus on short-term outcomes whereas observational studies explore longer-term outcomes. The matrix of rheumatic disease outcomes is exemplified by rheumatoid arthritis. Its outcomes span disease activity assessments like joint counts, damage assessed by erosive scores, quality of life evaluated by disease-specific measures like the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) or generic measures like the Short Form 36 (SF-36), overall assessments like remission, and end result such as joint replacement or death. Outcome measures are used to capture the impact of treating rheumatic diseases, and are influenced by both disease severity and the effectiveness of treatment. However, they are also influenced by a range of confounding factors. Demographic factors like age, gender, and ethnicity can all have crucial impacts. Deprivation is important, as poverty invariably worsens outcomes. Finally, comorbidities affect outcomes and patients with multiple comorbid conditions usually have worse quality of life with poorer outcomes for all diseases. These multiple confounding factors mean comparing outcomes across units without adjustment will invariably show major differences.

The variable amplitude of motor cortex is a striking aspect of the muscle response to transcranial magnetic stimulation. It is easy to produce large motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in some healthy subjects, while others' cortico-muscular pathways seem barely excitable, even by the strongest available stimuli. MEP amplitude and other measures also vary widely within individuals over time. The factors of these differences among and within individuals are age, gross anatomy of the individuals, genetic factors, and physiological differences associated with behavioural and other traits such as personality, conditions like migraine. The MEP varies over time within individuals at rest under laboratory conditions. These variations can be short term or long term. Differences among neurologically normal individuals have important implications for research using TMS. These differences open doors to new fields of study to neurophysiologists in the treatment and etiology of brain disease.

Economy and mankind are inextricably interlinked. Just as the economy or the production of material wealth is unimaginable without a man, so human existence and development are impossible without the wealth created in the economy. Shortly, both the goal and the means of achieving and realization of the economy are still the human resources. People have long ago noticed that it was the economy that created livelihoods, and the delays in their production led to the catastrophic events such as hunger, poverty, civil wars, social upheavals, revolutions, moral degeneration, and more. Therefore, the special interest of people in understanding the regulatory framework of the functioning of the economy has existed and exists in all historical epochs [A. Sisvadze. Economic theory. Part One. 2006y. p. 22]. The system of economic disciplines studies economy or economic activities of a society. All of them are based on science, which is currently called economic theory in the post-socialist space (the science of economics, the principles of economics or modern economics), and in most countries of the world - predominantly in the Greek-Latin manner - economics. The title of the present book is also Modern Economics. Economics (economic theory) is the science that studies the efficient use of limited resources to produce and distribute goods and services in order to satisfy as much as possible the unlimited needs and demands of the society. More simply, economics is the science of choice and how society manages its limited resources. Moreover, it should be emphasized that economics (economic theory) studies only the distribution, exchange and consumption of the economic wealth (food, beverages, clothing, housing, machine tools, computers, services, etc.), the production of which is possible and limited. And the wealth that exists indefinitely: no economic relations are formed in the production and distribution of solar energy, air, and the like. This current book is the second complete updated edition of the challenges of the modern global economy in the context of the coronary crisis, taking into account some of the priority directions of the country's development. Its purpose is to help students and interested readers gain a thorough knowledge of economics and show them how this knowledge can be applied pragmatically (professionally) in professional activities or in everyday life. To achieve this goal, this textbook, which consists of two parts and tests, discusses in simple and clear language issues such as: the essence of economics as a science, reasons for origin, purpose, tasks, usefulness and functions; Basic principles, problems and peculiarities of economics in different economic systems; Needs and demand, the essence of economic resources, types and limitations; Interaction, mobility, interchangeability and efficient use of economic resources. The essence and types of wealth; The essence, types and models of the economic system; The interaction of households and firms in the market of resources and products; Market mechanism and its elements - demand, supply and price; Demand and supply elasticity; Production costs and the ways to reduce them; Forms of the market - perfect and incomplete competition markets and their peculiarities; Markets for Production Factors and factor incomes; The essence of macroeconomics, causes and importance of origin; The essence and calculation of key macroeconomic indicators (gross national product, gross domestic product, net national product, national income, etc.); Macroeconomic stability and instability, unemployment, inflation and anti-inflationary policies; State regulation of the economy and economic policy; Monetary and fiscal policy; Income and standard of living; Economic Growth; The Corona Pandemic as a Defect and Effect of Globalization; National Economic Problems and New Opportunities for Development in the conditions of the Coronary Crisis; The Socio-economic problems of moral obsolescence in digital technologies; Education and creativity are the main solution way to overcome the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus; Positive and negative effects of tourism in Georgia; Formation of the middle class as a contributing factor to the development of tourism in Georgia; Corporate culture in Georgian travel companies, etc. The axiomatic truth is that economics is the union of people in constant interaction. Given that the behavior of the economy reflects the behavior of the people who make up the economy, after clarifying the essence of the economy, we move on to the analysis of the four principles of individual decision-making. Furtermore, the book describes how people make independent decisions. The key to making an individual decision is that people have to choose from alternative options, that the value of any action is measured by the value of what must be given or what must be given up to get something, that the rational, smart people make decisions based on the comparison of the marginal costs and marginal returns (benefits), and that people behave accordingly to stimuli. Afterwards, the need for human interaction is then analyzed and substantiated. If a person is isolated, he will have to take care of his own food, clothes, shoes, his own house and so on. In the case of such a closed economy and universalization of labor, firstly, its productivity will be low and, secondly, it will be able to consume only what it produces. It is clear that human productivity will be higher and more profitable as a result of labor specialization and the opportunity to trade with others. Indeed, trade allows each person to specialize, to engage in the activities that are most successful, be it agriculture, sewing or construction, and to buy more diverse goods and services from others at a relatively lower price. The key to such human interactions is that trade is mutually beneficial; That markets are usually the good means of coordination between people and that the government can improve the results of market functioning if the market reveals weakness or the results of market functioning are not fair. Moroever, it also shows how the economy works as a whole. In particular, it is argued that productivity is a key determinant of living standards, that an increase in the money supply is a major source of inflation, and that one of the main impediments to avoiding inflation is the existence of an alternative between inflation and unemployment in the short term, that the inflation decrease causes the temporary decline in unemployement and vice versa. The Understanding creatively of all above mentioned issues, we think, will help the reader to develop market economy-appropriate thinking and rational economic-commercial-financial behaviors, to be more competitive in the domestic and international labor markets, and thus to ensure both their own prosperity and the functioning of the country's economy. How he/she copes with the tasks, it is up to the individual reader to decide. At the same time, we will receive all the smart useful advices with a sense of gratitude and will take it into account in the further work. We also would like to thank the editor and reviewers of the books. Finally, there are many things changing, so it is very important to realize that the XXI century has come: 1. The century of the new economy; 2. Age of Knowledge; 3. Age of Information and economic activities are changing in term of innovations. 1. Why is the 21st century the century of the new economy? Because for this period the economic resources, especially non-productive, non-recoverable ones (oil, natural gas, coal, etc.) are becoming increasingly limited. According to the World Energy Council, there are currently 43 years of gas and oil reserves left in the world (see “New Commersant 2007 # 2, p. 16). Under such conditions, sustainable growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) and maximum satisfaction of uncertain needs should be achieved not through the use of more land, labor and capital (extensification), but through more efficient use of available resources (intensification) or innovative economy. And economics, as it was said, is the science of finding the ways about the more effective usage of the limited resources. At the same time, with the sustainable growth and development of the economy, the present needs must be met in a way that does not deprive future generations of the opportunity to meet their needs; 2. Why is the 21st century the age of knowledge? Because in a modern economy, it is not land (natural resources), labor and capital that is crucial, but knowledge. Modern production, its factors and products are not time-consuming and capital-intensive, but science-intensive, knowledge-intensive. The good example of this is a Japanese enterprise (firm) where the production process is going on but people are almost invisible, also, the result of such production (Japanese product) is a miniature or a sample of how to get the maximum result at the lowest cost; 3. Why is the 21st century the age of information? Because the efficient functioning of the modern economy, the effective organization of the material and personal factors of production largely depend on the right governance decision. The right governance decision requires prompt and accurate information. Gone are the days when the main means of transport was a sailing ship, the main form of data processing was pencil and paper, and the main means of transmitting information was sending letters through a postman on horseback. By the modern transport infrastructure (highways, railways, ships, regular domestic and international flights, oil and gas pipelines, etc.), the movement of goods, services and labor resoucres has been significantly accelerated, while through the modern means of communication (mobile phone, internet, other) the information is spreading rapidly globally, which seems to have "shrunk" the world and made it a single large country. The Authors of the book: Ushangi Samadashvili, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University - Introduction, Chapters - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11,12, 15,16, 17.1,18 , Tests, Revaz Shengelia, Doctor of Economics, Professor of Georgian Technical University, Chapters_7, 8, 13. 14, 17.2, 17.4; Zhuzhuna Tsiklauri - Doctor of Economics, Professor of Georgian Technical University - Chapters 13.6, 13.7,17.2, 17.3, 18. We also thank the editor and reviewers of the book.