Julkaisuarkisto

Purpose: . To examine whether cumulative PA in youth, adulthood, or from childhood to midlife is associated with cognitive changes in midlife. We further investigated whether cumulative PA in youth or adulthood was independently related to cognitive changes, and whether these associations differed by sex.

Methods: . This study utilized data (n=1353, 57% females) from the longitudinal, population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, initiated in 1980. Cognitive functions (learning and memory, working memory, reaction time, and information processing) were evaluated using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery in 2011 and 2018. PA was assessed with a standardized questionnaire in all study phases (1980-2018), with repeated measurements conducted at 3-9‑year intervals. Cumulative PA was determined for youth (ages 9-24), adulthood (ages 24-48), and life-course (ages 9-48). Associations were analyzed using linear regression models with standardized variables, adjusted for age, education, cardiometabolic risk factors, health behaviors, and a polygenic risk score for cognitive function. Models of cumulative PA in youth and adulthood were additionally adjusted for each other.

Results: . Higher life-course PA was associated with a smaller decrease in information processing in midlife (β=0.08, p=0.003) (each unit increase in PA corresponded to a predicted 3-year advantage in information processing). Moreover, higher life-course PA was associated with a smaller decrease in working memory among males (β=0.09, p=0.040) (a predicted 2.7-year advantage in working memory). Life-course PA was not associated with other cognitive functions. Youth PA showed no association with cognitive changes after adjusting for adulthood PA, and vice versa.

Conclusions: The results suggest that individuals with higher life-course PA experience a smaller decrease in executive aspects of cognitive function during midlife.

Keywords: CUMULATIVE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY; INFORMATION PROCESSING; WORKING MEMORY.

Copyright © 2026 by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Reading three-character Chinese compound words was studied in two experiments using the lexical decision task and the eye-tracking technology to examine the extent to which they are recognised via their components. To this end, the frequency of the first character was manipulated in a continuous manner separately for two kinds of word structure: those where the first character formed an independent constituent (A-BC words) and those where it was a part of an embedded compound word (AB-C words). The study found evidence for both compositional and holistic processing. Moreover, A-BC words were read somewhat faster than AB-C words in the sentence context but not in isolation. Word-internal structure also affected the way attention was allocated within words. The pattern of results is consistent with parallel dual route models of compound word reading. It is concluded that Chinese readers demonstrate flexibility in using compositional and holistic processing in reading three-character words.

In the summer of 1985, the Newberry Library hosted a photography exhibition titled Seeing Indian in Chicago featuring photographs taken by members of the American Indian Center’s camera club. Pairing these photographs with archived oral history interviews of the photographers, this article explores the multiple meanings and interpretations vested within these images through their exhibition for audiences visiting the Newberry Library. Taken between the late 1950s and the early 1980s, the photographs capture life in the decades following the conclusion of the federal relocation program, which was geared towards assimilation, moving Indigenous individuals and families away from their homelands to work in urban areas. The photography exhibition, then, worked to display the adaptation and resilience of this community as both Indigenous and familiar mainstream Americans while also subtly challenging stereotypes of “Indians” that visitors to the exhibition likely held. As such, this article contributes to the growing scholarship challenging victim narratives of Indigenous urbanization.

The purpose of this study was to describe the observed level of kinaesthetics competence among nursing staff working in 24-hour-care nursing homes for older adults. Kinaesthetics is a training concept aimed at enhancing nursing staff’s interaction and movement-support skills when assisting care-dependent individuals in their daily activities. This observational study was conducted using video recordings collected between 2023 and 2024. The Kinaesthetics Competence Observation (KCO) tool, developed by Gattinger, was used to assess competence. The target group included 15 nursing staff in a Finnish welfare region. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The overall observed kinaesthetics competence of the nursing staff was rated as good (mean score 11.1/16). The subscale means ranged from 2.7 to 3.0 (on a scale of 1–4), with the highest scores being seen in the environmental consideration subscale. The findings show that kinaesthetics competence among nursing staff in 24-hour-care nursing homes was generally good. However, variations in individual performance indicate that formal training alone does not guarantee competence. Regular practical training in kinaesthetics and cooperation with a kinaesthetics tutor and a trainer will ensure that kinaesthetics skills are maintained after training. Attention should be given to improving interaction and promoting the active participation of older adults in care.

Clarke, Kris & Lee-Oliver, Leece & Ranta-Tyrkkö, Satu (toim.): Decolonising Social Work in Finland: Racialisation and Practices of Care. Bristol University Press, 2024, 304 s. (Kirja-arvio)