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Explicit memory declines with age, but age effects on implicit memory are debated. This issue is important because if implicit memory is age invariant, it may support effective interventions in individuals experiencing memory decline. In this study, we overcame several methodological issues in past research to clarify age effects on implicit memory (priming) and their relationship to explicit memory (recognition, source memory). We (a) recruited a large life-span sample of participants ( N = 1,072) during a residency at the Science Museum in London, (b) employed an implicit task that was unaffected by explicit contamination, and (c) systematically manipulated attention and depth of processing to assess their contribution to age effects. Participants witnessed a succession of overlapping colored objects, attending to one color stream and ignoring the other, and identified masked objects at test before judging whether they were previously attended, unattended, or new. Age significantly predicted decline in both explicit and implicit memory for attended items.

Aims: To identify the dominant micro-organisms involved in the production of gowé, a fermented beverage, and to select the most appropriate species for starter culture development., Methods and Results: Samples of sorghum gowé produced twice at three different production sites were taken at different fermentation times. DNA amplification by internal transcribed spacer-polymerase chain reaction of 288 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolates and 16S rRNA gene sequencing of selected strains revealed that the dominant LAB responsible for gowé fermentation were Lactobacillus fermentum, Weissella confusa, Lactobacillus mucosae, Pediococcus acidilactici, Pediococcus pentosaceus and Weissella kimchii. DNA from 200 strains of yeasts was amplified and the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rRNA gene was sequenced for selected isolates, revealing that the yeasts species were Kluyveromyces marxianus, Pichia anomala, Candida krusei and Candida tropicalis., Conclusions: Gowé processing is characterized by a mixed fermentation dominated by Lact. fermentum, W. confusa and Ped. acidilactici for the LAB and by K. marxianus, P. anomala and C. krusei for the yeasts., Significance and Impact of the Study: The diversity of the LAB and yeasts identified offers new opportunities for technology upgrading and products development in gowé production. The identified species can be used as possible starter for a controlled fermentation of gowé.

Background: NSAIDs are widely used for patients presenting with low back pain. A quick-release formulation of lornoxicam, a potent NSAID from the chemical class of oxicams, offers a faster onset of pain relief compared with the standard tablet formulation., Methods: Time to onset of pain relief with lornoxicam was compared with the quick-release formulation of diclofenac potassium in acute low back pain in a randomised, double-blind, multicentre study. 220 patients received either lornoxicam 24 mg or diclofenac potassium 150 mg on day 1 followed by lornoxicam 8 mg twice daily or diclofenac potassium 50 mg twice daily for 5 days. Efficacy outcomes included time to onset of pain relief, as measured by the stopwatch method (primary outcome), pain intensity, pain relief, rescue medication, ability to perform daily activities and global evaluation of the study medication., Results: The time to onset of pain relief ratios between diclofenac potassium/lornoxicam was 1.03 (95% CI 0.91, 1.26) and 1.05 (95% CI 0.93, 1.29) in the intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses, respectively, demonstrating the non-inferiority of lornoxicam (defined by lower limits of the 95% CIs >0.80). Time to onset of pain relief was shorter with lornoxicam (30 minutes) compared with diclofenac potassium (36 minutes). The difference was not statistically significant (ITT analysis). A higher magnitude of analgesic effect associated with better global evaluation of the study medication for lornoxicam was also demonstrated. The drugs were equally well tolerated., Conclusion: Lornoxicam administered as a quick-release formulation was shown to be non-inferior to the equivalent formulation of diclofenac potassium in terms of onset of pain relief and more effective on most of the major standard efficacy outcomes.

We compared an acetaminophen (paracetamol) 1 g (n = 51) formulation for infusion with propacetamol 2 g (n = 51) and placebo (n = 50) in a randomized, controlled, double-blind, parallel group trial in patients with moderate-to-severe pain after third molar surgery. Treatment efficacy was assessed in house for 6 h after starting the 15-min infusion. Significant effects versus placebo (P < 0.01) were obtained with both active treatments on pain relief, pain intensity difference on a 100-mm visual analog scale, and on a categorical scale (except for propacetamol at 6 h). No significant differences were noted between active groups except at 1 h. Six-hour weighted sums of primary assessments showed significantly better efficacy than placebo (P < 0.0001) and no difference between active treatments. Median stopwatch time to onset of pain relief for active treatment was 6-8 min after infusion start. Active treatments showed comparable efficacy with a significantly longer duration of analgesia and better patients' global evaluation compared with placebo. The incidence of patients reporting local pain at the infusion site was significantly less frequent after IV acetaminophen or placebo (0%) in comparison with propacetamol (49%). In conclusion, acetaminophen 1 g and propacetamol 2 g were superior to placebo regarding analgesic efficacy, with a more frequent incidence of local pain at the infusion site for propacetamol.

Background: The purpose of this randomized double-blind study was to compare the efficacy and safety of propacetamol 2 g (an i.v. acetaminophen 1 g formulation) administered as a 2-min bolus injection (n=50) or a 15-min infusion (n=50) with oral acetaminophen 1 g (n=50) or placebo (n=25) for analgesia after third molar surgery in patients with moderate to severe pain after impacted third molar removal., Methods: All patients were evaluated for efficacy during the initial 6 h period after treatment administration (T(0)) and for safety during the entire week after T(0)., Results: The onset of analgesia after propacetamol was shorter (3 min for bolus administration, 5 min for 15-min infusion) than after oral acetaminophen (11 min). Active treatments were significantly better for all parameters (pain relief, pain intensity, patient's global evaluation, duration of analgesia) than placebo (P<0.05). Adverse events were more frequent after propacetamol, especially pain at the injection site. Propacetamol bolus resulted in a much higher incidence of local adverse events than the infusion (propacetamol bolus 90% vs propacetamol infusion 52%) with no clinically significant benefits in terms of analgesic efficacy., Conclusion: I.V. propacetamol, administered as a 15-min infusion, is a fast-acting analgesic agent. It is more effective in terms of onset of analgesia than a similar dose of oral acetaminophen.