Aging in Sensory and Motor Neurons Results in Learning Failure in Aplysia californica.

PubMed

Kempsell, Andrew T; Fieber, Lynne A

2015-01-01

The physiological and molecular mechanisms of age-related memory loss are complicated by the complexity of vertebrate nervous systems. This study takes advantage of a simple neural model to investigate nervous system aging, focusing on changes in learning and memory in the form of behavioral sensitization in vivo and synaptic facilitation in vitro. The effect of aging on the tail withdrawal reflex (TWR) was studied in Aplysia californica at maturity and late in the annual lifecycle. We found that short-term sensitization in TWR was absent in aged Aplysia. This implied that the neuronal machinery governing nonassociative learning was compromised during aging. Synaptic plasticity in the form of short-term facilitation between tail sensory and motor neurons decreased during aging whether the sensitizing stimulus was tail shock or the heterosynaptic modulator serotonin (5-HT). Together, these results suggest that the cellular mechanisms governing behavioral sensitization are compromised during aging, thereby nearly eliminating sensitization in aged Aplysia.

Measuring Children's Suggestibility in Forensic Interviews.

PubMed

Volpini, Laura; Melis, Manuela; Petralia, Stefania; Rosenberg, Melina D

2016-01-01

According to the scientific literature, childrens' cognitive development is not complete until adolescence. Therefore, the problems inherent in children serving as witnesses are crucial. In preschool-aged children, false memories may be identified because of misinformation and insight bias. Additionally, they are susceptible of suggestions. The aim of this study was to verify the levels of suggestibility in children between three and 5 years of age. Ninety-two children were examined (44 male, 48 female; M = 4.5 years, SD = 9.62). We used the correlation coefficient (Pearson's r) and the averages variance by SPSS statistical program. The results concluded that: younger children are almost always more susceptible to suggestibility. The dimension of immediate recall was negatively correlates with that of total suggestibility (r = -0.357 p < 0.001). Social compliance and source monitoring errors contribute to patterns of suggestibility, because older children shift their answers more often (r = 0.394 p < 0.001). Younger children change their answers more times (r = -0.395 p < 0.001). © 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Macro- and micro-level predictors of age categorization: results from the European Social Survey.

PubMed

Ayalon, Liat; Doron, Israel; Bodner, Ehud; Inbar, Noit

2014-03-01

This study evaluated macro- and micro-level variables associated with individuals' perception of the ending of youth, the beginning of old age, and the length of the middle age period. The European Social Survey is a biennial multi-country, cross-sectional survey. Our analysis is based on the fourth wave, which included a rotating module on ageism. The source sample consisted of 28 countries and a total of 54,988 respondents. Whereas macro-level variability accounted for 14 % of the variance associated with the perception of the ending of youth, only 5.7 % of the variance associated with the perception of the beginning of old age was accounted for by macro-level variability. Almost 10 % of the variance associated with the perception of the middle age period was associated with macro-level variability. Different patterns of macro- and micro-level correlates emerged for the ending of youth, beginning of old age, and the period of middle age. Overall, results demonstrate that individual differences in the perception of the ending of youth, the beginning of old age, and the length of the middle age period are more pronounced than contextual differences. Results also suggest that individuals' mental maps regarding the timing of these events are not necessarily concordant.

The Age Specific Incidence Anomaly Suggests that Cancers Originate During Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brody, James P.

The accumulation of genetic alterations causes cancers. Since this accumulation takes time, the incidence of most cancers is thought to increase exponentially with age. However, careful measurements of the age-specific incidence show that the specific incidence for many forms of cancer rises with age to a maximum, and then decreases. This decrease in the age-specific incidence with age is an anomaly. Understanding this anomaly should lead to a better understanding of how tumors develop and grow. Here we derive the shape of the age-specific incidence, showing that it should follow the shape of a Weibull distribution. Measurements indicate that the age-specific incidence for colon cancer does indeed follow a Weibull distribution. This analysis leads to the interpretation that for colon cancer two subpopulations exist in the general population: a susceptible population and an immune population. Colon tumors will only occur in the susceptible population. This analysis is consistent with the developmental origins of disease hypothesis and generalizable to many other common forms of cancer.

[Cognitive capacity in advanced age: initial results of the Berlin Aging Study].

PubMed

Lindenberger, U; Baltes, P B

1995-01-01

This study reports data on intellectual functioning in old and very old age from the Berlin Aging Study (N = 516; age range = 70-103 years; mean age = 85 years). A psychometric battery of 14 tests was used to assess five cognitive abilities: reasoning, memory, and perceptual speed from the broad fluid-mechanical as well as knowledge and fluency from the broad crystallized-pragmatic domains. Cognitive abilities had a negative linear relationship with age, with more pronounced age-based reductions in fluid-mechanical than crystallized-pragmatic abilities. At the same time, ability intercorrelations formed a highly positive manifold, and did not follow the fluid-crystallized distinction. Interindividual variability was of about equal magnitude across the entire age range studied. There was, however, no evidence for substantial sex differences. As to origins of individual differences, indicators of sensory and sensorimotor functioning were more powerful predictors of intellectual functioning than cultural-biographical variables, and the two sets of predictors were, consistent with theoretical expectations, differentially related to measures of fluid-mechanical (perceptual speed) and crystallized pragmatic (knowledge) functioning. Results, in general indicative of sizeable and general losses with age, are consistent with the view that aging-induced biological influences are a prominent source of individual differences in intellectual functioning in old and very old age. Longitudinal follow-ups are underway to examine the role of cohort effects, selective mortality, and interindividual differences in change trajectories.

Age-related changes in urinary testosterone levels suggest differences in puberty onset and divergent life history strategies in bonobos and chimpanzees.

PubMed

Behringer, V; Deschner, T; Deimel, C; Stevens, J M G; Hohmann, G

2014-08-01

Research on age-related changes in morphology, social behavior, and cognition suggests that the development of bonobos (Pan paniscus) is delayed in comparison to chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). However, there is also evidence for earlier reproductive maturation in bonobos. Since developmental changes such as reproductive maturation are induced by a number of endocrine processes, changes in hormone levels are indicators of different developmental stages. Age-related changes in testosterone excretion are an indirect marker for the onset of puberty in human and non-human primates. In this study we investigated patterns of urinary testosterone levels in male and female bonobos and chimpanzees to determine the onset of puberty. In contrast to other studies, we found that both species experience age-related changes in urinary testosterone levels. Older individuals of both sexes had significantly higher urinary testosterone levels than younger individuals, indicating that bonobos and chimpanzees experience juvenile pause. The males of both species showed a similar pattern of age-related changes in urinary testosterone levels, with a sharp increase in levels around the age of eight years. This suggests that species-differences in aggression and male mate competition evolved independently of developmental changes in testosterone levels. Females showed a similar pattern of age-related urinary testosterone increase. However, in female bonobos the onset was about three years earlier than in female chimpanzees. The earlier rise of urinary testosterone levels in female bonobos is in line with reports of their younger age of dispersal, and suggests that female bonobos experience puberty at a younger age than female chimpanzees. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Active ageing and quality of life--Results of a WHO demonstration project].

PubMed

von dem Knesebeck, O; David, K; Bill, P; Hikl, R

2006-04-01

Based on the Active Ageing Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO), a demonstration project was conducted in a city in North-Rhine Westphalia between October 2002 and December 2004. The aim of the study was to promote an active ageing process, to maintain autonomy and independence among older people, and thereby to promote health and quality of life. The target group included people aged 55 to 80 years. The aim was to include older persons in a critical period of life due to loss of partner within the last five years and people undergoing a status change due to retirement within the last two years. 344 participants were visited at home to assess their health and psychosocial situation and to identify opportunities for activities. Participants were supported in their efforts to realise the agreed-upon activities. In this article results of the external evaluation are presented. It is analysed whether quality of life according to the WHOQOL Bref improves among participants in the course of the project. Results of non-parametric tests show small differences in quality of life between the three waves of interviews (at the beginning of the project, after one year, at the end of the project). This holds true when only those participants are analysed who retired within the last two years. However, quality of life significantly improves among older persons who lost their partner within the last five years. In terms of implementation of the WHO Active Ageing Programme results suggest application of a risk group strategy.

Age-related changes in central effects of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) suggest a role for this mediator in aging anorexia and cachexia.

PubMed

Tenk, Judit; Rostás, Ildikó; Füredi, Nóra; Mikó, Alexandra; Solymár, Margit; Soós, Szilvia; Gaszner, Balázs; Feller, Diana; Székely, Miklós; Pétervári, Erika; Balaskó, Márta

2017-02-01

Hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) lays downstream to catabolic melanocortins and at least partly mediates their catabolic effects. Age-related changes in the melanocortin system (weak responsiveness in middle-aged and a strong one in old rats) have been shown to contribute to middle-aged obesity and later to aging anorexia and cachexia of old age groups. We hypothesized that catabolic (anorexigenic and hypermetabolic) CRF effects vary with aging similarly to those of melanocortins. Thus, we aimed to test whether age-related variations of CRF effects may also contribute to middle-aged obesity and aging anorexia leading to weight loss of old age groups. Food intake, body weight, core temperature, heart rate, and activity were recorded in male Wistar rats of young, middle-aged, aging, and old age groups (from 3 to 24 months) during a 7-day intracerebroventricular CRF infusion (0.2 μg/μl/h) in a biotelemetric system. In addition, CRF gene expression was also assessed by quantitative RT-PCR in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of intact animals of the same age groups. The infusion suppressed body weight in the young, aging, and old rats, but not in middle-aged animals. Weak anorexigenic and hypermetabolic effects were detected in the young, whereas strong anorexia (without hypermetabolism) developed in the oldest age groups in which post mortem analysis showed also a reduction of retroperitoneal fat mass. CRF gene expression in the PVN increased with aging. Our results support the potential contribution of age-related changes in CRF effects to aging anorexia and cachexia. The role of the peptide in middle-aged obesity cannot be confirmed.

Organ Donation in the 50+ Age Demographic: Survey Results on Decision Rationale and Information Preferences.

PubMed

Tartaglia, Alexander; Dodd-McCue, Diane; Myer, Kevin A; Mullins, Andrew

2016-09-01

The rate of organ donation by older potential donors is significantly declining even though recent studies show positive clinical outcomes with organs transplanted from older donors. This study examined the 50+ age demographic to identify the rationale for donation decisions, preferred media methods of donation information delivery, and responsiveness to an age-tailored donation message. Results from 579 surveys, 87% from the 50+ age demographic, found respondents prone to self-select themselves as medically ineligible based on current medication and health status, even though they might be medically suitable donors. Their incentive to pursue additional information on donation is limited except when motivated by personal accounts within their families and communities. In addition, even when computer literate, they continue to favor the printed or spoken word for donation information delivery. The results suggest an opportunity for those working with older adults to develop more personalized, localized donation education programs targeting this age demographic. © The Author(s) 2014.

Aging results in reduced epidermal growth factor receptor signaling, diminished olfactory neurogenesis, and deficits in fine olfactory discrimination.

PubMed

Enwere, Emeka; Shingo, Tetsuro; Gregg, Christopher; Fujikawa, Hirokazu; Ohta, Shigeki; Weiss, Samuel

2004-09-22

Previous studies demonstrating olfactory interneuron involvement in olfactory discrimination and decreased proliferation in the forebrain subventricular zone with age led us to ask whether olfactory neurogenesis and, consequently, olfactory discrimination were impaired in aged mice. Pulse labeling showed that aged mice (24 months of age) had fewer new interneurons in the olfactory bulb than did young adult (2 months of age) mice. However, the aged mice had more olfactory interneurons in total than their younger counterparts. Aged mice exhibited no differences from young adult mice in their ability to discriminate between two discrete odors but were significantly poorer at performing discriminations between similar odors (fine olfactory discrimination). Leukemia inhibitory factor receptor heterozygote mice, which have less neurogenesis and fewer olfactory interneurons than their wild-type counterparts, performed more poorly at fine olfactory discrimination than the wild types, suggesting that olfactory neurogenesis, rather than the total number of interneurons, was responsible for fine olfactory discrimination. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses revealed a selective reduction in expression levels of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) signaling elements in the aged forebrain subventricular zone. Waved-1 mutant mice, which express reduced quantities of transforming growth factor-alpha, the predominant EGFR ligand in adulthood, phenocopy aged mice in olfactory neurogenesis and performance on fine olfactory discrimination tasks. These results suggest that the impairment in fine olfactory discrimination with age may result from a reduction in EGF-dependent olfactory neurogenesis.

Predictive aging results in radiation environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillen, Kenneth T.; Clough, Roger L.

1993-06-01

We have previously derived a time-temperature-dose rate superposition methodology, which, when applicable, can be used to predict polymer degradation versus dose rate, temperature and exposure time. This methodology results in predictive capabilities at the low dose rates and long time periods appropriate, for instance, to ambient nuclear power plant environments. The methodology was successfully applied to several polymeric cable materials and then verified for two of the materials by comparisons of the model predictions with 12 year, low-dose-rate aging data on these materials from a nuclear environment. In this paper, we provide a more detailed discussion of the methodology and apply it to data obtained on a number of additional nuclear power plant cable insulation (a hypalon, a silicone rubber and two ethylene-tetrafluoroethylenes) and jacket (a hypalon) materials. We then show that the predicted, low-dose-rate results for our materials are in excellent agreement with long-term (7-9 year) low-dose-rate results recently obtained for the same material types actually aged under bnuclear power plant conditions. Based on a combination of the modelling and long-term results, we find indications of reasonably similar degradation responses among several different commercial formulations for each of the following "generic" materials: hypalon, ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene, silicone rubber and PVC. If such "generic" behavior can be further substantiated through modelling and long-term results on additional formulations, predictions of cable life for other commercial materials of the same generic types would be greatly facilitated.

Suggestibility under Pressure: Theory of Mind, Executive Function, and Suggestibility in Preschoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karpinski, Aryn C.; Scullin, Matthew H.

2009-01-01

Eighty preschoolers, ages 3 to 5 years old, completed a 4-phase study in which they experienced a live event and received a pressured, suggestive interview about the event a week later. Children were also administered batteries of theory of mind and executive function tasks, as well as the Video Suggestibility Scale for Children (VSSC), which…

Memory and Suggestibility in Maltreated Children: Age, Stress Arousal, Dissociation, and Psychopathology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eisen, Mitchell L.; Qin, Jianjian; Goodman, Gail S.; Davis, Suzanne L.

2002-01-01

This study assessed 3- to 17-year-olds' memory and suggestibility in the context of ongoing child maltreatment investigations. Results from 189 subjects indicated that general psychopathology, short-term memory, and intellectual ability predicted facets of children's memory performance. Older compared to young children evinced fewer memory errors…

Differences in placental telomere length suggest a link between racial disparities in birth outcomes and cellular aging

PubMed Central

JONES, Christopher W.; GAMBALA, Cecilia; ESTEVES, Kyle C.; WALLACE, Maeve; SCHLESINGER, Reid; O’QUINN, Marguerite; KIDD, Laura; THEALL, Katherine P.; DRURY, Stacy S.

2017-01-01

women separately. The overall impact of race was assessed by multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models that included empirically relevant covariates. RESULTS Telomere length was significantly correlated across all placental tissues. Pairwise analyses of placental tissue telomere length revealed significantly longer telomere length in the amnion compared to the chorion (t=−2.06, p=0.043). Overall telomere length measured in placenta samples from Black mothers were significantly shorter than those from White mothers (β=−0.09, p=0.04). Controlling for relevant maternal and infant characteristics strengthened the significance of the observed racial differences (β=−0.12, p=0.02). Within tissue analyses revealed that the greatest difference by race was found in chorionic telomere length (t=−2.81, p=0.007). CONCLUSION These findings provide the first evidence of racial differences in placental telomere length. Telomere length was significantly shorter in placental samples derived from Black mothers compared to White. Given previous studies reporting that telomere length, cellular senescence, and telomere dynamics are molecular factors contributing to the rupture of the amniotic sac, onset of labor, and parturition, our findings of shorter telomere length in placentas from Black mothers suggests that accelerated cellular aging across placental tissues may be relevant to the increased risk of preterm delivery in Blacks. Our results suggest that racial differences in cellular aging in the placenta contribute to the earliest roots of health disparities. PMID:27865975

Construction ages of the Upton Stone Chamber: Preliminary findings and suggestions for future luminescence research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mahan, Shannon; Martin, Frederick; Taylor, Cathy

2015-01-01

The Upton Chamber in Massachusetts, an earth-covered stone structure 3.4 meters (m) in diameter, with a corbelled stone dome, and a 4.3 m long entrance passageway, is studied with the aim of determining whether optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods can be used to establish the approximate construction date of the entranceway. Three samples, taken from soil behind the lowest stones in the wall of the entrance passageway, returned OSL ages between 385 and 660 years ago (or from 1625 A.D. to 1350 A.D.; using the year 2011 as the 0 year). One sample, taken below the bottom of the artifact layers in an archeological test pit in front of the chamber entrance, returned OSL ages between 650 and 880 years ago. A modern sample collected from a nearby fluvial channel returned an age between 55 and 175 years. The Upton Chamber OSL sampling results are challenging to interpret because there are mixtures in the samples of both younger and older grains that likely result from human modification, root or soil processes, animal bioturbation (i.e. ants and worms), and/or partial bleaching. The ages were determined using the lowest component of the finite mixture model as applied to a distribution of quartz grains. Further research may enable us to determine whether older components are of anthropomorphic or geological origin.

Age dependency for coagulation parameters in paediatric populations. Results of a multicentre study aimed at defining the age-specific reference ranges.

PubMed

Toulon, Pierre; Berruyer, Micheline; Brionne-François, Marie; Grand, François; Lasne, Dominique; Telion, Caroline; Arcizet, Julien; Giacomello, Roberta; De Pooter, Neila

2016-07-04

Understanding of developmental haemostasis is critical to ensure optimal prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of haemorrhagic and thrombotic diseases in children. As coagulation test results are known to be dependent on the reagents/analysers used, it is recommended for each laboratory to define the age-dependent reference ranges by using its own technical condition. That study was carried out in seven centers to establish age-specific reference ranges using the same reagents and analyser. Plasma samples were obtained from 1437 paediatric patients from the following age groups: 15 days-4 weeks (n=36), 1-5 months (n=320), 6-12 months (n=176), 1-5 years (n=507), 6-10 years (n=132) and 11-17 years (n=262). Indication of coagulation testing was pre-operative screening for non-acute diseases in most cases. PT values were similar in the different age groups to those in adults, whereas longer aPTTs were demonstrated in the younger children. Plasma levels of all clotting factors, except for FV, were significantly decreased (p<0.0001) in the youngest children, adult values being usually reached before the end of the first year. The same applied to antithrombin, protein C/S, and plasminogen. In contrast, FVIII and VWF levels were elevated in the youngest children and returned to adult values within six months. The same applied to D-dimer levels, which were found elevated, particularly until six months of life, until puberty. These data suggest that most coagulation test results are highly dependent on age, mainly during the first year of life, and that age-specific reference ranges must be used to ensure proper evaluation of coagulation in children.

Greater Perceived Age Discrimination in England than the United States: Results from HRS and ELSA

PubMed Central

Zaninotto, Paola; Steptoe, Andrew

2015-01-01

Objectives. We examined cross-national differences in perceptions of age discrimination in England and the United States. Under the premise that the United States has had age discrimination legislation in place for considerably longer than England, we hypothesized that perceptions of age discrimination would be lower in the United States. Methods. We analyzed data from two nationally representative studies of aging, the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (n = 4,818) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (n = 7,478). Respondents aged 52 years and older who attributed any experiences of discrimination to their age were treated as cases of perceived age discrimination. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios of experiencing perceived age discrimination in relation to selected sociodemographic factors. Results. Perceptions of age discrimination were significantly higher in England than the United States, with 34.8% of men and women in England reporting age discrimination compared with 29.1% in the United States. Associations between perceived age discrimination and older age and lower levels of household wealth were observed in both countries, but we found differences between England and the United States in the relationship between perceived age discrimination and education. Discussion. Our study revealed that levels of perceived age discrimination are lower in the United States than England and are less socially patterned. This suggests that differing social and political circumstances in the two countries may have an important role to play. PMID:26224759

Prevalence and psychosocial correlates of symptoms suggestive of painful bladder syndrome: results from the Boston area community health survey.

PubMed

Link, Carol L; Pulliam, Samantha J; Hanno, Philip M; Hall, Susan A; Eggers, Paul W; Kusek, John W; McKinlay, John B

2008-08-01

We estimated the prevalence of symptoms suggestive of painful bladder syndrome defined as pain increasing as the bladder fills and/or pain relieved by urination for at least 3 months, and its association with sociodemographics (gender, age, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status), lifestyle (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity) and psychosocial variables (sexual, physical, emotional abuse experienced as a child or as an adult, worry, trouble paying for basics, depression). The data used come from the Boston Area Community Health Survey, an epidemiological study of 5,506 randomly selected adults 30 to 79 years old of 3 race/ethnic groups (black, Hispanic, white). The overall prevalence of symptoms suggestive of painful bladder syndrome was 2% (1.3% in men and 2.6% in women) with increased prevalence in middle-aged adults and those of lower socioeconomic status. Symptoms suggestive of painful bladder syndrome were more common in those who experienced abuse, in those who were worried about someone close to them and in those who were having trouble paying for basics. This pattern held even after adjusting for depression. Painful bladder syndrome is associated with a number of lifestyle and psychosocial correlates. This suggests that the treatment of patients with painful bladder syndrome (physical symptoms) may benefit from a multifaceted approach of combining medical, psychological and cognitive treatment.

Genetic effects on information processing speed are moderated by age--converging results from three samples.

PubMed

Ising, M; Mather, K A; Zimmermann, P; Brückl, T; Höhne, N; Heck, A; Schenk, L A; Rujescu, D; Armstrong, N J; Sachdev, P S; Reppermund, S

2014-06-01

Information processing is a cognitive trait forming the basis of complex abilities like executive function. The Trail Making Test (TMT) is a well-established test of information processing with moderate to high heritability. Age of the individual also plays an important role. A number of genetic association studies with the TMT have been performed, which, however, did not consider age as a moderating factor. We report the results of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) on age-independent and age-dependent TMT performance in two population-representative community samples (Munich Antidepressant Response Signature, MARS: N1 = 540; Ludwig Maximilians University, LMU: N2 = 350). Age-dependent genome-wide findings were then evaluated in a third sample of healthy elderly subjects (Sydney Memory and Ageing Study, Sydney MAS: N3 = 448). While a meta-analysis on the GWAS findings did not reveal age-independent TMT associations withstanding correction for multiple testing, we found a genome-wide significant age-moderated effect between variants in the DSG1 gene region and TMT-A performance predominantly reflecting visual processing speed (rs2199301, P(meta-analysis) = 1.3 × 10(-7)). The direction of the interaction suggests for the minor allele a beneficial effect in younger adults turning into a detrimental effect in older adults. The detrimental effect of the missense single nucleotide polymorphism rs1426310 within the same DSG1 gene region could be replicated in Sydney MAS participants aged 70-79, but not in those aged 80 years and older, presumably a result of survivor bias. Our findings demonstrate opposing effects of DSG1 variants on information processing speed depending on age, which might be related to the complex processes that DSG1 is involved with, including cell adhesion and apoptosis. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society.

Age, Stress, and Emotional Complexity: Results from Two Studies of Daily Experiences

PubMed Central

Scott, Stacey B.; Sliwinski, Martin J.; Mogle, Jacqueline A.; Almeida, David M.

2014-01-01

Experiencing positive and negative emotions together (i.e., co-occurrence) has been described as a marker of positive adaptation during stress and a strength of socio-emotional aging. Using data from daily diary (N=2,022; ages 33-84) and ecological momentary assessment (N=190; ages 20-80) studies, we evaluate the utility of a common operationalization of co-occurrence, the within-person correlation between positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Then we test competing predictions regarding when co-occurrence will be observed and whether age differences will be present. Results indicate that the correlation is not an informative indicator of co-occurrence. Although correlations were stronger and more negative when stressors occurred (typically interpreted as lower co-occurrence), objective counts of emotion reports indicated that positive and negative emotions were more 3 to 4 times likely to co-occur when stressors were reported. This suggests that co-occurrence reflects the extent to which negative emotions intrude on typically positive emotional states, rather than the extent to which people maintain positive emotions during stress. The variances of both PA and NA increased at stressor reports, indicating that individuals reported a broader not narrower range of emotion during stress. Finally, older age was associated with less variability in NA and a lower likelihood of co-occurring positive and negative emotions. In sum, these findings cast doubt on the utility of the PA-NA correlation as an index of emotional co-occurrence, and question notion that greater emotional cooccurrence represents either a typical or adaptive emotional state in adults. PMID:25244477

Age-Dependent Brain Gene Expression and Copy Number Anomalies in Autism Suggest Distinct Pathological Processes at Young Versus Mature Ages

PubMed Central

Winn, Mary E.; Barnes, Cynthia Carter; Li, Hai-Ri; Weiss, Lauren; Fan, Jian-Bing; Murray, Sarah; April, Craig; Belinson, Haim; Fu, Xiang-Dong; Wynshaw-Boris, Anthony; Schork, Nicholas J.; Courchesne, Eric

2012-01-01

Autism is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, yet the genetic underpinnings of the disorder are largely unknown. Aberrant brain overgrowth is a well-replicated observation in the autism literature; but association, linkage, and expression studies have not identified genetic factors that explain this trajectory. Few studies have had sufficient statistical power to investigate whole-genome gene expression and genotypic variation in the autistic brain, especially in regions that display the greatest growth abnormality. Previous functional genomic studies have identified possible alterations in transcript levels of genes related to neurodevelopment and immune function. Thus, there is a need for genetic studies involving key brain regions to replicate these findings and solidify the role of particular functional pathways in autism pathogenesis. We therefore sought to identify abnormal brain gene expression patterns via whole-genome analysis of mRNA levels and copy number variations (CNVs) in autistic and control postmortem brain samples. We focused on prefrontal cortex tissue where excess neuron numbers and cortical overgrowth are pronounced in the majority of autism cases. We found evidence for dysregulation in pathways governing cell number, cortical patterning, and differentiation in young autistic prefrontal cortex. In contrast, adult autistic prefrontal cortex showed dysregulation of signaling and repair pathways. Genes regulating cell cycle also exhibited autism-specific CNVs in DNA derived from prefrontal cortex, and these genes were significantly associated with autism in genome-wide association study datasets. Our results suggest that CNVs and age-dependent gene expression changes in autism may reflect distinct pathological processes in the developing versus the mature autistic prefrontal cortex. Our results raise the hypothesis that genetic dysregulation in the developing brain leads to abnormal regional patterning, excess prefrontal neurons

Age-dependent brain gene expression and copy number anomalies in autism suggest distinct pathological processes at young versus mature ages.

PubMed

Chow, Maggie L; Pramparo, Tiziano; Winn, Mary E; Barnes, Cynthia Carter; Li, Hai-Ri; Weiss, Lauren; Fan, Jian-Bing; Murray, Sarah; April, Craig; Belinson, Haim; Fu, Xiang-Dong; Wynshaw-Boris, Anthony; Schork, Nicholas J; Courchesne, Eric

2012-01-01

Autism is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, yet the genetic underpinnings of the disorder are largely unknown. Aberrant brain overgrowth is a well-replicated observation in the autism literature; but association, linkage, and expression studies have not identified genetic factors that explain this trajectory. Few studies have had sufficient statistical power to investigate whole-genome gene expression and genotypic variation in the autistic brain, especially in regions that display the greatest growth abnormality. Previous functional genomic studies have identified possible alterations in transcript levels of genes related to neurodevelopment and immune function. Thus, there is a need for genetic studies involving key brain regions to replicate these findings and solidify the role of particular functional pathways in autism pathogenesis. We therefore sought to identify abnormal brain gene expression patterns via whole-genome analysis of mRNA levels and copy number variations (CNVs) in autistic and control postmortem brain samples. We focused on prefrontal cortex tissue where excess neuron numbers and cortical overgrowth are pronounced in the majority of autism cases. We found evidence for dysregulation in pathways governing cell number, cortical patterning, and differentiation in young autistic prefrontal cortex. In contrast, adult autistic prefrontal cortex showed dysregulation of signaling and repair pathways. Genes regulating cell cycle also exhibited autism-specific CNVs in DNA derived from prefrontal cortex, and these genes were significantly associated with autism in genome-wide association study datasets. Our results suggest that CNVs and age-dependent gene expression changes in autism may reflect distinct pathological processes in the developing versus the mature autistic prefrontal cortex. Our results raise the hypothesis that genetic dysregulation in the developing brain leads to abnormal regional patterning, excess prefrontal neurons

Representational constraints on children's suggestibility.

PubMed

Ceci, Stephen J; Papierno, Paul B; Kulkofsky, Sarah

2007-06-01

In a multistage experiment, twelve 4- and 9-year-old children participated in a triad rating task. Their ratings were mapped with multidimensional scaling, from which euclidean distances were computed to operationalize semantic distance between items in target pairs. These children and age-mates then participated in an experiment that employed these target pairs in a story, which was followed by a misinformation manipulation. Analyses linked individual and developmental differences in suggestibility to children's representations of the target items. Semantic proximity was a strong predictor of differences in suggestibility: The closer a suggested distractor was to the original item's representation, the greater was the distractor's suggestive influence. The triad participants' semantic proximity subsequently served as the basis for correctly predicting memory performance in the larger group. Semantic proximity enabled a priori counterintuitive predictions of reverse age-related trends to be confirmed whenever the distance between representations of items in a target pair was greater for younger than for older children.

Dietary intake and age at natural menopause: results from the UK Women's Cohort Study.

PubMed

Dunneram, Yashvee; Greenwood, Darren Charles; Burley, Victoria J; Cade, Janet E

2018-04-30

Age at natural menopause is a matter of concern for women of reproductive age as both an early or late menopause may have implications for health outcomes. Study participants were women aged 40-65 years who had experienced a natural menopause from the UK Women's Cohort Study between baseline and first follow-up. Natural menopause was defined as the permanent cessation of menstrual periods for at least 12 consecutive months. A food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate diet at baseline. Reproductive history of participants was also recorded. Regression modelling, adjusting for confounders, was used to assess associations between diet and age at natural menopause. During the 4-year follow-up period, 914 women experienced a natural menopause. A high intake of oily fish and fresh legumes were associated with delayed onset of natural menopause by 3.3 years per portion/day (99% CI 0.8 to 5.8) and 0.9 years per portion/day (99% CI 0.0 to 1.8), respectively. Refined pasta and rice was associated with earlier menopause (per portion/day: -1.5 years, 99% CI -2.8 to -0.2). A higher intake of vitamin B6 (per mg/day: 0.6 years, 99% CI 0.1 to 1.2) and zinc (per mg/day: 0.3 years, 99% CI -0.0 to 0.6) was also associated with later age at menopause. Stratification by age at baseline led to attenuated results. Our results suggest that some food groups (oily fish, fresh legumes, refined pasta and rice) and specific nutrients are individually predictive of age at natural menopause. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Depositional ages of clastic metasediments from Samos and Syros, Greece: results of a detrital zircon study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löwen, Kersten; Bröcker, Michael; Berndt, Jasper

2015-01-01

Siliciclastic metasediments from the islands of Samos and Syros, Cycladic blueschist unit, Greece, were studied to determine maximum sedimentation ages. Four samples from the Ampelos unit on Samos yielded age distribution spectra that range from ~320 Ma to ~3.2 Ga with a dominance of Cambrian-Neoproterozoic zircons (500-1,100 Ma). The youngest well-constrained age groups cluster at 500-550 Ma. Our results allow to link the Samos metasediments with occurrences showing similar age distribution patterns elsewhere in the eastern Mediterranean region (Greece, Turkey, Libya, Israel and Jordan) that record the influx of `Pan-African' detritus. The lack of post-500-Ma zircons in the Samos samples is in marked contrast to the data from Syros that indicates Triassic to Cretaceous depositional ages. The samples from Syros were collected from the matrix of a meta-ophiolitic mélange that is exposed near the top of the metamorphic succession as well as from outcrops representing the basal part of the underlying marble-schist sequence. The zircon populations from Syros were mainly supplied by Mesozoic sources dominated by Triassic protolith ages. Subordinate is the importance of pre-Triassic zircons, but this may reflect bias induced by the research strategy. Sediment accumulation continued until Late Cretaceous time, but the overall contribution of Jurassic to Cretaceous detritus is more limited. Zircon populations are dominated by grains with small degree of rounding suggesting relatively short sediment transportation. Available observations are in accordance with a model suggesting deposition close to the magmatic source rocks.

Age, stress, and emotional complexity: results from two studies of daily experiences.

PubMed

Scott, Stacey B; Sliwinski, Martin J; Mogle, Jacqueline A; Almeida, David M

2014-09-01

Experiencing positive and negative emotions together (i.e., co-occurrence) has been described as a marker of positive adaptation during stress and a strength of socioemotional aging. Using data from daily diary (N = 2,022; ages 33-84) and ecological momentary assessment (N = 190; ages 20-80) studies, we evaluate the utility of a common operationalization of co-occurrence, the within-person correlation between positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Then we test competing predictions regarding when co-occurrence will be observed and whether age differences will be present. Results indicate that the correlation is not an informative indicator of co-occurrence. Although correlations were stronger and more negative when stressors occurred (typically interpreted as lower co-occurrence), objective counts of emotion reports indicated that positive and negative emotions were 3 to 4 times more likely to co-occur when stressors were reported. This suggests that co-occurrence reflects the extent to which negative emotions intrude on typically positive emotional states, rather than the extent to which people maintain positive emotions during stress. The variances of both PA and NA increased at stressor reports, indicating that individuals reported a broader not narrower range of emotion during stress. Finally, older age was associated with less variability in NA and a lower likelihood of co-occurring positive and negative emotions. In sum, these findings cast doubt on the utility of the PA-NA correlation as an index of emotional co-occurrence, and question notion that greater emotional co-occurrence represents either a typical or adaptive emotional state in adults. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

High-fat/high-sucrose diet results in higher bone mass in aged rats.

PubMed

Minematsu, Akira; Nishii, Yasue; Sakata, Susumu

2018-06-01

Intake of high-fat/high-sucrose (HFS) diet or high fat diet influences bone metabolism in young rodents, but its effects on bone properties of aged rodents still remain unclear. This study aimed to examine the effects of HFS diet intake on trabecular bone architecture (TBA) and cortical bone geometry (CBG) in aged rats. Fifteen male Wistar rats over 1 year were randomly divided into two groups. One group was fed a standard laboratory diet (SLD) and the other group was fed a HFS diet for six months. The femur/tibia, obtained from both groups at the end of experimental period, were scanned by micro-computed tomography for TBA/CBG analyses. Serum biochemical analyses were also conducted. Body weight was significantly higher in the HFS group than in the SLD group. In both femur and tibia, the HFS group showed higher trabecular/cortical bone mass in reference to bone mineral content, volume bone mineral density and TBA/CBG parameters compared with the SLD group. In addition, serum calcium, inorganic phosphorus, total protein, triacylglycerol, HDL and TRACP-5b levels were significantly higher in the HFS group than in the SLD group. There were good correlations between body weight and bone parameters in the femur and tibia. These results suggest that HFS diet intake results in higher bone mass in aged rats. Such effects of HFS diet intake might have been induced by increased body weight.

Age and sex differences in the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma: results from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Registry (1973-2008).

PubMed

Mathieu, L N; Kanarek, N F; Tsai, H-L; Rudin, C M; Brock, M V

2014-01-01

Risk factors driving sex disparity in esophageal cancer are unclear. Recent molecular evidence suggests hormonal factors. We conducted a national descriptive epidemiological study to assess the hypothesis that estrogen exposure could explain the male predominance in observed esophageal adenocarcinoma incidence. We analyzed the esophageal cancer incidence trends by histology and sex from 1973 to 2008 in nine population-based cancer registries of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 9 Registry Database. We used age as a proxy for estrogen exposure in females. The collective age groups annual percentage change in esophageal adenocarcinoma for females is positive (0.03%; 95% confidence interval: 0.02, 0.03%) during the study period. Interestingly, the esophageal adenocarcinoma annual percentage change in incidence rates for females during the same time period is significantly negative from ages 50-54 to ages 60-64. Even though the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma rises in both males and females, the male-to-female ratio across age peaks in the 50-54 years then decreases. Furthermore, the esophageal adenocarcinoma age-adjusted incidence rate in postmenopausal females age 80 and above increases with age unlike their male counterparts. Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that the endocrine milieu in pre- and perimenopausal females serves as a protective factor against esophageal adenocarcinoma, and with loss of estrogen or because of the increasing time period away from estrogen exposure, the rate of esophageal adenocarcinoma incidence increases in the older postmenopausal female. Because females comprise the largest portion of the elderly population with esophageal adenocarcinoma, these findings are significant. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus.

Age-related changes in the bimanual advantage and in brain oscillatory activity during tapping movements suggest a decline in processing sensory reafference.

PubMed

Sallard, Etienne; Spierer, Lucas; Ludwig, Catherine; Deiber, Marie-Pierre; Barral, Jérôme

2014-02-01

Deficits in the processing of sensory reafferences have been suggested as accounting for age-related decline in motor coordination. Whether sensory reafferences are accurately processed can be assessed based on the bimanual advantage in tapping: because of tapping with an additional hand increases kinesthetic reafferences, bimanual tapping is characterized by a reduced inter-tap interval variability than unimanual tapping. A suppression of the bimanual advantage would thus indicate a deficit in sensory reafference. We tested whether elderly indeed show a reduced bimanual advantage by measuring unimanual (UM) and bimanual (BM) self-paced tapping performance in groups of young (n = 29) and old (n = 27) healthy adults. Electroencephalogram was recorded to assess the underlying patterns of oscillatory activity, a neurophysiological mechanism advanced to support the integration of sensory reafferences. Behaviorally, there was a significant interaction between the factors tapping condition and age group at the level of the inter-tap interval variability, driven by a lower variability in BM than UM tapping in the young, but not in the elderly group. This result indicates that in self-paced tapping, the bimanual advantage is absent in elderly. Electrophysiological results revealed an interaction between tapping condition and age group on low beta band (14-20 Hz) activity. Beta activity varied depending on the tapping condition in the elderly but not in the young group. Source estimations localized this effect within left superior parietal and left occipital areas. We interpret our results in terms of engagement of different mechanisms in the elderly depending on the tapping mode: a 'kinesthetic' mechanism for UM and a 'visual imagery' mechanism for BM tapping movement.

[Aging of cognitive functions. Results of a longitudinal study].

PubMed

Poitrenaud, J; Barrère, H; Darcet, P; Driss, F

1983-12-29

This study had the two following purposes: to assess the age-related changes in the fluid and crystallized components of intelligence in subjects over age sixty five; to examine whether these age-related changes were linked to any biological, psychological and social factors. The sample was composed of 50 male subjects who were examined three times: in 1968, 1973 and 1977. At the beginning of the study, their age ranged from 60 to 79 years and they were all in good health. In the whole, their socio-economic level was high. At each wave of the study, these subjects were given the same battery of three mental tests: a vocabulary test, selected to assess crystallized intelligence; a perceptual test and a speeded digit coding test, both selected to assess fluid intelligence. Results show that the two components of intelligence have different aging trajectories over age sixty. On the vocabulary test, performances hold until an advanced age (about 75-80), then significantly decline. On the perceptual and digit coding tests, performances sharply and significantly decline with age, this decline looking approximately linear. Whatever the test used, individual differences in age-related changes in performance are found to be great. On vocabulary test, this variability is linked to two factors, independently of age: among subjects who have suffered from a cardio-arterial disease between wave 1 and wave 3, as well as in those who have not maintained an occupational activity, decline in performance is greater than in other subjects. On the two other tests, no factor was found to be significantly linked with change in performance between wave 1 and wave 3.

Influence of social support on cognitive change and mortality in old age: results from the prospective multicentre cohort study AgeCoDe

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Social support has been suggested to positively influence cognition and mortality in old age. However, this suggestion has been questioned due to inconsistent operationalisations of social support among studies and the small number of longitudinal studies available. This study aims to investigate the influence of perceived social support, understood as the emotional component of social support, on cognition and mortality in old age as part of a prospective longitudinal multicentre study in Germany. Methods A national subsample of 2,367 primary care patients was assessed twice over an observation period of 18 months regarding the influence of social support on cognitive function and mortality. Perceived social support was assessed using the 14-item version of the FSozU, which is a standardised and validated questionnaire of social support. Cognition was tested by the neuropsychological test battery of the Structured Interview for the Diagnosis of Dementia (SIDAM). The influence of perceived support on cognitive change was analysed by multivariate ANCOVA; mortality was analysed by multivariate logistic and cox regression. Results Sample cognitive change (N = 1,869): Mean age was 82.4 years (SD 3.3) at the beginning of the observation period, 65.9% were female, mean cognition was 49 (SD 4.4) in the SIDAM. Over the observation period cognitive function declined in 47.2% by a mean of 3.4 points. Sample mortality (N = 2,367): Mean age was 82.5 years (SD 3.4), 65.7% were female and 185 patients died during the observation period. Perceived social support showed no longitudinal association with cognitive change (F = 2.235; p = 0.135) and mortality (p = 0.332; CI 0.829-1.743). Conclusions Perceived social support did not influence cognition and mortality over an 18 months observation period. However, previous studies using different operationalisations of social support and longer observation periods indicate that such an influence may exist. This influence is

Healthy ageing at work— Efficacy of group interventions on the mental health of nurses aged 45 and older: Results of a randomised, controlled trial

PubMed Central

Müller, Andreas; Angerer, Peter; Schmook, Renate; Nikendei, Christoph; Herbst, Kirsten; Gantner, Melanie; Herzog, Wolfgang; Gündel, Harald

2018-01-01

Objective This multicentre, randomised controlled trial (RCT) aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a small-group intervention promoting successful ageing at work in older nurses (aged ≥45). Method A sample of 115 nurses aged ≥45 from 4 trial sites in Germany were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (IG), that received a small-group intervention of seven weekly sessions of 120 min with a booster session after six weeks or to a wait-list control condition (WLC). Outcomes were measured via validated self-report questionnaires at baseline (T1) and at post-treatment (T2). Primary outcomes were mental health-related well-being and mental health-related quality of life (QOL). The secondary outcomes included mental health-related and work-related measures. Results The intention to treat (ITT) analysis showed significant positive effects of the intervention on mental health. A significant small effect (d = 0.3) in favour of the IG was found for psychological health-related quality of life. Positive small effects (d = 0.24 to d = 0.31) were also found for work related mental strain. Conclusions Our small-group intervention based on a theory of successful ageing for nurses aged ≥45 was found to be effective with regard to improvements of psychological health related quality of life and other mental health-related outcomes. Thus, our study shows that the ageing workforce can be reached through specifically designed preventive interventions. The components of our intervention could be easily adapted to the belongings of other professions. Our results suggest that these components should be evaluated in various settings outside the healthcare sector. PMID:29351310

Self-controlled knowledge of results: age-related differences in motor learning, strategies, and error detection.

PubMed

Carter, Michael J; Patterson, Jae T

2012-12-01

Research has demonstrated that a self-controlled KR schedule is advantageous for motor learning; however, the usefulness of a self-controlled KR context in older adults remains unknown. To address this gap in knowledge, we examined whether (1) the learning benefits of a self-controlled KR schedule are modulated by the age of the learner; (2) practicing in a self-controlled KR context concurrently strengthens the learner's error detection mechanism, and (3) the KR strategy during acquisition changes as a function of practice trials completed and age. As a function of age, participants were quasirandomly assigned to either the self-control or yoked group resulting in four experimental groups (Self-Young, Yoked-Young, Self-Old, and Yoked-Old). The results revealed the Self-Young group: (1) demonstrated superior retention performance than all other groups (p<.05); (2) was more accurate in estimating motor performance than all other groups during retention (p<.05), and (3) self-reported a switch in their strategy for requesting KR during acquisition based on the number of practice trials completed. Collectively, our findings suggest that older adults do not demonstrate the same learning benefits of a self-controlled KR context as younger adults which may be attributed to differences in KR strategies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Role of water in aging of human butyrylcholinesterase inhibited by echothiophate: the crystal structure suggests two alternative mechanisms of aging.

PubMed

Nachon, Florian; Asojo, Oluwatoyin A; Borgstahl, Gloria E O; Masson, Patrick; Lockridge, Oksana

2005-02-01

Organophosphorus poisons (OP) bind covalently to the active-site serine of cholinesterases. The inhibited enzyme can usually be reactivated with powerful nucleophiles such as oximes. However, the covalently bound OP can undergo a suicide reaction (termed aging) yielding nonreactivatable enzyme. In human butyrylcholinesterase (hBChE), aging involves the residues His438 and Glu197 that are proximal to the active-site serine (Ser198). The mechanism of aging is known in detail for the nerve gases soman, sarin, and tabun as well as the pesticide metabolite isomalathion. Aging of soman- and sarin-inhibited acetylcholinesterase occurs by C-O bond cleavage, whereas that of tabun- and isomalathion-inhibited acetylcholinesterase occurs by P-N and P-S bond cleavage, respectively. In this work, the crystal structures of hBChE inhibited by the ophthalmic reagents echothiophate (nonaged and aged) and diisopropylfluorophosphate (aged) were solved and refined to 2.1, 2.25, and 2.2 A resolution, respectively. No appreciable shift in the position of the catalytic triad histidine was observed between the aged and nonaged conjugates of hBChE. This absence of shift contrasts with the aged and nonaged crystal structures of Torpedo californica acetylcholinesterase inhibited by the nerve agent VX. The nonaged hBChE structure shows one water molecule interacting with Glu197 and the catalytic triad histidine (His438). Interestingly, this water molecule is ideally positioned to promote aging by two mechanisms: breaking either a C-O bond or a P-O bond. Pesticides and certain stereoisomers of nerve agents are expected to undergo aging by breaking the P-O bond.

Interrogative suggestibility and perceptual motor performance.

PubMed

Gudjonsson, G H

1984-04-01

This study investigates the relationship between interrogative suggestibility, as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale, and Arrow-Dot scores. The tendency of subjects (25 men and 25 women, mean age 30.2 yr.) to alter their answers once interpersonal pressure had been applied correlated significantly with poor Arrow-Dot Ego functioning.

Tobacco Talk: Educating Young Children about Tobacco. Suggestions for Teachers, Parents, and Other Care Providers of Children to Age 10.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

D'Onofrio, Carol

This book provides adults with specific suggestions and advice for talking with children about the health and social hazards of tobacco use. The first two chapters provide background information and general principles for talking about tobacco with children up to the age of 10. Each of the following five chapters focuses on one topic about tobacco…

Discrete Dynamical Modeling of Influenza Virus Infection Suggests Age-Dependent Differences in Immunity.

PubMed

Keef, Ericka; Zhang, Li Ang; Swigon, David; Urbano, Alisa; Ermentrout, G Bard; Matuszewski, Michael; Toapanta, Franklin R; Ross, Ted M; Parker, Robert S; Clermont, Gilles

2017-12-01

Immunosenescence, an age-related decline in immune function, is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Older hosts exhibit a delayed onset of immunity and prolonged inflammation after an infection, leading to excess damage and a greater likelihood of death. Our study applies a rule-based model to infer which components of the immune response are most changed in an aged host. Two groups of BALB/c mice (aged 12 to 16 weeks and 72 to 76 weeks) were infected with 2 inocula: a survivable dose of 50 PFU and a lethal dose of 500 PFU. Data were measured at 10 points over 19 days in the sublethal case and at 6 points over 7 days in the lethal case, after which all mice had died. Data varied primarily in the onset of immunity, particularly the inflammatory response, which led to a 2-day delay in the clearance of the virus from older hosts in the sublethal cohort. We developed a Boolean model to describe the interactions between the virus and 21 immune components, including cells, chemokines, and cytokines, of innate and adaptive immunity. The model identifies distinct sets of rules for each age group by using Boolean operators to describe the complex series of interactions that activate and deactivate immune components. Our model accurately simulates the immune responses of mice of both ages and with both inocula included in the data (95% accurate for younger mice and 94% accurate for older mice) and shows distinct rule choices for the innate immunity arm of the model between younger and aging mice in response to influenza A virus infection. IMPORTANCE Influenza virus infection causes high morbidity and mortality rates every year, especially in the elderly. The elderly tend to have a delayed onset of many immune responses as well as prolonged inflammatory responses, leading to an overall weakened response to infection. Many of the details of immune mechanisms that change with age are currently not well understood. We present a rule-based model of the

Differences in placental telomere length suggest a link between racial disparities in birth outcomes and cellular aging.

PubMed

Jones, Christopher W; Gambala, Cecilia; Esteves, Kyle C; Wallace, Maeve; Schlesinger, Reid; O'Quinn, Marguerite; Kidd, Laura; Theall, Katherine P; Drury, Stacy S

2017-03-01

black and white women separately. The overall impact of race was assessed by multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models that included empirically relevant covariates. Telomere length was correlated significantly across all placental tissues. Pairwise analyses of placental tissue telomere length revealed significantly longer telomere length in the amnion compared with the chorion (t=-2.06; P=.043). Overall telomere length measured in placenta samples from black mothers were significantly shorter than those from white mothers (β=-0.09; P=.04). Controlling for relevant maternal and infant characteristics strengthened the significance of the observed racial differences (β=-0.12; P=.02). Within tissue analyses revealed that the greatest difference by race was found in chorionic telomere length (t=-2.81; P=.007). These findings provide the first evidence of racial differences in placental telomere length. Telomere length was significantly shorter in placental samples from black mothers compared with white mothers. Given previous studies that have reported that telomere length, cellular senescence, and telomere dynamics are molecular factors that contribute to the rupture of the amniotic sac, onset of labor, and parturition, our findings of shorter telomere length in placentas from black mothers suggest that accelerated cellular aging across placental tissues may be relevant to the increased risk of preterm delivery in black pregnancies. Our results suggest that racial differences in cellular aging in the placenta contribute to the earliest roots of health disparities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring the age of intracranial aneurysms using carbon birth dating: preliminary results.

PubMed

Etminan, Nima; Dreier, Rita; Buchholz, Bruce A; Bruckner, Peter; Steiger, Hans-Jakob; Hänggi, Daniel; Macdonald, R Loch

2013-03-01

There is a controversy about the time span over which cerebral aneurysms develop. In particular, it is unknown whether collagen in ruptured aneurysms undergoes more rapid turnover than in unruptured aneurysms.(14)C birth dating of collagen could be used to address this question. Aneurysmal domes from patients undergoing surgical treatment for ruptured or unruptured aneurysms were excised. Aneurysmal collagen was isolated and purified after pepsin digestion. Collagen from mouse tendons served as controls. F(14)C levels in collagen were analyzed by accelerator mass spectrometry and correlated with patient age and aneurysm size. Analysis of 10 aneurysms from 9 patients (6 ruptured, 3 unruptured) revealed an average aneurysm collagen age of <5 years, generally irrespective of patient age and aneurysm size or rupture status. Interestingly, F(14)C levels correlated with patient age as well as aneurysm size in ruptured aneurysm collagen samples. Our preliminary data suggest that collagen extracted from intracranial aneurysms generally has a high turnover, associated with aneurysm size and patient age. The correlation of patient age and aneurysm F(14)C levels could explain models of aneurysm development. Although preliminary, our findings may have implications for the biological and structural stability of ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms.

Liver Transplantation Results by Donor Age.

PubMed

Rabelo, A V; Bastante, M D; Raya, A M; Méndez, C S M; Ramirez, A R G; Suarez, Y F

2016-11-01

The objective of this study was to compare liver transplantation outcomes as a function of donor age. We performed 212 liver transplantations between 2008 and 2014. We described a prospective cohort study and grouped the patients by liver donor age. We compared quantitative and categorical variables using statistical analysis. No statistically significant differences were found among any graft age groups in gender (always more males), time on waiting list, age, height, Child Pugh Turcotte (CHILD) score, Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, need for intraoperative blood products, or intensive care unit stay. The most frequent etiology of liver failure was alcohol. A brain-dead donor was the most frequent type in all groups. The whole graft was used except in 4 cases. No statistically significant differences were found among groups in the surgical technique, postreperfusion syndrome, arterial complications, biliary complications, venous complications, acute rejection, and retransplantation. The 3-year patient survival rate was 64% in the <60-year graft age group, 48% in the 60- to 69-year group, 64% in the 70- to 79-year group, and 40% in the ≥80-year group (P = .264). The 3-year graft survival rate was 62% in the <60-year graft age group, 47% in the 60- to 69-year group, 65% in the 70- to 79-year group, and 40% in the ≥80-year group (P = .295). Given the need to increase the pool of liver donors, older donors should be considered as a source for liver transplantation, although careful selection is required. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Is Myanmar jadeitite of Jurassic age? A result from incompletely recrystallized inherited zircon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yui, Tzen-Fu; Fukoyama, Mayuko; Iizuka, Yoshiyuki; Wu, Chao-Ming; Wu, Tsai-Way; Liou, J. G.; Grove, Marty

2013-02-01

Zircons from two Myanmar jadeitite samples were separated for texture, mineral inclusion, U-Pb dating and trace element composition analyses. Three types of zircons, with respect to U-Pb isotope system, were recognized. Type I zircons are inherited ones, yielding an igneous protolith age of 160 ± 1 Ma; Type II zircons are metasomatic/hydrothermal ones, giving a (minimum) jadeitite formation age of 77 ± 3 Ma; and Type III zircons are incompletely recrystallized ones, with non-coherent and geologically meaningless ages from 153 to 105 Ma. These Myanmar jadeitites would therefore have formed through whole-sale metasomatic replacement processes. Compared with Type I zircons, Type II zircons show typical metasomatic/hydrothermal geochemical signatures, with low Th/U ratio (< 0.1), small Ce anomaly (Ce/Ce* = < 5) and low ΣREE content (40-115 ppm). Type III zircons, however, commonly have the above geochemical signatures straddle in between Type I and Type II zircons. It is shown that the resetting rates of various trace element compositions and U-Pb isotope system of inherited zircons are not coupled "in phase" in response to zircon recrystallization during jadeitite formation. The observed abnormally low Th/U ratio and small Ce anomaly of some Type I zircons, as well as the lack of negative Eu anomaly of all Type I zircons, should be suspected to be of secondary origin. In extreme cases, incompletely recrystallized zircons may show typical metasomatic/hydrothermal geochemical signatures, but leave U-Pb isotope system partially reset or even largely unchanged. Such zircons easily lead to incorrect age interpretation, and hence erroneous geological implication. The Myanmar jadeitites, based on the present study, might have formed during the Late Cretaceous subduction before the beginning of India-Asia continental collision at Paleocene. Previously proposed Late Jurassic ages for Myanmar jadeitites are suggested as results rooted on data retrieved from incompletely

Regeneration results using two-aged management

Treesearch

Arlyn W. Perkey; Gary W. Miller; Thomas M. Schuler

1999-01-01

Two-aged management is receiving increasing consideration by central Appalachian hardwood managers as a tool to accomplish multiple landowner goals. On non-industrial private forests where aesthetics are often important, two-aged management has the attribute of retaining some relatively large trees on the area at all times. For many landowners this is critical....

"Does AIDS Hurt?": Educating Young Children about AIDS. Suggestions for Parents, Teachers, and Other Care Providers of Children to Age 10.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quackenbush, Marcia; Villarreal, Sylvia

This document gives parents, teachers, and others basic information and suggested guidelines for teaching children aged 10 and younger about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). These topics concerning AIDS and young children are discussed: (1) talking with young children about AIDS; (2) things to keep in mind when talking with children,…

Age-Related Sexual Dimorphism in Temporal Discrimination and in Adult-Onset Dystonia Suggests GABAergic Mechanisms.

PubMed

Butler, John S; Beiser, Ines M; Williams, Laura; McGovern, Eavan; Molloy, Fiona; Lynch, Tim; Healy, Dan G; Moore, Helena; Walsh, Richard; Reilly, Richard B; O'Riordan, Seán; Walsh, Cathal; Hutchinson, Michael

2015-01-01

Adult-onset isolated focal dystonia (AOIFD) presenting in early adult life is more frequent in men, whereas in middle age it is female predominant. Temporal discrimination, an endophenotype of adult-onset idiopathic isolated focal dystonia, shows evidence of sexual dimorphism in healthy participants. We assessed the distinctive features of age-related sexual dimorphism of (i) sex ratios in dystonia phenotypes and (ii) sexual dimorphism in temporal discrimination in unaffected relatives of cervical dystonia patients. We performed (i) a meta-regression analysis of the proportion of men in published cohorts of phenotypes of adult-onset dystonia in relation to their mean age of onset and (ii) an analysis of temporal discrimination thresholds in 220 unaffected first-degree relatives (125 women) of cervical dystonia patients. In 53 studies of dystonia phenotypes, the proportion of men showed a highly significant negative association with mean age of onset (p < 0.0001, pseudo-R (2) = 59.6%), with increasing female predominance from 40 years of age. Age of onset and phenotype together explained 92.8% of the variance in proportion of men. Temporal discrimination in relatives under the age of 35 years is faster in women than men but the age-related rate of deterioration in women is twice that of men; after 45 years of age, men have faster temporal discrimination than women. Temporal discrimination in unaffected relatives of cervical dystonia patients and sex ratios in adult-onset dystonia phenotypes show similar patterns of age-related sexual dimorphism. Such age-related sexual dimorphism in temporal discrimination and adult-onset focal dystonia may reflect common underlying mechanisms. Cerebral GABA levels have been reported to show similar age-related sexual dimorphism in healthy participants and may be the mechanism underlying the observed age-related sexual dimorphism in temporal discrimination and the sex ratios in AOIFD.

Age-related changes in serological susceptibility patterns to measles: results from a seroepidemiological study in Dongguan, China.

PubMed

Xiong, Yongzhen; Wang, Dong; Lin, Weiyan; Tang, Hao; Chen, Shaoli; Ni, Jindong

2014-01-01

The present study was performed to determine the seroprevalence of IgG measles antibodies in Dongguan residents (irrespective of vaccination status), to analyze the changes in age-related serological susceptibility patterns. A total of 1960 residents aged 0-60 years and 315 mother-infant pairs were studied. Serum IgG antibodies against measles virus were measured by ELISA. The overall seroprevalence was 93.4% in the general population in Dongguan, China. In subgroups aged 1-29 years who were likely vaccinated, there was a declining trend of seropositivity with age from 98.6% at 1-4 years to 85.7% at 20-29 years (P<0.0001). Seroprevalence were near or>95% in the older population (30-39 years and ≥ 40 years) who had not been immunized against measles. Age and sex were independent factors associated with seropositivity. Seroprevalence in pregnant women and their newborns was 87.0% and 84.1%, respectively. Our results suggest that the waning vaccine-induced immunity may be the main cause of increased serological susceptibility in young adults and young infants. An additional vaccination strategy that targets young adults is important for elimination of measles.

Accelerated aging test results for aerospace wire insulation constructions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunbar, William G.

1995-01-01

Several wire insulation constructions were evaluated with and without continuous glow discharges at low pressure and high temperature to determine the aging characteristics of acceptable wire insulation constructions. It was known at the beginning of the test program that insulation aging takes several years when operated at normal ambient temperature and pressure of 20 C and 760 torr. Likewise, it was known that the accelerated aging process decreases insulation life by approximately 50% for each 10 C temperature rise. Therefore, the first phases of the program, not reported in these test results, were to select wire insulation constructions that could operate at high temperature and low pressure for over 10,000 hours with negligible shrinkage and little materials' deterioration.The final phase of the program was to determine accelerated aging characteristics. When an insulation construction is subjected to partial discharges the insulation is locally heated by the bombardment of the discharges, the insulation is also subjected to ozone and other deteriorating gas particles that may significantly increase the aging process. Several insulation systems using either a single material or combinations of teflon, kapton, and glass insulation constructions were tested. All constructions were rated to be partial discharge and/or corona-free at 240 volts, 400 Hz and 260 C (500 F) for 50, 000 hours at altitudes equivalent to the Paschen law. Minimum partial discharge aging tests were preceded by screening tests lasting 20 hours at 260 C. The aging process was accelerated by subjecting the test articles to temperatures up to 370 C (700 F) with and without partial discharges. After one month operation with continuous glow discharges surrounding the test articles, most insulation systems were either destroyed or became brittle, cracked, and unsafe for use. Time with space radiation as with partial discharges is accumulative.

Accelerated aging test results for aerospace wire insulation constructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunbar, William G.

1995-11-01

Several wire insulation constructions were evaluated with and without continuous glow discharges at low pressure and high temperature to determine the aging characteristics of acceptable wire insulation constructions. It was known at the beginning of the test program that insulation aging takes several years when operated at normal ambient temperature and pressure of 20 C and 760 torr. Likewise, it was known that the accelerated aging process decreases insulation life by approximately 50% for each 10 C temperature rise. Therefore, the first phases of the program, not reported in these test results, were to select wire insulation constructions that could operate at high temperature and low pressure for over 10,000 hours with negligible shrinkage and little materials' deterioration.The final phase of the program was to determine accelerated aging characteristics. When an insulation construction is subjected to partial discharges the insulation is locally heated by the bombardment of the discharges, the insulation is also subjected to ozone and other deteriorating gas particles that may significantly increase the aging process. Several insulation systems using either a single material or combinations of teflon, kapton, and glass insulation constructions were tested. All constructions were rated to be partial discharge and/or corona-free at 240 volts, 400 Hz and 260 C (500 F) for 50, 000 hours at altitudes equivalent to the Paschen law. Minimum partial discharge aging tests were preceded by screening tests lasting 20 hours at 260 C. The aging process was accelerated by subjecting the test articles to temperatures up to 370 C (700 F) with and without partial discharges. After one month operation with continuous glow discharges surrounding the test articles, most insulation systems were either destroyed or became brittle, cracked, and unsafe for use. Time with space radiation as with partial discharges is accumulative.

Types of suggestibility: Relationships among compliance, indirect, and direct suggestibility.

PubMed

Polczyk, Romuald; Pasek, Tomasz

2006-10-01

It is commonly believed that direct suggestibility, referring to overt influence, and indirect suggestibility, in which the intention to influence is hidden, correlate poorly. This study demonstrates that they are substantially related, provided that they tap similar areas of influence. Test results from 103 students, 55 women and 48 men, were entered into regression analyses. Indirect suggestibility, as measured by the Sensory Suggestibility Scale for Groups, and compliance, measured by the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale, were predictors of direct suggestibility, assessed with the Barber Suggestibility Scale. Spectral analyses showed that indirect suggestibility is more related to difficult tasks on the BSS, but compliance is more related to easy tasks on this scale.

[Results from biomedical aging research. Trends and current examples from immunology].

PubMed

Pfister, G; Herndler-Brandstetter, D; Grubeck-Loebenstein, B

2006-06-01

The public health of our society is challenged by a continuous increase in life expectancy. Hence, biomedical aging research is enjoying a steadily increasing popularity but also enlightens our understanding of age-related diseases by a number of striking results from basic research. One of the most striking changes that occurs during normal human aging is an overall diminution of immune functions, a phenomenon often termed immunosenescence. Starting from some highly exciting examples from basic immunological research, this article sheds light on which impact normal human aging has on several immune defence mechanisms. In addition, clinical consequences in view of Alzheimer's disease, immunogenicity of vaccines and autoimmune diseases are discussed.

Influence of social support on cognitive change and mortality in old age: results from the prospective multicentre cohort study AgeCoDe.

PubMed

Eisele, Marion; Zimmermann, Thomas; Köhler, Mirjam; Wiese, Birgitt; Heser, Kathrin; Tebarth, Franziska; Weeg, Dagmar; Olbrich, Julia; Pentzek, Michael; Fuchs, Angela; Weyerer, Siegfried; Werle, Jochen; Leicht, Hanna; König, Hans-Helmut; Luppa, Melanie; Riedel-Heller, Steffi; Maier, Wolfgang; Scherer, Martin

2012-03-20

Social support has been suggested to positively influence cognition and mortality in old age. However, this suggestion has been questioned due to inconsistent operationalisations of social support among studies and the small number of longitudinal studies available. This study aims to investigate the influence of perceived social support, understood as the emotional component of social support, on cognition and mortality in old age as part of a prospective longitudinal multicentre study in Germany. A national subsample of 2,367 primary care patients was assessed twice over an observation period of 18 months regarding the influence of social support on cognitive function and mortality. Perceived social support was assessed using the 14-item version of the FSozU, which is a standardised and validated questionnaire of social support. Cognition was tested by the neuropsychological test battery of the Structured Interview for the Diagnosis of Dementia (SIDAM). The influence of perceived support on cognitive change was analysed by multivariate ANCOVA; mortality was analysed by multivariate logistic and cox regression. Sample cognitive change (N = 1,869): Mean age was 82.4 years (SD 3.3) at the beginning of the observation period, 65.9% were female, mean cognition was 49 (SD 4.4) in the SIDAM. Over the observation period cognitive function declined in 47.2% by a mean of 3.4 points. Sample mortality (N = 2,367): Mean age was 82.5 years (SD 3.4), 65.7% were female and 185 patients died during the observation period. Perceived social support showed no longitudinal association with cognitive change (F = 2.235; p = 0.135) and mortality (p = 0.332; CI 0.829-1.743). Perceived social support did not influence cognition and mortality over an 18 months observation period. However, previous studies using different operationalisations of social support and longer observation periods indicate that such an influence may exist. This influence is rather small and the result of complex

Postural laterality in Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica: effects of age, sex and nursing suggest stress and social information.

PubMed

Sarasa, Mathieu; Soriguer, Ramón C; Serrano, Emmanuel; Granados, José-Enrique; Pérez, Jesús M

2014-01-01

Most studies of lateralized behaviour have to date focused on active behaviour such as sensorial perception and locomotion and little is known about lateralized postures, such as lying, that can potentially magnify the effectiveness of lateralized perception and reaction. Moreover, the relative importance of factors such as sex, age and the stress associated with social status in laterality is now a subject of increasing interest. In this study, we assess the importance of sex, age and reproductive investment in females in lying laterality in the Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica). Using generalized additive models under an information-theoretic approach based on the Akaike information criterion, we analyzed lying laterality of 78 individually marked ibexes. Sex, age and nursing appeared as key factors associated, in interaction and non-linearly, with lying laterality. Beyond the benefits of studying laterality with non-linear models, our results highlight the fact that a combination of static factors such as sex, and dynamic factors such as age and stress associated with parental care, are associated with postural laterality.

Altered gene expression in dry age-related macular degeneration suggests early loss of choroidal endothelial cells.

PubMed

Whitmore, S Scott; Braun, Terry A; Skeie, Jessica M; Haas, Christine M; Sohn, Elliott H; Stone, Edwin M; Scheetz, Todd E; Mullins, Robert F

2013-01-01

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of blindness in developed countries. The molecular pathogenesis of early events in AMD is poorly understood. We investigated differential gene expression in samples of human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and choroid from early AMD and control maculas with exon-based arrays. Gene expression levels in nine human donor eyes with early AMD and nine control human donor eyes were assessed using Affymetrix Human Exon ST 1.0 arrays. Two controls did not pass quality control and were removed. Differentially expressed genes were annotated using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed on RPE-specific and endothelium-associated gene sets. The complement factor H (CFH) genotype was also assessed, and differential expression was analyzed regarding high AMD risk (YH/HH) and low AMD risk (YY) genotypes. Seventy-five genes were identified as differentially expressed (raw p value <0.01; ≥50% fold change, mean log2 expression level in AMD or control ≥ median of all average gene expression values); however, no genes were significant (adj. p value <0.01) after correction for multiple hypothesis testing. Of 52 genes with decreased expression in AMD (fold change <0.5; raw p value <0.01), 18 genes were identified by DAVID analysis as associated with vision or neurologic processes. The GSEA of the RPE-associated and endothelium-associated genes revealed a significant decrease in genes typically expressed by endothelial cells in the early AMD group compared to controls, consistent with previous histologic and proteomic studies. Analysis of the CFH genotype indicated decreased expression of ADAMTS9 in eyes with high-risk genotypes (fold change = -2.61; raw p value=0.0008). GSEA results suggest that RPE transcripts are preserved or elevated in early AMD, concomitant with loss of endothelial cell marker expression. These results are

Premature Brain Aging in Baboons Resulting from Moderate Fetal Undernutrition.

PubMed

Franke, Katja; Clarke, Geoffrey D; Dahnke, Robert; Gaser, Christian; Kuo, Anderson H; Li, Cun; Schwab, Matthias; Nathanielsz, Peter W

2017-01-01

Contrary to the known benefits from a moderate dietary reduction during adulthood on life span and health, maternal nutrient reduction during pregnancy is supposed to affect the developing brain, probably resulting in impaired brain structure and function throughout life. Decreased fetal nutrition delivery is widespread in both developing and developed countries, caused by poverty and natural disasters, but also due to maternal dieting, teenage pregnancy, pregnancy in women over 35 years of age, placental insufficiency, or multiples. Compromised development of fetal cerebral structures was already shown in our baboon model of moderate maternal nutrient reduction. The present study was designed to follow-up and evaluate the effects of moderate maternal nutrient reduction on individual brain aging in the baboon during young adulthood (4-7 years; human equivalent 14-24 years), applying a novel, non-invasive neuroimaging aging biomarker. The study reveals premature brain aging of +2.7 years ( p < 0.01) in the female baboon exposed to fetal undernutrition. The effects of moderate maternal nutrient reduction on individual brain aging occurred in the absence of fetal growth restriction or marked maternal weight reduction at birth, which stresses the significance of early nutritional conditions in life-long developmental programming. This non-invasive MRI biomarker allows further longitudinal in vivo tracking of individual brain aging trajectories to assess the life-long effects of developmental and environmental influences in programming paradigms, aiding preventive and curative treatments on cerebral atrophy in experimental animal models and humans.

Premature Brain Aging in Baboons Resulting from Moderate Fetal Undernutrition

PubMed Central

Franke, Katja; Clarke, Geoffrey D.; Dahnke, Robert; Gaser, Christian; Kuo, Anderson H.; Li, Cun; Schwab, Matthias; Nathanielsz, Peter W.

2017-01-01

Contrary to the known benefits from a moderate dietary reduction during adulthood on life span and health, maternal nutrient reduction during pregnancy is supposed to affect the developing brain, probably resulting in impaired brain structure and function throughout life. Decreased fetal nutrition delivery is widespread in both developing and developed countries, caused by poverty and natural disasters, but also due to maternal dieting, teenage pregnancy, pregnancy in women over 35 years of age, placental insufficiency, or multiples. Compromised development of fetal cerebral structures was already shown in our baboon model of moderate maternal nutrient reduction. The present study was designed to follow-up and evaluate the effects of moderate maternal nutrient reduction on individual brain aging in the baboon during young adulthood (4–7 years; human equivalent 14–24 years), applying a novel, non-invasive neuroimaging aging biomarker. The study reveals premature brain aging of +2.7 years (p < 0.01) in the female baboon exposed to fetal undernutrition. The effects of moderate maternal nutrient reduction on individual brain aging occurred in the absence of fetal growth restriction or marked maternal weight reduction at birth, which stresses the significance of early nutritional conditions in life-long developmental programming. This non-invasive MRI biomarker allows further longitudinal in vivo tracking of individual brain aging trajectories to assess the life-long effects of developmental and environmental influences in programming paradigms, aiding preventive and curative treatments on cerebral atrophy in experimental animal models and humans. PMID:28443017

Interrogative suggestibility in patients with conversion disorders.

PubMed

Foong, J; Lucas, P A; Ron, M A

1997-09-01

We tested the hypothesis that increased interrogative suggestibility may contribute to the shaping and maintaining of conversions symptoms. Interrogative suggestibility was measured in 12 patients with conversion disorder and 10 control patients with confirmed neurological disease matched for age, premorbid intelligence, and as closely as possible in terms of their neurological symptoms to the patients with conversion disorder. Our observations do not support the contention that individual differences in interrogative suggestibility are of importance in the etiology of conversion disorders.

Probability of an Abnormal Screening PSA Result Based on Age, Race, and PSA Threshold

PubMed Central

Espaldon, Roxanne; Kirby, Katharine A.; Fung, Kathy Z.; Hoffman, Richard M.; Powell, Adam A.; Freedland, Stephen J.; Walter, Louise C.

2014-01-01

Objective To determine the distribution of screening PSA values in older men and how different PSA thresholds affect the proportion of white, black, and Latino men who would have an abnormal screening result across advancing age groups. Methods We used linked national VA and Medicare data to determine the value of the first screening PSA test (ng/mL) of 327,284 men age 65+ who underwent PSA screening in the VA healthcare system in 2003. We calculated the proportion of men with an abnormal PSA result based on age, race, and common PSA thresholds. Results Among men age 65+, 8.4% had a PSA >4.0ng/mL. The percentage of men with a PSA >4.0ng/mL increased with age and was highest in black men (13.8%) versus white (8.0%) or Latino men (10.0%) (P<0.001). Combining age and race, the probability of having a PSA >4.0ng/mL ranged from 5.1% of Latino men age 65–69 to 27.4% of black men age 85+. Raising the PSA threshold from >4.0ng/mL to >10.0ng/mL, reclassified the greatest percentage of black men age 85+ (18.3% absolute change) and the lowest percentage of Latino men age 65–69 (4.8% absolute change) as being under the biopsy threshold (P<0.001). Conclusions Age, race, and PSA threshold together affect the pre-test probability of an abnormal screening PSA result. Based on screening PSA distributions, stopping screening among men whose PSA < 3ng/ml means over 80% of white and Latino men age 70+ would stop further screening, and increasing the biopsy threshold to >10ng/ml has the greatest effect on reducing the number of older black men who will face biopsy decisions after screening. PMID:24439009

What the stories children tell can tell about their memory: narrative skill and young children's suggestibility.

PubMed

Kulkofsky, Sarah; Klemfuss, J Zoe

2008-09-01

The authors examined the relation between children's narrative ability, which has been identified as an important contributor to memory development, and suggestibility. Across 2 studies, a total of 112 preschool-aged children witnessed a staged event and were subsequently questioned suggestively. Results from Study 1 indicated that children's ability to provide a high-quality narrative of the event was related to resistance to suggestive questions, and narrative ability appeared to supersede age as a predictor of such resistance. In Study 2, children's general language and narrative abilities were measured in addition to their ability to produce a high-quality narrative about the target event. These results replicated Study 1's findings that children's ability to produce a high-quality narrative of a previously experienced event predicted resistance to suggestion. However, the quality of children's autobiographical memory narratives predicted shifting from denial to assent. Findings are considered in light of narrative's role in memory development and underlying mechanisms that may explain children's suggestibility.

Results of interlaboratory comparison of fission-track age standards: Fission-track workshop-1984

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, D.S.; Duddy, I.R.; Green, P.F.; Hurford, A.J.; Naeser, C.W.

1985-01-01

Five samples were made available as standards for the 1984 Fission Track Workshop held in the summer of 1984 (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York). Two zircons, two apatites and a sphene were distributed prior to the meeting to 40 different laboratories. To date, 24 different analysts have reported results. The isotopic ages of the standards ranged from 16.8 to 98.7 Myr. Only the statement that the age of each sample was less than 200 Myr was provided with the set of standards distributed. Consequently, each laboratory was required to use their laboratory's accepted treatment (irradiation level, etching conditions, counting conditions, etc.) for these samples. The results show that some workers have serious problems in achieving accurate age determinations. This emphasizes the need to calibrate experimental techniques and counting procedures against age standards before unknown ages are determined. Any fission-track age determination published or submitted for publication can only be considered reliable if it is supported by evidence of consistent determinations on age standards. Only this can provide the scientific community with the background to build up confidence concerning the validity of the fission-track method. ?? 1985.

Greater Perceived Age Discrimination in England than the United States: Results from HRS and ELSA.

PubMed

Rippon, Isla; Zaninotto, Paola; Steptoe, Andrew

2015-11-01

We examined cross-national differences in perceptions of age discrimination in England and the United States. Under the premise that the United States has had age discrimination legislation in place for considerably longer than England, we hypothesized that perceptions of age discrimination would be lower in the United States. We analyzed data from two nationally representative studies of aging, the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (n = 4,818) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (n = 7,478). Respondents aged 52 years and older who attributed any experiences of discrimination to their age were treated as cases of perceived age discrimination. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios of experiencing perceived age discrimination in relation to selected sociodemographic factors. Perceptions of age discrimination were significantly higher in England than the United States, with 34.8% of men and women in England reporting age discrimination compared with 29.1% in the United States. Associations between perceived age discrimination and older age and lower levels of household wealth were observed in both countries, but we found differences between England and the United States in the relationship between perceived age discrimination and education. Our study revealed that levels of perceived age discrimination are lower in the United States than England and are less socially patterned. This suggests that differing social and political circumstances in the two countries may have an important role to play. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.

Analysis of spirometry results in hospitalized patients aged over 65 years.

PubMed

Wróblewska, Izabela; Oleśniewicz, Piotr; Kurpas, Donata; Sołtysik, Mariusz; Błaszczuk, Jerzy

2015-01-01

The growing population of the elderly, as well as the occurrence of coexisting diseases and polypharmacy, is the reason why diseases of patients aged $65 years belong to the major issues of the contemporary medicine. Among the most frequent diseases of the elderly, there are respiratory system diseases. They are difficult to diagnose because of the patient group specificity, which is the reason for increased mortality among seniors, caused by underdiagnosis. The study objective was to assess the factors influencing spirometry results in hospitalized patients aged ≥65 years with respiratory system disorders. In the research, 217 (100%) patients aged ≥65 years who underwent spirometry at the Regional Medical Center of the Jelenia Góra Valley Hospital in Poland were analyzed. In the statistical analysis, the STATISTICA 9.1 program, the t-test, the Shapiro-Wilk test, the ANOVA test, and the Scheffé's test were applied. The majority of the patients (59.4%) were treated in the hospital. The most frequent diagnosis was malignant neoplasm (18%). The study showed a statistically significant dependence between the forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and FEV1/FVC parameters and the time of hospitalization, as well as between the FVC and FEV1 parameters and the age of patients. The FVC parameter values turned out to be dependent on the main diagnosis. Highest results were noted in patients with the diagnosis of sleep apnea or benign neoplasm. A low FVC index can reflect restrictive ventilation defects, which was supported by the performed analyses. Highest FEV1/FVC values were observed in nonsmokers, which confirms the influence of nicotine addiction on the incidence of respiratory system diseases. The respondents' sex and the established diagnosis statistically significantly influenced the FVC index result, and the diet influenced the FEV1/FVC parameter result.

Genetic History of Xinjiang's Uyghurs Suggests Bronze Age Multiple-Way Contacts in Eurasia.

PubMed

Feng, Qidi; Lu, Yan; Ni, Xumin; Yuan, Kai; Yang, Yajun; Yang, Xiong; Liu, Chang; Lou, Haiyi; Ning, Zhilin; Wang, Yuchen; Lu, Dongsheng; Zhang, Chao; Zhou, Ying; Shi, Meng; Tian, Lei; Wang, Xiaoji; Zhang, Xi; Li, Jing; Khan, Asifullah; Guan, Yaqun; Tang, Kun; Wang, Sijia; Xu, Shuhua

2017-10-01

The Uyghur people residing in Xinjiang, a territory located in the far west of China and crossed by the Silk Road, are a key ethnic group for understanding the history of human dispersion in Eurasia. Here we assessed the genetic structure and ancestry of 951 Xinjiang's Uyghurs (XJU) representing 14 geographical subpopulations. We observed a southwest and northeast differentiation within XJU, which was likely shaped jointly by the Tianshan Mountains, which traverses from east to west as a natural barrier, and gene flow from both east and west directions. In XJU, we identified four major ancestral components that were potentially derived from two earlier admixed groups: one from the West, harboring European (25-37%) and South Asian ancestries (12-20%), and the other from the East, with Siberian (15-17%) and East Asian (29-47%) ancestries. By using a newly developed method, MultiWaver, the complex admixture history of XJU was modeled as a two-wave admixture. An ancient wave was dated back to ∼3,750 years ago (ya), which is much earlier than that estimated by previous studies, but fits within the range of dating of mummies that exhibited European features that were discovered in the Tarim basin, which is situated in southern Xinjiang (4,000-2,000 ya); a more recent wave occurred around 750 ya, which is in agreement with the estimate from a recent study using other methods. We unveiled a more complex scenario of ancestral origins and admixture history in XJU than previously reported, which further suggests Bronze Age massive migrations in Eurasia and East-West contacts across the Silk Road. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Analysis of spirometry results in hospitalized patients aged over 65 years

PubMed Central

Wróblewska, Izabela; Oleśniewicz, Piotr; Kurpas, Donata; Sołtysik, Mariusz; Błaszczuk, Jerzy

2015-01-01

Introduction and objective The growing population of the elderly, as well as the occurrence of coexisting diseases and polypharmacy, is the reason why diseases of patients aged $65 years belong to the major issues of the contemporary medicine. Among the most frequent diseases of the elderly, there are respiratory system diseases. They are difficult to diagnose because of the patient group specificity, which is the reason for increased mortality among seniors, caused by underdiagnosis. The study objective was to assess the factors influencing spirometry results in hospitalized patients aged ≥65 years with respiratory system disorders. Material and methods In the research, 217 (100%) patients aged ≥65 years who underwent spirometry at the Regional Medical Center of the Jelenia Góra Valley Hospital in Poland were analyzed. In the statistical analysis, the STATISTICA 9.1 program, the t-test, the Shapiro–Wilk test, the ANOVA test, and the Scheffé’s test were applied. Results The majority of the patients (59.4%) were treated in the hospital. The most frequent diagnosis was malignant neoplasm (18%). The study showed a statistically significant dependence between the forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and FEV1/FVC parameters and the time of hospitalization, as well as between the FVC and FEV1 parameters and the age of patients. The FVC parameter values turned out to be dependent on the main diagnosis. Highest results were noted in patients with the diagnosis of sleep apnea or benign neoplasm. A low FVC index can reflect restrictive ventilation defects, which was supported by the performed analyses. Highest FEV1/FVC values were observed in nonsmokers, which confirms the influence of nicotine addiction on the incidence of respiratory system diseases. Conclusion The respondents’ sex and the established diagnosis statistically significantly influenced the FVC index result, and the diet influenced the FEV1/FVC parameter result

Predictive aging results for cable materials in nuclear power plants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gillen, K.T.; Clough, R.L.

1990-11-01

In this report, we provide a detailed discussion of methodology of predicting cable degradation versus dose rate, temperature, and exposure time and its application to data obtained on a number of additional nuclear power plant cable insulation (a hypalon, a silicon rubber and two ethylenetetrafluoroethylenes) and jacket (a hypalon) materials. We then show that the predicted, low-dose-rate results for our materials are in excellent agreement with long-term (7 to 9 years), low dose-rate results recently obtained for the same material types actually aged under nuclear power plant conditions. Based on a combination of the modelling and long-term results, we findmore » indications of reasonably similar degradation responses among several different commercial formulations for each of the following generic'' materials: hypalon, ethylenetetrafluoroethylene, silicone rubber and PVC. If such generic'' behavior can be further substantiated through modelling and long-term results on additional formulations, predictions of cable life for other commercial materials of the same generic types would be greatly facilitated. Finally, to aid utilities in their cable life extension decisions, we utilize our modelling results to generate lifetime prediction curves for the materials modelled to data. These curves plot expected material lifetime versus dose rate and temperature down to the levels of interest to nuclear power plant aging. 18 refs., 30 figs., 3 tabs.« less

The Effects of Repeated Experience on Children's Suggestibility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powell, Martine B.; Roberts, Kim P.; Ceci, Stephen J.; Hembrooke, Helene

1999-01-01

Examined effect of suggestive questions on 3- to 5-year-olds' and 6- to 8-year-olds' recall of the final occurrence of repeated event. Found that relative to reports of children experiencing single occurrence, reports about fixed items of repeated events were less contaminated by false suggestions. Children's age and delay of interview were…

Age, sex, and racial differences in harsh physical punishment: Results from a nationally representative United States sample

PubMed Central

Taillieu, Tamara L.; Afifi, Tracie O.; Mota, Natalie; Keyes, Katherine M.; Sareen, Jitender

2015-01-01

The purpose of this research was to examine age, sex, and racial differences in the prevalence of harsh physical punishment in childhood in a nationally representative sample of the United States. Data were from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) collected in 2004 and 2005 (n = 34,653). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine age, sex, and racial differences in the prevalence of harsh physical punishment. Results suggest that the prevalence of harsh physical punishment has been decreasing among more recently born age groups; however, there appear to be sex and racial differences in this trend over time. The magnitude of the decrease appears to be stronger for males than for females. By race, the decrease in harsh physical punishment over time is only apparent among Whites; Black participants demonstrate little change over time, and harsh physical punishment seems to be increasing over time among Hispanics. Prevention and intervention efforts that educate about the links of physical punishment to negative outcomes and alternative non-physical discipline strategies may be particularly useful in reducing the prevalence of harsh physical punishment over time. PMID:25466426

Age, sex, and racial differences in harsh physical punishment: results from a nationally representative United States sample.

PubMed

Taillieu, Tamara L; Afifi, Tracie O; Mota, Natalie; Keyes, Katherine M; Sareen, Jitender

2014-12-01

The purpose of this research was to examine age, sex, and racial differences in the prevalence of harsh physical punishment in childhood in a nationally representative sample of the United States. Data were from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) collected in 2004 and 2005 (n=34,653). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine age, sex, and racial differences in the prevalence of harsh physical punishment. Results suggest that the prevalence of harsh physical punishment has been decreasing among more recently born age groups; however, there appear to be sex and racial differences in this trend over time. The magnitude of the decrease appears to be stronger for males than for females. By race, the decrease in harsh physical punishment over time is only apparent among Whites; Black participants demonstrate little change over time, and harsh physical punishment seems to be increasing over time among Hispanics. Prevention and intervention efforts that educate about the links of physical punishment to negative outcomes and alternative non-physical discipline strategies may be particularly useful in reducing the prevalence of harsh physical punishment over time. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What the Stories Children Tell Can Tell about Their Memory: Narrative Skill and Young Children's Suggestibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kulkofsky, Sarah; Klemfuss, J. Zoe

2008-01-01

The authors examined the relation between children's narrative ability, which has been identified as an important contributor to memory development, and suggestibility. Across 2 studies, a total of 112 preschool-aged children witnessed a staged event and were subsequently questioned suggestively. Results from Study 1 indicated that children's…

Preliminary data suggesting the efficacy of attention training for school-aged children with ADHD

PubMed Central

Tamm, Leanne; Epstein, Jeffery N.; Peugh, James L.; Nakonezny, Paul A.; Hughes, Carroll W.

2013-01-01

A pilot randomized clinical trial was conducted to examine the initial efficacy of Pay Attention!, an intervention training sustained, selective, alternating, and divided attention, in children diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). After a diagnostic and baseline evaluation, school-aged children with ADHD were randomized to receive 16 bi-weekly sessions of Pay Attention! (n = 54) or to a waitlist control group (n = 51). Participants completed an outcome evaluation approximately 12 weeks after their baseline evaluation. Results showed significant treatment effects for parent and clinician ratings of ADHD symptoms, child self-report of ability to focus, and parent ratings of executive functioning. Child performance on neuropsychological tests showed significant treatment-related improvement on strategic planning efficiency, but no treatment effects were observed on other neuropsychological outcomes. Treatment effects were also not observed for teacher ratings of ADHD. These data add to a growing body of literature supporting effects of cognitive training on attention and behavior, however, additional research is warranted. PMID:23219490

Emotion identification and aging: Behavioral and neural age-related changes.

PubMed

Gonçalves, Ana R; Fernandes, Carina; Pasion, Rita; Ferreira-Santos, Fernando; Barbosa, Fernando; Marques-Teixeira, João

2018-05-01

Aging is known to alter the processing of facial expressions of emotion (FEE), however the impact of this alteration is less clear. Additionally, there is little information about the temporal dynamics of the neural processing of facial affect. We examined behavioral and neural age-related changes in the identification of FEE using event-related potentials. Furthermore, we analyze the relationship between behavioral/neural responses and neuropsychological functioning. To this purpose, 30 younger adults, 29 middle-aged adults and 26 older adults identified FEE. The behavioral results showed a similar performance between groups. The neural results showed no significant differences between groups for the P100 component and an increased N170 amplitude in the older group. Furthermore, a pattern of asymmetric activation was evident in the N170 component. Results also suggest deficits in facial feature decoding abilities, reflected by a reduced N250 amplitude in older adults. Neuropsychological functioning predicts P100 modulation, but does not seem to influence emotion identification ability. The findings suggest the existence of a compensatory function that would explain the age-equivalent performance in emotion identification. The study may help future research addressing behavioral and neural processes involved on processing of FEE in neurodegenerative conditions. Copyright © 2018 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of Perceived Stress on Incident Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: Results From the Einstein Aging Study.

PubMed

Katz, Mindy J; Derby, Carol A; Wang, Cuiling; Sliwinski, Martin J; Ezzati, Ali; Zimmerman, Molly E; Zwerling, Jessica L; Lipton, Richard B

2016-01-01

Stress is a potentially remediable risk factor for amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Our objective is to determine whether perceived stress predicts incident aMCI and to determine if the influence of stress on aMCI is independent of known aMCI risk factors, particularly demographic variables, depression, and apolipoprotein genotype. The Einstein Aging Study is a longitudinal community-based study of older adults. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was administered annually in the Einstein Aging Study to participants (N=507; 71 developed incident aMCI; mean follow-up time=3.6 y, SD=2.0) who were aged 70 years and older, free of aMCI and dementia at baseline PSS administration, and had at least 1 subsequent annual follow-up. Cox hazard models were used to examine time to aMCI onset adjusting for covariates. High levels of perceived stress are associated with a 30% greater risk of incident aMCI (per 5-point increase in PSS: hazard ratio=1.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.58) independent of covariates. The consistency of results after covariate adjustment and the lack of evidence for reverse causation in longitudinal analyses suggest that these findings are robust. Understanding of the effect of perceived stress on cognition may lead to intervention strategies that prevent the onset of aMCI and Alzheimer dementia.

Theoretical Re-evaluations of Scaling Relations between SMBHs and Their Host Galaxies - 2. Importance of AGN Feedback Suggested by Stellar Age - Velocity Dispersion Relation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shirakata, Hikari; Kawaguchi, Toshihiro; Okamoto, Takashi; Ishiyama, Tomoaki

2017-09-01

We present the galactic stellar age - velocity dispersion relation obtained from a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. We divide galaxies into two populations: galaxies which have over-massive/under-massive black holes (BHs) against the best-fitting BH mass - velocity dispersion relation. We find that galaxies with larger velocity dispersion have older stellar ages. We also find that galaxies with over-massive BHs have older stellar ages. These results are consistent with observational results obtained from Martin-Navarro et al. (2016). We tested the model with weak AGN feedback and find that galaxies with larger velocity dispersion have a younger stellar age.

Child witnesses: a study of memory and suggestibility.

PubMed

Grattagliano, I; Berlingerio, I; Lisi, A; Carabellese, F; Catanesi, R

2013-01-01

To investigate the influence of various factors on the ability of primary school children (aged 6-9 years) to refer an event that occurred during their life. The factors analyzed were: the time since the event occurred; the role the child had in the event; the type of questions asked to elicit the account. The results of this research indicate that 52.4% of 6-year old children are able to describe the main elements of the event if they are allowed to give a free account. Asking direct questions does not improve the quality of the narrative. By contrast, in 9-year-old children the quantity of data collected is improved if direct questions are asked. A role as a participant in the event improves the quality of the child's evidence but only in the group of children aged 9, whereas in younger children the difference is not significant. At the age of 9, the child's resistance to leading questions is already quite good (40.7%), whereas children of 6 are much more suggestible. The Authors conclude this work by making some reflections on the possible use of these findings in Law Courts, and on the need for a highly specific training of experts involved in the task of collecting evidence from young children.

Age- and Gender-Related Change in Mathematical Reasoning Ability and Some Educational Suggestions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erdem, Emrullah; Soylu, Yasin

2017-01-01

Does the mathematical reasoning ability develop with increase in age? How is mathematical reasoning ability differing according to gender? The current study is trying to find answers to these two questions. The study using cross-sectional design, was conducted with 409 (8th, 9th and 10th grade) students attending middle school and high school in…

Reanalysis of the Viking results suggests perchlorate and organics at mid-latitudes on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navarro-Gonzalez, R.; Vargas, E.; de La Rosa, J.; Raga, A. C.; McKay, C.

2010-12-01

The most comprehensive search for organics in the Martian soil was performed by the Viking Landers. Martian soil was subjected to a thermal volatilization process in order to vaporize and break organic molecules, and the resultant gases and volatiles were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Only water at 0.1-1.0 wt% was detected with traces of chloromethane at 15 ppb in the Viking Landing site 1, and water at 0.05-1.0 wt% and carbon dioxide at 50-700 ppm with traces of dichloromethane at 0.04-40 ppb in the Viking Landing site 2. The abundance ratio of the 35Cl and 37Cl isotopes in these chlorohydrocarbons was 3:1, corresponding to the terrestrial isotopic abundance. Therefore, these chlorohydrocarbons were considered to be terrestrial contaminants although they had not been detected at those levels in the blank runs. Recently, perchlorate was discovered in the Martian Arctic soil by the Phoenix Lander. Here we show that when Mars-like soils from the Atacama Desert with 32±6 ppm of organic carbon are mixed with 1 wt% magnesium perchlorate and heated nearly all the organics present are decomposed to water and carbon dioxide, but a small amount are chlorinated forming 1.6 ppm of chloromethane and 0.02 ppm of dichloromethane at 500○C. A chemical kinetics model was developed to predict the degree of oxidation and chlorination of organics in the Viking oven. The isotopic distribution of 35Cl and 37Cl for Mars is not known. Studies on Earth indicate that there is no isotopic fractionation of chlorine in the mantle or crust, despite the fact that it is significantly depleted on the planet as compare to solar abundances. The 37Cl/35Cl isotopic ratio in carbonaceous chondrites is similar to the Earth’s value, which suggests that the terrestrial planets, including Mars, were all formed from a similar reservoir of chlorine species in the presolar nebulae and that there was no further isotopic fractionation during the Earth’s differentiation or late

Preliminary data suggesting the efficacy of attention training for school-aged children with ADHD.

PubMed

Tamm, Leanne; Epstein, Jeffery N; Peugh, James L; Nakonezny, Paul A; Hughes, Carroll W

2013-04-01

A pilot randomized clinical trial was conducted to examine the initial efficacy of Pay Attention!, an intervention training sustained, selective, alternating, and divided attention, in children diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). After a diagnostic and baseline evaluation, school-aged children with ADHD were randomized to receive 16 bi-weekly sessions of Pay Attention! (n=54) or to a waitlist control group (n=51). Participants completed an outcome evaluation approximately 12 weeks after their baseline evaluation. Results showed significant treatment effects for parent and clinician ratings of ADHD symptoms, child self-report of ability to focus, and parent ratings of executive functioning. Child performance on neuropsychological tests showed significant treatment-related improvement on strategic planning efficiency, but no treatment effects were observed on other neuropsychological outcomes. Treatment effects were also not observed for teacher ratings of ADHD. These data add to a growing body of literature supporting effects of cognitive training on attention and behavior, however, additional research is warranted. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cosmogenic 10Be ages from the Meirs and Garwood Valleys, Denton Hills, West Antarctica, suggest an absence in LGM Ice Sheet expansion.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fink, David; Joy, Kurt; Storey, Bryan

2014-05-01

It has been hypothesised that during interglacials, thinning of the Ross Ice Shelf allowed a more open water environment with increased local precipitation. This resulted in outlet glaciers, which drain the Transantarctic Mountains and fed by the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, advancing during moist warmer periods, apparently out of phase with colder arid dry periods. Significantly the ice core record during these warm periods also shows increased accumulation continent wide The geomorphology of the Denton Hills in the Royal Society Range, West Antarctica, is a result of Miocene fluvial incision reworked by subsequent glacial advances throughout the Quaternary. The Garwood and Miers glacial valleys drain ice across the Denton Hills into the Shelf, and should thus show maximum extent during interstadials. To understand the chronology of late Quaternary glaciations, 15 granitic boulders from terminal moraines were sampled for 10Be and 26Al cosmogenic dating. Obtaining reliable exposure ages of erratics within moraines that represent timing of deposition (i.e. glacial advances) is problematic in polar regions, where glacial activity is principally controlled by ice sheet dynamics. Recycling of previously exposed debris, uncertainty in provenance of glacially transported boulders and a lack of a post-depositional hydrologic process to remove previously exposed material from a valley system, leads to ambiguities in multiple exposure ages from a single coeval glacial landform. More importantly, cold-based ice advance can leave a landform unmodified resulting in young erratics deposited on bedrock that shows weathering and/or inconsistent age-altitude relationships. Primarily, inheritance becomes a difficulty in qualifying exposure ages from polar regions. Preliminary results from the Garwood and Miers Valleys indicate that glaciers in the Denton Hills had begun to retreat from their last maximum positions no later than 23-37 ka, and thus the local last glacial maximum

[The effect of age, gender and socioeconomic status on the use of services for psychological distress symptoms in the general medical sector: Results from the ESA research program on mental health and aging].

PubMed

Préville, Michel; Gontijo-Guerra, Samantha; Mechakra-Tahiri, Samia-Djemaâ; Vasiliadis, Helen-Maria; Lamoureux-Lamarche, Catherine; Berbiche, Djamal

2014-01-01

The objective of this study was, first, to document the psychometric characteristics of a measure of the older adults' socioeconomic status and, secondly, to test the effect of the socioeconomic status on the association between the older adults perceived need to improve their mental health and their use of services in the general medical sector for psychological distress symptoms taking into account the effect of age and gender. Data used in this study come from the ESA study (Enquête sur la santé des ainés) on mental health and aging, conducted in 2005-2008 using a probabilistic sample (n=2811) of the older adult population aged 65 years and over living at home in Quebec. Our results showed that a measurement model of the older adults' socioeconomic status including an individual-level (SES_I) and an area/contextual-level dimension of socioeconomic deprivation (SES_C) was plausible. The reliability of the SES index used in the ESA research program was .92. Our results showed that women (b=-.43) and older people (b=-.16) were more at risk to have a disadvantaged socioeconomic status. However, our results did not show evidence of a significant association between the older adults' socioeconomic status, their perception of a need to improve their mental health and the use of medical services for psychological distress symptoms in the general medical sector in the older adult population in Quebec. Our results do not support the idea suggested in other studies that socioeconomic status has an effect on the older adults use of services for psychological distress symptoms in the general medical sector and suggest that in a context where medical health services are provided under a public insurance programme context, the socioeconomic status does not influence access to services in the general medical sector in the older adult population.

[Body weight change and health outcomes in middle-aged men--a prospective study results].

PubMed

Kaleta, Dorota; Kwaśniewska, Magdalena; Bednarek-Gejo, Anna; Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk, Elzbieta; Jegier, Anna; Kostka, Tomasz; Drygas, Wojciech K

2005-01-01

In recent years more attention is paid to the role of body weight change and cardiovascular disease risk. The aim of the study was to evaluate correlation between body weight change and risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and selected cardiovascular disease risk in middle-aged male during long-term surveillance. The study was conducted among group of healthy male volunteers (n=189) aged 30-49 years at baseline. Prevalence of disease due to cardiovascular causes was ascertained in study participants during an average follow-up of 17.7 +/- 4.4 years. Changes in weight were classified in three categories: stable weight (+/- 5 kg), weight gain (>5 kg) or weight loss (>5 kg). Logistic regression analysis was performed to study the correlation between weight change and Relative Risk (RR) of cardiovascular disease in the examined subjects. All analyses were adjusted for age, smoking and level of leisure-time physical activity. In this study 48.4% men maintained weight, 5.9% lowered weight and 45.7% gained weight. Ischaemic heart disease was diagnosed in 12.2% of men, including non fatal myocardial infarction in 5.3%, hypertension in 40.7%, and hyperchoesterolaemia in 62.4%, respectively. Among participants with weight gain of more than 5 kg total cardiovascular disease risk was 4 times higher (adjusted RR=4.07, 95% CI, 1.33-12.44), ischaemic heart disease 3 times higher (adjusted RR=3.27, 95% CI, 1.17-9.17), and hypercholesterolaemia 2 times higher (adjusted RR=2.15, 95% CI, 1.09-4.24) in comparison with those with stable weight. This study results suggests that maintaining stable weight during adulthood can be effective strategy for lowering cardiovascular disease risk.

Relations between episodic memory, suggestibility, theory of mind, and cognitive inhibition in the preschool child.

PubMed

Melinder, Annika; Endestad, Tor; Magnussen, Svein

2006-12-01

The development of episodic memory, its relation to theory of mind (ToM), executive functions (e.g., cognitive inhibition), and to suggestibility was studied. Children (n= 115) between 3 and 6 years of age saw two versions of a video film and were tested for their memory of critical elements of the videos. Results indicated similar developmental trends for all memory measures, ToM, and inhibition, but ToM and inhibition were not associated with any memory measures. Correlations involving source memory was found in relation to specific questions, whereas inhibition and ToM were significantly correlated to resistance to suggestions. A regression analysis showed that age was the main contributor to resistance to suggestions, to correct source monitoring, and to correct responses to specific questions. Inhibition was also a significant main predictor of resistance to suggestive questions, whereas the relative contribution of ToM was wiped out when an extended model was tested.

Correcting deformities of the aged earlobe.

PubMed

Connell, Bruce F

2005-01-01

An earlobe that appears aged or malpositioned can sabotage the results of a well performed face lift. The most frequently noted sign of a naturally aged earlobe is increased length. Improper planning of face lift incisions may also result in disfigurement of the ear. The author suggests simple excisional techniques to correct the aged earlobe, as well as methods to avoid subsequent earlobe distortion when performing a face lift.

Rejuvenation of the Aging Arm: Multimodal Combination Therapy for Optimal Results.

PubMed

Wu, Douglas C; Green, Jeremy B

2016-05-01

The aging arm is characterized by increased dyspigmentation, a proliferation of ectactic blood vessels, excessive adiposity, excessive skin laxity, and actinic keratosis. A variety of laser, energy, and surgical techniques can be used to improve these features. The objective of this article is to describe the treatment modalities that have proven efficacious in rejuvenating the aging arm and combination therapies that have the potential to optimize patient outcomes while maintaining safety and tolerability. A Medline search was performed on nonsurgical aesthetic combination treatments because it relates to arm rejuvenation, and results are summarized. Practical applications for these combination treatments are also discussed. Although there is significant evidence supporting the effective use of nonsurgical treatments for arm rejuvenation, little in the literature was found on the safety and efficacy of combining such procedures and devices. However, in the authors' clinical experience, combining arm rejuvenation techniques can be done safely and often result in optimal outcomes. Arm rejuvenation can be safely and effectively achieved with combination nonsurgical aesthetic treatments.

Timing and necessity of a flexible sigmoidoscopy in patients with symptoms suggestive of haemorrhoids.

PubMed

Vening, W; Willigendael, E M; Tjeertes, E K M; Hulsewé, K W E; Hoofwijk, A G M

2010-02-01

This study was performed to determine the probability of finding additional pathology, requiring treatment or follow-up, in patients referred with symptoms suggestive of haemorrhoids. Secondly, to determine, at what age a flexible sigmoidoscopy should be performed in these patients. All patients referred for the treatment of haemorrhoids over a period of 5 years were prospectively included in a database. Data included patient characteristics, clinical information, histopathological analysis and the sigmoidoscopy results. Haemorrhoids were present in 961 (95.6%) of 1005 patients. Of these patients, 692 (72.0%) patients were free from any additional pathology, 161 (16%) patients had diverticulosis, in 15 (1.5%) patients the sigmoidoscopy showed signs of colitis, 116 (11.5%) patients had polyps and a malignancy was present in eight (0.8%) patients. In the age group between 30-40 and 40-50, the presence of additional pathology increased significantly (P < 0.05). No malignancies were found under the age of 40. The vast majority of patients referred for the treatment and analysis of haemorrhoids were free from any additional pathology. But, over the age of 40, the incidence of additional pathology increased significantly. Therefore, we suggest that a flexible sigmoidoscopy should be performed in all patients over the age of 40, with clinical signs of haemorrhoids.

Potential public health impact of Age-Related Eye Disease Study results: AREDS report no. 11.

PubMed

Bressler, Neil M; Bressler, Susan B; Congdon, Nathan G; Ferris, Frederick L; Friedman, David S; Klein, Ronald; Lindblad, Anne S; Milton, Roy C; Seddon, Johanna M

2003-11-01

To estimate the potential public health impact of the findings of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) on reducing the number of persons developing advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) during the next 5 years in the United States. The AREDS clinical trial provides estimates of AMD progression rates and of reduction in risk of developing advanced AMD when a high-dose nutritional supplement of antioxidants and zinc is used. These results are applied to estimates of the US population at risk, to estimate the number of people who would potentially avoid advanced AMD during 5 years if those at risk were to take a supplement such as that used in AREDS. An estimated 8 million persons at least 55 years old in the United States have monocular or binocular intermediate AMD or monocular advanced AMD. They are considered to be at high risk for advanced AMD and are those for whom the AREDS formulation should be considered. Of these people, 1.3 million would develop advanced AMD if no treatment were given to reduce their risk. If all of these people at risk received supplements such as those used in AREDS, more than 300,000 (95% confidence interval, 158,000-487,000) of them would avoid advanced AMD and any associated vision loss during the next 5 years. If people at high risk for advanced AMD received supplements such as those suggested by AREDS results, the potential impact on public health in the United States would be considerable during the next 5 years.

Personalized and not general suggestion produces false autobiographical memories and suggestion-consistent behavior.

PubMed

Scoboria, Alan; Mazzoni, Giuliana; Jarry, Josée L; Bernstein, Daniel M

2012-01-01

Suggesting false childhood events produces false autobiographical beliefs, memories and suggestion-consistent behavior. The mechanisms by which suggestion affects behavior are not understood, and whether false beliefs and memories are necessary for suggestions to impact behavior remains unexplored. We examined the relative effects of providing a personalized suggestion (suggesting that an event occurred to the person in the past), and/or a general suggestion (suggesting that an event happened to others in the past). Participants (N=122) received a personalized suggestion, a general suggestion, both or neither, about childhood illness due to spoiled peach yogurt. The personalized suggestion resulted in false beliefs, false memories, and suggestion-consistent behavioral intentions immediately after the suggestion. One week or one month later participants completed a taste test that involved eating varieties of crackers and yogurts. The personalized suggestion led to reduced consumption of only peach yogurt, and those who reported a false memory showed the most eating suppression. This effect on behavior was equally strong after one week and one month, showing a long lived influence of the personalized suggestion. The general suggestion showed no effects. Suggestions that convey personal information about a past event produce false autobiographical memories, which in turn impact behavior. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Age at treatment and long-term performance results in medulloblastoma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chin, H.W.; Maruyama, Y.

1984-05-01

Medulloblastoma is highly radioresponsive, and recent treatment results have improved greatly since the introduction of megavoltage machine in 1960s. There is increasing evidence for the potential cure of medulloblastoma if properly treated in its early stages. The curable group represents approximately 75% of diagnosed patients. Long-term treatment effects were examined in this study. The study reveals age-dependent late effects in learning ability; the patients less than 4-years-old at treatment had major learning problems; patients of 5 to 7 years old performed at satisfactory-to-low passing levels in school work; patients older than 8 years old had no major intellectual impairment. Shortmore » stature was common when growth potential was present at the time of therapy, but endocrine tests were generally negative. These observations indicate special educational requirement needs, especially for children treated at a young age.« less

Theory of Mind, Inhibitory Control, and Preschool-Age Children's Suggestibility in Different Interviewing Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scullin, Matthew H.; Bonner, Karri

2006-01-01

The current study examined the relations among 3- to 5-year-olds' theory of mind, inhibitory control, and three measures of suggestibility: yielding to suggestive questions (yield), shifting answers in response to negative feedback (shift), and accuracy in response to misleading questions during a pressured interview about a live event. Theory of…

Mortality in Incident Cognitive Impairment: Results of the Prospective AgeCoDe Study.

PubMed

Luck, Tobias; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G; Roehr, Susanne; Wiese, Birgitt; van der Leeden, Carolin; Heser, Kathrin; Bickel, Horst; Pentzek, Michael; König, Hans-Helmut; Werle, Jochen; Mamone, Silke; Mallon, Tina; Wolfsgruber, Steffen; Weeg, Dagmar; Fuchs, Angela; Brettschneider, Christian; Scherer, Martin; Maier, Wolfgang; Weyerer, Siegfried

2017-04-01

To investigate mortality risk and survival time in new-incident cases of cognitive impairment (CI) in old age. Prospective cohort study in six German cities. German Study on Ageing, Cognition, and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe). Two thousand eighty-nine nondemented GP patients aged 75+. Every 18 months, trained psychologists and physicians conducted structured clinical interviews at the participants' homes. Dates of death were obtained from relatives, general practitioner (GP), or the local registry offices. We used the Kaplan-Meier survival method to estimate survival times of individuals with and without incident CI and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regressions to assess the association between CI and mortality risk, controlled for covariates. Out of the 2,089 included patients at follow-up I, 859 (41.1%) died during the subsequent mean observation period of 8.0 years. Patients with incident CI at follow-up I showed a significantly higher case-fatality rate per 1,000 person-years (74.2, 95% CI = 64.2-84.2 vs 47.8, 95% CI = 44.6-51.0) and a significantly shorter mean survival time in the observation period than those without (7.8 vs 9.1 years; P < .001). The association between incident CI and mortality remained significant in the multivariable Cox analyses-incident CI was associated with a 42% increased, incident severe CI with a 75% increased mortality risk. Our findings suggest an elevated mortality risk in newly acquired cognitive deficits in old age. Even though further studies are required to analyze potential underlying mechanisms, our findings support the notion that such cognitive deficits should be taken seriously in clinical practice not only for an increased risk of developing dementia but also for a broader range of possible adverse health outcomes. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

Age and Acceptance of Euthanasia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Russell A.

1980-01-01

Study explores relationship between age (and sex and race) and acceptance of euthanasia. Women and non-Whites were less accepting because of religiosity. Among older people less acceptance was attributable to their lesser education and greater religiosity. Results suggest that quality of life in old age affects acceptability of euthanasia. (Author)

Mobbing Experiences of Instructors: Causes, Results, and Solution Suggestions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Celep, Cevat; Konakli, Tugba

2013-01-01

In this study, it was aimed to investigate possible mobbing problems in universities, their causes and results, and to attract attention to precautions that can be taken. Phenomenology as one of the qualitative research methods was used in the study. Sample group of the study was selected through the criteria sampling method and eight instructors…

Confidence Judgments in Children's and Adults' Event Recall and Suggestibility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roebers, Claudia M.

2002-01-01

Three studies investigated the role of 8- and 10-year-olds' and adults' metacognitive monitoring and control processes for unbiased event recall tasks and suggestibility. Findings suggested strong tendencies to overestimate confidence regardless of age and question format. Children did not lack principal metacognitive competencies when questions…

What makes age diverse teams effective? Results from a six-year research program.

PubMed

Wegge, J; Jungmann, F; Liebermann, S; Shemla, M; Ries, B C; Diestel, S; Schmidt, K-H

2012-01-01

Based on a new model of productivity in age diverse tams, findings from a six-year research program are reported in which data from more than 745 natural teams with 8,848 employees in three different fields (car production, administrative work, financial services) were collected. Moreover, central assumptions of this model were tested with a representative survey of the German workforce (N = 2,000). Results support both significant advantages and disadvantages for age-mixed teams. Based on the findings, the following preconditions for the effectiveness of age diverse teams are identified: high task complexity, low salience and high appreciation of age diversity, a positive team climate, low age-discrimination, ergonomic design of work places, and the use of age differentiated leadership. Based on these insights, we developed a new training for supervisors, which addresses the aforementioned aspects and seeks to improve team performance and health of team members. It was found that the training reduces age stereotypes, team conflicts and enhances innovation. Thus, we can conclude that effective interventions for a successful integration of elderly employees in work groups are available and that combinations of measures that address ergonomic design issues, team composition and leadership are to be strongly recommended for practice.

Brief Report: Simulations Suggest Heterogeneous Category Learning and Generalization in Children with Autism is a Result of Idiosyncratic Perceptual Transformations.

PubMed

Mercado, Eduardo; Church, Barbara A

2016-08-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) sometimes have difficulties learning categories. Past computational work suggests that such deficits may result from atypical representations in cortical maps. Here we use neural networks to show that idiosyncratic transformations of inputs can result in the formation of feature maps that impair category learning for some inputs, but not for other closely related inputs. These simulations suggest that large inter- and intra-individual variations in learning capacities shown by children with ASD across similar categorization tasks may similarly result from idiosyncratic perceptual encoding that is resistant to experience-dependent changes. If so, then both feedback- and exposure-based category learning should lead to heterogeneous, stimulus-dependent deficits in children with ASD.

Suggestibility and suggestive modulation of the Stroop effect.

PubMed

Kirsch, Irving

2011-06-01

Although the induction of a hypnotic state does not seem necessary for suggestive modulation of the Stroop effect, this important phenomenon has seemed to be dependent on the subject's level of hypnotic suggestibility. Raz and Campbell's (2011) study indicates that suggestion can modulate the Stroop effect substantially in very low suggestible subjects, as well as in those who are highly suggestible. This finding casts doubt on the presumed mechanism by which suggestive modulation is brought about. Research aimed at uncovering the means by which low suggestible individuals are able to modulate the Stroop effect would be welcome, as would assessment of this effect in moderately suggestible people. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metabolic Dysfunction Consistent with Premature Aging Results from Deletion of Pim Kinases

PubMed Central

Din, Shabana; Konstandin, Mathias H; Johnson, Bevan; Emathinger, Jacqueline; Völkers, Mirko; Toko, Haruhiro; Collins, Brett; Ormachea, Lucy; Samse, Kaitlen; Kubli, Dieter A; De La Torre, Andrea; Kraft, Andrew S; Gustafsson, Asa B; Kelly, Daniel P; Sussman, Mark A

2014-01-01

Rationale The senescent cardiac phenotype is accompanied by changes in mitochondrial function and biogenesis causing impairment in energy provision. The relationship between myocardial senescence and Pim kinases deserves attention since Pim-1 kinase is cardioprotective, in part, by preservation of mitochondrial integrity. Study of the pathological effects resulting from genetic deletion of all Pim kinase family members could provide important insight regarding cardiac mitochondrial biology and the aging phenotype. Objective Demonstrate myocardial senescence is promoted by loss of Pim leading to premature aging and aberrant mitochondrial function. Methods and Results Cardiac myocyte senescence was evident at three months of age in Pim Triple KnockOut (PTKO) mice, where all three isoforms of Pim kinase family members are genetically deleted. Cellular hypertrophic remodeling and fetal gene program activation was followed by heart failure at six months in PTKO mice. Metabolic dysfunction is an underlying cause of cardiac senescence and instigates a decline in cardiac function. Altered mitochondrial morphology is evident consequential to Pim deletion together with decreased ATP levels and increased phosphorylated AMPK, exposing an energy deficiency in PTKO mice. Expression of the genes encoding master regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis, PPARγ coactivator-1 (PGC-1) α and β were diminished in PTKO hearts, as were downstream targets included in mitochondrial energy transduction, including fatty acid oxidation. Reversal of the dysregulated metabolic phenotype was observed by overexpressing c-Myc, a downstream target of Pim kinases. Conclusion Pim kinases prevent premature cardiac aging and maintain a healthy pool of functional mitochondria leading to efficient cellular energetics. PMID:24916111

Reanalysis of the Viking results suggests perchlorate and organics at midlatitudes on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navarro-González, Rafael; Vargas, Edgar; de la Rosa, José; Raga, Alejandro C.; McKay, Christopher P.

2010-12-01

The most comprehensive search for organics in the Martian soil was performed by the Viking Landers. Martian soil was subjected to a thermal volatilization process to vaporize and break organic molecules, and the resultant gases and volatiles were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Only water at 0.1-1.0 wt% was detected, with traces of chloromethane at 15 ppb, at Viking landing site 1, and water at 0.05-1.0 wt% and carbon dioxide at 50-700 ppm, with traces of dichloromethane at 0.04-40 ppb, at Viking landing site 2. These chlorohydrocarbons were considered to be terrestrial contaminants, although they had not been detected at those levels in the blank runs. Recently, perchlorate was discovered in the Martian Arctic soil by the Phoenix Lander. Here we show that when Mars-like soils from the Atacama Desert containing 32 ± 6 ppm of organic carbon are mixed with 1 wt% magnesium perchlorate and heated, nearly all the organics present are decomposed to water and carbon dioxide, but a small amount is chlorinated, forming 1.6 ppm of chloromethane and 0.02 ppm of dichloromethane at 500°C. A chemical kinetics model was developed to predict the degree of oxidation and chlorination of organics in the Viking oven. Reinterpretation of the Viking results therefore suggests ≤0.1% perchlorate and 1.5-6.5 ppm organic carbon at landing site 1 and ≤0.1% perchlorate and 0.7-2.6 ppm organic carbon at landing site 2. The detection of organics on Mars is important to assess locations for future experiments to detect life itself.

Canadian government's framing of ageing at work and older workers: Echoing positive ageing models.

PubMed

Lagacé, Martine; Nahon-Serfaty, Isaac; Laplante, Joelle

2015-01-01

Public representations of ageing can influence how individuals perceive their own experience of ageing. Results of studies on the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)'s governmental messages on older workers suggest that they are mainly constructed around economic productivity and personal responsibility. The goal of this study is to examine how the Canadian government frames issues around ageing, work and older workers. Canada is facing a rapidly ageing workforce, hence the importance of examining how the government discusses ageing at work. A thematic content analysis was conducted on a total of 154 government web pages. Results revealed that predominant themes revolve around economic challenges resulting from an ageing workforce. Older workers are depicted as a key component for the (economic) management of an ageing workforce. More specifically, older workers who intend to continue working are highly valued in the government's messages which present them as productive citizens and role models for "ageing well". Canada's response to the challenges of an ageing workforce echoes the underlying standards of positive ageing models, which may generate, perhaps inadvertently, a new form of ageism by creating intra-and intergenerational divides in the workplace.

A cross-sectional study of male and female C57BL/6Nia mice suggests lifespan and healthspan are not necessarily correlated

PubMed Central

Fischer, Kathleen E.; Hoffman, Jessica M.; Sloane, Lauren B.; Gelfond, Jonathan A.L.; Soto, Vanessa Y.; Richardson, Arlan G.; Austad, Steven N.

2016-01-01

Lifespan provides a discrete metric that is intuitively appealing and the assumption has been that healthspan is extended concomitant with lifespan. Medicine has been more successful at extending life than preserving health during aging. Interventions that extend lifespan in model organisms do not always result in a corresponding increase in healthspan, suggesting that lifespan and healthspan may be uncoupled. To understand how interventions that extend life affect healthspan, we need measures that distinguish between young and old animals. Here we measured age-related changes in healthspan in male and female C57BL/6JNia mice assessed at 4 distinct ages (4 months, 20 months, 28 months and 32 months). Correlations between health parameters and age varied. Some parameters show consistent patterns with age across studies and in both sexes, others changed in one sex only and others showed no significant differences in mice of different ages. Few correlations existed among health assays, suggesting that physiological function in domains we assessed change independently in aging mice. With one exception, health parameters were not significantly associated with an increased probability of premature death. Our results show the need for more robust measures of murine health and suggest a potential disconnect between health and lifespan in mice. PMID:27705904

Eyewitness recall and suggestibility in individuals with Down syndrome.

PubMed

Collins, D; Henry, L

2016-12-01

Many criminal justice professionals perceive the eyewitness skills of individuals with intellectual disabilities to be weaker than those of typically developing (TD) individuals. Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most common genetic causes of intellectual disabilities, yet there is no research addressing eyewitness skills in this population. This study examined the eyewitness recall and suggestibility of young people with DS. Young people with DS and mental age-matched TD children viewed a video of a non-violent petty crime and were subsequently asked to freely recall the event before being asked general and specific questions incorporating both misleading and non-leading prompts. Compared with mental age-matched TD individuals, young people with DS produced as much information, were just as accurate and were no more suggestible. The eyewitness memory skills of young people with DS are comparable to those of mental age-matched TD children. The implications of these findings for the forensic context and eyewitness memory are discussed. © 2016 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Age Differences in Prefrontal Surface Area and Thickness in Middle Aged to Older Adults.

PubMed

Dotson, Vonetta M; Szymkowicz, Sarah M; Sozda, Christopher N; Kirton, Joshua W; Green, Mackenzie L; O'Shea, Andrew; McLaren, Molly E; Anton, Stephen D; Manini, Todd M; Woods, Adam J

2015-01-01

Age is associated with reductions in surface area and cortical thickness, particularly in prefrontal regions. There is also evidence of greater thickness in some regions at older ages. Non-linear age effects in some studies suggest that age may continue to impact brain structure in later decades of life, but relatively few studies have examined the impact of age on brain structure within middle-aged to older adults. We investigated age differences in prefrontal surface area and cortical thickness in healthy adults between the ages of 51 and 81 years. Participants received a structural 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scan. Based on a priori hypotheses, primary analyses focused on surface area and cortical thickness in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex. We also performed exploratory vertex-wise analyses of surface area and cortical thickness across the entire cortex. We found that older age was associated with smaller surface area in the dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices but greater cortical thickness in the dorsolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices. Vertex-wise analyses revealed smaller surface area in primarily frontal regions at older ages, but no age effects were found for cortical thickness. Results suggest age is associated with reduced surface area but greater cortical thickness in prefrontal regions during later decades of life, and highlight the differential effects age has on regional surface area and cortical thickness.

Proteomic Analysis Reveals Age-related Changes in Tendon Matrix Composition, with Age- and Injury-specific Matrix Fragmentation*

PubMed Central

Peffers, Mandy J.; Thorpe, Chavaunne T.; Collins, John A.; Eong, Robin; Wei, Timothy K. J.; Screen, Hazel R. C.; Clegg, Peter D.

2014-01-01

Energy storing tendons, such as the human Achilles and equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT), are highly prone to injury, the incidence of which increases with aging. The cellular and molecular mechanisms that result in increased injury in aged tendons are not well established but are thought to result in altered matrix turnover. However, little attempt has been made to fully characterize the tendon proteome nor determine how the abundance of specific tendon proteins changes with aging and/or injury. The aim of this study was, therefore, to assess the protein profile of normal SDFTs from young and old horses using label-free relative quantification to identify differentially abundant proteins and peptide fragments between age groups. The protein profile of injured SDFTs from young and old horses was also assessed. The results demonstrate distinct proteomic profiles in young and old tendon, with alterations in the levels of proteins involved in matrix organization and regulation of cell tension. Furthermore, we identified several new peptide fragments (neopeptides) present in aged tendons, suggesting that there are age-specific cleavage patterns within the SDFT. Proteomic profile also differed between young and old injured tendon, with a greater number of neopeptides identified in young injured tendon. This study has increased the knowledge of molecular events associated with tendon aging and injury, suggesting that maintenance and repair of tendon tissue may be reduced in aged individuals and may help to explain why the risk of injury increases with aging. PMID:25077967

Age of major depression onset, depressive symptoms, and risk for subsequent dementia: results of the German study on Ageing, Cognition, and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe).

PubMed

Heser, K; Tebarth, F; Wiese, B; Eisele, M; Bickel, H; Köhler, M; Mösch, E; Weyerer, S; Werle, J; König, H-H; Leicht, H; Pentzek, M; Fuchs, A; Riedel-Heller, S G; Luppa, M; Prokein, J; Scherer, M; Maier, W; Wagner, M

2013-08-01

Whether late-onset depression is a risk factor for or a prodrome of dementia remains unclear. We investigated the impact of depressive symptoms and early- v. late-onset depression on subsequent dementia in a cohort of elderly general-practitioner patients (n = 2663, mean age = 81.2 years). Risk for subsequent dementia was estimated over three follow-ups (each 18 months apart) depending on history of depression, particularly age of depression onset, and current depressive symptoms using proportional hazard models. We also examined the additive prediction of incident dementia by depression beyond cognitive impairment. An increase of dementia risk for higher age cut-offs of late-onset depression was found. In analyses controlling for age, sex, education, and apolipoprotein E4 genotype, we found that very late-onset depression (aged ≥ 70 years) and current depressive symptoms separately predicted all-cause dementia. Combined very late-onset depression with current depressive symptoms was specifically predictive for later Alzheimer's disease (AD; adjusted hazard ratio 5.48, 95% confidence interval 2.41-12.46, p < 0.001). This association was still significant after controlling for cognitive measures, but further analyses suggested that it was mediated by subjective memory impairment with worries. Depression might be a prodrome of AD but not of dementia of other aetiology as very late-onset depression in combination with current depressive symptoms, possibly emerging as a consequence of subjectively perceived worrisome cognitive deterioration, was most predictive. As depression parameters and subjective memory impairment predicted AD independently of objective cognition, clinicians should take this into account.

Ambient Assisted Living and ageing: preliminary results of RITA project.

PubMed

Aquilano, Michela; Cavallo, Filippo; Bonaccorsi, Manuele; Esposito, Raffaele; Rovini, Erika; Filippi, Massimo; Esposito, Dario; Dario, Paolo; Carrozza, Maria Chiara

2012-01-01

The ageing of population is a social phenomenon that most of worldwide countries are facing. They are, and will be even more in the future, indeed trying to find solutions for improving quality of life of their elderly citizens. The project RITA wants to demonstrate that an update of the current socio-medical services with an Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) approach could improve the service efficiency and the quality of life of both elderly and caregiver. This paper presents the preliminary results obtained in RITA.

The Impact of Age Stereotypes on Self-perceptions of Aging Across the Adult Lifespan

PubMed Central

Hess, Thomas M.

2012-01-01

Objectives. Individuals’ perceptions of their own age(ing) are important correlates of well-being and health. The goals of the present study were to (a) examine indicators of self-perceptions of aging across adulthood and (b) experimentally test whether age stereotypes influence self-perceptions of aging. Method. Adults 18–92 years of age were presented with positive, negative, or no age stereotypes. Before and after the stereotype activation, aging satisfaction and subjective age were measured. Results. The activation of positive age stereotypes did not positively influence self-perceptions of aging. Quite the contrary, priming middle-aged and older adults in good health with positive age stereotypes made them feel older. After the activation of negative age stereotypes, older adults in good health felt older and those in bad health wanted to be younger than before the priming. Even younger and middle-aged adults reported younger desired ages after the negative age stereotype priming. Persons in bad health also thought they looked older after being primed with negative age stereotypes. Discussion. Taken together, although we find some support for contrast effects, most of our results can be interpreted in terms of assimilation effects, suggesting that individuals integrate stereotypical information into their self-evaluations of age(ing) when confronted with stereotypes. PMID:22367710

Obesity and diabetes genes are associated with being born small for gestational age: Results from the Auckland Birthweight Collaborative study

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Individuals born small for gestational age (SGA) are at increased risk of rapid postnatal weight gain, later obesity and diseases in adulthood such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Environmental risk factors for SGA are well established and include smoking, low pregnancy weight, maternal short stature, maternal diet, ethnic origin of mother and hypertension. However, in a large proportion of SGA, no underlying cause is evident, and these individuals may have a larger genetic contribution. Methods In this study we tested the association between SGA and polymorphisms in genes that have previously been associated with obesity and/or diabetes. We undertook analysis of 54 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 546 samples from the Auckland Birthweight Collaborative (ABC) study. 227 children were born small for gestational age (SGA) and 319 were appropriate for gestational age (AGA). Results and Conclusion The results demonstrated that genetic variation in KCNJ11, BDNF, PFKP, PTER and SEC16B were associated with SGA and support the concept that genetic factors associated with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes are more prevalent in those born SGA compared to those born AGA. We have previously determined that environmental factors are associated with differences in birthweight in the ABC study and now we have demonstrated a significant genetic contribution, suggesting that the interaction between genetics and the environment are important. PMID:20712903

Classification of hadith into positive suggestion, negative suggestion, and information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faraby, Said Al; Riviera Rachmawati Jasin, Eliza; Kusumaningrum, Andina; Adiwijaya

2018-03-01

As one of the Muslim life guidelines, based on the meaning of its sentence(s), a hadith can be viewed as a suggestion for doing something, or a suggestion for not doing something, or just information without any suggestion. In this paper, we tried to classify the Bahasa translation of hadith into the three categories using machine learning approach. We tried stemming and stopword removal in preprocessing, and TF-IDF of unigram, bigram, and trigram as the extracted features. As the classifier, we compared between SVM and Neural Network. Since the categories are new, so in order to compare the results of the previous pipelines, we created a baseline classifier using simple rule-based string matching technique. The rule-based algorithm conditions on the occurrence of words such as “janganlah, sholatlah, and so on” to determine the category. The baseline method achieved F1-Score of 0.69, while the best F1-Score from the machine learning approach was 0.88, and it was produced by SVM model with the linear kernel.

Age and Mortality in Pediatric Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Results from an International Study.

PubMed

Sarnaik, Ajit; Ferguson, Nikki Miller; O'Meara, A M Iqbal; Agrawal, Shruti; Deep, Akash; Buttram, Sandra; Bell, Michael J; Wisniewski, Stephen R; Luther, James F; Hartman, Adam L; Vavilala, Monica S

2018-02-23

Although small series have suggested that younger age is associated with less favorable outcome after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), confounders and biases have limited our understanding of this relationship. We hypothesized that there would be an association between age and mortality in children within an ongoing observational, cohort study. The first 200 subjects from the Approaches and Decisions for Acute Pediatric TBI trial were eligible for this analysis (inclusion criteria: severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score ≤ 8], age 18 years, and intracranial pressure (ICP) monitor placed; exclusion: pregnancy). Children with suspected abusive head trauma (AHT) were excluded to avoid bias related to the association between AHT and mortality. Demographics, and prehospital and resuscitation events were collected/analyzed, and children were stratified based on age at time of injury (< 5, 5-< 11, 11-18 years) and presented as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM). Analyses of variance were used to test the equality of the means across the group for continuous variable, and Chi-square tests were used to compare percentages for discrete variables (post hoc comparisons were made using t test and Bonferroni corrections, as needed). Kaplan-Meier curves were generated for each age subgroup describing the time of death, and log-rank was used to compare the curves. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the effect of age on time to death while controlling for covariates. In the final cohort (n = 155, 45 excluded for AHT), overall age was 9.2 years ± 0.4 and GCS was 5.3 ± 0.1. Mortality was similar between strata (14.0, 20.0, 20.9%, respectively, p = 0.58). Motor vehicle accidents were the most common mechanism across all strata, while falls tended to be more common in the youngest stratum (p = 0.08). The youngest stratum demonstrated increased incidence of spontaneous hypothermia at presentation and decreased hemoglobin

Longitudinal predictors of school-age academic achievement: unique contributions of toddler-age aggression, oppositionality, inattention, and hyperactivity.

PubMed

Brennan, Lauretta M; Shaw, Daniel S; Dishion, Thomas J; Wilson, Melvin

2012-11-01

This project examined the unique predictive validity of parent ratings of toddler-age aggression, oppositionality, inattention, and hyperactivity-impulsivity to academic achievement at school-age in a sample of 566 high-risk children and families. The study also investigated potential indirect effects of the Family Check-Up on school-age academic achievement through changes in child behavior problems. The results demonstrated that toddler-age aggression was most consistently associated with school-age academic achievement, albeit modestly. Moreover, findings showed that the intervention predicted greater decreases in aggression from ages 2-3 to 4-5 compared to controls. The results suggest that in high-risk toddler-aged children, aggression may be a more consistent predictor of school-age academic achievement than other externalizing dimensions, which has implications for early identification and efforts to promote children's adaptation.

Cosmogenic Radionuclides in Antarctic Meteorites: Preliminary Results on Terrestrial Ages and Temporal Phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michlovich, E.; Vogt, S.; Wolf, S. F.; Elmore, D.; Lipschutz, M. E.

1993-07-01

the production rates for these radionuclides in this group of meteorites to be 18.2 +/- 2.3 and 58 +/- 13 dpm/kg respectively, consistent with production rates cited for falls [8]. Cosmic ray exposure ages using the ^10Be/^21Ne method outlined by Graf et al. [9] substantially agree with ages calculated from noble gases alone. Similar agreements are obtained between cosmic ray exposure ages based solely on noble gases and those calculated using ^26Al/^21Ne [9]. We calculated terrestrial ages using the secular equilibrium distribution for ^36Cl of 22.8 +/- 3.1 dpm/kg [10]. Our results are similar to those seen by Nishiizumi et al. [10], with a few ages ranging up to several hundred thousand years. It is worth noting that the Yamato meteorites measured in the present study, all of which happen to have been collected in the 1979 recovery effort ("Y79"), have a much older terrestrial age distribution (median age of 140 ka) than the Yamato distribution shown in [10]. We find it interesting that our Yamato age distribution is, however, consistent with the distribution of Y79 ages (median age, 110 ka) listed in [10], and that non-Y79 Yamato meteorites (median age in [10], 22 ka) seem to be responsible for a disproportionate number of the youngest Yamato meteorites. This possible collection area phenomenon is under investigation. Preliminary statistical analysis of the results using the preliminary terrestrial ages calculated here, trace-element data [3,4,11], and the methods elucidated in [2] is consistent with the notion that the meteorite flux sampled by the Earth has changed as a function of time. The latest results will be presented in Vail. References: [1] Koeberl C. and Cassidy W. A. (1991) GCA, 55, 3-18. [2] Lipschutz M. E. and Samuels S. M. (1991) GCA, 55, 19-34. [3] Wolf S. F. and Lipschutz M. E. (1992) LPS XXIII, 1545-1546. [4] Dodd R. T. et al. (1993) JGR, submitted. [5] Wetherill G. W. (1986) Nature, 319, 357-358. [6] Schultz L., personal communication. [7

The plasticity of early memory reports: social pressure, hypnotizability, compliance, and interrogative suggestibility.

PubMed

Malinoski, P T; Lynn, S J

1999-10-01

Early autobiographical memory reports by adults were very sensitive to social influence in a leading interview. The mean age of initial earliest memory report was 3.7 years. When participants were instructed to close their eyes, visualize, and focus on their 2nd birthday, 59% reported a birthday memory. After repeated probes for earlier memories, 78% of subjects reported memories at or prior to 24 months of age, and 33% reported memories within the first 12 months of age. The mean age of the final earliest memory reported was 1.6 years. Participants rated their memory reports as accurate and did not recant them when given an opportunity. The age of earliest memory reports in the suggestive interview correlated negatively with measures of compliance, hypnotizability, and interrogative suggestibility.

Personality Stability From Age 14 to Age 77 Years

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

There is evidence for differential stability in personality trait differences, even over decades. The authors used data from a sample of the Scottish Mental Survey, 1947 to study personality stability from childhood to older age. The 6-Day Sample (N = 1,208) were rated on six personality characteristics by their teachers at around age 14. In 2012, the authors traced as many of these participants as possible and invited them to take part in a follow-up study. Those who agreed (N = 174) completed a questionnaire booklet at age 77 years, which included rating themselves and asking someone who knew them well to rate them on the same 6 characteristics on which they were rated in adolescence. Each set of 6 ratings was reduced to the same single underlying factor, denoted dependability, a trait comparable to conscientiousness. Participants’ and others’ older-age personality characteristic ratings were moderately correlated with each other, and with other measures of personality and wellbeing, but correlations suggested no significant stability of any of the 6 characteristics or their underlying factor, dependability, over the 63-year interval. However, a more complex model, controlling rater effects, indicated significant 63-year stability of 1 personality characteristic, Stability of Moods, and near-significant stability of another, Conscientiousness. Results suggest that lifelong differential stability of personality is generally quite low, but that some aspects of personality in older age may relate to personality in childhood. PMID:27929341

Proteomic analysis reveals age-related changes in tendon matrix composition, with age- and injury-specific matrix fragmentation.

PubMed

Peffers, Mandy J; Thorpe, Chavaunne T; Collins, John A; Eong, Robin; Wei, Timothy K J; Screen, Hazel R C; Clegg, Peter D

2014-09-12

Energy storing tendons, such as the human Achilles and equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT), are highly prone to injury, the incidence of which increases with aging. The cellular and molecular mechanisms that result in increased injury in aged tendons are not well established but are thought to result in altered matrix turnover. However, little attempt has been made to fully characterize the tendon proteome nor determine how the abundance of specific tendon proteins changes with aging and/or injury. The aim of this study was, therefore, to assess the protein profile of normal SDFTs from young and old horses using label-free relative quantification to identify differentially abundant proteins and peptide fragments between age groups. The protein profile of injured SDFTs from young and old horses was also assessed. The results demonstrate distinct proteomic profiles in young and old tendon, with alterations in the levels of proteins involved in matrix organization and regulation of cell tension. Furthermore, we identified several new peptide fragments (neopeptides) present in aged tendons, suggesting that there are age-specific cleavage patterns within the SDFT. Proteomic profile also differed between young and old injured tendon, with a greater number of neopeptides identified in young injured tendon. This study has increased the knowledge of molecular events associated with tendon aging and injury, suggesting that maintenance and repair of tendon tissue may be reduced in aged individuals and may help to explain why the risk of injury increases with aging. © 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Age-Appropriate Cues Facilitate Source-Monitoring and Reduce Suggestibility in 3- To 7-Year-Olds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bright-Paul, A.; Jarrold, C.; Wright, D.B.

2005-01-01

Providing cues to facilitate the recovery of source information can reduce postevent misinformation effects in adults, implying that errors in source-monitoring contribute to suggestibility (e.g., [Lindsay, D. S., & Johnson, M. K. (1989). The eyewitness suggestibility effect and memory for source. Memory & Cognition, 17, 349-358]). The present…

[Presentation of age(ing) and elderly people in TV commercials].

PubMed

Hoppe, Theresa; Tischer, Ulrike; Philippsen, Christine; Hartmann-Tews, Ilse

2016-06-01

From the results of different studies it is known that stereotyped images about ageing and elderly people frame and influence the attitudes, beliefs and activities of elderly people and also influence the interaction of others with elderly people. The purpose of this study was to assess the currently portrayed images of elderly people, age and ageing in television (TV) advertisements. The study was based on a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of commercials presented on four major TV networks, two private and two public TV broadcasting networks in Germany. The sample covered 114 different commercials which included 131 elderly actors (approximately 50 + years). The results show that the products most often portrayed in commercials with elderly people are related to food, followed by prescription drugs and health, insurance and hygiene products. Elderly people are still underrepresented in TV commercials. Their characters are portrayed with overwhelmingly positive attributes and traits. The findings suggest that TV advertisements create an ideal image of active and healthy ageing. Further research might explore to what extent elderly people take this ideal image of ageing as their own interpretive frame of orientation.

Placebo-mediated, Naloxone-sensitive suggestibility of short-term memory performance.

PubMed

Stern, Jair; Candia, Victor; Porchet, Roseline I; Krummenacher, Peter; Folkers, Gerd; Schedlowski, Manfred; Ettlin, Dominik A; Schönbächler, Georg

2011-03-01

Physiological studies of placebo-mediated suggestion have been recently performed beyond their traditional clinical context of pain and analgesia. Various neurotransmitter systems and immunological modulators have been used in successful placebo suggestions, including Dopamine, Cholecystokinin and, most extensively, opioids. We adhered to an established conceptual framework of placebo research and used the μ-opioid-antagonist Naloxone to test the applicability of this framework within a cognitive domain (e.g. memory) in healthy volunteers. Healthy men (n=62, age 29, SD=9) were required to perform a task-battery, including standardized and custom-designed memory tasks, to test short-term recall and delayed recognition. Tasks were performed twice, before and after intravenous injection of either NaCl (0.9%) or Naloxone (both 0.15 mg/kg), in a double-blind setting. While one group was given neutral information (S-), the other was told that it might receive a drug with suspected memory-boosting properties (S+). Objective and subjective indexes of memory performance and salivary cortisol (as a stress marker) were recorded during both runs and differences between groups were assessed. Short-term memory recall, but not delayed recognition, was objectively increased after placebo-mediated suggestion in the NaCl-group. Naloxone specifically blocked the suggestion effect without interfering with memory performance. These results were not affected when changes in salivary cortisol levels were considered. No reaction time changes, recorded to uncover unspecific attentional impairment, were seen. Placebo-mediated suggestion produced a training-independent, objective and Naloxone-sensitive increase in memory performance. These results indicate an opioid-mediated placebo effect within a circumscribed cognitive domain in healthy volunteers. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Remote age verification to prevent underage alcohol sales. First results from Dutch liquor stores and the economic viability of national adoption.

PubMed

van Hoof, Joris J; van Velthoven, Ben C J

2015-04-01

Alcohol consumption among minors is a popular topic in the public health debate, also in the Netherlands. Compliance with the legal age limits for selling alcohol proves to be rather low. Some Dutch liquor stores (outlets with an exclusive license to sell off-premise drinks with 15% alcohol or more) have recently adopted a remote age verification system. This paper discusses the first results of the use of the system. We use data from 67 liquor stores that adopted Ageviewers, a remote age verification system, in 2011. A remote validator judges the customer's age using camera footage and asks for an ID if there is any doubt. The system then sends a signal to the cash register, which approves or rejects the alcohol purchase. From the 367346 purchase attempts in the database, 8374 were rejected or aborted for age-related reasons. This figure amounts to an average ratio of 1.12 underage alcohol purchase attempts per sales day in each participating liquor store. Scaling up to a national level, the figures suggest at least 1 million underage alcohol purchase attempts per year in Dutch liquor stores. Underage alcohol purchases can be prevented by the nationwide adoption of remote age verification. However, given the lax enforcement of the age limits by the government, adopting such a system on a voluntary basis is generally not in the economic interest of the liquor stores. Obligatory installation of the system in off-premise alcohol outlets may pass a social cost-benefit test if certain conditions are fulfilled. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Brief Report: Simulations Suggest Heterogeneous Category Learning and Generalization in Children with Autism Is a Result of Idiosyncratic Perceptual Transformations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercado, Eduardo, III; Church, Barbara A.

2016-01-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) sometimes have difficulties learning categories. Past computational work suggests that such deficits may result from atypical representations in cortical maps. Here we use neural networks to show that idiosyncratic transformations of inputs can result in the formation of feature maps that impair…

Caffeine delays oocyte aging and maintains the quality of aged oocytes safely in mouse.

PubMed

Zhang, Xia; Liu, Xiaoyan; Chen, Li; Wu, Dan-Ya; Nie, Zheng-Wen; Gao, Ying-Ying; Miao, Yi-Liang

2017-03-28

Caffeine, as an oocyte aging inhibitor, was used in many different species to control or delay oocyte aging. However, the safety of caffeine and developmental competence of aged oocytes inhibited by caffeine has not been studied systematically. So we detected the spindle morphology, distribution of cortical granules, zona pellucida hardening and pronucleus formation to assess oocyte quality of caffeine treated oocytes. We found that aged oocytes treated by caffeine maintained weak susceptibility to activating stimuli and regained normal competent after aged further 6 hr. Caffeine maintained the spindle morphology, changed cortical granules distribution of aged oocytes and could not prevent zona pellucida hardening. Furthermore, caffeine increased pronucleus formation of aged oocytes and decreased fragmentation after fertilization. These results suggested that caffeine could maintain the quality of aged oocytes safely in mouse.

[Short and long term results of aortic valve replacement in patients 80 years of age and older].

PubMed

Mortasawi, A; Gehle, S; Yaghmaie, M; Schröder, T; Ennker, I C; Rosendahl, U; Albert, A; Ennker, J

2001-03-01

Due to demographic changes in average life expectancy the age of patients undergoing cardiac surgery is increasing as well. We have reviewed the short- and long-term outcome in patients over 80 years of age after aortic valve replacement with or without concomitant coronary grafting. From 1.1.1995 until 31.12.1999, 126 patients (93 women, 33 men between 80 and 89 years, 82.8 +/- 2.4) underwent aortic valve replacement. 64 patients (group A) received isolated valve replacement, 62 (group B) underwent myocardial revascularization as well. The 30-day hospital mortality rate was 6.3% for group A and 14.5% for group B. The follow-up time ranged between 3 and 63 months (32 +/- 16). None of the patients had to be reoperated for prosthetic valve dysfunction or endocarditis. Bleeding complications due to anticoagulation therapy were observed by one patient from group A 3 years after the operation. Of the 15 deaths during the follow-up period seven (47%) were cardiac in nature and two (13%) related to stroke. Acturial survival rates for group A were 89%, 85% and 77% at 1, 2 and 3 years, and for group B 76%, 72% and 70%. Permanent nursing care was not required 1 year after the operation by 100% of patients in group A (2 years: 98%, 3 years 95%) and by 100% of patients in group B (2 years: 93%, 3 years: 90%). At an interval of 1 year after the operation 96% of patients in group A had not been hospitalized as a result of cardiac disorders (2 years: 96%, 3 years: 94%). The rates for group B were 88%, 81% and 75%. Compared with younger age groups, aortic valve replacement in patients 80 years of age and older is associated with a distinctly increased mortality and morbidity. However, our data suggest that considering the poor prognosis of conservative therapy of symptomatic aortic valve disease, functional status as well as life expectancy in this age group seem to be positively influenced by aortic valve replacement.

Early-Life Intelligence Predicts Midlife Biological Age

PubMed Central

Caspi, Avshalom; Belsky, Daniel W.; Harrington, Honalee; Houts, Renate; Israel, Salomon; Levine, Morgan E.; Sugden, Karen; Williams, Benjamin; Poulton, Richie; Moffitt, Terrie E.

2016-01-01

Objectives: Early-life intelligence has been shown to predict multiple causes of death in populations around the world. This finding suggests that intelligence might influence mortality through its effects on a general process of physiological deterioration (i.e., individual variation in “biological age”). We examined whether intelligence could predict measures of aging at midlife before the onset of most age-related disease. Methods: We tested whether intelligence assessed in early childhood, middle childhood, and midlife predicted midlife biological age in members of the Dunedin Study, a population-representative birth cohort. Results: Lower intelligence predicted more advanced biological age at midlife as captured by perceived facial age, a 10-biomarker algorithm based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and Framingham heart age (r = 0.1–0.2). Correlations between intelligence and telomere length were less consistent. The associations between intelligence and biological age were not explained by differences in childhood health or parental socioeconomic status, and intelligence remained a significant predictor of biological age even when intelligence was assessed before Study members began their formal schooling. Discussion: These results suggest that accelerated aging may serve as one of the factors linking low early-life intelligence to increased rates of morbidity and mortality. PMID:26014827

Deepening Sleep by Hypnotic Suggestion

PubMed Central

Cordi, Maren J.; Schlarb, Angelika A.; Rasch, Björn

2014-01-01

Study Objectives: Slow wave sleep (SWS) plays a critical role in body restoration and promotes brain plasticity; however, it markedly declines across the lifespan. Despite its importance, effective tools to increase SWS are rare. Here we tested whether a hypnotic suggestion to “sleep deeper” extends the amount of SWS. Design: Within-subject, placebo-controlled crossover design. Setting: Sleep laboratory at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Participants: Seventy healthy females 23.27 ± 3.17 y. Intervention: Participants listened to an auditory text with hypnotic suggestions or a control tape before napping for 90 min while high-density electroencephalography was recorded. Measurements and Results: After participants listened to the hypnotic suggestion to “sleep deeper” subsequent SWS was increased by 81% and time spent awake was reduced by 67% (with the amount of SWS or wake in the control condition set to 100%). Other sleep stages remained unaffected. Additionally, slow wave activity was significantly enhanced after hypnotic suggestions. During the hypnotic tape, parietal theta power increases predicted the hypnosis-induced extension of SWS. Additional experiments confirmed that the beneficial effect of hypnotic suggestions on SWS was specific to the hypnotic suggestion and did not occur in low suggestible participants. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of hypnotic suggestions to specifically increase the amount and duration of slow wave sleep (SWS) in a midday nap using objective measures of sleep in young, healthy, suggestible females. Hypnotic suggestions might be a successful tool with a lower risk of adverse side effects than pharmacological treatments to extend SWS also in clinical and elderly populations. Citation: Cordi MJ, Schlarb AA, Rasch B. Deepening sleep by hypnotic suggestion. SLEEP 2014;37(6):1143-1152. PMID:24882909

Susceptibility and resilience to memory aging stereotypes: education matters more than age.

PubMed

Andreoletti, Carrie; Lachman, Margie E

2004-01-01

The authors examined whether the memory performance of young, middle-aged, and older adults would be influenced by stereotype versus counterstereotype information about age differences on a memory task. One hundred forty-nine adults from a probability sample were randomly assigned to a control group or to age-stereotype conditions. As predicted, counterstereotype information was related to higher recall compared to stereotype and control groups. This was true across all age groups, but only for those with more education. Both stereotype and counterstereotype information were related to lower recall compared to the control group across age groups for those with lower education. Results suggest those with more education are more resilient when faced with negative age stereotypes about memory and respond positively to counterstereotype information. In contrast, those with less education show greater susceptibility to the detrimental effects of age stereotypes and respond negatively to both stereotype and counterstereotype information about memory aging.

Psychological vulnerability to daily stressors in old age: Results of short-term longitudinal studies.

PubMed

Schilling, Oliver Karl; Diehl, Manfred

2015-08-01

A growing numbers of intensive longitudinal studies examine the short-term variability of behavior in response to daily stressors. Collectively, these studies address the vulnerability for stress-related emotional burden as assessed in terms of the intraindividual association between daily stressors and negative affect (NA). This article provides a brief overview of the relevant research on so-called affective reactivity to daily stressors and focuses on findings on development of age-related stressor reactivity across the adult lifespan. Two theoretical propositions have been put forward. Firstly, it has been postulated that aging should be associated with increased affective reactivity, i.e. it has been assumed that the vulnerability in terms of physiological stress reactivity increases across the adult life span and, thus, a higher stress-induced emotional reactivity should result with increasing age. Secondly, it has been argued that due to the continued development of emotional self-regulation skills, there should be an age-related decrease in stress reactivity and, hence, an increased resilience. Findings on age differences in NA reactivity to daily stressors, however, have been inconsistent. A possible explanation for the inconsistent findings may lie in the fact that the postulated dynamics of increased vulnerability or resilience imply different time-related reactions to stressors. In particular, the activation and effectiveness of emotional self-regulation strategies increase with increasing time intervals from the stressors. This leads to the conclusion that with increasing age the resilience for longer periods of stress and accumulated stress should increase. Results from our own research support this hypothesis, where older adults reacted to multiple stressors in a more adaptive way than younger adults.

Physical activity is inversely associated with multimorbidity in elderly men: results from the KORA-Age Augsburg Study.

PubMed

Autenrieth, Christine S; Kirchberger, Inge; Heier, Margit; Zimmermann, Anja-Kerstin; Peters, Annette; Döring, Angela; Thorand, Barbara

2013-07-01

Physical activity is suggested to play a key role in the prevention of several chronic diseases. However, data on the association between physical activity and multimorbidity are lacking. Using data from 1007 men and women aged 65-94 years who participated in the population-based KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg)-Age project conducted in Augsburg/Germany and two adjacent counties in 2008/09, 13 chronic conditions were identified, and physical activity scores were calculated based on the self-reported physical activity scale for the elderly (PASE). Multivariable sex-specific logistic regression was applied to determine the association of the continuous physical activity score with multimorbidity (≥ 2 out of 13 diseases). Physical activity (mean PASE score±SD) was higher in men (125.1 ± 59.2) than in women (112.2 ± 49.2). Among men, the odds ratio (OR) for multimorbidity was 0.73 (95% CI: 0.60-0.90) for a 1 standard deviation increase of the PASE score. No significant results could be observed for women (OR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.83-1.33). We demonstrated an inverse association between physical activity and multimorbidity among men. Further prospective studies have to confirm the temporality of effects. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Testing increases suggestibility for narrative-based misinformation but reduces suggestibility for question-based misinformation.

PubMed

LaPaglia, Jessica A; Chan, Jason C K

2013-01-01

A number of recent studies have found that recalling details of an event following its occurrence can increase people's suggestibility to later presented misinformation. However, several other studies have reported the opposite result, whereby earlier retrieval can reduce subsequent eyewitness suggestibility. In the present study, we investigated whether differences in the way misinformation is presented can modulate the effects of testing on suggestibility. Participants watched a video of a robbery and some were questioned about the event immediately afterwards. Later, participants were exposed to misinformation in a narrative (Experiment 1) or in questions (Experiment 2). Consistent with previous studies, we found that testing increased suggestibility when misinformation was presented via a narrative. Remarkably, when misinformation was presented in questions, testing decreased suggestibility. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Anti-aging proof of concept study: results and summary.

PubMed

Bruce, Suzanne; Karnik, Jwala; Dryer, Laurence; Burkholder, David

2014-09-01

The etiology of aging human skin includes intrinsic physiologic changes greatly accelerated by photoaging, predominantly through exposure to UV light. Consumer interest and demand for anti-aging skin care products is extremely high especially in light of aging populations. Prenatal (fetal) tissue has been shown to possess healing characteristics and regenerative effects. A proprietary tissue engineering technology has been developed to produce a soluble human extracellular matrix material with growth factors and proteins. Neonatal cells are cultured on microbeads under conditions of low oxygen tension. This human cell-conditioned media (hCCM) contains a variety of growth factors and cytokines similar to those found in fetal cells and has been incorporated into a topical preparation for use in facial wound healing (after laser resurfacing procedures) and improving the appearance of aging skin. The objective of this study was to observe the effects of an MRCx™-containing topical skincare regimen on subjects with demonstrated aging skin damage (photodamage) when used consistently over a 3 month time period. Female subjects age 35-65 with Fitzpatrick Skin Type I-IV and mild to moderate amounts of photodamage, fine lines, and wrinkles used Regenica® Replenishing Crème and Regenica® Renew SPF 15 for 3 months. At each visit, photos were taken of subjects while investigators completed skin grading assessments and subjects completed self-assessments. Investigator assessments included evaluation of tactile roughness, visual texture, wrinkles, blotchiness, skin tone evenness, radiance, and translucence on a 5-point scale. Subjects' self-assessments included assessment of fine lines and wrinkles, firmness, evenness of skin tone, brightness, resilience, clarity, and radiance. Changes from baseline were evaluated for each parameter and P values for changes from baseline to each study visit for investigator's assessments and to end-of-study for self-assessments were

Age effects in the human middle ear: Wideband acoustical measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feeney, M. Patrick; Sanford, Chris A.

2004-12-01

Studies that have examined age effects in the human middle ear using either admittance measures at 220 or 660 Hz or multifrequency tympanometry from 200 to 2000 Hz have had conflicting results. Several studies have suggested an increase in admittance with age, while several others have suggested a decrease in admittance with age. A third group of studies found no significant age effect. This study examined 226 Hz tympanometry and wideband energy reflectance and impedance at ambient pressure in a group of 40 young adults and a group of 30 adults with age >=60 years. The groups did not differ in admittance measures of the middle ear at 226 Hz. However, significant age effects were found in wideband energy reflectance and impedance. In particular, in older adults there was a comparative decrease in reflectance from 800 to 2000 Hz but an increase near 4000 Hz. The results suggest a decrease in middle-ear stiffness with age. The findings of this study hold relevance for understanding the aging process in the auditory system, for the establishment of normative data for wideband energy reflectance, for the possibility of a conductive component to presbycusis, and for the interpretation of otoacoustic emission measurements. .

Age Limits.

PubMed

Antfolk, Jan

2017-03-01

Whereas women of all ages prefer slightly older sexual partners, men-regardless of their age-have a preference for women in their 20s. Earlier research has suggested that this difference between the sexes' age preferences is resolved according to women's preferences. This research has not, however, sufficiently considered that the age range of considered partners might change over the life span. Here we investigated the age limits (youngest and oldest) of considered and actual sex partners in a population-based sample of 2,655 adults (aged 18-50 years). Over the investigated age span, women reported a narrower age range than men and women tended to prefer slightly older men. We also show that men's age range widens as they get older: While they continue to consider sex with young women, men also consider sex with women their own age or older. Contrary to earlier suggestions, men's sexual activity thus reflects also their own age range, although their potential interest in younger women is not likely converted into sexual activity. Compared to homosexual men, bisexual and heterosexual men were more unlikely to convert young preferences into actual behavior, supporting female-choice theory.

National School-Age Child Care Alliance (NSACCA): National Survey Results. Draft Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marx, Fern

Presenting preliminary results of a National School-Age Child Care Alliance study of child care providers, this report is an initial analysis of 250 out of 427 questionnaires received as of April, 1993, representing practitioners in 40 states and 180 cities. Tables present data from responses to 16 items on the questionnaire soliciting information…

Thermal Aging Study of a Dow Corning SE 1700 Porous Structure Made by Direct Ink Writing: 1-Year Results and Long-Term Predictions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Small, Ward; Pearson, Mark A.; Maiti, Amitesh

Dow Corning SE 1700 (reinforced polydimethylsiloxane) porous structures were made by direct ink writing (DIW). The specimens (~50% porosity) were subjected to various compressive strains (15, 30, 45%) and temperatures (room temperature, 35, 50, 70°C) in a nitrogen atmosphere (active purge) for 1 year. Compression set and load retention of the aged specimens were measured periodically during the study. Compression set increased with strain and temperature. After 1 year, specimens aged at room temperature, 35, and 50°C showed ~10% compression set (relative to the applied compressive deflection), while those aged at 70°C showed 20-40%. Due to the increasing compression set,more » load retention decreased with temperature, ranging from ~90% at room temperature to ~60-80% at 70°C. Long-term compression set and load retention at room temperature were predicted by applying time-temperature superposition (TTS). The predictions show compression set relative to the compressive deflection will be ~10-15% with ~70-90% load retention after 50 years at 15-45% strain, suggesting the material will continue to be mechanically functional. Comparison of the results to previously acquired data for cellular (M97*, M9760, M9763) and RTV (S5370) silicone foams suggests that the SE 1700 DIW porous specimens are on par with, or outperform, the legacy foams.« less

Atypical coastal environmental change during Copper Age - Bronze Age transition (Rio de Moinhos, NW Portugal) - preliminary results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Granja, Helena; Danielsen, Randi

2015-04-01

for its infilling. Furthermore dating of wooden remains of what was interpreted as a fish trap, found on the sediment surface gave the age 2055-1770 cal BP (Roman Period). The old age of the top level may hence be the result of truncation of the sediment sequence at least in parts of the platform. Landwards, the Roman period is represented by fine and dark sediments similar to those of Rio de Moinhos beach, found in deeper cores. Acknowledgments This research is included in the project PTDC/EPH-ARQ/5204/2012 supported by FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal). It is financed also by COMPETE and PEsT-C/MAR/LA0015/2013.

[Erotic temperance: fortune and development of an Epicurean suggestion in the imperial Roman age].

PubMed

Menghi, M

1999-01-01

The purpose of this writing is to follow the course of an idea, namely that of erotic temperance, which the Epicureans most proably derived as a corollary of their originary ethics. It was during the imperial Roman age that such an idea met a certain audience for different reasons, two of which at least cannot remain unnoticed. The first reason was the theoretical and clinic support given to this idea by such Epicurean oriented physicians as Rufus and Soranus, and by Areteus; the other one should have been the meeting of the notion of erotic temperance with such ethical principles as the moderation, the control of the passions, the impassibility of man towards life events, and a new vision the relationship between husband and wife, which entered into the pattern of the gentlemen's behaviour during the imperial age contributing to the starting of a new ethics. But, if erotic temperance represented on the one hand an ideal for the cultivated class of Roman imperial society, it was on the other perceived as a scrupulously observed realty by Germans, and as one of the principal reasons of their physical and mortal energy. Furthermore, the ideal of a severe erotic control of the early Christians offer precise evidence, will represent an important ground of agreement for theirs and contemporary pagan ethics.

Does Donor Age of Nonirradiated Achilles Tendon Allograft Influence Mid-Term Results of Revision ACL Reconstruction?

PubMed Central

Zaffagnini, Stefano; Roberti di Sarsina, Tommaso; Bonanzinga, Tommaso; Nitri, Marco; Macchiarola, Luca; Stefanelli, Federico; Lucidi, Gianandrea; Grassi, Alberto

2018-01-01

Purpose  The purpose of the present study was to investigate if the donor age of nonirradiated Achilles tendon allograft could influence the clinical results of revision anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Methods  All patients that underwent ACL revision between 2004 and 2008 with at least 4 years of follow-up were included. For all the patients that met the inclusion criteria, the age of the graft donor was obtained from the tissue bank. Lysholm score was administered to patients that met inclusion criteria. In addition, patients were divided in two groups based on the donor age (<45 years vs. ≥45 years), and the baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared. Results  Fifty-two patients were evaluated at a mean 4.8 ± 0.8 years follow-up with Lysholm score. The Lysholm significantly improved from 62.3 ± 6.6 at preoperative status to 84.4 ± 12.3 at final follow-up. The mean donor age was 48.7 ± 8.4 years; a significant difference in Lysholm score was noted between patients that received an allograft with a donor age <45 years (14 patients; 27%) and those receiving an allograft with a donor age ≥45 years (38; 73%) (89.5 ± 3.2 vs. 80.1 ± 11.1, respectively; p  = 0.0469). The multiple regression model showed the donor age, the final follow-up, and the preoperative Lysholm score as significant predictors of postoperative Lysholm score ( p  < 0.0002). Conclusion  Donor age of nonirradiated Achilles tendon allograft influenced the mid-term results of revision ACL reconstruction, thus advising the use of grafts from young donors. Level of Evidence  Level III, retrospective comparative study. PMID:29675501

Verification of the ages of supercentenarians in the United States: results of a matching study.

PubMed

Rosenwaike, Ira; Stone, Leslie F

2003-11-01

Unprecedented declines in mortality among the very old have led to the emergence of "true" supercentenarians (persons aged 110 and over). The ages of these individuals have been well-documented in European countries with a history of birth registration, but have not been systematically studied in the United States, which lacks similar documentation and where the inaccuracy of age reporting has been an issue. To verify age, we linked records from the Social Security Administration for close to 700 individuals who died from 1980 to 1999 purportedly at ages 110 and older to records of the U.S. censuses of 1880 and 1900, conducted when these individuals were children. This group was a residual group from an earlier file that was reduced by the SSA after data checks that eliminated incorrect records. The results of the matched records for the residual file indicate that over 90% of the whites were accurately reported as supercentenarians, but only half of the blacks appeared to have attained age 110. The verification of age shows that the United States has more "true" supercentenarians than do other nations.

Hypnosis, suggestion, and suggestibility: an integrative model.

PubMed

Lynn, Steven Jay; Laurence, Jean-Roch; Kirsch, Irving

2015-01-01

This article elucidates an integrative model of hypnosis that integrates social, cultural, cognitive, and neurophysiological variables at play both in and out of hypnosis and considers their dynamic interaction as determinants of the multifaceted experience of hypnosis. The roles of these variables are examined in the induction and suggestion stages of hypnosis, including how they are related to the experience of involuntariness, one of the hallmarks of hypnosis. It is suggested that studies of the modification of hypnotic suggestibility; cognitive flexibility; response sets and expectancies; the default-mode network; and the search for the neurophysiological correlates of hypnosis, more broadly, in conjunction with research on social psychological variables, hold much promise to further understanding of hypnosis.

Spontaneous mutation of Dock7 results in lower trabecular bone mass and impaired periosteal expansion in aged female Misty mice.

PubMed

Le, Phuong T; Bishop, Kathleen A; Maridas, David E; Motyl, Katherine J; Brooks, Daniel J; Nagano, Kenichi; Baron, Roland; Bouxsein, Mary L; Rosen, Clifford J

2017-12-01

adipocytes were elevated 3.5 fold over +/+ (p=0.014). Consistent with reduced bone formation, osteoblast gene expression of Alp, Col1a1, Runx-2, Sp7, and Bglap was significantly decreased in m/m whole bone. Furthermore, markers of osteoclasts were either unchanged or suppressed. Bone marrow stromal cell migration and motility were inhibited in culture and changes in senescence markers suggest that osteoblast function may also be inhibited with loss of Dock7 expression in m/m. Finally, increased Oil Red O staining in m/m ear mesenchymal stem cells during adipogenesis highlights a potential shift of cells from the osteogenic to adipogenic lineages. In summary, loss of Dock7 in the aging m/m resulted in an impairment of periosteal and endocortical envelope expansion, but did not alter age-related trabecular bone loss. These studies establish Dock7 as a critical regulator of both cortical and trabecular bone mass, and demonstrate for the first time a novel role of Dock7 in modulating compensatory changes in the periosteum with aging. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Age differences in the prevalence and comorbidity of DSM-IV major depressive episodes: Results from the WHO World Mental Health Survey Initiative

PubMed Central

Kessler, Ronald C.; Birnbaum, Howard; Shahly, Victoria; Bromet, Evelyn; Hwang, Irving; McLaughlin, Katie A.; Sampson, Nancy; Andrade, Laura Helena; de Girolamo, Giovanni; Demyttenaere, Koen; Haro, Josep Maria; Karam, Aimee N.; Kostyuchenko, Stanislav; Kovess, Viviane; Lara, Carmen; Levinson, Daphna; Matschinger, Herbert; Nakane, Yoshibumi; Browne, Mark Oakley; Ormel, Johan; Posada-Villa, Jose; Sagar, Rajesh; Stein, Dan J.

2011-01-01

Background Although depression appears to decrease in late life, this could be due to misattribution of depressive symptoms to physical disorders that increase in late life. Methods We investigated this issue by studying age differences in comorbidity of DSM-IV major depressive episodes (MDE) with chronic physical conditions in the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys, a series of community epidemiological surveys carried out in 10 developed countries (n = 51,771) and 8 developing countries (n = 37,265). MDE and other mental disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Organic exclusion rules were not used to avoid inappropriate exclusion of cases with physical comorbidity. Physical conditions were assessed with a standard chronic conditions checklist. Results Twelve-month DSM-IV/CIDI MDE was significantly less prevalent among respondents ages 65+ than younger respondents in developed but not developing countries. Prevalence of comorbid mental disorders generally either decreased or remained stable with age, while comorbidity of MDE with mental disorders generally increased with age. Prevalence of physical conditions, in comparison, generally increased with age, while comorbidity of MDE with physical conditions generally decreased with age. Depression treatment was lowest among the elderly in developed and developing countries. Conclusions The weakening associations between MDE and physical conditions with increasing age argue against the suggestion that the low estimated prevalence of MDE among the elderly is due to increased confounding with physical disorders. Future study is needed to investigate processes that might lead to a decreasing impact of physical illness on depression among the elderly. PMID:20037917

The Effects of Suggestibility on Relaxation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rickard, Henry C.; And Others

1985-01-01

Selected undergraduates (N=32) on the basis of Creative Imagination Scale scores and randomly assigned high and low suggestibility subjects to progressive relaxation (PR) and suggestions of relaxation (SR) training modes. Results revealed a significant pre-post relaxation effect, and main efffects for both suggestibility and training mode. (NRB)

Redefining meaningful age groups in the context of disease.

PubMed

Geifman, Nophar; Cohen, Raphael; Rubin, Eitan

2013-12-01

Age is an important factor when considering phenotypic changes in health and disease. Currently, the use of age information in medicine is somewhat simplistic, with ages commonly being grouped into a small number of crude ranges reflecting the major stages of development and aging, such as childhood or adolescence. Here, we investigate the possibility of redefining age groups using the recently developed Age-Phenome Knowledge-base (APK) that holds over 35,000 literature-derived entries describing relationships between age and phenotype. Clustering of APK data suggests 13 new, partially overlapping, age groups. The diseases that define these groups suggest that the proposed divisions are biologically meaningful. We further show that the number of different age ranges that should be considered depends on the type of disease being evaluated. This finding was further strengthened by similar results obtained from clinical blood measurement data. The grouping of diseases that share a similar pattern of disease-related reports directly mirrors, in some cases, medical knowledge of disease-age relationships. In other cases, our results may be used to generate new and reasonable hypotheses regarding links between diseases.

Stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases: a case-matched study comparing treatment results for patients 80 years of age or older versus patients 65-79 years of age.

PubMed

Watanabe, Shinya; Yamamoto, Masaaki; Sato, Yasunori; Kawabe, Takuya; Higuchi, Yoshinori; Kasuya, Hidetoshi; Yamamoto, Tetsuya; Matsumura, Akira; Barfod, Bierta E

2014-11-01

of SRS-related complications (HR 0.616, 95% CI 0.152-2.495, p = 0.49). Among the Group A patients, post-SRS MSTs were 11.6 months (95% CI 7.8-19.6 months), 7.9 months (95% CI 5.2-10.9 months), and 2.8 months (95% CI; 2.4-4.6 months) in patients whose disease status was modified-recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) Class(es) I+IIa, IIb, and IIc+III, respectively (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that patients 80 years of age or older are not unfavorable candidates for SRS as compared with those 65-79 years old. Particularly, even among patients 80 years and older, those with modified-RPA Class I+IIa or IIb disease are considered to be favorable candidates for more aggressive treatment of brain metastases.

Suggestibility and compliance among alleged false confessors and resisters in criminal trials.

PubMed

Gudjonsson, G H

1991-04-01

This paper describes a study which compares the interrogative suggestibility and compliance scores of 20 alleged false confessors and 20 subjects who had persistently denied their involvement in the crime they were charged with in spite of forensic evidence against them (labelled 'resisters'). The two groups were 'matched' for age, sex, intelligence, memory recall capacity, and the seriousness of the offence. It was hypothesized that the resisters would score significantly lower on tests of suggestibility and compliance than the alleged false confessors. The findings were confirmed at a high level of significance. A separate analysis of 14 resisters and 72 alleged false confessors, where IQ and memory were used as covariates rather than 'matching' the two groups on the relevant variables, gave almost identical results. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

Adverse childhood experiences predict earlier age of drinking onset: results from a representative US sample of current or former drinkers.

PubMed

Rothman, Emily F; Edwards, Erika M; Heeren, Timothy; Hingson, Ralph W

2008-08-01

Our goal was to determine whether adverse childhood experiences predicted the age at which drinking was initiated and drinking motives in a representative sample of current or former drinkers in the United States. In 2006, a probability sample of 3592 US current or former drinkers aged 18 to 39 were surveyed. Multinomial logistic regression examined whether each of 10 adverse childhood experiences was associated with earlier ages of drinking onset, controlling for demographics, parental alcohol use, parental attitudes toward drinking, and peers' drinking in adolescence. We also examined whether there was a graded relationship between the number of adverse childhood experiences and age of drinking onset and whether adverse childhood experiences were related to self-reported motives for drinking during the first year that respondents drank. Sixty-six percent of respondents reported >or=1 adverse childhood experiences, and 19% reported experiencing >or=4. The most commonly reported adverse childhood experiences were parental separation/divorce (41.3%), living with a household member who was a problem drinker (28.7%), mental illness of a household member (24.8%), and sexual abuse (19.1%). Of the 10 specific adverse childhood experiences assessed, 5 were significantly associated with initiating drinking at age (compared with at >or=21 years of age) after adjustment for confounders, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, having a mentally ill household member, substance abuse in the home, and parental discord or divorce. Compared with those without adverse childhood experiences, respondents with adverse childhood experiences were substantially more likely to report that they drank to cope during the first year that they used alcohol. Results suggest that children with particular adverse childhood experiences may initiate drinking earlier than their peers and that they may be more likely to drink to cope with problems (rather than for pleasure or to be

U-Xe Degassing Ages of Terrestrial and Lunar Impact Zircons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crow, C. A.; Crowther, S. A.; Gilmour, J. D.; Busemann, H.; Moser, D. E.; McKeegan, K. D.

2015-07-01

We present U-Xe degassing ages for individual zircons from Apollo 14 samples and the terrestrial impact structure at Vrederfort, South Africa. Preliminary results suggest the degassing ages are consistent with or younger than their 207Pb-206Pb ages.

Sociological effects on vocal aging: Age related F0 effects in two languages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagao, Kyoko

2005-04-01

Listeners can estimate the age of a speaker fairly accurately from their speech (Ptacek and Sander, 1966). It is generally considered that this perception is based on physiologically determined aspects of the speech. However, the degree to which it is due to conventional sociolinguistic aspects of speech is unknown. The current study examines the degree to which fundamental frequency (F0) changes due to advanced aging across two language groups of speakers. It also examines the degree to which the speakers associate these changes with aging in a voice disguising task. Thirty native speakers each of English and Japanese, taken from three age groups, read a target phrase embedded in a carrier sentence in their native language. Each speaker also read the sentence pretending to be 20-years younger or 20-years older than their own age. Preliminary analysis of eighteen Japanese speakers indicates that the mean and maximum F0 values increase when the speakers pretended to be younger than when they pretended to be older. Some previous studies on age perception, however, suggested that F0 has minor effects on listeners' age estimation. The acoustic results will also be discussed in conjunction with the results of the listeners' age estimation of the speakers.

'Cape capture': Geologic data and modeling results suggest the holocene loss of a Carolina Cape

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thieler, E.R.; Ashton, A.D.

2011-01-01

For more than a century, the origin and evolution of the set of cuspate forelands known as the Carolina Capes-Hatteras, Lookout, Fear, and Romain-off the eastern coast of the United States have been discussed and debated. The consensus conceptual model is not only that these capes existed through much or all of the Holocene transgression, but also that their number has not changed. Here we describe bathymetric, lithologic, seismic, and chronologic data that suggest another cape may have existed between Capes Hatteras and Lookout during the early to middle Holocene. This cape likely formed at the distal end of the Neuse-Tar-Pamlico fiuvial system during the early Holocene transgression, when this portion of the shelf was fiooded ca. 9 cal (calibrated) kyr B.P., and was probably abandoned by ca. 4 cal kyr B.P., when the shoreline attained its present general configuration. Previously proposed mechanisms for cape formation suggest that the large-scale, rhythmic pattern of the Carolina Capes arose from a hydrodynamic template or the preexisting geologic framework. Numerical modeling, however, suggests that the number and spacing of capes can be dynamic, and that a coast can self-organize in response to a high-angle-wave instability in shoreline shape. In shoreline evolution model simulations, smaller cuspate forelands are subsumed by larger neighbors over millennial time scales through a process of 'cape capture.' The suggested former cape in Raleigh Bay represents the first interpreted geological evidence of dynamic abandonment suggested by the self-organization hypothesis. Cape capture may be a widespread process in coastal environments with large-scale rhythmic shoreline features; its preservation in the sedimentary record will vary according to geologic setting, physical processes, and sea-level history. ?? 2011 Geological Society of America.

Micromorphology of past urban soils: method and results (France, Iron Age - Middle Age)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cammas, Cécilia

2014-05-01

Urban soils in French protohistoric and Roman towns and present-day towns of roman origin are several meters thick accumulations, with great spatial and vertical variability due to long duration of occupation. In order to improve our knowledge of both sedimentary and pedological characteristics as well as formation processes of urban soils, micromorphological analysis was carried out on buried towns. The studied sites include Iron Age towns (floodplain sites: Lattes or Lattara, Le Cailar; oppidum: Pech-Maho in the south of France), a roman buried town (Famars or Fanum Martis, North of France), and various towns occupied from the Roman period until now (urban and periurban sites in Paris, Strasbourg, Mâcon… North and East of France). Original method and sampling strategy were elaborated in order to try to encompass both spatial and vertical variability as well as the "mitage" of the present-day cities. In Lattes, representative elementary urban areas such as streets, courtyard, and houses were sampled for micromorphology during extensive excavation. These analyses revealed specific microscopic features related to complex anthropogenic processes (craft and domestic activities discarding, trampling, backfill, building), moisture and heat, and biological activity, which defined each kind of area. Comparison between well preserved buried town and current cities of roman origin, where the sequence of past urban soils is preserved in few place ("mitage") help to identify past activities, building rhythms as well as specific building materials. For example, in Paris, compacted sandy backfills alternate with watertight hardfloors during the Roman period (soils similar to Technosols). At the opposite, various kinds of loose bioturbated laminated dark earth resulting from activities such as craft refuses, backfills, compost or trampled layers were discriminated for Early Medieval Period (soils similar to Cumulic Anthroposol). Moreover, biological activity is usually

The Prevalence of Nocturia and Nocturnal Polyuria: Can New Cutoff Values Be Suggested According to Age and Sex?

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Purpose The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of nocturia and nocturnal polyuria (NP) and to define new cutoff values according to age and sex for both conditions. Methods Data from a population-based prevalence survey conducted among a random sample of 2,128 adults were analyzed in this study. Participants were requested to fill out a questionnaire including the International Continence Society (ICS) definitions of lower urinary tract symptoms and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - Short Form. Additionally, a 1-day bladder diary was given to each individual. The participants were divided into 5 age groups. The prevalence of nocturia was calculated based on definitions of nocturia as ≥1 voiding episodes, ≥2 episodes, and ≥3 episodes. NP was evaluated according to the ICS definition. The mean±standard errors and 95th percentile values were calculated in each group as new cutoff values for NP. Results The prevalence of nocturia was estimated as 28.4%, 17.6%, and 8.9% for ≥1, ≥2, and ≥3 voiding episodes each night, respectively. When nocturia was defined as 2 or more voiding episodes at night, the prevalence decreased significantly. The mean NP index was 29.4%±15.0% in men and 23.1%±11.8% in women. For the age groups of <50 years, 50–59 years, and ≥60 years, the new cutoff values for the diagnosis of NP were calculated as 48%, 69%, and 59% for men and 41%, 50%, and 42% for women, respectively. Conclusions We found that the definition of nocturia was still controversial and that waking up once for voiding might be within the normal spectrum of behavior. The definition of NP should be modified, and new cutoff values should be defined using the data presented in our study and in other forthcoming studies. PMID:28043108

Organizational Climate for Successful Aging.

PubMed

Zacher, Hannes; Yang, Jie

2016-01-01

Research on successful aging at work has neglected contextual resources such as organizational climate, which refers to employees' shared perceptions of their work environment. We introduce the construct of organizational climate for successful aging (OCSA) and examine it as a buffer of the negative relationship between employee age and focus on opportunities (i.e., beliefs about future goals and possibilities at work). Moreover, we expected that focus on opportunities, in turn, positively predicts job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and motivation to continue working after official retirement age. Data came from 649 employees working in 120 companies (M age = 44 years, SD = 13). We controlled for organizational tenure, psychological climate for successful aging (i.e., individuals' perceptions), and psychological and organizational age discrimination climate. Results of multilevel analyses supported our hypotheses. Overall, our findings suggest that OCSA is an important contextual resource for successful aging at work.

Age-related injury patterns in Spanish trauma ICU patients. Results from the RETRAUCI.

PubMed

Llompart-Pou, Juan Antonio; Chico-Fernández, Mario; Sánchez-Casado, Marcelino; Alberdi-Odriozola, Fermín; Guerrero-López, Francisco; Mayor-García, María Dolores; González-Robledo, Javier; Ballesteros-Sanz, María Ángeles; Herrán-Monge, Rubén; León-López, Rafael; López-Amor, Lucía; Bueno-González, Ana

2016-09-01

Injury patterns may differ in trauma patients when age is considered. This information is relevant in the management of trauma patients and for planning preventive measures. We included in the study all patients admitted for traumatic disease in the participating ICUs from November 23 rd , 2012 to July 31 st , 2015 with complete records. Data on epidemiology, injury patterns, severity scores, acute management, resources utilisation and outcome were recorded and compared in the following groups of age: ≤55years (young adults), 56-65 years (adults), 66-75 years (elderly), >75years (very elderly). Quantitative data were reported as median (Interquartile Range (IQR) 25-75) and categorical data as number and percentage. Comparison between groups of age with quantitative variables was performed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Differences between groups with categorical variables were compared using the chi-square test. A value of p<0.05 was considered significant. We included 2700 patients (78.9% male). Median age was 46 (31-62) years. Blunt trauma was present in 93.7% of the patients. Median RTS was 7.55 (5.97-7.84). Median ISS was 20 (13-26). High-energy trauma secondary to motor-vehicle accident with rhabdomyolysis and drugs abuse showed an inverse linear association with ageing, whilst pedestrian falls with isolated brain injury, being run-over and pre-injury antiplatelets or anticoagulant treatment increased with age (in all cases p<0.001). Multiple injuries were more common in young adults (p<0.001). Acute kidney injury prevalence was higher in elderly and very elderly patients (p<0.001). ICU Mortality increased with age in spite of similar severity scores in all groups (p<0.001). The main cause of death in all groups was intracranial hypertension. Different injury patterns exist in relation with ageing in trauma ICU patients. Adult patients were more likely to present high-energy trauma with significant injuries in different areas whilst elderly

Aging: compensation or maturation?

PubMed

Aine, Cheryl J; Woodruff, Chad C; Knoefel, Janice E; Adair, John C; Hudson, David; Qualls, Clifford; Bockholt, Jeremy; Best, Elaine; Kovacevic, Sanja; Cobb, Wayne; Padilla, Denise; Hart, Blaine; Stephen, Julia M

2006-10-01

Neuroimaging studies of healthy aging often reveal differences in neural activation patterns between young and elderly groups for episodic memory tasks, even though there are no differences in behavioral performance. One explanation typically offered is that the elderly compensate for their memory deficiencies through the recruitment of additional prefrontal regions. The present study of healthy aging compared magnetoencephalographic (MEG) time-courses localized to specific cortical regions in two groups of subjects (20-29 years and >or=65 years) during a visual delayed-match-to-sample (DMS) task. MR morphometrics and neuropsychological test results were also examined with the hope of providing insight into the nature of the age-related differences. The behavioral results indicated no differences in performance between young and elderly groups. Although there was a main effect of age on the latency of the initial peak in primary/secondary visual cortex, these longer latencies were not correlated with the performance of elderly on the DMS task. The lateral occipital gyrus (LOG) revealed qualitatively different patterns of activity for the two age groups corroborated by neuropsychological test results. Morphometric results for the young versus elderly groups revealed less white (WM) and gray matter (GM) volumes in the frontal lobes of the elderly. When a group of middle-aged subjects (33-43 years) was included in the morphometric analyses, the middle-aged subjects revealed statistically greater WM volumes in frontal and parietal cortex suggesting immature WM tracts in the young. Perhaps our elderly utilized a different strategy compared to the young due to the different brain maturation levels of these groups.

Evolution of Aging Theories: Why Modern Programmed Aging Concepts Are Transforming Medical Research.

PubMed

Goldsmith, Theodore C

2016-12-01

Programmed aging refers to the idea that senescence in humans and other organisms is purposely caused by evolved biological mechanisms to obtain an evolutionary advantage. Until recently, programmed aging was considered theoretically impossible because of the mechanics of the evolution process, and medical research was based on the idea that aging was not programmed. Theorists struggled for more than a century in efforts to develop non-programmed theories that fit observations, without obtaining a consensus supporting any non-programmed theory. Empirical evidence of programmed lifespan limitations continued to accumulate. More recently, developments, especially in our understanding of biological inheritance, have exposed major issues and complexities regarding the process of evolution, some of which explicitly enable programmed aging of mammals. Consequently, science-based opposition to programmed aging has dramatically declined. This progression has major implications for medical research, because the theories suggest that very different biological mechanisms are ultimately responsible for highly age-related diseases that now represent most research efforts and health costs. Most particularly, programmed theories suggest that aging per se is a treatable condition and suggest a second path toward treating and preventing age-related diseases that can be exploited in addition to the traditional disease-specific approaches. The theories also make predictions regarding the nature of biological aging mechanisms and therefore suggest research directions. This article discusses developments of evolutionary mechanics, the consequent programmed aging theories, and logical inferences concerning biological aging mechanisms. It concludes that major medical research organizations cannot afford to ignore programmed aging concepts in assigning research resources and directions.

Effects of aging and gender on interhemispheric function.

PubMed

Bellis, T J; Wilber, L A

2001-04-01

The ability of the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate with one another via the corpus callosum is important for a wide variety of sensory, motor, and cognitive functions, many of them communication related. Anatomical evidence suggests that aging results in structural changes in the corpus callosum and that the course over time of age-related changes in corpus callosum structure may depend on the gender of the individual. Further, it has been hypothesized that age- and gender-related changes in corpus callosum structure may result in concomitant decreased performance on tasks that are reliant on interhemispheric integrity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of age and gender on auditory behavioral and visuomotor temporal indices of interhemispheric function across the life span of the normal adult. Results from 120 consistently right-handed adults from age 20 to 75 years revealed that interhemispheric integrity, as measured by dichotic listening, auditory temporal patterning, and visuomotor interhemispheric transfer time tasks, decreases relatively early in the adult life span (i.e., between the ages of 40 and 55 years) and shows no further decrease thereafter. In addition, the course over time of interhemispheric decline is different for men compared to women for some tasks. These findings suggest that decreased interhemispheric function may be a possible factor contributing to auditory and communication difficulties experienced by aging adults. In addition, results of this study hold implications for the clinical assessment of interhemispheric function in aging adults and for future research into the functional ramifications of decreased multimodality interhemispheric transfer.

Effects of age on navigation strategy.

PubMed

Rodgers, M Kirk; Sindone, Joseph A; Moffat, Scott D

2012-01-01

Age differences in navigation strategies have been demonstrated in animals, with aged animals more likely to prefer an egocentric (route) strategy and younger animals more likely to prefer an allocentric (place) strategy. Using a novel virtual Y-maze strategy assessment (vYSA), the present study demonstrated substantial age differences in strategy preference in humans. Older adults overwhelmingly preferred an egocentric strategy, while younger adults were equally distributed between egocentric and allocentric preference. A preference for allocentric strategy on the Y-maze strategy assessment was found to benefit performance on an independent assessment (virtual Morris water task) only in younger adults. These results establish baseline age differences in spatial strategies and suggest this may impact performance on other spatial navigation assessments. The results are interpreted within the framework of age differences in hippocampal structure and function. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Age-Related Effects of Advanced Glycation End Products (Ages) in Bone Matrix on Osteoclastic Resorption.

PubMed

Yang, Xiao; Gandhi, Chintan; Rahman, Md Mizanur; Appleford, Mark; Sun, Lian-Wen; Wang, Xiaodu

2015-12-01

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) accumulate in bone extracellular matrix as people age. Previous studies have shown controversial results regarding the role of in situ AGEs accumulation in osteoclastic resorption. To address this issue, this study cultured human osteoclast cells directly on human cadaveric bone slices from different age groups (young and elderly) to warrant its relevance to in vivo conditions. The cell culture was terminated on the 3rd, 7th, and 10th day, respectively, to assess temporal changes in the number of differentiated osteoclasts, the number and size of osteoclastic resorption pits, the amount of bone resorbed, as well as the amount of matrix AGEs released in the medium by resorption. In addition, the in situ concentration of matrix AGEs at each resorption pit was also estimated based on its AGEs autofluorescent intensity. The results indicated that (1) osteoclastic resorption activities were significantly correlated with the donor age, showing larger but shallower resorption pits on the elderly bone substrates than on the younger ones; (2) osteoclast resorption activities were not significantly dependent on the in situ AGEs concentration in bone matrix, and (3) a correlation was observed between osteoclast activities and the concentration of AGEs released by the resorption. These results suggest that osteoclasts tend to migrate away from initial anchoring sites on elderly bone substrate during resorption compared to younger bone substrates. However, such behavior is not directly related to the in situ concentration of AGEs in bone matrix at the resorption sites.

A Literature Review of Homelessness and Aging: Suggestions for a Policy and Practice-Relevant Research Agenda.

PubMed

Grenier, Amanda; Barken, Rachel; Sussman, Tamara; Rothwell, David; Bourgeois-Guérin, Valérie; Lavoie, Jean-Pierre

2016-03-01

Homelessness among older people is a growing concern across Canada and is expected to rise with demographic change (Crane & Warnes, 2010; Culhane, Metraux, Byrne, Stino, & Bainbridge, 2013). Yet current knowledge, policies, and practices on homelessness largely focus on younger populations. Likewise, research and policies on aging typically overlook homelessness. Responses to homelessness among older people must address complex needs related to health, income security, and housing. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this article outlines the existing and needed research with regards to homelessness among older people. We clarify the intersections of aging and homelessness; review the relevant statistics, including estimated prevalence; discuss pathways and variations in experience; and identify gaps in knowledge. We conclude with a call for an inclusive research agenda that will help build policies and practices to reduce and ultimately to eliminate homelessness among older people in Canada.

The neural architecture of age-related dual-task interferences.

PubMed

Chmielewski, Witold X; Yildiz, Ali; Beste, Christian

2014-01-01

In daily life elderly adults exhibit deficits when dual-tasking is involved. So far these deficits have been verified on a behavioral level in dual-tasking. Yet, the neuronal architecture of these deficits in aging still remains to be explored especially when late-middle aged individuals around 60 years of age are concerned. Neuroimaging studies in young participants concerning dual-tasking were, among others, related to activity in middle frontal (MFG) and superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and the anterior insula (AI). According to the frontal lobe hypothesis of aging, alterations in these frontal regions (i.e., SFG and MFG) might be responsible for cognitive deficits. We measured brain activity using fMRI, while examining age-dependent variations in dual-tasking by utilizing the PRP (psychological refractory period) test. Behavioral data showed an increasing PRP effect in late-middle aged adults. The results suggest the age-related deteriorated performance in dual-tasking, especially in conditions of risen complexity. These effects are related to changes in networks involving the AI, the SFG and the MFG. The results suggest that different cognitive subprocesses are affected that mediate the observed dual-tasking problems in late-middle aged individuals.

Whole-Genome Sequencing of a Healthy Aging Cohort.

PubMed

Erikson, Galina A; Bodian, Dale L; Rueda, Manuel; Molparia, Bhuvan; Scott, Erick R; Scott-Van Zeeland, Ashley A; Topol, Sarah E; Wineinger, Nathan E; Niederhuber, John E; Topol, Eric J; Torkamani, Ali

2016-05-05

Studies of long-lived individuals have revealed few genetic mechanisms for protection against age-associated disease. Therefore, we pursued genome sequencing of a related phenotype-healthy aging-to understand the genetics of disease-free aging without medical intervention. In contrast with studies of exceptional longevity, usually focused on centenarians, healthy aging is not associated with known longevity variants, but is associated with reduced genetic susceptibility to Alzheimer and coronary artery disease. Additionally, healthy aging is not associated with a decreased rate of rare pathogenic variants, potentially indicating the presence of disease-resistance factors. In keeping with this possibility, we identify suggestive common and rare variant genetic associations implying that protection against cognitive decline is a genetic component of healthy aging. These findings, based on a relatively small cohort, require independent replication. Overall, our results suggest healthy aging is an overlapping but distinct phenotype from exceptional longevity that may be enriched with disease-protective genetic factors. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Age differences in emotional reactions: arousal and age-relevance count.

PubMed

Streubel, Berit; Kunzmann, Ute

2011-12-01

Recent findings suggest positivity effects in older adults' attention and memory, but few studies have examined such effects on the level of emotional reactivity. In this study, 52 young and 52 older adults rated 172 pictures of the International Affective Picture System, differing in arousal and age-relevance, in terms of valence and discrete emotions. Age differences in the ratio of pleasantness reactions to pleasant pictures vs. unpleasantness reactions to unpleasant pictures as well as age differences in absolute levels of unpleasantness and pleasantness reactions suggest that positivity effects in older adults' subjective emotional reactions are reduced under high arousal. There is also evidence that positivity effects may be restricted to stimuli with low relevance in old age.

Effect of ageing time on suckling lamb meat quality resulting from different carcass chilling regimes.

PubMed

Vieira, C; Fernández, A M

2014-02-01

The effect of ageing on suckling lamb carcasses subjected to three chilling treatments was studied: Conventional (2 °C for 24h), ultra-fast (-20 °C for 3.5h then 2 °C until 24h post mortem) and slow chilling (12 °C for 7h then 2 °C until 24h post mortem) treatments. Meat quality measurements were carried out in carcasses at 24h post mortem and also after 5 days of ageing. Carcass chilling losses were not affected by a chilling regime. Aged meat showed higher cooking losses than non-aged meat (p<0.05). Sarcomere length of ultra-fast t was shorter (p<0.05) than conventional and conventional was shorter than slow chilling treatment (p<0.05), at 24h and after 5 days of ageing. Conventional and ultra-fast chilling treatments resulted in higher shear force values at 24h post mortem (p<0.05) compared to slow treatment. All treatments improved sensory scores with ageing (p<0.05), but ultra-fast chilling treatment did not attain higher values as the other two treatments. © 2013.

Gratitude From Early Adulthood to Old Age.

PubMed

Allemand, Mathias; Hill, Patrick L

2016-02-01

Are there age differences in gratitude from early adulthood to old age? The current studies tested several ways by which an association between age and dispositional gratitude may present, by considering multiple measures on both fronts. We used data from three cross-sectional studies (total N = 1,736; total age range: 19-94). The results indicated that (a) age effects in gratitude are more likely to occur for subjective age in terms of future time perspective (i.e., people's perceptions of their remaining opportunities and time) than chronological age; (b) chronological age effects are more domain specific than general in nature; and (c) they are more likely to occur for the instrumental domain as compared to the interpersonal domain. Finally, the results indicated that (d) perceived future time, particularly with respect to remaining opportunities, mediates the relation between chronological age and general gratitude. Overall, the findings suggest that gratitude is subject to a variety of developmental influences across adulthood. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Advanced glycated end-products (AGE) during haemodialysis treatment: discrepant results with different methodologies reflecting the heterogeneity of AGE compounds.

PubMed

Henle, T; Deppisch, R; Beck, W; Hergesell, O; Hänsch, G M; Ritz, E

1999-08-01

There has been much recent interest in accumulation of advanced glycation end-products (AGE) in uraemic patients. Analysis of AGE has been difficult, because commonly used methodologies, i.e. immunodetection assays or fluorescence measurements, reflect group reactivity and are not specific for chemically defined substances. Some investigators measured individual AGE compounds, e.g. pentosidine, carboxymethyllysine, pyrraline or imidazolone, but a systematic assessment of known compounds using specific HPLC methods in diabetic and non-diabetic end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients during treatment has not been performed. For the present study, the concentrations of early and late products of the Maillard reaction in plasma and ultrafiltrate were monitored during high-flux dialysis sessions in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. AGE were analysed by fluorescence spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography with fluorescence detection. Specific HPLC methods were used to quantify the Amadori product fructoselysine and the AGE compounds pentosidine and pyrraline in acid or enzymatic hydrolysates. Using size exclusion chromatography, we confirmed a similar fluorescent peak distribution for diabetic and non-diabetic ESRD patients. Main fractions were found at approximately 70, approximately 14 and <2 kDa, confirming results obtained by other authors. In diabetic patients, the fluorescence intensity of the low molecular weight fraction was higher. Uraemic patients differed from controls mainly by the fluorescence of the low molecular weight fraction. The peak spectrum in ultrafiltrates was similar to that in plasma regarding low molecular weight fractions and the 14 kDa peak, but no protein-bound fluorescence was found at 70 kDa. HPLC analysis revealed a significant reduction of plasma pentosidine during high-flux dialysis in non-diabetic (from 9.1+/-5.1 to 8.5+/-4.7 pmol/mg protein; P<0.05) and diabetic patients (from 10.0+/-9.1 to 6.8+/-4.0 pmol/mg protein; P<0

Developmental Differences across Middle Childhood in Memory and Suggestibility for Negative and Positive Events.

PubMed

Paz-Alonso, Pedro M; Goodman, Gail S

2016-01-01

In the present study, we investigated age differences in children's eyewitness memory and suggestibility for negative and positive events that children often experience during middle childhood. We first examined 216 ratings by children aged 8-12 years of the frequency and intensity of personal negative and positive experiences (Study 1). Based on those ratings, videotapes depicting the most frequent and intense negative (an accident) and positive (a family excursion) events were developed. A new sample of 227 children aged 8-12 years was tested for recognition memory of the videotapes using the three-stage post-event misinformation procedure (Study 2). Compared with 8- to 9-year-olds, 10- to 12-year-olds exhibited less memory malleability and less compliance with false information. Age improvements in recognition accuracy were also evident for children who watched the negative event, but not for those who watched the positive event. Compliance predicted misinformation effects, particularly in regard to peripheral details. Thus, using ecologically representative emotional events, age differences in suggestibility and memory accuracy emerged, especially for negative events.Theoretical and forensic implications concerning children's eyewitness memory and suggestibility are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Organizational Climate for Successful Aging

PubMed Central

Zacher, Hannes; Yang, Jie

2016-01-01

Research on successful aging at work has neglected contextual resources such as organizational climate, which refers to employees’ shared perceptions of their work environment. We introduce the construct of organizational climate for successful aging (OCSA) and examine it as a buffer of the negative relationship between employee age and focus on opportunities (i.e., beliefs about future goals and possibilities at work). Moreover, we expected that focus on opportunities, in turn, positively predicts job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and motivation to continue working after official retirement age. Data came from 649 employees working in 120 companies (Mage = 44 years, SD = 13). We controlled for organizational tenure, psychological climate for successful aging (i.e., individuals’ perceptions), and psychological and organizational age discrimination climate. Results of multilevel analyses supported our hypotheses. Overall, our findings suggest that OCSA is an important contextual resource for successful aging at work. PMID:27458405

Neuroinflammation and cognitive function in aged mice following minor surgery

PubMed Central

Rosczyk, H.A.; Sparkman, N. L.; Johnson, R.W.

2009-01-01

Following surgery, elderly patients often suffer from postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) which can persist long after physical recovery. It is known that surgery-induced tissue damage activates the peripheral innate immune system resulting in the release of inflammatory mediators. Compared to adults, aged animals demonstrate increased neuroinflammation and microglial priming that leads to an exaggerated proinflammatory cytokine response following activation of the peripheral immune system. Therefore, we sought to determine if the immune response to surgical trauma results in increased neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment in aged mice. Adult and aged mice underwent minor abdominal surgery and 24 h later hippocampal cytokines were measured and working memory was assessed in a reversal learning version of the Morris water maze. While adult mice showed no signs of neuroinflammation following surgery, aged mice had significantly increased levels of IL-1β mRNA in the hippocampus. Minor surgery did not result in severe cognitive impairment although aged mice that underwent surgery did tend to perseverate in the old target during reversal testing suggesting reduced cognitive flexibility. Overall these results suggest that minor surgery leads to an exaggerated neuroinflammatory response in aged mice but does not result in significantly impaired performance in the Morris water maze. PMID:18602982

Aged Garlic Extract Modifies Human Immunity.

PubMed

Percival, Susan S

2016-02-01

Garlic contains numerous compounds that have the potential to influence immunity. Immune cells, especially innate immune cells, are responsible for the inflammation necessary to kill pathogens. Two innate lymphocytes, γδ-T and natural killer (NK) cells, appear to be susceptible to diet modification. The purpose of this review was to summarize the influence of aged garlic extract (AGE) on the immune system. The author's laboratory is interested in AGE's effects on cell proliferation and activation and inflammation and to learn whether those changes might affect the occurrence and severity of colds and flu. Healthy human participants (n = 120), between 21 and 50 y of age, were recruited for a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel-intervention study to consume 2.56 g AGE/d or placebo supplements for 90 d during the cold and flu season. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated before and after consumption, and γδ-T and NK cell function was assessed by flow cytometry. The effect on cold and flu symptoms was determined by using daily diary records of self-reported illnesses. After 45 d of AGE consumption, γδ-T and NK cells proliferated better and were more activated than cells from the placebo group. After 90 d, although the number of illnesses was not significantly different, the AGE group showed reduced cold and flu severity, with a reduction in the number of symptoms, the number of days participants functioned suboptimally, and the number of work/school days missed. These results suggest that AGE supplementation may enhance immune cell function and may be partly responsible for the reduced severity of colds and flu reported. The results also suggest that the immune system functions well with AGE supplementation, perhaps with less accompanying inflammation. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01390116. © 2016 American Society for Nutrition.

Hypnotic suggestibility predicts the magnitude of the imaginative word blindness suggestion effect in a non-hypnotic context.

PubMed

Parris, Benjamin A; Dienes, Zoltan

2013-09-01

The present study investigated how the magnitude the word blindness suggestion effect on Stroop interference depended on hypnotic suggestibility when given as an imaginative suggestion (i.e. not post-hypnotic suggestion) and under conditions in which hypnosis was not mentioned. Hypnotic suggestibility is shown to be a significant predictor of the magnitude of the imaginative word blindness suggestion effect under these conditions. This is therefore the first study to show a linear relationship between the imaginative word blindness suggestion effect and hypnotic suggestibility across the whole hypnotizability spectrum. The results replicate previous findings showing that highs respond to the word blindness suggestion to a greater extent than lows but extend previous work by showing that the advantage for those higher on the hypnotizability spectrum occurs even in a non-hypnotic context. Negative attitudes about hypnosis may not explain the failure to observe similar effects of the word blindness suggestion in less hypnotizable individuals. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Burden of disability attributable to vertigo and dizziness in the aged: results from the KORA-Age study.

PubMed

Mueller, Martin; Strobl, Ralf; Jahn, Klaus; Linkohr, Birgit; Peters, Annette; Grill, Eva

2014-10-01

Complaints of vertigo and dizziness are common in primary care in the aged. They can be caused by distinct vestibular disorders, but can also be a symptom in other conditions like non-vestibular sensory loss, vascular encephalopathy or anxiety. The aim of this study was to investigate the specific contribution of vertigo and dizziness to the total burden of disability in aged persons when controlling for the presence of other health conditions. Data originate from the MONICA/KORA study, a population-based cohort. Survivors of the original cohorts who were 65 years and older were examined by telephone interview in 2009. Disability was assessed with the Health Assessment Questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to adjust for potential confounders and additive regression to estimate the contribution of vertigo and dizziness to disability prevalence. Adjusted for age, sex and other chronic conditions, vertigo and dizziness were associated with disability (odds ratio 1.66, 95% confidence intervals 1.40-1.98). In both men and women between 65 and 79 years, vertigo and dizziness were among the strongest contributors to the burden of disability with a prevalence of 10.5% (6.6 to 15.1) in men and 9.0% (5.7 to 13.0) in women. In men, this effect is stable across all age-groups, whereas it decreases with age in women. Vertigo and dizziness independently and relevantly contribute to population-attributable disability in the aged. They are not inevitable consequences of ageing but arise from distinct disease entities. Careful management of vertigo and dizziness might increase population health and reduce disability. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Young endothelial cells revive aging blood.

PubMed

Chang, Vivian Y; Termini, Christina M; Chute, John P

2017-11-01

The hematopoietic system declines with age, resulting in decreased hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal capacity, myeloid skewing, and immune cell depletion. Aging of the hematopoietic system is associated with an increased incidence of myeloid malignancies and a decline in adaptive immunity. Therefore, strategies to rejuvenate the hematopoietic system have important clinical implications. In this issue of the JCI, Poulos and colleagues demonstrate that infusions of bone marrow (BM) endothelial cells (ECs) from young mice promoted HSC self-renewal and restored immune cell content in aged mice. Additionally, delivery of young BM ECs along with HSCs following total body irradiation improved HSC engraftment and enhanced survival. These results suggest an important role for BM endothelial cells (ECs) in regulating hematopoietic aging and support further research to identify the rejuvenating factors elaborated by BM ECs that restore HSC function and the immune repertoire in aged mice.

Paranodal reorganization results in the depletion of transverse bands in the aged central nervous system

PubMed Central

Shepherd, Mark N.; Pomicter, Anthony D.; Velazco, Cristine S.; Henderson, Scott C.; Dupree, Jeffrey L.

2012-01-01

Paranodal axo-glial junctional complexes anchor the myelin sheath to the axon and breakdown of these complexes presumably facilitates demyelination. Myelin deterioration is also prominent in the aging central nervous system (CNS); however, the stability of the paranodal complexes in the aged CNS has not been examined. Here, we show that transverse bands, prominent components of paranodal junctions, are significantly reduced in the aged CNS; however, the number of paired clusters of both myelin and axonal paranodal proteins is not altered. Ultrastructural analyses also reveal that thicker myelin sheaths display a “piling” of paranodal loops, the cytoplasm-containing sacs that demarcate the paranode. Loops involved in piling are observed throughout the paranode and are not limited to loops positioned in either the nodal- or juxtanodal-most regions. Here, we propose that as myelination continues, previously anchored loops lose their transverse bands and recede away from the axolemma. Newly juxtaposed loops then lose their transverse bands, move laterally to fill in the gap left by the receded loops and finally reform their transverse bands. This paranodal reorganization results in conservation of paranodal length, which may be important in maintaining ion channel spacing and axonal function. Furthermore, we propose that transverse band reformation is less efficient in the aged CNS, resulting in the significant reduction of these junctional components. Although demyelination was not observed, we propose that loss of transverse bands facilitates myelin degeneration and may predispose the aged CNS to a poorer prognosis following a secondary insult. PMID:20888080

Comparative Endocrinology of Aging and Longevity Regulation

PubMed Central

Allard, John B.; Duan, Cunming

2011-01-01

Hormones regulate growth, development, metabolism, and other complex processes in multicellular animals. For many years it has been suggested that hormones may also influence the rate of the aging process. Aging is a multifactorial process that causes biological systems to break down and cease to function in adult organisms as time passes, eventually leading to death. The exact underlying causes of the aging process remain a topic for debate, and clues that may shed light on these causes are eagerly sought after. In the last two decades, gene mutations that result in delayed aging and extended longevity have been discovered, and many of the affected genes have been components of endocrine signaling pathways. In this review we summarize the current knowledge on the roles of endocrine signaling in the regulation of aging and longevity in various animals. We begin by discussing the notion that conserved systems, including endocrine signaling pathways, “regulate” the aging process. Findings from the major model organisms: worms, flies, and rodents, are then outlined. Unique lessons from studies of non-traditional models: bees, salmon, and naked mole rats, are also discussed. Finally, we summarize the endocrinology of aging in humans, including changes in hormone levels with age, and the involvement of hormones in aging-related diseases. The most well studied and widely conserved endocrine pathway that affects aging is the insulin/insulin-like growth factor system. Mutations in genes of this pathway increase the lifespan of worms, flies, and mice. Population genetic evidence also suggests this pathway’s involvement in human aging. Other hormones including steroids have been linked to aging only in a subset of the models studied. Because of the value of comparative studies, it is suggested that the aging field could benefit from adoption of additional model organisms. PMID:22654825

School-age adopted Chinese girls' behavioral adjustment, academic performance, and social skills: longitudinal results.

PubMed

Tan, Tony Xing

2009-04-01

Longitudinal data on 177 school-age adopted Chinese girls (Time 1: mean age = 8.92 years, SD = 1.76; Time 2: mean age = 11.18 years, SD = 1.79) were analyzed to determine their long-term outcomes in behavioral adjustment, academic performance (measured with the Child Behavior Checklist/6-18), and social skills (measured with the Social Skills Rating System) and how these outcomes were related to preadoption adversity. More than 90% of the girls were adopted at 24 months or younger (M = 19.25, SD = 21.67). Results revealed that over a 2-year period, there was a moderate to strong stability in the children's behavioral adjustment and academic performance. However, there was a significant increase in the number of children with deviant internalizing problems. At both times, higher degrees of preadoption adversity were related to more internalizing problems and poorer academic performance. Children who were adopted at older ages had poorer academic performance. Children who were older had a lower level of assertion and a higher level of responsibility. Children's attention problems at Time 1 mediated the effect of preadoption adversity on academic performance at Time 2. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Rewriting age to overcome misaligned age and gender norms in later life.

PubMed

Morelock, Jeremiah C; Stokes, Jeffrey E; Moorman, Sara M

2017-01-01

In this paper we suggest that older adults undergo a misalignment between societal age norms and personal lived experience, and attempt reconciliation through discursive strategies: They rewrite how they frame chronological age as well as their subjective relations to it. Using a sample of 4041 midlife and older adults from the 2004-2006 wave of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS II), we explore associations of age and gender with subjective age and at what age respondents felt people enter later life. Our results confirm that as men and women age, they push up the age at which they think people enter later life, and slow down subjective aging (there is a growing gap between subjective and chronological age). Relations between a person's age and at what age they think people enter later life were stronger for men than for women. For every year they get older get older, men push up when they think people enter later life by 0.24years, women by 0.16years. Age norms surrounding the transition to later life may be more prominent for men than for women, and the difference in their tendencies to push up when they mark entry into later life may be a reflection of this greater prominence. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

RETINAL VASCULAR PATHOLOGY RISK DEVELOPMENT IN THE IRRADIATED AT DIFFERENT AGES AS A RESULT OF CHERNOBYL NPP ACCIDENT.

PubMed

Fedirko, P A; Babenko, T F; Dorichevska, R Yu; Garkava, N A

2015-12-01

To assess the relationship between the age at which a person undergoes radiation exposure and risk of developing eye lesions (case study of the retinal angiopathy prevalence). The object of the study was the state of the retinal vessels in 2,531 persons (1,948 evacuated from the city of Pripyat under the age of 20 and 583 exposed to radiation in utero as a result of the Chernobyl NPP disaster. The results of standardized ophthalmic examination conducted from 1993 to 2000 within the framework of Clinical and epidemiological registry are used for the analysis. The evacuees were subdivided into different age groups of the exposed to radiation. The cohort of control group formed corresponding age groups of the unirradiated control. Statistical analysis of the survey results was carried out using the free trial version of «Open Epi 2.2.1» software package. The results obtained revealed a significant prevalence of retinal vessels pathology in all groups. The difference in angiopathy prevalence in exposed in utero persons was significant compared to age-control. The prevalence of retinal vascular pathology was also significantly higher in all groups of evacuees. Angiopathy prevalence was higher in the group exposed in utero and at the age of 8-12 years, and in the group of people who were exposed at the age of 4-7 years, the risk of angiopathy was lower. It is proved that the occurrence of distant radiation effects mainly depends on the age at which a person has undergone irradiation. It should be noted that all the other conditions were approximately the same. If working conditions of the persons who were exposed in utero or were aged 8 to 20 years when the Chernobyl disaster happened are connected with occupational radiation exposure it is necessary to take additional preventive measures. P. А. Fedirko, T. F. Babenko, R. Yu. Dorichevska, N. А. Garkava.

Endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery for patients aged over 80 years with pituitary adenomas: Surgical and follow-up results.

PubMed

Fujimoto, Kenji; Yano, Shigetoshi; Shinojima, Naoki; Hide, Takuichiro; Kuratsu, Jun-Ichi

2017-01-01

With the rapid aging of the general population, the number of pituitary adenoma (PA) diagnosed in elderly patients is increasing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery (ETSS) for PA in patients aged ≥80 years. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients aged ≥80 years who underwent ETSS for PA at our hospital from January 2001 through December 2014. Treatment results were assessed by the extent of surgical removal, symptom improvement, postoperative complications, and Karnofsky performance status (KPS). The results were also compared with the surgical result of PA patients aged <80 years. Twelve patients aged ≥80 years underwent ETSS for PA. Recovery of visual function was observed in 11 patients (91.7%). Postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage was observed in 3 patients. New hormonal replacement therapy was required in 2 patients. These complications had not affected patient prognosis. During the follow-up periods, deterioration of KPS was observed in 2 patients due to pneumonia or cerebral infarction. In total, 150 PA patients aged <80 years were compared with the patients aged ≥80 years. The percentage of total removal was significantly higher in the younger patient group than that in the older one (54.0% vs 16.6%, respectively; P = 0.016). Visual improvement was observed in 93.2% of the younger patient group, which was almost equal to that in the older one. ETSS is a safe and effective surgical technique in PA patients aged ≥80 years.

Quantifying the impact of µCT-scanning of human fossil teeth on ESR age results.

PubMed

Duval, Mathieu; Martín-Francés, Laura

2017-05-01

Fossil human teeth are nowadays systematically CT-scanned by palaeoanthropologists prior to any further analysis. It has been recently demonstrated that this noninvasive technique has, in most cases, virtually no influence on ancient DNA preservation. However, it may have nevertheless an impact on other techniques, like Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating, by artificially ageing the apparent age of the sample. To evaluate this impact, we µCT-scanned several modern enamel fragments following the standard analytical procedures employed by the Dental Anthropology Group at CENIEH, Spain, and then performed ESR dose reconstruction for each of them. The results of our experiment demonstrate that the systematic high-resolution µCT-scanning of fossil hominin remains introduces a nonnegligible X-ray dose into the tooth enamel, equivalent to 15-30 Gy depending on the parameters used. This dose may be multiplied by a factor of ∼8 if no metallic filter is used. However, this dose estimate cannot be universally extrapolated to any µCT-scan experiment but has instead to be specifically assessed for each device and set of parameters employed. The impact on the ESR age results is directly dependent on the magnitude of the geological dose measured in fossil enamel but could potentially lead to an age overestimation up to 40% in case of Late Pleistocene samples, if not taken into consideration. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

LSD enhances suggestibility in healthy volunteers.

PubMed

Carhart-Harris, R L; Kaelen, M; Whalley, M G; Bolstridge, M; Feilding, A; Nutt, D J

2015-02-01

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has a history of use as a psychotherapeutic aid in the treatment of mood disorders and addiction, and it was also explored as an enhancer of mind control. The present study sought to test the effect of LSD on suggestibility in a modern research study. Ten healthy volunteers were administered with intravenous (i.v.) LSD (40-80 μg) in a within-subject placebo-controlled design. Suggestibility and cued mental imagery were assessed using the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS) and a mental imagery test (MIT). CIS and MIT items were split into two versions (A and B), balanced for 'efficacy' (i.e. A ≈ B) and counterbalanced across conditions (i.e. 50 % completed version 'A' under LSD). The MIT and CIS were issued 110 and 140 min, respectively, post-infusion, corresponding with the peak drug effects. Volunteers gave significantly higher ratings for the CIS (p = 0.018), but not the MIT (p = 0.11), after LSD than placebo. The magnitude of suggestibility enhancement under LSD was positively correlated with trait conscientiousness measured at baseline (p = 0.0005). These results imply that the influence of suggestion is enhanced by LSD. Enhanced suggestibility under LSD may have implications for its use as an adjunct to psychotherapy, where suggestibility plays a major role. That cued imagery was unaffected by LSD implies that suggestions must be of a sufficient duration and level of detail to be enhanced by the drug. The results also imply that individuals with high trait conscientiousness are especially sensitive to the suggestibility-enhancing effects of LSD.

Is hypertension in adult age related to unemployment at a young age? Results from the Northern Swedish Cohort.

PubMed

Nygren, Karina; Gong, Weidan; Hammarström, Anne

2015-02-01

The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between early unemployment (ages 16-21 years) and adult hypertension after controlling for earlier hypertension, unemployment in adult life, risk factors for hypertension and confounders. A cohort of 927 (86.6% of the original cohort) 9th grade school-leavers was followed from 1981 until 2008. Data were collected through questionnaires, health examinations, and national registers. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used as primary statistical methods. At ages 21 and 43, hypertension was significantly more prevalent among men than women (p < .001). Unemployment between the ages of 16 and 21 was related to hypertension at age 43 among women but not men. The odds ratio (OR) was persistently high (OR 3.16 [95% confidence interval 1.45-6.89]) after controlling for late unemployment, hypertension at age 16, risk factors for hypertension and confounders. There was no significant relationship between exposure to early unemployment and hypertension at age 21 for women or men. From a public health perspective, youth unemployment is a societal problem in need of more attention and intervention in order to prevent long-term adverse health outcomes. © 2014 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

Socio-economic determinants of health behaviours across age groups: results of a cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

Dorner, T E; Stronegger, W J; Hoffmann, K; Stein, K Viktoria; Niederkrotenthaler, T

2013-05-01

The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of different socio-economic variables on the lifestyle factors, like lack of physical activity, diet rich in meat, and smoking, across sex and age groups in the general Austrian population to formulate more targeted public health measures. The Austrian Health Interview Survey 2006-07 contains data of 15,474 people, representative for the general population. Statistical analyses included linear and logistic regression models. Lack of physical activity was more prevalent in women, while unhealthy nutrition and daily smoking were more prevalent in men. Overall, profession was the strongest predictor for health behaviour in men, while the educational level played the most significant role in women. Subjects in higher age groups had a more healthy nutrition and were less likely to smoke, but had a higher chance for lack of physical activity. Socio-economic factors predict lifestyle choices differently in different age groups. For example, in men, the highest percentage of daily smokers was found in the middle age, while the youngest age group was the one that smoked the most in women. Furthermore, the educational level had a reverse effect on women in the oldest age group, where those with tertiary education smoked three times more than those with less education. Our results emphasise the importance of taking a holistic approach towards health, including educational, cultural and age-specific policies to improve the overall health status and health equality of a population.

Accelerated aging, natural aging, and small punch testing of gamma-air sterilized polycarbonate urethane acetabular components.

PubMed

Kurtz, S M; Siskey, R; Reitman, M

2010-05-01

The objectives of this study were three-fold: (1) to determine the applicability of the small punch test to characterize Bionate 80A polycarbonate urethane (PCU) acetabular implants; (2) to evaluate the susceptibility of PCU acetabular implants to exhibit degradation of mechanical behavior following gamma irradiation in air and accelerated aging; and (3) to compare the oxidation of gamma-air sterilized PCU following accelerated aging and 5 years of natural shelf aging. In addition to attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, we also adapted a miniature specimen mechanical test, the small punch test, for the deformable PCU cups. Accelerated aging was performed using ASTM F2003, a standard test that represents a severe oxidative challenge. The results of this study suggest that the small punch test is sufficiently sensitive and reproducible to discriminate slight differences in the large-deformation mechanical behavior of Bionate 80A following accelerated aging. The gamma-air sterilized PCU had a reduction of 9% in ultimate load after aging. Five years of shelf aging had little effect on the mechanical properties of the PCU. Overall, our findings suggest that the Bionate 80A material has greater oxidative stability than ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene following gamma irradiation in air and exposure to a severe oxidative challenge. (c) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Delaying aging and the aging-associated decline in protein homeostasis by inhibition of tryptophan degradation

PubMed Central

van der Goot, Annemieke T.; Zhu, Wentao; Vázquez-Manrique, Rafael P.; Seinstra, Renée I.; Dettmer, Katja; Michels, Helen; Farina, Francesca; Krijnen, Jasper; Melki, Ronald; Buijsman, Rogier C.; Ruiz Silva, Mariana; Thijssen, Karen L.; Kema, Ido P.; Neri, Christian; Oefner, Peter J.; Nollen, Ellen A. A.

2012-01-01

Toxicity of aggregation-prone proteins is thought to play an important role in aging and age-related neurological diseases like Parkinson and Alzheimer’s diseases. Here, we identify tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (tdo-2), the first enzyme in the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation, as a metabolic regulator of age-related α-synuclein toxicity in a Caenorhabditis elegans model. Depletion of tdo-2 also suppresses toxicity of other heterologous aggregation-prone proteins, including amyloid-β and polyglutamine proteins, and endogenous metastable proteins that are sensors of normal protein homeostasis. This finding suggests that tdo-2 functions as a general regulator of protein homeostasis. Analysis of metabolite levels in C. elegans strains with mutations in enzymes that act downstream of tdo-2 indicates that this suppression of toxicity is independent of downstream metabolites in the kynurenine pathway. Depletion of tdo-2 increases tryptophan levels, and feeding worms with extra l-tryptophan also suppresses toxicity, suggesting that tdo-2 regulates proteotoxicity through tryptophan. Depletion of tdo-2 extends lifespan in these worms. Together, these results implicate tdo-2 as a metabolic switch of age-related protein homeostasis and lifespan. With TDO and Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase as evolutionarily conserved human orthologs of TDO-2, intervening with tryptophan metabolism may offer avenues to reducing proteotoxicity in aging and age-related diseases. PMID:22927396

Results of endoscopic third ventriculostomy in elderly patients ≥65 years of age.

PubMed

Niknejad, Hamid Reza; Depreitere, Bart; De Vleeschouwer, Steven; Van Calenbergh, Frank; van Loon, Johannes

2015-03-01

Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) has been accepted as the procedure of choice for the treatment of obstructive hydrocephalus in children and adults. The role and outcome of this procedure in the elderly has not been evaluated yet. Over an 11-year interval we retrospectively analyzed data of patients, 65+ years of age, who underwent ETV in our center. Success of the procedure was assessed in terms of symptom relief and/or elimination of the need for shunting. Additionally pre- and postoperative ventricular volumes were estimated using Evan's index (Ei) and fronto-occipital horn ratio (FOR). In our analysis we compared the results of the elderly patients with those of the pediatric and adult age groups treated in our center. We obtained data of 16 elderly cases (11 males, 5 females), mean age 72.8 years (66-83 years) out of the 91 patients treated with ETV in total. The success rate was 75% in this age group; mean follow-up 18.4 months (2-55 months). In 10 patients a mass lesion was the underlying cause of hydrocephalus. Mean ventricular size reduction was 18% and 13.5% (Ei and FOR) in the success group vs. 7.6% and 6.2% in the failure group. Three out of four patients who had shunting pre-EVT, became shunt independent post-operatively. The presence of flow void over the stoma was 100% correlated with success. All 7 patients with a primary or metastatic brain tumor were able to receive radiation therapy. Also in elderly, ETV is a safe and efficient procedure, with success rates similar to the younger population. Further research is required to set up a prognostic scoring system for this age group. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Aging, Rejuvenation, and Epigenetic Reprogramming: Resetting the Aging Clock

PubMed Central

Rando, Thomas A.; Chang, Howard Y.

2012-01-01

The underlying cause of aging remains one of the central mysteries of biology. Recent studies in several different systems suggest that not only may the rate of aging be modified by environmental and genetic factors, but also that the aging clock can be reversed, restoring characteristics of youthfulness to aged cells and tissues. This Review focuses on the emerging biology of rejuvenation through the lens of epigenetic reprogramming. By defining youthfulness and senescence as epigenetic states, a framework for asking new questions about the aging process emerges. PMID:22265401

Theories of Suggestion.

PubMed

Brown, W

1928-02-01

The word "suggestion" has been used in educational, scientific and medical literature in slightly different senses. In psychological medicine the use of suggestion has developed out of the earlier use of hypnotic influence.Charcot defined hypnosis as an artificial hysteria, Bernheim as an artificially increased suggestibility. The two definitions need to be combined to give an adequate account of hypnosis. Moreover, due allowance should be made for the factors of dissociation and of rapport in hypnotic phenomena.The relationships between dissociation, suggestibility, and hypnotizability.Theories of suggestion propounded by Pierre Janet, Freud, McDougall, Pawlow and others. Ernest Jones's theory of the nature of auto-suggestion. Janet explains suggestion in terms of ideo-motor action in which the suggested idea, because of the inactivity of competing ideas, produces its maximum effect. Freud explains rapport in terms of the sex instinct "inhibited in its aim" (transference) and brings in his distinction of "ego" and "ego-ideal" (or "super-ego") to supplement the theory. Jones explains auto-suggestion in terms of narcissism. McDougall explains hypnotic suggestion in terms of the instinct of self-abasement. But different instincts may supply the driving power to produce suggestion-effects in different circumstances. Such instincts as those of self-preservation (fear) and gregariousness may play their part. Auto-suggestion as a therapeutic factor is badly named. It supplements, but does not supplant the will, and makes complete volition possible.

Teasing apart the relations between age, birth cohort, and vocational interests.

PubMed

Leuty, Melanie E; Hansen, Jo-Ida C

2014-04-01

Empirical evidence supports that aging is related to differences in work attitudes and motivation (Inceoglu, Segers, & Bartram, 2012; Kooij, de Lange, Jansen, Kanfer, & Kikkers, 2011; Ng & Feldman, 2008, 2010), but little research has explored the relations between age and vocational interests. Furthermore, recent studies of age and work attitudes suggest that generational experiences (i.e., birth year) may account for age differences in the workplace (Inceoglu et al., 2012; Ng & Feldman, 2008, 2010), which in turn suggests that researchers need to incorporate both age and birth cohort effects in their designs. Thus, this study was designed to explore the relations of age at the time of testing and birth year to vocational interests using a sample of adults (N = 1,792) collected over a period of 3 decades. As expected, age was not a significant predictor of most interests, but birth year also was not found to predict most interests, with the significant prediction of Realistic interests by both age and birth year being the exception. Gender, however, significantly predicted most areas of interests. Neither age nor gender moderated any relationships between birth year and interests. Results suggest that birth year and age were minimally related to interests as all effect sizes were small. Discussion of the results illustrates the need for further research on this issue and also offers considerations for attracting and retaining different generations of workers in light of the findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Age related differences in the disposition of acetanilide.

PubMed Central

Playfer, J R; Baty, J D; Lamb, J; Powell, C; Price-Evans, D A

1978-01-01

1 The metabolism of fifteen elderly hospital in-patients and fifteen young people was studied, using a gas chromatography mass spectrometer method. 2 The results suggest that there is no significant change in hepatic oxidation of acetanilide with age. 3 The concentrations of metabolites were however, significantly elevated in the older group. 4 These results illustrate the importance of the decline in renal function with age in the disposition of drugs. PMID:728323

The influence of suggestibility on memory.

PubMed

Nicolas, Serge; Collins, Thérèse; Gounden, Yannick; Roediger, Henry L

2011-06-01

We provide a translation of Binet and Henri's pioneering 1894 paper on the influence of suggestibility on memory. Alfred Binet (1857-1911) is famous as the author who created the IQ test that bears his name, but he is almost unknown as the psychological investigator who generated numerous original experiments and fascinating results in the study of memory. His experiments published in 1894 manipulated suggestibility in several ways to determine effects on remembering. Three particular modes of suggestion were employed to induce false recognitions: (1) indirect suggestion by a preconceived idea; (2) direct suggestion; and (3) collective suggestion. In the commentary we suggest that Binet and Henri's (1894) paper written over 115 years ago is still highly relevant even today. In particular, Binet's legacy lives on in modern research on misinformation effects in memory, in studies of conformity, and in experiments on the social contagion of memory. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Health literacy in old age: results of a German cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Vogt, Dominique; Schaeffer, Doris; Messer, Melanie; Berens, Eva-Maria; Hurrelmann, Klaus

2017-03-22

Health literacy is especially important for older people to maintain or enhance remaining health resources and self-management skills. The aim of the study was to determine the level of health literacy and the association between health literacy, demographic and socio-economic factors in German older adults aged 65 years and above stratified by age group. Health literacy was assessed via computer-assisted personal interviews using HLS-EU-Q47 on a representative sample of the German-speaking population. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses and logistic regression modelling stratified by age group were conducted to assess health literacy of 475 respondents aged 65 years and above. Overall, 66.3% of all respondents aged 65 years and above had limited health literacy. Limited health literacy was especially prevalent among respondents above 76 years of age (80.6%). Limited health literacy was associated with financial deprivation (OR: 3.05; 95% CI: 1.99-4.67) and limited functional health literacy (OR: 2.16; 95% CI: 1.29-3.61). Financial deprivation was strongest predictor for limited health literacy in the total sample and stratified by age group. Limited health literacy is a frequent phenomenon in German adults aged 65 years and above. Research on health literacy in old age and the role in health disparities is urgently needed. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Cardiac Physiology of Aging: Extracellular Considerations.

PubMed

Horn, Margaux A

2015-07-01

Aging is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, with the majority of affected patients being elderly. Progressive changes to myocardial structure and function occur with aging, often in concert with underlying pathologies. However, whether chronological aging results in a remodeled "aged substrate" has yet to be established. In addition to myocyte contractility, myocardial performance relies heavily on the cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM), the roles of which are as dynamic as they are significant; including providing structural integrity, assisting in force transmission throughout the cardiac cycle and acting as a signaling medium for communication between cells and the extracellular environment. In the healthy heart, ECM homeostasis must be maintained, and matrix deposition is in balance with degradation. Consequently, alterations to, or misregulation of the cardiac ECM has been shown to occur in both aging and in pathological remodeling with disease. Mounting evidence suggests that age-induced matrix remodeling may occur at the level of ECM control; including collagen synthesis, deposition, maturation, and degradation. Furthermore, experimental studies using aged animal models not only suggest that the aged heart may respond differently to insult than the young, but the identification of key players specific to remodeling with age may hold future therapeutic potential for the treatment of cardiac dysfunction in the elderly. This review will focus on the role of the cardiac interstitium in the physiology of the aging myocardium, with particular emphasis on the implications to age-related remodeling in disease. © 2015 American Physiological Society.

Presenting self-monitoring test results for consumers: the effects of graphical formats and age.

PubMed

Tao, Da; Yuan, Juan; Qu, Xingda

2018-05-11

To examine the effects of graphical formats and age on consumers' comprehension and perceptions of the use of self-monitoring test results. Participants (36 older and 36 young adults) were required to perform verbatim comprehension and value interpretation tasks with hypothetical self-monitoring test results. The test results were randomly presented by four reference range number lines: basic, color enhanced, color/text enhanced, and personalized information enhanced formats. We measured participants' task performance and eye movement data during task completion, and their perceptions and preference of the graphical formats. The 4 graphical formats yielded comparable task performance, while text/color and personalized information enhanced formats were believed to be easier and more useful in information comprehension, and led to increased confidence in correct comprehension of test results, compared with other formats (all p's < .05). Perceived health risk increased as the formats applied more information cues (p = .008). There were age differences in task performance and visual attention (all p's < .01), while young and older adults had similar perceptions for the 4 formats. Personalized information enhanced format was preferred by both groups. Text/color and personalized information cues appear to be useful for comprehending test results. Future work can be directed to improve the design of graphical formats especially for older adults, and to assess the formats in clinical settings.

Aging and inflammation: etiological culprits of cancer.

PubMed

Ahmad, Aamir; Banerjee, Sanjeev; Wang, Zhiwei; Kong, Dejuan; Majumdar, Adhip P N; Sarkar, Fazlul H

2009-12-01

The biochemical phenomenon of aging, as universal as it is, still remains poorly understood. A number of diseases are associated with aging either as a cause or consequence of the aging process. The incidence of human cancers increases exponentially with age and therefore cancer stands out as a disease that is intricately connected to the process of aging. Emerging evidence clearly suggests that there is a symbiotic relationship between aging, inflammation and chronic diseases such as cancer; however, it is not clear whether aging leads to the induction of inflammatory processes thereby resulting in the development and maintenance of chronic diseases or whether inflammation is the causative factor for inducing both aging and chronic diseases such as cancer. Moreover, the development of chronic diseases especially cancer could also lead to the induction of inflammatory processes and may cause premature aging, suggesting that longitudinal research strategies must be employed for dissecting the interrelationships between aging, inflammation and cancer. Here, we have described our current understanding on the importance of inflammation, activation of NF-kappaB and various cytokines and chemokines in the processes of aging and in the development of chronic diseases especially cancer. We have also reviewed the prevailing theories of aging and provided succinct evidence in support of novel theories such as those involving cancer stem cells, the molecular understanding of which would likely hold a great promise towards unraveling the complex relationships between aging, inflammation and cancer.

‘Cape capture’: Geologic data and modeling results suggest the Holocene loss of a Carolina Cape

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thieler, E. Robert; Ashton, Andrew D.

2011-01-01

For more than a century, the origin and evolution of the set of cuspate forelands known as the Carolina Capes—Hatteras, Lookout, Fear, and Romain—off the eastern coast of the United States have been discussed and debated. The consensus conceptual model is not only that these capes existed through much or all of the Holocene transgression, but also that their number has not changed. Here we describe bathymetric, lithologic, seismic, and chronologic data that suggest another cape may have existed between Capes Hatteras and Lookout during the early to middle Holocene. This cape likely formed at the distal end of the Neuse-Tar-Pamlico fluvial system during the early Holocene transgression, when this portion of the shelf was flooded ca. 9 cal (calibrated) kyr B.P., and was probably abandoned by ca. 4 cal kyr B.P., when the shoreline attained its present general configuration. Previously proposed mechanisms for cape formation suggest that the large-scale, rhythmic pattern of the Carolina Capes arose from a hydrodynamic template or the preexisting geologic framework. Numerical modeling, however, suggests that the number and spacing of capes can be dynamic, and that a coast can self-organize in response to a high-angle-wave instability in shoreline shape. In shoreline evolution model simulations, smaller cuspate forelands are subsumed by larger neighbors over millennial time scales through a process of ‘cape capture.’ The suggested former cape in Raleigh Bay represents the first interpreted geological evidence of dynamic abandonment suggested by the self-organization hypothesis. Cape capture may be a widespread process in coastal environments with large-scale rhythmic shoreline features; its preservation in the sedimentary record will vary according to geologic setting, physical processes, and sea-level history.

Early-Life Intelligence Predicts Midlife Biological Age.

PubMed

Schaefer, Jonathan D; Caspi, Avshalom; Belsky, Daniel W; Harrington, Honalee; Houts, Renate; Israel, Salomon; Levine, Morgan E; Sugden, Karen; Williams, Benjamin; Poulton, Richie; Moffitt, Terrie E

2016-11-01

Early-life intelligence has been shown to predict multiple causes of death in populations around the world. This finding suggests that intelligence might influence mortality through its effects on a general process of physiological deterioration (i.e., individual variation in "biological age"). We examined whether intelligence could predict measures of aging at midlife before the onset of most age-related disease. We tested whether intelligence assessed in early childhood, middle childhood, and midlife predicted midlife biological age in members of the Dunedin Study, a population-representative birth cohort. Lower intelligence predicted more advanced biological age at midlife as captured by perceived facial age, a 10-biomarker algorithm based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and Framingham heart age (r = 0.1-0.2). Correlations between intelligence and telomere length were less consistent. The associations between intelligence and biological age were not explained by differences in childhood health or parental socioeconomic status, and intelligence remained a significant predictor of biological age even when intelligence was assessed before Study members began their formal schooling. These results suggest that accelerated aging may serve as one of the factors linking low early-life intelligence to increased rates of morbidity and mortality. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Malnutrition at Age 3 Years and Externalizing Behavior Problems at Ages 8, 11, and 17 Years

PubMed Central

Liu, Jianghong; Raine, Adrian; Venables, Peter H.; Mednick, Sarnoff A.

2006-01-01

Objective Poor nutrition is thought to predispose to externalizing behavior problems, but to date there appear to have been no prospective longitudinal studies testing this hypothesis. This study assessed whether 1) poor nutrition at age 3 years predisposes to antisocial behavior at ages 8, 11, and 17 years, 2) such relationships are independent of psychosocial adversity, and 3) IQ mediates the relationship between nutrition and externalizing behavior problems. Method The participants were drawn from a birth cohort (N=1,795) in whom signs of malnutrition were assessed at age 3 years, cognitive measures were assessed at ages 3 and 11 years, and antisocial, aggressive, and hyperactive behavior was assessed at ages 8, 11, and 17 years. Results In relation to comparison subjects (N=1,206), the children with malnutrition signs at age 3 years (N=353) were more aggressive or hyperactive at age 8 years, had more externalizing problems at age 11, and had greater conduct disorder and excessive motor activity at age 17. The results were independent of psychosocial adversity and were not moderated by gender. There was a dose-response relationship between degree of malnutrition and degree of externalizing behavior at ages 8 and 17. Low IQ mediated the link between malnutrition and externalizing behavior at ages 8 and 11. Conclusions These results indicate that malnutrition predisposes to neurocognitive deficits, which in turn predispose to persistent externalizing behavior problems throughout childhood and adolescence. The findings suggest that reducing early malnutrition may help reduce later antisocial and aggressive behavior. PMID:15514400

Theories of Suggestion

PubMed Central

Brown, William

1928-01-01

The word “suggestion” has been used in educational, scientific and medical literature in slightly different senses. In psychological medicine the use of suggestion has developed out of the earlier use of hypnotic influence. Charcot defined hypnosis as an artificial hysteria, Bernheim as an artificially increased suggestibility. The two definitions need to be combined to give an adequate account of hypnosis. Moreover, due allowance should be made for the factors of dissociation and of rapport in hypnotic phenomena. The relationships between dissociation, suggestibility, and hypnotizability. Theories of suggestion propounded by Pierre Janet, Freud, McDougall, Pawlow and others. Ernest Jones's theory of the nature of auto-suggestion. Janet explains suggestion in terms of ideo-motor action in which the suggested idea, because of the inactivity of competing ideas, produces its maximum effect. Freud explains rapport in terms of the sex instinct “inhibited in its aim” (transference) and brings in his distinction of “ego” and “ego-ideal” (or “super-ego”) to supplement the theory. Jones explains auto-suggestion in terms of narcissism. McDougall explains hypnotic suggestion in terms of the instinct of self-abasement. But different instincts may supply the driving power to produce suggestion-effects in different circumstances. Such instincts as those of self-preservation (fear) and gregariousness may play their part. Auto-suggestion as a therapeutic factor is badly named. It supplements, but does not supplant the will, and makes complete volition possible. PMID:19986306

Cognitive and neuropsychological underpinnings of relational and conjunctive working memory binding across age.

PubMed

van Geldorp, Bonnie; Parra, Mario A; Kessels, Roy P C

2015-01-01

The ability to form associations (i.e., binding) is critical for memory formation. Recent studies suggest that aging specifically affects relational binding (associating separate features) but not conjunctive binding (integrating features within an object). Possibly, this dissociation may be driven by the spatial nature of the studies so far. Alternatively, relational binding may simply require more attentional resources. We assessed relational and conjunctive binding in three age groups and we included an interfering task (i.e., an articulatory suppression task). Binding was examined in a working memory (WM) task using non-spatial features: shape and colour. Thirty-one young adults (mean age = 22.35), 30 middle-aged adults (mean age = 54.80) and 30 older adults (mean age = 70.27) performed the task. Results show an effect of type of binding and an effect of age but no interaction between type of binding and age. The interaction between type of binding and interference was significant. These results indicate that aging affects relational binding and conjunctive binding similarly. However, relational binding is more susceptible to interference than conjunctive binding, which suggests that relational binding may require more attentional resources. We suggest that a general decline in WM resources associated with frontal dysfunction underlies age-related deficits in WM binding.

Age and Employee Green Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Wiernik, Brenton M.; Dilchert, Stephan; Ones, Deniz S.

2016-01-01

Recent economic and societal developments have led to an increasing emphasis on organizational environmental performance. At the same time, demographic trends are resulting in increasingly aging labor forces in many industrialized nations. Commonly held stereotypes suggest that older workers are less likely to be environmentally responsible than younger workers. To evaluate the degree to which such age differences are present, we meta-analyzed 132 independent correlations and 336 d-values based on 4676 professional workers from 22 samples in 11 countries. Contrary to popular stereotypes, age showed small positive relationships with pro-environmental behaviors, suggesting that older adults engaged in these workplace behaviors slightly more frequently. Relationships with age appeared to be linear for overall, Conserving, Avoiding Harm, and Taking Initiative pro-environmental behaviors, but non-linear trends were observed for Transforming and Influencing Others behaviors. PMID:26973550

Open to Suggestion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Journal of Reading, 1987

1987-01-01

Offers (1) suggestions for improving college students' study skills; (2) a system for keeping track of parent, teacher, and community contacts; (3) suggestions for motivating students using tic tac toe; (4) suggestions for using etymology to improve word retention; (5) a word search grid; and (6) suggestions for using postcards in remedial reading…

Impact of a Videoconference Educational Intervention on Physical Restraint and Antipsychotic Use in Nursing Homes: Results From the ECHO-AGE Pilot Study.

PubMed

Gordon, Stephen E; Dufour, Alyssa B; Monti, Sara M; Mattison, Melissa L P; Catic, Angela G; Thomas, Cindy P; Lipsitz, Lewis A

2016-06-01

US nursing homes care for increasing numbers of residents with dementia and associated behavioral problems. They often lack access to specialized clinical expertise relevant to managing these problems. Project ECHO-AGE provides this expertise through videoconference sessions between frontline nursing home staff and clinical experts at an academic medical center. We hypothesized that ECHO-AGE would result in less use of physical and chemical restraints and other quality improvements in participating facilities. A 2:1 matched-cohort study comparing quality of care outcomes between ECHO-AGE facilities and matched controls for the period July 2012 to December 2013. Eleven nursing homes in Massachusetts and Maine. Nursing home staff and a hospital-based team of geriatrician, geropsychiatrist, and neurologist discussed anonymized residents with dementia. Biweekly online video case discussions and brief didactic sessions focused on the management of dementia and behavior disorders. The primary outcome variables were percentage of residents receiving antipsychotic medications and the percentage of residents who were physically restrained. Secondary outcomes included 9 other quality of care metrics from MDS 3.0. Residents in ECHO-AGE facilities were 75% less likely to be physically restrained compared with residents in control facilities over the 18-month intervention period (OR = 0.25, P = .05). Residents in ECHO-AGE facilities were 17% less likely to be prescribed antipsychotic medication compared with residents in control facilities (OR = 0.83, P = .07). Other outcomes were not significantly different. Preliminary evidence suggests that participation in Project ECHO-AGE reduces rates of physical restraint use and may reduce rates of antipsychotic use among long-term nursing home residents. Copyright © 2016 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. All rights reserved.

The effect of cognitive testing and feedback on older adults' subjective age.

PubMed

Geraci, Lisa; De Forrest, Ross; Hughes, Matthew; Saenz, Gabriel; Tirso, Robert

2018-05-01

Subjective age, or how old a person feels, is an important measure of self-perception that is associated with consequential cognitive and health outcomes. Recent research suggests that subjective age is affected by certain situations, including cognitive testing contexts. The current study examined whether cognitive testing and positive performance feedback affect subjective age and subsequent cognitive performance. Older adults took a series of neuropsychological and cognitive tests and subjective age was measured at various time points. Participants also either received positive or no feedback on an initial cognitive task, an analogies task. Results showed that participants felt older over the course of the testing session, particularly after taking a working memory test, relative to baseline. Positive feedback did not significantly mitigate this subjective aging effect. Results suggest that subjective age is malleable and that it can be affected by standard cognitive and neuropsychological test conditions.

Are You Suggesting That's My Hand? The Relation Between Hypnotic Suggestibility and the Rubber Hand Illusion.

PubMed

Walsh, E; Guilmette, D N; Longo, M R; Moore, J W; Oakley, D A; Halligan, P W; Mehta, M A; Deeley, Q

2015-01-01

Hypnotic suggestibility (HS) is the ability to respond automatically to suggestions and to experience alterations in perception and behavior. Hypnotically suggestible participants are also better able to focus and sustain their attention on an experimental stimulus. The present study explores the relation between HS and susceptibility to the rubber hand illusion (RHI). Based on previous research with visual illusions, it was predicted that higher HS would lead to a stronger RHI. Two behavioral output measures of the RHI, an implicit (proprioceptive drift) and an explicit (RHI questionnaire) measure, were correlated against HS scores. Hypnotic suggestibility correlated positively with the implicit RHI measure contributing to 30% of the variation. However, there was no relation between HS and the explicit RHI questionnaire measure, or with compliance control items. High hypnotic suggestibility may facilitate, via attentional mechanisms, the multisensory integration of visuoproprioceptive inputs that leads to greater perceptual mislocalization of a participant's hand. These results may provide insight into the multisensory brain mechanisms involved in our sense of embodiment.

Effects of Aging and Cyclosporin A on Collagen Turnover in Human Gingiva

PubMed Central

Gagliano, N; Costa, F; Tartaglia, G.M; Pettinari, L; Grizzi, F; Sforza, C; Portinaro, N; Gioia, M; Annoni, G

2009-01-01

Background: We aimed at characterizing the aging gingiva analyzing: i) collagen content and turnover in human gingival tissues and fibroblasts obtained from healthy young and aging subjects. ii) the effect of cyclosporin A administration in human cultured gingival fibroblasts obtained from aging compared to young subjects. Methods: Morphological analysis was performed on haematoxylin-eosin and Sirius red stained paraffin-embedded gingival biopsies from young and aging healthy subjects. The expression of the main genes and proteins involved in collagen turnover were determined by real time PCR, dot blot and SDS-zymography on cultured young and aging gingival fibroblasts, and after cyclosporin A administration. Results: Our results suggest that in healthy aged people, gingival connective tissue is characterized by a similar collagen content and turnover. Collagen turnover pathways are similarly affected by cyclosporin A treatment in young and aging gingival fibroblasts. Conclusions: Cyclosporin A administration affects gingival collagen turnover pathways in young and aging fibroblasts at the same extent, suggesting that during aging cyclosporin A administration is not related to relevant collagen turnover modifications. PMID:20148173

Age Effects on Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised Tests.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sattler, Jerome M.

1982-01-01

Studied age norms for 11 individual Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) tests. Digit Symbol showed the most decline. Results suggest that fluid intelligence, as measured by the performance scale tests, shows more of a decline with age than crystallized intelligence, as measured by the verbal scale tests. (Author)

Magmatic Mapping: A Suggested Methodology And Results From The Springerville Volcanic Field, East-Central Arizona, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mnich, M.; Condit, C.

2016-12-01

The Springerville Volcanic Field (SVF), located in east-central Arizona, is one of the best-characterized basaltic monogenetic volcanic fields in the world, with it's expanse of over 3000 km2 now mapped in it's entirety as a result of recent efforts in 2010 and 2011. The methods used, called "magmatic mapping" (Condit, 2007), provide a standardized, volcanic unit focused approach to characterizing volcanic fields. This approach focuses on delineating contacts between flows, completely characterizing each flow, and placing them into a temporal framework. Results of magmatic mapping in the SVF now provide a comprehensive overview of the lifespan of the field, representing a unique resource, useful not only in studying the petrogenetic evolution of this field, but in serving as a template for comparing similar volcanic fields. On Earth, several fields pose a significant risk to population centers, though these hazards are often poorly understood due to long intervals between eruptions. On other planets, remote mapping can be greatly enhanced by comparing it with a well-studied terrestrial analog that has been analyzed in detail; an area with ever heightening necessity as high-resolution data is becoming increasingly available. In the SVF, olivine phyric lavas are most abundance (22% of volcanic outcrop), followed by diktytaxitic and olivine/plagioclase phyric flows. However, lithology will vary depending on when an eruption takes place in a volcanic fields lifecycle. On the whole, the SVF is younger to the east and younger lavas are dominantly more alkalic. These trends are also displayed within individual geographic divisions, many of which correspond to temporal-geographic clusters as defined by Condit and Connor (1996). The mapping methods and patterns in geochemistry, lithology and age progression within the SVF represent a unique template for which to base basaltic mapping.

Age differences in the motor control of speech: An fMRI study of healthy aging.

PubMed

Tremblay, Pascale; Sato, Marc; Deschamps, Isabelle

2017-05-01

Healthy aging is associated with a decline in cognitive, executive, and motor processes that are concomitant with changes in brain activation patterns, particularly at high complexity levels. While speech production relies on all these processes, and is known to decline with age, the mechanisms that underlie these changes remain poorly understood, despite the importance of communication on everyday life. In this cross-sectional group study, we investigated age differences in the neuromotor control of speech production by combining behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Twenty-seven healthy adults underwent fMRI while performing a speech production task consisting in the articulation of nonwords of different sequential and motor complexity. Results demonstrate strong age differences in movement time (MT), with longer and more variable MT in older adults. The fMRI results revealed extensive age differences in the relationship between BOLD signal and MT, within and outside the sensorimotor system. Moreover, age differences were also found in relation to sequential complexity within the motor and attentional systems, reflecting both compensatory and de-differentiation mechanisms. At very high complexity level (high motor complexity and high sequence complexity), age differences were found in both MT data and BOLD response, which increased in several sensorimotor and executive control areas. Together, these results suggest that aging of motor and executive control mechanisms may contribute to age differences in speech production. These findings highlight the importance of studying functionally relevant behavior such as speech to understand the mechanisms of human brain aging. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2751-2771, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Older people and 'active ageing': Subjective aspects of ageing actively.

PubMed

Stenner, Paul; McFarquhar, Tara; Bowling, Ann

2011-04-01

Following a critical overview of the active ageing concept, a thematic decomposition of 42 transcribed interviews with British people aged 72 years and over indicates that active ageing is understood in relation to physical, cognitive, psychological and social factors, but that these co-exist in complex combinations. The notion of activity in active ageing is grasped in relation to an active/passive distinction which emphasizes the enhancement or diminishment of concrete powers of activity. A 'challenge and response' framework is suggested for future research on active ageing.

Forensic age estimation on digital X-ray images: Medial epiphyses of the clavicle and first rib ossification in relation to chronological age.

PubMed

Garamendi, Pedro M; Landa, Maria I; Botella, Miguel C; Alemán, Inmaculada

2011-01-01

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in forensic sciences about forensic age estimation in living subjects by means of radiological methods. This research was conducted on digital thorax X-rays to test the usefulness of some radiological changes in the clavicle and first rib. The sample consisted in a total of 123 subjects of Spanish origin (61 men and 62 women; age range: 5-75 years). From all subjects, a thorax posterior-anterior radiograph was obtained in digital format. Scoring for fusion of medial epiphyses of the clavicle was carried out by Schmeling's system and ossification of the costal cartilage of the first rib by Michelson's system. Degree of ossification and epiphyseal fusion were analyzed in relation with known age and sex of these subjects. The results give a minimum age of >20 years for full fusion of the medial epiphysis of the clavicle (Stages 4 and 5). Concerning the first rib, all subjects with the final Stage 3 of ossification were above 25 years of age. These results suggest that the first rib ossification might become an additional method to the ones so far recommended for forensic age estimation in subjects around 21. New research would be desirable to confirm this suggestion. © 2010 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Primary Prevention of Lead Exposure—Blood Lead Results at Age Two Years

PubMed Central

Campbell, Carla; Gracely, Edward; Tran, Mary; Starkey, Naomi; Kersten, Hans; Palermo, Peter; Rothman, Nancy; Line, Laura; Hansen-Turton, Tine

2012-01-01

Objectives: The Philadelphia Lead Safe Homes (LSH) Study was designed to evaluate whether educational and environmental interventions in the first year of life for families of newborns increased knowledge of lead exposure prevention and were associated with less elevation of blood lead levels (BLLs) for these children, when compared to children receiving standard care. Methods: The current study performed descriptive statistics on the second-year BLL data for both groups and compared these using chi-square tests for proportions and unpaired t-tests for means. Results: A BLL result was found for 159 (50.6%) of the 314 LSH cohort children and 331 (52.7%) of the 628 control children (p = 0.1). Mean and standard deviation for age at draw was 23.8 (3.4) months versus 23.6 (3.1) months (P = 0.6). Geometric mean BLLs were 3.7 versus 3.5 µg/dL (P = 0.4). The percentages of the cohort group with a BLL of ≥20, ≥10 and ≥5 μg/dL, respectively, were 0.6%, 5% and 30%; for the controls 1.2%, 6.6%, and 25%. These percentages were not significantly different between groups. Conclusion: A comparison of geometric mean BLLs and percentages above several BLL cut points drawn at age two years in a group of urban newborns benefitting from study interventions versus a group of similar urban children did not yield statistically significant differences. Both groups had relatively lower lead levels when compared to historical cohort groups, which may reflect a continuing downward trend in BLLs in U.S. children. The interventions did result in benefits to the families such as an increase in parental knowledge about lead exposure prevention and in-home wet cleaning activity, and a decrease in lead dust levels in study homes. PMID:22690192

Mitochondrial maintenance failure in aging and role of sexual dimorphism

PubMed Central

Tower, John

2014-01-01

Gene expression changes during aging are partly conserved across species, and suggest that oxidative stress, inflammation and proteotoxicity result from mitochondrial malfunction and abnormal mitochondrial-nuclear signaling. Mitochondrial maintenance failure may result from trade-offs between mitochondrial turnover versus growth and reproduction, sexual antagonistic pleiotropy and genetic conflicts resulting from uni-parental mitochondrial transmission, as well as mitochondrial and nuclear mutations and loss of epigenetic regulation. Aging phenotypes and interventions are often sex-specific, indicating that both male and female sexual differentiation promote mitochondrial failure and aging. Studies in mammals and invertebrates implicate autophagy, apoptosis, AKT, PARP, p53 and FOXO in mediating sex-specific differences in stress resistance and aging. The data support a model where the genes Sxl in Drosophila, sdc-2 in C. elegans, and Xist in mammals regulate mitochondrial maintenance across generations and in aging. Several interventions that increase life span cause a mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt), and UPRmt is also observed during normal aging, indicating hormesis. The UPRmt may increase life span by stimulating mitochondrial turnover through autophagy, and/or by inhibiting the production of hormones and toxic metabolites. The data suggest that metazoan life span interventions may act through a common hormesis mechanism involving liver UPRmt, mitochondrial maintenance and sexual differentiation. PMID:25447815

Lack of P4H-TM in mice results in age-related retinal and renal alterations.

PubMed

Leinonen, Henri; Rossi, Maarit; Salo, Antti M; Tiainen, Päivi; Hyvärinen, Jaana; Pitkänen, Marja; Sormunen, Raija; Miinalainen, Ilkka; Zhang, Chi; Soininen, Raija; Kivirikko, Kari I; Koskelainen, Ari; Tanila, Heikki; Myllyharju, Johanna; Koivunen, Peppi

2016-09-01

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), affecting the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), is the leading cause of blindness in middle-aged and older people in developed countries. Genetic and environmental risk factors have been identified, but no effective cure exists. Using a mouse model we show that a transmembrane prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H-TM), which participates in the oxygen-dependent regulation of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), is a potential novel candidate gene for AMD. We show that P4h-tm had its highest expression levels in the mouse RPE and brain, heart, lung, skeletal muscle and kidney. P4h-tm -/- mice were fertile and had a normal life span. Lack of P4h-tm stabilized HIF-1α in cortical neurons under normoxia, while in hypoxia it increased the expression of certain HIF target genes in tissues with high endogenous P4h-tm expression levels more than in wild-type mice. Renal erythropoietin levels increased in P4h-tm -/- mice with aging, but the resulting ∼2-fold increase in erythropoietin serum levels did not lead to erythrocytosis. Instead, accumulation of lipid-containing lamellar bodies in renal tubuli was detected in P4h-tm -/- mice with aging, resulting in inflammation and fibrosis, and later glomerular sclerosis and albuminuria. Lack of P4h-tm was associated with retinal thinning, rosette-like infoldings and drusen-like structure accumulation in RPE with aging, as is characteristic of AMD. Photoreceptor recycling was compromised, and electroretinograms revealed functional impairment of the cone pathway in adult P4h-tm -/- mice and cone and rod deficiency in middle-aged mice. P4H-TM is therefore imperative for normal vision, and potentially a novel candidate for age-induced diseases, such as AMD. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Durability of a novel durable bait for control of subterranean termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae): results of five-year field aging studies.

PubMed

Eger, J E; Hamm, R L; Demark, J J; Chin-Heady, E; Tolley, M P; Benson, E P; Zungoli, P A; Smith, M S; Spomer, N A

2014-06-01

A durable termite bait containing 0.5% noviflumuron was evaluated for physical durability, retention of active ingredient, consumption by termites, and toxicity to termites over 5 yr in field studies at locations in Indiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. Plots in Indiana and Mississippi included both natural rainfall and irrigated plots, while plots in South Carolina received only natural rainfall. Samples collected every 3 mo for the first 4 yr were evaluated for consumption with a 7 d no-choice bioassay using Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar). Consumption and toxicity of 5 yr samples were evaluated in similar bioassays conducted for 42 d. Durable baits received from field sites had some cracking, and a small amount of external flaking, but no major deterioration based on visual observation. There were no significant differences in noviflumuron concentration over the 5-yr period and no trend toward reduced concentrations of noviflumuron over time. Consumption of aged durable baits over 4 yr was variable, but termites usually consumed more aged durable bait than fresh durable bait and the differences were frequently significant. There were some exceptions, but termites consumed significantly more fresh durable bait than aged durable bait in only 4% of observations. When 5 yr samples were evaluated, consumption was lowest for fresh durable bait and termites consumed significantly more aged durable bait from irrigated plots in Indiana and from both natural and irrigated plots in Mississippi than fresh durable bait. Survival of termites fed blank durable bait was significantly higher than that for termites fed any of the baits containing noviflumuron and there were no significant differences in survival among the noviflumuron durable baits. Our results suggest that the bait would be durable for at least 5 yr and possibly longer under most environmental conditions.

Quantifying the Shape of Aging

PubMed Central

Wrycza, Tomasz F.; Missov, Trifon I.; Baudisch, Annette

2015-01-01

In Biodemography, aging is typically measured and compared based on aging rates. We argue that this approach may be misleading, because it confounds the time aspect with the mere change aspect of aging. To disentangle these aspects, here we utilize a time-standardized framework and, instead of aging rates, suggest the shape of aging as a novel and valuable alternative concept for comparative aging research. The concept of shape captures the direction and degree of change in the force of mortality over age, which—on a demographic level—reflects aging. We 1) provide a list of shape properties that are desirable from a theoretical perspective, 2) suggest several demographically meaningful and non-parametric candidate measures to quantify shape, and 3) evaluate performance of these measures based on the list of properties as well as based on an illustrative analysis of a simple dataset. The shape measures suggested here aim to provide a general means to classify aging patterns independent of any particular mortality model and independent of any species-specific time-scale. Thereby they support systematic comparative aging research across different species or between populations of the same species under different conditions and constitute an extension of the toolbox available to comparative research in Biodemography. PMID:25803427

Keeping up with the Red Queen: the pace of aging as an adaptation.

PubMed

Lenart, Peter; Bienertová-Vašků, Julie

2017-08-01

For decades, a vast majority of biogerontologists assumed that aging is not and cannot be an adaptation. In recent years, however, several authors opposed this predominant view and repeatedly suggested that not only is aging an adaptation but that it is the result of a specific aging program. This issue almost instantaneously became somewhat controversial and many important authors produced substantial works refuting the notion of the aging program. In this article we review the current state of the debate and list the most important arguments proposed by both sides. Furthermore, although classical interpretations of the evolution of aging are in sharp contrast with the idea of programmed aging, we suggest that the truth might in fact very well lie somewhere in between. We also propose our own interpretation which states that although aging is in essence inevitable and results from damage accumulation rather than from a specific program, the actual rate of aging in nature may still be adaptive to some extent.

Ego Development in Predicting Life Satisfaction in the Aged.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michaelson, Christina Branzel; And Others

Results of previous investigations of life satisfaction in the aged have suggested that health, socioeconomic factors, and social interaction are most strongly and consistently related to life satisfaction. However, a great deal of variance in life satisfaction remains unexplained. Men (N=19) and women (N=21) aged 65 years or older were…

Does Sensory Function Decline Independently or Concomitantly with Age? Data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

PubMed

Gadkaree, Shekhar K; Sun, Daniel Q; Li, Carol; Lin, Frank R; Ferrucci, Luigi; Simonsick, Eleanor M; Agrawal, Yuri

2016-01-01

Objectives . To investigate whether sensory function declines independently or in parallel with age within a single individual. Methods . Cross-sectional analysis of Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) participants who underwent vision (visual acuity threshold), proprioception (ankle joint proprioceptive threshold), vestibular function (cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential), hearing (pure-tone average audiometric threshold), and Health ABC physical performance battery testing. Results . A total of 276 participants (mean age 70 years, range 26-93) underwent all four sensory tests. The function of all four systems declined with age. After age adjustment, there were no significant associations between sensory systems. Among 70-79-year-olds, dual or triple sensory impairment was associated with poorer physical performance. Discussion . Our findings suggest that beyond the common mechanism of aging, other distinct (nonshared) etiologic mechanisms may contribute to decline in each sensory system. Multiple sensory impairments influence physical performance among individuals in middle old-age (age 70-79).

Does Sensory Function Decline Independently or Concomitantly with Age? Data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging

PubMed Central

Gadkaree, Shekhar K.; Sun, Daniel Q.; Li, Carol; Lin, Frank R.; Ferrucci, Luigi; Simonsick, Eleanor M.

2016-01-01

Objectives. To investigate whether sensory function declines independently or in parallel with age within a single individual. Methods. Cross-sectional analysis of Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) participants who underwent vision (visual acuity threshold), proprioception (ankle joint proprioceptive threshold), vestibular function (cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential), hearing (pure-tone average audiometric threshold), and Health ABC physical performance battery testing. Results. A total of 276 participants (mean age 70 years, range 26–93) underwent all four sensory tests. The function of all four systems declined with age. After age adjustment, there were no significant associations between sensory systems. Among 70–79-year-olds, dual or triple sensory impairment was associated with poorer physical performance. Discussion. Our findings suggest that beyond the common mechanism of aging, other distinct (nonshared) etiologic mechanisms may contribute to decline in each sensory system. Multiple sensory impairments influence physical performance among individuals in middle old-age (age 70–79). PMID:27774319

Age differences in how consumers behave following exposure to DTC advertising.

PubMed

DeLorme, Denise E; Huh, Jisu; Reid, Leonard N

2006-01-01

This study was conducted to provide additional evidence on how consumers behave following direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising exposure and to determine if there are differences in ad-prompted acts (drug inquiry and drug requests) between different age groups (i.e., older, mature, and younger adults). The results suggest that younger, mature, and older consumers are all moved to act by DTC drug ads, but that each age group behaves in different ways. Somewhat surprisingly, age was not predictive of ad-prompted behavior. DTC advertising was no more effective at moving older consumers to behave than their younger counterparts. These results suggest that age does not matter that much when it comes to the "moving power" of prescription drug advertising, even though research indicates that older consumers are more vulnerable to the persuasive effects of communication.

Age of the youngest volcanism at Eagle Lake, northeastern California—40Ar/39Ar and paleomagnetic results

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clynne, Michael A.; Calvert, Andrew T.; Champion, Duane E.; Muffler, L.J.P.; Sawlan, Michael G.; Downs, Drew T.

2017-03-22

The age of the youngest volcanism at Eagle Lake, California, was investigated using stratigraphic, paleomagnetic, and 40Ar/39Ar techniques. The three youngest volcanic lava flows at Eagle Lake yielded ages of 130.0±5.1, 127.5±3.2 and 123.6±18.7 ka, and are statistically indistinguishable. Paleomagnetic results demonstrate that two of the lava flows are very closely spaced in time, whereas the third is different by centuries to at most a few millennia. These results indicate that the basalt lava flows at Eagle Lake are not Holocene in age, and were erupted during an episode of volcanism at about 130–125 ka that is unlikely to have spanned more than a few thousand years. Thus, the short-term potential for subsequent volcanism at Eagle Lake is considered low. 

Microstructure Evolution and the Resulted Influence on Localized Corrosion in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu Alloy during Non-Isothermal Ageing.

PubMed

Chen, Jun-Zhou; Li, Guo-Ai; Cai, Xin; Jiang, Jian-Tang; Shao, Wen-Zhu; Yang, Li; Zhen, Liang

2018-05-03

A non-isothermal ageing process was proposed for an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy aiming to accommodate the slow heating/cooling procedure during the ageing of large components. The evolution of microstructure and microchemistry was analyzed by using transmission electron microscopy, high-angle annular dark field imaging, and energy dispersive spectrometry. The age-hardening of the alloy was examined to evaluate the strengthening behavior during the non-isothermal process. The corrosion behavior was investigated via observing the specimens immersed in EXCO solution (solution for Exfoliation Corrosion Susceptibility test in 2xxx and 7xxx series aluminum alloys, referring ASTM G34-01). Secondary precipitation was observed during the cooling stage, leading to increased precipitate number density. The distribution of grain boundary precipitates transits from discontinuous to continuous at the cooling stage, due to the secondary precipitation’s linking-up effect. The solutes’ enrichment on grain boundary precipitates and the depletion in precipitate-free zones develops during the heating procedure, but remains invariable during the cooling procedure. The corrosion in NIA (Non-isothermal Ageing) treated specimens initiates from pitting and then transits to intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion. The transition from pitting to intergranular corrosion is very slow for specimens heated to 190 °C, but accelerates slightly as the cooling procedure proceeds. The transition to exfoliation corrosion is observed to be quite slow in all specimens in non-isothermal aged to over-aged condition, suggesting a corrosion resistance comparable to that of RRA condition.

Microstructure Evolution and the Resulted Influence on Localized Corrosion in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu Alloy during Non-Isothermal Ageing

PubMed Central

Chen, Jun-Zhou; Li, Guo-Ai; Cai, Xin; Jiang, Jian-Tang; Shao, Wen-Zhu; Yang, Li; Zhen, Liang

2018-01-01

A non-isothermal ageing process was proposed for an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy aiming to accommodate the slow heating/cooling procedure during the ageing of large components. The evolution of microstructure and microchemistry was analyzed by using transmission electron microscopy, high-angle annular dark field imaging, and energy dispersive spectrometry. The age-hardening of the alloy was examined to evaluate the strengthening behavior during the non-isothermal process. The corrosion behavior was investigated via observing the specimens immersed in EXCO solution (solution for Exfoliation Corrosion Susceptibility test in 2xxx and 7xxx series aluminum alloys, referring ASTM G34-01). Secondary precipitation was observed during the cooling stage, leading to increased precipitate number density. The distribution of grain boundary precipitates transits from discontinuous to continuous at the cooling stage, due to the secondary precipitation’s linking-up effect. The solutes’ enrichment on grain boundary precipitates and the depletion in precipitate-free zones develops during the heating procedure, but remains invariable during the cooling procedure. The corrosion in NIA (Non-isothermal Ageing) treated specimens initiates from pitting and then transits to intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion. The transition from pitting to intergranular corrosion is very slow for specimens heated to 190 °C, but accelerates slightly as the cooling procedure proceeds. The transition to exfoliation corrosion is observed to be quite slow in all specimens in non-isothermal aged to over-aged condition, suggesting a corrosion resistance comparable to that of RRA condition. PMID:29751493

EPIDEMIOLOGY OF AGE-DEPENDENCE IN SLEEP DISORDERED BREATHING (SDB) IN OLD AGE: THE BAY AREA SLEEP COHORT (BASC).

PubMed

Bliwise, Donald L

2009-03-01

Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) is highly prevalent in elderly populations and is thought to reflect, at least in part, age-dependence. Several studies suggest that SDB in elderly populations may hold different functional outcomes relative to SDB in middle-aged populations. Risk factors for SDB specific for the elderly remain uncertain. In this report, we examined changes in SDB, body weight and pulmonary function in 103 individuals over an average interval of 7 years to determine whether changes in these measures covaried. In-lab polysomnography was performed on members of an elderly cohort (Bay Area Sleep Cohort) on two separate occasions (Time 1, Time 2) with multiple nights of measurement typically made on each occasion. Results indicated that: a) SDB progressed over time in both men and women; b) changes in body weight were unrelated to the progression in SDB; c) relative declines in lung volumes (Forced Vital Capacity, Forced Expiratory Volume in 1.0 second) were associated with relative increases in SDB, with the effects slightly stronger in men. These data suggest that age-dependence in one commonly ascribed aging biomarker (lung function) were coupled to increments in SDB. Maintenance of healthy lung function into old age may confer some protective benefits in the development of age-dependent SDB.

Dietary and genetic evidence for phosphate toxicity accelerating mammalian aging

PubMed Central

Ohnishi, Mutsuko; Razzaque, M. Shawkat

2010-01-01

Identifying factors that accelerate the aging process can provide important therapeutic targets for slowing down this process. Misregulation of phosphate homeostasis has been noted in various skeletal, cardiac, and renal diseases, but the exact role of phosphate toxicity in mammalian aging is not clearly defined. Phosphate is widely distributed in the body and is involved in cell signaling, energy metabolism, nucleic acid synthesis, and the maintenance of acid-base balance by urinary buffering. In this study, we used an in vivo genetic approach to determine the role of phosphate toxicity in mammalian aging. Klotho-knockout mice (klotho−/−) have a short life span and show numerous physical, biochemical, and morphological features consistent with premature aging, including kyphosis, uncoordinated movement, hypogonadism, infertility, severe skeletal muscle wasting, emphysema, and osteopenia, as well as generalized atrophy of the skin, intestine, thymus, and spleen. Molecular and biochemical analyses suggest that increased renal activity of sodium-phosphate cotransporters (NaPi2a) leads to severe hyperphosphatemia in klotho−/− mice. Genetically reducing serum phosphate levels in klotho−/− mice by generating a NaPi2a and klotho double-knockout (NaPi2a−/−/klotho−/−) strain resulted in amelioration of premature aging-like features. The NaPi2a−/−/klotho−/− double-knockout mice regained reproductive ability, recovered their body weight, reduced their organ atrophy, and suppressed ectopic calcifications, with the resulting effect being prolonged survival. More important, when hyperphosphatemia was induced in NaPi2a−/−/klotho−/− mice by feeding with a high-phosphate diet, premature aging-like features reappeared, clearly suggesting that phosphate toxicity is the main cause of premature aging in klotho−/− mice. The results of our dietary and genetic manipulation studies provide in vivo evidence for phosphate toxicity accelerating the

Local functional connectivity suggests functional immaturity in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Marcos-Vidal, Luis; Martínez-García, Magdalena; Pretus, Clara; Garcia-Garcia, David; Martínez, Kenia; Janssen, Joost; Vilarroya, Oscar; Castellanos, Francisco X; Desco, Manuel; Sepulcre, Jorge; Carmona, Susanna

2018-06-01

Previous studies have associated Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with a maturational lag of brain functional networks. Functional connectivity of the human brain changes from primarily local to more distant connectivity patterns during typical development. Under the maturational lag hypothesis, we expect children with ADHD to exhibit increased local connectivity and decreased distant connectivity compared with neurotypically developing (ND) children. We applied a graph-theory method to compute local and distant connectivity levels and cross-sectionally compared them in a sample of 120 children with ADHD and 120 age-matched ND children (age range = 7-17 years). In addition, we measured if potential group differences in local and distant connectivity were stable across the age range considered. Finally, we assessed the clinical relevance of observed group differences by correlating the connectivity levels and ADHD symptoms severity separately for each group. Children with ADHD exhibited more local connectivity than age-matched ND children in multiple brain regions, mainly overlapping with default mode, fronto-parietal and ventral attentional functional networks (p < .05- threshold free-cluster enhancement-family-wise error). We detected an atypical developmental pattern of local connectivity in somatomotor regions, that is, decreases with age in ND children, and increases with age in children with ADHD. Furthermore, local connectivity within somatomotor areas correlated positively with clinical severity of ADHD symptoms, both in ADHD and ND children. Results suggest an immature functional state of multiple brain networks in children with ADHD. Whereas the ADHD diagnosis is associated with the integrity of the system comprising the fronto-parietal, default mode and ventral attentional networks, the severity of clinical symptoms is related to atypical functional connectivity within somatomotor areas. Additionally, our findings are in line with

White dwarf stars and the age of the Galactic disk

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, M. A.

1990-01-01

The history of the Galaxy is written in its oldest stars, the white dwarf (WD) stars. Significant limits can be placed on both the Galactic age and star formation history. A wide range of input WD model sequences is used to derive the current limits to the age estimates suggested by fitting to the observed falloff in the WD luminosity function. The results suggest that the star formation rate over the history of the Galaxy has been relatively constant, and that the disk age lies in the range 6-12 billion years, depending upon the assumed structure of WD stars, and in particular on the core composition and surface helium layer mass. Using plausible mixed C/O core input models, the estimates for the disk age range from 8-10.5 Gyr, i.e.,sustantially younger than most age estimates for the halo globular clusters. After speculating on the significance of the results, expected observational and theoretical refinements which will further enhance the reliability of the method are discussed.

The Effect of Memory Trace Strength on Suggestibility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pezdek, Kathy; Roe, Chantal

1995-01-01

Examined the conditions under which children's memory is resistant to suggestibility versus vulnerable to suggestibility. Results suggest that children have more accurate memory for an event that occurred to them frequently, and that they are less vulnerable to suggestive influences such as biased interviewing procedures than they would be for an…

Own aging: future time perspectives and scenarios perceived by females employed in old age care.

PubMed

Fromholt, P; Larsen, P; Snell, H

1994-04-01

This study focuses on anticipations of own aging, and the process of adaptation to aging across the life span. Future time perspectives and aging scenarios were investigated in 276 Danish females employed in old age care (aged 22 to 63 years), by use of questionnaires. Age-related differences were found regarding how far ahead subjects indicated to plan their future, increasing from about two years in subjects in their twenties and stabilizing at about ten years in older subjects. Datings of events that first initiated thinking of one's own aging increased with the age of the subjects, and some age-related patterns in the content of recalled events were found. A developmental mechanism involving reinterpretation of essential elements of aging is suggested as an explanation for these findings. A preponderance of positive scenarios suggests that optimistic anticipations of own aging may coexist with exposure to negative aspects of aging due to working experiences with disabled old people.

Effects of Counselor Facilitative Level on Client Suggestibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Harry B.; Rowe, Wayne

1977-01-01

University students (N=48) were individually tested for suggestibility in one of three conditions. Results indicated subjects of higher rated experimenters would demonstrate more suggestibility than subjects of lower rated experimenters. Results did not indicate that subject interaction with lower rated experimenters would elicit less…

The Pacific Age in World History.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korhonen, Pekka

1996-01-01

Tracks the intermittent appearances and variations of the historical concept of a "Pacific Age" from the 1890s to the present. Discusses the social, economic, and historical conditions that resulted in the term's heralding of either economic optimism or racist peril. Suggests these interpretations come in cycles. (MJP)

Is age kinder to the initially more able?: Yes, and no

PubMed Central

Gow, Alan J.; Johnson, Wendy; Mishra, Gita; Richards, Marcus; Kuh, Diana; Deary, Ian J.

2012-01-01

Although a number of analyses have addressed whether initial cognitive ability level is associated with age-related cognitive decline, results have been inconsistent. Latent growth curve modeling was applied to two aging cohorts, extending previous analyses with a further wave of data collection, or as a more appropriate analytical methodology than used previously. In the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921, cognitive ability at age 11 was not associated with cognitive change from age 79 to 87, either in general cognitive ability, or in tests of reasoning, memory and executive function. However, data from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development suggested that higher cognitive ability at age 15 predicted less decline between ages 43 and 53 years in a latent cognitive factor from tests of verbal memory and search speed, and in search speed when considered separately. The results are discussed in terms of the differences between the cohorts and the interpretability of the analytical approach. Suggestions are made about when initial ability might be cognitively protective, and study requirements to bring about a clearer resolution. PMID:23690652

Old-Age Wealth in Mexico

PubMed Central

Wong, Rebeca; DeGraff, Deborah S.

2010-01-01

The authors examined relationships between the wealth of older adults and their early-life decisions regarding investment in human capital, family formation, and work activities in Mexico, using the 2001 Mexican Health and Aging Study. The authors examined correlates of accumulated financial wealth by gender and across three age cohorts: 50 to 59, 60 to 69, and 70 years or older. The authors outline the changing context these cohorts experienced during their lifetimes; describe patterns of net financial worth by main covariates across groups defined by age, sex, and marital status; and present the results of multivariate models of net worth. Simulations were conducted to illustrate patterns of net worth associated with alternative scenarios depicting differing representative combinations of life-course characteristics by age cohort. The findings suggest that old-age financial wealth in Mexico is more closely associated with family formation and human capital decisions than with employment decisions over the lifetime. PMID:20694054

The relationships between suggestibility, influenceability, and relaxability.

PubMed

Polczyk, Romuald; Frey, Olga; Szpitalak, Malwina

2013-01-01

This research explores the relationships between relaxability and various aspects of suggestibility and influenceability. The Jacobson Progressive Muscle Relaxation procedure was used to induce relaxation. Tests of direct suggestibility, relating to the susceptibility of overt suggestions, and indirect suggestibility, referring to indirect hidden influence, as well as self-description questionnaires on suggestibility and the tendency to comply were used. Thayer's Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List, measuring various kinds of activation and used as a pre- and posttest, determined the efficacy of the relaxation procedure. Indirect, direct, and self-measured suggestibility proved to be positively related to the ability to relax, measured by Thayer's subscales relating to emotions. Compliance was not related to relaxability. The results are discussed in terms of the aspects of relaxation training connected with suggestibility.

Micronutrient status in middle childhood and age at menarche: results from the Bogotá School Children Cohort.

PubMed

Villamor, Eduardo; Marín, Constanza; Mora-Plazas, Mercedes; Oliveros, Henry

2017-12-01

Childhood intake of animal foods is associated with age at first menstrual period (menarche). It is unknown whether the micronutrients present in these foods could explain this association. Our objective was to investigate the associations of micronutrient status biomarkers in middle childhood with age at menarche. We quantified circulating Hb, ferritin, mean corpuscular volume, Zn, vitamin B12, erythrocyte folate and retinol in 1464 pre-menarcheal girls aged 5-12 years in Bogotá, Colombia, and followed them for a median 5·7 years for the occurrence and date of menarche. We estimated median age at menarche and hazard ratios (HR) with 95 % CI by levels of each biomarker with use of Kaplan-Meier survival probabilities and Cox regression, respectively. Median age at menarche was 12·4 years. Middle childhood Hb was inversely related to age at menarche whereas plasma ferritin was positively associated with this outcome in a linear manner. HR of menarche for every 1 sd of Hb (11 g/l) and ferritin (23·2 µg/l) were 1·11 (95 % CI 1·04, 1·18; P=0·001) and 0·94 (95 % CI 0·88, 0·99; P=0·02), respectively, after adjustment for baseline age, C-reactive protein concentration, maternal age at menarche and parity and socioeconomic status. The association with ferritin was stronger in girls aged 9-10 years at baseline. Additional adjustment for baseline height- and BMI-for-age did not change the results. We conclude that higher Fe status in middle childhood is related to later age at menarche whereas Hb concentrations are inversely associated with age at onset of menses.

The effects of age and gender on sleep EEG power spectral density in the middle years of life (ages 20-60 years old)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carrier, J.; Land, S.; Buysse, D. J.; Kupfer, D. J.; Monk, T. H.

2001-01-01

The effects of age and gender on sleep EEG power spectral density were assessed in a group of 100 subjects aged 20 to 60 years. We propose a new statistical strategy (mixed-model using fixed-knot regression splines) to analyze quantitative EEG measures. The effect of gender varied according to frequency, but no interactions emerged between age and gender, suggesting that the aging process does not differentially influence men and women. Women had higher power density than men in delta, theta, low alpha, and high spindle frequency range. The effect of age varied according to frequency and across the night. The decrease in power with age was not restricted to slow-wave activity, but also included theta and sigma activity. With increasing age, the attenuation over the night in power density between 1.25 and 8.00 Hz diminished, and the rise in power between 12.25 and 14.00 Hz across the night decreased. Increasing age was associated with higher power in the beta range. These results suggest that increasing age may be related to an attenuation of homeostatic sleep pressure and to an increase in cortical activation during sleep.

Manipulating the reported age in earliest memories.

PubMed

Wessel, Ineke; Schweig, Theresa; Huntjens, Rafaële J C

2017-11-02

Previous work suggests that the estimated age in adults' earliest autobiographical memories depends on age information implied by the experimental context [e.g., Kingo, O. S., Bohn, A., & Krøjgaard, P. (2013). Warm-up questions on early childhood memories affect the reported age of earliest memories in late adolescence. Memory, 21(2), 280-284. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2012.729598 ] and that the age in decontextualised snippets of memory is younger than in more complete accounts (i.e., event memories [Bruce, D., Wilcox-O'Hearn, L. A., Robinson, J. A., Phillips-Grant, K., Francis, L., & Smith, M. C. (2005). Fragment memories mark the end of childhood amnesia. Memory & Cognition, 33(4), 567-576. doi: 10.3758/BF03195324 ]). We examined the malleability of the estimated age in undergraduates' earliest memories and its relation with memory quality. In Study 1 (n = 141), vignettes referring to events happening at age 2 rendered earlier reported ages than examples referring to age 6. Exploratory analyses suggested that event memories were more sensitive to the age manipulation than memories representing a single, isolated scene (i.e., snapshots). In Study 2 (n = 162), asking self-relevant and public-event knowledge questions about participants' preschool years prior to retrieval yielded comparable average estimated ages. Both types of semantic knowledge questions rendered earlier memories than a no-age control task. Overall, the reported age in snapshots was younger than in event memories. However, age-differences between memory types across conditions were not statistically significant. Together, the results add to the growing literature indicating that the average age in earliest memories is not as fixed as previously thought.

Suggestibility and negative priming: two replication studies.

PubMed

David, Daniel; Brown, Richard J

2002-07-01

Research suggests that inhibiting the effect of irrelevant stimuli on subsequent thought and action (cognitive inhibition) may be an important component of suggestibility. Two small correlation studies were conducted to address the relationship between different aspects of suggestibility and individual differences in cognitive inhibition, operationalized as the degree of negative priming generated by to-be-ignored stimuli in a semantic categorization task. The first study found significant positive correlations between negative priming, hypnotic suggestibility, and creative imagination; a significant negative correlation was obtained between negative priming and interrogative suggestibility, demonstrating the discriminant validity of the study results. The second study replicated the correlation between negative priming and hypnotic suggestibility, using a different suggestibility measurement procedure that assessed subjective experience and hypnotic involuntariness as well as objective responses to suggestions. These studies support the notion that the ability to engage in cognitive inhibition may be an important component of hypnotic responsivity and maybe of other forms of suggestibility.

Modified aging of elite athletes revealed by analysis of epigenetic age markers

PubMed Central

Spólnicka, Magdalena; Pośpiech, Ewelina; Adamczyk, Jakub Grzegorz; Freire-Aradas, Ana; Pepłońska, Beata; Zbieć-Piekarska, Renata; Makowska, Żanetta; Pięta, Anna; Lareu, Maria Victoria; Phillips, Christopher; Płoski, Rafał; Żekanowski, Cezary

2018-01-01

Recent progress in epigenomics has led to the development of prediction systems that enable accurate age estimation from DNA methylation data. Our objective was to track responses to intense physical exercise of individual age-correlated DNA methylation markers and to infer their potential impact on the aging processes. The study showed accelerated DNA hypermethylation for two CpG sites in TRIM59 and KLF14. Both markers predicted the investigated elite athletes to be several years older than controls and this effect was more substantial in subjects involved in power sports. Accordingly, the complete 5-CpG model revealed age acceleration of elite athletes (P=1.503x10-7) and the result was more significant amongst power athletes (P=1.051x10-9). The modified methylation of TRIM59 and KLF14 in top athletes may be accounted for by the biological roles played by these genes. Their known anti-tumour and anti-inflammatory activities suggests that intense physical training has a complex influence on aging and potentially launches signalling networks that contribute to the observed lower risk of elite athletes to develop cardiovascular disease and cancer. PMID:29466246

Modified aging of elite athletes revealed by analysis of epigenetic age markers.

PubMed

Spólnicka, Magdalena; Pośpiech, Ewelina; Adamczyk, Jakub Grzegorz; Freire-Aradas, Ana; Pepłońska, Beata; Zbieć-Piekarska, Renata; Makowska, Żanetta; Pięta, Anna; Lareu, Maria Victoria; Phillips, Christopher; Płoski, Rafał; Żekanowski, Cezary; Branicki, Wojciech

2018-02-15

Recent progress in epigenomics has led to the development of prediction systems that enable accurate age estimation from DNA methylation data. Our objective was to track responses to intense physical exercise of individual age-correlated DNA methylation markers and to infer their potential impact on the aging processes. The study showed accelerated DNA hypermethylation for two CpG sites in TRIM59 and KLF14 . Both markers predicted the investigated elite athletes to be several years older than controls and this effect was more substantial in subjects involved in power sports. Accordingly, the complete 5-CpG model revealed age acceleration of elite athletes ( P =1.503x10 -7 ) and the result was more significant amongst power athletes (P=1.051x10 -9 ). The modified methylation of TRIM59 and KLF14 in top athletes may be accounted for by the biological roles played by these genes. Their known anti-tumour and anti-inflammatory activities suggests that intense physical training has a complex influence on aging and potentially launches signalling networks that contribute to the observed lower risk of elite athletes to develop cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Reversal of glial and neurovascular markers of unhealthy brain aging by exercise in middle-aged female mice.

PubMed

Latimer, Caitlin S; Searcy, James L; Bridges, Michael T; Brewer, Lawrence D; Popović, Jelena; Blalock, Eric M; Landfield, Philip W; Thibault, Olivier; Porter, Nada M

2011-01-01

Healthy brain aging and cognitive function are promoted by exercise. The benefits of exercise are attributed to several mechanisms, many which highlight its neuroprotective role via actions that enhance neurogenesis, neuronal morphology and/or neurotrophin release. However, the brain is also composed of glial and vascular elements, and comparatively less is known regarding the effects of exercise on these components in the aging brain. Here, we show that aerobic exercise at mid-age decreased markers of unhealthy brain aging including astrocyte hypertrophy, a hallmark of brain aging. Middle-aged female mice were assigned to a sedentary group or provided a running wheel for six weeks. Exercise decreased hippocampal astrocyte and myelin markers of aging but increased VEGF, a marker of angiogenesis. Brain vascular casts revealed exercise-induced structural modifications associated with improved endothelial function in the periphery. Our results suggest that age-related astrocyte hypertrophy/reactivity and myelin dysregulation are aggravated by a sedentary lifestyle and accompanying reductions in vascular function. However, these effects appear reversible with exercise initiated at mid-age. As this period of the lifespan coincides with the appearance of multiple markers of brain aging, including initial signs of cognitive decline, it may represent a window of opportunity for intervention as the brain appears to still possess significant vascular plasticity. These results may also have particular implications for aging females who are more susceptible than males to certain risk factors which contribute to vascular aging.

Reversal of Glial and Neurovascular Markers of Unhealthy Brain Aging by Exercise in Middle-Aged Female Mice

PubMed Central

Latimer, Caitlin S.; Searcy, James L.; Bridges, Michael T.; Brewer, Lawrence D.; Popović, Jelena; Blalock, Eric M.; Landfield, Philip W.; Thibault, Olivier; Porter, Nada M.

2011-01-01

Healthy brain aging and cognitive function are promoted by exercise. The benefits of exercise are attributed to several mechanisms, many which highlight its neuroprotective role via actions that enhance neurogenesis, neuronal morphology and/or neurotrophin release. However, the brain is also composed of glial and vascular elements, and comparatively less is known regarding the effects of exercise on these components in the aging brain. Here, we show that aerobic exercise at mid-age decreased markers of unhealthy brain aging including astrocyte hypertrophy, a hallmark of brain aging. Middle-aged female mice were assigned to a sedentary group or provided a running wheel for six weeks. Exercise decreased hippocampal astrocyte and myelin markers of aging but increased VEGF, a marker of angiogenesis. Brain vascular casts revealed exercise-induced structural modifications associated with improved endothelial function in the periphery. Our results suggest that age-related astrocyte hypertrophy/reactivity and myelin dysregulation are aggravated by a sedentary lifestyle and accompanying reductions in vascular function. However, these effects appear reversible with exercise initiated at mid-age. As this period of the lifespan coincides with the appearance of multiple markers of brain aging, including initial signs of cognitive decline, it may represent a window of opportunity for intervention as the brain appears to still possess significant vascular plasticity. These results may also have particular implications for aging females who are more susceptible than males to certain risk factors which contribute to vascular aging. PMID:22046366

Gastric emptying scintigraphy results in children are affected by age, anthropometric factors, and study duration

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A standardized 4-hour adult-based gastric emptying scintigraphy (GES) protocol is increasingly being used in children to evaluate for gastroparesis. We sought to determine the effect of age, anthropometrics, and study duration on GES results using this protocol in children. Retrospective review of c...

False Memory in Aging Resulting From Self-Referential Processing

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Objectives. Referencing the self is known to enhance accurate memory, but less is known about how the strategy affects false memory, particularly for highly self-relevant information. Because older adults are more prone to false memories, we tested whether self-referencing increased false memories with age. Method. In 2 studies, older and younger adults rated adjectives for self-descriptiveness and later completed a surprise recognition test comprised of words rated previously for self-descriptiveness and novel lure words. Lure words were subsequently rated for self-descriptiveness in order to assess the impact of self-relevance on false memory. Study 2 introduced commonness judgments as a control condition, such that participants completed a recognition test on adjectives rated for commonness in addition to adjectives in the self-descriptiveness condition. Results. Across both studies, findings indicate an increased response bias to self-referencing that increased hit rates for both older and younger adults but also increased false alarms as information became more self-descriptive, particularly for older adults. Discussion. Although the present study supports previous literature showing a boost in memory for self-referenced information, the increase in false alarms, especially in older adults, highlights the potential for memory errors, particularly for information that is strongly related to the self. PMID:23576449

On the generality of age differences in social and nonsocial decision making.

PubMed

Rieger, Matthias; Mata, Rui

2015-03-01

Empirical work with western populations suggests that aging is associated with changes in economic decision making, including, for example, increased prosocial tendencies. We investigated the generality of age effects in social and nonsocial domains by assessing various measures of economic decision making in a rural population from Morocco. We measured age/cohort differences using a number of economic games (risk game, time preferences game, dictator game, trust game, and public goods game) in over 700 participants ranging from 17 to 92 years of age. The results suggest a negative relation between age and risk taking and a concave relation between age and contribution to a public good, but no significant age trends in time preferences, altruism, trust, or trustworthiness. Our results indicate that the relationship between aging and decision making is not universal and is shaped by local culture and the type of task rather than biological factors alone. More research is needed to understand the unique age trends prevalent in specific populations and tasks. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Mediterranean diet and cognitive health: Initial results from the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Ageing and Diet

PubMed Central

Yannakoulia, Mary; Kosmidis, Mary H.; Dardiotis, Efthimios; Hadjigeorgiou, Giorgos M.; Sakka, Paraskevi; Arampatzi, Xanthi; Bougea, Anastasia; Labropoulos, Ioannis; Scarmeas, Nikolaos

2017-01-01

Background The Mediterranean dietary pattern has been associated with a decreased risk of many degenerative diseases and cognitive function in particular; however, relevant information from Mediterranean regions, where the prototype Mediterranean diet is typically adhered to, have been very limited. Additionally, predefined Mediterranean diet (MeDi) scores with use of a priori cut-offs have been used very rarely, limiting comparisons between different populations and thus external validity of the associations. Finally, associations between individual components of MeDi (i.e., food groups, macronutrients) and particular aspects of cognitive performance have rarely been explored. We evaluated the association of adherence to an a priori defined Mediterranean dietary pattern and its components with dementia and specific aspects of cognitive function in a representative population cohort in Greece. Methods Participants from the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Ageing and Diet (HELIAD), an on-going population-based study, exploring potential associations between diet and cognitive performance in a representative sample from Greek regions, were included in this analysis. Diagnosis of dementia was made by a full clinical and neuropsychological evaluation, while cognitive performance was assessed according to five cognitive domains (memory, language, attention-speed, executive functioning, visuospatial perception) and a composite cognitive score. Adherence to MeDi was evaluated by an a priori score (range 0–55), derived from a detailed food frequency questionnaire. Results Among 1,865 individuals (mean age 73±6 years, 41% male), 90 were diagnosed with dementia and 223 with mild cognitive impairment. Each unit increase in the Mediterranean dietary score (MedDietScore) was associated with a 10% decrease in the odds for dementia. Adherence to the MeDi was also associated with better performance in memory, language, visuospatial perception and the composite cognitive

Results of liver transplants from donors aged 70 plus: analysis of Andalusian transplant register.

PubMed

Franco, C C; Martínez, J M A; Bellido, C B; Artacho, G S; Gómez, L M M; Diez-Canedo, J S; Aunión, C D; Ruiz, F J P; Bravo, M A G

2013-01-01

The progressive increase in the number of liver transplantation candidates has brought with it a consequent increase in waiting list mortality, making it necessary to revise donor selection criteria and to analyze the factors that optimize outcomes. This retrospective observational study of 1802 liver transplantations performed in Andalusia between 2000 and 2010 analyzes the outcomes from donors aged 70 years or older (n = 211) in terms of survival rates of the graft and the recipient, the type of transplant, donor age, and DMELD (Donor-Model for End-Stage Liver Disease) score. The most frequent reasons for transplantation were alcoholic cirrhosis (45.5%), hepatitis C cirrhosis (20.4%), and liver cancer (11.8%). The overall survival rate at 5 years was 67%; with a significant decrease in survival rates for recipients with a DMELD greater than 1400 (44%). In the 70-year-old-plus donor group, the overall patient and graft survival rates were 57% and 52%, respectively. The re-transplantation rate increased proportionately with donor age: 5.9% between 70 and 74 years, 9.5% from 75 to 79 years, and 17.6% from 80 to 84 years. In the alcoholic cirrhosis recipient sub-group, the overall survival rate at 5 years was 69% (P < .05) compared to 34% in hepatitis C patients (P < .05). The widening of the donor age selection criteria is therefore a safe option, provided that a DMELD score less than 1400 is obtained. Although re-transplantation rates increase progressively with donor age, they remain less than 10%. It is necessary to carefully screen recipients of older organs, taking into account that the best results are obtained for patients who have alcoholic cirrhosis, are hepatitis C negative, and have a DMELD score that is less than 1,400. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Age- and education-matched comparison of aging HIV+ men who have sex with men to general population on common neuropsychological assessments.

PubMed

Kupprat, Sandra Anne; Halkitis, Perry N; Pérez-Figueroa, Rafael; Solomon, Todd M; Ashman, Teresa; Kingdon, Molly J; Levy, Michael David

2015-09-01

Little is known about the impact of HIV and aging on cognitive functioning. This New York City cross-sectional study of aging HIV-positive gay and bisexual men assessed their neuropsychological state. Working memory and verbal abstract reasoning were relatively intact. After 55 years of age, attention abilities were impaired. Executive function impairment was present regardless of age and education. Results suggest the need for HIV-specific norms, and the use of neuropsychological assessments (i.e. baseline and over time) as a cost-effective way to assess HIV-related cognitive decline in developed and under-developed countries. © The Author(s) 2013.

Attention enhancing effects of methylphenidate are age-dependent

PubMed Central

Bhattacharya, Shevon E.; Shumsky, Jed S.; Waterhouse, Barry D.

2014-01-01

The psychostimulant methylphenidate (MPH, Ritalin®) is used to treat a variety of cognitive disorders. MPH is also popular among healthy individuals, including the elderly, for its ability to focus attention and improve concentration, but these effects have not been shown to be comparable between aged and adult subjects. Thus, we tested whether MPH would improve performance in sustained attention in both adult and aged rats. In addition, we tested the impact of visual distraction on performance in this task and the ability of MPH to mitigate the effects of distraction. Adult (6–12 months) and aged (18–22 months) male Sprague-Dawley rats were given oral MPH, and their cognitive and motor abilities were tested. Results suggest that while MPH improves task performance in adults; there is no improvement in the aged animals. These outcomes suggest that use of MPH for cognitive enhancement in elderly individuals may be ineffective. PMID:25449855

Discounting input from older adults: the role of age salience on partner age effects in the social contagion of memory.

PubMed

Meade, Michelle L; McNabb, Jaimie C; Lindeman, Meghan I H; Smith, Jessi L

2017-05-01

Three experiments examined the impact of partner age on the magnitude of socially suggested false memories. Young participants recalled household scenes in collaboration with an implied young or older adult partner who intentionally recalled false items. In Experiment 1, participants were presented with only the age of their partner (low age-salience context); in Experiment 2, participants were presented with the age of their partner along with a photograph and biographical information about their partner (high age-salience context); in Experiment 3, age salience was varied within the same experiment. Across experiments, participants in both the low age-salience and high age-salience contexts incorporated their partners' misleading suggestions into their own subsequent recall and recognition reports, thus demonstrating social contagion with implied partners. Importantly, the effect of partner age differed across conditions. Participants in the high age-salience context were less likely to incorporate misleading suggestions from older adult partners than from young adult partners, but participants in the low age-salience context were equally likely to incorporate suggestions from young and older adult partners. Participants discount the memory of older adult partners only when age is highly salient.

Aging and Visual Attention

PubMed Central

Madden, David J.

2007-01-01

Older adults are often slower and less accurate than are younger adults in performing visual-search tasks, suggesting an age-related decline in attentional functioning. Age-related decline in attention, however, is not entirely pervasive. Visual search that is based on the observer’s expectations (i.e., top-down attention) is relatively preserved as a function of adult age. Neuroimaging research suggests that age-related decline occurs in the structure and function of brain regions mediating the visual sensory input, whereas activation of regions in the frontal and parietal lobes is often greater for older adults than for younger adults. This increased activation may represent an age-related increase in the role of top-down attention during visual tasks. To obtain a more complete account of age-related decline and preservation of visual attention, current research is beginning to explore the relation of neuroimaging measures of brain structure and function to behavioral measures of visual attention. PMID:18080001

An Empirical Comparison of Different Models of Active Aging in Canada: The International Mobility in Aging Study

PubMed Central

Ahmed, Tamer; Filiatrault, Johanne; Yu, Hsiu-Ting; Zunzunegui, Maria Victoria

2017-01-01

Abstract Purpose: Active aging is a concept that lacks consensus. The WHO defines it as a holistic concept that encompasses the overall health, participation, and security of older adults. Fernández-Ballesteros and colleagues propose a similar concept but omit security and include mood and cognitive function. To date, researchers attempting to validate conceptual models of active aging have obtained mixed results. The goal of this study was to examine the validity of existing models of active aging with epidemiological data from Canada. Methods: The WHO model of active aging and the psychological model of active aging developed by Fernández-Ballesteros and colleagues were tested with confirmatory factor analysis. The data used included 799 community-dwelling older adults between 65 and 74 years old, recruited from the patient lists of family physicians in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec and Kingston, Ontario. Results: Neither model could be validated in the sample of Canadian older adults. Although a concept of healthy aging can be modeled adequately, social participation and security did not fit a latent factor model. A simple binary index indicated that 27% of older adults in the sample did not meet the active aging criteria proposed by the WHO. Implications: Our results suggest that active aging might represent a human rights policy orientation rather than an empirical measurement tool to guide research among older adult populations. Binary indexes of active aging may serve to highlight what remains to be improved about the health, participation, and security of growing populations of older adults. PMID:26350153

Ontogenetic loss of phenotypic plasticity of age at metamorphosis in tadpoles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hensley, F.R.

1993-12-01

Amphibian larvae exhibit phenotypic plasticity in size at metamorphosis and duration of the larval period. I used Pseudacris crucifer tadpoles to test two models for predicting tadpole age and size at metamorphosis under changing environmental conditions. The Wilbur-Collins model states that metamorphosis is initiated as a function of a tadpole's size and relative growth rate, and predicts that changes in growth rate throughout the larval period affect age and size at metamorphosis. An alternative model, the fixed-rate model, states that age at metamorphosis is fixed early in larval life, and subsequent changes in growth rate will have no effect onmore » the length of the larval period. My results confirm that food supplies affect both age and size at metamorphosis, but developmental rates became fixed at approximately Gosner (1960) stages 35-37. Neither model completely predicted these results. I suggest that the generally accepted Wilbur-Collins model is improved by incorporating a point of fixed developmental timing. Growth trajectories predicted from this modified model fit the results of this study better than trajectories based on either of the original models. The results of this study suggests a constraint that limits the simultaneous optimization of age and size at metamorphosis. 32 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.« less

The aging work force in Korea.

PubMed

Hong, Jungyeon; Lee, Kangsook

2012-04-01

Korea has the fastest aging population and least fertile population of all Organization Economic Cooperation and Development countries, and it is undertaking significant preparations for an aging society. So, we want to review the present status of Elderly workers' occupational disorders and preparations, which is performed by governmental, social parties. We examine the current status of Korea's aging work force, focusing on occupational disorders (injuries and diseases), and retirements, and the associated health effects. Despite the efforts and concern about Korea's aging society since the issue was first identified, Korea's limited experience in operating a national public pension system, and a mature social security system shows that the needs of Korea's aging society cannot be fully satisfied. This problem has already resulted in increasing labor employment rates and delays in retirement from the labor market. We suggest a policy for elderly workers considering various determinants that can lead to successful employment, retirement, and health promotion for the aging work force.

Successful mental health aging: results from a longitudinal study of older Australian men.

PubMed

Almeida, Osvaldo P; Norman, Paul; Hankey, Graeme; Jamrozik, Konrad; Flicker, Leon

2006-01-01

The authors investigated the associations of medical and lifestyle factors with the mental health of men in their 80s. This was a prospective study of a community-representative cohort of older men. Successful mental health aging was defined as reaching age 80 years with Mini-Mental State Examination score (MMSE) of 24 or more and Geriatric Depression Scale-15 items (GDS-15) score of 5 or less. Of 601 men followed for 4.8 years, 76.0% enjoyed successful mental health aging. Successful mental health aging was inversely associated with age (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.87; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.81-0.94), non-English-speaking background (HR = 0.42; 95% CI: 0.21-0.85), and the consumption of full-cream milk (HR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.45-0.89), and directly associated with high school or university education (HR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.34-2.75) and vigorous (HR = 1.89; 95% CI: 1.17-3.05) and nonvigorous physical activity (HR = 1.50; 95% CI: 1.05-2.14). Marital status, smoking and alcohol use, weekly consumption of meat or fish, and a medical history of hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes, myocardial infarction, and stroke were not associated with mental health outcomes in men aged 80 years or over. Three in four men who reach age 80 years undergo successful mental health aging. Factors associated with successful mental health aging include education and lifestyle behaviors such as physical activity. Lifestyle modification by means of increasing physical activity and reducing saturated fat intake may prove to be a safe, inexpensive, and readily available strategy to help maximize the successful mental health aging of the population.

BJUT at TREC 2015 Contextual Suggestion Track

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-11-20

BJUT at TREC 2015 Contextual Suggestion Track Weitong Chen1,2,3, Hanchen Li1,2,3, Zhen Yang1,2,3,⇤ 1. College of Computer Science, Beijing University...CTISCP, Beijing 100124, China ⇤yangzhen@bjut.edu.cn Abstract In this paper we described our efforts for TREC contextual suggestion task. Our goal of this...experiments to evaluate the proposed framework on TREC 2015 Contextual Suggestion data set, and, as would be expected, the results demonstrate its generality

An epigenetic aging clock for dogs and wolves.

PubMed

Thompson, Michael J; vonHoldt, Bridgett; Horvath, Steve; Pellegrini, Matteo

2017-03-28

Several articles describe highly accurate age estimation methods based on human DNA-methylation data. It is not yet known whether similar epigenetic aging clocks can be developed based on blood methylation data from canids. Using Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing, we assessed blood DNA-methylation data from 46 domesticated dogs ( Canis familiaris ) and 62 wild gray wolves ( C. lupus ). By regressing chronological dog age on the resulting CpGs, we defined highly accurate multivariate age estimators for dogs (based on 41 CpGs), wolves (67 CpGs), and both combined (115 CpGs). Age related DNA methylation changes in canids implicate similar gene ontology categories as those observed in humans suggesting an evolutionarily conserved mechanism underlying age-related DNA methylation in mammals.

An epigenetic aging clock for dogs and wolves

PubMed Central

Thompson, Michael J.; vonHoldt, Bridgett; Horvath, Steve; Pellegrini, Matteo

2017-01-01

Several articles describe highly accurate age estimation methods based on human DNA-methylation data. It is not yet known whether similar epigenetic aging clocks can be developed based on blood methylation data from canids. Using Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing, we assessed blood DNA-methylation data from 46 domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris) and 62 wild gray wolves (C. lupus). By regressing chronological dog age on the resulting CpGs, we defined highly accurate multivariate age estimators for dogs (based on 41 CpGs), wolves (67 CpGs), and both combined (115 CpGs). Age related DNA methylation changes in canids implicate similar gene ontology categories as those observed in humans suggesting an evolutionarily conserved mechanism underlying age-related DNA methylation in mammals. PMID:28373601

Accelerated age-related cognitive decline and neurodegeneration, caused by deficient DNA repair.

PubMed

Borgesius, Nils Z; de Waard, Monique C; van der Pluijm, Ingrid; Omrani, Azar; Zondag, Gerben C M; van der Horst, Gijsbertus T J; Melton, David W; Hoeijmakers, Jan H J; Jaarsma, Dick; Elgersma, Ype

2011-08-31

Age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases are a growing challenge for our societies with their aging populations. Accumulation of DNA damage has been proposed to contribute to these impairments, but direct proof that DNA damage results in impaired neuronal plasticity and memory is lacking. Here we take advantage of Ercc1(Δ/-) mutant mice, which are impaired in DNA nucleotide excision repair, interstrand crosslink repair, and double-strand break repair. We show that these mice exhibit an age-dependent decrease in neuronal plasticity and progressive neuronal pathology, suggestive of neurodegenerative processes. A similar phenotype is observed in mice where the mutation is restricted to excitatory forebrain neurons. Moreover, these neuron-specific mutants develop a learning impairment. Together, these results suggest a causal relationship between unrepaired, accumulating DNA damage, and age-dependent cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. Hence, accumulated DNA damage could therefore be an important factor in the onset and progression of age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases.

Age estimation by using dental radiographs

PubMed Central

Limdiwala, Piyush G.; Shah, J. S.

2013-01-01

Background: Estimation of age is important in forensic sciences as a way to establish the identity of human remains. Of the various parts of the body used in age estimation, teeth are the least affected by the taphonomic process. Their durability means that they are sometimes the only body part available for study. Several methods of age estimation have been studied using bone and teeth, and among them, tooth wear and apposition of secondary dentine are the currently available non-destructive methods. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to determine the age of adults by using Kvaal's method as well as to establish the relationship of chronological age and dental age with its reliability and limitations on digital panoramic radiographs. Materials and Methods: The present study was based on panoramic radiographs that consisted of two groups. One hundred orthopantomographs with Kvaal's criteria (Group A) and 50 orthopantomographs without Kvaal's criteria (Group B) were included. Various parameters were measured and the result was analyzed by means of SPSS-12.0 program statistical data. Result and Conclusion: On the basis of Kvaal's criteria, the difference between chronological age and real age was 8.3 years. This suggests that the accuracy of this method depends on the precision of measurements and quality and number of the orthopantomographs. PMID:24255560

Energy Expenditure and Aging

PubMed Central

Manini, Todd M.

2009-01-01

The study of energy expenditure (EE) has deep roots in understanding aging and lifespan in all species. In humans, total EE decreases substantially in advanced age resulting from parallel changes in resting metabolic rate (RMR) and activity EE. For RMR, this reduction appears to be due to a reduction in organ mass and specific metabolic rates of individual tissues. However, these anatomical changes explain very little regarding the decline in activity EE, which is governed by both genetic and environmental sources. The biological control centers for activity EE are closely coupled with body mass fluctuations and seem to originate in the brain. Several candidate neuromodulators may be involved in the age-related reduction of activity EE that include: orexin, agouti-related proteins and dopaminergic pathways. Unfortunately, the existing body of research has primarily focused on how neuromodulators influence weight gain and only a few studies have been performed in aging models. Recent evidence suggests that activity EE has an important role in dictating lifespan and thus places emphasis on future research to uncover the underlying biological mechanisms. The study of EE continues to unlock clues to aging. PMID:19698803

Perceptions of competence: age moderates views of healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Berry, Jane M; Williams, Helen L; Thomas, Kevin D; Blair, Jamie

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Older adults have more complex and differentiated views of aging than do younger adults, but less is known about age-related perceptions of Alzheimer's disease. This study investigated age-related perceptions of competence of an older adult labeled as "in good health" (healthy) or "has Alzheimer's disease" (AD), using a person-perception paradigm. It was predicted that older adults would provide more differentiated assessments of the two targets than would younger adults. Younger (n=86; 18-36 years) and older (n=66; 61-95 years) adults rated activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and memory abilities of a female target aged 75 years, described as healthy or with AD. Data on anxiety about aging, knowledge of and experience with aging and AD, knowledge of memory aging, and positive and negative biases toward aging and AD were also collected. Older adults perceived the healthy target as more capable of cognitively effortful activities (e.g., managing finances) and as possessing better memory abilities than the AD target. As predicted, these differences were greater than differences between targets perceived by younger adults. The interaction effect remained significant after statistically controlling for relevant variables, including education and gender. Additionally, exploratory analyses revealed that older adults held less positively biased views of AD than younger adults, but negatively biased views were equivalent between age groups. The results demonstrate that mere labels of "healthy" and "Alzheimer's disease" produce significant and subtle age differences in perceived competencies of older adults, and that biases towards AD vary by age group and valence. Our findings extend the person-perception paradigm to an integrative analysis of aging and AD, are consistent with models of adult development, and complement current research and theory on stereotypes of aging. Future directions for research

CircRNA accumulation in the aging mouse brain

PubMed Central

Gruner, Hannah; Cortés-López, Mariela; Cooper, Daphne A.; Bauer, Matthew; Miura, Pedro

2016-01-01

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a newly appreciated class of RNAs expressed across diverse phyla. These enigmatic transcripts are most commonly generated by back-splicing events from exons of protein-coding genes. This results in highly stable RNAs due to the lack of free 5′ and 3′ ends. CircRNAs are enriched in neural tissues, suggesting that they might have neural functions. Here, we sought to determine whether circRNA accumulation occurs during aging in mice. Total RNA-seq profiling of young (1 month old) and aged (22 month old) cortex, hippocampus and heart samples was performed. This led to the confident detection of 6,791 distinct circRNAs across these samples, including 675 novel circRNAs. Analysis uncovered a strong bias for circRNA upregulation during aging in neural tissues. These age-accumulation trends were verified for individual circRNAs by RT-qPCR and Northern analysis. In contrast, comparison of aged versus young hearts failed to reveal a global trend for circRNA upregulation. Age-accumulation of circRNAs in brain tissues was found to be largely independent from linear RNA expression of host genes. These findings suggest that circRNAs might play biological roles relevant to the aging nervous system. PMID:27958329

Gardening and age-related weight gain: Results from a cross-sectional survey of Denver residents.

PubMed

Litt, Jill S; Lambert, Jeffrey Richard; Glueck, Deborah H

2017-12-01

This study examined whether gardening modifies the association between age and body mass index (BMI). We used data from the Neighborhood Environments and Health Survey, which was conducted in Denver (N = 469) between 2006 and 2007. We fit two general linear mixed models. The base model had BMI in kg/m 2 as the outcome, and age, an indicator variable for non-gardening status and the age-by-non-gardening status interaction as predictors. The adjusted model included as covariates the potential confounders of education, ethnicity and self-reported health. We assessed self-selection bias and confounding. BMI was 27.18 kg/m 2 for non-gardeners, 25.62 kg/m 2 for home gardeners, and 24.17 kg/m 2 for community gardeners. In the base model, a statistically significant association was observed between age and BMI for non-gardeners but not for the combined community and home gardening group (F = 9.27, ndf = 1, ddf = 441, p = 0.0025). In the adjusted model, the association between age and BMI in non-gardeners was not statistically significant (F = 1.72, ndf = 1, ddf = 431, p = 0.1908). Gardeners differed on social and demographic factors when compared to non-gardeners. The results from the base model are consistent with the hypothesis that gardening might offset age-related weight gain. However, the cross-sectional design does not permit differentiation of true causal effects from the possible effects of bias and confounding. As a follow-up study, to remove bias and confounding, we are conducting a randomized clinical trial of community gardening in Denver.

Interaction of hypertension and age in visual selective attention performance.

PubMed

Madden, D J; Blumenthal, J A

1998-01-01

Previous research suggests that some aspects of cognitive performance decline as a joint function of age and hypertension. In this experiment, 51 unmedicated individuals with mild essential hypertension and 48 normotensive individuals, 18-78 years of age, performed a visual search task. The estimated time required to identify a display character and shift attention between display positions increased with age. This attention shift time did not differ significantly between hypertensive and normotensive participants, but regression analyses indicated some mediation of the age effect by blood pressure. For individuals less than 60 years of age, the error rate was greater for hypertensive than for normotensive participants. Although the present design could detect effects of only moderate to large size, the results suggest that effects of hypertension may be more evident in a relatively general measure of performance (mean error rate) than in the speed of shifting visual attention.

Molecular inflammation: underpinnings of aging and age-related diseases.

PubMed

Chung, Hae Young; Cesari, Matteo; Anton, Stephen; Marzetti, Emanuele; Giovannini, Silvia; Seo, Arnold Young; Carter, Christy; Yu, Byung Pal; Leeuwenburgh, Christiaan

2009-01-01

Recent scientific studies have advanced the notion of chronic inflammation as a major risk factor underlying aging and age-related diseases. In this review, low-grade, unresolved, molecular inflammation is described as an underlying mechanism of aging and age-related diseases, which may serve as a bridge between normal aging and age-related pathological processes. Accumulated data strongly suggest that continuous (chronic) upregulation of pro-inflammatory mediators (e.g., TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, COX-2, iNOS) are induced during the aging process due to an age-related redox imbalance that activates many pro-inflammatory signaling pathways, including the NF-kappaB signaling pathway. These pro-inflammatory molecular events are discussed in relation to their role as basic mechanisms underlying aging and age-related diseases. Further, the anti-inflammatory actions of aging-retarding caloric restriction and exercise are reviewed. Thus, the purpose of this review is to describe the molecular roles of age-related physiological functional declines and the accompanying chronic diseases associated with aging. This new view on the role of molecular inflammation as a mechanism of aging and age-related pathogenesis can provide insights into potential interventions that may affect the aging process and reduce age-related diseases, thereby promoting healthy longevity.

Molecular Inflammation: Underpinnings of Aging and Age-related Diseases

PubMed Central

Chung, Hae Young; Cesari, Matteo; Anton, Stephen; Marzetti, Emanuele; Giovannini, Silvia; Seo, Arnold Young; Carter, Christy; Yu, Byung Pal; Leeuwenburgh, Christiaan

2013-01-01

Recent scientific studies have advanced the notion of chronic inflammation as a major risk factor underlying aging and age-related diseases. In this review, low-grade, unresolved, molecular inflammation is described as an underlying mechanism of aging and age-related diseases, which may serve as a bridge between normal aging and age-related pathological processes. Accumulated data strongly suggest that continuous (chronic) up-regulation of pro-inflammatory mediators (e.g., TNF-α, IL-1β, 6, COX-2, iNOS) are induced during the aging process due to an age-related redox imbalance that activates many pro-inflammatory signaling pathways, including the NF-κB signaling pathway. These pro-inflammatory molecular events are discussed in relation to their role as basic mechanisms underlying aging and age-related diseases. Further, the anti-inflammatory actions of aging-retarding caloric restriction and exercise are reviewed. Thus, the purpose of this review is to describe the molecular roles of age-related physiological functional declines and the accompanying chronic diseases associated with aging. This new view on the role of molecular inflammation as a mechanism of aging and age-related pathogenesis can provide insights into potential interventions that may affect the aging process and reduce age-related diseases, thereby promoting healthy longevity. PMID:18692159

Suggested Activities to Use With Children Who Present Symptoms of Visual Perception Problems, Elementary Level.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington County Public Schools, Washington, PA.

Symptoms displayed by primary age children with learning disabilities are listed; perceptual handicaps are explained. Activities are suggested for developing visual perception and perception involving motor activities. Also suggested are activities to develop body concept, visual discrimination and attentiveness, visual memory, and figure ground…

Leydig Cell Aging and Hypogonadism

PubMed Central

Beattie, M.C.; Adekola, L.; Papadopoulos, V.; Chen, H.; Zirkin, B.R.

2015-01-01

Leydig cell testosterone (T) production is reduced with age, resulting in reduced serum T levels (hypogonadism). A number of cellular changes have been identified in the steroidogenic pathway of aged Leydig cells that are associated with reduced T formation, including reductions in luteinizing hormone (LH)-stimulated cAMP production, the cholesterol transport proteins steroidogenic acute regulatory (STAR) protein and translocator protein (TSPO), and downstream steroidogenic enzymes of the mitochondria and smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Many of the changes in steroid formation that characterize aged Leydig cells can be elicited by the experimental alteration of the redox environment of young cells, suggesting that changes in the intracellular redox balance may cause reduced T production. Hypogonadism is estimated to affect about 5 million American men, including both aged and young. This condition has been linked to mood changes, worsening cognition, fatigue, depression, decreased lean body mass, reduced bone mineral density, increased visceral fat, metabolic syndrome, decreased libido, and sexual dysfunction. Exogenous T administration is now used widely to elevate serum T levels in hypogonadal men and thus to treat symptoms of hypogonadism. However, recent evidence suggests that men who take exogenous T may face increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and prostate tumorigenesis. Moreover, it is well established that administered T can have suppressive effects on LH, resulting in lower Leydig cell T production, reduced intratesticular T concentration, and reduced spermatogenesis. This makes exogenous T administration inappropriate for men who wish to father children. There are promising new approaches to increase serum T by directly stimulating Leydig cell T production rather than by exogenous T therapy, thus potentially avoiding some of its negative consequences. PMID:25700847

Leydig cell aging and hypogonadism.

PubMed

Beattie, M C; Adekola, L; Papadopoulos, V; Chen, H; Zirkin, B R

2015-08-01

Leydig cell testosterone (T) production is reduced with age, resulting in reduced serum T levels (hypogonadism). A number of cellular changes have been identified in the steroidogenic pathway of aged Leydig cells that are associated with reduced T formation, including reductions in luteinizing hormone (LH)-stimulated cAMP production, the cholesterol transport proteins steroidogenic acute regulatory (STAR) protein and translocator protein (TSPO), and downstream steroidogenic enzymes of the mitochondria and smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Many of the changes in steroid formation that characterize aged Leydig cells can be elicited by the experimental alteration of the redox environment of young cells, suggesting that changes in the intracellular redox balance may cause reduced T production. Hypogonadism is estimated to affect about 5 million American men, including both aged and young. This condition has been linked to mood changes, worsening cognition, fatigue, depression, decreased lean body mass, reduced bone mineral density, increased visceral fat, metabolic syndrome, decreased libido, and sexual dysfunction. Exogenous T administration is now used widely to elevate serum T levels in hypogonadal men and thus to treat symptoms of hypogonadism. However, recent evidence suggests that men who take exogenous T may face increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and prostate tumorigenesis. Moreover, it is well established that administered T can have suppressive effects on LH, resulting in lower Leydig cell T production, reduced intratesticular T concentration, and reduced spermatogenesis. This makes exogenous T administration inappropriate for men who wish to father children. There are promising new approaches to increase serum T by directly stimulating Leydig cell T production rather than by exogenous T therapy, thus potentially avoiding some of its negative consequences. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Comparison of the Age-Spectra from Data Assimilation Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schoeberl, Mark R.; Douglass, Anne R.; Zhu, Zheng-Xin; Pawson, Steven; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

We use kinematic and diabatic back trajectory calculations, driven by winds from a general circulation model (GCM) and two different data assimilation systems (DAS), to compute the age spectrum at three latitudes in the lower stratosphere. The age-spectra are compared to chemical transport model (CTM) calculations, and the mean ages from all of these studies are compared to observations. The age spectra computed using the GCM winds show a reasonably well-isolated tropics in good agreement with observations; however, the age spectra determined from the DAS differ from the GCM spectra. For the diabatic trajectory calculations, the age spectrum is too broad as a result of too much exchange between the tropics and mid-latitudes. The age spectrum determined using the kinematic trajectory calculation is less broad and lacks an age offset; both of these features are due to excessive vertical dispersion of parcels. The tropical and mid-latitude mean age difference between the diabatically and kinematically determined age-spectra is about one year, the former being older. The CTM calculation of the age spectrum using the DAS winds shows the same dispersive characteristics of the kinematic trajectory calculation. These results suggest that the current DAS products will not give realistic trace gas distributions for long integrations; they also help explain why the mean ages determined in a number of previous DAS driven CTM's are too young compared with observations. Finally, we note trajectory-generated age spectra show significant age anomalies correlated with the seasonal cycles, and these anomalies can be linked to year-to-year variations in the tropical heating rate. These anomalies are suppressed in the CTM spectra suggesting that the CTM transport is too diffusive.

Does life satisfaction change in old age: results from an 8-year longitudinal study.

PubMed

Gana, Kamel; Bailly, Nathalie; Saada, Yaël; Joulain, Michèle; Alaphilippe, Daniel

2013-07-01

The unexpected positive relationship between aging and happiness was called "the paradox of well-being," which is still a matter of debate. This study examined longitudinal change in life satisfaction (LS) in older adults. LS was assessed with the satisfaction with life scale, in a sample of individuals (N = 899; aged 62-95 years, at first occasion; M = 72.73, SD = 5.68) for a period of 8 years (5 waves of data). A multiple indicator (e.g., second order) growth modeling was used to assess change in LS. Findings from both unconditional and conditional model (in which time-invariant, i.e., age, gender, and education, and time-varying, i.e., self-perceived health, covariates were incorporated in the model) indicated a linear increase in LS for the 8-year period. As expected, the results showed significant random variation in both intercept and slope, indicating that participants start at different levels and change at different rates. Our findings contribute to the debate concerning the paradox of well-being, which calls for explanation. There are few theories that provide some explanation (e.g., the socioemotional selectivity theory). However, to enhance researchers' understanding of developmental changes that contribute to the paradox of well-being, a more integrative theoretical model is needed.

Poor nutrition at age 3 and schizotypal personality at age 23: the mediating role of age 11 cognitive functioning.

PubMed

Venables, Peter H; Raine, Adrian

2012-08-01

Poor prenatal nutrition has been associated with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in the Netherlands and China, and it has been suggested that perinatal and postnatal nutritional factors lead to the development of schizophrenia and the exhibition of schizotypal traits later in life. There appears to be no prior research on the existence of possible factors that may mediate the relationship between malnutrition and schizophrenia spectrum disorders or whether this association is a direct one. The authors tested the hypothesis that low IQ mediates the relationship between early childhood malnutrition and adult schizotypal personality. Participants were drawn from a birth cohort of 1,795 boys and girls who were followed prospectively. Objective indicators of malnutrition (anemia and stunting) were assessed at age 3. Verbal and performance intelligence were assessed at age 11, and schizotypal personality was assessed at age 23. Both stunting and anemia at age 3 were associated with low IQ at age 11. Low performance IQ at age 11 was associated with increased interpersonal and disorganized features of schizotypal personality at age 23. Poor performance IQ was found to mediate the relationship between poor nutrition at age 3 and interpersonal and disorganized features of schizotypy at age 23. Findings in female participants were replicated in male participants. Given that poor nutrition is an alterable risk factor, these findings suggest that nutritional enhancements may improve brain functioning and possibly reduce some features of schizotypal personality disorder.

Domestic work and self-rated health among women and men aged 25-64 years: results from a population-based survey in Sweden.

PubMed

Molarius, Anu; Granström, Fredrik; Lindén-Boström, Margareta; Elo, Sirkka

2014-02-01

This study investigated the association between domestic work and self-rated health among women and men in the general population. The study is based on women (N = 12,910) and men (N = 9784) aged 25-64 years, who responded to a survey questionnaire in 2008 (response rate 56%). Logistic regression models were used to assess the association adjusting for age, educational level, employment status, family status and longstanding illness. Population attributable risks (PAR) were calculated to assess the contribution of domestic work to the prevalence of suboptimal self-rated health. More women (29%) than men (12%) spent more than 20 hours per week in domestic work. Women also experienced domestic work more often as burdensome. Disability pensioners and single mothers reported highest levels of burdensome domestic work. There was a strong independent association between burdensome domestic work and suboptimal self-rated health both in women and men. The PAR for burdensome domestic work was 21% in women and 12% in men and comparable to other major risk factors. The results suggest that domestic work should not be omitted when considering factors that affect self-rated health in the general population.

[Behaviour problems of children with Down syndrome in preschool-age - Results from the Heidelberg Down syndrome study].

PubMed

Sarimski, Klaus

2018-05-01

We report on the frequency and the correlations of behaviour problems among children with Down syndrome in preschool-age. As part of a longitudinal study 48 mothers of children with Down syndrome completed the German version of the “Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire” (SDQ-D) and the Parenting Stress Inventory (PSI). The mothers were asked to fill out the questionnaires when the children had a mean age of five years. The results were compared to norms from children with typical development. Thirty per cent of the children with Down syndrome were rated as abnormal. Specifically, mean scores indicating problems with children of the same age and hyperactivity were elevated. A regression analysis predicting the total problem score of the SDQ-D revealed maternal educational level, optimistic attitude, and subjective parental stress at the age of one year and the degree of behavioural abnormalities at the age of three years as significant influential factors. Early intervention for Down syndrome children should include supporting parenting competence and coping skills in order to prevent behaviour problems.

Suicidal behaviour in Indigenous compared to non-Indigenous males in urban and regional Australia: Prevalence data suggest disparities increase across age groups.

PubMed

Armstrong, Gregory; Pirkis, Jane; Arabena, Kerry; Currier, Dianne; Spittal, Matthew J; Jorm, Anthony F

2017-12-01

We compare the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempts between Indigenous and non-Indigenous males in urban and regional Australia, and examine the extent to which any disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous males varies across age groups. We used data from the baseline wave of The Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health (Ten to Men), a large-scale cohort study of Australian males aged 10-55 years residing in urban and regional areas. Indigenous identification was determined through participants self-reporting as Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or both. The survey collected data on suicidal thoughts in the preceding 2 weeks and lifetime suicide attempts. A total of 432 participants (2.7%) identified as Indigenous and 15,425 as non-Indigenous (97.3%). Indigenous males were twice as likely as non-Indigenous males to report recent suicidal thoughts (17.6% vs 9.4%; odds ratio = 2.1, p < 0.001) and more than three times as likely to report a suicide attempt in their lifetime (17.0% vs 5.1%; odds ratio = 3.6; p < 0.001). The prevalence of recent suicidal thoughts did not differ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous males in younger age groups, but a significant gap emerged among men aged 30-39 years and was largest among men aged 40-55 years. Similarly, the prevalence of lifetime suicide attempts did not differ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous males in the 14- to 17-years age group, but a disparity emerged in the 18- to 24-years age group and was even larger among males aged 25 years and older. Our paper presents unique data on suicidal thoughts and attempts among a broad age range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous males. The disparity in the prevalence of suicidal thoughts increased across age groups, which is in contrast to the large disparity between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous suicide rates in younger age groups.

Lived Experiences of College-Age Transsexual Individuals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodrich, Kristopher M.

2012-01-01

This article reviews the lived experiences of 4 college-age transsexual individuals. A qualitative study using grounded theory was conducted to investigate their experiences influencing their later educational persistence. Results suggested that level of discomfort, perceived social supports, level of secrecy, and academic achievement all affected…

The interactive effects of age, education, and BMI on cognitive functioning.

PubMed

Kirton, Joshua W; Dotson, Vonetta M

2016-01-01

We examined the moderating effects of age and cognitive reserve on the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and processing speed, executive function, and working memory based on the literature suggesting that obese individuals perform more poorly on measures of these abilities. Fifty-six healthy, dementia-free community-dwelling older (mean age 65.72 ± 7.40) and younger (mean age 21.10 ± 2.33) adults completed a neuropsychological battery and reported height and weight. Mixed effects models were used to evaluate the interactive effects of age, education (a proxy for cognitive reserve), and BMI on cognitive scores. Higher education was protective for executive deficits in younger, but not older adults. Age differences in executive functions were reduced at higher education levels but increased in individuals with higher BMI. Results suggest the inter-relationships between cognitive reserve - as measured by education - and BMI differ across age, and that obesity may accelerate the cognitive aging process.

Anti-Inflammation Activities of Mycosporine-Like Amino Acids (MAAs) in Response to UV Radiation Suggest Potential Anti-Skin Aging Activity

PubMed Central

Suh, Sung-Suk; Hwang, Jinik; Park, Mirye; Seo, Hyo Hyun; Kim, Hyoung-Shik; Lee, Jeong Hun; Moh, Sang Hyun; Lee, Taek-Kyun

2014-01-01

Certain photosynthetic marine organisms have evolved mechanisms to counteract UV-radiation by synthesizing UV-absorbing compounds, such as mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs). In this study, MAAs were separated from the extracts of marine green alga Chlamydomonas hedleyi using HPLC and were identified as porphyra-334, shinorine, and mycosporine-glycine (mycosporine-Gly), based on their retention times and maximum absorption wavelengths. Furthermore, their structures were confirmed by triple quadrupole MS/MS. Their roles as UV-absorbing compounds were investigated in the human fibroblast cell line HaCaT by analyzing the expression levels of genes associated with antioxidant activity, inflammation, and skin aging in response to UV irradiation. The mycosporine-Gly extract, but not the other MAAs, had strong antioxidant activity in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Furthermore, treatment with mycosporine-Gly resulted in a significant decrease in COX-2 mRNA levels, which are typically increased in response to inflammation in the skin, in a concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, in the presence of MAAs, the UV-suppressed genes, procollagen C proteinase enhancer (PCOLCE) and elastin, which are related to skin aging, had increased expression levels equal to those in UV-mock treated cells. Interestingly, the increased expression of involucrin after UV exposure was suppressed by treatment with the MAAs mycosporine-Gly and shinorine, but not porphyra-334. This is the first report investigating the biological activities of microalgae-derived MAAs in human cells. PMID:25317535

Anti-inflammation activities of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) in response to UV radiation suggest potential anti-skin aging activity.

PubMed

Suh, Sung-Suk; Hwang, Jinik; Park, Mirye; Seo, Hyo Hyun; Kim, Hyoung-Shik; Lee, Jeong Hun; Moh, Sang Hyun; Lee, Taek-Kyun

2014-10-14

Certain photosynthetic marine organisms have evolved mechanisms to counteract UV-radiation by synthesizing UV-absorbing compounds, such as mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs). In this study, MAAs were separated from the extracts of marine green alga Chlamydomonas hedleyi using HPLC and were identified as porphyra-334, shinorine, and mycosporine-glycine (mycosporine-Gly), based on their retention times and maximum absorption wavelengths. Furthermore, their structures were confirmed by triple quadrupole MS/MS. Their roles as UV-absorbing compounds were investigated in the human fibroblast cell line HaCaT by analyzing the expression levels of genes associated with antioxidant activity, inflammation, and skin aging in response to UV irradiation. The mycosporine-Gly extract, but not the other MAAs, had strong antioxidant activity in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Furthermore, treatment with mycosporine-Gly resulted in a significant decrease in COX-2 mRNA levels, which are typically increased in response to inflammation in the skin, in a concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, in the presence of MAAs, the UV-suppressed genes, procollagen C proteinase enhancer (PCOLCE) and elastin, which are related to skin aging, had increased expression levels equal to those in UV-mock treated cells. Interestingly, the increased expression of involucrin after UV exposure was suppressed by treatment with the MAAs mycosporine-Gly and shinorine, but not porphyra-334. This is the first report investigating the biological activities of microalgae-derived MAAs in human cells.

Contact allergy to rubber accelerators remains prevalent: retrospective results from a tertiary clinic suggesting an association with facial dermatitis.

PubMed

Schwensen, J F; Menné, T; Johansen, J D; Thyssen, J P

2016-10-01

Chemicals used for the manufacturing of rubber are known causes of allergic contact dermatitis on the hands. Recent European studies have suggested a decrease in thiuram contact allergy. Moreover, while an association with hand dermatitis is well established, we have recently observed several clinical cases with allergic facial dermatitis to rubber. To evaluate temporal trends of contact allergy to rubber accelerators from the European baseline series in a tertiary patch test clinic in Denmark, and examine associations with anatomical locations of dermatitis. Patch test and clinical data collected in a Danish tertiary dermatology clinic in Gentofte, Herlev, Copenhagen between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2014 were analysed. The following rubber accelerators or mixtures in petrolatum from the European baseline patch test series were included: thiuram mix 1.0%, mercaptobenzothiazole 2.0% and mercapto mix 1.0%. The overall prevalence of contact allergy to rubber accelerators was 3.1% with no significant change during the study period (P trend = 0.667). Contact allergy to thiuram mix was the most prevalent and was significantly associated with occupational contact dermatitis, hand dermatitis, age >40 years and facial dermatitis in adjusted binary logistic regression analysis. Current clinical relevance of contact allergy to thiuram mix was 59.3%. Patients with contact allergy to mercapto mix and mercaptobenzothiazole had a concomitant reaction to thiuram mix in 35.2% (19/54) and 35.4% (17/48) of the cases respectively. Contact allergy to rubber accelerators remains prevalent. Clinicians should be aware of the hitherto unexplored clinical association with facial dermatitis. © 2016 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

Primary prevention of lead exposure--blood lead results at age two years.

PubMed

Campbell, Carla; Gracely, Edward; Tran, Mary; Starkey, Naomi; Kersten, Hans; Palermo, Peter; Rothman, Nancy; Line, Laura; Hansen-Turton, Tine

2012-04-01

The Philadelphia Lead Safe Homes (LSH) Study was designed to evaluate whether educational and environmental interventions in the first year of life for families of newborns increased knowledge of lead exposure prevention and were associated with less elevation of blood lead levels (BLLs) for these children, when compared to children receiving standard care. The current study performed descriptive statistics on the second-year BLL data for both groups and compared these using chi-square tests for proportions and unpaired t-tests for means. A BLL result was found for 159 (50.6%) of the 314 LSH cohort children and 331 (52.7%) of the 628 control children (p = 0.1). Mean and standard deviation for age at draw was 23.8 (3.4) months versus 23.6 (3.1) months (P = 0.6). Geometric mean BLLs were 3.7 versus 3.5 µg/dL (P = 0.4). The percentages of the cohort group with a BLL of ≥ 20, ≥ 10 and ≥ 5 μg/dL, respectively, were 0.6%, 5% and 30%; for the controls 1.2%, 6.6%, and 25%. These percentages were not significantly different between groups. A comparison of geometric mean BLLs and percentages above several BLL cut points drawn at age two years in a group of urban newborns benefitting from study interventions versus a group of similar urban children did not yield statistically significant differences. Both groups had relatively lower lead levels when compared to historical cohort groups, which may reflect a continuing downward trend in BLLs in U.S. children. The interventions did result in benefits to the families such as an increase in parental knowledge about lead exposure prevention and in-home wet cleaning activity, and a decrease in lead dust levels in study homes.

How Japanese adults perceive memory change with age: middle-aged adults with memory performance as high as young adults evaluate their memory abilities as low as older adults.

PubMed

Kinjo, Hikari; Shimizu, Hiroyuki

2014-01-01

The characteristics of self-referent beliefs about memory change with age. The relationship between beliefs and memory performance of three age groups of Japanese adults was investigated. The beliefs measured by the Personal Beliefs about Memory Instrument (Lineweaver & Hertzog, 1998) differed among the age groups and between sexes. In most scales, the ratings by middle-aged adults were as low as those by older adults, which were lower than those by young adults. Women perceived their memory abilities as lower than men's, with no interaction between age and sex, suggesting the difference remains across the lifespan. For middle-aged adults, the better they performed in cued-recall, free recall, and recognition, the lower they evaluated their memory self-efficacy, while few relationships were found for other groups. Our results suggest that cognitive beliefs change with age and that investigating the beliefs of the middle-aged adults is indispensable to elucidate the transition of beliefs.

[Therapy and suggestion].

PubMed

Barrucand, D; Paille, F

1986-12-01

Therapy and suggestion are closely related. That is clear for the ancient time: primitive medicine gives a good place to the Word. In plant, animal or mineral remedies, the suggestion is clearly preponderant. Towards the end of the 19th century, the "Ecole de Nancy" sets up a real theory of the suggestion, and Bernheim, its leader, bases hypnosis, then psychotherapy on this concept. Thereafter Coué will bring up the "conscious autosuggestion". Today, despite the progress of scientific medicine, the part of suggestion is still very important in medical therapy (with or without drugs), or in chirurgical therapy; this part is also very important in psychotherapies, whatever has been said in this field. This has to be known and used consciously in the doctor-patient relation, which is always essential in the therapeutic effectiveness.

Exercise at Different Ages and Appendicular Lean Mass and Strength in Later Life: Results From the Berlin Aging Study II.

PubMed

Eibich, Peter; Buchmann, Nikolaus; Kroh, Martin; Wagner, Gert G; Steinhagen-Thiessen, Elisabeth; Demuth, Ilja; Norman, Kristina

2016-04-01

Excessive loss of muscle mass in advanced age is a major risk factor for decreased physical ability and falls. Physical activity and exercise training are typically recommended to maintain muscle mass and prevent weakness. How exercise in different stages of life relates to muscle mass, grip strength, and risk for weakness in later life is not well understood. Baseline data on 891 participants at least 60 years old from the Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II) were analyzed. Linear and logistic regressions of self-reported exercise in early adulthood, old age, or both on appendicular lean mass (ALM), grip strength, and a risk indicator for weakness (ALM/ body mass index cutoff) were calculated. In addition, treatment bounds are analyzed to address potential confounding using a method proposed by Oster. Analyses indicate that for men only, continuous exercise is significantly associated with higher muscle mass (SD = 0.24, p < .001), grip strength (SD = 0.18, p < .05), and lower risk for clinically relevant low muscle mass (odds ratio = 0.36, p < .01). Exercise in early adulthood alone is not significantly associated with muscle mass or strength. No significant associations were observed for women. The results of the current study underscore the importance of health programs to promote physical activity with a focus on young adults, a group known to be affected from environmentally associated decline of physical activity, and to promote the continuation of physical exercise from early adulthood into later life in general. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Hypnotic suggestibility, cognitive inhibition, and dissociation.

PubMed

Dienes, Zoltán; Brown, Elizabeth; Hutton, Sam; Kirsch, Irving; Mazzoni, Giuliana; Wright, Daniel B

2009-12-01

We examined two potential correlates of hypnotic suggestibility: dissociation and cognitive inhibition. Dissociation is the foundation of two of the major theories of hypnosis and other theories commonly postulate that hypnotic responding is a result of attentional abilities (including inhibition). Participants were administered the Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form C. Under the guise of an unrelated study, 180 of these participants also completed: a version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale that is normally distributed in non-clinical populations; a latent inhibition task, a spatial negative priming task, and a memory task designed to measure negative priming. The data ruled out even moderate correlations between hypnotic suggestibility and all the measures of dissociation and cognitive inhibition overall, though they also indicated gender differences. The results are a challenge for existing theories of hypnosis.

Osteopontin attenuates aging-associated phenotypes of hematopoietic stem cells.

PubMed

Guidi, Novella; Sacma, Mehmet; Ständker, Ludger; Soller, Karin; Marka, Gina; Eiwen, Karina; Weiss, Johannes M; Kirchhoff, Frank; Weil, Tanja; Cancelas, Jose A; Florian, Maria Carolina; Geiger, Hartmut

2017-04-03

Upon aging, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) undergo changes in function and structure, including skewing to myeloid lineages, lower reconstitution potential and loss of protein polarity. While stem cell intrinsic mechanisms are known to contribute to HSC aging, little is known on whether age-related changes in the bone marrow niche regulate HSC aging. Upon aging, the expression of osteopontin (OPN) in the murine bone marrow stroma is reduced. Exposure of young HSCs to an OPN knockout niche results in a decrease in engraftment, an increase in long-term HSC frequency and loss of stem cell polarity. Exposure of aged HSCs to thrombin-cleaved OPN attenuates aging of old HSCs, resulting in increased engraftment, decreased HSC frequency, increased stem cell polarity and a restored balance of lymphoid and myeloid cells in peripheral blood. Thus, our data suggest a critical role for reduced stroma-derived OPN for HSC aging and identify thrombin-cleaved OPN as a novel niche informed therapeutic approach for ameliorating HSC phenotypes associated with aging. © 2017 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY NC ND 4.0 license.

The likelihood of an indeterminate test result from a whole-blood interferon-gamma release assay for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children correlates with age and immune status.

PubMed

Haustein, Thomas; Ridout, Deborah A; Hartley, John C; Thaker, Urvashi; Shingadia, Delane; Klein, Nigel J; Novelli, Vas; Dixon, Garth L J

2009-08-01

Interferon-gamma release assays for the diagnosis of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis have been increasingly used in recent years and are endorsed by national guidelines, but experience regarding their use in children is still limited. We retrospectively evaluated the routine use of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube assay (QFT-IT) in a pediatric tertiary care center with a high prevalence of immunocompromising conditions. The relationship between age, immune status, and likelihood of an indeterminate test result was analyzed using logistic regression analysis and fractional polynomials. Two hundred thirty-seven tests from 237 children were included in the analysis. Fifty-nine children (25%) were immunocompromised by our definition. An indeterminate test result was obtained in 83 children (35%). The likelihood of an indeterminate test result was inversely correlated with age (P < 0.001) for children who were not known to be immunocompromised, and decreased by 13% per year of age. Impaired immunity (P < 0.001) was independently associated with a higher probability of an indeterminate QFT-IT. Among 161 children with a documented tuberculin skin test, 89% had a concordant QFT-IT (kappa = 0.71). Twelve of 16 patients with culture-proven TB had a positive QFT-IT. These data suggest that QFT-IT may not provide a determinate test result in a substantial proportion of children in a tertiary care setting due to the combination of young age and primary and acquired immune deficiencies.

Aging in the colonial chordate, Botryllus schlosseri.

PubMed

Munday, Roma; Rodriguez, Delany; Di Maio, Alessandro; Kassmer, Susannah; Braden, Brian; Taketa, Daryl A; Langenbacher, Adam; De Tomaso, Anthony

2015-01-30

What mechanisms underlie aging? One theory, the wear-and-tear model, attributes aging to progressive deterioration in the molecular and cellular machinery which eventually lead to death through the disruption of physiological homeostasis. The second suggests that life span is genetically programmed, and aging may be derived from intrinsic processes which enforce a non-random, terminal time interval for the survivability of the organism. We are studying an organism that demonstrates both properties: the colonial ascidian, Botryllus schlosseri. Botryllus is a member of the Tunicata, the sister group to the vertebrates, and has a number of life history traits which make it an excellent model for studies on aging. First, Botryllus has a colonial life history, and grows by a process of asexual reproduction during which entire bodies, including all somatic and germline lineages, regenerate every week, resulting in a colony of genetically identical individuals. Second, previous studies of lifespan in genetically distinct Botryllus lineages suggest that a direct, heritable basis underlying mortality exists that is unlinked to reproductive effort and other life history traits. Here we will review recent efforts to take advantage of the unique life history traits of B. schlosseri and develop it into a robust model for aging research.

Aging in the colonial chordate, Botryllus schlosseri

PubMed Central

Munday, Roma; Rodriguez, Delany; Di Maio, Alessandro; Kassmer, Susannah; Braden, Brian; Taketa, Daryl A.; Langenbacher, Adam; De Tomaso, Anthony

2015-01-01

What mechanisms underlie aging? One theory, the wear-and-tear model, attributes aging to progressive deterioration in the molecular and cellular machinery which eventually lead to death through the disruption of physiological homeostasis. The second suggests that life span is genetically programmed, and aging may be derived from intrinsic processes which enforce a non-random, terminal time interval for the survivability of the organism. We are studying an organism that demonstrates both properties: the colonial ascidian, Botryllus schlosseri. Botryllus is a member of the Tunicata, the sister group to the vertebrates, and has a number of life history traits which make it an excellent model for studies on aging. First, Botryllus has a colonial life history, and grows by a process of asexual reproduction during which entire bodies, including all somatic and germline lineages, regenerate every week, resulting in a colony of genetically identical individuals. Second, previous studies of lifespan in genetically distinct Botryllus lineages suggest that a direct, heritable basis underlying mortality exists that is unlinked to reproductive effort and other life history traits. Here we will review recent efforts to take advantage of the unique life history traits of B. schlosseri and develop it into a robust model for aging research. PMID:26136620

Sex hormones, aging, and Alzheimer’s disease

PubMed Central

Barron, Anna M.; Pike, Christian J.

2012-01-01

A promising strategy to delay and perhaps prevent Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is to identify the age-related changes that put the brain at risk for the disease. A significant normal age change known to result in tissue-specific dysfunction is the depletion of sex hormones. In women, menopause results in a relatively rapid loss of estradiol and progesterone. In men, aging is associated with a comparatively gradual yet significant decrease in testosterone. We review a broad literature that indicates age-related losses of estrogens in women and testosterone in men are risk factors for AD. Both estrogens and androgens exert a wide range of protective actions that improve multiple aspects of neural health, suggesting that hormone therapies have the potential to combat AD pathogenesis. However, translation of experimental findings into effective therapies has proven challenging. One emerging treatment option is the development of novel hormone mimetics termed selective estrogen and androgen receptor modulators. Continued research of sex hormones and their roles in the aging brain is expected to yield valuable approaches to reducing the risk of AD. PMID:22201929

Responding to hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestions: performance standards, imaginative suggestibility, and response expectancies.

PubMed

Meyer, Eric C; Lynn, Steven Jay

2011-07-01

This study examined the relative impact of hypnotic inductions and several other variables on hypnotic and nonhypnotic responsiveness to imaginative suggestions. The authors examined how imaginative suggestibility, response expectancies, motivation to respond to suggestions, and hypnotist-induced performance standards affected participants' responses to both hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestions and their suggestion-related experiences. Suggestions were administered to 5 groups of participants using a test-retest design: (a) stringent performance standards; (b) lenient performance standards; (c) hypnosis test-retest; (d) no-hypnosis test-retest; and (e) no-hypnosis/hypnosis control. The authors found no support for the influence of a hypnotic induction or performance standards on responding to suggestions but found considerable support for the role of imaginative suggestibility and response expectancies in predicting responses to both hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestions.

[Gender, age, occupation, economic sector and mental health in the workplace: the results of the study SALVEO].

PubMed

Marchand, Alain; Blanc, Marie-Eve; Durand, Pierre

2015-04-29

This article examined the contribution of gender, age, occupation and economic sector on psychological distress, depression and burnout. The data came from the SALVEO study carried out in 2009- 2012 among 2,162 workers employed in 63 Canadian workplaces. Multilevel logistic regression models were estimated on the total sample and separately for men and women. The prevalences of psychological distress, depression and burnout were 23.8%, 5.8% and 3.9% respectively. Mental health problems varied between workplaces, but variations between workplaces were stronger for burnout. Differences between men and women were significant only for psychological distress, depression, and emotional exhaustion. Unskilled workers were found more at risk for depression and burnout. Associations among age, occupation and economic sector were not the same between genders. Results from the SALVEO study highlight important mental health problems in workers that vary between workplaces, and that differences in symptomatology are associated with gender, age, occupation and economic sector. Gender reveals differentiated profiles of relationships. These results point towards the development of targeted approaches to the prevention of and intervention on mental health problems in workplaces.

Socioeconomic Status and Age Variations in Health-Related Quality of Life: Results From the National Health Measurement Study

PubMed Central

Cherepanov, Dasha; Palta, Mari; Dunham, Nancy Cross; Feeny, David; Fryback, Dennis G.

2009-01-01

Objectives We examine whether multiple health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures are stratified by socioeconomic status (SES) and age in the United States. Methods Data are from the 2005/2006 National Health Measurement Study, a telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. We plot mean HRQoL scores by SES within age groups. Regression analyses test whether education, income, and assets each have independent associations with three “preference-based” HRQoL measures and self-rated health (SRH). We test whether these associations vary by age. Results There are SES disparities in HRQoL and SRH among adults in the United States at all age groups. Income differentials in HRQoL are strong across current adult age cohorts, except the 75–89 age cohort. Education and assets have statistically significant but weaker associations with HRQoL. All three SES measures are associated with SRH (net of each other) at every age group. Those in the lowest income and education groups in the 35–44 age cohort have worse HRQoL and SRH than those in higher SES groups in the 65+ age cohort. Discussion Significant improvements in HRQoL at the population level will only be possible if we improve the HRQoL of people at the lowest end of the socioeconomic distribution. PMID:19307286

The DrugAge database of aging-related drugs.

PubMed

Barardo, Diogo; Thornton, Daniel; Thoppil, Harikrishnan; Walsh, Michael; Sharifi, Samim; Ferreira, Susana; Anžič, Andreja; Fernandes, Maria; Monteiro, Patrick; Grum, Tjaša; Cordeiro, Rui; De-Souza, Evandro Araújo; Budovsky, Arie; Araujo, Natali; Gruber, Jan; Petrascheck, Michael; Fraifeld, Vadim E; Zhavoronkov, Alexander; Moskalev, Alexey; de Magalhães, João Pedro

2017-06-01

Aging is a major worldwide medical challenge. Not surprisingly, identifying drugs and compounds that extend lifespan in model organisms is a growing research area. Here, we present DrugAge (http://genomics.senescence.info/drugs/), a curated database of lifespan-extending drugs and compounds. At the time of writing, DrugAge contains 1316 entries featuring 418 different compounds from studies across 27 model organisms, including worms, flies, yeast and mice. Data were manually curated from 324 publications. Using drug-gene interaction data, we also performed a functional enrichment analysis of targets of lifespan-extending drugs. Enriched terms include various functional categories related to glutathione and antioxidant activity, ion transport and metabolic processes. In addition, we found a modest but significant overlap between targets of lifespan-extending drugs and known aging-related genes, suggesting that some but not most aging-related pathways have been targeted pharmacologically in longevity studies. DrugAge is freely available online for the scientific community and will be an important resource for biogerontologists. © 2017 The Authors. Aging Cell published by the Anatomical Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Revisiting measurement invariance in intelligence testing in aging research: Evidence for almost complete metric invariance across age groups.

PubMed

Sprague, Briana N; Hyun, Jinshil; Molenaar, Peter C M

2017-01-01

Invariance of intelligence across age is often assumed but infrequently explicitly tested. Horn and McArdle (1992) tested measurement invariance of intelligence, providing adequate model fit but might not consider all relevant aspects such as sub-test differences. The goal of the current paper is to explore age-related invariance of the WAIS-R using an alternative model that allows direct tests of age on WAIS-R subtests. Cross-sectional data on 940 participants aged 16-75 from the WAIS-R normative values were used. Subtests examined were information, comprehension, similarities, vocabulary, picture completion, block design, picture arrangement, and object assembly. The two intelligence factors considered were fluid and crystallized intelligence. Self-reported ages were divided into young (16-22, n = 300), adult (29-39, n = 275), middle (40-60, n = 205), and older (61-75, n = 160) adult groups. Results suggested partial metric invariance holds. Although most of the subtests reflected fluid and crystalized intelligence similarly across different ages, invariance did not hold for block design on fluid intelligence and picture arrangement on crystallized intelligence for older adults. Additionally, there was evidence of a correlated residual between information and vocabulary for the young adults only. This partial metric invariance model yielded acceptable model fit compared to previously-proposed invariance models of Horn and McArdle (1992). Almost complete metric invariance holds for a two-factor model of intelligence. Most of the subtests were invariant across age groups, suggesting little evidence for age-related bias in the WAIS-R. However, we did find unique relationships between two subtests and intelligence. Future studies should examine age-related differences in subtests when testing measurement invariance in intelligence.

Suicidality and interrogative suggestibility.

PubMed

Pritchard-Boone, Lea; Range, Lillian M

2005-01-01

All people are subject to memory suggestibility, but suicidal individuals may be especially so. The link between suicidality and suggestibility is unclear given mixed findings and methodological weaknesses of past research. To test the link between suicidality and interrogative suggestibility, 149 undergraduates answered questions about suicidal thoughts and reasons for living, and participated in a direct suggestibility procedure. As expected, suggestibility correlated with suicidality but accounted for little overall variance (4%). Mental health professionals might be able to take advantage of client suggestibility by directly telling suicidal persons to refrain from suicidal thoughts or actions.

Age differences in risky choice: a meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Mata, Rui; Josef, Anika K.; Samanez-Larkin, Gregory R.; Hertwig, Ralph

2012-01-01

Does risk taking change as a function of age? We conducted a systematic literature search and found 29 comparisons between younger and older adults on behavioral tasks thought to measure risk taking (N =4,093). The reports relied on various tasks differing in several respects, such as the amount of learning required or the choice framing (gains vs. losses). The results suggest that age-related differences vary considerably as a function of task characteristics, in particular the learning requirements of the task. In decisions from experience, age-related differences in risk taking were a function of decreased learning performance: older adults were more risk seeking compared to younger adults when learning led to risk-avoidant behavior, but were more risk averse when learning led to risk-seeking behavior. In decisions from description, younger adults and older adults showed similar risk-taking behavior for the majority of the tasks, and there were no clear age-related differences as a function of gain/loss framing. We discuss limitations and strengths of past research and provide suggestions for future work on age-related differences in risk taking. PMID:22023565

The impact of hypnotic suggestibility in clinical care settings

PubMed Central

Montgomery, Guy H.; Schnur, Julie B.; David, Daniel

2013-01-01

Hypnotic suggestibility has been described as a powerful predictor of outcomes associated with hypnotic interventions. However, there have been no systematic approaches to quantifying this effect across the literature. The present meta-analysis evaluates the magnitude of the effect of hypnotic suggestibility on hypnotic outcomes in clinical settings. PsycINFO and PubMed were searched from their inception through July 2009. Thirty-four effects from ten studies and 283 participants are reported. Results revealed a statistically significant overall effect size in the small to medium range (r = 0.24; 95% Confidence Interval = −0.28 to 0.75), indicating that greater hypnotic suggestibility led to greater effects of hypnosis interventions. Hypnotic suggestibility accounted for 6% of the variance in outcomes. Smaller sample size studies, use of the SHCS, and pediatric samples tended to result in larger effect sizes. Results question the usefulness of assessing hypnotic suggestibility in clinical contexts. PMID:21644122

English Education and Aging.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillis, Candida

1983-01-01

Suggests that English teachers are in an excellent position to help students learn about the aged and aging because they know literature that treats the joys and pains of later life and they understand how language shapes and reflects cultural attitudes. Proposes objectives and presents samples of activities to be used in an aging unit. (MM)

Stress and coping among gay men: age and ethnic differences.

PubMed

David, Steven; Knight, Bob G

2008-03-01

Previous studies suggest that perceived stigmatization of sexual minority status, ethnicity, and age are associated with negative mental health outcomes, and other studies suggest that coping styles may influence these outcomes. However, no studies have examined these relationships among gay men of varying ethnicities and age groups. Three hundred eighty-three Black and White, younger, middle-aged, and older adult gay men completed measures of perceived stigmatization, coping style, and mental health outcomes. Black older adult gay men reported significantly higher levels of perceived ageism than the older White group, significantly higher levels of perceived racism than the younger Black group, significantly higher levels of homonegativity than the younger Black and the White groups, and were more likely to use disengaged coping styles than White gay men. However, Black older adult gay men did not experience significantly higher levels of negative mental health outcomes. Results suggest that further research should examine how older Black gay men, who perceive higher levels of stigma while reporting greater use of less effective coping styles, do not appear to be experiencing more negative mental health outcomes as a result. (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

[Active and healthy living in old age--results from a representative survey of community-dwelling senior citizens in Hamburg].

PubMed

Dapp, Ulrike; Lorentz, Ch; Laub, S; Anders, J; von Renteln-Kruse, W; Minder, Ch; Dirksen-Fischer, M

2009-06-01

The majority of community-dwelling people 60 years and older are independent and live actively. However, there is little information about elderly persons' views on aging, health and health promotion. Therefore, an anonymous, written questionnaire survey was performed in a representative sample of inhabitants from a section of the city of Hamburg, 60 years and older; 5 year intervals, 14 subsamples according to 7 age groups of females and males. Questionnaires from 950 participants (29% response) could be evaluated: mean age 71.5 years, 58% women, 34% living alone, 5% with professional healthcare needs as indicated by status according to German nursing care insurance. Senior citizens' positive attitudes towards aging and health were predominant: 69% of respondents felt young, 85% worried about loss of autonomy in old age. The results provide evidence indicating potential for improving health-promoting lifestyles in parts of the older population by evaluating and strengthening older persons' competencies and by considering their concerns seriously. These results provide valuable information for future plans in the public-health sector in the city of Hamburg where particular health-promoting actions for elderly persons will be considered.

Anti-aging effect of adipose-derived stem cells in a mouse model of skin aging induced by D-galactose.

PubMed

Zhang, Shengchang; Dong, Ziqing; Peng, Zhangsong; Lu, Feng

2014-01-01

Glycation products accumulate during aging of slowly renewing tissue, including skin, and are suggested as an important mechanism underlying the skin aging process. Adipose-derived cells are widely used in the clinic to treat ischemic diseases and enhance wound healing. Interestingly, adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are also effective in anti-aging therapy, although the mechanism underlying their effects remains unknown. The purpose of the present study was to examine the anti-aging effect of ASCs in a D-galactose-induced aging animal model and to clarify the underlying mechanism. Six-week-old nude mice were subcutaneously injected with D-gal daily for 8 weeks. Two weeks after completion of treatment, mice were randomized to receive subcutaneous injections of 106 green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing ASCs, aminoguanidine (AG) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Control mice received no treatment. We examined tissue histology and determined the activity of senescence-associated molecular markers such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Transplanted ASCs were detectable for 14 days and their GFP signal disappeared at day 28 after injection. ASCs inhibited advanced glycation end product (AGE) levels in our animal model as well as increased the SOD level and decreased the MDA level, all of which act to reverse the aging phenotype in a similar way to AG, an inhibitor of AGE formation. Furthermore, ASCs released angiogenic factors in vivo such as vascular endothelial growth factor, suggesting a skin trophic effect. These results demonstrate that ASCs may contribute to the regeneration of skin during aging. In addition, the data shows that ASCs provide a functional benefit by glycation suppression, antioxidation, and trophic effects in a mouse model of aging.

Localized zinc distribution in shark vertebrae suggests differential deposition during ontogeny and across vertebral structures.

PubMed

Raoult, Vincent; Howell, Nicholas; Zahra, David; Peddemors, Victor M; Howard, Daryl L; de Jonge, Martin D; Buchan, Benjamin L; Williamson, Jane E

2018-01-01

The development of shark vertebrae and the possible drivers of inter- and intra-specific differences in vertebral structure are poorly understood. Shark vertebrae are used to examine life-history traits related to trophic ecology, movement patterns, and the management of fisheries; a better understanding of their development would be beneficial to many fields of research that rely on these calcified structures. This study used Scanning X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy to observe zinc distribution within vertebrae of ten shark species from five different orders. Zinc was mostly localised within the intermedialis and was generally detected at levels an order of magnitude lower in the corpus calcareum. In most species, zinc concentrations were higher pre-birth mark, indicating a high rate of pre-natal zinc deposition. These results suggest there are inter-specific differences in elemental deposition within vertebrae. Since the deposition of zinc is physiologically-driven, these differences suggest that the processes of growth and deposition are potentially different in the intermedialis and corpus calcareum, and that caution should be taken when extrapolating information such as annual growth bands from one structure to the other. Together these results suggest that the high inter-specific variation in vertebral zinc deposition and associated physiologies may explain the varying effectiveness of ageing methodologies applied to elasmobranch vertebrae.

Suggested Acquaintance/Date Rape Education & Prevention Strategies for School Health Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weiler, Robert M.; Walls, Nicole A.

Data suggest that acquaintance and date rape may account for 50-70 percent of all reported rapes in the United States. Recent findings also indicate that one in four college women have been raped or a victim of attempted rape. As most rape victims are between 15 and 24 years of age, high school-based education programs must be provided if society…

Ageing populations: the challenges ahead

PubMed Central

Christensen, Kaare; Doblhammer, Gabriele; Rau, Roland; Vaupel, James W

2009-01-01

If the pace of increase in life expectancy in developed countries over the past two centuries continues through the 21st century, most babies born since 2000 in France, Germany, Italy, the UK, the USA, Canada, Japan, and other countries with long life expectancies will celebrate their 100th birthdays. Although trends differ between countries, populations of nearly all such countries are ageing as a result of low fertility, low immigration, and long lives. A key question is: are increases in life expectancy accompanied by a concurrent postponement of functional limitations and disability? The answer is still open, but research suggests that ageing processes are modifiable and that people are living longer without severe disability. This finding, together with technological and medical development and redistribution of work, will be important for our chances to meet the challenges of ageing populations. PMID:19801098

Associations between cognitively stimulating leisure activities, cognitive function and age-related cognitive decline.

PubMed

Ferreira, Nicola; Owen, Adrian; Mohan, Anita; Corbett, Anne; Ballard, Clive

2015-04-01

Emerging literature suggests that lifestyle factors may play an important role in reducing age-related cognitive decline. There have, however, been few studies investigating the role of cognitively stimulating leisure activities in maintaining cognitive health. This study sought to identify changes in cognitive performance with age and to investigate associations of cognitive performance with several key cognitively stimulating leisure activities. Over 65,000 participants provided demographic and lifestyle information and completed tests of grammatical reasoning, spatial working memory, verbal working memory and episodic memory. Regression analyses suggested that frequency of engaging in Sudoku or similar puzzles was significantly positively associated with grammatical reasoning, spatial working memory and episodic memory scores. Furthermore, for participants aged under 65 years, frequency of playing non-cognitive training computer games was also positively associated with performance in the same cognitive domains. The results also suggest that grammatical reasoning and episodic memory are particularly vulnerable to age-related decline. Further investigation to determine the potential benefits of participating in Sudoku puzzles and non-cognitive computer games is indicated, particularly as they are associated with grammatical reasoning and episodic memory, cognitive domains found to be strongly associated with age-related cognitive decline. Results of this study have implications for developing improved guidance for the public regarding the potential value of cognitively stimulating leisure activities. The results also suggest that grammatical reasoning and episodic memory should be targeted in developing appropriate outcome measures to assess efficacy of future interventions, and in developing cognitive training programmes to prevent or delay cognitive decline. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Familial central precocious puberty suggests autosomal dominant inheritance.

PubMed

de Vries, Liat; Kauschansky, Arieh; Shohat, Mordechai; Phillip, Moshe

2004-04-01

The prevalence of precocious puberty is higher in certain ethnic groups, and some cases may be familial. The aim of this study was to investigate the mode of inheritance of familial precocious puberty and to identify characteristics that distinguish familial from isolated precocious puberty. Of the 453 children referred to our center for suspected precocious puberty between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2000, 156 (147 girls and 9 boys) were found to have idiopathic central precocious puberty, which was familial in 43 (42 girls and 1 boy) (27.5%). Data of the familial and sporadic cases were compared. The familial group was characterized by a significantly lower maternal age at menarche than the sporadic group (mean, 11.47 +/- 1.96 vs. 12.66 +/- 1.18 yr; P = 0.0001) and more advanced puberty at admission (Tanner stage 2, 56.5% vs. 78.1%; P = 0.006). Segregation analysis was used to study the mode of inheritance. The segregation ratio for precocious puberty was 0.38 (0.45 after exclusion of young siblings) assuming incomplete penetrance and 0.58 (0.65 after exclusion of young siblings) assuming complete ascertainment. These results suggest autosomal dominant transmission with incomplete, sex-dependent penetrance.

Age-related differences in trunk muscle reflexive behaviors.

PubMed

Shojaei, Iman; Nussbaum, Maury A; Bazrgari, Babak

2016-10-03

Reports of larger passive and similar intrinsic trunk stiffness in older vs. younger populations suggest a diminishing demand for reflexive contributions of trunk muscles to spinal stability with aging. It remains unclear, though, whether such diminishing demands result in deterioration of trunk muscle reflexive behaviors. A cross-sectional study was completed to assess age-related differences in the latency and likelihood of trunk muscle reflexive responses to sudden perturbations. Sixty healthy individuals, aged 20-70 years, were recruited to form five equal-sized and gender-balanced age groups. Using a displacement-control, sudden perturbation paradigm, the latency and likelihood of trunk muscle reflexive responses to sudden perturbations were estimated, and the influences of age, gender, and level of effort (20% versus 30% of maximum voluntary exertion-MVE) were evaluated. There were no consistent age-related differences found in any of the measures of trunk muscle reflexive behavior. However, the latency of muscle response to perturbation was generally higher among older individuals, and this difference was significant in the condition involving 30% MVE effort. With an increase in level of effort (from 20% to 30% of MVE), there was a ~7% increase in the latency of trunk muscle responses to anteriorly-directed perturbations as well as ~ 15% (21%) decrease (increase) in response likelihood during anteriorly (posteriorly) directed perturbations. Furthermore, the reflexive response likelihood of trunk muscles was 28% (58%) larger (smaller) in female vs. male participants during anteriorly (posteriorly) directed perturbations. Our results did not, in general, support the hypothesis of an age-related decay in reflexive trunk muscle behaviors. Larger reflexive responses were associated with lower trunk intrinsic stiffness among females and during a lower level of effort, suggesting a secondary role for reflexive responses in spinal stability. Such secondary

Tests of the DRYAD theory of the age-related deficit in memory for context: Not about context, and not about aging

PubMed Central

Benjamin, Aaron S.; Diaz, Michael; Matzen, Laura E.; Johnson, Benjamin

2011-01-01

Older adults exhibit a disproportionate deficit in their ability to recover contextual elements or source information about prior encounters with stimuli. A recent theoretical account, DRYAD (Benjamin, 2010), attributes this selective deficit to a global decrease in memory fidelity with age, moderated by weak representation of contextual information. The predictions of DRYAD are tested here in three experiments. We show that an age-related deficit obtains for whichever aspect of the stimulus subjects’ attention is directed away from during encoding (Experiment 1), suggesting a central role for attention in producing the age-related deficit in context. We also show that an analogous deficit can be elicited within young subjects with a manipulation of study time (Experiment 2), suggesting that any means of reducing memory fidelity yields an interaction of the same form as the age-related effect. Experiment 3 evaluates the critical prediction of DRYAD that endorsement probability in an exclusion task should vary nonmonotonically with memory strength. This prediction was confirmed by assessing the shape of the forgetting function in a continuous exclusion task. The results are consistent with the DRYAD account of aging and memory judgments and do not support the widely held view that aging entails the selective disruption of processes involved in encoding, storing, or retrieving contextual information. PMID:21875219

Effect of hypnotic suggestion on the delayed-type hypersensitivity response.

PubMed

Locke, S E; Ransil, B J; Zachariae, R; Molay, F; Tollins, K; Covino, N A; Danforth, D

1994-07-06

To determine whether individuals selected for good general health, high hypnotizability, and the ability to alter skin temperature under hypnotic suggestion can influence the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response to varicella-zoster (VZ) antigen under hypnotic suggestion. A blinded clinical trial using a repeated measures design with subjects serving as their own controls. Subjects were randomly assigned to undergo a predetermined sequence of four different experimental conditions, occurring at weekly intervals, with each condition including VZ skin testing: (1) hypnosis with suggestions to enhance the DTH response to VZ antigen; (2) hypnosis with suggestions to suppress the DTH response; (3) hypnosis with suggestions for relaxation only; and (4) skin testing without hypnosis. A National Institutes of Health-supported clinical research center in a teaching hospital. A stratified sample of 24 ambulatory, healthy, highly hypnotizable, volunteer college students selected for their above-average ability to alter skin temperature after hypnotic suggestions and their positive baseline responses to VZ antigen. There were 11 males and 13 females with a mean +/- SD age of 22 +/- 6 years. The mean +/- SD hypnotizability score (Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility) was 11 +/- 1. Intradermal skin testing with VZ antigen (Mantoux method) and hypnotic suggestion. Areas of induration of the DTH response measured at 24 and 48 hours after injection of antigen. The area of the DTH response was not affected by the experimental interventions. The area of erythema was likewise unaffected. Our subjects were unable to alter their DTH responses using hypnotic suggestion.

The Onset of STI Diagnosis through Age 30: Results from the Seattle Social Development Project Intervention

PubMed Central

Hill, Karl G.; Bailey, Jennifer A.; Hawkins, J. David; Catalano, Richard F.; Kosterman, Rick; Oesterle, Sabrina; Abbott, Robert D.

2013-01-01

Objectives To examine (1) whether onset of sexually transmitted infections (STI) through age 30 differed for youths who received a social developmental intervention during elementary grades compared to those in the control condition; (2) potential social-developmental mediators of this intervention; and (3) the extent to which these results differed by ethnicity. Design A nonrandomized controlled trial followed participants to age 30, 18 years after the intervention ended. Three intervention conditions were compared: a full intervention group, assigned to intervention in grades 1 through 6; a late intervention group, assigned to intervention in grades 5 and 6 only; and a no-treatment control group. Setting Eighteen public elementary schools serving diverse neighborhoods including high-crime neighborhoods of Seattle. Analysis Sample 608 participants in three intervention conditions interviewed from age 10 through 30. Interventions Teacher training in classroom instruction and management, child social and emotional skill development, and parent workshops. Outcome Cumulative onset of participant report of STI diagnosis. Intervention Mechanisms Adolescent family environment, bonding to school, antisocial peer affiliation, early sex initiation, alcohol use, cigarette use, and marijuana use were tested. Analysis and Results Complementary log-log survival analysis found significantly lower odds of STI onset for the full intervention compared to the control condition. The lowering of STI onset risk was significantly greater for African Americans and Asian Americans compared to European Americans. Family environment, school bonding and delayed initiation of sexual behavior mediated the relationship between treatment and STI hazard. Conclusions A universal intervention for urban elementary school children, focused on classroom management and instruction, children’s social competence, and parenting practices may reduce the onset of STI through age 30, especially for African

Sociodemographic Factors and Prejudice toward HIV and Hepatitis B/C Status in a Working-Age Population: Results from a National, Cross-Sectional Study in Japan

PubMed Central

Eguchi, Hisashi; Wada, Koji; Smith, Derek R.

2014-01-01

Background In many countries, HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected individuals may face discrimination and mistreatment from coworkers. Effective interventions to reduce workplace discrimination are therefore needed to protect these vulnerable populations. The current study investigated potential associations between sociodemographic factors and prejudice toward HIV and HBV/HCV infected colleagues within a Japanese working population. Methods An online anonymous, nationwide internet survey was administered to a cross-section of approximately 3,000 individuals in Japan. The survey comprised 14 questions focusing on demographics (five items), basic HIV or HBV/HCV knowledge (eight items), and potential prejudice toward HIV or HBV/HCV infected colleagues (one item). The sociodemographic characteristics evaluated were sex, age, educational level, employment status, and individual income; with multiple logistic regression used for the analysis. Results In total, 3,055 individuals were recruited for the HIV related survey and 3,129 for the HBV/HCV related survey. Older age was significantly and positively associated with prejudice toward HIV infected colleagues (p<0.01) and negatively associated with prejudice toward HBV/HCV infected colleagues (p<0.01). Statistically significant associations were not observed between other sociodemographic characteristics and potential prejudice toward HIV and HBV/HCV infected coworkers. Conclusion Overall, this study suggests that age may be associated with prejudice toward HIV and HBV/HCV infected colleagues among the working age population of Japan. As such, policy makers should consider the age of participants when formulating efforts to reduce prejudice toward HIV and HBV/HCV infected workers. PMID:24792095

The Possible Mechanism of Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) for Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Ko, Shun-Yao; Ko, Hshin-An; Chu, Kuo-Hsiung; Shieh, Tzong-Ming; Chi, Tzong-Cherng; Chen, Hong-I; Chang, Weng-Cheng; Chang, Shu-Shing

2015-01-01

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) has been modified by β and γ-secretase that cause amyloid deposits (plaques) in neuronal cells. Glyceraldhyde-derived AGEs has been identified as a major source of neurotoxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In a previous study, we demonstrated that glyceraldehyde-derived AGEs increase APP and Aβ via ROS. Furthermore, the combination of AGEs and Aβ has been shown to enhance neurotoxicity. In mice, APP expression is increased by tail vein injection of AGEs. This evidence suggests a correlation between AGEs and the development of AD. However, the role played by AGEs in the pathogenesis of AD remains unclear. In this report, we demonstrate that AGEs up-regulate APP processing protein (BACE and PS1) and Sirt1 expression via ROS, but do not affect the expression of downstream antioxidant genes HO-1 and NQO-1. Moreover, we found that AGEs increase GRP78 expression and enhance the cell death-related pathway p53, bcl-2/bax ratio, caspase 3. These results indicate that AGEs impair the neuroprotective effects of Sirt1 and lead to neuronal cell death via ER stress. Our findings suggest that AGEs increase ROS production, which stimulates downstream pathways related to APP processing, Aβ production, Sirt1, and GRP78, resulting in the up-regulation of cell death related pathway. This in-turn enhances neuronal cell death, which leads to the development of AD.

Consumer hypnotic-like suggestibility: possible mechanism in compulsive purchasing.

PubMed

Prete, M Irene; Guido, Gianluigi; Pichierri, Marco

2013-08-01

The authors hypothesize a concept, Consumer Hypnotic-Like Suggestibility (CHLS), defined as an altered state of consciousness, as a state causing a tendency to respond positively to messages aimed at inducing consumers to make unplanned purchases. This study aims to investigate the associations of CHLS with interpersonal variables and compulsive purchasing--a frequent and uncontrollable preoccupation with buying or impulses to buy. A study was conducted on a sample of 232 subjects (n = 111 men; M age = 41 yr.), through the administration of a questionnaire, which measured: CHLS, compulsive purchasing, consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (the necessity to enhance one's image in the opinion of others through the consumption of products), and consumer atmospherics, i.e., environmental stimuli known to influence purchasing decisions. Modeling and mediation analyses suggested that internal and external drivers--Consumer Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence and atmospherics--are positively related to CHLS which affects compulsive purchasing.

Age-related effects of dexamethasone administration in adrenal zona reticularis.

PubMed

Almeida, Henrique; Matos, Liliana; Ferreira, Jorge; Neves, Delminda

2006-05-01

Suppression of adrenocorticotropic hormone results in reduced adrenal steroid output, adrenocortical cell atrophy, and apoptosis in young rats. To verify such effects during aging, dexamethasone was injected into rats for 3 days at five different ages; at day 4, adrenals and blood were collected for morphologic and corticosterone assay. Adrenal structure was similar at all ages, but in dexamethasone-injected animals there were ultrastructural features of apoptosis and a higher percentage of TUNEL and caspase-3-labeled nuclei and cytoplasm; their corticosterone decreased significantly. In both groups, there was age-related decrease in the percentage of apoptotic cells, significant only in dexamethasone-injected rats. The data suggest that aged adrenocortical cells are less susceptible to the lack of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), possibly as a result of their decreased functional ability.

Personalized query suggestion based on user behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wanyu; Hao, Zepeng; Shao, Taihua; Chen, Honghui

Query suggestions help users refine their queries after they input an initial query. Previous work mainly concentrated on similarity-based and context-based query suggestion approaches. However, models that focus on adapting to a specific user (personalization) can help to improve the probability of the user being satisfied. In this paper, we propose a personalized query suggestion model based on users’ search behavior (UB model), where we inject relevance between queries and users’ search behavior into a basic probabilistic model. For the relevance between queries, we consider their semantical similarity and co-occurrence which indicates the behavior information from other users in web search. Regarding the current user’s preference to a query, we combine the user’s short-term and long-term search behavior in a linear fashion and deal with the data sparse problem with Bayesian probabilistic matrix factorization (BPMF). In particular, we also investigate the impact of different personalization strategies (the combination of the user’s short-term and long-term search behavior) on the performance of query suggestion reranking. We quantify the improvement of our proposed UB model against a state-of-the-art baseline using the public AOL query logs and show that it beats the baseline in terms of metrics used in query suggestion reranking. The experimental results show that: (i) for personalized ranking, users’ behavioral information helps to improve query suggestion effectiveness; and (ii) given a query, merging information inferred from the short-term and long-term search behavior of a particular user can result in a better performance than both plain approaches.

Emotional aging: a discrete emotions perspective.

PubMed

Kunzmann, Ute; Kappes, Cathleen; Wrosch, Carsten

2014-01-01

Perhaps the most important single finding in the field of emotional aging has been that the overall quality of affective experience steadily improves during adulthood and can be maintained into old age. Recent lifespan developmental theories have provided motivation- and experience-based explanations for this phenomenon. These theories suggest that, as individuals grow older, they become increasingly motivated and able to regulate their emotions, which could result in reduced negativity and enhanced positivity. The objective of this paper is to expand existing theories and empirical research on emotional aging by presenting a discrete emotions perspective. To illustrate the usefulness of this approach, we focus on a discussion of the literature examining age differences in anger and sadness. These two negative emotions have typically been subsumed under the singular concept of negative affect. From a discrete emotions perspective, however, they are highly distinct and show multidirectional age differences. We propose that such contrasting age differences in specific negative emotions have important implications for our understanding of long-term patterns of affective well-being across the adult lifespan.

Environment and cognitive aging: A cross-sectional study of place of residence and cognitive performance in the Irish longitudinal study on aging.

PubMed

Cassarino, Marica; O'Sullivan, Vincent; Kenny, Rose Anne; Setti, Annalisa

2016-07-01

Stimulating environments foster cognitive vitality in older age. However, it is not known whether and how geographical and physical characteristics of lived environments contribute to cognitive aging. Evidence of higher prevalence of dementia in rural rather than urban contexts suggests that urban environments may be more stimulating either cognitively, socially, or in terms of lifestyle. The present study explored urban/rural differences in cognition for healthy community-dwelling older people while controlling for a comprehensive spectrum of confounding factors. Cognitive performance of 3,765 healthy Irish people aged 50+ years participating in Wave 1 of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging was analyzed in relation to current location of residence-urban, other settlements, or rural areas-and its interaction with childhood residence. Regression models controlled for sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle factors. Urban residents showed better performance than the other 2 residence groups for global cognition and executive functions after controlling for covariates. Childhood urban residence was associated with a cognitive advantage especially for currently rural participants. Our findings suggest higher cognitive functioning for urban residents, although childhood residence modulates this association. Suggestions for further developments of these results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Do author-suggested reviewers rate submissions more favorably than editor-suggested reviewers? A study on atmospheric chemistry and physics.

PubMed

Bornmann, Lutz; Daniel, Hans-Dieter

2010-10-14

Ratings in journal peer review can be affected by sources of bias. The bias variable investigated here was the information on whether authors had suggested a possible reviewer for their manuscript, and whether the editor had taken up that suggestion or had chosen a reviewer that had not been suggested by the authors. Studies have shown that author-suggested reviewers rate manuscripts more favorably than editor-suggested reviewers do. Reviewers' ratings on three evaluation criteria and the reviewers' final publication recommendations were available for 552 manuscripts (in total 1145 reviews) that were submitted to Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, an interactive open access journal using public peer review (authors' and reviewers' comments are publicly exchanged). Public peer review is supposed to bring a new openness to the reviewing process that will enhance its objectivity. In the statistical analysis the quality of a manuscript was controlled for to prevent favorable reviewers' ratings from being attributable to quality instead of to the bias variable. Our results agree with those from other studies that editor-suggested reviewers rated manuscripts between 30% and 42% less favorably than author-suggested reviewers. Against this backdrop journal editors should consider either doing without the use of author-suggested reviewers or, if they are used, bringing in more than one editor-suggested reviewer for the review process (so that the review by author-suggested reviewers can be put in perspective).

Parallel circuits control temperature preference in Drosophila during ageing.

PubMed

Shih, Hsiang-Wen; Wu, Chia-Lin; Chang, Sue-Wei; Liu, Tsung-Ho; Lai, Jason Sih-Yu; Fu, Tsai-Feng; Fu, Chien-Chung; Chiang, Ann-Shyn

2015-07-16

The detection of environmental temperature and regulation of body temperature are integral determinants of behaviour for all animals. These functions become less efficient in aged animals, particularly during exposure to cold environments, yet the cellular and molecular mechanisms are not well understood. Here, we identify an age-related change in the temperature preference of adult fruit flies that results from a shift in the relative contributions of two parallel mushroom body (MB) circuits—the β'- and β-systems. The β'-circuit primarily controls cold avoidance through dopamine signalling in young flies, whereas the β-circuit increasingly contributes to cold avoidance as adult flies age. Elevating dopamine levels in β'-afferent neurons of aged flies restores cold sensitivity, suggesting that the alteration of cold avoidance behaviour with ageing is functionally reversible. These results provide a framework for investigating how molecules and individual neural circuits modulate homeostatic alterations during the course of senescence.

Accelerated DNA Methylation Age: Associations with PTSD and Neural Integrity

PubMed Central

Wolf, Erika J.; Logue, Mark W.; Hayes, Jasmeet P.; Sadeh, Naomi; Schichman, Steven A.; Stone, Annjanette; Salat, David H.; Milberg, William; McGlinchey, Regina; Miller, Mark W.

2015-01-01

Background Accumulating evidence suggests that post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may accelerate cellular aging and lead to premature morbidity and neurocognitive decline. Methods This study evaluated associations between PTSD and DNA methylation (DNAm) age using recently developed algorithms of cellular age by Horvath (2013) and Hannum et al. (2013). These estimates reflect accelerated aging when they exceed chronological age. We also examined if accelerated cellular age manifested in degraded neural integrity, indexed via diffusion tensor imaging. Results Among 281 male and female veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, DNAm age was strongly related to chronological age (rs ~.88). Lifetime PTSD severity was associated with Hannum DNAm age estimates residualized for chronological age (β = .13, p= .032). Advanced DNAm age was associated with reduced integrity in the genu of the corpus callosum (β = −.17, p= .009) and indirectly linked to poorer working memory performance via this region (indirect β = − .05, p= .029). Horvath DNAm age estimates were not associated with PTSD or neural integrity. Conclusions Results provide novel support for PTSD-related accelerated aging in DNAm and extend the evidence base of known DNAm age correlates to the domains of neural integrity and cognition. PMID:26447678

Aging exacerbates intracerebral hemorrhage-induced brain injury.

PubMed

Lee, Jae-Chul; Cho, Geum-Sil; Choi, Byung-Ok; Kim, Hyoung Chun; Kim, Won-Ki

2009-09-01

Aging may be an important factor affecting brain injury by intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). In the present study, we investigated the responses of glial cells and monocytes to intracerebral hemorrhage in normal and aged rats. ICH was induced by microinjecting autologous whole blood (15 microL) into the striatum of young (4 month old) and aged (24 month old) Sprague-Dawley rats. Age-dependent relations of brain tissue damage with glial and macrophageal responses were evaluated. Three days after ICH, activated microglia/macrophages with OX42-positive processes and swollen cytoplasm were more abundantly distributed around and inside the hemorrhagic lesions. These were more dramatic in aged versus the young rats. Western blot and immunohistochemistry analyses showed that the expression of interleukin-1beta protein after ICH was greater in aged rats, whereas the expression of GFAP and ciliary neurotrophic factor protein after ICH was significantly lower in aged rats. These results suggest that ICH causes more severe brain injury in aged rats most likely due to overactivation of microglia/macrophages and concomitant repression of reactive astrocytes.

Coccomyxa Gloeobotrydiformis Improves Learning and Memory in Intrinsic Aging Rats.

PubMed

Sun, Luning; Jin, Ying; Dong, Liming; Sui, Hai-Juan; Sumi, Ryo; Jahan, Rabita; Hu, Dahai; Li, Zhi

2015-01-01

Declining in learning and memory is one of the most common and prominent problems during the aging process. Neurotransmitter changes, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and abnormal signal transduction were considered to participate in this process. In the present study, we examined the effects of Coccomyxa gloeobotrydiformis (CGD) on learning and memory ability of intrinsic aging rats. As a result, CGD treated (50 mg/kg·d or 100 mg/kg ·d for a duration of 8 weeks) 22-month-old male rats, which have shown significant improvement on learning and spatial memory ability compared with control, which was evidently revealed in both the hidden platform tasks and probe trials. The following immunohistochemistry and Western blot experiments suggested that CGD could increase the content of Ach and thereby improve the function of the cholinergic neurons in the hippocampus, and therefore also improving learning and memory ability of the aged rats by acting as an anti-inflammatory agent. The effects of CGD on learning and memory might also have an association with the ERK/CREB signalling. The results above suggest that the naturally made drug CGD may have several great benefit as a multi-target drug in the process of prevention and/or treatment of age-dependent cognitive decline and aging process.

Electrophysiology of Memory-Updating Differs with Age

PubMed Central

Steiner, Genevieve Z.; Gonsalvez, Craig J.; De Blasio, Frances M.; Barry, Robert J.

2016-01-01

In oddball tasks, the P3 component of the event-related potential systematically varies with the time between target stimuli—the target-to-target interval (TTI). Longer TTIs result in larger P3 amplitudes and shorter latencies, and this pattern of results has been linked with working memory-updating processes. Given that working memory and the P3 have both been shown to diminish with age, the current study aimed to determine whether the linear relationship between P3 and TTI is compromised in healthy aging by comparing TTI effects on P3 amplitudes and latencies, and reaction time (RT), in young and older adults. Older adults were found to have an overall reduction in P3 amplitudes, longer latencies, an anterior shift in topography, a trend toward slower RTs, and a flatter linear relationship between P3 and TTI than young adults. Results suggest that the ability to maintain templates in working memory required for stimulus categorization decreases with age, and that as a result, neural compensatory mechanisms are employed. PMID:27378908

Electrophysiology of Memory-Updating Differs with Age.

PubMed

Steiner, Genevieve Z; Gonsalvez, Craig J; De Blasio, Frances M; Barry, Robert J

2016-01-01

In oddball tasks, the P3 component of the event-related potential systematically varies with the time between target stimuli-the target-to-target interval (TTI). Longer TTIs result in larger P3 amplitudes and shorter latencies, and this pattern of results has been linked with working memory-updating processes. Given that working memory and the P3 have both been shown to diminish with age, the current study aimed to determine whether the linear relationship between P3 and TTI is compromised in healthy aging by comparing TTI effects on P3 amplitudes and latencies, and reaction time (RT), in young and older adults. Older adults were found to have an overall reduction in P3 amplitudes, longer latencies, an anterior shift in topography, a trend toward slower RTs, and a flatter linear relationship between P3 and TTI than young adults. Results suggest that the ability to maintain templates in working memory required for stimulus categorization decreases with age, and that as a result, neural compensatory mechanisms are employed.

Aging women with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Pentland, Wendy; Miscio, Gina; Eastabrook, Shirley; Krupa, Terry

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the aging experiences of women with schizophrenia. The research focused on how participants viewed their own aging with schizophrenia, their perceived worries and concerns and how they were coping with aging with the disorder. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected using multiple in-depth interviews with six participants selected purposefully from the client list of a community mental health center. Interview transcriptions were coded and analyzed according to the study questions using QSR Nudist 4 software. Several categories and sub-categories emerged. These included the improvement in the illness over time; physical and daily living activity limitations; specific positive and negative changes that the women report have accompanied aging; the profound losses experienced by the participants when they were younger as a result of having schizophrenia; and how these losses have affected their present lives in terms of limiting available informal support, creating dependency on formal programs and services, and participants' fears of the future. Based on the study findings, implications for mental health practice and services are considered and suggestions are made to guide future research.

Dissociative tendencies and individual differences in high hypnotic suggestibility.

PubMed

Terhune, Devin Blair; Cardeña, Etzel; Lindgren, Magnus

2011-03-01

Inconsistencies in the relationship between dissociation and hypnosis may result from heterogeneity among highly suggestible individuals, in particular the existence of distinct highly suggestible subtypes that are of relevance to models of psychopathology and the consequences of trauma. This study contrasted highly suggestible subtypes high or low in dissociation on measures of hypnotic responding, cognitive functioning, and psychopathology. Twenty-one low suggestible (LS), 19 low dissociative highly suggestible (LDHS), and 11 high dissociative highly suggestible (HDHS) participants were administered hypnotic suggestibility scales and completed measures of free recall, working memory capacity, imagery, fantasy-proneness, psychopathology, and exposure to stressful life events. HDHS participants were more responsive to positive and negative hallucination suggestions and experienced greater involuntariness during hypnotic responding. They also exhibited impaired working memory capacity, elevated pathological fantasy and dissociative symptomatology, and a greater incidence of exposure to stressful life events. In contrast, LDHS participants displayed superior object visual imagery. These results provide further evidence for two highly suggestible subtypes: a dissociative subtype characterised by deficits in executive functioning and a predisposition to psychopathology, and a subtype that exhibits superior imagery and no observable deficits in functioning.

Are Dysphoric Individuals More Suggestible or Less Suggestible Than Nondysphoric Individuals?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacFarland, Wendy L.; Morris, Steven J.

1998-01-01

Dysphoric individuals are shown to be susceptible to interrogative suggestion, whether in the form of leading questions or interrogative pressure. The association of a clinically relevant condition of dysphoria (depression) with relatively high levels of suggestibility was investigated in a college student population (N=139). Applicability to…

Face age modulates gaze following in young adults.

PubMed

Ciardo, Francesca; Marino, Barbara F M; Actis-Grosso, Rossana; Rossetti, Angela; Ricciardelli, Paola

2014-04-22

Gaze-following behaviour is considered crucial for social interactions which are influenced by social similarity. We investigated whether the degree of similarity, as indicated by the perceived age of another person, can modulate gaze following. Participants of three different age-groups (18-25; 35-45; over 65) performed an eye movement (a saccade) towards an instructed target while ignoring the gaze-shift of distracters of different age-ranges (6-10; 18-25; 35-45; over 70). The results show that gaze following was modulated by the distracter face age only for young adults. Particularly, the over 70 year-old distracters exerted the least interference effect. The distracters of a similar age-range as the young adults (18-25; 35-45) had the most effect, indicating a blurred own-age bias (OAB) only for the young age group. These findings suggest that face age can modulate gaze following, but this modulation could be due to factors other than just OAB (e.g., familiarity).

Stroop interference and negative priming (NP) suppression in normal aging.

PubMed

Mayas, J; Fuentes, L J; Ballesteros, S

2012-01-01

Age-related differences in the reduction of Stroop interference were explored by comparing the performance of 18 younger (of mean age: 30.0±3.9 years) and 18 older healthy adults (of mean age: 75±7.2 years) in a color-word Stroop task. The aim of this study was to determine whether a decrease in the efficiency of inhibitory mechanisms associated with aging could account for age-related differences in the ability to suppress a pre-potent response. Participants performed a Stroop task to assess Stroop interference and NP suppression concurrently. Results showed a greater Stroop interference in older than in young adults. On the other hand, the NP effect was only reliable in the younger group, the older group not showing NP suppression. These findings suggest that the slowing hypothesis alone cannot explain this pattern of results and that the age-related differences must also involve an inhibitory breakdown during aging. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gaze distribution analysis and saliency prediction across age groups.

PubMed

Krishna, Onkar; Helo, Andrea; Rämä, Pia; Aizawa, Kiyoharu

2018-01-01

Knowledge of the human visual system helps to develop better computational models of visual attention. State-of-the-art models have been developed to mimic the visual attention system of young adults that, however, largely ignore the variations that occur with age. In this paper, we investigated how visual scene processing changes with age and we propose an age-adapted framework that helps to develop a computational model that can predict saliency across different age groups. Our analysis uncovers how the explorativeness of an observer varies with age, how well saliency maps of an age group agree with fixation points of observers from the same or different age groups, and how age influences the center bias tendency. We analyzed the eye movement behavior of 82 observers belonging to four age groups while they explored visual scenes. Explorative- ness was quantified in terms of the entropy of a saliency map, and area under the curve (AUC) metrics was used to quantify the agreement analysis and the center bias tendency. Analysis results were used to develop age adapted saliency models. Our results suggest that the proposed age-adapted saliency model outperforms existing saliency models in predicting the regions of interest across age groups.

Hepatic drug acetylation and oxidation: effects of aging in man.

PubMed Central

Farah, F; Taylor, W; Rawlins, M D; James, O

1977-01-01

The half lives of acetanilide and isoniazid ("model" substrates for oxidation and acetylation respectively) were measured in populations of young (aged 20-35 years) and elderly (aged over 65 years) people. Whereas acetanilide half lives were significantly longer in the elderly, isoniazid half lives were distributed similarly in both populations. The results suggest that liver function does not decline uniformly with age and that heterozygotes for acetylation do not possess survival advantages during their middle years of life. PMID:871823

Disease-aging network reveals significant roles of aging genes in connecting genetic diseases.

PubMed

Wang, Jiguang; Zhang, Shihua; Wang, Yong; Chen, Luonan; Zhang, Xiang-Sun

2009-09-01

One of the challenging problems in biology and medicine is exploring the underlying mechanisms of genetic diseases. Recent studies suggest that the relationship between genetic diseases and the aging process is important in understanding the molecular mechanisms of complex diseases. Although some intricate associations have been investigated for a long time, the studies are still in their early stages. In this paper, we construct a human disease-aging network to study the relationship among aging genes and genetic disease genes. Specifically, we integrate human protein-protein interactions (PPIs), disease-gene associations, aging-gene associations, and physiological system-based genetic disease classification information in a single graph-theoretic framework and find that (1) human disease genes are much closer to aging genes than expected by chance; and (2) diseases can be categorized into two types according to their relationships with aging. Type I diseases have their genes significantly close to aging genes, while type II diseases do not. Furthermore, we examine the topological characters of the disease-aging network from a systems perspective. Theoretical results reveal that the genes of type I diseases are in a central position of a PPI network while type II are not; (3) more importantly, we define an asymmetric closeness based on the PPI network to describe relationships between diseases, and find that aging genes make a significant contribution to associations among diseases, especially among type I diseases. In conclusion, the network-based study provides not only evidence for the intricate relationship between the aging process and genetic diseases, but also biological implications for prying into the nature of human diseases.

Social representations and normative beliefs of aging.

PubMed

Torres, Tatiana de Lucena; Camargo, Brigido Vizeu; Boulsfield, Andréa Barbará; Silva, Antônia Oliveira

2015-12-01

This study adopted the theory of social representations as a theoretical framework in order to characterize similarities and differences in social representations and normative beliefs of aging for different age groups. The 638 participants responded to self-administered questionnaire and were equally distributed by sex and age. The results show that aging is characterized by positive stereotypes (knowledge and experience); however, retirement is linked to aging, but in a negative way, particularly for men, involving illness, loneliness and disability. When age was considered, it was verified that the connections with the representational elements became more complex for older groups, showing social representation functionality, largely for the elderly. Adulthood seems to be preferred and old age is disliked. There were divergences related to the perception of the beginning of life phases, especially that of old age. Work was characterized as the opposite of aging, and it revealed the need for actions intended for the elderly and retired workers, with post-retirement projects. In addition, it suggests investment in public policies that encourage intergenerational contact, with efforts to reduce intolerance and discrimination based on age of people.

Homicide of children aged 0–4 years, 2003–04: results from the National Violent Death Reporting System

PubMed Central

Bennett, M D; Hall, J; Frazier, L; Patel, N; Barker, L; Shaw, K

2006-01-01

Introduction To better understand, and ultimately prevent, infant/child homicide, it is imperative to more thoroughly elucidate the circumstances and conditions related to such instances. Data were obtained from the US National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) to illuminate circumstances related to homicide among children aged 4 years or less, and to identify demographic groups which may be at increased risk. Methods The NVDRS is an active surveillance system that provides comprehensive information on all violent deaths that occur within participating states within the US. Standard statistical tests were conducted to determine homicide rates among children ages 0–4 across states that provided data for both 2003 and 2004 (Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia). These data were further used to investigate infant/child homicides by race, gender, and other relevant circumstances (for example, victim‐suspect relationship, weapon type, and location of homicide). A Poisson regression model was fitted to the sample data to investigate the multivariate relationship between the infant/child homicide rate and available demographic information. Results The 2003 homicide rate for children ages 0–4 was 3.0 per 100 000 population. The 2004 homicide rate was 2.5 per 100 000 population. African Americans were 4.2 times as likely as whites to be victims of homicide. Suspects were commonly parents/caregivers. The vast majority of infant/child homicides occurred in houses or apartments, using weapons that include household objects. Conclusion Homicides of infants and young children are most often committed in the home, by parents/caregivers, using “weapons of opportunity”. This suggests that the risk of infant/child homicide is greatest within the primary care giving environment. Moreover, the use of “weapons of opportunity” may be indicative of maladaptive stress responses. Prevention and intervention strategies to

Placebo-suggestion modulates conflict resolution in the Stroop Task.

PubMed

Magalhães De Saldanha da Gama, Pedro A; Slama, Hichem; Caspar, Emilie A; Gevers, Wim; Cleeremans, Axel

2013-01-01

Here, we ask whether placebo-suggestion (without any form of hypnotic induction) can modulate the resolution of cognitive conflict. Naïve participants performed a Stroop Task while wearing an EEG cap described as a "brain wave" machine. In Experiment 1, participants were made to believe that the EEG cap would either enhance or decrease their color perception and performance on the Stroop task. In Experiment 2, participants were explicitly asked to imagine that their color perception and performance would be enhanced or decreased (non-hypnotic imaginative suggestion). We observed effects of placebo-suggestion on Stroop interference on accuracy: interference was decreased with positive suggestion and increased with negative suggestion compared to baseline. Intra-individual variability was also increased under negative suggestion compared to baseline. Compliance with the instruction to imagine a modulation of performance, on the other hand, did not influence accuracy and only had a negative impact on response latencies and on intra-individual variability, especially in the congruent condition of the Stroop Task. Taken together, these results demonstrate that expectations induced by a placebo-suggestion can modulate our ability to resolve cognitive conflict, either facilitating or impairing response accuracy depending on the suggestion's contents. Our results also demonstrate a dissociation between placebo-suggestion and non-hypnotic imaginative suggestion.

Age-Related Differences in Multiple Task Monitoring

PubMed Central

Todorov, Ivo; Del Missier, Fabio; Mäntylä, Timo

2014-01-01

Coordinating multiple tasks with narrow deadlines is particularly challenging for older adults because of age related decline in cognitive control functions. We tested the hypothesis that multiple task performance reflects age- and gender-related differences in executive functioning and spatial ability. Young and older adults completed a multitasking session with four monitoring tasks as well as separate tasks measuring executive functioning and spatial ability. For both age groups, men exceeded women in multitasking, measured as monitoring accuracy. Individual differences in executive functioning and spatial ability were independent predictors of young adults' monitoring accuracy, but only spatial ability was related to sex differences. For older adults, age and executive functioning, but not spatial ability, predicted multitasking performance. These results suggest that executive functions contribute to multiple task performance across the adult life span and that reliance on spatial skills for coordinating deadlines is modulated by age. PMID:25215609

Age-related differences in multiple task monitoring.

PubMed

Todorov, Ivo; Del Missier, Fabio; Mäntylä, Timo

2014-01-01

Coordinating multiple tasks with narrow deadlines is particularly challenging for older adults because of age related decline in cognitive control functions. We tested the hypothesis that multiple task performance reflects age- and gender-related differences in executive functioning and spatial ability. Young and older adults completed a multitasking session with four monitoring tasks as well as separate tasks measuring executive functioning and spatial ability. For both age groups, men exceeded women in multitasking, measured as monitoring accuracy. Individual differences in executive functioning and spatial ability were independent predictors of young adults' monitoring accuracy, but only spatial ability was related to sex differences. For older adults, age and executive functioning, but not spatial ability, predicted multitasking performance. These results suggest that executive functions contribute to multiple task performance across the adult life span and that reliance on spatial skills for coordinating deadlines is modulated by age.

Normal Aging and the Dissociable Prototype Learning Systems

PubMed Central

Glass, Brian D.; Chotibut, Tanya; Pacheco, Jennifer; Schnyer, David M.; Maddox, W. Todd

2011-01-01

Dissociable prototype learning systems have been demonstrated behaviorally and with neuroimaging in younger adults as well as with patient populations. In A/not-A (AN) prototype learning, participants are shown members of category A during training, and during test are asked to decide whether novel items are in category A or are not in category A. Research suggests that AN learning is mediated by a perceptual learning system. In A/B (AB) prototype learning, participants are shown members of category A and B during training, and during test are asked to decide whether novel items are in category A or category B. In contrast to AN, research suggests that AB learning is mediated by a declarative memory system. The current study examined the effects of normal aging on AN and AB prototype learning. We observed an age-related deficit in AB learning, but an age-related advantage in AN learning. Computational modeling supports one possible interpretation based on narrower selective attentional focus in older adults in the AB task and broader selective attention in the AN task. Neuropsychological testing in older participants suggested that executive functioning and attentional control were associated with better performance in both tasks. However, nonverbal memory was associated with better AN performance, while visual attention was associated with worse AB performance. The results support an interactive memory systems approach and suggest that age-related declines in one memory system can lead to deficits in some tasks, but to enhanced performance in others. PMID:21875215

Birth weight predicts aging trajectory: A hypothesis.

PubMed

Vaiserman, Alexander M

2018-04-04

Increasing evidence suggests that risk for age-related disease and longevity can be programmed early in life. In human populations, convincing evidence has been accumulated indicating that intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) resulting in low birth weight (<2.5 kg) followed by postnatal catch-up growth is associated with various aspects of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Fetal macrosomia (birth weight > 4.5 kg), by contrast, is associated with high risk of non-diabetic obesity and cancers in later life. Developmental modification of epigenetic patterns is considered to be a central mechanism in determining such developmentally programmed phenotypes. Growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor (GH/IGF) axis is likely a key driver of these processes. In this review, evidence is discussed that suggests that different aging trajectories can be realized depending on developmentally programmed life-course dynamics of IGF-1. In this hypothetical scenario, IUGR-induced deficit of IGF-1 causes "diabetic" aging trajectory associated with various metabolic disorders in adulthood, while fetal macrosomia-induced excessive levels of IGF-1 lead to "cancerous" aging trajectory. If the above reasoning is correct, then both low and high birth weights are predictors of short life expectancy, while the normal birth weight is a predictor of "normal" aging and maximum longevity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Where Is ELSA? The Early to Late Shift in Aging

PubMed Central

Buchler, Norbou; Dobbins, Ian G.; Cabeza, Roberto

2012-01-01

Studies of cognitive and neural aging have recently provided evidence of a shift from an early- to late-onset cognitive control strategy, linked with temporally extended activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). It has been uncertain, however, whether this age-related shift is unique to PFC and executive control tasks or whether the functional location might vary depending on the particular cognitive processes that are altered. The present study tested whether an early-to-late shift in aging (ELSA) might emerge in the medial temporal lobes (MTL) during a protracted context memory task comprising both anticipatory cue (retrieval preparation) and retrieval probe (retrieval completion) phases. First, we found reduced MTL activity in older adults during the early retrieval preparation phase coupled with increased MTL activity during the late retrieval completion phase. Second, we found that functional connectivity between MTL and PFC regions was higher during retrieval preparation in young adults but higher during retrieval completion in older adults, suggesting an important interactive relationship between the ELSA pattern in MTL and PFC. Taken together, these results critically suggest that aging results in temporally lagged activity even in regions not typically associated with cognitive control, such as the MTL. PMID:22114083

Prevalence, risk factors, and impact of knee pain suggesting osteoarthritis in Spain.

PubMed

Fernandez-Lopez, J C; Laffon, A; Blanco, F J; Carmona, L

2008-01-01

To estimate the point prevalence of knee pain suggesting osteoarthritis (OA) in the adult Spanish population. Secondary objectives were to examine the distribution of associated factors, as well as to assess the impact of knee pain on quality of life and function in the general population. A population survey was conducted in year 2000 for which 2,192 subjects over 20 years of age were selected by stratified polystage cluster sampling from the censuses of 20 towns. Trained rheumatologists administered structured interviews that permitted them to rule out the presence of rheumatic symptoms, and which included validated instruments to measure function and quality of life. We used the definition of clinical symptomatic knee OA of the American College of Rheumatology. The estimated prevalence of knee pain suggesting OA in the general adult population is 10.2% (95% confidence interval: 7.9-12.5). Elderly women with fewer studies and from the lower social class, as well as those subjects involved in physically demanding jobs are more frequently affected. Obesity is also an important determinant for knee pain suggesting OA. Knee pain is associated to a significant decrease in functional ability and quality of life, even after adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidity. The prevalence of knee pain suggesting OA in the general Spanish population is higher than expected, mainly related to a high rate of knee pain in women over 55. The proportion of very old persons and of those obese are important factors to take into account when comparing the rate of knee OA between populations.

Age as a Predictor of Cognitive Decline in Bipolar Disorder

PubMed Central

Lewandowski, Kathryn E.; Sperry, Sarah H.; Malloy, Mary C.; Forester, Brent P.

2013-01-01

Objective Cognitive dysfunction is a core feature of Bipolar Disorder (BD) in both adult and geriatric patients. However, little is known about whether cognitive functioning declines at a faster rate in patients with BD and there are conflicting reports regarding the relationship between age and cognitive functioning in this population. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between age and cognitive functioning in patients with BD. Methods Patients with BD I (n=113) and healthy adults (n=64) ages 18–87 completed measures of processing speed, attention, executive functioning, verbal fluency, and clinical symptomatology. Groupwise comparisons were used to examine differences between patients and the comparison group and adult and geriatric BD cohorts. A series of linear regressions was conducted to examine the relationship of age and cognitive functioning, and clinical variables and cognition. Results Patients performed significantly worse than the comparison group on all neuropsychological measures. Age was a significant predictor of Trails A scores with older age associated with worse performance. Conclusions Older age was associated with poorer performance on Trails A in patients with BD but not healthy adults. These results are suggestive of greater dysfunction in processing speed with older age in patients with BD compared to a healthy comparison group. As cognitive functioning is associated with community outcomes, these findings suggest a need for treatments targeting cognitive symptoms across the lifespan. Future research exploring neurobiological evidence for neurodegenerative processes in bipolar disorder will pave the way for potential therapeutic interventions. PMID:24262287

Do Author-Suggested Reviewers Rate Submissions More Favorably than Editor-Suggested Reviewers? A Study on Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

PubMed Central

Bornmann, Lutz; Daniel, Hans-Dieter

2010-01-01

Background Ratings in journal peer review can be affected by sources of bias. The bias variable investigated here was the information on whether authors had suggested a possible reviewer for their manuscript, and whether the editor had taken up that suggestion or had chosen a reviewer that had not been suggested by the authors. Studies have shown that author-suggested reviewers rate manuscripts more favorably than editor-suggested reviewers do. Methodology/Principal Findings Reviewers' ratings on three evaluation criteria and the reviewers' final publication recommendations were available for 552 manuscripts (in total 1145 reviews) that were submitted to Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, an interactive open access journal using public peer review (authors' and reviewers' comments are publicly exchanged). Public peer review is supposed to bring a new openness to the reviewing process that will enhance its objectivity. In the statistical analysis the quality of a manuscript was controlled for to prevent favorable reviewers' ratings from being attributable to quality instead of to the bias variable. Conclusions/Significance Our results agree with those from other studies that editor-suggested reviewers rated manuscripts between 30% and 42% less favorably than author-suggested reviewers. Against this backdrop journal editors should consider either doing without the use of author-suggested reviewers or, if they are used, bringing in more than one editor-suggested reviewer for the review process (so that the review by author-suggested reviewers can be put in perspective). PMID:20976226

Age-Status Labeling in Homosexual Men

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minnigerode, Fred A.

1976-01-01

Homosexual men (N=95) between 25 and 68 years of age were asked to classify themselves as young, middle-aged, or old. The popular suggestion of accelerated aging in homosexual men was not supported. (Author)

Working memory plasticity and aging.

PubMed

Rhodes, Rebecca E; Katz, Benjamin

2017-02-01

The present research explores how the trajectory of learning on a working memory task changes throughout the life span, and whether gains in working memory performance are exclusively a question of initial working memory capacity (WMC) or whether age exerts an independent effect. In a large, cross-sectional study of younger, middle-aged, and older adults, we examined learning on a widely used working memory task-the dual n-back task-over 20 sessions of practice. We found that, while all age groups improved on the task, older adults demonstrated less improvement on the task, and also reached a lower asymptotic maximum performance than younger adults. After controlling for initial WMC, we found that age exerted independent effects on training gains and asymptotic performance; older adults tended to improve less and reached lower levels of performance than younger adults. The difference between younger and older adults' rates of learning depended in part on initial WMC. These results suggest that age-related effects on working memory include not only effects on capacity, but also plasticity and the ability to improve on a task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The biochemistry of aging.

PubMed

Knight, J A

2000-01-01

results in an increased production of reactive oxygen species is, however, only partially understood. There is considerable additional indirect evidence supporting the free radical theory of aging. Not only are several major age-associated diseases clearly affected by increased oxidative stress (atherosclerosis, cancer, etc.), but the fact that there are numerous natural protective mechanisms to prevent oxyradical-induced cellular damage speaks loudly that this theory has a key role in aging [the presence of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase, among others; various important intrinsic (uric acid, bilirubin, -SH proteins, glutathione, etc.) and extrinsic (vitamins C, E, carotenoids, flavonoids, etc.) antioxidants; and metal chelating proteins to prevent Fenton and Haber-Weiss chemistry]. In addition, a major part of the free radical theory involves the damaging role of reactive oxygen species and various toxins on mitochondria. These lead to numerous mitochondrial DNA mutations which result in a progressive reduction in energy output, significantly below that needed in body tissues. This can result in various signs of aging, such as loss of memory, hearing, vision, and stamina. Oxidative stress also inactivates critical enzymes and other proteins. In addition to these factors, caloric restriction is the only known method that increases the life span of rodents; studies currently underway suggest that this also applies to primates, and presumably to humans. Certainly, oxidative stress plays an important role here, although other, as yet unknown, factors are also presumably involved. Exactly how the other major theories (i.e., immune, neuroendocrine, somatic mutation, error catastrophe) control aging is more difficult to define. The immune and neuroendocrine systems clearly deteriorate with age. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)

AgeFactDB--the JenAge Ageing Factor Database--towards data integration in ageing research.

PubMed

Hühne, Rolf; Thalheim, Torsten; Sühnel, Jürgen

2014-01-01

AgeFactDB (http://agefactdb.jenage.de) is a database aimed at the collection and integration of ageing phenotype data including lifespan information. Ageing factors are considered to be genes, chemical compounds or other factors such as dietary restriction, whose action results in a changed lifespan or another ageing phenotype. Any information related to the effects of ageing factors is called an observation and is presented on observation pages. To provide concise access to the complete information for a particular ageing factor, corresponding observations are also summarized on ageing factor pages. In a first step, ageing-related data were primarily taken from existing databases such as the Ageing Gene Database--GenAge, the Lifespan Observations Database and the Dietary Restriction Gene Database--GenDR. In addition, we have started to include new ageing-related information. Based on homology data taken from the HomoloGene Database, AgeFactDB also provides observation and ageing factor pages of genes that are homologous to known ageing-related genes. These homologues are considered as candidate or putative ageing-related genes. AgeFactDB offers a variety of search and browse options, and also allows the download of ageing factor or observation lists in TSV, CSV and XML formats.

AgeFactDB—the JenAge Ageing Factor Database—towards data integration in ageing research

PubMed Central

Hühne, Rolf; Thalheim, Torsten; Sühnel, Jürgen

2014-01-01

AgeFactDB (http://agefactdb.jenage.de) is a database aimed at the collection and integration of ageing phenotype data including lifespan information. Ageing factors are considered to be genes, chemical compounds or other factors such as dietary restriction, whose action results in a changed lifespan or another ageing phenotype. Any information related to the effects of ageing factors is called an observation and is presented on observation pages. To provide concise access to the complete information for a particular ageing factor, corresponding observations are also summarized on ageing factor pages. In a first step, ageing-related data were primarily taken from existing databases such as the Ageing Gene Database—GenAge, the Lifespan Observations Database and the Dietary Restriction Gene Database—GenDR. In addition, we have started to include new ageing-related information. Based on homology data taken from the HomoloGene Database, AgeFactDB also provides observation and ageing factor pages of genes that are homologous to known ageing-related genes. These homologues are considered as candidate or putative ageing-related genes. AgeFactDB offers a variety of search and browse options, and also allows the download of ageing factor or observation lists in TSV, CSV and XML formats. PMID:24217911

Age trends for failures of sustained attention.

PubMed

Carriere, Jonathan S A; Cheyne, J Allan; Solman, Grayden J F; Smilek, Daniel

2010-09-01

Recent research has revealed an age-related reduction in errors in a sustained attention task, suggesting that sustained attention abilities improve with age. Such results seem paradoxical in light of the well-documented age-related declines in cognitive performance. In the present study, performance on the sustained attention to response task (SART) was assessed in a supplemented archival sample of 638 individuals between 14 and 77 years old. SART errors and response speed appeared to decline in a linear fashion as a function of age throughout the age span studied. In contrast, other measures of sustained attention (reaction time coefficient of variation), anticipation, and omissions) showed a decrease early in life and then remained unchanged for the rest of the life span. Thus, sustained attention shows improvements with maturation in early adulthood but then does not change with aging in older adults. On the other hand, aging across the entire life span leads to a more strategic (i.e., slower) response style that reduces the overt and critical consequences (i.e., SART errors) of momentary task disengagement. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Age trends in rates of substance use disorders across ages 18-90: Differences by gender and race/ethnicity.

PubMed

Vasilenko, Sara A; Evans-Polce, Rebecca J; Lanza, Stephanie T

2017-11-01

Although research has documented age differences in substance use, less is known about how prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) vary across age and differ by gender and race/ethnicity. Time-varying effect models (TVEMs) were estimated on data from the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC III; N=36,309), a nationally representative survey of the adult population. The sample was 44% male; 53% White, 21% Black, 19% Hispanic/Latino, 6% other race/ethnicity. Prevalence of four SUDs (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and opioid use disorders) were flexibly estimated across ages 18-90 by gender and race/ethnicity. Estimated SUD prevalences were generally higher for men compared to women at most ages until the 70s. However, disparities by race/ethnicity varied with age, such that for most SUDs, estimated prevalences were higher for White participants at younger ages and Black participants at older ages. Results suggest relatively constant disparities by gender across age, and a crossover effect for Black and White participants. Findings demonstrate that Black individuals in midlife may be an important target of intervention programs for some substances. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Insensitivity of Astrocytes to Interleukin-10 Signaling following Peripheral Immune Challenge Results in Prolonged Microglial Activation in the Aged Brain

PubMed Central

Norden, Diana M.; Trojanowski, Paige J.; Walker, Frederick R.; Godbout, Jonathan P.

2017-01-01

Immune-activated microglia from aged mice produce exaggerated levels of cytokines. Despite high levels of microglial IL-10 in the aged brain, neuroinflammation was prolonged and associated with depressive-like deficits. Because astrocytes respond to IL-10 and, in turn, attenuate microglial activation, we investigated if astrocyte-mediated resolution of microglial activation was impaired with age. Here, aged astrocytes had a dysfunctional profile with higher GFAP, lower glutamate transporter expression, and significant cytoskeletal re-arrangement. Moreover, aged astrocytes had reduced expression of growth factors and IL-10 Receptor-1 (IL-10R1). Following in vivo LPS immune challenge, aged astrocytes had a molecular signature associated with reduced responsiveness to IL-10. This IL-10 insensitivity of aged astrocytes resulted in a failure to induce IL-10R1 and TGFβ and resolve microglial activation. Additionally, adult astrocytes reduced microglial activation when co-cultured ex vivo, while aged astrocytes did not. Consistent with the aging studies, IL-10RKO astrocytes did not augment TGFβ after immune challenge and failed to resolve microglial activation. Collectively, a major cytokine-regulatory loop between activated microglia and astrocytes is impaired in the aged brain. PMID:27318131

Placebo-Suggestion Modulates Conflict Resolution in the Stroop Task

PubMed Central

Caspar, Emilie A.; Gevers, Wim; Cleeremans, Axel

2013-01-01

Here, we ask whether placebo-suggestion (without any form of hypnotic induction) can modulate the resolution of cognitive conflict. Naïve participants performed a Stroop Task while wearing an EEG cap described as a “brain wave” machine. In Experiment 1, participants were made to believe that the EEG cap would either enhance or decrease their color perception and performance on the Stroop task. In Experiment 2, participants were explicitly asked to imagine that their color perception and performance would be enhanced or decreased (non-hypnotic imaginative suggestion). We observed effects of placebo-suggestion on Stroop interference on accuracy: interference was decreased with positive suggestion and increased with negative suggestion compared to baseline. Intra-individual variability was also increased under negative suggestion compared to baseline. Compliance with the instruction to imagine a modulation of performance, on the other hand, did not influence accuracy and only had a negative impact on response latencies and on intra-individual variability, especially in the congruent condition of the Stroop Task. Taken together, these results demonstrate that expectations induced by a placebo-suggestion can modulate our ability to resolve cognitive conflict, either facilitating or impairing response accuracy depending on the suggestion’s contents. Our results also demonstrate a dissociation between placebo-suggestion and non-hypnotic imaginative suggestion. PMID:24130735

Vertebral bomb radiocarbon suggests extreme longevity in white sharks.

PubMed

Hamady, Li Ling; Natanson, Lisa J; Skomal, Gregory B; Thorrold, Simon R

2014-01-01

Conservation and management efforts for white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) remain hampered by a lack of basic demographic information including age and growth rates. Sharks are typically aged by counting growth bands sequentially deposited in their vertebrae, but the assumption of annual deposition of these band pairs requires testing. We compared radiocarbon (Δ(14)C) values in vertebrae from four female and four male white sharks from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean (NWA) with reference chronologies documenting the marine uptake of (14)C produced by atmospheric testing of thermonuclear devices to generate the first radiocarbon age estimates for adult white sharks. Age estimates were up to 40 years old for the largest female (fork length [FL]: 526 cm) and 73 years old for the largest male (FL: 493 cm). Our results dramatically extend the maximum age and longevity of white sharks compared to earlier studies, hint at possible sexual dimorphism in growth rates, and raise concerns that white shark populations are considerably more sensitive to human-induced mortality than previously thought.

Vertebral Bomb Radiocarbon Suggests Extreme Longevity in White Sharks

PubMed Central

Hamady, Li Ling; Natanson, Lisa J.; Skomal, Gregory B.; Thorrold, Simon R.

2014-01-01

Conservation and management efforts for white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) remain hampered by a lack of basic demographic information including age and growth rates. Sharks are typically aged by counting growth bands sequentially deposited in their vertebrae, but the assumption of annual deposition of these band pairs requires testing. We compared radiocarbon (Δ14C) values in vertebrae from four female and four male white sharks from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean (NWA) with reference chronologies documenting the marine uptake of 14C produced by atmospheric testing of thermonuclear devices to generate the first radiocarbon age estimates for adult white sharks. Age estimates were up to 40 years old for the largest female (fork length [FL]: 526 cm) and 73 years old for the largest male (FL: 493 cm). Our results dramatically extend the maximum age and longevity of white sharks compared to earlier studies, hint at possible sexual dimorphism in growth rates, and raise concerns that white shark populations are considerably more sensitive to human-induced mortality than previously thought. PMID:24416189

Parallel circuits control temperature preference in Drosophila during ageing

PubMed Central

Shih, Hsiang-Wen; Wu, Chia-Lin; Chang, Sue-Wei; Liu, Tsung-Ho; Sih-Yu Lai, Jason; Fu, Tsai-Feng; Fu, Chien-Chung; Chiang, Ann-Shyn

2015-01-01

The detection of environmental temperature and regulation of body temperature are integral determinants of behaviour for all animals. These functions become less efficient in aged animals, particularly during exposure to cold environments, yet the cellular and molecular mechanisms are not well understood. Here, we identify an age-related change in the temperature preference of adult fruit flies that results from a shift in the relative contributions of two parallel mushroom body (MB) circuits—the β′- and β-systems. The β′-circuit primarily controls cold avoidance through dopamine signalling in young flies, whereas the β-circuit increasingly contributes to cold avoidance as adult flies age. Elevating dopamine levels in β′-afferent neurons of aged flies restores cold sensitivity, suggesting that the alteration of cold avoidance behaviour with ageing is functionally reversible. These results provide a framework for investigating how molecules and individual neural circuits modulate homeostatic alterations during the course of senescence. PMID:26178754

Perceptual and Social Attributes Underlining Age-Related Preferences for Faces

PubMed Central

Kiiski, Hanni S. M.; Cullen, Brendan; Clavin, Sarah L.; Newell, Fiona N.

2016-01-01

Although aesthetic preferences are known to be important in person perception and can play a significant role in everyday social decisions, the effect of the age of the observer on aesthetic preferences for faces of different ages has not yet been fully investigated. In the present study we investigated whether aesthetic preferences change with aging, with an age-related bias in favoring faces from one’s own age group. In addition, we examined the role of age on both the perceptual qualities and the social attributes of faces that may influence these aesthetic judgements. Both younger and older adult observers provided ratings to images of younger, middle-aged and older unfamiliar faces. As well as attractiveness, the rating dimensions included other perceptual (distinctiveness, familiarity) and social (competence, trustworthiness and dominance) factors. The results suggested a consistent aesthetic preference for youthful faces across all ages of the observers but, surprisingly, no evidence for an age-related bias in attractiveness ratings. Older adults tended to provide higher ratings of attractiveness, competence and trustworthiness to the unfamiliar faces, consistent with the positivity effect previously reported. We also tested whether perceptual factors such as face familiarity or distinctiveness affected aesthetic ratings. Only ratings of familiarity, but not distinctiveness, were positively associated with the attractiveness of the faces. Moreover, ratings of familiarity decreased with increasing age of the face. With regard to the social characteristics of the faces, we found that the age of the face negatively correlated with ratings of trustworthiness provided by all observers, but with the competence ratings of older observers only. Interestingly, older adults provided higher ratings of perceived competence and trustworthiness to younger than older faces. However, our results also suggest that higher attractiveness ratings, together with older aged

Variation in Subjective Aging by Sexual Minority Status.

PubMed

Barrett, Anne; Barbee, Harry

2017-06-01

The past few decades have seen increased scholarly attention to gay and lesbian individuals' aging experiences; however, few studies examine differences in subjective aging by sexual minority status. We identify four perspectives on the association between sexual minority status and subjective aging-double jeopardy, crisis competence, gender interactive, and limited salience perspectives. We examine each perspective's predictions using data from the first wave of Midlife in the United States (1995-1996; MIDUS). Ordinary least square regression models reveal strongest support for the limited salience perspective, suggesting that sexual minority status has weaker effects on subjective aging than do other social factors, such as age, health, and gender. However, some results provide support for the gender interactive perspective, positing that the effect of sexual minority status on subjective aging varies by gender. Our study provides an organizational framework of theoretical perspectives that can guide further examinations of variation in aging experiences by sexual minority status.

Age Patterns in Risk Taking Across the World.

PubMed

Duell, Natasha; Steinberg, Laurence; Icenogle, Grace; Chein, Jason; Chaudhary, Nandita; Di Giunta, Laura; Dodge, Kenneth A; Fanti, Kostas A; Lansford, Jennifer E; Oburu, Paul; Pastorelli, Concetta; Skinner, Ann T; Sorbring, Emma; Tapanya, Sombat; Uribe Tirado, Liliana Maria; Alampay, Liane Peña; Al-Hassan, Suha M; Takash, Hanan M S; Bacchini, Dario; Chang, Lei

2018-05-01

Epidemiological data indicate that risk behaviors are among the leading causes of adolescent morbidity and mortality worldwide. Consistent with this, laboratory-based studies of age differences in risk behavior allude to a peak in adolescence, suggesting that adolescents demonstrate a heightened propensity, or inherent inclination, to take risks. Unlike epidemiological reports, studies of risk taking propensity have been limited to Western samples, leaving questions about the extent to which heightened risk taking propensity is an inherent or culturally constructed aspect of adolescence. In the present study, age patterns in risk-taking propensity (using two laboratory tasks: the Stoplight and the BART) and real-world risk taking (using self-reports of health and antisocial risk taking) were examined in a sample of 5227 individuals (50.7% female) ages 10-30 (M = 17.05 years, SD = 5.91) from 11 Western and non-Western countries (China, Colombia, Cyprus, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the US). Two hypotheses were tested: (1) risk taking follows an inverted-U pattern across age groups, peaking earlier on measures of risk taking propensity than on measures of real-world risk taking, and (2) age patterns in risk taking propensity are more consistent across countries than age patterns in real-world risk taking. Overall, risk taking followed the hypothesized inverted-U pattern across age groups, with health risk taking evincing the latest peak. Age patterns in risk taking propensity were more consistent across countries than age patterns in real-world risk taking. Results suggest that although the association between age and risk taking is sensitive to measurement and culture, around the world, risk taking is generally highest among late adolescents.

Tests of the DRYAD theory of the age-related deficit in memory for context: not about context, and not about aging.

PubMed

Benjamin, Aaron S; Diaz, Michael; Matzen, Laura E; Johnson, Benjamin

2012-06-01

Older adults exhibit a disproportionate deficit in their ability to recover contextual elements or source information about prior encounters with stimuli. A recent theoretical account, DRYAD, attributes this selective deficit to a global decrease in memory fidelity with age, moderated by weak representation of contextual information. The predictions of DRYAD are tested here in three experiments. We show that an age-related deficit obtains for whichever aspect of the stimulus subjects' attention is directed away from during encoding (Experiment 1), suggesting a central role for attention in producing the age-related deficit in context. We also show that an analogous deficit can be elicited within young subjects with a manipulation of study time (Experiment 2), suggesting that any means of reducing memory fidelity yields an interaction of the same form as the age-related effect. Experiment 3 evaluates the critical prediction of DRYAD that endorsement probability in an exclusion task should vary nonmonotonically with memory strength. This prediction was confirmed by assessing the shape of the forgetting function in a continuous exclusion task. The results are consistent with the DRYAD account of aging and memory judgments and do not support the widely held view that aging entails the selective disruption of processes involved in encoding, storing, or retrieving contextual information. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved

Neuroimaging Studies Illustrate the Commonalities Between Ageing and Brain Diseases.

PubMed

Cole, James H

2018-07-01

The lack of specificity in neuroimaging studies of neurological and psychiatric diseases suggests that these different diseases have more in common than is generally considered. Potentially, features that are secondary effects of different pathological processes may share common neurobiological underpinnings. Intriguingly, many of these mechanisms are also observed in studies of normal (i.e., non-pathological) brain ageing. Different brain diseases may be causing premature or accelerated ageing to the brain, an idea that is supported by a line of "brain ageing" research that combines neuroimaging data with machine learning analysis. In reviewing this field, I conclude that such observations could have important implications, suggesting that we should shift experimental paradigm: away from characterizing the average case-control brain differences resulting from a disease toward methods that place individuals in their age-appropriate context. This will also lead naturally to clinical applications, whereby neuroimaging can contribute to a personalized-medicine approach to improve brain health. © 2018 WILEY Periodicals, Inc.

Population age structure and asset returns: an empirical investigation.

PubMed

Poterba, J M

1998-10-01

"This paper investigates the association between population age structure, particularly the share of the population in the 'prime saving years' 45-60, and the returns on stocks and bonds. The paper is motivated by the claim that the aging of the 'Baby Boom' cohort in the United States is a key factor in explaining the recent rise in asset values. It also addresses the associated claim that asset prices will decline when this large cohort reaches retirement age and begins to reduce its asset holdings. This paper begins by considering household age-asset accumulation profiles. Data from the Survey of Consumer Finances suggest that while cross-sectional age-wealth profiles peak for households in their early 60s, cohort data on the asset ownership of the same households show a much less pronounced peak.... The paper then considers the historical relationship between demographic structure and real returns on Treasury bills, long-term government bonds, and corporate stock. The results do not suggest any robust relationship between demographic structure and asset returns.... The paper concludes by discussing factors such as international capital flows and forward-looking behavior on the part of market participants that could weaken the relationship between age structure and asset returns in a single nation." excerpt

The Aging Male Homosexual: Myth and Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Jim

1977-01-01

There is little evidence to suggest that being gay causes problems in old age but there is considerable evidence to suggest that societal stigma may cause problems for aging gays. Presented at the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting of Gerontological Society, Louisville, Oct., 1975. (Author)

Radiation- and Age-Associated Changes in Peripheral Blood Dendritic Cell Populations among Aging Atomic Bomb Survivors in Japan.

PubMed

Kajimura, Junko; Lynch, Heather E; Geyer, Susan; French, Benjamin; Yamaoka, Mika; Shterev, Ivo D; Sempowski, Gregory D; Kyoizumi, Seishi; Yoshida, Kengo; Misumi, Munechika; Ohishi, Waka; Hayashi, Tomonori; Nakachi, Kei; Kusunoki, Yoichiro

2017-11-30

Previous immunological studies in atomic bomb survivors have suggested that radiation exposure leads to long-lasting changes, similar to immunological aging observed in T-cell-adaptive immunity. However, to our knowledge, late effects of radiation on dendritic cells (DCs), the key coordinators for activation and differentiation of T cells, have not yet been investigated in humans. In the current study, we hypothesized that numerical and functional decreases would be observed in relationship to radiation dose in circulating conventional DCs (cDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) among 229 Japanese A-bomb survivors. Overall, the evidence did not support this hypothesis, with no overall changes in DCs or functional changes observed with radiation dose. Multivariable regression analysis for radiation dose, age and gender effects revealed that total DC counts as well as subpopulation counts decreased in relationship to increasing age. Further analyses revealed that in women, absolute numbers of pDCs showed significant decreases with radiation dose. A hierarchical clustering analysis of gene expression profiles in DCs after Toll-like receptor stimulation in vitro identified two clusters of participants that differed in age-associated expression levels of genes involved in antigen presentation and cytokine/chemokine production in cDCs. These results suggest that DC counts decrease and expression levels of gene clusters change with age. More than 60 years after radiation exposure, we also observed changes in pDC counts associated with radiation, but only among women.

Radiation- and Age-Associated Changes in Peripheral Blood Dendritic Cell Populations among Aging Atomic Bomb Survivors in Japan.

PubMed

Kajimura, Junko; Lynch, Heather E; Geyer, Susan; French, Benjamin; Yamaoka, Mika; Shterev, Ivo D; Sempowski, Gregory D; Kyoizumi, Seishi; Yoshida, Kengo; Misumi, Munechika; Ohishi, Waka; Hayashi, Tomonori; Nakachi, Kei; Kusunoki, Yoichiro

2018-01-01

Previous immunological studies in atomic bomb survivors have suggested that radiation exposure leads to long-lasting changes, similar to immunological aging observed in T-cell-adaptive immunity. However, to our knowledge, late effects of radiation on dendritic cells (DCs), the key coordinators for activation and differentiation of T cells, have not yet been investigated in humans. In the current study, we hypothesized that numerical and functional decreases would be observed in relationship to radiation dose in circulating conventional DCs (cDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) among 229 Japanese A-bomb survivors. Overall, the evidence did not support this hypothesis, with no overall changes in DCs or functional changes observed with radiation dose. Multivariable regression analysis for radiation dose, age and gender effects revealed that total DC counts as well as subpopulation counts decreased in relationship to increasing age. Further analyses revealed that in women, absolute numbers of pDCs showed significant decreases with radiation dose. A hierarchical clustering analysis of gene expression profiles in DCs after Toll-like receptor stimulation in vitro identified two clusters of participants that differed in age-associated expression levels of genes involved in antigen presentation and cytokine/chemokine production in cDCs. These results suggest that DC counts decrease and expression levels of gene clusters change with age. More than 60 years after radiation exposure, we also observed changes in pDC counts associated with radiation, but only among women.

Expanding the Circle of Knowledge: Reconceptualizing Successful Aging Among North American Older Indigenous Peoples.

PubMed

Pace, Jessica E; Grenier, Amanda

2017-03-01

Indigenous older peoples' voices and experiences remain largely absent in the dominant models and critical scholarship on aging and late life. This article examines the relevance of the model of successful aging for Indigenous peoples in North America. This article presents the results of a review of the published conceptual literature on successful aging among Indigenous peoples. Our intent was to explore the current state of the field of successful aging among Indigenous peoples and suggest dimensions that may be more reflective of Indigenous voices and experiences that leads to a more inclusive model of successful aging. Based on our review, we suggest four dimensions that may broaden understandings of successful aging to be more inclusive of Indigenous older people: health and wellness, empowerment and resilience, engagement and behavior, and connectedness. Our review suggests that Indigenous peoples' voices and experiences are beginning to be included in academic literature on successful aging. However, we suggest that understandings of successful aging be broadened based on our summative findings and a process of community involvement. Such processes can lead to the development of models that are more inclusive to a wide range of older people, including Indigenous older peoples. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Results of the IEA Round Robin on Viscosity and Aging of Fast Pyrolysis Bio-oils: Long-Term Tests and Repeatability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elliott, Douglas C.; Oasmaa, Anja; Meier, Dietrich

2012-11-06

An international round robin study of the viscosity and aging of fast pyrolysis bio-oil has been undertaken recently and this work is an outgrowth from that effort. Two bio-oil samples were distributed to the laboratories for aging tests and extended viscosity studies. The accelerated aging test was defined as the change in viscosity of a sealed sample of bio-oil held for 24 h at 80 °C. The test was repeated 10 times over consecutive days to determine the repeatability of the method. Other bio-oil samples were placed in storage at three temperatures, 21 °C, 4 °C and -17 °C formore » a period up to a year to evaluate the change in viscosity. The variation in the results of the aging test was shown to be low within a given laboratory. Storage of bio-oil under refrigeration can minimize the amount of change in viscosity. The accelerated aging test gives a measure of change similar to that of 6-12 months of storage at room temperature. These results can be helpful in setting standards for use of bio-oil, which is just coming into the marketplace.« less

Age and Scientific Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Stephen

1979-01-01

The long-standing belief that age is negatively associated with scientific productivity and creativity is shown to be based upon incorrect analysis of data. Studies reported in this article suggest that the relationship between age and scientific performance is influenced by the operation of the reward system. (Author)

Does active ageing contribute to life satisfaction for older people? Testing a new model of active ageing.

PubMed

Marsillas, Sara; De Donder, Liesbeth; Kardol, Tinie; van Regenmortel, Sofie; Dury, Sarah; Brosens, Dorien; Smetcoren, An-Sofie; Braña, Teresa; Varela, Jesús

2017-09-01

Several debates have emerged across the literature about the conceptualisation of active ageing. The aim of this study is to develop a model of the construct that is focused on the individual, including different elements of people's lives that have the potential to be modified by intervention programs. Moreover, the paper examines the contributions of active ageing to life satisfaction, as well as the possible predictive role of coping styles on active ageing. For this purpose, a representative sample of 404 Galician (Spain) community-dwelling older adults (aged ≥60 years) were interviewed using a structured survey. The results demonstrate that the proposed model composed of two broad categories is valid. The model comprises status variables (related to physical, psychological, and social health) as well as different types of activities, called processual variables. This model is tested using partial least squares (PLS) regression. The findings show that active ageing is a fourth-order, formative construct. In addition, PLS analyses indicate that active ageing has a moderate and positive path on life satisfaction and that coping styles may predict active ageing. The discussion highlights the potential of active ageing as a relevant concept for people's lives, drawing out policy implications and suggestions for further research.