Evaluating nurse understanding and participation in the informed consent process.

Science.gov (United States)

Axson, Sydney A; Giordano, Nicholas A; Hermann, Robin M; Ulrich, Connie M

2017-01-01

Informed consent is fundamental to the autonomous decision-making of patients, yet much is still unknown about the process in the clinical setting. In an evolving healthcare landscape, nurses must be prepared to address patient understanding and participate in the informed consent process to better fulfill their well-established role as patient advocates. This study examines hospital-based nurses' experiences and understandings of the informed consent process. This qualitative descriptive study utilized a semi-structured interview approach identifying thematic concerns, experiences, and knowledge of informed consent across a selected population of clinically practicing nurses. Participants and research context: In all, 20 baccalaureate prepared registered nurses practicing in various clinical settings (i.e. critical care, oncology, medical/surgical) at a large northeastern academic medical center in the United States completed semi-structured interviews and a demographic survey. The mean age of participants was 36.6 years old, with a mean of 12.2 years of clinical experience. Ethical considerations: Participation in this study involved minimal risk and no invasive measures. This study received Institutional Review Board approval from the University of Pennsylvania. All participants voluntarily consented. The majority of participants (N = 19) believe patient safety is directly linked to patient comprehension of the informed consent process. However, when asked if nurses have a defined role in the informed consent process, nearly half did not agree (N = 9). Through this qualitative approach, three major nursing roles emerged: the nurse as a communicator, the nurse as an advocate, and the clerical role of the nurse. This investigation contributes to the foundation of ethical research that will better prepare nurses for patient engagement, advance current understanding of informed consent, and allow for future development of solutions. Nurses are at the forefront of

Adult Age Differences in Dual Information Processes: Implications for the Role of Affective and Deliberative Processes in Older Adults' Decision Making.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Ellen; Hess, Thomas M; Västfjäll, Daniel; Auman, Corinne

2007-03-01

Age differences in affective/experiential and deliberative processes have important theoretical implications for judgment and decision theory and important pragmatic implications for older-adult decision making. Age-related declines in the efficiency of deliberative processes predict poorer-quality decisions as we age. However, age-related adaptive processes, including motivated selectivity in the use of deliberative capacity, an increased focus on emotional goals, and greater experience, predict better or worse decisions for older adults depending on the situation. The aim of the current review is to examine adult age differences in affective and deliberative information processes in order to understand their potential impact on judgments and decisions. We review evidence for the role of these dual processes in judgment and decision making and then review two representative life-span perspectives (based on aging-related changes to cognitive or motivational processes) on the interplay between these processes. We present relevant predictions for older-adult decisions and make note of contradictions and gaps that currently exist in the literature. Finally, we review the sparse evidence about age differences in decision making and how theories and findings regarding dual processes could be applied to decision theory and decision aiding. In particular, we focus on prospect theory (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979) and how prospect theory and theories regarding age differences in information processing can inform one another. © 2007 Association for Psychological Science.

Age Differences in Brain Activity during Emotion Processing: Reflections of Age-Related Decline or Increased Emotion Regulation?

Science.gov (United States)

Nashiro, Kaoru; Sakaki, Michiko; Mather, Mara

2012-01-01

Despite the fact that physical health and cognitive abilities decline with aging, the ability to regulate emotion remains stable and in some aspects improves across the adult life span. Older adults also show a positivity effect in their attention and memory, with diminished processing of negative stimuli relative to positive stimuli compared with younger adults. The current paper reviews functional magnetic resonance imaging studies investigating age-related differences in emotional processing and discusses how this evidence relates to two opposing theoretical accounts of older adults’ positivity effect. The aging-brain model [Cacioppo et al. in: Social Neuroscience: Toward Understanding the Underpinnings of the Social Mind. New York, Oxford University Press, 2011] proposes that older adults’ positivity effect is a consequence of age-related decline in the amygdala, whereas the cognitive control hypothesis [Kryla-Lighthall and Mather in: Handbook of Theories of Aging, ed 2. New York, Springer, 2009; Mather and Carstensen: Trends Cogn Sci 2005;9:496–502; Mather and Knight: Psychol Aging 2005;20:554–570] argues that the positivity effect is a result of older adults’ greater focus on regulating emotion. Based on evidence for structural and functional preservation of the amygdala in older adults and findings that older adults show greater prefrontal cortex activity than younger adults while engaging in emotion-processing tasks, we argue that the cognitive control hypothesis is a more likely explanation for older adults’ positivity effect than the aging-brain model. PMID:21691052

Emotional Understanding and Color-Emotion Associations in Children Aged 7-8 Years

OpenAIRE

Pope, Debbie J.; Butler, Hannah; Qualter, Pamela

2012-01-01

An understanding of the development of emotional knowledge can help us determine how children perceive and interpret their surroundings and color-emotion associations are one measure of the expression of a child’s emotional interpretations. Emotional understanding and color-emotion associations were examined in a sample of UK school children, aged 7-8 years. Forty primary school children (mean age = 7.38; SD = 0.49) were administered color assessment and emotional understanding tasks, and...

Preschool-Aged Children's Understanding of Gratitude: Relations with Emotion and Mental State Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Jackie A.; de Lucca Freitas, Lia Beatriz; O'Brien, Marion; Calkins, Susan D.; Leerkes, Esther M.; Marcovitch, Stuart

2013-01-01

Developmental precursors to children's early understanding of gratitude were examined. A diverse group of 263 children was tested for emotion and mental state knowledge at ages 3 and 4, and their understanding of gratitude was measured at age 5. Children varied widely in their understanding of gratitude, but most understood some aspects of…

Down Syndrome and the aging process: a systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Sousa Lopes

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The study aimed to identify and update the knowledge about older people with Down Syndrome (DS, and to understand the peculiarities of the aging process in this population. Bibliographical research conducted by Portal de Periódicos da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior and High Wire portal. Inclusion criteria were articles published in the last ten years with the words “Down Syndrome" and “Elderly”.  

Understanding Patients? Process to Use Medical Marijuana

OpenAIRE

Crowell, Tara L

2016-01-01

Given the necessity to better understand the process patients need to go through in order to seek treatment via medical marijuana, this study investigates this process to better understand this phenomenon. Specifically, Compassion Care Foundation (CCF) and Stockton University worked together to identify a solution to this problem. Specifically, 240 new patients at CCF were asked to complete a 1-page survey regarding various aspects associated with their experience prior to their use of medici...

A machine learning approach to understand business processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maruster, L.

2003-01-01

Business processes (industries, administration, hospitals, etc.) become nowadays more and more complex and it is difficult to have a complete understanding of them. The goal of the thesis is to show that machine learning techniques can be used successfully for understanding a process on the basis of

Influential Cognitive Processes on Framing Biases in Aging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alison M. Perez

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Factors that contribute to overcoming decision-making biases in later life pose an important investigational question given the increasing older adult population. Limited empirical evidence exists and the literature remains equivocal of whether increasing age is associated with elevated susceptibility to decision-making biases such as framing effects. Research into the individual differences contributing to decision-making ability may offer better understanding of the influence of age in decision-making ability. Changes in cognition underlying decision-making have been shown with increased age and may contribute to individual variability in decision-making abilities. This study had three aims; (1 to understand the influence of age on susceptibility to decision-making biases as measured by framing effects across a large, continuous age range; (2 to examine influence of cognitive abilities that change with age; and (3 to understand the influence of individual factors such as gender and education on susceptibility to framing effects. 200 individuals (28–79 years of age were tested on a large battery of cognitive measures in the domains of executive function, memory and complex attention. Findings from this study demonstrated that cognitive abilities such as strategic control and delayed memory better predicted susceptibility to framing biases than age. The current findings demonstrate that age may not be as influential a factor in decision-making as cognitive ability and cognitive reserve. These findings motivate future studies to better characterize cognitive ability to determine decision-making susceptibilities in aging populations.

Influential Cognitive Processes on Framing Biases in Aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Perez, Alison M; Spence, Jeffrey Scott; Kiel, L D; Venza, Erin E; Chapman, Sandra B

2018-01-01

Factors that contribute to overcoming decision-making biases in later life pose an important investigational question given the increasing older adult population. Limited empirical evidence exists and the literature remains equivocal of whether increasing age is associated with elevated susceptibility to decision-making biases such as framing effects. Research into the individual differences contributing to decision-making ability may offer better understanding of the influence of age in decision-making ability. Changes in cognition underlying decision-making have been shown with increased age and may contribute to individual variability in decision-making abilities. This study had three aims; (1) to understand the influence of age on susceptibility to decision-making biases as measured by framing effects across a large, continuous age range; (2) to examine influence of cognitive abilities that change with age; and (3) to understand the influence of individual factors such as gender and education on susceptibility to framing effects. 200 individuals (28-79 years of age) were tested on a large battery of cognitive measures in the domains of executive function, memory and complex attention. Findings from this study demonstrated that cognitive abilities such as strategic control and delayed memory better predicted susceptibility to framing biases than age. The current findings demonstrate that age may not be as influential a factor in decision-making as cognitive ability and cognitive reserve. These findings motivate future studies to better characterize cognitive ability to determine decision-making susceptibilities in aging populations.

Influential Cognitive Processes on Framing Biases in Aging

Science.gov (United States)

Perez, Alison M.; Spence, Jeffrey Scott; Kiel, L. D.; Venza, Erin E.; Chapman, Sandra B.

2018-01-01

Factors that contribute to overcoming decision-making biases in later life pose an important investigational question given the increasing older adult population. Limited empirical evidence exists and the literature remains equivocal of whether increasing age is associated with elevated susceptibility to decision-making biases such as framing effects. Research into the individual differences contributing to decision-making ability may offer better understanding of the influence of age in decision-making ability. Changes in cognition underlying decision-making have been shown with increased age and may contribute to individual variability in decision-making abilities. This study had three aims; (1) to understand the influence of age on susceptibility to decision-making biases as measured by framing effects across a large, continuous age range; (2) to examine influence of cognitive abilities that change with age; and (3) to understand the influence of individual factors such as gender and education on susceptibility to framing effects. 200 individuals (28–79 years of age) were tested on a large battery of cognitive measures in the domains of executive function, memory and complex attention. Findings from this study demonstrated that cognitive abilities such as strategic control and delayed memory better predicted susceptibility to framing biases than age. The current findings demonstrate that age may not be as influential a factor in decision-making as cognitive ability and cognitive reserve. These findings motivate future studies to better characterize cognitive ability to determine decision-making susceptibilities in aging populations. PMID:29867641

[Archaic stereotypies and modern approaches for understanding of ageing].

Science.gov (United States)

Grigoryeva, I A; Kelasev, V N

2017-01-01

In the article we discussed the processes of awareness of the place of elderly people in modern society, elaboration of adequate relation to global aging and elderly themselves are still going in social sciences. These processes are expressed in a clash of archaic stereotypes and new approaches which changed social and age structure requires. Not only elderly people are providers of archaic stereotypes, but scientific institutions and practices as well. Reorientation of science, media and social policy towards study and realization of «postponed aging» opportunities is needed.

Visual processing speed in old age.

Science.gov (United States)

Habekost, Thomas; Vogel, Asmus; Rostrup, Egill; Bundesen, Claus; Kyllingsbaek, Søren; Garde, Ellen; Ryberg, Charlotte; Waldemar, Gunhild

2013-04-01

Mental speed is a common concept in theories of cognitive aging, but it is difficult to get measures of the speed of a particular psychological process that are not confounded by the speed of other processes. We used Bundesen's (1990) Theory of Visual Attention (TVA) to obtain specific estimates of processing speed in the visual system controlled for the influence of response latency and individual variations of the perception threshold. A total of 33 non-demented old people (69-87 years) were tested for the ability to recognize briefly presented letters. Performance was analyzed by the TVA model. Visual processing speed decreased approximately linearly with age and was on average halved from 70 to 85 years. Less dramatic aging effects were found for the perception threshold and the visual apprehension span. In the visual domain, cognitive aging seems to be most clearly related to reductions in processing speed. © 2012 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2012 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Optimal Aging and Death: Understanding the Preston Curve

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalgaard, Carl-Johan Lars; Strulik, Holger

2014-01-01

Does prosperity lead to greater longevity? If so, what is the strength of the income channel? To address these questions we develop a life cycle model in which households are subject to physiological aging. In modeling aging we draw on recent research in the fields of biology and medicine....... The speed of the aging process, and thus the age of death, are endogenously determined by optimal health investments. A calibrated version of the model accounts well for the observed nonlinear cross-country link between longevity and income, also known as the Preston curve...

Influence of hearing age and understanding verbal instructions in children with cochlear implants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đoković Sanja

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Hearing age is defined as a period of using any amplification. Most researches indicate that hearing age influences the developmental rate of auditory and speech-language abilities in deaf children, especially when cochlear implantation was performed before the age of three. This research is aimed at analyzing the influence of hearing age on understanding verbal instructions in children with cochlear implants. The sample consists of 23 children with cochlear implants and 21 children with normal hearing, aged between 4 and 10. Hearing age of children with cochlear implants was between 2 and 7 years. Token Test with toys, adapted for children with hearing impairments, was used to analyze understanding verbal instructions. The results indicate that there are statistically significant differences between children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing, aged between 4 and 7, on all subtests and the total score regardless of the hearing age (sub1 p<0.001, sub2 p<0.000, sub3 p<0.001, total score p<0.000. No statistically significant differences were determined on any of the subtests in children aged between 7.1 and 10, regardless of the hearing age. Comparative results analysis within the experimental group of children with different hearing age indicates that the difference in understanding verbal instructions between these two groups is not statistically significant.

Effects of antioxidant supplementation on the aging process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domenico Fusco

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Domenico Fusco1, Giuseppe Colloca1, Maria Rita Lo Monaco1, Matteo Cesari1,21Department of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Physiatry; Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy; 2Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, College of Medicine, Institute on Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville, FLAbstract: The free radical theory of aging hypothesizes that oxygen-derived free radicals are responsible for the age-related damage at the cellular and tissue levels. In a normal situation, a balanced-equilibrium exists among oxidants, antioxidants and biomolecules. Excess generation of free radicals may overwhelm natural cellular antioxidant defences leading to oxidation and further contributing to cellular functional impairment. The identification of free radical reactions as promoters of the aging process implies that interventions aimed at limiting or inhibiting them should be able to reduce the rate of formation of aging changes with a consequent reduction of the aging rate and disease pathogenesis. Even if antioxidant supplementation is receiving growing attention and is increasingly adopted in Western countries, supporting evidence is still scarce and equivocal. Major limitations in literature are still needed to be addressed to better evaluate the potential benefits from antioxidant supplementation: 1 an improved understanding of oxidation mechanisms possibly at the basis of the aging process, 2 the determination of reliable markers of oxidative damage and antioxidant status, 3 the identification of a therapeutic window in which an eventual antioxidant supplementation may be beneficial, 4 a deeper knowledge of the antioxidant molecules which in several conditions act as pro-oxidants. In the present paper, after a preliminary introduction to the free radical theory of aging and the rationale of antioxidant supplementation as an anti-aging intervention, we will present an overview of evidence relating antioxidant supplementations with

Visual processing speed in old age

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Habekost, Thomas; vogel, asmus; Rostrup, Egill

2013-01-01

of the speed of a particular psychological process that are not confounded by the speed of other processes. We used Bundesen's (1990) Theory of Visual Attention (TVA) to obtain specific estimates of processing speed in the visual system controlled for the influence of response latency and individual variations...... dramatic aging effects were found for the perception threshold and the visual apprehension span. In the visual domain, cognitive aging seems to be most clearly related to reductions in processing speed....

Understanding the biological underpinnings of ecohydrological processes

Science.gov (United States)

Huxman, T. E.; Scott, R. L.; Barron-Gafford, G. A.; Hamerlynck, E. P.; Jenerette, D.; Tissue, D. T.; Breshears, D. D.; Saleska, S. R.

2012-12-01

Climate change presents a challenge for predicting ecosystem response, as multiple factors drive both the physical and life processes happening on the land surface and their interactions result in a complex, evolving coupled system. For example, changes in surface temperature and precipitation influence near-surface hydrology through impacts on system energy balance, affecting a range of physical processes. These changes in the salient features of the environment affect biological processes and elicit responses along the hierarchy of life (biochemistry to community composition). Many of these structural or process changes can alter patterns of soil water-use and influence land surface characteristics that affect local climate. Of the many features that affect our ability to predict the future dynamics of ecosystems, it is this hierarchical response of life that creates substantial complexity. Advances in the ability to predict or understand aspects of demography help describe thresholds in coupled ecohydrological system. Disentangling the physical and biological features that underlie land surface dynamics following disturbance are allowing a better understanding of the partitioning of water in the time-course of recovery. Better predicting the timing of phenology and key seasonal events allow for a more accurate description of the full functional response of the land surface to climate. In addition, explicitly considering the hierarchical structural features of life are helping to describe complex time-dependent behavior in ecosystems. However, despite this progress, we have yet to build an ability to fully account for the generalization of the main features of living systems into models that can describe ecohydrological processes, especially acclimation, assembly and adaptation. This is unfortunate, given that many key ecosystem services are functions of these coupled co-evolutionary processes. To date, both the lack of controlled measurements and experimentation

Effect of Linked Rules on Business Process Model Understanding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Wei; Indulska, Marta; Sadiq, Shazia

2017-01-01

Business process models are widely used in organizations by information systems analysts to represent complex business requirements and by business users to understand business operations and constraints. This understanding is extracted from graphical process models as well as business rules. Prior...

Understanding Quality in Process Modelling: Towards a Holistic Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Recker

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Quality is one of the main topics in current conceptual modelling research, as is the field of business process modelling. Yet, widely acknowledged academic contributions towards an understanding or measurement of business process model quality are limited at best. In this paper I argue that the development of methodical theories concerning the measurement or establishment of process model quality must be preceded by methodological elaborations on business process modelling. I further argue that existing epistemological foundations of process modelling are insufficient for describing all extrinsic and intrinsic traits of model quality. This in turn has led to a lack of holistic understanding of process modelling. Taking into account the inherent social and purpose-oriented character of process modelling in contemporary organizations I present a socio-pragmatic constructionist methodology of business process modelling and sketch out implications of this perspective towards an understanding of process model quality. I anticipate that, based on this research, theories can be developed that facilitate the evaluation of the ’goodness’ of a business process model.

Emotional Understanding and Color-Emotion Associations in Children Aged 7-8 Years

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Debbie J. Pope

2012-01-01

Full Text Available An understanding of the development of emotional knowledge can help us determine how children perceive and interpret their surroundings and color-emotion associations are one measure of the expression of a child’s emotional interpretations. Emotional understanding and color-emotion associations were examined in a sample of UK school children, aged 7-8 years. Forty primary school children (mean age = 7.38; SD = 0.49 were administered color assessment and emotional understanding tasks, and an expressive vocabulary test. Results identified significant gender differences with girls providing more appropriate and higher quality expressions of emotional understanding than boys. Children were more able to link color to positive rather than negative emotions and significant gender differences in specific color preferences were observed. The implications of adult misinterpretations of color-emotion associations in young children are discussed.

False Belief Understanding: Children Catch It from Classmates of Different Ages

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yifang; Su, Yanjie

2009-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to compare the false belief understanding of children who have no siblings, but have classmates of different ages in kindergarten. In Experiment 1, 4- and 5-year-olds completed two unexpected location tasks. We found that 4-year-olds with classmates of different ages performed significantly better than those with…

Understanding Patients’ Process to Use Medical Marijuana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tara L Crowell

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Given the necessity to better understand the process patients need to go through in order to seek treatment via medical marijuana, this study investigates this process to better understand this phenomenon. Specifically, Compassion Care Foundation (CCF and Stockton University worked together to identify a solution to this problem. Specifically, 240 new patients at CCF were asked to complete a 1-page survey regarding various aspects associated with their experience prior to their use of medicinal marijuana—diagnosis, what prompted them to seek treatment, level of satisfaction with specific stages in the process, total length of time the process took, and patient’s level of pain. Results reveal numerous patient diagnoses for which medical marijuana is being prescribed; the top 4 most common are intractable skeletal spasticity, chronic and severe pain, multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease. Next, results indicate a little over half of the patients were first prompted to seek alternative treatment from their physicians, while the remaining patients indicated that other sources such as written information along with friends, relatives, media, and the Internet persuaded them to seek treatment. These data indicate that a variety of sources play a role in prompting patients to seek alternative treatment and is a critical first step in this process. Additional results posit that once patients began the process of qualifying to receive medical marijuana as treatment, the process seemed more positive even though it takes patients on average almost 6 months to obtain their first treatment after they started the process. Finally, results indicate that patients are reporting a moderately high level of pain prior to treatment. Implication of these results highlights several important elements in the patients’ initial steps toward seeking medical marijuana, along with the quality and quantity of the process patients must engage in prior to

Love stories: understanding the caring journeys of aged Greek-Australian carers.

Science.gov (United States)

Horsfall, Debbie; Blignault, Ilse; Perry, Astrid; Antonopoulos, Penny

2016-03-01

This article documents the findings of a short-term longitudinal study that explored the caring journeys of aged Greek carers providing in-home care for their spouse. Through a deeper understanding of carers' decisions and decision-making and insights from service providers and community leaders, we aimed to inform policy makers, service managers and providers about how to develop and promote culturally appropriate support services, and negotiate them with carers and care recipients in a timely way. Initially, we conducted three focus groups and one follow-up forum with service providers and Greek community leaders. Then, over a 6-month period, we conducted two in-home interviews and two telephone interviews with 12 older Greek carers. We sought to understand factors influencing carers' decision-making regarding service uptake, and we provided information about services as required. Through our thematic analysis, we found that most carers wanted to remain as independent as possible and to avoid forced separation from the one they loved, through institutionalisation. They placed great value on their caring role which, while a struggle at times, gave them a sense of meaning, purpose and belonging. We also found that carers had great resourcefulness, strength and competence. They were all in long-term relationships, had negotiated coming to a foreign country and establishing themselves and were now in the process of negotiating old age and increasing frailty while at the same time providing care and support to family and friends. Our findings suggest that services need to be communicated in ways which support what carers value, not on outdated assumptions about cultural groups, otherwise providers will perpetuate exclusion. We propose an outreach in-home service model with an emphasis on ageing well and staying at home. This model of service provision is a model of care which emphasises relationships and community, and seeks to build social and cultural capital. �

The potential of artificial aging for modelling of natural aging processes of ballpoint ink.

Science.gov (United States)

Weyermann, Céline; Spengler, Bernhard

2008-08-25

Artificial aging has been used to reproduce natural aging processes in an accelerated pace. Questioned documents were exposed to light or high temperature in a well-defined manner in order to simulate an increased age. This may be used to study the aging processes or to date documents by reproducing their aging curve. Ink was studied especially because it is deposited on the paper when a document, such as a contract, is produced. Once on the paper, aging processes start through degradation of dyes, solvents drying and resins polymerisation. Modelling of dye's and solvent's aging was attempted. These processes, however, follow complex pathways, influenced by many factors which can be classified as three major groups: ink composition, paper type and storage conditions. The influence of these factors is such that different aging states can be obtained for an identical point in time. Storage conditions in particular are difficult to simulate, as they are dependent on environmental conditions (e.g. intensity and dose of light, temperature, air flow, humidity) and cannot be controlled in the natural aging of questioned documents. The problem therefore lies more in the variety of different conditions a questioned document might be exposed to during its natural aging, rather than in the simulation of such conditions in the laboratory. Nevertheless, a precise modelling of natural aging curves based on artificial aging curves is obtained when performed on the same paper and ink. A standard model for aging processes of ink on paper is therefore presented that is based on a fit of aging curves to a power law of solvent concentrations as a function of time. A mathematical transformation of artificial aging curves into modelled natural aging curves results in excellent overlap with data from real natural aging processes.

How Do People with Learning Disabilities Experience and Make Sense of the Ageing Process?

Science.gov (United States)

Newberry, Gayle; Martin, Carol; Robbins, Lorna

2015-01-01

Background: Not enough is currently known about how people with learning disabilities experience and understand the ageing process. This is particularly important as the population of older people with learning disabilities is growing due to increased life expectancy. This article draws on the first author's doctoral research study, which aimed to…

Aging memory for pictures: using high-density event-related potentials to understand the effect of aging on the picture superiority effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Ally, Brandon A; Waring, Jill D; Beth, Ellen H; McKeever, Joshua D; Milberg, William P; Budson, Andrew E

2008-01-31

High-density event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to understand the effect of aging on the neural correlates of the picture superiority effect. Pictures and words were systematically varied at study and test while ERPs were recorded at retrieval. Here, the results of the word-word and picture-picture study-test conditions are presented. Behavioral results showed that older adults demonstrated the picture superiority effect to a greater extent than younger adults. The ERP data helped to explain these findings. The early frontal effect, parietal effect, and late frontal effect were all indistinguishable between older and younger adults for pictures. In contrast, for words, the early frontal and parietal effects were significantly diminished for the older adults compared to the younger adults. These two old/new effects have been linked to familiarity and recollection, respectively, and the authors speculate that these processes are impaired for word-based memory in the course of healthy aging. The findings of this study suggest that pictures allow older adults to compensate for their impaired memorial processes, and may allow these memorial components to function more effectively in older adults.

Study of the aging processes in polyurethane adhesives using thermal treatment and differential calorimetric, dielectric, and mechanical techniques ; 1, identifying the aging processes ; 2, quantifying the aging effect

CERN Document Server

Althouse, L P

1979-01-01

Study of the aging processes in polyurethane adhesives using thermal treatment and differential calorimetric, dielectric, and mechanical techniques ; 1, identifying the aging processes ; 2, quantifying the aging effect

Age factors in biometric processing

CERN Document Server

Fairhurst, Michael

2013-01-01

As biometrics-based identification and identity authentication become increasingly widespread in their deployment, it becomes correspondingly important to consider more carefully issues relating to reliability, usability and inclusion. One factor which is particularly important in this context is that of the relationship between the nature of the measurements extracted from a particular biometric modality and the age of the sample donor, and the effect which age has on physiological and behavioural characteristics invoked in a biometric transaction. In Age Factors in Biometric Processing an in

The Role of Adolescents' Morality and Identity in Volunteering. Age and Gender Differences in a Process Model

Science.gov (United States)

van Goethem, Anne A. J.; van Hoof, Anne; van Aken, Marcel A. G.; Raaijmakers, Quinten A. W.; Boom, Jan; de Castro, Bram Orobio

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to explain adolescents' volunteering in terms of their morality and identity and to examine the moderation effect of gender and age in this process. Data were collected among 698 Dutch adolescents aged 12 to 20 (M = 15.19; SD = 1.43). Adolescents' moral reasoning was positively associated with understanding moral issues…

A Dual Process Approach to Understand Tourists’ Destination Choice Processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kock, Florian; Josiassen, Alexander; Assaf, Albert

2017-01-01

Most studies that investigate tourists' choices of destinations apply the concept of mental destination representations, also referred to as destination image. The present study investigates tourists’ destination choice processes by conceptualizing how different components of destination image...... are mentally processed in tourists' minds. Specifically, the seminal dual processing approach is applied to the destination image literature. By doing this, we argue that some components of mental destination representations are processed systematically while others serve as inputs for heuristics...... that individuals apply to inform their decision making. Understanding how individuals make use of their mental destination representations and how they color their decision-making is essential in order to better explain tourist behavior....

Critical Age-Dependent Branching Markov Processes and their ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

This paper studies: (i) the long-time behaviour of the empirical distribution of age and normalized position of an age-dependent critical branching Markov process conditioned on non-extinction; and (ii) the super-process limit of a sequence of age-dependent critical branching Brownian motions.

Metabonomics of ageing - Towards understanding metabolism of a long and healthy life.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Francois-Pierre J; Montoliu, Ivan; Kussmann, Martin

2017-07-01

Systems biology approaches have been increasingly employed in clinical studies to enhance our understanding of the role of genetics, environmental factors and their interactions on nutritional, health and disease status. Amongst the new omics technologies, metabonomics has emerged as a robust platform to capture metabolic and nutritional requirements by enabling, in a minimally invasive fashion, the monitoring of a wide range of biochemical compounds. Their variations reflect comprehensively the various molecular regulatory processes, which are tightly controlled and under the influence of genetics, diet, gut microbiota and other environmental factors. They are providing key insights into complex metabolic phenomena as well as into differences and specificities at individual and population level. The aim of this review is to evaluate promising metabolic insights towards understanding metabolism of a long and healthy life from pre-clinical and clinical metabonomics studies. We will also discuss analytical approaches to enable data integration, with an emphasis on the longitudinal component. Herein, we will illustrate current examples, challenges and perspectives in the applications of metabonomics monitoring and modelling approaches in the context of healthy ageing research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding and Managing Process Interaction in IS Development Projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bygstad, Bendik; Nielsen, Peter Axel

2005-01-01

Increasingly, information systems must be developed and implemented as a part of business change. This is a challenge for the IS project manager, since business change and information systems development usually are performed as separate processes. Thus, there is a need to understand and manage......-technical innovation in a situation where the organisational change process and the IS development process are parallel but incongruent. We also argue that iterative software engineering frameworks are well structured to support process interaction. Finally, we advocate that the IS project manager needs to manage...... the relationship between these two kinds of processes. To understand the interaction between information systems development and planned organisational change we introduce the concept of process interaction. We draw on a longitudinal case study of an IS development project that used an iterative and incremental...

Increasing process understanding by analyzing complex interactions in experimental data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Naelapaa, Kaisa; Allesø, Morten; Kristensen, Henning Gjelstrup

2009-01-01

understanding of a coating process. It was possible to model the response, that is, the amount of drug released, using both mentioned techniques. However, the ANOVAmodel was difficult to interpret as several interactions between process parameters existed. In contrast to ANOVA, GEMANOVA is especially suited...... for modeling complex interactions and making easily understandable models of these. GEMANOVA modeling allowed a simple visualization of the entire experimental space. Furthermore, information was obtained on how relative changes in the settings of process parameters influence the film quality and thereby drug......There is a recognized need for new approaches to understand unit operations with pharmaceutical relevance. A method for analyzing complex interactions in experimental data is introduced. Higher-order interactions do exist between process parameters, which complicate the interpretation...

The technical processes of quarrying in the Late Iron Age of Western Iberia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesús RODRÍGUEZ HERNÁNDEZ

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reconstructs the technical processes involved in producing the stone works made by the communities of Western Iberia during the Late Iron Age. For this study, we use both archaeological and ethnographic data. We analyze the characteristics of granite, the extraction process in the quarry, the available means of transport, the tools used and the carving process, focusing analysis on the zoomorphic sculptures known as “verracos”. Assessment of these technical aspects is essential for the analysis of the finished products and constitutes a first step in better understanding the status of stonemasons within the protohistoric societies of the Western Iberian Peninsula.

Stem Cell Models: A Guide to Understand and Mitigate Aging?

Science.gov (United States)

Brunauer, Regina; Alavez, Silvestre; Kennedy, Brian K

2017-01-01

Aging is studied either on a systemic level using life span and health span of animal models, or on the cellular level using replicative life span of yeast or mammalian cells. While useful in identifying general and conserved pathways of aging, both approaches provide only limited information about cell-type specific causes and mechanisms of aging. Stem cells are the regenerative units of multicellular life, and stem cell aging might be a major cause for organismal aging. Using the examples of hematopoietic stem cell aging and human pluripotent stem cell models, we propose that stem cell models of aging are valuable for studying tissue-specific causes and mechanisms of aging and can provide unique insights into the mammalian aging process that may be inaccessible in simple model organisms. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The importance of understanding during the teaching process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dubljanin Saša

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Learning in the teaching process often goes on without proper understanding which is one of important problems that modern didactics tries to solve. In order to direct the totality of teaching towards understanding it is necessary to answer the question what understanding is, which is why we analysed different philosophical views on the concept of understanding and stressed their semblance to pedagogic explanations. Different kinds of understanding were analyzed as well as their role and contribution in different teaching situations, especially in the context of problem solving. As an alternative to the teaching based on accumulation of knowledge the characteristics and some principles of teaching focused on understanding are described, and the need for stimulating and developing understanding as an important goal of education. The results of our research unequivocally show that learning with understanding enables students to memorize the teaching material better, as well as to understand the whole teaching subject and efficiently apply the acquired knowledge out of school, and leads to more flexible behaviour and better coping in everyday life.

NPAR [Nuclear Plant Aging Research] approach to managing aging in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christensen, J.A.

1989-01-01

Over the past 5 years, the Nuclear Plant Aging Research program (NPAR) has been devoted to developing technical understanding of the time dependent processes that, through deterioration of components, systems, or structures (C/S/S), can reduce safety margins in nuclear power plants. A major and necessary element of the program involves the application of this basic knowledge in defining functional approaches to managing aging by anticipating and mitigating important deterioration processes. Fundamental understanding and characterization of aging processes are being accomplished through NPAR-sponsored research projects, review and analysis of aging related information, integration of NPAR results with those from industry and other aging studies, and interfacing of all of these with the existing body of codes, standards and regulatory instruments that convey aging-related guidance to NPP licensees. Products of these efforts are applied to structuring and providing aging-related technical recommendations in forms that are useful in: (1) developing and implementing good aging management practices, (2) developing regulatory guidance and requirements for understanding and managing aging during normal plant operations and in support of license renewal, and (3) planning and implementing other regulatory actions and initiatives in which aging-related concerns have a bearing on scope or priority

Task-specific visual cues for improving process model understanding

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Petrusel, Razvan; Mendling, Jan; Reijers, Hajo A.

2016-01-01

Context Business process models support various stakeholders in managing business processes and designing process-aware information systems. In order to make effective use of these models, they have to be readily understandable. Objective Prior research has emphasized the potential of visual cues to

Cognitive aging on latent constructs for visual processing capacity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Simon; Wilms, Inge Linda

2015-01-01

processing speed compared to visual short-term memory (VSTM) capacity (Model 2). These results are consistent with some studies reporting selective ageing effects on processing speed, and inconsistent with other studies reporting ageing effects on both processing speed and VSTM capacity. In the discussion we......We examined the effects of normal ageing on visual cognition in a sample of 112 healthy adults aged 60-75. A testbattery was designed to capture high-level measures of visual working memory and low-level measures of visuospatial attention and memory. To answer questions of how cognitive ageing...

SOFC: Processes and characteristics of ageing behaviour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerganov, T.; Grigorov, S.; Kozhukharov, S.

2005-01-01

The high-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is convenient for the environmental friendly and efficient conversion of chemical into electric energy. During the last decade the development of planar SOFC stacks with metallic interconnects has made considerable progress in both size and power density. The improvement of durability in long-term operation of planar SOFC components is one of the main fields for stationary applications. Ageing of stacks can be caused by various processes, e.g. corrosion of metallic plates, degradation of ceramic parts and chemical interactions on electrodes/electrolyte or interconnect/electrode interface. Namely, these processes are object of the overview in the present work. The most important characteristics of ageing behavior are subjected to analysis and discussion, as well. Moreover a correlation between ageing process and single cell performance will be given

Age differences in the understanding of wealth and power: the mediating role of future time perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tianyuan; Tsang, Vivian Hiu-Ling

2016-12-01

Individuals' understanding of wealth and power largely determines their use of resources. Moreover, the age range of wealth and power holders is increasing in modern societies. Thus, the current study examines how people of different ages understand wealth and power. As varying future time perspective is related to changes in prioritised life goals, it was tested as a potential mediator of the age differences. A total of 133 participants aged 18-78 years were asked 8 open-ended questions regarding their understanding of the possible use and desired use of wealth and power, after which they reported their future time perspective. Compared with possible use, the participants mentioned relatively more prosocial elements when they talked about their desired use of the resources, especially power. The older adults expressed more prosocial understanding in regard to the desired use of wealth and the possible use of power compared to their younger counterparts. The age differences were fully mediated by future time perspective. The results suggest that age is a critical factor that influences individuals' conceptualisation of wealth and power. Life-span developmental stage and future time perspective are important factors to consider for explaining individual differences in the exercise of wealth and power and for promoting their prosocial usage.

Age Differences in Face Processing: The Role of Perceptual Degradation and Holistic Processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Boutet, Isabelle; Meinhardt-Injac, Bozana

2018-01-24

We simultaneously investigated the role of three hypotheses regarding age-related differences in face processing: perceptual degradation, impaired holistic processing, and an interaction between the two. Young adults (YA) aged 20-33-year olds, middle-age adults (MA) aged 50-64-year olds, and older adults (OA) aged 65-82-year olds were tested on the context congruency paradigm, which allows measurement of face-specific holistic processing across the life span (Meinhardt-Injac, Persike & Meinhardt, 2014. Acta Psychologica, 151, 155-163). Perceptual degradation was examined by measuring performance with faces that were not filtered (FSF), with faces filtered to preserve low spatial frequencies (LSF), and with faces filtered to preserve high spatial frequencies (HSF). We found that reducing perceptual signal strength had a greater impact on MA and OA for HSF faces, but not LSF faces. Context congruency effects were significant and of comparable magnitude across ages for FSF, LSF, and HSF faces. By using watches as control objects, we show that these holistic effects reflect face-specific mechanisms in all age groups. Our results support the perceptual degradation hypothesis for faces containing only HSF and suggest that holistic processing is preserved in aging even under conditions of reduced signal strength. © The Author(s) 2018. 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.

Age Moderates the Relationship Between Generativity Concern and Understanding of Wealth.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tianyuan; Tsang, Vivian Hiu-Ling

2016-01-01

Wealth can be considered as resource to promote either public welfare (i.e. through altruistic understanding) or personal well-being (i.e. through egoistic understanding). How people understand wealth can influence the distribution of valuable materialistic resources within a society. The current study examined how generativity concern, the concern for next generation and social welfare in the future, influenced people's understanding of wealth and whether age moderated the relationship. A total of 133 participants ranging from 18 to 78 years old were interviewed with four open-ended questions regarding their understanding of wealth. Their generativity concern and demographical information were also recorded. Findings showed that generativity concern was related to a less egoistic and more altruistic understanding of wealth. Moreover, the effect of generativity concern was especially salient for younger adults, but not significant for older adults. The results suggest that generativity concern is a construct that applies to both young and older adults. It can even be more influential to young adults' cognitive conceptualization in certain aspects (e.g., understanding of wealth) than that of older adults. Future studies can further investigate the general impact of generativity concern as well as the behavioral consequences of people's understanding of wealth. The results were also discussed in the context of lifelong learning.

Understanding the experience of adult daughters caring for an ageing parent, a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez Hartmann, Maja; Anthierens, Sibyl; Van Assche, Elisa; Welvaert, Joanna; Verhoeven, Véronique; Wens, Johan; Remmen, Roy

2016-06-01

The objective of this study is to describe how adult daughters experience caring for a frail older parent at home. In the near future the ageing of the population will have a major impact on the demand for formal and informal long-term care. Relatives, especially spouses and adult children are the main providers of informal care. Qualitative research methodology was used to study the experience of adult daughters caring for their frail older parents. A phenomenological research perspective was used to better understand the daily experiences of caring for an ageing parent. Data were collected using open-ended interviews. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were subject to thematic analysis. Eleven women between 40-70 years of age participated in this study. Inductive coding of the interview data led to four main themes: being a caregiver as a natural process in life, the perception and consequences of caregiving activities, sharing care and finding a good balance between caring for an ageing parent and other responsibilities. Caregiving activities could be divided into visible and invisible activities and generated different feelings. The visible activities were more easily shared with other family members and professionals than the invisible ones. The women who struggled the most and tended to have a higher level of burden were those who experienced less support from their family. This study provided more insight into the experiences women have when caring for a parent. Supporting family networks that help in both visible and invisible activities may prevent overburden. Consumer-led care and the active participation of the informal caregiver in the decision-making process for building the care plan need to become more prominent. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An Exploration of High School (12 17 Year Old) Students' Understandings of, and Attitudes Towards Biotechnology Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Vaille

2007-03-01

The products of modern biotechnology processes such as genetic engineering, DNA testing and cloning will increasingly impact on society. It is essential that young people have a well-developed scientific understanding of biotechnology and associated processes so that they are able to contribute to public debate and make informed personal decisions. The aim of this study was to examine the development of understandings and attitudes about biotechnology processes as students progress through high school. In a cross-sectional case study, data was obtained from student interviews and written surveys of students aged 12 to 17 years. The results indicate that students' ability to provide a generally accepted definition and examples of biotechnology, cloning and genetically modified foods was relatively poor amongst 12 13 year old students but improved in older students. Most students approved of the use of biotechnology processes involving micro-organisms, plants and humans and disapproved of the use of animals. Overall, 12 13 year old students' attitudes were less favourable than older students regardless of the context. An awareness of the development and range of students' understandings and attitudes may lead to a more appropriate use of biotechnology curriculum materials and thus improved biotechnology education in schools.

Understanding Combustion Processes Through Microgravity Research

Science.gov (United States)

Ronney, Paul D.

1998-01-01

A review of research on the effects of gravity on combustion processes is presented, with an emphasis on a discussion of the ways in which reduced-gravity experiments and modeling has led to new understanding. Comparison of time scales shows that the removal of buoyancy-induced convection leads to manifestations of other transport mechanisms, notably radiative heat transfer and diffusional processes such as Lewis number effects. Examples from premixed-gas combustion, non-premixed gas-jet flames, droplet combustion, flame spread over solid and liquid fuels, and other fields are presented. Promising directions for new research are outlined, the most important of which is suggested to be radiative reabsorption effects in weakly burning flames.

Understanding less than nothing: Children’s neural response to negative numbers shifts across age and accuracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margaret M Gullick

2013-09-01

Full Text Available We examined the brain activity underlying the development of our understanding of negative numbers, which are amounts lacking direct physical counterparts. Children performed a paired comparison task with positive and negative numbers during an fMRI session. As previously shown in adults, both pre-instruction fifth graders and post-instruction seventh graders demonstrated typical behavioral and neural distance effects to negative numbers, where response times and parietal and frontal activity increased as comparison distance decreased. We then determined the factors impacting the distance effect in each age group. Behaviorally, the fifth grader distance effect for negatives was significantly predicted only by positive comparison accuracy, indicating that children who were generally better at working with numbers were better at comparing negatives. In seventh graders, negative comparison accuracy significantly predicted their distance effect, indicating that children who were better at working with negative numbers demonstrated a more typical distance effect. Across children, as age increased, the negative number distance effect increased in the bilateral IPS and decreased frontally, indicating a frontoparietal shift consistent with previous numerical development literature. In contrast, as task accuracy increased, the parietal distance effect increased in the left IPS and decreased in the right, possibly indicating a change from an approximate understanding of negatives’ values to a more exact, precise representation (particularly supported by the left IPS with increasing expertise. These shifts separately indicate the effects of increasing maturity generally in numeric processing and specifically in negative number understanding.

Developing improved MD codes for understanding processive cellulases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crowley, M F; Nimlos, M R; Himmel, M E; Uberbacher, E C; Iii, C L Brooks; Walker, R C

2008-01-01

The mechanism of action of cellulose-degrading enzymes is illuminated through a multidisciplinary collaboration that uses molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and expands the capabilities of MD codes to allow simulations of enzymes and substrates on petascale computational facilities. There is a class of glycoside hydrolase enzymes called cellulases that are thought to decrystallize and processively depolymerize cellulose using biochemical processes that are largely not understood. Understanding the mechanisms involved and improving the efficiency of this hydrolysis process through computational models and protein engineering presents a compelling grand challenge. A detailed understanding of cellulose structure, dynamics and enzyme function at the molecular level is required to direct protein engineers to the right modifications or to understand if natural thermodynamic or kinetic limits are in play. Much can be learned about processivity by conducting carefully designed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the binding and catalytic domains of cellulases with various substrate configurations, solvation models and thermodynamic protocols. Most of these numerical experiments, however, will require significant modification of existing code and algorithms in order to efficiently use current (terascale) and future (petascale) hardware to the degree of parallelism necessary to simulate a system of the size proposed here. This work will develop MD codes that can efficiently use terascale and petascale systems, not just for simple classical MD simulations, but also for more advanced methods, including umbrella sampling with complex restraints and reaction coordinates, transition path sampling, steered molecular dynamics, and quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical simulations of systems the size of cellulose degrading enzymes acting on cellulose

Influential Cognitive Processes on Framing Biases in Aging

OpenAIRE

Alison M. Perez; Jeffrey Scott Spence; L. D. Kiel; Erin E. Venza; Sandra B. Chapman

2018-01-01

Factors that contribute to overcoming decision-making biases in later life pose an important investigational question given the increasing older adult population. Limited empirical evidence exists and the literature remains equivocal of whether increasing age is associated with elevated susceptibility to decision-making biases such as framing effects. Research into the individual differences contributing to decision-making ability may offer better understanding of the influence of age in deci...

Beyond Diabetes: Does Obesity-Induced Oxidative Stress Drive the Aging Process?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam B. Salmon

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Despite numerous correlative data, a causative role for oxidative stress in mammalian longevity has remained elusive. However, there is strong evidence that increased oxidative stress is associated with exacerbation of many diseases and pathologies that are also strongly related to advanced age. Obesity, or increased fat accumulation, is one of the most common chronic conditions worldwide and is associated with not only metabolic dysfunction but also increased levels of oxidative stress in vivo. Moreover, obesity is also associated with significantly increased risks of cardiovascular disease, neurological decline and cancer among many other diseases as well as a significantly increased risk of mortality. In this review, we investigate the possible interpretation that the increased incidence of these diseases in obesity may be due to chronic oxidative stress mediating segmental acceleration of the aging process. Understanding how obesity can alter cellular physiology beyond that directly related to metabolic function could open new therapeutic areas of approach to extend the period of healthy aging among people of all body composition.

HUMAN GLOMERULAR VOLUME QUANTIFICATIONDURING THE AGING PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dejan Zdravković

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Kidney function is directly related to the changes of renal tissue, especially glomeruli, which is particularly distinct during the aging process. The impossibility of kidney function substitution points to the need for glomerular morphologic and functional characteristics estimation during the aging process.Human cadaveric kidney tissue samples were used as material during research. Age of cadavers ranged from 20 to 70 years and they were classified according to the scheme: I (20–29; II (30–39; III (40–49; IV (50–59; V (60–69 i VI (older than 70. After the routine histologic preparation of the renal tissue the slices were analized stereologicaly under the light microscope with projection screen (Reichert Visopan with 40 x lens magnification. M42 test system was used and 100, by unbased method selected glomeruli, were analyzed.Average glomerular capillary network volume shows significant increase (p< 0,001 as far as to the age of 50 years in regard to the age of 20 to 29 years. This parameter shows insignificant decrease after the age of 50 until the age of 70 years. This decrease was significant after the age of 70 years in regard to the period of the 20 to 29 (p< 0,05 and the period of 40 to 49 years (p<0,01.

Aging and individual differences in binding during sentence understanding: evidence from temporary and global syntactic attachment ambiguities.

Science.gov (United States)

Payne, Brennan R; Grison, Sarah; Gao, Xuefei; Christianson, Kiel; Morrow, Daniel G; Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A L

2014-02-01

We report an investigation of aging and individual differences in binding information during sentence understanding. An age-continuous sample of adults (N=91), ranging from 18 to 81 years of age, read sentences in which a relative clause could be attached high to a head noun NP1, attached low to its modifying prepositional phrase NP2 (e.g., The son of the princess who scratched himself/herself in public was humiliated), or in which the attachment site of the relative clause was ultimately indeterminate (e.g., The maid of the princess who scratched herself in public was humiliated). Word-by-word reading times and comprehension (e.g., who scratched?) were measured. A series of mixed-effects models were fit to the data, revealing: (1) that, on average, NP1-attached sentences were harder to process and comprehend than NP2-attached sentences; (2) that these average effects were independently moderated by verbal working memory capacity and reading experience, with effects that were most pronounced in the oldest participants and; (3) that readers on average did not allocate extra time to resolve global ambiguities, though older adults with higher working memory span did. Findings are discussed in relation to current models of lifespan cognitive development, working memory, language experience, and the role of prosodic segmentation strategies in reading. Collectively, these data suggest that aging brings differences in sentence understanding, and these differences may depend on independent influences of verbal working memory capacity and reading experience. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemistry teachers’ understanding of science process skills in relation of science process skills assessment in chemistry learning

Science.gov (United States)

Hikmah, N.; Yamtinah, S.; Ashadi; Indriyanti, N. Y.

2018-05-01

A Science process skill (SPS) is a fundamental scientific method to achieve good knowledge. SPS can be categorized into two levels: basic and integrated. Learning SPS helps children to grow as individuals who can access knowledge and know how to acquire it. The primary outcomes of the scientific process in learning are the application of scientific processes, scientific reasoning, accurate knowledge, problem-solving, and understanding of the relationship between science, technology, society, and everyday life’s events. Teachers’ understanding of SPS is central to the application of SPS in a learning process. Following this point, this study aims to investigate the high school chemistry teachers’ understanding of SPS pertains to their assessment of SPS in chemistry learning. The understanding of SPS is measured from the conceptual and operational aspects of SPS. This research uses qualitative analysis method, and the sample consists of eight chemistry teachers selected by random sampling. A semi-structured interview procedure is used to collect the data. The result of the analysis shows that teachers’ conceptual and operational understanding of SPS is weak. It affects the accuracy and appropriateness of the teacher’s selection of SPS assessment in chemistry learning.

UNDERSTANDING SEVERE WEATHER PROCESSES THROUGH SPATIOTEMPORAL RELATIONAL RANDOM FORESTS

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — UNDERSTANDING SEVERE WEATHER PROCESSES THROUGH SPATIOTEMPORAL RELATIONAL RANDOM FORESTS AMY MCGOVERN, TIMOTHY SUPINIE, DAVID JOHN GAGNE II, NATHANIEL TROUTMAN,...

Age-related functional changes in gustatory and reward processing regions: An fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, Aaron; Green, Erin; Murphy, Claire

2010-11-01

Changes in appetite in older adults may result in unhealthy weight change and negatively affect overall nutrition. Research examining gustatory processing in young adults has linked changes in patterns of the hemodynamic response of gustatory and motivation related brain regions to the physiological states of hunger and satiety. Whether the same brain regions are involved in taste processing in older adults is unknown. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine age-related changes in gustatory processing during hedonic assessment. Caffeine, citric acid, sucrose, and NaCl were administered orally during two event-related fMRI sessions, one during hunger and one after a pre-load. Participants assessed the pleasantness of the solutions in each session. Increased activity of the insula was seen in both age groups during hunger. Activity of secondary and higher order taste processing and reward regions such as the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, and caudate nucleus was also observed. Hunger and satiety differentially affected the hemodynamic response, resulting in positive global activation during hunger and negative during satiety in both age groups. While in a state of hunger, the frequency and consistency of positive activation in gustatory and reward processing regions was greater in older adults. Additional regions not commonly associated with taste processing were also activated in older adults. Investigating the neurological response of older adults to taste stimuli under conditions of hunger and satiety may aid in understanding appetite, health, and functional changes in this population. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Age Differences in Text Processing: The Role of Working Memory, Inhibition, and Processing Speed

OpenAIRE

BORELLA ERIKA; GHISLETTA PAOLO; DE RIBAUPIERRE ANIK

2011-01-01

Objectives. Age-related changes in the efficiency of various general cognitive mechanisms have been evoked to account for age-related differences between young and older adults in text comprehension performance. Using structural equation modeling, we investigate the relationship between age, working memory (WM), inhibition-related mechanisms, processing speed, and text comprehension, focusing on surface and text-based levels of processing. Methods. Eighty-nine younger (M = 23.11 years) and 10...

Comparative Approaches to Understanding the Relation Between Aging and Physical Function.

Science.gov (United States)

Justice, Jamie N; Cesari, Matteo; Seals, Douglas R; Shively, Carol A; Carter, Christy S

2016-10-01

Despite dedicated efforts to identify interventions to delay aging, most promising interventions yielding dramatic life-span extension in animal models of aging are often ineffective when translated to clinical trials. This may be due to differences in primary outcomes between species and difficulties in determining the optimal clinical trial paradigms for translation. Measures of physical function, including brief standardized testing batteries, are currently being proposed as biomarkers of aging in humans, are predictive of adverse health events, disability, and mortality, and are commonly used as functional outcomes for clinical trials. Motor outcomes are now being incorporated into preclinical testing, a positive step toward enhancing our ability to translate aging interventions to clinical trials. To further these efforts, we begin a discussion of physical function and disability assessment across species, with special emphasis on mice, rats, monkeys, and man. By understanding how physical function is assessed in humans, we can tailor measurements in animals to better model those outcomes to establish effective, standardized translational functional assessments with aging. © 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.

Toward understanding dynamic annealing processes in irradiated ceramics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Myers, Michael Thomas [Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

2013-05-01

High energy particle irradiation inevitably generates defects in solids. The ballistic formation and thermalization of the defect creation process occur rapidly, and are believed to be reasonably well understood. However, knowledge of the evolution of defects after damage cascade thermalization, referred to as dynamic annealing, is quite limited. Unraveling the mechanisms associated with dynamic annealing is crucial since such processes play an important role in the formation of stable postirradiation disorder in ion-beam-processing of semiconductors, and determines the “radiation tolerance” of many nuclear materials. The purpose of this dissertation is to further our understanding of the processes involved in dynamic annealing. In order to achieve this, two main tasks are undertaken.

A brain network processing the age of faces.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

György A Homola

Full Text Available Age is one of the most salient aspects in faces and of fundamental cognitive and social relevance. Although face processing has been studied extensively, brain regions responsive to age have yet to be localized. Using evocative face morphs and fMRI, we segregate two areas extending beyond the previously established face-sensitive core network, centered on the inferior temporal sulci and angular gyri bilaterally, both of which process changes of facial age. By means of probabilistic tractography, we compare their patterns of functional activation and structural connectivity. The ventral portion of Wernicke's understudied perpendicular association fasciculus is shown to interconnect the two areas, and activation within these clusters is related to the probability of fiber connectivity between them. In addition, post-hoc age-rating competence is found to be associated with high response magnitudes in the left angular gyrus. Our results provide the first evidence that facial age has a distinct representation pattern in the posterior human brain. We propose that particular face-sensitive nodes interact with additional object-unselective quantification modules to obtain individual estimates of facial age. This brain network processing the age of faces differs from the cortical areas that have previously been linked to less developmental but instantly changeable face aspects. Our probabilistic method of associating activations with connectivity patterns reveals an exemplary link that can be used to further study, assess and quantify structure-function relationships.

Age-related perspectives and emotion processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynchard, Nicholas A; Radvansky, Gabriel A

2012-12-01

Emotion is processed differently in younger and older adults. Older adults show a positivity effect, whereas younger adults show a negativity effect. Socioemotional selectivity theory suggests that these effects can be elicited in any age group when age-related perspectives are manipulated. To examine this, younger and older adults were oriented to actual and age-contrasting possible selves. Emotion activations were assessed using lexical decision. In line with socioemotional selectivity theory, shifts in emotion orientation varied according to perspective, with both younger and older adults showing a negativity effect when a younger adult perspective was taken and a positivity effect when an older adult perspective was taken. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Molecular-level insights into aging processes of skin elastin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mora Huertas, Angela C; Schmelzer, Christian E H; Hoehenwarter, Wolfgang

2016-01-01

Skin aging is characterized by different features including wrinkling, atrophy of the dermis and loss of elasticity associated with damage to the extracellular matrix protein elastin. The aim of this study was to investigate the aging process of skin elastin at the molecular level by evaluating...... the influence of intrinsic (chronological aging) and extrinsic factors (sun exposure) on the morphology and susceptibility of elastin towards enzymatic degradation. Elastin was isolated from biopsies derived from sun-protected or sun-exposed skin of differently aged individuals. The morphology of the elastin...... pronounced in sun-exposed tissue. Marker peptides were identified, which showed an age-related increase or decrease in their abundances and provide insights into the progression of the aging process of elastin fibers. Strong age-related cleavage occurs in hydrophobic tropoelastin domains 18, 20, 24 and 26...

Towards an Understanding of Enabling Process Knowing in Global Software Development: A Case Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zahedi, Mansooreh; Babar, Muhammad Ali

2014-01-01

Shared understanding of Software Engineering (SE) processes, that we call process knowing, is required for effective communication and coordination and communication within a team in order to improve team performance. SE Process knowledge can include roles, responsibilities and flow of informatio...... challenges of lack of process knowing and how an organization can enable process knowing for achieving the desired results that also help in increasing social interactions and positive behavioral changes......Shared understanding of Software Engineering (SE) processes, that we call process knowing, is required for effective communication and coordination and communication within a team in order to improve team performance. SE Process knowledge can include roles, responsibilities and flow of information...... over a project lifecycle. Developing and sustaining process knowledge can be more challenging in Global Software Development (GSD). GSD distances can limit the ability of a team to develop a common understanding of processes. Anecdotes of the problems caused by lack of common understanding of processes...

Age Stereotypes and Self-Views Revisited: Patterns of Internalization and Projection Processes Across the Life Span.

Science.gov (United States)

Kornadt, Anna E; Voss, Peggy; Rothermund, Klaus

2017-07-01

We investigated processes of age stereotype internalization into the self and projection of self-views onto age stereotypes from a life-span perspective, taking age-related differences in the relevance of life domains into account. Age stereotypes and self-views in eight life domains were assessed in a sample of N = 593 persons aged 30-80 years (T1) at two time points that were separated by a 4-year time interval. We estimated cross-lagged projection and internalization effects in multigroup structural equation models. Internalization and projection effects were contingent on age group and life domain: Internalization effects were strongest in the young and middle-aged groups and emerged in the domains family, personality, work, and leisure. Projection effects in different domains were most pronounced for older participants. Our findings suggest that the internalization of age stereotypes is triggered by domain-specific expectations of impending age-related changes and transitions during certain phases of the life span. Projection processes, however, seem to occur in response to changes that have already been experienced by the individual. Our study demonstrates the dynamic interrelation of age stereotypes and self-views across the life course and highlights the importance of a differentiated, life-span perspective for the understanding of these mechanisms. © 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.

Senescence in the aging process [version 1; referees: 3 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard GA Faragher

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The accumulation of ‘senescent’ cells has long been proposed to act as an ageing mechanism. These cells display a radically altered transcriptome and degenerative phenotype compared with their growing counterparts. Tremendous progress has been made in recent years both in understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling entry into the senescent state and in the direct demonstration that senescent cells act as causal agents of mammalian ageing. The challenges now are to gain a better understanding of how the senescent cell phenotype varies between different individuals and tissues, discover how senescence predisposes to organismal frailty, and develop mechanisms by which the deleterious effects of senescent cells can be ameliorated.

Falling into the Light-using music and poetry as complementary modes of understanding falls in old age

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Evron, Lotte; Clausen, Nina

that a broader understanding of falls in old age in the health care system might help health professionals to understand the complexity of falls and by this inspire older persons to prevent falls in different ways. Using poetry and music in our performance we seek to open up for a broader understanding of falls......: irresponsible behavior, disease, destiny, desire to remain independent in old age, appearing elegant/aesthetical and being physical active. One of the interviews was selected and transformed it into a poem (2-3). The poem was then translated into music by the second author. First we present the six...... understandings of falls in old age then we read the poem and finally a musical interpretation of the poem is performed by song and cello. The music is written for soprano and cello and created with direct inspiration from the poem. The fall is reproduced in a series of descending tones coming back as a "chorus...

Understanding the creative processes of phenomenological research: The life philosophy of Løgstrup

Science.gov (United States)

Dreyer, Pia; Haahr, Anita; Martinsen, Bente

2011-01-01

The creative processes of understanding patients’ experiences in phenomenological research are difficult to articulate. Drawing on life philosophy as represented by the Danish philosopher K.E. Løgstrup (1905–1981), this article aims to illustrate Løgstrup's thinking as a way to elaborate the creation of cognition and understanding of patients’ experiences. We suggest that Løgstrup's thoughts on sensation can add new dimensions to an increased understanding of the creative process of phenomenological research, and that his thinking can be seen as an epistemological ground for these processes. We argue with Løgstrup that sense-based impressions can facilitate an flash of insight, i.e., the spontaneous, intuitive flash of an idea. Løgstrup stresses that an “flash of insight” is an important source in the creation of cognition and understanding. Relating to three empirical phenomenological studies of patients’ experiences, we illustrate how the notions of impression and flash of insight can add new dimensions to increased understanding of the creative processes in phenomenological research that have previously not been discussed. We illustrate that sense-based impressions can facilitate creative flash of insights that open for understanding of patients’ experiences in the research process as well as in the communication of the findings. The nature of impression and flash of insight and their relevance in the creation of cognition and understanding contributes to the sparse descriptions in the methodological phenomenological research literature of the creative processes of this research. An elaboration of the creative processes in phenomenological research can help researchers to articulate these processes. Thus, Løgstrup's life philosophy has proven to be valuable in adding new dimensions to phenomenological empirical research as well as embracing lived experience. PMID:22076123

Understanding the creative processes of phenomenological research: The life philosophy of Løgstrup

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annelise Norlyk

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The creative processes of understanding patients’ experiences in phenomenological research are difficult to articulate. Drawing on life philosophy as represented by the Danish philosopher K.E. Løgstrup (1905–1981, this article aims to illustrate Løgstrup's thinking as a way to elaborate the creation of cognition and understanding of patients’ experiences. We suggest that Løgstrup's thoughts on sensation can add new dimensions to an increased understanding of the creative process of phenomenological research, and that his thinking can be seen as an epistemological ground for these processes. We argue with Løgstrup that sense-based impressions can facilitate an flash of insight, i.e., the spontaneous, intuitive flash of an idea. Løgstrup stresses that an “flash of insight” is an important source in the creation of cognition and understanding. Relating to three empirical phenomenological studies of patients’ experiences, we illustrate how the notions of impression and flash of insight can add new dimensions to increased understanding of the creative processes in phenomenological research that have previously not been discussed. We illustrate that sense-based impressions can facilitate creative flash of insights that open for understanding of patients’ experiences in the research process as well as in the communication of the findings. The nature of impression and flash of insight and their relevance in the creation of cognition and understanding contributes to the sparse descriptions in the methodological phenomenological research literature of the creative processes of this research. An elaboration of the creative processes in phenomenological research can help researchers to articulate these processes. Thus, Løgstrup's life philosophy has proven to be valuable in adding new dimensions to phenomenological empirical research as well as embracing lived experience.

Understanding the creative processes of phenomenological research: The life philosophy of Løgstrup.

Science.gov (United States)

Norlyk, Annelise; Dreyer, Pia; Haahr, Anita; Martinsen, Bente

2011-01-01

The creative processes of understanding patients' experiences in phenomenological research are difficult to articulate. Drawing on life philosophy as represented by the Danish philosopher K.E. Løgstrup (1905-1981), this article aims to illustrate Løgstrup's thinking as a way to elaborate the creation of cognition and understanding of patients' experiences. We suggest that Løgstrup's thoughts on sensation can add new dimensions to an increased understanding of the creative process of phenomenological research, and that his thinking can be seen as an epistemological ground for these processes. We argue with Løgstrup that sense-based impressions can facilitate an flash of insight, i.e., the spontaneous, intuitive flash of an idea. Løgstrup stresses that an "flash of insight" is an important source in the creation of cognition and understanding. Relating to three empirical phenomenological studies of patients' experiences, we illustrate how the notions of impression and flash of insight can add new dimensions to increased understanding of the creative processes in phenomenological research that have previously not been discussed. We illustrate that sense-based impressions can facilitate creative flash of insights that open for understanding of patients' experiences in the research process as well as in the communication of the findings. The nature of impression and flash of insight and their relevance in the creation of cognition and understanding contributes to the sparse descriptions in the methodological phenomenological research literature of the creative processes of this research. An elaboration of the creative processes in phenomenological research can help researchers to articulate these processes. Thus, Løgstrup's life philosophy has proven to be valuable in adding new dimensions to phenomenological empirical research as well as embracing lived experience.

Why and How We Age, and Is That Process Modifiable?

Science.gov (United States)

Arking, R.

Aging is an almost-universal biological process that is better understood in terms of an evolutionary explanation than in terms of a medical or adaptationist explanation. The major advances in human longevity which took place in developed countries during the past century arose from decreases in external (e.g., environmental) sources of mortality, and not from any effect on the aging process. Laboratory studies show that the aging process is under genetic control, can be manipulated, and can be expressed in three different phenotypes. The adult lifespan consists of the health span (ages 20-55 yrs) and the senescent span (ages 55+), with a relatively short but variable transition phase between the two. The most socially desirable phenotype would be that where the transition phase is delayed and the health span extended with little effect on the senescent span. The genetic, nutritional, cell-signaling and pharmecutical interventions inducing this phenotype are discussed. The genetic architecture of senescence is discussed and its stochastic nature made clear. The social and ethical consequences of pharmecutical intervention into the aging process are briefly discussed.

Understanding and Managing Process Interaction in IS Development Projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bygstad, Bendik; Nielsen, Peter Axel

2012-01-01

Software-based information systems must be developed and implemented as a part of business change. This is a major challenge, since business change and the development of software-based information systems usually are performed in separate processes. Thus, there is a need to understand and manage...... critical events in the case, what led to the events, and what the consequences are. We discuss the implications for information systems research and in particular we discuss the contribution to project management of iterative and incremental software development.......Software-based information systems must be developed and implemented as a part of business change. This is a major challenge, since business change and the development of software-based information systems usually are performed in separate processes. Thus, there is a need to understand and manage...

Ecological rationality: a framework for understanding and aiding the aging decision maker.

Science.gov (United States)

Mata, Rui; Pachur, Thorsten; von Helversen, Bettina; Hertwig, Ralph; Rieskamp, Jörg; Schooler, Lael

2012-01-01

The notion of ecological rationality sees human rationality as the result of the adaptive fit between the human mind and the environment. Ecological rationality focuses the study of decision making on two key questions: First, what are the environmental regularities to which people's decision strategies are matched, and how frequently do these regularities occur in natural environments? Second, how well can people adapt their use of specific strategies to particular environmental regularities? Research on aging suggests a number of changes in cognitive function, for instance, deficits in learning and memory that may impact decision-making skills. However, it has been shown that simple strategies can work well in many natural environments, which suggests that age-related deficits in strategy use may not necessarily translate into reduced decision quality. Consequently, we argue that predictions about the impact of aging on decision performance depend not only on how aging affects decision-relevant capacities but also on the decision environment in which decisions are made. In sum, we propose that the concept of the ecological rationality is crucial to understanding and aiding the aging decision maker.

Understanding the Advising Learning Process Using Learning Taxonomies

Science.gov (United States)

Muehleck, Jeanette K.; Smith, Cathleen L.; Allen, Janine M.

2014-01-01

To better understand the learning that transpires in advising, we used Anderson et al.'s (2001) revision of Bloom's (1956) taxonomy and Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia's (1964) affective taxonomy to analyze eight student-reported advising outcomes from Smith and Allen (2014). Using the cognitive processes and knowledge domains of Anderson et al.'s…

Heading for a better understanding of outreach in the digital age: a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Heading for a better understanding of outreach in the digital age: a look into the use of Web 2.0 as a communication tool by state museums and archives in ... The PDF file you selected should load here if your Web browser has a PDF reader plug-in installed (for example, a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Study and understanding of the ageing mechanisms in lead-calcium alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossi, F.

2006-12-01

The data available in the literature about ageing and over-ageing of lead-calcium alloys are often incomplete and inconsistent. It is undoubtedly due to the experimental difficulties encountered to observe the structure transformations which are numerous. As a result there is a certain confusion among the results of the different authors. Moreover, small variations in the process parameters and chemical composition may have some influence on the alloy behaviour. This work enabled us to obtain a set of TTT diagrams, more realistic and accurate than the ones available in the literature. Experimental techniques developed (particularly the preservation of the cold chain with is essential for the guaranty of the results repeatability), enabled particularly the study of the first transformations and better control the five stages of ageing and over-ageing. Our work have enabled to determine precisely the kinetics and the mechanisms of the transformations. This work constitutes a thorough analysis of the ageing and over-ageing of theses alloys. (author)

Once upon a time : Understanding team processes as relational event networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leenders, R.T.A.J.; Contractor, N.; DeChurch, L.

2016-01-01

For as long as groups and teams have been the subject of scientific inquiry, researchers have been interested in understanding the relationships that form within them, and the pace at which these relationships develop and change. Despite this interest in understanding the process underlying the

Role of Sirt1 during the ageing process: relevance to protection of synapses in the brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Godoy, Juan A; Zolezzi, Juan M; Braidy, Nady; Inestrosa, Nibaldo C

2014-12-01

Ageing is a stochastic process associated with a progressive decline in physiological functions which predispose to the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases. The intrinsic complexity of ageing remains a significant challenge to understand the cause of this natural phenomenon. At the molecular level, ageing is thought to be characterized by the accumulation of chronic oxidative damage to lipids, proteins and nucleic acids caused by free radicals. Increased oxidative stress and misfolded protein formations, combined with impaired compensatory mechanisms, may promote neurodegenerative disorders with age. Nutritional modulation through calorie restriction has been shown to be effective as an anti-ageing factor, promoting longevity and protecting against neurodegenerative pathology in yeast, nematodes and murine models. Calorie restriction increases the intracellular levels of the essential pyridine nucleotide, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)), a co-substrate for the sirtuin 1 (Sirt1, silent mating-type information regulator 2 homolog 1) activity and a cofactor for oxidative phosphorylation and ATP synthesis. Promotion of intracellular NAD(+) anabolism is speculated to induce neuroprotective effects against amyloid-β-peptide (Aβ) toxicity in some models for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The NAD(+)-dependent histone deacetylase, Sirt1, has been implicated in the ageing process. Sirt1 serves as a deacetylase for numerous proteins involved in several cellular pathways, including stress response and apoptosis, and plays a protective role in neurodegenerative disorders, such as AD.

Lyapunov exponent for aging process in induction motor

Science.gov (United States)

Bayram, Duygu; Ünnü, Sezen Yıdırım; Şeker, Serhat

2012-09-01

focused on the controlling the mechanical parameters of the electrical machines. Brushless DC motor (BLDCM) and the other general purpose permanent magnet (PM) motors are the most widely examined motors [1, 8, 9]. But the researches, about Lyapunov Exponent, subjected to the induction motors are mostly focused on the control theory of the motors. Flux estimation of rotor, external load disturbances and speed tracking and vector control position system are the main research areas for induction motors [10, 11, 12-14]. For all the data sets which can be collected from an induction motor, vibration data have the key role for understanding the mechanical behaviours like aging, bearing damage and stator insulation damage [15-18]. In this paper aging of an induction motor is investigated by using the vibration signals. The signals consist of new and aged motor data. These data are examined by their 2 dimensional phase portraits and the geometric interpretation is applied for detecting the Lyapunov Exponents. These values are compared in order to define the character and state estimation of the aging processes.

Emotion understanding, pictorial representations of friendship and reciprocity in school-aged children.

Science.gov (United States)

Laghi, Fiorenzo; Baiocco, Roberto; Di Norcia, Anna; Cannoni, Eleonora; Baumgartner, Emma; Bombi, Anna Silvia

2014-01-01

This study examined the relationship between emotional understanding, friendship representation and reciprocity in school-aged children. Two hundred and fifty-one Caucasian 6-year-old children (111 males and 140 females) took part in the study. The Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) and the Pictorial Assessment of Interpersonal Relationships (PAIR) were used. Children having a reciprocal friendship and children having a unilateral friendship with a child named as their "best friend" were compared on the emotional understanding task and on their pictorial representations of friendship. Multilevel analyses indicated that friendship status effects were not influenced by classroom-level differences. Results showed that children with reciprocal friendships drew themselves as more similar to and more cohesive with their best friends, and they showed better understanding of emotions, than children having a unilateral friendship. Finally, the implications of these findings for theoretical and empirical research development on friendship are discussed.

Aging in comparative perspective: processes and policies

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Cook, Ian G; Halsall, Jamie

2012-01-01

.... This timely volume analyzes the aging process in various countries, with special focus on the stresses placed on their economies as the numbers of elders increase with fewer young people available...

Ecological Rationality: A Framework for Understanding and Aiding the Aging Decision Maker

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui eMata

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Ecological rationality sees human rationality as the result of the adaptive fit between the human mind and the environment. The concept of ecological rationality focuses the study of cognition on two key questions: First, what are the environmental regularities to which people’s decision strategies are matched, and how frequently do these regularities occur in natural environments? Second, how well can people adapt their use of specific strategies to particular environments? Research on aging suggests a number of changes in cognitive function, for instance, deficits in learning and memory that may impact decision-making skills. However, it has been shown that simple strategies can work well in many natural environments, which suggests that age-related deficits in strategy use may not necessarily translate into diminished decision performance. Consequently, we argue that predictions about the impact of aging on decision performance depend not only on how aging affects decision-relevant capacities but also on the decision ecology in which decisions are made. In sum, we propose that the concept of the ecological rationality is crucial to understanding and aiding the aging decision maker.

Societal rationality; towards an understanding of decision making processes in society

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wahlstroem, Bjoern

2001-01-01

In a search for new ways to structure decision making on complex and controversial issues it is necessary to build an understanding of why traditional decision making processes break down. One reason is connected to the issues themselves. They represent steps into the unknown and decisions should therefore be made with prudence. A second reason is connected to a track record according to which new technologies are seen as generating more problems than solutions. A third and more fundamental reason is connected to the decision making processes themselves and a need to find better ways to approach difficult questions in the society. One way to approach societal decision making processes is to investigate their hidden rationality in an attempt to understand causes of observed difficulties. The paper is based mainly on observations from the nuclear industry, but it builds also on controversies experienced in attempts to agree on global efforts towards sustainable approaches to development. It builds on an earlier paper, which discussed the basis of rationality both on an individual and a societal level. Research in societal decision making has to rely on a true multi-disciplinary approach. It is nor enough to understand the technical and scientific models by which outcomes are predicted, but it is also necessary to understand how people make sense of their environment and how they co-operate. Rationality is in this connection one of the key concepts, with an understanding that people always are rational in their own frame of action. The challenge in this connection is to understand how this subjective rationality is formed. Societal rationality has to do with the allocation of resources. There are decisions in which several conflicting views have to be considered. Spending time and resources ex ante may support a consensus ex post, but unfortunately there is no panacea for approaching difficult decisions. Decisions with an uncertain future have to be more robust than

Societal rationality; towards an understanding of decision making processes in society

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wahlstroem, Bjoern [Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo (Finland)

2001-07-01

In a search for new ways to structure decision making on complex and controversial issues it is necessary to build an understanding of why traditional decision making processes break down. One reason is connected to the issues themselves. They represent steps into the unknown and decisions should therefore be made with prudence. A second reason is connected to a track record according to which new technologies are seen as generating more problems than solutions. A third and more fundamental reason is connected to the decision making processes themselves and a need to find better ways to approach difficult questions in the society. One way to approach societal decision making processes is to investigate their hidden rationality in an attempt to understand causes of observed difficulties. The paper is based mainly on observations from the nuclear industry, but it builds also on controversies experienced in attempts to agree on global efforts towards sustainable approaches to development. It builds on an earlier paper, which discussed the basis of rationality both on an individual and a societal level. Research in societal decision making has to rely on a true multi-disciplinary approach. It is nor enough to understand the technical and scientific models by which outcomes are predicted, but it is also necessary to understand how people make sense of their environment and how they co-operate. Rationality is in this connection one of the key concepts, with an understanding that people always are rational in their own frame of action. The challenge in this connection is to understand how this subjective rationality is formed. Societal rationality has to do with the allocation of resources. There are decisions in which several conflicting views have to be considered. Spending time and resources ex ante may support a consensus ex post, but unfortunately there is no panacea for approaching difficult decisions. Decisions with an uncertain future have to be more robust than

Using process monitor wafers to understand directed self-assembly defects

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Yi; Her, YoungJun; Delgadillo, Paulina R.; Vandenbroeck, Nadia; Gronheid, Roel; Chan, Boon Teik; Hashimoto, Yukio; Romo, Ainhoa; Somervell, Mark; Nafus, Kathleen; Nealey, Paul F.

2013-03-01

As directed self-assembly (DSA) has gained momentum over the past few years, questions about its application to high volume manufacturing have arisen. One of the major concerns is about the fundamental limits of defectivity that can be attained with the technology. If DSA applications demonstrate defectivity that rivals of traditional lithographic technologies, the pathway to the cost benefits of the technology creates a very compelling case for its large scale implementation. To address this critical question, our team at IMEC has established a process monitor flow to track the defectivity behaviors of an exemplary chemo-epitaxy application for printing line/space patterns. Through establishing this baseline, we have been able to understand both traditional lithographic defect sources in new materials as well as new classes of assembly defects associated with DSA technology. Moreover, we have explored new materials and processing to lower the level of the defectivity baseline. The robustness of the material sets and process is investigated as well. In this paper, we will report the understandings learned from the IMEC DSA process monitor flow.

Understanding aging in containment cooling systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lofaro, R.J.

1993-01-01

A study has been performed to assess the effects of aging in nuclear power plant containment cooling systems. Failure records from national databases, as well as plant specific data were reviewed and analyzed to identify aging characteristics for this system. The predominant aging mechanisms were determined, along with the most frequently failed components and their associated failure modes. This paper discusses the aging mechanisms present in the containment spray system and the containment fan cooler system, which are two systems used to provide the containment cooling function. The failure modes, along with the relative frequency of each is also discussed

Age effects on sensory-processing abilities and their impact on handwriting.

Science.gov (United States)

Engel-Yeger, Batya; Hus, Sari; Rosenblum, Sara

2012-12-01

Sensory-processing abilities are known to deteriorate in the elderly. As a result, daily activities such as handwriting may be impaired. Yet, knowledge about sensory-processing involvement in handwriting characteristics among older persons is limited. To examine how age influences sensory-processing abilities and the impact on handwriting as a daily performance. The study participants were 118 healthy, independently functioning adults divided into four age groups: 31-45, 46-60, 61-75 and 76+ years. All participants completed the Adolescent/ Adult Sensory Profile (AASP). Handwriting process was documented using the Computerized Handwriting Penmanship Evaluation Tool (ComPET). Age significantly affects sensory processing and handwriting pressure as well as temporal and spatial measures. Both handwriting time and spatial organization of the written product were predicted by sensory seeking. When examining age contribution to the prediction of handwriting by sensory processing, sensory seeking showed a tendency for predicting handwriting pressure (p = .06), while sensory sensitivity significantly predicted handwriting velocity. Age appears to influence sensory-processing abilities and affect daily performance tasks, such as handwriting, for which sensitivity and seeking for sensations are essential. Awareness of clinicians to sensory-processing deficits among older adults and examining their impact on broader daily activities are essential to improve daily performance and quality of life.

Understanding the creative processes of phenomenological research: The life philosophy of Løgstrup

OpenAIRE

Annelise Norlyk; Pia Dreyer; Anita Haahr; Bente Martinsen

2011-01-01

The creative processes of understanding patients’ experiences in phenomenological research are difficult to articulate. Drawing on life philosophy as represented by the Danish philosopher K.E. Løgstrup (1905-1981), this article aims to illustrate Løgstrup’s thinking as a way to elaborate the creation of cognition and understanding of patients’ experiences. We suggest that Løgstrup’s thoughts on sensation can add new dimensions to an increased understanding of the creative process of phenomeno...

Understanding the IT/business partnership - a business process perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siurdyban, Artur

2014-01-01

From a business process perspective, the business value of information technologies (IT) stems from how they improve or enable business processes. At the same time, in the field of strategic IT/business alignment, the locus of discussion has been how IT/business partnerships enhance the value of IT....... Despite this apparent relationship, the business process perspective has been absent from the IT/business alignment discussion. In this paper, we use the case of an industrial company to develop a model for understanding IT/business partnerships in business process terms. Based on our findings, we define...... these partnerships by allocating responsibilities between central IT and the local business during two stages of a process lifecycle: formation and standardization. The significance of the findings lies in how the model’s configuration leads to different types of IT units’ process centricity. This in turn affects...

A model for understanding and learning of the game process of computer games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Lasse Juel; Majgaard, Gunver

This abstract focuses on the computer game design process in the education of engineers at the university level. We present a model for understanding the different layers in the game design process, and an articulation of their intricate interconnectedness. Our motivation is propelled by our daily...... teaching practice of game design. We have observed a need for a design model that quickly can create an easily understandable overview over something as complex as the design processes of computer games. This posed a problem: how do we present a broad overview of the game design process and at the same...... time make sure that the students learn to act and reflect like game designers? We fell our game design model managed to just that end. Our model entails a guideline for the computer game design process in its entirety, and at same time distributes clear and easy understandable insight to a particular...

Understanding and Predicting the Process of Software Maintenance Releases

Science.gov (United States)

Basili, Victor; Briand, Lionel; Condon, Steven; Kim, Yong-Mi; Melo, Walcelio L.; Valett, Jon D.

1996-01-01

One of the major concerns of any maintenance organization is to understand and estimate the cost of maintenance releases of software systems. Planning the next release so as to maximize the increase in functionality and the improvement in quality are vital to successful maintenance management. The objective of this paper is to present the results of a case study in which an incremental approach was used to better understand the effort distribution of releases and build a predictive effort model for software maintenance releases. This study was conducted in the Flight Dynamics Division (FDD) of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center(GSFC). This paper presents three main results: 1) a predictive effort model developed for the FDD's software maintenance release process; 2) measurement-based lessons learned about the maintenance process in the FDD; and 3) a set of lessons learned about the establishment of a measurement-based software maintenance improvement program. In addition, this study provides insights and guidelines for obtaining similar results in other maintenance organizations.

Impact of nutrition on the ageing process.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathers, John C

2015-01-01

Human life expectancy has been increasing steadily for almost two centuries and is now approximately double what it was at the beginning of the Victorian era. This remarkable demographic change has been accompanied by a shift in disease prevalence so that age is now the major determinant of most common diseases. The challenge is to enhance healthy ageing and to reduce the financial and social burdens associated with chronic ill health in later life. Studies in model organisms have demonstrated that the ageing phenotype arises because of the accumulation of macromolecular damage within the cell and that the ageing process is plastic. Nutritional interventions that reduce such damage, or which enhance the organism's capacity to repair damage, lead to greater longevity and to reduced risk of age-related diseases. Dietary (energy) restriction increases lifespan in several model organisms, but it is uncertain whether it is effective in primates, including humans. However, excess energy storage leading to increased adiposity is a risk factor for premature mortality and for age-related diseases so that obesity prevention is likely to be a major public health route to healthy ageing. In addition, adherence to healthy eating patterns, such as the Mediterranean dietary pattern, is associated with longevity and reduced risk of age-related diseases.

The mouse as a model for understanding chronic diseases of aging: the histopathologic basis of aging in inbred mice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Harrison

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Inbred mice provide a unique tool to study aging populations because of the genetic homogeneity within an inbred strain, their short life span, and the tools for analysis which are available. A large-scale longitudinal and cross-sectional aging study was conducted on 30 inbred strains to determine, using histopathology, the type and diversity of diseases mice develop as they age. These data provide tools that when linked with modern in silico genetic mapping tools, can begin to unravel the complex genetics of many of the common chronic diseases associated with aging in humans and other mammals. In addition, novel disease models were discovered in some strains, such as rhabdomyosarcoma in old A/J mice, to diseases affecting many but not all strains including pseudoxanthoma elasticum, pulmonary adenoma, alopecia areata, and many others. This extensive data set is now available online and provides a useful tool to help better understand strain-specific background diseases that can complicate interpretation of genetically engineered mice and other manipulatable mouse studies that utilize these strains.

Analogical reasoning and aging: the processing speed and inhibition hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bugaiska, Aurélia; Thibaut, Jean-Pierre

2015-01-01

This study was designed to investigate the effect of aging on analogical reasoning by manipulating the strength of semantic association (LowAssoc or HighAssoc) and the number of distracters' semantic analogies of the A:B::C:D type and to determine which factors might be responsible for the age-related differences on analogical reasoning by testing two different theoretical frameworks: the inhibition hypothesis and the speed mediation hypothesis. We compared young adults and two groups of aging people (old and old-old) with word analogies of the A:B::C:D format. Results indicate an age-related effect on analogical reasoning, this effect being greatest with LowAssoc analogies. It was not associated with the presence of semantic distractors. Moreover, the results show that the variance part of the analogy task due to age was mainly explained by processing speed (rather than by inhibition) in the case of old participants and by both processing speed and inhibition in the old-old group. These results are discussed in relation to current models of aging and their interaction with the processes involved in analogical reasoning.

Detection of a novel, integrative aging process suggests complex physiological integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Alan A; Milot, Emmanuel; Li, Qing; Bergeron, Patrick; Poirier, Roxane; Dusseault-Bélanger, Francis; Fülöp, Tamàs; Leroux, Maxime; Legault, Véronique; Metter, E Jeffrey; Fried, Linda P; Ferrucci, Luigi

2015-01-01

Many studies of aging examine biomarkers one at a time, but complex systems theory and network theory suggest that interpretations of individual markers may be context-dependent. Here, we attempted to detect underlying processes governing the levels of many biomarkers simultaneously by applying principal components analysis to 43 common clinical biomarkers measured longitudinally in 3694 humans from three longitudinal cohort studies on two continents (Women's Health and Aging I & II, InCHIANTI, and the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging). The first axis was associated with anemia, inflammation, and low levels of calcium and albumin. The axis structure was precisely reproduced in all three populations and in all demographic sub-populations (by sex, race, etc.); we call the process represented by the axis "integrated albunemia." Integrated albunemia increases and accelerates with age in all populations, and predicts mortality and frailty--but not chronic disease--even after controlling for age. This suggests a role in the aging process, though causality is not yet clear. Integrated albunemia behaves more stably across populations than its component biomarkers, and thus appears to represent a higher-order physiological process emerging from the structure of underlying regulatory networks. If this is correct, detection of this process has substantial implications for physiological organization more generally.

Detection of a novel, integrative aging process suggests complex physiological integration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan A Cohen

Full Text Available Many studies of aging examine biomarkers one at a time, but complex systems theory and network theory suggest that interpretations of individual markers may be context-dependent. Here, we attempted to detect underlying processes governing the levels of many biomarkers simultaneously by applying principal components analysis to 43 common clinical biomarkers measured longitudinally in 3694 humans from three longitudinal cohort studies on two continents (Women's Health and Aging I & II, InCHIANTI, and the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging. The first axis was associated with anemia, inflammation, and low levels of calcium and albumin. The axis structure was precisely reproduced in all three populations and in all demographic sub-populations (by sex, race, etc.; we call the process represented by the axis "integrated albunemia." Integrated albunemia increases and accelerates with age in all populations, and predicts mortality and frailty--but not chronic disease--even after controlling for age. This suggests a role in the aging process, though causality is not yet clear. Integrated albunemia behaves more stably across populations than its component biomarkers, and thus appears to represent a higher-order physiological process emerging from the structure of underlying regulatory networks. If this is correct, detection of this process has substantial implications for physiological organization more generally.

Emotion processing in the aging brain is modulated by semantic elaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Ritchey, Maureen; Bessette-Symons, Brandy; Hayes, Scott M.; Cabeza, Roberto

2010-01-01

The neural correlates of emotion processing have been shown to vary with age: older adults (OAs) exhibit increased frontal activations and, under some circumstances, decreased amygdala activations relative to young adults (YAs) during emotion processing. Some of these differences are additionally modulated by valence, with age-related biases toward positive versus negative stimuli, and are thought to depend on OAs’ capacity for controlled elaboration. However, the role of semantic elaboration in mediating valence effects in the aging brain has not yet been explicitly tested. In the present study, YAs and OAs were scanned while they viewed negative, neutral, and positive pictures during either a deep, elaborative task or a shallow, perceptual task. FMRI results reveal that emotion-related activity in the amygdala is preserved in aging and insensitive to elaboration demands. This study provides novel evidence that differences in valence processing are modulated by elaboration: relative to YAs, OAs show enhanced activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) and ventrolateral PFC in response to positive versus negative stimuli, but only during elaborative processing. These positive valence effects are predicted by individual differences in executive function in OAs for the deep but not shallow task. Finally, psychophysiological interaction analyses reveal age effects on valence-dependent functional connectivity between medial PFC and ventral striatum, as well as age and task effects on medial PFC-retrosplenial cortex interactions. Altogether, these findings provide support for the hypothesis that valence shifts in the aging brain are mediated by controlled processes such as semantic elaboration, self-referential processing, and emotion regulation. PMID:20869375

Phospholipase A2 – nexus of aging, oxidative stress, neuronal excitability, and functional decline of the aging nervous system? Insights from a snail model system of neuronal aging and age-associated memory impairment

OpenAIRE

Hermann, Petra M.; Watson, Shawn N.; Wildering, Willem C.

2014-01-01

TThe aging brain can undergo a range of changes varying from subtle structural and physiological changes causing only minor functional decline under healthy normal aging conditions, to severe cognitive or neurological impairment associated with extensive loss of neurons and circuits due to age-associated neurodegenerative disease conditions. Understanding how biological aging processes affect the brain and how they contribute to the onset and progress of age-associated neurodegenerative disea...

We're not just playing games: Into aging--an aging simulation game.

Science.gov (United States)

Dillon, Deborah; Ailor, Diane; Amato, Shelly

2009-01-01

The elderly represent the largest-growing segment of the population. Specialized training in geriatrics is essential for healthcare professionals to provide optimal health care. As part of an ongoing education program on geriatrics, the game Into Aging: Understanding Issues Affecting the Later Stages of Life, 2nd ed. (1991) was provided to staff members of a facility to help healthcare providers develop personal insight into the aging process through role play. This game has provided the staff members with a better understanding of the issues patients experience as they deal with declines in health.

Understanding the Entrepreneurial Process: a Dynamic Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vânia Maria Jorge Nassif

2010-04-01

Full Text Available There is considerable predominance in the adoption of perspectives based on characteristics in research into entrepreneurship. However, most studies describe the entrepreneur from a static or snapshot approach; very few adopt a dynamic perspective. The aim of this study is to contribute to the enhancement of knowledge concerning entrepreneurial process dynamics through an understanding of the values, characteristics and actions of the entrepreneur over time. By focusing on personal attributes, we have developed a framework that shows the importance of affective and cognitive aspects of entrepreneurs and the way that they evolve during the development of their business.

Confocal Raman study of aging process in diabetes mellitus human voluntaries

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Liliane; Téllez Soto, Claudio Alberto; dos Santos, Laurita; Ali, Syed Mohammed; Fávero, Priscila Pereira; Martin, Airton A.

2015-06-01

Accumulation of AGEs [Advanced Glycation End - products] occurs slowly during the human aging process. However, its formation is accelerated in the presence of diabetes mellitus. In this paper, we perform a noninvasive analysis of glycation effect on human skin by in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy. This technique uses a laser of 785 nm as excitation source and, by the inelastic scattering of light, it is possible to obtain information about the biochemical composition of the skin. Our aim in this work was to characterize the aging process resulting from the glycation process in a group of 10 Health Elderly Women (HEW) and 10 Diabetic Elderly Women (DEW). The Raman data were collected from the dermis at a depth of 70-130 microns. Through the theory of functional density (DFT) the bands positions of hydroxyproline, proline and AGEs (pentosidine and glucosepane) were calculated by using Gaussian 0.9 software. A molecular interpretation of changes in type I collagen was performed by the changes in the vibrational modes of the proline (P) and hydroxyproline (HP). The data analysis shows that the aging effects caused by glycation of proteins degrades type I collagen differently and leads to accelerated aging process.

Emotion processing in the aging brain is modulated by semantic elaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Ritchey, Maureen; Bessette-Symons, Brandy; Hayes, Scott M; Cabeza, Roberto

2011-03-01

The neural correlates of emotion processing have been shown to vary with age: older adults (OAs) exhibit increased frontal activations and, under some circumstances, decreased amygdala activations relative to young adults (YAs) during emotion processing. Some of these differences are additionally modulated by valence, with age-related biases toward positive versus negative stimuli, and are thought to depend on OAs' capacity for controlled elaboration. However, the role of semantic elaboration in mediating valence effects in the aging brain has not yet been explicitly tested. In the present study, YAs and OAs were scanned while they viewed negative, neutral, and positive pictures during either a deep, elaborative task or a shallow, perceptual task. fMRI results reveal that emotion-related activity in the amygdala is preserved in aging and insensitive to elaboration demands. This study provides novel evidence that differences in valence processing are modulated by elaboration: relative to YAs, OAs show enhanced activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) and ventrolateral PFC in response to positive versus negative stimuli, but only during elaborative processing. These positive valence effects are predicted by individual differences in executive function in OAs for the deep but not shallow task. Finally, psychophysiological interaction analyses reveal age effects on valence-dependent functional connectivity between medial PFC and ventral striatum, as well as age and task effects on medial PFC-retrosplenial cortex interactions. Altogether, these findings provide support for the hypothesis that valence shifts in the aging brain are mediated by controlled processes such as semantic elaboration, self-referential processing, and emotion regulation. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Executable business process modeling as a tool for increasing the understanding of business processes in an organization

OpenAIRE

Demir, Ersin

2014-01-01

Understanding of business processes is becoming an important key factor for successful businesses and today many organizations are facing the lack of knowledge about the business processes that they are working on. Since the interaction between different business processes and different actors are becoming more common it is not only enough for employees to have knowledge about the business processes that they involve directly, but also they need to know about the other business processes in t...

Predicting Age Using Neuroimaging: Innovative Brain Ageing Biomarkers.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, James H; Franke, Katja

2017-12-01

The brain changes as we age and these changes are associated with functional deterioration and neurodegenerative disease. It is vital that we better understand individual differences in the brain ageing process; hence, techniques for making individualised predictions of brain ageing have been developed. We present evidence supporting the use of neuroimaging-based 'brain age' as a biomarker of an individual's brain health. Increasingly, research is showing how brain disease or poor physical health negatively impacts brain age. Importantly, recent evidence shows that having an 'older'-appearing brain relates to advanced physiological and cognitive ageing and the risk of mortality. We discuss controversies surrounding brain age and highlight emerging trends such as the use of multimodality neuroimaging and the employment of 'deep learning' methods. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Quantification of sclerotic renal glomeruli during the aging process in humans].

Science.gov (United States)

Stojanović, Vesna; Jovanović, Ivan; Ugrenović, Sladana; Pavlović, Snezana

2010-01-01

The aim of our research was to quantify the presence of totally sclerotized glomeruli during the aging process. The study material were kidney tissue samples taken from fifty-six cadavers, their age ranging from 20 to over 70 years. They were classified in six age groups: I (20-29), II (30-39), III (40-49); IV (50-59); V (60-69) and VI (older than 70). The tissue samples were routinely histologically processed and then cut into the slices 5 mm thick, which were then stained and stereologically analyzed under the microscope with a projection screen (Reichert Visopan) with 10 x lens magnification and multipurpose test system M42 application. The analysis was carried out on 20 fields of vision per one sample. The numerical density of completely sclerotic and other glomeruli was measured, and the resulting percentages were obtained from this parameter. Completely sclerotic glomeruli were not found in the first group. They were observed in the II aging group (5%) for the first time. Their numerical density and percentage increased during the aging process and was 18% in the IV, 25% in the V and maximally 37.5% in the VI aging group. Finally, the above cited results pointed to the increase of completely sclerotized and the decreased presence of normal glomeruli during the aging process.

ERPs, semantic processing and age.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyamoto, T; Katayama, J; Koyama, T

1998-06-01

ERPs (N400, LPC and CNV) were elicited in two sets of subjects grouped according to age (young vs. elderly) using a word-pair category matching paradigm. Each prime consisted of a Japanese noun (constructed from two to four characters of the Hiragana) followed by one Chinese character (Kanji) as the target, this latter representing one of five semantic categories. There were two equally probable target conditions: match or mismatch. Each target was preceded by a prime, either belonging to, or not belonging to, the same semantic category. The subjects were required to respond with a specified button press to the given target according to the condition. We found RTs to be longer in the elderly subjects and under the mismatch condition. N400 amplitude was reduced in the elderly subjects under the mismatch condition and there was no difference between match and mismatch response, which were similar in amplitude to that under match condition for the young subjects. In addition, the CNV amplitudes were larger in the elderly subjects. These results suggested that functional changes in semantic processing through aging (larger semantic networks and diffuse semantic activation) were the cause of this N400 reduction, attributing a subsidiary role to attentional disturbance. We also discuss the importance of taking age-related changes into consideration in clinical studies.

A novel classification system for aging theories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucas Siqueira Trindade

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Theories of lifespan evolution are a source of confusion amongst aging researchers. After a century of aging research the dispute over whether the aging process is active or passive persists and a comprehensive and universally accepted theoretical model remains elusive. Evolutionary aging theories primarily dispute whether the aging process is exclusively adapted to favor the kin or exclusively non-adapted to favor the individual. Interestingly, contradictory data and theories supporting both exclusively programmed and exclusively non-programmed theories continue to grow. However, this is a false dichotomy; natural selection favors traits resulting in efficient reproduction whether they benefit the individual or the kin. Thus, to understand the evolution of aging, first we must understand the environment-dependent balance between the advantages and disadvantages of extended lifespan in the process of spreading genes. As described by distinct theories, different niches and environmental conditions confer on extended lifespan a range of fitness values varying from highly beneficial to highly detrimental. Here, we considered the range of fitness values for extended lifespan and develop a fitness-based framework for categorizing existing theories. We show that all theories can be classified into four basic types: secondary (beneficial, maladaptive (neutral, assisted death (detrimental and senemorphic aging (varying between beneficial to detrimental. We anticipate that this classification system will assist with understanding and interpreting aging/death by providing a way of considering theories as members of one of these classes rather than consideration of their individual details.

Building from a conceptual model of the resilience process during ageing, towards the Groningen Aging Resilience Inventory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Abbema, Renske; Bielderman, Annemiek; De Greef, Mathieu; Hobbelen, Hans; Krijnen, Wim; van der Schans, Cees

Aim. To develop and psychometrically test the Groningen Ageing Resilience Inventory. Background. Ageing is a process that is often accompanied by functional limitation, disabilities and losses. Instead of focusing on these negative events of ageing, there are opportunities in focusing on adaptation

Kinetic theory of age-structured stochastic birth-death processes

Science.gov (United States)

Greenman, Chris D.; Chou, Tom

2016-01-01

Classical age-structured mass-action models such as the McKendrick-von Foerster equation have been extensively studied but are unable to describe stochastic fluctuations or population-size-dependent birth and death rates. Stochastic theories that treat semi-Markov age-dependent processes using, e.g., the Bellman-Harris equation do not resolve a population's age structure and are unable to quantify population-size dependencies. Conversely, current theories that include size-dependent population dynamics (e.g., mathematical models that include carrying capacity such as the logistic equation) cannot be easily extended to take into account age-dependent birth and death rates. In this paper, we present a systematic derivation of a new, fully stochastic kinetic theory for interacting age-structured populations. By defining multiparticle probability density functions, we derive a hierarchy of kinetic equations for the stochastic evolution of an aging population undergoing birth and death. We show that the fully stochastic age-dependent birth-death process precludes factorization of the corresponding probability densities, which then must be solved by using a Bogoliubov--Born--Green--Kirkwood--Yvon-like hierarchy. Explicit solutions are derived in three limits: no birth, no death, and steady state. These are then compared with their corresponding mean-field results. Our results generalize both deterministic models and existing master equation approaches by providing an intuitive and efficient way to simultaneously model age- and population-dependent stochastic dynamics applicable to the study of demography, stem cell dynamics, and disease evolution.

Medication errors in residential aged care facilities: a distributed cognition analysis of the information exchange process.

Science.gov (United States)

Tariq, Amina; Georgiou, Andrew; Westbrook, Johanna

2013-05-01

Medication safety is a pressing concern for residential aged care facilities (RACFs). Retrospective studies in RACF settings identify inadequate communication between RACFs, doctors, hospitals and community pharmacies as the major cause of medication errors. Existing literature offers limited insight about the gaps in the existing information exchange process that may lead to medication errors. The aim of this research was to explicate the cognitive distribution that underlies RACF medication ordering and delivery to identify gaps in medication-related information exchange which lead to medication errors in RACFs. The study was undertaken in three RACFs in Sydney, Australia. Data were generated through ethnographic field work over a period of five months (May-September 2011). Triangulated analysis of data primarily focused on examining the transformation and exchange of information between different media across the process. The findings of this study highlight the extensive scope and intense nature of information exchange in RACF medication ordering and delivery. Rather than attributing error to individual care providers, the explication of distributed cognition processes enabled the identification of gaps in three information exchange dimensions which potentially contribute to the occurrence of medication errors namely: (1) design of medication charts which complicates order processing and record keeping (2) lack of coordination mechanisms between participants which results in misalignment of local practices (3) reliance on restricted communication bandwidth channels mainly telephone and fax which complicates the information processing requirements. The study demonstrates how the identification of these gaps enhances understanding of medication errors in RACFs. Application of the theoretical lens of distributed cognition can assist in enhancing our understanding of medication errors in RACFs through identification of gaps in information exchange. Understanding

Depth and Elaboration of Processing in Relation to Age.

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, Eileen

1979-01-01

The recall effectiveness of semantic and phonemic cues was compared to uncover the pattern of deep and elaborate processing in relation to age and experimental treatment. It was concluded that aging results in poor elaboration, especially in inefficient integration of word events with the context of presentation. (Author/CP)

Hormones as Difference Makers in Cognitive and Socioemotional Aging Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalie eEbner

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Aging is associated with well-recognized alterations in brain function, some of which are reflected in cognitive decline. While less appreciated, there is also considerable evidence of socioemotional changes later in life, some of which are beneficial. In this review, we examine age-related changes and individual differences in four neuroendocrine systems—cortisol, estrogen, testosterone, and oxytocin—as difference makers in these processes. This suite of interrelated hormonal systems actively coordinates regulatory processes in brain and behavior throughout development, and their level and function fluctuate during the aging process. Despite these facts, their specific impact in cognitive and socioemotional aging has received relatively limited study. It is known that chronically elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol exert neurotoxic effects on the aging brain with negative impacts on cognition and socioemotional functioning. In contrast, the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone appear to have neuroprotective effects in cognitive aging, but may decrease prosociality. Higher levels of the neuropeptide oxytocin benefit socioemotional functioning, but little is known about the effects of oxytocin on cognition or about age-related changes in the oxytocin system. In this paper, we will review the role of these hormones in the context of cognitive and socioemotional aging. In particular, we address the aforementioned gap in the literature by: 1 examining both singular actions and interrelations of these four hormonal systems; 2 exploring their correlations and causal relationships with aspects of cognitive and socioemotional aging; and 3 considering multilevel internal and external influences on these hormone systems within the framework of explanatory pluralism. We conclude with a discussion of promising future research directions.

Canadian programs on understanding and managing aging degradation of nuclear power plant components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chadha, J.A.; Pachner, J.

1989-06-01

Maintaining adequate safety and reliability of nuclear power plants and nuclear power plant life assurance and life extension are growing in importance as nuclear plants get older. Age-related degradation of plant components is complex and not fully understood. This paper provides an overview of the Canadian approach and the main activities and their results towards understanding and managing age-related degradation of nuclear power plant components, structures and systems. A number of pro-active programs have been initiated to anticipate, detect and mitigate potential aging degradation at an early stage before any serious impact on plant safety and reliability. These programs include Operational Safety Management Program, Nuclear Plant Life Assurance Program, systematic plant condition assessment, refurbishment and upgrading, post-service examination and testing, equipment qualification, research and development, and participation in the IAEA programs on safety aspects of nuclear power plant aging and life extension. A regulatory policy on nuclear power plants is under development and will be based on the domestic as well as foreign and international studies and experience

Molecular-level insights into aging processes of skin elastin.

Science.gov (United States)

Mora Huertas, Angela C; Schmelzer, Christian E H; Hoehenwarter, Wolfgang; Heyroth, Frank; Heinz, Andrea

2016-01-01

Skin aging is characterized by different features including wrinkling, atrophy of the dermis and loss of elasticity associated with damage to the extracellular matrix protein elastin. The aim of this study was to investigate the aging process of skin elastin at the molecular level by evaluating the influence of intrinsic (chronological aging) and extrinsic factors (sun exposure) on the morphology and susceptibility of elastin towards enzymatic degradation. Elastin was isolated from biopsies derived from sun-protected or sun-exposed skin of differently aged individuals. The morphology of the elastin fibers was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Mass spectrometric analysis and label-free quantification allowed identifying differences in the cleavage patterns of the elastin samples after enzymatic digestion. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to visualize differences between the samples and to determine the contribution of extrinsic and intrinsic aging to the proteolytic susceptibility of elastin. Moreover, the release of potentially bioactive peptides was studied. Skin aging is associated with the decomposition of elastin fibers, which is more pronounced in sun-exposed tissue. Marker peptides were identified, which showed an age-related increase or decrease in their abundances and provide insights into the progression of the aging process of elastin fibers. Strong age-related cleavage occurs in hydrophobic tropoelastin domains 18, 20, 24 and 26. Photoaging makes the N-terminal and central parts of the tropoelastin molecules more susceptible towards enzymatic cleavage and, hence, accelerates the age-related degradation of elastin. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.

Towards a Cross-Cultural Understanding of Ageing and Learning by Senior Adults in Hong Kong and Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Tam, Maureen

2017-01-01

Ageing and learning are value-laden concepts that are culturally relevant. Culture plays an important role in influencing what people think, resulting in different views and understandings by people from diverse cultural backgrounds. In the literature, there have been research and discussions relating culture with ageing and culture with learning…

Markov Processes: Exploring the Use of Dynamic Visualizations to Enhance Student Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Pfannkuch, Maxine; Budgett, Stephanie

2016-01-01

Finding ways to enhance introductory students' understanding of probability ideas and theory is a goal of many first-year probability courses. In this article, we explore the potential of a prototype tool for Markov processes using dynamic visualizations to develop in students a deeper understanding of the equilibrium and hitting times…

The Grieving Process in Children: Strategies for Understanding, Educating, and Reconciling Children's Perceptions of Death.

Science.gov (United States)

Willis, Clarissa A.

2002-01-01

Provides an overview of how young children understand death, and offers concrete strategies for talking to children about death and suggestions for teachers about how to help children of various ages through grief and mourning. Highlights developmental differences in four components of children's understanding of death: irreversibility, finality,…

Physiological Aspects of Aging. Module A-5. Block A. Basic Knowledge of the Aging Process.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Dexter; Cap, Orest

This instructional module on physiological aspects of aging is one in a block of 10 modules designed to provide the human services worker who works with older adults with basic information regarding the aging process. An introduction provides an overview of the module content. A listing of general objectives follows. Nine sections present…

On the Aging of Objects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Bjørn Schiermer

2016-01-01

The article seeks to develop a new conceptual framework suitable for analysing the ageing processes of objects in modern culture. The basic intuition is that object experience cannot be analysed separately from collective participation. The article focuses on the question of the ‘timeless’ nature...... of modernist design and seeks to understand why modernist objects age more slowly than other objects. First, inspired by the late Durkheim’s account of symbolism, I turn to the experiential effects of collective embeddedness. Second, I enter the field of architectural practices and architectural theory....... Visiting early modernist ideologue Adolf Loos, I seek to understand the modernist attitude as a direct response to experiences of the acceleration of ageing processes characteristic of modern culture. I then try to show how Loos’s explicit awareness of the collective dimension is ignored by the subsequent...

The Effect of Signal-to-Noise Ratio on Linguistic Processing in a Semantic Judgment Task: An Aging Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, Nicholas; Davis, Tara; Estis, Julie

2017-03-01

Aging effects on speech understanding in noise have primarily been assessed through speech recognition tasks. Recognition tasks, which focus on bottom-up, perceptual aspects of speech understanding, intentionally limit linguistic and cognitive factors by asking participants to only repeat what they have heard. On the other hand, linguistic processing tasks require bottom-up and top-down (linguistic, cognitive) processing skills and are, therefore, more reflective of speech understanding abilities used in everyday communication. The effect of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on linguistic processing ability is relatively unknown for either young (YAs) or older adults (OAs). To determine if reduced SNRs would be more deleterious to the linguistic processing of OAs than YAs, as measured by accuracy and reaction time in a semantic judgment task in competing speech. In the semantic judgment task, participants indicated via button press whether word pairs were a semantic Match or No Match. This task was performed in quiet, as well as, +3, 0, -3, and -6 dB SNR with two-talker speech competition. Seventeen YAs (20-30 yr) with normal hearing sensitivity and 17 OAs (60-68 yr) with normal hearing sensitivity or mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss within age-appropriate norms. Accuracy, reaction time, and false alarm rate were measured and analyzed using a mixed design analysis of variance. A decrease in SNR level significantly reduced accuracy and increased reaction time in both YAs and OAs. However, poor SNRs affected accuracy and reaction time of Match and No Match word pairs differently. Accuracy for Match pairs declined at a steeper rate than No Match pairs in both groups as SNR decreased. In addition, reaction time for No Match pairs increased at a greater rate than Match pairs in more difficult SNRs, particularly at -3 and -6 dB SNR. False-alarm rates indicated that participants had a response bias to No Match pairs as the SNR decreased. Age-related differences were

Can aging be programmed?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kowald, Axel; Kirkwood, Thomas B. L.

2016-01-01

The evolution of the aging process has long been a biological riddle, because it is difficult to explain the evolution of a trait that has apparently no benefit to the individual. Over 60 years ago, Medawar realized that the force of natural selection declines with chronological age because...... of unavoidable environmental risks. This forms the basis of the mainstream view that aging arises as a consequence of a declining selection pressure to maintain the physiological functioning of living beings forever. Over recent years, however, a number of articles have appeared that nevertheless propose...... the existence of specific aging genes; that is, that the aging process is genetically programmed. If this view were correct, it would have serious implications for experiments to understand and postpone aging. Therefore, we studied in detail various specific proposals why aging should be programmed. We find...

Study of aging and ordering processes in titanium carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arbuzov, M.P.; Khaenko, B.V.; Kachkovskaya, Eh.T.

1977-01-01

Aging and ordering processes in titanium carbide were investigated on monocrystals (fragments of alloys) with the aid of roentgenographic method. The sequence of phase transformations during aging was ascertained,and a monoclinic structure of the carbon atoms ordering is suggested. The microhardness of titanium carbide was studied as a function of the heat treatment of alloys and the main factors (ordering and dislocation structure) which govern the difference in the microhardness of hardened and aged (annealed) specimens were determined

Understanding ageing in older Australians: The contribution of the Dynamic Analyses to Optimise Ageing (DYNOPTA) project to the evidenced base and policy

Science.gov (United States)

Anstey, Kaarin J; Bielak, Allison AM; Birrell, Carole L; Browning, Colette J; Burns, Richard A; Byles, Julie; Kiley, Kim M; Nepal, Binod; Ross, Lesley A; Steel, David; Windsor, Timothy D

2014-01-01

Aim To describe the Dynamic Analyses to Optimise Ageing (DYNOPTA) project and illustrate its contributions to understanding ageing through innovative methodology, and investigations on outcomes based on the project themes. DYNOPTA provides a platform and technical expertise that may be used to combine other national and international datasets. Method The DYNOPTA project has pooled and harmonized data from nine Australian longitudinal studies to create the largest available longitudinal dataset (N=50652) on ageing in Australia. Results A range of findings have resulted from the study to date, including methodological advances, prevalence rates of disease and disability, and mapping trajectories of ageing with and without increasing morbidity. DYNOPTA also forms the basis of a microsimulation model that will provide projections of future costs of disease and disability for the baby boomer cohort. Conclusion DYNOPTA contributes significantly to the Australian evidence-base on ageing to inform key social and health policy domains. PMID:22032767

Do attentional capacities and processing speed mediate the effect of age on executive functioning?

Science.gov (United States)

Gilsoul, Jessica; Simon, Jessica; Hogge, Michaël; Collette, Fabienne

2018-02-06

The executive processes are well known to decline with age, and similar data also exists for attentional capacities and processing speed. Therefore, we investigated whether these two last nonexecutive variables would mediate the effect of age on executive functions (inhibition, shifting, updating, and dual-task coordination). We administered a large battery of executive, attentional and processing speed tasks to 104 young and 71 older people, and we performed mediation analyses with variables showing a significant age effect. All executive and processing speed measures showed age-related effects while only the visual scanning task performance (selective attention) was explained by age when controlled for gender and educational level. Regarding mediation analyses, visual scanning partially mediated the age effect on updating while processing speed partially mediated the age effect on shifting, updating and dual-task coordination. In a more exploratory way, inhibition was also found to partially mediate the effect of age on the three other executive functions. Attention did not greatly influence executive functioning in aging while, in agreement with the literature, processing speed seems to be a major mediator of the age effect on these processes. Interestingly, the global pattern of results seems also to indicate an influence of inhibition but further studies are needed to confirm the role of that variable as a mediator and its relative importance by comparison with processing speed.

Changing course in ageing research: The healthy ageing phenotype.

Science.gov (United States)

Franco, Oscar H; Karnik, Kavita; Osborne, Gabrielle; Ordovas, Jose M; Catt, Michael; van der Ouderaa, Frans

2009-05-20

Ageing is often associated with the aged and the diseased, nevertheless ageing is a process that starts in-uterus and is characterised by a progressive functional loss but not necessarily by the presence of disease and poor quality of life. How to meander through life without crossing the confines of major chronic disease and cognitive and physical impairment remains one of the most relevant challenges for science and humankind. Delimiting that 'immaculate' trajectory - that we dub as the 'Healthy Ageing Phenotype' - and exploring solutions to help the population to stay or return to this trajectory should constitute the core focus of scientific research. Nevertheless, current efforts on ageing research are mainly focused on developing animal models to disentangle the human ageing process, and on age-related disorders often providing merely palliative solutions. Therefore, to identify alternative perspectives in ageing research, Unilever and the Medical Research Council (MRC) UK convened a Spark workshop entitled 'The Healthy Ageing Phenotype'. In this meeting, international specialists from complementary areas related to ageing research, gathered to find clear attributes and definitions of the 'Healthy Ageing Phenotype', to identify potential mechanisms and interventions to improve healthy life expectancy of the population; and to highlight areas within ageing research that should be prioritised in the future. General agreement was reached in recognising ageing research as a disaggregated field with little communication between basic, epidemiological and clinical areas of research and limited translation to society. A more holistic, multi-disciplinary approach emanating from a better understanding of healthy ageing trajectories and centred along human biological resilience, its maintenance and the reversibility from early deviations into pathological trajectories, is urgently required. Future research should concentrate on understanding the mechanisms that permit

Understanding process behaviours in a large insurance company in Australia : a case study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Suriadi, S.; Wynn, M.T.; Ouyang, C.; Hofstede, ter A.H.M.; van Dijk, N.J.; Salinesi, C.; Norrie, M.C.; Pastor, O.

2013-01-01

Having a reliable understanding about the behaviours, problems, and performance of existing processes is important in enabling a targeted process improvement initiative. Recently, there has been an increase in the application of innovative process mining techniques to facilitate evidence-based

Understanding the Process by Which New Employees Enter Work Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Summers, Donald B.

1977-01-01

The Group Integration Process, described in this article, serves as a broad and guiding set of steps (invitation, induction, orientation, training, relationship, and integration) that helps the supervisor better understand what is to be done in managing a new employee's entrance into a work group. (TA)

Talking theory of mind talk: young school-aged children's everyday conversation and understanding of mind and emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

De Rosnay, Marc; Fink, Elian; Begeer, Sander; Slaughter, Virginia; Peterson, Candida

2014-09-01

Links between young children's everyday use of mindful conversational skills and their success on laboratory tests of theory of mind understanding (ToM) were evaluated. Using published scales, teachers rated the conversational behavior and shyness of 129 children aged 60 to 101 months (M = 78·8 months) who were in their first years of primary school. The children also took batteries of first- and second-order false-belief tests along with tests of emotion understanding and general language ability. Correlational and regression analyses showed that performance on false-belief tests of ToM significantly predicted children's competence at reading others' minds in their everyday conversational interactions. Furthermore, these links transcended individual differences in language ability, shy personality, emotion understanding, and age. These findings augment and extend a growing body of evidence linking performance on laboratory ToM tests to socially competent real-world behavior.

Cognition and brain functional aging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui-jie LI

2014-03-01

Full Text Available China has the largest population of elderly adults. Meanwhile, it is one of the countries showing fastest aging speed in the world. Aging processing is always companied with a series of brain structural and functional changes, which result in the decline of processing speed, working memory, long-term memory and executive function, etc. The studies based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI found certain aging effects on brain function activation, spontaneous activity and functional connectivity in old people. However, few studies have explored the brain functional curve during the aging process while most previous studies explored the differences in the brain function between young people and old people. Delineation of the human brain functional aging curve will promote the understanding of brain aging mechanisms and support the normal aging monitoring and early detection of abnormal aging changes. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2014.03.005

The special status of sad infant faces: age and valence differences in adults' cortical face processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Colasante, Tyler; Mossad, Sarah I; Dudek, Joanna; Haley, David W

2017-04-01

Understanding the relative and joint prioritization of age- and valence-related face characteristics in adults' cortical face processing remains elusive because these two characteristics have not been manipulated in a single study of neural face processing. We used electroencephalography to investigate adults' P1, N170, P2 and LPP responses to infant and adult faces with happy and sad facial expressions. Viewing infant vs adult faces was associated with significantly larger P1, N170, P2 and LPP responses, with hemisphere and/or participant gender moderating this effect in select cases. Sad faces were associated with significantly larger N170 responses than happy faces. Sad infant faces were associated with significantly larger N170 responses in the right hemisphere than all other combinations of face age and face valence characteristics. We discuss the relative and joint neural prioritization of infant face characteristics and negative facial affect, and their biological value as distinct caregiving and social cues. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Understanding the formation process of exceptionally long fullerene-based nanowires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Solov'yov, Ilia; Geng, Junfeng; Solov'yov, Andrey V.

2009-01-01

solution of C$_60$. We have performed a thorough theoretical analysis, aiming at gaining an in-depth understanding of the exceptionally large aspect ratio of C$_60$-based nanowires. By accounting for different interactions in the system we have calculated the structures of the unit cell and determined...... the role of the fullerene and of the solvent molecules in the crystallization process of the nanowires. We have calculated the adhesion energy of C$_60$ molecules to the nanowire surface, and on the basis of this explained the growth anisotropy of the crystal. To get a more profound understanding...

Process understanding on high shear granulated lactose agglomerates during and after drying

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nieuwmeyer, F.J.S.

2009-01-01

In 2001 the FDA launched the Process Analytical Technology initiative as a response to the growing public and industrial awareness that there is a lack of process understanding required to have an optimal control of pharmaceutical manufacturing. The current research project was initiated based upon

Toward an Integrative Science of Life-Span Development and Aging

Science.gov (United States)

Piccinin, Andrea M.

2010-01-01

The study of aging demands an integrative life-span developmental framework, involving interdisciplinary collaborations and multiple methodological approaches for understanding how and why individuals change, in both normative and idiosyncratic ways. We highlight and summarize some of the issues encountered when conducting integrative research for understanding aging-related change, including, the integration of results across different levels of analysis; the integration of theory, design, and analysis; and the synthesis of results across studies of aging. We emphasize the necessity of longitudinal designs for understanding development and aging and discuss methodological issues that should be considered for achieving reproducible research on within-person processes. It will be important that current and future studies permit opportunities for quantitative comparison across populations given the extent to which historical shifts and cultural differences influence life-span processes and aging-related outcomes. PMID:20237144

Do brain image databanks support understanding of normal ageing brain structure? A systematic review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickie, David Alexander; Job, Dominic E.; Wardlaw, Joanna M.; Poole, Ian; Ahearn, Trevor S.; Staff, Roger T.; Murray, Alison D.

2012-01-01

To document accessible magnetic resonance (MR) brain images, metadata and statistical results from normal older subjects that may be used to improve diagnoses of dementia. We systematically reviewed published brain image databanks (print literature and Internet) concerned with normal ageing brain structure. From nine eligible databanks, there appeared to be 944 normal subjects aged ≥60 years. However, many subjects were in more than one databank and not all were fully representative of normal ageing clinical characteristics. Therefore, there were approximately 343 subjects aged ≥60 years with metadata representative of normal ageing, but only 98 subjects were openly accessible. No databank had the range of MR image sequences, e.g. T2*, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), required to effectively characterise the features of brain ageing. No databank supported random subject retrieval; therefore, manual selection bias and errors may occur in studies that use these subjects as controls. Finally, no databank stored results from statistical analyses of its brain image and metadata that may be validated with analyses of further data. Brain image databanks require open access, more subjects, metadata, MR image sequences, searchability and statistical results to improve understanding of normal ageing brain structure and diagnoses of dementia. (orig.)

Understanding the “black box” of a health-promotion program: Keys to enable health among older persons aging in the context of migration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmelie Barenfeld

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Although the need to make health services more accessible to persons who have migrated has been identified, knowledge about health-promotion programs (HPPs from the perspective of older persons born abroad is lacking. This study explores the design experiences and content implemented in an adapted version of a group-based HPP developed in a researcher–community partnership. Fourteen persons aged 70–83 years or older who had migrated to Sweden from Finland or the Balkan Peninsula were included. A grounded theory approach guided the data collection and analysis. The findings showed how participants and personnel jointly helped raise awareness. The participants experienced three key processes that could open doors to awareness: enabling community, providing opportunities to understand and be understood, and confirming human values and abilities. Depending on how the HPP content and design are being shaped by the group, the key processes could both inhibit or encourage opening doors to awareness. Therefore, this study provides key insights into how to enable health by deepening the understanding of how the exchange of health-promoting messages is experienced to be facilitated or hindered. This study adds to the scientific knowledge base of how the design and content of HPP may support and recognize the capabilities of persons aging in the context of migration.

UNDERSTANDING AND PERCEPTION OF THE CHARACTER IMAGE BY PRIMARY SCHOOLCHILDREN IN THE PROCESS OF TEXT INTERPRETATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kateryna Hnatenko

2017-07-01

. Numerous scientific researches suggest that the perception and understanding of literary works comes with the acquisition of certain knowledge about the author’s creative work, composite structure of the work, its genre characteristics, etc. However, at primary school the peculiarities of learners’ age development can become a complication. Psychologists and educational sphere workers, first of all, determine the fragmentation, lack of perception integrity of the children’s literature by the child, dependence of this process on child’s life experience and connection with practical activity. For young learners it is difficult to understand the motives and actions of the characters, relations with other characters, their goals and aspirations. At the lessons of literary reading, the teacher should help children to experience together with the character the event, to cultivate the ability of careful analysis of the text, to evaluate objectively the text and to express their attitude to it.

Adult Age Differences in Processing Narrative Text: Managing Character Representations

Science.gov (United States)

Noh, Soo Rim

2009-01-01

Understanding a narrative situation depends on keeping track of multiple characters that enter and exit dynamically as the plot unfolds. Because there has been no systematic investigation of age differences in the ability to manage multiple characters during narrative comprehension, this project was designed to examine those differences in this…

The aging lung

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lowery EM

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Erin M Lowery,1 Aleah L Brubaker,2 Erica Kuhlmann,1 Elizabeth J Kovacs31Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine at Loyola University Medical Center, 2Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, 3Department of Surgery, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USAAbstract: There are many age-associated changes in the respiratory and pulmonary immune system. These changes include decreases in the volume of the thoracic cavity, reduced lung volumes, and alterations in the muscles that aid respiration. Muscle function on a cellular level in the aging population is less efficient. The elderly population has less pulmonary reserve, and cough strength is decreased in the elderly population due to anatomic changes and muscle atrophy. Clearance of particles from the lung through the mucociliary elevator is decreased and associated with ciliary dysfunction. Many complex changes in immunity with aging contribute to increased susceptibility to infections including a less robust immune response from both the innate and adaptive immune systems. Considering all of these age-related changes to the lungs, pulmonary disease has significant consequences for the aging population. Chronic lower respiratory tract disease is the third leading cause of death in people aged 65 years and older. With a large and growing aging population, it is critical to understand how the body changes with age and how this impacts the entire respiratory system. Understanding the aging process in the lung is necessary in order to provide optimal care to our aging population. This review focuses on the nonpathologic aging process in the lung, including structural changes, changes in muscle function, and pulmonary immunologic function, with special consideration of obstructive lung disease in the elderly.Keywords: aging, lung, pulmonary immunology, COPD

Piloting a logic-based framework for understanding organisational change process for a health IT implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Diment, Kieren; Garrety, Karin; Yu, Ping

2011-01-01

This paper describes how a method for evaluating organisational change based on the theory of logical types can be used for classifying organisational change processes to understand change after the implementation of an electronic documentation system in a residential aged care facility. In this instance we assess the organisational change reflected by care staff's perceptions of the benefits of the new documentation system at one site, at pre-implementation, and at 12 months post-implementation. The results show how a coherent view from the staff as a whole of the personal benefits, the benefits for others and the benefits for the organization create a situation of positive feedback leading to embeddedness of the documentation system into the site, and a broader appreciation of the potential capabilities of the electronic documentation system.

Zirconium cladding - the long way towards a mechanistic understanding of processing and performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preuss, Michael

2011-01-01

Zirconium alloys are the material of choice to encapsulate nuclear fuel in light and heavy water-cooled reactors due to their low neutron absorption, excellent corrosion resistance and sufficient mechanical properties. Despite these advantageous physical and mechanical properties a more physically based understanding of microstructure and texture evolution during processing is highly desirable in order to improve our understanding of formability during thermomechanical processing and performance variability of cladding material. In addition, the purely empirical understanding of aqueous zirconium corrosion, hydrogen pick up, hydride precipitation as well as irradiation growth and creep limits the accuracy of life predictions and therefore the level of burnup that is obtained from current fuel assemblies. The presentation aims at giving examples of new research strategies that will enable the development of a new physical understanding of processing and performance aspects in zirconium cladding material, which is required to develop new predictive models. Particular emphasis will be placed on using novel research tools and large-scale research facilities such as neutron spallation and synchrotron radiation sources to undertake very detailed and often in-situ studies of deformation mechanisms and microstructure evolution as well as determining stress states in grain families, oxides and hydrides. The results will be presented in the view of how they might help us to improve our understanding and enable the development of better predictive models

How Pre-Service Teachers' Understand and Perform Science Process Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Chabalengula, Vivien Mweene; Mumba, Frackson; Mbewe, Simeon

2012-01-01

This study explored pre-service teachers' conceptual understanding and performance on science process skills. A sample comprised 91 elementary pre-service teachers at a university in the Midwest of the USA. Participants were enrolled in two science education courses; introductory science teaching methods course and advanced science methods course.…

Recent Developments in Understanding Brain Aging: Implications for Alzheimer's Disease and Vascular Cognitive Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Deak, Ferenc; Freeman, Willard M; Ungvari, Zoltan; Csiszar, Anna; Sonntag, William E

2016-01-01

As the population of the Western world is aging, there is increasing awareness of age-related impairments in cognitive function and a rising interest in finding novel approaches to preserve cerebral health. A special collection of articles in The Journals of Gerontology: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences brings together information of different aspects of brain aging, from latest developments in the field of neurodegenerative disorders to cerebral microvascular mechanisms of cognitive decline. It is emphasized that although the cellular changes that occur within aging neurons have been widely studied, more research is required as new signaling pathways are discovered that can potentially protect cells. New avenues for research targeting cellular senescence, epigenetics, and endocrine mechanisms of brain aging are also discussed. Based on the current literature it is clear that understanding brain aging and reducing risk for neurological disease with age requires searching for mechanisms and treatment options beyond the age-related changes in neuronal function. Thus, comprehensive approaches need to be developed that address the multiple, interrelated mechanisms of brain aging. Attention is brought to the importance of maintenance of cerebromicrovascular health, restoring neuroendocrine balance, and the pressing need for funding more innovative research into the interactions of neuronal, neuroendocrine, inflammatory and microvascular mechanisms of cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease. © 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.

Exploring children's understanding of death: through drawings and the Death Concept Questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonoti, Fotini; Leondari, Angeliki; Mastora, Adelais

2013-01-01

To investigate whether children's understanding of the concept of death varies as a function of death experience and age, 52 children aged 7, 9, and 11 years (26 had a personal death experience), drew a picture reflecting the meaning of the word death and completed the Death Concept Questionnaire for examination of Human and Animal Death. The results showed that the 2 methodological tools used offered complementary information and that children's understanding of death is related both to age and past experience. Children with death experience seem to have a more realistic understanding of death than their inexperienced age-mates. As regards to the effect of age, our findings support the assumption that the different components of death develop through different processes.

Stability of auditory discrimination and novelty processing in physiological aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Raggi, Alberto; Tasca, Domenica; Rundo, Francesco; Ferri, Raffaele

2013-01-01

Complex higher-order cognitive functions and their possible changes with aging are mandatory objectives of cognitive neuroscience. Event-related potentials (ERPs) allow investigators to probe the earliest stages of information processing. N100, Mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3a are auditory ERP components that reflect automatic sensory discrimination. The aim of the present study was to determine if N100, MMN and P3a parameters are stable in healthy aged subjects, compared to those of normal young adults. Normal young adults and older participants were assessed using standardized cognitive functional instruments and their ERPs were obtained with an auditory stimulation at two different interstimulus intervals, during a passive paradigm. All individuals were within the normal range on cognitive tests. No significant differences were found for any ERP parameters obtained from the two age groups. This study shows that aging is characterized by a stability of the auditory discrimination and novelty processing. This is important for the arrangement of normative for the detection of subtle preclinical changes due to abnormal brain aging.

Diet-induced phenotypic plasticity during aging

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rusli, Fenni

2016-01-01

Increasing life expectancy in the past decades has led to the emergence of age-related chronic diseases and disabilities. A deeper understanding in the molecular events of the aging process is essential to provide evidence-based guidance how lifestyle interventions will be more efficient in

Effecting aging time of epoxy molding compound to molding process for integrated circuit packaging

Science.gov (United States)

Tachapitunsuk, Jirayu; Ugsornrat, Kessararat; Srisuwitthanon, Warayoot; Thonglor, Panakamon

2017-09-01

This research studied about effecting aging time of epoxy molding compound (EMC) that effect to reliability performance of integrated circuit (IC) package in molding process. Molding process is so important of IC packaging process for protecting IC chip (or die) from temperature and humidity environment using encapsulated EMC. For general molding process, EMC are stored in the frozen at 5°C and left at room temperature at 25 °C for aging time on self before molding of die onto lead frame is 24 hours. The aging time effect to reliability performance of IC package due to different temperature and humidity inside the package. In experiment, aging time of EMC were varied from 0 to 24 hours for molding process of SOIC-8L packages. For analysis, these packages were tested by x-ray and scanning acoustic microscope to analyze properties of EMC with an aging time and also analyzed delamination, internal void, and wire sweep inside the packages with different aging time. The results revealed that different aging time of EMC effect to properties and reliability performance of molding process.

Understanding the link between sexual selection, sexual conflict and aging using crickets as a model.

Science.gov (United States)

Archer, C Ruth; Hunt, John

2015-11-01

Aging evolved because the strength of natural selection declines over the lifetime of most organisms. Weak natural selection late in life allows the accumulation of deleterious mutations and may favor alleles that have positive effects on fitness early in life, but costly pleiotropic effects expressed later on. While this decline in natural selection is central to longstanding evolutionary explanations for aging, a role for sexual selection and sexual conflict in the evolution of lifespan and aging has only been identified recently. Testing how sexual selection and sexual conflict affect lifespan and aging is challenging as it requires quantifying male age-dependent reproductive success. This is difficult in the invertebrate model organisms traditionally used in aging research. Research using crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), where reproductive investment can be easily measured in both sexes, has offered exciting and novel insights into how sexual selection and sexual conflict affect the evolution of aging, both in the laboratory and in the wild. Here we discuss how sexual selection and sexual conflict can be integrated alongside evolutionary and mechanistic theories of aging using crickets as a model. We then highlight the potential for research using crickets to further advance our understanding of lifespan and aging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Recent Developments in Understanding Brain Aging: Implications for Alzheimer’s Disease and Vascular Cognitive Impairment

Science.gov (United States)

Deak, Ferenc; Freeman, Willard M.; Ungvari, Zoltan; Csiszar, Anna

2016-01-01

As the population of the Western world is aging, there is increasing awareness of age-related impairments in cognitive function and a rising interest in finding novel approaches to preserve cerebral health. A special collection of articles in The Journals of Gerontology: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences brings together information of different aspects of brain aging, from latest developments in the field of neurodegenerative disorders to cerebral microvascular mechanisms of cognitive decline. It is emphasized that although the cellular changes that occur within aging neurons have been widely studied, more research is required as new signaling pathways are discovered that can potentially protect cells. New avenues for research targeting cellular senescence, epigenetics, and endocrine mechanisms of brain aging are also discussed. Based on the current literature it is clear that understanding brain aging and reducing risk for neurological disease with age requires searching for mechanisms and treatment options beyond the age-related changes in neuronal function. Thus, comprehensive approaches need to be developed that address the multiple, interrelated mechanisms of brain aging. Attention is brought to the importance of maintenance of cerebromicrovascular health, restoring neuroendocrine balance, and the pressing need for funding more innovative research into the interactions of neuronal, neuroendocrine, inflammatory and microvascular mechanisms of cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease. PMID:26590911

A Process-Philosophical Understanding of Organizational Learning as "Wayfinding": Process, Practices and Sensitivity to Environmental Affordances

Science.gov (United States)

Chia, Robert

2017-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to articulate a practice-based, non-cognitivist approach to organizational learning. Design/methodology/approach: This paper explores the potential contribution of a process-based "practice turn" in social theory for understanding organizational learning. Findings: In complex, turbulent environments, robust…

Understanding of how older adults with low vision obtain, process, and understand health information and services.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hyung Nam

2017-10-16

Twenty-five years after the Americans with Disabilities Act, there has still been a lack of advancement of accessibility in healthcare for people with visual impairments, particularly older adults with low vision. This study aims to advance understanding of how older adults with low vision obtain, process, and use health information and services, and to seek opportunities of information technology to support them. A convenience sample of 10 older adults with low vision participated in semi-structured phone interviews, which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. Participants shared various concerns in accessing, understanding, and using health information, care services, and multimedia technologies. Two main themes and nine subthemes emerged from the analysis. Due to the concerns, older adults with low vision tended to fail to obtain the full range of all health information and services to meet their specific needs. Those with low vision still rely on residual vision such that multimedia-based information which can be useful, but it should still be designed to ensure its accessibility, usability, and understandability.

Is there a process of spiritual change or development associated with ageing? A critical review of research.

Science.gov (United States)

Dalby, P

2006-01-01

This review considers whether research shows a process of spiritual change or development associated with ageing. Spirituality was understood as that which is central to a sense of meaning and purpose in an individual's life and pertains to the sacred or transcendent. Electronic literature searches were conducted to find research published 1985-2003 aimed at understanding spiritual change, themes and tasks in later life. A total of 13 studies were reviewed that looked at changes in spirituality over time, spiritual themes and tasks in a lifespan development context and Tornstam's (Torstam, L. (1996). Gerotranscendence--a theory about maturing into old age. Journal of Aging & Identity, 1, 37-50) theory of gerotranscendence. The research reviewed suggested that some aspects of spirituality remain stable into old age but that there are identifiable spiritual tasks, needs and changes associated with ageing. Some common spiritual themes identified across the research were integrity, humanistic concern, changing relationships with others and concern for younger generations, relationship with a transcendent being or power, self transcendence, and coming to terms with death. These were not related to age per se, but to some of the challenges that age presents, and were mediated by cultural factors and individual differences. The findings and their limitations were discussed.

Framing the inborn aging process and longevity science.

Science.gov (United States)

Farrelly, Colin

2010-06-01

The medical sciences are currently dominated by the "disease-model" approach to health extension, an approach that prioritizes the study of pathological mechanisms with the goal of discovering treatment modalities for specific diseases. This approach has marginalized research on the aging process itself, research that could lead to an intervention that retards aging, thus conferring health dividends that would far exceed what could be expected by eliminating any specific disease of aging. This paper offers a diagnosis of how this sub-optimal approach to health extension arose and some general prescriptions concerning how progress could be made in terms of adopting a more rational approach to health extension. Drawing on empirical findings from psychology and economics, "prospect theory" is applied to the challenges of "framing" the inborn aging process given the cognitive capacities of real (rather than rational) decision-makers under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Prospect theory reveals that preferences are in fact dependent on whether particular outcomes of a choice are regarded as "a loss" or "a gain", relative to a reference point (or "aspiration level for survival"). And this has significant consequences for the way biogerontologists ought to characterise the central aspirations of the field (i.e. to prevent disease versus extend lifespan). Furthermore, it reveals the importance of shifting the existing reference point of the medical sciences to one that is shaped by the findings of evolutionary biology and biodemography.

Stress biology and aging mechanisms: toward understanding the deep connection between adaptation to stress and longevity.

Science.gov (United States)

Epel, Elissa S; Lithgow, Gordon J

2014-06-01

The rate of biological aging is modulated in part by genes interacting with stressor exposures. Basic research has shown that exposure to short-term stress can strengthen cellular responses to stress ("hormetic stress"). Hormetic stress promotes longevity in part through enhanced activity of molecular chaperones and other defense mechanisms. In contrast, prolonged exposure to stress can overwhelm compensatory responses ("toxic stress") and shorten lifespan. One key question is whether the stressors that are well understood in basic models of aging can help us understand psychological stressors and human health. The psychological stress response promotes regulatory changes important in aging (e.g., increases in stress hormones, inflammation, oxidative stress, insulin). The negative effects of severe stress are well documented in humans. Potential positive effects of acute stress (stress resistance) are less studied, especially at the cellular level. Can stress resistance slow the rate of aging in humans, as it does in model organisms? If so, how can we promote stress resistance in humans? We urge a new research agenda embracing the continuum from cellular stress to psychological stress, using basic and human research in tandem. This will require interdisciplinary novel approaches that hold much promise for understanding and intervening in human chronic disease. © The Author 2014. 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.

[What is a "needs-oriented welfare service" in a care home for aged people? Apply psychology to understand and intervene].

Science.gov (United States)

Yamazaki, Momoko

2006-01-01

In Japan there is a serious problem that we will have to face and handle, which is the super aging of society around 2010. According to the Universal Model of the WHO, ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) addresses, aging is one of such disabilities (underline). Since we all become old, we have to consider the impact of this new concept and deal with it in this aging society. Therefore it is important to clarify what a quality welfare service is. I believe the quality of welfare service is based on the understanding of human needs. In other words, a high quality of welfare services will match needs of both providers and recipients. At this point, I define two services, offered and required. I collected, classified and analyzed the data from this institution using technological methods. Summarizing the data, I created three tables. Then I examined them with Maslow s need-hierarchy-theory. I got another figure of possibility talphafor improvement. As the result of my study it should be designed to fulfill the desire and/or needs of who continue rehabilitation process to achieve their ultimate goal of independence and self-realization.

Brain processing of emotional scenes in aging: effect of arousal and affective context.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas Gilles Mathieu

Full Text Available Research on emotion showed an increase, with age, in prevalence of positive information relative to negative ones. This effect is called positivity effect. From the cerebral analysis of the Late Positive Potential (LPP, sensitive to attention, our study investigated to which extent the arousal level of negative scenes is differently processed between young and older adults and, to which extent the arousal level of negative scenes, depending on its value, may contextually modulate the cerebral processing of positive (and neutral scenes and favor the observation of a positivity effect with age. With this aim, two negative scene groups characterized by two distinct arousal levels (high and low were displayed into two separate experimental blocks in which were included positive and neutral pictures. The two blocks only differed by their negative pictures across participants, as to create two negative global contexts for the processing of the positive and neutral pictures. The results show that the relative processing of different arousal levels of negative stimuli, reflected by LPP, appears similar between the two age groups. However, a lower activity for negative stimuli is observed with the older group for both tested arousal levels. The processing of positive information seems to be preserved with age and is also not contextually impacted by negative stimuli in both younger and older adults. For neutral stimuli, a significantly reduced activity is observed for older adults in the contextual block of low-arousal negative stimuli. Globally, our study reveals that the positivity effect is mainly due to a modulation, with age, in processing of negative stimuli, regardless of their arousal level. It also suggests that processing of neutral stimuli may be modulated with age, depending on negative context in which they are presented to. These age-related effects could contribute to justify the differences in emotional preference with age.

Emotion processing in the aging brain is modulated by semantic elaboration

OpenAIRE

Ritchey, Maureen; Bessette-Symons, Brandy; Hayes, Scott M.; Cabeza, Roberto

2010-01-01

The neural correlates of emotion processing have been shown to vary with age: older adults (OAs) exhibit increased frontal activations and, under some circumstances, decreased amygdala activations relative to young adults (YAs) during emotion processing. Some of these differences are additionally modulated by valence, with age-related biases toward positive versus negative stimuli, and are thought to depend on OAs’ capacity for controlled elaboration. However, the role of semantic elaboration...

The effect of modularity representation and presentation medium on the understandability of business process models in BPMN

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Turetken, Oktay; Rompen, Tessa; Vanderfeesten, Irene; Dikici, Ahmet; van Moll, Jan; La Rosa, M.; Loos, P.; Pastor, O.

2016-01-01

Many factors influence the creation of understandable business process models for an appropriate audience. Understandability of process models becomes critical particularly when a process is complex and its model is large in structure. Using modularization to represent such models hierarchically

Toward theoretical understanding of the fertility preservation decision-making process: examining information processing among young women with cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Hershberger, Patricia E; Finnegan, Lorna; Altfeld, Susan; Lake, Sara; Hirshfeld-Cytron, Jennifer

2013-01-01

Young women with cancer now face the complex decision about whether to undergo fertility preservation. Yet little is known about how these women process information involved in making this decision. The purpose of this article is to expand theoretical understanding of the decision-making process by examining aspects of information processing among young women diagnosed with cancer. Using a grounded theory approach, 27 women with cancer participated in individual, semistructured interviews. Data were coded and analyzed using constant-comparison techniques that were guided by 5 dimensions within the Contemplate phase of the decision-making process framework. In the first dimension, young women acquired information primarily from clinicians and Internet sources. Experiential information, often obtained from peers, occurred in the second dimension. Preferences and values were constructed in the third dimension as women acquired factual, moral, and ethical information. Women desired tailored, personalized information that was specific to their situation in the fourth dimension; however, women struggled with communicating these needs to clinicians. In the fifth dimension, women offered detailed descriptions of clinician behaviors that enhance or impede decisional debriefing. Better understanding of theoretical underpinnings surrounding women's information processes can facilitate decision support and improve clinical care.

The polymer–polymorphoid nature of glass aging process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor S. Minaev

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Based on the concept of polymeric–polymorphous structure of glass and glass-forming liquid experimental data have been analyzed revealing the nature of glass aging. We show that the glass forming substance is a copolymer consisting of structural nano-fragments (polymorphoids in different polymorphous modifications (PM of the material having no translational symmetry (long-range order. The study revealed that the process and degree of glass aging influences the properties of glasses, including a change in enthalpy, manifested in the exothermic and endothermic effects observed in thermograms of differential scanning calorimetry of heated and cooled glasses. We have shown that the physicochemical essence of aging is the transformation of polymorphoids from high-temperature PM (HTPM to low-temperature PM (LTPM which results, under certain conditions, in LTPM crystallization.

Depth and elaboration of processing in relation to age.

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, E

1979-03-01

Processing at encoding and retrieval was jointly manipulated, and then the retrieval effectiveness of different cues was directly compared to uncover the relative pattern of deep and elaborate processing in relation to both age and different experimental manipulations. In experiment 1 phonemic and semantic cues were effective retrieval aids for to-be-remembered words in the youngest group; with increasing age, semantic cues decreased in effectiveness more than phonemic cues. These data showed phonemic features to have an importance that is not recognized in the data generated by the typical levels paradigm. When elaboration of the words was induced in Experiment 2 by presenting them in sentences, semantic and context cues were most effective in the youngest group whereas phonemic cues were most effective in the oldest group. Since the pattern of cue effectiveness in the elderly was similar to that in Experiment 1, where the same words were presented alone, it was concluded that aging results in poor elaboration, in particular, in inefficient integration of word events with the context of presentation. These age effects were mimicked in young subjects in Experiment 3 by experimentally restricting encoding time. The present approach uses somewhat modified views of depth and elaboration.

Absence of superoxide dismutase activity causes nuclear DNA fragmentation during the aging process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muid, Khandaker Ashfaqul; Karakaya, Hüseyin Çaglar; Koc, Ahmet

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Aging process increases ROS accumulation. • Aging process increases DNA damage levels. • Absence of SOD activity does not cause DNA damage in young cells. • Absence of SOD activity accelerate aging and increase oxidative DNA damages during the aging process. - Abstract: Superoxide dismutases (SOD) serve as an important antioxidant defense mechanism in aerobic organisms, and deletion of these genes shortens the replicative life span in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Even though involvement of superoxide dismutase enzymes in ROS scavenging and the aging process has been studied extensively in different organisms, analyses of DNA damages has not been performed for replicatively old superoxide dismutase deficient cells. In this study, we investigated the roles of SOD1, SOD2 and CCS1 genes in preserving genomic integrity in replicatively old yeast cells using the single cell comet assay. We observed that extend of DNA damage was not significantly different among the young cells of wild type, sod1Δ and sod2Δ strains. However, ccs1Δ mutants showed a 60% higher amount of DNA damage in the young stage compared to that of the wild type cells. The aging process increased the DNA damage rates 3-fold in the wild type and more than 5-fold in sod1Δ, sod2Δ, and ccs1Δ mutant cells. Furthermore, ROS levels of these strains showed a similar pattern to their DNA damage contents. Thus, our results confirm that cells accumulate DNA damages during the aging process and reveal that superoxide dismutase enzymes play a substantial role in preserving the genomic integrity in this process

Absence of superoxide dismutase activity causes nuclear DNA fragmentation during the aging process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muid, Khandaker Ashfaqul; Karakaya, Hüseyin Çaglar; Koc, Ahmet, E-mail: ahmetkoc@iyte.edu.tr

2014-02-07

Highlights: • Aging process increases ROS accumulation. • Aging process increases DNA damage levels. • Absence of SOD activity does not cause DNA damage in young cells. • Absence of SOD activity accelerate aging and increase oxidative DNA damages during the aging process. - Abstract: Superoxide dismutases (SOD) serve as an important antioxidant defense mechanism in aerobic organisms, and deletion of these genes shortens the replicative life span in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Even though involvement of superoxide dismutase enzymes in ROS scavenging and the aging process has been studied extensively in different organisms, analyses of DNA damages has not been performed for replicatively old superoxide dismutase deficient cells. In this study, we investigated the roles of SOD1, SOD2 and CCS1 genes in preserving genomic integrity in replicatively old yeast cells using the single cell comet assay. We observed that extend of DNA damage was not significantly different among the young cells of wild type, sod1Δ and sod2Δ strains. However, ccs1Δ mutants showed a 60% higher amount of DNA damage in the young stage compared to that of the wild type cells. The aging process increased the DNA damage rates 3-fold in the wild type and more than 5-fold in sod1Δ, sod2Δ, and ccs1Δ mutant cells. Furthermore, ROS levels of these strains showed a similar pattern to their DNA damage contents. Thus, our results confirm that cells accumulate DNA damages during the aging process and reveal that superoxide dismutase enzymes play a substantial role in preserving the genomic integrity in this process.

From Process Understanding to Process Control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Streefland, M.

2010-01-01

A licensed pharmaceutical process is required to be executed within the validated ranges throughout the lifetime of product manufacturing. Changes to the process usually require the manufacturer to demonstrate that the safety and efficacy of the product remains unchanged. Recent changes in the

Understanding and Managing Aging of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Facility Components in Wet Storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, A. B.

2007-01-01

Storage of nuclear fuel after it has been discharged from reactors has become the leading spent fuel management option. Many storage facilities are being required to operate longer than originally anticipated. Aging is a term that has emerged to focus attention on the consequences of extended operation on systems, structures, and components that comprise the storage facilities. The key to mitigation of age-related degradation in storage facilities is to implement effective strategies to understand and manage aging of the facility materials. A systematic approach to preclude serious effects of age-related degradation is addressed in this paper, directed principally to smaller facilities (test and research reactors). The first need is to assess the materials that comprise the facility and the environments that they are subject to. Access to historical data on facility design, fabrication, and operation can facilitate assessment of expected materials performance. Methods to assess the current condition of facility materials are summarized in the paper. Each facility needs an aging management plan to define the scope of the management program, involving identification of the materials that need specific actions to manage age-related degradation. For each material identified, one or more aging management programs are developed and become part of the plan Several national and international organizations have invested in development of comprehensive and systematic approaches to aging management. A method developed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is recommended as a concise template to organize measures to effectively manage age-related degradation of storage facility materials, including the scope of inspection, surveillance, and maintenance that is needed to assure successful operation of the facility over its required life. Important to effective aging management is a staff that is alert for evidence of materials degradation and committed to carry out the aging

Curcuma longa L. extract improves the cortical neural connectivity during the aging process.

Science.gov (United States)

Flores, Gonzalo

2017-06-01

Turmeric or Curcuma is a natural product that has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic pharmacological properties. It can be used in the control of the aging process that involves oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. Aging is a physiological process that affects higher cortical and cognitive functions with a reduction in learning and memory, limited judgment and deficits in emotional control and social behavior. Moreover, aging is a major risk factor for the appearance of several disorders such as cerebrovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. At the brain level, the aging process alters the synaptic intercommunication by a reduction in the dendritic arbor as well as the number of the dendritic spine in the pyramidal neurons of the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and basolateral amygdala, consequently reducing the size of these regions. The present review discusses the synaptic changes caused by the aging process and the neuroprotective role the Curcuma has through its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic actions.

Curcuma longa L. extract improves the cortical neural connectivity during the aging process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gonzalo Flores

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Turmeric or Curcuma is a natural product that has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic pharmacological properties. It can be used in the control of the aging process that involves oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. Aging is a physiological process that affects higher cortical and cognitive functions with a reduction in learning and memory, limited judgment and deficits in emotional control and social behavior. Moreover, aging is a major risk factor for the appearance of several disorders such as cerebrovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. At the brain level, the aging process alters the synaptic intercommunication by a reduction in the dendritic arbor as well as the number of the dendritic spine in the pyramidal neurons of the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and basolateral amygdala, consequently reducing the size of these regions. The present review discusses the synaptic changes caused by the aging process and the neuroprotective role the Curcuma has through its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic actions

Curcuma longa L. extract improves the cortical neural connectivity during the aging process

Science.gov (United States)

Flores, Gonzalo

2017-01-01

Turmeric or Curcuma is a natural product that has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic pharmacological properties. It can be used in the control of the aging process that involves oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. Aging is a physiological process that affects higher cortical and cognitive functions with a reduction in learning and memory, limited judgment and deficits in emotional control and social behavior. Moreover, aging is a major risk factor for the appearance of several disorders such as cerebrovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. At the brain level, the aging process alters the synaptic intercommunication by a reduction in the dendritic arbor as well as the number of the dendritic spine in the pyramidal neurons of the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and basolateral amygdala, consequently reducing the size of these regions. The present review discusses the synaptic changes caused by the aging process and the neuroprotective role the Curcuma has through its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic actions PMID:28761413

An analysis for understanding the process of textual deconstruction as a motivator for learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Delia Barrera Jiménez

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The present article aims to analyze the potential of the process of textual understanding and construction, for the development of motivation towards learning in teacher trainees for Preuniversities. In this direction it advocates in the first place, to understand the dynamic relationship established between the process of textual attribution and production and the motivational one, which provides the indispensable condition for promoting the work with the text from all the subjects in the curriculum.

Six sigma: process of understanding the control and capability of ranitidine hydrochloride tablet.

Science.gov (United States)

Chabukswar, Ar; Jagdale, Sc; Kuchekar, Bs; Joshi, Vd; Deshmukh, Gr; Kothawade, Hs; Kuckekar, Ab; Lokhande, Pd

2011-01-01

The process of understanding the control and capability (PUCC) is an iterative closed loop process for continuous improvement. It covers the DMAIC toolkit in its three phases. PUCC is an iterative approach that rotates between the three pillars of the process of understanding, process control, and process capability, with each iteration resulting in a more capable and robust process. It is rightly said that being at the top is a marathon and not a sprint. The objective of the six sigma study of Ranitidine hydrochloride tablets is to achieve perfection in tablet manufacturing by reviewing the present robust manufacturing process, to find out ways to improve and modify the process, which will yield tablets that are defect-free and will give more customer satisfaction. The application of six sigma led to an improved process capability, due to the improved sigma level of the process from 1.5 to 4, a higher yield, due to reduced variation and reduction of thick tablets, reduction in packing line stoppages, reduction in re-work by 50%, a more standardized process, with smooth flow and change in coating suspension reconstitution level (8%w/w), a huge cost reduction of approximately Rs.90 to 95 lakhs per annum, an improved overall efficiency by 30% approximately, and improved overall quality of the product.

Contributions of Nonhuman Primates to Research on Aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Didier, E S; MacLean, A G; Mohan, M; Didier, P J; Lackner, A A; Kuroda, M J

2016-03-01

Aging is the biological process of declining physiologic function associated with increasing mortality rate during advancing age. Humans and higher nonhuman primates exhibit unusually longer average life spans as compared with mammals of similar body mass. Furthermore, the population of humans worldwide is growing older as a result of improvements in public health, social services, and health care systems. Comparative studies among a wide range of organisms that include nonhuman primates contribute greatly to our understanding about the basic mechanisms of aging. Based on their genetic and physiologic relatedness to humans, nonhuman primates are especially important for better understanding processes of aging unique to primates, as well as for testing intervention strategies to improve healthy aging and to treat diseases and disabilities in older people. Rhesus and cynomolgus macaques are the predominant monkeys used in studies on aging, but research with lower nonhuman primate species is increasing. One of the priority topics of research about aging in nonhuman primates involves neurologic changes associated with cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. Additional areas of research include osteoporosis, reproductive decline, caloric restriction, and their mimetics, as well as immune senescence and chronic inflammation that affect vaccine efficacy and resistance to infections and cancer. The purpose of this review is to highlight the findings from nonhuman primate research that contribute to our understanding about aging and health span in humans. © The Author(s) 2016.

Rational-Emotive Assessment of School-Aged Children.

Science.gov (United States)

DiGiuseppe, Raymond

1990-01-01

Focuses on assessment of emotions and irrational beliefs in Rational-Emotive Therapy with school-aged children. Argues that, for children to understand and agree to process of disputing irrational beliefs, practitioner first assesses individual child's emotional vocabulary, his/her understanding of relationship between disturbed emotion and…

Aging and the number sense: preserved basic non-symbolic numerical processing and enhanced basic symbolic processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jade Eloise eNorris

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Aging often leads to general cognitive decline in domains such as memory and attention. The effect of aging on numerical cognition, particularly on foundational numerical skills known as the Number Sense, is not well known. Early research focused on the effect of aging on arithmetic. Recent studies have begun to investigate the impact of healthy aging on basic numerical skills, but focused on non-symbolic quantity discrimination alone. Moreover, contradictory findings have emerged. The current study aimed to further investigate the impact of aging on basic non-symbolic and symbolic numerical skills. A group of 25 younger (18-25 and 25 older adults (60-77 participated in non-symbolic and symbolic numerical comparison tasks. Mathematical and spelling abilities were also measured. Results showed that aging had no effect on foundational non-symbolic numerical skills, as both groups performed similarly (RTs, accuracy and Weber fractions (w. All participants showed decreased non-symbolic acuity (accuracy and w in trials requiring inhibition. However, aging appears to be associated with a greater decline in discrimination speed in such trials. Furthermore, aging seems to have a positive impact on mathematical ability and basic symbolic numerical processing, as older participants attained significantly higher mathematical achievement scores, and performed significantly better on the symbolic comparison task than younger participants. The findings suggest that aging and its lifetime exposure to numbers may lead to better mathematical achievement and stronger basic symbolic numerical skills. Our results further support the observation that basic non-symbolic numerical skills are resilient to aging, but that aging may exacerbate poorer performance on trials requiring inhibitory processes. These findings lend further support to the notion that preserved basic numerical skills in aging may reflect the preservation of an innate, primitive and embedded Number

Genomic integrity and the ageing brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Chow, Hei-man; Herrup, Karl

2015-11-01

DNA damage is correlated with and may drive the ageing process. Neurons in the brain are postmitotic and are excluded from many forms of DNA repair; therefore, neurons are vulnerable to various neurodegenerative diseases. The challenges facing the field are to understand how and when neuronal DNA damage accumulates, how this loss of genomic integrity might serve as a 'time keeper' of nerve cell ageing and why this process manifests itself as different diseases in different individuals.

[Anthropology, ethnography, and narrative: intersecting paths in understanding the processes of health and sickness].

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Gabriela M C; Gualda, Dulce M R

2010-12-01

The article discusses anthropology, ethnographic method, and narrative as possible ways of coming to know subjects' experiences and the feelings they attribute to them. From an anthropological perspective, the sociocultural universe is taken as a point of reference in understanding the meaning of the processes of health and sickness, using a dense ethnographic description from an interpretivist analytical approach. In this context, narratives afford possible paths to understanding how subjective human experiences are shared and how behavior is organized, with a special focus on meaning, the process by which stories are produced, relations between narrator and other subjects, processes of knowledge, and the manifold ways in which experience can be captured.

The treatment process of understanding scientific texts: A necessity in the current Cuban university

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanet María Guerra Santana

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This work has as main purpose to emphasize the need for treatment of the process of understanding scientific texts in the university today, for the development of science and technology has placed at the forefront in every race the problem of processing scientific information. The ability to produce scientific texts has been somewhat spontaneity in the curriculum of professional training in Cuban university, which has resulted in some professionals do not yet have linguistic, discursive and strategic " tools " best to communicate the style of science, hence the study of the process of understanding of scientific texts in undergraduate currently constitute a need in our universities.

A Science-Based Understanding of Cermet Processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cesarano, III, Joseph [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Roach, Robert Allen [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Kilgo, Alice C. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Susan, Donald Francis [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Van Ornum, David J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Stuecker, John N. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Shollenberger, Kimberly A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2006-04-01

This report is a summary of the work completed in FY01 for science-based characterization of the processes used to fabricate 1) cermet vias in source feedthrus using slurry and paste-filling techniques and 2) cermet powder for dry pressing. Common defects found in cermet vias were characterized based on the ability of subsequent processing techniques (isopressing and firing) to remove the defects. Non-aqueous spray drying and mist granulation techniques were explored as alternative methods of creating CND50, the powder commonly used for dry pressed parts. Compaction and flow characteristics of these techniques were analyzed and compared to standard dry-ball-milled CND50. Due to processing changes, changes in microstructure can occur. A microstructure characterization technique was developed to numerically describe cermet microstructure. Machining and electrical properties of dry pressed parts were also analyzed and related to microstructure using this analytical technique.3 Executive SummaryThis report outlines accomplishments in the science-based understanding of cermet processing up to fiscal year 2002 for Sandia National Laboratories. The three main areas of work are centered on 1) increasing production yields of slurry-filled cermets, 2) evaluating the viability of high-solids-loading pastes for the same cermet components, and 3) optimizing cermet powder used in pressing processes (CND50). An additional development that was created as a result of the effort to fully understand the impacts of alternative processing techniques is the use of analytical methods to relate microstructure to physical properties. Recommendations are suggested at the end of this report. Summaries of these four efforts are as follows:1.Increase Production Yields of Slurry-Filled Cermet Vias Finalized slurry filling criteria were determined based on three designs of experiments where the following factors were analyzed: vacuum time, solids loading, pressure drop across the filter paper

Aging of theory of mind: the influence of educational level and cognitive processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaoming; Wang, Kai; Wang, Fan; Tao, Qian; Xie, Yu; Cheng, Qi

2013-01-01

Previous studies of theory of mind (ToM) in old age have provided mixed results. We predicted that educational level and cognitive processing are two factors influencing the pattern of the aging of ToM. To test this hypothesis, a younger group who received higher education (mean age 20.46 years), an older group with an education level equal to that of the young group (mean age 76.29 years), and an older group with less education (mean age 73.52 years) were recruited. ToM tasks included the following tests: the second-order false-belief task, the faux-pas task, the eyes test, and tests of fundamental aspects of cognitive function that included two background tests (memory span and processing speed) and three subcomponents of executive function (inhibition, updating, and shifting). We found that the younger group and the older group with equally high education outperformed the older group with less education in false-belief and faux-pas tasks. However, there was no significant difference between the two former groups. The three groups of participants performed equivalently in the eyes test as well as in control tasks (false-belief control question, faux-pas control question, faux-pas control story, and Eyes Test control task). The younger group outperformed the other two groups in the cognitive processing tasks. Mediation analyses showed that difficulties in inhibition, memory span, and processing speed mediated the age differences in false-belief reasoning. Also, the variables of inhibition, updating, memory span, and processing speed mediated age-related variance in faux-pas. Discussion focused on the links between ToM aging, educational level, and cognitive processing. Supported by Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (number: 30870766) and Anhui Province Natural Science Foundation (number: 11040606M166).

Advanced glycation End-products (AGEs): an emerging concern for processed food industries.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Chetan; Kaur, Amarjeet; Thind, S S; Singh, Baljit; Raina, Shiveta

2015-12-01

The global food industry is expected to increase more than US $ 7 trillion by 2014. This rise in processed food sector shows that more and more people are diverging towards modern processed foods. As modern diets are largely heat processed, they are more prone to contain high levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs are a group of complex and heterogeneous compounds which are known as brown and fluorescent cross-linking substances such as pentosidine, non-fluorescent cross-linking products such as methylglyoxal-lysine dimers (MOLD), or non-fluorescent, non-cross linking adducts such as carboxymethyllysine (CML) and pyrraline (a pyrrole aldehyde). The chemistry of the AGEs formation, absorption and bioavailability and their patho-biochemistry particularly in relation to different complications like diabetes and ageing discussed. The concept of AGEs receptor - RAGE is mentioned. AGEs contribute to a variety of microvascular and macrovascular complications through the formation of cross-links between molecules in the basement membrane of the extracellular matrix and by engaging the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE). Different methods of detection and quantification along with types of agents used for the treatment of AGEs are reviewed. Generally, ELISA or LC-MS methods are used for analysis of foods and body fluids, however lack of universally established method highlighted. The inhibitory effect of bioactive components on AGEs by trapping variety of chemical moieties discussed. The emerging evidence about the adverse effects of AGEs makes it necessary to investigate the different therapies to inhibit AGEs.

Ageing without detailed balance in the bosonic contact and pair-contact processes: exact results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumann, Florian; Henkel, Malte; Pleimling, Michel; Richert, Jean

2005-01-01

Ageing in systems without detailed balance is studied in the exactly solvable bosonic contact process and the critical bosonic pair-contact process. The two-time correlation function and the two-time response function are explicitly found. In the ageing regime, the dynamical scaling of these is analysed and exact results for the ageing exponents and the scaling functions are derived. For the critical bosonic pair-contact process, the autocorrelation and autoresponse exponents agree but the ageing exponents a and b are shown to be distinct

Methodology to analysis of aging processes of containment spray system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borges, D. da Silva; Lava, D.D.; Moreira, M. de L.; Ferreira Guimarães, A.C.; Fernandes da Silva, L.

2015-01-01

This paper presents a contribution to the study of aging process of components in commercial plants of Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs). The motivation for write this work emerged from the current perspective nuclear. Numerous nuclear power plants worldwide have an advanced operating time. This problem requires a process to ensure the confiability of the operative systems of these plants, because of this, it is necessary a methodologies capable of estimate the failure probability of the components and systems. In addition to the safety factors involved, such methodologies can to be used to search ways to ensure the extension of the life cycle of nuclear plants, which inevitably will pass by the decommissioning process after the operating time of 40 years. This process negatively affects the power generation, besides demanding an enormous investment for such. Thus, this paper aims to present modeling techniques and sensitivity analysis, which together can generate an estimate of how components, which are more sensitive to the aging process, will behave during the normal operation cycle of a nuclear power plant. (authors)

Liver diseases and aging : friends or foes?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sheedfar, Fareeba; Di Biase, Stefano; Koonen, Debby; Vinciguerra, Manlio

2013-01-01

The liver is the only internal human organ capable of natural regeneration of lost tissue, as little as 25% of a liver can regenerate into a whole liver. The process of aging predisposes to hepatic functional and structural impairment and metabolic risk. Therefore, understanding how aging could

The future of ageing.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayflick, L

2000-11-09

Advances in our knowledge of age-associated diseases have far outpaced advances in our understanding of the fundamental ageing processes that underlie the vulnerability to these pathologies. If we are to increase human life expectancy beyond the fifteen-year limit that would result if today's leading causes of death were resolved, more attention must be paid to basic research on ageing. Determination of longevity must be distinguished from ageing to take us from the common question of why we age to a more revealing question that is rarely posed: why do we live as long as we do? But if the ability to intervene in ageing ever becomes a reality, it will be rife with unintended and undesirable consequences.

Age-Dependent Positivity-Bias in Children’s Processing of Emotion Terms

Science.gov (United States)

Bahn, Daniela; Vesker, Michael; García Alanis, José C.; Schwarzer, Gudrun; Kauschke, Christina

2017-01-01

Emotions play an important role in human communication, and the daily-life interactions of young children often include situations that require the verbalization of emotional states with verbal means, e.g., with emotion terms. Through them, one can express own emotional states and those of others. Thus, the acquisition of emotion terms allows children to participate more intensively in social contexts – a basic requirement for learning new words and for elaborating socio-emotional skills. However, little is known about how children acquire and process this specific word category, which is positioned between concrete and abstract words. In particular, the influence of valence on emotion word processing during childhood has not been sufficiently investigated. Previous research points to an advantage of positive words over negative and neutral words in word processing. While previous studies found valence effects to be influenced by factors such as arousal, frequency, concreteness, and task, it is still unclear if and how valence effects are also modified by age. The present study compares the performance of children aged from 5 to 12 years and adults in two experimental tasks: lexical decision (word or pseudoword) and emotional categorization (positive or negative). Stimuli consisted of 48 German emotion terms (24 positive and 24 negative) matched for arousal, concreteness, age of acquisition, word class, word length, morphological complexity, frequency, and neighborhood density. Results from both tasks reveal two developmental trends: First, with increasing age children responded faster and more correctly, suggesting that emotion vocabulary gradually becomes more stable and differentiated during middle childhood. Second, the influence of valence varied with age: younger children (5- and 6-year-olds) showed significantly higher performance levels for positive emotion terms compared to negative emotion terms, whereas older children and adults did not. This age

Toward theoretical understanding of the fertility preservation decision-making process: Examining information processing among young women with cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Hershberger, Patricia E.; Finnegan, Lorna; Altfeld, Susan; Lake, Sara; Hirshfeld-Cytron, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Background Young women with cancer now face the complex decision about whether to undergo fertility preservation. Yet little is known about how these women process information involved in making this decision. Objective The purpose of this paper is to expand theoretical understanding of the decision-making process by examining aspects of information processing among young women diagnosed with cancer. Methods Using a grounded theory approach, 27 women with cancer participated in individual, semi-structured interviews. Data were coded and analyzed using constant-comparison techniques that were guided by five dimensions within the Contemplate phase of the decision-making process framework. Results In the first dimension, young women acquired information primarily from clinicians and Internet sources. Experiential information, often obtained from peers, occurred in the second dimension. Preferences and values were constructed in the third dimension as women acquired factual, moral, and ethical information. Women desired tailored, personalized information that was specific to their situation in the fourth dimension; however, women struggled with communicating these needs to clinicians. In the fifth dimension, women offered detailed descriptions of clinician behaviors that enhance or impede decisional debriefing. Conclusion Better understanding of theoretical underpinnings surrounding women’s information processes can facilitate decision support and improve clinical care. PMID:24552086

Nitrous oxide emissions from soils: how well do we understand the processes and their controls?

Science.gov (United States)

Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Baggs, Elizabeth M.; Dannenmann, Michael; Kiese, Ralf; Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Sophie

2013-01-01

Although it is well established that soils are the dominating source for atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O), we are still struggling to fully understand the complexity of the underlying microbial production and consumption processes and the links to biotic (e.g. inter- and intraspecies competition, food webs, plant–microbe interaction) and abiotic (e.g. soil climate, physics and chemistry) factors. Recent work shows that a better understanding of the composition and diversity of the microbial community across a variety of soils in different climates and under different land use, as well as plant–microbe interactions in the rhizosphere, may provide a key to better understand the variability of N2O fluxes at the soil–atmosphere interface. Moreover, recent insights into the regulation of the reduction of N2O to dinitrogen (N2) have increased our understanding of N2O exchange. This improved process understanding, building on the increased use of isotope tracing techniques and metagenomics, needs to go along with improvements in measurement techniques for N2O (and N2) emission in order to obtain robust field and laboratory datasets for different ecosystem types. Advances in both fields are currently used to improve process descriptions in biogeochemical models, which may eventually be used not only to test our current process understanding from the microsite to the field level, but also used as tools for up-scaling emissions to landscapes and regions and to explore feedbacks of soil N2O emissions to changes in environmental conditions, land management and land use. PMID:23713120

Beyond Homophily: A Decade of Advances in Understanding Peer Influence Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Brechwald, Whitney A.; Prinstein, Mitchell J.

2011-01-01

This article reviews empirical and theoretical contributions to a multidisciplinary understanding of peer influence processes in adolescence over the past decade. Five themes of peer influence research from this decade were identified, including a broadening of the range of behaviors for which peer influence occurs, distinguishing the sources of…

Beyond Homophily: A Decade of Advances in Understanding Peer Influence Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Brechwald, Whitney A.; Prinstein, Mitchell J.

2013-01-01

This article reviews empirical and theoretical contributions to a multidisciplinary understanding of peer influence processes in adolescence over the past decade. Five themes of peer influence research from this decade were identified, including a broadening of the range of behaviors for which peer influence occurs, distinguishing the sources of influence, probing the conditions under which influence is amplified/attenuated (moderators), testing theoretically based models of peer influence processes (mechanisms), and preliminary exploration of behavioral neuroscience perspectives on peer influence. This review highlights advances in each of these areas, underscores gaps in current knowledge of peer influence processes, and outlines important challenges for future research. PMID:23730122

Understanding the older entrepreneur: Comparing Third Age and Prime Age entrepreneurs in Finland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kautonen, T.

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This paper responds to the need for more data on the topical issue of older entrepreneurship by comparing Third Age (50+ years and Prime Age (20-49 years entrepreneurs in Finland. The data comprises responses from 839 small firms which were established 2000-2006. The fact that 16% of these firms were founded by individuals aged 50 or over indicates that older entrepreneurship is not a marginal issue, even though the start-up rate in the Third Age population was found to be slightly less than half of that in the Prime Age cohort. Further, the findings point to the need for more empirical, especially qualitative, research on issues related to the social and cultural perceptions of old age and gender as well as different ‘pull’ motivations leading to entrepreneurship at an older age, which were found to clearly dominate over ‘push’ motives in this context.

ERP evidence for own-age effects on late stages of processing sad faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Fölster, Mara; Werheid, Katja

2016-08-01

Faces convey important information on interaction partners, such as their emotional state and age. Faces of the same age are, according to recent research, preferentially processed. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the neural processes underlying this own-age effect are influenced by the emotional expression of the face, and to explore possible explanations such as the frequency or quality of contact to own-age versus other-age groups. Event-related potentials were recorded while 19 younger (18-30 years) and 19 older (64-86 years) observers watched younger and older sad and happy faces. Sad but not happy faces elicited higher late positive potential amplitudes for own-age than for other-age faces. This own-age effect was significant for older, but not for younger, observers, and correlated with the quality of contact with the own-age versus the other-age group. This pattern suggests that sad own-age faces are motivationally more relevant.

Understanding the Perception of Very Small Software Companies towards the Adoption of Process Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Basri, Shuib; O'Connor, Rory V.

This paper is concerned with understanding the issues that affect the adoption of software process standards by Very Small Entities (VSEs), their needs from process standards and their willingness to engage with the new ISO/IEC 29110 standard in particular. In order to achieve this goal, a series of industry data collection studies were undertaken with a collection of VSEs. A twin track approach of a qualitative data collection (interviews and focus groups) and quantitative data collection (questionnaire) were undertaken. Data analysis was being completed separately and the final results were merged, using the coding mechanisms of grounded theory. This paper serves as a roadmap for both researchers wishing to understand the issues of process standards adoption by very small companies and also for the software process standards community.

Aging memory for pictures: Using high-density event-related potentials to understand the effect of aging on the picture superiority effect

OpenAIRE

Ally, Brandon A.; Waring, Jill D.; Beth, Ellen H.; McKeever, Joshua D.; Milberg, William P.; Budson, Andrew E.

2007-01-01

High-density event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to understand the effect of aging on the neural correlates of the picture superiority effect. Pictures and words were systematically varied at study and test while ERPs were recorded at retrieval. Here, the results of the word-word and picture-picture study-test conditions are presented. Behavioral results showed that older adults demonstrated the picture superiority effect to a greater extent than younger adults. The ERP data helped to e...

Towards the understanding of network information processing in biology

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Vijay

Living organisms perform incredibly well in detecting a signal present in the environment. This information processing is achieved near optimally and quite reliably, even though the sources of signals are highly variable and complex. The work in the last few decades has given us a fair understanding of how individual signal processing units like neurons and cell receptors process signals, but the principles of collective information processing on biological networks are far from clear. Information processing in biological networks, like the brain, metabolic circuits, cellular-signaling circuits, etc., involves complex interactions among a large number of units (neurons, receptors). The combinatorially large number of states such a system can exist in makes it impossible to study these systems from the first principles, starting from the interactions between the basic units. The principles of collective information processing on such complex networks can be identified using coarse graining approaches. This could provide insights into the organization and function of complex biological networks. Here I study models of biological networks using continuum dynamics, renormalization, maximum likelihood estimation and information theory. Such coarse graining approaches identify features that are essential for certain processes performed by underlying biological networks. We find that long-range connections in the brain allow for global scale feature detection in a signal. These also suppress the noise and remove any gaps present in the signal. Hierarchical organization with long-range connections leads to large-scale connectivity at low synapse numbers. Time delays can be utilized to separate a mixture of signals with temporal scales. Our observations indicate that the rules in multivariate signal processing are quite different from traditional single unit signal processing.

Periodontal disease level-butyric acid putatively contributes to the ageing blood: A proposed link between periodontal diseases and the ageing process.

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Cueno, Marni E; Seki, Keisuke; Ochiai, Kuniyasu; Imai, Kenichi

2017-03-01

Periodontal diseases are partly attributable to periodontopathic bacteria found in the host, whereas, butyric acid (BA) is a common secondary metabolite produced by periodontopathic bacterial pathogens. BA has been linked to oxidative stress induction while oxidative stress has long been associated with the ageing process. However, the possible link between BA-induced oxidative stress and the ageing process has never been elucidated. Here, we attempted to show the possible role of periodontal diseaselevel-BA (PDL-BA) in influencing the rat blood ageing process. We injected PDL-BA into the young rat gingiva and, after 24h, heart blood extraction was performed. Blood obtained from PDL-BA-treated young rats was compared to untreated young and middle-aged rats. We found that cytosolic, but not mitochondrial, heme was affected 24h post-injection. In addition, we observed that PDL-BA treatment altered blood NOX activation, NADPH-related oxidative stress components (H 2 O 2 and GR), calcium homeostasis, cell death signals (CASP3 and CASP1), and age-related markers (SIRT1 and mTOR) in young rats, with some components more closely mimicking levels found in middle-aged rats. In this regard, we propose that PDL-BA may play a role in contributing to the rat blood ageing process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Elementary Education Preservice Teachers' Understanding of Biotechnology and Its Related Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Chabalengula, Vivien Mweene; Mumba, Frackson; Chitiyo, Jonathan

2011-01-01

This study examined preservice teachers' understanding of biotechnology and its related processes. A sample comprised 88 elementary education preservice teachers at a large university in the Midwest of the USA. A total of 60 and 28 of the participants were enrolled in introductory and advanced science methods courses, respectively. Most…

Understanding age-induced cortical porosity in women

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Christina Møller; Delaisse, Jean-Marie; van der Eerden, Bram C J

2018-01-01

of a histomorphometric analysis of sections of iliac bone specimens from 35 women (age 16-78 years). Firstly, the study shows that the aging-induced cortical porosity reflects an increased pore size rather than an increased pore density. Secondly, it establishes a novel histomorphometric classification of the pores...... initiation of the subsequent bone formation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved....

Effects of sugar concentration processes in grapes and wine aging on aroma compounds of sweet wines—a review.

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Reboredo-Rodríguez, Patricia; González-Barreiro, Carmen; Rial-Otero, Raquel; Cancho-Grande, Beatriz; Simal-Gándara, Jesús

2015-01-01

Dessert sweet wines from Europe and North America are described in this review from two points of view: both their aroma profile and also their sensorial description. There are growing literature data about the chemical composition and sensory properties of these wines. Wines were grouped according to the production method (concentration of sugars in grapes) and to the aging process of wine (oxidative, biological, or a combination of both and aging in the bottle). It was found that wines natively sweets and wines fortified with liquors differ in their volatile compounds. Sensory properties of these wines include those of dried fruit (raisins), red berries, honey, chocolate and vanilla, which is contributing to their growing sales. However, there is still a need for scientific research on the understanding of the mechanisms for wine flavor enhancement.

Sirtuin 1 participates in the process of age-related retinal degeneration.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Ying; Yang, Ke

The process of aging involves retinal cell damage that leads to visual dysfunction. Sirtuin (Sirt) 1 can prevent oxidative stress, DNA damage, and apoptosis. In the present study, we measured the expression of Sirt1 as a functional regulator in the retina during the aging process. The visual function and Sirt1 expression in young (1 month) and old (19 months) Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Electroretinogram (ERG) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or Western blotting were performed. Resveratrol, an activator of Sirt1, was orally administered to SD rats at a dose of 5 mg/kg/day for 19 months. The expression of Sirt1, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) was evaluated in the retinas of mice that did and did not receive resveratrol treatment. Apoptosis was detected by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. With decreasing b-wave amplitude, the expression level of Sirt1 was significantly reduced in aged retinas compared to that in young retinas. After 19 months of treatment with resveratrol, the Sirt1 expression level and b-wave amplitude increased. In old rats treated with resveratrol, the expression levels of BDNF and TrkB were up-regulated. Compared to young retinas, the aged retinas exhibited higher apoptosis, but resveratrol delayed this process. Our data demonstrated a reduction of Sirt1 expression during the aging process of the retina, but enhancing Sirt1 expression reversed the degeneration of the retina. These results suggested that increasing Sirt1 expression may protect retinal neurons and visual function via regulating neurotrophin and its receptor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The aging self in a cultural context: the relation of conceptions of aging to identity processes and self-esteem in the United States and the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Westerhof, Gerben J; Whitbourne, Susan Krauss; Freeman, Gillian P

2012-01-01

To study the aging self, that is, conceptions of one's own aging process, in relation to identity processes and self-esteem in the United States and the Netherlands. As the liberal American system has a stronger emphasis on individual responsibility and youthfulness than the social-democratic Dutch system, we expect that youthful and positive perceptions of one's own aging process are more important in the United States than in the Netherlands. Three hundred and nineteen American and 235 Dutch persons between 40 and 85 years participated in the study. A single question on age identity and the Personal Experience of Aging Scale measured aspects of the aging self. The Identity and Experiences Scale measured identity processes and Rosenberg's scale measured self-esteem. A youthful age identity and more positive personal experiences of aging were related to identity processes and self-esteem. These conceptions of one's own aging process also mediate the relation between identity processes and self-esteem. This mediating effect is stronger in the United States than in the Netherlands. As expected, the self-enhancing function of youthful and positive aging perceptions is stronger in the liberal American system than in the social-democratic Dutch welfare system. The aging self should therefore be studied in its cultural context.

A soil-landscape framework for understanding spatial and temporal variability in biogeochemical processes in catchments

Science.gov (United States)

McGuire, K. J.; Bailey, S. W.; Ross, D. S.

2017-12-01

Heterogeneity in biophysical properties within catchments challenges how we quantify and characterize biogeochemical processes and interpret catchment outputs. Interactions between the spatiotemporal variability of hydrological states and fluxes and soil development can spatially structure catchments, leading to a framework for understanding patterns in biogeochemical processes. In an upland, glaciated landscape at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF) in New Hampshire, USA, we are embracing the structure and organization of soils to understand the spatial relations between runoff production zones, distinct soil-biogeochemical environments, and solute retention and release. This presentation will use observations from the HBEF to demonstrate that a soil-landscape framework is essential in understanding the spatial and temporal variability of biogeochemical processes in this catchment. Specific examples will include how laterally developed soils reveal the location of active runoff production zones and lead to gradients in primary mineral dissolution and the distribution of weathering products along hillslopes. Soil development patterns also highlight potential carbon and nitrogen cycling hotspots, differentiate acidic conditions, and affect the regulation of surface water quality. Overall, this work demonstrates the importance of understanding the landscape-level structural organization of soils in characterizing the variation and extent of biogeochemical processes that occur in catchments.

Understanding decimal proportions: discrete representations, parallel access, and privileged processing of zero.

Science.gov (United States)

Varma, Sashank; Karl, Stacy R

2013-05-01

Much of the research on mathematical cognition has focused on the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, with considerably less attention paid to more abstract number classes. The current research investigated how people understand decimal proportions--rational numbers between 0 and 1 expressed in the place-value symbol system. The results demonstrate that proportions are represented as discrete structures and processed in parallel. There was a semantic interference effect: When understanding a proportion expression (e.g., "0.29"), both the correct proportion referent (e.g., 0.29) and the incorrect natural number referent (e.g., 29) corresponding to the visually similar natural number expression (e.g., "29") are accessed in parallel, and when these referents lead to conflicting judgments, performance slows. There was also a syntactic interference effect, generalizing the unit-decade compatibility effect for natural numbers: When comparing two proportions, their tenths and hundredths components are processed in parallel, and when the different components lead to conflicting judgments, performance slows. The results also reveal that zero decimals--proportions ending in zero--serve multiple cognitive functions, including eliminating semantic interference and speeding processing. The current research also extends the distance, semantic congruence, and SNARC effects from natural numbers to decimal proportions. These findings inform how people understand the place-value symbol system, and the mental implementation of mathematical symbol systems more generally. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A model for ageing-home-care service process improvement

OpenAIRE

Yu, Shu-Yan; Shie, An-Jin

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop an integrated model to improve service processes in ageing-home-care. According to the literature, existing service processes have potential service failures that affect service quality and efficacy. However, most previous studies have only focused on conceptual model development using New Service Development (NSD) and fail to provide a systematic model to analyse potential service failures and facilitate managers developing solutions to improve the se...

Age-Related Changes in Children's Understanding of Effort and Ability: Implications for Attribution Theory and Motivation

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Folmer, Amy S.; Cole, David A.; Sigal, Amanda B.; Benbow, Lovisa D.; Satterwhite, Lindsay F.; Swygert, Katherine E.; Ciesla, Jeffrey A.

2008-01-01

Building on Nicholls's earlier work, we examined developmental changes in children's understanding of effort and ability when faced with a negative outcome. In a sample of 166 children and adolescents (ages 5-15 years), younger children conflated the meaning of effort and ability, explaining that smart students work hard, whereas older children…

The Influence of Toy Design Activities on Middle School Students' Understanding of the Engineering Design Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Ninger; Pereira, Nielsen L.; George, Tarun Thomas; Alperovich, Jeffrey; Booth, Joran; Chandrasegaran, Senthil; Tew, Jeffrey David; Kulkarni, Devadatta M.; Ramani, Karthik

2017-10-01

The societal demand for inspiring and engaging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students and preparing our workforce for the emerging creative economy has necessitated developing students' self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes from as early as elementary school levels. Hands-on engineering design activities have shown the potential to promote middle school students' self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes. However, traditional classrooms often lack hands-on engineering design experiences, leaving students unprepared to solve real-world design problems. In this study, we introduce the framework of a toy design workshop and investigate the influence of the workshop activities on students' understanding of and self-efficacy beliefs in engineering design. Using a mixed method approach, we conducted quantitative analyses to show changes in students' engineering design self-efficacy and qualitative analyses to identify students' understanding of the engineering design processes. Findings show that among the 24 participants, there is a significant increase in students' self-efficacy beliefs after attending the workshop. We also identified major themes such as design goals and prototyping in students' understanding of engineering design processes. This research provides insights into the key elements of middle school students' engineering design learning and the benefits of engaging middle school students in hands-on toy design workshops.

PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES OF THREE INDONESIAN CHILDREN AGED BETWEEN 1;8 AND 2;6

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patuan Raja

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Children are believed to employ universal processes in simplifying adult language words to match their developing phonology. The present paper is intended to describe the phonological processes used by three Indonesian children aged between 1;8 and 2;6. There is an indication that the utilization of the processes might be not only quantitatively but also qualitatively age-related, and that the processes might actually be of three types: universal (species-specific, local (language-specific, and idiosyncratic (individual-specific.

Building from a conceptual model of the resilience process during ageing, towards the Groningen Aging Resilience Inventory.

Science.gov (United States)

van Abbema, Renske; Bielderman, Annemiek; De Greef, Mathieu; Hobbelen, Hans; Krijnen, Wim; van der Schans, Cees

2015-09-01

To develop and psychometrically test the Groningen Ageing Resilience Inventory. Ageing is a process that is often accompanied by functional limitation, disabilities and losses. Instead of focusing on these negative events of ageing, there are opportunities in focusing on adaptation mechanisms, like resilience, that are helpful to cope with those adversities. Cross-sectional study. The study was conducted from 2011-2012. First, a conceptual model of resilience during the ageing process was constructed. Next, items were formulated that made up a comprehensive template questionnaire reflecting the model. Finally, a cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the construct validity and internal consistency of this template 16-item questionnaire. Participants (N = 229) with a mean age of 71·5 years, completed the template 16-item Groningen Ageing Resilience Inventory, and performance based tests and psychological questionnaires. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a two factor solution of internal and external resources of resilience. Three items did not discriminate well between the two factors and were deleted, remaining a final 13-item questionnaire that shows evidence of good internal consistency. The direction and magnitude of the correlations with other measures support the construct validity. The Groningen Ageing Resilience Inventory is a useful instrument that can help nurses, other healthcare workers, researchers and providers of informal care to identify the internal and external resources of resilience in individuals and groups. In a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial approach this knowledge provides tools for empowering older patients in performing health promoting behaviors and self-care tasks. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Understanding a Basic Biological Process: Expert and Novice Models of Meiosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kindfield, Ann C. H.

The results of a study of the meiosis models utilized by individuals at varying levels of expertise while reasoning about the process of meiosis are presented. Based on these results, the issues of sources of misconceptions/difficulties and the construction of a sound understanding of meiosis are discussed. Five individuals from each of three…

Aging Effect on Audiovisual Integrative Processing in Spatial Discrimination Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhi Zou

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Multisensory integration is an essential process that people employ daily, from conversing in social gatherings to navigating the nearby environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of aging on modulating multisensory integrative processes using event-related potential (ERP, and the validity of the study was improved by including “noise” in the contrast conditions. Older and younger participants were involved in perceiving visual and/or auditory stimuli that contained spatial information. The participants responded by indicating the spatial direction (far vs. near and left vs. right conveyed in the stimuli using different wrist movements. electroencephalograms (EEGs were captured in each task trial, along with the accuracy and reaction time of the participants’ motor responses. Older participants showed a greater extent of behavioral improvements in the multisensory (as opposed to unisensory condition compared to their younger counterparts. Older participants were found to have fronto-centrally distributed super-additive P2, which was not the case for the younger participants. The P2 amplitude difference between the multisensory condition and the sum of the unisensory conditions was found to correlate significantly with performance on spatial discrimination. The results indicated that the age-related effect modulated the integrative process in the perceptual and feedback stages, particularly the evaluation of auditory stimuli. Audiovisual (AV integration may also serve a functional role during spatial-discrimination processes to compensate for the compromised attention function caused by aging.

Understanding, Predicting, and Preventing Life Changing and Life Threatening Health Changes among Aging Veterans and Civilians with Spinal Cord Injury

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-01

AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-16-1-0629 TITLE: Understanding, Predicting, and Preventing Life -Changing and Life -Threatening Health Changes among Aging...Annual 3. DATES COVERED 30 Sep 2016 - 29 Sep 2017 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Understanding, Predicting, and Preventing Life -Changing and Life ... hope of preventing them. Our purpose is to better understand the how and why of the development of negative health spirals and how they may best be

Effect of decontamination on aging processes and considerations for life extension

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diercks, D.R.

1987-10-01

The basis for a recently initiated program on the chemical decontamination of nuclear reactor components and the possible impact of decontamination on extended-life service is described. The incentives for extending plant life beyond the present 40-year limit are discussed, and the possible aging degradation processes that may be accentuated in extended-life service are described. Chemical decontamination processes for nuclear plant primary systems are summarized with respect to their corrosive effects on structural alloys, particularly those in the aged condition. Available experience with chemical cleaning processes for the secondary side of PWR steam generators is also briefly considered. Overall, no severe materials corrosion problems have been found that would preclude the use of these chemical processes, but concerns have been raised in several areas, particularly with respect to corrosion-related problems that may develop during extended service

[Perception, processing of visual information and resistance to emotional stresses in athletes of different ages].

Science.gov (United States)

Korobeĭnikova, L H; Makarchuk, M Iu

2013-01-01

Among the numerous studies devoted to the study of perception and information processing, no data available on the effects of age on these processes. In this paper we studied the influence of psycho-emotional stress and different levels of stress on the mental processes of perception and information processing in highly skilled athletes divided into two groups. The first group included the athletes aged 19-24 years (12 athletes, members of the Ukrainian team in Greco-Roman wrestling), the second group included the athletes aged 27-31 years (7 highly skilled athletes, members of the Ukrainian team in Greco-Roman wrestling). We revealed that the athletes of the first group had higher productivity and better visual perception and visual information processing efficiency, compared with athletes from the second group. This observation suggests a dependency of cognitive component of perception and information processing on the age of the athletes. Sportsmen from the second group had higher stress resistance compared to the older age group.

Vascular Ageing and Exercise: Focus on Cellular Reparative Processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Mark D; Malone, Eva; Florida-James, Geraint

2016-01-01

Ageing is associated with an increased risk of developing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The increased risk can be attributable to increased prolonged exposure to oxidative stress. Often, CVD is preceded by endothelial dysfunction, which carries with it a proatherothrombotic phenotype. Endothelial senescence and reduced production and release of nitric oxide (NO) are associated with "vascular ageing" and are often accompanied by a reduced ability for the body to repair vascular damage, termed "reendothelialization." Exercise has been repeatedly shown to confer protection against CVD and diabetes risk and incidence. Regular exercise promotes endothelial function and can prevent endothelial senescence, often through a reduction in oxidative stress. Recently, endothelial precursors, endothelial progenitor cells (EPC), have been shown to repair damaged endothelium, and reduced circulating number and/or function of these cells is associated with ageing. Exercise can modulate both number and function of these cells to promote endothelial homeostasis. In this review we look at the effects of advancing age on the endothelium and these endothelial precursors and how exercise appears to offset this "vascular ageing" process.

Age-Dependent Positivity-Bias in Children’s Processing of Emotion Terms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Bahn

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Emotions play an important role in human communication, and the daily-life interactions of young children often include situations that require the verbalization of emotional states with verbal means, e.g., with emotion terms. Through them, one can express own emotional states and those of others. Thus, the acquisition of emotion terms allows children to participate more intensively in social contexts – a basic requirement for learning new words and for elaborating socio-emotional skills. However, little is known about how children acquire and process this specific word category, which is positioned between concrete and abstract words. In particular, the influence of valence on emotion word processing during childhood has not been sufficiently investigated. Previous research points to an advantage of positive words over negative and neutral words in word processing. While previous studies found valence effects to be influenced by factors such as arousal, frequency, concreteness, and task, it is still unclear if and how valence effects are also modified by age. The present study compares the performance of children aged from 5 to 12 years and adults in two experimental tasks: lexical decision (word or pseudoword and emotional categorization (positive or negative. Stimuli consisted of 48 German emotion terms (24 positive and 24 negative matched for arousal, concreteness, age of acquisition, word class, word length, morphological complexity, frequency, and neighborhood density. Results from both tasks reveal two developmental trends: First, with increasing age children responded faster and more correctly, suggesting that emotion vocabulary gradually becomes more stable and differentiated during middle childhood. Second, the influence of valence varied with age: younger children (5- and 6-year-olds showed significantly higher performance levels for positive emotion terms compared to negative emotion terms, whereas older children and adults did not

Actuarial senescence in a long-lived orchid challenges our current understanding of ageing.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahlgren, Johan Petter; Colchero, Fernando; Jones, Owen R; Øien, Dag-Inge; Moen, Asbjørn; Sletvold, Nina

2016-11-16

The dominant evolutionary theory of actuarial senescence-an increase in death rate with advancing age-is based on the concept of a germ cell line that is separated from the somatic cells early in life. However, such a separation is not clear in all organisms. This has been suggested to explain the paucity of evidence for actuarial senescence in plants. We used a 32 year study of Dactylorhiza lapponica that replaces its organs each growing season, to test whether individuals of this tuberous orchid senesce. We performed a Bayesian survival trajectory analysis accounting for reproductive investment, for individuals under two types of land use, in two climatic regions. The mortality trajectory was best approximated by a Weibull model, showing clear actuarial senescence. Rates of senescence in this model declined with advancing age, but were slightly higher in mown plots and in the more benign climatic region. At older ages, senescence was evident only when accounting for a positive effect of reproductive investment on mortality. Our results demonstrate actuarial senescence as well as a survival-reproduction trade-off in plants, and indicate that environmental context may influence senescence rates. This knowledge is crucial for understanding the evolution of demographic senescence and for models of plant population dynamics. © 2016 The Author(s).

Basic study of catalyst aging in the H-coal process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cable, T.L.; Massoth, F.E.; Thomas, M.G.

1985-04-01

Samples of CoMo/Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ catalysts used in an H-coal process demonstration run were studied to determine causes of catalyst deactivation. Physical and surface properties of the aged and regenerated catalysts were examined. Model compounds were used to assess four catalyst activity functions, viz., hydrodesulfurization (HDS), hydrogenation, cracking and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO). Other tests were performed to study the effects of coke and metals separately on the four catalyst activity functions. Catalyst coke content and metal deposits first increased rapidly, then more gradually with exposure time in the process run. Surface area and pore volume markedly decreased with exposure time. Catalyst activities of aged catalysts showed a rapid decline with exposure time. One-day exposure to coal resulted in significant losses in HDS and hydrogenation activities and nearly complete loss in cracking and HDO activities. Although metal deposits caused some permanent catalyst deactivation, coke had a much greater effect. Regenerated catalysts showed less recovery of catalytic activity as processing time increased. These results agreed well with product inspections from the process run. Oxygen chemisorption on aged-regenerated catalysts decreased with catalyst exposure time, indicating a significant loss of active sites. However, ESCA results showed no evidence of extensive sintering of the active MoS/sub 2/ phase. Permanent deactivation of the longer-time exposed catalysts can be ascribed, at least partly, to lateral growth of the active molybdenum sulfide phase. In addition, some loss in cobalt promotion occurred early in the process, which may account for the rapid loss in HDS and HDO activity in regenerated catalysts. 24 references.

Process understanding and cooperative design. Keys to high quality automation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tommila, T.; Heinonen, R.

1995-01-01

A systematic approach to the specification of process control systems, and four practical methods supporting user participation and interdisciplinary co-operation are described. The main steps of the design approach are: (1) hierarchical decomposition of the plant to process items of different types; (2) analysis and definition of requirements and control strategies associated with each process item; (3) definition of automation degree; and (4) functional specification of the control system and its user interface. The specification language used for this step is a combination of principles found in object oriented design, structured analysis as well as new language standards for programmable controllers and open information systems. The design review methods presented include structured control strategy meetings, safety analysis of sequential controls, review of graphic displays, and a usability questionnaire for existing plants. These methods can be used to elicit users' needs and operational experience, to gain a common understanding of the process functionality, or to detect errors in design specifications or in existing systems. (8 refs., 9 figs.)

University Students' Understanding of Chemistry Processes and the Quality of Evidence in Their Written Arguments

Science.gov (United States)

Seung, Eulsun; Choi, Aeran; Pestel, Beverly

2016-01-01

We have developed a process-oriented chemistry laboratory curriculum for non-science majors. The purpose of this study is both to explore university students' understanding of chemistry processes and to evaluate the quality of evidence students use to support their claims regarding chemistry processes in a process-oriented chemistry laboratory…

Bayesian Optimization for Neuroimaging Pre-processing in Brain Age Classification and Prediction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenessa Lancaster

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Neuroimaging-based age prediction using machine learning is proposed as a biomarker of brain aging, relating to cognitive performance, health outcomes and progression of neurodegenerative disease. However, even leading age-prediction algorithms contain measurement error, motivating efforts to improve experimental pipelines. T1-weighted MRI is commonly used for age prediction, and the pre-processing of these scans involves normalization to a common template and resampling to a common voxel size, followed by spatial smoothing. Resampling parameters are often selected arbitrarily. Here, we sought to improve brain-age prediction accuracy by optimizing resampling parameters using Bayesian optimization. Using data on N = 2003 healthy individuals (aged 16–90 years we trained support vector machines to (i distinguish between young (<22 years and old (>50 years brains (classification and (ii predict chronological age (regression. We also evaluated generalisability of the age-regression model to an independent dataset (CamCAN, N = 648, aged 18–88 years. Bayesian optimization was used to identify optimal voxel size and smoothing kernel size for each task. This procedure adaptively samples the parameter space to evaluate accuracy across a range of possible parameters, using independent sub-samples to iteratively assess different parameter combinations to arrive at optimal values. When distinguishing between young and old brains a classification accuracy of 88.1% was achieved, (optimal voxel size = 11.5 mm3, smoothing kernel = 2.3 mm. For predicting chronological age, a mean absolute error (MAE of 5.08 years was achieved, (optimal voxel size = 3.73 mm3, smoothing kernel = 3.68 mm. This was compared to performance using default values of 1.5 mm3 and 4mm respectively, resulting in MAE = 5.48 years, though this 7.3% improvement was not statistically significant. When assessing generalisability, best performance was achieved when applying the entire Bayesian

Using a Design Science Perspective to Understand a Complex Design-Based Research Process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bækgaard, Lars

2012-01-01

The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate how a design science perspective can be used to describe and understand a set of related design-based research processes. We describe and analyze a case study in a manner that is inspired by design science. The case study involves the design of modeling......-based research processes. And we argue that a design science perspective may be useful for both researchers and practitioners....... tools and the redesign of an information service in a library. We use a set of guidelines from a design science perspective to organize the description and analysis of the case study. By doing this we demonstrate the usefulness of design science as an analytical tool for understanding related design...

Understanding the Role of Water on Electron-Initiated Processes and Radical Chemistry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garrett, Bruce C [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Colson, Steven D [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Dixon, David A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Laufer, Allan H [US Department of Energy Office of Science Office of Basic Energy Sciences; Ray, Douglas [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2003-06-10

On September 26–28, 2002, a workshop entitled “Understanding the Role of Water on Electron-Initiated Processes and Radical Chemistry” was held to assess new research opportunities in electron-driven processes and radical chemistry in aqueous systems. Of particular interest was the unique and complex role that the structure of water plays in influencing these processes. Novel experimental and theoretical approaches to solving long-standing problems in the field were explored. A broad selection of participants from universities and the national laboratories contributed to the workshop, which included scientific and technical presentations and parallel sessions for discussions and report writing.

Thinking or feeling? An exploratory study of maternal scaffolding, child mental state talk, and emotion understanding in language-impaired and typically developing school-aged children.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuill, Nicola; Little, Sarah

2018-06-01

Mother-child mental state talk (MST) supports children's developing social-emotional understanding. In typically developing (TD) children, family conversations about emotion, cognition, and causes have been linked to children's emotion understanding. Specific language impairment (SLI) may compromise developing emotion understanding and adjustment. We investigated emotion understanding in children with SLI and TD, in relation to mother-child conversation. Specifically, is cognitive, emotion, or causal MST more important for child emotion understanding and how might maternal scaffolding support this? Nine 5- to 9-year-old children with SLI and nine age-matched typically developing (TD) children, and their mothers. We assessed children's language, emotion understanding and reported behavioural adjustment. Mother-child conversations were coded for MST, including emotion, cognition, and causal talk, and for scaffolding of causal talk. Children with SLI scored lower than TD children on emotion understanding and adjustment. Mothers in each group provided similar amounts of cognitive, emotion, and causal talk, but SLI children used proportionally less cognitive and causal talk than TD children did, and more such child talk predicted better child emotion understanding. Child emotion talk did not differ between groups and did not predict emotion understanding. Both groups participated in maternal-scaffolded causal talk, but causal talk about emotion was more frequent in TD children, and such talk predicted higher emotion understanding. Cognitive and causal language scaffolded by mothers provides tools for articulating increasingly complex ideas about emotion, predicting children's emotion understanding. Our study provides a robust method for studying scaffolding processes for understanding causes of emotion. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Application of characterization, modelling, and analytics towards understanding process-structure linkages in metallic 3D printing

Science.gov (United States)

Groeber, M. A.; Schwalbach, E.; Donegan, S.; Chaput, K.; Butler, T.; Miller, J.

2017-07-01

This paper presents methods for combining process monitoring, thermal modelling and microstructure characterization together to draw process-to-structure relationships in metal additive manufacturing. The paper discusses heterogeneities in the local processing conditions within additively manufactured components and how they affect the resulting material structure. Methods for registering and fusing disparate data sources are presented, and some effort is made to discuss the utility of different data sources for specific microstructural features of interest. It is the intent that this paper will highlight the need for improved understanding of metallic additive manufacturing processes and show that combining experimental data with modelling and advanced data processing and analytics methods will accelerate that understanding.

Macrosystems ecology: novel methods and new understanding of multi-scale patterns and processes

Science.gov (United States)

Songlin Fei; Qinfeng Guo; Kevin Potter

2016-01-01

As the global biomes are increasingly threatened by human activities, understanding of macroscale patterns and processes is pressingly needed for effective management and policy making. Macrosystems ecology, which studies multiscale ecologicalpatterns and processes, has gained growing interest in the research community. However, as a relatively new field in...

Modelling aging effects on a thermal cycling absorption process column

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laquerbe, C.; Contreras, S. [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique - CEA/Valduc, F-21121 Is sur Tille (France); Baudouin, O. [ProSim SA, Stratege Bat. A, BP 27210, F-31672 Labege Cedex (France); Demoment, J. [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique - CEA/Valduc, F-21121 Is sur Tille (France)

2008-07-15

Palladium coated on alumina is used in hydrogen separation systems operated at CEA/Valduc, and more particularly in Thermal Cycling Absorption Process columns. With such materials, tritium decay is known to induce aging effects which have direct side effects on hydrogen isotopes absorption isotherms. Furthermore in a TCAP column, aging occurs in an heterogeneous way. The possible impacts of these intrinsic material evolutions on the separation performances are investigated here through a numerical approach. (authors)

Differentiating Processes of Control and Understanding in the Early Development of Emotion and Cognition

Science.gov (United States)

Blankson, A. Nayena; O'Brien, Marion; Leerkes, Esther M.; Marcovitch, Stuart; Calkins, Susan D.

2012-01-01

In this study, we examined the hypothesis that preschoolers' performance on emotion and cognitive tasks is organized into discrete processes of control and understanding within the domains of emotion and cognition. Additionally, we examined the relations among component processes using mother report, behavioral observation, and physiological…

Age Differences in Brain Activity during Emotion Processing: Reflections of Age-Related Decline or Increased Emotion Regulation?

OpenAIRE

Nashiro, Kaoru; Sakaki, Michiko; Mather, Mara

2011-01-01

Despite the fact that physical health and cognitive abilities decline with aging, the ability to regulate emotion remains stable and in some aspects improves across the adult life span. Older adults also show a positivity effect in their attention and memory, with diminished processing of negative stimuli relative to positive stimuli compared with younger adults. The current paper reviews functional magnetic resonance imaging studies investigating age-related differences in emotional processi...

Understanding Aquatic Rhizosphere Processes Through Metabolomics and Metagenomics Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yong Jian; Mynampati, Kalyan; Drautz, Daniela; Arumugam, Krithika; Williams, Rohan; Schuster, Stephan; Kjelleberg, Staffan; Swarup, Sanjay

2013-04-01

The aquatic rhizosphere is a region around the roots of aquatic plants. Many studies focusing on terrestrial rhizosphere have led to a good understanding of the interactions between the roots, its exudates and its associated rhizobacteria. The rhizosphere of free-floating roots, however, is a different habitat that poses several additional challenges, including rapid diffusion rates of signals and nutrient molecules, which are further influenced by the hydrodynamic forces. These can lead to rapid diffusion and complicates the studying of diffusible factors from both plant and/or rhizobacterial origins. These plant systems are being increasingly used for self purification of water bodies to provide sustainable solution. A better understanding of these processes will help in improving their performance for ecological engineering of freshwater systems. The same principles can also be used to improve the yield of hydroponic cultures. Novel toolsets and approaches are needed to investigate the processes occurring in the aquatic rhizosphere. We are interested in understanding the interaction between root exudates and the complex microbial communities that are associated with the roots, using a systems biology approach involving metabolomics and metagenomics. With this aim, we have developed a RhizoFlowCell (RFC) system that provides a controlled study of aquatic plants, observed the root biofilms, collect root exudates and subject the rhizosphere system to changes in various chemical or physical perturbations. As proof of concept, we have used RFC to test the response of root exudation patterns of Pandanus amaryllifolius after exposure to the pollutant naphthalene. Complexity of root exudates in the aquatic rhizosphere was captured using this device and analysed using LC-qTOF-MS. The highly complex metabolomic profile allowed us to study the dynamics of the response of roots to varying levels of naphthalene. The metabolic profile changed within 5mins after spiking with

Influences of age and anxiety on processing of emotional information in children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reinholdt-Dunne, Marie Louise; Mogg, Karin; Esbjørn, Barbara Hoff

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric disturbances in childhood (Costello 2003). Theorists suggest that information-processing biases for emotional information play an important role in the development of anxiety disorders (Kendall & Ronan, 1990), and that development/age affects...... information-processing biases due to its significant relationship with executive functioning levels and cognitive maturation (Lonigan et al., 2004). The present study aimed to further investigate the relationships between information-processing biases and childhood development. Information-processing bias...... was assessed using an emotional Stroop paradigm with angry, happy and neutral faces. Trait anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAI-C; Spielberger et al., 1983). There were four groups of schoolchildren (N = 67, aged 7 - 14) divided by median splits on trait anxiety...

Visual function and cognitive speed of processing mediate age-related decline in memory span and fluid intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Clay, Olivio J; Edwards, Jerri D; Ross, Lesley A; Okonkwo, Ozioma; Wadley, Virginia G; Roth, David L; Ball, Karlene K

2009-06-01

To evaluate the relationship between sensory and cognitive decline, particularly with respect to speed of processing, memory span, and fluid intelligence. In addition, the common cause, sensory degradation and speed of processing hypotheses were compared. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the complex relationships among age-related decrements in these areas. Cross-sectional data analyses included 842 older adult participants (M = 73 years). After accounting for age-related declines in vision and processing speed, the direct associations between age and memory span and between age and fluid intelligence were nonsignificant. Older age was associated with visual decline, which was associated with slower speed of processing, which in turn was associated with greater cognitive deficits. The findings support both the sensory degradation and speed of processing accounts of age-related, cognitive decline. Furthermore, the findings highlight positive aspects of normal cognitive aging in that older age may not be associated with a loss of fluid intelligence if visual sensory functioning and processing speed can be maintained.

U.S.-NPAR approach to managing aging in operating nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bosnak, R.; Vagins, M.; Vora, J.

1991-01-01

Aging degradation in operating nuclear power plants must be managed to prevent safety margins from eroding below the levels provided in plant design bases. The NPAR program and other aging-related programs conducted under the auspices of the US NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research are developing needed technical bases and guidance for understanding and managing aging in operating nuclear power plants (NPP) of all ages. Results from these programs, together with relevant information developed by industry are implemented through various ongoing NRC and industry programs. The aging management process central to these efforts consists of three key element: 1) selection and prioritization of components, systems, and structures (CSS) in which aging must be managed, 2) understanding of the relevant aging mechanisms and rates of degradation processes in these CSS, and 3) managing degradation through effective inspection, surveillance, condition monitoring, trending, preventive and corrective maintenance, and mitigation. This paper provides a historical perspective on the aging related research programs sponsored by the Office of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Research. Also, briefly described are the major element of the NPAR program and its status and results or accomplishments. In the process the authors emphasize the need for total industry commitment and participation in implementing programs for understanding and managing aging in operating nuclear power plants. 'Aging' is universal in nature. No industrial complex including NPP should be considered immune from its effects. For NPP aging is manageable its ti symptoms are recognized and predicted, if it is monitored and appropriate steps are taken for timely mitigation of age-related degradation. (author)

Search and the Aging Mind: The Promise and Limits of the Cognitive Control Hypothesis of Age Differences in Search.

Science.gov (United States)

Mata, Rui; von Helversen, Bettina

2015-07-01

Search is a prerequisite for successful performance in a broad range of tasks ranging from making decisions between consumer goods to memory retrieval. How does aging impact search processes in such disparate situations? Aging is associated with structural and neuromodulatory brain changes that underlie cognitive control processes, which in turn have been proposed as a domain-general mechanism controlling search in external environments as well as memory. We review the aging literature to evaluate the cognitive control hypothesis that suggests that age-related change in cognitive control underlies age differences in both external and internal search. We also consider the limits of the cognitive control hypothesis and propose additional mechanisms such as changes in strategy use and affect that may be necessary to understand how aging affects search. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Negotiations of the Ageing Process: Older Adults' Stories of Sports Participation

Science.gov (United States)

Dionigi, Rylee A.; Horton, Sean; Baker, Joseph

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine the talk of older athletes, with particular focus on how the context of sport helps them negotiate the ageing process. It draws on personal stories provided by 44 World Masters Games competitors (23 women; 21 men; aged 56-90 years; "M" = 72). Four themes emerged: "There's no such thing as…

Renal microvascular disease in an aging population: a reversible process?

Science.gov (United States)

Futrakul, Narisa; Futrakul, Prasit

2008-01-01

Renal microvascular disease and tubulointerstitial fibrosis are usually demonstrated in aging in humans and animals. It has recently been proposed that renal microvascular disease is the crucial determinant of tubulointerstitial disease or fibrosis. Enhanced circulating endothelial cell loss is a biomarker that reflects glomerular endothelial injury or renal microvascular disease, and fractional excretion of magnesium (FE Mg) is a sensitive biomarker that reflects an early stage of tubulointerstitial fibrosis. In aging in humans, both of these biomarkers are abnormally elevated. In addition, a glomerular endothelial dysfunction determined by altered hemodynamics associated with peritubular capillary flow reduction is substantiated. A correction of such hemodynamic alteration with vasodilators can effectively improve renal perfusion and restore renal function. Thus, anti-aging therapy can reverse the renal microvascular disease and dysfunction associated with the aging process.

Understanding Patients' Process to Use Medical Marijuana: A Southern New Jersey Community Engagement Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowell, Tara L

2016-09-01

Given the necessity to better understand the process patients need to go through in order to seek treatment via medical marijuana, this study investigates this process to better understand this phenomenon. Specifically, Compassion Care Foundation (CCF) and Stockton University worked together to identify a solution to this problem. Specifically, 240 new patients at CCF were asked to complete a 1-page survey regarding various aspects associated with their experience prior to their use of medicinal marijuana-diagnosis, what prompted them to seek treatment, level of satisfaction with specific stages in the process, total length of time the process took, and patient's level of pain. Results reveal numerous patient diagnoses for which medical marijuana is being prescribed; the top 4 most common are intractable skeletal spasticity, chronic and severe pain, multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease. Next, results indicate a little over half of the patients were first prompted to seek alternative treatment from their physicians, while the remaining patients indicated that other sources such as written information along with friends, relatives, media, and the Internet persuaded them to seek treatment. These data indicate that a variety of sources play a role in prompting patients to seek alternative treatment and is a critical first step in this process. Additional results posit that once patients began the process of qualifying to receive medical marijuana as treatment, the process seemed more positive even though it takes patients on average almost 6 months to obtain their first treatment after they started the process. Finally, results indicate that patients are reporting a moderately high level of pain prior to treatment. Implication of these results highlights several important elements in the patients' initial steps toward seeking medical marijuana, along with the quality and quantity of the process patients must engage in prior to obtaining treatment. In

Klotho, stem cells, and aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Bian, Ao; Neyra, Javier A; Zhan, Ming; Hu, Ming Chang

2015-01-01

Aging is an inevitable and progressive biological process involving dysfunction and eventually destruction of every tissue and organ. This process is driven by a tightly regulated and complex interplay between genetic and acquired factors. Klotho is an antiaging gene encoding a single-pass transmembrane protein, klotho, which serves as an aging suppressor through a wide variety of mechanisms, such as antioxidation, antisenescence, antiautophagy, and modulation of many signaling pathways, including insulin-like growth factor and Wnt. Klotho deficiency activates Wnt expression and activity contributing to senescence and depletion of stem cells, which consequently triggers tissue atrophy and fibrosis. In contrast, the klotho protein was shown to suppress Wnt-signaling transduction, and inhibit cell senescence and preserve stem cells. A better understanding of the potential effects of klotho on stem cells could offer novel insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of klotho deficiency-related aging and disease. The klotho protein may be a promising therapeutic agent for aging and aging-related disorders.

DNA-Related Pathways Defective in Human Premature Aging

OpenAIRE

Bohr, Vilhelm A.

2002-01-01

One of the major issues in studies on aging is the choice of biological model system. The human premature aging disorders represent excellent model systems for the study of the normal aging process, which occurs at a much earlier stage in life in these individuals than in normals. The patients with premature aging also get the age associated diseases at an early stage in life, and thus age associated disease can be studied as well. It is thus of great interest to understand the molecular path...

Understanding Customer Product Choices: A Case Study Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process

Science.gov (United States)

Robert L. Smith; Robert J. Bush; Daniel L. Schmoldt

1996-01-01

The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to characterize the bridge material selection decisions of highway officials across the United States. Understanding product choices by utilizing the AHP allowed us to develop strategies for increasing the use of timber in bridge construction. State Department of Transportation engineers, private consulting engineers, and...

The Physiology of Exercise and the Process of Aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Mravetz, Patricia

A physical fitness plan is considered desirable for young people, young adults, and especially older adults. This program for secondary level students focuses on the physiology of exercise and the process of aging, and stresses the need for physical fitness. Specific objectives include the following: (1) to let students become evaluators of their…

Pharmaceutical quality by design: product and process development, understanding, and control.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Lawrence X

2008-04-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the pharmaceutical Quality by Design (QbD) and describe how it can be used to ensure pharmaceutical quality. The QbD was described and some of its elements identified. Process parameters and quality attributes were identified for each unit operation during manufacture of solid oral dosage forms. The use of QbD was contrasted with the evaluation of product quality by testing alone. The QbD is a systemic approach to pharmaceutical development. It means designing and developing formulations and manufacturing processes to ensure predefined product quality. Some of the QbD elements include: Defining target product quality profile; Designing product and manufacturing processes; Identifying critical quality attributes, process parameters, and sources of variability; Controlling manufacturing processes to produce consistent quality over time. Using QbD, pharmaceutical quality is assured by understanding and controlling formulation and manufacturing variables. Product testing confirms the product quality. Implementation of QbD will enable transformation of the chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) review of abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) into a science-based pharmaceutical quality assessment.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Primary School Teachers' Understanding of Science Process Skills in Relation to Their Teaching Qualifications and Teaching Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Shahali, Edy H. M.; Halim, Lilia; Treagust, David F.; Won, Mihye; Chandrasegaran, A. L.

2017-04-01

This study investigated the understanding of science process skills (SPS) of 329 science teachers from 52 primary schools selected by random sampling. The understanding of SPS was measured in terms of conceptual and operational aspects of SPS using an instrument called the Science Process Skills Questionnaire (SPSQ) with a Cronbach's alpha reliability of 0.88. The findings showed that the teachers' conceptual understanding of SPS was much weaker than their practical application of SPS. The teachers' understanding of SPS differed by their teaching qualifications but not so much by their teaching experience. Emphasis needs to be given to both conceptual and operational understanding of SPS during pre-service and in-service teacher education to enable science teachers to use the skills and implement inquiry-based lessons in schools.

On improved understanding of plasma-chemical processes in complex low-temperature plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Röpcke, Jürgen; Loffhagen, Detlef; von Wahl, Eric; Nave, Andy S. C.; Hamann, Stephan; van Helden, Jean-Piere H.; Lang, Norbert; Kersten, Holger

2018-05-01

Over the last years, chemical sensing using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) in the visible spectral range has been combined with methods of mid infrared laser absorption spectroscopy (MIR-LAS) in the molecular fingerprint region from 3 to 20 μm, which contains strong rotational-vibrational absorption bands of a large variety of gaseous species. This optical approach established powerful in situ diagnostic tools to study plasma-chemical processes of complex low-temperature plasmas. The methods of MIR-LAS enable to detect stable and transient molecular species in ground and excited states and to measure the concentrations and temperatures of reactive species in plasmas. Since kinetic processes are inherent to discharges ignited in molecular gases, high time resolution on sub-second timescales is frequently desired for fundamental studies as well as for process monitoring in applied research and industry. In addition to high sensitivity and good temporal resolution, the capacity for broad spectral coverage enabling multicomponent detection is further expanding the use of OES and MIR-LAS techniques. Based on selected examples, this paper reports on recent achievements in the understanding of complex low-temperature plasmas. Recently, a link with chemical modeling of the plasma has been provided, which is the ultimate objective for a better understanding of the chemical and reaction kinetic processes occurring in the plasma. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Fundamentals of Complex Plasmas", edited by Jürgen Meichsner, Michael Bonitz, Holger Fehske, Alexander Piel.

Testing the effects of expression, intensity and age on emotional face processing in ASD.

Science.gov (United States)

Luyster, Rhiannon J; Bick, Johanna; Westerlund, Alissa; Nelson, Charles A

2017-06-21

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly show global deficits in the processing of facial emotion, including impairments in emotion recognition and slowed processing of emotional faces. Growing evidence has suggested that these challenges may increase with age, perhaps due to minimal improvement with age in individuals with ASD. In the present study, we explored the role of age, emotion type and emotion intensity in face processing for individuals with and without ASD. Twelve- and 18-22- year-old children with and without ASD participated. No significant diagnostic group differences were observed on behavioral measures of emotion processing for younger versus older individuals with and without ASD. However, there were significant group differences in neural responses to emotional faces. Relative to TD, at 12 years of age and during adulthood, individuals with ASD showed slower N170 to emotional faces. While the TD groups' P1 latency was significantly shorter in adults when compared to 12 year olds, there was no significant age-related difference in P1 latency among individuals with ASD. Findings point to potential differences in the maturation of cortical networks that support visual processing (whether of faces or stimuli more broadly), among individuals with and without ASD between late childhood and adulthood. Finally, associations between ERP amplitudes and behavioral responses on emotion processing tasks suggest possible neural markers for emotional and behavioral deficits among individuals with ASD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patterns of frontoparietal activation as a marker for unsuccessful visuospatial processing in healthy aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Drag, Lauren L; Light, Sharee N; Langenecker, Scott A; Hazlett, Kathleen E; Wilde, Elisabeth A; Welsh, Robert; Steinberg, Brett A; Bieliauskas, Linas A

2016-09-01

Visuospatial abilities are sensitive to age-related decline, although the neural basis for this decline (and its everyday behavioral correlates) is as yet poorly understood. fMRI was employed to examine age-related differences in patterns of functional activation that underlie changes in visuospatial processing. All participants completed a brief neuropsychological battery and also a figure ground task (FGT) assessing visuospatial processing while fMRI was recorded. Participants included 16 healthy older adults (OA; aged 69-82 years) and 16 healthy younger adults (YA; aged 20-35 years). We examined age-related differences in behavioral performance on the FGT in relation to patterns of fMRI activation. OA demonstrated reduced performance on the FGT task and showed increased activation of supramarginal parietal cortex as well as increased activation of frontal and temporal regions compared to their younger counterparts. Performance on the FGT related to increased supramarginal gyrus activity and increased medial prefrontal activity in OAs, but not YAs. Our results are consistent with an anterior-posterior compensation model. Successful FGT performance requires the perception and integration of multiple stimuli and thus it is plausible that healthy aging may be accompanied by changes in visuospatial processing that mimic a subtle form of dorsal simultanagnosia. Overall, decreased visuospatial processing in OA relates to an altered frontoparietal neurobiological signature that may contribute to the general phenomenon of increasingly fragmented execution of behavior associated with normal aging.

Long noncoding RNAs(lncRNAs) and the molecular hallmarks of aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Grammatikakis, Ioannis; Panda, Amaresh C; Abdelmohsen, Kotb; Gorospe, Myriam

2014-12-01

During aging, progressive deleterious changes increase the risk of disease and death. Prominent molecular hallmarks of aging are genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in a wide range of biological processes, including age-related diseases like cancer, cardiovascular pathologies, and neurodegenerative disorders. Evidence is emerging that lncRNAs influence the molecular processes that underlie age-associated phenotypes. Here, we review our current understanding of lncRNAs that control the development of aging traits.

Beyond Homophily: A Decade of Advances in Understanding Peer Influence Processes

OpenAIRE

Brechwald, Whitney A.; Prinstein, Mitchell J.

2011-01-01

This article reviews empirical and theoretical contributions to a multidisciplinary understanding of peer influence processes in adolescence over the past decade. Five themes of peer influence research from this decade were identified, including a broadening of the range of behaviors for which peer influence occurs, distinguishing the sources of influence, probing the conditions under which influence is amplified/attenuated (moderators), testing theoretically based models of peer influence pr...

The senior pupils’ understanding of the essence of manipulative strategies in communicative sphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Валентина Григорівна Кучерявець

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The article is dedicated to the problem of an adequate understanding of the manipulative strategy in educational process of the modern school by the high school aged pupils. The topicality of the problem is connected with inadequate spread of manipulative interaction in all life spheres. The deficiency of the skill of expedient use of manipulation in pedagogical process as well as fixing manipulation as the main way of relation construction are the unfavorable variants of human development. There were characterized the main influence strategies in communication. There were cited the results of techniques and creative tasks that allow to reveal the understanding of essence of manipulative strategy and to study its functioning in the senior pupils’ communicative plane. The special authors’ attention was concentrated on determination of pedagogical conditions of mastering the experience of manipulative communication by the high school aged pupils. In the process of research there were determined the certain threatening moments: the significant part of senior pupils does not understand their own manipulative actions, but see it in surrounding people and is ready to aggressive response. The ability to use the ways of flexible, adaptive countermanipulation that allow retain communicative connections between pupils and teachers is not sufficiently developed in the pupils of high school age

Understanding Nutrient Processing Under Similar Hydrologic Conditions Along a River Continuum

Science.gov (United States)

Garayburu-Caruso, V. A.; Mortensen, J.; Van Horn, D. J.; Gonzalez-Pinzon, R.

2015-12-01

Eutrophication is one of the main causes of water impairment across the US. The fate of nutrients in streams is typically described by the dynamic coupling of physical processes and biochemical processes. However, isolating each of these processes and determining its contribution to the whole system is challenging due to the complexity of the physical, chemical and biological domains. We conducted column experiments seeking to understand nutrient processing in shallow sediment-water interactions along representative sites of the Jemez River-Rio Grande continuum (eight stream orders), in New Mexico (USA). For each stream order, we used a set of 6 columns packed with 3 different sediments, i.e., Silica Cone Density Sand ASTM D 1556 (0.075-2.00 mm), gravel (> 2mm) and native sediments from each site. We incubated the sediments for three months and performed tracer experiments in the laboratory under identical flow conditions, seeking to normalize the physical processes along the river continuum. We added a short-term pulse injection of NO3, resazurin and NaCl to each column and determined metabolism and NO3 processing using the Tracer Additions for Spiraling Curve Characterization method (TASCC). Our methods allowed us to study how changes in bacterial communities and sediment composition along the river continuum define nutrient processing.

The thyroid gland and the process of aging; what is new?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gesing Adam

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract The endocrine system and particular endocrine organs, including the thyroid, undergo important functional changes during aging. The prevalence of thyroid disorders increases with age and numerous morphological and physiological changes of the thyroid gland during the process of aging are well-known. It is to be stressed that the clinical course of thyroid diseases in the elderly differs essentially from that observed in younger individuals, because symptoms are more subtle and are often attributed to normal aging. Subclinical hypo- and hyperthyroidism, as well as thyroid neoplasms, require special attention in elderly subjects. Intriguingly, decreased thyroid function, as well as thyrotropin (TSH levels – progressively shifting to higher values with age – may contribute to the increased lifespan. This short review focuses on recent findings concerning the alterations in thyroid function during aging, including these which may potentially lead to extended longevity, both in humans and animals.

Introduction. Back to nurture: cross-cultural research as a paradigm for understanding bio-cultural dynamics of cognitive ageing.

Science.gov (United States)

Luszcz, Mary

2006-01-01

One of the earliest and most persistent inquiries in developmental psychology is that of the relative contributions of nature and nurture to human ontogeny. One way of studying this distinction is by doing cross-cultural studies, in which culture provides a powerful way to operationalize the influence of nurture. The purpose is to provide some background to the emergence of the field of cross-cultural gerontological research, as a prelude to the special series of papers on cognitive ageing and culture from the laboratory of Park and Nisbett and their colleagues. A qualitative review of theoretical notions about cross-cultural differences provides an introduction and orientation to papers dealing with aspects of cognitive ageing, including picture naming specificity, source memory, use of categorical information in free recall, and perceptions of stereotypes of older and younger adults. Most of the research on cognitive ageing has focused on Western cultures and has assumed universality in the operation of the cognitive system. If culture makes a difference, a plausible hypothesis might be that, with ageing, any effects of culture on cognitive processes would become more apparent, due to older adults' increased exposure to their culture, and that these might be limited to the pragmatics of intelligence or crystallized abilities. The papers presented demonstrate that for some cognitive processes, i.e., source memory and free recall, cultural invariance, or universality of cognitive ageing, was observed. Further, stereotypes of both cultures shifted with advancing age from positive to increasingly negative views for mental and physical domains. A modest interaction of age and culture was observed in social and emotional domains, where stereotypes were relatively neutral, except for a small positive bias among the young Chinese participants for both older and younger adults. Marked cultural differences were seen in naming specificity and in the use of categories to

Understanding how race/ethnicity and gender define age-trajectories of disability: an intersectionality approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, David F; Brown, Tyson H

2011-04-01

A number of studies have demonstrated wide disparities in health among racial/ethnic groups and by gender, yet few have examined how race/ethnicity and gender intersect or combine to affect the health of older adults. The tendency of prior research to treat race/ethnicity and gender separately has potentially obscured important differences in how health is produced and maintained, undermining efforts to eliminate health disparities. The current study extends previous research by taking an intersectionality approach (Mullings & Schulz, 2006), grounded in life course theory, conceptualizing and modeling trajectories of functional limitations as dynamic life course processes that are jointly and simultaneously defined by race/ethnicity and gender. Data from the nationally representative 1994-2006 US Health and Retirement Study and growth curve models are utilized to examine racial/ethnic/gender differences in intra-individual change in functional limitations among White, Black and Mexican American Men and Women, and the extent to which differences in life course capital account for group disparities in initial health status and rates of change with age. Results support an intersectionality approach, with all demographic groups exhibiting worse functional limitation trajectories than White Men. Whereas White Men had the lowest disability levels at baseline, White Women and racial/ethnic minority Men had intermediate disability levels and Black and Hispanic Women had the highest disability levels. These health disparities remained stable with age-except among Black Women who experience a trajectory of accelerated disablement. Dissimilar early life social origins, adult socioeconomic status, marital status, and health behaviors explain the racial/ethnic disparities in functional limitations among Men but only partially explain the disparities among Women. Net of controls for life course capital, Women of all racial/ethnic groups have higher levels of functional

Application of Characterization, Modeling, and Analytics Towards Understanding Process Structure Linkages in Metallic 3D Printing (Postprint)

Science.gov (United States)

2017-08-01

METALLIC 3D PRINTING (POSTPRINT) M.A. Groeber, E. Schwalbach, S. Donegan, K. Chaput, T. Butler, and J. Miller AFRL/RX 27 JULY...MODELING, AND ANALYTICS TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING PROCESS- STRUCTURE LINKAGES IN METALLIC 3D PRINTING (POSTPRINT) 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER IN-HOUSE 5b...characterization, modelling, and analytics towards understanding process-structure linkages in metallic 3D printing M A Groeber, E Schwalbach, S Donegan, K

Molecular and biological hallmarks of ageing.

Science.gov (United States)

Aunan, J R; Watson, M M; Hagland, H R; Søreide, K

2016-01-01

Ageing is the inevitable time-dependent decline in physiological organ function that eventually leads to death. Age is a major risk factor for many of the most common medical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. This study reviews currently known hallmarks of ageing and their clinical implications. A literature search of PubMed/MEDLINE was conducted covering the last decade. Average life expectancy has increased dramatically over the past century and is estimated to increase even further. Maximum longevity, however, appears unchanged, suggesting a universal limitation to the human organism. Understanding the underlying molecular processes of ageing and health decline may suggest interventions that, if used at an early age, can prevent, delay, alleviate or even reverse age-related diseases. Hallmarks of ageing can be grouped into three main categories. The primary hallmarks cause damage to cellular functions: genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations and loss of proteostasis. These are followed by antagonistic responses to such damage: deregulated nutrient sensing, altered mitochondrial function and cellular senescence. Finally, integrative hallmarks are possible culprits of the clinical phenotype (stem cell exhaustion and altered intercellular communication), which ultimately contribute to the clinical effects of ageing as seen in physiological loss of reserve, organ decline and reduced function. The sum of these molecular hallmarks produces the clinical picture of the elderly surgical patient: frailty, sarcopenia, anaemia, poor nutrition and a blunted immune response system. Improved understanding of the ageing processes may give rise to new biomarkers of risk or prognosis, novel treatment targets and translational approaches across disciplines that may improve outcomes. © 2016 BJS Society Ltd Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dynamic arsenic aging processes and their mechanisms in nine types of Chinese soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yanan; Zeng, Xibai; Lu, Yahai; Bai, Lingyu; Su, Shiming; Wu, Cuixia

2017-11-01

Although specific soil properties controlling the arsenic (As) aging process have been studied extensively, few investigations have attempted to determine how soil types influence As bioavailability and fractionations in soils. Nine types of soil were selected from typical grain producing areas in China, and the bioavailability and fractionations of As during aging were measured. Results showed that available As in all soils rapidly decreased in the first 30 days and slowly declined thereafter. In spiked soils, As easily became less available and less toxic in low pH soils compared to high pH soils, demonstrating the importance of soil pH on As availability. Results from fitting kinetic equations revealed that the pseudo-second-order model described the As aging processes well in all soils (R 2  = 0.945-0.999, P soil clay content. The shortest time for approximate stabilization of As aging was 28 d in latosol soils (LS), while the longest approximate equilibrium time was 169 d in cinnamon soils (CS). Individual soil properties controlling the variation in different As fractionations further confirmed that the influences of soil types on As aging were the result of the combined effects of soil properties and a time-consuming redistribution process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermal ageing of steels; from expertise and understanding of the ageing mechanisms to a maintenance strategy for operating nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bezdikian, G.; Ould, P.

2004-01-01

Some parts of reactor coolant circuit on Nuclear PWR power plants, elbows on primary circuit, are made in cast duplex stainless steel material. It is now identify that the mechanical characteristic of this material should be decrease under thermal ageing mainly after a long time in operation in at reactor coolant circuit temperature conditions. The sensitiveness to the thermal ageing of these components is in relation with chemical composition and the ferrite content, especially the grade of Chromium equivalent (Ceq %Cr + %Si + %Mo). In the context of justification to maintain in operation on the plants these cat duplex components, an important programme of expertises was carried out on cast elbows after removing on the plants during the Steam Generators replacements (SGR). Several expertises, performed in the objective to understand the thermal ageing phenomenon and mechanism on cast components in service on plants, were permit to validate the prediction formulas established from a large database and programme in laboratories. The expertises were based on a lot of metallurgical, mechanical and chemical characteristics of components in operation Small Angle Neutrons Scattering (SANS), Thermal Electric Power (TEP), micro hardness and toughness measurement on small specimens from boat sample (CT10-5) The expertise carried out on one SG inlet elbows from DAMPIERRE, removed a during SGR after 100000 h in operation is shown, the toughness values are very high compared to the prediction formulas. The TEP measurements performed on the specimen cut off on two elbows and the ingots of the same material aged in laboratory in furnace, are very coherent; it is confirmed that this methodology is a good indicator to follow the ageing characteristic of material. The results of expertises on aged material are a mean of validation of the methodology applied on the file of demonstration of maintaining in operation of cast duplex stainless steel sensitive to thermal ageing. So the

Ageing differentially affects neural processing of different conflict types-an fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Korsch, Margarethe; Frühholz, Sascha; Herrmann, Manfred

2014-01-01

Interference control and conflict resolution is affected by ageing. There is increasing evidence that ageing does not compromise interference control in general but rather shows distinctive effects on different components of interference control. Different conflict types, [e.g., stimulus-stimulus (S-S) or stimulus-response (S-R) conflicts] trigger different cognitive processes and thus activate different neural networks. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we used a combined Flanker and Stimulus Response Conflict (SRC) task to investigate the effect of ageing on S-S and S-R conflicts. Behavioral data analysis revealed larger SRC effects in elderly. fMRI Results show that both age groups recruited similar regions [caudate nucleus, cingulate gyrus and middle occipital gyrus (MOG)] during Flanker conflict processing. Furthermore, elderly show an additional activation pattern in parietal and frontal areas. In contrast, no common activation of both age groups was found in response to the SRC. These data suggest that ageing has distinctive effects on S-S and S-R conflicts.

Age-related shifts in hemispheric dominance for syntactic processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Leckey, Michelle; Federmeier, Kara D

2017-12-01

Recent ERP data from young adults have revealed that simple syntactic anomalies elicit different patterns of lateralization in right-handed participants depending upon their familial sinistrality profile (whether or not they have left-handed biological relatives). Right-handed participants who do not have left-handed relatives showed a strongly lateralized response pattern, with P600 responses following left-hemisphere-biased presentations and N400 responses following right-hemisphere-biased presentations. Given that the literature on aging has documented a tendency to change across adulthood from asymmetry of function to a more bilateral pattern, we tested the stability of this asymmetric response to syntactic violations by recording ERPs as 24 older adults (age 60+) with no history of familial sinistrality made grammaticality judgments on simple two-word phrases. Results showed that the asymmetric pattern observed in right-handed adults without familial sinistrality indeed changes with age, such that P600 responses come to be elicited not only with left-hemisphere-biased but also with right-hemisphere-biased presentations in older adults. These findings suggest that, as with many other cognitive functions, syntactic processing becomes more bilateral with age. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Age-dependent impairment of auditory processing under spatially focused and divided attention: an electrophysiological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wild-Wall, Nele; Falkenstein, Michael

2010-01-01

By using event-related potentials (ERPs) the present study examines if age-related differences in preparation and processing especially emerge during divided attention. Binaurally presented auditory cues called for focused (valid and invalid) or divided attention to one or both ears. Responses were required to subsequent monaurally presented valid targets (vowels), but had to be suppressed to non-target vowels or invalidly cued vowels. Middle-aged participants were more impaired under divided attention than young ones, likely due to an age-related decline in preparatory attention following cues as was reflected in a decreased CNV. Under divided attention, target processing was increased in the middle-aged, likely reflecting compensatory effort to fulfill task requirements in the difficult condition. Additionally, middle-aged participants processed invalidly cued stimuli more intensely as was reflected by stimulus ERPs. The results suggest an age-related impairment in attentional preparation after auditory cues especially under divided attention and latent difficulties to suppress irrelevant information.

Talking Theory of Mind Talk: Young School-Aged Children’s Everyday Conversation and Understanding of Mind and Emotion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Rosnay, M.; Fink, E.; Begeer, S.M.; Slaughter, V.; Peterson, C.

2014-01-01

Links between young children's everyday use of mindful conversational skills and their success on laboratory tests of theory of mind understanding (ToM) were evaluated. Using published scales, teachers rated the conversational behavior and shyness of 129 children aged 60 to 101 months (MÂ =Â 78·8

Toward understanding the thermodynamics of TALSPEAK process. Medium effects on actinide complexation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zalupski, Peter R.; Martin, Leigh R.; Nash, Ken; Nakamura, Yoshinobu; Yamamoto, Masahiko

2009-01-01

The ingenious combination of lactate and diethylenetriamine-N,N,N',N(double p rime),N(double p rime)-pentaacetic acid (DTPA) as an aqueous actinide-complexing medium forms the basis of the successful separation of americium and curium from lanthanides known as the TALSPEAK process. While numerous reports in the prior literature have focused on the optimization of this solvent extraction system, considerably less attention has been devoted to the understanding of the basic thermodynamic features of the complex fluids responsible for the separation. The available thermochemical information of both lactate and DTPA protonation and metal complexation reactions are representative of the behavior of these ions under idealized conditions. Our previous studies of medium effects on lactate protonation suggest that significant departures from the speciation predicted based on reported thermodynamic values should be expected in the TALSPEAK aqueous environment. Thermodynamic parameters describing the separation chemistry of this process thus require further examination at conditions significantly removed from conventional ideal systems commonly employed in fundamental solution chemistry. Such thermodynamic characterization is the key to predictive modelling of TALSPEAK. Improved understanding will, in principle, allow process technologists to more efficiently respond to off-normal conditions during large scale process operation. In this report, the results of calorimetric and potentiometric investigations of the effects of aqueous electrolytes on the thermodynamic parameters for lactate protonation and lactate complexation of americium and neodymium will be presented. Studies on the lactate protonation equilibrium will clearly illustrate distinct thermodynamic variations between strong electrolyte aqueous systems and buffered lactate environment.

Directed forgetting and aging: the role of retrieval processes, processing speed, and proactive interference.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogge, Michaël; Adam, Stéphane; Collette, Fabienne

2008-07-01

The directed forgetting effect obtained with the item method is supposed to depend on both selective rehearsal of to-be-remembered (TBR) items and attentional inhibition of to-be-forgotten (TBF) items. In this study, we investigated the locus of the directed forgetting deficit in older adults by exploring the influence of recollection and familiarity-based retrieval processes on age-related differences in directed forgetting. Moreover, we explored the influence of processing speed, short-term memory capacity, thought suppression tendencies, and sensitivity to proactive interference on performance. The results indicated that older adults' directed forgetting difficulties are due to decreased recollection of TBR items, associated with increased automatic retrieval of TBF items. Moreover, processing speed and proactive interference appeared to be responsible for the decreased recall of TBR items.

The Contribution of GGOS to Understanding Dynamic Earth Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, Richard

2017-04-01

Geodesy is the science of the Earth's shape, size, gravity and rotation, including their evolution in time. Geodetic observations play a major role in the solid Earth sciences because they are fundamental for the understanding and modeling of Earth system processes. Changes in the Earth's shape, its gravitational field, and its rotation are caused by external forces acting on the Earth system and internal processes involving mass transfer and exchange of angular and linear momentum. Thus, variations in these geodetic quantities of the Earth reflect and constrain mechanical and thermo-dynamic processes in the Earth system. Mitigating the impact on human life and property of natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, debris flows, landslides, land subsidence, sea level change, tsunamis, floods, storm surges, hurricanes and extreme weather is an important scientific task to which geodetic observations make fundamental contributions. Geodetic observations can be used to monitor the pre-eruptive deformation of volcanoes and the pre-seismic deformation of earthquake fault zones, aiding in the issuance of volcanic eruption and earthquake warnings. They can also be used to rapidly estimate earthquake fault motion, aiding in the modeling of tsunami genesis and the issuance of tsunami warnings. Geodetic observations are also used in other areas of the Earth sciences, not just the solid Earth sciences. For example, geodesy contributes to atmospheric science by supporting both observation and prediction of the weather by geo-referencing meteorological observing data and by globally tracking change in stratospheric mass and lower tropospheric water vapor fields. Geodetic measurements of refraction profiles derived from satellite occultation data are routinely assimilated into numerical weather prediction models. Geodesy contributes to hydrologic studies by providing a unique global reference system for measurements of: sub-seasonal, seasonal and secular movements

Higher-level processes in the formation and application of associations during action understanding

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heil, L.; Pelt, S. van; Kwisthout, J.H.P.; Rooij, I.J.E.I. van; Bekkering, H.

2014-01-01

The associative account described in the target article provides a viable explanation for the origin of mirror neurons. We argue here that if mirror neurons develop purely by associative learning, then they cannot by themselves explain intentional action understanding. Higher-level processes seem to

The effect of whole-body radiation on the aging process in man

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finch, S.C.

1979-01-01

Numerous studies of the atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have provided no definite evidence of radiation-induced acceleration of aging in man, but several suggestive effects involving tissue markers of the aging process have been demonstrated. The effects have generally been more marked in those persons who were young at the time of exposure. In several studies which were conducted in both cities the age-related radiation effects were greater in Hiroshima than in Nagasaki. (Auth.)

Age-related differences in the automatic processing of single letters: implications for selective attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Daffner, Kirk R; Alperin, Brittany R; Mott, Katherine K; Holcomb, Phillip J

2014-01-22

Older adults exhibit diminished ability to inhibit the processing of visual stimuli that are supposed to be ignored. The extent to which age-related changes in early visual processing contribute to impairments in selective attention remains to be determined. Here, 103 adults, 18-85 years of age, completed a color selective attention task in which they were asked to attend to a specified color and respond to designated target letters. An optimal approach would be to initially filter according to color and then process letter forms in the attend color to identify targets. An asymmetric N170 ERP component (larger amplitude over left posterior hemisphere sites) was used as a marker of the early automatic processing of letter forms. Young and middle-aged adults did not generate an asymmetric N170 component. In contrast, young-old and old-old adults produced a larger N170 over the left hemisphere. Furthermore, older adults generated a larger N170 to letter than nonletter stimuli over the left, but not right hemisphere. More asymmetric N170 responses predicted greater allocation of late selection resources to target letters in the ignore color, as indexed by P3b amplitude. These results suggest that unlike their younger counterparts, older adults automatically process stimuli as letters early in the selection process, when it would be more efficient to attend to color only. The inability to ignore letters early in the processing stream helps explain the age-related increase in subsequent processing of target letter forms presented in the ignore color.

Health, physical exercise and fear of aging: anti-aging problematizations in amateur bodybuilders speeches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fábio Luís Santos Teixeira

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Scientific arguments in favour of applying physical exercise as an intervention on "aging" insists on relying on the biological concept of health. Considering the hegemony of this concept in physical education, the present study questions in what extent it must be accepted that the relationship between health/aging remains summarized in the mere search for maintaining physiological capabilities? The aim was to analyse the problematizations on the relationship between health and exercise in a group of physically active women from the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, in the context of aging process. Forty-five amateur bodybuilders were selected utilizing the sample snowball technique. They answered an interview guide with pictures according to the photo elicitation technique, individually. It was utilized the speech analysis proposed by Foucault. The group understands the relationship health/aging as a way to build identities, overcoming the negative perception of old age as vital and negative process. The fear of aging denotes the presence of self-centred healthcare practices carried over the years. Physical exercise plays a role that transcends the mere control of biological variables, being a resource to strengthen the experience to look and feel younger.

Paediatric nurses' understanding of the process and procedure of double-checking medications.

Science.gov (United States)

Dickinson, Annette; McCall, Elaine; Twomey, Bernadette; James, Natalie

2010-03-01

To understand paediatric nurses' understanding and practice regarding double-checking medication and identify facilitators and barriers to the process of independent double-checking (IDC). A system of double-checking medications has been proposed as a way of minimising medication error particularly in situations involving high-risk medications, complex processes such as calculating doses, or high-risk patient populations such as infants and children. While recommendations have been made in support of IDC in paediatric settings little is known about nursing practice and the facilitators and barriers to this process. A descriptive qualitative design was used. Data were collected via three focus group interviews. Six to seven paediatric nurses participated in homogenous groups based on level of practice. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. This study demonstrates that, while IDC is accepted and promoted as best practice in a paediatric setting, there is a lack of clarity as to what this means. This study supports other studies in relation to the influence of workload, distraction and environmental factors on the administration process but highlights the need for more research in relation to the impact of the power dynamic between junior and senior nurses. The issue of automaticity has been unexplored in relation to nursing practice but this study indicates that this may have an important influence on how care is delivered to patients. While the focus of this study was in the paediatric setting, the findings have relevance to other settings and population groups. The adoption of IDC in health care settings must have in place: policy and guidelines that clearly define the process of checking, educational support, an environment that supports peer critique and review, well-designed medication areas and accessible resources to support drug administration.

The Influence of Cochlear Mechanical Dysfunction, Temporal Processing Deficits, and Age on the Intelligibility of Audible Speech in Noise for Hearing-Impaired Listeners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter T. Johannesen

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to assess the relative importance of cochlear mechanical dysfunction, temporal processing deficits, and age on the ability of hearing-impaired listeners to understand speech in noisy backgrounds. Sixty-eight listeners took part in the study. They were provided with linear, frequency-specific amplification to compensate for their audiometric losses, and intelligibility was assessed for speech-shaped noise (SSN and a time-reversed two-talker masker (R2TM. Behavioral estimates of cochlear gain loss and residual compression were available from a previous study and were used as indicators of cochlear mechanical dysfunction. Temporal processing abilities were assessed using frequency modulation detection thresholds. Age, audiometric thresholds, and the difference between audiometric threshold and cochlear gain loss were also included in the analyses. Stepwise multiple linear regression models were used to assess the relative importance of the various factors for intelligibility. Results showed that (a cochlear gain loss was unrelated to intelligibility, (b residual cochlear compression was related to intelligibility in SSN but not in a R2TM, (c temporal processing was strongly related to intelligibility in a R2TM and much less so in SSN, and (d age per se impaired intelligibility. In summary, all factors affected intelligibility, but their relative importance varied across maskers.

Diffusion Tensor Tractography Reveals Disrupted Structural Connectivity during Brain Aging

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Lan; Tian, Miao; Wang, Qi; Wu, Shuicai

2017-10-01

Brain aging is one of the most crucial biological processes that entail many physical, biological, chemical, and psychological changes, and also a major risk factor for most common neurodegenerative diseases. To improve the quality of life for the elderly, it is important to understand how the brain is changed during the normal aging process. We compared diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-based brain networks in a cohort of 75 healthy old subjects by using graph theory metrics to describe the anatomical networks and connectivity patterns, and network-based statistic (NBS) analysis was used to identify pairs of regions with altered structural connectivity. The NBS analysis revealed a significant network comprising nine distinct fiber bundles linking 10 different brain regions showed altered white matter structures in young-old group compare with middle-aged group (p < .05, family-wise error-corrected). Our results might guide future studies and help to gain a better understanding of brain aging.

Why and when is ethnic harassment a risk for immigrant adolescents' school adjustment? understanding the processes and conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayram Özdemir, Sevgi; Stattin, Håkan

2014-08-01

Ethnically harassed immigrant youth are at risk for experiencing a wide range of school adjustment problems. However, it is still unclear why and under what conditions experiencing ethnic harassment leads to school adjustment difficulties. To address this limitation in the literature, we examined two important questions. First, we investigated whether self-esteem and/or depressive symptoms would mediate the associations between ethnic harassment and poor school adjustment among immigrant youth. Second, we examined whether immigrant youths' perception of school context would play a buffering role in the pathways between ethnic harassment and school adjustment difficulties. The sample (n = 330; M age = 14.07, SD = .90; 49% girls at T1) was drawn from a longitudinal study in Sweden. The results revealed that experiencing ethnic harassment led to a decrease in immigrant youths' self-esteem over time, and that youths' expectations of academic failure increased. Further, youths' relationships with their teachers and their perceptions of school democracy moderated the mediation processes. Specifically, when youth had poor relationships with their teachers or perceived their school context as less democratic, being exposed to ethnic harassment led to a decrease in their self-esteem. In turn, they reported low school satisfaction and perceived themselves as being unsuccessful in school. Such indirect effects were not observed when youth had high positive relationships with their teachers or perceived their school as offering a democratic environment. These findings highlight the importance of understanding underlying processes and conditions in the examination of the effects of ethnic devaluation experiences in order to reach a more comprehensive understanding of immigrant youths' school adjustment.

[United theory of aging].

Science.gov (United States)

Trubitsyn, A G

2012-01-01

In attempts to develop a means of life prolongation the humankind has created more than three hundred theories of the aging; each of them offers the original cause of aging. However, none of them has given practical result by now. The majority of the theories have now only historical interest. There are several different theories that are mainly under consideration currently. They are based on reliable, proven evidence: the free radical theory, the protein error theory, the replicative senescence theory, the theory of reparation weakening, the immunological theory, several versions of neuroendocrinal theories, and programmed aging theory. The theory presented here is based on conception that the life as the phenomenon represents many of the interconnected physical and chemical processes propelled by energy of the mitochondrial bioenergetical machine. Gradual degradation of all vital processes is caused by the programmed decrease in level of bioenergetics. This theory unites all existing theories of aging constructed on authentic facts: it is shown, that such fundamental phenomena accompanying aging process as the increase in level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the decrease in the general level of protein synthesis, the limitation of cellular dividing (Haiflick limit), decrease in efficiency of reparation mechanisms are caused by bioenergetics attenuation. Each of these phenomena in turn generates a number of harmful secondary processes. Any of the theories bases on one of these destructive phenomena or their combination. Hence, each of them describes one of sides of process of the aging initially caused by programmed decrease of level of bioenergetics. This united theory gives the chance to understand the nature of aging clock and explains a phenomenon of increase in longevity at the condition of food restriction. Failures of attempts to develop means from aging are explained by that the manipulations with the separate secondary phenomena of attenuation of

Utilizing the Theoretical Framework of Collective Identity to Understand Processes in Youth Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Futch, Valerie A.

2016-01-01

This article explores collective identity as a useful theoretical framework for understanding social and developmental processes that occur in youth programs. Through narrative analysis of past participant interviews (n = 21) from an after-school theater program, known as "The SOURCE", it was found that participants very clearly describe…

Rejuvenating Strategies for Stem Cell-based Therapies in Aging

Science.gov (United States)

Neves, Joana; Sousa-Victor, Pedro; Jasper, Heinrich

2017-01-01

SUMMARY Recent advances in our understanding of tissue regeneration and the development of efficient approaches to induce and differentiate pluripotent stem cells for cell replacement therapies promise exciting avenues for treating degenerative age-related diseases. However, clinical studies and insights from model organisms have identified major roadblocks that normal aging processes impose on tissue regeneration. These new insights suggest that specific targeting of environmental niche components, including growth factors, ECM and immune cells, and intrinsic stem cell properties that are affected by aging will be critical for development of new strategies to improve stem cell function and optimize tissue repair processes. PMID:28157498

Longitudinal Mediation of Processing Speed on Age-Related Change in Memory and Fluid Intelligence

Science.gov (United States)

Robitaille, Annie; Piccinin, Andrea M.; Muniz, Graciela; Hoffman, Lesa; Johansson, Boo; Deeg, Dorly J.H.; Aartsen, Marja J.; Comijs, Hannie C.; Hofer, Scott M.

2014-01-01

Age-related decline in processing speed has long been considered a key driver of cognitive aging. While the majority of empirical evidence for the processing speed hypothesis has been obtained from analyses of between-person age differences, longitudinal studies provide a direct test of within-person change. Using recent developments in longitudinal mediation analysis, we examine the speed–mediation hypothesis at both the within- and between-person levels in two longitudinal studies, LASA and OCTO-Twin. We found significant within-person indirect effects of change in age, such that increasing age was related to lower speed which, in turn, relates to lower performance across repeated measures on other cognitive outcomes. Although between-person indirect effects were also significant in LASA, they were not in OCTO-Twin. These differing magnitudes of direct and indirect effects across levels demonstrate the importance of separating between- and within-person effects in evaluating theoretical models of age-related change. PMID:23957224

Multiple Sclerosis in the Contemporary Age: Understanding the Millennial Patient with Multiple Sclerosis to Create Next-Generation Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Madison R; Okuda, Darin T

2018-02-01

The average age of onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) is between 20 and 40 years of age. Therefore, most new patients diagnosed with MS within the next 10 to 15 years will be from the millennial generation, representing those born between 1982 and 2000. Certain preferences and trends of this contemporary generation will present new challenges to the MS physician and effective MS care. By first understanding these challenges, relevant and successful solutions can be created to craft a system of care that best benefits the millennial patient with MS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Two examples of the use of Habitus to understand processes of marginalisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arp Fallov, Mia; Armstrong, Jo E.

and weaknesses in applying habitus to understand processes of continuity and change in institutions and individuals’ lives. The concept provides a temporal and spatial framework that is valuable in explaining the embodiment and reproduction of inequality. Using habitus points to the importance of social...... domains; the tension between aspirations to change and resistance to transformation; and the importance of considering values in combating marginalization. However, in showing the complexity of processes of inequality it becomes difficult to derive lessons that are easily translatable into policy actions....... Nevertheless, applying at least some minimal insights from using the concept may offer substantial gains in terms of developing effective policies....

Sexual activity and aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Ni Lochlainn, Mary; Kenny, Rose Anne

2013-08-01

Sexuality is an important component of emotional and physical intimacy that men and women experience throughout their lives. Research suggesting that a high proportion of men and women remain sexually active well into later life refutes the prevailing myth that aging and sexual dysfunction are inexorably linked. Age-related physiological changes do not render a meaningful sexual relationship impossible or even necessarily difficult. Many of these physiological changes are modifiable. There are various therapeutic options available to patients to achieve maximum sexual capacity in old age. This article reviews the prevalence of sexual activity among older adults, the problems these adults encounter with sexual activity, and the role of the health care professional in addressing these problems. The physiological sex-related changes that occur as part of the normal aging process in men and women are reviewed, as well as the effect of age-related physical and psychological illness on sexual function. The attitudes and perceptions of the media and general public toward sexual activity and aging are summarized. An understanding of the sexual changes that accompany the aging process may help general practitioners and other doctors to give practical and useful advice on sexuality as well as refute the misconception that aging equates to celibacy. A thorough awareness of this aspect of older people's quality of life can raise meaningful expectations for aging patients. Copyright © 2013 American Medical Directors Association, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding alterations in drug handling with aging: a focus on the pharmacokinetics of maintenance immunosuppressants in the elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabardi, Steven; Tullius, Stefan G; Krenzien, Felix

2015-08-01

This review presents current knowledge of the impact of age on the pharmacokinetics of maintenance immunosuppressants. Over the past decade, there has been a steady increase in older patients on organ transplant waiting lists. As a result, the average age of transplant recipients has significantly increased. The survival and quality-of-life benefits of transplantation in the elderly population have been demonstrated. Advancing age is associated with changes in immune responses, as well as changes in drug handling. Immunosenescence is a physiological part of aging and is linked to reduced rejection rates, but also higher rates of diabetes, infections and malignancies. Physiologic changes associated with age can have a significant impact on the pharmacokinetics of the maintenance immunosuppressive agents. Taken together, these age-related changes impact older transplant candidates and may have significant implications for managing immunosuppression in the elderly. Despite the lack of formal efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetic studies of individual immunosuppressants in the elderly transplant population, there are enough data available for practitioners to be able to adequately manage their older patients. A proficient understanding of the factors that impact the pharmacokinetics of the immunosuppressants in the elderly is essential to managing these patients successfully.

Aging, culture, and memory for categorically processed information.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lixia; Chen, Wenfeng; Ng, Andy H; Fu, Xiaolan

2013-11-01

Literature on cross-cultural differences in cognition suggests that categorization, as an information processing and organization strategy, was more often used by Westerners than by East Asians, particularly for older adults. This study examines East-West cultural differences in memory for categorically processed items and sources in young and older Canadians and native Chinese with a conceptual source memory task (Experiment 1) and a reality monitoring task (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, participants encoded photographic faces of their own ethnicity that were artificially categorized into GOOD or EVIL characters and then completed a source memory task in which they identified faces as old-GOOD, old-EVIL, or new. In Experiment 2, participants viewed a series of words, each followed either by a corresponding image (i.e., SEEN) or by a blank square within which they imagined an image for the word (i.e., IMAGINED). At test, they decided whether the test words were old-SEEN, old-IMAGINED, or new. In general, Canadians outperformed Chinese in memory for categorically processed information, an effect more pronounced for older than for young adults. Extensive exercise of culturally preferred categorization strategy differentially benefits Canadians and reduces their age group differences in memory for categorically processed information.

UNDERSTANDING THAI CULTURE AND ITS IMPACT ON REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING PROCESS MANAGEMENT DURING INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theerasak Thanasankit

2002-01-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the impact of Thai culture on managing the decision making process in requirements engineering and contribution a better understand of its influence on the management of requirements engineering process. The paper illustrates the interaction of technology and culture and shows that rather than technology changing culture, culture can change the way technology is used. Thai culture is naturally inherent in Thai daily life and Thais bring that into their work practices. The concepts of power and uncertainty in Thai culture contribute toward hierarchical forms of communication and decision making process in Thailand, especially during requirements engineering, where information systems requirements need to be established for further development. The research shows that the decision making process in Thailand tends to take a much longer time, as every stage during requirements engineering needs to be reported to management for final decisions. The tall structure of Thai organisations also contributes to a bureaucratic, elongated decision-making process during information systems development. Understanding the influence of Thai culture on requirements engineering and information systems development will assist multinational information systems consulting organisations to select, adapt, better manage, or change requirements engineering process and information systems developments methodologies to work best with Thai organisations.

Actuarial senescence in a long-lived orchid challenges our current understanding of ageing

Science.gov (United States)

Colchero, Fernando; Jones, Owen R.; Øien, Dag-Inge; Moen, Asbjørn; Sletvold, Nina

2016-01-01

The dominant evolutionary theory of actuarial senescence—an increase in death rate with advancing age—is based on the concept of a germ cell line that is separated from the somatic cells early in life. However, such a separation is not clear in all organisms. This has been suggested to explain the paucity of evidence for actuarial senescence in plants. We used a 32 year study of Dactylorhiza lapponica that replaces its organs each growing season, to test whether individuals of this tuberous orchid senesce. We performed a Bayesian survival trajectory analysis accounting for reproductive investment, for individuals under two types of land use, in two climatic regions. The mortality trajectory was best approximated by a Weibull model, showing clear actuarial senescence. Rates of senescence in this model declined with advancing age, but were slightly higher in mown plots and in the more benign climatic region. At older ages, senescence was evident only when accounting for a positive effect of reproductive investment on mortality. Our results demonstrate actuarial senescence as well as a survival–reproduction trade-off in plants, and indicate that environmental context may influence senescence rates. This knowledge is crucial for understanding the evolution of demographic senescence and for models of plant population dynamics. PMID:27852801

Epigenetic regulation of caloric restriction in aging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Michael

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract The molecular mechanisms of aging are the subject of much research and have facilitated potential interventions to delay aging and aging-related degenerative diseases in humans. The aging process is frequently affected by environmental factors, and caloric restriction is by far the most effective and established environmental manipulation for extending lifespan in various animal models. However, the precise mechanisms by which caloric restriction affects lifespan are still not clear. Epigenetic mechanisms have recently been recognized as major contributors to nutrition-related longevity and aging control. Two primary epigenetic codes, DNA methylation and histone modification, are believed to dynamically influence chromatin structure, resulting in expression changes of relevant genes. In this review, we assess the current advances in epigenetic regulation in response to caloric restriction and how this affects cellular senescence, aging and potential extension of a healthy lifespan in humans. Enhanced understanding of the important role of epigenetics in the control of the aging process through caloric restriction may lead to clinical advances in the prevention and therapy of human aging-associated diseases.

Please Wait, Processing: A Selective Literature Review of the Neurological Understanding of Emotional Processing in ASD and Its Potential Contribution to Neuroeducation.

Science.gov (United States)

Shyman, Eric

2017-11-17

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its corresponding conditions have been investigated from a multitude of perspectives resulting in varying understandings of its origin, its outplay, its prognosis, and potential methods of intervention and education for individuals with the disorder. One area that has contributed significantly to providing a different type of understanding is that of neuroscience, and specifically neuroimaging. This paper will offer a selective literature review of research that investigates the role of emotional processing in ASD, and how a deepening of this line of understanding can be used to inform more comprehensive educational practices.

Please Wait, Processing: A Selective Literature Review of the Neurological Understanding of Emotional Processing in ASD and Its Potential Contribution to Neuroeducation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Shyman

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Autism spectrum disorder (ASD and its corresponding conditions have been investigated from a multitude of perspectives resulting in varying understandings of its origin, its outplay, its prognosis, and potential methods of intervention and education for individuals with the disorder. One area that has contributed significantly to providing a different type of understanding is that of neuroscience, and specifically neuroimaging. This paper will offer a selective literature review of research that investigates the role of emotional processing in ASD, and how a deepening of this line of understanding can be used to inform more comprehensive educational practices.

The problem of “culture” in the process of intercultural understanding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreana Marchi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2016v69n1p251 The problem of “culture” in the process of intercultural understanding is one of the most discussed issues among scholars today. Anthropologists, linguists, literary critics, and philosophers, just to name a few, study this issue in a problem-based and research format. Culture and cultural understanding are hereby presented by demonstrating studies and observations of two cultural anthropologists, R. H. Robbins and Clifford Geertz, a literary critic, Lionel Trilling, and C. S. Lewis, a famous writer of both fiction and non-fiction. My intention here is to answer the question: how to describe and analyze a culture that is so different from the perspective of our own? In this sense, language and discourse are also analyzed in this paper as part of culture and can indicate some of our own moral perspectives and judgments on others’ cultures.

Enhanced process understanding and multivariate prediction of the relationship between cell culture process and monoclonal antibody quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Sokolov, Michael; Ritscher, Jonathan; MacKinnon, Nicola; Souquet, Jonathan; Broly, Hervé; Morbidelli, Massimo; Butté, Alessandro

2017-09-01

This work investigates the insights and understanding which can be deduced from predictive process models for the product quality of a monoclonal antibody based on designed high-throughput cell culture experiments performed at milliliter (ambr-15 ® ) scale. The investigated process conditions include various media supplements as well as pH and temperature shifts applied during the process. First, principal component analysis (PCA) is used to show the strong correlation characteristics among the product quality attributes including aggregates, fragments, charge variants, and glycans. Then, partial least square regression (PLS1 and PLS2) is applied to predict the product quality variables based on process information (one by one or simultaneously). The comparison of those two modeling techniques shows that a single (PLS2) model is capable of revealing the interrelationship of the process characteristics to the large set product quality variables. In order to show the dynamic evolution of the process predictability separate models are defined at different time points showing that several product quality attributes are mainly driven by the media composition and, hence, can be decently predicted from early on in the process, while others are strongly affected by process parameter changes during the process. Finally, by coupling the PLS2 models with a genetic algorithm first the model performance can be further improved and, most importantly, the interpretation of the large-dimensioned process-product-interrelationship can be significantly simplified. The generally applicable toolset presented in this case study provides a solid basis for decision making and process optimization throughout process development. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1368-1380, 2017. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Characterization of Chinese liquor aroma components during aging process and liquor age discrimination using gas chromatography combined with multivariable statistics

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, M. L.; Yu, Y.; Ramaswamy, H. S.; Zhu, S. M.

2017-01-01

Chinese liquor aroma components were characterized during the aging process using gas chromatography (GC). Principal component and cluster analysis (PCA, CA) were used to discriminate the Chinese liquor age which has a great economic value. Of a total of 21 major aroma components identified and quantified, 13 components which included several acids, alcohols, esters, aldehydes and furans decreased significantly in the first year of aging, maintained the same levels (p > 0.05) for next three years and decreased again (p counterfeit and defective products.

Projective mapping with food stickers: A good tool for better understanding perception of fish in children of different ages

OpenAIRE

Daltoe, Marina Mitterer; Breda, Leandra Schuastz; Belusso, A.C.; Nogueira, Barbara Arruda; Rodrigues, Deyse Pegorini; Fiszman, Susana; Varela, Paula

2017-01-01

The objective of this study was to better understand the perception of fish products among school children of three different age groups, 5–6 years, 7–8 years and 9–0 years. In order to do so, we used Projective Mapping (PM) with food stickers and a word association task (WA). A total of 149 children from three public schools in the state of Parana, Brazil, have participated on this study. The age groups were interviewed (on 1–1 basis) by six monitors qualified to apply the sensory methods us...

Healthy aging and myocardium: A complicated process with various effects in cardiac structure and physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakou, E S; Parthenakis, F I; Kallergis, E M; Marketou, M E; Nakos, K S; Vardas, P E

2016-04-15

It is known that there is an ongoing increase in life expectancy worldwide, especially in the population older than 65years of age. Cardiac aging is characterized by a series of complex pathophysiological changes affecting myocardium at structural, cellular, molecular and functional levels. These changes make the aged myocardium more susceptible to stress, leading to a high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (heart failure, atrial fibrillation, left ventricular hypertrophy, coronary artery disease) in the elderly population. The aging process is genetically programmed but modified by environmental influences, so that the rate of aging can vary widely among people. We summarized the entire data concerning all the multifactorial changes in aged myocardium and highlighting the recent evidence for the pathophysiological basis of cardiac aging. Keeping an eye on the clinical side, this review will explore the potential implications of the age-related changes in the clinical management and on novel therapeutic strategies potentially deriving from the scientific knowledge currently acquired on cardiac aging process. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sensory processing difficulties in school-age children born very preterm : An exploratory study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bröring, Tinka; Königs, Marsh; Oostrom, Kim J.; Lafeber, Harrie N.; Brugman, Anniek; Oosterlaan, Jaap

Background Very preterm birth has a detrimental impact on the developing brain, including widespread white matter brain abnormalities that threaten efficient sensory processing. Yet, sensory processing difficulties in very preterm children are scarcely studied, especially at school age. Aims To

Understanding age-related reductions in visual working memory capacity: examining the stages of change detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Philip C; Duda, Bryant; Hussey, Erin; Mason, Emily; Molitor, Robert J; Woodman, Geoffrey F; Ally, Brandon A

2014-10-01

Visual working memory (VWM) capacity is reduced in older adults. Research has shown age-related impairments to VWM encoding, but aging is likely to affect multiple stages of VWM. In the present study, we recorded the event-related potentials (ERPs) of younger and older adults during VWM maintenance and retrieval. We measured encoding-stage processing with the P1 component, maintenance-stage processing with the contralateral delay activity (CDA), and retrieval-stage processing by comparing the activity for old and new items (old-new effect). Older adults showed lower behavioral capacity estimates (K) than did younger adults, but surprisingly, their P1 components and CDAs were comparable to those of younger adults. This remarkable dissociation between neural activity and behavior in the older adults indicated that the P1 and CDA did not accurately assess their VWM capacity. However, the neural activity evoked during VWM retrieval yielded results that helped clarify the age-related differences. During retrieval, younger adults showed early old-new effects in frontal and occipital areas and a late central-parietal old-new effect, whereas older adults showed a late right-lateralized parietal old-new effect. The younger adults' early old-new effects strongly resembled an index of perceptual fluency, suggesting that perceptual implicit memory was activated. The activation of implicit memory could have facilitated the younger adults' behavior, and the lack of these early effects in older adults may suggest that they have much lower-resolution memory than do younger adults. From these data, we speculated that younger and older adults store the same number of items in VWM, but that younger adults store a higher-resolution representation than do older adults.

Ageing differentially affects neural processing of different conflict types – an fMRI study

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Margarethe eKorsch

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Interference control and conflict resolution is affected by ageing. There is increasing evidence that ageing does not compromise interference control in general but rather shows distinctive effects on different components of interference control. Different conflict types, (e.g. stimulus-stimulus (S-S or stimulus-response (S-R conflicts trigger different cognitive processes and thus activate different neural networks. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study, we used a combined Flanker and Stimulus Response Conflict (SRC task to investigate the effect of ageing on S-S and S-R conflicts. Behavioral data analysis revealed larger SRC effects in elderly. fMRI Results show that both age groups recruited similar regions (caudate nucleus, cingulate gyrus and middle occipital gyrus during Flanker conflict processing. Furthermore, elderly show an additional activation pattern in parietal and frontal areas. In contrast, no common activation of both age groups was found in response to the SRC. These data suggest that ageing has distinctive effects on S-S and S-R conflicts.

Sensory Subtypes in Preschool Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomchek, Scott D; Little, Lauren M; Myers, John; Dunn, Winnie

2018-06-01

Given the heterogeneity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), research has investigated how sensory features elucidate subtypes that enhance our understanding of etiology and tailored treatment approaches. Previous studies, however, have not integrated core developmental behaviors with sensory features in investigations of subtypes in ASD. Therefore, we used latent profile analysis to examine subtypes in a preschool aged sample considering sensory processing patterns in combination with social-communication skill, motor performance, and adaptive behavior. Results showed four subtypes that differed by degree and quality of sensory features, age and differential presentation of developmental skills. Findings partially align with previous literature on sensory subtypes and extends our understanding of how sensory processing aligns with other developmental domains in young children with ASD.

Processed and ultra-processed food consumption among children aged 13 to 35 months and associated factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Batalha, Mônica Araujo; França, Ana Karina Teixeira da Cunha; Conceição, Sueli Ismael Oliveira da; Santos, Alcione Miranda Dos; Silva, Francelena de Sousa; Padilha, Luana Lopes; Silva, Antônio Augusto Moura da

2017-11-21

The aim of this study was to evaluate the consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods among children aged 13-35 months and its associated factors. We studied 1,185 children within the BRISA cohort in São Luís, Maranhão State, Brazil. The food consumption was investigated using a 24-hour recall, and the percentages of daily caloric intake and nutrients were estimated by food groups according to "NOVA" classification. We chose to categorize children belonging to the upper tertile of the distribution as having a high consumption of processed and ultra-processed food products. The Poisson regression model with robust variance estimation using a hierarchical modeling approach was used to calculate the prevalence ratios (PRs) of variables associated with high consumption of processed and ultra-processed food products. The mean energy intake was 1,226Kcal/day. After adjustments, there was a higher proportion of high consumption of processed and ultra-processed food products among children whose mothers had food products and preventing adverse health outcomes in later life.

The Relation Between Emotion Understanding and Theory of Mind in Children Aged 3 to 8: The Key Role of Language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilaria Grazzani

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Although a significant body of research has investigated the relationships among children’s emotion understanding (EU, theory of mind (ToM, and language abilities. As far as we know, no study to date has been conducted with a sizeable sample of both preschool and school-age children exploring the direct effect of EU on ToM when the role of language was evaluated as a potential exogenous factor in a single comprehensive model. Participants in the current study were 389 children (age range: 37–97 months, M = 60.79 months; SD = 12.66, to whom a False-Belief understanding battery, the Test of Emotion Comprehension, and the Peabody Test were administered. Children’s EU, ToM, and language ability (receptive vocabulary were positively correlated. Furthermore, EU scores explained variability in ToM scores independently of participants’ age and gender. Finally, language was found to play a crucial role in both explaining variance in ToM scores and in mediating the relationship between EU and ToM. We discuss the theoretical and educational implications of these outcomes, particularly in relation to offering social and emotional learning programs through schools.

The Relation Between Emotion Understanding and Theory of Mind in Children Aged 3 to 8: The Key Role of Language.

Science.gov (United States)

Grazzani, Ilaria; Ornaghi, Veronica; Conte, Elisabetta; Pepe, Alessandro; Caprin, Claudia

2018-01-01

Although a significant body of research has investigated the relationships among children's emotion understanding (EU), theory of mind (ToM), and language abilities. As far as we know, no study to date has been conducted with a sizeable sample of both preschool and school-age children exploring the direct effect of EU on ToM when the role of language was evaluated as a potential exogenous factor in a single comprehensive model. Participants in the current study were 389 children (age range: 37-97 months, M = 60.79 months; SD = 12.66), to whom a False-Belief understanding battery, the Test of Emotion Comprehension, and the Peabody Test were administered. Children's EU, ToM, and language ability (receptive vocabulary) were positively correlated. Furthermore, EU scores explained variability in ToM scores independently of participants' age and gender. Finally, language was found to play a crucial role in both explaining variance in ToM scores and in mediating the relationship between EU and ToM. We discuss the theoretical and educational implications of these outcomes, particularly in relation to offering social and emotional learning programs through schools.

Musculoskeletal system in the old age and the demand for healthy ageing biomarkers.

Science.gov (United States)

Collino, Sebastiano; Martin, François-Pierre; Karagounis, Leonidas G; Horcajada, Marie Noelle; Moco, Sofia; Franceschi, Claudio; Kussmann, Martin; Offord, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

Population ageing has emerged as a major demographic trend worldwide due to improved health and longevity. This global ageing phenomenon will have a major impact on health-care systems worldwide due to increased morbidity and greater needs for hospitalization/institutionalization. As the ageing population increases worldwide, there is an increasing awareness not only of increased longevity but also of the importance of "healthy ageing" and "quality of life". Yet, the age related chronic inflammation is believed to be pathogenic with regards to its contribution to frailty and degenerative disorders. In particular, the frailty syndrome is increasingly being considered as a key risk indicator of adverse health outcomes. In addition, elderly may be also prone to be resistant to anabolic stimuli which is likely a key factor in the loss of skeletal muscle mass with ageing. Vital to understand these key biological processes is the development of biological markers, through system biology approaches, aiding at strategies for tailored therapeutic and personalized nutritional program. Overall aim is to prevent or attenuate decline of key physiological functions required to live an active, independent life. This review focus on core indicators of health and functions in older adults, where nutrition and tailored personalized programs could exhibit preventive roles, and where the aid of metabolomics technologies are increasingly displaying potential in revealing key molecular mechanisms/targets linked to specific ageing and/or healthy ageing processes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Managing the effects of aging and reliability improvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, R.E.; Gunther, W.; Boccio, J.L.

1988-01-01

Over recent years the electric power generating community has acknowledged the importance of the aging process on plant safety and availability. To cope with time-dependent degradation phenomena that can affect active as well as passive components and lead to unacceptable, unanticipated failures requires research into the mechanisms of the aging process, advances in predictive methods for assessing the aging impact on risk and availability, and a better understanding of power plant operations so that strategies for defending against this pervasive stress can be developed. This paper discusses current research advances and presents a framework to aid in the systematic integration of these three needs. As such it is anchored to research being conducted at Brookhaven National laboratory in the areas of plant aging, life extension, reliability, performance indication, and risk assessment

Pathophysiology of Age-Related Hearing Loss (Peripheral and Central)

OpenAIRE

Lee, Kyu-Yup

2013-01-01

Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) refers to bilaterally symmetrical hearing loss resulting from aging process. Presbycusis is a complex phenomenon characterized by audiometric threshold shift, deterioration in speech-understanding and speech-perception difficulties in noisy environments. Factors contributing to presbycusis include mitochondria DNA mutation, genetic disorders including Ahl, hypertension, diabetes, metabolic disease and other systemic diseases in the intrinsic aspects. Ext...

[Use of nondeclarative and automatic memory processes in motor learning: how to mitigate the effects of aging].

Science.gov (United States)

Chauvel, Guillaume; Maquestiaux, François; Didierjean, André; Joubert, Sven; Dieudonné, Bénédicte; Verny, Marc

2011-12-01

Does normal aging inexorably lead to diminished motor learning abilities? This article provides an overview of the literature on the question, with particular emphasis on the functional dissociation between two sets of memory processes: declarative, effortful processes, and non-declarative, automatic processes. There is abundant evidence suggesting that aging does impair learning when past memories of former actions are required (episodic memory) and recollected through controlled processing (working memory). However, other studies have shown that aging does not impair learning when motor actions are performed non verbally and automatically (tapping procedural memory). These findings led us to hypothesize that one can minimize the impact of aging on the ability to learn new motor actions by favouring procedural learning. Recent data validating this hypothesis are presented. Our findings underline the importance of developing new motor learning strategies, which "bypass" declarative, effortful memory processes.

The yeast replicative aging model.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Chong; Zhou, Chuankai; Kennedy, Brian K

2018-03-08

It has been nearly three decades since the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae became a significant model organism for aging research and it has emerged as both simple and powerful. The replicative aging assay, which interrogates the number of times a "mother" cell can divide and produce "daughters", has been a stalwart in these studies, and genetic approaches have led to the identification of hundreds of genes impacting lifespan. More recently, cell biological and biochemical approaches have been developed to determine how cellular processes become altered with age. Together, the tools are in place to develop a holistic view of aging in this single-celled organism. Here, we summarize the current state of understanding of yeast replicative aging with a focus on the recent studies that shed new light on how aging pathways interact to modulate lifespan in yeast. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Associations between social understanding, sibling relationship quality, and siblings' conflict strategies and outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Recchia, Holly E; Howe, Nina

2009-01-01

Sibling relationship quality and social understanding (second-order false belief, conflict interpretation, and narrative conflict perspective references) were examined as unique and interactive correlates of sibling conflict behavior in 62 dyads (older M age = 8.39 years and younger M age = 6.06 years). High-quality relationships were associated with positive conflict processes. Younger siblings' second-order false belief scores were negatively associated with constructive conflict strategies, and older siblings' narrative self-referential focus was negatively associated with compromise. Associations between younger children's social understanding (conflict interpretation and narrative perspective references) and siblings' dyadic conflict behavior were moderated by relationship quality. Results suggest that links between social understanding and conflict behavior should be considered in conjunction with the quality of children's relationships.

Volume reduction outweighs biogeochemical processes in controlling phosphorus treatment in aged detention systems

Science.gov (United States)

Shukla, Asmita; Shukla, Sanjay; Annable, Michael D.; Hodges, Alan W.

2017-08-01

Stormwater detention areas (SDAs) play an important role in treating end-of-the-farm runoff in phosphorous (P) limited agroecosystems. Phosphorus transport from the SDAs, including those through subsurface pathways, are not well understood. The prevailing understanding of these systems assumes that biogeochemical processes play the primary treatment role and that subsurface losses can be neglected. Water and P fluxes from a SDA located in a row-crop farm were measured for two years (2009-2011) to assess the SDA's role in reducing downstream P loads. The SDA treated 55% (497 kg) and 95% (205 kg) of the incoming load during Year 1 (Y1, 09-10) and Year 2 (Y2, 10-11), respectively. These treatment efficiencies were similar to surface water volumetric retention (49% in Y1 and 84% in Y2) and varied primarily with rainfall. Similar water volume and P retentions indicate that volume retention is the main process controlling P loads. A limited role of biogeochemical processes was supported by low to no remaining soil P adsorption capacity due to long-term drainage P input. The fact that outflow P concentrations (Y1 = 368.3 μg L- 1, Y2 = 230.4 μg L- 1) could be approximated by using a simple mixing of rainfall and drainage P input further confirmed the near inert biogeochemical processes. Subsurface P losses through groundwater were 304 kg (27% of inflow P) indicating that they are an important source for downstream P. Including subsurface P losses reduces the treatment efficiency to 35% (from 61%). The aboveground biomass in the SDA contained 42% (240 kg) of the average incoming P load suggesting that biomass harvesting could be a cost-effective alternative for reviving the role of biogeochemical processes to enhance P treatment in aged, P-saturated SDAs. The 20-year present economic value of P removal through harvesting was estimated to be 341,000, which if covered through a cost share or a payment for P treatment services program could be a positive outcome for both

How to analyse age effects in electrophysiological signatures of second language grammar processing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berends, Sanne; Wieling, Martijn; Sprenger, Simone; Brouwer, Susanne; Schmid, Monika

2017-01-01

There is a debate on the nature of the relationship between age of acquisition (AoA) and grammatical processing in second language (L2) learners (Birdsong, 2005). On the one hand, it has been argued that the ability to learn the grammar of an L2 decreases continuously with age due to general

Sensitivity of transatlantic dust transport to chemical aging and related atmospheric processes

KAUST Repository

Abdelkader, Mohamed

2017-03-20

We present a sensitivity study on transatlantic dust transport, a process which has many implications for the atmosphere, the ocean and the climate. We investigate the impact of key processes that control the dust outflow, i.e., the emission flux, convection schemes and the chemical aging of mineral dust, by using the EMAC model following Abdelkader et al. (2015). To characterize the dust outflow over the Atlantic Ocean, we distinguish two geographic zones: (i) dust interactions within the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), or the dust–ITCZ interaction zone (DIZ), and (ii) the adjacent dust transport over the Atlantic Ocean (DTA) zone. In the latter zone, the dust loading shows a steep and linear gradient westward over the Atlantic Ocean since particle sedimentation is the dominant removal process, whereas in the DIZ zone aerosol–cloud interactions, wet deposition and scavenging processes determine the extent of the dust outflow. Generally, the EMAC simulated dust compares well with CALIPSO observations; however, our reference model configuration tends to overestimate the dust extinction at a lower elevation and underestimates it at a higher elevation. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) over the Caribbean responds to the dust emission flux only when the emitted dust mass is significantly increased over the source region in Africa by a factor of 10. These findings point to the dominant role of dust removal (especially wet deposition) in transatlantic dust transport. Experiments with different convection schemes have indeed revealed that the transatlantic dust transport is more sensitive to the convection scheme than to the dust emission flux parameterization. To study the impact of dust chemical aging, we focus on a major dust outflow in July 2009. We use the calcium cation as a proxy for the overall chemical reactive dust fraction and consider the uptake of major inorganic acids (i.e., H2SO4, HNO3 and HCl) and their anions, i.e., sulfate (SO42−), bisulfate

Vascular Ageing and Exercise: Focus on Cellular Reparative Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark D. Ross

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Ageing is associated with an increased risk of developing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD. The increased risk can be attributable to increased prolonged exposure to oxidative stress. Often, CVD is preceded by endothelial dysfunction, which carries with it a proatherothrombotic phenotype. Endothelial senescence and reduced production and release of nitric oxide (NO are associated with “vascular ageing” and are often accompanied by a reduced ability for the body to repair vascular damage, termed “reendothelialization.” Exercise has been repeatedly shown to confer protection against CVD and diabetes risk and incidence. Regular exercise promotes endothelial function and can prevent endothelial senescence, often through a reduction in oxidative stress. Recently, endothelial precursors, endothelial progenitor cells (EPC, have been shown to repair damaged endothelium, and reduced circulating number and/or function of these cells is associated with ageing. Exercise can modulate both number and function of these cells to promote endothelial homeostasis. In this review we look at the effects of advancing age on the endothelium and these endothelial precursors and how exercise appears to offset this “vascular ageing” process.

Fast But Fleeting: Adaptive Motor Learning Processes Associated with Aging and Cognitive Decline

Science.gov (United States)

Trewartha, Kevin M.; Garcia, Angeles; Wolpert, Daniel M.

2014-01-01

Motor learning has been shown to depend on multiple interacting learning processes. For example, learning to adapt when moving grasped objects with novel dynamics involves a fast process that adapts and decays quickly—and that has been linked to explicit memory—and a slower process that adapts and decays more gradually. Each process is characterized by a learning rate that controls how strongly motor memory is updated based on experienced errors and a retention factor determining the movement-to-movement decay in motor memory. Here we examined whether fast and slow motor learning processes involved in learning novel dynamics differ between younger and older adults. In addition, we investigated how age-related decline in explicit memory performance influences learning and retention parameters. Although the groups adapted equally well, they did so with markedly different underlying processes. Whereas the groups had similar fast processes, they had different slow processes. Specifically, the older adults exhibited decreased retention in their slow process compared with younger adults. Within the older group, who exhibited considerable variation in explicit memory performance, we found that poor explicit memory was associated with reduced retention in the fast process, as well as the slow process. These findings suggest that explicit memory resources are a determining factor in impairments in the both the fast and slow processes for motor learning but that aging effects on the slow process are independent of explicit memory declines. PMID:25274819

Fast but fleeting: adaptive motor learning processes associated with aging and cognitive decline.

Science.gov (United States)

Trewartha, Kevin M; Garcia, Angeles; Wolpert, Daniel M; Flanagan, J Randall

2014-10-01

Motor learning has been shown to depend on multiple interacting learning processes. For example, learning to adapt when moving grasped objects with novel dynamics involves a fast process that adapts and decays quickly-and that has been linked to explicit memory-and a slower process that adapts and decays more gradually. Each process is characterized by a learning rate that controls how strongly motor memory is updated based on experienced errors and a retention factor determining the movement-to-movement decay in motor memory. Here we examined whether fast and slow motor learning processes involved in learning novel dynamics differ between younger and older adults. In addition, we investigated how age-related decline in explicit memory performance influences learning and retention parameters. Although the groups adapted equally well, they did so with markedly different underlying processes. Whereas the groups had similar fast processes, they had different slow processes. Specifically, the older adults exhibited decreased retention in their slow process compared with younger adults. Within the older group, who exhibited considerable variation in explicit memory performance, we found that poor explicit memory was associated with reduced retention in the fast process, as well as the slow process. These findings suggest that explicit memory resources are a determining factor in impairments in the both the fast and slow processes for motor learning but that aging effects on the slow process are independent of explicit memory declines. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3413411-11$15.00/0.

Understanding the design research process: The evolution of a professional development program in Indian slums

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McKenney, Susan; Raval, Harini; Pieters, Jules

2011-01-01

McKenney, S., Raval, H., & Pieters, J. (2011, 8-12 April). Understanding the design research process: The evolution of a professional development program in Indian slums. Presentation at AERA annual meeting, New Orleans.

Ergodicity breaking, ageing, and confinement in generalized diffusion processes with position and time dependent diffusivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherstvy, Andrey G; Metzler, Ralf

2015-01-01

We study generalized anomalous diffusion processes whose diffusion coefficient D(x, t) ∼ D 0 |x| α t β depends on both the position x of the test particle and the process time t. This process thus combines the features of scaled Brownian motion and heterogeneous diffusion parent processes. We compute the ensemble and time averaged mean squared displacements of this generalized diffusion process. The scaling exponent of the ensemble averaged mean squared displacement is shown to be the product of the critical exponents of the parent processes, and describes both subdiffusive and superdiffusive systems. We quantify the amplitude fluctuations of the time averaged mean squared displacement as function of the length of the time series and the lag time. In particular, we observe a weak ergodicity breaking of this generalized diffusion process: even in the long time limit the ensemble and time averaged mean squared displacements are strictly disparate. When we start to observe this process some time after its initiation we observe distinct features of ageing. We derive a universal ageing factor for the time averaged mean squared displacement containing all information on the ageing time and the measurement time. External confinement is shown to alter the magnitudes and statistics of the ensemble and time averaged mean squared displacements. (paper)

Understanding power plant investment decision processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot, J.; Richstein, J.C.; De Vries, L.J.

2013-01-01

In order to understand how companies make investment decisions under conditions of deep uncertainty, we interviewed a number of actors in the Dutch electricity sector. Most of the economic literature that is devoted to this question is prescriptive in nature, describing rational methods to the

Understanding Participation of Preschool-Age Children with Cerebral Palsy

Science.gov (United States)

Chiarello, Lisa Ann; Palisano, Robert J.; Orlin, Margo N.; Chang, Hui-Ju; Begnoche, Denise; An, Mihee

2012-01-01

Participation in home, school, and community activities is a primary outcome of early intervention services for children with disabilities and their families. The objectives of this study were to (a) describe participation of preschool-age children with cerebral palsy (CP); (b) determine effects of sex, age, and gross motor function on intensity…

Aging and Gene Expression in the Primate Brain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fraser, Hunter B.; Khaitovich, Philipp; Plotkin, Joshua B.; Paabo, Svante; Eisen, Michael B.

2005-02-18

It is well established that gene expression levels in many organisms change during the aging process, and the advent of DNA microarrays has allowed genome-wide patterns of transcriptional changes associated with aging to be studied in both model organisms and various human tissues. Understanding the effects of aging on gene expression in the human brain is of particular interest, because of its relation to both normal and pathological neurodegeneration. Here we show that human cerebral cortex, human cerebellum, and chimpanzee cortex each undergo different patterns of age-related gene expression alterations. In humans, many more genes undergo consistent expression changes in the cortex than in the cerebellum; in chimpanzees, many genes change expression with age in cortex, but the pattern of changes in expression bears almost no resemblance to that of human cortex. These results demonstrate the diversity of aging patterns present within the human brain, as well as how rapidly genome-wide patterns of aging can evolve between species; they may also have implications for the oxidative free radical theory of aging, and help to improve our understanding of human neurodegenerative diseases.

Aging and gene expression in the primate brain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hunter B Fraser

2005-09-01

Full Text Available It is well established that gene expression levels in many organisms change during the aging process, and the advent of DNA microarrays has allowed genome-wide patterns of transcriptional changes associated with aging to be studied in both model organisms and various human tissues. Understanding the effects of aging on gene expression in the human brain is of particular interest, because of its relation to both normal and pathological neurodegeneration. Here we show that human cerebral cortex, human cerebellum, and chimpanzee cortex each undergo different patterns of age-related gene expression alterations. In humans, many more genes undergo consistent expression changes in the cortex than in the cerebellum; in chimpanzees, many genes change expression with age in cortex, but the pattern of changes in expression bears almost no resemblance to that of human cortex. These results demonstrate the diversity of aging patterns present within the human brain, as well as how rapidly genome-wide patterns of aging can evolve between species; they may also have implications for the oxidative free radical theory of aging, and help to improve our understanding of human neurodegenerative diseases.

Signaling pathway activation drift during aging: Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome fibroblasts are comparable to normal middle-age and old-age cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Aliper, Alexander M; Csoka, Antonei Benjamin; Buzdin, Anton; Jetka, Tomasz; Roumiantsev, Sergey; Moskalev, Alexy; Zhavoronkov, Alex

2015-01-01

For the past several decades, research in understanding the molecular basis of human aging has progressed significantly with the analysis of premature aging syndromes. Progerin, an altered form of lamin A, has been identified as the cause of premature aging in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), and may be a contributing causative factor in normal aging. However, the question of whether HGPS actually recapitulates the normal aging process at the cellular and organismal level, or simply mimics the aging phenotype is widely debated. In the present study we analyzed publicly available microarray datasets for fibroblasts undergoing cellular aging in culture, as well as fibroblasts derived from young, middle-age, and old-age individuals, and patients with HGPS. Using GeroScope pathway analysis and drug discovery platform we analyzed the activation states of 65 major cellular signaling pathways. Our analysis reveals that signaling pathway activation states in cells derived from chronologically young patients with HGPS strongly resemble cells taken from normal middle-aged and old individuals. This clearly indicates that HGPS may truly represent accelerated aging, rather than being just a simulacrum. Our data also points to potential pathways that could be targeted to develop drugs and drug combinations for both HGPS and normal aging.

Understanding the design research process: The evolution of a professional development program in Indian slums

OpenAIRE

McKenney, Susan; Raval, Harini; Pieters, Jules

2011-01-01

McKenney, S., Raval, H., & Pieters, J. (2011, 8-12 April). Understanding the design research process: The evolution of a professional development program in Indian slums. Paper presentation at AERA annual meeting, New Orleans.

Understanding the design research process: The evolution of a professional development program in Indian slums

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McKenney, Susan; Raval, Harini; Pieters, Jules

2012-01-01

McKenney, S., Raval, H., & Pieters, J. (2011, 8-12 April). Understanding the design research process: The evolution of a professional development program in Indian slums. Paper presentation at AERA annual meeting, New Orleans.

The Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury on the Aging Brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Jacob S; Hobbs, Jonathan G; Bailes, Julian E

2016-09-01

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has come to the forefront of both the scientific and popular culture. Specifically, sports-related concussions or mild TBI (mTBI) has become the center of scientific scrutiny with a large amount of research focusing on the long-term sequela of this type of injury. As the populace continues to age, the impact of TBI on the aging brain will become clearer. Currently, reports have come to light that link TBI to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, as well as certain psychiatric diseases. Whether these associations are causations, however, is yet to be determined. Other long-term sequelae, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), appear to be associated with repetitive injuries. Going forward, as we gain better understanding of the pathophysiological process involved in TBI and subclinical head traumas, and individual traits that influence susceptibility to neurocognitive diseases, a clearer, more comprehensive understanding of the connection between brain injury and resultant disease processes in the aging brain will become evident.

The Relation of Age and Reading Ability to Memory Processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Marrach, Alexa; Fireman, Gary

This study examined the relation of reading ability, age, and familiarity to iconic and short-term memory processing and how the familiarity of the stimuli affects recall. A total of 10 children in grades 2 through 6 and 10 adults were shown novel abstract forms, words, and non-words varying in order of approximation to English, for 50 msec., 500…

The effect of aging in recollective experience: the processing speed and executive functioning hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bugaiska, Aurélia; Clarys, David; Jarry, Caroline; Taconnat, Laurence; Tapia, Géraldine; Vanneste, Sandrine; Isingrini, Michel

2007-12-01

This study was designed to investigate the effects of aging on consciousness in recognition memory, using the Remember/Know/Guess procedure (Gardiner, J. M., & Richarson-Klavehn, A. (2000). Remembering and Knowing. In E. Tulving & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Memory. Oxford University Press.). In recognition memory, older participants report fewer occasions on which recognition is accompanied by recollection of the original encoding context. Two main hypotheses were tested: the speed mediation hypothesis (Salthouse, T. A. (1996). The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition. Psychological Review, 3, 403-428) and the executive-aging hypothesis (West, R. L. (1996). An application of prefrontal cortex function theory to cognitive aging. Psychological Bulletin, 120, 272-292). A group of young and a group of older adults took a recognition test in which they classified their responses according to Gardiner, J. M., & Richarson-Klavehn, A. (2000). Remembering and Knowing. In E. Tulving & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Memory. Oxford University Press. remember-know-guess paradigm. Subsequently, participants completed processing speed and executive function tests. The results showed that among the older participants, R responses decreased, but K responses did not. Moreover, a hierarchical regression analysis supported the view that the effect of age in recollection experience is determined by frontal lobe integrity and not by diminution of processing speed.

Using infrared thermography for understanding and quantifying soil surface processes

Science.gov (United States)

de Lima, João L. M. P.

2017-04-01

At present, our understanding of the soil hydrologic response is restricted by measurement limitations. In the literature, there have been repeatedly calls for interdisciplinary approaches to expand our knowledge in this field and eventually overcome the limitations that are inherent to conventional measuring techniques used, for example, for tracing water at the basin, hillslope and even field or plot scales. Infrared thermography is a versatile, accurate and fast technique of monitoring surface temperature and has been used in a variety of fields, such as military surveillance, medical diagnosis, industrial processes optimisation, building inspections and agriculture. However, many applications are still to be fully explored. In surface hydrology, it has been successfully employed as a high spatial and temporal resolution non-invasive and non-destructive imaging tool to e.g. access groundwater discharges into waterbodies or quantify thermal heterogeneities of streams. It is believed that thermal infrared imagery can grasp the spatial and temporal variability of many processes at the soil surface. Thermography interprets the heat signals and can provide an attractive view for identifying both areas where water is flowing or has infiltrated more, or accumulated temporarily in depressions or macropores. Therefore, we hope to demonstrate the potential for thermal infrared imagery to indirectly make a quantitative estimation of several hydrologic processes. Applications include: e.g. mapping infiltration, microrelief and macropores; estimating flow velocities; defining sampling strategies; identifying water sources, accumulation of waters or even connectivity. Protocols for the assessment of several hydrologic processes with the help of IR thermography will be briefly explained, presenting some examples from laboratory soil flumes and field.

Managing the effects of aging and reliability improvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, R.E.; Gunther, W.; Boccio, J.L.

1989-01-01

Over recent years the electric power generating community has acknowledged the importance of the aging process on plant safety and availability. To cope with time-dependent degradation phenomena that can affect active as well as passive components and lead to unacceptable, unanticipated failures requires research into the mechanisms of the aging process, advances in predictive methods for assessing the aging impact on risk and availability, and a better understanding of power plant operations so that strategies for defending against this pervasive stress can be developed. This paper discusses current research advances and presents a framework to aid in the systematic integration of these three needs. It also discusses current research in the aging effect on electric components. As such it is anchored to research being conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the areas of plant aging, life extension, reliability, performance indication, and risk assessment. (orig.)

Age Differences in Information Use While Making Decisions: Resource Limitations or Processing Differences?

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs-Lawson, Joy M; Schumacher, Mitzi M; Wackerbarth, Sarah B

2016-09-20

Recent research on the decision-making abilities of older adults has shown that they use less information than young adults. One explanation ascribes this age difference to reductions in cognitive abilities with age. The article includes three experimental studies that focused on determining the conditions in which older and young adults would display dissimilar information processing characteristics. Findings from Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that older adults are not necessarily at greater disadvantage than young adults in decision contexts that demand more information processing resources. Findings from Study 3 indicated that older adults when faced with decisions that require greater processing are likely to use a strategy that reduces the amount of information needed, whereas younger adults rely on strategies that utilize more resources. Combined the findings indicate that older adults change their decision-making strategies based on the context and information provided. Furthermore, support is provided for processing difference. © The Author(s) 2016.

Using failure mode and effect analysis in identification of components sensitive to ageing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nitoi, Mirela; Turcu, Ilie; Apostol, Minodora; Farcasiu, Mita; Popa, Adrian; Florescu, Gheorghe; Pavelescu, Margarit

2008-01-01

Ageing represents a phenomenon of concern since any degradation that may occur in time could lower a component performance and so reduce its reliability. If the phenomenon is left unchecked and unmitigated, the ageing could increase the risk associated with the facility operation. To understand the ageing degradation of a component, it is first necessary to identify and understand the ageing processes. Since these processes involve constituent materials, parts and the service conditions of components, it is necessary to know the design, materials, service conditions, performance requirements, operating experience (operation, surveillance and maintenance histories) and relevant research results for the component of interest. The purpose of the Ageing Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (AFMEA) is to study the results or effects of item failure caused by ageing, on system operation and to classify each potential failure according to its severity The paper will present the advantages of using AFMEA in identification of most sensitive to ageing components, as the results obtained for a particular case. For each component analyzed, the stressors will be established, the corresponding ageing mechanisms will be identified, as the failure modes induced by the ageing mechanisms. (authors)

Hydrologic Connectivity for Understanding Watershed Processes: Brand-new Puzzle or Emerging Panacea?

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, G. A.; Roy, A. G.; Tetzlaff, D.; Soulsby, C.; McDonnell, J. J.

2011-12-01

As a way to develop a more holistic approach to watershed assessment and management, the concept of hydrologic connectivity (HC) is often put at the forefront. HC can be seen as the strength of the water-mediated linkages between discrete units of the landscape and as such, it facilitates our intuitive understanding of the mechanisms driving runoff initiation and cessation. Much of the excitement surrounding HC is attributable to its potential to enhance our ability to gain insights into multiple areas including process dynamics, numerical model building, the effects of human elements in our landscape conceptualization, and the development of simplified watershed management tools. However, before such potential can be fully demonstrated, many issues must be resolved with regards to the measure of HC. Here we provide examples highlighting how connectivity can be useful towards understanding water routing in river basins, ecohydrological systems coupling, and intermittent rainfall-runoff dynamics. First, the use of connectivity metrics to examine the relative influence of surface/subsurface topography and soil characteristics on runoff generation will be discussed. Second, the effectiveness of using geochemical tracers will be examined with respect to identifying non-point runoff sources and linking hillslope-to-channel connectivity with surface water-groundwater exchanges in the biologically sensitive hyporheic zone. Third, the identification of different hydrologic thresholds will be presented as a way to discriminate the establishment of connectivity across a range of contrasted catchments located in Canada, Scotland, the USA, and Sweden. These examples will show that current challenges with regards to HC revolve around the choice of an accurate methodological framework for an appropriate translation of experimental findings into effective watershed management approaches. Addressing these questions simultaneously will lead to the emergence of HC as a powerful tool

Episodic and semantic memory functioning in very old age: Explanations from executive functioning and processing speed theories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pauline E.J. Spaan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Structural equation modeling was used to investigate whether age-related episodic and semantic memory impairments are better explained by decline in processing speed or executive functioning (or both, rather than directly in terms of memory components. The models tested were based on an extensive review of the literature on cognitive decline in normal aging, up to very old age. A computerized test battery, measuring episodic memory (free and cued recall; recognition, semantic memory (fluency; naming accuracy and latencies, processing speed and executive functioning, was administered to 234 elderly persons ranging from young-old to very old age (55–96 years. To avoid large variance in response times due to physical instead of cognitive limitations, no motor responses were required from participants. Age-related decline in episodic and semantic memory performance was found to be the consequence of declines in processing speed and executive functioning. Processing speed mainly mediated decline of semantic memory, whereas executive functioning mainly mediated episodic memory decline. The most parsimonious model showed that both processing speed and executive functioning attributed to memory decline but independent from one another. The results suggest that at very old age, the impact of executive dysfunctions on episodic memory performance exceeds the influence of cognitive slowing.

Agreement processing and attraction errors in aging: evidence from subject-verb agreement in German.

Science.gov (United States)

Reifegerste, Jana; Hauer, Franziska; Felser, Claudia

2017-11-01

Effects of aging on lexical processing are well attested, but the picture is less clear for grammatical processing. Where age differences emerge, these are usually ascribed to working-memory (WM) decline. Previous studies on the influence of WM on agreement computation have yielded inconclusive results, and work on aging and subject-verb agreement processing is lacking. In two experiments (Experiment 1: timed grammaticality judgment, Experiment 2: self-paced reading + WM test), we investigated older (OA) and younger (YA) adults' susceptibility to agreement attraction errors. We found longer reading latencies and judgment reaction times (RTs) for OAs. Further, OAs, particularly those with low WM scores, were more accepting of sentences with attraction errors than YAs. OAs showed longer reading latencies for ungrammatical sentences, again modulated by WM, than YAs. Our results indicate that OAs have greater difficulty blocking intervening nouns from interfering with the computation of agreement dependencies. WM can modulate this effect.

The Demographic and Biomedical Case for Late-Life Interventions in Aging

Science.gov (United States)

Rae, Michael J.; Butler, Robert N.; Campisi, Judith; de Grey, Aubrey D. N. J.; Finch, Caleb E.; Gough, Michael; Martin, George M.; Vijg, Jan; Perrott, Kevin M.; Logan, Barbara J.

2013-01-01

The social and medical costs of the biological aging process are high and will rise rapidly in coming decades, creating an enormous challenge to societies worldwide. In recent decades, researchers have expanded their understanding of the underlying deleterious structural and physiological changes (aging damage) that underlie the progressive functional impairments, declining health, and rising mortality of aging humans and other organisms and have been able to intervene in the process in model organisms, even late in life. To preempt a global aging crisis, we advocate an ambitious global initiative to translate these findings into interventions for aging humans, using three complementary approaches to retard, arrest, and even reverse aging damage, extending and even restoring the period of youthful health and functionality of older people. PMID:20630854

Age differences in neural correlates of feedback processing after economic decisions under risk.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-05-01

This study examines age-related differences in behavioral responses to risk and in the neurophysiological correlates of feedback processing. Our sample was composed of younger, middle-aged, and older adults, who were asked to decide between 2 risky options, in the gain and loss domains, during an EEG recording. Results evidenced group-related differences in early and later stages of feedback processing, indexed by differences in the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P3 amplitudes. Specifically, in the loss domain, younger adults showed higher FRN amplitudes after non-losses than after losses, whereas middle-aged and older adults had similar FRN amplitudes after both. In the gain domain, younger and middle-aged adults had higher P3 amplitudes after gains than after non-gains, whereas older adults had similar P3 amplitudes after both. Behaviorally, older adults had higher rates of risky decisions than younger adults in the loss domain, a result that was correlated with poorer performance in memory and executive functions. Our results suggest age-related differences in the outcome-related expectations, as well as in the affective relevance attributed to the outcomes, which may underlie the group differences found in risk-aversion. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The aging self in a cultural context: the relation of conceptions of aging to identity processes and self-esteem in the United States and the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westerhof, Gerben Johan; Whitbourne, S.K.; Freeman, G.P.

2012-01-01

Objectives. To study the aging self, that is, conceptions of one’s own aging process, in relation to identity processes and self-esteem in the United States and the Netherlands. As the liberal American system has a stronger emphasis on individual responsibility and youthfulness than the

Using a Virtual Tablet Machine to Improve Student Understanding of the Complex Processes Involved in Tablet Manufacturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattsson, Sofia; Sjöström, Hans-Erik; Englund, Claire

2016-06-25

Objective. To develop and implement a virtual tablet machine simulation to aid distance students' understanding of the processes involved in tablet production. Design. A tablet simulation was created enabling students to study the effects different parameters have on the properties of the tablet. Once results were generated, students interpreted and explained them on the basis of current theory. Assessment. The simulation was evaluated using written questionnaires and focus group interviews. Students appreciated the exercise and considered it to be motivational. Students commented that they found the simulation, together with the online seminar and the writing of the report, was beneficial for their learning process. Conclusion. According to students' perceptions, the use of the tablet simulation contributed to their understanding of the compaction process.

Understanding Children's Emotional Processes and Behavioral Strategies in the Context of Marital Conflict

Science.gov (United States)

Koss, Kalsea J.; George, Melissa R. W.; Bergman, Kathleen N.; Cummings, E. M.; Davies, Patrick T.; Cicchetti, Dante

2011-01-01

Marital conflict is a distressing context in which children must regulate their emotion and behavior; however, the associations between the multidimensionality of conflict and children's regulatory processes need to be examined. The current study examined differences in children's (N=207, mean age=8.02 years) emotions (mad, sad, scared, and happy)…

Characterizing cognitive aging of recognition memory and related processes in animal models and in humans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carol A Barnes

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Analyses of complex behaviors across the lifespan of animals can reveal the brain regions that are impacted by the normal aging process, thereby, elucidating potential therapeutic targets. Recent data from rats, monkeys and humans converge, all indicating that recognition memory and complex visual perception are impaired in advanced age. These cognitive processes are also disrupted in animals with lesions of the perirhinal cortex, indicating that the the functional integrity of this structure is disrupted in old age. This current review summarizes these data, and highlights current methodologies for assessing perirhinal cortex-dependent behaviors across the lifespan.

Age-related emotional bias in processing two emotionally valenced tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Philip A; Lien, Mei-Ching; Jardin, Elliott

2017-01-01

Previous studies suggest that older adults process positive emotions more efficiently than negative emotions, whereas younger adults show the reverse effect. We examined whether this age-related difference in emotional bias still occurs when attention is engaged in two emotional tasks. We used a psychological refractory period paradigm and varied the emotional valence of Task 1 and Task 2. In both experiments, Task 1 was emotional face discrimination (happy vs. angry faces) and Task 2 was sound discrimination (laugh, punch, vs. cork pop in Experiment 1 and laugh vs. scream in Experiment 2). The backward emotional correspondence effect for positively and negatively valenced Task 2 on Task 1 was measured. In both experiments, younger adults showed a backward correspondence effect from a negatively valenced Task 2, suggesting parallel processing of negatively valenced stimuli. Older adults showed similar negativity bias in Experiment 2 with a more salient negative sound ("scream" relative to "punch"). These results are consistent with an arousal-bias competition model [Mather and Sutherland (Perspectives in Psychological Sciences 6:114-133, 2011)], suggesting that emotional arousal modulates top-down attentional control settings (emotional regulation) with age.

PETN Coarsening - Predictions from Accelerated Aging Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maiti, Amitesh [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Gee, Richard H. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2011-03-30

Ensuring good ignition properties over long periods of time necessitates maintaining a good level of porosity in powders of initiator materials and preventing particle coarsening. To simulate porosity changes of such powder materials over long periods of time a common strategy is to perform accelerated aging experiments over shorter time spans at elevated temperatures. In this paper we examine historical accelerated-aging data on powders of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN), an important energetic material, and make predictions for long-term aging under ambient conditions. Lastly, we develop an evaporation-condensation- based model to provide some mechanistic understanding of the coarsening process.

NAD+ Deficits in Age-Related Diseases and Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Garrido, Amanda; Djouder, Nabil

2017-08-01

The phenomenon of aging has gained widespread attention in recent times. Although significant advances have been made to better understand aging and its related pathologies including cancer, there is not yet a clear mechanism explaining why diseases and cancer are inherent parts of the aging process. Finding a unifying equation that could bridge aging and its related diseases would allow therapeutic development and solve an immense human health problem to live longer and better. In this review, we discuss NAD + reduction as the central mechanism that may connect aging to its related pathologies and cancer. NAD + boosters would ensure and ameliorate health quality during aging. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster as a Model for Aging Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Annely; Vilcinskas, Andreas

2013-01-01

: Average human life expectancy is increasing and so is the impact on society of aging and age-related diseases. Here we highlight recent advances in the diverse and multidisciplinary field of aging research, focusing on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, an excellent model system in which to dissect the genetic and molecular basis of the aging processes. The conservation of human disease genes in D. melanogaster allows the functional analysis of orthologues implicated in human aging and age-related diseases. D. melanogaster models have been developed for a variety of age-related processes and disorders, including stem cell decline, Alzheimer's disease, and cardiovascular deterioration. Understanding the detailed molecular events involved in normal aging and age-related diseases could facilitate the development of strategies and treatments that reduce their impact, thus improving human health and increasing longevity.

Understanding the solid phase chemical fractionation of uranium in soil and effect of ageing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rout, Sabyasachi, E-mail: srout.barc@gmail.com [Health Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai (India); Kumar, Ajay [Health Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai (India); Ravi, P.M.; Tripathi, R.M. [Homi Bhabha National Institute Anushaktinagar, Mumbai (India)

2016-11-05

Highlights: • Apart of U(VI) converted to U(IV) during adsorption to soil. • Ageing leads to rearrangement of chemical fractionation of U in soil. • Organic matter and carbonate minerals responsible for Surface enrichment of U. • There occurs Occlusion of U-Fe-Oxides (Hydroxide) in to silica. - Abstract: The aim of the present work is to understand the solid phase chemical fractionation of Uranium (U) in soil and the mechanism involved. This study integrated batch experiments of U(VI) adsorption to soil, study of U in different soil fractions, ageing impact on fractionation of U and spectroscopic investigation of adsorbed U(VI) using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). For the study three soils, pedogenically different (S1: Igneous, S2: Sedimentary and S3: Metamorphic) were amended with U(VI) and chemical fractionation of U was studied by sequential extraction after an interval of one month and 12 months. It was found that there occurs a significant rearrangement of U in different fractions with ageing and no correlation was observed between the U content in different fractions and the adsorbents of respective fractions such as soil organic matter (SOM), Fe/Mn oxides (hydroxides) carbonates, soil cation exchange capacity (CEC). XPS study revealed that surface enrichment of U mainly governed by the carbonate minerals and SOM, whereas bulk concentration was controlled by the oxides (hydroxides) of Si and Al. Occlusion of U-Fe-oxides (hydroxides) on silica was identified as an important mechanism for bulk enrichment (Increase in residual fraction) and depletion of U concentration in reducible fraction.

Understanding the solid phase chemical fractionation of uranium in soil and effect of ageing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rout, Sabyasachi; Kumar, Ajay; Ravi, P.M.; Tripathi, R.M.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Apart of U(VI) converted to U(IV) during adsorption to soil. • Ageing leads to rearrangement of chemical fractionation of U in soil. • Organic matter and carbonate minerals responsible for Surface enrichment of U. • There occurs Occlusion of U-Fe-Oxides (Hydroxide) in to silica. - Abstract: The aim of the present work is to understand the solid phase chemical fractionation of Uranium (U) in soil and the mechanism involved. This study integrated batch experiments of U(VI) adsorption to soil, study of U in different soil fractions, ageing impact on fractionation of U and spectroscopic investigation of adsorbed U(VI) using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). For the study three soils, pedogenically different (S1: Igneous, S2: Sedimentary and S3: Metamorphic) were amended with U(VI) and chemical fractionation of U was studied by sequential extraction after an interval of one month and 12 months. It was found that there occurs a significant rearrangement of U in different fractions with ageing and no correlation was observed between the U content in different fractions and the adsorbents of respective fractions such as soil organic matter (SOM), Fe/Mn oxides (hydroxides) carbonates, soil cation exchange capacity (CEC). XPS study revealed that surface enrichment of U mainly governed by the carbonate minerals and SOM, whereas bulk concentration was controlled by the oxides (hydroxides) of Si and Al. Occlusion of U-Fe-oxides (hydroxides) on silica was identified as an important mechanism for bulk enrichment (Increase in residual fraction) and depletion of U concentration in reducible fraction.

Using process elicitation and validation to understand and improve chemotherapy ordering and delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Mertens, Wilson C; Christov, Stefan C; Avrunin, George S; Clarke, Lori A; Osterweil, Leon J; Cassells, Lucinda J; Marquard, Jenna L

2012-11-01

Chemotherapy ordering and administration, in which errors have potentially severe consequences, was quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated by employing process formalism (or formal process definition), a technique derived from software engineering, to elicit and rigorously describe the process, after which validation techniques were applied to confirm the accuracy of the described process. The chemotherapy ordering and administration process, including exceptional situations and individuals' recognition of and responses to those situations, was elicited through informal, unstructured interviews with members of an interdisciplinary team. The process description (or process definition), written in a notation developed for software quality assessment purposes, guided process validation (which consisted of direct observations and semistructured interviews to confirm the elicited details for the treatment plan portion of the process). The overall process definition yielded 467 steps; 207 steps (44%) were dedicated to handling 59 exceptional situations. Validation yielded 82 unique process events (35 new expected but not yet described steps, 16 new exceptional situations, and 31 new steps in response to exceptional situations). Process participants actively altered the process as ambiguities and conflicts were discovered by the elicitation and validation components of the study. Chemotherapy error rates declined significantly during and after the project, which was conducted from October 2007 through August 2008. Each elicitation method and the subsequent validation discussions contributed uniquely to understanding the chemotherapy treatment plan review process, supporting rapid adoption of changes, improved communication regarding the process, and ensuing error reduction.

Monitoring of wine aging process by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra Christine Helena Frankland Sawaya

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The characterization of wine samples by direct insertion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS, without pre-treatment or chromatographic separation, in a process denominated fingerprinting, has been applied to several samples of wine produced with grapes of the Pinot noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties from the state o Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. The ESI-MS fingerprints of the samples detected changes which occurred during the aging process in the three grape varieties. Principal Component Analysis (PCA of the negative ion mode fingerprints was used to group the samples, pinpoint the main changes in their composition, and indicate marker ions for each group of samples.

Changes of muscarinic cholinergic receptors during aging process of primary cultured neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan Guohuang; Yi Ningyu; Xia Zongqin

1996-01-01

The dynamic changes of muscarinic receptor density and its reactivity during aging process in primary cultured neutrons were studied. Muscarinic receptor density was measured by 3 H-QNB binding assay, and muscarinic receptor reactivity was assessed by carbachol stimulation of cGMP formation, the latter was measured by RIA. After 2 weeks' incubation of neonatal rat brain cells, the nutrients began to rupture and the cell bodies shrank markedly showing senescent feature. The muscarinic receptor density reached peak at the 12th day in vitro (12 DIV), but the muscarinic receptor reactivity reached peak at 9 DIV and declined significantly at 12 DIV. The results demonstrated that during aging process of primary cultured neutrons, the decline of muscarinic receptor reactivity is likely prior to the decrease of receptor density

Understanding the Learning Process in SMEs

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, James; Gannon-Leary, Pat

2007-01-01

A major obstacle to the diffusion of management development learning technologies from Higher Education Institutions to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) is a lack of understanding about how SME learners learn. This article examines the nature of learning in SMEs and considers the incidence of informal support for informal learning.…

[Current concepts in pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration].

Science.gov (United States)

Kubicka-Trząska, Agnieszka; Karska-Basta, Izabella; Romanowska-Dixon, Bożena

2014-01-01

Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of central blindness in elderly population of the western world. The pathogenesis of this disease, likely multifactorial, is not well known, although a number of theories have been put forward, including oxidative stress, genetic interactions, hemodynamic imbalance, immune and inflammatory processes. The understanding of age-related macular degeneration pathogenesis will give rise to new approaches in prevention and treatment of the early and late stages of both atrophic and neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

A guide to help children understand cancer

Science.gov (United States)

... approach will depend on your child's age and maturity. Here is a general guide. CHILDREN AGES 0 ... child understands cancer. www.cancer.net/coping-and-emotions/communicating-loved-ones/how-child-understands-cancer . Updated ...

Understanding Age, Memories, and How They Impact Aesthetic Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Laban, Lovely C

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (), the number of nonsurgical treatments grew 650% from 1996 to 2016. As these procedures have evolved and improved, so have their ability to deliver results that enhance one's natural beauty and reverse the signs of aging. Many patients seek these procedures in the hopes of looking younger and more refreshed, but "younger" can be subjective and the patient's desired outcome may be difficult for practitioners to interpret. A recent study () of 350 women found that patients are carrying around a "memory photo" of themselves that is about 10 years younger than their actual age. Findings from this survey yielded new insights into patient perceptions of age and provides practitioners with a powerful new tool that can be applied in daily clinical practice.

Understanding reliance on automation: effects of error type, error distribution, age and experience

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Sanchez, Julian; Rogers, Wendy A.; Fisk, Arthur D.; Rovira, Ericka

2015-01-01

An obstacle detection task supported by “imperfect” automation was used with the goal of understanding the effects of automation error types and age on automation reliance. Sixty younger and sixty older adults interacted with a multi-task simulation of an agricultural vehicle (i.e. a virtual harvesting combine). The simulator included an obstacle detection task and a fully manual tracking task. A micro-level analysis provided insight into the way reliance patterns change over time. The results indicated that there are distinct patterns of reliance that develop as a function of error type. A prevalence of automation false alarms led participants to under-rely on the automation during alarm states while over relying on it during non-alarms states. Conversely, a prevalence of automation misses led participants to over-rely on automated alarms and under-rely on the automation during non-alarm states. Older adults adjusted their behavior according to the characteristics of the automation similarly to younger adults, although it took them longer to do so. The results of this study suggest the relationship between automation reliability and reliance depends on the prevalence of specific errors and on the state of the system. Understanding the effects of automation detection criterion settings on human-automation interaction can help designers of automated systems make predictions about human behavior and system performance as a function of the characteristics of the automation. PMID:25642142

Exploring identity and aging: auto-photography and narratives of low income older adults.

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Kohon, Jacklyn; Carder, Paula

2014-08-01

This study focused on meanings of health, housing, independence and aging among low-income adults age 55 and older who live in, or are on a waiting list for, publicly subsidized rental housing. The purpose was to learn how low-income older adults perceive their independence and health, and how their place of residence contributes to these perceptions, as well as related perceptions of self. Qualitative data were collected using in-person narrative interviews with 45 individuals and a second photo elicitation interview with 31 of these persons. Themes describe how disrupted identities influence subjective thoughts about the aging process, housing, health, and finances, the process of clinicalization, and place identities. These findings highlight the relationship between housing status, dignity, and shifting identities as older adults experience the aging process in a low-income context. This study expands the current scholarship on the relationship between environment and aging as well as our understanding of poverty among older persons. These topics are relevant for new policies and programs to support the aging in place of older persons in subsidized housing. Understanding the life worlds of those who live in or have applied to this form of housing will be instrumental in developing such strategies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Age and gender modulate the neural circuitry supporting facial emotion processing in adults with major depressive disorder.

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Briceño, Emily M; Rapport, Lisa J; Kassel, Michelle T; Bieliauskas, Linas A; Zubieta, Jon-Kar; Weisenbach, Sara L; Langenecker, Scott A

2015-03-01

Emotion processing, supported by frontolimbic circuitry known to be sensitive to the effects of aging, is a relatively understudied cognitive-emotional domain in geriatric depression. Some evidence suggests that the neurophysiological disruption observed in emotion processing among adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) may be modulated by both gender and age. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of gender and age on the neural circuitry supporting emotion processing in MDD. Cross-sectional comparison of fMRI signal during performance of an emotion processing task. Outpatient university setting. One hundred adults recruited by MDD status, gender, and age. Participants underwent fMRI while completing the Facial Emotion Perception Test. They viewed photographs of faces and categorized the emotion perceived. Contrast for fMRI was of face perception minus animal identification blocks. Effects of depression were observed in precuneus and effects of age in a number of frontolimbic regions. Three-way interactions were present between MDD status, gender, and age in regions pertinent to emotion processing, including frontal, limbic, and basal ganglia. Young women with MDD and older men with MDD exhibited hyperactivation in these regions compared with their respective same-gender healthy comparison (HC) counterparts. In contrast, older women and younger men with MDD exhibited hypoactivation compared to their respective same-gender HC counterparts. This the first study to report gender- and age-specific differences in emotion processing circuitry in MDD. Gender-differential mechanisms may underlie cognitive-emotional disruption in older adults with MDD. The present findings have implications for improved probes into the heterogeneity of the MDD syndrome. Copyright © 2015 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Goal Congruity Model of Role Entry, Engagement, and Exit: Understanding Communal Goal Processes in STEM Gender Gaps.

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Diekman, Amanda B; Steinberg, Mia; Brown, Elizabeth R; Belanger, Aimee L; Clark, Emily K

2017-05-01

The goal congruity perspective provides a theoretical framework to understand how motivational processes influence and are influenced by social roles. In particular, we invoke this framework to understand communal goal processes as proximal motivators of decisions to engage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). STEM fields are not perceived as affording communal opportunities to work with or help others, and understanding these perceived goal affordances can inform knowledge about differences between (a) STEM and other career pathways and (b) women's and men's choices. We review the patterning of gender disparities in STEM that leads to a focus on communal goal congruity (Part I), provide evidence for the foundational logic of the perspective (Part II), and explore the implications for research and policy (Part III). Understanding and transmitting the opportunities for communal goal pursuit within STEM can reap widespread benefits for broadening and deepening participation.

Understanding How Dogs Age: Longitudinal Analysis of Markers of Inflammation, Immune Function, and Oxidative Stress.

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Alexander, Janet E; Colyer, Alison; Haydock, Richard M; Hayek, Michael G; Park, JeanSoon

2018-05-09

As in human populations, advances in nutrition and veterinary care have led to an increase in the lifespan of companion animals. Detrimental physiological changes occurring later in life must be understood before interventions can be made to slow or reduce them. One important aspect of human aging is upregulation of the inflammatory response and increase in oxidative damage resulting in pathologies linked to chronic inflammation. To determine whether similar processes occur in the aging dog, changes in markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were investigated in 80 Labrador retrievers from adulthood to the end of life. Serum levels of immunoglobulin M (p immunoglobulin G or C-reactive protein unless the last year of life was included in the analysis (p = .002). Baseline levels of heat shock protein 70 decreased with age (p < .001) while those after exposure to heat stress were maintained (p = .018). However, when excluding final year of life data, a decline in the heat shock protein 70 response after heat stress was observed (p = .004). These findings indicate that aging dogs undergo changes similar to human inflammaging and offer the possibility of nutritional or pharmacological intervention to delay or reduce these effects.

Understanding cognitive processes behind acceptance or refusal of phase I trials.

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Pravettoni, Gabriella; Mazzocco, Ketti; Gorini, Alessandra; Curigliano, Giuseppe

2016-04-01

Participation in phase I trials gives patients the chance to obtain control over their disease by trying an experimental therapy. The patients' vulnerability, the informed consent process aiming at understanding the purpose and potential benefits of the phase I trial, and the complexity of the studies may impact the patient's final decision. Emotionally difficult health conditions may induce patients to succumb to cognitive biases, allocating attention only on a part of the provided information. Filling the gap in patients' information process can foster the implementation of strategies to help physicians tailor clinical trials' communication providing personalized support and tailored medical information around patients' need, so avoiding cognitive biases in patients and improving informed shared decision quality. The aim of the present review article focuses on the analysis of cognitive and psychological factors that affect patients' decision to participate or not to early phase clinical trials. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Sources, Ages, and Alteration of Organic Matter in Estuaries.

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Canuel, Elizabeth A; Hardison, Amber K

2016-01-01

Understanding the processes influencing the sources and fate of organic matter (OM) in estuaries is important for quantifying the contributions of carbon from land and rivers to the global carbon budget of the coastal ocean. Estuaries are sites of high OM production and processing, and understanding biogeochemical processes within these regions is key to quantifying organic carbon (Corg) budgets at the land-ocean margin. These regions provide vital ecological services, including nutrient filtration and protection from floods and storm surge, and provide habitat and nursery areas for numerous commercially important species. Human activities have modified estuarine systems over time, resulting in changes in the production, respiration, burial, and export of Corg. Corg in estuaries is derived from aquatic, terrigenous, and anthropogenic sources, with each source exhibiting a spectrum of ages and lability. The complex source and age characteristics of Corg in estuaries complicate our ability to trace OM along the river-estuary-coastal ocean continuum. This review focuses on the application of organic biomarkers and compound-specific isotope analyses to estuarine environments and on how these tools have enhanced our ability to discern natural sources of OM, trace their incorporation into food webs, and enhance understanding of the fate of Corg within estuaries and their adjacent waters.

Nuclei of aged myofibres undergo structural and functional changes suggesting impairment in RNA processing

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C Pellicciari

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Advancing adult age is associated with a progressive decrease in skeletal muscle mass, strength and quality known as sarcopenia. The mechanisms underlying age-related skeletal muscle wasting and weakness are manifold and still remain to be fully elucidated. Despite the increasing evidence that the progress of muscle diseases leading to muscle atrophy/dystrophy may be related to defective RNA processing, no data on the morpho-functional features of skeletal muscle nuclei in sarcopenia are available at present. In this view, we have investigated, by combining morphometry and immunocytochemistry at light and electron microscopy, the fine structure of myonuclei as well as the distribution and amount of RNA processing factors in skeletal myofibres of biceps brachii and quadriceps femoris from adult and old rats. Results demonstrate that the myonuclei of aged type II fibres show an increased amount of condensed chromatin and lower amounts of phosphorylated polymerase II and DNA/RNA hybrid molecules, clearly indicating a decrease in pre-mRNA transcription rate compared to adult animals. In addition, myonuclei of aged fibres show decreased amounts of nucleoplasmic splicing factors and an accumulation of cleavage factors, polyadenilated RNA and perichromatin granules, suggesting a reduction in the processing and transport rate of premRNA. During ageing, it seems therefore that in rat myonuclei the entire production chain of mRNA, from synthesis to cytoplasmic export, is less efficient. This failure likely contributes to the reduced responsiveness of muscle cells to anabolic stimuli in the elderly.

The Dynamics of Power laws: Fitness and Aging in Preferential Attachment Trees

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Garavaglia, Alessandro; van der Hofstad, Remco; Woeginger, Gerhard

2017-09-01

Continuous-time branching processes describe the evolution of a population whose individuals generate a random number of children according to a birth process. Such branching processes can be used to understand preferential attachment models in which the birth rates are linear functions. We are motivated by citation networks, where power-law citation counts are observed as well as aging in the citation patterns. To model this, we introduce fitness and age-dependence in these birth processes. The multiplicative fitness moderates the rate at which children are born, while the aging is integrable, so that individuals receives a finite number of children in their lifetime. We show the existence of a limiting degree distribution for such processes. In the preferential attachment case, where fitness and aging are absent, this limiting degree distribution is known to have power-law tails. We show that the limiting degree distribution has exponential tails for bounded fitnesses in the presence of integrable aging, while the power-law tail is restored when integrable aging is combined with fitness with unbounded support with at most exponential tails. In the absence of integrable aging, such processes are explosive.

Understanding Fundamental Material Degradation Processes in High Temperature Aggressive Chemomechanical Environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

The objective of this project is to develop a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that limit materials durability for very high-temperature applications. Current design limitations are based on material strength and corrosion resistance. This project will characterize the interactions of high-temperature creep, fatigue, and environmental attack in structural metallic alloys of interest for the very high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (VHTR) or Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) and for the associated thermo-chemical processing systems for hydrogen generation. Each of these degradation processes presents a major materials design challenge on its own, but in combination, they can act synergistically to rapidly degrade materials and limit component lives. This research and development effort will provide experimental results to characterize creep-fatigue-environment interactions and develop predictive models to define operation limits for high-temperature structural material applications. Researchers will study individually and in combination creep-fatigue-environmental attack processes in Alloys 617, 230, and 800H, as well as in an advanced Ni-Cr oxide dispersion strengthened steel (ODS) system. For comparison, the study will also examine basic degradation processes in nichrome (Ni-20Cr), which is a basis for most high-temperature structural materials, as well as many of the superalloys. These materials are selected to represent primary candidate alloys, one advanced developmental alloy that may have superior high-temperature durability, and one model system on which basic performance and modeling efforts can be based. The research program is presented in four parts, which all complement each other. The first three are primarily experimental in nature, and the last will tie the work together in a coordinated modeling effort. The sections are (1) dynamic creep-fatigue-environment process, (2) subcritical crack processes, (3) dynamic corrosion crack

Understanding Fundamental Material Degradation Processes in High Temperature Aggressive Chemomechanical Environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stubbins, James; Gewirth, Andrew; Sehitoglu, Huseyin; Sofronis, Petros; Robertson, Ian

2014-01-16

The objective of this project is to develop a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that limit materials durability for very high-temperature applications. Current design limitations are based on material strength and corrosion resistance. This project will characterize the interactions of high-temperature creep, fatigue, and environmental attack in structural metallic alloys of interest for the very high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (VHTR) or Next–Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) and for the associated thermo-chemical processing systems for hydrogen generation. Each of these degradation processes presents a major materials design challenge on its own, but in combination, they can act synergistically to rapidly degrade materials and limit component lives. This research and development effort will provide experimental results to characterize creep-fatigue-environment interactions and develop predictive models to define operation limits for high-temperature structural material applications. Researchers will study individually and in combination creep-fatigue-environmental attack processes in Alloys 617, 230, and 800H, as well as in an advanced Ni-Cr oxide dispersion strengthened steel (ODS) system. For comparison, the study will also examine basic degradation processes in nichrome (Ni-20Cr), which is a basis for most high-temperature structural materials, as well as many of the superalloys. These materials are selected to represent primary candidate alloys, one advanced developmental alloy that may have superior high-temperature durability, and one model system on which basic performance and modeling efforts can be based. The research program is presented in four parts, which all complement each other. The first three are primarily experimental in nature, and the last will tie the work together in a coordinated modeling effort. The sections are (1) dynamic creep-fatigue-environment process, (2) subcritical crack processes, (3) dynamic corrosion – crack

Understanding Contextual and Social Meaning in Typically Developing Finnish-Speaking Four- To Eight-Year-Old Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loukusa Soile

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study examined the development of social-pragmatic comprehension in 170 Finnish four- to eight-year-old children. The children were asked to respond to socially and contextually demanding questions targeting their social-pragmatic language processing, and to explain their correct answers in order to elicit their awareness of how they had derived the answers from the context. The results showed that the number of correct answers increased especially between the ages of four and seven years. We found that questions demanding contextual processing without mind-reading were the easiest to understand, followed by questions demanding processing of feelings of others and false beliefs. The questions demanding understanding of relevant language use and processing of contextual factors including mental states and intentions were the most challenging for the children. Between four and five years of age there was a remarkable developmental phase in children’s ability to give proper explanations.

Experimental Simulations to Understand the Lunar and Martian Surficial Processes

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Zhao, Y. Y. S.; Li, X.; Tang, H.; Li, Y.; Zeng, X.; Chang, R.; Li, S.; Zhang, S.; Jin, H.; Mo, B.; Li, R.; Yu, W.; Wang, S.

2016-12-01

In support with China's Lunar and Mars exploration programs and beyond, our center is dedicated to understand the surficial processes and environments of planetary bodies. Over the latest several years, we design, build and optimize experimental simulation facilities and utilize them to test hypotheses and evaluate affecting mechanisms under controlled conditions particularly relevant to the Moon and Mars. Among the fundamental questions to address, we emphasize on five major areas: (1) Micrometeorites bombardment simulation to evaluate the formation mechanisms of np-Fe0 which was found in lunar samples and the possible sources of Fe. (2) Solar wind implantation simulation to evaluate the alteration/amorphization/OH or H2O formation on the surface of target minerals or rocks. (3) Dusts mobility characteristics on the Moon and other planetary bodies by excitation different types of dust particles and measuring their movements. (4) Mars basaltic soil simulant development (e.g., Jining Martian Soil Simulant (JMSS-1)) and applications for scientific/engineering experiments. (5) Halogens (Cl and Br) and life essential elements (C, H, O, N, P, and S) distribution and speciation on Mars during surficial processes such as sedimentary- and photochemical- related processes. Depending on the variables of interest, the simulation systems provide flexibility to vary source of energy, temperature, pressure, and ambient gas composition in the reaction chambers. Also, simulation products can be observed or analyzed in-situ by various analyzer components inside the chamber, without interrupting the experimental conditions. In addition, behavior of elements and isotopes during certain surficial processes (e.g., evaporation, dissolution, etc.) can be theoretically predicted by our theoretical geochemistry group with thermodynamics-kinetics calculation and modeling, which supports experiment design and result interpretation.

Using Freire's Participatory Educational Method to Understand the Experience of Living With Chronic Illness in the Current Age of Globalization.

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Camargo Plazas, Maria del Pilar; Cameron, Brenda L

2015-06-01

Many approaches and efforts have been used to better understand chronic diseases worldwide. Yet, little is known about the meaning of living with chronic illness under the pressures of globalization and neoliberal ideologies. Through Freire's participatory educational method, this article presents an innovative approach to understanding the multiple dimensions of living with chronic illness. In this way, we hope to use an innovative approach to address the impact of globalization on the daily life of chronically ill people and thus expand to the body of knowledge on nursing. This article uses Freire's participatory educational method to understand the multiple dimensions of living with chronic illness. This qualitative study follows an interpretive inquiry approach and uses a critical hermeneutic phenomenological method and critical research methodologies. Five participants were recruited for this participatory educational activity. Data collection methods included digitally recorded semistructured individual interviews and a Freire's participatory educational method session. Data analysis included a thematic analysis. Participants reported lacking adequate access to healthcare services because of insurance policies; a general perception that they were an unwanted burden on the healthcare system; and a general lack of government support, advocacy, and political interest. This research activity assisted participants to gain a new critical perspective about the condition of others with chronic diseases and thus provided an enlightening opportunity to learn about the illnesses and experiences of others and to realize that others experienced the same oppression from the healthcare system. Participants became agents of change within their own families and communities. Chronic diseases cause many economic and social consequences in their victims. These findings urge us to move from merely acknowledging the difficulties of people who live with chronic illness in an age of

Understanding understanding in secondary school science: An interpretive study

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O'Neill, Maureen Gail

This study investigated the teaching of secondary school science with an emphasis on promoting student understanding. In particular, I focused on two research questions: What are the possible meanings of teaching for understanding? And, how might one teach secondary school science for understanding? After semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 secondary school science teachers, grounded theory methodology was used to interpret the data. As a result of the selective coding process, I was able to identify 14 connected components of teaching for understanding (TfU). The process of TfU involves: puzzle-solving, a specific pedagogy and a conscious decision. The teacher must be a reflective practitioner who has some knowledge of the facets of understanding. The teacher comes to a critical incident or crisis in his or her pedagogy and adopts a mindset which highlights TfU as a personal problematic. Teachers operate with student-centred rather than teacher-centred metaphors. TfU requires a firm belief in and passion for the process, a positive attitude and excellent pedagogical content knowledge. It hinges on a performance view of understanding and demands risk-taking in the science classroom. Abstracting these ideas to a theory led me to the notion of Purposive Teaching . In their purposive-driven role as pedagogues, these teachers have placed TfU at the core of their daily practice. Constraints and challenges facing TfU as well as implications of the findings are discussed. Keywords. science teaching, teaching for understanding, purposive teaching, constructivism, understanding, pedagogy, pedagogical content knowledge, memorization, meaningful learning, reflective practice.

A Protocol for Aging Anurans Using Skeletochronology

Science.gov (United States)

McCreary, Brome; Pearl, Christopher A.; Adams, Michael J.

2008-01-01

Age distribution information can be an important part of understanding the biology of any population. Age estimates collected from the annual growth rings found in tooth and bone cross sections, often referred to as Lines of Arrested Growth (LAGs), have been used in the study of various animals. In this manual, we describe in detail all necessary steps required to obtain estimates of age from anuran bone cross sections via skeletochronological assessment. We include comprehensive descriptions of how to fix and decalcify toe specimens (phalanges), process a phalange prior to embedding, embed the phalange in paraffin, section the phalange using a microtome, stain and mount the cross sections of the phalange and read the LAGs to obtain age estimates.

Managing the effects of aging and reliability improvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, R.E.; Taylor, J.H.; Boccio, J.L.

1987-01-01

Over recent years the electric power generating community has acknowledged the importance of the aging process on plant safety and availability. To cope with time-dependent degradation phenomenon that can affect active as well as passive components and lead to unacceptable, unanticipated failures requires research into the mechanisms of the aging process, advances in productive methods for assessing the aging impact on risk and availability, and a better understanding of power plant operations so that strategies for defending against this pervasive stress can be developed. This paper discusses current research advances and presents a framework to aid in the systematic integration of these three needs. As such it is anchored to research being conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the areas of plant aging, life extension, reliability, performance indication, and risk assessment. The current question facing the industry can be simply stated. ''How can an acceptable level of safety and availability be maintained throughout the operational life of a nuclear power plant?'' The complexity of this question indicates that managing aging effects must be a continuous, coordinated process integrated with day-to-day tactical plant operation decisions. This implies that aging and reliability programs must be systemic properties of an organization's management, and that research into aging technology must be closely linked

The effects of aging on BWR core isolation cooling systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, B.S.

1994-10-01

A study was performed to assess the effects of aging on the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling (RCIC) system in commercial Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs). This study is part of the Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) program sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The objectives of this program are to provide an understanding of the aging process and how it affects plant safety so that it can be properly managed. This is one of a number of studies performed under the NPAR program which provide a technical basis for the identification and evaluation of degradation caused by age. The failure data from national databases, as well as plant specific data were reviewed and analyzed to understand the effects of aging on the RCIC system. This analysis identified important components that should receive the highest priority in terms of aging management. The aging characterization provided information on the effects of aging on component failure frequency, failure modes, and failures causes. Current inspection, surveillance, and monitoring practices were also reviewed

Natural language understanding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoshida, S

1982-04-01

Language understanding is essential for intelligent information processing. Processing of language itself involves configuration element analysis, syntactic analysis (parsing), and semantic analysis. They are not carried out in isolation. These are described for the Japanese language and their usage in understanding-systems is examined. 30 references.

Portraits of aging men in late medieval Italy.

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Cossar, Roisin

2012-08-01

 This essay examines the human experience of aging in the distant past by investigating a group of aging men during the 14th century in an Italian city, Bergamo, using notarial "documents of practice" from that community. Studying the aging process and its effects on the lives of people in the medieval era has three-fold significance: it broadens our understanding of aging as a human construct and a human experience, challenges an antihistorical theory of aging, and reinforces the importance of studying the specific experiences of aging individuals in both the past and the present.     A qualitative study. Methods of analysis include nominative linkage and an investigation of the physical effects of aging on an individual, as seen in the documents of 1 long-lived notary.   Aging clerics and notaries in Bergamo took on positions of increasing authority in the church and related institutions in the last decades of their lives.   The documented activities of a group of affluent men in 14th-century Bergamo suggest that although there was little recorded discussion of "old age" as a life stage in that community, for these men, aging was a real social process with both positive and negative impacts on their lives. Giving a human face to these aging men of the distant past models an approach to the study of the aging process that has relevance for both historians and gerontologists alike.

Understanding the implementation of complex interventions in health care: the normalization process model

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Rogers Anne

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Normalization Process Model is a theoretical model that assists in explaining the processes by which complex interventions become routinely embedded in health care practice. It offers a framework for process evaluation and also for comparative studies of complex interventions. It focuses on the factors that promote or inhibit the routine embedding of complex interventions in health care practice. Methods A formal theory structure is used to define the model, and its internal causal relations and mechanisms. The model is broken down to show that it is consistent and adequate in generating accurate description, systematic explanation, and the production of rational knowledge claims about the workability and integration of complex interventions. Results The model explains the normalization of complex interventions by reference to four factors demonstrated to promote or inhibit the operationalization and embedding of complex interventions (interactional workability, relational integration, skill-set workability, and contextual integration. Conclusion The model is consistent and adequate. Repeated calls for theoretically sound process evaluations in randomized controlled trials of complex interventions, and policy-makers who call for a proper understanding of implementation processes, emphasize the value of conceptual tools like the Normalization Process Model.

Curcumin in Cell Death Processes: A Challenge for CAM of Age-Related Pathologies

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S. Salvioli

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Curcumin, the yellow pigment from the rhizoma of Curcuma longa, is a widely studied phytochemical which has a variety of biological activities: anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative. In this review we discuss the biological mechanisms and possible clinical effects of curcumin treatment on cancer therapy, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease, with particular attention to the cell death processes induced by curcumin. Since oxidative stress and inflammation are major determinants of the aging process, we also argue that curcumin can have a more general effect that slows down the rate of aging. Finally, the effects of curcumin can be described as xenohormetic, since it activates a sort of stress response in mammalian cells.

How does healthy aging impact on the circadian clock?

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Popa-Wagner, Aurel; Buga, Ana-Maria; Dumitrascu, Dinu Iuliu; Uzoni, Adriana; Thome, Johannes; Coogan, Andrew N

2017-02-01

Circadian rhythms are recurring patterns in a host of physiological and other parameters that recur with periods of near 24 h. These rhythms reflect the temporal organization of an organism's homeostatic control systems and as such are key processes in ensuring optimal physiological performance. Dysfunction of circadian processes is linked with adverse health conditions. In this review we highlight the evidence that normal, healthy aging is associated with changes in the circadian system; we examine the molecular mechanisms through which such changes may arise, discuss whether more robust circadian function is a predictor of longevity and highlight the role of circadian rhythms in age-related diseases. Overall, the literature shows that aging is associated with marked changes in circadian processes, both at the behavioral and molecular levels, and the molecular mechanisms through which such changes arise remain to be elucidated, but may involve inflammatory process, redox homeostasis and epigenetic modifications. Understanding the nature of age-related circadian dysfunction will allow for the design of chronotherapeutic intervention strategies to attenuate circadian dysfunction and thus improve health and quality of life.

Understanding the Development of Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol in Scotland: A Qualitative Study of the Policy Process

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Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal; Hilton, Shona; Bonell, Chris; Bond, Lyndal

2014-01-01

Background Minimum unit pricing of alcohol is a novel public health policy with the potential to improve population health and reduce health inequalities. Theories of the policy process may help to understand the development of policy innovation and in turn identify lessons for future public health research and practice. This study aims to explain minimum unit pricing’s development by taking a ‘multiple-lenses’ approach to understanding the policy process. In particular, we apply three perspectives of the policy process (Kingdon’s multiple streams, Punctuated-Equilibrium Theory, Multi-Level Governance) to understand how and why minimum unit pricing has developed in Scotland and describe implications for efforts to develop evidence-informed policymaking. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with policy actors (politicians, civil servants, academics, advocates, industry representatives) involved in the development of MUP (n = 36). Interviewees were asked about the policy process and the role of evidence in policy development. Data from two other sources (a review of policy documents and an analysis of evidence submission documents to the Scottish Parliament) were used for triangulation. Findings The three perspectives provide complementary understandings of the policy process. Evidence has played an important role in presenting the policy issue of alcohol as a problem requiring action. Scotland-specific data and a change in the policy ‘image’ to a population-based problem contributed to making alcohol-related harms a priority for action. The limited powers of Scottish Government help explain the type of price intervention pursued while distinct aspects of the Scottish political climate favoured the pursuit of price-based interventions. Conclusions Evidence has played a crucial but complex role in the development of an innovative policy. Utilising different political science theories helps explain different aspects of the policy process

Understanding the development of minimum unit pricing of alcohol in Scotland: a qualitative study of the policy process.

Science.gov (United States)

Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal; Hilton, Shona; Bonell, Chris; Bond, Lyndal

2014-01-01

Minimum unit pricing of alcohol is a novel public health policy with the potential to improve population health and reduce health inequalities. Theories of the policy process may help to understand the development of policy innovation and in turn identify lessons for future public health research and practice. This study aims to explain minimum unit pricing's development by taking a 'multiple-lenses' approach to understanding the policy process. In particular, we apply three perspectives of the policy process (Kingdon's multiple streams, Punctuated-Equilibrium Theory, Multi-Level Governance) to understand how and why minimum unit pricing has developed in Scotland and describe implications for efforts to develop evidence-informed policymaking. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with policy actors (politicians, civil servants, academics, advocates, industry representatives) involved in the development of MUP (n = 36). Interviewees were asked about the policy process and the role of evidence in policy development. Data from two other sources (a review of policy documents and an analysis of evidence submission documents to the Scottish Parliament) were used for triangulation. The three perspectives provide complementary understandings of the policy process. Evidence has played an important role in presenting the policy issue of alcohol as a problem requiring action. Scotland-specific data and a change in the policy 'image' to a population-based problem contributed to making alcohol-related harms a priority for action. The limited powers of Scottish Government help explain the type of price intervention pursued while distinct aspects of the Scottish political climate favoured the pursuit of price-based interventions. Evidence has played a crucial but complex role in the development of an innovative policy. Utilising different political science theories helps explain different aspects of the policy process, with Multi-Level Governance particularly useful for

Age-hardening of an Al-Li-Cu-Mg alloy (2091) processed by high-pressure torsion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Seungwon, E-mail: chominamlsw@gmail.com [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395 (Japan); WPI, International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER), Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395 (Japan); Horita, Zenji [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395 (Japan); WPI, International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER), Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395 (Japan); Hirosawa, Shoichi [Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Yokohama National University, Yokohama 240-8501 (Japan); Matsuda, Kenji [Graduate School of Science and Engineering for Research, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-8555 (Japan)

2012-06-01

This research presents the successful strengthening of an Al-Li-Cu-Mg alloy (2091) through the simultaneous use of grain refinement and age hardening. Following solid-solution treatment, the alloy was processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) at room temperature and the grain size was refined to {approx}140 nm. The Vickers microhardness increased with increasing strain, and saturated to a constant level of 225 Hv. A further increase in the hardness to {approx}275 Hv was achieved by aging the HPT-processed alloy at 100 Degree-Sign C and 150 Degree-Sign C. Bending tests for the samples treated using the peak aging conditions demonstrated that the stress was significantly increased while considerable ductility was retained. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the small grains are well retained even after prolonged aging, and the precipitation of fine {delta} Prime particles occurred within the small grains, which confirms that simultaneous strengthening from grain refinement and age hardening is feasible in this alloy.

What a man wants: understanding the challenges and motivations to physical activity participation and healthy eating in middle-aged Australian men.

Science.gov (United States)

Caperchione, Cristina M; Vandelanotte, Corneel; Kolt, Gregory S; Duncan, Mitch; Ellison, Marcus; George, Emma; Mummery, W Kerry

2012-11-01

Little attention has been paid to the physical activity (PA) and nutrition behaviors of middle-aged men; thus, the aim of this study was to gather information and gain insight into the PA and nutrition behaviors of these men. Six focus group sessions were undertaken with middle-aged men (N = 30) from regional Australia to explore the challenges and motivations to PA participation and healthy eating. Men had a good understanding of PA and nutrition; however, this was sometimes confounded by inconsistent media messages. Work commitments and family responsibilities were barriers to PA, while poor cooking skills and abilities were barriers to healthy eating. Disease prevention, weight management, and being a good role model were motivators for PA and healthy eating. By understanding what a man wants, PA and nutrition interventions can be designed and delivered to meet the needs of this hard-to-reach population.

Evolution of the ageing process, quality of life and physical fitness in western countries

OpenAIRE

Ruiz-Montero, Pedro Jesús; Chiva, Oscar

2017-01-01

It is predicted that life expectancy will raise sharply in future stages, especially in western countries. In fact, life expectancy of developed countries is currently over the age of 70. Aging implies a series of physical, psychological, cognitive and social changes that condition one's self-concept, creating adaptive strategies and the knowledge to maintain one's well-being in spite of the changes. Albeit aging is a natural and inevitable process, the benefits of physical fitnes...

Determinants of famous name processing speed: age of acquisition versus semantic connectedness.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith-Spark, James H; Moore, Viv; Valentine, Tim

2013-02-01

The age of acquisition (AoA) and the amount of biographical information known about celebrities have been independently shown to influence the processing of famous people. In this experiment, we investigated the facilitative contribution of both factors to famous name processing. Twenty-four mature adults participated in a familiarity judgement task, in which the names of famous people were grouped orthogonally by AoA and by the number of bits of biographical information known about them (number of facts known; NoFK). Age of acquisition was found to have a significant effect on both reaction time (RT) and accuracy of response, but NoFK did not. The RT data also revealed a significant AoA×NoFK interaction. The amount of information known about a celebrity played a facilitative role in the processing of late-acquired, but not early-acquired, celebrities. Once AoA is controlled, it would appear that the semantic system ceases to have a significant overall influence on the processing of famous people. The pre-eminence of AoA over semantic connectedness is considered in the light of current theories of AoA and how their influence might interact. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Proteome analysis in the assessment of ageing.

Science.gov (United States)

Nkuipou-Kenfack, Esther; Koeck, Thomas; Mischak, Harald; Pich, Andreas; Schanstra, Joost P; Zürbig, Petra; Schumacher, Björn

2014-11-01

Based on demographic trends, the societies in many developed countries are facing an increasing number and proportion of people over the age of 65. The raise in elderly populations along with improved health-care will be concomitant with an increased prevalence of ageing-associated chronic conditions like cardiovascular, renal, and respiratory diseases, arthritis, dementia, and diabetes mellitus. This is expected to pose unprecedented challenges both for individuals and societies and their health care systems. An ultimate goal of ageing research is therefore the understanding of physiological ageing and the achievement of 'healthy' ageing by decreasing age-related pathologies. However, on a molecular level, ageing is a complex multi-mechanistic process whose contributing factors may vary individually, partly overlap with pathological alterations, and are often poorly understood. Proteome analysis potentially allows modelling of these multifactorial processes. This review summarises recent proteomic research on age-related changes identified in animal models and human studies. We combined this information with pathway analysis to identify molecular mechanisms associated with ageing. We identified some molecular pathways that are affected in most or even all organs and others that are organ-specific. However, appropriately powered studies are needed to confirm these findings based in in silico evaluation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.