Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Life at Age 100: An International Research Agenda for Centenarian Studies

ABSTRACT Living a long life is desired by many individuals, and this dream is likely to become reality in more and more industrialized societies. During the past 3 decades, the number of very old individuals has increased significantly, creating a global demographic challenge with consequences at the individual, family, and societal levels. Yet, life in very old age is still poorly understood in terms of its unique characteristics and challenges. Besides specific content areas, very old age represents an understudied field of research. This lack of knowledge may be one reason that the very old also are an underserved population. This special issue introduces an international network of three centenarian studies that describe and compare the life circumstances and characteristics of centenarians across Germany, Portugal, and the United States. Our parallel studies comprehensively assess centenarians’ physical, cognitive, social, and psychological functioning to create a knowledge base regarding their capacities and needs. A specific focus lies in the investigation of psychological aspects, social resources, and societal/cultural contexts, factors that may contribute to longevity and successful aging. Determining key characteristics of this very old population and investigating similarities and differences across countries is timely and urgent, both from an applied and a policy standpoint.
Older Adults and Emerging Digital Service Delivery: A Mixed Methods Study on Information and Communications Technology Use, Skills, and Attitudes

ABSTRACT Based on data from a survey (n = 3291) and 14 qualitative interviews among Danish older adults, this study investigated the use of, and attitudes toward, information communications technology (ICT) and the digital delivery of public services. While age, gender, and socioeconomic status were associated with use of ICT, these determinants lost their explanatory power when we controlled for attitudes and experiences. We identified three segments that differed in their use of ICT and attitudes toward digital service delivery. As nonuse of ICT often results from the lack of willingness to use it rather than from material or cognitive deficiencies, policy measures for bridging the digital divide should focus on skills and confidence rather than on access or ability.
Epidemiology of low bone mineral density and fractures in children with severe cerebral palsy: a systematic review

Aim Children with severe cerebral palsy (CP) are at risk for developing low bone mineral density (BMD) and low‐impact fractures. The aim of this study was to provide a systematic literature review of the epidemiology of fractures and low BMD in children with severe CP, with an emphasis on risk factors. Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels IV and V were criteria for severe cerebral palsy.
Measuring What Matters: Achieving Consensus on a Positive Aging Indicator Set For Ireland

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to measure consensus among expert stakeholders on a set of positive aging outcome indicators in Ireland. Stakeholders from academic, public, and voluntary sectors and older people participated in a 3-round, online Delphi study to evaluate indicators for participation, security, healthy aging, attitudes to aging, and information access. Evaluation criteria included: acceptability, utility, accessibility, ranking, and balance and coherence. Consensus was achieved on 56 key indicators that are aligned with action areas in the National Positive Ageing Strategy. These indicators will be reported on a biannual basis to monitor progress in positive aging in Ireland.
Supplemental Security Income Among Older Immigrants From Central and South America: The Impact of Welfare Reform

This article explores the impact of federal welfare policy changes on older immigrants born in Central and South America. Using data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census 5% Public-Use Microdata Samples, the study examines (1) the change in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) uptake rate after welfare reform for noncitizens from Latin America, naturalized Latin Americans, and U.S.-born Hispanics and (2) how much of the change can be attributed to a change in behavior rather than to a change in eligibility rates. Findings show that the decline in SSI receipt after welfare reform was greater for Latin American noncitizens compared to naturalized citizens and Hispanic U.S.-born citizens. Decomposition analyses show that among eligible elderly noncitizens, the decline in recipiency rate was due mostly to a change in behavior rather than a change in eligibility. This pattern is not found for U.S.-born and naturalized citizens, where changes were mostly due to a decline in the proportion of persons eligible for SSI. This suggests that as a result of legislative changes, older immigrants may not be applying for benefits for which they may be legally entitled. Policy implications are discussed.
Restrictiveness of Eligibility Determination and Medicaid Enrollment by Low-Income Seniors

Medicaid is an important source of supplemental health care coverage for low-income seniors, yet little is known about the effect of state policy on Medicaid enrollment by eligible elderly. Data from a nationally representative survey were used to examine Medicaid enrollment by elderly, low-income Medicare beneficiaries living in states that liberalize or restrict Medicaid eligibility criteria using the 1986 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act or provision 209(b) of the 1972 Social Security Act Amendment, respectively. Controlling for demographics and health status, residence in states applying these laws was significantly, though modestly, associated with Medicaid enrollment. Additionally, 73% of eligible elderly Medicare beneficiaries were not enrolled in Medicaid, and most have serious chronic health problems. These findings suggest that a significant number of eligible elderly are not enrolled in Medicaid and that liberalizing or tightening Medicaid eligibility criteria can have an impact on Medicaid enrollment by low-income elderly patients.
Radiographic Evaluation of Limb Bone Development in Miniature Porcine

Epiphyseal development in the long bones was studied radiographically in minipigs. Radiographs of the proximal and distal epiphyses of humerus, radius, ulna, femur and tibia were obtained at 4, 8, 12, 20, 40, 48, 96 and 144 weeks of age in total 58 minipigs. The assessment of maturity process was made in accordance with the criteria proposed by Owada and Sutow. The secondary ossification centers developed rapidly from 4 weeks of age to 40 weeks of age, and gradually thereafter until 96 weeks of age. The earliest epiphyseal fusion was apparent in the proximal radius, proximal and distal femur at 96 weeks of age. The complete fusion of the epiphyseal line in the long bones was evident on 144 weeks of age and was observed in most long bones such as the proximal humerus, the proximal and distal ulna and the distal radius, and the proximal tibia in minipigs.
Does Race or Sex Moderate the Perceived Built Environment/Physical Activity Relationship in College Students?

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between the perceived built environment and physical activity (PA) among college students, and to determine whether race and/or sex moderate this relationship. Participants were 785 college students (435 students in Study 1 and 350 in Study 2). Students completed questionnaires assessing characteristics of their neighborhood, and were followed up 1 (Study 1) or 2 (Study 2) weeks later to measure PA levels. Seeing others in one's neighbourhood being active was found to be significantly related (p < .01) to higher levels of PA for students in both studies. In Study 2, race was found to moderate the relationship between having many places within walking distance and PA, affecting African Americans more strongly than Caucasians. Sex was not found to moderate the perceived built environment/PA relationship. It appears that certain aspects of the perceived built environment may have an effect on the level of PA in college students, with race moderating this relationship.
Self-Control is Associated with Physical Activity and Fitness among Young Males

The personality trait self-control has been associated with various adaptive outcomes. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to explore whether self-control is associated with self-reported leisure time physical activity (LTPA), Body Mass Index (BMI), muscle-fitness and aerobic fitness among young men. Participants (482 male conscripts; age M = 20) completed a questionnaire and participated in anthropometric measurements in the DefenceNutri Study, and took standard aerobic fitness and muscle fitness tests as part of their military training. Self-control was found to have a positive association with LTPA, aerobic fitness, and muscle fitness, and a negative association with BMI. Self-control predicted aerobic and muscular fitness regardless of BMI, and remained a significant and independent predictor of aerobic fitness (R2 adj. = .28, β = .10, p < .05), but not muscle fitness, when LTPA and BMI were controlled for.
Scalable room-temperature synthesis of mesoporous nanocrystalline ZnMn2O4 with enhanced lithium storage properties for lithium-ion batteries.

In this work, we put forward a facile yet efficient room-temperature synthetic methodology for the smart fabrication of mesoporous nanocrystalline ZnMn2O4 in macro-quality from the birnessite-type MnO2 phase. A plausible reduction/ion exchange/re-crystallization mechanism is tentatively proposed herein for the scalable synthesis of the spinel phase ZnMn2O4. When utilized as a high-performance anode for advanced Li-ion battery (LIB) application, the as-synthesized nanocrystalline ZnMn2O4 delivered an excellent discharge capacity of approximately 1288 mAh g(-1) on the first cycle at a current density of 400 mA g(-1), and exhibited an outstanding cycling durability, rate capability, and coulombic efficiency, benefiting from its mesoporous and nanoscale structure, which strongly highlighted its great potential in next-generation LIBs. Furthermore, the strategy developed here is very simple and of great importance for large-scale industrial production.
Successful treatment of cold‐induced sweating in Crisponi syndrome and its possible mechanism of action

Jana Herholz, Laura Crisponi, Birendra N Mallick, Frank Rutsch 1 Department of General Pediatics, M nster University Children's Hospital, M nster, Germany. 2 Istituto di Neurogenetica e Neurofarmacologia, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Cagliari, Italy. 3 School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Correspondence to: rutschf@ukmuenster.de doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2010. 03630.x
Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential as a Tool to Identify Vestibular Involvement in Auditory Neuropathy

Abstract Auditory neuropathy is characterized by a unique pattern of hearing loss, absent or severely distorted ABR, preserved OAE, and measurable cochlear microphonics. As the vestibular and cochlear branches are parts of the same fiber bundle system called the vestibulocochlear nerve, it is likely that neuropathy in one (cochlear branch) might also form a feature in the other (vestibular branch). But none of these tests are able to explain the involvement of the vestibular system in these cases. Thus, the present study was undertaken to explore this aspect to determine: (1) the involvement of the vestibular pathway in cases with auditory neuropathy; (2) if there is any relationship between vestibular abnormalities and the symptoms they mimic; and (3) the incidence of vestibular abnormality in patients with auditory neuropathy. Ten subjects (7 male and 3 female) in the age range of 15 to 35 years participated in this study. The test battery administered included pure-tone audiometry, ABR, OAE, Immittance, and VEMP. The results showed: (1) nine out of the 10 subjects showed abnormal or absent VEMP; (2) there is no one-to-one correlation between the abnormal or absent VEMP and the vestibular symptoms that these subjects present; and (3) 80% of the ears with auditory neuropathy showed abnormal VEMP results giving an indication of high incidence of vestibular involvement in the auditory neuropathy population. The present study provides evidence for involvement of the vestibular branch of the VIIIth cranial nerve in a high percentage of the auditory neuropathy population; hence, it is suggested that there is need for vestibular assessment in cases of auditory neuropathy that would help to better understand the disorder. It is also suggested that the term “acoustic neuropathy” be used to indicate those patients in whom only the acoustic nerve is affected and “vestibuloacoustic neuropathy” to label those patients who also show involvement of the vestibular system.
Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviors, and Nutritional Risk Profiles and Relations to Body Mass Index, Obesity, and Overweight in Eighth Grade

The objective of this article was to determine (1) the existence of individually varying patterns of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and nutrition intake risk; and (2) how these risk-patterns relate to youth's demographics, Body mass index (BMI) and psychosocial functioning. Participants (N = 9,304) from the 2007 8th Grade Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Cohort completed the revised Self-Description Questionnaire II. Age, sex, height, and weight were used to calculate body mass index (BMI) z scores and percentiles. Three risk profiles emerged via Latent Profile Analyses: “Active + Healthy Diet” (AHD; 16.3% Obese); “Sedentary + Unbalanced Diet” (SUD; 21.3% Obese); and “Screen-Time + Recreational Food” (STRF; 25.0% Obese). Significant differences in BMIs, psychosocial factors, and demographic characteristics were found across the profiles. Differential patterns of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and nutritional choices were found to predict BMI and psychosocial functioning. These findings may be helpful to refine and develop modular-based prevention and weight control intervention programs.
Diffusion tensor trace mapping in normal adult brain using single-shot epi technique: A methodological study of the aging brain

Purpose: To quantify age-related changes of the average diffusion coefficient value in normal adult brain using orientation-independent diffusion tensor trace mapping and to address the methodological influences on diffusion quantification. Material and Methods: Fifty-four normal subjects (aged 20-79 years) were studied on a 1.5-T whole-body MR medical unit using a diffusion-weighted single-shot echo-planar imaging technique. Orientation-independent diffusion tensor trace maps were constructed for each subject using diffusion-weighted MR measurements in four different directions using a tetrahedral gradient combination pattern. The global average (including cerebral spinal fluid) and the tissue average of diffusion coefficients in adult brains were determined by analyzing the diffusion coefficient distribution histogram for the entire brain. Methodological influences on the measured diffusion coefficient were also investigated by comparing the results obtained using different experimental settings. Results: Both global and tissue averages of the diffusion coefficient are significantly correlated with age (p<0.03). The global average of the diffusion coefficient increases 3% per decade after the age of 40, whereas the increase in the tissue average of diffusion coefficient is about 1% per decade. Experimental settings for self-diffusion measurements, such as data acquisition methods and number of b-values, can slightly influence the statistical distribution histogram of the diffusion tensor trace and its average value. Conclusion: Increased average diffusion coefficient in adult brains with aging are consistent with findings regarding structural changes in the brain that have been associated with aging. The study also demonstrates that it is desirable to use the same experimental parameters for diffusion coefficient quantification when comparing between different subjects and groups of interest.
Relationship among insulinlike growth factor I concentrations, bone mineral density, and biochemical markers of bone turnover in postmenopausal women: a population-based study

Objective: To assess the association among serum insulinlike growth factor I (IGF-I) concentrations, bone mineral density (BMD), and biochemical markers of bone turnover in a large group of postmenopausal women from the general population. Design: As an extension of a larger epidemiological study, the Iranian Multicentral Osteoporosis Study, a total of 406 healthy postmenopausal women (age, 59.0 ± 7.6 years) were randomly selected from 13 clusters in Bushehr Port. IGF-I, serum CrossLaps, degradation products of C-terminal telopeptides of type I collagen, and osteocalcin were measured by highly specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. BMD was determined for the lumbar spine (L2-4) and proximal femur using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Results: The mean (± SD) serum IGF-I concentration for all postmenopausal women was 183.35 ± 65.60 ng/mL. In age-adjusted analyses, there was no correlation between IGF-I and BMD at the lumbar spine and femoral neck. Compared with women in the lowest quartile of IGF-I, women in the highest quartile had a significantly greater means of osteocalcin (P = 0.04) and alkaline phosphatase (P = 0.01). Analysis by quartiles of IGF-I did not reveal an association with serum CrossLaps. Conclusions: Circulating IGF-I is associated with biochemical markers of bone formation, but there is no relationship among IGF-I, degradation products of C-terminal telopeptides of type I collagen, and BMD in postmenopausal women. Clearly more work will be needed before serum IGF-I can be used in clinical practice as a risk predictor for postmenopause-associated loss of bone mass.
The North American Menopause Society: from abstract to publication

Objective: The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) provides a forum through which researchers can present scientific abstracts. After presenting an abstract, the goal is to publish the research as a full-length article. The objective for this study was to determine the publication rate of abstracts presented at NAMS meetings. Design: The PubMed database was searched for full-length, peer-reviewed publications, corresponding to the abstracts presented at the 1999 to 2003 NAMS meetings. When a full-length article was found, the title, authors, date of publication, and the journal were collected. Results: Of the 661 abstracts presented at the five consecutive annual meetings, 253 (38.3%) have been published in peer-reviewed journals. The average time to publication was 2.0 ± 1.5 years. The average time to publication for oral presentations was 1.7 ± 1.3 years, and that for poster presentations was 2.0 ± 1.5 years (P = 0.241). The publication rate of oral presentations was significantly greater than that of poster presentations (57.7% vs 36.5%; P < 0.003). Manuscripts were published in a total of 97 journals, with four (Menopause, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Climacteric, and Maturitas) accounting for 38.3% of the publications. Conclusions: The percentage of abstracts published by NAMS is within the range and within a similar time frame compared with other scientific meetings. Oral presentations are more likely to be rapidly published and may therefore be of higher interest and clinical relevance along with sound methodology and results. Menopause contained the most manuscripts, demonstrating a possible preference of submission to the Society's journal.
Identification of putative periodontal pathogens in Korean chronic periodontitis patients

Purpose: Specific bacteria are believed to play an important role in chronic periodontitis. Although extensive microbial analyses have been performed from subgingival plaque samples of periodontitis patients, systemic analysis of subingival microbiota has not been carried out in a Korean population so far. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of 29 putative periodontal pathogens in Korean chronic periodontitis patients and evaluate which pathogens are more associated with Korean chronic periodontitis. Material and Methods: A total of 86 subgingival plaque samples were taken from 15 chronic periodontits(CP) patients and 13 periodontally healthy subjects in Korea. CP samples were obtained from the deepest periodontal pocket (>3 mm probing depth[PD]) and the most shallow periodontal probing site ( 3 mm PD) in anterior tooth and posterior tooth, respectively, of each patient. ≤ Samples in healthy subjects were obtained from 1 anterior tooth and 1 posterior tooth. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of subgingival plaque bacteria was performed. Detection frequencies(% prevalence) of 29 putative periodontal pathogens were investigated as bacterium-positive sites/total sites Results: With the exception of Olsenella profuse and Prevotella nigrescens, the sites of diseased patients generally showed higher prevalence than the healthy sites of healthy subjects for all bacteria analyzed. Tanerella forsythensis (B.forsythus), Campylobacter rectus, Filifactor alocis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas endodontalis and Porphyromonas gingivalis were detected in more than 80% of sites with deep probing depths in CP patients. In comparison between the sites (deep or shallow PD) of CP patients and the healthy sites of healthy subjects, there was statistically significant difference(P <0.05) of prevalence in T.forsythensis (B.forsythus), C.rectus, Dialister invisus, F.alocis, P.gingivalis and Treponema denticola. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that the four putative periodontal pathogens, T.forsythensis (B.forsythus), C.rectus, P.gingivalis and F.alocis are closely related with CP patients in the Korean population. (J Korean Acad Periodontol 2008;38:143-152)
Personality and its Relation to Mental and Psychosocial Health in Emerging Adult Sexual Minority Men: The P18 Cohort Study

ABSTRACT Personality disorder and personality pathology encompass a dimension of psychological dysfunction known to severely impact multiple domains of functioning. However, there is a notable dearth of research regarding both the pervasiveness and correlates of personality pathology among young sexual minority males who themselves experience heightened mental health burdens. Using the self-report version of the Standardized Assessment of Personality-Abbreviated Scale we tested associations between distinct personality characteristics with sociodemographic and psychosocial factors as well as mental health states in a sample of 528 young (aged 21–25 years) sexual minority men. In multivariate analysis, personality traits varied significantly by race/ethnicity. Personality traits were also positively associated with psychosocial states, specifically, internalized anti-homosexual bias, level of connection with the gay community, and male body dissatisfaction, as well as mental health in the form of recent depressive and anxious symptomatology. These findings support the complex synergy which exists between personality characteristics, psychosocial conditions, and mental health burdens present among sexual minority men and support the need for an all-encompassing approach to both the study and care of this population that addresses the influences of both internal and external factors on well-being.