bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative Analysis of Bending Strength Properties between Glued and Un-Glued Finger Joints in Beech and Fir Wood Species
Authors: Šljivo Umejr , Hasanagić Redžo , Fathi Leila , Bahmani Mohsen
Published: December 2023

The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanical behavior of beech and fir finger joints under laboratory conditions. The samples were manufactured using a 9 mm finger joint with glued surfaces, in accordance with the EN 14 080 standard. Polyurethane adhesive of class D3, commonly used for the production of exterior wooden structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was applied to the samples. The specimens were subjected to destructive four-point bending tests according to the BAS EN 408 standard, and the achieved bending strength was statistically evaluated and compared to the results of unglued samples.
Picking food by robot hand with tree-frog like pad in various wet conditions
Authors: Nguyen Van Pho
Published: December 2023

Achieving stability with less squeeze in picking up wet-soft objects is still challenging for robots. To accomplish this challenge, preventing slippage between robotic grippers and an object is crucial. We used micropatterned pads on robotic grippers to enhance wet adhesion when picking up food items. This paper examines the role of micropattern interfaces in preventing slippage by experimental evaluations, in which soft robotic grippers picked up and released food samples such as tofu, quail egg, coffee jelly, konjac, and jelly under various wet conditions. A micropatterned pad, inspired by the toe pad of a tree-frog, comprises a large number of squared cells that are separated by channels. Normal pads without any micropattern were also made for comparison. Experimental results showed the micropatterned pad required less squeeze force than that of the normal pads, resulting in less deformation of a grasped object such as a piece of tofu. The potential of the micropatterned pad to prevent slippage between a robotic gripper and a fragile deformable object in various wet conditions without a complicated control method was demonstrated, thereby promising wider robotic applications in the food, service, and medical industries.
Insights into the spectroscopic and structural features of methylammonium copper halide perovskites and theoretical view
Authors: Thankappan Aparna , C S Ariakutty , Babu Ayana , Mary Peter Anita , Kailasnath M
Published: December 2023

This study encompasses a comprehensive investigation of stable metal halide perovskite materials, focusing on bandgap tuning, crystallization pathways, and the impact of moisture. In this work, we successfully synthesized different compositions of layered perovskites of methylammonium copper halides ((CH3NH3)2CuCl4). The morphology and structure were examined using a scanning electron microscope and x-ray diffractometer. Morphological and structural characterizations enhanced our understanding of the microstructure and crystallographic properties. A detailed structural characterization of the (CH3NH3)2CuCl4 was conducted using the Scherrer equation and the Williamson–Hall (W–H) method. To examine the effects of moisture on the optical properties of the samples, we used a UV–vis spectrophotometer, which provided valuable insight into their bandgap tuning. In addition, photoluminescence studies were conducted to investigate the blue fluorescence of the samples, demonstrating their efficacy in optoelectronic applications. We also explored the materials’ response to intense light using the Z-scan technique, examining their nonlinear optical properties. The findings of this study are pivotal in advancing our knowledge and facilitating the development of more stable and versatile perovskite materials for practical applications. Subsequently, simulations were conducted using the SCAPS-1D, a Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator, revealing a promising solar cell architecture with a glass substrate/FTO/zinc oxide (ZnO)/(CH3NH3)2CuCl4/spiro-OMeTAD/Au configuration, showcasing an impressive conversion efficiency of 27.93%, a fill factor of 84.16, Jsc of 34.39 mA cm−2, and Voc of 0.9 V.
Strategies for connecting whole-building LCA to the low-carbon design process
Authors: McCord Kieren H , Dillon Heather E , Gunderson Patricia , Carlson Sadie , Phillips Adam R , Griechen Darrin , Antonopoulos Chrissi A
Published: December 2023

Decarbonization is essential to meeting urgent climate goals. With the building sector in the United States accounting for 35% of total U.S. carbon emissions, reducing environmental impacts within the built environment is critical. Whole-building life cycle analysis (WBLCA) quantifies the impacts of a building throughout its life cycle. Despite being a powerful tool, WBLCA is not standard practice in the integrated design process. When WBLCA is used, it is typically either speculative and based on early design information or conducted only after design completion as an accounting measure, with virtually no opportunity to impact the actual design. This work proposes a workflow for fully incorporating WBLCA into the building design process in an iterative, recursive manner, where design decisions impact the WBLCA, which in turn informs future design decisions. We use the example of a negative-operational carbon modular building seeking negative upfront embodied carbon using bio-based materials for carbon sequestration as a case study for demonstrating the utility of the framework. Key contributions of this work include a framework of computational processes for conducting iterative WBLCA, using a combination of an existing building WBLCA tool (Tally) within the building information modeling superstructure (Revit) and a custom script (in R) for materials, life cycle stages, and workflows not available in the WBLCA tool. Additionally, we provide strategies for harmonizing the environmental impacts of novel materials or processes from various life cycle inventory sources with materials or processes in existing building WBLCA tool repositories. These strategies are useful for those involved in building design with an interest in reducing their environmental impact. For example, this framework would be useful for researchers who are conducting WBLCAs on projects that include new or unusual materials and for design teams who want to integrate WBLCA more fully into their design process in order to ensure the building materials are consciously chosen to advance climate goals, while still ensuring best performance by traditional measures.
Development of a job-exposure matrix-like exposure assessment method for the US general population based on Occupational Information Network (O*NET) job tasks
Authors: Beard John D , Greenhalgh Mitchell G , Hawkes Emily , Jones Bailey M , Hamner Sarah C , Thygerson Steven M
Published: December 2023

Background

Job-exposure matrices (JEMs) are often used for exposure assessment in occupational exposure and epidemiology studies. However, general population JEMs are difficult to find and access for workers in the United States of America.

Objective

We aimed to use publicly available information to develop a JEM-like exposure assessment method to determine exposure to a wide range of occupational agents in a wide range of occupations for US general population studies.

Methods

We used information from the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network database (O*NET) for 19,636 job tasks and 974 civilian occupations. We used automated keyword searches to identify 1,804 job tasks that involved exposure to 50 occupational agents. We had 2 reviewers determine whether each identified job task actually involved exposure to the 50 occupational agents. We had a third reviewer, a certified industrial hygienist, assess any job task and exposure for which the first 2 reviewers disagreed. For each U.S. Census 2010 occupation code, we used this information to derive 3 exposure variables for each occupational agent: ever exposure, number of job tasks of exposure, and frequency of exposure.

Results

Our keyword searches identified a median of 10 (interquartile range [IQR]: 43.75) job tasks for each occupational agent, and the maximum was 308. We determined job tasks actually involved exposure to 45 occupational agents, including solvents, air pollution, pesticides, radiation, metals, etc. We derived the 3 exposure variables for these 45 occupational agents for 516 U.S. Census 2010 occupation codes. The median percentage for ever exposure to individual occupational agents was 1.16% (IQR: 1.74%), and the maximum was 11.43%.

Conclusions

Our JEM-like exposure assessment method based on O*NET information can be used to determine exposure to a wide range of occupational agents in a wide range of occupations for the US general population.
LDA-VGHB: identifying potential lncRNA–disease associations with singular value decomposition, variational graph auto-encoder and heterogeneous Newton boosting machine
Authors: Peng Lihong , Huang Liangliang , Su Qiongli , Tian Geng , Chen Min , Han Guosheng
Published: December 2023

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) participate in various biological processes and have close linkages with diseases. In vivo and in vitro experiments have validated many associations between lncRNAs and diseases. However, biological experiments are time-consuming and expensive. Here, we introduce LDA-VGHB, an lncRNA–disease association (LDA) identification framework, by incorporating feature extraction based on singular value decomposition and variational graph autoencoder and LDA classification based on heterogeneous Newton boosting machine. LDA-VGHB was compared with four classical LDA prediction methods (i.e. SDLDA, LDNFSGB, IPCARF and LDASR) and four popular boosting models (XGBoost, AdaBoost, CatBoost and LightGBM) under 5-fold cross-validations on lncRNAs, diseases, lncRNA–disease pairs and independent lncRNAs and independent diseases, respectively. It greatly outperformed the other methods with its prominent performance under four different cross-validations on the lncRNADisease and MNDR databases. We further investigated potential lncRNAs for lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer and kidney neoplasms and inferred the top 20 lncRNAs associated with them among all their unobserved lncRNAs. The results showed that most of the predicted top 20 lncRNAs have been verified by biomedical experiments provided by the Lnc2Cancer 3.0, lncRNADisease v2.0 and RNADisease databases as well as publications. We found that HAR1A, KCNQ1DN, ZFAT-AS1 and HAR1B could associate with lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer and kidney neoplasms, respectively. The results need further biological experimental validation. We foresee that LDA-VGHB was capable of identifying possible lncRNAs for complex diseases. LDA-VGHB is publicly available at https://github.com/plhhnu/LDA-VGHB.
GTAD: a graph-based approach for cell spatial composition inference from integrated scRNA-seq and ST-seq data
Authors: Zhang Tianjiao , Zhang Ziheng , Li Liangyu , Dong Benzhi , Wang Guohua , Zhang Dandan
Published: December 2023

With the emergence of spatial transcriptome sequencing (ST-seq), research now heavily relies on the joint analysis of ST-seq and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data to precisely identify cell spatial composition in tissues. However, common methods for combining these datasets often merge data from multiple cells to generate pseudo-ST data, overlooking topological relationships and failing to represent spatial arrangements accurately. We introduce GTAD, a method utilizing the Graph Attention Network for deconvolution of integrated scRNA-seq and ST-seq data. GTAD effectively captures cell spatial relationships and topological structures within tissues using a graph-based approach, enhancing cell-type identification and our understanding of complex tissue cellular landscapes. By integrating scRNA-seq and ST data into a unified graph structure, GTAD outperforms traditional ‘pseudo-ST’ methods, providing robust and information-rich results. GTAD performs exceptionally well with synthesized spatial data and accurately identifies cell spatial composition in tissues like the mouse cerebral cortex, cerebellum, developing human heart and pancreatic ductal carcinoma. GTAD holds the potential to enhance our understanding of tissue microenvironments and cellular diversity in complex bio-logical systems. The source code is available at https://github.com/zzhjs/GTAD.
Sarcopenia and diabetes-induced dementia risk
Authors: Sun Mingyang , Lu Zhongyuan , Chen Wan-Ming , Wu Szu-Yuan , Zhang Jiaqiang
Published: December 2023

This study aimed to investigate whether sarcopenia independently increases the risk of diabetes-induced dementia in elderly individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The study cohort consisted of a large sample of elderly individuals aged 60 years and above, who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus between 2008 and 2018. To minimize potential bias and achieve covariate balance between the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups, we employed propensity score matching. Various statistical analyses, including Cox regression models to assess dementia risk and associations, competing risk analysis to account for mortality and Poisson regression analysis for incidence rates, were used. Before propensity score matching, the study included 406 573 elderly type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, with 20 674 in the sarcopenia group. Following propensity score matching, the analysis included a total of 41 294 individuals, with 20 647 in the sarcopenia group and 20 647 in the non-sarcopenia group. Prior to propensity score matching, elderly type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with sarcopenia exhibited a significantly higher risk of dementia (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.12, 95% confidence interval: 1.07–1.17). After propensity score matching, the risk remained significant (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.14, 95% confidence interval: 1.07–1.21). Incidence rates of dementia were notably higher in the sarcopenia group both before and after propensity score matching, underscoring the importance of sarcopenia as an independent risk factor. Our study highlights sarcopenia as an independent risk factor for diabetes-induced dementia in elderly type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Advanced age, female gender, lower income levels, rural residency, higher adapted diabetes complication severity index and Charlson Comorbidity Index scores and various comorbidities were associated with increased dementia risk. Notably, the use of statins was linked to a reduced risk of dementia. This research underscores the need to identify and address modifiable risk factors for dementia in elderly type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, offering valuable insights for targeted interventions and healthcare policies.
First transaortic transcatheter aortic valve implantation with Acurate Neo: case report and technical recommendations
Authors: Scholtz Smita , Rudolph Tanja K , Gilis-Januszewski Tomasz , Bleiziffer Sabine
Published: December 2023

Background

In more than 90%, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is performed via transfemoral access. Alternative access routes are necessary for patients with unfavourable femoral arteries.

Case summary

We report of a 68-year-old female with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis in whom surgical aortic valve replacement was prohibited due to her severe co-morbidities. Both femoral arteries and both subclavian arteries were unsuitable for TAVI access. Surgical aortic valve replacement and transapical TAVI were deferred due to extremely high operative risk and very low originating left coronary artery of 7 mm from the annulus. Hence, we decided to implant a self-expanding TAVI device with a low risk of coronary obstruction (Acurate Neo 2 prosthesis) via transaortic approach, which to our knowledge is the first case worldwide.

Conclusion

The present case demonstrates the feasibility of implanting the Acurate Neo 2 system via transaortic approach when certain key points are respected. Transaortic TAVI with the Acurate Neo 2 offers a minimally invasive treatment of high operative risk patients with low originating coronary arteries.
A novel somatostatin receptor ligand for human ACTH – and GH –secreting pituitary adenomas
Authors: Regazzo Daniela , Avallone Serena , MacSweeney Cliona P , Sergeev Eugenia , Howe David , Godwood Alex , Bennett Kirstie A , Brown Alastair J H , Barnes Matt , Occhi Gianluca , Barbot Mattia , Faggian Diego , Tropeano Maria Pia , Losa Marco , Lasio Giovanni , Scaroni Carla , Pecori Giraldi Francesca
Published: December 2023

Objective

Somatostatin receptor ligands have come to play a pivotal role in the treatment of both ACTH- and GH-secreting pituitary adenomas. Clinical efficacy averages 30-50%, thus a considerable number of patients with Cushing's disease or acromegaly remain unresponsive to this therapeutic approach. HTL0030310 is a new somatostatin receptor ligand selective for subtype 5 over subtype 2, thus with a different receptor profile compared to clinical somatostatin receptor ligands.

Design

Assessment of the effect of HTL0030310 on hormone secretion in human ACTH- and GH-secreting pituitary adenomas in vitro.

Methods

Primary cultures from 3 ACTH-secreting and 5 GH-secreting pituitary adenomas were treated with 1, 10 and 100 nM HTL0030310 alone or with 10 nM CRH or GHRH, respectively. Parallel incubations with 10 nM pasireotide were also carried out. ACTH and GH secretion were assessed after 4 and 24 hour incubation; SSTR2, SSTR3, SSTR5, GH and POMC expression were evaluated after 24 hours.

Results

HTL0030310 reduced unchallenged ACTH and POMC levels up to 50% in 2 ACTH-secreting adenomas and blunted CRH-stimulated ACTH/POMC by 20-70% in all 3 specimens. A reduction in spontaneous GH secretion was observed in 4 GH-secreting adenomas and in 2 specimens during GHRH co-incubation. SSTRs expression was detected in all specimens.

Conclusions

This first study on a novel somatostatin receptor 5-preferring ligand indicates that HTL0030310 can inhibit hormonal secretion in human ACTH- and GH-secreting pituitary adenomas. These findings suggest a potential new avenue for somatostatin ligands in the treatment of Cushing's disease and acromegaly.
A note on authenticity, reflexivity, and subversion in the classroom
Authors: Lowe Robert J
Published: December 2023

This is a feature in which individuals are invited to express their personal, and sometimes controversial, views on professional issues. These views are not necessarily those of the Editor, the Editorial Panel, or the Publisher. Reaction to Comment features is welcome in the form of a Letter to the Editor or a Readers Respond article.
Scarring through the 1923 German hyperinflation
Authors: Vilà Gregori Galofré
Published: December 2023

I study the link between the 1923 German hyperinflation and health by linking monthly data on the cost-of-living index with monthly infant and cause-specific adult mortality rates in 280 cities. By exploring panel data with a range of fixed effects, I find that hyperinflation boosted mortality rates. The largest increases in mortality came from deaths plausibly linked to deteriorating social conditions over the short term, such as losses from influenza, meningitis, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. I also rely on children’s heights and weights to show that worsening health was related to impaired nutrition. The results are robust to a range of specifications, placebo tests, and Conley standard errors.
Impact of repeat ablation of ventricular tachycardia in patients with structural heart disease
Authors: Garcia Garcia Joaquin , Arya Arash , Dinov Borislav , Bollmann Andreas , ter Bekke Rachel M A , Vernooy Kevin , Dagres Nikolaos , Hindricks Gerhard , Darma Angeliki
Published: December 2023

Aims

Recurrences of ventricular tachycardia (VT) after initial catheter ablation is a significant clinical problem. In this study, we report the efficacy and risks of repeat VT ablation in patients with structural heart disease (SHD) in a tertiary single centre over a 7-year period.

Methods and results

Two hundred ten consecutive patients referred for repeat VT ablation after previous ablation in our institution were included in the analysis (53% ischaemic cardiomyopathy, 91% males, median age 65 years, mean left ventricular ejection fraction 35%). After performing repeat ablation, the clinical VTs were acutely eliminated in 82% of the patients, but 46% of the cohort presented with VT recurrence during the 25-month follow-up. Repeat ablation led to a 73% reduction of shock burden in the first year and 61% reduction until the end of follow-up. Similarly, VT burden was reduced 55% in the first year and 36% until the end of the study. Fifty-two patients (25%) reached the combined endpoint of ventricular assist device implantation, heart transplantation, or death. Advanced New York Heart Association functional class, anteroseptal substrate, and periprocedural complication after repeat ablation were associated with worse prognosis independently of the type of cardiomyopathy.

Conclusion

While complete freedom from VT after repeat ablation in SHD was difficult to achieve, ablation led to a significant reduction in VT and shock burden. Besides advanced heart failure characteristics, anteroseptal substrate and periprocedural complications predicted a worse outcome.
How, when, and who should ask about pregnancy intentions in primary care? A qualitative study of women’s preferences
Authors: Hall Jennifer A , Wilkinson Kira , Haddon Claire , Barrett Geraldine
Published: December 2023

Background

For health services to help people plan for or prevent pregnancy, health professionals need an acceptable way to identify individuals’ preferences.

Objective

To assess women’s views on the acceptability of specific questions about pregnancy preferences when asked by health professionals in a variety of primary care contexts.

Methods

One-to-one in-depth interviews with 13 women aged 18–48 from across the UK, involving role-play scenarios and ranking exercises. Interviews covered a range of settings and health professionals, different question wording, and ways of asking (in person or digitally). We conducted a thematic Framework Analysis, focussing on themes relating to feelings and preferences.

Results

Women were generally open to being asked about pregnancy preferences if they understood the rationale, it was asked in a relevant context, such as in women’s health-related consultations, and there was follow-up. After signposting, an open question, such as ‘How would you feel about having a baby in the next year?’ was preferred in a face-to-face context as it enabled discussion. While some women valued a face-to-face discussion with a health professional, for others the privacy and convenience of a digital option was preferred; methods should be tailored to the target population.

Conclusion

Discussion of pregnancy preferences via a range of formats is acceptable to, and valued by, women in the UK across a range of primary care settings. Acceptability to health professionals and feasibility of implementation needs further exploration and would benefit from greater public awareness of the benefits of pregnancy planning.
Gene dosage adaptations to mtDNA depletion and mitochondrial protein stress in budding yeast
Authors: McNamara Joshua T , Zhu Jin , Wang Yuhao , Li Rong
Published: December 2023

Mitochondria contain a local genome (mtDNA) comprising a small number of genes necessary for respiration, mitochondrial transcription and translation, and other vital functions. Various stressors can destabilize mtDNA leading to mtDNA loss. While some cells can survive mtDNA loss, they exhibit various deficiencies. Here, we investigated the impact of proteotoxicity on mitochondrial function by inducing mitochondrial unfolded protein stress in budding yeast. This led to rapid mtDNA loss, but aerobic conditioning imparted transient resistance to mitochondrial protein stress. We present a quantitative model of mtDNA loss in a growing cell population and measure its parameters. To identify genetic adaptations to mtDNA depletion, we performed a genome-wide screen for gene dosage increases that affect the growth of cells lacking mtDNA. The screen revealed a set of dosage suppressors that alleviate the growth impairment in mtDNA-deficient cells. Additionally, we show that these suppressors of mtDNA stress both bolster cell proliferation and prevent mtDNA loss during mitochondrial protein stress.
Deleterious phenotypes in wild Arabidopsis arenosa populations are common and linked to runs of homozygosity
Authors: Barragan A Cristina , Collenberg Maximilian , Schwab Rebecca , Kersten Sonja , Kerstens Merijn H L , Požárová Doubravka , Bezrukov Ilja , Bemm Felix , Kolár Filip , Weigel Detlef
Published: December 2023

In this study, we aimed to systematically assess the frequency at which potentially deleterious phenotypes appear in natural populations of the outcrossing model plant Arabidopsis arenosa, and to establish their underlying genetics. For this purpose, we collected seeds from wild A. arenosa populations and screened over 2,500 plants for unusual phenotypes in the greenhouse. We repeatedly found plants with obvious phenotypic defects, such as small stature and necrotic or chlorotic leaves, among first-generation progeny of wild A. arenosa plants. Such abnormal plants were present in about 10% of maternal sibships, with multiple plants with similar phenotypes in each of these sibships, pointing to a genetic basis of the observed defects. A combination of transcriptome profiling, linkage mapping and genome-wide runs of homozygosity patterns using a newly assembled reference genome indicated a range of underlying genetic architectures associated with phenotypic abnormalities. This included evidence for homozygosity of certain genomic regions, consistent with alleles that are identical by descent being responsible for these defects. Our observations suggest that deleterious alleles with different genetic architectures are segregating at appreciable frequencies in wild A. arenosa populations.
Drosophila models of phosphatidylinositol glycan biosynthesis class A congenital disorder of glycosylation (PIGA-CDG) mirror patient phenotypes
Authors: Thorpe Holly J , Owings Katie G , Aziz Miriam C , Haller Madelyn , Coelho Emily , Chow Clement Y
Published: December 2023

Mutations in the phosphatidylinositol glycan biosynthesis class A (PIGA) gene cause a rare, X-linked recessive congenital disorder of glycosylation. Phosphatidylinositol glycan biosynthesis class A congenital disorder of glycosylation (PIGA-CDG) is characterized by seizures, intellectual and developmental delay, and congenital malformations. The PIGA gene encodes an enzyme involved in the first step of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor biosynthesis. There are over 100 GPI-anchored proteins that attach to the cell surface and are involved in cell signaling, immunity, and adhesion. Little is known about the pathophysiology of PIGA-CDG. Here, we describe the first Drosophila model of PIGA-CDG and demonstrate that loss of PIG-A function in Drosophila accurately models the human disease. As expected, complete loss of PIG-A function is larval lethal. Heterozygous null animals appear healthy but, when challenged, have a seizure phenotype similar to what is observed in patients. To identify the cell-type specific contributions to disease, we generated neuron- and glia-specific knockdown of PIG-A. Neuron-specific knockdown resulted in reduced lifespan and a number of neurological phenotypes but no seizure phenotype. Glia-knockdown also reduced lifespan and, notably, resulted in a very strong seizure phenotype. RNA sequencing analyses demonstrated that there are fundamentally different molecular processes that are disrupted when PIG-A function is eliminated in different cell types. In particular, loss of PIG-A in neurons resulted in upregulation of glycolysis, but loss of PIG-A in glia resulted in upregulation of protein translation machinery. Here, we demonstrate that Drosophila is a good model of PIGA-CDG and provide new data resources for future study of PIGA-CDG and other GPI anchor disorders.
In-Person Social Interactions and Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Role of Household Size and Virtual Social Contact Among Midlife and Older Black South African Adults
Authors: Harriman Nigel Walsh , Ohene-Kwofie Daniel , Jung Sun Jae , Hermosilla Sabrina , Gómez-Olivé Francesc Xavier , Jennings Elyse A
Published: December 2023

Objectives

The current study investigates how physical distancing during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was associated with increased anxiety among a cohort of midlife older Black South African adults and the extent to which household size and virtual social contact modify this association for men and women.

Methods

We analyze data from a phone survey conducted from July 2021 to March 2022 as part of Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (n = 2,080). We employ logistic regression to estimate the association between changes in in-person social interactions and anxiety symptoms and examine whether the association is modified by household size and changes in virtual social contact. We perform analyses separately for women and men.

Results

Declines in in-person social interactions were associated with increased anxiety for women and men (odds ratios [OR] = 2.52, p < .001). For women only, declines were greater for those living in larger households (OR = 1.11, p = .032). Declines were buffered by increased virtual social contact for both women (OR = 0.55, p = .025) and men (OR = 0.45, p = .019).

Discussion

Although the anxiety symptoms of women and men were similarly affected by declines in in-person social interaction, the modifying influence of household size is unique to women, likely due to gender-specific social roles. For women, living in larger households may mean greater caregiving burden, exacerbating the detrimental association between physical distancing and anxiety. On the other hand, both women and men may have used virtual means to connect with friends and family living outside their homes, buffering against increased anxiety.
Step-Gap in Upward Support: The Role of Biological Relatedness and Childhood Co-residence Duration
Authors: Hämäläinen Hans , Tanskanen Antti O , Pettay Jenni , Danielsbacka Mirkka
Published: December 2023

Objectives

Although prior research has detected a step-gap in intergenerational relationships in various aspects, there is a lack of studies examining adult children’s support toward their biological parents and stepparents. We investigated (i) whether adult children provide more support to their biological parents than stepparents and (ii) whether the childhood co-residence duration is associated with the support given to stepparents.

Methods

The data were drawn from the German Family Panel (pairfam). Upward support was indicated by using 3 different measures, namely, financial, practical, and emotional support provided by adult children to their biological parents and stepparents. A path analysis was conducted to detect the potential differences regarding upward support.

Results

More support was channeled toward the biological parents than the stepparents. Moreover, the length of co-residence during childhood and adolescence was positively associated with the frequency of support provided toward the stepparents. Consequently, an increased childhood co-residence duration decreased the step-gap in upward support, although it did not fully eliminate it.

Discussion

The findings showed that stepparents are in a more disadvantaged position than the biological parents regarding receiving support from their adult children. In the context of a high old-age dependency ratio, it is important to recognize that stepparents may not have the opportunity to receive adequate support from their families as compared to individuals with biological children.
COULD WE CARE LESS? FICTIONAL REPRESENTATIONS OF TIME-RESTRICTED IN-HOME-CAREGIVING IN “DIE PFLEGIONÄRIN”
Authors: Trinkaus Eva-Maria
Published: December 2023

In this narrative film analysis, I look at the representations of care work and its time restrictions in the German TV series “Die Pflegionärin.” In this TV series the lack of adequate time and, thereby, struggle for adequate care in domestic care work becomes visible through ten-minute episodes. Through this representation, both, the perspective of the old patients and their care-needs, as well as the caregiver’s perspective and the pressure they have to perform under becomes visible. In this contribution, I will specifically focus on the representation of the relationship between caregiver and patient, and the possibilities of interaction in a restricted period of time that is captured through the way the fictional representation of care is put on screen. Adding to the pressure that the aspect of time creates, the TV series’ title “Die Pflegionärin“ (transl. “The Carionnaire”) is a linguistic blend of carer and legionnaire, and a war metaphor that highlights the struggle of domestic care even further. By allowing the viewers to follow an in-home-caregiver on her everyday tasks ‘on the front line’ of everyday life, not only the caregiver’s perspective, but also the patients’ needs become visible. Despite the short air time, rather than providing a quick glimpse into the patient’s life, the series provides the viewer with insights into the profession’s tasks and duties through the personal, though fictional, stories of patients and nurse and blends the generic conventions of TV series with real-time in-home caregiving.
MAGNIFYING THE VOICE OF A COMMUNITY: ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS ABOUT DEMENTIA
Authors: Simmons Jabrina , Frager Victoria , Broussard Jia , Greenwood-Hickman Mikael Anne , Barrett Tyler , Barnes Deborah
Published: December 2023

By 2060, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) in the U.S. is predicted to more than double to 14 million. African Americans (A.A.) 65 and older are 2.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than same-aged White Americans. Furthermore, A.A. are twice as likely to be underdiagnosed, leaving the A.A. community underserved with respect to ADRD. To gain insight into the key drivers of this underdiagnosis, we performed a scoping review of research on attitudes and perceptions held within the A.A. community regarding ADRD, which may impact diagnosis and screening. We searched PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Black Studies Periodicals Database for studies from 2002 to 2022 using keywords: “Dementia” or “Alzheimer’s” and “African Americans,” “Ethnicity,” “Racial Groups,” “Blacks,” or “Ethnic and Racial Minorities,” and “Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice,” “Health Services Needs and Demand,” or “Perception.” We identified 318 studies; 49 met inclusion criteria after title and abstract review and were selected for full manuscript review. We discussed all included manuscripts and identified pertinent themes, noting potential method bias. An identified “knowledge gap” among A.A. about dementia, particularly a belief that dementia is part of normal aging or God’s will, was prominent. Other themes included mistrust of the medical community, a desire to maintain everyday family life, the need for culturally appropriate resources, and cultural expectations to provide care despite institutional support obstacles (John Henryism/Superwoman schema). Understanding differences in attitudes and beliefs toward dementia among African Americans may support developing effective strategies to address disparities.
POLICY SERIES: HEALTH AND AGING POLICY FELLOWS: LINKING POLICY AND PRACTICE TO BENEFIT OLDER PEOPLE
Authors: Henry Maureen , Franzosa Emily
Published: December 2023

The Health and Aging Policy Fellows program was founded in 2008 after its founders observed a dearth of experts with overlapping experience in policy and aging. The program is creating a growing cadre of leaders to improve the health of older adults by influencing policy at the state and national levels that is joined through an alumni network of more than 150 fellows. The fellowship’s goal is to improve the lives of older people across life domains. Past fellows serve as staff members in Congress, in State and Federal Agencies, and in the private sector. The fellowship has helped to launch many policy-focused careers. In this seminar, current and past fellows from medicine, research, social work, and law will share their experiences before, during, and after their fellowship. They will describe what they learned through the training and a placement in a full- or part-time policy role, how viewing health and aging through a policy perspective changed their understanding of systems, and how they think the fellowship will enable them to influence policy to improve the lives of older people in the future. Fellows will also highlight ongoing policy challenges that stop or slow progress toward achieving the goal.
CARE PLAN INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT—A MEANS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CMS
Authors: Carney Maria
Published: December 2023

The Health and Aging Policy Fellowship (HAPF) provides an orientation on the federal government organization and an introduction to aging policy foundations and agencies. The goal of this orientation is to lead to a growth of a professional network as well as a policy placement opportunity. I will explain the process for choosing a HAPF placement with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ). Using my HAPF experience as an example of how my interest in Age-Friendly Health System work at a large health system led to my placement and personal growth. I will discuss my reasoning in taking part in the Fellowship and the creation of CMS Care Plan Inventory and Assessment. Achieving goal-concordant care is the bedrock of Age-Friendly care. Creating care plans is a means for teams and insurance providers use to create goal concordant care. Measuring goal concordant care is a challenge, but development of care plans would be a potential start. CMS utilizes care planning in programs and in billing codes. My Health and Aging Policy Fellowship placement assessed how care planning is defined and what are the elements in CMS programs and billing codes and if these are aligned with care plan research from AHRQ. My experience, current interests and project development will be the example of how HAPF provided me with a better understanding of CMS programs and how billing code creation affects clinician behaviors and , in turn, patients.
THE CANNABIS AND OLDER PERSONS STUDY: MOVING ALONG A ROAD FROM ANIMAL MODELS TO STATE CAPITOLS
Authors: Kaskie Brian
Published: December 2023

The Cannabis and Older Persons Study has examined the increasing use of cannabis among Americans over 60 years old since 2016. This year’s symposium presents varied methodological approaches researchers have used to better understand the relationship between age and cannabis use. Barry Setlow examines how cannabis use corresponds with age-associated synaptic dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and tau pathology in animal models (younger v older rats), and how such association may contribute to cognitive aging. Nicole Ennis examines the association between cannabis use and simulated driving performance among adults aged 50 and older focusing on response time, attention, and executive functioning tasks that predict on-road performance. Yan Wang examines short and long-term effects of medical marijuana use among older adults using ecological momentary assessments. Divya Bhagianadh analyzes responses provided by 1398 older persons who completed a special module concerning cannabis use as part of the Health and Retirement Survey and applies a multi-level framework to better understand how cannabis use is shaped by individual attitudes and health status. Fadi Martinos considers how state medical cannabis program eligibility criteria and provider qualifications contribute to cannabis access and use among older adults. Together, these studies reflect how scientific understanding of cannabis use and aging has been informed by the application of multiple disciplinary perspectives, and how researchers use different methodological approaches to identify both desirable and undesirable outcomes associated with cannabis use among older adults. This symposium offers policy makers, program administrators and clinicians empirically-based insights concerning how cannabis use affects older adults.
EXAMINING CAREGIVER NETWORK STRUCTURE, COMPOSITION, AND COORDINATION FOR OLDER ADULTS WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Authors: McConnell William , Haggar Katherine , Hernández María Ortega
Published: December 2023

Over half of the older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) live in the community with informal caregivers whose unpaid assistance constitutes the majority of their care. Research and interventions targeting caregivers typically limit their focus to one primary caregiver, but many older adults with ADRD rely on a variety of interconnected kin, non-kin, and professional supporters. Little is known about the structure, composition, or consequences of these caregiver networks. To address this gap, we conducted a social network analysis (SNA) of the caregiver networks of 23 older adults with ADRD receiving outpatient services at a Memory Disorder Clinic. SNA data was obtained through detailed social network interviews conducted one-on-one with self-identified primary caregivers. We find that adults with ADRD have an average of 7.7 caregivers in their networks. Quantitative analyses demonstrate that caregiver network properties (including size, density, composition, and care coordination) vary with the context of caregiving (including living situation, level of functional impairment, and use of formal services). An average network includes a roughly even mix of informal caregivers (3.2 members) and professional caregivers (3.5), but they occupy different network positions and fill distinct supportive roles. For example, informal caregivers engage in frequent care coordination, but coordination is comparatively uncommon between formal caregivers. This interdisciplinary research advances beyond the dyadic level of analysis typical of most caregiving research to comprehensively measure caregiver networks. Further, we identify variations in caregiver networks and quantify network-based task-sharing and care coordination among informal and professional caregivers.
AGE DIFFERENCES IN SUNK COST DECISIONS FOR ONESELF VERSUS A LOVED ONE
Authors: Strough JoNell , de Bruin Wändi Bruine , Parker Andrew
Published: December 2023

Previous research has established that older adults are less biased by irretrievable prior investments or ‘sunk costs’ when making a decisions about continuing a failing project. Such decisions often have implications for other people, but most research to date has focused on individuals making decisions for themselves. Here, we investigated whether age differences in willingness to discontinue a failing project and start over depended upon the intended beneficiary (self or loved one) as well as the type of investment (money or time). Participants (N=1075, Mage=53.49 yrs; 56.2% Women) from the American Life Panel responded to an online survey and made hypothetical decisions about a failing project. At all ages, when the project was for oneself, individuals were less willing to discontinue it and start over when money (versus time) had been invested, whereas when the project was for a loved one, willingness to start over did not depend on whether money or time had been invested. The association between older age and greater willingness to discontinue a failing project and start over was stronger when projects were for oneself compared to a loved one. Implications of the findings for understanding aging and decision making in a social context, and strategies for reducing sunk-cost bias in people of all ages are discussed.
SOCIAL SERVICE DIRECTOR PRIORITIES IN RESOLVING CONFLICTS IN NURSING HOMES
Authors: Kusmaul Nancy , Roberts Amy , Bern-Klug Mercedes
Published: December 2023

Social workers in nursing homes serve many critical roles such as assessing for residents’ unmet psychosocial needs, providing support to residents and families at end of life, and resolving conflicts between residents, families, and staff. In their roles, they often need to balance conflicting priorities and determine whose rights or needs should take priority. Little is known about how these conflicts affect the social workers in their jobs. This presentation will report the results of a content analysis of the answers to two open ended questions, “What do you like about your job?” and “What would you change about your job?” in a nationally representative sample of nursing home social service directors. The results illustrate directors’ views of what they value in terms of helping residents, families, and staff navigate change, difficult conversations, and conflicting interests. Social service directors report that their priorities are residents and their families, specifically advocating for resident needs. They also report needing to advocate for the role of social work on the interdisciplinary team. They report that family dynamics are messy, but do not discuss how they prioritize within and between residents, their family members, and nursing home staff. More research is needed to understand the decision making process that social workers employ in decision-making about priorities.
REPRESENTATION LEARNING OF PROTEOME DYNAMICS TO CHARACTERIZE ORGANISMIC COMMUNICATION AND INTRINSIC HEALTH
Authors: Liu Molei , Xu Bowen , Honfo Sewanou , Cohen Alan , Picard Martin
Published: December 2023

Co-regulation and interactions among organ systems are crucial to maintain health. Therefore, understanding patterns of such organismic communication using proteome dynamics could be an innovative and effective strategy for quantifying intrinsic human health. In this preliminary study, we conducted a case-control study involving six participants with severe genetic mitochondrial disease and six age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. We measured and recorded the salivary proteome of each participant (n=2922 proteins) at 0-, 30-, and 45-minutes post-awakening as well as bedtime (pm), over two days, representing a natural physiological challenge known to involve systems-wide physiological recalibrations. We then analyzed the changes in protein levels across successive time points using a high-dimensional two-sample testing approach (Cai, Liu, and Xia 2013). The protein co-regulation pattern (captured by the covariance matrix of their changes in expression) was significantly different between the healthy and mitochondrial disease participants (p=0.01), thereby linking proteome dynamics with health status. We then implemented Weighted Correlation Network Analysis to identify representative features showing a significant correlation with the subject’s health status between pairs of successive time points (0-30, 30-45, 45-pm). The correlation between the extracted feature and the self-rated health was as high as 0.39 (p-value=0.03) for the 30-45 time period. This finding reveals an association between health status and salivary protein co-regulation patterns, and suggests a promising representation learning strategy to quantify the manifestation of health into accessible proteome dynamics.