bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thermo-bioconvection in stagnation point flow of third-grade nanofluid towards a stretching cylinder involving motile microorganisms
Authors: Muhammad Taseer , Ullah Malik Zaka , Waqas Hassan , Alghamdi Metib , Riaz Arshad
Published: December 2020

The intention of the current flow model is to investigate the significance of bioconvection in stagnation point flow of third grade nanofluid containing motile microorganisms past a radiative stretching cylinder. The impacts of activation energy and stagnation point flow are also considered. In addition the behavior of thermophoresis diffusion and Brownian motion are observed. Nanofluid can be developed by dispersing the nanosized particles into the regular fluid. Nano-sized solid materials for example carbides, grephene, metal and alloyed CNT have been utilized for the preparation of nanofluid. Physically, regular fluids have low thermal proficiency. Therefore, nano-size particles can be utilized to enhance the thermal conductivity of the host fluid. Nanofluids have many features in hybrid power engine, heat transfer, and can be used in cancer therapy and medicine. The formulated system of flow problems are transformed into dimensionless coupled ordinary differential expressions system via appropriate transformation. The systems of converted governing expressions are computed numerically by employing well known bvp4c solver in MATLAB software. The outcomes of emerging physical flow parameters on the velocity profile, volumetric concentration of then nanoparticles, rescaled density of the motile microorganisms and nanofluid temperature are elaborated graphically and numerically. Furthermore, velocity of third-grade fluid intensifies for higher values of third-grade fluid parameter and mixed convection parameter while opposite behavior is detected for buoyancy ratio parameter and mixed convection parameter. Temperature distribution grows for higher estimation of temperature ratio parameter and Biot number. Higher amount of Prandtl number and Lewis number decreases the concentration of nanoparticles. Concentration of microorganisms reduces by growing the values of velocity ratio parameter and bioconvection Lewis number.
Ion temperature measurements in the tokamak scrape-off layer with high temporal resolution
Authors: Adamek J. , Cipciar D. , Devitre A. , Horacek J. , Cavalier J. , Komm M. , Krbec J. , Tichy M. , Trunec D. , Böhm P. , Panek R. , team the COMPASS
Published: December 2020

We present a uniquely fast (10 μs) ion temperature measurements in the tokamak edge plasma. Our approach is based on the sweeping of a ball-pen probe, where the ion temperature is obtained by fitting the electron branch of the corresponding I–V characteristic. We have performed measurements on the COMPASS tokamak during L-mode discharge. The temperature histograms reveal a non-Gaussian shape with a high-temperature tail peaking at low values. The fitted values of fast I–V measurements can be used to reconstruct (emulate) the slow swept I–V characteristic of a retarding field analyzer. The resulting ion temperature profile is nearly flat and provides a ratio of ion to electron temperature close to 1–2 in the vicinity of the last closed flux surface during L-mode discharges, as observed on other tokamaks.
Perspectives on transformational change in climate risk management and adaptation
Authors: Deubelli Teresa Maria , Mechler Reinhard
Published: December 2020

In the context of strong evidence on mounting climate-related risks and impacts across the globe, the need for ‘transformational change’ in climate risk management and adaptation responses has been brought forward as an important element to achieve the Paris ambitions. In the past decade, the concept has experienced increasing popularity in policy debates and academic discussions but has seen heterogeneous applications and little practical insight. The paper aims to identify relevant perspectives on transformative approaches and transformational change in the context of climate risk management and adaptation to propose an actionable definition for practical application. Using a systematic search and review approach, we review different perspectives across policy and scientific publications, focusing on work published in the past decade and identify common features of what transformational change in the context of climate risk management and adaptation may involve. We show that different perspectives on transformational change in the context of climate risk management and adaptation persist, but certain areas of convergence are discernible. This includes understanding transformational change as part of a spectrum that begins with incremental change; involves climate risk management and adaptation measures focusing on deep-rooted, system-level change and tends to aim at enabling more just and sustainable futures; often oriented towards the long-term, in anticipation of future climate-related developments. In addition, we identify an ‘operationalisation gap’ in terms of translating transformational change ambitions into concrete transformative measures that can be replicated in practice.
Using geographically weighted regression to predict the spatial distribution of frozen ground temperature: a case in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
Authors: Zhao Rui , Yao Mingxing , Yang Linchuan , Qi Hua , Meng Xianglian , Zhou Fujun
Published: December 2020

This paper combines the use of principal component analysis (PCA) and the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model to predict the spatial distribution of frozen ground temperature. PCA is used to reduce the multicollinearity among covariates, while the GWR model is used to address the spatially non-stationary relationship between frozen ground temperature and its predictors, such as air temperature, latitude, longitude, and vegetation cover. Our approach is applied in a typical permafrost area in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, Western China. The result demonstrates the applicability of our approach in the spatial distribution of frozen ground temperature and shows that the approach can be used for analysis and prediction. This study offers insight into temperature monitoring of frozen ground, which helps prevent regional geological disasters.
Biosynthesis and antibacterial activity of MgO-NPs produced from Camellia-sinensis leaves extract
Authors: Khan Abdulhameed , Shabir Dania , Ahmad Pervaiz , Khandaker Mayeen Uddin , Faruque M R I , Din Israf Ud
Published: December 2020

Magnesium oxides nanoparticles (MgO-NPs) were synthesized by a novel technique based on the leaf extract of Camellia sinensis (Green tea). The synthesized nanoparticles were evaluated for antibacterial activity (against both gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens) and therefore can be a suitable therapeutic alternative to the usage of antibiotics. The antibacterial activity of synthesized MgO-NPs is tested against clinical isolates of gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia mercescens, Klebsiella pneumoniae) and gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes) pathogenic bacteria. Agar well diffusion assay data indicate that MgO-NPs exhibit antibacterial activity at all concentrations tested against both gram-negative and gram-positive pathogenic bacteria, producing zone of inhibition (ZOI) in the range of 9.6 ± 1.1 to 21.0 ± 1.5 mm diameters. The maximum response is observed at 25 μg ml−1 concentration of MgO-NPs, producing a zone of inhibition ranging from 15 ± 1.2 mm (E.coli) mm to 21.0 ± 1.5 mm (S. marcescens).
Catenarity in quantum nilpotent algebras
Authors: Goodearl K. , Launois S.
Published: December 2020

In this paper, it is established that quantum nilpotent algebras (also known as CGL extensions) are catenary, i.e., all saturated chains of inclusions of prime ideals between any two given prime ideals

P
⊊
Q

P \subsetneq Q

have the same length. This is achieved by proving that the prime spectra of these algebras have normal separation, and then establishing the mild homological conditions necessary to apply a result of Lenagan and the first author. The work also recovers the Tauvel height formula for quantum nilpotent algebras, a result that was first obtained by Lenagan and the authors through a different approach.
Boundary complexes of moduli spaces of curves in higher genus
Authors: Clader Emily , Luber Dante , Quillin Kyla
Published: December 2020

Given a collection of boundary divisors in the moduli space

M

¯

0
,
n

\overline {\mathcal {M}}_{0,n}

of stable genus-zero

n
n

-pointed curves, Giansiracusa proved that their intersection is nonempty if and only if all pairwise intersections are nonempty. We give a complete classification of the pairs

(
g
,
n
)

(g,n)

for which the analogous statement holds in

M

¯

g
,
n

\overline {\mathcal {M}}_{g,n}

.
On the Geramita-Harbourne-Migliore conjecture
Authors: Tohǎneanu Ştefan , Xie Yu
Published: December 2020

Let

Σ
\Sigma

be a finite collection of linear forms in

K

[

x
0

,
…
,

x
n

]

\mathbb {K}[x_0,\ldots ,x_n]

, where

K

\mathbb {K}

is a field. Denote

S
u
p
p

(
Σ
)

\mathrm {Supp}(\Sigma )

to be the set of all nonproportional elements of

Σ
\Sigma

, and suppose

S
u
p
p

(
Σ
)

\mathrm {Supp}(\Sigma )

is generic, meaning that any

n
+
1

n+1

of its elements are linearly independent. Let

1
≤
a
≤

|

Σ

|

1\leq a\leq |\Sigma |

. In this article we prove the conjecture that the ideal generated by (all)

a
a

-fold products of linear forms of

Σ
\Sigma

has linear graded free resolution. As a consequence we prove the Geramita-Harbourne-Migliore conjecture concerning the primary decomposition of ordinary powers of defining ideals of star configurations.
Irony
Authors: Colebrook Claire
Published: December 2020

Irony is both a figure of speech and a mode of existence or attitude toward life. Deriving from the ancient Greek term eironeia, which originally referred to lying, irony became a complex philosophical and rhetorical term in Plato’s dialogues. Plato (428/427 or 424/423–348/347 bce) depicts Socrates deploying the method of elenchus, where, rather than proposing a theory, Socrates encounters others in conversation, drawing out the contradictions and opacities of their arguments. Often these dialogues would take a secure concept and then push the questioning to a final moment of non-knowledge or aporia, exposing a gap in a discourse that his interlocutors thought was secure. Here, Socratic irony can be thought of as a particular philosophical method and as the way in which Socrates chose to pursue his life, always questioning the truth of key ethical concepts. In the Roman rhetorical tradition irony was theorized as a rhetorical device by Cicero (106–43 bce) and Quintilian (c.35–c.96 ce), and it was this sense of irony that was dominant until the 18th century. At that time, and in response to the elevation of reason in the Enlightenment, a resurgence of satire emerged: here the rigorous logic of reason was often repeated and in a parodic manner. At this time, modern irony emerged, which was subtly different from satire in that it did not simply lampoon its target, but suggested a less clear position of refined and superior distance. The German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel (1770–1831) was highly critical of what came to be known as Romantic irony, which differed from satire in that it suggested a subtle distance from everyday discourse, with no clear position of its own. This tendency for irony to be the negation of truth claims, without having any clear position of its own, became ever more intense in the 20th century with postmodern irony, where irony was no longer a rhetorical device but became a manner of existing with no clear commitment to any values or beliefs. Alongside this tradition of irony as a distanced relation to one’s speech acts, there was also a tradition of dramatic, cosmic, tragic, or fateful irony, where events might seem to act against human intentions, or where human ambition would seem to be thwarted by a universe that almost seems to be judging human existence from on high.
The Eddas and Sagas of Iceland
Authors: Sigurðsson Gísli
Published: December 2020

The eddas and sagas are literary works written in Iceland in the 13th and 14th centuries but incorporating memories preserved orally from preliterate times of (a) Norse myths, in prose and verse form, (b) heroic lays with common Germanic roots, (c) raiding and trading voyages of the Viking Age (800–1030 CE), and (d) the settlement of Iceland from Norway, Britain, and Ireland starting from the 870s and of life in the new country up to and beyond the conversion to Christianity in the year 1000. In their writing, these works show the influence of the learning and literature introduced to Iceland from the 11th century on through the educational system of the medieval Church. During these centuries, the Icelanders translated the lives of the principal saints, produced saga biographies of their own bishops, and recorded accounts of events and conflicts contemporary with their authors. They also produced conventional chronicles on European models of the kings of Norway and Denmark and large quantities of works, both translated and original, in the spirit of medieval chivalry.

The eddas and sagas, however, reflect a unique and original departure that has no direct analogue in mainland Europe—the creation of new works and genres rooted in the secular tradition of oral learning and storytelling. This tradition encompassed the Icelanders’ worldview in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries and their understanding of events, people, and chronology going back to the 9th century, and their experience of an environment that extended over the parts of the world known to the Norsemen of the Viking Age, both on earth and in heaven. The infrastructure that underlay this system of learning was a knowledge of the regnal years of kings who employed court poets to memorialize their lives, and stories that were told in connection with what people observed in the heavens and on earth, near and far, by linking the stories with individual journeys, dwellings, and the genealogies of the leading protagonists. In this world, people here on earth envisaged the gods as having their halls and dwellings in the sky among the stars and the sun, while beyond the ocean and beneath the furthest horizon lay the world of the giants. In Viking times, this furthest horizon shifted little by little westwards, from the seas around Norway and Britain to the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, and eventually still farther south and west to previously unknown lands that people in Iceland retained memories of the ancestors having discovered and explored around the year 1000—Helluland, Markland, and Vínland—where they came into contact with the native inhabitants of the continent known as North America.
Digital Textuality
Authors: Lavagnino John
Published: December 2020

Digital textuality has its roots in the most familiar digital system, the alphabet. In defining rules for what aspects of an inscription contain information, the alphabet makes exact copying of writing possible; such exact copying is the fundamental digital characteristic, without which digital machinery could not work. But copyability can have practical limitations, when more complex forms are built up out of basic digital elements: documents, in particular, often assume particular concepts and systems. Digital document systems can be based on many different theories of documents, and typically combine incompatible theories in one document; they also hide considerable amounts of information from users. Very different digital approaches to texts are found in databases, which atomize texts and render all relationships explicit; this degree of formalization is not common in the humanities, but it enables the creation of widely used research tools (such as library catalogues). The principal innovation in digital documents so far is the hypertextual link, which in connecting texts more closely together created new possibilities for expression and exploration. The creation of vast amounts of digital text led to the unexpected importance of searching, which was made more usable by exploitation of the information provided by links. Searching has overturned ancient hierarchies of importance and attention, by making forgotten texts as accessible as canonical ones.
Opposition to Curriculum Structured by Neoliberal Globalization
Authors: Saltman Kenneth J.
Published: December 2020

Curriculum has been structured in antidemocratic and inegalitarian ways by neoliberal globalization in terms of economics, politics, and culture. Thus it is necessary to discuss how curriculum structured by neoliberal globalization can be opposed. The struggle for democratic and egalitarian forms of curriculum is taken up in terms of cultural politics, political economy, subjectivity formation, technology, and social movements opposed to neoliberal control and corporatization.
Students at the Center of Education Reform in Singapore
Authors: Goodwin A. Lin , Low Ee Ling
Published: December 2020

In 2011, “student-centric, values-driven” was introduced by the Ministry of Education as the theme for educational reform and innovation in Singapore, with the goal of ensuring all children the opportunity to develop holistically and maximize their potential. To actualize this ambitious and encompassing vision, Singapore has developed the Framework for 21st Century Competencies and Student Outcomes. By instilling in students core values and competencies deemed crucial in the 21st century, the expectation is that they can each grow into a confident person, a self-directed learner, an active contributor, and a concerned citizen. To achieve these desired outcomes of education, Singapore has been striving to ensure what has been termed “the 4 Everys”: every school a good school; every child an engaged learner; every teacher a caring educator; every parent a supportive partner.

Since then, the priority of education in multicultural, multiracial, and multilingual Singapore has been diversity and multiple pathways to success, such that each individual child can reach his or her potential. Key to every good school is the quality of teachers and school leaders. Therefore, Singapore has developed a comprehensive and structured system in teacher/principal recruitment, deployment, preparation, and development. To make every school a good school, Singapore also invests heavily in education and resources schools for them to provide customized programs to satisfy the varied needs, interests, and talents of their students. To ensure that every child is an engaged learner, educational resources and extra learning support are provided to maximize educational opportunities. The curriculum is also constantly revamped to provide students with more opportunities for holistic development and support for their many capacities. For every teacher to emerge as a caring educator, teachers and school leaders are provided with a comprehensive and structured mentoring system to enable them to grow personally and professionally. To help every parent to be a supportive partner, efforts have been made to communicate with, engage, and educate parents via education materials, workshops, talks, and funds. In addition, there are close partnerships among schools, parents, and communities. Three principles guide Singapore’s education reforms: (a) maintaining a clear and progressive vision, (b) working both systemically and systematically, and (c) equitable leveling up. What binds the nation’s core principles of ensuring a progressive, long-haul vision of education is the unwavering belief that students sit at the center of all educational reform endeavors.
Indigo in Precolonial South Asia
Authors: Nadri Ghulam A.
Published: December 2020

South Asia is the home of natural blue dye extracted from the indigo plant species indigofera tinctoria. Its production for commercial purposes began very early and peaked during the early modern period. Growing Asian and European demand for indigo in the 16th and early 17th centuries raised its status as a major commodity in Asian and Eurasian trade. Indigo production in South Asia increased, and Indian and other Asian merchants exported large quantities of it to West Asia from where some of it was re-exported to Europe via the Levantine trade of the eastern Mediterranean. From the mid-16th century, the Portuguese Estado da India exported large quantities of indigo to Lisbon. By the early 1600s, when the English and Dutch East India companies began trading with India, indigo had become a highly sought-after commodity in the markets of England and the Dutch Republic. Consequently, the English East India Company (EIC) and Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company or VOC) exported large quantities of it to Europe in the first half of the 17th century. With the rise of new indigo commodity chains in Europe’s transatlantic colonies, such as Guatemala, Jamaica, South Carolina, and Saint-Domingue, exports from South Asia declined. However, there was a substantial local demand, which kept the industry going well up to the end of the 18th century when indigo production would expand on an unprecedented scale in Bengal and some other parts of colonial India.
Steam Atmospheres and Magma Oceans on Planets
Authors: Hamano Keiko
Published: December 2020

A magma ocean is a global layer of partially or fully molten rocks. Significant melting of terrestrial planets likely occurs due to heat release during planetary accretion, such as decay heat of short-lived radionuclides, impact energy released by continuous planetesimal accretion, and energetic impacts among planetary-sized bodies (giant impacts). Over a magma ocean, all water, which is released upon impact or degassed from the interior, exists as superheated vapor, forming a water-dominated, steam atmosphere. A magma ocean extending to the surface is expected to interact with the overlying steam atmosphere through material and heat exchange.

Impact degassing of water starts when the size of a planetary body becomes larger than Earth’s moon or Mars. The degassed water could build up and form a steam atmosphere on protoplanets growing by planetesimal accretion. The atmosphere has a role in preventing accretion energy supplied by planetesimals from escaping, leading to the formation of a magma ocean. Once a magma ocean forms, part of the steam atmosphere would start to dissolve into the surface magma due to the high solubility of water into silicate melt. Theoretical studies indicated that as long as the magma ocean is present, a negative feedback loop can operate to regulate the amount of the steam atmosphere and to stabilize the surface temperature so that a radiative energy balance is achieved. Protoplanets can also accrete the surrounding H2-rich disk gas. Water could be produced by oxidation of H2 by ferrous iron in the magma. The atmosphere and water on protoplanets could be a mixture of outgassed and disk-gas components.

Planets formed by giant impact would experience a global melting on a short timescale. A steam atmosphere could grow by later outgassing from the interior. Its thermal blanketing and greenhouse effects are of great importance in controlling the cooling rate of the magma ocean. Due to the presence of a runaway greenhouse threshold, the crystallization timescale and water budget of terrestrial planets can depend on the orbital distance from the host star. The terrestrial planets in our solar system essentially have no direct record of their earliest history, whereas observations of young terrestrial exoplanets may provide us some insight into what early terrestrial planets and their atmosphere are like. Evolution of protoplanets in the framework of pebble accretion remains unexplored.
Design Anthropology in Europe
Authors: Gunn Wendy
Published: December 2020

Design anthropology is a dynamic interdisciplinary field of scholarship, research, and practice. Rather than a concern with highlighting divergences between design and anthropology, design anthropology is concerned with convergences and confluences in design and anthropology. One of the main aims of this emerging field is to link social and material practices of designing to the affects and effects that design processes and practices have on people who engage with different kinds of design outputs. Design anthropology in Europe has emerged in and through collaborations across universities and public and private sectors. The emerging field of design anthropology in Europe is expanding and has been influenced and continues to be influenced by developments in design anthropology internationally. Researchers in this field carry out research and collaborate with research partners both in Europe and globally. The field is characterized by conceptual reconfigurations, disciplinary dialogues, interdisciplinary research, multidisciplinary teams, and transdisciplinary practices involving collaborative methodologies and mixed methods, and engagement with public and private partners. Collaboration can occur offline, online, or a mixture of both, depending upon the research being carried out. Central issues are to identify anthropological methodologies and theoretical concepts that would support future-making practices in a diversity of design processes and practices; attune different kinds of design processes towards engagement with communities of practice; contribute to the design and critique of emerging technologies; enhance existing products, services, or experiences, strategies, and policies; and further develop aspects of visual and sensorial ethnography whereby designing is the process of collaborative research inquiry.
Single-cell systems analysis: decision geometry in outliers
Authors: Abrahams Lianne
Published: December 2020

Motivation

Anti-cancer therapeutics of the highest calibre currently focus on combinatorial targeting of specific oncoproteins and tumour suppressors. Clinical relapse depends upon intratumoral heterogeneity which serves as substrate variation during evolution of resistance to therapeutic regimens.

Results

The present review advocates single-cell systems biology as the optimal level of analysis for remediation of clinical relapse. Graph theory approaches to understanding decision-making in single cells may be abstracted one level further, to the geometry of decision-making in outlier cells, in order to define evolution-resistant cancer biomarkers. Systems biologists currently working with omics data are invited to consider phase portrait analysis as a mediator between graph theory and deep learning approaches. Perhaps counter-intuitively, the tangible clinical needs of cancer patients may depend upon the adoption of higher level mathematical abstractions of cancer biology.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Assessment of Multiplex Digital Droplet RT-PCR as a Diagnostic Tool for SARS-CoV-2 Detection in Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Saliva Samples
Authors: Cassinari Kévin , Alessandri-Gradt Elodie , Chambon Pascal , Charbonnier Françoise , Gracias Ségolène , Beaussire Ludivine , Alexandre Kevin , Sarafan-Vasseur Nasrin , Houdayer Claude , Etienne Manuel , Caron François , Plantier Jean Christophe , Frebourg Thierry
Published: December 2020

Background

Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR on nasopharyngeal swabs is currently the reference COVID-19 diagnosis method but exhibits imperfect sensitivity.

Methods

We developed a multiplex reverse transcription-digital droplet PCR (RT-ddPCR) assay, targeting 6 SARS-CoV-2 genomic regions, and evaluated it on nasopharyngeal swabs and saliva samples collected from 130 COVID-19 positive or negative ambulatory individuals, who presented symptoms suggestive of mild or moderate SARS-CoV2 infection.

Results

For the nasopharyngeal swab samples, the results obtained using the 6-plex RT-ddPCR and RT-qPCR assays were all concordant. The 6-plex RT-ddPCR assay was more sensitive than RT-qPCR (85% versus 62%) on saliva samples from patients with positive nasopharyngeal swabs.

Conclusion

Multiplex RT-ddPCR represents an alternative and complementary tool for the diagnosis of COVID-19, in particular to control RT-qPCR ambiguous results. It can also be applied to saliva for repetitive sampling and testing individuals for whom nasopharyngeal swabbing is not possible.
Do Nursing Home Culture Change Practices Improve Residents’ Quality of Life and Promote a Person-Centered Climate?
Authors: Lee Minhong , Kim Kyeongmo , An Sok
Published: December 2020

Background and Purpose: Although nursing home culture change models (e.g., Green House, The Pioneer Network) in the U.S. have been proven to improve the quality of life of the residents by providing person-centered care and home-like environment, limited efforts have been made to implement a model in Korea. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the adapted culture change model would improve the quality of life of the residents and strengthen the person-centered climate. Methods: Employing a quasi-experimental design, the PI developed and implemented a 12-session culture change enhancement program to 32 staff in four nursing homes. Data were collected from 109 nursing home residents before and after the intervention, and key measures included the quality of life scale and the person-centered climate. The paired t-test analyses were performed with SPSS 26.0. Results: Paired samples t-tests showed that the culture change intervention significantly improved the quality of life of the residents. There were significant differences in the scores for privacy at pretest (M=2.63) and posttest (M=3.21); autonomy at pretest (M= 3.20) and posttest (M= 3.43); relationships at pretest (M= 2.88) and posttest (M= 3.36); individuality at pretest (M=3.26) and posttest (M=3.61). An average score for person-centered climate (M=6.25) were significantly higher than that of pretest (M=5.96) (p <.01). Conclusions and Implications: This study suggests that providing support and education to nursing home staff about the culture change strategies is essential to provide personalized services to nursing home residents and encourage residents to participate in the decision-making process.
Did the 2008 Financial Crisis (Literally) Change Minds?
Authors: Whetung Cliff , Bhattacharyya Abhinav
Published: December 2020

This paper investigated whether experiencing a major asset shock (30% or greater decrease in total assets) changed the cognitive health trajectories of older adults (aged 65+ at baseline)? There is a robust literature supporting a relationship between potentially modifiable environmental and individual risk factors and cognitive health and emerging literature supporting a relationship between physical health shocks and later-life financial stability in both the US and internationally. This analysis employed six waves of Health and Retirement Study Core Data (2006-2014) to estimate the causal effect of major asset losses in the period of the 2008 financial crisis. We matched respondents using a rich variety of covariates including education, race/ethnicity, income, total assets, chronic health conditions, depressive symptoms, frequency of physical activity engagement, and engagement with religious activities. Using both propensity score-matched growth curve and difference-in-differences models, we found a small, but significant, negative relationship between major asset shocks and total cognition scores. We also identified a significant overall negative effect on total cognition on all older adults in this sample regardless of exposure to asset shocks. Additionally, both the frequency of asset shock exposure and magnitude of effect on total cognition scores was larger for low-income African-American and Hispanic older adults. These findings suggest in part that recovery from large economic crises may be especially difficult for older adults occupying vulnerable socioeconomic positions and that such events may accelerate the cognitive decline of those who are at or near retirement when asset shocks occur.
The Implications of an Aging Undocumented Population in Illinois
Authors: Stanley Padraic , Lange-Maia Brittney , Shah Raj
Published: December 2020

Both academic and public access literature regarding undocumented immigrant older adults is incredibly sparse, and there is no known literature forecasting its growth or the impact of that growth. Therefore, this two-part project commissioned a demographic report to analyze the current undocumented population in Illinois and its projected growth by 2030. We then convened a cross-sector collaborative of leaders in aging, healthcare, immigrant services, and their intersections to discuss the direct practice and structural policy implications of an aging undocumented community. According to this report, the number of undocumented immigrants who are over the age of 55 in Illinois will grow drastically by the year 2030. In fact, the population aged 65 to 74 will increase from 3,392 to 47,271 (more than a twelve-fold increase), and those aged 75-84 will increase from 594 to 7,621 (an eleven-fold increase). Under the current immigration and healthcare systems, without access to Medicaid, Medicare, or any public benefits, these individuals have extremely limited access to services necessary for older adults to age successfully in place—rehab, nursing homes, home health, homemaker services, long-term care, etc. The study also analyzed demographics from the current undocumented older adult population. This poster will summarize the findings of the demographic portion of the report, the themes and findings of the structural and practice implications of an aging undocumented community in Illinois, and provide policy recommendations to prepare for the wave of undocumented older adults by 2030.
Do Memory Problems in Older Drivers Impact Driving Frequency in Metro Versus Non-Metro Communities?
Authors: Orr Tyler , Rupper Randall
Published: December 2020

Perceived memory problems may cause older adults to limit functional activities such as driving. For those individuals living in non-metropolitan communities, greater distances between activities, lack of public transportation, and fewer support systems may make reducing driving frequency less feasible. We hypothesized that older adults in non-metropolitan communities would be more likely to continue frequent driving even if they also perceived memory problems. We used the National Health and Aging Trends Study to examine the association between reported memory difficulty and the frequency of driving. These data were then stratified by metropolitan versus non-metropolitan classification using both ordinal logistic regression and Chi-Squared testing. In both metropolitan and non-metropolitan communities, respondents were more likely to report reductions in driving frequency if they also reported memory problems. However, in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan communities, the majority of respondents reporting fair or poor memory continued to report frequent driving; and, there were no statistical differences in frequency of reported driving between metropolitan and non-metropolitan respondents. These analyses suggest that strategies are necessary in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas to help older drivers with perceived memory difficulties to recognize when they need to limit driving. Further research is necessary to determine which strategies are likely to be effective in metropolitan and/or non-metropolitan communities.
Promoting Conversations About Cognitive Decline Between Older Adults and Primary Care Providers
Authors: Olivari Benjamin , Taylor Christopher , Reed Nia , McGuire Lisa
Published: December 2020

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias often begin with symptoms of mild memory loss, eventually leading to more severe cognitive impairment, functional impairment, and ultimately, death. Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System core questions related to chronic diseases and from the cognitive decline optional module on subjective cognitive decline (SCD) from the years 2015-2018 were aggregated across the participating 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico for this analysis. Among U.S. adults aged 65 years and older, only 39.8% (95%CI=37.6-42.1) of those experiencing SCD reported discussing their SCD symptoms with a healthcare provider. The prevalence of discussing SCD symptoms with a provider was higher among those with at least one chronic condition than among those with no chronic conditions. 30.7% (28.6-32.8) of those aged 65 years and older reported that their SCD led to functional limitations and 28.8% (26.5-31.2) needed assistance with day-to-day activities. For patients aged 65 years and older, Welcome to Medicare visits and Medicare Annual Wellness Visits are critically underutilized primary care access points. Primary care providers can manage chronic conditions, cognitive health, and initiate referrals for testing. Efforts to promote the use of toolkits and diagnostic codes that are available to primary care providers to initiate conversations about memory loss with patients may be utilized to improve detection, diagnosis, and planning for memory problems. Discussions may lead to earlier detection and diagnosis of cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer’s disease, or other treatable conditions such as delirium or pressure in the brain and avoid costly hospitalizations.
Subjective Cognitive Impairment in Liver Transplant Recipients
Authors: Ko Dami , Dietrich Mary , Gifford Katherine , Ridner Sheila
Published: December 2020

Cognitive impairment is an emerging health concern in the liver transplant (LT) population. To successfully address this condition and improve patient-centered outcomes (e.g., quality of life), it is essential to involve LT recipients and caregivers in developing care plans for cognitive impairment and take into account their subjective ratings regarding recipients’ cognitive function. Although a high degree of agreement between recipient-rated and caregiver-rated cognitive function is desirable to reduce conflicts in developing plans, disagreement between the two may exist. This cross-sectional study is the first to examine the correlation between recipient-rated and caregiver-rated cognitive function in the LT population. Sixty pairs of adult LT recipients (mean age 60.4±6.9) and their caregivers (mean relationship with recipients 35 years) participated in this study. Two versions of Modified Everyday Cognition (ECog), one for LT recipients and the other for caregivers, were used to assess recipient-rated and caregiver-rated cognitive function in six domains, including memory and planning. Significant intra-class correlations were found in the ECog total and domain scores. The correlation coefficient of the ECog total score was 0.48, indicating a fair correlation, and the coefficients of the ECog domains ranged between 0.35 and 0.56, indicating poor to fair correlations based on the guideline of Cicchetti (1994). These findings suggest that a tailored approach to addressing the poor agreement between recipients and caregivers should be adopted to develop successful treatment plans for cognitive impairment. Future studies should examine the degree of agreement between objective (e.g., cognitive tests) and subjective ratings of cognitive function.
The Quantile Frailty Index: A Cutpoint-Free Approach to Biomarker-Based Health Assessment
Authors: Stubbings Garrett , Farrell Spencer , Mitnitski Arnold , Rockwood Kenneth , Rutenberg Andrew
Published: December 2020

We develop a frailty index (FI) from continuous valued biomarker measurements that does not use thresholds to binarize deficits. In this work we construct a quantile frailty index (FI-Q) directly from risk quantiles, without binarizing the deficits. FI-Q is the average risk quantile for an individual in the population with respect to the set of measured biomarkers. We show that FI-Q predicts adverse health outcomes better than either a quantile-based cutpoint approach or an FI-Lab method used in previous studies. We also address practical questions such as how to use longitudinal data. We use data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) for longitudinal analysis and data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA) to compare predictive value of FI-QM with previous FI-Lab studies.
A SAS Macro for Cosinor Analysis of Automated Heart Rate Data in the ICU
Authors: Doyle Margaret , Murphy Terrence , Knauert Melissa
Published: December 2020

Cosinor analysis, developed by Franz Hallberg and colleagues in the 1960s, allows for the fitting of a cosine curve to data of known period and is frequently used in the analysis of circadian data. While software packages exist which will perform cosinor analyses, SAS has historically steered users to a reference (Ferrarra, 1993) that contains a flaw that results in miscalculation of the acrophase (peak) and nadir (minimum) values about half the time. The R package ‘cosinor’ includes the same error as the SAS reference. The macro we have written 1.) outputs a dataset with the correct values of acrophase, mesor, amplitude, nadir p-value for rhythmicity and R-squared for a curve fit to an individual’s data and 2.) plots the resulting curve and underlying data. While the macro does not allow for the simultaneous analysis of data from multiple individuals it will output the data from multiple curves so that these parameters can be used in downstream data analysis. We demonstrate the use of this macro on a dataset of automated heart rate data collected on patients in the intensive care unit. Given the growing use of automated data collection, it is vitally important that software that provides accurate statistical analysis of circadian phenomena be made widely available to clinical investigators.
Metabolic and Inflammatory Biomarkers, Multimorbidity Combinations and Disability Burden Among Older Americans
Authors: Botoseneanu Anda , Markwardt Sheila , Quinones Ana
Published: December 2020

Specific multimorbidity combinations, in particular those including arthritis, stroke, or cognitive impairment have been associated with high burden of ADL/IADL disability. However, the biologic underpinnings of these associations are still unclear. We used data from the Health & Retirement Study (N=5,359, age 65 years or older at baseline) and negative binomial regression models to evaluate if metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers [HbA1c, HDL-cholesterol, C-Reactive Protein (CRP)] mediate the association between specific multimorbidity combinations (at baseline in 2010-2012; grouped around one of eight index diseases: arthritis, cancer, cognitive impairment, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, lung disease, and stroke) and ADL/IADL disability (at subsequent wave in 2012-2014). Results were adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, body-mass index, number of coexisting chronic diseases, and baseline ADL/IADL score. HbA1c (IRR=1.01, p=0.004) and CRP (IRR=1.01, p=0.003), but not HDL, were positively associated with the number of coexisting diseases. After adjustment for coexisting diseases, higher HbA1c was associated with greater ADL/IADL limitations for multimorbidity combinations including arthritis (IRR=1.11, p=0.047) and stroke (IRR=1.11, p=0.047), but not for combinations centered around other diseases, while CRP was no longer significantly associated with ADL/IADL limitations for any of the multimorbidity combinations. Models accounting for HbA1c and CRP, respectively, showed that only combinations including cognitive impairment had greater ADL/IADL limitations (IRR=1.45, p=0.015) compared to combinations without cognitive impairment. Insulin resistance and inflammation are strongly associated with the burden of multimorbidity; this strong association, rather than the biomarkers per se, appears to explain the greater ADL/IADL burden observed with all disease-specific multimorbidity combinations, except cognitive impairment.
Do Centenarians With Higher Life Satisfaction Live Longer?
Authors: Ribeiro Oscar , Araújo Lia , Afonso Rosa Marina , Teixeira Laetitia
Published: December 2020

Subjective well-being (SWB) is defined as a person’s cognitive and affective evaluation of life and has been recognized as one of the main psychological factors associated with better health and longevity in different age groups. Several studies evidenced its influence on all-cause mortality, but such a relation has been scarcely explored in individuals aged 100 years and over. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of SWB in the survival of a sample of centenarians. Two studies conducted in Portugal (PT100 Oporto and PT100 Beira Interior) followed individuals from the age of 100+ years, checking their survival every six months over the period of December 2013 until June 2019. The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) was used at baseline as a measure of subjective well-being. Given that this is a self-reported scale, only a subsample of centenarians with cognitive capacity were included in this study (n=82; 67 (80.7%) women; mean age at baseline 101 years (sd=1.3 years)). Results obtained through a univariate Cox proportional hazards model suggest that longer survival was associated with higher levels of life satisfaction, highlighting the importance of this psychological dimension for longevity even at very advanced ages.
Macular Ganglion Cell–Inner Plexiform Layer as a Marker of Cognitive and Sensory Function in Midlife
Authors: Merten Natascha , Paulsen Adam , Pinto A Alex , Chen Yanjun , Dillard Lauren , Fischer Mary , Schubert Carla , Cruickshanks Karen
Published: December 2020

Neurodegenerative diseases are public health challenges in aging populations. Early identification of people at risk for neurodegeneration might improve future treatment. Noninvasive, inexpensive screening tools are lacking but of great potential. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) measures nerve cell layer thicknesses in the retina, which is an anatomical extension of the brain and might be reflective of generalized neurodegeneration. We aimed to determine associations of macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (mGCIPL) thickness with cognitive and sensorineural function in midlife. This study included 1880 Beaver Dam Offspring Study participants from the 10-year follow-up examination. We assessed cognition (principal component analysis of multiple cognitive test scores), cognitive impairment, hearing sensitivity thresholds and impairment, central auditory processing (% correct on a dichotic digits test), and visual and olfactory impairment. We measured mGCIPL using the Cirrus 5000 HD-OCT Macular Cube Scan. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were used to determine associations of mGCIPL thickness and thin mGCIPL, defined as 1 standard deviation below average, with cognitive and sensorineural functions. Thinner mGCIPL was associated with worse cognition (0.01 standard deviation increase per µm thickness;95% confidence interval (CI) 0.01,0.02;p<.0001), worse central auditory function (0.07% increase per µm thickness;CI 0.01,0.13;p=.03) and visual impairment (Odds Ratio=0.95;CI 0.94,0.97;p<.0001). MGCIPL thickness was associated with hearing sensitivity in women only. There were no associations with impairments in hearing, olfaction and cognition. Results for thin group comparisons were consistent. MGCIPL thickness is associated with cognitive and sensorineural function and has potential as a marker for neurodegeneration in middle-aged adults.