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Background: Pharmacological inhibition of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation after ischemia alleviates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury. Purpose: To investigate whether AhR antagonist administration after reperfusion was also effective in attenuating cerebral IR injury. Material and Methods: A total of 24 Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into the sham-operated group (no IR), control group (IR), and 6,2′,4′-trimethoxyflavone (TMF) group (IR + TMF administration), with 10 rats assigned to each group. Cerebral IR injury was induced by 60 min of middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by reperfusion. TMF (5 mg/kg) was used as the AhR antagonist and was administered intraperitoneally immediately after reperfusion. Cerebral IR injury was observed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neurobehavioral assessments at baseline, immediately after ischemia, and at 3 days after ischemia. Results: On MRI, the TMF group showed no significant differences in relative apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), T2, and fractional anisotropy (FA) values; midline shift value; and infarct volume. In terms of neurobehavioral function, factors such as grip strength, contralateral forelimb use, time to touch, and time to remove adhesive tape from the forepaw, were also not significantly different between the control and TMF groups. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that AhR treatment after reperfusion had no noticeable effect on reducing cerebral IR injury in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erythorbyl oleate (EO), a novel emulsifier with multifunctional properties, was synthesized via lipase‐catalyzed solvent‐free esterification between erythorbic acid and oleic acid. The reaction produced EO of 30.75 ± 1.65 mM at 60 h, monitored by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Purified EO was chemically identified as 6‐O‐oleoyl‐erythorbic acid by HPLC‐electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS), 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and 13C NMR analyses, and further investigations on its multifunctionalities were conducted. EO displayed antioxidant activity equivalent to erythorbic acid in 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl and 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) radical scavenging activities. Investigation of the antibacterial activity of EO against foodborne pathogens showed MICs of 0.27 ± 0.09 and 0.40 mM for Bacillus cereus ATCC 10876 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 12692, respectively. EO also displayed interfacial properties, lowering interfacial tension between medium‐chain triglyceride oil and water to 3.40 ± 0.04 mN/m with a critical micelle concentration of 2.54 ± 0.03 mM. Dynamic light scattering analyses of the emulsion stabilized by EO demonstrated a similar polydispersity index (0.15 ± 0.00) to Tween 80‐stabilized emulsion (0.28 ± 0.01), with an average droplet size of 173.2 ± 1.8 nm. In addition, the EO‐stabilized emulsion exhibited a negative surface charge (−56.83 ± 4.30 mV) in zeta potential measurements, indicating sufficient electrostatic repulsion between droplets. These results suggest that EO is a multifunctional emulsifier to simultaneously control oxidative rancidification and bacterial spoilage in emulsion‐based foods.Practical Application: EO was synthesized via an enzymatic esterification reaction between erythorbic acid and oleic acid. The synthetic process excluded any use of organic solvent, diminishing potential health hazards or environmental pollution associated with chemical reactions. The interfacial properties of the resultant EO, along with excellent antioxidant and antibacterial activities, propose its potential application in emulsion‐based foods. Simultaneous control of bacterial spoilage and oxidative rancidification by EO would fulfill the industrial needs for extending shelf life and enhancing consumer safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on fiscal policy has identified wealth elasticity of labor supply and agent heterogeneity as the linchpin of shaping different transmission mechanisms for fiscal policy. In this paper, I build these two important edifices on an otherwise canonical business-cycle model to conduct quantitative analyses of various fiscal policies. To underscore the relative importance of agent heterogeneity, I compare results from the model with agent heterogeneity with those from a standard model without agent heterogeneity. I also compare results from changes in wealth elasticity to analyze how the model ingredient delivers different macroeconomic and fiscal dynamics. The main finding reveals that in the context of the model formulated in this paper, the capital tax is the least detrimental to business cycles and fiscal states and the consumption tax is the most appropriate policy tool since it yields positive output and tax-revenue multipliers in the short and long runs. All the results from counterfactual experiments suggest that macroeconomic and fiscal outcomes hinge fundamentally on agent heterogeneity and wealth elasticity. An important value that this paper adds to the literature is to offer results from a comprehensive analysis of all possible fiscal policies by considering both essential forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Happiness can be experienced differently in young as compared to older adulthood, possibly due to shifts in temporal focus and differences in preferences for high- versus low-arousal affective states. The current project aimed to replicate initial evidence on age-related differences in the experience of happiness by investigating the positive affective correlates of everyday happiness; we further explored the role of thinking about the future in moderating such associations. We used daily life assessments from 257 participants (Mage = 48.3, SDage = 24.6; 68% female; 77% Asian [East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast Asian]; 73% postsecondary educated), combining four data sets collected at two locations (Vancouver, Canada; Hong Kong) with different age samples (older and younger adults). Participants provided up to 30 repeated daily life assessments of momentary affective states and thoughts about the future, over 10 days. Results replicate previous findings by showing that happiness was more strongly associated with low-arousal positive affect and more weakly associated with high-arousal positive affect among older compared to younger adults. Engagement in thinking about the future was higher among younger compared to older adults in general, but its role in moderating the association between happiness and positive affect varying in arousal levels was confounded by the age moderation. Separate analyses conducted for each age group indicate different roles of everyday thinking about the future in shaping happiness experiences for different age groups. Age and future thinking-related contours of happiness are discussed in the context of emotional aging theories. Public Significance Statement: This study investigates age-related differences in the experience of happiness. Older adults reported more low-arousal positive affect and less high-arousal positive affect compared to younger adults when experiencing higher happiness. Temporal focus of thoughts was examined for its role in shaping these age-group differences; findings suggest that its effect may differ across different life phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults spend significant time by themselves, especially since COVID‐19. Solitude has been associated with positive and negative outcomes. Partners need to balance social connectedness with time for one's own needs. This project examines how individual and partner solitude are associated with daily affect and relationship quality in dyads of older adults and a close other. One‐hundred thirty‐six older adults plus a close other rated their relationship quality and reported affect, solitude, and its characteristics (desired and bothersome) every evening for 10 days. Over and above overall associations, individual and partner effects emerged; when individual desired solitude was up, participants reported more positive affect and their partners less negative affect. When bothersome solitude was up, participants and their partners alike reported more negative affect and less positive affect. Desired solitude was associated with more support, whereas bothersome solitude was associated with less partner support. Findings provide further evidence on the potential benefits of solitude, highlighting the importance of considering the social context of what is often believed to be an individual‐level phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated how time to oneself (solitude) is experienced under conditions of extended togetherness with household members during the pandemic. Both structural (living arrangements) and qualitative characteristics (relationship quality and conflict) were examined for their association with solitude desire and daily solitude–affect links. We expected that people living with others and those with more high‐quality as well as those with more conflictual relationships would report better affect quality when experiencing solitude. A Canadian adult lifespan sample (N = 141; Mage = 38.43 years, SDage = 17.51; 81% female; 73% White; data collected from April to August 2020) provided information on household size and relationship characteristics and completed repeated daily life assessments of solitude desire, solitude, and affect. Findings show that living arrangements were not associated with an increased desire for solitude or better affect quality from solitude. Individuals reporting higher relationship quality and individuals reporting more conflict showed more favorable affect quality on days when they had time in solitude than individuals reporting lower quality relationships and lower conflict. Findings add to the growing solitude literature by delineating who seeks and benefits from solitude, and under what conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity is a behavior that promotes physical and mental health; yet physical activity has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. To promote health during times of challenge, it is important to identify potential barriers to this key health behavior, such as loneliness. This brief report extends previous research on physical activity and loneliness that mainly focused on between-person differences to examine their time-varying associations at the within-person level using repeated daily life assessments. From April 2020 to August 2020, data were collected from a sample of 139 community-dwelling Canadian adults (M age = 40.65 years, SD = 18.37; range = 18-83 years). Each evening for 10 consecutive days, participants reported their loneliness, number of steps, and minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Results revealed that, in line with our hypotheses, on days when participants reported more loneliness they also engaged in less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity than on less lonely days (estimate = -0.24, p = 0.007); there was a significant negative association between loneliness and daily number of steps (estimate = -18.42, p = 0.041). In contrast, at the between-person level, overall loneliness was not associated with overall physical activity engagement after accounting for within-person differences and control variables (age, sex, day in study). From an intervention perspective, our findings suggest that it is promising to tackle loneliness on a day-to-day basis to increase physical activity one day at a time. This may be especially relevant during times mandating social-distancing, but also at other times when individuals experience greater feelings of loneliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]