Search

As women's labor participation has increased, the fertility rate has decreased. However, there is little research addressing economic well-being among females and the effect of females' economic well-being on the fertility rate. Through this study, we examines the effects of females' economic well-being on fertility and differences in the association across ethnicity/race. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 was used. 3734 females were selected for the final sample. The sample consists of 1834 non-Hispanic Whites, 1175 African Americans, and 725 Hispanics. Ordinary Linear Regression Analyses and Logistic Regression Analyses were conducted. There were ethnic/racial disparities in economic well-being amongst females. Poverty was positively associated with both having more children and higher numbers of miscarriages/stillbirths. Interaction effects were found: African Americans and Hispanics moderated the association between poverty and number of children. This research contributes to further understanding ethnic/racial disparities between females' economic well-being and fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined financial maltreatment from the perspectives of Chinese American elders via a mixed method approach. Three focus groups of Chinese American elders and one group of service professionals recruited from Phoenix metropolitan areas shared their insights of financial maltreatment and contributed to the refinement of questions in the followed survey that included 325 elders (Mage = 75.6, SD = 7.00). Two types of financial maltreatment: Financial exploitation and financial neglect were identified from focus group discussions. About 9.2% experienced financial exploitation and 1.5% experienced financial neglect. Both financial exploitation and neglect were related to higher vulnerability scores for abuse assessed using the H-S/EAST elder abuse screening scale. Financial maltreatment needs to be understood in legal, cultural, and family contexts, incorporating the perspectives of older adults. Prevention of financial maltreatment hinges on increased awareness and knowledge of this issue among elders, families and service professionals, and the collaborative efforts of stakeholders from ethnic communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Previous studies have primarily focused on depression among older adults. Given that middle age links young adulthood to older adulthood and encompasses a variety of changes in roles and status, which influence depression, it is important to understand the changes of depression during this period. Methods: This study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. The final sample consisted of 834 individuals, and four points in time were used: 34, 36, 40, and 50 years of age. The Latent Growth Model (LGM) was used to estimate the trajectories of depression. Results: The trajectories of depression present a non-linear change, referring to V-shaped curve. The conditional model shows that there are significant individual differences on initial status. Males were negatively associated with the latent initial level of depression. Individuals who showed higher self-esteem and cognitive ability were negatively associated with the latent initial level of depression. In addition, health insurance was negatively associated with the latent initial levels of depression. Both employment and net worth predicted lower intercepts of depression. Discussion: As the 40s is a bridge between the lowest levels of depression and a gradual increase of depression, service providers should be aware of changes of depression among middle-aged adults and spend more time and resources to encourage those individuals to prepare for changes in depression. Prevention programs for depression and providing more opportunities for employment and education to save money should be more focused on young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between mothers' educational attainment and their daughters' fast food intake and the moderating effect of race/ethnicity on the relationship was examined. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 for Children and Young Adults (NLSY79 CY) were used. Young women with mothers who received higher education were less likely to eat fast food. Race/ethnicity moderated the relationship between mothers' educational attainment and their young adult daughters' fast food intake. Through this study, we seek to understand the intergenerational relationship between mother and daughter and the effect of mothers' education on their young adult children's fast food consumption. Providing more opportunities for mothers to increase their educational attainment should be considered to reduce their children's fast food intake. Mothers' educational attainment should be focused on more closely for non-Hispanic Whites as a factor to reduce young women's fast food intake, and other economic factors should be considered to understand the role of mothers' educational attainment among African Americans and Hispanic/Latinas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the trajectories of mental health across baby boomers to understand their mental health during middle age. This study used secondary data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and used four points in time to estimate trajectories of mental health during adulthood. This study included 834 participants who were born in 1959. The Latent Growth Curve Model (LGCM) was used for modeling and estimating the trajectories of mental health. The trajectories of mental health show non-linear change even after considering longitudinal changes of variables. The trajectories indicate a V-shaped curve: higher depression at 34 and 50 years of age and the lowest depression at 40 years. Males predicted lower intercepts of depression and those with higher self-esteem showed lower depression initially. This study provides further evidence for understanding baby boomers' mental health during their adulthood within a longitudinal setting by using a nationwide sample. More specialized interventions and services should be considered for females' mental health problems over time. It is also important to help individuals develop and cultivate their self-esteem before entering into middle age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A level-set (LS) method is presented for computation of ultrasound-driven bubble motion including the effect of liquid and vapor compressibility as well as the effect of liquid–vapor phase change. The semi-implicit pressure correction formulation is implemented into the LS method to avoid the serous time-step restriction in low Mach number (or near incompressible) flows. The numerical results for one-dimensional compressible flows and spherical bubble motion in a periodic acoustic field show good agreement with the analytical solutions. The effects of phase change and ambient temperature on the ultrasound-driven bubble motion are quantified. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social work curriculum that offers an optimistic perspective on aging has the potential to help social work students go on to practice in a nondiscriminatory way with older adults. This study introduces social work students to the productive aging concept, an optimistic view to social potential in later life, in lecture format and assesses postlecture changes in their perceptions of older adults. Seventy-two students (16 BSW; 56 MSW) were recruited from a large university in the southeast United States to participate in a lecture on productive aging. A one-group pretest–posttest design was used, and a paired samplesttest (n= 72) was used to analyze changes in social work students’ perceptions toward older adults. Negative attitudes toward older adults decreased and positive attitudes toward older adults increased among students following their participation in the lecture on productive aging. This finding suggests the productive aging concept may favorably influence student perceptions of older adults. Future research should aim to investigate ways in which these changes in perception at the college level can translate and self-sustain in social work practice for social work students postgraduation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The stationary contact line formation and particle deposition in the evaporation regime of dip coating is investigated numerically by solving the conservation equations of mass, momentum, energy, vapor mass fraction, and particle concentration. A sharp-interface level-set method for tracking the liquid–gas interface is extended to include the effect of phase change and to treat the particle deposition as well as the liquid–gas–solid contact line on a moving substrate. The computations demonstrate that the particle deposition occurs spontaneously near the stationary contact line and the deposition thickness depends on the deposition rate constant and the substrate withdrawal velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer cells use glucose and glutamine to facilitate cell growth and proliferation, a process coined “metabolic reprograming” – an emerging hallmark of cancer. Inside the cell, these nutrients synergize to produce metabolic building blocks, such as nucleic acids, lipids and proteins, as well as energy (ATP), glutathione and reducing equivalents (NADPH), required for survival, growth and proliferation. Intense research aimed at understanding the underlying cause of the metabolic rewiring has revealed that established oncogenes and tumor suppressors involved in signaling alter cellular metabolism to contribute to the transition from a normal quiescent cell to a rapidly proliferating cancer cell. Likewise,bona fidemetabolic sensors are emerging as regulators of tumorigenesis. This review will focus on one such family of sensors, sirtuins, which utilize NAD+as a cofactor to catalyze deacetylation, deacylation and ADP-ribosylation of their protein substrates. In this review, we will enumerate how cancer cell metabolism is different from a normal quiescent cell and highlight the emerging role of mitochondrial sirtuin signaling in the regulation of tumor metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sharp-interface level-set (LS) method is presented for computing particle motion in an evaporating microdroplet. The LS formulation for incompressible two-phase flow is extended to include the effects of evaporation, mass transfer, heat transfer, and dynamic contact angles. A numerical technique for the conservation of particle concentration is incorporated into the LS method, and calculation procedures are also developed and tested for reducing the numerical errors caused in the computation of interface curvature and liquid–gas velocity jump. The improved LS method is applied to the simulation of particle distribution in microdroplet evaporation on a solid surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in-mold labeling (IML) process has become a popular choice for the exterior decoration of many mobile devices due to its capability of rich color representation with a relatively easy manufacturing procedure. A molten polymer is injected into a cavity where pre-decorated film has been initially inserted. A heterogeneous characteristic of involved material coupled with various processing parameters can induce defects of the final product such as film delamination, wash-out, and flow-mark. In this study, major controlling parameters for the deformation of the final product have been identified with the design of experiment (DOE) method using several nondimensional quantities of temperature, material property, and thickness ratio. MOLDFLOW and ABAQUS software has been simultaneously used to simulate the injection process and thermal impact process, respectively. We found that the thickness ratio is a critical factor on final deformation, and the material property ratio has a relatively minor effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we propose an estimation procedure to estimate parameters of joint model when there exists a relationship between cluster size and clustered failure times of subunits within a cluster. We use a joint random effect model of clustered failure times and cluster size. To investigate the possible association, two submodels are connected by a common latent variable. The EM algorithm is applied for the estimation of parameters in the models. Simulation studies are performed to assess the finite sample properties of the estimators. Also, sensitivity tests show the influence of the misspecification of random effect distributions. The methods are applied to a lymphatic filariasis study for adult worm nests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) is commonly used as a plasticizer and its usage continues to increase in conjunction with plastic consumption. DBP is readily released into air, drinking water, and soil, and unfortunately, is a potent endocrine disrupter that impairs central nervous system functions. Previously DBP was found to (1) arrest the cell cycle of C17.2 neural progenitor cells (NPCs) at the G1 phase, (2) reduce numbers of newly generated neural stem cells in the mouse hippocampus, and (3) adversely affect learning and memory. Other investigators also noted DBP-mediated neurotoxic effects, but as yet, no study has addressed the adverse effects of DBP on neuronal differentiation. Data demonstrated that at 200 μM DBP induced apoptosis in rat embryo primary neurons by increasing reactive oxygen species levels and inducing mitochondrial dysfunction. However, no significant effect was detected on neurons at concentrations of ≤100 μM. In contrast, doublecortin/microtubule associated protein-2 (DCX/MAP2) immunocytochemistry showed that DBP at 100 μM delayed neuronal maturation by increasing protein levels of DCX (an immature neuronal marker), without markedly affecting cell viability. Further in vivo studies confirmed that DCX+ cell numbers were significantly elevated in the hippocampus of DBP-treated mice, indicating that DBP delayed neuronal maturation, which is known to be associated with impaired memory retention. Data demonstrated that DBP might disrupt neuronal maturation, which is correlated with reduced neurocognitive functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate changes in the intracellular metabolism resulting from cisplatin (CDDP)-induced nephrotoxicity in normal kidney tubular epithelial NRK-52E cells. Cytotoxicity, cell cycle analysis, and apoptotic cell death were all evaluated in NRK-52E cells treated with CDDP. Subsequently, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy was used to investigate cellular metabolic profiles. CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity was determined in vivo model. Cytotoxicity in the NRK-52E cells significantly rose following treatment with CDDP and these increases were found to be concentration-dependent. Both p53 and Bax protein expression was increased in CDDP-treated NRK-52E cells, correlating with enhanced cellular apoptosis. In addition, a number of metabolites were altered in both media and cell lysates in these cells. In cell lysates, citrate, creatinine, and acetate levels were dramatically reduced following treatment with 20 µM CDDP concentrations, while glutamate level was elevated. Lactate and acetate levels were significantly increased in culture media but citrate concentrations were reduced following high 20 µM CDDP concentrations incubation. In addition, excretion of clusterin, calbindin, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), selenium binding protein 1 (SBP1), and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) into the culture media was significantly increased in CDDP-treated cells while expression of acetyl CoA synthetase 1 (AceCS1) was markedly reduced in these cells. These findings suggest that acetate-dependent metabolic pathway may be a reliable and useful biomarker for detecting CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity. Taken together, data demonstrate that the discovery of novel biomarkers by metabolite profiling in target cells may contribute to the detection of nephrotoxicity and new drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to elucidate the effect of hepatic damage on cisplatin (CDDP)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). Thioacetamide (TAA, 150 mg/kg), a hepatotoxicant, was intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected to male Sprague-Dawley rats for 3 d prior to CDDP (5 mg/kg, i.p.) injection. All animals were sacrificed 5 d after CDDP treatment, and urine or blood was obtained to measure various parameters. No significant changes in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity were observed after CDDP treatment. However, pretreatment with TAA significantly elevated ALT and AST activity. Serum blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels significantly increased in CDDP-treated group compared to control. In addition, urinary excretion of novel protein-based biomarkers such as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, vascular endothelial growth factor, kidney injury molecule-1, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 rose markedly in the CDDP-treated group. In particular, pretreatment with TAA markedly elevated CDDP-induced urinary excretion of protein-based nephrotoxic biomarkers compared with CDDP alone. Hematoxylin and eosin staining demonstrated that pretreatment with TAA following CDDP injection led to more severe tubular damage and apoptosis in rats compared with CDDP alone. Antioxidant status was significantly reduced in kidneys following pretreatment with TAA prior to CDDP. These findings indicate that liver injury enhanced the vulnerability of kidney to CDDP-induced AKI and this phenomenon may be associated with severe apoptotic damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acrylamide (ACR) is a neurotoxin known to produce neurotoxicity characterized by ataxia, skeletal muscle weakness, cognitive impairment, and numbness of the extremities. Previously, investigators reported that high-dose (50 mg/kg) ACR impaired hippocampal neurogenesis and increased neural progenitor cell death; however, the influence of subchronic environmentally relevant low dose-(2, 20, or 200 μg/kg) ACRs have not been examined in adult neurogenesis or cognitive function in mice. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether low-dose ACR adversely affected mouse hippocampal neurogenesis and neurocognitive functions. Male C57BL/6 mice were orally administered vehicle or ACR at 2, 20, or 200 μg/kg/day for 4 weeks. ACR did not significantly alter the number of newly generated cells or produce neuroinflammation or neuronal loss in hippocampi. However, behavioral studies revealed that 200 μg/kg ACR produced learning and memory impairment. Furthermore, incubation of ACR with primary cultured neurons during the developmental stage was found to delay neuronal maturation without affecting cell viability indicating the presence of developmental neurotoxicity. These findings indicate that although exposure to in vivo low-dose ACR daily for 4 weeks exerted no apparent marked effect on hippocampal neurogenesis, in vitro observations in primary cultured neurons noted adverse effects on learning and memory impairment suggestive of neurotoxic actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with increased mortality rate in patients but clinically available biomarkers for disease detection are currently not available. Recently, a new biomarker, selenium-binding protein 1 (SBP1), was identified for detection of nephrotoxicity using proteomic analysis. The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity of urinary SBP1 levels as an early detection of AKI using animal models such as cisplatin or ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Sprague–Dawley rats were injected with cisplatin (6 mg/kg, once i.p.) and sacrificed at 1, 3, or 5 days after treatment. Ischemia was achieved by bilaterally occluding both kidneys with a microvascular clamp for 45 min and verified visually by a change in tissue color. After post-reperfusion, urine samples were collected at 9, 24, and 48 hr intervals. Urinary excretion of protein-based biomarkers was measured by Western blot analysis. In cisplatin-treated rats, mild histopathologic alterations were noted at day 1 which became severe at day 3. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (SCr) levels were significantly increased at day 3. Levels of urinary excretion of SBP1, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and a tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) were markedly elevated at day 3 and 5 following drug treatment. In the vehicle-treated I/R group, serum levels of BUN and SCr and AST activity were significantly increased compared to sham. Urinary excretion of SBP1 and NGAL rose markedly following I/R. The urinary levels of SBP1, NGAL, TIMP-1, and KIM-1 proteins excreted by AKI patients and normal subjects were compared. Among these proteins, a marked rise in SBP1 was observed in urine of patients with AKI compared to normal subjects. Based upon receiver-operator curves (ROC), SBP1 displayed a higher area under the curve (AUC) scores than levels of SCr, BUN, total protein, and glucose. In particular, SBP1 protein was readily detected in small amounts of urine without purification. Data thus indicate that urinary excretion of SBP1 may be useful as a reliable biomarker for early diagnosis of AKI in patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate urinary metabolomic profiles associated with cadmium (Cd)-induced nephrotoxicity and their potential mechanisms. Metabolomic profiles were measured by high-resolution1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in the urine of rats after oral exposure to CdCl2(1, 5, or 25 mg/kg) for 6 wk. The spectral data were further analyzed by a multivariate analysis to identify specific urinary metabolites. Urinary excretion levels of protein biomarkers were also measured and CdCl2accumulated dose-dependently in the kidney. High-dose (25 mg/kg) CdCl2exposure significantly increased serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), but serum creatinine (sCr) levels were unchanged. High-dose CdCl2(25 mg/kg) exposure also significantly elevated protein-based urinary biomarkers including osteopontin, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), kidney injury molecules-1 (Kim-1), and selenium-binding protein 1 (SBP1) in rat urine. Under these conditions, six urinary metabolites (citrate, serine, 3-hydroxyisovalerate, 4-hydroxyphenyllactate, dimethylamine, and betaine) were involved in mitochondrial energy metabolism. In addition, a few number of amino acids such as glycine, glutamate, tyrosine, proline, or phenylalanine and carbohydrate (glucose) were altered in urine after CdCl2exposure. In particular, the metabolites involved in the glutathione biosynthesis pathway, including cysteine, serine, methionine, and glutamate, were markedly decreased compared to the control. Thus, these metabolites are potential biomarkers for detection of Cd-induced nephrotoxicity. Our results further indicate that redox metabolomics pathways may be associated with Cd-mediated chronic kidney injury. These findings provide a biochemical pathway for better understanding of cellular mechanism underlying Cd-induced renal injury in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mitochondrial adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) plays important roles in the regulation of mitochondrial permeability transition and cell bioenergetics. The mouse has three ANT isoforms (1, 2 and 4) showing tissue-specific expression patterns. Although ANT1 is known to have a pro-apoptotic property, the specific functions of ANT2 have not been well determined. In the present study, ANT2 expression was significantly lower in the aged rat liver and in a liver fibrosis model. To explore the protective role of ANT2 in the liver, we established a hepa1c1c7 cell line overexpressing ANT2. Overexpression of ANT2 caused hepa1c1c7 cells to be more resistant to oxidative stress, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, ∆Ψm) was relatively intact in ANT2-overexpressing cells under oxidative stress. In addition, ANT2 was found to increase ATP production by influencing mitochondrial bioenergetics. These results imply that the hepatoprotective effect of ANT2 is due to the stabilization of MMP and enhanced ATP production, and thus, maintaining ANT2 levels in the liver might be important to enhance resistance to aging and oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]