Search

Promoting the construction of Internet democratic politics in China requires an understanding of how multimodal connectedness can enhance citizens' political participation. This study introduces the Orientations-Stimuli-Reasoning-Orientations-Responses (O-S-R-O-R) model, explaining the pathway from multimodal connectedness to political participation through "multimodal connectedness-political news attention/political news use-interpersonal political discussion-political trust-political participation." Analyzing data from 2,379 participants in the context of Internet democratic politics, the study finds that the mediating variables fully mediate the relationship between multimodal connectedness and political participation. While political news attention promotes political participation, political trust has a significant negative impact. The study also compares the model across three age groups: young (18-29 years), middle-aged (30-39 years), and elderly (40-60 years). For the young and middle-aged groups, political news attention negatively impacts political participation, likely due to the fragmentation and distraction caused by real-time messages. Among the elderly, political trust negatively affects political participation, indicating a complex scenario where they are passionate about politics but lack adequate participation channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond the specific cognitive capacities like numerical or verbal intelligence and cognitive speed, the so‐called soft skills, namely, psychological capacities, have become highly important in modern life. This is the first representative study on the distribution of work‐relevant psychological capacities in the general population. We investigate capacities in different age groups, gender, and their relation with basic sociodemographics. A representative sample of 2531 people aged 14–95 years was investigated concerning work‐relevant psychological capacities with the mini self‐rating for psychological activities and participation (Mini‐ICF‐APP‐S). The strongest capacities in young people were mobility, flexibility, proactivity, contact to thirds, and group interaction. Other capacities were stronger in midlife (30–59 years), such as adjustment to rules and routines, planning and structuring, decision making and judgement, application of competence and knowledge, assertiveness, dyadic relationships, endurance, and self‐care. Women reported better dyadic relationship capacities, and men felt more assertive. The study provides, for the first time, representative data on a broad range of psychological capacities according to an internationally validated capacity concept. Good psychological capacities occur not primarily in youth, but especially in midlife and older age. Regarding demographic change, this implies older people are highly competent in the working world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological characteristics of the eight-barbel loach Lefua tokaiensis Ito, Hosoya, and Miyazaki were elucidated. Ecological field research was conducted at two localities: the montane stream of Houraiji and the Arao River of the Toyo River system in the Tokai region of Japan. The two localities showed high population density of L. tokaiensis, consisting of young-to-aged individuals. Loaches were likely to reproduce and migrate both upstream and downstream throughout year. Their lifespan was over 10 years, and loaches of more than ten generations simultaneously lived together. Growth rates slowed down strikingly with increasing age. The montane stream of Houraiji was suitable for the population of L. tokaiensis. The results of this study contribute to the protection of this endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are interested in the behavior of solutions to the damped inhomogeneous nonlinear Schrödinger equation $ i\partial_tu+\Delta u+\mu|x|^{-b}|u|^{\alpha}u+iau = 0 $, $ \mu \in{\mathbb C} $, $ b>0 $, $ {a}>0 $, $ \alpha>0 $. We establish lower and upper bound estimates of the life-span. We obtain explicit values $ a^*, \; a_* $ such that if $ aa^*, $ global existence holds. Also, we prove scattering results with precised decay rates for large damping. Some of the results are new even for $ b = 0. $ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Carica papaya (papaya) leaves has significant nutraceutical properties. However, it is speculated that papaya leaf curl virus (PaLCuV) and papaya ring spot virus (PRSV) can severely affect the therapeutic properties and alter the overall nutraceutical potential of papaya leaves. Therefore, we evaluated the bioactivity of the virus infected papaya leaves extract (PLE) compared to healthy PLE in C. elegans. Viruses infection were confirmed by visual inspection and PCR based detection. Anatomical changes and elemental analysis were analyzed through SEM-EDS. PLE were tested for life span extension and ROS scavenging activity on C. elegans. Infected leaves displayed typical symptoms of curling, distortion and anatomical analysis revealed closed and less number of stomata. Healthy PLE extended (24%) the life span of C. elegans with no significant change in ROS generation while in PaLCuV and PRSV infected PLE, were observed to have significant reduction in the mean life span of 15.4% and 17% with 1.2-fold and 1.9-fold increase in ROS generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bitter fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare) is a commercial subspecies of fennel that is widely used in food, pharmaceutical, and perfume industries. Despite the economic importance of this crop and a growing demand for its products, most farmers cultivate local bitter fennel populations that are not necessarily high-yielding. Genetic variation in bitter fennel and relevant heritability studies have suggested that selection can be an efficient breeding method to increase bitter fennel yield. This experiment was conducted in the College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Pakdasht, Iran, from 2010 to 2014. Fifty fennel populations from different parts of Iran were collected and assessed for their maturity habit, life span, seed yield, essential oil content, and essential oil yield in a five-year field experiment. Results showed that these fennel populations, based on their maturity habits, comprised three distinctive groups of early, intermediate, and latematuring, requiring 120, 175, and 230 days from seedling emergence to seed harvest, respectively. The life span of the fennel populations ranged from three to four years. In general, fennel populations in arid regions with extreme temperatures in summer and winter were earlymaturing and had shorter life spans. Populations in humid or semihumid regions with a rather temperate climate were late- or intermediate-maturing and had longer life spans. These observations showed how the causes of growth limitation such as extreme seasonal temperature changes, water accessibility, and competition for sunlight have shaped the phenological features of these fennel populations. During the first three years of the study, considering the minimum life span of all populations, essential oil yield among the early-maturing fennels ranged from 2.5 to 104.6 L ha-1 year-1 (average 26.1±0.1). The essential oil yield ranged from 10.1 to 152.2 L ha-1 year-1 (average 67.7± 1) in intermediate-maturing fennels and from 7.5 to 160.9 L ha-1 year-1 (average 46.4±0.2) in late-maturing fennels. Populations with four and five-year life spans had a dramatic decrease in yield after the third year, although they produced considerable amounts of green biomass. Regarding average values in three years, the highest essential oil yield a mong early-maturing fennels occurred in the Fasa population (51.4 L ha-1), among intermediate-maturing fennels in the Meshkin Shahr and Moqhan populations (140.5 and 124.9 L ha-1, respectively), and among late-maturing fennels in the Sari population (52.1 L ha-1). Identifying high-yielding early- and intermediate-maturing populations provides a platform for further evaluations on high-yielding fennel populations with stable performance in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Individuals constantly exert inhibitory control over their thoughts and behaviors to plan actions that compete with habits and impulses. Cognitive inhibition enhances the selection of task-relevant stimuli and is closely related to neural changes that occur across the lifespan. Since few studies have focused on the entire lifespan, this study aimed to assess cognitive inhibition abilities in a sample of 425 healthy participants (age range: 7–88 years) using the Stroop task. The participants were grouped according to age into children, adolescents, young adults, adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults. A series of ANOVAs considered Group as the independent variable and Performance indices as the dependent variables. The children did not show an interference effect (Stroop effect), likely due to the lack of an automated reading process as a consequence of ongoing brain maturation. Adolescents and young adults performed significantly faster than older adults did. The results indicate that response speed reaches its peak during adolescence and young adulthood and then slightly decreases until older age. Nevertheless, when compared with the other groups, only older adults showed significant differences in the Stroop effect, suggesting that inhibitory abilities remain relatively consistent throughout adulthood but rapidly worsen in recent years due to the physiological decline in cognitive and brain functioning associated with aging.

This paper is devoted to studying in R n × (0 , T) (n ≥ 1) the Cauchy problem for a semilinear heat equation with source term f (x) non-rarefied at infinity, subjected to zero initial data. To such a problem, the novelty of this work lies in: (a) similar to no source case, non-rarefaction of f at infinity brings about its classical solution blowing up in a finite time T ⁎ > 0 ; (b) we derive the optimal upper and lower bound on the life span T ⁎. This may throw some light on studies of life span. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meta-analytic review investigated the development of narcissism across the life span, by synthesizing the available longitudinal data on mean-level change and rank-order stability. Three factors of narcissism were examined: agentic, antagonistic, and neurotic narcissism. Analyses were based on data from 51 samples, including 37,247 participants. As effect size measures, we used the standardized mean change d per year and test–retest correlations that were corrected for attenuation due to measurement error. The results suggested that narcissism typically decreases from age 8 to 77 years (i.e., the observed age range), with aggregated changes of d = −0.28 for agentic narcissism, d = −0.41 for antagonistic narcissism, and d = −0.55 for neurotic narcissism. Rank-order stability of narcissism was high, with average values of.73 (agentic),.68 (antagonistic), and.60 (neurotic), based on an average time lag of 11.42 years. Rank-order stability did not vary as a function of age. However, rank-order stability declined as a function of time lag, asymptotically approaching values of.62 (agentic),.52 (antagonistic), and.33 (neurotic) across long time lags. Moderator analyses indicated that the findings on mean-level change and rank-order stability held across gender and birth cohort. The meta-analytic data set included mostly Western and White/European samples, pointing to the need of conducting more research with non-Western and ethnically diverse samples. In sum, the findings suggest that agentic, antagonistic, and neurotic narcissism show normative declines across the life span and that individual differences in these factors are moderately (neurotic) to highly (agentic, antagonistic) stable over time. Public Significance Statement: This meta-analytic review suggests that people's level of narcissism typically declines across the life course. The aggregated changes from childhood to old age were of small to medium size. The results also indicated that the rank-order stability of narcissism is high, even across long periods, supporting the conclusion that narcissism should be considered a personality trait. The findings have important implications given that high levels of narcissism influence people's lives in many ways, both the lives of the narcissistic individuals themselves and, maybe even more, the lives of the people whom they encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary macronutrients regulate life span and aging, yet little is known about their evolutionary effects. Here, we examine the evolutionary response of these traits in decorated crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) maintained on diets varying in caloric content and protein-to-carbohydrate ratio. After 37 generations, each population was split: half remained on the evolution diet, and half switched to a standardized diet. Crickets lived longer and aged slower when evolving on high-calorie (both sexes) and carbohydrate-biased (females only) diets and had lower baseline mortality on high-calorie (females only) diets. However, on the standardized diet, crickets lived longer when evolving on high-calorie diets (both sexes), aged slower on high-calorie (females only) and carbohydrate-biased (both sexes) diets, and had lower baseline mortality on high-calorie (males only) and protein-biased (both sexes) diets. Life span was longer, and baseline mortality was lower when provided with the evolution vs. the standardized diet, but the aging rate was comparable. Moreover, life span was longer, aging slower (females only), and baseline mortality was lower (males only) compared to our evolved baseline, suggesting varying degrees of dietary adaptation. Collectively, we show dietary components influence the evolution of life span and aging in different ways and highlight the value of combining experimental evolution with nutritional geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the obstacles to the adoption of electric vehicles as a future pollution-free transport solution is that the energy sources (batteries) have not yet become sustainable through a long-life span under the specific operating conditions. The problem that arises is that high temperatures inside the batteries represent a safety risk and have negative effects on the battery life span, which imposes the use of thermal management systems. The present article aims to analyze, by numerical methods, the effect of the use of a fireproof composite resin on the efficiency of the thermal management system, specifically on the degree of battery sustainability (measured by the effect on the life span). Five constructive variants are proposed and thermally analyzed. Based on the measured temperatures, the intensity of the chemical reactions that occur in a 18650-type Li-ion cell was calculated, and conclusions related to the impact on the life span were drawn. It has been found that the use of a fireproof composite resin leads to an increased heat transmission towards the outer environment and an increase in the life span by 22.2% compared to that noted for conventional air cooling. The results also recommend the use of heat exchangers associated with flame retardant resins, which leads to a 20.6% improvement in the heat transfer capacity of the battery's thermal management system. When comparing the solutions in which the flame-retardant resin is used, the results show that adding 3 wt.% of nanomaterial leads to a significant life span increase of 11.7% when compared to the results for the resin-only case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the stochastic 3D Navier–Stokes equations perturbed by linear multiplicative Gaussian noise of convolution type by transformation to random PDEs. We focus on obtaining bounds from below for the life span associated with regular initial data. The key point of the proof is the fixed point argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of mathematical models capable of predicting the lifespan of animals is growing. However, there are no studies that compare the predictive power of different sets of parameters depending on the age of the animals. The aim of the present study is to test whether mathematical models for life span prediction developed in adult female mice based on immune, redox, and behavioral parameters can predict life span in old animals and to develop new models in old mice. For this purpose, 29 variables, including parameters of immune function, redox state, and behavioral ones, were evaluated in old female Swiss mice (80 ± 4 weeks). Life span was registered when they died naturally. Firstly, we observed that the models developed in adults were not able to accurately predict the life span of old mice. Therefore, the immunity (adjusted R2 = 73.6%), redox (adjusted R2 = 46.5%), immunity-redox (adjusted R2 = 96.4%), and behavioral (adjusted R2 = 67.9%) models were developed in old age. Finally, the models were validated in another batch of mice. The developed models in old mice show certain similarities to those in adults but include different immune, redox, and behavioral markers, which highlights the importance of age in the prediction of life span. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive abilities, including general intelligence and domain-specific abilities such as fluid reasoning, comprehension knowledge, working memory capacity, and processing speed, are regarded as some of the most stable psychological traits, yet there exist no large-scale systematic efforts to document the specific patterns by which their rank-order stability changes over age and time interval, or how their stability differs across abilities, tests, and populations. Determining the conditions under which cognitive abilities exhibit high or low degrees of stability is critical not just to theory development but to applied contexts in which cognitive assessments guide decisions regarding treatment and intervention decisions with lasting consequences for individuals. In order to supplement this important area of research, we present a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies investigating the stability of cognitive abilities. The meta-analysis relied on data from 205 longitudinal studies that involved a total of 87,408 participants, resulting in 1,288 test–retest correlation coefficients among manifest variables. For an age of 20 years and a test–retest interval of 5 years, we found a mean rank-order stability of ρ =.76. The effect of mean sample age on stability was best described by a negative exponential function, with low stability in preschool children, rapid increases in stability in childhood, and consistently high stability from late adolescence to late adulthood. This same functional form continued to best describe age trends in stability after adjusting for test reliability. Stability declined with increasing test–retest interval. This decrease flattened out from an interval of approximately 5 years onward. According to the age and interval moderation models, minimum stability sufficient for individual-level diagnostic decisions (rtt =.80) can only be expected over the age of 7 and for short time intervals in children. In adults, stability levels meeting this criterion are obtained for over 5 years. Public Significance Statement: This meta-analytic review finds that cognitive abilities are highly stable from adolescence to late adulthood, but only moderately stable in young children. Stability decreases with increasing time intervals and varies across different cognitive abilities. General intelligence was found to be the most stable cognitive ability, but many specific cognitive abilities are similarly stable. These results provide important standards with respect to the "shelf-life" of cognitive test scores across development and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large conductance, calcium, and voltage‐active potassium channels (BKCa) were originally discovered in Drosophila melanogaster as slowpoke (slo). They are extensively characterized in fly models as ion channels for their roles in neurological and muscular function, as well as aging. BKCa is known to modulate cardiac rhythm and is localized to the mitochondria. Activation of mitochondrial BKCa causes cardioprotection from ischemia–reperfusion injury, possibly via modulating mitochondrial function in adult animal models. However, the role of BKCa in cardiac function is not well‐characterized, partially due to its localization to the plasma membrane as well as intracellular membranes and the wide array of cells present in mammalian hearts. Here we demonstrate for the first time a direct role for BKCa in cardiac function and cardioprotection from IR injury using the Drosophila model system. We have also discovered that the BKCa channel plays a role in the functioning of aging hearts. Our study establishes the presence of BKCa in the fly heart and ascertains its role in aging heart function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing use of artificial light at night (ALAN) is an anthropogenic disturbance with eco-evolutionary consequences for both nocturnal and diurnal organisms. It has been hypothesized that light pollution could create a 'night-light' niche providing new opportunities for diurnal organisms to forage and reproduce at night, with fitness consequences still scarcely explored. We exposed diurnal parasitoid wasps (Venturia canescens) to control (0 lx), low (0.7 lx) or high (20 lx) intensity of light at night throughout their lives and monitored changes in behavioural and life history traits. Light pollution influenced the night-time activity of wasps, with increased feeding and egg laying at night and a tendency for higher night-time reproductive success under a high intensity of light pollution. Surprisingly, high light pollution also increased the wasps' life span. Light pollution did not significantly affect lifetime reproductive success but did affect the distribution of ovipositions between day and night. Additionally, we showed that reproductive senescence occurred in V. canescens and that offspring development time was influenced by light pollution, in interaction with maternal age. These findings highlight the use of the 'night-light' niche in a diurnal insect exposed to light pollution, with potential implications for population dynamics, especially in natural conditions. • Light at night led to behavioural changes in the diurnal wasp Venturia canescens. • Night-time feeding and egg laying increased in the presence of light at night. • Lifetime reproductive success was not influenced by light pollution. • Light at night also modulated reproductive senescence in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)'s whole health paradigm expands the scope of women's health research, incorporating a life‐course perspective that recognizes the profound influences of sex and gender on health. From childhood through adulthood, external and societal factors along with internal factors and biology shape women's health and influence access to quality healthcare. This comprehensive approach integrates data‐driven sex‐ and gender‐aware strategies to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease, focusing on the unique needs of women. Acknowledging the historical lack of timely research and data on women's health, an initiative led by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council, ushers in a new era of women's health research that offers unprecedented opportunities to enhance the health of women through biomedical and behavioral research. The initiative fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, supporting research on autoimmune diseases, menopause, oral health, and chronic pain conditions. ORWH serves as the focal point for National Institutes of Health (NIH) women's health research. With a commitment to advancing holistic outcomes, ORWH engages in partnerships, outreach, and educational initiatives to disseminate critical research findings and support women's health researchers. Here we describe the convergence of this initiative with the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research's work to advance the understanding of sex as a biological variable for conditions such as Sjogren's disease and temporomandibular disorder. This transformative approach to women's health research propels the United States toward innovative solutions, ensuring that science works for the health and well‐being of every woman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Self-control is a personality dimension that is associated with better physical health and a longer lifespan. Here, we examined (1) whether self-control is associated with buccal and saliva DNA-methylation (DNAm) measures of biological aging quantified in children, adolescents, and adults, and (2) whether biological aging measured in buccal DNAm is associated with self-reported health. Following preregistered analyses, we computed two DNAm measures of advanced biological age (principal-component PhenoAge and GrimAge Acceleration) and a DNAm measure of pace of aging (DunedinPACE) in buccal samples from the German Socioeconomic Panel Study (SOEP-G[ene], n = 1058, age range 0–72, M age = 42.65) and saliva samples from the Texas Twin Project (TTP, n = 1327, age range 8–20, M age = 13.50). We found that lower self-control was associated with advanced biological age in older adults (PhenoAge Acceleration β = − .34, [− .51, − .17], p

Considering the growing demand for plant trait data and taking into account the lack of trait data from Eastern Europe, especially from its steppic region, we launched a new Ukrainian Plant Trait Database (UkrTrait v. 1.0) aiming at collecting all the available plant trait data from Ukraine.To facilitate further use of this database, we linked the trait terminology to the TRY Plant Trait Database, Thesaurus of Plant Characteristics (TOP) and Plant Trait Ontology (TO). For taxa names, we provide the crosswalks between the Ukrainian checklist and international sources, i.e. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (World Checklist of Vascular Plants (World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), World Flora Online (WFO) and Euro+Med PlantBase. We aim to integrate our data into the relevant global (TRY Plant Trait Database) and pan-European (FloraVeg.EU) databases. The current version of the database is freely available at the Zenodo repository and will be updated in the future.Until now, plant traits for the Ukrainian flora were scattered across literature, often focusing on single species and written mainly in Ukrainian. Additionally, many traits were in grey literature or remained non-digitised, which rendered them inaccessible to the global scientific community. Addressing this gap, our Ukrainian Plant Trait Database (UkrTrait v. 1.0) represents a significant step forward. We compiled and digitised plant traits from local Ukrainian literature sources. Furthermore, we performed our own field and laboratory measurements of various plant traits that were not previously available in literature. In the current version of the UkrTrait, we focus on vascular plant species that are absent from the other European trait databases, with emphasis on species that are representative for the steppe vegetation. Traits assembled from literature include life span (annuals, biennials, perennials), plant height, flowering period (flowering months), life form (by Raunkiaer), plant growth form and others. Our own measured traits include seed mass, seed shape, leaf area, leaf nitrogen concentration and leaf phosphorus concentration. The current version, i.e. UkrTrait v. 1.0, comprises digitised literature data of 287,948 records of 75 traits for 6,198 taxa and our own trait measurements of 2,390 records of 12 traits for 388 taxa.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) is one of the newest ways to light up outdoor areas such as streets, stadiums, airports, military bases, harbors, and high mast towers. The main reason for the high focus is power consumption with better brightness. Even though LEDs have so many benefits, researchers should focus on better managing temperatures as the main reason behind the failure of LEDs is overheating. In this article, modern research trends like using heat pipes filled with nanofluids, ionic winds, spray cooling, use of fins, refrigerants, and oil cooling are focused on and discussed concerning LEDs, solar stills, electric vehicle batteries, and different heat transfer devices to develop a new way to handle the heat from higher-wattage LEDs. There is a research thrust in the field of more than one nanoparticle in the base fluid, and its proportions are not analyzed during LEDs cooling study using a heat pipe. It is necessary to control the heat using a more effective technique. Heat pipe with nanofluid is a more efficient, compact, and cost-effective cooling device o reduce LED failure due to higher heat flux. Hence, it is promising to use nanofluid-filled heat pipes to serve the purpose of the life span enhancement of LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significance: Currently, a large amount of evidence of beneficial effects of diets enriched with polyphenols on various aspects of health has been accumulated. These phytochemicals have a geroprotective potential slowing down the pathological processes associated with aging and ensuring longevity. In this study, a comprehensive analysis was conducted to determine the adherence of individual polyphenols to geroprotector criteria. Data from experimental models, clinical trials, and epidemiological studies were analyzed. Recent Advances: Sixty-two polyphenols have been described to increase the life span and improve biomarkers of aging in animal models. They act via evolutionarily conserved molecular mechanisms, including hormesis and maintenance of redox homeostasis, epigenetic regulation, response to cellular damage, metabolic control, and anti-inflammatory and senolytic activity. Epidemiological and clinical studies suggest that certain polyphenols have a potential for prevention and treatment of various diseases, including cancer, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular conditions in humans. Critical Issues: Among the reviewed phytochemicals, chlorogenic acid, quercetin, epicatechin, genistein, resveratrol, and curcumin were identified as compounds with the highest geroprotective potential. However, there is a lack of unambiguous information on the effectiveness and safety of polyphenols for increasing health span, preventing and treating aging-associated diseases in humans. Future Directions: Further research is needed to fully understand the effects of polyphenols considering their long-term consumption, metabolic modification and bioavailability, complex interactions between different groups of polyphenols and with other phytochemicals, as well as their effects on individuals with different health status. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 40, 564–593.  Color images are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well-known that the life span of solutions to Kirchhoff equations tends to infinity when initial data tend to zero. These results are usually referred to as almost global existence, at least in a neighborhood of the null solution. Here we extend this result by showing that the life span of solutions is lower semicontinuous, and in particular it tends to infinity whenever initial data tend to some limiting datum that originates a global solution. We also provide an estimate from below for the life span of solutions when initial data are close to some of the classes of data for which global existence is known, namely data with finitely many Fourier modes, analytic data, and quasi-analytic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hebrew Bible is often read tliat men once lived nearly a thousand years. Then, after a cataclysm in the form of a flood, their life spmis followed an exponential decline to contemporary values, but no explanation for this decline was offered. Recently, it lias been suggested tlmt the decline can be attributed to marriage of die descendants of Noah to n population of short-lived survivors of the flood. This journal has previously published a paper that argued that the numbers expressing these longevities have the properties of real numbers and none of the properties of artficial or made-up numbers, ami that the reasons for doubting the biblical numbers do not survive close examination. Moreover, recent work argues that humans may ultimately have biblicnl longevities. Tlze present article shows that the intermarriage explanation for the decay of longevities is plausible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-control is a personality dimension that is associated with better physical health and a longer lifespan. Here, we examined (1) whether self-control is associated with buccal and saliva DNA-methylation (DNAm) measures of biological aging quantified in children, adolescents, and adults, and (2) whether biological aging measured in buccal DNAm is associated with self-reported health. Following preregistered analyses, we computed two DNAm measures of advanced biological age (principal-component PhenoAge and GrimAge Acceleration) and a DNAm measure of pace of aging (DunedinPACE) in buccal samples from the German Socioeconomic Panel Study (SOEP-G[ene], n = 1058, age range 0–72, Mage = 42.65) and saliva samples from the Texas Twin Project (TTP, n = 1327, age range 8–20, Mage = 13.50). We found that lower self-control was associated with advanced biological age in older adults (PhenoAge Acceleration β = −.34, [−.51, −.17], p <.001; GrimAge Acceleration β = −.34, [−.49, −.19], p <.001), but not young adults, adolescents or children. These associations remained statistically robust even after correcting for possible confounders such as socioeconomic contexts, BMI, or genetic correlates of low self-control. Moreover, a faster pace of aging and advanced biological age measured in buccal DNAm were associated with self-reported disease (PhenoAge Acceleration: β =.13 [.06,.19], p <.001; GrimAge Acceleration: β =.19 [.12,.26], p <.001; DunedinPACE: β =.09 [.02,.17], p =.01). However, effect sizes were weaker than observations in blood, suggesting that customization of DNAm aging measures to buccal and saliva tissues may be necessary. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that self-control is associated with health via pathways that accelerate biological aging in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major goal of healthy aging is to prevent declining resilience and increasing frailty, which are associated with many chronic diseases and deterioration of stress response. Here, we propose a loss‐or‐gain survival model, represented by the ratio of cumulative stress span to life span, to quantify stress resilience at organismal level. As a proof of concept, this is demonstrated by reduced survival resilience in Caenorhabditis elegans exposed to exogenous oxidative stress induced by paraquat or with endogenous proteotoxic stress caused by polyglutamine or amyloid‐β aggregation. Based on this, we reveal that a hidden peptide ("cryptide")—AbaPep#07 (SETYELRK)—derived from abalone hemocyanin not only enhances survival resilience against paraquat‐induced oxidative stress but also rescues proteotoxicity‐mediated behavioral deficits in C. elegans, indicating its capacity against stress and neurodegeneration. Interestingly, AbaPep#07 is also found to increase cost‐free longevity and age‐related physical fitness in nematodes. We then demonstrate that AbaPep#07 can promote nuclear localization of SKN‐1/Nrf, but not DAF‐16/FOXO, transcription factor. In contrast to its effects in wild‐type nematodes, AbaPep#07 cannot increase oxidative stress survival and physical motility in loss‐of‐function skn‐1 mutant, suggesting an SKN‐1/Nrf‐dependent fashion of these effects. Further investigation reveals that AbaPep#07 can induce transcriptional activation of immune defense, lipid metabolism, and metabolic detoxification pathways, including many SKN‐1/Nrf target genes. Together, our findings demonstrate that AbaPep#07 is able to boost stress resilience and reduce behavioral frailty via SKN‐1/Nrf‐governed transcriptional reprogramming, and provide an insight into the health‐promoting potential of antioxidant cryptides as geroprotectors in aging and associated conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat-induced hormesis in longevity is the increase in life span resulting from the previous exposure to a mild heat stress early in life. Here we examined heat-induced hormesis of Drosophila buzzatii in five mass-mating populations, which were derived from five wild populations along an elevation gradient from 202 to 1855 m above sea level in North-Western Argentina. Five day old flies were exposed to 37.5 °C for 90 min to induce hormesis and its possible variation across altitudinal populations. This heat treatment strongly extended longevity in lowland-derived flies from the most heat-resistant population only. Both heat-induced effects on longevity and heat-knockdown time (heat-stress sensitivity) were negatively correlated to altitude of population of origin. Hormesis was positively correlated to heat-knockdown time across populations. These results indicate that variation in heat-induced hormesis can not be considered as independent of heat-stress sensitivity (or heat-knockdown time) in populations of insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Considering the growing demand for plant trait data and taking into account the lack of trait data from Eastern Europe, especially from its steppic region, we launched a new Ukrainian Plant Trait Database (UkrTrait v. 1.0) aiming at collecting all the available plant trait data from Ukraine. To facilitate further use of this database, we linked the trait terminology to the TRY Plant Trait Database, Thesaurus of Plant Characteristics (TOP) and Plant Trait Ontology (TO). For taxa names, we provide the crosswalks between the Ukrainian checklist and international sources, i.e. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (World Checklist of Vascular Plants (World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), World Flora Online (WFO) and Euro+Med PlantBase. We aim to integrate our data into the relevant global (TRY Plant Trait Database) and pan-European (FloraVeg.EU) databases. The current version of the database is freely available at the Zenodo repository and will be updated in the future. New information: Until now, plant traits for the Ukrainian flora were scattered across literature, often focusing on single species and written mainly in Ukrainian. Additionally, many traits were in grey literature or remained non-digitised, which rendered them inaccessible to the global scientific community. Addressing this gap, our Ukrainian Plant Trait Database (UkrTrait v. 1.0) represents a significant step forward. We compiled and digitised plant traits from local Ukrainian literature sources. Furthermore, we performed our own field and laboratory measurements of various plant traits that were not previously available in literature. In the current version of the UkrTrait, we focus on vascular plant species that are absent from the other European trait databases, with emphasis on species that are representative for the steppe vegetation. Traits assembled from literature include life span (annuals, biennials, perennials), plant height, flowering period (flowering months), life form (by Raunkiaer), plant growth form and others. Our own measured traits include seed mass, seed shape, leaf area, leaf nitrogen concentration and leaf phosphorus concentration. The current version, i.e. UkrTrait v. 1.0, comprises digitised literature data of 287,948 records of 75 traits for 6,198 taxa and our own trait measurements of 2,390 records of 12 traits for 388 taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of health disparities across the lifespan and in older adulthood has gained recent attention by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and other organizations and researchers. These disparities are of significant interest as they greatly impact health, life span, and quality-of-life for countless individuals and create economic burden on societies. Given the critical nature of this problem, this special issue will focus on health disparities for older adults across the lifespan. This introductory article will lay the groundwork for subsequent works on disparities among older ethnic minorities, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans, as well as rural elders. Concepts critical to an understanding of the topic such as social determinants of health, marginalization, and intersectionality will also be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests that in old age, women are lonelier than men. Gender differences in loneliness are often explained by gender differences in longevity, social status and loss, health, and mobility—well-established predictors that may influence loneliness differently in "younger" (40–59 years) and "older" (60–80 years) groups of men and women in the second part of life. This study explores loneliness in men and women ages 40 to 80 years at baseline over a 15-year period using panel data from three waves of the Norwegian Life Course, Ageing and Generation Study (N = 2,315). Our analyses show that women were more lonely than men also in adjusted analyses. Logistic regression analyses indicated that loss of a partner and poor mental health are prospectively related to loneliness among men and women, whereas other factors like becoming a partner, stable singlehood, and poor physical health were related to loneliness among women but not men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural areas are home to a larger proportion of older adults and populations who age within these locales and suffer disproportionately from health, mental health, and economic disparities compared to their urban counterparts. This article will explore the disparities faced by persons that reside in rural communities across the lifespan. It will briefly discuss what is meant by rural. As a rural region at specific risk, the issues confronting those aging in Appalachia will be examined. Finally, best practices and future directions to combat health disparities among rural residents and elders will be discussed. This includes the Appalachian Gerontology Experiences: Advancing Diversity in Aging Research training program which recruits and trains minority and first-generation undergraduate students in aging and health disparity research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The large conductance, calcium, and voltage‐active potassium channels (BKCa) were originally discovered in Drosophila melanogaster as slowpoke (slo). They are extensively characterized in fly models as ion channels for their roles in neurological and muscular function, as well as aging. BKCa is known to modulate cardiac rhythm and is localized to the mitochondria. Activation of mitochondrial BKCa causes cardioprotection from ischemia–reperfusion injury, possibly via modulating mitochondrial function in adult animal models. However, the role of BKCa in cardiac function is not well‐characterized, partially due to its localization to the plasma membrane as well as intracellular membranes and the wide array of cells present in mammalian hearts. Here we demonstrate for the first time a direct role for BKCa in cardiac function and cardioprotection from IR injury using the Drosophila model system. We have also discovered that the BKCa channel plays a role in the functioning of aging hearts. Our study establishes the presence of BKCa in the fly heart and ascertains its role in aging heart function.

AbstractThe Clouded Apollo, Parnassius mnemosyne is a charismatic West Palaearctic butterfly, threatened in some European countries and listed in Appendix IV of the Habitats’ Directive. We investigated a large lowland population of the species inhabiting a complex of irregularly coppiced light forest and adjacent wet meadows in the anthropogenic landscape in the valley of the Narew river in NE Poland. A mark-release-recapture (MRR) method was used over 4 years to estimate population size, adult catchability, daily survival and lifespan. The beginning and length of the flight period (which lasted 4–6 weeks) differed over the years and was clearly related to weather conditions (temperature, sunshine) in April, i.e. the most important period for larval development. The seasonal population size varied from 555 to 942 adults. In contrast to some previous studies, the sex ratio turned out to be well balanced, although the catchability of males was significantly higher than that of females in each year. The quality of the wings deteriorated during the season in both sexes, but it was generally better in the case of females, which indicates that they are less active. Inter-seasonal variation in the lifespan (6.36–12.45 days) is more difficult to interpret, but it is worth noting that individuals lived the longest in the coldest and least sunlit flight period. The temporal fragmentation index (i.e. the ratio of flight-period length to adult lifespan) also varied (3.37–5.97) but was generally relatively low, which suggests that there is no threat of reduction of the effective population size at the moment. Nevertheless, the investigated population may be at risk of decline due to the observed intensification of meadow use and especially the possible conversion of grasslands into cornfields.

Abstract Background Scholars demand more focus on context-related factors of health literacy as the management of health information is seen as a social practice. One prominent factor is social support that is expected to be particularly relevant for persons vulnerable for low health literacy. It was shown that health literacy can differ across the life span and especially older people have been demonstrated to be vulnerable for low health literacy. Therefore, health literacy and the relation of social support on health literacy in different age groups should be investigated. Methods In a German nationwide survey 2,151 adults were interviewed face-to-face. General comprehensive health literacy was measured with the HLS19-Q47 which differentiates single steps of health information management – access, understand, appraise, and apply. Social support was measured with the Oslo 3 Social Support Scale. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed for all respondents and for five age groups. Results Health literacy is relatively low in all age groups but particularly low among old-old people (76 + years). Also, the youngest adults (18–29 years) have slightly lower health literacy than middle-aged adults. On average, health literacy is higher among people with higher social support but this association varies between age groups. It tends to be quite strong among younger adults (18–45 years) and young-old persons (65–75 years) but is weak among older middle-aged (46–64 years) and old-old persons. The association also differs between steps of information management. It is stronger for accessing and applying information but there are differences in age groups as well. Conclusions Social support is a relevant aspect to improve individuals’ health literacy and therefore should be addressed in interventions. However, it is necessary to differentiate between age groups. While both young adults and particularly old-old persons are challenged by health information management, young adults can strongly profit from social support whereas it can barely compensate the low health literacy of old-old persons. In addition, different challenges in information management steps in different age groups need to be considered when designing health literacy interventions. Thus, target group specific services and programs are needed.

The Clouded Apollo, Parnassius mnemosyne is a charismatic West Palaearctic butterfly, threatened in some European countries and listed in Appendix IV of the Habitats' Directive. We investigated a large lowland population of the species inhabiting a complex of irregularly coppiced light forest and adjacent wet meadows in the anthropogenic landscape in the valley of the Narew river in NE Poland. A mark-release-recapture (MRR) method was used over 4 years to estimate population size, adult catchability, daily survival and lifespan. The beginning and length of the flight period (which lasted 4-6 weeks) differed over the years and was clearly related to weather conditions (temperature, sunshine) in April, i.e. the most important period for larval development. The seasonal population size varied from 555 to 942 adults. In contrast to some previous studies, the sex ratio turned out to be well balanced, although the catchability of males was significantly higher than that of females in each year. The quality of the wings deteriorated during the season in both sexes, but it was generally better in the case of females, which indicates that they are less active. Inter-seasonal variation in the lifespan (6.36-12.45 days) is more difficult to interpret, but it is worth noting that individuals lived the longest in the coldest and least sunlit flight period. The temporal fragmentation index (i.e. the ratio of flight-period length to adult lifespan) also varied (3.37-5.97) but was generally relatively low, which suggests that there is no threat of reduction of the effective population size at the moment. Nevertheless, the investigated population may be at risk of decline due to the observed intensification of meadow use and especially the possible conversion of grasslands into cornfields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we will consider the Cauchy problem for a time-fractional Schrödinger equation with Riemann–Liouville nonlinear fractional integral term. This class of equations have interesting applications for large systems of self-interactions, which allow us to use the fractional calculus techniques to investigate long range interactions and quantum processes. By utilizing the test function method and some important properties of fractional calculus, we give a blow-up result involving the criterion of verifying whether there is a global nontrivial weak solution. Then, by establishing some integral inequalities, we provide an upper bound estimate for the life span of the blowing-up solutions. Finally, a numerical example is presented to demonstrate the validity of our theoretical results. The obtained results generalize the previous ones, because the analogous problem with a time fractional derivative has not been studied so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Edulis Fungi is the property of Acta Edulis Fungi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Scholars demand more focus on context-related factors of health literacy as the management of health information is seen as a social practice. One prominent factor is social support that is expected to be particularly relevant for persons vulnerable for low health literacy. It was shown that health literacy can differ across the life span and especially older people have been demonstrated to be vulnerable for low health literacy. Therefore, health literacy and the relation of social support on health literacy in different age groups should be investigated. Methods: In a German nationwide survey 2,151 adults were interviewed face-to-face. General comprehensive health literacy was measured with the HLS19-Q47 which differentiates single steps of health information management – access, understand, appraise, and apply. Social support was measured with the Oslo 3 Social Support Scale. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed for all respondents and for five age groups. Results: Health literacy is relatively low in all age groups but particularly low among old-old people (76 + years). Also, the youngest adults (18–29 years) have slightly lower health literacy than middle-aged adults. On average, health literacy is higher among people with higher social support but this association varies between age groups. It tends to be quite strong among younger adults (18–45 years) and young-old persons (65–75 years) but is weak among older middle-aged (46–64 years) and old-old persons. The association also differs between steps of information management. It is stronger for accessing and applying information but there are differences in age groups as well. Conclusions: Social support is a relevant aspect to improve individuals' health literacy and therefore should be addressed in interventions. However, it is necessary to differentiate between age groups. While both young adults and particularly old-old persons are challenged by health information management, young adults can strongly profit from social support whereas it can barely compensate the low health literacy of old-old persons. In addition, different challenges in information management steps in different age groups need to be considered when designing health literacy interventions. Thus, target group specific services and programs are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern communication systems rely heavily on wireless networks to enable seamless connectivity and data transfer among numerous devices and are primarily utilized in many fields. However, the proliferation of different wireless devices and the rising need for high data rates have created considerable hurdles, notably in implementing load balancing to guarantee fair resource distribution among network nodes. In this situation, load balancing in wireless networks has succeeded with clustering approaches. Thus, to reduce energy consumption with increasing network lifespan, this study utilizing the sparrow search algorithm with Tabu Search Clustering (SSA-TSA). The algorithm dynamically modifies cluster formation to maximize resource use and network efficiency. The outcomes show that the proposed SSA-TSA beats the current approaches in load balancing, achieving a more even distribution of network traffic and improving overall throughput. Also, combination of SSA-TSA uses less energy and increase the active nodes than existing approaches like GWO and improved GWO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key goals in studying the molecular and genetic basis of many pathologies is to find triggers that could positively influence the incidence of age-dependent diseases and the rate of aging in general. A possible cause of age-dependent degradation of the body's functions inducing aging is immunosenescence. It is known that the increased activity of mobile elements observed with age may not only affect the level of genome stability but also play a crucial role in the development of immune response. At the same time, the pivotal role of the nervous system in controlling life span has long been proven, and recently it has been shown that components of the machinery that regulate mobile elements activity do function in the nervous system, and their functioning affects the development of neurodegenerative diseases. This mini-review presents evidence for complex aging regulation by the nervous and immune systems involving systems that control activity of mobile elements and proposes a hypothetical scheme for their joint impact on life span. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The auto industry aims to deliver cost-effective, efficient vehicles to meet customer needs. They are utilizing aluminum to lower expenses, enhance durability, and lighten vehicles. Currently, the industry is developing a high-speed blow forming (HSBF) technique--a faster version of the aluminum thermoforming process, superplastic forming (SPF). HSBF allows the rapid creation of aluminum bodywork or structural parts at high temperatures using pressurized gas. It can produce up to 25 parts per hour, significantly faster than SPF, which only produces 4 parts per hour. The primary objective of this project is to select and characterize a seal that can increase the production rate to 120 parts per hour by allowing the sheet to flow into the mold, especially during the initial stages of the forming process, where most of the deformation occurs. Several test benches were developed to assess the performance and durability of the selected high-temperature seals under conditions that imitate the HSBF process. During the tests, low air pressures are applied to a gasket-enclosed cavity and the resulting mass-flow leakage is measured. The temperature of the mold is kept constant at approximately the superplastic temperature of the aluminum alloy. Through testing, we derived leakage mass flow curves based on cycle count, showcasing the superior sealing ability and longevity of packing seals in HSBF conditions. The seals displayed good durability and sealing performance under HSBF operational conditions, sustaining over 3000 cycles. Moreover, the seals attained a leakage mass flow rate of around 0.3 g/s•m•bar, nearly ten times below the target application limit of 2 g/s•m•bar, confirming their superior performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]