Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age (LSITA): A Measurement of Successful Aging

The purpose of this research was to develop an updated scale based on the framework that Neugarten, Havighurst and Tobin (1961) used to design the Life Satisfaction Index- Form A (LSI-A). The new instrument, the Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age LSITA), was used to assess 654 third age adults in a measurement development process to establish the LSITA’s psychometric properties. These individuals were Midwestern United States adults from selected third age learning events, retirement centers, church events, community centers and the general public. The participants were all over fifty years old consistent with the definition of the third age. The authors had been involved in a research study that used LSI-A that led to an appreciation of the importance of measuring successful aging as well as the need to apply current statistical techniques to a revised instrument. The LSITA was designed and its psychometric properties assessed using the eight-step design process from DeVellis (1991). The reliability of the 35-item scale was .93 with satisfactory content, construct and criterion validity. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis was performed using structural equation modeling and a very satisfactory goodness of fit was obtained. The new instrument has been made available to researchers by emailing [email protected]. The expectation is that the researchers will provide the author with an electronic copy of their responses to add to the database

Important shapeshifter: mechanisms allowing astrocytes to respond to the changing nervous system during development, injury and disease

Astrocytes are the most prevalent glial cells in the brain. Historically considered as "merely supporting" neurons, recent research has shown that astrocytes actively participate in a large variety of central nervous system (CNS) functions including synaptogenesis, neuronal transmission and synaptic plasticity. During disease and injury, astrocytes efficiently protect neurons by various means, notably by sealing them off from neurotoxic factors and repairing the blood-brain barrier. Their ramified morphology allows them to perform diverse tasks by interacting with synapses, blood vessels and other glial cells. In this review article, we provide an overview of how astrocytes acquire their complex morphology during development. We then move from the developing to the mature brain, and review current research on perisynaptic astrocytic processes, with a particular focus on how astrocytes engage synapses and modulate their formation and activity. Comprehensive changes have been reported in astrocyte cell shape in many CNS pathologies. Factors influencing these morphological changes are summarized in the context of brain pathologies, such as traumatic injury and degenerative conditions. We provide insight into the molecular, cellular and cytoskeletal machinery behind these shape changes which drive the dynamic remodeling in astrocyte morphology during injury and the development of pathologies

A treasure from the past: former sperm whale distribution in Indonesian waters unveiled using distribution models and historical whaling data

This study is the first in Indonesia to assess historical sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus ) seasonal distributions by combining historical whaling data with environmental factors associated with sperm whale habitat preferences. As current records of whale occurrence covering the whole of Indonesian waters are incomplete, we used historical whaling data summarized by Charles Haskins Townsend in 1935 to model its potential distribution for each season

Median filters and iterative noise elimination with applications to the sharpening of radiographs

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A critical review of marine mammal governance and protection in Indonesia

The governance of marine conservation in Indonesia has been the subject of critique for decades. This paper elucidates and analyses the legal framework for marine mammal protection and current institutional arrangements, and reveals gaps and overlaps in the national legal and policy frameworks for marine mammal governance in the Archipelago. We reviewed available policies to assess the current regulation practices in the country's marine mammal protection. In total, five relevant international conventions, 28 Indonesian national regulations, and 16 provincial regulations on marine spatial planning were found. Progress on legal framework regarding marine mammal governance reveals three different phases: 1970s (species-centred approach), 1990s (site-based approach), and current (wider marine management approach). We summarized seven policies based on the following characteristics: species, site and other values. We identified functional overlap and unclear mandates as the main shortcomings of these regulations. Although marine mammal protection in Indonesia enjoys a set of regulations, the practical actions required by these regulations are still unclear. Protection gaps still exist, rendering conservation efforts less effective. The paper argues how an adequate and appropriate legal framework and institutional arrangements will ameliorate and strengthen marine mammal governance in Indonesia. We suggest some urgent-yet-lacking policies that should be added to the current regulations, including regulations on traditional whale hunting, the code of conduct for marine mammal watching tourism, standards for aquaria, and the legal basis for marine mammal stranding network and underwater noise pollution. We endorse the cetacean National Plan of Action for it is designed to enhance ecological and human-dimension research on cetaceans and address the detrimental effects of anthropogenic activities to the cetaceans. We suggest establishing a mechanism for cross-institutional coordination for more effective marine mammal protection in Indonesia. Becoming a full member of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and International Whaling Commission will further strengthen the conservation management of marine mammals in Indonesia.</p

Determining Toxic Potencies of Water-Soluble Contaminants in Wastewater Influents and Effluent Using Gene Expression Profiling in C. elegans as a Bioanalytical Tool

With chemical analysis, it is impossible to qualify and quantify the toxic potency of especially hydrophilic bioactive contaminants. In this study, we applied the nematode C. elegans as a model organism for detecting the toxic potency of whole influent wastewater samples. Gene expression in the nematode was used as bioanalytical tool to reveal the presence, type and potency of molecular pathways induced by 24-h exposure to wastewater from a hospital (H), nursing home (N), community (C), and influent (I) and treated effluent (E) from a local wastewater treatment plant. Exposure to influent water significantly altered expression of 464 genes, while only two genes were differentially expressed in nematodes treated with effluent. This indicates a significant decrease in bioactive pollutant-load after wastewater treatment. Surface water receiving the effluent did not induce any genes in exposed nematodes. A subset of 209 genes was differentially expressed in all untreated wastewaters, including cytochromes P450 and C-type lectins related to the nematode's xenobiotic metabolism and immune response, respectively. Different subsets of genes responded to particular waste streams making them candidates to fingerprint-specific wastewater sources. This study shows that gene expression profiling in C. elegans can be used for mechanism-based identification of hydrophilic bioactive compounds and fingerprinting of specific wastewaters. More comprehensive than with chemical analysis, it can demonstrate the effective overall removal of bioactive compounds through wastewater treatment. This bioanalytical tool can also be applied in the process of identification of the bioactive compounds via a process of toxicity identification evaluation. [GRAPHICS]