Association between social isolation and smoking in Japan and England

BACKGROUND: Existing evidence suggest that those who are socially isolated are at risk for taking up or continuing smoking. This study investigated country-based differences in social isolation and smoking status. METHODS: We performed a repeated cross-sectional study using two waves of data from two ongoing aging studies: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. Participants from both studies aged ≥65 years old were included. We applied a multilevel Poisson regression model to examine the association between social isolation and smoking status and adjusted for individual sociodemographic characteristics. We used the social isolation index which comprises the following domains: marital status; frequency of contact with friends, family, and children; and participation in social activities. Interaction terms between each country and social isolation were also entered into the mode. RESULTS: After exclusion of never smokers, we analyzed 75,905 participants (7,092 for ELSA and 68,813 for JAGES, respectively). Taking ex-smokers as the reference, social isolation was significantly associated with current smoking; the prevalence ratios (PRs; 95% credible intervals [CrIs]) were 1.06 (1.05-1.08) for men and 1.08 (1.04-1.11) for women. Taking Japan as a reference, the interaction term between country and social isolation was significant for both sexes, with increased PRs (95% CrIs) of 1.32 (1.14-1.50) for men and 1.30 (1.11-1.49) for women in England. CONCLUSIONS: Older people who were less socially isolated were more likely to quit smoking in England than in Japan, possibly explained by the strict tobacco control policies in England

Association between social isolation and depression onset among older adults: a cross-national longitudinal study in England and Japan

OBJECTIVE: Social isolation is a risk factor for depression in older age. However, little is known regarding whether its impact varies depending on country-specific cultural contexts regarding social relationships. The present study examined the association of social isolation with depression onset among older adults in England, which has taken advanced measures against social isolation, and Japan, a super-aged society with a rapidly increasing number of socially isolated people. DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal study. SETTING: We used data from two ongoing studies: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES). PARTICIPANTS: Older adults aged ≥65 years without depression at baseline were followed up regarding depression onset for 2 years (2010/2011–2012/2013) for the ELSA and 2.5 years (2010/2011–2013) for the JAGES. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Depression was assessed with eight items from the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for the ELSA and Geriatric Depression Scale for the JAGES. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate social isolation using multiple parameters (marital status; interaction with children, relatives and friends; and social participation). RESULTS: The data of 3331 respondents from the ELSA and 33 127 from the JAGES were analysed. Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that social isolation was significantly associated with depression onset in both countries. In the ELSA, poor interaction with children was marginally associated with depression onset, while in the JAGES, poor interaction with children and no social participation significantly affected depression onset. CONCLUSIONS: Despite variations in cultural background, social isolation was associated with depression onset in both England and Japan. Addressing social isolation to safeguard older adults’ mental health must be globally prioritised

The Formation Rate, Mass and Luminosity Functions of DA White Dwarfs from the Palomar Green Survey

Spectrophotometric observations at high signal-to-noise ratio were obtained of a complete sample of 347 DA white dwarfs from the Palomar Green (PG) Survey. Fits of observed Balmer lines to synthetic spectra calculated from pure-hydrogen model atmospheres were used to obtain robust values of Teff, log g, masses, radii, and cooling ages. The luminosity function of the sample, weighted by 1/Vmax, was obtained and compared with other determinations. The mass distribution of the white dwarfs is derived, after important corrections for the radii of the white dwarfs in this magnitude-limited survey and for the cooling time scales. The formation rate of DA white dwarfs from the PG is estimated to be 0.6x10^(-12) pc^(-3) yr^(-1). Comparison with predictions from a theoretical study of the white dwarf formation rate for single stars indicates that >80% of the high mass component requires a different origin, presumably mergers of lower mass double degenerate stars. In order to estimate the recent formation rate of all white dwarfs in the local Galactic disk, corrections for incompleteness of the PG, addition of the DB-DO white dwarfs, and allowance for stars hidden by luminous binary companions had to be applied to enhance the rate. An overall formation rate of white dwarfs recently in the local Galactic disk of 1.15+/-0.25x10^(-12) pc^(-3) yr^(-1) is obtained. Two recent studies of samples of nearby Galactic planetary nebulae lead to estimates around twice as high. Difficulties in reconciling these determinations are discussed.Comment: 73 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in the ApJ Supplemen

Examining the associations between oral health and social isolation: A cross-national comparative study between Japan and England.

In Western countries, the most important part of the face in communication is the mouth, whereas it is the eyes in Asian countries; thus oral health could be more important in social interactions in Western countries. Our aim was to examine differences in the association between oral health status and social isolation among older people by comparing Japan and England. We used cross-sectional information obtained from adults aged 65+ in two ongoing prospective cohort studies: The Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES, N = 120,195) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA, N = 3,958). The dependent variable, social isolation score (SIS) was calculated from five factors (marital status, social support from children, social support from family, social support from friends, and social participation). The independent variables were self-reported number of remaining teeth (0, 1–9, 10–19, ≥20) and denture use (≥20 teeth, 10–19 teeth with denture, 10–19 teeth without denture, 0–9 teeth with denture, 0–9 teeth without denture), while the covariates in the model were: sex, age, educational attainment, self-rated health, number of comorbidities, household annual equivalized income, mental health status, daily living activities, and smoking status. We examined associations between oral health status and SIS by applying an ordered logit model by country. Compared to England, more Japanese participants were socially isolated (1.4% vs. 5.8%), but fewer were edentulous (13.1% vs. 7.7%). In both countries, poorer oral health further increased the odds of being socially isolated. Pooled analysis of the ordered logit model with an interaction term showed that the association of number of remaining teeth with SIS was stronger in edentulous participants and in England (odds ratio = 1.50, 95% Confidence interval:1.26–1.80). In both countries, oral health was associated with social isolation; this association could be stronger in England than in Japan

Time-, spin-, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with a 1-MHz 10.7-eV pulse laser

We describe a setup of time-, spin-, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (tr-SARPES) employing a 10.7-eV ($\lambda$=115.6 nm) pulse laser at 1-MHz repetition rate as a probe photon source. This equipment effectively combines technologies of a high-power Yb:fiber laser, ultraviolet-driven harmonic generation in Xe gas, and a SARPES apparatus equipped with very-low-energy-electron-diffraction (VLEED) spin detectors. A high repetition rate (1 MHz) of the probe laser allows experiments with the photoemission space-charge effects significantly reduced, despite a high flux of 10$^{13}$ photons/s on the sample. The relatively high photon energy (10.7 eV) also brings the capability of observing a wide momentum range that covers the entire Brillouin zone of many materials while ensuring high momentum resolution. The experimental setup overcomes a low efficiency of spin-resolved measurements, which gets even more severe for the pump-probed unoccupied states, and affords for investigating ultrafast electron and spin dynamics of modern quantum materials with energy and time resolutions of 25 meV and 360 fs, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Resonant X-ray Scattering in Manganites - Study of Orbital Degree of Freedom -

Orbital degree of freedom of electrons and its interplay with spin, charge and lattice degrees of freedom are one of the central issues in colossal magnetoresistive manganites. The orbital degree of freedom has until recently remained hidden, since it does not couple directly to most of experimental probes. Development of synchrotron light sources has changed the situation; by the resonant x-ray scattering (RXS) technique the orbital ordering has successfully been observed . In this article, we review progress in the recent studies of RXS in manganites. We start with a detailed review of the RXS experiments applied to the orbital ordered manganites and other correlated electron systems. We derive the scattering cross section of RXS where the tensor character of the atomic scattering factor (ASF) with respect to the x-ray polarization is stressed. Microscopic mechanisms of the anisotropic tensor character of ASF is introduced and numerical results of ASF and the scattering intensity are presented. The azimuthal angle scan is a unique experimental method to identify RXS from the orbital degree of freedom. A theory of the azimuthal angle and polarization dependence of the RXS intensity is presented. The theoretical results show good agreement with the experiments in manganites. Apart from the microscopic description of ASF, a theoretical framework of RXS to relate directly to the 3d orbital is presented. The scattering cross section is represented by the correlation function of the pseudo-spin operator for the orbital degree of freedom. A theory is extended to the resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and methods to observe excitations of the orbital degree of freedom are proposed.Comment: 47 pages, 24 figures, submitted to Rep. Prog. Phy

On the nature of the FBS blue stellar objects and the completeness of the Bright Quasar Survey. II

In Paper I (Mickaelian et al. 1999), we compared the surface density of QSOs in the Bright Quasar Survey (BQS) and in the First Byurakan Survey (FBS) and concluded that the completeness of the BQS is of the order of 70% rather than 30-50% as suggested by several authors. A number of new observations recently became available, allowing a re-evaluation of this completeness. We now obtain a surface density of QSOs brighter than B = 16.16 in a subarea of the FBS covering ~2250 deg^2, equal to 0.012 deg^-2 (26 QSOs), implying a completeness of 53+/-10%.Comment: LaTeX 2e, 11 pages, 3 tables and 3 figures (included in text). To appear in Astrophysics. Uses a modified aaspp4.sty (my_aaspp4.sty), included in packag

Measurement of the CP Violation Parameter sin(2phi_1) in B^0_d Meson Decays

We present a measurement of the Standard Model CP violation parameter sin(2phi_1) based on a 10.5 fb^{-1} data sample collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e+e- collider. One neutral B meson is reconstructed in the J/psi K_S, psi(2S) K_S, chi_{c1} K_S, eta_c K_S, J/psi K_L or J/psi pi^0 CP-eigenstate decay channel and the flavor of the accompanying B meson is identified from its charged particle decay products. From the asymmetry in the distribution of the time interval between the two B-meson decay points, we determine sin(2phi_1) = 0.58 +0.32-0.34 (stat) +0.09-0.10 (syst).Comment: LaTex, 13 pages, 3 figures, submitted to P.R.

Detection of the pancreas-specific gene in the peripheral blood of patients with pancreatic carcinoma

The prognosis of patients with pancreatic carcinoma remains very poor. To improve the therapeutic results, the early detection of this cancer is needed. The present study was performed to detect the pancreas-specific gene, chymotrypsinogen, in the peripheral blood from patients with pancreatic carcinoma by using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in order to evaluate the clinical significance of this gene. Ten patients with pancreatic carcinoma, two with acute pancreatitis, three with chronic pancreatitis and ten control subjects were examined for the presence of chymotrypsinogen using RT-PCR techniques in the peripheral blood. To confirm that the chymotrypsinogen gene was expressed in a pancreas-specific manner, the expression of chymotrypsinogen in various types of human adult tissue was evaluated by RT-PCR. The specific band of the chymotrypsinogen gene was detected in the pancreas. Serial dilution studies demonstrated the chymotrypsinogen gene to be detected at a concentration of one pancreatic cell per 106 peripheral blood cells. Seven out of the ten (70%) patients with pancreatic carcinoma were found to be positive based on the RT-PCR findings. In contrast, no pancreas-specific gene was detected in the peripheral blood of any patients with acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis or the control subjects. Our observations show that the detection of the pancreatic specific gene, chymotrypsinogen, is therefore useful as a genetic diagnostic marker in pancreatic carcinoma. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig