Determinants of successful aging: implications from Japan

W obliczu zjawiska wydłużania się średniej długości ludzkiego życia, ważne jest, by naukowo zająć się problematyką jego jakości, ponieważ dłuższemu życiu nie zawsze towarzyszy dobre zdrowie. Ludzie żyją dłużej, ale ich stan zdrowia może się pogarszać. Optymistyczny jest fakt, że ludność Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej, w tym Polacy, żyją coraz dłużej i dłużej pozostają w dobrej kondycji, pojawiają się jednak problemy charakterystyczne dla szybko starzejących się społeczeństw. Z tego punktu widzenia Japonia może służyć jako cenny przykład do zrozumienia wyzwań stojących przed starzejącym się społeczeństwem. Rząd japoński zogniskował swoją uwagę na integracji społecznej (problemie niesprawiedliwego i bolesnego wykluczenia z powodu podeszłego wieku), która okazuje się niezmiernie istotna dla starszych osób. Ponadto w Japonii funkcjonują odpowiednie programy państwowe i prywatne, a także opracowano mechanizmy pozwalające cieszyć się przywilejami wieku poprzez promowanie aktywnego stylu życia. Poza tym obserwuje się rosnące zainteresowanie nowymi technologiami, przede wszystkim robotami, wykorzystywanymi m.in. w dziedzinie opieki nad seniorami. Podsumowując, ponieważ zjawisko starzenia się społeczeństw jest powszechne i ostatecznie będzie dotyczyć każdego kraju na świecie, przypadek Japonii może służyć jako przykład empiryczny dla innych krajów, które wkrótce staną przed podobnymi wyzwaniami. Autorka stwierdza, że wskazane jest podejmowanie większej liczby przedsięwzięć, dzięki którym można szerzyć wiedzę i wymieniać się doświadczeniami i właśnie konferencja „2014 – New Opportunities for Japan and V-4 Cooperation” znakomicie wpisuje się swoimi założeniami w ten nurt.The organizers of the conference wish to acknowledge the National Bank of Poland’s generous funding of this publication

Heat Capacity of Pd-Si, Ni-Si-B and Zr-Based Metallic Glasses

The specific heat of metallic glasses containing Si and B (Ni_Si_B_ and Pd_Si_) and Zr-based metallic glasses(Zr_Al_Cu_Ni_Co_, Zr_Al_Cu_ and Zr_Cu_) was measured in the temperature range 77-800 K using an a.c. calorimeter. Several exothermic and endothermic processes were observed correspondingly to the transformation sequences for complete crystallization of all the glasses. The structural relaxation process appears with a decrease in heat capacity. For Ni-Si-B and Pd-Si glasses an abrupt increase in the specific heat is observed at the glass transition temperature T_g. For Zr-based glasses, however, a monotonous increase in the specific heat is observed just below T_g. Then the specific heat makes a peak and decrease abruptly with increasing temperature. The height of the peak increases with heating rate

Effects of Mild Orthostatic Stimulation on Cerebral Pulsatile Hemodynamics

The augmented cerebral hemodynamic pulsatility could lead to the elevated risk of cerebrovascular disease. To determine the impact of an acute orthostatic challenge on a pulsatile component of cerebral hemodynamics, mild lower body negative pressure (LBNP, -30 mmHg) was applied to 29 men. Middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCAv) was measured by transcranial Doppler technique. Stroke volume (SV) was estimated by the Modelflow method with adjustment by the Doppler ultrasound-measured SV at rest. SV, peak and pulsatile MCAv, and pulsatility index were significantly lower during the LBNP stimulation than those at the baseline (e.g., supine resting) (P < 0.05 for all), whereas mean arterial pressure and mean MCAv remained unchanged. The change in SV with the LBNP stimulation significantly correlated with corresponding changes in peak and pulsatile MCAv (r = 0.617, P < 0.001; r = 0.413, P = 0.026, respectively). These results suggest that pulsatile components of cerebrovascular hemodynamics are dampened during the transient period of orthostatic challenge (as simulated using LBNP) when compared to supine rest, and which is partly due to the modified SV

Long-Term Optical Continuum Color Variability of Nearby Active Galactic Nuclei

We examine whether the spectral energy distribution of optical continuum emission of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) changes during flux variation, based on accurate and frequent monitoring observations of 11 nearby Seyfert galaxies and QSOs carried out in the B, V, and I bands for seven years by the MAGNUM telescope. The multi-epoch flux data in any two different bands obtained on the same night show a very tight linear flux to flux relationship for all target AGNs. The flux of the host galaxy within the photometric aperture is carefully estimated by surface brightness fitting to available high-resolution HST images and MAGNUM images. The flux of narrow emission lines in the photometric bands is also estimated from available spectroscopic data. We find that the non-variable component of the host galaxy plus narrow emission lines for all target AGNs is located on the fainter extension of the linear regression line of multi-epoch flux data in the flux to flux diagram. This result strongly indicates that the spectral shape of AGN continuum emission in the optical region does not systematically change during flux variation. The trend of spectral hardening that optical continuum emission becomes bluer as it becomes brighter, which has been reported by many studies, is therefore interpreted as the domination of the variable component of the nearly constant spectral shape of an AGN as it brightens over the non-variable component of the host galaxy plus narrow lines, which is usually redder than AGN continuum emission.Comment: 47 pages, 29 figures, AASTeX, Accepted for publication in Ap

Kidney outcomes associated with haematuria and proteinuria trajectories among patients with IgA nephropathy in real-world clinical practice: The Japan Chronic Kidney Disease Database

Aim: Among patients with Immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, we aimed to identify trajectory patterns stratified by the magnitude of haematuria and proteinuria using repeated urine dipstick tests, and assess whether the trajectories were associated with kidney events. Methods: Using a nationwide multicentre chronic kidney disease (CKD) registry, we analysed data from 889 patients with IgA nephropathy (mean age 49.3 years). The primary outcome was a sustained reduction in eGFR of 50% or more from the index date and thereafter. During follow-up (median 49.0 months), we identified four trajectories (low-stable, moderate-decreasing, moderate-stable, and high-stable) in both urine dipstick haematuria and proteinuria measurements, respectively. Results: In haematuria trajectory analyses, compared to the low-stable group, the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence interval [CI]) for kidney events were 2.59 (95% CI, 1.48-4.51) for the high-stable, 2.31 (95% CI, 1.19-4.50) for the moderate-stable, and 1.43 (95% CI, (0.72-2.82) for the moderate-decreasing groups, respectively. When each proteinuria trajectory group was subcategorized according to haematuria trajectories, the proteinuria group with high-stable and with modest-stable haematuria trajectories had approximately 2-times higher risk for eGFR reduction ≥50% compared to that with low-stable haematuria trajectory. Conclusion: Assessments of both haematuria and proteinuria trajectories using urine dipstick could identify high-risk IgA nephropathy patients.journal articl

Trans-ethnic Mendelian-randomization study reveals causal relationships between cardiometabolic factors and chronic kidney disease.

Funder: Government Department of BusinessFunder: Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)Funder: Vice-Chancellor Fellowship from the University of BristolFunder: Shanghai Thousand Talents ProgramFunder: Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) Springboard AwardFunder: BBSRC Innovation fellowshipFunder: NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of BristolBACKGROUND: This study was to systematically test whether previously reported risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) are causally related to CKD in European and East Asian ancestries using Mendelian randomization. METHODS: A total of 45 risk factors with genetic data in European ancestry and 17 risk factors in East Asian participants were identified as exposures from PubMed. We defined the CKD by clinical diagnosis or by estimated glomerular filtration rate of 25 kg/m2. CONCLUSIONS: Eight cardiometabolic risk factors showed causal effects on CKD in Europeans and three of them showed causality in East Asians, providing insights into the design of future interventions to reduce the burden of CKD.This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank resource under Application Numbers ‘40135’ and ‘15825’. J.Z. is funded by a Vice-Chancellor Fellowship from the University of Bristol. This research was also funded by the UK Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit [MC_UU_00011/1, MC_UU_00011/4 and MC_UU_00011/7]. J.Z. is supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) Springboard Award, the Wellcome Trust, the Government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK [SBF006\1117]. This study was funded/supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol (G.D.S., T.R.G. and R.E.W.). This study received funding from the UK Medical Research Council [MR/R013942/1]. J.Z., Y.M.Z. and T.R.G are funded by a BBSRC Innovation fellowship. J.Z. is supported by the Shanghai Thousand Talents Program. Y.M.Z. is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [81800636]. H.Z. is supported by the Training Program of the Major Research Plan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China [91642120], a grant from the Science and Technology Project of Beijing, China [D18110700010000] and the University of Michigan Health System–Peking University Health Science Center Joint Institute for Translational and Clinical Research [BMU2017JI007]. N.F. is supported by the National Institutes of Health awards R01-MD012765, R01-DK117445 and R21-HL140385. R.C. is funded by a Wellcome Trust GW4 Clinical Academic Training Fellowship [WT 212557/Z/18/Z]. The Trøndelag Health Study (the HUNT Study) is a collaboration between HUNT Research Centre (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Trøndelag County Council, Central Norway Regional Health Authority and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. M.C.B. is supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) Skills Development Fellowship [MR/P014054/1]. S.F. is supported by a Wellcome Trust PhD studentship [WT108902/Z/15/Z]. Q.Y. is funded by a China Scholarship Council PhD scholarship [CSC201808060273]. Y.C. was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China [2016YFC0900500, 2016YFC0900501 and 2016YFC0900504]. The China Kadoorie Biobank baseline survey and the first resurvey were supported by a grant from the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation in Hong Kong. The long-term follow-up is supported by grants from the UK Wellcome Trust [202922/Z/16/Z, 088158/Z/09/Z and 104085/Z/14/Z]. Japan-Kidney-Biobank was supported by AMED under Grant Number 20km0405210. P.C.H. is supported by Cancer Research UK [grant number: C18281/A19169]. A.K. was supported by DFG KO 3598/5–1. N.F. is supported by NIH awards R01-DK117445, R01-MD012765 and R21-HL140385. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health