<p> The rate of individuals transitioning to old age (<i>i.e.</i> 65 and older) is expected to exponentially increase in the coming years (United Nations Development Division, 2015), and as such society&rsquo;s need for research promoting successful aging to meet the demand for this growing population is accelerating. The transitionary period into old age holds significant and diverse challenges and losses that interact across life domains, and can make old age seem depressing and lead to a decline in well-being (Stevernick, 2014). Although older adults have many challenges that are associated with old age, many continue to live in a positive and adaptive way (Jeste &amp; Oswald, 2014). As such, successful aging has become a highly researched model, which refers to relatively high levels of cognitive, physical, and social functioning, and distancing from disease and disability (Rowe &amp; Kahn, 1997). The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether higher levels of sexual frequency and sexual satisfaction as well as personality predicted successful aging. Successful aging was operationally defined through the change in overall psychological well-being from middle to older adulthood. Health status and gender were also assessed to see whether they moderated the effect of predictors on overall psychological well-being. The study employed previously collected data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), a large sample of Wisconsin high school graduates who provided longitudinal data on diverse information across an extensive period of time (Herd, Carr, &amp; Roan, 2014). The data used was collected from the 1993 and 2011 waves when participants were an average of 53 and 71 years old. Variables were created from self-report survey items from Ryff&rsquo;s Psychological Well-Being Scales (Ryff &amp; Keyes, 1995), the Big Five Inventory, version 54 (BFI-54) (John, 1990; John, Donahue, &amp; Kentle, 1991), self-report data on sexual behaviors, and demographic information. Two-way mixed effects ANOVA and hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that sexual frequency, sexual satisfaction, and personality all predicted change in overall psychological well-being. Health and gender did not moderate the relationship between sexual behaviors and psychological well-being, however the relationship between personality and psychological well-being was partially moderated by health and gender.</p><p>

Orientador: Francisco Humberto Nociti Junior / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-09T20:03:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Benatti_BrunoBraga_D.pdf: 1238620 bytes, checksum: 74ac7fb19efcf73bb7cccf8ec4f353d2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a influência do fator idade sobre o comportamento e expressão gênica de células do ligamento periodontal (CLPD), e quais alterações o tratamento com fator de crescimento básico de fibroblastos (bFGF) pode induzir nestas populações celulares. Culturas primárias de CLPD foram obtidas e divididas nos seguintes grupos experimentais: A ¿ inclusos (células obtidas de terceiros molares inclusos de voluntários entre 18 e 30 anos de idade), B ¿ jovens (células obtidas de pré-molares erupcionados de voluntários entre 15 e 20 anos de idade), C ¿ idosos (células obtidas de dentes erupcionados de voluntários acima de 60 anos de idade), D ¿ grupo A submetido ao tratamento com 10?g/ml de bFGF, E ¿ grupo B submetido ao tratamento com 10?g/ml de bFGF e F ¿ grupo C submetido ao tratamento com 10?g/ml de bFGF. Foram realizados ensaios de proliferação e viabilidade celular, mineralização, quantificação dos níveis de proteína total e do padrão de expressão dos seguintes genes: Colágeno tipo I e III, metaloproteinase (MMP)-2 e -8, inibidor tecidual de metaloproteinase (TIMP)-1 e ¿2, fator de crescimento derivado de plaquetas (PDGF)-1, proteína morfogenética óssea (BMP)-3, bFGF, osteoprotegerina (OPG), receptor ativador do fator nuclear kß ligante (RANKL), interleucina (IL)-1ß, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 e receptor de fator de crescimento de fibroblasto (FGFR) 1 por meio da técnica de ¿real-time¿ PCR (PCRq). A análise dos resultados demonstrou que a idade diminuiu a taxa de proliferação celular e a formação de nódulos minerais (P<0,05), enquanto que não se observou efeito significativo da idade sobre a viabilidade celular e quantidade total de proteína secretada (P>0,05). Já na análise de expressão gênica observou-se que a idade diminuiu significativamente os níveis de RNAm para colágeno tipo I e IL-4, enquanto que para os genes FGFR1, MMP-8, TIMP-1, OPG e IL-1ß e 6, observou-se um aumento nos níveis de RNAm (P<0,05). O tratamento com 10?g/ml de bFGF aumentou a taxa proliferativa em todos os grupos (P<0,05), entretanto com menor intensidade nas células de idosos (P<0,05). Já a formação de nódulos minerais foi inibida pelo fator crescimento em todos os grupos experimentais (P<0,05), enquanto que a viabilidade celular e quantidade total de proteína secretada não foram afetadas (P>0,05). Na avaliação do padrão de expressão gênica, os resultados demostraram que o tratamento com bFGF, diminuiu nos níveis de RNAm para todos os genes (P<0,05), com excessão da TIMP-1 e IL-8 que aumentaram (P<0,05), BMP-3 que aumentou nas células de jovens e diminui nas células de idosos (P<0,05), e PDGF-1 que não foi afetada (P>0,05). Dentro dos limites do estudo, podemos concluir que: i) foi possível estabelecer culturas primárias de células do ligamento periodontal obtidas de pacientes jovens e idosos, ii) a idade pode modular propriedades importantes das CLPD, diminuindo seu potencial de regeneração de estruturas minerais além de exacerbar características pró-inflamatórias e de degradação da matriz extracelular e iii) o tratamento com 10?g/ml de bFGF induz alterações similares no comportarmento de CLPD independentemente da idade do doador / Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aging on periodontal ligament cells (PDLC), modulated by the treatment with bFGF. Primary periodontal ligament cell cultures were obtained and divided into the following experimental groups: A ¿ impacted (cells from impacted molars from subjects aged 18 to 30 years), B ¿ young (cells from erupted pre-molars from subjects aged 15 to 20 years), C ¿ aged (cells from erupted teeth from patients aged more than 60 years), D ¿ group A treated with 10?g/ml of bFGF, E ¿ group B treated with 10?g/ml of bFGF and F ¿ group C treated with 10?g/ml of bFGF. For all groups, we performed proliferation and cell viability assays, mineralization assay, total protein quantification and assessed mRNA levels of: type I and III collagen, MMP-2 e -8, TIMP-1 e ¿2, PDGF-1, BMP-3, bFGF, OPG, RANKL, IL-1, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 and FGFR 1 utlizing the ¿real-time¿ PCR technique. Data analysis demonstrated that aging negatively influenced cell proliferation and mineral nodule formation (P<0.05), while cell viability and total protein secretion were not affected (P>0.05). Gene expression analysis revealed that aging decreased mRNA levels of collagen type I and IL-4, and increased mRNA levels of FGFR1, MMP-8, TIMP-1, OPG and IL-1 and 6 (P<0.05). Treatment with 10?g/ml of bFGF significantly increased cell proliferation for all groups (P<0.05), however with a less impact on aged cells (P<0.05). In addition, cell viability and total protein secretion were not affected by bFGF (P>0.05), while mineral nodule formation was significantly inhibited (P<0.05). Finally, gene expression analysis demonstrated that bFGF decreased mRNA levels of all genes (P<0.05), except for TIMP-1 and IL-8 that were increased (P<0.05), PDGF-1 that was not affected (P>0.05) and BMP-3 that was increased in young cells and decreased in aged cells (P<0.05). Within the limits of our study, we may conclude that: i) it was possible to esblish primary cultures of PDLC obtained from young and aged donors, ii) aging modulates important features of periodontal ligament cells (PDLC), decreasing the potential for regeneration of mineralized tissues and favoring a pro-inflammatory and degenerative profile and iii) treatment with 10?g/ml of bFGF leads to similar PDLC behavioral alterations despite of the donor age / Doutorado / Periodontia / Doutor em Clínica Odontológica

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:36:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:59:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 03981.pdf: 3648582 bytes, checksum: 289e3f8da88b110ea883c9749d9e35bc (MD5) / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

Orientadores: Francisco Humberto Nociti Junior, Marcio Zaffalon Casati / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-04T04:59:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Benatti_BrunoBraga_M.pdf: 1301052 bytes, checksum: 1ccadb0982e68f824ce04b017e4ce35d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: Tem sido relatado que o consumo de cigarros influencia negativamente a cicatrização periodontal após procedimentos terapêuticos. Entretanto, existe pouca informação em relação à influência da inalação da fumaça de cigarro e da administração de nicotina sobre a regeneração periodontal espontânea. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar histologicamente em ratos, o impacto da inalação da fumaça de cigarro e da administração de nicotina num modelo de reparo periodontal espontâneo. Foram utilizados neste estudo, 39 ratos adultos (Rattus Norvegicus, Albinus, Wistar), todos originários do centro de bioterismo da UNICAMP. Os animais foram divididos aleatoriamente em 3 grupos experimentais: Grupo 1 ¿ controle (n=13), Grupo 2 ¿ administração subcutânea de nicotina (3mg/kg), 3 vezes ao dia (n=13) e Grupo 3 ¿ exposição à fumaça de cigarro, 3 vezes ao dia (n=13). Trinta dias após o início dos regimes, sob anestesia geral, foi criado um defeito do tipo fenestração (King et al., 1997 modificado), tendo como dimensões 4mm de comprimento, 3mm de altura e 1mm de profundidade, com o objetivo de expor a região vestibular da raiz distal dos primeiros molares inferiores, e proporcionar a remoção do cemento dental. Os animais foram sacrificados 21 dias após a criação dos defeitos. Os resultados foram avaliados histometricamente para os seguintes parâmetros: extensão do defeito remanescente, porcentagem de preenchimento do defeito, densidade do novo osso e extensão de novo cemento. A análise intergrupo demonstrou que os defeitos tinham tamanho similar inicialmente, e que a exposição a fumaça de cigarro reduziu significativamente (P=0.05) a densidade do novo osso (80.07+3.45%, 76.37+5.27%, 72.74+6.24%, grupos 1, 2 e 3; respectivamente) e o preenchimento do defeito (95.97+4.64%, 90.62+4.64%, 85.34+7.70%, grupos 1, 2 e 3; respectivamente). Não ocorreu a formação de novo cemento em nenhum dos grupos experimentais. Dentro dos limites deste estudo, a análise dos dados nos permite concluir que a fumaça de cigarro pode influenciar negativamente a regeneração periodontal espontânea em ratos / Abstract: Cigarette smoking has been shown to negatively influence healing following periodontal therapeutic procedures. However, limited information is available on the effect of cigarette smoking on periodontal self-healing capacity in sites not previously exposed to contaminants. Therefore, the aim of this study was to histologically evaluate in rats, the impact of cigarette smoke inhalation and nicotine administration on a spontaneous periodontal healing model. Thirty nine male adult Wistar rats were used, and randomly assigned to one of the following groups: Group 1- control (n=13), Group 2- subcutaneous nicotine administration (NA) (3mg/Kg) (n=13), and Group 3- cigarette smoke inhalation (CSI) (n=13). Thirty days after the beginning of CSI and NA regimens; periodontal fenestration defects (4x3x1mm) were created at the buccal aspect of the distal root of first mandibular molars, and the animals sacrificed 21 days after surgery. The percentage of bone fill and density of new formed bone, new cementum formation, and extension of the remaining defect were histometrically obtained. Intergroup analysis demonstrated that the defects were initially similar in size, and that CSI significantly reduced (P=0.05) density of the newly formed bone (80.07+3.45%, 76.37+5.27%, 72.74+6.24%, for group 1, 2 and 3; respectively) and bone filling (95.97+4.64%, 90.62+4.64%, 85.34+7.70%, for group 1, 2 and 3; respectively). No new cementum was formed along the root surface in the above groups. Within the limits of the present study, data analysis suggests that smoking may influence the self-healing capacity of periodontal tissues regardless previous exposure to dental biofilm / Mestrado / Periodontia / Doutor em Clínica Odontológica

M.Sc. (Botany) / Senescence of carnation flowers is accompanied by an increase in the sensitivity of the petals to ethylene. It appears that ethylene sensitivity during normal senescence and under stress conditions is induced by the production of short-chain saturated fatty acids ranging in chain-length from C7-C10 during the early stages. During pollination-induced senescence these acids are synthesized in the styles as a result of wounding and transported to the corolla where they induce an increase in ethylene sensitivity of the petals to ethylene, causing an advancement in the timing of the climacteric peak in ethylene production. It appears that the cell membrane is the site' of action for short-chain fatty acids in their regulation of ethylene sensitivity in plant tissues. These acids cause an increase "in the ability of the tissue to bind ethylene by affecting the physical properties of the cell membranes. Treatment with STS results in a suppression of ethylene sensitivity by stabilizing the cell membranes, thereby decreasing the ability of ethylene to bind to its receptor sites in the cell membranes. Treatment with short-chain fatty acids overrides this stabilizing effect to a great extent by increasing the permeability of cellular membranes and thus the sensitivity of the carnation petal tissue to ethylene.

Big Blue® lacI transgenic mice and rats carry the E. coli lacI gene integrated as a tandem array of approximately 40 copies integrated at a single site in chromosome 4. This mutationally well-characterized gene is highly sensitive to base substitution mutations and is readily recovered from virtually any tissue of the transgenic host, facilitating the in vivo study of mutation. The Big Blue® assay was used to investigate spontaneous and induced mutation, with an emphasis on dietary influences on mutational frequency and specificity. The effects of ageing and dietary restriction on spontaneous mutation in the lacI transgene were determined in mice, permitting evaluation of several well established theories of ageing. Mutation frequencies were found to increase with age in tissues that proliferate (bladder and liver, but not brain), validating a principle tenet of the somatic ageing theory. However, the unexpected lack of a change in mutational specificity in ageing mice suggests that theories of ageing based on oxidative damage, or a reduction in DNA repair efficiency, may not be seminal to the ageing process, at least until more advanced age. Similarly, dietary restriction, which is known to extend lifespan in rodents and was predicted to decrease oxidative DNA-damage, had no appreciable effect on either the frequency or the specificity of spontaneous mutation in liver of younger (6 month old) and older (12 month old) mice. Dietary influences on induced mutation were examined following treatment with aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5- b]pyridine (PhIP) powerful animal carcinogens which demonstrate tissue, species and sex-linked differences in rats and mice. As expected, AFB₁ was found to be potently mutagenic in rat but not mouse liver, in agreement with rodent carcinogenicity studies that found F344 rats to be highly susceptible to AFB₁-induced hepatocarcinogenesis, while C57BL/6 mice are highly resistant. PhIP was found to be potently and equally mutagenic in colon of both male and female rats. The result in female colon was surprising since PhIP predominantly induces colon cancer in male rats but mammary tumors in female rats. Therefore, the progression of PhIP-induced colon cancer in the rat colon is likely due to factors acting at a later stage in the tumorigenic process, following the damage and mutation of DNA. Rat prostate tissue, another tumor target tissue in PhIP-treated rats, was also found to be highly susceptible to PhIP-induced mutagenesis. Lastly, the PhIP studies were extended to an additional transgene target located in the shuttle vector construct from Big Blue® rodents, the bacteriophage λ-derived cII gene. These studies validated the use of the λ cII gene as an alternative mutational target for use in the Big Blue® assay, while the analyses of mutation in the lacI and the λcII transgenes serves as a paradigm for mutational studies which compare mutational responses in different genes. Collectively, these studies demonstrate the utility of the lacI (λ cII) transgenic mutagenicity assay for the in vivo investigation of mutational processes as a function of age, diet, sex, species, and target tissue specificity with respect to sites of mutation and cancer. / Graduate

<p> With limitations brought about by physical and cognitive decline in older adults, many of them struggle with a loss of independence in performing daily tasks and in decision-making when transitioning into a nursing home or assisted living facility. With the older adult population growing rapidly, healthcare systems must stress the importance of increasing the population's quality of life through treating the whole person. Little research has been conducted on the effects of adaptive tools and adaptations in art therapy on mood and control as a sense of autonomy. This art-based phenomenological research explored the benefits of using adaptive tools and other adaptations in art therapy with 4 older adults, who experienced various transitions while living in a rehabilitation and healthcare facility. This study analyzed participants' artwork and art making experience during a single one-on-one, semi-structured session. The researcher analyzed her own journal entries and artwork created in response to each session. Adaptations and adaptive tools were gradually introduced as requested by the participant or when deemed necessary by the researcher. Participants were asked to reflect about their artworks and art making process. This study qualitatively depicted the value of responsive rather than anticipatory adaptations toward increased self-expression and self-awareness in this population, as well as support of their need to reclaim physical, cognitive, and emotional control as autonomy.</p><p>

<p> Whether incarceration confers excessive risk for accelerated aging or premature mortality remains an open question. Earlier studies suggested excess risk for aging and premature mortality but the data were either anecdotal or using population comparisons. One of the major risk factors for persons incarcerated is a history of substance abuse which alone is associated with adverse outcomes. Thus, we chose to examine the question of incarceration and adverse outcomes among a sample restricted to drug users, to determine if there was an independent risk related to incarceration. In terms of drug use, it is well documented that the risk of mortality is highest within the first couple of weeks after release. We framed the question, does a history of incarceration have a latency for a long term effect on accelerated aging and premature mortality after accounting for drug use. To examine this question, we used data from the AIDS Linked to the IntraVenous Experience (ALIVE) cohort, which consisted of injection drug users (IDU) presenting to a community clinic in Baltimore and followed semiannually for up to 30 years. Data were collected from 2005&ndash;2013 and history of incarceration was based on self-report for when the participant was entered into the cohort study anytime between 1988&ndash;2005. Outcome data were frailty using Fried&rsquo;s criteria (For frailty, operationalized according to Fried, we used a three-level scale of non-frail, prefrail, and frail) that was collected from 2005 onward, and all-cause mortality collected from NDI-Plus. For statistical analysis, ALIVE participants were divided into two cohorts, those recruited before the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) when HIV infection was a significant cause of premature mortality, and those recruited after the advent of HAART when the risk of death from HIV dropped significantly. We started the investigation with a literature review that included scholarly studies published from 1990 until 2017 on the association between incarceration and prevalence of chronic disease. In the cross-sectional study, the independent variable was a history of incarceration, operationalized as the total number of reported incarcerations in the six months prior to baseline. We examined two dependent variables: Frailty and mortality. No statistically significant effect of incarceration on frailty was found even after controlling for age, gender, race, educational attainment, HIV status, or current injection drug use. For mortality by a history of incarceration a survival analysis showed no significant difference even after controlling for age, gender, and HIV status. The adjusted relative hazard (95% CI) of mortality for those with a history of incarceration was 1.14 (0.81, 1.60) among those enrolled in the Pre-HAART era cohort and 1.19 (0.68, 2.10) for those enrolled in the HAART era cohort. Although earlier studies observed excess mortality soon after release, our data suggests that the role of past incarceration may have modest if any impact on the long term occurrence of frailty or mortality.</p><p>

<p>ABSTRACT The current increase in the population of older adults has created a high demand for more informal caregivers. Informal caregivers complain of many problems in providing care including psychological stresses and anxieties, as well as physical, emotional, financial, and other social burdens. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe the essence of the lived experiences of informal caregivers. The study was also intended to make health professionals and policy makers aware of such problems. The study adopted a qualitative methodology and a hermeneutical phenomenological design. Purposeful sampling was used in selecting participants with informal caregiving experience. Eleven informal caregivers were interviewed via telephone for data collection. Data was analyzed using Nvivo 11 for the identification and description of patterns and themes from the perspectives of participants. Eight themes that emerged from data analysis were: (a) Gender, many females engaging in caregiving, (b) Caregivers feeling stressful, (c) Love played a crucial role in caregiving, (d) Need for training for caregivers, (e) Being cared for by loved family members, (f) Impacts on job performance, (g) Living arrangements between caregiver and care receiver, and (h) Lack of support from family, community or state agencies. The conclusions focused on the need for support to informal caregivers such as caregiver training, adult day care services, care leave or respite care, increased access to services, care payments, and expansion in the informal caregiver workforce.

Recent findings have suggested that the type of postural control seems to change, with certain conditions promoting a more conscious control and others, a more automatic control. It has been proposed that by withdrawing attention from postural control, external focus and cognitive task conditions allow automatic mechanisms to control sway more efficiently. The present dissertation aimed to investigate whether two types of postural control exist and to provide evidence for these two types of postural control in healthy young and older adults. In experiment 1, the effect of attentional focus and cognitive tasks was examined in healthy older adults. It was found that the cognitive task yielded improvements in stability compared to focus conditions, which highlighted the fact that automaticity is possible in this group. In experiment 2, the effect of attentional focus and cognitive tasks was once again observed in older adults, this time by including electromyographic recordings of lower leg muscles to examine if changes were due to stiffening. Although improvements were observed in external focus and cognitive task conditions compared to baseline and internal focus, no change occurred in muscle activity which lends further support to the idea that changes are due to automaticity. Finally, dynamic measures of sway were used to help interpret the changes that occurred in attentional focus and cognitive task conditions in both young and older adults. The wavelet transform revealed a change in sensory contributions to postural control in cognitive task conditions. There was a shift to increased contributions from the cerebellum and the vestibular system, and a decrease in visual contributions, compared to other conditions. Sample entropy revealed changes in complexity of sway, with cognitive tasks presenting more complex, irregular and efficient sway in both groups compared to baseline standing and attentional focus conditions. Finally, the rambling-trembling decomposition highlighted increases in the spinal reflex contributions to sway in external focus and difficult cognitive task conditions in young adults, while no change occurred in older adults. Results of these experiments provide the evidence of two types of postural control; a more automatic type in cognitive task conditions and a more conscious type in baseline and internal focus conditions. The external focus elicited some changes that could have indicated automaticity, but clear differences were still present between this condition and the cognitive tasks, which suggest automaticity of sway should be viewed as a continuum.