A brief version of the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire for older Chinese adults: development and psychometric evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Positive attitudes toward aging are considered essential for achieving psychological well-being in later life. However, there is currently a lack of a concise and comprehensive measurement tool specifically designed to assess attitudes toward aging among the elderly population in China. To address this gap, the present study aimed to develop a brief version of the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire tailored to older Chinese individuals and evaluate its psychometric properties. METHODS: Initially, a sample of community-dwelling older adults (Sample 1: n = 442, aged 60-88) was utilized to establish a new scale format. Subsequently, two convenience samples (Sample 2: n = 311, aged 60-90; Sample 3: n = 164, aged 60-89) were employed to evaluate the psychometric properties of this scale, including factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. RESULTS: We selected 12 items from the original questionnaire to create the brief scale. The brief scale maintained the three-factor structure of the full-format version, encompassing psychosocial loss, physical change, and psychological growth, and demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. CONCLUSIONS: This development process shortens the administration time of the questionnaire while avoiding excessive loss of information. The newly developed scale serves as a reliable and valid assessment tool for measuring attitudes toward aging among older Chinese individuals and is well-suited for implementation in large-scale surveys that utilize an extensive array of questionnaires. This tool can be applied to assessing the effectiveness of interventions aimed at eliminating ageism.

Factors influencing older adults' acceptance of voice assistants.

Introduction: Voice assistants (VAs) have the potential to uphold and enhance the quality of life for older adults. However, the extent to which older adults accept and benefit from VAs may be relatively modest. Methods: This study developed a comprehensive model combined with product and personal characteristics to explain the acceptance of VAs among older adults, using semi-structured interviews (Study 1) and questionnaires (Study 2). Results: Results revealed that in terms of product characteristics, perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment significantly affect behavior intention. Regarding personal characteristics of older adults, technological self-efficacy and dispositional resistance to change significantly affect behavior intention. However, no direct impact of perceived ease of use and perceived trust on behavior intention. Additionally, perceived enjoyment influenced both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. Discussion: Results suggested the significant role of technology self-efficacy and dispositional resistance to change in predicting the acceptance of VAs among older adults. Our newly developed model offers valuable insights for tailoring VAs to this demographic during design and implementation.

A Chemical Chaperone Restores Connexin 26 Mutant Activity.

Mutations in connexin 26 (Cx26) cause hearing disorders of a varying degree. Herein, to identify compounds capable of restoring the function of mutated Cx26, a novel miniaturized microarray-based screening system was developed to perform an optical assay of Cx26 functionality. These molecules were identified through a viability assay using HeLa cells expressing wild-type (WT) Cx26, which exhibited sensitivity toward the HSP90 inhibitor radicicol in the submicromolar concentration range. Open Cx26 hemichannels are assumed to mediate the passage of molecules up to 1000 Da in size. Thus, by releasing radicicol, WT Cx26 active hemichannels in HeLa cells contribute to a higher survival rate and lower cell viability when Cx26 is mutated. HeLa cells expressing Cx26 mutations exhibited reduced viability in the presence of radicicol, such as the mutants F161S or R184P. Next, molecules exhibiting chemical chaperoning activity, suspected of restoring channel function, were assessed regarding whether they induced superior sensitivity toward radicicol and increased HeLa cell viability. Through a viability assay and microarray-based flux assay that uses Lucifer yellow in HeLa cells, compounds 3 and 8 were identified to restore mutant functionality. Furthermore, thermophoresis experiments revealed that only 3 (VRT-534) exhibited dose-responsive binding to recombinant WT Cx26 and mutant Cx26K188N with half maximal effective concentration values of 19 and ∼5 µM, respectively. The findings of this study reveal that repurposing compounds already being used to treat other diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, in combination with functional bioassays and binding tests can help identify novel potential candidates that can be used to treat hearing disorders.

Age similarities in the anchoring effect in emotion intensity judgment.

BACKGROUND: The anchoring effect refers to the tendency that an individual's numerical judgment would assimilate to an anchor (a numerical value) that appears before that judgment. This study investigated whether the anchoring effect exists in the emotion judgment of younger and older adults and observed the age-related characteristics. This could not only broaden the explanation of the anchoring effect but also link this classic judgment bias with daily emotion judgment to refresh our understanding of older adults' ability in emotional perspective taking. METHOD: Participants (older adults: n = 64, age range: 60-74, 27 males; younger adults: n = 68, age range: 18-34, 34 males) read a brief emotional story and compared the protagonist's emotion intensity to a given numerical anchor (lower or higher than the anchor) and then estimated the protagonist's possible emotion intensity in that story. The task was divided into two cases according to anchor relevance (anchors are relevant or irrelevant relative to the judgment target). RESULTS: The results showed that the estimates were higher under high-anchor than low-anchor conditions, suggesting the robust anchoring effect. Further, the anchoring effect was greater for anchor-relevant than anchor-irrelevant tasks and for negative rather than positive emotions. No age differences were found. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that the anchoring effect is robust and stable for younger and older adults, even though the anchor information seemed irrelevant. Finally, perceiving others' negative emotions is a crucial but rather difficult aspect of empathy, which could be a challenge and requires more caution for accurate interpretation.

Long-term psychological consequences of parental bereavement prior to midlife: volunteering helps.

OBJECTIVES: Losing a child prior to midlife may be a uniquely traumatic event that continues to compromise parents' well-being in later life. This study compared psychological well-being between bereaved and non-bereaved parents, and examined whether volunteering protects bereaved parents. Because most families have more than one child, we further explored whether the number of living children parents had differentiated bereaved parents in their well-being. METHODS: We analyzed a pooled sample of parents aged 50+ (N = 12,023) from the Health and Retirement Study (2010/2012-2012/2014), including parents who lost a child prior to 50 and those who never lost a child. Two-level linear regression models were estimated to test the associations between child loss, volunteering, and psychological well-being, and examine the moderating effect of number of living children. RESULTS: Bereaved parents reported more depressive symptoms and lower life satisfaction than their non-bereaved counterparts, which was more evident among parents with fewer children alive. Among bereaved parents, volunteering, particularly volunteering 100+ hours/year, was associated with better psychological well-being at baseline; yet, volunteering 1-99 hours/year led to a larger increase in life satisfaction over time. The benefits of volunteering held true regardless of the number of living children. CONCLUSION: This study adds to our understanding of the lasting effect of parental bereavement and suggests volunteering as a potential intervention aimed at helping bereaved older parents. Findings identify parents with fewer children as a particularly vulnerable population in the face of child loss and calls for more resources allocated to help them.

[Correlation between Connexin 43 Mutation and Skin Diseases].

Connexin(Cx) plays an important role in ensuring the material exchange and information transmission between cells and maintaining the stability of the skin barrier.The gene mutations and even the abnormal expression levels of Cx can cause a variety of diseases,which will seriously affect the quality of life of patients.The human body carries 21 genes encoding connexins,the mutations of which are associated with at least 14 clinical concomitant diseases.The existence of Cx43 with wide distribution has been reported in most organs and tissues.Moreover,Cx43 is a key regulatory node in important physiological and pathological processes such as wound healing,skin keratinization,and skin tumor development.This review focuses on the recent research achievements of the role of Cx43(GJA1) gene in the skin barrier,the skin diseases associated with GJA1 gene mutations,and the potential pathogenic mechanisms.It is expected to provide reference for the prevention and treatment of Cx43 clinical complications and the related research.

User Interface (UI) Design and User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) Evaluation of a To-Do List Mobile Application to Support Day-To-Day Life of Older Adults.

Because of the spread of smartphones, older adults enjoy the assistance of smartphones. However, fewer mobile applications are designed for older adults. Smartphone user interface (UI) serves as an external brain to capture information, and older adults may have memory complaints that affect self-confidence and lead to memory decline. Non-declarative memory requires more effort. Therefore, this study aims to design and evaluate a to-do list application to help older adults encode, store, and retrieve non-declarative memory, such as tasks they plan to do. We recruited 15 participants (5 men and 10 women) aged 60 to 75 years old (SD = 5.32). They were asked to complete nine usability tasks, and to answer a user experience questionnaire (UEQ) and a few interview questions. Sixty percent of users completed with only one or two attempts (median = 2.80, SD = 1.63). We found three usability issues and proposed an iteration plan. The application has attractiveness, efficiency, dependability, stimulation, novelty, and good perspicuity for older adults. The product was rated excellent except for perspicuity, which met the users' expectations. This indicates that the user is satisfied with the application prototype. The results of this measurement can be utilized as a benchmark for the next model for developing mobile to-do list applications on user experience.

Identification of a Thyroid Hormone Binding Site in Hsp90 with Implications for Its Interaction with Thyroid Hormone Receptor Beta.

While many proteins are known clients of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), it is unclear whether the transcription factor, thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRb), interacts with Hsp90 to control hormonal perception and signaling. Higher Hsp90 expression in mouse fibroblasts was elicited by the addition of triiodothyronine (T3). T3 bound to Hsp90 and enhanced adenosine triphosphate (ATP) binding of Hsp90 due to a specific binding site for T3, as identified by molecular docking experiments. The binding of TRb to Hsp90 was prevented by T3 or by the thyroid mimetic sobetirome. Purified recombinant TRb trapped Hsp90 from cell lysate or purified Hsp90 in pull-down experiments. The affinity of Hsp90 for TRb was 124 nM. Furthermore, T3 induced the release of bound TRb from Hsp90, which was shown by streptavidin-conjugated quantum dot (SAv-QD) masking assay. The data indicate that the T3 interaction with TRb and Hsp90 may be an amplifier of the cellular stress response by blocking Hsp90 activity.

Internet Use, Social Networks, and Loneliness Among the Older Population in China.

While the rate of Internet use among the older population in China is rapidly increasing, the outcomes associated with Internet use remain largely unexplored. Currently, there are contradictory findings indicating that Internet use is sometimes positively and sometimes negatively associated with older adults' subjective well-being. Therefore, we examined the associations between different types of Internet use, social networks, and loneliness among Chinese older adults using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Ageing Society Survey (N = 1863). Internet use was classified as interpersonal communication and information acquisition, and social networks were divided into family and friendship ties. The results showed that both interpersonal communication and information acquisition were associated with lower loneliness. Interpersonal communication can increase social networks, and family ties have a mediating effect on the association between Internet use for interpersonal communication and loneliness. Although information acquisition can directly decrease loneliness in older adults, it can also damage existing social networks and further increase loneliness. Family ties act as a suppressor in the association between Internet use for information acquisition and loneliness. Our study further discusses important implications for improving the subjective well-being of older adults in the digital era, based on the empirical findings.

Recyclable NiO/sepiolite as adsorbent to remove organic dye and its regeneration.

In this study, the impregnation synthesis of NiO/sepiolite and its application for dye removal during wastewater treatment is introduced. The NiO/sepiolite materials act as an adsorbent/catalyst. It comprises a unique combination of adsorption and high-temperature gas flow regeneration (the NiO/sepiolite acts as a catalyst at this stage, using regeneration rate as evaluation index of catalytic activity of NiO/sepiolite) in a single unit, in which the NiO/sepiolite was regenerated and reused for the next round adsorption of dye. An aqueous solution of methylene blue was used to evaluate the adsorption and regeneration performance of the adsorbent/catalyst. The regeneration rate reached 74% when the reaction time and temperature were 7 min and 350 °C, respectively. The effects of the regeneration temperature and volume fraction of O2 on the regeneration rate were investigated. And the regeneration reaction kinetics was provided. The combination of adsorptive and catalytic properties in the NiO/sepiolite composites received interesting results for removing refractory biodegradable organic pollutants. This work provides new insights for the removal of dye from wastewater using Ni catalysts supported on natural low-cost clay.

Effect of "freedom of choice" on Task Performance and Well-Being During Leisure Activity: An Intercultural Study Among Older Adults in China and France.

Based on the perspective of self-determination theory (SDT) and the cross-cultural, the aim of the present study was to explore the effect of "freedom of choice" on the well-being of institution-dwelling older adults (elderly residences and nursing homes), in particular during leisure activities. Participants (NChina = 67, Mage = 80.55 years; NFrance = 90, Mage = 82.19 years) were randomly assigned to the "elderly-choice" group or "staff choice" group to participate in a puzzle game. Consistent with SDT, results showed that basic psychological needs satisfaction (autonomy, competence, relatedness) was positively associated with elderly well-being. However, our findings did not demonstrate the importance of freedom of choice for promoting such well-being in the context of leisure activities for either culture; this may be related to the recompense of close relationships or else the particularity of the elderly population. Interestingly, competence satisfaction was observed to act as a complete mediating variable between task performance and well-being only in the French population.

The Contribution of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction to Psychological Well-Being via Autonomous Motivation Among Older Adults: A Cross-Cultural Study in China and France.

According to self-determination theory (SDT), the satisfaction of the universal needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness is important in order to enhance autonomous motivation, which in turn promotes psychological well-being (PWB), regardless of age or culture. In contrast, some cross-cultural perspectives challenge SDT's universalistic viewpoint, especially SDT's view that autonomy yields universal positive effects across Western and Eastern societies. To test these theoretical frameworks across cultures, with special focus on the field of aging, this study examined the contribution of satisfying basic psychological needs to elderly people's PWB from Eastern and Western cultures (China and France). Elderly retired people living at home (N China = 510, M age = 68.49 years; N France = 170, M age = 71.19 years) were invited to complete surveys assessing these variables and providing demographic information. Consistent with the hypothesis of SDT, results from structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that needs satisfaction facilitates autonomous motivation, which in turn promotes PWB in both elderly Chinese and French. Moreover, the finding from subsequent moderation analysis confirmed the moderating effect of culture in the relationship between competence satisfaction and PWB, with the contribution of competence satisfaction on PWB being stronger among elderly Chinese than elderly French (p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that, the broad applicability of SDT notwithstanding, attending to cultural differences in elderly care remains important.

When Collaborating in Constructive Task With Spouse: Attachment Orientation Predicts Exploratory Behavior Among Older Couples.

In order to examine the function of the attachment system in later life, this study investigated the relationships between attachment orientation and exploratory behavior in a collaborative constructive activity with one's spouse among older adults. In total, 49 older couples completed a collaborative constructive task, and their behaviors were videotaped. Each participant's exploratory behavior (i.e., engagement, enjoyment, and distress) was coded by independent raters. The results revealed older adults highly engaged in the collaborative activity. In addition, based on the actor-partner interdependence model, the results indicated that attachment avoidance positively predicted the individuals' enjoyment as well as their partners' distress during the collaborative activity. The current findings extend the literature regarding the effects of attachment on exploration from early adulthood to later life, from the workplace to family life, and from individual's own behavior to collaborative situation.

A systematic review and meta-analysis on basic psychological need satisfaction, motivation, and well-being in later life: Contributions of self-determination theory.

As the population ages, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to well-being in the elderly. The purpose of this study is to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of research on well-being among elderly people conducted particularly within the framework of self-determination theory and, more precisely, to study the relationships among basic psychological need satisfaction, motivation, and well-being. Therefore, a systematic search of the literature was conducted using the databases PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Academic Onefile, MEDLINE, Science Direct, and ERIC to find studies published in English and French. China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) was used to find studies published in Chinese. Ultimately, 23 studies (mainly from the United States, Canada, and Europe; no studies published in China were found) in the field of aging were used for the systematic analysis, 17 of which were used for the meta-analysis. The results reported in these publications are relatively congruent with the idea that basic psychological need satisfaction and motivation (autonomous types) are positively associated with positive indicators of well-being (meaning in life, life satisfaction, positive affect, self-esteem, etc.) and negatively associated with negative indicators of well-being (depression, apathy, etc.).

The Impact on Mental Health of Losing an Only Child and the Influence of Social Support and Resilience.

The number of parents who have lost their only child (PLOCs) has increased annually with the implementation of the birth control policy in mainland China. This study aimed to investigate the mental health status of PLOCs and the influence of social support and resilience. Study 1 recruited 100 PLOCs and 88 nonbereaved parents, and compared differences in depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Study 2 investigated the influence of social support and resilience on the mental health of PLOCs via a mediating model. Results indicate that PLOCs reported more anxiety and depression symptoms than nonbereaved counterparts. Perceived close family support, objective support, and resilience negatively predicted anxiety and depression. In addition, perceived close family support was found to influence mental health via resilience. The current findings reveal that losing an only child has long-term negative impacts on the mental health of PLOCs. However, perceived close family support and objective support can protect their mental health either directly or indirectly via resilience.

Combining use of Phillyrin and autophagy blocker alleviates laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma via AMPK/mTOR/p70S6K signaling.

Phillyrin (PHN), one of the major active constituents of Forsythia suspensa and F. koreana, has been reported to produce antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory effects. However, no study has demonstrated the role of PHN in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). We aimed to investigate the effects of PHN on the proliferation and apoptosis of HEp-2 cells. In the present study, PHN alone showed little effect on HEp-2 cell proliferation and apoptosis. Subsequent tests showed that PHN could largely enhance the level of autophagy on HEp-2 cells. Combining use of PHN and autophagy blockers including 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and chloroquine (CQ) significantly inhibited HEp-2 cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner and induced apoptosis after 24 h in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, we found that the possible underlying molecular mechanism of PHN-induced autophagy might be through the AMPK/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway. Taken together, our study indicates that combining use of PHN and autophagy blockers may serve as a novel strategy in LSCC treatment.

How Do I Narrate My Marriage: The Relationship Between Attachment Orientation and Quality of Autobiographical Memory.

Attachment orientations play important roles in the generation of emotional autobiographical memory (AM). However, little research has considered the quality of autographical narratives, which may reflect the structure and content of internal working models (IWMs) of attachment. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between attachment orientations and narrative quality of marriage-related autobiographical memories. Ninety-four married adults were asked to retrieve two episodes of emotional autobiographical memories. The coherence and vividness of their narratives were then coded. Results indicated that adults who were highly avoidant were more likely to present their memories in a less coherent way and to describe negative memories with more perceptual details. In contrast, attachment anxiety was associated with lower vividness of negative memories. The current findings suggest that an attachment schematic-processing strategy was used in narrating the attachment-related experiences.

Remembering the past and imagining the future: attachment effects on production of episodic details in close relationships.

Attachment theories and studies have shown that Internal Working Models (IWMs) can impact autobiographical memory and future-oriented information processing relevant to close relationships. According to the constructive episodic simulation hypothesis (CESH), both remembering the past and imagining the future rely on episodic memory. We hypothesised that one way IWMs may bridge past experiences and future adaptations is via episodic memory. The present study investigated the association between attachment and episodic specificity in attachment-relevant and attachment-irrelevant memory and imagination among young and older adults. We measured the attachment style of 37 young adults and 40 older adults, and then asked them to remember or imagine attachment-relevant and attachment-irrelevant events. Participants' narratives were coded for internal details (i.e., episodic) and external details (e.g., semantic, repetitions). The results showed that across age group, secure individuals generated more internal details and fewer external details in attachment-relevant tasks compared to attachment-irrelevant tasks; these differences were not observed in insecure individuals. These findings support the CESH and provide a new perspective to understand the function of IWMs.

Emotional valence of stimuli modulates false recognition: Using a modified version of the simplified conjoint recognition paradigm.

False recognition results from the interplay of multiple cognitive processes, including verbatim memory, gist memory, phantom recollection, and response bias. In the current study, we modified the simplified Conjoint Recognition (CR) paradigm to investigate the way in which the valence of emotional stimuli affects the cognitive process and behavioral outcome of false recognition. In Study 1, we examined the applicability of the modification to the simplified CR paradigm and model. Twenty-six undergraduate students (13 females, aged 21.00±2.30years) learned and recognized both the large and small categories of photo objects. The applicability of the paradigm and model was confirmed by a fair goodness-of-fit of the model to the observational data and by their competence in detecting the memory differences between the large- and small-category conditions. In Study 2, we recruited another sample of 29 undergraduate students (14 females, aged 22.60±2.74years) to learn and recognize the categories of photo objects that were emotionally provocative. The results showed that negative valence increased false recognition, particularly the rate of false "remember" responses, by facilitating phantom recollection; positive valence did not influence false recognition significantly though enhanced gist processing.

Applicability of the International Affective Picture System in Chinese older adults: A validation study.

The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) is a standardized tool widely used to induce emotions in psychological studies. The present study examined the reliability and validity of the IAPS in Chinese older adults. A sample consisting of 126 Chinese older adults (86 females; aged 67.3 ± 4.96 years; 13.2 ± 2.75 years of education) was recruited to rate valence and arousal for 942 IAPS pictures. The results showed a satisfactory reliability and validity of the IAPS among these participants. The reliability was supported by high internal consistency and low inter-individual variance of participants' ratings; the validity was supported by high similarities (in rating scores and in the distribution of the pictures in the valence-arousal affective space) and small differences (in mean ratings) between Chinese and German older adults. In conclusion, the study adds supportive evidence to the cross-cultural validity of the IAPS in older adults, and provides a set of normative emotional ratings that could be adopted as a criterion in the selection of emotional pictures in future studies engaging Chinese older adults. Comparison of the IAPS ratings across cultures and ages is also discussed.