Journey to work:exploring difficulties, solutions and the impact of aging

A study was conducted in the UK, as part of the New Dynamics of Ageing Working Late project, of the journey to work among 1215 older workers (age groups 45-49, 50-55, 56-60 and 60 + ). The aim was to identify problems or concerns that they might have with their commute, strategies that have been adopted to address them, and the role that employers can play to assist them. Follow-up interviews with 36 employees identified many strategies for assisting with the problems of journeys to work, ranging from car share and using public transport to flexible working and working some days from home. Further interviews with a sample of 12 mainly larger companies showed that employers feel a responsibility for their workers’ commute, with some offering schemes to assist them, such as adjusting work shift timings to facilitate easier parking. The research suggests that the journey to work presents difficulties for a significant minority of those aged over 45, including issues with cost, stress, health, fatigue and journey time. It may be possible to reduce the impact of these difficulties on employee decisions to change jobs or retire by assisting them to adopt mitigating strategies. It does not appear that the likelihood of experiencing a problem with the journey to work increases as the employee approaches retirement; therefore, any mitigating strategy is likely to help employees of all ages. These strategies have been disseminated to a wider audience through an online resource at www.workinglate.org.

The interface between Alzheimer's disease, normal aging, and related disorders

Since the earliest descriptions of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the presence of senile plaques (SP) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) have been regarded as the typical pathological hallmarks of the disease. Studies over the last twenty years, however, have reported a considerable degree of heterogeneity within the AD phenotype and as a consequence, an overlap between the pathological features of AD not only with normal aging, but also with disorders related to AD. This review discusses: 1) the degree of heterogeneity within AD, 2) the concept of an 'interface' between disorders, 3) the nature and degree of the interface between AD and normal aging, vascular dementia (VD), the tauopathies, synucleinopathies, and prion disease, and 4) whether the original status of AD should be retained or whether AD, normal aging, and the related disorders should be regarded as representing a 'continuum' of neuropathological change.

A pharmacy workforce survey in the West Midlands: 3 primary care pharmacists

In a study to quantify the extent of current and planned employment of primary care pharmacists (PCPs) and to explore the experiences of PCPs and the perceptions of other pharmacists who aspire to become PCPs, it was found that the satisfaction experienced by primary care pharmacists appears to offset to some extent the dissatisfaction expressed about traditional pharmacy work in community pharmacy. The high level of interest in PCP work may also be a proxy for pharmacists' dissatisfaction.

A pharmacy workforce survey in the West Midlands: 4 Morale and motivation

Resuts of a study to determine the levels of moral and motivation among pharmacists about their careers, current job and future within the profession.

Experiments and observations on the behaviour and brain of the aging female mouse with special reference to dementia of the Alzheimer type

The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of normal aging and the additional effects of chronic exposure to two experimental diets, one enriched in aluminium, the other enriched in lecithin, on aspects of the behaviour and brain histology of the female mouse. The aluminium diet was administered in an attempt to develop a rodent model of Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (DAT). With normal aging, almost all assessed aspects of behaviour were found to be impaired. As regards cognition, selective impairments of single-trial passive avoidance and Morris place learning were observed. While all aspects of open-field behaviour were impaired, the degree of impairment was directly related to the degree of motoric complexity. Deficits were also observed on non-visual sensorimotor coordination tasks and in olfactory discrimination. Histologically, neuron loss, gliosis, vacuolation and congophilic angiopathy were observed in several of the brain regions/fibre tracts believed to contribute to the control of some of the assessed behaviours. The aluminium treatment had very selective effects on both behaviour and brain histology, inducing several features observed in DAT. Behaviourally, the treatment induced impaired spatial reference memory; reduced ambulation; disturbed olfactory function and induced the premature development of the senile pattern of swimming. Histologically, significant neuron loss and gliosis were observed in the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, amygdala, medial septum, pyriform and pr-frontal cortex. In addition, the brain distribution of congophilic angiopathy was significantly increased by the treatment. The lecithin treatment had effects on both non-cognitive and cognitive aspects of behaviour. The effects of aging on open-field ambulation and rearing were partially ameliorated by the treatment. A similar effect was observed for single-trial passive avoidance performance. Age-dependent improvements in acquisition/retention were observed in 17-23 month mice and Morris place task performance was improved in 11 and 17 month mice. Histologically, a partial sparing of neurons in the cerebellum, hippocampus, entorhinal cortex and subiculum was observed.

Results of the IEA round Robin on viscosity and aging of fast pyrolysis bio-oils:long-term tests and repeatability

An international round robin study of the viscosity measurements and aging of fast pyrolysis bio-oil has been undertaken recently, and this work is an outgrowth from that effort. Two bio-oil samples were distributed to two laboratories for accelerated aging tests and to three laboratories of long-term aging studies. The accelerated aging test was defined as the change in viscosity of a sealed sample of bio-oil held for 24 h at 80 °C. The test was repeated 10 times over consecutive days to determine the intra-laboratory repeatability of the method. Other bio-oil samples were placed in storage at three temperatures, 21, 5, and -17 °C, for a period of up to 1 year to evaluate the change in viscosity. The variation in the results of the accelerated aging test was shown to be low within a given laboratory. The long-term aging studies showed that storage of a filtered bio-oil under refrigeration can minimize the amount of change in viscosity. The accelerated aging test gave a measure of change similar to that of 6-12 months of storage at room temperature for a filtered bio-oil. Filtration of solids was identified as a key contributor to improving the stability of the bio-oil as expressed by the viscosity based on results of the accelerated aging tests as well as long-term aging studies. Only the filtered bio-oil consistently gave useful results in the accelerated aging and long-term aging studies. The inconsistency suggests that better protocols need to be developed for sampling bio-oils. These results can be helpful in setting standards for use of bio-oil, which is just coming into the marketplace. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

NOx storage-reduction characteristics of Ba-based lean NOx trap catalysts subjected to simulated road aging

In order to study the effect of washcoat composition on lean NOx trap (LNT) aging characteristics, fully formulated monolithic LNT catalysts containing varying amounts of La-stabilized CeO2 (5 wt% La2O3) or CeO2-ZrO2 (Ce:Zr = 70:30) were subjected to accelerated aging on a bench reactor. Subsequent catalyst evaluation revealed that aging resulted in deterioration of the NOx storage, NOx release and NOx reduction functions, whereas the observation of lean phase NO2 slip for all of the aged catalysts indicated that LNT performance was not limited by the kinetics of NO oxidation. After aging, all of the catalysts showed increased selectivity to NH3 in the temperature range 250–450 °C. TEM, H2 chemisorption, XPS and elemental analysis data revealed two main changes which can explain the degradation in LNT performance. First, residual sulfur in the catalysts, present as BaSO4, decreased catalyst NOx storage capacity. Second, sintering of the precious metals in the washcoat was observed, which can be expected to decrease the rate of NOx reduction. Additionally, sintering is hypothesized to result in segregation of the precious metal and Ba phases, resulting in less efficient NOx spillover from Pt to Ba during NOx adsorption, as well as decreased rates of reductant spillover from Pt to Ba and reverse NOx spillover during catalyst regeneration. Spectacular improvement in LNT durability was observed for catalysts containing CeO2 or CeO2-ZrO2 relative to their non-ceria containing analog. This was attributed to (i) the ability of ceria to participate in NOx storage/reduction as a supplement to the main Ba NOx storage component; (ii) the fact that Pt and CeO2(-ZrO2) are not subject to phase segregation; and (iii) the ability of ceria to trap sulfur, resulting in decreased sulfur accumulation on the Ba component.

Fiber-type transitions and satellite cell activation in low-frequency-stimulated muscles of young and aging rats

We examined satellite cell content and the activity of satellite cell progeny in tibialis anterior muscles of young (15 weeks) and aging (101 weeks) Brown Norway (BN) rats, after they were exposed for 50 days to a standardized and highly reproducible regime of chronic low-frequency electrical stimulation. Chronic low-frequency electrical stimulation was successful in inducing fast-to-slow fiber-type transformation, characterized by a 2.3-fold increase in the proportion of IIA fibers and fourfold and sevenfold decreases in the proportion of IID/X and IIB fibers in both young and aging BN rats. These changes were accompanied by a twofold increase in the satellite cell content in both the young and aging groups; satellite cell content reached a level that was significantly higher in the young group (p < .04). The total muscle precursor cell content (i.e., satellite cells plus progeny), however, did not differ between groups, because there was a greater number of satellite cell progeny passing through the proliferative and differentiative compartments of the aging group. The resulting 1.5-fold increase in myonuclear content was similar in the young and aging groups. We conclude that satellite cells and satellite cell progeny of aging BN rats possess an unaltered capacity to contribute to the adaptive response.

A role for epigenetic modulation of the innate immune response during aging

The ageing process results from a complex interplay between genes and the environment that can precipitate an uncontrolled inflammation. Epigenetic changes are believed to provide a link between the environment and nutrition to gene expression by altering the activity of some histone-modifying protein. Epigenetic modifications of DNA and histone proteins have been proposed as important contributory mechanisms to the retention of metabolic memory over time. A thorough understanding of the posttranscriptional and epigenetic factors involved in both normal ageing and age-related disease may inform new strategies and approaches to diagnose, treat, or suppress many aspects of age-dependent frailty.

The role of DNA methylation in aging, rejuvenation, and age-related disease

DNA methylation is a major control program that modulates gene expression in a plethora of organisms. Gene silencing through methylation occurs through the activity of DNA methyltransferases, enzymes that transfer a methyl group from S-adenosyl-l-methionine to the carbon 5 position of cytosine. DNA methylation patterns are established by the de novo DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) DNMT3A and DNMT3B and are subsequently maintained by DNMT1. Aging and age-related diseases include defined changes in 5-methylcytosine content and are generally characterized by genome-wide hypomethylation and promoter-specific hypermethylation. These changes in the epigenetic landscape represent potential disease biomarkers and are thought to contribute to age-related pathologies, such as cancer, osteoarthritis, and neurodegeneration. Some diseases, such as a hereditary form of sensory neuropathy accompanied by dementia, are directly caused by methylomic changes. Epigenetic modifications, however, are reversible and are therefore a prime target for therapeutic intervention. Numerous drugs that specifically target DNMTs are being tested in ongoing clinical trials for a variety of cancers, and data from finished trials demonstrate that some, such as 5-azacytidine, may even be superior to standard care. DNMTs, demethylases, and associated partners are dynamically shaping the methylome and demonstrate great promise with regard to rejuvenation. © Copyright 2012, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2012.

Age-associated changes in long-chain fatty acid profile during healthy aging promote pro-inflammatory monocyte polarization via PPARγ

Differences in lipid metabolism associate with age-related disease development and lifespan. Inflammation is a common link between metabolic dysregulation and aging. Saturated fatty acids (FAs) initiate pro-inflammatory signalling from many cells including monocytes; however, no existing studies have quantified age-associated changes in individual FAs in relation to inflammatory phenotype. Therefore, we have determined the plasma concentrations of distinct FAs by gas chromatography in 26 healthy younger individuals (age < 30 years) and 21 healthy FA individuals (age > 50 years). Linear mixed models were used to explore the association between circulating FAs, age and cytokines. We showed that plasma saturated, poly- and mono-unsaturated FAs increase with age. Circulating TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations increased with age, whereas IL-10 and TGF-β1 concentrations decreased. Oxidation of MitoSOX Red was higher in leucocytes from FA adults, and plasma oxidized glutathione concentrations were higher. There was significant colinearity between plasma saturated FAs, indicative of their metabolic relationships. Higher levels of the saturated FAs C18:0 and C24:0 were associated with lower TGF-β1 concentrations, and higher C16:0 were associated with higher TNF-α concentrations. We further examined effects of the aging FA profile on monocyte polarization and metabolism in THP1 monocytes. Monocytes preincubated with C16:0 increased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines in response to phorbol myristate acetate-induced differentiation through ceramide-dependent inhibition of PPARγ activity. Conversely, C18:1 primed a pro-resolving macrophage which was PPARγ dependent and ceramide dependent and which required oxidative phosphorylation. These data suggest that a midlife adult FA profile impairs the switch from proinflammatory to lower energy, requiring anti-inflammatory macrophages through metabolic reprogramming.

Age-associated changes in long-chain fatty acid profile during healthy aging promote pro-inflammatory monocyte polarization via PPARγ

Differences in lipid metabolism associate with age-related disease development and lifespan. Inflammation is a common link between metabolic dysregulation and aging. Saturated fatty acids (FAs) initiate pro-inflammatory signalling from many cells including monocytes; however, no existing studies have quantified age-associated changes in individual FAs in relation to inflammatory phenotype. Therefore, we have determined the plasma concentrations of distinct FAs by gas chromatography in 26 healthy younger individuals (age < 30 years) and 21 healthy FA individuals (age > 50 years). Linear mixed models were used to explore the association between circulating FAs, age and cytokines. We showed that plasma saturated, poly- and mono-unsaturated FAs increase with age. Circulating TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations increased with age, whereas IL-10 and TGF-β1 concentrations decreased. Oxidation of MitoSOX Red was higher in leucocytes from FA adults, and plasma oxidized glutathione concentrations were higher. There was significant colinearity between plasma saturated FAs, indicative of their metabolic relationships. Higher levels of the saturated FAs C18:0 and C24:0 were associated with lower TGF-β1 concentrations, and higher C16:0 were associated with higher TNF-α concentrations. We further examined effects of the aging FA profile on monocyte polarization and metabolism in THP1 monocytes. Monocytes preincubated with C16:0 increased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines in response to phorbol myristate acetate-induced differentiation through ceramide-dependent inhibition of PPARγ activity. Conversely, C18:1 primed a pro-resolving macrophage which was PPARγ dependent and ceramide dependent and which required oxidative phosphorylation. These data suggest that a midlife adult FA profile impairs the switch from proinflammatory to lower energy, requiring anti-inflammatory macrophages through metabolic reprogramming.