Stigma of Losing an Only Child: Implications for Public Perceptions of Bereavement Adversities and Prosocial Tendencies in China.

Given the one-child policy (1979-2016), many bereaved parents (mean age ˃ 60 years) in China have lost their only child. Yet, the social environment in which these parents continue their lives is little known. The current study drew on data from 2029 Chinese adults ( = 36.

Fluorocarbon-Functionalized Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly Nanoparticles Alleviate Hypoxia to Enhance Sonodynamic Cancer Therapy.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is an ultrasound-based, noninvasive cancer treatment that targets tumor cells by triggering reactive oxygen species production. However, the limited accumulation of sonosensitizers and the insufficient supply of O to the hypoxic environment at the tumor site greatly limit the effectiveness of SDT. To address these issues, positively charged porphyrin-containing nanoparticles (NPs) from self-assembling of fluorocarbon/polyethylene glycol amphiphilic block copolymer, which is synthesized through reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization, are constructed.

Relationship between abdominal fat volume and bone base material pairs from dual-energy spectral computed tomography in young and middle-aged patients with metabolic syndrome.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has complex effects on bone health, and dual-energy spectral computed tomography (CT) has become increasingly valuable for bone quantification. However, the relationship between bone base material pairs (BMPs) and abdominal fat volume in patients with MetS remains underexplored. This study thus aimed to analyze the relationship between abdominal fat volume and various bone BMPs using dual-energy spectral CT in young and middle-aged patients with MetS.

Dyadic Ambivalence in Couples Managing Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease: Linking Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia to Life Satisfaction.

Objectives: Caring for a spouse with Alzheimer's disease (AD) can elicit considerable distress but there are also positive moments. A growing body of work has examined caregivers' ambivalence in the care relationship and linked it to negative caregiver outcomes such as depression, but dyadic assessments of both parties' perspectives are missing. We examined ambivalence in both people with AD and their spousal caregivers, seeking to identify the correlates and well-being outcomes of such ambivalence in this unique context.

Statistical Copolymerization-Induced Self-Assembly.

Statistical copolymers have been extensively used in chemical industries and our daily lives, owing to their ease of synthesis and functionalization. However, self-assembly based on statistical copolymers has been haunted by high interfacial energy, poor stability, and low concentration. We proposed the statistical copolymerization-induced self-assembly (-PISA) as a general strategy for one-step preparing stable statistical copolymer assemblies with high solids content.

Empathy and support exchanges in couples coping with early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

Objectives: Research has extensively examined spousal caregiving in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but it remains unclear how people with AD help spousal caregivers. We aimed to describe emotional and practical support that people with AD and their spouses provide to each other and test the role their empathy plays in these support experiences.

Methods: Seventy-two people with early-stage AD and their spousal caregivers independently reported empathy (personal distress, empathic concern, perspective taking) and the frequency and appraisal of support provision.

Dyadic profiles of couples' self-perceptions of aging: Implications for mental health.

The way older adults perceive their own aging processes influences their mental health, but we know little about how this occurs in a dyadic context, where spouses' perceptions and health are often intertwined. The present study sought to identify dyadic profiles of self-perceptions of aging (SPAs) in couples and examine how certain profiles are associated with each partner's mental health over time. A pooled sample of 3,850 heterosexual couples aged 50+ in the Health and Retirement Study (2012/2014) rated positive and negative SPAs and provided data on demographic characteristics, couple relationships, and health.

Recent advances in permeable polymersomes: fabrication, responsiveness, and applications.

Polymersomes are vesicular nanostructures enclosed by a bilayer-membrane self-assembled from amphiphilic block copolymers, which exhibit higher stability compared with their biological analogues ( liposomes). Due to their versatility, polymersomes have found various applications in different research fields such as drug delivery, nanomedicine, biological nanoreactors, and artificial cells. However, polymersomes prepared with high molecular weight components typically display low permeability to molecules and ions.

Enduring Bonds: Duration and Contact in Close Relationships in Late Life.

Background And Objectives: Older adults maintain ties to long-duration social partners, some with whom have regular contact and some with whom have little contact. We asked whether these ties with little contact still offer a sense of connection and security, and buffer the effects of interpersonal stress in daily life. Helping older adults foster these ties may improve their mental health.

Strong and Tough Nanostructured Hydrogels and Organogels Prepared by Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly.

In nature, the hierarchical structure of biological tissues endows them with outstanding mechanics and elaborated functions. However, it remains a great challenge to construct biomimetic hydrogels with well-defined nanostructures and good mechanical properties. Herein, polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) is for the first time exploited as a general strategy for nanostructured hydrogels and organogels with tailored nanodomains and outstanding mechanical properties.

Changes in Self-Perceptions of Aging Among Black and White Older Adults: The Role of Volunteering.

Objectives: Given the health consequences of self-perceptions of aging (SPA), understanding how SPA change among Black and White older adults may shed light on racial disparities in late-life health. The current study is the first to assess whether Black older adults exhibit less favorable patterns of change in SPA than White older adults. We also tested whether the salubrious effect of volunteering on SPA would be particularly salient among Black older adults.

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.

The Impact of Marital Quality as Older Couples Adjust to Dementia Onset.

Objectives: A burgeoning literature links being married to better cognitive health, but less attention has been paid to how couples view their marital relationships. Couples do not always concur in their assessments, and such discrepancies affect both partners' health. We present a dyadic study on whether and how overall and discrepant views of marital quality predicted (a) dementia onset and (b) changes in older adults' depressive symptoms with spousal dementia.

Black and White Young Adults' Support to Midlife Parents.

Objectives: Prior research suggests that midlife adults in Black and non-Hispanic White families differ in support patterns to aging parents. It is unclear whether such racial differences exist in young adulthood. We examined Black and White young adults' support to their midlife parents and underlying mechanisms to explain within-racial group, family-level differences.

Television Viewing, Physical Activity, and Loneliness in Late Life.

Background And Objectives: Television viewing is the most common leisure activity in late life and may ease loneliness but encourage sedentary behavior. These associations may be particularly evident among older adults who live alone and who may lack other forms of companionship throughout the day.

Research Design And Methods: Adults aged 65+ (N = 257) participated, of whom 34% lived alone.

Older Adult's Marital Status, Conversation Frequency, and Well-Being in Everyday Life.

Objectives: Marital status contributes to differences in social experiences and well-being in late life. Yet, we know little about the role of conversation in these processes. Drawing on a functionalist perspective and hierarchical compensatory model, this study aimed to understand (a) whether older adults' marital status is associated with conversation frequency throughout the day, (b) whether contacts with nonspousal ties elicit more conversations among unmarried older adults, and (c) whether conversations exert a stronger effect on mood for unmarried older adults than married older adults.

Volunteering Dynamics and Life Satisfaction: Self-Perceptions of Aging as a Buffer.

Objectives: Research has extensively documented the concurrent benefits of being a volunteer (vs a nonvolunteer), but little is known about older adults who once served as a volunteer but then stopped at some point in their lives (i.e., former volunteers).

Association Between Music Engagement and Episodic Memory Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A National Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Objectives: To determine whether music engagement influences middle-aged and older adults' performance on episodic memory tasks.

Method: Secondary data analysis of a sample (N = 4,592) of cognitively healthy adults from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study was used for this study. Multivariable regression models were used to analyze the cross-sectional differences in performance on tasks of episodic memory between participants who listened to music (n = 3,659) or sang or played an instrument (n = 989).

Functional Limitations, Social Integration, and Daily Activities in Late Life.

Objectives: Disability in late life has been associated with increases in receiving care and loss of autonomy. The Disablement Process Model suggests that physical impairments lead to functional limitations that contribute to disabilities in managing household, job, or other demands. Yet, we know surprisingly little about how functional limitations are related to activities throughout the day among community-dwelling adults or the possible moderating role of social integration on these associations.

Phase locking and homodyne detection of repetitive laser pulses.

A method to realize pulse laser phase locking and homodyne detection is proposed, which can be used in lidar and continuous variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) systems. Theoretical analysis shows that homodyne detection of pulse laser has a sensitivity advantage of more than 4 dB over heterodyne detection. An experimental verification setup was constructed to realize phase-locking and homodyne detection of pulse lasers at repetition rates from 50 kHz to 2.

Empathy and Coping: Older Adults' Interpersonal Tensions and Mood throughout the Day.

Introduction: Scholars have proposed that empathy is a key feature of strong social ties, but less is known about the role empathy plays when tensions arise.

Objective: We examined whether older adults' empathy was associated with (a) coping strategies for interpersonal tensions, and (b) mood when there were tensions throughout the day. We also explored whether coping strategies explained the potential buffering effect of empathy on older adults' momentary mood.

Volunteering, Self-Perceptions of Aging, and Mental Health in Later Life.

Background And Objectives: Scholars argue that volunteering enhances social, physical, and cognitive activities that are increasingly valued as people age, which in turn improves older adults' well-being via a host of psychosocial and neurobiological mechanisms. This study explicitly tested older adults' self-perceptions of aging as a mechanism underlying the mental health benefits of volunteering.

Research Design And Methods: Using 2-wave data from the Health and Retirement Study (2008/2010 for Wave 1 and 2012/2014 for Wave 2), we analyzed reports from a pooled sample of older adults aged 65 or older (N = 9,017).

Positive Encounters as a Buffer: Pain and Sleep Disturbances in Older Adults' Everyday Lives.

To test whether older adults' pain was bidirectionally associated with nighttime sleep disturbances and whether daily positive encounters attenuated these associations. Participants ( = 292, = 73.71 years old) from the indicated pain and positive encounters with close partners (e.