An Aging Giant At The Center of Global Warming: Population Dynamics and Its Effect on CO2 Emissions in China

Managing the aging crisis and mitigating CO2 emissions are currently two great challenges faced by China. Revealing the complex correlation between aging and CO2, and projecting their future dynamics are fundamentally necessary to inform effective strategies and policies toward a low-carbon and sustainable development in China. In this paper, we quantitatively investigated the impacts of population aging, economy, and energy intensity on CO2 emissions through a STIRPAT model based on balanced provincial panel data from 1995-2019, and employed a cohort model and scenario analysis to project the demographic change and CO2 emissions till 2050. It is found that CO2 emissions in China has witnessed a significant growth during 1995-2019, and will exhibit an inverted U-shaped growth till 2050 with its peak appears between 2030-2040. Every 1% increase of aging will exert a 0.69% emission of CO2 in China. However, a big regional difference was also detected as aging contributed to CO2 reduction in the eastern region, but stimulated CO2 emissions in the central and western regions. Policy implications for achieving a low-carbon and aging-oriented sustainable development include the integration of aging into the decision-making of industrial structure upgrading and CO2 emission reduction in both national and region levels, the promotion of the further transition to low-carbon consumption and green products in the eastern region, and strengthening the deep fusion of aging-oriented industries with local resource and environmental endowment in the central and western regions such as the development of eco-agriculture and green pension industries.

Targeting Reactive Oxygen Species in Atherosclerosis via Chinese Herbal Medicines

Cardio-cerebrovascular disease (CCVD) has become the leading cause of human mortality with the coming acceleration of global population aging. Atherosclerosis is among the most common pathological changes in CCVDs. It is also a multifactorial disorder; oxidative stress caused by excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) has become an important mechanism of atherosclerosis. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is a major type of natural medicine that has made great contributions to human health. CHMs are increasingly used in the auxiliary clinical treatment of atherosclerosis. Although their mechanism of action is unclear, CHMs can exert a variety of antiatherosclerosis effects by regulating intracellular ROS. In this review, we discussed the mechanism of ROS regulation in atherosclerosis and analyzed the role of CHMs in the treatment of atherosclerosis via ROS.

Application of Smart Healthcare in LTCI, Outpatient Mutual-Aid Guarantee Mechanism, and Sustainability of Medical Insurance Fund for Urban Employees

With the aggravation of population aging and the increase of life expectancy, long-term care insurance (LTCI) system has been established to meet the medical and long-term care needs of the increasing elderly population. In China, LTCI system is currently not a stand-alone insurance, but it is attached to the national basic medical insurance fund for urban employees (MIUE). As a result, the expenditure of LTCI is a part of the expenditure of the MIUE, which has an impact on the sustainability of the MIUE. By modeling the income and expenditure of MIUE, especially including the expenditure of LTCI, this study optimized an LTCI system with a higher individual out-of-pocket payment ratio of LTCI and implementation of the outpatient mutual-aid guarantee mechanism (OMAGM), which could improve the sustainability of the MIUE. The study also reveals the following: (i) solely increasing individual out-of-pocket payment ratio of LTCI to 20%–50% can only postpone the deficit on Social Pooling Accounts (SPAs) by 1 or 2 years, and the effect is very limited. (ii) Besides a higher individual out-of-pocket payment ratio, further implementation of a partial OMAGM from 2022 will postpone the deficit on SPAs by 7–9 years, and the implementation of a complete OMAGM from 2022 will postpone the deficit by 14–18 years. Accordingly, China should implement OMAGM as soon as possible to enhance the solvency of MIUE fund, and, in the long run, an independent LTCI scheme should be established to ensure the stability and sustainability of the LTCI fund and the MIUE fund.

The Impacts of Population Aging on China’s Economy

The Chinese economy had an extraordinary average GDP growth rate of 8.50 percent from 1980 to 2018. However, the implementation of one-child policy in the late 1970s has depressed the total fertility rate to below the replacement rate since 1992. China thus experienced an increasing composition of older populations in the past three decades, which puts pressure on Chinese economic growth and makes its eye-catching economic growth potentially unsustainable. This study develops an overlapping generations (OLG) model to investigate the impacts of this demographic transition in the Chinese economy. This study conducts six policy reform exercises to examine measures that could improve the sustainability of fiscal and pension systems. The simulation results indicate that a mild tax increase on either wage income or consumption does not improve the fiscal stance but creates distortionary effects on saving and consumption behaviors. Of the pension reform measures considered, the combination of extending the mandatory retirement age and cutting the replacement ratio offers the most significant improvement to pension sustainability. However, increasing the contribution rate of the working-age population has the least effect on pension sustainability and a noticeable distortionary effect on the consumption ratio and saving rate.

Development, preparation and characterization of chitosan, gelatin and heparin membranes for biomedical applications

With the rising in life expectancy and the consequent population aging, degenerative chronic diseases have been figured as the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. It is believed that the production of a polymeric matrix composed of chitosan and gelatin may be an alternative to obtain a carrier base of heparin, with the prospective objective of applying these materials as an alternative to the conventional therapeutic resources biomedical. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the interaction between chitosan, gelatin, and heparin demonstrating a satisfactory result by the methodologies that were applied, making the study hypothesis concrete., certifying the use of a methodology for including heparin in a biodegradable polymeric base. Thus, expanding the alternatives for possible alternatives to the conventional therapeutic resources of vascular diseases with the application of the developed materials.

What Can Motivate Me to Keep Working? Analysis of Older Finance Professionals’ Discourse Using Self-Determination Theory

The twin issues of population aging and critical talent shortages induce employers to encourage older workers to prolong their professional lives. Over the past two decades, studies have mainly examined which human resources practices influence older workers’ ability, motivation, and opportunity to continue working. Our conceptual lens rest on self-determination theory (SDT). This study explores how older professionals in the financial services sector may see how three psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) are satisfied or frustrated through various management practices such as monetary rewards, benefits, career development, and work content and context. Our interviews with older finance professionals also show the relevance of a fourth need, beneficence, to understand their decision to continue to work. Results of this study are likely to be significant at both managerial and societal levels in the perspective of sustainable development or employability.

The Life Cycle Hypothesis and Uncertainty: Analyzing Aging Savings Relationship in Tunisia

This research empirically checks the effect of uncertainty on aging-saving link that is indirectly captured by an auxiliary variable: the unemployment. It looks at the nexus population aging and savings by bringing out the unemployment context importance in determination saving behavior notably in a setting of unavailability of unemployment allowance. To better estimate population aging, it considers the old-age dependency ratio besides the total dependency one, which is the usually indicator used. Applying the Structural VAR model, the variance decomposition technique and the response impulse function, on Tunisia during 1970–2019, it puts on show that elderly do not dissave in a context of enduring unemployment and unavailability of unemployment allowance. Unemployment is an important factor able to shaping the saving behavior and to distort the life cycle hypothesis’s prediction. Consequently, the life cycle hypothesis cannot be validated under uncertainty. Hence, aging does not to alter savings systematically. The nature of aging-saving relationship is upon to social and economic context.

The role of exercise and physical activity on aging-related diseases and geriatric syndromes

Aging is a complex process of physiological and social changes that leads to various diseases. The number of elderly people in the world is increasing dramatically and it should be noted that rapid population aging represents a major public health burden. On the other hand, providing an appropriate and low-cost approach to control and prevent complications such as chronic diseases, physical dysfunction, and the geriatric syndrome is necessary. Also, numerous studies have shown that participation in physical activity and exercise training reduces the incidence of dysfunctional capacity, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, as well as the premature death rate in older adults. After plenty of precise observations about the role of exercise on aging-related diseases and geriatric syndromes articles, the benefits of exercise and physical activity in older adults will be more tangible. Therefore, the first purpose of the present review was to investigate the mechanisms of PA and exercises that are involved in the prevention of aging-related diseases and GS using current evidence (from 2015 onwards). Also, the purpose of this study was to provide an exercise guideline (aerobic and resistance training) based on recent evidence (from 2015 onwards). El envejecimiento es un proceso complejo de cambios fisiológicos y sociales que conduce a diversas enfermedades. El número de personas de edad avanzada en el mundo está aumentando drásticamente y cabe señalar que el rápido envejecimiento de la población representa una importante carga para la salud pública. Por otro lado, es necesario brindar un enfoque adecuado y de bajo costo para controlar y prevenir complicaciones como enfermedades crónicas, disfunción física y síndrome geriátrico. Además, numerosos estudios han demostrado que la participación en la actividad física y el entrenamiento físico reduce la incidencia de disfunciones, enfermedades cardiovasculares y metabólicas, así como la tasa de muerte prematura en los adultos mayores. Después de muchas observaciones precisas sobre el papel del ejercicio en los artículos sobre enfermedades relacionadas con el envejecimiento y síndromes geriátricos, los beneficios del ejercicio y la actividad física en los adultos mayores serán más tangibles. Por lo tanto, el primer propósito de la presente revisión fue investigar los mecanismos de actividad física y ejercicios que están involucrados en la prevención de enfermedades relacionadas con el envejecimiento y síndrome geriátrico utilizando la evidencia actual (de 2015 en adelante). Además, el propósito de este estudio fue proporcionar una guía de ejercicio (entrenamiento aeróbico y de resistencia) basada en evidencia reciente (de 2015 en adelante).

Burnout Among Formal Caregivers and Risk of Violence Against Institutionalized Elderly

Sociodemographic changes occurring in past decades are reflected as increased population aging, resulting in a higher need to institutionalize elderly. Violence against elderly is a relevant public health problem. The aims of the present cross-sectional exploratory and descriptive study with a quantitative approach were to analyze burnout among formal caregivers at institutions for elderly and to assess the risk of violence against institutionalized elderly. As a part of project ESACA—Envelhecer com Segurança no Alentejo (Prevenir as Quedas e a Violência sobre Idosos)—Compreender para Agir (Aging Safely in Alentejo [Preventing Falls and Violence against Elderly]), the present study analyzed 34 formal caregivers from three institutions that provide care to elderly in the Evora district, Portugal. No situations involving violence against institutionalized elderly were detected. Most participants (96.3%) did not exhibit burnout, although they did report feeling physically and emotionally tired.

Validation of the Visual Cognitive Assessment Test (VCAT) for the Early Diagnosis of Cognitive Impairment in Multilingual Population in Malaysia

As Malaysia undergoes a demographic transformation of population aging, the prevalence of dementia is expected to rise, posing a major public health threat issue. Early screening to detect cognitive impairment is important to implement appropriate clinical interventions. The Visual Cognitive Assessment Test (VCAT) is a language-neutral cognitive assessment screening tool suitable for multilingual populations. This study was aimed to validate the VCAT screening tool for the detection of cognitive impairment amongst the population of Malaysia. A total of 184 participants were recruited, comprising 79 cognitively healthy participants (CHP), 46 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, and 59 mild dementia (Alzheimer’s disease and Vascular Dementia) patients from five hospitals between May 2018 and December 2019 to determine the usefulness of VCAT. Diagnostic performance was assessed using area under the curve (AUC), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysies was performed to determine the recommended cutoff scores. ROC analyses for the VCAT was comparable with that of MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) in differentiating between CHP, MCI, and mild dementia (AD and VaD) participants. The findings of this study suggest the following optimal cutoff score for VCAT: Dementia 0–19, MCI 20–23, Normal 24–30. The mean ± SD time to complete the VCAT was 10.0 ± 2.75 min in the CHP group and 15.4 ± 4.52 min in the CI group. Results showed that 76.0% of subjects thought that the instructions in VCAT were similar or easier to understand compared with MoCA. This study showed that the VCAT is a valid and useful screening tool for patients with cognitive impairment in Malaysia and is feasible to be used in the clinical settings.