Centenarians Research Articles

Ecumenical Missiology

AbstractIn this article I analyze the concept and contextuality of ecumenical missiology and its contemporary paradigms. Furthermore, I argue that the mission from the margins paradigm may construct a new method for undoing constantly increasing marginalization when understood from both its theological and philosophical points of view. This article celebrates togetherness in missio Dei as life‐giving mission of God and argues that transformation is the only hope for humankind and the churches. It was written to honour Finnish missiologist Dr Risto Ahonen on his 80th birthday.

To the 90th Birthday of Professor Uraltseva

To the 90th Birthday of Professor Uraltseva

Did Alexander Utendal really compose the motet Angelus Domini a23 in A-Wn, HAN Cod. 9814?

Abstract The collection HAN Cod. 9814 in the Austrian National Library contains the motet Angelus Domini a23 attributed to the composer Alexander Utendal (after 1530–1581), copied by the scribe Georg Khues (fl.1579–1621) apparently as a gift for Emperor Matthias (1557–1619) on his 60th birthday on 24 February 1617. Although the very unusual scoring of the composition, with 23 voices in four choirs, immediately raises doubts, the attribution of the work to Utendal has not been questioned in the literature so far. After a thorough compositional and textual analysis, the present study will suggest that Angelus Domini was not written by Utendal, but by a representative of the Venetian polychoral school around 1600. Furthermore, the compositional device of two low voices in unison in tutti sections, used in Angelus Dominus a23, is taken as a reference point to place the motet in the vicinity of similar works known to have been written by composers active at the court of Ferdinand II (1578–1637) in Graz.

Quo Vadis Particula Physica?

In this brief paper, I give a very personal account on the state of particle physics on the occasion of Paul Frampton's 80th birthday.

Cognitively healthy centenarians are genetically protected against Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevalence increases with age, yet a small fraction of the population reaches ages > 100 years without cognitive decline. We studied the genetic factors associated with such resilience against AD. Genome-wide association studies identified 86 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with AD risk. We estimated SNP frequency in 2281 AD cases, 3165 age-matched controls, and 346 cognitively healthy centenarians. We calculated a polygenic risk score (PRS) for each individual and investigated the functional properties of SNPs enriched/depleted in centenarians. Cognitively healthy centenarians were enriched with the protective alleles of the SNPs associated with AD risk. The protective effect concentrated on the alleles in/near ANKH, GRN, TMEM106B, SORT1, PLCG2, RIN3, and APOE genes. This translated to>5-fold lower PRS in centenarians compared to AD cases (P=7.69×10-71), and 2-fold lower compared to age-matched controls (P=5.83×10-17). Maintaining cognitive health until extreme ages requires complex genetic protection against AD, which concentrates on the genes associated with the endolysosomal and immune systems. Cognitively healthy cent enarians are enriched with the protective alleles of genetic variants associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The protective effect is concentrated on variants involved in the immune and endolysosomal systems. Combining variants into a polygenic risk score (PRS) translated to>5-fold lower PRS in centenarians compared to AD cases, and ≈ 2-fold lower compared to middle-aged healthy controls.

Advance in Topology and Functional Analysis in Honour of María Jesús Chasco’s 65th Birthday

Advance in Topology and Functional Analysis in Honour of María Jesús Chasco’s 65th Birthday

Alban Köhler - A review of his 150th birthday based on his "memoirs" and his X-ray books

150 years ago, on March 1, 1874, Prof. Dr. Alban Köhler, pioneer in X-ray diagnostics and Co-founder of the German Radiological Society, was born. His memoirs "Röntgenarztes Erdenwallen", an extraordinarily personal, interesting and humorous autobiography of a contemporary witness from the early days of the X-ray era, will be used to commemorate him. This work also focuses on his outstanding X-ray books on skeletal diseases and standard variants.

Issues of Improving the Legal Regulation of Elections in the Russian Federation: The Opinion of the Scientist and the Practitioner

Among the many areas of scientific research, there are those where there are very few scientists who are substantively engaged in the study of relevant problems. These areas include the institution of elections within the framework of the science of electoral law. One of the few scientists in Russia who has been studying this issue substantively and consistently for more than 25 years is the Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Law, Professor Victor Vasilyevich Ignatenko, who celebrated his 65th birthday on February 26, 2024. And even while working in the legislative and executive authorities of the Irkutsk region, as well as being the head of the Election Commission of the Irkutsk region and the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Irkutsk region, Victor Vasilyevich did not leave science and teaching for a minute, as evidenced by his publication activity and the number of students. His enormous managerial experience, reverent attitude to the issues of legal regulation of the spheres of his professional activity allows him to highlight certain issues of law enforcement practice on topical issues of electoral law at a high level.

Preface: IJM Special Volume Dedicated to Prof. Oscar García-Prada’s 60th Birthday

Preface: IJM Special Volume Dedicated to Prof. Oscar García-Prada’s 60th Birthday

To the Anniversary of Vladimir Ivashkin. Clinical diagnosis at the bedside always was, still is and always will be a criterion of a doctor's professionalism

In 2019, on the eve of Vladimir Ivashkin’s 80th birthday, we conducted our first interview with him. Now, on the eve of his 85th birthday, Professor Ivashkin again kindly agreed to talk with us and share his thoughts, emotions and impressions about the key events of the past five years.

Shape of radiation dose response relationship for ischaemic heart disease mortality and its interpretation: analysis of the national registry for radiation workers (NRRW) cohort

Statistically significant increases in ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality with cumulative occupational external radiation dose were observed in the National Registry for Radiation Workers (NRRW) cohort. There were 174 541 subjects in the NRRW cohort. The start of follow up was 1955, and the end of the follow-up for each worker was chosen as the earliest date of death or emigration, their 85th birthday or 31 December 2011. The dose-response relationship showed a downward curvature at a higher dose level >0.4 Sv with the overall shape of the dose-response relationship best described by a linear-quadratic model. The smaller risk at dose >0.4 Sv appears to be primarily associated with workers who started employment at a younger age (<30 years old) and those who were employed for more than 30 years. We modelled the dose response by age-at-first exposure. For the age-at-first exposure of 30+ years old, a linear dose-response was the best fit. For age-at-first exposure <30 years old, there was no evidence of excess risk of IHD mortality for radiation doses below 0.1 Sv or above 0.4 Sv, excess risk was only observed for doses between 0.1–0.4 Sv. For this age-at-first exposure group, it was also found that the doses they received when they were less than 35 years old or greater than 50 years old did not contribute to any increased IHD risk.

Levitons in correlated nano-scale systems.

In this short review (written to celebrate David Campbell's 80th birthday), we provide a theoretical description of quantum transport in nanoscale systems in the presence of single-electron excitations generated by Lorentzian voltage drives, termed Levitons. These excitations allow us to realize the analog of quantum optics experiments using electrons instead of photons. Importantly, electrons in condensed matter systems are strongly affected by the presence of different types of non-trivial correlations, with no counterpart in the domain of photonic quantum optics. After providing a short introduction about Levitons in non-interacting systems, we focus on how they operate in the presence of two types of strong electronic correlations in nanoscale systems, such as those arising in the fractional quantum Hall effect or in superconducting systems. Specifically, we consider Levitons in a quantum Hall bar of the fractional quantum Hall effect, pinched by a quantum point contact, where anyons with fractional charge and statistics tunnel between opposite edges. In this case, a Leviton-Leviton interaction can be induced by the strongly correlated background. Concerning the effect of superconducting correlations on Levitons, we show that, in a normal metal system coupled to BCS superconductors, half-integer Levitons minimize the excess noise in the Andreev regime. Interestingly, energy-entangled electron states can be realized on-demand in this type of hybrid setup by exploiting crossed Andreev reflection. The results exposed in this review have potential applications in the context of quantum information and computation with single-electron flying qubits.

Andriy Anatoliyovych Dorogovtsev (On His 60th Birthday)

Andriy Anatoliyovych Dorogovtsev (On His 60th Birthday)

When correlations exceed system size: finite-size scaling in free boundary conditions above the upper critical dimension

We progress finite-size scaling in systems with free boundary conditions above their upper critical dimension, where in the thermodynamic limit critical scaling is described by mean-field theory. Recent works show that the correlation length is not bound by the system's physical size, a belief that long held sway. Instead, two scaling regimes can be observed — at the critical and pseudo-critical temperatures. We demonstrate that both are manifest for free boundaries. We use numerical simulations of the d = 5 Ising model to analyse the magnetization, susceptibility, magnetization Fourier modes and the partition function zeros. While some of the response functions hide the dual finite-size scaling, the precision enabled by the analysis of Lee–Yang zeros allows this be brought to the fore. In particular, finite-size scaling of leading zeros at the pseudo-critical point confirms recent predictions coming from correlations exceeding the system size. This paper is dedicated to Jaroslav Ilnytskyi on the occasion of his 60th birthday.

Computer simulations of soft matter. On 60-th anniversary of Jaroslav Ilnytskyi

This special issue Condensed Matter Physics, entitled "Computer Simulations of Soft Matter" is dedicated to Jaroslav Ilnytskyi on the occasion of his 60-th birthday. Prof. J. Ilnytskyi is one of scientific leaders of the Institute for Condensed Matter Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU), who iswell known for his contributions to the theory and computer simulation studies of polymer fluids, liquid crystals, macromolecular and colloid solutions. Versatility of Jaroslav works is due to his excellent background commonly resulting in original ideas, his feeling and ability to choose and apply appropriate methods for the solution of various problems. Finally, Jaroslav works are distinguished by the profound analyses of either theoretical or simulation results with respect to experimental observations frequently complemented by the discussion of possible applications.

To the anniversary of Evgeny Ivanovich Chumasov

On March 19, 2024, Evgeniy Ivanovich Chumasov, a well-known neuromorphologist, Doctor of Biological Sciences, and Professor, celebrated his 85th birthday. Here we describe the stages of E.I. Chumasov’s scientific way in the field of normal and pathological neurohistology. Evgeniy Ivanovich is a highly qualified professional in cell biology, cytology, zoology, and histology. Throughout his life, he studied the histogenesis and regeneration of tissues of the central and peripheral nervous systems. He is a great specialist in the cultivation of the nervous tissue; his works on the development of embryonic anlages of the central nervous system and PNS in vitro and after transplantation are still highly relevant and being cited. He authored multiple books and textbooks, several patents, and inventions.

Academician Guodong Cheng's Contributions to Permafrost Science

ABSTRACTPermafrost is strongly associated with human well‐being and has become a frontier of cryospheric science. Professor Guodong Cheng is one of the most outstanding geocryologists in China. He was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1993 and served as the president of the International Permafrost Association from 1993–1998. In the early 1980s, Professor Cheng proposed the hypothesis of the repeated‐segregation mechanism for the formation of thick‐layered ground ice near the permafrost table. Subsequently, in the early 2000s, he proposed the “proactive roadbed cooling” concept and led the successful development of a series of specific engineering measures that were fully applied in the Qinghai–Tibet Railway Project. Furthermore, he developed a conceptual model to describe the influences of changing permafrost on the groundwater system and discovered the “sink‐holing effect” (channeling with improved hydraulic conductivity of warming permafrost). Professor Cheng has also developed theories on the three‐dimensional zonation and proposed a classification system and an altitude model for high‐altitude permafrost distribution. On this special occasion of Professor Cheng's 80th birthday, this paper summarizes his outstanding achievements on permafrost science, hoping the permafrost research community will carry forward the momentum to further advance permafrost science worldwide.

Problems of Criminological Determination and Causation in the Scientific Doctrine of Professor Vitaliy Anatolyevich Nomokonov

A famous Russian criminologist, Doctor of Law, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Vice-President of the Russian Criminological Association, author of over 400 research works and textbooks Vitaliy Anatolyevich Nomokonov has celebrated his 75th birthday. He is a well-known figure in both Russian and foreign criminology famous for his works, his conceptual and fundamental scientific views and approaches, unfailing principles and loyalty to universal human values when developing the strategy and tactics of corruption counteraction. Being one of the founders of a highly complex problem area in the field of criminology — the theory of crime determination and causation — he also consistently studies the modern aspects of this theory. The Professor was also one of the first scientists who researched the mechanisms of counteracting organized crime and corruption. He has been studying the regional aspects of these interconnected forms of crime over a long period of time, as well as promoting the ideas of its prevention at the political and public levels. Advocating the proactive development of criminology and its methodological basis along the lines of the transforming society, the Professor has been developing new directions in criminology stressing the anticriminal and anticorruption policy. Positive criminology is a trend in his works, he argues for the humane-personal approach in the theory of the criminal’s personality and proves the importance of understanding the regularities of positive law-abiding behavior and identifying the anti-criminogenic factors underlying it. The number of his students and followers is constantly growing. Over 15 researcher, who wrote their dissertation thesis under V.A. Nomokonov’s supervision, have become the founders of the theory of cybercrime, they promote his ideas regarding anticorruption policy, drug abuse, human trafficking, etc., and have the law enforcement experience that they successfully use in their current work. The Professor’s approaches to understanding organized crime and corruption, as well as the basic and special measures of counteracting these dangerous phenomena, are a safe basis for the corresponding criminological theory, they reflect his forward-thinking and astute attitude. His scientific intuition allows the Professor to be ahead of other research in the sphere of counteracting corruption and provide highly professional predictions on the future regularities of criminal behavior, thus contributing to the development and enriching the theory of criminology and its practical significance.

Weak Scale Supersymmetry Emergent from the String Landscape.

Superstring flux compactifications can stabilize all moduli while leading to an enormous number of vacua solutions, each leading to different 4-d laws of physics. While the string landscape provides at present the only plausible explanation for the size of the cosmological constant, it may also predict the form of weak scale supersymmetry which is expected to emerge. Rather general arguments suggest a power-law draw to large soft terms, but these are subject to an anthropic selection of a not-too-large value for the weak scale. The combined selection allows one to compute relative probabilities for the emergence of supersymmetric models from the landscape. Models with weak scale naturalness appear most likely to emerge since they have the largest parameter space on the landscape. For finetuned models such as high-scale SUSY or split SUSY, the required weak scale finetuning shrinks their parameter space to tiny volumes, making them much less likely to appear compared to natural models. Probability distributions for sparticle and Higgs masses from natural models show a preference for Higgs mass mh∼125 GeV, with sparticles typically beyond the present LHC limits, in accord with data. From these considerations, we briefly describe how natural SUSY is expected to be revealed at future LHC upgrades. This article is a contribution to the Special Edition of the journal Entropy, honoring Paul Frampton on his 80th birthday.

Self-understanding, envisioning the future, and prevention: An appreciation and a reflection on the occasion of the 100th anniversary.

On the 100th birthday of the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice, it is appropriate to reflect on the evolution of thought on depression prevention research, as seen through a historical perspective, to note how the field has grown and how it can address the issues of today. This article is a personal reflection on one practitioner's evolution of thought on resilience and preventive intervention, starting with interviewing civil rights workers, to conceptualizing self-understanding as an essential component of resilience, to the development of a family-based preventive intervention for parental depression, which was disseminated, adapted, and incorporated into a growing body of prevention research. Consensus statements on mental health prevention from the National Academies are reviewed, and the importance of a social justice perspective is highlighted throughout. The article concludes with principles for developing effective preventive interventions to promote mental health today, and in the future. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).