Monitoring nuclear material that is dangerously radioactive, remotely located, or difficult to access is a challenging task. The necessary research required to develop a system capable of remotely monitoring radioactive materials has been undertaken at Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc. We report on a system utilizing a spectroscopic gamma-ray imager for real-time observation of sensitive nuclear materials over the Internet or dedicated networks. Research at RMD has produced a spectroscopic gamma-ray imager centered on a position-sensitive photomultiplier tube coupled to scintillation crystal and a coded aperture. A gamma-ray intensity pattern from the detector is stored and processed by a portable computer workstation and then mathematically corrected to yield the original radiation-source image. The pseudo-color, radiation-source image is overlaid on a co-registered video picture of the same area captured by a high-resolution charge-coupled device. The combined image is displayed as an accurate map of gamma-ray sources in the physical environment. Recent developments involve instrument control and data transmission through computer networks. Alarm triggers based on changes in the video image, the radiation image, the energy spectrum are under development. Work to remotely control alarm sensitivity and type, as well as the image update frequency, has also been examined.

Exceptional aging has heritable components. One genetic risk factor for cognitive aging may be Apolipoprotein E (APOE), but it is unclear to what extent APOE relates to cognitive aging versus risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Cognitive aging may also be influenced by leukocyte telomere length (LTL), posited to be a marker of “biological age”. We examine the relationship between APOE, LTL, and memory in aging. For APOE, effects of ε4 (ε3ε4/ε4ε4) and ε2 (ε2ε3/ε2ε2) versus the more common ε3ε3 referent genotype on episodic (EM) and working memory (WM) were examined, comparing longevous families to the general population. Participants belonged to a multi-generational, international cohort (Long Life Family Study) including relatives from long-lived families and spouse-controls. 3,654 participants with valid memory, APOE, and telomere data at baseline were included. Regression analyses were stratified by age group and relative status, adjusting for sex, education, and country. Among controls, ε2 was associated with better WM (p<0.05) in those aged 70-79. In relatives, ε2 was linked to better EM (p<0.05) in those 60-69. Within ε2 carriers, longer LTL related to higher EM/WM for those <60, but lower EM/WM among those 60-69 (p<0.05). In relatives, ε4 was linked to worse EM, but better WM in those <50. Within ε4 carriers ≥80, longer LTL related to poor EM/WM. Thus, APOE related differently to distinct memory functions, and such associations varied by familial longevity and age. LTL demonstrated both positive and negative associations with memory functions depending on APOE status and age group.

Background: Death certificate inaccuracy increases at older ages. The Long Life Family Study (LLFS) utilizes a physician adjudication committee to review the death certificate, medical records and a family narrative about cause of death. We report here the adjudication process and the prevalent underlying causes of death for a subsample of those who have died so far. Methods: We first describe the adjudication process. There were ~1,250 deaths in LLFS. We report underlying causes of death for a subset of proband generation subjects enrolled and evaluated by two LLFS study centers. Results: As of May 2019, we have adjudicated 190 deaths (98 male, 92 female) . Mean age 95 years (range 81-105 years). Top 5 causes of death for men: cancer (13%), coronary heart disease (CHD, 13%), dementia (13%), "other" (11%) and "unknown" (9%) and for women: dementia (21%), valvular heart disease (14%), coronary heart disease (12%), unknown (12%) and other (9%). Rate of death due to dementia was greater in women compared to men (CHI2 =7.33, p=0.006). Conclusions: In this pilot study, a significantly greater proportion of women died due to dementia compared to men. At least some portion of this difference may be due to the observation that women are known to survive chronic aging-related diseases more than men and thus have a greater opportunity to die from dementia at advanced ages. An additional cause to consider includes clinicians’ gender bias in ascribing diagnoses in the medical records that were relied upon as part of the adjudication process.