Circulating glucuronic acid predicts healthspan and longevity in humans and mice.

Glucuronic acid is a metabolite of glucose that is involved in the detoxification of xenobiotic compounds and the structure/remodeling of the extracellular matrix. We report for the first time that circulating glucuronic acid is a robust biomarker of mortality that is conserved across species. We find that glucuronic acid levels are significant predictors of all-cause mortality in three population-based cohorts from different countries with 4-20 years of follow-up (HR=1.44, p=2.9×10-6 in the discovery cohort; HR=1.13, p=0.032 and HR=1.25, p=0.017, respectively in the replication cohorts), as well as in a longitudinal study of genetically heterogenous mice (HR=1.29, p=0.018). Additionally, we find that glucuronic acid levels increase with age and predict future healthspan-related outcomes. Together, these results demonstrate glucuronic acid as a robust biomarker of longevity and healthspan.

Personality characteristics below facets: A replication and meta-analysis of cross-rater agreement, rank-order stability, heritability, and utility of personality nuances.

Mõttus and colleagues (2017) reported evidence that the unique variance in specific personality characteristics captured by single descriptive items often displayed trait-like properties of cross-rater agreement, rank-order stability, and heritability. They suggested that the personality hierarchy should be extended below facets to incorporate these specific characteristics, called personality nuances. The present study attempted to replicate these findings, employing data from 6,287 individuals from 6 countries (Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, and United States). The same personality measure-240-item Revised NEO Personality Inventory-and statistical procedures were used. The present findings closely replicated the original results. When the original and current results were meta-analyzed, the unique variance of nearly all items (i.e., items' scores residualized for all broader personality traits) showed statistically significant cross-rater agreement (median = .12) and rank-order stability over an average of 12 years (median = .24), and the unique variance of the majority of items had a significant heritable component (median = .14). These 3 item properties were intercorrelated, suggesting that items systematically differed in the degree of reflecting valid unique variance. Also, associations of items' unique variance with age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) replicated across samples and tracked with the original findings. Moreover, associations between item residuals and BMI obtained from one group of people allowed for a significant incremental prediction of BMI in an independent sample. Overall, these findings reinforce the hypotheses that nuances constitute the building blocks of the personality trait hierarchy, their properties are robust and they can be useful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).