Barriers & facilitators to extended working life : a focus on a predominately female ageing workforce

Many countries are reforming their pension systems so people stay in work for longer to improve the long-term sustainability of public finances to support an increasing older population. This research aimed to explore the factors that enable or inhibit people to extend working life (EWL) in a large UK based retail organisation. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with a purposive sample (n=30): 15 employees aged ≥ 60 and 15 supervisors supporting these employees. Older workers were predominately female, reflecting the gender profile of the older workers in the organisation. Older workers and supervisors reported that key facilitators to EWL were: good health, the perception that older workers are of value; flexibility and choice; the need for an ongoing conversation across the life-course; the social and community aspect of work as a facilitator to EWL; and, the financial necessity to EWL. Perceived barriers to EWL included poor health, negative impacts of work on health, and a lack of respect and support

Ageing, health and retirement choices in a diverse workforce : a case study of a large private sector retail organisation

State pension age is due to rise to 68 years in the UK for both men and women by 2046 and the statutory retirement age has been removed. Organisations need to better adapt to the needs of their older employees. Research suggests that a growing number of people want to remain employed past traditional retirement age if the correct conditions are in place such as flexible working arrangements or measures to improve employees’ enjoyment of their work. Health is a key predictor of retirement. Good health acts as an enabler to extending working life. This research aims to explore the factors that enable or inhibit people to work for longer, post traditional retirement age, in a large UK based private sector retail organisation. There are two phases to the study: Phase One is the descriptive and inferential secondary data analysis of existing human resource data in relation to the health and wellbeing of the work force. This is based on a cohort of the employee work force in the retail sector taken over a three-year period from 2011-2013 (2013 data N=76,379) with a focus on workers aged ≥ 50 (n=19,244). The second phase is a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 30 participants: 15 employees aged ≥ 60 and 15 supervisors supporting these employees. The aim of phase two is to explore employee experiences of nearing or working beyond state pensionable age, as well as the factors enabling and inhibiting people to work for longer. Phase Two also explores the organisational and store level factors that enable and inhibit people to work for longer. Findings from Phase One show that 76% of workers aged ≥ 50 in the study population (n=14,596) are female. Specific needs associated with female older workers are reflected in the rates of mental ill-health, whereby the largest increases in proportion of ‘mental ill health’ cases across three years were found in the older female worker group. Older workers represent 25% of employees, but account for 39% of all long-term sickness. Although men had fewer instances of time off for mental ill health issues, for long-term absence males had significantly higher recovery time (M=63days, SD=54 days) than females (M=57 days, SD=47 days). Female older employees and those in the north of England had a significantly higher probability of retirement during 2-years follow-up. Older workers showed gendered workplace sickness absence trends and ill health was been found to be a key predictor of retirement. In Phase Two the majority of older workers and supervisors reported that facilitators to extending their working lives were: the values of the organisation in respect of its ethos and long history within the community; good health; the social aspects of work, which were considered to be beneficial for health; good support from supervisors; good team dynamics; positive self-perceptions of ageing; and a choice in shift patterns with a preference for morning shifts. Perceived barriers to extended working life included poor health, negative impacts of work on health, for example due to issues such as prolonged standing, and a lack of respect and support from management and colleagues, specifically in respect of: • Intergenerational (across the generations from young to old) barriers. • The majority of older females interviewed experienced a lack of choice to EWL e.g. caring responsibilities acted as a barrier to EWL. To address these barriers, it is suggested that flexible working practices and choice of shift patterns should be considered as well as practices harnessing the social and community aspects of work. Further, it is recommended that an organisational approach to championing age and EWL as part of an overall life-course approach to diversity management should be implemented

Cytokine mRNA expression responses to resistance, aerobic, and concurrent exercise in sedentary middle-aged men

Concurrent resistance and aerobic exercise (CE) is recommended to ageing populations, though is postulated to induce diminished acute molecular responses. Given that contraction-induced cytokine mRNA expression reportedly mediates remunerative postexercise molecular responses, it is necessary to determine whether cytokine mRNA expression may be diminished after CE. Eight middle-aged men (age, 53.3 ±1.8 years; body mass index, 29.4 ± 1.4 kg·m-2) randomly completed (balanced for completion order) 8 × 8 leg extensions at 70% maximal strength (RE), 40 min of cycling at 55% of peak aerobic workload (AE), or (workload-matched) 50% RE and 50% AE (CE). Muscle (vastus lateralis) was obtained pre-exercise, and at 1 h and 4 h postexercise, and analyzed for changes of glycogen concentration, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α, TNF receptor-1 and -2 (TNF-R1 and TNF-R2, respectively), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-6R, IL-1β, and IL-1 receptor-antagonist (IL-1ra). All exercise modes upregulated cytokine mRNA expression at 1hpostexercise comparably (TNFα, TNF-R1, TNF-R2, IL-1β, IL-6) (p 0.05). Moreover, AE and RE upregulated IL-1β and IL-1ra expression, whereas CE upregulated IL-1β expression only (p 0.05). In conclusion, in middle-aged men, all modes induced commensurate cytokine mRNA expression at 1 h postexercise; however, only CE resulted in ameliorated expression at 4 h postexercise. Whether the RE or AE components of CE are independently or cumulatively sufficient to upregulate cytokine responses, or whether they collectively inhibit cytokine mRNA expression, remains to be determined

Comparative effects of single-mode vs. duration-matched concurrent exercise training on body composition, low-grade inflammation, and glucose regulation in sedentary, overweight, middle-aged men

The effect of duration-matched concurrent exercise training (CET) (50% resistance (RET) and 50% endurance (EET) training) on physiological training outcomes in untrained middle-aged men remains to be elucidated. Forty-seven men (age, 48.1 ± 6.8 years; body mass index, 30.4 ± 4.1 kg·m-2) were randomized into 12-weeks of EET (40-60 min of cycling), RET (10 exercises; 3-4 sets × 8-10 repetitions), CET (50% serial completion of RET and EET), or control condition. The following were determined: intervention-based changes in fitness and strength; abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT), total body fat (TB-FM) and fat-free (TB-FFM) mass; plasma cytokines (C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) interleukin-6 (IL-6)); muscle protein content of p110α and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4); mRNA expression of GLUT4, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α-β, cytochrome c oxidase, hexokinase II, citrate synthase; oral glucose tolerance; and estimated insulin sensitivity. CET promoted commensurate improvements of aerobic capacity and muscular strength and reduced VAT and TB-FM equivalently to EET and RET (p 0.05). EET reduced area under the curve for glucose, insulin, and C-peptide, whilst CET and RET respectively reduced insulin and C-peptide, and C-peptide only (p 0.05). In middle-aged men, 12 weeks of durationmatched CET promoted commensurate changes in fitness and strength, abdominal VAT, plasma cytokines and insulin sensitivity, and an equidistant glucose tolerance response to EET and RET; despite no change of measured muscle mechanisms associative to insulin action, glucose transport, and mitochondrial function

Differentiation of neurons from neural precursors generated in floating spheres from embryonic stem cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neural differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells is usually achieved by induction of ectoderm in embryoid bodies followed by the enrichment of neuronal progenitors using a variety of factors. Obtaining reproducible percentages of neural cells is difficult and the methods are time consuming.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Neural progenitors were produced from murine ES cells by a combination of nonadherent conditions and serum starvation. Conversion to neural progenitors was accompanied by downregulation of <it>Oct4 </it>and <it>NANOG </it>and increased expression of <it>nestin</it>. ES cells containing a GFP gene under the control of the <it>Sox1 </it>regulatory regions became fluorescent upon differentiation to neural progenitors, and ES cells with a tau-GFP fusion protein became fluorescent upon further differentiation to neurons. Neurons produced from these cells upregulated mature neuronal markers, or differentiated to glial and oligodendrocyte fates. The neurons gave rise to action potentials that could be recorded after application of fixed currents.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Neural progenitors were produced from murine ES cells by a novel method that induced neuroectoderm cells by a combination of nonadherent conditions and serum starvation, in contrast to the embryoid body method in which neuroectoderm cells must be selected after formation of all three germ layers.</p

Colorectal cancer health services research study protocol: the CCR-CARESS observational prospective cohort project

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancers are one of the most common forms of malignancy worldwide. But two significant areas of research less studied deserve attention: health services use and development of patient stratification risk tools for these patients. METHODS:DESIGN: a prospective multicenter cohort study with a follow up period of up to 5 years after surgical intervention. Participant centers: 22 hospitals representing six autonomous communities of Spain. Participants/Study population: Patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer that have undergone surgical intervention and have consented to participate in the study between June 2010 and December 2012. Variables collected include pre-intervention background, sociodemographic parameters, hospital admission records, biological and clinical parameters, treatment information, and outcomes up to 5 years after surgical intervention. Patients completed the following questionnaires prior to surgery and in the follow up period: EuroQol-5D, EORTC QLQ-C30 (The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire) and QLQ-CR29 (module for colorectal cancer), the Duke Functional Social Support Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Barthel Index. The main endpoints of the study are mortality, tumor recurrence, major complications, readmissions, and changes in health-related quality of life at 30 days and at 1, 2, 3 and 5 years after surgical intervention. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: In relation to the different endpoints, predictive models will be used by means of multivariate logistic models, Cox or linear mixed-effects regression models. Simulation models for the prediction of discrete events in the long term will also be used, and an economic evaluation of different treatment strategies will be performed through the use of generalized linear models. DISCUSSION: The identification of potential risk factors for adverse events may help clinicians in the clinical decision making process. Also, the follow up by 5 years of this large cohort of patients may provide useful information to answer different health services research questions

Behavioural Significance of Cerebellar Modules

A key organisational feature of the cerebellum is its division into a series of cerebellar modules. Each module is defined by its climbing input originating from a well-defined region of the inferior olive, which targets one or more longitudinal zones of Purkinje cells within the cerebellar cortex. In turn, Purkinje cells within each zone project to specific regions of the cerebellar and vestibular nuclei. While much is known about the neuronal wiring of individual cerebellar modules, their behavioural significance remains poorly understood. Here, we briefly review some recent data on the functional role of three different cerebellar modules: the vermal A module, the paravermal C2 module and the lateral D2 module. The available evidence suggests that these modules have some differences in function: the A module is concerned with balance and the postural base for voluntary movements, the C2 module is concerned more with limb control and the D2 module is involved in predicting target motion in visually guided movements. However, these are not likely to be the only functions of these modules and the A and C2 modules are also both concerned with eye and head movements, suggesting that individual cerebellar modules do not necessarily have distinct functions in motor control