Experienced discrimination amongst European old citizens

This study analyses the experienced age discrimination of old European citizens and the factors related to this discrimination. Differences in experienced discrimination between old citizens of different European countries are explored. Data from the 2008 ESS survey are used. Old age is defined as being 62 years or older. The survey data come from 28 European countries and 14,364 old-age citizens. Their average age is 72 years. Factor analysis is used to construct the core variable ‘experienced discrimination’. The influence of the independent variables on experienced discrimination is analysed using linear regression analysis. About one-quarter of old European citizens sometimes or frequently experience discrimination because of their age. Gender, education, income and belonging to a minority are related to experienced age discrimination. Satisfaction with life and subjective health are strongly associated with experienced age discrimination, as is trust in other people and the seriousness of age discrimination in the country. Large, significant differences in experienced discrimination due to old age exist between European countries. A north-west versus south-east European gradient is found in experienced discrimination due to old age. The socio-cultural context is important in explaining experienced age discrimination in old European citizens. Old-age discrimination is experienced less frequently in countries with social security arrangements. Further research is needed to understand the variation in (old) age discrimination between European countries. Measures recommended include increasing public awareness about the value of ageing for communities and changing public attitudes towards the old in a positive way

Analysis of in vitro bioactivity data extracted from drug discovery literature and patents: Ranking 1654 human protein targets by assayed compounds and molecular scaffolds

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Since the classic Hopkins and Groom druggable genome review in 2002, there have been a number of publications updating both the hypothetical and successful human drug target statistics. However, listings of research targets that define the area between these two extremes are sparse because of the challenges of collating published information at the necessary scale. We have addressed this by interrogating databases, populated by expert curation, of bioactivity data extracted from patents and journal papers over the last 30 years.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From a subset of just over 27,000 documents we have extracted a set of compound-to-target relationships for biochemical <it>in vitro </it>binding-type assay data for 1,736 human proteins and 1,654 gene identifiers. These are linked to 1,671,951 compound records derived from 823,179 unique chemical structures. The distribution showed a compounds-per-target average of 964 with a maximum of 42,869 (Factor Xa). The list includes non-targets, failed targets and cross-screening targets. The top-278 most actively pursued targets cover 90% of the compounds. We further investigated target ranking by determining the number of molecular frameworks and scaffolds. These were compared to the compound counts as alternative measures of chemical diversity on a per-target basis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The compounds-per-protein listing generated in this work (provided as a supplementary file) represents the major proportion of the human drug target landscape defined by published data. We supplemented the simple ranking by the number of compounds assayed with additional rankings by molecular topology. These showed significant differences and provide complementary assessments of chemical tractability.</p

Design and Deploying Tools to ‘Actively Engaging Nature’: The My Naturewatch Project as an Agent for Engagement

‘Shifting Baseline Syndrome’ is highly apparent in the context of generational shifts in work and life patterns that reduce interaction with and knowledge of the natural world, and therefore expectations of it. This is exacerbated by changes in the natural world itself due to climate change, biodiversity decline and a range of anthropogenic factors. Distributed and accessible technologies, and grass roots approaches provide fresh opportunities for interactions, which enable active engagement in ecological scenarios. The My NatureWatch project uses digital devices to collect visual content about UK wildlife, promoting ‘active engagements with nature’. The project embodies Inclusive Design in the Digital Age, as the activity; engages a wide demographic community, can be used by all, provided user led agency and produced methodological design lessons. The article frames My Naturewatch as an agent for active designed engagements with nature. The research objective is to comprehend ‘how to design tools for positive nature engagement’ holding value for; (1) academic communities as validated methodologies (2) the public through access to enabling technologies, content and knowledge (3) industry in the form of new; experiences, engagements and commerce. The approach is specifically designed to yield insights from a multitude of engagements, through the deployment of accessible, lowcost products. Project reporting documents the benefits, pitfalls and opportunities in the aforementioned engagement uncovered through design-led approaches. Insights are gathered from public/community facing workshops, wildlife experts, ecologists, economists, educators and wildlife NGO’s. The engagement methodologies are compared highlighting which initiative yielded ‘Active Engagement with Nature’

Increasing longevity and family dynamics in Latin America

The world is ageing both at an individual and population level (Lee 2003; Leeson 2009) – and population ageing, which was once regarded as an issue for the developed economies of Europe and North America is truly a global phenomenon now reaching Latin America (Leeson 2011), the only notable region of exception being sub-Saharan Africa, which remains relatively young in demographic terms (United Nations 2013). At an individual level, life expectancies at birth have increased at the global level from 47 years in the mid-20th century to around 70 years today, and are expected to rise to 76 years by the mid-21st century and to 82 years by the end of the century. At the population level, the proportion of the world’s population aged 60 years and over has increased from 8 per cent in the mid-20th century to 11 per cent, and by 2050, it is expected to reach 21 per cent, equating to more than 2 billion people. The end of the century will see almost 30 per cent and 3 billion of the world’s population aged 60 years and over (United Nations 2013). As Europe and North America aged through the 20th century, the next wave sees the populations of much of Asia ageing in the first decades of the 21st century on an unprecedented scale, driven primarily by rapidly declining fertility. Fertility in Korea, for example, has declined in the course of just one generation from almost 3 in 1975-80 to 1.3 in 2010-15 (United Nations 2013). This presents huge challenges to individuals, families, and society as a whole, not least because many of these societies are highly family-based in respect of support for older people. Quite simply, that family is shrinking dramatically and the role of the family is changing likewise (Harper 2004; Leeson and Harper 2006, 2007, 2007a, 2007b, 2008). As mentioned, Latin America and the Caribbean, with their own history, culture and traditions, now stand on the brink of their own ageing challenge, and countries are variously prepared or unprepared to take on the challenge (Brea 2003). As well as ageing, the populations of the region have grown and urbanised. Life expectancies increased quite dramatically during the first half of the 20th century and then more modestly in the latter half of that century as increases materialised as a result of improvements in survival at older ages (Fries 1980; Leeson 1981, 1982, 2014; Vaupel 1998). There is also a body of evidence indicating that lives will continue to be extended (Bongaarts 2006; Thatcher 1999, 2001; Olshanky et al 2001; Robine, Saito and Jagger 2003; Wilmoth and Robine 2003; Christensen et al 2009; Vaupel 2010; Leeson 2011, 2014). This chapter considers population ageing across Latin America and the Caribbean region for the period 1950-2050, and then utilises data from Oxford’s Global Ageing Survey (GLAS) to illustrate attitudes to family and family support in Brazil and Mexico. Finally, prospects for increasing longevity are brought into this equation and the impacts on family dynamics are discussed

Familial solidarity and orientation and life enjoyment in later life, in urban areas of Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore

This article reports on analyses of familial solidarity and orientation and life enjoyment among 40- to 79-year-olds in urban areas of Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. Social, familial and personal factors affecting life enjoyment are analysed along with attitudes to familial solidarity and orientation in later life. Data are drawn from the Global Ageing Survey (GLAS), which includes approximately 1,000 people aged 40 to 79 from each country studied in this article. The results show that familial solidarity and orientation and life enjoyment are inversely affected by the pace of demographic change and economic development and by opportunity variables differently

The impact of mortality development on the number of centenarians in England and Wales

The world is ageing both at an individual and a population level, and population ageing is truly a global phenomenon. Life expectancies at birth have increased at the global level from 47 years in the mid-20th century to around 70 years today, and are expected to rise to 76 years by the mid-21st century. The proportion of the world’s population aged 60 years and over has increased from 8% in the mid-20th century to 12%, and by 2050 it is expected to reach 21%. The emergence of large numbers of centenarians has accompanied this development. This paper outlines this emergence historically and the likely growth in the number of centenarians in the 21st century, in particular in England and Wales, analysing mortality trends since 1840 and the rise in the number of centenarians in the 20th and 21st centuries. The number of centenarians in England and Wales increased from around 160 in 1922 to almost 12,500 by 2012, but if mortality at all ages had remained constant from 1912 to 2012, then by 2012 the number of centenarians would only have been around 720. By 2100, the number of centenarians is expected to reach around 1.4 million, but if future mortality at all ages were to remain constant, then by 2100 the number of centenarians would be around 78,000. However, if predicted mortality for those aged 55 years and over was to decrease by an additional 5% every 5 years until 2100, then the number of centenarians in England and Wales would reach around 1.8 million by the end of the century