Imagining old age

People often seem to be reluctant to imagine that they will ever grow old themselves. Of course, at one level, we all know that, unless we die ‘young’, we will all grow ‘old’ eventually. A life course runs from birth to death and, for most people, this will include a stage of being ‘old’. But, somehow, it seems to be hard for many people to believe that they will ever really be old themselves. This chapter first examines some of the explanations that gerontologists and other scholars have given for why people often find it hard to imagine themselves being old. It then asks why it matters that people should be able to imagine their own old age. Finally, it considers some techniques which could be used by researchers and other people if they want to encourage people to think about their own old age

Troubles with bisexuality in health and social care

Bisexual people use and work in health and social care services but are often even less visible than lesbian and gay people(1). In this chapter, I examine some of the reasons for this lack of visibility and argue that it is partly to do with the ways in which bisexuality is a particularly complicated and fluid sexual orientation category. I also illustrate some of the ways in which bisexuality matters and can be relevant in health and social care settings. The category 'bisexual' frequently appears in the term 'LGBT'. This chapter begins by considering some of the effects of this inclusion in the wider category. I then move on to examine some of the different ways in which bisexuality has been theorised, before introducing some of the ways in which common features of bisexual identities trouble both health and social care practices and notions of the nature of sexual identities. These issues are examined through five case studies involving people who either identify as bisexual or who might be categorised by other people as bisexual

The Regulation of Aggrecanase ADAMTS-4 Expression in Human Achilles Tendon and tendon-Derived Cells

Several members of the ADAMTS (A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase with ThromboSpondin motifs) family have been identified as aggrecanases, whose substrates include versican, the principal large proteoglycan in the tendon extracellular matrix. We have characterized the expression of ADAMTS-4 in human Achilles tendon and tendon-derived cells. ADAMTS-4 mRNA levels were higher in ruptured tendon compared with normal tendon or chronic painful tendinopathy. In tissue extracts probed by Western blotting, mature ADAMTS-4 (68 kDa) was detected only in ruptured tendons, while processed ADAMTS-4 (53 kDa) was detected also in chronic painful tendinopathy and in normal tendon. In cultured Achilles tendon cells, transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) stimulated ADAMTS-4 mRNA expression (typically 20-fold after 24 h), while interleukin-1 induced a smaller, shorter-term stimulation which synergised markedly with that induced by TGF-ß. Increased levels of immunoreactive proteins consistent with mature and processed forms of ADAMTS-4 were detected in TGF-ß-stimulated cells. ADAMTS-4 mRNA was expressed at higher levels by tendon cells in collagen gels than in monolayer cultures. In contrast, the expression of ADAMTS-1 and -5 mRNA was lower in collagen gels compared with monolayers, and these mRNA showed smaller or opposite responses to growth factors and cytokines compared with that of ADAMTS-4 mRNA. We conclude that both ADAMTS-4 mRNA and ADAMTS-4 protein processing may be differentially regulated in normal and damaged tendons and that both the matrix environment and growth factors such as TGF-ß are potentially important factors controlling ADAMTS aggrecanase activities in tendon pathology

Medición de las condiciones habitacionales: una propuesta metodológica para analizar desigualdades inter e intraterritorios urbanos

La medición de las condiciones habitacionales de un territorio resulta de especial interés para la implementación de políticas públicas. Los métodos tradicionales se concentran en la medición de los déficits y dejan de lado aquella parte de la población que se encuentra cerca del umbral. Con base en propuestas específicas, estándares de organismos internacionales, legislación nacional y la importante participación de especialistas, en este estudio se genera una metodología cuantitativa, que evita esa pérdida de información al incluir a toda la población de un territorio, asignándole un puntaje a cada persona de acuerdo a las características del hogar que habita. Para validar la propuesta, se presenta una aplicación con datos de Argentina, donde se constata su versatilidad, dado que permite detectar problemáticas particulares en cada dimensión, y también consigue analizar el nivel promedio, la distribución intra e interterritorios y la pérdida de bienestar por desigualdad.The measurement of the housing conditions of a territory is particularly important for the implementation of public policies. Traditional methods focus on the measurement of deficits and leave aside that part of the population which is closer to the threshold. Based on specific proposals, the standards of international organizations, national legislation, and a significant participation of specialists, this study proposes a quantitative methodology, which avoids said loss of information by including the entire population of a territory, assigning a score to each person according to the characteristics of the household they live in. To validate this proposal, we present an application with data from Argentina, where its versatility is verified given that it allows for the detection of issues in each dimension while also getting to analyze the average level, the intra and interterritorial distribution, and the welfare loss due to inequality.Fil: Actis Di Pasquale, Eugenio. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina

Ageing and bisexuality: Case studies from the Looking Both Ways project

This report presents case studies from a research study about ageing and bisexuality. The case studies are freely available for use by others. They could be used: • To generate discussion when training health and social care staff working with older people • To illustrate and personalise issues in report-writing and policy development • To create awareness about the needs of older people in relation to sexuality and care • As a resource for teachers and other educators • To prompt discussions about the impact of people’s earlier life course experiences in later life • To increase the visibility of bisexual people in later life • To increase the representation of older people in bisexuality visibility work • To increase the representation of bisexual people in general LGBT training Case studies describing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people’s experiences as they grow older are often used in training, educational and policy work. They can help bring issues to life by providing real life examples, and can also help people understand experiences that may be very different from their own. However, existing resources focus on the experiences of lesbians and gay men as they grow older. When bisexual people are included, it is often only in relation to their same-sex experiences, not their experiences of being bisexual as they grow older. Looking Both Ways was a research project exploring the experiences of people with bisexual identities or bisexual relationship histories as they grow older. Twelve people (aged 51 to 83) living in England took part in interviews between 2013 and 2015. Half of them identified as bisexual and half did not but had bisexual relationship histories. From these interviews we developed case studies which set out life stories, concerns and support needs in later life. This report provides the case studies and explains the context in which they were created. Details of other, more academic, outputs from the project can be obtained from the authors. For more information about bisexuality or about LGBT ageing in general, see the resources list at the end of this report

Changes in initial COPD treatment choice over time and factors influencing prescribing decisions in UK primary care : a real-world study

Acknowledgements Samantha Holmes (CircleScience, an Ashfield Company, part of UDG Healthcare plc) and Paul Hutchin (contracted to CircleScience, an Ashfield Company, part of UDG Healthcare plc) provided medical writing assistance. Funding The study was funded by Novartis Pharma AG (Basel, Switzerland).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Management of COPD in the UK primary-care setting : an analysis of real-life prescribing patterns

Peer reviewedPublisher PD