Active Ageing: An Empirical Approach to the WHO Model

Background. In the beginning of the 21st century, the world summit on population taking place in Madrid approved active ageing, WHO (2002) as the main objective of health and social policies for old people. Few studies have been done on the scientific validity of the construct. This study aims to validate the construct of active ageing and test empirically the WHO (2002) model of Active Ageing in a sample of community-dwelling seniors. Methods. 1322 old people living in the community were interviewed using an extensive assessment protocol to measure WHO's determinants of active ageing and performed an exploratory factor analysis followed by a confirmatory factor analyses. Results. We did not confirm the active ageing model, as most of the groups of determinants are either not independent or not significant. We got to a six-factor model (health, psychological component, cognitive performance, social relationships, biobehavioural component, and personality) explaining 54.6% of total variance. Conclusion. The present paper shows that there are objective as well as subjective variables contributing to active ageing and that psychological variables seem to give a very important contribute to the construct. The profile of active ageing is expected to vary between contexts and cultures and can be used to guide specific community and individually based interventions

Health profile of centenarians in Portugal: a census-based approach

Background: The number of centenarians is rapidly increasing in Europe. In Portugal, it has almost tripled over the last 10 years and constitutes one of the fastest-growing segments of the population. This paper aims to describe the health and sociodemographic characteristics of Portuguese centenarians as given in the 2011 census and to identify sex differences. Methods: All persons living in Portugal mainland and Madeira and Azores islands aged 100 years old at the time of the 2011 census (N = 1,526) were considered. Measures include sociodemographic characteristics and perceived difficulties in six functional domains of basic actions (seeing, hearing, walking, cognition, self-care, and communication) as assessed by the Portuguese census official questionnaires. Results: Most centenarians are women (82.1 %), widowed (82 %), never attended school (51 %), and live in private households (71 %). The majority show major constraints in seeing (67.4 %), hearing (72.3 %), and particularly in their mobility (83.7 % cannot/have great difficulties in walking/climbing stairs and 80.7 % in bathing/dressing). In general, a better outcome was found for reported memory/concentration and understanding, with 39.1 % and 42.5 % presenting no or mild difficulty, respectively. Top-level functioning (no/mild difficulties in all dimensions concurrently) was observed in a minority of cases (5.96 %). Women outnumber men by a ratio of 4.6, and statistically significant differences were found between men and women for all health-related variables, with women presenting a higher percentage of difficulties. Conclusion: Portuguese centenarians experience great difficulties in sensory domains and basic daily living activities, and to a lesser extent in cognition and communication. The obtained profile, though self-reported, is important in considering the potential of social and family participation of this population regardless of their functional and sensory limitations. Based on the observed differences between men and women, gender-specific and gender-sensitive interventions are recommended in order to acknowledge women’s worse overall condition

Being successful aged at one hundred years old: alternative and subjective criteria

Age, i.e. being younger, has been the most consistent predictor of successful aging, indicating a dramatic drop of the rate of success with advancing age. However, emergent studies based on expanded psychological concepts have been revealing the admirable capacity of oldest old individuals to overcome adversities and adapting to the challenges of very advanced age. This study aims to explore alternative criteria to Rowe and Kahn successful aging model in centenarians. A sample of 70 individuals (Mage100.91, SD 1.37, 87.1%female) with cognitive capacity for answering self-report questions were selected from the population-based Oporto Centenarian Study (PT100). Perceived economic status, sub- jective health and happiness were considered as components to assess successful aging. Main findings revealed that 62.9% of the sample was able to meet economic needs, 44.3% was happy and 32.3% reported a positive self-perception of health. 12.9% of the participants satisfied all three criteria and 16.1% didnt fulfilled any. A previous study using the same alternative criteria found that 47.5% of centenarians were successful aged, whereas none of them satisfied all three objective components from Rowe and Kahn’s success- ful aging model (Cho et al., 2012). Thus, the higher propor- tion of centenarians with positive self-ratings demonstrate that they may feel successful despite not being objectively considered as so. The alternative criteria of perceived eco- nomic status, subjective health and happiness considered in this study seem to be suitable to approach successful aging in very advanced age.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Review of Heat Treatments on Improving the Quality and Residual Stresses of the Ti–6Al–4V Parts Produced by Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM) can be seen as a disruptive process that builds complex components layer upon layer. Two of its distinct technologies are Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Electron Beam Melting (EBM), which are powder bed fusion processes that create metallic parts with the aid of a beam source. One of the most studied and manufactured superalloys in metal AM is the Ti–6Al–4V, which can be applied in the aerospace field due to its low density and high melting point, and in the biomedical area owing to its high corrosion resistance and excellent biocompatibility when in contact with tissues or bones of the human body. The research novelty of this work is the aggregation of all kinds of data from the last 20 years of investigation about Ti–6Al–4V parts manufactured via SLM and EBM, namely information related to residual stresses (RS), as well as the influence played by different heat treatments in reducing porosity and increasing mechanical properties. Throughout the report, it can be seen that the expected microstructure of the Ti–6Al–4V alloy is different in both manufacturing processes, mainly due to the distinct cooling rates. However, heat treatments can modify the microstructure, reduce RS, and increase the ductility, fatigue life, and hardness of the components. Furthermore, distinct post-treatments can induce compressive RS on the part’s surface, consequently enhancing the fatigue lifeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Breakthrough of the resemblances and correspondences between resilience and sustainability in civil infrastructures

Sustainable construction has become a growing trend among researchers and stakeholders. Simultaneously, resilience and risk assessments for civil Infrastructures have flourished in terms of importance among researchers, economic sectors, and society. Nevertheless, there is no abundant research that correspond to both approaches, despite that, there are massive similarities and shared characteristics between both investigation branches. Distinctively, this year has demonstrated that sustainable development is directly obstructed by different extreme events that trigger risks and vulnerabilities in civil Infrastructures. These extreme events require a deep and complex study to minimize the impacts they may cause in society and economy, two main factors considered in the study of sustainability. Therefore, when a risk and resilience assessments are conducted, it is already analyzed as a sizable part of sustainability. Consequently, there exists a possibility to create a methodology that examines and assesses four categories of civil infrastructure sustainability: Technical, environmental, social, and economical. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the need of a comprehensive approach between sustainability, risk, and resilience assessment, compiling and comparing the existing methodologies for assessing the impacts on civil infrastructures, showing that both present resemblances and none can be omitted, being necessary for the decision-making

Gibbs free energy of transfer of a methylene group on {UCON + (sodium or potassium) phosphate salts} aqueous two-phase systems: Hydrophobicity effects

The Gibbs free energy of transfer of a suitable hydrophobic probe can be regarded as a measure of the relative hydrophobicity of the different phases. The methylene group (CH2) can be considered hydrophobic, and thus be a suitable probe for hydrophobicity. In this work, the partition coefficients of a series of five dinitrophenylated-amino acids were experimentally determined, at 23 °C, in three different tie-lines of the biphasic systems: (UCON + K2HPO4), (UCON + potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7), (UCON + KH2PO4), (UCON + Na2HPO4), (UCON + sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7), and (UCON + NaH2PO4). The Gibbs free energy of transfer of CH2 units were calculated from the partition coefficients and used to compare the relative hydrophobicity of the equilibrium phases. The largest relative hydrophobicity was found for the ATPS formed by dihydrogen phosphate salts.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Programa "Ciência 2007", SFRH/BD/43439/2008LSREFEDER/POCI/201

Looking at objective and subjective health in centenarians: always in agreement?

Centenarians ́ objective health is often characterized by functional and health problems associated with their long- life and age-related problems. Nevertheless, their self-rated health (SRH) may not be necessarily negative. There is a large body of literature concerning SRH in later life but lack of evidence about one’s perception of health and its associated factors in very advanced ages. This study aims to analyse the relationship between subjective and objective health status in a sample of centenarians (n=127; Mage = 101.1 years, SD 1.5). Subjective health was assessed by a SRH single-item, and objective health by considering the number of reported diseases and a functional capacity scale. Main health char- acteristics are described as well as examined the associa- tion between objective and subjective health indicators and other relevant variables (e.g., individual resources). Results revealed that almost half of the sample has a positive (good, very good or excellent) health appraisal. Many of these indi- viduals have 3 or more diseases and are dependent in their ADL. Objective and subjective measures of health are dis- cordant is some cases. Results revealed that centenarians ́ SRH could be determined by other factors than the objective health ones. Having diseases and functional dependence at 100 years old may not mean to have a bad SRH. The high variability in SRH and the discordance between objective and subjective measures are a proof of centenarians ́capacity of adaptation and the existence of psychosocial resources that may be decisive for the perception and handling of health status at such an advanced age.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Relative hydrophobicity of (PEG or Ucon)-salt ATPSs

Aqueous Two-Phase Systems (ATPSs) are biphasic systems composed mainly by water. ATPSs are obtained upon mixing of two aqueous solutions of certain polymers or a polymer and a salt (above certain critical conditions, e.g. concentration, temperature). These systems are commonly indicated for the extraction of biomolecules. In this work, the partition coefficients for a series of five dinitrophenylated amino-acids (ranging from glycine to amino-caprylic acid) were determined experimentally in five different polymer-salt ATPSs (polymers: PEG or Ucon; salts: Na2SO4, Li2SO4 or (NH4)2SO4) at 23ºC. Values of the free energy of transfer of a methylene group, ΔG(CH2), for the five ATPSs were obtained from the partition coefficients and compared with ΔG(CH2) previously obtained for PEG-Na2SO4 (Rodríguez et al., 2007). Ucon-salt ATPSs presented higher values of ΔG(CH2) than the corresponding PEG-salt systems, witch indicates that the Ucon-rich phase is more hydrophobic than the PEG-rich phase

Association between handgrip strength, walking, age­related illnesses and cognitive status in a sample of Portuguese centenarians

Abstract Background: Centenarians are a growing population in Europe and present significant variability in motor and cognitive functions. The aim of our study was to characterize health status, as well as cognitive and motor functions in a group of Portuguese centenarians. In addition, our study also aimed at analyzing the relationship between cognitive functions and the burden of diseases affecting the elderly. Methods: Fifty-two centenarians were evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination, short version. Walking- related parameters (velocity and time spent in the 3 m walk test), grip strength and number of age-related illnesses were also measured. The relationship between cognitive scores and time spent in the three metre walk test, velocity, grip strength and number of diseases was analysed. Results: Cognitive scores showed a positive correlation with both handgrip strength and time spent in the three metre walk. In contrast, no association was found between cognitive scores and the presence/absence of disease, walking velocity or number of diseases present. Conclusions: These results suggest that in centenarians, cognitive functions may be related with motor functions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio