Ageing-in-place : home enhancement to give elderly a dream home

Everyone has their own definition of dream home , but there is always something in common - comfort and safety. Seniors prefer to stay in their own house for as long as possible, yet the inevitable decline of their physical functionality in the process of ageing has rendered some to rely on wheelchairs, canes and other aids. The original interior design might pose threats to them, making the house unsuitable for them. In view of this service gap, collaborated with the Institute of Surveyors Building Surveying Cooperation, the Hong Kong Housing Society launched the Elderly Safe Living Scheme to enhance public awareness of barrier-free domestic design through public education in the forms of road shows, seminars, consultation, and home assessment

From fear of death to management of life : inspirations from the life and death education

Talking about death has always been a taboo for most traditionally-minded Chinese. Even though people understand that nobody could escape from death, they rather want to have a discussion on one\u27s life instead. However, does not bringing death up the table mean that this topic is unimportant and hence negligible

Lifelong learning to help both you and me : Ms. Tong Kit-ha\u27s sharing for awarded Outstanding Third Age Citizen

23 April 2015 is a particularly exciting and memorable day for eleven retired people, as they were selected by HK Electric and Kong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) to be the Outstanding Third Age Citizens 2015 for their positive and optimistic life attitudes. Having a passion for volunteerism and lifelong learning, Ms. Tong Kit-ha, a toy-packaging worker who pursued tertiary studies after retirement and graduated with merits, better than many younger students , was elected as one of the Outstanding Third Age Citizens. We are honorable to have Ms. Tong sharing with our readers her third-age life experience as well as her feelings as an awardee

Do you know what I want? : Revisiting women development needs

Population Ageing continues to intensify in Hong Kong while the Feminisation of elderly population has become a prominent trend. Since an elderly\u27s quality of life is closely related to his/her life-course experience, Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies of Lingnan University (APIAS) accepted the Hong Kong Women Development Association\u27s commission to develop the Women Development Index, so as to enable earlier intervention to improve women\u27s later lives

從懼怕死亡到管理生命 : 「晚晴+VE」殘疾長者生命教育計劃的啟示

傳統中國人視「死亡」為忌諱，即使深明每個人終將難逃一死，很多人仍會本著「只談氐，避談死」的心態，選擇避而不談「死亡」。難道不談，就代表其不重要且可以被忽略

家居改善減危險 原址安老樂頤年

人人對「安樂窩」的定義都不同，但必定有一個共通元素：必須令人感覺舒適安全。長者普遍希望留在原來的「安樂窩」生活，但隨著年齡增長、身體機能減弱，部分長者失能愈見嚴重，需倚靠輪椅、扶手杖等輔助工具移動。昔日居所室內設計或會變得危機四伏，不再適合他們居住。 有感現時很多居所並不能滿足長者的住屋需要，香港房屋協會與測量師學會建築測量組合作，推出「長者住安心計劃」，藉路演和講座等公眾教育、諮詢服務以及家居評估，提升市民大眾對無障礙家居設計的認識

子非魚，焉知魚樂乎? : 重訪女性發展需求

香港老龄化情況加劇，而老年人口女性化的趨勢也更加明顯。由於長者群組之生活質素與其生命歷程有著密切的關係，因此嶺南大學亞太老年學研究中心就接受香港婦聯的委託，翼透過建立婦女發展指標，儘早介入以助改善女性之晩年生活

持續學習，助己助人 : 傑出第三龄人士湯潔霞女士分享

對11位退休人士來說，2015年4月23日是一個尤其令人振奮和值得紀念的大日子。皆因他們當日於香港電燈有限公司 (港燈) 與香港社會服務聯會 (社聯) 合辦的第四屆「傑出第三齡人士選舉2015」中獲獎，其努力向上、積極樂觀的態度與表現得到社會的肯定。 「從事玩具包裝，退休後終身學習，大學圓夢，更勝莘莘學子」為大會對其中一位傑出第三齡人士得獎者湯潔霞女士的描述。湯女士對終身學習以至服務社會都充滿熱誠，我們很高興可邀請她向本通訊之讀者分享她的第三齡生活和得獎感受

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Atrasentan and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (SONAR): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Short-term treatment for people with type 2 diabetes using a low dose of the selective endothelin A receptor antagonist atrasentan reduces albuminuria without causing significant sodium retention. We report the long-term effects of treatment with atrasentan on major renal outcomes. Methods: We did this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial at 689 sites in 41 countries. We enrolled adults aged 18–85 years with type 2 diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)25–75 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 of body surface area, and a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR)of 300–5000 mg/g who had received maximum labelled or tolerated renin–angiotensin system inhibition for at least 4 weeks. Participants were given atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily during an enrichment period before random group assignment. Those with a UACR decrease of at least 30% with no substantial fluid retention during the enrichment period (responders)were included in the double-blind treatment period. Responders were randomly assigned to receive either atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily or placebo. All patients and investigators were masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was a composite of doubling of serum creatinine (sustained for ≥30 days)or end-stage kidney disease (eGFR <15 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 sustained for ≥90 days, chronic dialysis for ≥90 days, kidney transplantation, or death from kidney failure)in the intention-to-treat population of all responders. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of their assigned study treatment. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01858532. Findings: Between May 17, 2013, and July 13, 2017, 11 087 patients were screened; 5117 entered the enrichment period, and 4711 completed the enrichment period. Of these, 2648 patients were responders and were randomly assigned to the atrasentan group (n=1325)or placebo group (n=1323). Median follow-up was 2·2 years (IQR 1·4–2·9). 79 (6·0%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 105 (7·9%)of 1323 in the placebo group had a primary composite renal endpoint event (hazard ratio [HR]0·65 [95% CI 0·49–0·88]; p=0·0047). Fluid retention and anaemia adverse events, which have been previously attributed to endothelin receptor antagonists, were more frequent in the atrasentan group than in the placebo group. Hospital admission for heart failure occurred in 47 (3·5%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 34 (2·6%)of 1323 patients in the placebo group (HR 1·33 [95% CI 0·85–2·07]; p=0·208). 58 (4·4%)patients in the atrasentan group and 52 (3·9%)in the placebo group died (HR 1·09 [95% CI 0·75–1·59]; p=0·65). Interpretation: Atrasentan reduced the risk of renal events in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease who were selected to optimise efficacy and safety. These data support a potential role for selective endothelin receptor antagonists in protecting renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of developing end-stage kidney disease. Funding: AbbVie