Volunteering in retirement migration: meanings and functions of charitable activities for older British residents in Spain

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1374-1400 ◽  
Author(s):  
HEIKO HAAS

ABSTRACTVolunteering is a ubiquitous and distinct feature of the British retired community in Spain, and for many older migrants volunteering constitutes a significant part of their post-retirement life abroad. Especially in the management and organisation of health and age-related problems voluntary organisations have come to play a crucial role not only for the British community but also for the Spanish host society and public health-care system. Furthermore, volunteering represents a valuable sphere of activity offering personal benefits for those who are actively engaged. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in a charity organisation in the province of Alicante on the northern Costa Blanca, this paper examines the extensive functions that volunteering and charitable activities can offer British older migrants. The implementation of voluntary work within the specific context of retirement migration is identified as a multi-functional individual and societal resource. Volunteering for the retirees is described as a true means of adaptation to a new life context, and as a highly reflexive strategy of risk minimisation and self-realisation. This implies individual benefits and opens up possibilities of active ageing. Finally, volunteering will be analysed as a performative expression of transmigrants' cultural bifocality, reflecting both a high level of commitment to Spain as well as a specific feature of British community spirit and traditionalism.

Author(s):  
Jonathan E. Peelle

Language processing in older adulthood is a model of balance between preservation and decline. Despite widespread changes to physiological mechanisms supporting perception and cognition, older adults’ language abilities are frequently well preserved. At the same time, the neural systems engaged to achieve this high level of success change, and individual differences in neural organization appear to differentiate between more and less successful performers. This chapter reviews anatomical and cognitive changes that occur in aging and popular frameworks for age-related changes in brain function, followed by an examination of how these principles play out in the context of language comprehension and production.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. 640-642
Author(s):  
Halil Onder

AbstractGait disorders are common in the elderly as there are various causes of neurological and non-neurological conditions. On the other hand, most of the gait parameters do change with advancing age which is identified as age-related physiological changes in gait. At this point, the discrimination between age-related physiological changes and gait disorders may be strictly challenging. After identifying gait as an abnormal pattern, classification of it and making the responsible pathophysiology also require high-level expertise in this regard. Herein, we present a rare patient with corticobasal degeneration (CBD) who had admitted initially due to complaints of gait problems. Over a long time, the patient had received the misdiagnosis of gait abnormality due to musculoskeletal problems by multiple physicians. However, the detailed neurological exam showed a higher level gait disorder (HLGD). Further investigations at this point yielded the diagnosis of CBD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-380
Author(s):  
A. G. Sonis ◽  
O. A. Gusyakova ◽  
F. N. Gilmiyarova ◽  
A. A. Ereshchenko ◽  
N. K. Ignatova ◽  
...  

Epidemiological situation describing global measles spread is ambiguous. Along with countries succeeded in measles eradication, there are those wherein measles rate remains at quite high level. Because measles is a vaccine-preventable infection, it may then be eradicated solely by ensuring sufficient population coverage with preventive vaccination. The aim of our study was to assess level of measles immunity in medical workers at the Clinics of Samara State Medical University as well as the Samara State Medical University. There were enrolled 1503 subjects (aged 18–79 years), among which all individuals under 55 (77.58%) but not older counterparts provided with medical record on previous measles vaccination or measles infection. Level of serum measles virus-specific IgG antibodies was measured by using ELISA (VektoKor-IgG, JSC Vector-Best, Novosibirsk), with mean concentration ranging in general population within 1.02±0.02 IU/ ml. Positive results were observed in 72.52% of the examined individuals. Average vs. high measles virus-specific IgG level was detected in 52.90% (mean age — 41.4±0.5 years) and 19.62% (mean age — 54.2±0.72 years) of individuals, whereas at level below threshold — in 27.48% of subjects (mean age — 33.25±0.53 years). Thus, in 34.16% of the surveyed vaccinated individuals mostly presented by young subjects contained anti-measles virus-specific antibodies below protective level. Older age groups were shown to increase in average IgG amount with age. Interestingly, age-related measles immunity pattern was observed: percentage of subjects with high vs. low measles virus-specific IgG level increases and decreases, respectively. Taking into consideration a large percentage of subjects previously vaccinated against measles among carriers of low measles immunity, it may be concluded that measles virus-specific IgG antibody level must be monitored in young adulthood to decide of whether subsequent revaccination is necessary.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason L. Pugh ◽  
Christopher P. Coplen ◽  
Alona S. Sukhina ◽  
Jennifer L. Uhrlaub ◽  
Jose Padilla-Torres ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTA popular “DNA-damage theory” of aging posits that unrepaired DNA damage leads to cellular (and organismal) senescence. Indeed, some hallmarks of immune aging are more prevalent in individuals exposed to Whole-Body Irradiation (WBI). To test this hypothesis in a model relevant to human immune aging, we examined separate and joint effects of lifelong latent Murine Cytomegalovirus (MCMV) and early-life WBI (i) over the course of the lifespan; (ii) in response to a West Nile virus (WNV) live attenuated vaccine; and (iii) following lethal WNV challenge subsequent to vaccination. We recently published that a single dose of non-lethal WBI in youth, on its own, was not sufficient to accelerate aging of the murine immune system despite causing widespread DNA damage and repopulation stress in hematopoietic cells. However, 4Gy sub-lethal WBI caused manifest reactivation of MCMV. Following vaccination and challenge with WNV in the old age, MCMV-infected animals experiencing 4Gy, but not lower, dose of sub-lethal WBI in youth had reduced survival. By contrast, old irradiated mice lacking MCMV and MCMV-infected, but not irradiated, mice were both protected to the same high level as the old non-irradiated, uninfected controls. Analysis of the quality and quantity of anti-WNV immunity showed that higher mortality in MCMV-positive WBI mice correlated with increased levels of MCMV-specific immune activation during WNV challenge. Moreover, we demonstrate that infection, including that by WNV, led to MCMV reactivation. Our data suggest that MCMV reactivation may be an important determinant of increased late-life mortality following early-life irradiation and late-life acute infection.


Assessment ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1310-1319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Morales Ortiz ◽  
Aaron Fernández

Theoretical models of active ageing and cognitive reserve emphasize the importance of leading an active life to delay age-related cognitive deterioration and maintain good levels of well-being and personal satisfaction in the elderly. The objective of this research was to construct a scale to measure cognitively stimulating activities (CSA) in the Spanish language. The sample consisted of a total of 453 older persons. The scale was constructed from a list of 28 items and validated using structural equation models. The scale obtained showed a negative correlation with age and a positive correlation with education and physical activity. Using hierarchical regression models, CSAs were found to have a significant effect on attention when controlling for the effect of age and education. Likewise, a significant interaction between age and CSA was found on the measure of episodic memory. The validated CSA scale will enable the relationships between changes in cognitive functions and stimulating activities to be studied.


2018 ◽  
Vol 159 (24) ◽  
pp. 965-973
Author(s):  
Péter Osváth ◽  
Attila Kovács ◽  
Adrienn Boda-Jörg ◽  
Tamás Tényi ◽  
Sándor Fekete ◽  
...  

Abstract: Modern information and communication tools have increasingly become an indispensable part of our everyday life. Research data demonstrate that it can be used effectively to preserve and restore health, not just among young people but also among the elderly, as for nowadays the use of the internet is widespread among the elderly, but healthcare applications are less well-known. This supports the significance of our project since it is important to develop and introduce disease-specific healthcare applications. Our preliminary results also indicated that men are less open to these new technologies, so in their case, specific methods are needed to facilitate the use of electronic devices. The high level of internet activity and the interest in information and communication technologies provide a reliable basis for applying these new technologies to the elderly. Thus, based on our research, we can develop a complex model of care based on the bio-psycho-social principles, which can be a significant advance in the prevention and early detection of age-related mental disorders and in alleviating the physical and psychological burdens of people with dementia and their families. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(24): 965–973.


Plant Disease ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole L. Russo ◽  
Terence L. Robinson ◽  
Gennaro Fazio ◽  
Herb S. Aldwinckle

Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight, can cause a fatal infection of apple rootstocks known as rootstock blight. Budagovsky 9 (B.9) apple rootstock is reported to be highly susceptible when inoculated with E. amylovora, although results from multiple trials showed that B.9 is resistant to rootstock blight infection in field plantings. Conflicting results could stem from genetic variation in the B.9 population, appearing as phenotypic differences in rootstock material. However, genetic testing, using 23 microsatellite loci, confirmed the clonal uniformity of B.9 in commerce. Variation in growth habit between B.9 rootstocks originating from two nurseries also has been discounted as a source of disease resistance. Instead, results indicate a possible novel resistance phenotype in B.9 rootstock. B.9 rootstock was susceptible to leaf inoculation by E. amylovora, statistically similar to the susceptible rootstock Malling 9 (M.9). Conversely, inoculation assays targeting woody 4- to 5-year-old tissue revealed a high level of resistance in B.9, whereas M.9 remained susceptible. Although the mechanism by which B.9 gains resistance to E. amylovora is unknown, it is reminiscent of age-related resistance, due to an observed gain of resistance in woody rootstock tissue over succulent shoot tissue. Durable fire blight resistance correlated with tissue development could be a valuable tool for rootstock breeders.


2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 901-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIEKE VAN DER MEER

Productivity among older adults manifests in engagement in paid work, voluntary work, giving support to others, home maintenance and housekeeping. This paper reports an investigation into the extent to which levels of participation in the different productive activity types in The Netherlands are associated with age, gender and the settings in which older people live. The regional and urban–rural dimensions of variation are examined. The data were derived from the European Study of Adult Well-Being survey (ESAW). The results show that the oldest women tended to restrict their productivity to the private domain of housekeeping, while the oldest men were more often productive in the community, and that regional variations were stronger for women than for men. Traditional gender roles particularly affected the way in which older women living in a peripheral region participated in productive activities. In contrast, the urban–rural dimension was more important for men than for women, partly because a group of older men in the cities were not involved in paid work. Overall, strong gender influences on the variations in productive engagement were found. Processes of age-related contraction and convergence in patterns of participation in productive activities were imputed from the cross-sectional data. A full understanding of the ageing and cohort effects underlying the reported patterns would require much more detailed information on the spatial and temporal dimensions of older people's activity patterns.


2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 692-696
Author(s):  
V Yu Al’bitskiy ◽  
N V Polunina ◽  
A S Sozinov ◽  
M Yu Abrosimova

Aim. To illustrate the role of pediatric education in establishing the public health care system for children. Methods. Historical-genetic and historical-comparative methods were used. Results. Pediatrics in the second half of the nineteenth century was formed as an independent science and the subject of teaching, Departments of childhood diseases were opened in Russian universities. Among the factors that contributed to the formation of the state system of pediatric care, was a critical situation in the children healthcare of the Russian Empire and the high level of children mortality. In the early twentieth century, medical and social measures to solve this problem were introduced in the country. Immediately after the October Revolution, the construction of the Soviet system of motherhood and childhood protection started. Basics of creating pediatric education in Russia are connected with the establishment of the Faculty of maternal, infant and child health at the Second Moscow Medical Institute in 1930 and the Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute in 1935, which were World’s pioneers in pediatric training. Pediatric faculty of the Kazan State Medical University opened in 1933. In 80-s of the twentieth century, pediatricians were prepared by 57 pediatric faculties all over the Soviet Union. Conclusion. Due to the large and fruitful work of graduates of pediatric faculties, there was a significant improvement in children health, manifested primarily as the significant decrease in infant mortality.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Feng

Abstract COVID-19 is a worldwide outbreak now, and it is found to be age-related. Immunosenescence may be a predisposing and severe factor for COVID-19. Besides, many infectious diseases in clinic are age-related, and elderly patients have longer hospitalization and worse prognosis. Therefore, finding suitable aging models is of great significance for fighting aging related diseases and promoting the prognosis of elderly patients. In this study, the relationship between thyrotoxicosis and aging was investigated by routine detection and serum metabonomics in mice. The results of routine blood test and flow cytometry showed significant decrease in neutrophils, lymphocytes, CD4+/CD8+ and CD4+IFN-γ + lymphocytes in thyrotoxicosis mice. Biochemical examination combined with serum metabolomics analysis showed that serious disorder of lipid metabolism may be one of the causes of immunosenescence, including lower cholesterol levels, lower levels of VD and bile acids, high level of glucocorticoids, triglycerides, free fatty acids, Sphingolipids and decrease of Docosanoids, especially DPA. This study proves that thyrotoxicosis mice are an accelerated aging model. In present study, the main performance is immunosenescence, which may be due to lipotoxicity, suggesting that the immunosenescence state can be adjusted by improving lipotoxicity, whether anti thyroxine or not. However, there are other manifestations of thyroid toxicity mouse model simulating aging, such as organ aging, which need to continue to be studied by means of system biology to provide more comprehensive evidence.


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