Exploring the type of social support available to aged male hypertensive clients in Ghana

Objective: To explores the social support available to aged hypertensive male clients in a municipality in Ghana.Methods: The inclusion criteria were as follows: age ≥60 years and are known hypertensive patients. Data were collected from 186 selected aged male hypertensive patients for 3 months. The questionnaire was self-developed and open-ended. The data were processed and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Some of the variables were subjected to statistical tests and ranks in the order of impor tance to respondents. The enrolled respondents were allowed to par ticipate in the study after their informed consent was obtained. It was evident that respondents do not obtain much support or help in taking care of their condition.Results: The result revealed that the repondents has no support to help take care of their condition as evident by the responses in the study. The scores on average mean for some variables are(AM = 2.25, SD = 0.381) more than the test value of 2.50. Some of these supports were on feeding support(M = 3.97, SD = 0.278, n = 186), health support(M = 2.87, SD = 0.167, n = 186), and cleaning support(M = 2.59, SD = 0.868, n = 186). Supports such as clothing, socialization, medication, washing, transportation, and financial support were lacking.Conclusions: Based on the finding that certain forms of support were lacking, the study concludes that steps undertaken by the government, community, religious bodies, and family toward improving these supports can be of immense help for aged male hypertensive patients living in the Ejura-Sekyedumase municipality.

Female preferences for male golden snub-nosed monkeys vary with male age and social context

Age is a key factor affecting sexual selection,as many physical and social traits are age-related.Although studies of primate mate choice often consider particular age-related traits,few consider the collective effects of male age.We tested the hypothesis that female golden snub-nosed monkeys Rhinopithecus roxellana prefer prime aged males(10-15 years)over younger and older males.We examined a habituated,provisioned troop during a 3-year study in the Qinling Mountains,China.Prime age males were more likely to be resident males of 1-male units(OMUs)than males of other ages.Since females are free to transfer between OMUs,the number of females per OMU can be indicative of female preferences.We examined the number of females per OMU,and found that it increased with resident male age up to 7-8 years,and declined after 12 years,such that prime age resident males had more females than other resident males.Females also initiated extra-unit copulations with high-ranking prime age males at significantly higher rates than with other males.Nevertheless,females tended to transfer from OMUs with high-ranking,older resident males to those with low-ranking,younger resident males.Thus,females appear to use different strategies when choosing social mates and extra-unit mates(i.e.,different social contexts).We speculate that females may perceive early signs of aging in males and trade off the benefits and costs of high rank versus male senescence.This study lays the groundwork for future studies that examine possible direct and indirect benefits of such strategies.

OSAHS与无睡眠呼吸障碍老年腭咽及其周围组织结构的MRI比较研究

目的 研究睡眠呼吸暂停低通气综合症（OSAHS）与无睡眠呼吸障碍的老年男性腭咽及周围组织结构的三维形态差异。材料与方法 70岁以上老年男性18名，根据夜间多导睡眠监测结果，8人AHI＞10，定为OSAHS组（T1组）；10人AHI≤10，为无睡眠呼吸障碍组（T2组）。所有受试者均行磁共振（MRI）检查，对两组腭咽及周围组织的MRI测量结果进行比较。结果 ①OSAHS组腭咽体积、截面积明显小于无睡眠呼吸障碍组；②与无睡眠呼吸障碍组相比OSAHS组腭咽左右径明显小、前后径／左右径之比明显大。③OSAHS组腭咽侧壁厚明显大于无呼吸障碍组、脂间距也明显小于后者。④两组的腭咽前壁厚度、后壁厚度、脂肪垫体积、舌体积、软腭体积没有显著差异。结论 老年男性OSAHS患者由于腭咽侧壁增厚及咽旁脂肪垫的挤压，使腭咽左右径减小、截面积减小且形状趋圆，腭咽体积也减小。