Spatial Optimization and Reconstruction of Old Communities under the Background of Aging

As aging becomes increasingly serious,how to make the life of the elderly more convenient and comfortable has become one of the social problems to be solved urgently.Old residential areas are one of spaces where the elderly gather.In this paper,the prominent problems in the community space of existing old residential areas that are not conducive to the life of the elderly were analyzed,and corresponding countermeasures to transform the community space were put forward.It is hoped that public space can play its due value and make old residential areas glow with new vitality.

Renovation of Outdoor Environment in Old Residential Communities Suitable for the Elderly against the Background of Population Aging

More old residential communities have become unsuitable for the elderly because of the aging of outdoor physical environment and functional degradation. This paper investigated behaviors and mental activities of the elderly, problems of outdoor environment in old residential communities, and proposed strategies for the renovation of old residential communities from the perspectives of outdoor environment, road, greening and public supporting facilities according to demands of the elderly on outdoor environment, so as to provide them a comfortable and reasonable outdoor environment.

Significant Differences in Elderly Health between Urban and Rural Communities: A Literature Review

This study aimed to examine measures pertaining to elderly health in urban versus rural settings, and to identify differences in the health of elderly people living in urban and rural communities through a literature review. An electronic literature search was performed using PubMed for English articles published in peer-reviewed journals up to August 2018, with the following search terms: “urban”, “rural”, “comparison of community”, “elderly health”, and “comparison of community health”. A total of 35 articles were extracted for a critical full-text review, and six articles that met the inclusion criteria were subjected to analysis. Measures related to elderly health in urban and rural communities were classified into the following three categories: functional abilities, health, and health perception. Five of the six articles described functional abilities (e.g., social function) and health (e.g., mental health, depression) as categories with significant differences in elderly health between urban and rural communities. The results suggest that elderly health measures related to social function and mental health or depression are more important outcome measures of effective person-centered integrated community care systems from the perspective of community characteristics. As there were only a few articles reporting on elderly health according to differences in environment between urban and rural communities, further investigation is globally warranted.

Social Welfare Transformation and Community Governance Model for the Aging Generation:Rural Community Care in Chiayi County as a Case Study

Over the past two decades,Taiwan’s welfare policies for the elderly have prepared for the arrival of an aged society with the aim of facilitating aging in place(AIP).The Long-Term Care Services Act passed by the Legislative Yuan in 2015 set regulations for long-term care personnel,thereby improving the welfare system for the elderly.The government’s AIP policies focus on providing welfare institutions or service units and do not sufficiently explore key factors such as the relationship between care services and community governance models.Since the basic focus of elderly welfare policies is AIP,it is important to actively empower grassroots community organizations and consider the elderly as important subjects of community participation.AIP policies emphasize providing long-term care and nurturing the elderly until death;such policies will be more proactive and innovative if coproduction is incorporated.This study briefly discusses theories related to coproduction using the case study of Chiayi County’s Dingcaiyian Community Development Association,which links six communities in remote rural villages and establishes a community care network based on the coproduction concept.Follow-up issues related to community care are considered and potential practices and ideas to guide social welfare transformation and community governance in the future are discussed.

“Micro Renovation” of Old Residential Quarter for Aging:A Case Study of Qingshanhu Community of Nanchang City

The aging of the population in China has entered an accelerated stage. One of the goals for the micro transformation of old residential areas is to create a community space suitable for aging, promote outdoor activities and neighborhood social activities of the elderly, and thus improve the physical and mental health of the elderly. Starting from physiological, psychological and behavioral characteristics of the elderly,four characteristics of micro renovation of community public space for aging are analyzed. Qingshanhu Community is taken as research object. Based on the field survey of the elderly in the community, the problem of the insufficient current community space suitable for aging is summarized, and how to adapt to aging and micro transformation to promote healthy life of residents is analyzed, which could provide the reference for building an aging community.

Gender Differences in Attitudes to Ageing among Norwegian Older Adults

Increased life expectancy has led to policy interest in adding quality to years of life and in related concepts such as attitudes to ageing. Improving attitudes to ageing is regarded as one means of improving the participation and contribution of older people within society. In considering age- related attitudes in the dynamic nature of social identity, age is not just one social category that may or may not constitute a part of one’s identity. Other identities such as gender may be more salient in attitudes to ageing. The purpose of this study was to explore Norwegian gender differences in attitudes to ageing among 282 females and 200 males living in the community. Attitudes to ageing were measured using the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ;Laidlaw, Power, Schmidt, & the WHOQOL-OLD Group, 2007). Both genders in this study had positive attitudes toward their ageing, in spite of acknowledging loss with problems of exclusion, making friends and talking about difficult feelings. Compared to men, women perceived ageing as a time of greater loss, however, they felt more strongly that ageing brought wisdom and that their life had made a difference. On the other hand, men felt more strongly that physical problems did not hold them back from doing what they wanted to do and believed more strongly that they passed on their experiences to others. Both genders felt that their identity was not defined by age, they didn’t feel old, aging was a privilege, and appraised the importance of exercising. Attitudes to ageing are becoming increasingly important in ageing societies. Such positive attitudes should be regarded with importance to health professionals, leaders and policy makers in planning interventions to buffer the detrimental aspects of ageing.

Thermo-mechanical,Wear and Fracture Behavior of High-density Polyethylene/Hydroxyapatite Nano Composite for Biomedical Applications:Effect of Accelerated Ageing

The objective of this work is to demonstrate how the viscoelastic, thermal, rheological, hardness, wear resistance and fracture behavior of bioinert high-density polyethylene （HDPE） can be changed by the addition of hydroxyapatite （HAP） nano particles. Also the effects of accelerated thermal ageing on the composite properties have been investigated. Different weight fractions of HAP nano particles up to 30 wt% have been incorporated in HDPE matrix by using melt blending in co-rotating intermeshing twin screw extruder. The fracture toughness results showed a remarkable decrease in proportion to the HAP content. The differential scanning calorimetry results indicated that the melting temperature and crystallinity were affected by the addition of HAP nano particles into the matrix. The complex viscosity increased as the percentage of HAP increased due to the restriction of the molecular mobility. The dynamic mechanical analysis results revealed that higher storage modulus （8.3 1011 Pa） could be obtained in the developed HDPE/HAP in 30 wt% compared to neat HDPE （5.1 1011 Pa）. Finally, the hardness and wear resistance of HDPE were improved significantly due to the addition of HAP nano particles. The changes in the HDPE and its nano composite properties due to ageing showed that the HDPE and its nano composites crystallinity increased while the fracture toughness, hardness, wear resistance, storage and loss modulus decreased.

设施菜地种植年限对土壤理化性质和生物学特征的影响

【目的】研究分析北京郊区不同种植年限设施菜地的土壤生态环境、土壤理化性状、土壤微生物数量、土壤线虫群落结构的差异,为不同种植年限设施菜地土壤管理提供科学依据。【方法】以露地土壤为对照(CK),采集种植3年、5年、8年和12年的0—30 cm设施蔬菜土壤样品,采用常规土壤理化性质检测方法测定了土壤的理化性状,采用荧光定量法和线虫形态学鉴定方法,分析土壤细菌、真菌数量以及土壤线虫群落组成。【结果】随种植年限增加,设施菜地土壤容重和pH值均明显下降,总孔隙度、EC值、SO_4^(2–)、Ca^(2+)、有机碳、NH_4+-N、NO^(3–)-N含量均持续升高。与CK相比,种植年限3年、5年、8年、12年的样地土壤细菌和真菌的数量均显著增加(P <0.05)。随种植年限增加,根结线虫属(Meloidogyne)、螺旋属(Helicotylenchus)、异皮属(Heterodera)丰度逐渐增加;土壤线虫密度、植物寄生性线虫丰度显著增加(P <0.05),而食细菌、食真菌、杂食/捕食线虫丰度逐渐降低。线虫群落的多样性H′、SR指数和均匀性J′指数均呈现出先增加后降低趋势,与CK相比,种植年限12年样地的指标值显著降低(P <0.05)。所有种植样地NCR> 0.5,表明样地土壤食物网以食细菌通道为主,土壤有机质以细菌分解途径为主。WI、MI指数逐渐降低,而PPI指数表现出相反的趋势,其中种植年限12年样地WI <1,这表明土壤矿化途径转变为以植物到植食性线虫为主要参与者,土壤生态系统受干扰程度逐渐增强,土壤健康状况变差。土壤环境因子与土壤生物数量间的冗余分析表明,土壤pH、总孔隙度、容重、EC值、有机碳、SO_4^(2–)、NH_4^+-N、NO_3~–-N是影响细菌、真菌和线虫数量的关键因子,不同种植年限设施菜地由于改变这些因素而影响土壤生物群落组成。【结论】连续种植导致京郊设施菜地盐分含量显著升高、养分失衡、土壤酸化。理化性状的变化改变了细菌和真菌数量,进而导致土壤线虫总数、植物寄生性线虫比率逐渐增加,尤其根结线虫属比率增加显著,食细菌、真菌和杂食/捕食线虫比率逐渐降低。以种植12年后的土壤受干扰程度最大,土壤微生态失衡最严重。

Status of Vitamin B12 Deficiency in the Elderly Chinese Community People

This study was aimed to investigate the vitamin B12 deficiency prevalence and symptoms in elderly people lived in a community of Shanghai, China. A total number of 962 elderly people resided in Shanghai community were recruited in the present study. They were 60 years and older, and the average age was 76.38 ± 13.68 years old. Information on previous and present diseases, currently prescribed and over-the-counter medication, and the presence or absence of symptoms relating to vitamin B12 deficiency were obtained by questionnaire. The levels of serum vitamin B12, folate and homocysteine (Hcy) were estimated. The patients with vitamin B12 deficiency were screened. The results of symptoms and positive signs of neurological examination were compared between subjects with or without vitamin B12 deficiency. The results showed that vitamin B12 deficiency was found in 130 persons (13.53% of the total subjects), with an increase in incidence with aging, only 10% of the vitamin B12 deficient subjects had megaloblastic anemia. The reported symptoms of vitamin B12 deficient subjects included fatigue, memory decline, dizziness, unsteadily walking in the darkness and hypopallesthesia. In conclusion, vitamin B12 deficiency was remarkably common in Chinese elderly people, with various and atypical clinical manifestations, and the neurological symptoms were more common than those of megaloblastic anemia.

Exploration of Living Modes for Small-scale Community Endowment

The aging and the urban development bring a great challenge to the residential facilities of the elderly community. By exploring the layout and current situation of the elderly residential facilities in Chengdu City, this paper stressed the key points in the layout of various facilities at the macro scale. Through the deep investigation of residential districts, the paper explored the community endowment mode that is between the organization support and home-based care for the aged, and proposed 3 modes on the basis of "visiting, day care and short-stay". Considering the specific needs of the aged and the compound modes, compound community endowment mode was put forward as the future development direction of community endowment to contribute to the construction of the overall social endowment system.

Long-term impacts of graphene oxide and Ag nanoparticles on anammox process: Performance, microbial community and toxic mechanism

The increasing application of engineered nanoparticles(NPs) has posed an emerging challenge to constructed wetland wastewater treatment. The performance, microbial community and toxic mechanism of anammox-based unplanted subsurface-flow constructed wetlands(USFCWs) were investigated under the long-term exposure of different graphene oxides(GOs) and Ag NP concentrations. Results showed that the addition of GO could promote TN removal, manifesting as function anammox bacteria C. Anammoxoglobus having a relative high abundance, for GO did not cause significant damage to the cell integrity though there was an increase in ROS concentrations. TN removal would not be obviously affected under exposure of 1 mg/L Ag NPs, for the function gene related to cell biogenesis and repair was up-regulated; while the addition of 10 mg/L Ag NPs would have an inhibiting effect on TN removal in the USFCWs, for the disappearance of some species having anammox ability. Key enzymes of anammox process(NIR and HDH) decreased to some extent under GO and Ag NP exposure, and function gene of defense mechanisms had an increase trend in samples.