An intergenerational programme delays health impairment in nursing home residents: the Duplo project.

PURPOSE: To analyse whether an intergenerational programme in which students interacted with institutionalised older persons had any impact on the older persons' functional status. METHODS: Each academic year, a group of older adults living in nursing homes were divided into two arms. For the next four months, the first group received daily visits from a group of students during which they followed a pre-established activity plan, whilst the other arm proceeded with their normal activity. After 4 months, the groups crossed over, and the second arm received the student visits, whilst the first group returned to their normal activity. A battery of tests was performed at inception, crossover and the end of the second period. The tests explored mobility (Timed Up-and-Go), cognition (Mini-Mental Examination), executive function (Frontal Assessment Battery) and mood (Geriatric Depression Scale). A dichotomous aggregate "significant impairment" variable was deemed to be present when there was at least a 20% loss of function (compared to the value at the beginning of the period) in any of the aforementioned tests. RESULTS: The study included 289 older adults who visited with 91 students. Subjects in the active phase had a lower incidence of significant impairment than those in the control phase (O.R. 0.90, p < 0.01). There were no significant differences in the individual variables. CONCLUSION: An intergenerational project with students visiting older adults in nursing homes had a protective effect, delaying functional decay in older adults.

"Validation of a cyberbullying questionnaire as a screening tool for other forms of intimate-partner violence towards young women".

BACKGROUND: The use of electronic media is widespread among young people and is a potential tool for the perpetration of intimate-partner violence (IPV) towards women. The aim of this study is to validate two questions focused on harassment and control by electronic tools (HCE-2) as a screening tool for the detection of IPV in young women. METHODS: The data source was the third Community of Madrid IPV survey in 2014. The screening tool consisted of two questions with five possible answers prepared by a group of experts. As the gold standard we used the definition of intimate partner violence based on a 26- question survey. The validity indices (with 95% confidence intervals) were compared between two age groups: 18-24 and 25-29 years. RESULTS: Six hundred ninty-four women were sampled. The response rate was 68.7%, and 477 surveys were analyzed. The prevalence of IPV was 10.7% (95% CI: 8.2-13.8). HCE-2 was positive in 5.9% (95% CI: 4.1-8.4). The overall efficiency of the test was 93.5% (95% CI: 91.1-96.7), sensitivity 47.1% (95% CI: 33.7-60.8), specificity 99.1% (95% CI: 97.5-99.6), and positive predictive value 85.7% (95% CI: 67.1-94.6). The best validity indices of the questionnaire were observed in women aged 18 to 24 years: overall efficiency of the test 95.1% (95% CI: 92.6-97.7), sensitivity 62.5% (95% CI: 44.5-77.6), specificity 99.6% (95% CI: 97.0-99.9), and positive predictive value 95.2% (95% CI: 71.7-99.4). CONCLUSIONS: The existing need to improve the detection of IPV in young women and the good validity indices observed here justify the recommendation of the HCE-2 questionnaire as a screening tool in young women.

Validación de la versión corta del Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) en población general / Validation of the short version of the Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) in the general population

OBJETIVO: Realizar una validación concurrente de la versión corta del Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST), un instrumento utilizado en la detección de violencia de pareja hacia la mujer, estimando los índices de validez en población general. MÉTODO: La fuente de información fue la tercera Encuesta de violencia de pareja hacia la mujer de la Comunidad de Madrid de 2014, realizada a mujeres de 18 a 70 años. Como referencia se utilizó la definición de violencia de pareja hacia la mujer basada en un cuestionario de 26 preguntas. La versión corta del WAST incluye dos preguntas con tres respuestas posibles. Se calculan y comparan la prevalencia de violencia de pareja hacia la mujer y los índices de validez del cuestionario según dos criterios de puntuación con intervalos de confianza del 95% (IC95%). RESULTADOS: La tasa de respuesta fue del 60%. Se analizaron 2979 encuestas. La prevalencia de violencia de pareja hacia la mujer fue del 7,6% (IC95%: 6,6-8,5%). Se encontró un 21,1% (IC95%: 19,6-22,5) de test positivos según el criterio 1 y un 11,0% (IC95%: 9,9-12,1) según el criterio 2. El criterio 2 presentó una mayor eficiencia global del test (81,5% [IC95%: 80,1-82,9] para el criterio 1 vs. 88,8% [IC95%:87,7-89,9] para el criterio 2). Los mejores índices se obtuvieron en mujeres a partir de 30 años de edad. CONCLUSIONES: La versión reducida del cuestionario WAST presentó índices de validez aceptables para ser utilizados como cuestionario de cribado de violencia de pareja hacia la mujer. Recomendamos utilizar el criterio 2 de puntuación en la estimación de la prevalencia de violencia de pareja hacia la mujer en encuestas dirigidas a población general

OBJECTIVE: To perform a concurrent validation of the short version of the Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST), used to detect intimate partner violence, estimating the validity indexes in the general population. METHOD: The information source was the third Intimate partner violence survey in the Region of Madrid (Spain) conducted on women aged 18-70 in 2014. As the gold standard we used the definition of intimate partner violence based on a 26- question survey. The short version of WAST includes two questions with three possible answers. The prevalence of intimate partner violence and the validity indexes were calculated and compared according to two scoring criteria with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS: The response rate was 60.0%, and 2979 surveys were analysed. The prevalence of intimate partner violence was 7.6% (95%CI: 6.6-8.5). We showed 21.1% (95%CI: 19.6-22.5) positive test results according to WAST criterion 1 and 11.0% (95%CI: 9.9-12.1) according to criterion 2. Criterion 2 presented higher overall efficiency of the test (81.5% [95%CI: 80.1-82.9] criterion 1 vs. 88.8% [95%CI: 87.7-89.9] criterion 2). The best indexes were obtained in women ≥30 years old. CONCLUSIONS: The short version of the WAST showed acceptable validity indexes for use as a screening tool of intimate partner violence in the general population. We recommend using scoring criterion 2 to estimate prevalence of intimate partner violence in surveys on the general population

[Validation of the short version of the Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) in the general population]. / Validación de la versión corta del Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) en población general.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a concurrent validation of the short version of the Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST), used to detect intimate partner violence, estimating the validity indexes in the general population. METHOD: The information source was the third Intimate partner violence survey in the Region of Madrid (Spain) conducted on women aged 18-70 in 2014. As the gold standard we used the definition of intimate partner violence based on a 26- question survey. The short version of WAST includes two questions with three possible answers. The prevalence of intimate partner violence and the validity indexes were calculated and compared according to two scoring criteria with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS: The response rate was 60.0%, and 2979 surveys were analysed. The prevalence of intimate partner violence was 7.6% (95%CI: 6.6-8.5). We showed 21.1% (95%CI: 19.6-22.5) positive test results according to WAST criterion 1 and 11.0% (95%CI: 9.9-12.1) according to criterion 2. Criterion 2 presented higher overall efficiency of the test (81.5% [95%CI: 80.1-82.9] criterion 1 vs. 88.8% [95%CI: 87.7-89.9] criterion 2). The best indexes were obtained in women ≥30 years old. CONCLUSIONS: The short version of the WAST showed acceptable validity indexes for use as a screening tool of intimate partner violence in the general population. We recommend using scoring criterion 2 to estimate prevalence of intimate partner violence in surveys on the general population.

Identification of a functional hypoxia-responsive element that regulates the expression of the egl nine homologue 3 (egln3/phd3) gene.

Low oxygen levels induce an adaptive response in cells through the activation of HIFs (hypoxia-inducible factors). These transcription factors are mainly regulated by a group of proline hydroxylases that, in the presence of oxygen, target HIF for degradation. The expression of two such enzymes, EGLN1 [EGL nine homologous protein 1, where EGL stands for egg laying defective (Caenorhabditis elegans gene)] and EGLN3, is induced by hypoxia through a negative feedback loop, and we have demonstrated recently that hypoxic induction of EGLN expression is HIF-dependent. In the present study, we have identified an HRE (hypoxia response element) in the region of the EGLN3 gene using a combination of bioinformatics and biological approaches. Initially, we isolated a number of HRE consensus sequences in a region of 40 kb around the human EGLN3 gene and studied their evolutionary conservation. Subsequently, we examined the functionality of the conserved HRE sequences in reporter and chromatin precipitation assays. One of the HREs, located within a conserved region of the first intron of the EGLN3 gene 12 kb downstream of the transcription initiation site, bound HIF in vivo. Furthermore, this sequence was able to drive reporter gene expression under conditions of hypoxia in an HRE-dependent manner. Indeed, we were able to demonstrate that HIF was necessary and sufficient to induce gene expression from this enhancer sequence.