An Examination of Intergenerational Contact Experiences Using 10,338 Journal Entries From 2,414 Young Adults.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: With continued negative depictions of older adults and limitations on positive intergenerational contact, ageism is a significant social issue. Using a rich data set of journal entries, we examined sentiments, emotions, and optimal intergenerational contact conditions among volunteers in an intergenerational program. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: 10,338 journal entries were analyzed from 2,414 young adult volunteers from GlamourGals Foundation, Inc., a U.S. nonprofit, which aims to reduce isolation by facilitating intergenerational contact. Applying the PEACE (Positive Education about Aging and Contact Experiences) theoretical model, each sentence was coded using sentiment analysis, emotional analysis, and supervised learning methods across 5 optimal intergenerational contact conditions. RESULTS: Out of 74,475 sentences, participants reported predominantly positive sentiments (64.2% positive, 29% neutral, and 6.8% negative) and more positive emotions (e.g., joy) than negative emotions (e.g., disgust). Nearly all participants (98.2%) wrote at least a sentence that included at least 1 of the 5 optimal intergenerational contact conditions. Moreover, positive sentiment was present in higher percentages when more instances of optimal contact conditions were reported (54.4% for none, 71.6% for 1 category, 81.5% for 2, 83% for 3, 89.2% for 4, 98.4% for 5). DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The present investigation applied a theoretical model to assess a long-standing community intergenerational program. Contact that provided one-to-one, cooperative, equal status interactions involving personal disclosure that was sanctioned by the program administrators was associated with positive sentiment. Future directions and implications are discussed.

A Method for the Evaluation of Site-Specific Nephrotoxic Injury in the Intact Rat Kidney.

In a previously published report we detailed an in situ method to quantify cell death in the renal cortex by perfusing the cell membrane impermeable fluorochrome, ethidium homodimer in situ. The objective of the present study was to use this in situ viability assay to examine cell death following the administration of nephrotoxic drugs known to produce cell death and/or injury in specific segments of the nephron. Male Sprague/Dawley rats were treated with the following nephrotoxicants: Gentamicin, amphotericin-B, and indomethacin. Results of the in situ viability assay indicated that gentamicin and amphotericin-B treatment caused cell death localized in the kidney cortex and medulla, respectively. The urinary biomarker kidney injury molecule-1 (Kim-1) showed significant increases in both gentamicin (20 fold increase) and amphotericin-B-treated (9.2 fold increase) animals. Urinary alpha glutathione-S-transferase (GST) showed significant increases for gentamicin (6.2 fold increase) only and mu GST for amphotericin-B-treated (19.1 fold increase) animals only. These results show that this in situ viability assay provides a sensitive method to identify cell death in different regions of the kidney. Furthermore, urinary alpha GST and mu GST are specific for proximal and distal tubule injury, respectively; urinary Kim-1 demonstrated greater sensitivity to both proximal and distal tubule injury.