Effectiveness of child sexual abuse prevention programs on knowledge acquisition: A meta-analytical study

Background: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a type of maltreatment considered a global health problem. CSA is a traumatic experience with important consequences for the victim’s health. It is essential to report the effectiveness of CSA prevention programs to offer society useful tools to combat this abuse. Objective: We aimed to study the effectiveness of CSA prevention programs on the knowledge acquisition based on comparing pre- and post-treatment changes, and also if their effectiveness is related to program-related and methodological variables. Participants and settings: Standardised mean change (with studies that report pre-post program measures) of the effectiveness of CSA prevention programs published between 2014 and 2021 was carried out. Methods: The general effectiveness of these programs and whether the results were influenced by program-related variables (the duration, the target population, participants’ age, or the type of intervention) or by methodology-related factors (the agent who taught them, the geographical area where they were carried out or the way the programs were evaluated) were analysed. A total of 43 samples analysing knowledge about CSA as a dependent variable were included. Results: The results reported a combined effect size considered large (dMR = 0.96, 95 % CI [ 1.10, 0.82], p < .001). High inter-study heterogeneity was observed in the meta-analysis, although only the geographic area where the studies were conducted appears as a significant moderator. Conclusions: In conclusion, the prevention programs included in this analysis significantly improved the participants’ knowledge acquisitionFunding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

Outcomes, controversies and gastric volume after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in the treatment of obesity

AbstractBackgroundLaparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical procedure for the treatment of morbid obesity. However, there are still controversies regarding its efficiency in terms of weight reduction and incidence of complications. In this prospective study, the experience is presented of a referral centre for the treatment of morbid obesity with laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.Material and methodsA prospective study on 73 patients subjected to laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy from February 2009 to September 2013. Patients were followed-up for a period of 12 months, evaluating the development of complications, reduction of gastric volume, and the weight loss associated with the surgery, as well as their impact on the improvement of comorbidities present at beginning of the study.ResultsThere was a statistically a significantly reduction between the preoperative body mass index (BMI) and the BMI at 12 months after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (p<0.001), despite there being an increase in the gastric volume during follow-up, measured at one month and 12 months after surgery (p<0.001). Five patients (6.85%) had complications, with none of them serious and with no deaths in the whole series.ConclusionsLaparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a safe and effective technique for the treatment of morbid obesity. Its use is associated with a significant reduction in the presence of comorbidities associated with obesity. Multicentre studies with a longer period of monitoring are required to confirm the efficacy and safety of this surgical technique

Association between Crystalline Silica Dust Exposure and Silicosis Development in Artificial Stone Workers

Occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica (SiO2 ) is one of the most common and serious risks because of the health consequences for the workers involved. Silicosis is a progressive, irreversible, and incurable fibrotic lung disease caused by the inhalation of respirable crystalline silica dust. A cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out to assess the occupational risk factors that may contribute to the onset of silicosis in workers carrying out work activities with the inhalation of silica compact dust. The study population consisted of 311 artificial stone workers from the province of Almeria (southeast of Spain). Among them, 64 were previously diagnosed with silicosis and the rest of the participants (n = 247 workers) were not diagnosed with such a disease. The workers showing a greater risk of developing silicosis were those who installed kitchen worktops at consumers’ homes, as they did not use face-masks or were not provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) by their business. The results of this study provide support for the evidence indicating that silicosis is a major emerging health concern for workers in the artificial stone sector. Exposure to crystalline silica dust thus can influence the development of silicosis in those cases where individual and collective protection measures are not used or adequately applied

Friends & Travel

Hoy en día, diversas empresas de turismo buscan la forma de diferenciarse entre ellas, desarrollan todo tipo de estrategias que les permitan atraer a más clientes y fidelizarlos. En el mercado, ya son varias empresas que optaron por ser digitales debido a su público objetivo y la época en la que vivimos, pero son pocas las que brindan además de un servicio digital, un servicio que se adapte las necesidades o deseos del cliente. Por dicha razón, en el presente trabajo se eligió desarrollar una plataforma digital que brinde a los turistas un servicio 100% personalizado. Dado el boom del turismo en el Perú y la pasión de cada uno de nosotros por viajar se eligió crear Friends & Travel, una empresa que busca conectar a viajeros de todo el mundo con personas que los ayuden o asesoren con la planificación de su viaje para conocer mejor su destino y vivir una experiencia única y diferente. Los resultados de este trabajo demuestran como el turismo es una importante fuente de desarrollo en nuestro país por lo que crear nuevos modelos de negocio en el sector debe ser exitoso. Las tradicionales agencias de turismo o plataformas digitales internacionales como Booking o Trip Advisor no deben ser las únicas empresas que brindan la información necesaria a cada turista, deben exitir otros medios con un trato personalizado que los ayude a programar sus aventuras y viajes.Today, various tourism companies seek to differentiate between them, develop all kinds of strategies that allow them to attract more customers and build loyalty. In this market, there are already several companies that chose to be digital due to their target audience and the time in which we live, but few provide a digital service, a service that suits the needs or wishes of the client. For this reason, in this work we chose to develop a digital platform that provides tourists with a 100% personalized service. Given the tourism boom in Peru and the passion of each one of us to travel, we chose to create Friends & Travel, a company that wants to connect travelers from all over the world with people who can help or advise them with the planning of their trip to Know their destination better and live a unique and different experience. The results of this work demonstrate how tourism is an important source of development in our country, so creating new business models in the sector must be successful. Traditional tourism agencies or international digital platform such as Booking or TripAdvisor should not be the only companies that provide the necessary information to each tourist, there must be other means with a personalized service that helps them to program their adventures and trips.Trabajo de investigació

El Sexting y su relación con los esquemas tempranos de inadaptación en adolescentes

El objetivo de este estudio es analizar cómo influyen los Esquemas Tempranos de Inadaptación (ETI) en la práctica del sexting, tomando como muestra una población de 609 estudiantes de secundaria de Cuenca (Ecuador). La escala de Young (alfa de Crombach de 0,91) fue usada para identificar los ETI, y un cuestionario sobre sexting. En este estudio, la prevalencia de esta práctica asciende al 52,2%. Los adolescentes que intercambiaban material sexual a través de dispositivos electrónicos presentaron los siguientes factores asociados al sexting: abandono (p<0,001), insuficiente autocontrol/autodisciplina (p<0,001), desconfianza/abuso, (p<0,037), deprivación emocional (p<0,005), autosacrificio (p<0,028), estándares inflexibles 1/autoexigencia (p<0,005) y derecho/grandiosidad (p<0,001). Se considera como factor protector, al uso de anticonceptivos y el ser hombre; un importante factor de riesgo es el embarazo

Effects of a Clinical Simulation Course about Basic Life Support on Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Learning

Training in basic life support (BLS) using clinical simulation improves compression rates and the development of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills. This study analyzed the learning outcomes of undergraduate nursing students taking a BLS clinical simulation course. A total of 479 nursing students participated. A pre-test and post-test were carried out to evaluate theoretical knowledge of BLS through questions about anatomical physiology, cardiac arrest, the chain of survival, and CPR. A checklist was used in the simulation to evaluate practical skills of basic CPR. The learning outcomes showed statistically significant differences in the total score of the pre-test and after completing the BLS clinical simulation course (pre-test: 12.61 (2.30), post-test: 15.60 (2.06), p < 0.001). A significant increase in the mean scores was observed after completing the course in each of the four parts of the assessment protocol (p < 0.001). The increase in scores in the cardiac arrest and CPR sections were relevant (Rosenthal’s r: −0.72). The students who had prior knowledge of BLS scored higher on both the pre-test and the post-test. The BLS simulation course was an effective method of teaching and learning BLS skills

Intracerebral Administration of a Ligand-ASO Conjugate Selectively Reduces α-Synuclein Accumulation in Monoamine Neurons of Double Mutant Human A30P*A53T*α-Synuclein Transgenic Mice

α-Synuclein (α-Syn) protein is involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Point mutations and multiplications of the α-Syn, which encodes the SNCA gene, are correlated with early-onset PD, therefore the reduction in a-Syn synthesis could be a potential therapy for PD if delivered to the key affected neurons. Several experimental strategies for PD have been developed in recent years using oligonucleotide therapeutics. However, some of them have failed or even caused neuronal toxicity. One limiting step in the success of oligonucleotide-based therapeutics is their delivery to the brain compartment, and once there, to selected neuronal populations. Previously, we developed an indatraline-conjugated antisense oligonucleotide (IND-1233-ASO), that selectively reduces α-Syn synthesis in midbrain monoamine neurons of mice, and nonhuman primates. Here, we extended these observations using a transgenic male mouse strain carrying both A30P and A53T mutant human α-Syn (A30P*A53T*α-Syn). We found that A30P*A53T*α-Syn mice at 4–5 months of age showed 3.5-fold increases in human α-Syn expression in dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and locus coeruleus (LC), respectively, compared with mouse α-Syn levels. In parallel, transgenic mice exhibited altered nigrostriatal DA neurotransmission, motor alterations, and an anxiety-like phenotype. Intracerebroventricular IND-1233-ASO administration (100 µg/day, 28 days) prevented the α-Syn synthesis and accumulation in the SNc and LC, and recovered DA neurotransmission, although it did not reverse the behavioral phenotype. Therefore, the present therapeutic strategy based on a conjugated ASO could be used for the selective inhibition of α-Syn expression in PD-vulnerable monoamine neurons, showing the benefit of the optimization of ASO molecules as a disease modifying therapy for PD and related α-synucleinopathies.This study was supported by grants SAF2016-75797-R, PID2019-105136RB-100, Retos- Colaboración Subprogram RTC-2015-3309-1, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), UE; and CB/07/09/0034 Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Mental Health (CIBERSAM)

Influence of Social Determinants of Health on COVID-19 Infection in Socially Vulnerable Groups

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on the economy and health, especially for the most vulnerable social groups. The social determinants of health are one of the most relevant risks for becoming infected with COVID-19, due to the health consequences for those who are exposed to it. The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of social determinants in health on COVID-19 infection in vulnerable social groups. A transversal epidemiological study was carried out on 746 individuals in vulnerable situations living in conditions of extreme poverty in disadvantaged areas in the province of Almeria (southeast of Spain). Social determinants of health such access to drinking water (p < 0.001) and economic income (p = 0.04) influenced the infection of COVID-19. A binary logistic regression model showed that the significant predictors of COVID-19 infection were the lack of economic income and inaccessible drinking water. The government and social health services must be aware of this problem in order to play an active role in searching for solutions and implementing public health prevention measures to eliminate social inequalities in health

Alexithymia and Insecure Attachment among Male Intimate Partner Violence Aggressors in the Dominican Republic

The complexity of intimate partner violence and the impossibility of understanding it from single factors have been studied from different biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 187 men involved in legal proceedings for problems of violence in their intimate partner relationships in the Dominican Republic in order to explore whether insecure attachment represents a risk factor for alexithymia in men with violent behaviors. The attachment style was determinate by the Casullo and Fernández-Liporace Attachment Styles Scale, and alexithymia was assayed using the Latin American Consensual Toronto Alexithymia Scale (LAC TAS-20), a modification of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Chi-square test and multiple binary logistic regression analysis were performed to explore the phenomena of alexithymia and attachment styles in the context of a confinement center for male intimate partner offenders in the Dominican Republic. The results showed that insecure attachment represents a risk factor for alexithymia, being highest for avoidant attachment in the population studied. The results also highlight the influence of other factors such as education and maternal–familial relationships as a factor risk for alexithymia