Feasibility Study of Social Media to Reduce Intimate Partner Violence Among Gay Men in Metro Atlanta, Georgia

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a major public health issue occurring in the United States and globally. While little is known in general about IPV, understanding about the prevalence of physical IPV among gay men is even more obscure. There is a clear disparity in violence research attention focused on this vulnerable segment of society. This cross-sectional survey study was conducted to examine the feasibility of enrolling 100 gay men from Atlanta into an IPV survey study. The survey was administered via Facebook. Ninety-nine usable surveys were collected. Chi-square tests reveal that minority ethnic status, illicit drug use, and non-disclosed orientation status were all significantly associated with positive IPV reports--in terms of both victimization as well as perpetration. Overall, the majority of the study sample indicated that they believe IPV is a health problem in the Atlanta gay community. These findings bear importance for the Atlanta gay community and public health professionals who must address this nearly invisible yet increasing public health issue. [West J Emerg Med. 2012;13(3):298-304.

A Survey of Georgia Adult Protective Services Staff: Implications for Older Adult Injury Prevention and Policy

Introduction: The aging population is a rapidly growing demographic. Isolation and limited autonomy render many of the elderly vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation. As the population grows, so does the need for Adult Protective Services (APS). This study was conducted to examine current knowledge of older adult protection laws in Georgia among APS staff and to identify training opportunities to better prepare the APS workforce in case detection and intervention. Methods: The Georgia State University Institute of Public Health faculty developed a primary survey in partnership with the Georgia Division of Aging Services’ leadership to identify key training priority issues for APS caseworkers and investigators. A 47-item electronic questionnaire was delivered to all APS employees via work-issued email accounts. We conducted descriptive analyses, t-tests and chi-square analyses to determine APS employees’ baseline knowledge of Georgia’s elder abuse policies, laws and practices, as well as examine associations of age, ethnicity, and educational attainment with knowledge. We used a p-value of 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals to determine statistical significance of analyses performed. Results: Ninety-two out of 175 APS staff responded to the survey (53% response rate). The majority of respondents were Caucasian (56%) women (92%). For over half the survey items, paired sample t-tests revealed significant differences between what APS staff reported as known and what APS staff members indicated they needed to know more about in terms of elder abuse and current policies. Chi-square tests revealed that non-Caucasians significantly preferred video conferencing as a training format (44% compared to 18%), [χ2(1) = 7.102, p \u3c .008], whereas Caucasians preferred asynchronous online learning formats (55% compared to 28%) [χ2(1) =5.951, p \u3c .015]. Conclusion: Results from this study provide the Georgia Division of Aging with insight into specific policy areas that are not well understood by APS staff. Soliciting input from intended trainees allows public health educators to tailor and improve training sessions. Trainee input may result in optimization of policy implementation, which may result in greater injury prevention and protection of older adults vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation

A Survey of Georgia Adult Protective Service Staff: Implications for Older Adult Injury Prevention and Policy

Background: The aging population is a rapidly growing demographic. Isolation and limited autonomy render many of the elderly vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation. As the population grows, so does the need for Adult Protective Services (APS). This study was conducted to examine current knowledge of older adult protection laws in Georgia among APS staff and to identify training opportunities to better prepare the APS workforce in case detection and intervention. Methods: The Georgia State University Institute of Public Health faculty developed a primary survey in partnership with the Georgia Division of Aging Services\u27 leadership to identify key training priority issues for APS caseworkers and investigators. A 47-item electronic questionnaire was delivered to all APS employees via work-issued email accounts. We conducted descriptive analyses, t-tests and chi-square analyses to determine APS employees’ baseline knowledge of Georgia’s elder abuse policies, laws and practices, as well as examine associations of age, ethnicity, and educational attainment with knowledge. We used a p-value of 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals to determine statistical significance of analyses performed. Result: Ninety-two out of 175 APS staff responded to the survey (53% response rate). The majority of respondents were Caucasian (56%) women (92%). For over half the survey items, paired sample t-tests revealed significant differences between what APS staff reported as known and what APS staff members indicated they needed to know more about in terms of elder abuse and current policies. Chi-square tests revealed that non-Caucasians significantly preferred video conferencing as a training format (44% compared to 18%), [χ2(1) = 7.102, p \u3c .008], whereas Caucasians preferred asynchronous online learning formats (55% compared to 28%) [χ2(1) =5.951, p \u3c .015]. Conclusion: Results from this study provide the Georgia Division of Aging with insight into specific policy areas that are not well understood by APS staff. Soliciting input from intended trainees allows public health educators to tailor and improve training sessions. Trainee input may result in optimization of policy implementation, which may result in greater injury prevention and protection of older adults vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation

Combinatorial Binding in Human and Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells Identifies Conserved Enhancers Active in Early Embryonic Development

Transcription factors are proteins that regulate gene expression by binding to cis-regulatory sequences such as promoters and enhancers. In embryonic stem (ES) cells, binding of the transcription factors OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG is essential to maintain the capacity of the cells to differentiate into any cell type of the developing embryo. It is known that transcription factors interact to regulate gene expression. In this study we show that combinatorial binding is strongly associated with co-localization of the transcriptional co-activator Mediator, H3K27ac and increased expression of nearby genes in embryonic stem cells. We observe that the same loci bound by Oct4, Nanog and Sox2 in ES cells frequently drive expression in early embryonic development. Comparison of mouse and human ES cells shows that less than 5% of individual binding events for OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG are shared between species. In contrast, about 15% of combinatorial binding events and even between 53% and 63% of combinatorial binding events at enhancers active in early development are conserved. Our analysis suggests that the combination of OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG binding is critical for transcription in ES cells and likely plays an important role for embryogenesis by binding at conserved early developmental enhancers. Our data suggests that the fast evolutionary rewiring of regulatory networks mainly affects individual binding events, whereas “gene regulatory hotspots” which are bound by multiple factors and active in multiple tissues throughout early development are under stronger evolutionary constraints

Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 (GSK3) Inhibitor, SB-216763, Promotes Pluripotency in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling has been suggested to promote self-renewal of pluripotent mouse and human embryonic stem cells. Here, we show that SB-216763, a glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) inhibitor, can maintain mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) in a pluripotent state in the absence of exogenous leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) when cultured on mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). MESCs maintained with SB-216763 for one month were morphologically indistinguishable from LIF-treated mESCs and expressed pluripotent-specific genes Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog. Furthermore, Nanog immunostaining was more homogenous in SB-216763-treated colonies compared to LIF. Embryoid bodies (EBs) prepared from these mESCs expressed early-stage markers for all three germ layers, and could efficiently differentiate into cardiac-like cells and MAP2-immunoreactive neurons. To our knowledge, SB-216763 is the first GSK3 inhibitor that can promote self-renewal of mESC co-cultured with MEFs for more than two months

A Survey of Georgia Adult Protective Service Staff: Implications for Older Adult Injury Prevention and Policy

Background: The aging population is a rapidly growing demographic. Isolation and limited autonomy render many of the elderly vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation. As the population grows, so does the need for Adult Protective Services (APS). This study was conducted to examine current knowledge of older adult protection laws in Georgia among APS staff and to identify training opportunities to better prepare the APS workforce in case detection and intervention.Methods: The Georgia State University Institute of Public Health faculty developed a primary survey in partnership with the Georgia Division of Aging Services’ leadership to identify key training priority issues for APS caseworkers and investigators. A 47-item electronic questionnaire was delivered to all APS employees via work-issued email accounts. We conducted descriptive analyses, t-tests and chi-square analyses to determine APS employees’ baseline knowledge of Georgia’s elder abuse policies, laws and practices, as well as examine associations of age, ethnicity, and educational attainment with knowledge. We used a p-value of 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals to determine statistical significance of analyses performed.Result: Ninety-two out of 175 APS staff responded to the survey (53% response rate). The majority of respondents were Caucasian (56%) women (92%). For over half the survey items, paired sample t-tests revealed significant differences between what APS staff reported as known and what APS staff members indicated they needed to know more about in terms of elder abuse and current policies. Chi-square tests revealed that non-Caucasians significantly preferred video conferencing as a training format (44% compared to 18%), [χ2(1) = 7.102, p < .008], whereas Caucasians preferred asynchronous online learning formats (55% compared to 28%) [χ2(1) =5.951, p < .015].Conclusion: Results from this study provide the Georgia Division of Aging with insight into specific policy areas that are not well understood by APS staff. Soliciting input from intended trainees allows public health educators to tailor and improve training sessions. Trainee input may result in optimization of policy implementation, which may result in greater injury prevention and protection of older adults vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(3):357-364.

Feasibility Study of Social Media to Reduce Intimate Partner Violence Among Gay Men in Metro Atlanta, Georgia

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a major public health issue occurring in the United States and globally. While little is known in general about IPV, understanding about the prevalence of physical IPV among gay men is even more obscure. There is a clear disparity in violence research attention focused on this vulnerable segment of society. This cross-sectional survey study was conducted to examine the feasibility of enrolling 100 gay men from Atlanta into an IPV survey study. The survey was administered via Facebook. Ninety-nine usable surveys were collected. Chi-square tests reveal that minority ethnic status, illicit drug use, and non-disclosed orientation status were all significantlyassociated with positive IPV reports--in terms of both victimization as well as perpetration. Overall, the majority of the study sample indicated that they believe IPV is a health problem in the Atlanta gay community. These findings bear importance for the Atlanta gay community and public health professionals who must address this nearly invisible yet increasing public health issue. [West J Emerg Med.2012;13(3):298-304.]

A Survey of Georgia Adult Protective Service Staff: Implications for Older Adult Injury Prevention and Policy

Background: The aging population is a rapidly growing demographic. Isolation and limited autonomy render many of the elderly vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation. As the population grows, so does the need for Adult Protective Services (APS). This study was conducted to examine current knowledge of older adult protection laws in Georgia among APS staff and to identify training opportunities to better prepare the APS workforce in case detection and intervention.Methods: The Georgia State University Institute of Public Health faculty developed a primary survey in partnership with the Georgia Division of Aging Services’ leadership to identify key training priority issues for APS caseworkers and investigators. A 47-item electronic questionnaire was delivered to all APS employees via work-issued email accounts. We conducted descriptive analyses, t-tests and chi-square analyses to determine APS employees’ baseline knowledge of Georgia’s elder abuse policies, laws and practices, as well as examine associations of age, ethnicity, and educational attainment with knowledge. We used a p-value of 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals to determine statistical significance of analyses performed.Result: Ninety-two out of 175 APS staff responded to the survey (53% response rate). The majority of respondents were Caucasian (56%) women (92%). For over half the survey items, paired sample t-tests revealed significant differences between what APS staff reported as known and what APS staff members indicated they needed to know more about in terms of elder abuse and current policies. Chi-square tests revealed that non-Caucasians significantly preferred video conferencing as a training format (44% compared to 18%), [χ2(1) = 7.102, p &lt; .008], whereas Caucasians preferred asynchronous online learning formats (55% compared to 28%) [χ2(1) =5.951, p &lt; .015].Conclusion: Results from this study provide the Georgia Division of Aging with insight into specific policy areas that are not well understood by APS staff. Soliciting input from intended trainees allows public health educators to tailor and improve training sessions. Trainee input may result in optimization of policy implementation, which may result in greater injury prevention and protection of older adults vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(3):357-364.