Foreign migrations and new couples in Spain. Nuptiality and Gender Imbalance in the new century

Nuptiality is not a central item in Migration Research now. In the past, especially for American countries, many scholars were really interested in marriages of immigrants, specially knowing the exchanges between different communities; that is, mixed marriages. Here is the Spanish case in nuptiality between foreign and local people.

Alcohol may not cause partner violence but it seems to make it worse: a cross national comparison of the relationship between alcohol and severity of partner violence.

This study assesses whether severity of physical partner aggression is associated with alcohol consumption at the time of the incident, and whether the relationship between drinking and aggression severity is the same for men and women and across different countries. National or large regional general population surveys were conducted in 13 countries as part of the GENACIS collaboration. Respondents described the most physically aggressive act done to them by a partner in the past 2 years, rated the severity of aggression on a scale of 1 to 10, and reported whether either partner had been drinking when the incident occurred. Severity ratings were significantly higher for incidents in which one or both partners had been drinking compared to incidents in which neither partner had been drinking. The relationship did not differ significantly for men and women or by country. We conclude that alcohol consumption may serve to potentiate violence when it occurs, and this pattern holds across a diverse set of cultures. Further research is needed that focuses explicitly on the nature of alcohol's contribution to intimate partner aggression. Prevention needs to address the possibility of enhanced dangers of intimate partner violence when the partners have been drinking and eliminate any systemic factors that permit alcohol to be used as an excuse. Clinical services for perpetrators and victims of partner violence need to address the role of drinking practices, including the dynamics and process of aggressive incidents that occur when one or both partners have been drinking.

Relationship between potassium fertilization and panicle blast severity in upland rice

The influence of K2O (0, 40, 80, 120 kg ha-1) at varying rates of N application (0, 30, 60 kg ha-1) at planting, on panicle blast (Pyricularia grisea (Cooke) Sacc.) was studied in a field experiment conducted during three consecutive years with the upland rice cultivar Douradão. Panicle blast severity decreased with increasing rates of potassium in the absence of nitrogen (N0). The relationship between panicle blast and K rates was quadratic at 30 kg ha-1 of nitrogen. Significant response to K fertilization was not obtained at 60 kg ha-1 of nitrogen in relation to panicle blast severity.

Relationship between imaging biomarkers, age, progression and symptom severity in Alzheimer's disease.

The early diagnostic value of glucose hypometabolism and atrophy as potential neuroimaging biomarkers of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been extensively explored using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The vast majority of previous imaging studies neglected the effects of single factors, such as age, symptom severity or time to conversion in MCI thus limiting generalisability of results across studies. Here, we investigated the impact of these factors on metabolic and structural differences. FDG-PET and MRI data from AD patients (n = 80), MCI converters (n = 65) and MCI non-converters (n = 64) were compared to data of healthy subjects (n = 79). All patient groups were split into subgroups by age, time to conversion (for MCI), or symptom severity and compared to the control group. AD patients showed a strongly age-dependent pattern, with younger patients showing significantly more extensive reductions in gray matter volume and glucose utilisation. In the MCI converter group, the amount of glucose utilisation reduction was linked to the time to conversion but not to atrophy. Our findings indicate that FDG-PET might be more closely linked to future cognitive decline whilst MRI being more closely related to the current cognitive state reflects potentially irreversible damage.

Exploring the proposed DSM-5 diagnostic threshold and severity scale for the alcohol use disorder

Aims :¦Several studies have questioned the validity of separating the diagnosis of alcohol abuse from that of alcohol dependence, and the DSM-5 task force has proposed combining the criteria from these two diagnoses to assess a single category of alcohol use disorders (AUD). Furthermore, the DSM-5 task force has proposed including a new 2-symptom threshold and a severity scale based on symptom counts for the AUD diagnosis. The current study aimed to examine these modifications in a large population-based sample.¦Method :¦Data stemmed from an adult sample (N=2588 ; mean age 51.3 years (s.d.: 0.2), 44.9% female) of current and lifetime drinkers from the PsyCoLaus study, conducted in the Lausanne area in Switzerland. AUDs and validating variables were assessed using a semi-structured diagnostic interview for the assessment of alcohol¦and other major psychiatric disorders. First, the adequacy of the proposed 2- symptom threshold was tested by comparing threshold models at each possible cutoff and a linear model, in relation to different validating variables. The model with the smallest Akaike Criterion Information (AIC) value was established as the best¦model for each validating variable. Second, models with varying subsets of individual AUD symptoms were created to assess the associations between each symptom and the validating variables. The subset of symptoms with the smallest AIC value was established as the best subset for each validator.¦Results :¦1) For the majority of validating variables, the linear model was found to be the best fitting model. 2) Among the various subsets of symptoms, the symptoms most frequently associated with the validating variables were : a) drinking despite having knowledge of a physical or psychological problem, b) having had a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control drinking and c) craving. The¦least frequent symptoms were : d) drinking in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended, e) spending a great deal of time in obtaining, using or recovering from alcohol use and f) failing to fulfill major role obligations.¦Conclusions :¦The proposed DSM-5 2-symptom threshold did not receive support in our data. Instead, a linear AUD diagnosis was supported with individuals receiving an increasingly severe AUD diagnosis. Moreover, certain symptoms were more frequently associated with the validating variables, which suggests that these¦symptoms should be considered as more severe.

Neurophysiological changes during shortening osteotomies of the spine.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Kyphotic deformities with sagittal imbalance of the spine can be treated with spinal osteotomies. Those procedures are known to have a high incidence of neurological complications, in particular at the thoracic level. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) have been widely used in helping to avoid major neurological deficits postoperatively. Previous reports have shown that a significant proportion of such cases present with important transcranial MEP (Tc-MEP) changes during surgery with some of them being predictive of postoperative deficits. PURPOSE: Our aim was to study Tc-MEP changes in a consecutive series of patients and correlate them with clinical parameters and radiological changes. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: Retrospective case notes study from a prospective patient register. PATIENT SAMPLE: Eighteen patients undergoing posterior shortening osteotomies (nine at thoracic and nine at lumbar levels) for kyphosis of congenital, degenerative, inflammatory, or post-traumatic origin were included. OUTCOME MEASURES: Loss of at least 80% of Tc-MEP signal expressed as the area under the curve percentual change, of at least one muscle. METHODS: We studied the relation between outcome measure (80% Tc-MEP loss in at least one muscle group) and amount of posterior vertebral body shortening as well as angular correction measured on computed tomography scans, occurrence of postoperative deficits, intraoperative blood pressure at the time of the osteotomy, and hemoglobin (Hb) change. RESULTS: All patients showed significant Tc-MEP changes. In particular, greater than 80% MEP loss in at least one muscle group was observed in five of nine patients in the thoracic group and four of nine patients in the lumbar group. No surgical maneuver was undertaken as a result of this loss in an effort to improve motor responses other than verifying the stability of the construct and the extent of the decompression. Four patients developed postoperative deficits of radicular origin, three of them recovering fully at 3 months. No relation was found between intraoperative blood pressure, Hb changes, and Tc-MEP changes. Severity of Tc-MEP loss did not correlate with postoperative deficits. Shortening of more than 10 mm was linked to more severe Tc-MEP changes in the thoracic group. CONCLUSIONS: Transcranial MEP changes during spinal shortening procedures are common and do not appear to predict severe postoperative deficits. Total loss of Tc-MEP (not witnessed in our series) might require a more drastic approach with possible reversal of the correction and wake-up test.

Status Epilepticus Severity Score (STESS): a tool to orient early treatment strategy

BACKGROUND : Status epilepticus (SE) treatment ranges from small benzodiazepine doses to coma induction. For some SE subgroups, it is unclear how the risk of an aggressive therapeutic approach balances with outcome improvement. We recently developed a prognostic score (Status Epilepticus Severity Score, STESS), relying on four outcome predictors (age, history of seizures, seizure type and extent of consciousness impairment), determined before treatment institution. Our aim was to assess whether the score might have a role in the treatment strategy choice. METHODS : This cohort study involved adult patients in three centers. For each patient, the STESS was calculated before primary outcome assessment: survival vs. death at discharge. Its ability to predict survival was estimated through the negative predictive value for mortality (NPV). Stratified odds ratios (OR) for mortality were calculated considering coma induction as exposure; strata were defined by the STESS level. RESULTS : In the observed 154 patients, the STESS had an excellent negative predictive value (0.97). A favorable STESS was highly related to survival (P < 0.001), and to return to baseline clinical condition in survivors (P < 0.001). The combined Mantel-Haenszel OR for mortality in patients stratified after coma induction and their STESS was 1.5 (95 % CI: 0.59-3.83). CONCLUSION : The STESS reliably identifies SE patients who will survive. Early aggressive treatment could not be routinely warranted in patients with a favorable STESS, who will almost certainly survive their SE episode. A randomized trial using this score would be needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Association of biomarkers of lipid modification with functional and morphological indices of coronary stenosis severity in stable coronary artery disease.

Biomarkers of blood lipid modification and oxidative stress have been associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity. We sought to determine whether these biomarkers were related to functional indices of stenosis severity among patients with stable coronary artery disease. We studied 197 consecutive patients with stable coronary artery disease due to single vessel disease. Fractional flow reserve (FFR) ≤ 0.80 was assessed as index of a functionally significant lesion. Serum levels of secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) activity, secretory phospholipase A2 type IIA (sPLA2-IIA), myeloperoxydase (MPO), lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) were assessed using commercially available assays. Patients with FFR > 0.8 had higher sPLA2 activity, sPLA2 IIA, and OxLDL levels than patients with FFR ≤ 0.8 (21.25 [16.03-27.28] vs 25.85 [20.58-34.63] U/mL, p < 0.001, 2.0 [1.5-3.4] vs 2.6 [2.0-3.4] ng/mL, p < 0.01; and 53.0 [36.0-71.0] vs 64.5 [50-89.25], p < 0.001 respectively). Patients with FFR > 0.80 had similar Lp-PLA2 and MPO levels versus those with FFR ≤ 0.8. sPLA2 activity, sPLA2 IIA significantly increased area under the curve over baseline characteristics to predict FFR ≤ 0.8 (0.67 to 0.77 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.69-0.85) p < 0.01 and 0.67 to 0.77 (95 % CI: 0.69-0.84) p < 0.01, respectively). Serum sPLA2 activity as well as sPLA2-IIA level is related to functional characteristics of coronary stenoses in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

Social factors related to the clinical severity of influenza cases in Spain during the A(H1N1)2009 virus pandemic

Background During the 2009 influenza pandemic, a change in the type of patients most often affected by influenza was observed. The objective of this study was to assess the role of individual and social determinants in hospitalizations due to influenza A (H1N1) 2009 infection. Methods We studied hospitalized patients (cases) and outpatients (controls) with confirmed influenza A (H1N1) 2009 infection. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data. Variables that might be related to the hospitalization of influenza cases were compared by estimation of the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) and the variables entered into binomial logistic regression models. Results Hospitalization due to pandemic A (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus infections was associated with non-Caucasian ethnicity (OR: 2.18, 95% CI 1.17 − 4.08), overcrowding (OR: 2.84, 95% CI 1.20 − 6.72), comorbidity and the lack of previous preventive information (OR: 2.69, 95% CI: 1.50 − 4.83). Secondary or higher education was associated with a lower risk of hospitalization (OR 0.56, 95% CI: 0.36 − 0.87) Conclusions In addition to individual factors such as comorbidity, other factors such as educational level, ethnicity or overcrowding were associated with hospitalization due to A (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus infections.