Drop In Age Research Articles

Jihadist Extremism in Spanish Prisons: Characterisation of the Inmates Linked to Jihadist Radicalisation and Analysis of Their Behaviour in Prison

ABSTRACT In Spain, 10.1 percent of jihadist terrorists were radicalised in prison. The objective of this paper is to elaborate on the analysis of the phenomenon of jihadist radicalisation in Spain’s prisons by analysing the inmates linked to jihadist radicalisation who are included in groups A, B and C. The results show that the profile of the inmates linked to jihadist radicalisation has not undergone major changes, although a drop in age and an increase in the number of cases of Spanish nationality can be observed. When the inmates included in the three groups were compared at the time of the investigation (August 2019), it was found that they are of a similar age, that Spanish citizens are more common in group A, mental disorders are more common in group C and that both group B as well as C exhibit a more extensive criminal record and more admissions to prison. Important differences were found with regard to the behaviour in prison, namely that the inmates in group A are not individuals who repeatedly employ violence, while the inmates in group C exhibit a very pronounced antisocial profile, with frequent use of both verbal and physical violence in their day-to-day life in prison.

Abstract P007: Age and Gender Differences in Response to Repeat Blood Pressure Measurement After Brief Rest Period

Background: Office-based blood pressure (BP) measurement is a snapshot of a patient’s ambulatory BP, and is subject to variations which may influence management. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of age and gender on repeat BP measurement after a brief rest period in an outpatient cardiology clinic. Methods: Patient charts reviewed in University-based cardiology clinic identified 170 encounters which contained BP re-measurement data due to elevated initial BP of > 130/80 mmHg. BP was measured initially by a nurse, with the patient in a sitting position and the arm resting at the level of the heart. If BP was > 130/80 mmHg, it was repeated by physician after resting the patient for 15 minutes. There were: 86 males (51%); 84 females (49%); 113 (66%) elderly patients ≥ 60 years; 57 (34%) younger patients < 60 years. Results: Allowing 15 minutes of rest resulted in decrease in the systolic BP (SBP) from 153 ± 27 mmHg to 145 ± 27 mmHg (P = 0.003), and decrease in the diastolic BP (DBP) from 87 ± 16 mmHg to 83 ± 15 mmHg (P = 0.04) in the whole patient cohort. The decrease in SBP was 8 mmHg in both males and females (P = NS); while the decrease in DBP was 5 mmHg in males and 2 mmHg in females (P = 0.04). The decrease in SBP was 11 mmHg in the elderly patients compared to 2 mmHg in the younger patients (P = 0.02), while the decrease in DBP was 3 mmHg in the elderly patients compared with 4 mmHg in the younger patients (P = NS). Conclusion: Hypertension is a challenging public health problem. JNC guidelines recommend that prior to BP measurement, persons should be seated quietly for at least 5 minutes in a chair, with feet on the floor, and arm supported at heart level. This resulted in a significant decrease in BP in our patients. In this study we found that, after a brief rest period, males and females decrease SBP to the same extent; males drop DBP greater than females; patients ≥ 60 years of age drop SBP greater than patients < 60 years of age. With a high reported prevalence rates of White-coat hypertension in the elderly, between 15% and 25%, this is a clinically significant observation that reinforces that physicians should remeasure the blood pressure, especially the subset of males and the elderly, in whom a bigger decrement may be detected in blood pressure measurement after a brief rest period.

The Role of Intelligence in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Does it Vary by Trauma Severity?

BackgroundOnly a small minority of trauma victims develops post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suggesting that victims vary in their predispositions to the PTSD response to stressors. It is assumed that the role of predispositions in PTSD varies by trauma severity: when stressors are less severe, predispositions play a bigger role. In this study, we test whether the role of intelligence in PTSD varies by trauma severity. Specifically, does low intelligence plays a bigger part among victims of lower magnitude stressors than among victims of extreme stressors?MethodsData come from a longitudinal study of randomly selected sample in Southeast Michigan (n = 713). IQ was measured at age 6. PTSD was measured at age 17, using the NIMH-DIS for DSM-IV. Stressors were classified as extreme if they involved assaultive violence (e.g. rape, sexual assault, threatened with a weapon); other stressors in the list (e.g. disaster, accidents) were classified as lower magnitude. Assaultive violence victims had experienced assaultive violence plus other event types or only assaultive violence. Victims of other stressors were participants who had never experienced assaultive violence. We compared the influence of age 6 IQ on PTSD among persons exposed to assaultive violence vs. other stressors, using multinomial logistic regression.ResultsRelative risk ratio (RRR) for PTSD associated with a one point drop in age 6 IQ among victims of assaultive violence was 1.04 (95% CI 1.01, 1.06); among victims of other stressors, it was 1.03 (95% CI 0.99, 1.06). A comparison of the two RRRs indicates no significant difference between the two estimates (p = 0.652). IQ does not play a bigger role in PTSD among victims of other stressors than it does among victims of assaultive violence.ConclusionsLower IQ exerts an adverse PTSD effect on trauma victims, with no evidence of variability by the severity of trauma they have experienced.

Sexual Behavior Model Among Young Thai Women Living in Slums in Bangkok, Thailand

There has been a dramatic drop in age at first intercourse and concurrent rise in HIV infections among young Thai women living in slums. The participants included 492 young Thai women (average age = 19.7 years). They provided detailed self-perception, emotion, sexual self-efficacy, cognitive strategies, and power in relationships. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore sexual behavior model. Findings highlight the extreme vulnerability of Thai female adolescents who engage in risky sexual behaviors: 55.8% were sexually active with 41.8% having vaginal sex without using condom. Significant enabling factors included perceived ability to precautions (odds ratio [OR] = 1.7), relational gain thinking (OR = 1.5), and curious gain thinking (OR = 1.3). The significant protective factors were decision-making dominance (OR = 0.3), perceived ability to say no (OR = 0.7), and ethical-related punishment avoidance thinking (OR = 0.8). These findings contribute to greater understanding of factors involved in sexual risk taking. Implications for behavioral modification addressing cognition and power in relationships are discussed.

Impact macro-économique du vieillissement de la population sur les dépenses d’assurance maladie en France

A model is put forward to measure the impact of population aging on public health expenditures in France by 2020. This model has a central •mechanical” scenario, which consists in applying the expenditure by age observed today to the pyramid of future ages. Although its principle is simple, the scenario is based on a modelling of the link between expenditure and age as the empirical averages are unreliable. The first part of the article provides a detailed description of this modelling in which the central scenario results in an increase in public health expenditure by 0.7 percentage points of GDP due solely to the impact of aging. The second part of the article is a critical examination of this same central scenario, in particular its hypothesis of stability of expenditure at a given age. The first factor that is likely to cause expenditure by age to vary is obviously health status, that is, if people are more healthy at a given age, this means that the central scenario has overestimated the impact of aging. Among other factors, the drop in age at death would decrease the central scenario’s estimate by 0.2 percentage points of GDP.

Drop in age of puberty in girls and boys, UK

Drop in age of puberty in girls and boys, UK

Progression to end-stage renal disease in children with posterior urethral valves.

Diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in boys with congenital posterior urethral valves (PUV) have much improved in past decades, but the impact of these changes on the progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has rarely been investigated. We followed renal function in 20 boys with PUV from diagnosis to ESRD. From the first observation period (1969-1978) to the second period (1979-1992) we found a marked drop in age at diagnosis, at valve resection, at first increase of serum creatinine (SCr), and at onset of ESRD. The progression was analyzed by calculating the slope of 1/SCr and the probability of renal survival. In all patients combined, renal survival at the age of 10 years was 35%. In children undergoing valve resection in the 1st year of life, renal survival was worse than in those undergoing later surgery (15% vs. 65% after 10 years, P=0.006). Patients with a SCr>1.2 mg/dl before the age of 12 months progressed more rapidly to ESRD than those attaining this level later. The lower the minimum level of SCr observed after initial surgery, the older the patient at the onset of ESRD. The presence of renal dysplasia or hypoplasia, but not of vesicoureteric reflux, was associated with a more rapid progression. Mean body height at ESRD was -2.3+/-1.3 standard deviation score compared with controls, and was lower if PUV was diagnosed before the age of 6 months.

Stable carbon isotope variations in otoliths of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

Stable carbon isotope ratios (13C) were measured in annual layers of otoliths of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) from the northeastern Scotian Shelf, Atlantic Canada. Layers deposited during the first 4-6 years of otolith growth increased in 13C from minimum values between -5‰ and -2.5‰ to a maximum near 0‰. This pattern of increase was independent of the years in which the fish was collected. Layers formed after reaching the maximum 13C value displayed decreasing or nearly constant isotopic ratios. Early rise in 13C may be a combined result of (i) decrease in the fraction of metabolic oxidized carbon in the fishes' blood as they mature, relative to the proportion of seawater-derived carbon, and (ii) dietary shift to higher trophic-level foods with higher 13C values. Age of maximum in 13C may be indicative of age of maturity of cod. The maximum 13C value attained by otoliths decreased steadily between 1983 and 1993, while cod stocks in Atlantic Canada were declining. Drop in age of attainment of maximum 13C between 1984 and 1985 coincides with changes in population dynamics of the 4Vs stock. This decrease, as well as the post maximum decrease in 13C values of the mature cod otoliths may represent movement of the fish to deeper waters of the shelf, where 13C of dissolved inorganic carbon is lower.

Predictors of Asthma and Persistent Wheeze in a National Sample of Children in the United States: Association with Social Class, Perinatal Events, and Race

This study analyzes data from the Second National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey to determine whether black children are more likely to have asthma or wheeze, even after adjusting for environmental and socioeconomic exposures. For children 6 months to 11 yr of age, the unadjusted prevalence for asthma was 3.0% among white children and 7.2% among blacks; prevalence of frequent wheeze was 6.2% among whites and 9.3% among blacks. In a logistic regression model including race, age, and sex, the relative odds (RO) of asthma for black children as compared to white children were 2.5 (95% confidence interval [Cl], 1.9 to 3.4). Other predictors of asthma in a stepwise logistic regression included age, sex (boys versus girls, RO = 1.4), younger maternal age (2 standard deviation [SD] drop in age, RO = 1.4), residence in the central city (RO = 1.6), and family income (RO for the lowest versus highest tertile, RO = 1.7). After adjusting for these risk factors, age and sex, black children still had a 1.7 RO (95% Cl, 1.2 to 2.1) of having asthma. Frequent wheeze was associated with race (black versus white, RO = 1.6), sex (boys versus girls, RO = 1.3), birth weight (2 SD deficit in birth weight, RO = 1.4), and triceps skinfold thickness (increase in odds of asthma for 2 SD increase in skinfold, RO = 1.6). The significant effect of maternal age and birth weight after adjusting for other confounding variables suggests that the in utero environment may be an important determinant of asthma.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

THE AGE OF FEMALE EUROPEAN CORN BORER MOTHS, OSTRINIA NUBILALIS (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALIDAE), IN THE FIELD AND TESTS OF ITS USE IN FORECASTING DAMAGE TO GREEN PEPPERS

AbstractThe mean post-mating age of mated female moths of the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), from light traps varied from 3.4 to 5.2 days during the June–September flight period at Harrow, Ontario, in a manner consistent with assignment of moths to 3 generations per year. At the beginning of the first generation the mean age was 3.66 days and rose to 5.21 before flights ceased. At the beginning of the second generation the mean age was 3.39 days and rose to 4.47 days. A third generation could be detected in early September by a significant drop in age and an increase in virgin females. The average age of mated females was negatively correlated with the proportion of virgin females in the same week (r = −0.648, P = 0.02), indicating that about 40% of the variance in age of mated females was associated with emergence of new recruits to the population. Females collected with a sweep net from their day time resting places in weeds were either the same age or older than those from the light trap. The mean age of moths from light traps was found to be not meaningful when it was tested as a factor in forecasting damage caused by their progeny in green peppers 3–5 weeks later.

Male Circumcision Among the Ngindo

THE NGINDO ARE AN EAST AFRICAN PEOPLE with a segmentary social system. Small groups of them, each numbering perhaps twenty souls in all and comprising mainly agnatic kinsfolk, go to form the residential units which I call 'cells'. Ngindo settlements, isolated in vast expanses of forest, number anything from one to a dozen such cells. Thanks to its remoteness, the settlement is transcended by few events in the Ngindo calendar. As an exception come the annual initiation ceremonies, attracting several hundred people from a radius of fifty miles around; this alone gives an indication of the importance the Ngindo accord to initiation and to its decisive element, male circumcision. In reply to the question 'What is your religion?', a number of informants from central Ngindoland, which is nominally Muslim throughout, said simply 'It is the initiation'. Nevertheless the ceremonies themselves are seldom on a super-settlement scale nowadays, and the big attendances come about through the gathering of outside kin; the individual sessions held in the various settlements are often staggered so as to permit assemblies of this sort. Such does not seem to have been the case in the past, when twenty or thirty youths might be circumcised jointly, whereas at the present day it is rare to see more than half a dozen initiates together. Of course the old-time concentration of the rites was achieved not only by inter-settlement cooperation, but also to some extent by skipping a few seasons in any one settlement until the number of candidates for initiation reached a sizeable total. To-day, on the contrary, no such restraint is exercised, and the ceremonies will take place even if no more than a single candidate is available. This particular tendency towards dispersal is consistent with a general Ngindo tendency in that direction, associated primarily with individual and cell-group status drives; that is, cell leaders, cell members collectively, or limited alliances of cells seek to acquire prestige by mounting their own independent ceremonies. Thus, even within an Ngindo settlement, two or more sets of ceremonies may occur in a given season, more especially in the case of the relatively small initial circumcision dances, less so in the case of the bigger conclusory 'release' rites. Another marked change has been the drop in age of male initiates. A century ago, so it is said, they were mostly adult men, and all certainly past puberty. Now on the contrary the initiates are mere children on whom many of the ritual lessons, and in particular the formal instruction in such matters as sex, are altogether lost. In the main the change appears to have been an economy measure, as the prosperity of Ngindoland has declined over the period. At least this is the reason commonly advanced by the natives. But it is noteworthy that Ngindo girls still undergo the initiations shortly after their first menstruation, much as they are alleged to have done in former times. The explanation may lie in the fact that parental discipline over males is evidently less rigid than it was, while new mechanisms such as schools, paid employment, and the like, have now come into existence which help define their position in society. Women on the other hand remain insulated from external influences, which in turn prompt the menfolk to impose strict control for fear of their getting out of hand. To-day the central Ngindo observe male circumcision as a universal custom, though it is open to doubt whether it has held good