Sexual Health

Health Issue: Much attention is devoted to women's reproductive health, but the formative and mature stages of women's sexual lives are often overlooked. We have analyzed cross-sectional data from the Sexual Behaviour module of the 2000/2001 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), and reviewed the literature and available indicators of the sexual health of Canadian women. Key Findings: Contemporary Canadian adolescents are becoming sexually active at younger ages than in previous generations. The gender gap between young males and females in age at first intercourse has virtually disappeared. The mean age at first intercourse for CCHS respondents aged 15–24 years was between 16 and 17. Canadian-born respondents are significantly younger at first intercourse than those who were born outside of Canada. Few adolescents recognize important risks to their sexual health. Older Canadians are sexually active, and continue to fin

Use of fish cell lines to compare the cytotoxicity of Tetrabromobisphenol A with its degradation products and with an alternative brominated flame retardant

Tetrabromobisphenol A, (TBBPA or Br4BPA), is a widely used brominated flame retardant (BFR). Although TBBPA and its breakdown products been found in river sediments, the environmental impact of their contamination is largely unknown. One breakdown product of TBBPA is bisphenol A (BPA), which has been studied intensively for its toxicology because it is used in the manufacturing of plastics and leaches from food containers, water bottles and pipes. Other breakdown products of TBBPA include tribromobisphenol A (Br3BPA), dibromobisphenol A (Br2BPA), and monobromobisphenol A (BrBPA) but little is known about their toxicology. Since TBBPA is toxic, there is a need to search for an alternative BFR, with one being tetrabromobisphenol A bis(2,3-dibromopropylether) or TBBPA-DBPE. However, almost nothing is known about the toxicology of this compound. Hence, two rainbow trout cell lines, RTL-W1 from liver and RTgill-W1 from gill, were used to evaluate the cellular toxicity of TBBPA, BPA, BrBPA, Br2BPA, Br3BPA and TBBPA-DBPE. The cells were exposed to these compounds for 24 h in the basal medium, L-15, to study their cytotoxicity and in L-15 with fetal bovine serum (FBS) to evaluate their capacity to induce 7-ethoxyresorufin o-deethylase (EROD) activity. Viability was measured with three fluorometric indicator dyes: Alamar Blue (AB) for metabolism, 5-carboxyfluorescein diacetate acetoxymethyl (CFDA AM) for cell membrane integrity, and Neutral Red (NR) for lysosomal activity. The concentrations causing a 50 % reduction in viability (EC50) as measured with these three dyes were used to compare the relative cytotoxicity of these chemicals. For both cell lines and with all viability endpoints, TBBPA was the most cytotoxic, with EC50s ranging from 2.33 to 3.11 ug/ml. BPA, BrBPA, Br2BPA, and Br3BPA also caused dose-dependent declines in cell viability but showed no consistent order of potency. None of the six compounds induced EROD activity, which suggests that they do not activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Regardless of the endpoint or cell line, TBBPA-DBPE was not cytotoxic. This suggests that, from a toxicological perspective, this compound may be a suitable replacement for TBBPA as a BFR. BPA stood out from the other compounds in two regards. BPA caused a dose-dependent decline in cell viability for cultures in L-15 with FBS, whereas for the other compounds, little or no change in viability was seen in cultures with FBS. BPA elicited a decline in the ability of cells to reduce AB almost immediately upon its addition to cultures in a simple buffer, whereas as for other compounds a decline took time to develop. These results suggest that BPA exerts its cytotoxicity by a different mechanism different from the other compounds.1 yea

Asian American We: Civic Engagement among Low-Income Young Adults

This report describes a study of the civic participation of low-income Asian American adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five in the Boston area. It is based upon a mail survey with 100 respondents, focus groups, and organization interviews. The study found that over 60% of the study population engaged in some form of civic participation, most commonly through fundraising or volunteer activities. Other activities included arts and culture with a social message, issues work, and electoral involvement. The area of greatest involvement was education. From the survey, civic engagement is correlated with female gender, higher education, and a perception of living in a low-income area. The demographics of the study population reflect a majority who are female, Chinese, attending college and in the labor force. Vietnamese was the second most reported ethnicity, and most were residents of the cities of Boston and Quincy. The study also showed potential for greater civic participation. The cohort indicated an interest in increasing and broadening their current engagement. The important motivators for civic engagement that emerged from the study are community building, awareness of issues, and material incentive. In order to activate individuals in this group to greater civic participation, advocacy and activist organizations should be aware of these factors and allocate appropriate resources to their further development. These organizations can also be more effective by soliciting widely and in diverse ways and being flexible in how they integrate participants

Abnormal market return from real estate divestiture and acquisition announcements in a developing country

Real estate asset divestitures and acquisitions (D&A) are conducted as part of corporate restructuring. This study attempts to fill the knowledge gap on abnormal market return (AR) towards D&A activities during recession in a developing country. The samples are Malaysian listed non-real estate companies that conducted D&A during the 2008 financial crisis. Event study methodology is used to determine AR surrounding D&A announcements within (-10day, +10day) event window. Results show that both D&A announcements bring insignificant AR on and near the announcement date (-1 to +1). Prior to announcement, divesting (acquiring) companies incur negative (positive) AR, indicating that any leakage of information on divestiture (acquisition) is not favored (favored) by the market. Post-announcement results show that divesting companies continued to experience negative ARs even though majority of such companies divested at premium prices. However, acquiring companies experience significant and negative post-announcement AR. This is plausibly due to the majority of acquiring companies paid a premium above valuation for their acquisitions. In summary, the market frowns upon divestitures in general and acquisitions of real estate assets above their valuations during economic recessions

Exploring the Impacts of Economic Growth, Population and Economic Crisis on Public Education Expenditure in Malaysia

This paper intends to fill the literature gap by empirically examines the relationship between public education expenditure, economic growth, demography size and economic crisis in Malaysia. Model formulated based on Wagner’s law concept, with focus on the effect of economic crisis and population size will be employed. The results supported Wagner's law and demonstrated significance of both population size and economic crisis in determining the public education expenditure. This paper will further contribute useful insight to policymakers to consider the effects’ of the demographic variable, economic growth and crisis’ impact when making any public education spending policy decision. Keywords: Public Education Expenditure, Economic Growth, Population, Crisis, Malaysi

Contraception

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Health Issue</p> <p>Contraception choices affect the long-term sexual health and fertility of women and men. Data from the 1998 Canadian Contraception Study and the 2000/2001 Canadian Community Health Survey were assessed for measures of contraceptive use and familiarity with various methods among Canadian women.</p> <p>Key Findings</p> <p>The oral contraceptive (OC) pill is the dominant method of contraception for Canadian women. Canadian women demonstrate high awareness of the benefits of condom use, but 75% are unaware of the female condom. Among youth, condom use drops as OC use increases. Contraception use in sexually active females aged 15–17 is fairly high, but use is inconsistent. Sexually active adolescent females report high awareness of emergency contraception but poor knowledge of the time frame within which it is most effective. Women aged 35–44 are more familiar with and likely to choose sterilization than younger women. There has also been a shift away from tubal ligation in favour of vasectomies.</p> <p>Data Gaps and Recommendations</p> <p>National data to guide policy and program development are limited. More data are needed on contraception use among males, and factors affecting accessibility, adherence and negotiation of choice. The importance of dual protection, and correct and consistent use of the chosen contraceptive method must be communicated to younger Canadians, as well as health care providers and educators. All women of reproductive age should be made aware of emergency contraception methods and increased efforts on sexual health promotion and education are required. Further research is essential to develop expanded contraceptive choices.</p

Involvement of low- and middle-income countries in randomized controlled trial publications in oncology

Background: We describe trends in participation by investigators from low- and middle-income countries (LMCs) in publications describing oncology randomized control trials (RCTs) over a decade. Methods: We used Medline to identify RCTs published in English from 1998 to 2008 evaluating treatment in lung, breast, colorectal, stomach and liver cancers. Data on author affiliations, authorship roles, trial characteristics, funding and interventions were extracted from each article. Countries were stratified as low-, middle- or high-income using World Bank data. Interventions were categorized as requiring basic, limited, enhanced or maximal resources as per the Breast Health Global Initiative classification. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with authorship by investigators from LMCs. Results: 454 publications were identified. Proportion of articles with at least one LMC author increased over time from 20% in 1998 to 29% in 2008 (p = 0.01), but almost all LMC authors were from middle-income countries. Proportion of articles with at least one LMC author was higher among articles that explicitly reported recruitment in at least one LMC vs those that did not (76% vs 13%). Among 87 articles (19%) that involved authors from LMCs, 17% had LMC authors as first or corresponding authors, and 67% evaluated interventions requiring enhanced or maximal resources. Factors associated with LMC authorship included industry funding (OR = 3.54, p = 0.0001), placebo comparator arm (OR = 2.57, p = 0.02) and palliative intent treatment (OR = 4.00, p = 0.0003). Conclusion: An increasing number of publications describing oncology RCTs involve authors from LMC countries but primarily in non-leadership roles in industry-funded trials

My Research Online: What\u27s in it for me?

ECU’s world class research is showcased in the institutional repository, Research Online. Research Online can help you expand the reach of your work and raise your research profile.https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuposters/1000/thumbnail.jp

The effective fraction isolated from Radix Astragali alleviates glucose intolerance, insulin resistance and hypertriglyceridemia in db/db diabetic mice through its anti-inflammatory activity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Macrophage infiltration in adipose tissue together with the aberrant production of pro-inflammatory cytokines has been identified as the key link between obesity and its related metabolic disorders. This study aims to isolate bioactive ingredients from the traditional Chinese herb Radix Astragali (Huangqi) that alleviate obesity-induced metabolic damage through inhibiting inflammation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Active fraction (Rx) that inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokine production was identified from Radix Astragali by repeated bioactivity-guided high-throughput screening. Major constituents in Rx were identified by column chromatography followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass-spectrometry. Anti-diabetic activity of Rx was evaluated in db/db mice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Treatment with Rx, which included calycosin-7-β-D-glucoside (0.9%), ononin (1.2%), calycosin (4.53%) and formononetin (1.1%), significantly reduced the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1) in human THP-1 macrophages and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced activation of NF-κB in mouse RAW-Blue macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. Chronic administration of Rx in db/db obese mice markedly decreased the levels of both fed and fasting glucose, reduced serum triglyceride, and also alleviated insulin resistance and glucose intolerance when compared to vehicle-treated controls. The mRNA expression levels of inflammatory cell markers CD68 and F4/80, and cytokines MCP-1, TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly reduced in epididymal adipose tissue while the alternatively activated macrophage marker arginase I was markedly increased in the Rx-treated mice.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings suggest that suppression of the inflammation pathways in macrophages represents a valid strategy for high-throughput screening of lead compounds with anti-diabetic and insulin sensitizing properties, and further support the etiological role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of obesity-related metabolic disorders.</p