Same-sex parented families in Australia

This paper reviews and synthesises Australian and international literature on same-sex parented families. Introduction: This research paper reviews and synthesises Australian and international literature on same-sex parented families. It includes discussion of the different modes of conception or family formation, different family structures, and the small number of studies on bisexual and transgender parents. Particular attention is paid to research on the emotional, social and educational outcomes for children raised by lesbian and gay parents, and the methodological strengths and weaknesses of this body of work. Key Messages: About 11% of Australian gay men and 33% of lesbians have children. Children may have been conceived in the context of previous heterosexual relationships, or raised from birth by a co-parenting gay or lesbian couple or single parent. Overall, research to date considerably challenges the point of view that same-sex parented families are harmful to children. Children in such families do as well emotionally, socially and educationally as their peers from heterosexual couple families. Some researchers have concluded there are benefits for children raised by lesbian couples in that they experience higher quality parenting, sons display greater gender flexibility, and sons and daughter display more open-mindedness towards sexual, gender and family diversity. The possible effect of important socio-economic family factors, such as income and parental education, were not always considered in the studies reviewed in this paper. Although many Australian lesbian-parented families appear to be receiving good support from their health care providers, there is evidence that more could be done to develop policies and practices supportive of same-sex parented families in the Australian health, education, child protection and foster care systems. Additional key messages, relating to specific family structures and psychosocial outcomes for children raised by lesbian and gay parents, are included throughout the paper

Writing themselves in: a national report on the sexuality, health and well-being of same-sex attracted young people

This 1998 report is about young people who are attracted to their own sex. The need for accurate baseline figures about young people of non-heterosexual orientation has developed as part of a general concern about the spread of the HIV virus into the adolescent population and a specific concern around these young people’s emotional well-being. In the past three years, Australian adolescent research conducted by the National Centre in HIV Social Research, La Trobe University, has revealed that a significant minority of young people are not unequivocally heterosexual, with numbers ranging between 8 and 11% in recent research. Research which specifically targets this population has, until now, been conducted retrospectively and/or with people who identify as gay or lesbian recruited through gay and lesbian youth groups or the gay press. As researchers we know little about young people at pre-identity or pre-disclosure stages because their need for anonymity means they cannot be contacted through the usual channels. The young people represented in this project were accessed through an advertising campaign in National magazines, via radio and the Internet. A survey was available on a website and from the Centre for the Study of Sexually Transmissible Diseases. Surveys were also inserted in the gay and street press. These surveys sought information regarding sexual feelings and experiences as well as sexual and drug-taking practices in regard to STDs (including HIV) and related diseases. The source and adequacy of sexual health information for this group and their levels of support and experiences of abuse and discrimination were also elicited. The survey also charted young people’s perceptions of their quality of life and emotional well-being. In addition, participants were also asked to write stories about their experiences, including when they first knew about their sexual feelings, their relationships with family and friends, and their hopes for the future. &nbsp

Music Therapy for Young Adolescents Who Have Experienced the Death of a Loved One

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a music therapy based support group on depressive and grief symptoms in young adolescents who have experienced the death of a loved one. Participants were 3 middle school students, ages 11-12. Measures utilized to determine the effects of music therapy on grief symptoms were the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief (Faschingbauer, et al. 1987) scores on which range from 13 (low grief) to 65 (high grief) and the Depression Self-Rating Scale (Birleson, 1981), on which scores range from 0 (low depression) to 36 (high depression). Music therapy in the form of a “grief rock band” was used to facilitate the expression and processing of grief in adolescents. Group sessions included songwriting as the primary tool for expression and processing, along with other music therapy experiences to increase group cohesion, facilitate expression and awareness of feelings, and reinforce coping mechanisms. The thematic topics for this study were (1) feelings, (2) memories, (3) support, and (4) moving forward. Each session, participants engaged in discussion, developed song lyrics, and formed the music of songs to represent the thematic topic. Songs were video recorded and given to the participants at the end of the session series. Data were analyzed as multiple case studies. Scores from the DSRS and Part II of the TRIG at pretest and posttest were examined for each participant in order to observe for changes across time. For each of the participants, posttest scores showed an improvement in both depressive symptoms and grief symptoms. Music therapy in the form of a grief rock band may offer a creative and engaging means for young teens to express and move through grief

A Population-Based Evaluation of a Publicly Funded, School-Based HPV Vaccine Program in British Columbia, Canada: Parental Factors Associated with HPV Vaccine Receipt

Analysis of a telephone survey by Gina Ogilvie and colleagues identifies the parental factors associated with HPV vaccine uptake in a school-based program in Canada

Physical activity/exercise and diabetes: a position statement of the American Diabetes Association

The adoption and maintenance of physical activity are critical foci for blood glucose management and overall health in individuals with diabetes and prediabetes. Recommendations and precautions vary depending on individual characteristics and health status. In this Position Statement, we provide a clinically oriented review and evidence-based recommendations regarding physical activity and exercise in people with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes mellitus, and prediabetes. Physical activity includes all movement that increases energy use, whereas exercise is planned, structured physical activity. Exercise improves blood glucose control in type 2 diabetes, reduces cardiovascular risk factors, contributes to weight loss, and improves well-being (1,2). Regular exercise may prevent or delay type 2 diabetes development (3). Regular exercise also has considerable health benefits for people with type 1 diabetes (e.g., improved cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, insulin sensitivity, etc.) (4). The challenges related to blood glucose management vary with diabetes type, activity type, and presence of diabetes-related complications (5,6). Physical activity and exercise recommendations, therefore, should be tailored to meet the specific needs of each individual

ARMC9 and TOGARAM1 define a Joubert syndrome-associated protein module that regulates axonemal post-translational modifications and cilium stability

Joubert syndrome (JBTS) is a recessive neurodevelopmental ciliopathy, characterized by a pathognomonic hindbrain malformation. All known JBTS-genes encode proteins involved in the structure or function of primary cilia, ubiquitous antenna-like organelles essential for cellular signal transduction. Here, we use the recently identified JBTS-associated protein ARMC9 in tandem-affinity purification and yeast two-hybrid screens to identify a novel ciliary module composed of ARMC9-TOGARAM1-CCDC66-CEP104- CSPP1. TOGARAM1-variants cause JBTS and disrupt its interaction with ARMC9. Using a combination of protein interaction analyses and characterization of patient-derived fibroblasts, CRISPR/Cas9-engineered zebrafish and hTERT-RPE1 cells, we demonstrate that dysfunction of ARMC9 or TOGARAM1 results in short cilia with decreased axonemal acetylation and glutamylation, but relatively intact transition zone function. Aberrant serum-induced ciliary resorption and cold-induced depolymerization in both ARMC9 and TOGARAM1 patient cells lines suggest a role for this new JBTS-associated protein complex in ciliary stability

Notch signaling modulates proliferation and differentiation of intestinal crypt base columnar stem cells

Notch signaling is known to regulate the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem and progenitor cells; however, direct cellular targets and specific functions of Notch signals had not been identified. We show here in mice that Notch directly targets the crypt base columnar (CBC) cell to maintain stem cell activity. Notch inhibition induced rapid CBC cell loss, with reduced proliferation, apoptotic cell death and reduced efficiency of organoid initiation. Furthermore, expression of the CBC stem cell-specific marker Olfm4 was directly dependent on Notch signaling, with transcription activated through RBP-Jκ binding sites in the promoter. Notch inhibition also led to precocious differentiation of epithelial progenitors into secretory cell types, including large numbers of cells that expressed both Paneth and goblet cell markers. Analysis of Notch function in Atoh1-deficient intestine demonstrated that the cellular changes were dependent on Atoh1, whereas Notch regulation of Olfm4 gene expression was Atoh1 independent. Our findings suggest that Notch targets distinct progenitor cell populations to maintain adult intestinal stem cells and to regulate cell fate choice to control epithelial cell homeostasis

AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study

: High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome: insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Contains fulltext : 218568.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. METHODS: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 >/= 0.60 during hyperoxemia). RESULTS: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. TRIAL REGISTRATION: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073