The Relationships between Self-esteem, Binge Drinking and Sexual Risk Behaviors among Young Women

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a growing problem nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009), there are approximately 19 million new STIs each year, and almost half are among young people ages 15 to 24. Untreated STIs are estimated to cause at least 24,000 women to become infertile each year (CDC). Students with low self-esteem, consumed more alcohol, had more sexual partners, and had more HIV risk-taking behaviors than other students (Gullette & Lyons, 2006). What is not clear from the literature is how psychological variables affect risk behaviors in a nationally representative sample. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between self-esteem, alcohol use, and sexual risk behaviors. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) database, which is a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents. The Add Health cohort has been followed into young adulthood with four in-home interviews, most recently in 2008, when the samples were aged 24-32, just emerging into adulthood and more likely to have opportunities for drinking and sexual behaviors. Wave III data for females was used (N = 2629). Analysis: Pearson bi-variate and Spearman Rank correlations were conducted for variables of interest. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use and self-esteem. A p-value less than .05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Education was not related to binge drinking or self-esteem. Higher levels of self-esteem were related to higher levels of binge drinking. Sexual risk behaviors were related to self-esteem. Unlike previous studies, binge drinking was not related to sexual risk behaviors. Implications: These results will aid in the development and implementation of gender-specific interventions aimed at impacting sexual risk behavior among women.No embarg

Adapting to Hydrologic Nonstationarity in Engineering Design

The engineering design discipline of hydrology and hydraulics has, for the past several decades, been largely based on probabilistic design techniques involving recurrence interval storm and flood events. The engineering design storm and design flood have been enduring concepts; however, recently the concept of hydrologic nonstationarity has gained a foothold in engineering theory. An analysis of the annual maxima based method of predicting engineering design storms was conducted using multiple techniques to determine whether trends were detectable or prevalent. Analyses from over 300 rain gauge stations throughout the southeastern United States showed that over 40% had experienced some form of trending behavior over time. An analysis of tropical storm contributions to station annual maxima found that such events were not overly influential with regard to extreme event prediction. Furthermore, spatial trends were not detected. These findings showed that the engineering design storm is affected by hydrologic nonstationarity. This research also investigated several other sources of hydrologic nonstationarity – specifically, contributions from rapid urbanization, topographic subsidence, and engineering design decisions. Changes in engineering design flows from urbanization result in designs that are quickly obsolete and prone to inundation. The decisions of a design engineer can result in design flows vastly different from those predicted by hydrologic models, even when taking into account effects of suburban development. Additionally, the impacts of urban development, precipitation increase, and topographic subsidence were examined in concert in an attempt to quantify the individual impacts of each on potential flooded area. It was found that the three contributions of nonstationarity were individually quantifiable, and that the contributions from precipitation changes and topographic subsidence were the most significant sources. Land development was the least influential contributor, though still significant. Engineering design under changing hydrologic conditions will be one of the major challenges for the industry in the coming decades. This research examined several design techniques available in the literature and subjected them to quantitative and qualitative assessment measures to determine their performance under prevailing design assumptions. The assessment measures tentatively indicated that modular designs and designs based on the theory of ecosystem services may be most suitable under potential future hydrologic conditions

An assessment of high touch object cleaning thoroughness using a fluorescent marker in two Australian hospitals

An Unassigned Group, An Unassigned DepartmentFull Tex

Benzo-fused Lactams from a Diversity-oriented Synthesis (DOS) Library as Inhibitors of Scavenger Receptor BI (SR-BI)-mediated Lipid Uptake

We report a new series of 8-membered benzo-fused lactams that inhibit cellular lipid uptake from HDL particles mediated by Scavenger Receptor, Class B, Type I (SR-BI). The series was identified via a high-throughput screen of the National Institutes of Health Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository (NIH MLSMR), measuring the transfer of the fluorescent lipid DiI from HDL particles to CHO cells overexpressing SR-BI. The series is part of a previously reported diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) library prepared via a build-couple-pair approach. Detailed structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies were performed with a selection of the original library, as well as additional analogs prepared via solution phase synthesis. These studies demonstrate that the orientation of the substituents on the aliphatic ring have a critical effect on activity. Additionally, a lipophilic group is required at the western end of the molecule, and a northern hydroxyl group and a southern sulfonamide substituent also proved to be optimal. Compound 2p was found to possess a superior combination of potency (av IC50 = 0.10 μM) and solubility (79 μM in PBS), and it was designated as probe ML312

Discovery of Bisamide-heterocycles as Inhibitors of Scavenger Receptor BI (SR-BI)-mediated Lipid Uptake

A new series of potent inhibitors of cellular lipid uptake from HDL particles mediated by scavenger receptor, class B, type I (SR-BI) was identified. The series was identified via a high-throughput screen of the National Institutes of Health Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository (NIH MLSMR) that measured the transfer of the fluorescent lipid DiI from HDL particles to CHO cells overexpressing SR-BI. The series is characterized by a linear peptidomimetic scaffold with two adjacent amide groups, as well as an aryl-substituted heterocycle. Analogs of the initial hit were rapidly prepared via Ugi 4-component reaction, and select enantiopure compounds were prepared via a stepwise sequence. Structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies suggest an oxygenated arene is preferred at the western end of the molecule, as well as highly lipophilic substituents on the central and eastern nitrogens. Compound 5e, with (R)-stereochemistry at the central carbon, was designated as probe ML279. Mechanistic studies indicate that ML279 stabilizes the interaction of HDL particles with SR-BI, and its effect is reversible. It shows good potency (IC50 = 17 nM), is non-toxic, plasma stable, and has improved solubility over our alternative probe ML278

Indolinyl-Thiazole Based Inhibitors of Scavenger Receptor-BI (SR-BI)-Mediated Lipid Transport

A potent class of indolinyl-thiazole based inhibitors of cellular lipid uptake mediated by scavenger receptor, class B, type I (SR-BI) was identified via a high-throughput screen of the National Institutes of Health Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository (NIH MLSMR) in an assay measuring the uptake of the fluorescent lipid DiI from HDL particles. This class of compounds is represented by ML278 (17–11), a potent (average IC50 = 6 nM) and reversible inhibitor of lipid uptake via SR-BI. ML278 is a plasma-stable, noncytotoxic probe that exhibits moderate metabolic stability, thus displaying improved properties for in vitro and in vivo studies. Strikingly, ML278 and previously described inhibitors of lipid transport share the property of increasing the binding of HDL to SR-BI, rather than blocking it, suggesting there may be similarities in their mechanisms of action

Medical treatment of ascites in cirrhosis

Medical treatment of cirrhotic ascites is essentially supportive, dictated by the patient's discomfort, impaired cardiovascular or respiratory function and potential for infection. Treatment of ‘simple’ ascites (moderate fluid accumulation, serum albumin > 3.5 g/dl, serum creatinine < 1.5 mg/dl, no electrolyte disturbance) is implemented sequentially. Only 10% of patients respond to dietary sodium restriction and bed rest; most require pharmacotherapy consisting of spironolactone, which increases the proportion of responding patients to 65% and loop diuretics, which may produce clinical improvement in an additional 20% (85% in all); in the remaining 15% of refractory patients, use of novel adjunctive therapies may be attempted. Patients with tense ascites, impaired renal function and electrolyte disturbances merit special consideration before diuretics are introduced. Spironolactone has long been a standard for the treatment of cirrhotic ascites because it directly antagonizes aldosterone. The loop diuretic most frequently added to spironolactone has been furosemide. However, there is preliminary evidence that torasemide may be more effective in some patients. Other investigational agents that may play a role in treatment of patients resistant to conventional drugs include ornipressin (a vasopressin analogue) and atrial natriuretic factor

Scoping Potential Routes to UK Civil Unrest via the Food System: Results of a Structured Expert Elicitation

We report the results of a structured expert elicitation to identify the most likely types of potential food system disruption scenarios for the UK, focusing on routes to civil unrest. We take a backcasting approach by defining as an end-point a societal event in which 1 in 2000 people have been injured in the UK, which 40% of experts rated as “Possible (20–50%)”, “More likely than not (50–80%)” or “Very likely (>80%)” over the coming decade. Over a timeframe of 50 years, this increased to 80% of experts. The experts considered two food system scenarios and ranked their plausibility of contributing to the given societal scenario. For a timescale of 10 years, the majority identified a food distribution problem as the most likely. Over a timescale of 50 years, the experts were more evenly split between the two scenarios, but over half thought the most likely route to civil unrest would be a lack of total food in the UK. However, the experts stressed that the various causes of food system disruption are interconnected and can create cascading risks, highlighting the importance of a systems approach. We encourage food system stakeholders to use these results in their risk planning and recommend future work to support prevention, preparedness, response and recovery planning