Familial and Self Systems as Contributors to Sexual Decision-making Patterns of Young African American Women

This study utilized a is a two-phase mixed methods design to examine partner-based expectations and perceptions of factors that affecting condom use among African American women recruited at a sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic. Phase One utilized qualitative methods to analyze interviews from 25 unmarried, African American women between ages 18--26. Interviews explored the following two research questions: (1) How do young adult African American women conceptualize relationships as illustrated by their expectations of their partner and their expectations of themselves in the relationship? (2) What messages do women recall receiving from their family members about sexual opportunities, intercourse, consequences of sex, love, marriage and premarital sex? Data analysis revealed partner-based expectations that included expectations of trust/honesty, respect from partners, stability of partner\u27s behaviors, interest in women\u27s well-being, partner\u27s ability to be self-reliant, and specific behavioral expectations (e.g., communication, family commitment). Some expectations linked to women\u27s ideas about their sexual health. Women\u27s self-expectations included being emotionally supportive, committed, honest, domestic and independent. Familial messages focused on what to expect from partners, who women should be in relationships, messages stressing respect for and from others, messages emphasizing how to prevent negative outcomes of sex and messages warning about consequences of sexual engagement. Findings related to women\u27s HIV/AIDS prevention behavior included responsibility for their own sexual safety, commitment to assessing partner\u27s history, incorrect education regarding sexual safety, and relationship factors affecting condom use. Findings from interviews were used to develop items for the Relationship Expectation Measure (REM), which tested and used as a mediator for Phase Two Hypotheses. Phase Two of the research tested for the association between family process factors, communication and closeness, relationship expectations and sexual health outcomes. Hierchical Linear regression models were used to test associated hypotheses. Findings did not support the association between family process variables, relationship expectations and sexual health outcomes. Findings from this study illuminate the need for further understanding the degree to which different aspects of expectations and familial processes affect women\u27s history of sexual behavior and partner-based expectations. Inconsistencies between what women expect and accept from partners are also discussed

Microplastics in European sea salts – An example of exposure through consumer choice and of interstudy methodological discrepancies

Microplastics are contaminants of emerging concern, not least due to their global presence in marine surface waters. Unsurprisingly, microplastics have been reported in salts harvested from numerous locations. We extracted microplastics from 13 European sea salts through 30% H2O2 digestion and filtration over 5-µm filters. Filters were visually inspected at magnifications to x100. A subsample of potential microplastics was subjected to Raman spectroscopy. Particle mass was estimated, and human dose exposure calculated. After blank corrections, median concentrations were 466 ± 152 microplastics kg-1 ranging from 74 to 1155 items kg-1. Traditionally harvested salts contained fewer microplastics than most industrially harvested ones (t-test, p < 0.01). Approximately 14 µg of microplastics (< 12 particles) may be absorbed by the human body annually, of which a quarter may derive from a consumer choosing sea salt. We reviewed existing studies, showing that targeting different particle sizes and incomplete filtrations hinder interstudy comparison, indicating the importance of method harmonisation for future studies. Excess salt consumption is detrimental to human health; the hazardousness of ingesting microplastics on the other hand has yet to be shown. A portion of microplastics may enter sea salts through production processes rather than source materials

Mechanisms of Family Impact on African American Adolescents\u27 HIV-Related Behavior

A longitudinal model that tested mediating pathways between protective family processes and HIV-related behavior was evaluated with 195 African American youth. Three waves of data were collected when the youth were 13, 15, and 19 years old. Evidence of mediation and temporal priority were assessed for 3 constructs: academic engagement, evaluations of prototypical risk-taking peers, and affiliations with risk-promoting peers. Structural equation modeling indicated that protective family processes assessed during early adolescence were associated with HIV-related behavior during emerging adulthood and that academic engagement, evaluations of prototypical risk-taking peers, and affiliations with risk-promoting peers accounted for this association. Evidence of a specific pathway emerged: protective family processes→academic engagement→negative evaluations of prototypical risk-taking peers→affiliations with risk-promoting peers→HIV-related behavior. Academic engagement also was a direct predictor of HIV-related risk behavior

Is childhood trauma associated with lifetime suicide attempts in women with bulimia nervosa?

The purpose of this study was to explore the association between specific forms of childhood abuse and neglect with lifetime suicide attempts in women with bulimia nervosa (BN)

First Measurement of Monoenergetic Muon Neutrino Charged Current Interactions

We report the first measurement of monoenergetic muon neutrino charged current interactions. MiniBooNE has isolated 236 MeV muon neutrino events originating from charged kaon decay at rest ($K^+ \rightarrow \mu^+ \nu_\mu$) at the NuMI beamline absorber. These signal $\nu_\mu$-carbon events are distinguished from primarily pion decay in flight $\nu_\mu$ and $\overline{\nu}_\mu$ backgrounds produced at the target station and decay pipe using their arrival time and reconstructed muon energy. The significance of the signal observation is at the 3.9$\sigma$ level. The muon kinetic energy, neutrino-nucleus energy transfer ($\omega=E_\nu-E_\mu$), and total cross section for these events is extracted. This result is the first known-energy, weak-interaction-only probe of the nucleus to yield a measurement of $\omega$ using neutrinos, a quantity thus far only accessible through electron scattering.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Molecular and Clinical Analyses of Greig Cephalopolysyndactyly and Pallister-Hall Syndromes: Robust Phenotype Prediction from the Type and Position of GLI3 Mutations

Mutations in the GLI3 zinc-finger transcription factor gene cause Greig cephalopolysyndactyly syndrome (GCPS) and Pallister-Hall syndrome (PHS), which are variable but distinct clinical entities. We hypothesized that GLI3 mutations that predict a truncated functional repressor protein cause PHS and that functional haploinsufficiency of GLI3 causes GCPS. To test these hypotheses, we screened patients with PHS and GCPS for GLI3 mutations. The patient group consisted of 135 individuals: 89 patients with GCPS and 46 patients with PHS. We detected 47 pathological mutations (among 60 probands); when these were combined with previously published mutations, two genotype-phenotype correlations were evident. First, GCPS was caused by many types of alterations, including translocations, large deletions, exonic deletions and duplications, small in-frame deletions, and missense, frameshift/nonsense, and splicing mutations. In contrast, PHS was caused only by frameshift/nonsense and splicing mutations. Second, among the frameshift/nonsense mutations, there was a clear genotype-phenotype correlation. Mutations in the first third of the gene (from open reading frame [ORF] nucleotides [nt] 1–1997) caused GCPS, and mutations in the second third of the gene (from ORF nt 1998–3481) caused primarily PHS. Surprisingly, there were 12 mutations in patients with GCPS in the 3′ third of the gene (after ORF nt 3481), and no patients with PHS had mutations in this region. These results demonstrate a robust correlation of genotype and phenotype for GLI3 mutations and strongly support the hypothesis that these two allelic disorders have distinct modes of pathogenesis

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

Contribution of GATA6 to homeostasis of the human upper pilosebaceous unit and acne pathogenesis

Although acne is the most common human inflammatory skin disease, its pathogenic mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here we show that GATA6, which is expressed in the upper pilosebaceous unit of normal human skin, is down-regulated in acne. GATA6 controls keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation to prevent hyperkeratinisation of the infundibulum, which is the primary pathological event in acne. When overexpressed in immortalised human sebocytes, GATA6 triggers a junctional zone and sebaceous differentiation program whilst limiting lipid production and cell proliferation. It modulates the immunological repertoire of sebocytes, notably by upregulating PD-L1 and IL10. GATA6 expression contributes to the therapeutic effect of retinoic acid, the main treatment for acne. In a human sebaceous organoid model GATA6-mediated down-regulation of the infundibular differentiation program is mediated by induction of TGFβ signalling. We conclude that GATA6 is involved in regulation of the upper pilosebaceous unit and may be an actionable target in the treatment of acne