Handel's fixed point theorem revisited

Michael Handel proved in [7] the existence of a fixed point for an orientation preserving homeomorphism of the open unit disk that can be extended to the closed disk, provided that it has points whose orbits form an oriented cycle of links at infinity. Later, Patrice Le Calvez gave a different proof of this theorem based only on Brouwer theory and plane topology arguments [9]. These methods permitted to improve the result by proving the existence of a simple closed curve of index 1. We give a new, simpler proof of this improved version of the theorem and generalize it to non-oriented cycles of links at infinityComment: Ergodic Theory and Dynamical Systems, Available on CJO 201

"We're like the sex CPR dummies": Negotiating (hetero)sex in a university residential setting

Moving from high school and the family home to living in a communal university residence can be a significant transition, especially in regard to sexual activity and knowledge. The influence of variable sexuality education programmes, family context, and personal experiences, means that young students come to university with a wide range of sexual knowledge and experiences. The purpose of this thesis is to represent the current narratives about sexuality and heterosex that are both prevalent and important for university students living in the residential community setting. This research utilised a qualitative approach, with participants who were living in a University of Waikato Halls of Residence taking part in a men-only, or a women-only, focus group. Semi-structured group interviews were also conducted with key informants who work and live in residential halls. Multiple themes were explicated from the focus groups and group interviews, with some discourses overlapping groups (e.g. all groups discussed contraception) and some discourses being distinct to particular groups (e.g. women talked about sexual coercion). One key finding was the dominant narratives that impact young women’s sexual pleasure. Following on from this were the ramifications of the sexual double standard for young women when living in a community setting. An additional key point of attention was the prominence of problematic sexual narratives when transitioning to the ‘adulthood’ of living in university halls. While participants were primarily happy with residential halls, information was shared regarding how residential staff can impact on student living and contentment. Above all, it seemed that the year in residential halls appeared to be a year of liminality, or transition between ‘youth’ and ‘adult’. The findings from this research suggest a need for further investigation into sexuality discourses that profoundly impact young women and men, as well as the novel experiences of residential living

America's Complex Relationship With Guns: An In-depth Look at the Atttitudes and Experiences of U.S. Adults

A new Pew Research Center survey attempts to better understand the complex relationship Americans have with guns and how that relationship intersects with their policy views.The survey finds that Americans have broad exposure to guns, whether they personally own one or not. At least two-thirds have lived in a household with a gun at some point in their lives. And roughly seven-in-ten – including 55% of those who have never personally owned a gun – say they have fired a gun at some point. Today, three-in-ten U.S. adults say they own a gun, and an additional 36% say that while they don't own one now, they might be open to owning a gun in the future. A third of adults say they don't currently own a gun and can't see themselves ever doing so.To be sure, experiences with guns aren't always positive: 44% of U.S. adults say they personally know someone who has been shot, either accidentally or intentionally, and about a quarter (23%) say they or someone in their family have been threatened or intimidated by someone using a gun. Half see gun violence as a very big problem in the U.S. today, although gun owners and non-owners offer divergent views on this.Gun owners and non-owners are also deeply divided on several gun policy proposals, but there is agreement on some restrictions, such as preventing those with mental illnesses and those on federal watch lists from buying guns. Among gun owners, there is a diversity of views on gun policy, driven in large part by party affiliation.The nationally representative survey of 3,930 U.S. adults, including 1,269 gun owners, was conducted March 13 to 27 and April 4 to 18, 2017, using the Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel

Evaluation of the Critical Aspects of Sex Education Programs for the Improvement of Student Health and Wellbeing

Sex education plays a critical role in the development of youth sexual health and wellbeing. An ideal program is taught with honesty in an inclusive and respectful environment where students learn strategies to lower their risk of unwanted sexual outcomes, communication skills to build and navigate relationships, and necessary knowledge to recognize and seek help for sexual violence or abusive relationships. Programs need to be inclusive of and respectful to people of all gender and sexual identities and be tailored to best meet the needs of students in each community, particularly students most vulnerable to poor sexual health outcomes. By these standards and experimental evidence, programs that discuss only abstinence for risk prevention are inadequate for the educational needs of teens and young adults. Many HIV and pregnancy-prevention programs are effective at reducing unwanted sexual health outcomes but comprehensive programs that stress responsible sexual behaviors and risk prevention better meet the needs of young people and are most appropriate in high school health education. For implementation of good programs, legislation and funding policies must support them, otherwise, as shown in many US states, students are especially vulnerable to poor sexual health outcomes like high teen pregnancy and HIV infection rates

A formative evaluation of the Sistema Waikato programme: A technical report prepared for the Hamilton City Council and Sistema Waikato Steering Group

Sistema Waikato launched at Nawton Primary School in July 2015 and involved children from four West Hamilton schools (Rhode St Primary, Nawton Primary, Crawshaw, and Forest Lake). The intention of using music as a tool for positively transforming the lives of participating children, their families and wider communities was at the heart of its inception. Ann Shaffer and Rupert D’Cruze from the Hamilton Community Centre of Music approached Dr. Bridgette Masters-Awatere at the University of Waikato to conduct a formative evaluation of Sistema Waikato just prior to its launch. Under the supervision of Bridgette Masters-Awatere two students Juliana Brown and Makarita Tangitu-Joseph were given the opportunity to be a part of the research team and conduct the qualitative evaluation. The evaluation drew upon multiple methods: Survey, interview, photo voice, focus-group interviews and observations

Minhocas exóticas como indicadoras de perturbação antrópica em áreas de floresta atlântica.

No presente trabalho verificou-se o efeito de perturbação antrópica na incidência de minhocas exóticas e nativas ativas na superfície do solo de uma área de Floresta Atlântica do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Os oligoquetos foram amostrados usando armadilhas de queda (pitfall) em duas áreas, uma onde houve corte raso e queima, e outra onde houve corte seletivo de espécies lenhosas. A maior parte dos indivíduos (91,4%) foi amostrada na área onde houve corte raso e queima, e todos eram espécies exóticas (Amynthas sp., A. gracilis, A. corticis) ou peregrinas (Pontoscolex corethrurus). O contraste no número de indivíduos entre as duas áreas sugere que a perturbação antrópica influencia a atividade superficial e a abundância das espécies exóticas de minhocas e que estas apresentam potencial de uso como indicadores biológicos

A comparison of cut points for measuring risk factors for adolescent substance use and antisocial behaviors in the U.S. and Colombia

As the identification and targeting of salient risk factors for adolescent substance use become more widely used globally, an essential question arises as to whether U.S.-based cut points in the distributions of these risk factors that identify high risk can be used validly in other countries as well. This study examined proportions of youth at high risk using different empirically derived cut points in the distributions of 18 measured risk factors. Data were obtained from large-scale samples of adolescents in Colombia and the United States. Results indicated that significant (p \u3c 0.05) differences in the proportions of high risk youth were found in 38.9% of risk factors for 6th graders, 61.1% for 8th graders, and 66.6% for 10th graders. Colombian-based cut points for determining the proportion of Colombian youth at high risk were preferable to U.S.-based cut points in almost all comparisons that exhibited a significant difference. Our findings suggest that observed differences were related to the type of risk factor (e.g., drug specific vs. non-drug specific). Findings from this study demonstrate the need for collecting large-scale national data on risk factors for adolescent substance use and developing country-specific cut points based on the distributions of these measures to avoid misidentification of youth at high risk

Evolution of a key enzyme of aerobic metabolism reveals Proterozoic functional subunit duplication events and an ancient origin of animals

The biological toolkits for aerobic respiration were critical for the rise and diversification of early animals. Aerobic life forms generate ATP through the oxidation of organic molecules in a process known as Krebs’ Cycle, where the enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) regulates the cycle's turnover rate. Evolutionary reconstructions and molecular dating of proteins related to oxidative metabolism, such as IDH, can therefore provide an estimate of when the diversification of major taxa occurred, and their coevolution with the oxidative state of oceans and atmosphere. To establish the evolutionary history and divergence time of NAD-dependent IDH, we examined transcriptomic data from 195 eukaryotes (mostly animals). We demonstrate that two duplication events occurred in the evolutionary history of NAD-IDH, one in the ancestor of eukaryotes approximately at 1967 Ma, and another at 1629 Ma, both in the Paleoproterozoic Era. Moreover, NAD-IDH regulatory subunits β and γ are exclusive to metazoans, arising in the Mesoproterozoic. Our results therefore support the concept of an ‘‘earlier-than-Tonian’’ diversification of eukaryotes and the pre-Cryogenian emergence of a metazoan IDH enzyme