Influence of Contraception Use on the Reproductive Health of Adolescents and Young Adults

Oral contraceptives (OCs) are often prescribed to adolescents and young adults for the treatment of health problems and to avoid unwanted pregnancies. We hypothesized that the use of OCs, among adolescents and young adults, is associated with a greater likelihood of pregnancy, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), and sexual behaviors that will enhance those problems (i.e., earlier sexual debut and more sexual partners) than adolescents and young adults not using OCs. To test this hypothesis, data from 1,365 adolescents and young adults in the 2011–2013 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) were used to describe the influence of ever use of OCs on ever having sex, sexual debut, multiple sexual partners, STDs, PID, pregnancy, and abortion. A secondary purpose was to evaluate protective factors from unhealthy sexual practices like religiosity, church attendance, and intact families. We found that the “ever use” of OCs by US adolescents and young adults results in a greater likelihood of ever having sex, STDs, PID, pregnancy, and abortion compared with those adolescents and young adults who never used OCs. Furthermore, those adolescents who ever used OCs had significantly more male sexual partners than those who never used OCs, and they also had an earlier sexual debut by almost two years. Conversely, we found that frequent church attendance, identification of the importance of religion, and having an intact family among adolescents were associated with less likelihood of unsafe sexual practices. We concluded that the use of OCs by adolescents and young adults might be considered a health risk. Further research is recommended to confirm these associations. Summary: The purpose of this article was to show the correlation between contraceptive use in adolescents and negative sexual outcomes. We used data from the 2011–2013 NSFG and demonstrated that never married adolescents who used oral hormonal contraception were three times more likely to have an STD, have PID, and to become pregnant, and, surprisingly, ten times more likely of having an abortion compared to noncontracepting adolescents. These are outcomes that contraception is intended to prevent. These data also showed that the contraceptors had significantly more male partners than their contraceptive counterparts. Protective factors such as church attendance and family cohesiveness were associated with a decreased likelihood of sexual activity

A Eutrophication Model of the White River Basin Above Beaver Reservoir in Northwest Arkansas

With national interest focused on man’s ever increasing degradation of the waters in this nation, it is clearly evident that an accurate assessment of all parameters influencing water quality needs to be made. Moreover, nutrient levels and budgets reflecting eutrophication trends are important parameters in the overall factors effecting water quality in lakes and reservoirs. The ability to predict future eutrophication levels will greatly enhance the retardation of the eutrophication process. Through mathematical simulation of this process, eutrophication can be analyzed and intelligent decisions regarding water quality management can be made

Conflict Management Style and Burnout of Missionaries

The study examined modes of conflict resolution present in a sample of missionaries as well as relationships between modes of conflict resolution and demoqraphic characteristics. Additionally, relationships between modes of conflict resolution and burnout were investigated along with the relationships between levels of burnout and sample demographic characteristics. The instruments utilized with the sample of 150 missionaries included an individual data form, the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Management-of-Differences Instrument (the MODE), and the Staff Burnout Scale for Missionary Personnel (SBS-MP), an adaptation of the Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals (SBS-HP) by Jones. The conflict management mode of Avoiding was the most frequently selected mode. Correlational analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to relate modes of conflict resolution to continuous demographic variables. None of the analyses showed significant differences between modes. Chi-square analysis were conducted on the categorical demographic variables in relationship to mode; only the gender variable showed a significant relationship. Females chose the Avoiding mode more than males. ANOVA was calculated using the SBS-MP as the dependent variable and the preferred mode as the independent variable. Results showed no relationship between preferred modes and the SBS-MP. ANOVA was also computed on the categorical demographic variables, and Pearson correlations were calculated for continuous variables. Significant relationships were found between age, years of service and/or candidacy status and burnout scores. Older missionaries had lower stress scores than younger missionaries. Time in candidacy was positively related to stress for missionary candidates. Significant relationships were found between burnout scores and knowledge of conflict management skills and stress management skills. caution should be exercised in interpreting data from the mode scores which are interdependent. The study supports the notion that missionaries predominantly avoid conflict. Lack of knowledge about how to manage conflict and stress correlate positively with higher stress

Diets of Wild Versus Released, and Pen-Raised White-Tailed Deer in Southeastern Louisiana

Twenty pen-raised white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were released into mixed pine-hardwood forest habitat in southeastern Louisiana to compare their seasonal diets to the diets of the wild white-tailed deer population. Microhistological analysis was used to estimate the botanical composition of fecal pellet samples collected from both populations of deer over four consecutive seasons. Wild and pen-raised deer diets were found to be an average of 75.18% similar during the entire year of the study, and were significantly associated during all seasons (P \u3c 0.001), indicating that all deer foraged on similar plant taxa in similar proportions regardless of season. Both populations of deer were found to be predominantly browsers during all seasons, with browse and fruit accounting for a yearly average of \u3e55% of deer diets. Results from this study indicate that rehabilitated or translocated deer released into new environments will forage as efficiently as their wild counterparts

Nomad, a naval message understanding system

We are building systems to automatically analyze Navy messages. Such messages typically are terse and use many abbreviations and Navy jargon. As a result, they are more difficult to understand than everyday English.The NOMAD system interacts with a message sender to ensure that only unambiguous and reasonably correct messages are generated. The VOX system will allow a human tutor to interactively extend the knowledge base of NOMAD

Increased Rates of Prolonged Length of Stay, Readmissions, and Discharge to Care Facilities among Postoperative Patients with Disseminated Malignancy: Implications for Clinical Practice.

BackgroundThe impact of surgery on end of life care for patients with disseminated malignancy (DMa) is incompletely characterized. The purpose of this study was to evaluate postoperative outcomes impacting quality of care among DMa patients, specifically prolonged length of hospital stay, readmission, and disposition.MethodsThe American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database was queried for years 2011-2012. DMa patients were matched to non-DMa patients with comparable clinical characteristics and operation types. Primary hepatic operations were excluded, leaving a final cohort of 17,972 DMa patients. The primary outcomes were analyzed using multivariate Cox regression models.ResultsDMa patients represented 2.1% of all ACS-NSQIP procedures during the study period. The most frequent operations were bowel resections (25.3%). Compared to non-DMa matched controls, DMa patients had higher rates of postoperative overall morbidity (24.4% vs. 18.7%, p<0.001), serious morbidity (14.9% vs. 12.0%, p<0.001), mortality (7.6% vs. 2.5%, p<0.001), prolonged length of stay (32.2% vs. 19.8%, p<0.001), readmission (15.7% vs. 9.6%, p<0.001), and discharges to facilities (16.2% vs. 12.9%, p<0.001). Subgroup analyses of patients by procedure type showed similar results. Importantly, DMa patients who did not experience any postoperative complication experienced significantly higher rates of prolonged length of stay (23.0% vs. 11.8%, p<0.001), readmissions (10.0% vs. 5.2%, p<0.001), discharges to a facility (13.2% vs. 9.5%, p<0.001), and 30-day mortality (4.7% vs. 0.8%, p<0.001) compared to matched non-DMa patients.ConclusionSurgical interventions among DMa patients are associated with poorer postoperative outcomes including greater postoperative complications, prolonged length of hospital stay, readmissions, disposition to facilities, and death compared to non-DMa patients. These data reinforce the importance of clarifying goals of care for DMa patients, especially when acute changes in health status potentially requiring surgery occur

Influence of Current Contraceptive Use on the Abortion and Sexually Transmitted Disease Rates among Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States

Hormonal and other types of contraceptive methods are often prescribed to adolescents and young adults for the treatment of health problems and to avoid unwanted pregnancies. We hypothesized that there is a greater likelihood of pregnancy, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and sexual behaviors that enhance such problems (e.g., earlier sexual debut and multiple sex partners) for single adolescents and young adults currently using contraception than for adolescents and young adults not using contraception. To test this hypothesis, we used data from 1,365 adolescents and young adults in the 2011-2013 National Survey of Family Growth to describe the influence of current use of contraception on sexual debut, multiple sex partners, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and abortion. We found that current use of contraception by adolescents and young adults in the U.S. results in a greater likelihood of pregnancy, abortion, and sexually transmitted diseases compared with the rates for those adolescents and young adults who never used oral contraceptives. Furthermore, those adolescents who currently use oral contraceptives had significantly more male sexual partners than those who never used them and an earlier sexual debut by almost five years. We concluded that the use of oral contraceptives by adolescents and young adults facilitates higher risk sexual behaviors. Further research is recommended to confirm these associations