Development of conformal coating materials

New polymeric compositions appear useful as coatings on electronic circuitry operating in rigorous environments. Formulation of their compositions is based on nitrosofluorocarbon polymers having active cure sites

Delivering the Full Message: Brief #1 from Enhancing Teen Health and Well-Being

Despite major strides in getting the message to teenage boys about AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and in teaching them how to say no to sex and to use birth control, gaps persist in boys' education and understanding of reproductive health. Most formal sex and reproductive health education takes place in school, which means dropouts sometimes miss out on this instruction. Efforts are needed to reduce gaps in instruction by race, gender, and school attendance

Involving Males in Preventing Teen Pregnancy

Preventing teenagers from having unplanned pregnancies is an important goal that has been pursued since the 1970s, when births to teenagers were first diagnosed as a major social problem. Much has been learned about the types of interventions that work and do not work (Kirby, 1997; Moore et al., 1995; Frost and Forrest, 1995; Miller and Paikoff, 1992). A glaring gap, however, is the lack of systematic information about how males could and should participate in pregnancy prevention efforts. This guide begins to fill that void by pulling together -- from data on programs around the country -- what is currently known about male reproductive behavior and programs designed to influence this behavior

Anemia among Adolescent and Young Women in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries

Objective: Anemia is a global public health problem that affects maternal and infant mortality as well as human capital  development.  Yet  there  is  not  much  research  on  anemia  among  young  women  in  low-and-middle-income  countries with nationally representative samples. The aim of the current research is to assess the extent of anemia in a critical age group: adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 24. Methods: The data are from 34 Demographic and Health Surveys and are used to describe the prevalence of anemia among pregnant and non-pregnant women by age, rural/urban residence, and household wealth. Anemia was assessed using the HemoCue® blood hemoglobin testing system.   Findings: The  prevalence  of  anemia  among  young  women  ranges  from  15%  to  over  50%.  This  is  substantially  higher  than 5%, which is the cutoff to identify a population where anemia is a public health problem. African countries show the highest prevalence of anemia; Benin, Ghana and Mali have over 60% anemia prevalence. Moreover, the prevalence of moderate to severe anemia is particularly high in African countries, over 20% in Ghana and Guinea. Our results show that anemia is a public health concern for adolescents and young adult females in all 34 countries we analyzed. Conclusion: The high prevalence of anemia among youth is alarming. Considering the importance of the adolescent and young adult years, when human capital development is consolidated and family formation begins, these findings call for interventions to redress the problem of anemia

Masculine Beliefs, Parental Communication, and Male Adolescents' Health Care Use

Male adolescents frequently become disconnected from health care, especially as they get older, which limits physicians’ abilities to address their health needs and results in missed opportunities to connect them to the health care system as they enter adulthood. In this study we tested the ability of modifiable (beliefs about masculinity, parental communication, sex education, and health insurance) and nonmodifiable (age, race/ethnicity, and region of residence) factors to prospectively predict health care use by male adolescents

Engaging fathers in child welfare services: a narrative review of recent research evidence

It is widely recognized as problematic that there are generally low levels of engagement with child welfare services from biological and social fathers. The result can be limited resources for children's care and potentially poor risk assessment and management. This paper reviews the published research from 2000 to 2010 about the barriers to and facilitators of better father engagement, as well as the very limited evidence on the effectiveness of work with maltreating fathers. There is relatively little known about what works in engaging men, but there are some promising indicators from family support and child protection practice contexts. These include early identification and early involvement of fathers; a proactive approach, including an insistence on men's involvement with services; and the use of practical activities. In the light of what is known about the characteristics of maltreating fathers, there is a logical fit with cognitive‐behavioural approaches. Although there is no direct evidence of the effectiveness of motivational interviewing in this context, its effectiveness in allied fields of practice would suggest that it may hold some promise for the initial engagement of fathers who pose a risk to children.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90556/1/j.1365-2206.2012.00827.x.pd

Pathways of Early Fatherhood, Marriage, and Employment: A Latent Class Growth Analysis

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13524-011-0022-

“Swapping” Families: Serial Parenting and Economic Support for Children

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71408/1/j.1741-3737.2000.00111.x.pd