Beyond the Birds and the Bees: Sex Education and its Impact on Communication, Self-Efficacy, and Relationships.

Because rates of sexual activity increase significantly during adolescence, young people are at an especially high risk for negative sexual health outcomes, including sexually transmitted infection (STI) transmission, early pregnancy, and sexual violence. Current research reveals the effectiveness of comprehensive sex education (CSE) programs in combatting these outcomes, with students who participate in CSE reporting having better knowledge and feeling more prepared to face important decisions regarding their health. Research also shows that knowledge of sexual health resources impacts self-efficacy and benefits overall sexual health, with sexual resourcefulness showing direct ties to learned resourcefulness and sexual self-efficacy. The present study looks at how an individual’s sex education experience (for example, topics discussed, depth of discussion) may impact their ability to communicate their sexual health needs and their willingness to access resources. In addition, this study aims to understand the link between sex education experience and relationship satisfaction later in life, a phenomenon which very few existing studies address. Our findings showed significant positive relationships and differences in communication comfort, self-efficacy, and relationship satisfaction such that people who perceived their sex education experiences to be more inclusive also demonstrated higher scores in the aforementioned areas of focus

Imagínate el terror : Diseño de una secuencia didáctica para la producción escrita de cuentos góticos

El propósito de esta investigación cualitativa de tipo descriptiva es presentar el diseño de una secuencia didáctica con el fin de fortalecer la producción textual, basada en la producción de textos narrativos a través de la estimulación de cuentos góticos, en estudiantes de grado 7°, donde se evidencie a importancia de ir más allá del simple hecho de escribir, es cargar un texto de intencionalidad y sentimientos, siguiendo adecuadamente las reglas y estructuras de la escritura. Enmarcados en la didáctica de la lengua se trabajará desde la perspectiva teórica de Anna Camps, cuyo objetivo fundamental es mejorar estos procesos de escritura, a partir de la implementación de la estrategia didáctica. Para desarrollar esta secuencia didáctica se tiene en cuenta el problema de investigación que tiene la intención de profundizar a partir de teorías y experiencias previas en el ámbito escolar de los estudiantes, donde se identifica que el escritor no tiene las estrategias necesarias para producir un texto coherente y representativo, que por el contrario carece de léxico, ortografía, coherencia, cohesión y argumentación entre otros. En este caso en la valoración de los procesos de la producción escrita que se realizan hace presencia con fuertes implicaciones en la forma de concebir y resaltar la importancia de la escritura como proceso comunicativo, y es a través de la forma de cómo están estructurados los lineamientos curriculares; los cuales se unen en la tarea del Ministerio de Educación Nacional (MEN), para establecer unos referentes comunes del nivel educativo que tienen derecho los niños, niñas y jóvenes en la búsqueda de la calidad en todo el sistema educativo

Psychometric Properties of Indonesian Version of Teacher Classroom Management Efficacy Scale

Teacher self-efficacy (TSE) in classroom management is an important predictor of teaching practice, but there are limited studies on the application in Asian countries, particularly Indonesia. Therefore, this study aimed to describe psychometric properties of Classroom Management Efficacy scale in Indonesian version. Psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated using a total of 582 Indonesian teachers, who served as participants. The results supported a bifactor model with high internal consistency, showing that the scale could be psychometrically sound measure of TSE in classroom management in Indonesian version

A Descriptive Analysis of Twitter Followership of the Major Political Parties in Nigeria

The role of twitter as one of the most popular social media application for organisations and political parties has been recognized by various scholars. Twitter has been used by parties as a means of sharing information and manifestoes, and also interacting with their followers online. The study was about how the Twitter followership of major political parties in Nigeria has changed since the 2015 elections. The major political parties for this study were the All Progressive Congress, APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. An internet research was carried out using the Twitter platforms for the APC and PDP. The research showed that for APC, their growth from 2014 to 2015 was “fairly significant” from 49 followers in 2014 to 244 followers in 2015, while the PDP recorded a “very significant” growth  from 5839 in 2014 to 79,516 in 2015. Even though the result showed that the APC recorded a growth on Twitter, they are significantly lagging behind on the follower count as their aggregate Twitter followers are less than the number of voters that make up a polling unit in Nigeria.  The surprising fact here is that APC defeated the PDP in the Nigerian presidential election of 2015 by over 3 million votes, yet is trailing the PDP on Twitter, we then have to ask if Nigerian voters have apathy for Twitter? It is recommended that further studies be carried out to ascertain what motivates political parties in Nigeria to use Twitter if as this research has shown there is no correlation between Twitter use and earned votes. Keywords: Twitter, Social Media, Political Parties, APC, PDP, Nigeria

In vitro evaluation of the erosive potential of orange juice modified by food additives in enamel and dentine

AbstractObjectivesTo evaluate the erosive potential of orange juice modified by food additives in enamel and dentine.MethodsCalcium lactate pentahydrate (CLP), xanthan gum (XG), sodium linear polyphosphate (LPP), sodium pyrophosphate tetrabasic (PP), sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) and some of their combinations were added to an orange juice. Pure orange juice and a calcium-modified juice were used as negative (C−) and positive (C+) controls, respectively. In phase 1, 15 modified orange juices were tested for erosive potential using pH-stat analysis. In phase 2, the additives alone and the combination with good results in phase 1 and in previous studies (CLP+LPP) were tested in an erosion–remineralization cycling model. In phase 3, the erosion and remineralization episodes were studied independently. Enamel was analysed by surface microhardness (SMH) and profilometry, whilst dentine by profilometry.ResultsIn phase 1, reduction of the erosive potential was observed for all additives and their combinations, except XG alone. In phase 2, no detectable enamel loss was observed when CLP, LPP and CLP+LPP were added to the juice. XG, STP and PP had enamel loss similar to C− (p>0.05). Amongst additives, the combination CLP+LPP showed the highest SMH values followed by CLP (p<0.05). All the other groups presented SMH values similar to C− (p>0.05). For dentine, only CLP+LPP lead to surface loss values lower than C− (p<0.05). In phase 3, CLP, LPP and CLP+LPP seemed to protect against erosion; whilst none of the tested compounds seemed to interfere with the remineralization process.ConclusionsCLP and LPP reduced erosion on enamel and this effect was enhanced by their combination. For dentine, only the combination CLP+LPP reduced erosion

Efficacy and Safety of iGlarLixi, Fixed-Ratio Combination of Insulin Glargine and Lixisenatide, Compared with Basal-Bolus Regimen in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: Propensity Score Matched Analysis

INTRODUCTION: Basal-bolus (BB) regimens are generally used to intensify basal insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) not meeting glycemic targets. However, drawbacks include multiple injection burden and risk of weight gain and hypoglycemia. A once-daily titratable fixed-ratio combination of insulin glargine 100 U/mL and lixisenatide (iGlarLixi) may provide a simple, well-tolerated, and efficacious alternative. We compared these treatments in a post hoc propensity score matched analysis using randomized trial data. METHODS: From the LixiLan-L study, 195 patients who had been randomized to iGlarLixi were matched for age, sex, race, T2D duration, baseline body mass index, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose, insulin dose, and metformin use to 195 patients who had been randomized to a BB regimen in the GetGoal Duo-2 trial. RESULTS: At study end, estimated treatment differences for reduction in HbA1c and weight change, and ratio of hypoglycemia events per patient-year (BB vs iGlarLixi) were − 0.28% (standard error 0.08, P = 0.0002), − 1.32 kg (standard error 0.30, P < 0.0001), and 2.85 (P < 0.0001), respectively, all favoring iGlarLixi over BB. Also, proportions of patients reaching individual and composite goals (HbA1c < 7% [< 53 mmol/mol], no weight gain, and no hypoglycemia) were higher in the iGlarLixi compared with the BB treatment group. Gastrointestinal side effects were more common with iGlarLixi. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with T2D inadequately controlled on basal insulin, iGlarLixi offers an effective alternative to BB regimen for reducing HbA1c, without increased risk of hypoglycemia and weight gain. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02058160 (LixiLan-L trial); NCT01768559 (GetGoal Duo-2 trial)

Confirmation of QTL that Underlie Resistance to Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome using NILs and SNPs

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) cultivars differ in their resistance to sudden death syndrome (SDS), caused by Fusarium virguliforme (Aoki). Breeding for improving SDS response has been challenging, due to the large number of known resistance loci (more than 43) and interactions among them. The aims here were to compare the inheritance of resistance to SDS in a near isogenic line (NIL) population that was fixed for 91.5% of the genome but appeared to segregated at loci underlying partial resistance to SDS; to examine the interaction with the loci; and to identify regions containing candidate genes underlying QTL. Used were; a NIL population derived from residual heterozygosity in an F5:9 recombinant inbred line EF60 (lines 1-40). The SDS disease index (DX) data were from two locations but two different years. There were 4 of 400 microsatellite and 456 of 5,361 SNP markers tested that were polymorphic (8-10%). The SNPs clustered into 23 genomic regions. Significantly associated with resistance to SDS (0.005 \u3c P \u3e 0.0001) were regions from 2,788 Kbp to 8,938 Kbp on chromosome (Chr.) 18 and 33,100 Kbp to 34,943 Kbp on Chr. 20. The marker to trait association values suggested that the two closely linked loci on Chr. 18 were really three loci (cqRfs1, cqRfs, and now Rfs19). They were clustered within 20 cM of the rhg1 locus underlying resistance to soybean cyst nematode (SCN; HgType 7). An epistatic interaction between the Chr18 loci and the Chr 20 locus were inferred. Therefore, QTL for resistance to SDS were shown to be both internally complex and interacting

Developmental trends of hot and cool executive function in school aged children with and without autism spectrum disorder: links with theory of mind

The development of executive function (EF) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been investigated using only “cool”-cognitive- EF tasks while there is limited knowledge regarding the development of “hot”-affective- EF. Although cool EF development and its links to theory of mind (ToM) have been widely examined, understanding of the influence of hot EF to ToM mechanisms is minimal. The present study introduced a longitudinal design to examine the developmental changes in cool and hot EF of children with ASD (n=45) and matched (to age and IQ) controls (n=37) as well as the impact of EF on ToM development over a school year. For children with ASD, although selective cool (working memory, inhibition) and hot (affective decision making) EF domains presented age-related improvements, they never reached the performance level of the control group. Early cool working memory predicted later ToM in both groups but early hot delay discounting predicted later ToM only in the ASD group. No evidence was found for the reverse pattern (early ToM predicting later EF). These findings suggest that improvements in some EF aspects are evident in school age in ASD and highlight the crucial role both cool and hot EF play in ToM development

A Youth-Leader Program in Baltimore City Recreation Centers: Lessons Learned and Applications

Peer-led interventions may be an effective means of addressing the childhood obesity epidemichowever, few studies have looked at the long-term sustainability of such programs. As part of a multilevel obesity prevention intervention, B'More Healthy Communities for Kids, 16 Baltimore college students were trained as youth-leaders (YLs) to deliver a skill-based nutrition curriculum to low-income African American children (10-14 years old). In April 2015, formative research was used to inform sustainability of the YL program in recreation centers. In-depth interviews were conducted with recreation center directors (n = 4) and the YLs (n = 16). Two focus groups were conducted with YLs (n = 7) and community youth-advocates (n = 10). Barriers to this program included difficulties with transportation, time constraints, and recruiting youth. Lessons learned indicated that improving trainings and incentives to youth were identified as essential strategies to foster continuity of the youth-led program and capacity building. High school students living close to the centers were identified as potential candidates to lead the program. Based on our findings, the initial intervention will be expanded into a sustainable model for implementation, using a train-the-trainer approach to empower community youth to be change agents of the food environment and role models.Johns Hopkins Urban Health InstituteGlobal Obesity Prevention Center at Johns HopkinsEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentOffice of the Director, National Institutes of Health [U54HD070725]646 CNPq [GDE: 249316/2013-7]Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Sch Publ Hlth, Baltimore, MD USAUniv Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Santos, SP, BrazilDept Recreat & Pk City Baltimore, Baltimore, MD USAUniv Maryland Extens, Ellicott City, MD USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Santos, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc