What Works for Adolescent Reproductive Health: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions

This Child Trends fact sheet reviews evaluated programs that focus on adolescent reproductive health. Among the findings: Many different types of programs have been shown to positively affect reproductive health outcomes. Not only school- and community-based sex education programs, but also clinic-based programs, youth development programs, service-learning programs, early childhood programs, and programs for young mothers have been found to be effective. Comprehensive sex education can improve adolescent reproductive health. Of the 21 comprehensive sex education programs that have been experimentally evaluated, 11 had a significant positive impact on the behavior of the youth studied or important subgroups of the sample. No abstinence-only interventions have yet been shown to positively affect any behavioral outcomes. Six abstinence-only interventions have had their impacts on behavioral outcomes experimentally evaluated. None has had an impact on initiation of sexual intercourse, frequency of sexual activity, number of sexual partners, use of condoms, use of contraceptives, pregnancies, births, or STD contraction. None of these six abstinence-only interventions have been shown to negatively affect any behavioral outcomes, either. In particular, in spite of their exclusive focus on abstinence, none have served to significantly decrease condom or contraceptive use. The fact sheet includes a table that shows whether the evaluated programs were found to work, not proven to work, or had mixed findings

State of Epidemiological Evidence for the Health Impacts of Ultrafine Particles

There has been increasing interest in the effect of ultrafine particles (UFP) on human cardiovascular and respiratory health. The adverse health impacts due to particle exposure are currently attributed to the mass concentration or the chemical composition of particles smaller than 10 μm (PM10) or 2.5 μm (PM2.5) in diameter. However, it has been hypothesised that it is actually UFP (< 0.1 μm) measured in terms of number concentration, as opposed to mass concentration, that might be responsible for the observed health effects. This paper presents the results of a critical literature review aimed at analysing the current state of epidemiological evidence for the effects of UFP on human health. In summary, the array of epidemiological studies conducted thus far suggests that UFP exposure is associated with human mortality, and respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity. This holds true despite the considerable gaps in knowledge that remain, and despite the inconsistencies found between some studies, resulting from some deficiencies in the study designs. The limited number of epidemiological studies conducted thus far indicates that there are comparable health effects of fine and ultrafine particles, which appear to be independent of each other. Fine particles show more immediate effects whilst ultrafine particles show more delayed effects on mortality. However, at present the database is too limited (in terms of both number of studies and number of subjects) and geographically restricted, to allow clear conclusions on the mode of action and/or generalisation to other settings. Consequently, it is recommended that further, better-designed studies be initiated to improve the understanding of health impacts of UFP

The effect of induced charges on low-energy particle trajectories near conducting and semiconducting plates

The effect of the induced charge was found on particles less than 1 eV as they passed through simulated parallel, grounded channels that are comparable in dimension to those that are presently in space plasma instruments which measure the flux of low-energy ions. Applications were made to both conducting and semiconducting channels that ranged in length from 0.1 to 50 mm and in aspect ratio from 1 to 100. The effect of the induced charge on particle trajectories from simple straight lines. Several configurations of channel aspect ratio and detector locations are considered. The effect is important only at very low energies with small dimensions

Art as environment

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A Comparison of Methods to Fit a Model to Simultaneous Time Series

This research project determines which methods are the most effective for finding a best fit model for simultaneous time series. The type of model used was an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model. Two distinct methods were used when determining what order to assign to the ARIMA model: 1.) using the floor of the average number of autoregressive and moving average terms, and 2.) using the ceiling of the average number of autoregressive and moving average terms. After fitting the model, the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) value for each method measured the goodness of fit to compare to fitting separate models to each series. Based on the results of this research the most effective method depends on the type of data that is being fitted. In most of the different cases explored, the floor function method and the ceiling function method had very similar results. However, for two specific cases the ceiling function was the more effective method. Therefore, it is important to consider the characteristics of the data that is being fitted to determine the most effective method

Exploring The New Urbanist Legacy In Cornell, Markham

This research paper examines how the principles of New Urbanism were incorporated into the planning and design of the Cornell community in Markham, Ontario. Master Planned as a multi-phase development in the 1990s by some of New Urbanism's biggest proponents - Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Cornell was intentionally designed around the principles identified in the Charter of the New Urbanism (2000). Through a detailed study of the various literature on New Urbanism in Canada and the United States, this paper identifies some of the important principles of New Urbanism and explores how the principles were incorporated into the policies, design guidelines, and other planning documents that directed the development of Cornell. This research paper finds that some principles and design elements of New Urbanism were successfully implemented in Cornell (i.e., walkable streets and diverse and affordable housing options), while others were not (i.e., mixed-use). Based on a review of critical literature on New Urbanism, personal observations, and interviews, this research paper finds that the New Urbanist vision for Cornell was generally realized. Although adaptations have been made to recent plans and design guidelines to reflect current and future planning challenges, the New Urbanist framework remains relevant in guiding the future development of Cornell

IGCR1 is a novel cell-surface molecule

Tumor angiogenesis, the ability of tumor cells to stimulate blood vessel growth, is one the most critical steps of tumor progression. To support the growth of the expanding tumor, the “angiogenic switch” is turned on, which is often triggered by hypoxia (i.e., low oxygen)-mediated events such as expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), causing normally quiescent endothelial cells to proliferate and sprout. An emerging picture of angiogenesis suggests that while governed by complex mechanisms, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) plays a pivotal role in the regulation of angiogenesis. Our laboratory recently identified multiple previously unknown proteins including, transmembrane and immunoglobulin domain containing 1 (TMIGD1) and immunoglobulin-containing and proline-rich receptor 1 (IGPR1). Immunoglobulin-containing and cysteine-rich receptor 1 (IGCR1) represents the third remember of IGPR-1 family proteins. To investigate the expression and function of IGCR1, we have developed a rabbit polyclonal anti-IGCR1 antibody and demonstrated that IGCR1 is expressed in the endothelial cells of human blood vessels. To examine possible function of IGCR1, we have generated porcine aortic endothelial (PAE) cells over-expressing IGCR1. We demonstrate that IGCR1 expression in PAE cells inhibited cell proliferation and capillary tube formation as measured by colorimetric MTT and matrigel tube formation assays, respectively. In contrast, over-expression of IGCR1 in PAE cells inhibited cell migration as measured by wounding assay. Taken together, this study identifies IGCR1 as a novel regulator of angiogenesis. Given, angiogenesis is a highly coordinated cellular processes controlled spatially and temporally by a myriad of cell surface receptors and ligands, IGCR1 by modulating the rate of endothelial cell proliferation and migration, plays a significant role in the formation of blood vessels.2018-07-11T00:00:00

Effects of Obesity in Elementary School Children after No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

Ever since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation became adopted into our school system, students’ physical health has suffered. Recently, the number of unhealthy children has grown. One in three children are classified as overweight or obese. This senior capstone project demonstrates the causes and effects of such an issue in regards to both physical education and nutritional education in elementary schools in the tri-county areas of Monterey, Salinas, and Santa Clara counties. The results from twenty-seven survey results and one interview suggest that most teachers feel that there is a need for daily physical education and nutritional education should be taught more despite the pressure from testing