Exploring Factors that Limit Contraception Use Among Adolescent Girls Aged 15-19 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

While effective and affordable contraceptive methods have been developed over past decades, the unmet need for contraception among girls and women remains high across the globe. Many factors contribute to this unmet need globally, including lack of access to contraception, gender norms, religious or cultural restrictions, fear of side-effects, and provider bias. Rates of unmet need for contraception are higher in the Philippines than the global average among all demographic groups, but they are the highest among unmarried adolescents aged 15- 19. This age group represents the population most in need of contraception and, as such, they are left overwhelmingly unprotected from unwanted pregnancy. Despite this knowledge, there is a gap in the current literature specific to the unique political and religious context of the Philippines about factors responsible for limiting contraception use among the key population of adolescent girls. Thus, this research proposal offers a qualitative approach to exploring the barriers that girls themselves report to face when accessing contraception, as well as the barriers that healthcare providers and educators observe. Additionally, the proposed research aims to better understand the role of sexual education in increasing contraception use among the population. Ultimately, the proposed study seeks to give a voice to an often marginalized and underrepresented group and advance the current knowledge of factors that influence a girl’s ability to access contraception

Students’ Perceived Barriers, Benefits & International Programmatic Preferences

Study abroad experiences can change college students by contributing to their development of self-awareness, communication skills, and ability to navigate the unknown. The objective of this study was to determine students’ perceived barriers, benefits, and preferences for international programs (IP). Undergraduate students in large-enrollment, required courses by major, and all freshman orientation undergraduate courses in Bumpers College were targeted and all grade classifications were represented (n = 672). Based on a five-point Likert-type scale (1 = completely disagree to 5 = completely agree), students reported “cost is too high” (M = 3.93, SD = 1.00) and being “too busy with school” (M = 3.54, SD = 1.10) as the barriers keeping them from participating in an IP. Using the same Likert-scale, students reported “socially/culturally learn more about a host country” (M = 4.61, SD = 0.67) and “life-changing opportunity” (M = 4.60, SD = 0.66) as the most influencing benefits. Students were most interested in short-term, faculty-led programs (n = 234, 27.2%) with a length of two to three weeks (n = 224, 30.7%) during summer session I (n = 307, 39.4%). Students reported they would like to learn more information about future IPs through email (n = 278, 34.8%), classroom visits (n = 111, 13.9%), and their academic advisors (n = 108, 13.5%). Assessing student’s barriers, benefits, and preferences for IPs will guide Bumpers College program development. It is important to focus IP efforts on students’ needs and interests, while also providing meaningful, engaged learning in all environments

Writing for the Humanities and the Arts

This is the syllabus, course calendar, and grading contract used for Olivia Wood\u27s section of ENGL 210: Writing in the Humanities and the Arts at City College in Spring 2023. Students write opinion editorials in the first unit, research a genre of their choosing and create a genre guide to help others write in that genre during the second unit, and then complete a multimodal project in the third unit, perhaps using their own or a classmate\u27s genre guide to assist them

Effects of Meiotic Drive on Developing Eye-Stalks in Stalk-Eyed Flies

Teleopsis dalmanni, commonly known as Stalk-Eyed flies, are known for their sexually dimorphic eye-stalks which females use to pick mates. Within the Gombak-12 population, some individuals contain meiotic drive which is known to influence eye-stalk length and sex ratios. Our goal was to identify genes in developing eye tissue that play a role in causing meiotic drive. To identify these candidate genes, we determined the sex and meiotic drive status of individuals by dissecting 3rd instar larvae for their carcasses. After finding that Qiagen Puregene and Qiagen DNEasy columns DNA extraction techniques worked best—determined by using gel electrophoresis—we prepared our samples, ran PCR, then sent them for fragment analysis. From genomic analysis, we identified 31 male and 66 female Stalk-Eyed larvae and approximately one third of males and females within the population had meiotic drive. Based on this information, we plan on using the larvae’ eye-antennal imaginal discs from our dissections to measure the differential gene expression using RNA in meiotic and non-meiotic drive individuals

Virologic failure and second-line antiretroviral therapy in children in South Africa--the IeDEA Southern Africa collaboration

Article approval pendingWith expanding pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) access, children will begin to experience treatment failure and require second-line therapy. We evaluated the probability and determinants of virologic failure and switching in children in South Africa

Switching to second-line antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited settings: comparison of programmes with and without viral load monitoring.

In high-income countries, viral load is routinely measured to detect failure of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and guide switching to second-line ART. Viral load monitoring is not generally available in resource-limited settings. We examined switching from nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based first-line regimens to protease inhibitor-based regimens in Africa, South America and Asia

International Guidelines for Management of Metastatic Breast Cancer: Can Metastatic Breast Cancer Be Cured?

A distinctive subset of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is oligometastatic disease, which is characterized by single or few detectable metastatic lesions. The existing treatment guidelines for patients with localized MBC include surgery, radiotherapy, and regional chemotherapy. The European School of Oncology-Metastatic Breast Cancer Task Force addressed the management of these patients in its first consensus recommendations published in 2007. The Task Force endorsed the possibility of a more aggressive and multidisciplinary approach for patients with oligometastatic disease, stressing also the need for clinical trials in this patient population. At the sixth European Breast Cancer Conference, held in Berlin in March 2008, the second public session on MBC guidelines addressed the controversial issue of whether MBC can be cured. In this commentary, we summarize the discussion and related recommendations regarding the available therapeutic options that are possibly associated with cure in these patients. In particular, data on local (surgery and radiotherapy) and chemotherapy options are discussed. Large retrospective series show an association between surgical removal of the primary tumor or of lung metastases and improved long-term outcome in patients with oligometastatic disease. In the absence of data from prospective randomized studies, removal of the primary tumor or isolated metastatic lesions may be an attractive therapeutic strategy in this subset of patients, offering rapid disease control and potential for survival benefit. Some improvement in outcome may also be achieved with optimization of systemic therapies, possibly in combination with optimal local treatmen