Health Rocks! Program: The Association of Youth Engagement with Program Outcomes

The Health Rocks! program aims to promote positive knowledge and attitudes towards substance-related risky behaviors among youth. This presentation will highlight findings from a quantitative study assessing the extent to which youths’ program engagement is associated with program outcomes. Implications are valuable to Extension personnel and other youth professionals for the design and implementation of future youth programs

Youths’ Perspectives of Experiential Learning Delivery: Findings from a Multistate 4-H Youth Program

Youths’ perspectives are often unexplored in youth program development and implementation. This article examined youths’ perspectives of a 4-H youth prevention program called “Health Rocks!” that is designed to promote healthful decision-making skills, stress coping, and socioemotional skills related to substance use. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed. Qualitative findings reveal that participants appreciated the fun and engaging curriculum, valued program staff who were interactive, and enjoyed the hands-on program activities. Participants also reported that the program positively impacted their knowledge and skills. Quantitative results show that participants who perceived the program as fun were significantly more likely to report engagement in the program, and participants who had positive views towards the program staff were significantly more likely to report knowledge after the program and engagement in Health Rocks! Findings have broader implications for future youth prevention program development, illustrating the need for engaging adult leaders and program activities to enhance the overall program experience for youth participants

Association of Intrarenal B-Cell Infiltrates with Clinical Outcome in Lupus Nephritis: A Study of 192 Cases

Background. Lupus nephritis (LN) remains a major cause of morbidity and end-stage renal disease. Dysfunction of B lymphocytes is thought to be important in the pathogenesis of SLE/LN. Intrarenal B cells have been found in several forms of inflammatory kidney diseases although their role in LN renal is not well defined. Methods. Intrarenal B cells were analyzed in 192 renal biopsies from patients diagnosed with lupus nephritis. Immunohistochemical staining of serial sections was performed for each LN patient using CD20, CD3, and CD21 antibodies. Results. Intrarenal B cells were more likely to be associated with class IV LN and were mainly distributed in the renal interstitium, with very few in the glomerulus. The systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI), blood urea nitrogen, and serum creatinine levels were all significantly greater in the LN-B cell groups (all P<0.05). LN renal activity and chronicity indices correlated with B-cells infiltrates (all P<0.0001). Renal biopsies were classified into four distinct categories according to the organizational grade of inflammatory cell infiltrates. Germinal center- (GC-) like structures were not identified in any LN biopsies. Conclusion. It is hypothesized that intrarenal B cells enhance immunological responses and exaggerate the local immune response to persisting autoimmune damage in the tubulointerstitium

4-Methyl-N-[(2-oxo-1,3-thia­zolidin-3-yl)carbon­yl]benzene­sulfonamide

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C11H12N2O4S2, contains two independent mol­ecules with similar dihedral angles of 76.7 (1) and 77.3 (1)° between the mean planes of the five- and six-membered rings. In both mol­ecules, the amino groups are involved in intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In the crystal structure, weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol­ecules into ribbons extended along the a axis

GGPPS1 predicts the biological character of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been associated with diabetes and obesity, but a possible connection with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its potential interaction with hepatitis and cirrhosis are open to discussion. Our previous investigations have shown that GGPPS1 plays a critical role during hyperinsulinism. In this report, the expression and distribution of GGPPS1 in liver cancer, and its clinical significance were investigated. Methods: 70 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were included in this study. Three different types of tissues from each HCC patient were assembled immediately after surgical resection: tumor-free tissue >5 cm far from tumor edge (TF), adjacent nonmalignant tissue within 2 cm (AT), and tissue from the tumor (TT). Normal liver tissues from 10 liver transplant donors served as healthy control (HC) while 10 patients with liver cirrhosis as cirrhosis control (CC). The expression and distribution of GGPPS1 were detected by immunohistochemistry, western blots, or real-time PCR. The relationship between the expression of GGPPS1 and clinic pathologic index were analyzed. Results: We found that GGPPS1 was intensified mainly in the cytoplasm of liver tumor cells. Both the expression of GGPPS1 mRNA and protein were upregulated in TT comparing to AT or TF. Meanwhile, HCC patients with cirrhosis had relative higher expression of GGPPS1. In addition, many pathologic characters show close correlation with GGPPS1, such as tumor stage, vessel invasion, and early recurrence. Conclusion: GGPPS1 may play a critical role during the development of HCC from cirrhosis and is of clinical significance for predicting biological character of HCC