Teen Perceptions of the Promotion of Safer Sexual Practices: A Focus Group Study

Teens' own thoughts on fostering safe sexual practice are important perspectives in promoting adolescent sexual health yet are relatively absent in the literature. This focus group study explored teens' perceptions about the supports and challenges that exist as teens strive to engage in healthy sexual practices. Seventy-five teens participated in 11 focus groups using a semi-structured interview guide. School-based health centers provided the setting and facilitated sample recruitment. Focus groups were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using the focus group guide as a template and typologies, or clusters of concepts, were extracted to establish teen perceptions of the factors that support and challenge their ability to engage in safe sexual practices. The socio-ecological model provided the framework to identify these factors within the individual, family/parent, relational (peer/partner), community, or societal spheres of influence. Results discussed the importance of parents, the value of confidentiality, respect for teen decision-making, relationships skills, developmental aspects of the adolescent years, and social interpretations of gender. These findings revealed important considerations as adults develop policies, messages, and programs designed to promote safe sexual behavior in teens.     

On Media Concentration and the Diversity Question

Corporate mergers and the consolidation of ownership in the American communications arena have long been sources of concern. U.S. regulatory and antitrust policy traditionally attempted to secure a “diversity of voices” structurally, largely through rules regarding ownership. Although the meaning of diversity was always problematic and undertheorized, the Federal Communications Commission long set ceilings on the numbers of broadcast outlets any single person or corporation could own and enacted cross-ownership rules such as a prohibition against a corporation owning a newspaper and broadcast outlets in the same market. These rules, and the FCC's authority to make them, were upheld, occasionally even compelled, by the federal appellate courts. In the last 20 years, however, legal trends, in conjunction with political developments, have undermined the diversity rationales behind ownership rules and associated structural regulations of mass media. Paradoxically, even as media corporations are becoming larger and presumably more powerful, ownership regulations are being rescinded or struck down. This article explains this history. It concludes with a suggestion that the First Amendment metaphor of a marketplace of ideas is misplaced, and of how our thinking about media ownership and diversity might be better served by the metaphor of a mixed media system.     

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Immunoproteomic analysis of secretory proteins ofAspergillus fumigatus with specific IGE immunoreactivity

Allergenic/antigenic proteins are known to induce Type I and Type III hypersensitivity reactions leading to allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) in immunocompetent host. The common structural features or intrinsic properties of the allergens/antigens leading to allergenicity in a host are not well understood. In the current report, comparative analysis of proteins on two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-3) and specific IgE immunoblots ofA. fumigatus secretory proteins (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd week culture filtrate proteins) was carried out. We observed a total of 159 proteins in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd week culture filtrates ofA. fumigatus. Specific IgE immunoreactivity was observed in 75 proteins with different intensity. Third week culture filtrate showed maximum number of proteins, 142, and specific IgE immunoreactive proteins, 65. MALDI-TOF analysis resulted in putative identification of two allergens as hypothetical protein YBL057c fromSaccharomyces cereviseae and unnamed protein product fromDebaryomyces hansenii (similar to IPF14568 ofCandida albicans). Identification of a repertoire of specific IgE immunoreactive proteins will facilitate the studies on structure-function relationship of these proteins relevant for diagnosis and pathogenesis.     

Patent data as a guide to industrial activity

In this paper the patenting activity of the international pharmaceutical industry in London between 1900 and 1966 is analysed. Although patent data as a measure of industrial activity is not without defects it can be used both as an adjunct to and as a surrogate for more conventional yardsticks such as concentration ratios, sales statistics and so on. The results indicate that patenting activity can be used as both an absolute and relative indicator of an industry's pace of technological change. They help pinpoint the international distribution of pharmaceutical research and development. If analysed by product or process they can aid in the understanding of why an industry's competitive behaviour is or is not primarily one of price rivalry. Finally, they illustrate the continuing role of the individual inventor.     

Effect of <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-Thyroxine on Micronuclei Frequency in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes in Clinical and Experimental Conditions

The aim was to study the genotoxic effect of high concentration of thyroxine (T₄) in vivo in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of the patients suffering from thyroid disorders. The effect was compared by performing in vitro experiments with addition of increasing concentration of T₄ (0.125–1 µM) in whole blood samples from healthy donors. Cytokinesis-blocked micronuclei (CBMN) assay method was used to assess the DNA damage in the PBL. The study included 104 patients which were grouped as control (n = 49), hyperthyroid (n = 31) and hypothyroid (n = 24). A significant increase in micronuclei (MN) frequency was observed in hyperthyroid patients when compared with the hypothyroid and euthyroid group thereby suggesting increased genotoxicity in hyperthyroidism (p < 0.001). A significant increase in MN frequency was observed at T₄ concentration of 0.5 µM and above when compared to lower T₄ concentrations (0.125 and 0.25 µM) and basal in in vitro experiments (p = 0.000). The results indicate that the T₄ in normal concentration does not exhibit the genotoxic effect, as observed in both the in vivo and in vitro experiments. The toxicity of T₄ increases at and above 0.5 μM concentration in vitro. Therefore acute T₄ overdose should be handled promptly and effectively so as to avoid the possible genotoxic effect of high concentration of T₄ in vivo.