Application of the Attitude-Social Influence-Efficacy Model to Condom Use Among African-American STD Clinic Patients: Implications for Tailored Health Communication

The purpose of the current investigation was to apply the attitude-social influence-efficacy (ASE) model to achieve a theory-based understanding of condom use among low income, heterosexually active African-American STD clinic patients. N = 293 participants were recruited from a large, publicly-funded metropolitan STD clinic in the Southeastern United States and surveyed using an ACASI computer program. Results indicated that several ASE variables exhibited meaningful relationships with condom stages of change in univariate analyses, replicating patterns found in previous research. Fewer variables remained significant in multivariate analyses, however. There was also some support for the proposition that early stage movement (e.g., Precontemplation to Contemplation) is based more upon perceptions of condom use (e.g., pros, perceived norms), whereas later stage movement (e.g., Preparation to Action/Maintenance) is based more upon perceived and actual skills acquisition (e.g., condom self-efficacy, negotiation strategies). Results varied with regard to main and casual condom stage of change. Implications for developing tailored HIV prevention interventions with heterosexual African-Americans are discussed.     

Effect of Isomorphous Substitution on the Thermal Decomposition Mechanism of Hydrotalcites

Hydrotalcites have many important applications in catalysis, wastewater treatment, gene delivery and polymer stabilization, all depending on preparation history and treatment scenarios. In catalysis and polymer stabilization, thermal decomposition is of great importance. Hydrotalcites form easily with atmospheric carbon dioxide and often interfere with the study of other anion containing systems, particularly if formed at room temperature. The dehydroxylation and decomposition of carbonate occurs simultaneously, making it difficult to distinguish the dehydroxylation mechanisms directly. To date, the majority of work on understanding the decomposition mechanism has utilized hydrotalcite precipitated at room temperature. In this study, evolved gas analysis combined with thermal analysis has been used to show that CO₂ contamination is problematic in materials being formed at RT that are poorly crystalline. This has led to some dispute as to the nature of the dehydroxylation mechanism. In this paper, data for the thermal decomposition of the chloride form of hydrotalcite are reported. In addition, carbonate-free hydrotalcites have been synthesized with different charge densities and at different growth temperatures. This combination of parameters has allowed a better understanding of the mechanism of dehydroxylation and the role that isomorphous substitution plays in these mechanisms to be delineated. In addition, the effect of anion type on thermal stability is also reported. A stepwise dehydroxylation model is proposed that is mediated by the level of aluminum substitution.     

Preparation,characterization and storage of human ferritin for use as a standard for the assay of serum ferritin

Summary. This paper describes studies on the source, preparation, characterization and storage of human ferritin for use as a standard for the immunoassay of serum ferritin. Ferritin was prepared from the liver or spleen by methods including either ultracentrifugation or cadmium sulphate crystallization. Preparations were characterized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in dissociating and non-dissociating buffers, iso-electric focusing, analysis of amino acid composition and measurement of protein content. The protein content of solutions of liver or spleen ferritin may be determined by the method of Lowry with bovine serum albumin as standard. Lyophilization under carefully controlled conditions in buffer containing high concentrations of albumin provides a stable preparation of ferritin. Accelerated degradation and collaborative immunological studies of two lyophilized preparations of ferritin, one from liver and one from spleen, indicate that either is an acceptable reference material.     

The Roles of Emotion Dysregulation and Dissociation in the Association Between Sexual Abuse and Self-Injury Among Juvenile Justice–Involved Youth

To date, scholars have established associations among nonsuicidal self-injury and sexual abuse, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and dissociation. However, leading theoretical models of the mechanisms underlying the association between trauma and negative outcomes suggest a more parsimonious explanation in that deficits in emotion regulation may underlie these various risk factors for self-injury. This study examined whether sexual abuse was differentially associated with nonsuicidal self-injury over and above other forms of traumatic experiences and whether the association between sexual abuse and self-injury was statistically mediated by emotion dysregulation and dissociation. Participants included 525 youth (392 boys, 133 girls) recruited from the U.S. juvenile justice system who completed measures of self-reported trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms, dissociation, and emotion dysregulation. Results of a hierarchical regression demonstrated that sexual abuse predicted posttraumatic stress symptoms and self-injury over and above other forms of traumatic experiences. Results of bootstrapped mediation analyses indicated that emotion dysregulation and dissociation in combination were implicated in self-injury among youth. The results suggest that youth in the juvenile justice system who experience sexual abuse may be at risk for higher rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms and that self-injury may be particularly salient for youth who experience sexual abuse. Furthermore, the results shed light on the role that dissociation and emotion dysregulation play in the relation between sexual abuse and self-injury, suggesting that a larger framework of self-regulation may have both empirical and clinical utility in helping to understand the underlying processes at play in these associations.     

Incidence of white spot lesions among patients treated with clear aligners and traditional braces

Objectives:To compare the incidence of white spot lesions (WSLs) among patients treated with aligners and those treated with traditional braces.Materials and Methods:A group of 244 aligner patients (30.4 ± 14 years) was compared to a group of 206 patients (29.2 ± 11.5 years) treated with traditional fixed braces. Consecutive cases in the late mixed or permanent dentitions who had high-quality pre- and posttreatment digital photographs available were included in the study. Each set of photographs was independently evaluated by two investigators to determine pretreatment oral hygiene (OH), fluorosis, and WSLs, as well as changes in OH and WSLs during treatment.Results:Approximately 1.2% of the aligner patients developed WSLs, compared to 26% of the traditionally treated patients. The numbers of WSLs that developed were also significantly (P < .001) less among the aligner patients. The aligner patients developed three new WSLs, while the traditionally treated patients developed 174 WSLs. The incidence of WSLs was greater for the maxillary than for the mandibular teeth, and it was greater for the canines than for the incisors. For the patients treated with traditional braces, fair or poor pretreatment OH, worsening of OH during treatment, preexisting WSLs, and longer treatment duration significantly (P < .05) increased the risk of developing WSLs during treatment.Conclusions:Patients treated with aligners have less risk of developing WSLs than do patients treated with traditional braces, which could be partially due to shorter treatment duration, or better pretreatment OH.