Activity

To estimate the association between same-sex marriage legalization and deaths by suicide among youth.

The study used country-level suicide data sourced from the Global Burden of Disease Study for all 36 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries for the period1991-2017. We analyzed the suicide rates of all youth, male youth, and female youth aged 10-24years using multiple policy-evaluation methods-difference-in-differences, matrix completion, and generalized synthetic control via expectation-maximization-to estimate the impact of same-sex marriage legalization at the country level. Secondary analysis considered several covariate specifications, evaluated the immediacy and persistence of the estimated associations, and assessed whether any observed association was limited to early adopters of same-sex marriage.

The state-of-the-art matrix completion analysis indicated that same-sex marriage legalization was associated with a decline in the youth suicide rate of 1.191 deaths per 100,000 individuals (95% CI=-1.66,-.64; p < .001), corresponding to a reduction of 17.90% compared to the youth suicide rate at the time of legalization. This decline was most pronounced in males for whom the suicide rate fell by 1.993 (CI=-2.76,-1.12; p < .001) compared to a decrease of .348 for female youth (CI=-.60,-.06; p= .02), corresponding to decreases of 19.98% and 10.90%, respectively. These associations persisted after legalization, but to differing degrees depending on model specification.

Developed countries that are yet to legalize same-sex marriage have an opportunity to put downward pressure on youth suicide.

Developed countries that are yet to legalize same-sex marriage have an opportunity to put downward pressure on youth suicide.

This study examined the effect of a family economic empowerment (EE) intervention and family support on sexual risk-taking behaviors among adolescents living with HIV in rural Uganda.

We used data from the Suubi+ Adherence study, a longitudinal cluster randomized clinical trial of 702 adolescents living with HIV aged 10-16years. Participants were randomly assigned to either the control arm (n= 358) receiving bolstered standard of care or a treatment arm (n= 344) receiving bolstered standard of care plus the family EE intervention. We used mixed-effects models to examine the effect of the EE intervention and family support on sexual risk-taking behaviors at the baseline, 12 months, and 24months after intervention initiation.

Adolescents in both the intervention and control groups did not differ significantly in their sexual risk-taking attitudes at the baseline and over the 24-month follow-up period. Higher levels of caregiver social support were significantly associated with a decrease in attitudes toward sexual risk-taking (ß=-.40, 95%CI=-.51,-.29). More frequent parent-child communication was significantly associated with increased negative sexual risk-taking attitudes (ß= .21, 95%CI= .16, .26).

Although we find no direct relationship between family EE and attitudes related to sexual risk-taking behaviors, we find that a supportive family environment can promote positive attitudes related to sexual risk-taking behaviors. The effectiveness of sexual risk reduction interventions would be enhanced by engaging families and strengthening supportive relationships between adolescents and their caregivers.

Although we find no direct relationship between family EE and attitudes related to sexual risk-taking behaviors, we find that a supportive family environment can promote positive attitudes related to sexual risk-taking behaviors. The effectiveness of sexual risk reduction interventions would be enhanced by engaging families and strengthening supportive relationships between adolescents and their caregivers.This work investigated the role of formaldehyde (FA) in lignin anti-condensation during corn stalk pretreatment based on 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4C1im]Cl)/hydrochloric acid (HCl). As a result of the aldolization reactions between FA and lignin, the condensation of lignin fragments was inhibited, and lignin remained in soluble fragmental molecules. Characterizations on the compositional and structural changes of lignin and its degraded products during pretreatment (80 °C-100 °C, 2-5 h) with FA addition in comparison with those in DO/HCl/FA or [C4C1im]Cl/HCl were conducted. Results revealed that the structural features of lignin were affected by FA addition and solvent type. In the [C4C1im]Cl/HCl/FA system, FA stabilization was unfavorable for the cleavage of β-O-4′ bonds and lignin with low S/G ratio (3.4) and high molecular weight (Mw = 9920 g·mol-1) was extracted. The compositions of degraded products were considerably affected by FA addition.Adding ferric ions (Fe3+) in catholyte can enhance performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). This work adopted biocathode with enriched Fe2+ oxidizing microflora to perform in situ Fe2+ oxidization so the MFC could operate with prolonged period with increased cell open circuit voltage (1037 mV) and maximum power density (71.8 Wm-3 at 154 Am-3) but with minimal needs for iron replenishment. The Fe2+-oxidizing microflora was very effective so the Fe3+/Fe2+ could reach high ratio, which was composed of Acidithiobacillus (73.8%), Acidiphilium (12.1%), Mycobacterium (6.92%), Sulfobacillus (2.66%), Ochrobactrum (1.30%), Alicyclobacillus (0.82%), and other minor species. The membrane transport and cell replication were shown to be their most important metabolic activities. The formation of jarosite and hydronium jarosite by Fe3+ and sulfate led to loss of iron ions, which should be minimized in operation.Ultra-high-strength liquor wastewater (UHS-LWW) is rich in organic matter, and the required treatment is expensive. PF-07321332 research buy Here, an extremophilic strain Monascus pilosus YX-1125 was isolated for the direct conversion of UHS-LWW to short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Strain YX-1125 is an efficient SCFA producer with carbohydrate metabolic flexibility under multiple-stress conditions. Moreover, strain YX-1125 could tolerate up to 75 g/L, 100 g/L, and 50 g/L of ethanol, organic acids, and salt, respectively, without inhibition. In repeated-cycle fermentations, 17.8 g/L of butyric acid and 2.0 g/L of propionic acid were produced from UHS-LWW at the fifth cycle, which are the highest concentrations of wastewater-derived SCFAs reported to date. After SCFA recovery, a 98.9% COD reduction was achieved, which is estimated to reduce treatment costs by 91.7%. Results indicate that M. pilosus YX-1125 is a promising strain for the direct treatment of UHS-LWW, and for converting it into valuable biochemicals without any pre-treatment.