Search

The present study used longitudinal person-centered analyses to understand how parent religiosity, parenting styles, and parent-adolescent sex communication interact in predicting adolescent sexual risk-taking over time. The sample included 681 adolescents and their parents (Mage = 15, at wave 5) from Waves 5 and 6 of the Flourishing Families Project. Variables capturing parent religiosity, parenting styles, and parent-adolescent sex communication were used as class indicators in a latent profile analysis. Three classes emerged: (1) Non-religious Authoritative families, (2) Religious Authoritarian families, and (3) Religious Authoritative families. The Non-religious Authoritative and Religious Authoritarian families did not significantly differ on later adolescent sexual risk-taking (controlling for prior sexual risk-taking), while the Religious Authoritative families had adolescents with significantly lower subsequent sexual risk-taking. These results demonstrate the complex ways in which religion, parenting, and sex communication interact in predicting adolescent sexual risk-taking. Thus, both the content and process of sexual socialization may be important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a case study involving a 72-year-old woman who tested positive for codeine and morphine on a urine drug screen. The patient claimed to have not taken any nonprescribed medications and requested copies of the test results. It was later discovered that her positive result may have been caused by the consumption of poppy seeds in her breakfast. The article explores the distinction between codeine ingestion and poppy seed consumption as the cause of a positive drug test result. It emphasizes the importance of clear communication between the laboratory and practitioners, accurate reporting of results, and patient advocacy in reviewing medical records for accuracy. The article concludes with educational points, including the fact that poppy seed-containing food can cause a positive opiates result in urine and that previous guidelines for interpreting opiates results are no longer valid. [Extracted from the article]

Adolescents are at increased risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and experiencing unintended pregnancy. In particular, adolescents from marginalized communities experience significant sexual health disparities compared to their more advantaged peers. Digital sexual health programs, such as HEART (Health Education and Relationship Training), may be effective in reducing these risks and addressing these disparities. HEART is a web-based intervention focused on the promotion of positive sexual health outcomes, such as sexual decision-making skills, sexual communication skills, sexual health knowledge, and sexual norms and attitudes. The current study evaluates the efficacy of HEART, and examines whether effects were moderated by gender, socioeconomic status (SES), race, English as a second language, and sexual orientation to ensure the program is effective for diverse groups of adolescents. Participants were 457 high school students (Meanage=15.06, 59% girls, 35% White, 78% heterosexual, 54% receive free or reduced-price lunch). Students were randomized to HEART or an attention matched control and assessed at pretest and immediate posttest. HEART was effective in increasing sexual assertiveness, sexual communication intentions, HIV/STI knowledge, condom attitudes, and safer sex self-efficacy compared to the control condition. There were no significant interactions by gender, SES, race, English as a second language, or sexual orientation, suggesting the program worked equally well for all groups of youth. The findings of this study suggest that HEART may be a promising avenue for the promotion of positive sexual health outcomes for diverse groups of youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology has found that consuming seasoning containing poppy seeds can lead to positive urine drug test results for codeine. Previous guidelines that suggested codeine concentrations exceeding 300 ng/mL with a morphine to codeine ratio of less than 2 ruled out poppy seed consumption, but this study refutes those guidelines. The study involved four volunteers who consumed toast sprinkled with a poppy seed-containing seasoning blend, and urine samples collected after consumption showed positive results for codeine and morphine. The study highlights the need for caution when interpreting urine drug test results in the context of poppy seed consumption. The military has also addressed this issue and advised service members to avoid all poppy seed consumption. [Extracted from the article]

While most parents support their adolescents receiving school-based sex education, there is variability in which sex education topics receive the most support from parents. Conservative political orientation and greater religiosity have been independently associated with parents' lack of support for school-based sex education; however, no studies have examined the intersection of these two factors. The three goals of this study were to: 1) identify how specific sexual education topics cluster together to form content areas; 2) examine if religiosity and political orientation are uniquely associated with these content areas; and 3) examine if political orientation moderates the relationship between parents' religiosity and their perceived importance for the specific sex education content areas. Participants were a national sample of 881 US parents. The sex education topics clustered into three content areas: Factual Knowledge (e.g., STI transmission), Practical Skills (e.g., how to access condoms), and Pleasure and Identity (e.g., pleasurable aspects of sex). Politically conservative and more religious parents reported the lowest perceived importance for each content area. Importantly, these main effects were qualified by a significant interaction: parents who reported both political conservativism and high levels of religiosity reported the lowest perceived importance for these three content areas being taught. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Guided by the Operating Conditions Framework, the goal of this study was to identify how and for whom an online sexual health program called Health Education and Relationship Training (HEART) worked. Design: Data come from a randomized controlled trial among 198 U.S. high school girls who completed HEART or an attention-matched control. We conducted mediation and moderated mediation models to determine if sexual self-efficacy was a mediator and if program acceptability and sexual activity status were moderators of HEART efficacy. Main Outcome Measure: Sexual communication skills were assessed with a behavioral role-play task. Results: HEART significantly improved sexual communication skills. These effects were fully mediated through sexual self-efficacy. Specifically, HEART improved sexual self-efficacy which in turn increased sexual communication skills. Also, when participants liked the program more, the effect of HEART on sexual self-efficacy was stronger. Further, among girls who had engaged in sexual activity, sexual self-efficacy was significantly associated with sexual communication skills. Conclusion: This study provides insights into the mechanisms of behavior change underlying HEART. Results highlight the need to further 'unpack' the effects of other sexual health programs, as we showed that programs may work better under certain conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate a relationship between learning organisation theory and the potential to retain knowledge workers. It emphasises that human resource (HR) managers must recognise specific relationships between learning organisation elements, job satisfaction facets and turnover intent as they emerge for their knowledge workers. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was undertaken sampling knowledge workers in the information technology (IT) industry. Measured on a Likert scale, the instrument was designed to explore the impact of learning organisation disciplines upon job satisfaction and the importance of job satisfaction in determining turnover intent. Findings: Analysis of the survey showed evidence of a relationship between learning organisation disciplines and turnover intent. All the learning organisation disciplines discussed in the paper correlated to at least one of the six job satisfaction dimensions, of which reward and challenge exerted the most significant influence upon turnover intent. Practical implications: The results suggest that three initial strategies should be implemented by HR managers in order to reduce possible staff turnover. The strategies identified are first, linking shared vision, challenge and systems thinking together via personal mastery; second, being more critical of which mental models are developed and shared within the organisation; and finally, developing team learning systems throughout the organisation. Originality/value: This study emphasises that HR managers should recognise specific career needs for their knowledge workers and that adopting appropriate strategies will increase retention.

Sexual communication with partners is important for adolescents' sexual and socioemotional well-being. Behavioral assessments of partner sexual communication capture the complex and nuanced process of communication and are commonly used with adults, yet the existing literature among adolescents overwhelmingly relies on self-report measures. In the current paper, we reviewed the literature on adolescent partner sexual communication, identifying 14 studies including 2,043 participants (M age = 16) that used behavioral assessments (i.e., dyadic observations, role-plays with confederates, role-plays with vignettes). We also identify key gaps in the current literature: First, only one study recruited couples; studies that assessed dyadic interactions largely relied on confederates. Second, assessments often assumed that participants engaged in heterosexual sex, and no studies specifically recruited LGBTQ+ adolescents. Third, behavioral tasks often involved assumptions of participants' sexual goals (e.g., desire to refuse sex) and focused almost exclusively on sexual refusal and condom negotiation. Additionally, coding schemes lacked standardization and micro-analytic strategies (e.g., coding change over time). Finally, observational methods have been almost exclusively used to assess intervention efficacy, rather than to understand associations between behaviorally-assessed communication skills and sexual outcomes or self-reported communication in basic research. We discuss recommendations for future research, including regular use of behavioral observation methods with diverse samples, to triangulate across multiple methodologies and identify correspondence between behavioral and self-report measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photo-response of avalanche photodiodes (APDs) under low reverse bias at unity gain is described. The features are explained in terms of the extension of the depletion region edge toward the surface.

Parent-child sex communication is a complex and multidimensional construct, and effective measurement tools that reflect this complexity are scarce. The purpose of this study was to develop and test an assessment tool of parent-child sex communication that reflects the multidimensional nature of the construct and which can be flexibly administered between both parent and adolescent informants. Using two large national samples from the United States involving adolescents (N = 2,044; Mage = 16.19, SD = 1.71) and unrelated parents of adolescents (N = 2,081), we psychometrically tested the Parent-Child Sex Communication Inventory (PCSCI). Validity evidence (i.e., construct, discriminant, convergent, and divergent) supported a 30-item measure that consisted of three overarching dimensions distributed along seven subscales: Frequency of sex communication (about sexual risk, about sex physiology, and about the positive aspects of sex); the Quality of sex communication (open communication versus parent controlled communication); and Child Managed sex communication (involving disclosure and secrecy). The PCSCI is an assessment tool for tapping multiple fundamental dimensions of parent-child sex communication that is quick and easy to administer. Further, it can be administered to both parent and adolescent informants. Therefore, it represents a significant methodological advancement for continuing research on parent-child sex communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors report the fabrication of TaN–HfO2–GaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors on silicon substrates. GaAs was grown by migration-enhanced epitaxy (MEE) on Si substrates using an ∼80-nm-thick Si1-xGex step-graded buffer layer, which was grown by ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition. The MEE growth temperatures for GaAs were 375 and 400 °C, with GaAs layer thicknesses of 15 and 30 nm. We observed an optimal MEE growth condition at 400 °C using a 30 nm GaAs layer. Growth temperatures in excess of 400 °C resulted in semiconductor surfaces rougher than 1 nm rms, which were unsuitable for the subsequent deposition of a 6.5-nm-thick HfO2 gate dielectric. A minimum GaAs thickness of 30 nm was necessary to obtain reasonable capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics from the GaAs layers grown on Si substrates. To improve the interface properties between HfO2 and GaAs, a thin 1.5 nm Ge interfacial layer was grown by molecular-beam epitaxy in situ after the GaAs growth. The Ge-passivated GaAs samples were then transferred in air for the subsequent ex situ HfO2 formation. This Ge interfacial layer in between HfO2 and GaAs was necessary to avoid relatively flat C-V characteristics that are symptomatic of high interface state densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an atomic force microscopy (AFM) study of sapphire surfaces that contain scratches with various severities. The objective was to observe the effects of substrate annealing at 850 °C for 200 min with a H2O-based overpressure resulting from an Al(OH)3 powder that was thermally cracked at 1200 °C. The Al(OH)3 was decomposed into Al2O3 and H2O according to a partial Bayer process in a modified molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) effusion cell, which was equipped with homemade baffles placed at its outlet. These homemade, simple-to-construct tantalum baffles allow for the selective outfluxing of gaseous species, from those that are solid based. A UTI™ 100C-model mass spectrometer was used to monitor the species present at the sapphire surface during annealing. Any aluminum-based solid species from the Al(OH)3 were not observed in the mass spectrum, although the H2O-based species were. The sapphire substrates were annealed in a Varian Gen II™ MBE system, with H2O beam equivalent pressures (BEPs) of 5×10-6 and 2×10-5 Torr, as well as with no H2O flux at all. The AFM images show that the samples annealed with a higher H2O BEP of 2×10-5 Torr had noticeably less severe surface scratches than the samples that were annealed with lower H2O BEPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a study of the photo-response of avalanche photodiodes (APDs) under low reverse bias at unity gain. Some wafers exhibit a linear increase of photocurrent as a function of bias voltage; the "slope" of this linear current-voltage (I-V) curve has been examined under different illumination conditions, fabrication procedures and growth conditions. The observed characteristics are explained in terms of the extension of the depletion region edge toward the surface. An analytical model, based on minority drift-diffusion and current continuity equations, provides good fits to the experimental results for small (∼0.1 µm) "effective diffusion lengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]