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This article examines the relationship between substance use and gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and nativity among 250 Asian American youths involved in the dance club/rave scene. We find distinct patterns of drug use differing by country of origin and ethnicity. However, contrary to some literature we do not find significant differences corresponding to immigration status, or number of years in the U.S. The most significant differences between subgroups are related to gender and sexuality: male respondents consume more drugs, more frequently than female respondents, and non-heterosexual respondents consume more than heterosexual respondents, with differing patterns for men's' and women's sexual subgroups. There were also significant gender and sexuality differences with respect to the contexts in which respondents consume drugs, with the most significant differences being between heterosexual and non-heterosexual men. As we discuss, these findings illustrate the need for further investigation of drug-use patterns of gender and sexuality within Asian American communities.

Purpose: To assess the effects of buccal mucosal graft site non-closure versus closure on postoperative oral morbidity for male undergoing augmentation urethroplasty for urethral stricture. Materials and Methods: We included randomized controlled trials. Inclusion criteria were male over the age of 18 with urethral stricture disease requiring reconstruction with buccal mucosal graft harvest. Primary outcomes of the review were postoperative oral pain, need for secondary oral procedures and cosmetic defects. Results: We included 5 studies with 346 randomized patients with urethral strictures, of whom 260 completed the trials. In terms of primary outcomes, non-closure graft site may reduce oral pain on postoperative day #1 (standard mean difference [SMD] 0.24 lower; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.61 lower to 0.12 higher; low certainty evidence [CoE]) but we are uncertain how this impacts pain on postoperative days 3 to 6 (SMD 0.35; 95% CI 0.12 to 0.81 higher; very low CoE). We are also very uncertain as to how it affects the need for secondary oral procedures (risk ratio [RR] 0.22; 95% CI 0.01 to 4.28; very low CoE). Non-closure may increase the risk of cosmetic defects (RR 2.40; 95% CI 0.93 to 6.22; low CoE). Conclusions: This review describes the trade-off for buccal mucosal graft site non-closure versus closure for various patientimportant outcomes; decision-making will likely hinge on the relative value individual patients and surgeons place on them. The supporting evidence was rated as low and very low, thereby signaling substantial underlying uncertainty and the need for better trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research is often conceptualized as inherently small-scale research, primarily conducted by a lone researcher enmeshed in extensive and long-term fieldwork or involving in-depth interviews with a small sample of 20 to 30 participants. In the study of illicit drugs, traditionally this has often been in the form of ethnographies of drug-using subcultures. Such small-scale projects have produced important interpretive scholarship that focuses on the culture and meaning of drug use in situated, embodied contexts. Larger-scale projects are often assumed to be solely the domain of quantitative researchers, using formalistic survey methods and descriptive or explanatory models.In this paper, however, we will discuss qualitative research done on a comparatively larger scale-with in-depth qualitative interviews with hundreds of young drug users. Although this work incorporates some quantitative elements into the design, data collection, and analysis, the qualitative dimension and approach has nevertheless remained central. Larger-scale qualitative research shares some of the challenges and promises of smaller-scale qualitative work including understanding drug consumption from an emic perspective, locating hard-to-reach populations, developing rapport with respondents, generating thick descriptions and a rich analysis, and examining the wider socio-cultural context as a central feature. However, there are additional challenges specific to the scale of qualitative research, which include data management, data overload and problems of handling large-scale data sets, time constraints in coding and analyzing data, and personnel issues including training, organizing and mentoring large research teams. Yet large samples can prove to be essential for enabling researchers to conduct comparative research, whether that be cross-national research within a wider European perspective undertaken by different teams or cross-cultural research looking at internal divisions and differences within diverse communities and cultures.