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Objective: To understand how the Greek system uniquely influences smoking attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors among college students who belong to a social sorority or fraternity., Participants: Active members of sororities (n = 16) and fraternities (n = 17) were interviewed between February 2013 and October 2015., Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted examining the social influences of the Greek system on member smoking. Transcribed interviews were coded and analyzed for themes., Results: Sorority and fraternity members experienced different social influences on smoking. Sorority stigmatization of smoking outside bars or parties caused sorority members to hide their smoking. Fraternity members had no social penalties for smoking and allowed smoking at the fraternity house. Fraternity members influenced both fraternity members and sorority members to smoke by sharing cigarettes and smoking at parties., Conclusions: Sororities and fraternities have created social environments that both promote smoking and stigmatize it, presenting unique challenges in college student smoking prevention and cessation efforts.

Objectives: To explore preimmigration experiences of violence and postimmigration health status in male-to-female transgender individuals (n = 45) from Mexico applying for asylum in the United States., Methods: We used a document review process to examine asylum declarations and psychological evaluations of transgender Mexican asylum seekers in the United States from 2012. We coded documents in 2013 and 2014 using NVivo, a multidisciplinary team reviewed them, and then we analyzed them for themes., Results: Mexican transgender asylum applicants experienced pervasive verbal, physical, and sexual abuse from multiple sources, including family, school, community, and police. Applicants also experienced discrimination in school and in the workplace. Applicants immigrated to the United States to escape persistent assaults and threats to their life. Applicants suffered health and psychological effects from their experiences in Mexico that affected opportunities in the United States for employment, education, and social inclusion., Conclusions: Additional social protections for transgender individuals and antidiscrimination measures in Mexican schools and workplaces are warranted as are increased mental health assessment and treatment, job training, and education services for asylum seekers in the United States.

Physical activity (PA), especially vigorous-intensity PA, has been shown to be related to pain sensitivity. The relationship among PA levels and PA types on endogenous pain inhibition after exercise, termed exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH), remains unclear., Purpose: This studied examined the EIH response to pressure stimuli among college-age women of differing activity levels., Methods: Fifty women were tested. Pressure pain threshold (PPT) values were assessed before and immediately after isometric handgrip exercise to exhaustion in the right and left forearms. Participant's PA levels were assessed by wearing an accelerometer for seven consecutive days during waking hours, excluding water activities. Participants were classified into four PA groups: met the American College of Sports Medicine aerobic recommendations (AERO), met aerobic and resistance training recommendations (AERO + RT), insufficiently aerobically active but resistance trained (RT), and insufficiently active (IA) based on their measured and self-reported PA level and type., Results: AERO and AERO + RT had greater vigorous (P < 0.001) and total PA (P < 0.001) compared with RT and IA. EIH was observed for PPT in both right and left arms (P < 0.001), with PPT increasing 7.7% (529 ± 236 vs 569 ± 235 kPa) and 7.0% (529 ± 299 vs 571 ± 250 kPa) in the right and left forearms, respectively. EIH did not differ among activity groups (P = 0.82). PPT values were found to be inversely related to vigorous-intensity PA (r = -0.29)., Conclusions: PA levels and types had no effect on endogenous pain inhibition after exercise in college-age women.

The retention behaviour of amino acids in phase systems consisting of a hydrophobic solid support as the stationary phase and water-organic solvent mixtures containing a small amount of an anionic detergent as the mobile phase was investigated. Such phase systems are found to behave like conventional ion-exchange systems. The degree and order of retention of amino acids can be influenced by changing the temperature, the nature of the hydrophobic support, the pH and the nature and concentration of the anionic detergent, organic constituent and counter ion in the eluent. In many instances this solvent-generated (dynamic) ion-exchange chromatography shows a greater selectivity than conventional ion-exchange systems towards amino acids. The results obtained so far indicate that a complete separation of the 19 protein amino acids by applying solvent gradients or/and multi-column system is possible within 30 min.