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This review examined research to identify longitudinal predictors of adolescent sexual behavior outcomes. These predictors hold promise as potential outcomes for teen pregnancy prevention program evaluations when measuring sexual behavior outcomes is infeasible or theoretically, methodologically, or developmentally inappropriate. We conducted a systematic review using a prespecified search strategy and processes consistent with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We examined 32 research studies published between 2008 and 2024. Four categories of predictors of sexual behavior during adolescence emerged across the reviewed studies. Variables within the caregiver control, self-regulation, sexting, and substance use categories each predict future sexual behavior outcomes, with findings consistent across 3 or more studies for each category. This systematic review documents the current evidence base for precursors of sexual behavior outcomes among adolescents and specifies which predictors have promising, potentially promising, mixed, and limited evidence. This review is the first step in gathering information that will eventually inform an avenue for teen pregnancy prevention program developers and researchers to highlight the promise of programs when evaluating impacts on sexual behavior outcomes is infeasible or inappropriate., (Copyright © 2024 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Rapid, unidirectional pollen tube tip growth is essential for fertilization and widely employed as a model of polar cell expansion, a process crucial for plant morphogenesis. Different proteins and lipids with key functions in the control of polar cell expansion are associated with distinct domains of the plasma membrane (PM) at the pollen tube tip. These domains need to be dynamically maintained during tip growth, which depends on massive secretory and endocytic membrane trafficking. Very little is currently known about the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for the compartmentalization of the pollen tube PM. To provide a reliable structural framework for the further characterization of these mechanisms, an integrated quantitative map was compiled of the relative positions in normally growing Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) pollen tubes of PM domains (i) enriched in key signaling proteins or lipids, (ii) displaying high membrane order, or (iii) in contact with cytoplasmic structures playing important roles in apical membrane trafficking. Previously identified secretory and endocytic PM domains were also included in this map. Internalization of regulatory proteins or lipids associated with PM regions overlapping with the lateral endocytic domain was assessed based on brefeldin A treatment. These analyses revealed remarkable aspects of the structural organization of tobacco pollen tube tips, which (i) enhance our understanding of cellular and regulatory processes underlying tip growth and (ii) highlight important areas of future research., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement. None declared., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose: This review examined whether there is evidence that brief interventions with condom demonstration lessons have impacts on behavioral and nonbehavioral outcomes for youth and young adults., Methods: We conducted a systematic review using a prespecified search strategy and processes consistent with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We identified a pool of 11 eligible studies that tested the effectiveness of a single-session intervention that was no longer than 60 minutes and included a condom demonstration. We included all outcomes at all time points and organized them into eight domains., Results: Single-session interventions with condom demonstrations showed favorable short-term and long-term impacts for samples of largely sexually active youth. Studies found statistically significant impacts in 29%-50% of the tests for effects on attitudes toward condoms, knowledge of sexual health and condom use, perceptions of condom use and sexuality, and condoms use intentions., Discussion: Our review found evidence that brief interventions with condom demonstrations have potential effects on behavioral and nonbehavioral outcomes for vulnerable and transient sexually active youth warranting future studies to assess condom demonstrations in isolation., (Copyright © 2023 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Obesity and other inactivity related diseases are increasing at an alarming rate especially in Western societies. Because of this, it is important to understand the regulating mechanisms involved in physical activity behavior. Much research has been done in regard to the psychological determinants of physical activity behavior; however, little is known about the underlying genetic and biological factors that may contribute to regulation of this complex trait. It is true that a significant portion of any trait is regulated by genetic and biological factors. In the case of voluntary physical activity behavior, these regulating mechanisms appear to be concentrated in the central nervous system. In particular, the dopamine system has been shown to regulate motor movement, as well as motivation and reward behavior. The pattern of regulation of voluntary physical activity by the dopamine system is yet to be fully elucidated. This review will summarize what is known about the dopamine system and regulation of physical activity, and will present a hypothesis of how this signaling pathway is mechanistically involved in regulating voluntary physical activity behavior. Future research in this area will aid in developing personalized strategies to prevent inactivity related diseases.

Pollen tubes of higher plants grow very rapidly until they reach the ovules to fertilize the female gametes. This growth process is energy demanding, however, the nutrition strategies of pollen are largely unexplored. Here, we studied the function of sucrose transporters and invertases during pollen germination and pollen tube growth. RT-PCR analyses, reporter lines and knockout mutants were used to study gene expression and protein function in pollen. The genome of Arabidopsis thaliana contains eight genes that encode functional sucrose/H + symporters. Apart from AtSUC2 , which is companion cell specific, all other AtSUC genes are expressed in pollen tubes. AtSUC1 is present in developing pollen and seems to be the most important sucrose transporter during the fertilization process. Pollen of an Atsuc1 knockout plant contain less sucrose and have defects in pollen germination and pollen tube growth. The loss of other sucrose carriers affects neither pollen germination nor pollen tube growth. A multiple knockout line Atsuc1Atsuc3Atsuc8Atsuc9 shows a phenotype that is comparable to the Atsuc1 mutant line. Loss of AtSUC1 can`t be complemented by AtSUC9, suggesting a special function of AtSUC1. Besides sucrose carriers, pollen tubes also synthesize monosaccharide carriers of the AtSTP family as well as invertases. We could show that AtcwINV2 and AtcwINV4 are expressed in pollen, AtcwINV1 in the transmitting tissue and AtcwINV5 in the funiculi of the ovary. The vacuolar invertase AtVI2 is also expressed in pollen, and a knockout of AtVI2 leads to a severe reduction in pollen germination. Our data indicate that AtSUC1 mediated sucrose accumulation during late stages of pollen development and cleavage of vacuolar sucrose into monosaccharides is important for the process of pollen germination., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Seitz, Reimann, Fritz, Schröder, Knab, Weber and Stadler.)

Purpose: This case study discusses Mathematica's experience providing large-scale evaluation technical assistance (ETA) to 65 grantees across two cohorts of Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program grants. The grantees were required to conduct rigorous evaluations with specific evaluation benchmarks. This case study provides an overview of the TPP grant program, the evaluation requirements, the ETA provider, and other key stakeholders and the ETA provided to the grantees. Finally, it discusses the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from the effort., Conclusion: One important lesson learned is that there are two related evaluation features, strong counterfactuals and insufficient target sample sizes, that funders should attend to prior to selecting awardees because they are not easy to change through ETA. In addition, if focused on particular outcomes (for TPP, the goal was to improve sexual behavior outcomes), the funder should prioritize studies with an opportunity to observe differences in these outcomes across conditions; several TPP grantees served young populations, and sexual behavior outcomes were not observed or were rare, limiting the opportunity to observe impacts. Unless funders are attentive to weaning out evaluations with critical limitations during the funding process, requiring grantees to conduct impact evaluations supported by ETA might unintentionally foster internally valid, yet underpowered studies that show nonsignificant program impacts. The TPP funder was able to overcome some of the limitations of the grantee evaluations by funding additional evidence-building activities, including federally led evaluations and a large meta-analysis of the effort, as part of a broader learning agenda.

Introduction: A common concern of federal funders and grant recipients is how to sustain program activities once their federal funding period ends. Federal funding can be intended to develop or seed a program but not necessarily to continue its activities indefinitely. Understanding the importance of programmatic sustainability, the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) conducted research in 2015 on the elements that contribute to sustainability. As part of the Sustainability Study, OPA collected information from former Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) program grantees., Methods: Grantees that were awarded cohort 1 PAF program funding (2010-2014) but not awarded cohort 2 funding (2014-2017) were eligible for study inclusion because their OPA funding ended more than 1 year prior to the Sustainability Study, allowing for an assessment of sustainability after federal funding. Seven former PAF grantees were identified as eligible. Interviews were conducted with six of these grantees; grant applications and interim final reports from all seven were reviewed., Results: Five lessons emerged from interviews and review of grant documentation. Programs successfully continuing beyond the federal grant period tended to (1) diversify funding sources, (2) communicate regularly with key stakeholders, (3) form partnerships with like-minded programs, (4) consider implementing evidence-based interventions, and (5) begin planning for sustainability early., Discussion: By considering these lessons learned from the research, grantees can be well positioned to continue beyond a federal grant period. The lessons garnered from the Sustainability Study have informed, expanded, and affirmed OPA's sustainability toolkit, sustainability framework, and technical assistance.

Introduction: Expectant and parenting teens experience many challenges to achieving self-sufficiency and promoting their children's healthy development. Teen parents need support to help them address these challenges, and many different types of programs aim to support them. In this systematic review, we examine the research about programs that aim to support aspects of teen parents' self-sufficiency by promoting their educational outcomes and healthy birth spacing., Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search of published and unpublished literature to identify studies of programs to support teen parents that met this review's eligibility criteria. The quality and execution of the eligible study research designs were assessed to determine whether studies' findings were at risk of bias. We then extracted information about study characteristics, outcomes, and program characteristics for studies considered to provide rigorous evidence., Results: We identified 58 eligible studies. Twenty-three studies were considered to provide rigorous evidence about either education, contraceptive use, or repeat pregnancy or birth. Seventeen of these studies showed at least one favorable effect on an outcome in one of these domains, whereas the other six did not show any significant or substantial effects in these domains. These 17 studies represent 14 effective programs., Discussion: Effective programs to support expectant and parenting teens have diverse characteristics, indicating there is no single approach for promoting teens' education and healthy birth spacing. More rigorous studies of programs to support teen parents are needed to understand more about how to support teen fathers and the program characteristics associated with effectiveness.

The respiratory system is a central part of voice production, but details in breath control during phonation are not yet fully understood. This study therefore aims to investigate regional ventilation of the lungs during phonation. It was analyzed in 11 professional singers using electrical impedance tomography during breathing and phonation with maximum phonation time. Our results show differences in impedance changes between phonation and exhalation in the courses of time and amplitude normalized curves. Furthermore, differences related to gender and professionalism were found in the temporal and spatial profiles of regional ventilation. For female singers (sopranos and mezzo-sopranos) the anterior region participated less at the start of ventilation, and was more stable at the midpoint compared to male singers (tenors). This might be an expression of a smaller relative movement in rib cage and anterior diaphragm, primarily in early phonation., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

OBJECTIVES: We compared recent parents (married, cohabiting, not cohabiting but romantically involved, and not romantically involved) to examine the association between mental health problems and relationship status. METHODS: We analyzed data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study that followed a cohort of approximately 4900 births in large US cities. Our study included a large oversample of nonmarital births (n=3700) and interviews with both mothers and fathers. We used the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form to assess depression and generalized anxiety 1 year after the birth. Self reports were used to measure heavy drinking, illicit drug use, incarceration, and partner violence. RESULTS: Unmarried parents reported more mental health and behavioral problems than did married parents, and unmarried parents whose relationships ended before the birth reported more impairment compared with other groups of unmarried parents. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial number of children are born to unmarried parents and are at risk for poor parenting and poor developmental outcomes. Government initiatives aimed at increasing marriage rates among low-income couples need to consider the mental health status of unmarried parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent parenting often generates serious challenges for adolescents and their infants, including failure to gain education, homelessness, psychological distress, and poor developmental outcomes. Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) are increasingly being used to help improve parenting, prevent chronic parenting stress, and break the cycle of dysfunctional parenting patterns and behaviors. Researchers have found that arts-based MBIs provide a fun and non-threatening way for young people to express themselves. Given our interests in arts-based mindfulness interventions, we conducted this scoping review to explore how mindfulness and arts-based methods have been studied with the adolescent parenting populations. To the best of our knowledge this is the first scoping review that explores MBIs and arts-based methods with adolescent mothers. The questions that guided our study were: (1) How have MBIs been studied with the adolescent parenting populations? (2) How have arts-based methods been studied with the adolescent parenting population? (3) What are the key findings from these studies? The search did not identify any articles that described the use of MBIs with the adolescent parenting population. However, we identified 10 articles in which authors described arts-based parenting interventions with adolescent mothers. Participants from these studies reported that engaging in arts-based activities enabled them to develop ways to positively interact with their children, resulting in greater attunement to their children. Benefits to psychological well-being included a reduction in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Arts-based methods are potentially helpful in enhancing the experiences of adolescent mothers in their day-to-day parenting and warrant further exploration. Given the benefits of MBIs with other parenting populations, more work should be done to explore the feasibility and potential benefits of MBIs with the adolescent parent populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European divorce rates have been rising since the 1970s. Concurrently, as more couples choose cohabitation over marriage, there has also been an increase in separations among cohabiting partners. Nearly 50% of separated individuals form new relationships within five years. These trends may have important implications for fertility research. Are re-partnered women more likely to continue having children than women who have never separated? Do re-partnered women approach fertility decisions differently? Does re-partnering help recover the births 'lost' due to separation? To address these questions, we utilise longitudinal data from 2004 to 2018 across 32 European countries, employing probit models for our analysis. We find that women in higher-order unions are, on average, more likely to have an additional child compared to those who already have children with their current partner. The former group appears less burdened by having more or older children and is less influenced by family income. Predictions from our models indicate that births lost due to union dissolution can only be recovered when re-partnering occurs relatively quickly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]