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Sexual exploitation of very young Hmong girls.

PURPOSE: Recent increases in Hmong girls referred to a Midwest hospital-based child advocacy center prompted this comparison of abuse experiences for Hmong extra-familial sexual abuse cases versus peers. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of all girls, aged 10 to 14 years, with extra-familial sexual abuse 1998-2003 (n = 226). Fourteen percent of cases were Hmong (n = 32). Demographics, risk behaviors, abuse experiences, physical findings and legal outcomes were compared for Hmong (H) and Other (O) girls using chi-square. Multivariate logistic regressions explored differences in gynecologic findings and sexually transmitted disease (STD) results. RESULTS: Hmong girls were more likely to be runaways (90% H vs. 8% O), truant (97% H vs. 13% O), self-mutilating (38% H vs. 10% O), and suicidal (41% H vs. 21% O). Seventy-seven percent of Hmong reported gang rape, prostitution, or multiple assaults versus 16% Others; most had 5+ perpetrators (69% H vs. 2% O) and 5+ assaults (75% H vs. 24% O, both p < .001). Gynecologic findings were more prevalent among Hmong girls (63% H vs. 21% O). Controlling for penetration, number of partners/assaults, and acuity at examination, Hmong ethnicity predicted gynecologic findings (adjusted odds ration [AOR] = 6.57). Hmong girls were more likely to have a positive chlamydia screen (36% H vs. 4% O, p < .001), but only number of perpetrators was an independent predictor (AOR = 15.09). Most cases were prosecuted, but Hmong had higher prosecution rates (83% H vs. 57% O, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Hmong girl assault experiences were markedly more severe than peers. Health care providers need appropriate knowledge of Hmong culture to conduct forensic examinations. Abused Hmong girls need culturally sensitive, developmentally appropriate after-care that helps connect them back with families and school.

Adolescent↗

Runaway sexual selection when female preferences are directly selected.

We introduce models for the runaway coevolution of female mating preferences and male display traits. The models generalize earlier results by allowing for direct natural selection on the preference, arbitrary forms of mate choice, and fairly general assumptions about the underlying genetics. Results show that a runaway is less likely when there is direct selection on the preference, but that it is still possible if there is a sufficiently large phenotypic correlation between the female's preference and the male's trait among mated pairs. Comparison of three preference functions introduced by Lande (1981) shows that open-ended preferences are particularly prone to a runaway, and that absolute preferences require very large differences between females in their preferences. We analyze the causes of the runaway seen in a model developed by Iwasa and Pomiankowski (1995).

Animals↗

Assessment of street outreach for HIV prevention--selected sites, 1991-1993.

Street outreach programs for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention are designed to deliver HIV prevention messages, materials, and referral services to high-risk persons outside of traditional health-care and drug-treatment clinics. The Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Evaluation of Street Outreach Projects (AESOP) is an eight-site study designed by CDC in collaboration with researchers in each of the sites to better understand client characteristics, service delivery, and the impact of street outreach programs on the risk behaviors of high-risk populations. The populations studied are injecting-drug users (IDUs) in five of the eight sites and youth in high-risk situations (YHRS) (i.e., youths aged 12-23 years who are homeless or runaway or who support themselves through the "street economy" of drugs, prostitution, pan-handling, and crime) in three sites. This report summarizes information collected during the first 2 years of the project.

Adolescent↗

Models of sexual selection on a quantitative genetic trait when preference is acquired by sexual imprinting.

The evolution of a quantitative genetic trait under stabilizing viability selection and sexual selection is modeled for a polygynous species in which female mating preferences are acquired by sexual imprinting on the parents and by exposure to the surviving population at large. Stabilizing viability selection acts equally on both sexes in the case of a sexually monomorphic trait and on males only in the case of a dimorphic trait. A genetically fixed sensory or perceptual bias defines the origin of the scale on which the trait is measured, and the possibility is incorporated that female preferences may deviate asymmetrically from the familiar-either toward or away from this origin. When viability selection is strong relative to sexual selection, the models predict that the mean trait value will evolve to the viability optimum. With intermediate ratios of the strength of viability to sexual selection, a stable equilibrium can occur on either side of this viability optimum, depending on the direction of asymmetry in female preferences. When viability selection is relatively weak and certain other conditions are also satisfied, runaway selection is predicted.

Animals↗

Runaway social games, genetic cycles driven by alternative male and female strategies, and the origin of morphs.

Analysis of evolutionarily stable strategies (ESS) and decade-long field studies indicate that two color morphs of female side-blotched lizards exhibit density- and frequency-dependent strategies. Orange females are r-strategists: they lay large clutches of small progeny that are favored at low density. Conversely, yellow females are K-strategists: they lay small clutches of large progeny that are favored when carrying capacity is exceeded and the population crashes to low density. Interactions among three male morphs resembles a rock-paper-scissors (RPS) game. Fertilization success of males depends on frequency of neighboring morphs. Orange males usurp territory from blue neighbors and thereby mate with many females. However, orange males are vulnerable to cuckoldry by sneaky yellow males that mimic females. The yellow strategy is thwarted in turn by the mate-guarding strategy of blue. Sinervo and Lively (1996) developed a simple asexual model of the RPS game. Here, we model the dynamics of male and female morphs with one- and two-locus genetic models. Male and female games were considered in isolation and modeled as games that were genetically coupled by the same locus. Parameters for payoff matrices, which describe the force of frequency-dependent selection in ESS games, were estimated from free-ranging animals. Period of cycles in nature was 5 years for males and 2 years for females. Only the one locus model with three alleles (o, b, y) was capable of driving rapid cycles in male and female games. Furthermore, the o allele must be dominant to the y allele in females. Finally, the amplitude of male cycles was only reproduced in genetic models which allowed for irreversible plasticity of by genotypes, which is consistent with hormonally-induced changes that transform some males with yellow to dark blue. We also critique experimental designs that are necessary to detect density- and frequency-dependent selection in nature. Finally, runaway ESS games are discussed in the context of self-reinforcing genetic correlations that build and promote the formation of morphotypic variation.

Alleles↗

Project: HIV prevention for incarcerated youth in Indiana.

Both Indiana and national statistics suggest that HIV-AIDS cases continue to rise in the adolescent population. Because of environmental factors, incarcerated adolescents may be at a greater risk of exposure to HIV-AIDS. Educational programs, such as the one funded for this project, may be an important step in impacting the current pandemic nature of HIV-AIDS. An educational project consisting of 4 peer-based, interactive sessions was developed for incarcerated adolescents in a north central Indiana juvenile center. The project sessions were developed from the National Network of Runaway and Youth Services (1994). Project objectives were based on the AIDS Risk Reduction Model (ARRM) and were measured by a 40-item tool developed from the ARRM. Project objectives were as follows: Detainees would (a) participate in 4 educational sessions related to high-risk sexual behavior, (b) recognize and label their own sexual behaviors that put them at risk for contracting AIDS, and (c) make a commitment to reduce high-risk sexual behaviors. During the first year of state funding, 91 educational sessions were conducted, reaching a total of 196 detainees. Following comparisons of the preproject and postproject questionnaires, detainees demonstrated an increase in their ability to appropriately recognize and label risky behaviors, but they evidenced no significant commitment to change their behaviors.

Adolescent↗

A risk-amplification model of victimization and depressive symptoms among runaway and homeless adolescents.

This report is an examination of a theoretical model of risk amplification within a sample of 255 homeless and runaway adolescents. The young people were interviewed on the streets and in shelters in urban centers of four Midwestern states. Separate models were examined for males (n = 102) and females (n = 153). Results indicated that street experiences such as affiliation with deviant peers, deviant subsistence strategies, risky sexual behaviors, and drug and/or alcohol use amplified the effects of early family abuse on victimization and depressive symptoms for young women. These street adaptations significantly increased the likelihood of serious victimization over and above the effects of early family history for both young men and women. Similarly, street behaviors and experiences increased the likelihood of depressive symptoms for young women over the effects of early family abuse, but not for young men. The risk-amplification model from the life course theoretical perspective is discussed as an example of the cumulative continuity of maladaptive behaviors.

Adolescent↗

Prevalence of sexual risk behaviour and substance use among runaway and homeless adolescents in San Francisco, Denver and New York City.

We aim to assess the prevalence of HIV sexual risk behaviours and substance use among runaway and homeless adolescents in San Francisco, Denver and New York City. Survey data were examined from 775 runaway and homeless adolescents recruited from street settings and youth agencies during 1992/1993. Nearly all (98%) reported having engaged in sexual intercourse, of whom 49% first had intercourse by the age of 13. Condom use during all vaginal intercourse in the previous 3 months was reported by 42%. Among males, 23% indicated that they had exchanged sex for money, as did 14% of the females. Ninety-seven per cent had used alcohol or drugs and 21% had injected drugs. Overall, 75% reported having had sex while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Systematic epidemiological studies of this population and the development of innovative interventions are essential to reduce the threat of HIV among runaway and homeless youth.

Adolescent↗

Staphylococcus aureus chromosomal mutation specifically affecting the copy number of Inc3 plasmids.

A chromosomal mutation leading to an important increase in the copy number of plasmid pT181 and its derivatives has been isolated from Staphylococcus aureus strain 8325. The amplification effect in the mutant strain SA1350 was found to be specific for plasmids of the Inc3 group, to which belongs pT181. There are some other differences in the behavior of Inc3 plasmids between SA1350 and 8325, including stable maintenance in SA1350 at high copy number of temperature-sensitive replication mutants at restrictive temperatures, and altered incompatibility properties. Derivatives of SA1350 carrying only Inc3 plasmid mutants with high copy numbers (Cop mutants) could not be obtained, suggesting a lethal runaway plasmid replication in this situation. SA1350 expressed also a temperature-sensitive phenotype. The relationship of this character to the plaC1 mutation determining the amplification of Inc3 plasmids has not yet been elucidated.

Chromosomes, Bacterial↗

Focal striatal dopamine may potentiate dyskinesias in parkinsonian monkeys.

Striatal neurons convert L-dopa to dopamine (DA) following gene transfer of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) via adeno-associated virus (AAV) in parkinsonian monkeys. We investigated whether AAV-AADC could reduce or eliminate L-dopa-induced dyskinesias (LIDs) and side effects in MPTP-treated monkeys. Five monkeys were made parkinsonian by bilateral MPTP lesions. The optimal therapeutic dose of L-dopa was determined using an acute dose response regimen. After 3 weeks of chronic L-dopa treatment, AAV-AADC or control vector was bilaterally injected into the striatum. Animals were assessed for 6 months with the same L-dopa dosing as presurgery as well as chronic oral L-dopa treatment. Presurgery LID was observed at doses greater than 5 mg/kg. The AAV-AADC-treated animals displayed an average 7.3-fold decrease in the therapeutic dose of L-dopa throughout the 6-month follow-up period. Only AAV-AADC-treated monkeys were susceptible to dyskinesias even at sub-clinical doses. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed well-delineated foci of AADC within the striatum. These results suggest that high levels of focal DA were generated in response to L-dopa administration and may be responsible for the exacerbation of dyskinesias. This may be similar to focal dopaminergic activity in PD patients that developed off-drug or "runaway" dyskinesias following fetal mesencephalic grafts.

Animals↗

Behavioral and neuroanatomical effects of prenatal, postnatal, or combined exposure to ethanol in weanling rats.

Separate and combined effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to ethanol on activity, emotionality, learning, and hippocampal neuroanatomy were examined in infant rats. Neonatal rats from mothers that were fed either a liquid ethanol (E) or control (C) diet on Gestational Days (G) 1-21 were artificially reared during Postnatal Days (P) 4-12 on either 3% ethanol (E) or isocaloric maltose/dextrin (C) in a milk formula. Pups in these treatment groups (EE, EC, CE, and CC) were tested for activity and emotionally in an open field on P19, for acquisition and extinction of an appetitive, straight runaway task on P20-P21, and for the effects of ethanol treatments on alterations in hippocampal neuroanatomy on P21. Differences in activity and emotionally were slight. Ethanol affected both the partial reinforcement acquisition effect and the partial reinforcement extinction effect. Hippocampal cell density (compared with Group CC) showed a 12% reduction in CA1 pyramidal cells and an 11% reduction in mature granule cells in Groups EC and EE; the CA4 area (compared with Group CC) was significantly larger after postnatal exposure (Groups CE and EE). Significant positive correlations were found between rate of extinction after partial reinforcement (PRF) training and CA1 pyramidal cell density in Groups CC and CE. A significant negative correlation was found between extinction rate after PRF training and CA4 area in Group EE.

Animals↗

Sexual selection for sensory exploitation in the frog Physalaemus pustulosus.

The sensory bases of species and population mate preferences are well known; in frogs properties of the female auditory system influence such preferences. By contrast, there is little understanding of how sensory characteristics could result in sexual selection within a population. One possible mechanism is that females are more sensitive to male courtship signals that deviate from the population mean. We document this mechanism in the frog Physalaemus pustulosus. Female basilar papilla tuning is biased toward lower-than-average frequencies in the 'chuck' portion of the male's call, explaining female preference for the lower-frequency chucks produced by larger males. The tuning does not differ between P. pustulosus and its close relative P. coloradorum, a species in which males never evolved the ability to produce chucks; thus the female tuning evolved before the chuck and therefore the chuck played no role in the evolution of the preference. This allows us to reject two popular hypotheses for the evolution of this female preference (runaway sexual selection and natural selection) in favour of a third: sexual selection for sensory exploitation.

Animals↗

Genetic association between male attractiveness and female differential allocation.

Differential allocation of reproductive effort towards offspring of attractive mates is a form of post-copulatory mate choice. Although differential allocation has been demonstrated in many taxa, its evolutionary implications have received little attention. Theory predicts that mate choice will lead to a positive genetic correlation between female preference and male attractiveness. This prediction has been upheld for pre-copulatory mate choice, but whether such a relationship between male attractiveness and female differential allocation exists has never been tested. Here, we show that both female pre-copulatory mate choice and post-copulatory differential allocation are genetically associated with male attractiveness in house crickets, Acheta domesticus. Daughters of attractive males mated sooner and laid more eggs when paired with larger males. These forms of mate choice are strongest in large females, suggesting that costs decrease with increasing female size. The genetic association between attractiveness and differential allocation suggests potential for differential allocation to become exaggerated by coevolutionary runaway processes in an analogous manner to pre-copulatory choice. Sexual selection is thus likely to be stronger than predicted by pre-copulatory choice alone.

Animals↗

Precursors and pathways to adolescent prostitution in Taiwan.

This paper identifies the major precursors and pathways to prostitution for contemporary Taiwanese girls and the socioeconomic and cultural changes that have facilitated the shift in pathways over the past 10 years. Special attention is paid to the case of Taiwanese aborigines, who have particularly suffered systemic disruption due to prostitution. Analysis of case files and interviews provide quantitative and qualitative data that highlight the role of filial piety and the shift from indenture to runaway as the major pathway in Taiwan. Discussion includes relation of these findings to juvenile entry into prostitution in other countries, directions for future research, and policy recommendations for Taiwan's government.

Adolescent↗

Health care needs of homeless and runaway youths. Council on Scientific Affairs.

Large numbers of homeless adolescents can be found in this country, with estimates of their numbers ranging from 500,000 to more than 2 million. Some are runaways while others are involuntarily without shelter, often having been forced out of their homes. Most receive no help from social service agencies and their lack of skills forces them into a marginal existence, leaving them vulnerable to abuse and victimization. Health problems are numerous and health care is generally inadequate for several reasons, including a lack of treatment facilities, the behavior of the adolescents themselves, the ability of providers to deal with such youths, and the questionable legal status of homeless adolescents. The Council on Scientific Affairs urges that reliable and up-to-date data on the extent of homelessness among adolescents and the nature of their needs be generated and that guidelines for the medical care of such youths be developed.

Adolescent↗

Sexual selection. Are ducks impressed by drakes' display?

Surprisingly few birds have penises, but among those that do, the Argentine lake duck (Oxyura vittata) tops the bill - the penis of this small stifftail duck from South America is shaped like a corkscrew and, at almost half a metre long, is the largest of any bird measured so far. Factors responsible for the evolution of this remarkable organ could include runaway selection, whereby drakes with longer penises gain dominance and copulate with more females, or preference by females for drakes with longer and more decorated penises.

Animals↗

Substance use among runaway and homeless youth in three national samples.

OBJECTIVES: Standardized estimates of the prevalence of substance use by runaway and homeless youth between the ages of 12 and 21 in various settings were compared with each other and with estimates for youth in the general population. METHODS: Four surveys were used: (1) a nationally representative survey of runaway and homeless youth residing in federally and non-federally funded shelters; (2) a multicity survey of street youth; (3) a nationally representative household survey of youth with and without recent runaway and homeless experiences; and (4) a nationally representative household survey of youth whose previous runaway/homeless status was unknown. RESULTS: For almost every substance, substance use prevalence was highest among street youth. Shelter youth and household youth with recent runaway/homeless experiences reported similar rates. In the household surveys, substance use rates were lowest and were generally comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Many homeless and runaway youth use tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs at rates substantially higher than nonrunaway and nonhomeless youth, indicating a need for comprehensive and intensive substance abuse prevention and treatment services for these youth.

Adolescent↗