Trichomonas vagina/is is a common sexually transmitted disease, affecting women more often than men. It has only been seen to undergo mitosis, even though published studies have confinned the organism has meiotic proteins. These meiotic proteins are known to function in other organisms with a key protein in homologous recombination, DMCl. RT-PCR analysis shows low expression ofDMCl in mitotically-growing cultures, and we found that some stresses on the organism increase DMCl expression. Polyclonal antibodies raised against DMCl protein have been used to test whole celllysates of the Tl and G3 strains of Trichomonas vagina/is but no obvious expression has been detected. We also used western blot analysis to show that superoxide dismutase is expressed in the standard lab strains Tl and G3 and immunocytochemistry studies showed that HA-tagged SOD6 protein localizes in the cytoplasm. Lastly, we found that SOD protein abundance increased in the CDC085 strain compared to Tl and G3, especially under aerobic conditions.

Faculty of Health Sciences School of Family Medicine 0335022 asmartc@yahoo.co.uk / The epidemic of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), including HIV infection, is one of the major challenges facing South Africa at the present time. Controlling the epidemic of conventional STIs will decrease the suffering and complications caused by these diseases as well as the spread of HIV/AIDS. In order to manage patients in an efficient and cost-effective way, the WHO has advocated syndromic management. This approach is characterised by the management of persons with STIs by providing treatment for a group of diseases, which may cause one or more signs or symptoms, rather than by treating a specific disease. The incidence of STIs is very high in South Africa and many patients with STIs are consulting private general practitioners but very little information is available on syndromic management in general practice. To this view, sexually transmitted diseases tally sheets were given to twenty self selected private general practitioners and were requested to complete sheets for all STI and non- STI patients for a period of eight weeks. Also a demographics questionnaire with regard to the doctors and their practices was given to the doctors for completion. The data was captured and analysed using the Microsoft Access and the EpiInfo 6 statistical package 5 The results indicated that although private general practitioners manage a fair number of STI patients, not all are familiar with syndromic management. While recognising that the respondents were self-selected, 19 (95%) of the 20 participating doctors were very keen to attend courses on syndromic management. It is recommended that more information be made available to general practitioners on syndromic management.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Childhood sexual abuse is represents a significant public health problem in the United States, as 21% of U.S. children experience sexual victimization prior to age 18. Research dedicated to preventing further sexual victimization has identified factors that influence the development of sexually abusive behavior. The abused-abuser hypothesis suggests that a prior history of sexual victimization may increase the risk of engaging in sexually abusive behavior among some victims. Some research has also investigated the relationship between characteristics of an individual's experiences of sexual abuse and the characteristics of their own sexually abusive behavior, but such research is scarce with inconsistent findings. For the present study, we first hypothesized that childhood sexual victimization is more prevalent among those who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior than those who have not. We also posited that among those who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior, their own sexual abuse experiences contribute to victim Page 188 2017 Appalachian Student Research Forum choice, the age at which they begin sexually abusing others, and the frequency of abuse. Our sample (N=529; 100% male; 84.7% Caucasian; M = 17.71) consisted of participants from two larger studies of university students with no known history of sexually abusive behavior (n = 286; 84.6% Caucasian; M = 20.18) and youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors and received residential treatment in the Southeastern U.S (n = 243; 84.8% Caucasian; M =14.79). Data from university students were self-reported, while data from the residential youth were coded from archival records. Results of a chisquare analysis revealed that youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior were significantly more likely to have experienced childhood sexual abuse than non-sexual abusers,  2 (1, N=523) =210.788, p = .000. Additionally, within the sample of youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior, correlations were used to examine relationships between characteristics of their own sexual perpetrators and their victim choice. Results indicate being victimized by a male is significantly associated with having a male victim (r= .143, p=.033), being victimized by a relative is associated with sexually abusing a relative (r=.148, p=.024), and being victimized by a non-relative is associated with sexually abusing a non-relative (r=.194, p=.033). Findings thus far indicate that youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior have not only experienced greater sexual victimization than non-sexual abusers, but that the characteristics of their sexual perpetrators may relate to how they sexually abuse others, specifically with regard to victim choice. Additional analyses will examine whether these characteristics of sexual victimization influence the age of onset of their sexual offending and their number of arrests, sexual offenses, and victims. Future directions and limitations will also be explored.

Sexual minority adolescents and adults experience higher rates of psychological risk factors and mental health disorders than their straight peers. As theorized by the minority stress model, this increased distress may be related to both external stressors (including discrimination and violence) and internal stressors (concealment, expectation of rejection, and internalized homonegativity). For some sexual minority individuals who also hold religious beliefs, conflict between their sexual orientation and religious beliefs may act as another stressor. Sexual minority adolescents and adults present to therapy at higher rates than their straight counterparts, and clients seeking help with religious and sexual conflict make up some portion of this distressed group. We qualitatively explored the therapy experiences of religious sexual minority college students using CQR methodology. Specifically, we investigated the role therapy plays in helping clients navigate conflict between their sexual orientation and religious belief. Fourteen participants completed 60-90 minute interviews that included questions about their therapy experiences. Themes emerged representing both helpful and unhelpful aspects of group and individual therapy. Helpful group themes included "learning from others,""connecting with others," and "a supportive environment;"and unhelpful themes included "not connecting with others," and "discomfort with group content." Helpful individual therapy themes included "processing and exploration" and "a supportive environment;" and unhelpful themes included "problems with the therapist" and "problems with the therapy process." Connections to Yalom's "curative factors" and common factor theory are discussed, as well as special considerations when working with a religious sexual minority population.

No description available.

No description available.