Retail availability of over-the-counter birth control pills at Texas pharmacies: Results from a mystery caller study.

Objectives: To estimate the availability of the recently released over-the-counter (OTC) birth control pill (Opill) in retail pharmacies and compare availability across pharmacies based on their chain status and setting.

Study Design: In April and May 2024, we conducted a mystery caller study of a sample of 500 Texas retail pharmacies. Sampled pharmacies were contacted by female project staff posing as potential customers and asked whether they had OTC birth control pills in stock and, if not, whether they could be ordered.

Role of Surface Tension on Heat Feedback and Power from Energetic Composites.

Heat feedback to the unburned reaction interface is an important controlling factor of the velocity of the reaction front and power delivery. In this paper, we investigate the effect of agglomerate surface tension and its relationship to surface residence time and heat feedback on the combustion characteristics by Si addition to an Al/KClO composite. Macroscopic imaging demonstrates a significant increase in burn rate with the addition of Si despite the fact that Si/KClO has a slightly lower energy density than Al/KClO.

Increases in retail sales of over-the-counter levonorgestrel emergency contraception in the United States, 2016-2022.

Objectives: To understand patterns in demand for emergency contraception (EC), we characterize the sales of over-the-counter (OTC) levonorgestrel (LNG) EC in the United States from traditional retail outlets.

Study Design: We describe sales of OTC LNG EC using retail sales data aggregated from traditional retail channels, including grocery stores, drug stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, dollar stores, and military outlets.

Results: Sales of OTC LNG EC doubled between 2016 and 2022 (approximately 7.

Retail demand for emergency contraception in United States following New Year holiday: time series study.

Objective: To estimate the increase in sales of emergency contraception following the New Year's Eve/New Year's Day holiday.

Design: Time series analysis using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model.

Setting: Traditional (that is, "bricks and mortar") retail outlets-grocery stores, drug stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, dollar stores, and military outlets-in the United States from 2016 to 2022.

Enhancing the Combustion of Magnesium Nanoparticles via Low-Temperature Plasma-Induced Hydrogenation.

The hydrogenation of metal nanoparticles provides a pathway toward tuning their combustion characteristics. Metal hydrides have been employed as solid-fuel additives for rocket propellants, pyrotechnics, and explosives. Gas generation during combustion is beneficial to prevent aggregation and sintering of particles, enabling a more complete fuel utilization.

"A Lot of My Friends Don't Know How It Works": Student Activists Describe Gaps in College Students' Emergency Contraception Knowledge.

Introduction: Despite the high potential need for emergency contraception (EC) among college students, lack of accurate knowledge may decrease the likelihood of its use in this population. We examined knowledge about EC methods, potential outcomes of use, and access among college students in the United States.

Methods: We recruited college students from a listserv devoted to EC campus activism for an online survey about EC knowledge (N = 150) and conducted 24 follow-up in-depth interviews.

FFAR4 regulates cardiac oxylipin balance to promote inflammation resolution in HFpEF secondary to metabolic syndrome.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a complex clinical syndrome, but a predominant subset of HFpEF patients has metabolic syndrome (MetS). Mechanistically, systemic, nonresolving inflammation associated with MetS might drive HFpEF remodeling. Free fatty acid receptor 4 (Ffar4) is a GPCR for long-chain fatty acids that attenuates metabolic dysfunction and resolves inflammation.

Epitope-tagged and phosphomimetic mouse models for investigating natriuretic peptide-stimulated receptor guanylyl cyclases.

The natriuretic peptide receptors NPR1 and NPR2, also known as guanylyl cyclase A and guanylyl cyclase B, have critical functions in many signaling pathways, but much remains unknown about their localization and function . To facilitate studies of these proteins, we developed genetically modified mouse lines in which endogenous NPR1 and NPR2 were tagged with the HA epitope. To investigate the role of phosphorylation in regulating NPR1 and NPR2 guanylyl cyclase activity, we developed mouse lines in which regulatory serines and threonines were substituted with glutamates, to mimic the negative charge of the phosphorylated forms (NPR1-8E and NPR2-7E).

High-Throughput Dispensing of Viscous Solutions for Biomedical Applications.

Cells cultured in three-dimensional scaffolds express a phenotype closer to in vivo cells than cells cultured in two-dimensional containers. Natural polymers are suitable materials to make three-dimensional scaffolds to develop disease models for high-throughput drug screening owing to their excellent biocompatibility. However, natural polymer solutions have a range of viscosities, and none of the currently available liquid dispensers are capable of dispensing highly viscous polymer solutions.

Guanylyl Cyclase-B Dependent Bone Formation in Mice is Associated with Youth, Increased Osteoblasts, and Decreased Osteoclasts.

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) activation of guanylyl cyclase-B (GC-B) catalyzes the synthesis of cGMP in chondrocytes and osteoblasts. Elevated cGMP stimulates long bone growth, and inactivating mutations in CNP or GC-B reduce cGMP, which causes dwarfism. GC-B mice that express a GC-B mutant that cannot be inactivated by dephosphorylation exhibit increased CNP-dependent GC-B activity, which increases bone length, as well as bone mass and strength.

Acute care utilization and housing hardships in American children.

Millions of families in the United States are economically vulnerable: one shock can lead to hardship. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the association between acute healthcare utilization - emergency room visits or hospitalizations - and subsequent housing hardships, such as being evicted for financial reasons. Further, we explore whether this association differs by who in the family utilized the care and whether perceived social support protects against hardship when these experiences occur.

Guanylyl cyclase-A phosphorylation decreases cardiac hypertrophy and improves systolic function in male, but not female, mice.

Atrial natriuretic peptide (NP) and BNP increase cGMP, which reduces blood pressure and cardiac hypertrophy by activating guanylyl cyclase (GC)-A, also known as NPR-A or Npr1. Although GC-A is highly phosphorylated, and dephosphorylation inactivates the enzyme, the significance of GC-A phosphorylation to heart structure and function remains unknown. To identify in vivo processes that are regulated by GC-A phosphorylation, we substituted glutamates for known phosphorylation sites to make GC-A mice that express an enzyme that cannot be inactivated by dephosphorylation.

Demographic and developmental patterns in telomere length across adolescence.

Telomere length is often used in studies of adults as a biomarker of cellular aging and an indicator of stress exposure. However, we know little about how telomeres change over time, particularly over the course of the important developmental period of adolescence. We use data on telomere length collected at two points in time spanning adolescence (Years 9 and 15) from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine longitudinal patterns ( = 1,654) in telomere length.

Decline in Marriage Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States.

In the social upheaval arising from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we do not yet know how union formation, particularly marriage, has been affected. Using administration records-marriage certificates and applications-gathered from settings representing a variety of COVID-19 experiences in the United States, the authors compare counts of recorded marriages in 2020 against those from the same period in 2019. There is a dramatic decrease in year-to-date cumulative marriages in 2020 compared with 2019 in each case.

Prevention of guanylyl cyclase-B dephosphorylation rescues achondroplastic dwarfism.

Activating mutations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) or inactivating mutations in guanylyl cyclase-B (GC-B), also known as NPR-B or Npr2, cause short-limbed dwarfism. FGFR3 activation causes dephosphorylation and inactivation of GC-B, but the contribution of GC-B dephosphorylation to achondroplasia (ACH) is unknown. GC-B7E/7E mice that express a glutamate-substituted version of GC-B that cannot be inactivated by dephosphorylation were bred with mice expressing FGFR3-G380R, the most common human ACH mutation, to determine if GC-B dephosphorylation is required for ACH.

Free fatty acid receptor 4 responds to endogenous fatty acids to protect the heart from pressure overload.

Aims: Free fatty acid receptor 4 (Ffar4) is a G-protein-coupled receptor for endogenous medium-/long-chain fatty acids that attenuates metabolic disease and inflammation. However, the function of Ffar4 in the heart is unclear. Given its putative beneficial role, we hypothesized that Ffar4 would protect the heart from pathologic stress.

National Profiles of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Mortality Risks by Age Structure and Preexisting Health Conditions.

Background And Objectives: Although individual age and preexisting health conditions are well-documented risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality, it is unclear whether these 2 factors capture unique dimensions of risk for epidemic severity at the national level. In addition, no studies have examined whether national distributions of these factors are associated with epidemic experiences to date.

Research Design And Methods: Drawing on surveys of older adults from 42 countries and estimated case fatality ratios by age and preexisting health conditions, we document and compare national profiles of COVID-19 mortality risks among older adults.

Enhanced Hyaluronan Signaling and Autophagy Dysfunction by VPS35 D620N.

The motor features of Parkinson's disease (PD) result from the loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra with autophagy dysfunction being closely linked to this disease. A PD-causing familial mutation in VPS35 (D620N) has been reported to inhibit autophagy. In order to identify signaling pathways responsible for this autophagy defect, we performed an unbiased screen using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of wild-type or VPS35 D620N-expressing retinoic acid-differentiated SH-SY5Y cells.

Male mice with elevated C-type natriuretic peptide-dependent guanylyl cyclase-B activity have increased osteoblasts, bone mass and bone strength.

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) activation of guanylyl cyclase (GC)-B, also known as NPR2, stimulates cGMP synthesis and bone elongation. CNP activation requires the phosphorylation of multiple GC-B residues and dephosphorylation inactivates the receptor. GC-B knockin mice, expressing a glutamate-substituted, "pseudophosphorylated," form of GC-B, exhibit increased CNP-dependent GC activity.

Nucleic acid detection aboard the International Space Station by colorimetric loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP).

Human spaceflight endeavors present an opportunity to expand our presence beyond Earth. To this end, it is crucial to understand and diagnose effects of long-term space travel on the human body. Developing tools for targeted, on-site detection of specific DNA sequences will allow us to establish research and diagnostics platforms that will benefit space programs.

Health Status and Transitions in Cohabiting Relationships of American Young Adults.

Objective: This study examines whether individual health predicts cohabitors' union transitions to marriage in American young adults.

Background: Associations between health and subsequent marital transitions are well documented, but less is known about how health influences transitions of cohabiting relationships. As cohabitation has become a common relationship experience, understanding how health may influence cohabitors' union transitions is an important component of how health shapes relationship exposures more broadly.

Emergency contraception: Links between providers' counseling choices, prescribing behaviors, and sociopolitical context.

Healthcare decisions depend on the characteristics of patients and providers. However, how these decisions are influenced by provider interpretations of biological processes and the sociopolitical context in which they work remains unclear. To answer these questions, we explore providers' prescribing of emergency contraception (EC), methods that can prevent pregnancy after sex has already occurred.

A Portable Electrospinner for Nanofiber Synthesis and Its Application for Cosmetic Treatment of Alopecia.

A portable, handheld electrospinning apparatus is designed and constructed using off-the-shelf components and 3D-printed parts. The portable electrospinner is used to generate nanofibers with diameters ranging from 85 to 600 nm; examination of these fibers is achieved with scanning electron microscopy. This portable electrospinner has similar capabilities to standard stationary benchtop electrospinners in terms of the diversity of polymers the device is able to spin into nanofibers and their resulting size and morphology.

"My BMI is too high for Plan B." A changing population of women seeking ulipristal acetate emergency contraception online.

Emergency contraceptive (EC) pills may be less effective for women with higher body mass index (BMI), but little is known about public response to the fact that EC may lose efficacy as weight increases. In November 2013, European authorities changed the label for a levonorgestrel EC product to warn of a reduction in effectiveness for women with higher BMI, garnering significant media coverage in the United States. Ulipristal acetate (UPA) EC may be more effective than levonorgestrel for women with BMI levels designated as obese.