Improving communication between American Indian youth and caregivers to prevent teenage pregnancy.

American Indian (AI) youth are at increased risk for poor reproductive health outcomes. Parental communication and monitoring are established predictors of sexual risk-taking among adolescents. No program evaluations of sexual risk avoidance programs have focused exclusively on AI youth and parents.

Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Pregnancy Prevention Among Native American Youths: A Randomized Controlled Trial, 2016-2018.

To evaluate the efficacy of the Respecting the Circle of Life program (RCL) among Native American youths 11 to 19 years of age residing in a rural reservation community in the southwestern United States. Between 2016 and 2018, we conducted a randomized controlled trial of the RCL program with 534 Native youths. Participants completed assessments at baseline and 9 and 12 months after the intervention.

"Empowering Our People": Impact of a Culturally Adapted Evidence-Based Intervention on Sexually Transmitted Infection Risks Among Native Americans With Binge Substance Use.

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate a culturally adapted evidence-based intervention called EMPWR (Educate, Motivate, Protect, Wellness and Respect) for impacts on sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening and sexual health risk behaviors.

Methods: We enrolled Native American adults with recent binge substance use from a rural, reservation community in the Southwest into a 1:1 randomized controlled trial conducted on July 2015 to June 2019. All participants were offered non-clinic-based self-administered STI screening.

Empowering our people: Predictors of retention in an STI risk reduction program among rural Native Americans with binge substance use.

Purpose: Substance use and sexual risk-taking have been shown to co-occur. Programs focused on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) reduction may benefit substance-using, particularly binge substance-using, adults. This is especially true for rural Native American communities who endure sexual and substance use disparities and have few STI risk reduction programs.

'Empowering our people' to address depression, violence, and sexual risk among Native Americans with recent binge alcohol use.

This study was launched in response to an American Indian (AI) community's concern regarding the comorbid occurrence of substance use, poor mental health, and other risk factors on sexual health. The purpose of this manuscript was to assess the relationship between alcohol use, violence, depression and STI/HIV risk behaviors on the frequency of unprotected sex acts and number of sexual partners among AI adults. Specifically, this analysis examines sociodemographic characteristics, experience of sexual and physical violence, binge drinking, depression, and sexual risk taking among = 281 AI adults ages 18-55.

Predictors of Sexually Transmitted Infection Positivity Among Substance-Using Native American Adults.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a public health crisis with Native Americans suffering a high burden of disease. Studies across gender and racial/ethnic groups have found varying risk factors associated with STI positivity. Understanding how risk factors are associated with STI positivity can help design interventions for those most at risk.

Protecting our future generation: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial evaluating a sexual health self-care intervention with Native American youth and young adults.

Background: Disparities in sexually transmitted infections (STI) are an urgent problem among Native American youth and young adults which are not fully explained by different sexual or related behaviors. These sexual health disparities are more likely attributed to social environments and structural determinants such as a shortage of sexual healthcare providers, lower socioeconomic status, and access barriers to STI screening and treatment, including geographic isolation and confidentiality concerns. Innovative, non-clinic based alternatives to promote STI screening and treatment are essential for alleviating these disparities.

The Tetrahymena metallothionein gene family: twenty-one new cDNAs, molecular characterization, phylogenetic study and comparative analysis of the gene expression under different abiotic stressors.

Background: Ciliate metallothioneins (MTs) are included in family 7 of the MT superfamily. This family has been divided into two main subfamilies: 7a or CdMTs and 7b or CuMTs. All ciliate MTs reported have been isolated from different Tetrahymena species and present unique features with regard to standard MTs.