Screening of cannabinoids in industrial-grade hemp using two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence detection

Widely known for its recreational use, the cannabis plant also has the potential to act as an antibacterial agent in the medicinal field. The analysis of cannabis plants/products in both pharmacological and forensic studies often requires the separation of compounds of interest and/or accurate identification of the whole cannabinoid profile. In order to provide a complete separation and detection of cannabinoids, a new two-dimensional liquid chromatography method has been developed using acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence detection, which has been shown to be selective for cannabinoids. This was carried out using a Luna 100 Å CN column and a Poroshell 120 EC-C18 column in the first and second dimensions, respectively. The method has utilized a large amount of the available separation space with a spreading angle of 48.4° and a correlation of 0.66 allowing the determination of more than 120 constituents and mass spectral identification of ten cannabinoids in a single analytical run. The method has the potential to improve research involved in the characterization of sensitive, complex matrices.

Age-specific changes in BMI and BMI distribution among Australian adults using cross-sectional surveys from 1980 to 2008

Background: Research efforts have focused mainly on trends in obesity among populations, or changes in mean body mass index (BMI), without consideration of changes in BMI across the BMI spectrum. Examination of age-specific changes in BMI distribution may reveal patterns that are relevant to targeting of interventions.

Methods: Using a synthetic cohort approach (which matches members of cross-sectional surveys by birth year) we estimated population representative annual BMI change across two time periods (1980 to 1989 and 1995 to 2008) by age, sex, socioeconomic position and quantiles of BMI. Our study population was a total of 27 349 participants from four nationally representative Australian health surveys; Risk Factor Prevalence Study surveys (1980 and 1989), the 1995 National Nutrition Survey and the 2007/8 National Health Survey.

Results: We found greater mean BMI increases in younger people, in those already overweight and in those with lower education. For men, age-specific mean annual BMI change was very similar in the 1980s and the early 2000s (P=0.39), but there was a recent slowing down of annual BMI gain for older women in the 2000s compared with their same-age counterparts in the 1980s (P<0.05). BMI change was not uniform across the BMI distribution, with different patterns by age and sex in different periods. Young adults had much greater BMI gain at higher BMI quantiles, thus adding to the increased right skew in BMI, whereas BMI gain for older populations was more even across the BMI distribution.

Conclusions: The synthetic cohort technique provided useful information from serial cross-sectional survey data. The quantification of annual BMI change has contributed to an understanding of the epidemiology of obesity progression and identified key target groups for policy attention—young adults, those who are already overweight and those of lower socioeconomic status.

Sexual behaviour in early adolescence: a cross-national comparison of Australian and United States youth

Objective: This study used matched samples from schools in the states of Victoria and Washington to compare sexual behaviour in early adolescence. It was hypothesised that the contrasting dominant policy objectives of harm minimisation in Australia and abstinence in the USA would result in state differences for markers of sexual risk, mirroring prior cross-national findings in substance use. Method: A two-stage cluster sampling approach was used to recruit students from the two states. Self-reported sexual behaviour was examined for 1,596 students in annual surveys from Grade 7 in 2002 to Grade 9 in 2004. Prevalence estimates were derived for each measure of sexual behaviour, and comparisons were made between gender groups in each state. Results: State differences were found for girls' first sex, with significantly more girls in Washington than Victoria having had sex by Grade 7. By Grade 9, significantly more girls in Victoria reported sex in the last year and more sexual partners than girls in Washington. A large proportion of Grade 9 students across both states reported inconsistent contraception use. Conclusions: Contradicting the abstinence policy objective, first sex by Grade 7 was more prevalent in Washington than in Victoria. While sexual behaviour was more prevalent in Grade 9 in Victoria, the sexually active showed no clear cross-national differences in markers of risk such as contraception use and pregnancy outcomes. Findings demonstrate few cross-national differences in adolescent sexual behaviour despite the different policy contexts of Victoria and Washington.

Effects of isolation on stress responses to novel stimuli in Subadult chickens (Gallus gallus)

Extensive research has examined the effects of social isolation in neonatal and adult animal populations, but few studies have examined the effect of social isolation in early adulthood. Animals reaching reproductive age often experience extensive social changes as they leave their natal site, and a social stressor like isolation may uniquely affect this age group. Furthermore, adolescence is a time when sex differences in behavior become more pronounced. As such, the effects of social stressors are likely to vary by sex. In this study, we used noninvasive methods to evaluate stress responses to social change in male and female subadult chickens (Gallus gallus). Half of the birds experienced regular sessions of social isolation over the course of 2 wk, while the other half were never isolated. Subsequently, all of the animals were exposed to a suite of three novel probes, including an open-field test. We monitored the birds’ behavioral (head movements) and physiological (fecal glucocorticoid metabolites, FGM) response to the tests. Our results indicate that, for subadult chickens, the effect of social isolation is sex dependent: Male FGM and behavioral responses did not change with subsequent experiences, in contrast to females. Females also exhibited more social reinstatement behavior compared to males. Our results are consistent with the expectations of differences between the sexes based on changes in the social environment due to sex-biased dispersal patterns. For both sexes, the FGM and behavioral responses varied independently, which highlights the necessity for multiple measures of stress in animal populations.

Lay people's views of school food policy options: associations with confidence, personal values and demographics

A random population survey administered by mail to examine lay people's views of children's food policies and their associations with demographics, personal values and confidence in authorities was conducted among adults in Victoria, Australia. Three hundred and seventy-seven people responded (response rate 57.6%). The questionnaire contained 35 items about children's healthy eating policy options plus details like personal values, confidence and demographic items. There was widespread support for healthy school food policies. The strongest support was for life skills education and school-based nutrition and physical education programmes. Many age-related associations indicated that people >48 years were more in favour of healthy eating policies than younger people. There were fewer statistically significant associations with parent status and sex. In contrast, many associations showed that respondents with strong equity–harmony values and those with least confidence in the authorities were most in favour of healthy eating policies for schoolchildren. It is concluded that there is widespread support for school-based health and nutrition education and for active school food policies. However, differences between demographic and values groups suggest the need for caution in the promotion of public health nutrition initiatives among schoolchildren.

Chamber

Performed 25 – 28 April 2002 - Dancehouse, Melbourne

Towards ecological management of Australian powerline corridor vegetation

Powerline corridor management in Australia has traditionally focused on the complete removal of vegetation using short rotation times due to the perceived fire hazard associated with corridor vegetation. This study assessed vegetation recovery in a powerline corridor, following management, at three sites spanning corridor and forest habitat. Forest and corridor vegetation communities differed significantly between sites and over time. As vegetation recovered, the corridor community became a mix of plants common in the surrounding forest and open areas, changing within the 3-year study from a grass–fern to shrub–sedge community encroached by midstorey species. The current short rotations between management events unnecessarily maintain the corridor in a cycle of degradation, remove resources for native species and may allow introduced grasses and saplings to proliferate in the corridor. Maintaining a shrub layer would help avoid loss of species richness, encourage native species and limit colonisation opportunities of introduced species. Spot spraying emergent saplings and problem plants and mosaic slashing, would keep fire risk low and maintain biodiversity without increasing biomass to dangerous levels.

Chamber : dance improvisation, masculine embodiment and subjectivity

[No Abstract]

Motivations for seeking treatment for ED: the woman's perspective

There is increasing evidence that partners have a major role in treatment-seeking behavior for men with ED. This study investigated the motivations of 100 females for seeking medical treatment for their partner's ED. Semi-structured interviews focused on reasons for seeking treatment from the female's perspective. The themes that emerged from the data centered on the importance of sex in the relationship, with closeness and intimacy frequently being seen as more important than sex. The second major theme related to hopes that females had in relation to the medication, particularly in relation to increasing their partner's confidence and reducing his sexual frustration. Enhancement of the relationship as well as improving the female's own feelings of self-doubt and sexual frustration were also mentioned. The results of this study show the multi-faceted nature of the motivations that females express in terms of seeking help for their partner's ED.

How the ladybird got its spots : effects of resource limitation on the honesty of aposematic signals

Prey species often possess defences (e.g. toxins) coupled with warning signals (i.e. aposematism). There is growing evidence that the expression of aposematic signals often varies within species and correlates with the strength of chemical defences. This has led to the speculation that such signals may be 'honest', with signal reliability ensured by the costliness of producing or maintaining aposematic traits. We reared larval seven-spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) on a Low or High aphid diet and measured the effects on warning signal expression (elytral carotenoid pigmentation, conspicuousness, spot size), levels of defensive alkaloids (precoccinelline, coccinelline), and relationships between these traits. High-diet individuals had greater total precoccinelline levels, and elytra carotenoid concentrations at adulthood which was detectable to a typical avian predator. However, larval diet did not significantly affect adult body mass or size, spot size or coccinelline levels. Elytra carotenoid concentrations correlated positively with total precoccinelline levels in both diet groups and sexes. However, the relationship between elytra carotenoid concentrations and total levels of coccinelline depended on sex: in both diet groups, elytra carotenoids and coccinelline levels were positively correlated in females, but negatively correlated in males. Spot size and coccinelline levels correlated positively in Low-diet individuals, but negatively in High-diet individuals. These results point to physiological linkages between components of aposematism, which are modulated by resource (i.e. food) availability and affect the honesty of signals. Developmental diet, but also sex, influenced the relationships between signals and toxin levels. Ladybirds are sexually size dimorphic, and thus in comparison with males, females may be more susceptible to resource limitation and more likely to be honest signallers. © 2012 The Authors. Functional Ecology © 2012 British Ecological Society.

Excessive alcohol use and its association with risky sexual behaviour: a cross-sectional analysis of data from Victorian secondary school students

Objective
Estimate the prevalence of sexual behaviour and alcohol use and examine the association between excessive alcohol use and risky sexual behaviour in late secondary students in Victoria, Australia.

Method
The sample of Year 11 students from government and independent schools participating in the 2008 International Youth Development Study (n=450) was representative of the Victorian school population. Logistic regression analyses examined the associations between sexual behaviour, binge and compulsive drinking, adjusting for socio-demographic, school and family factors.

Results
Under half (44%) the students had experienced sex in the past year, half (50%) had engaged in binge drinking in the past two weeks and 26% reported compulsive drinking in the past year. Of those who reported sex in the past year (n=197), 34% had sex without a condom at the last sexual encounter and 28% later regretted sex due to alcohol. The likelihood of experiencing sex was increased by binge (OR=2.44, 95%CI 1.44-4.12) and compulsive drinking (OR=2.15, 95%CI 1.29-3.60). For those sexually active, binge drinking increased the risk of having three or more sexual partners (OR=3.37, 95%CI 1.11-10.26) and compulsive drinking increased the likelihood of regretted sex due to alcohol (OR=4.43, 95%CI 2.10-9.31). Excessive drinking was not associated with condom non-use.

Conclusion and implications
Risky sex – multiple sexual partners and regretted sex due to alcohol – and excessive drinking are highly prevalent and co-associated among Victorian late secondary students.