Trends in exposure to drugs and prohibited substances among sports: A nationwide analysis of 2008-2022 inquiry records.

To prevent athletes from unintentional doping, the anti-doping authorities in Taiwan have launched several sports-prohibited substances inquiry services since 2008. This study aimed to enhance the prevention of sports-prohibited substance misuse by analyzing data collected from major nationwide service systems, enabling the identification of trends in athletes' exposure to drugs and prohibited substances. The study collected over 30,000 data points from three major national anti-doping inquiry systems, spanning from 2008 to 2022. The information of the users consulted products, prohibited substances, and sports disciplines in the data were calculated and categorized. The usage of inquiry systems has shown an increasing trend from 2008 to 2022. Athletes comprised the majority of users (> 40%), significantly outnumbering other user groups (all below 20%). Among the inquiries, Western medicine accounted for the highest percentage (up to 79.6%), and it also contained the majority of the prohibited substances. Interestingly, traditional Chinese medicines had a higher chance (35.9%) of containing prohibited substances, as indicated by the mobile application. The prohibited substances mainly belonged to class S6 stimulants and S9 glucocorticoids. Among the daily medicinal products and nutritional supplements encountered by sports personnel, approximately 30% of them were found to contain prohibited substances. Future educational efforts should focus on raising awareness about traditional Chinese medicines and drugs for the common cold, ADHD, and pain relief, as well as their regulation, to prevent the misuse of prohibited substances.

Factors associated with HPV-associated sexual risk behaviors among sexually active college students.

High-risk sexual behavior is the primary risk factor for the acquisition and persistence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the development of HPV-associated diseases including cancer. Incidence of HPV infection is high among individuals in their late teens and early 20s. Thus, college students represent a historically high-risk group for HPV infection yet are also a group with the ability to independently access HPV vaccination for HPV prevention. To inform future interventions, we examined factors associated with HPV-associated risky sexual behaviors among sexually active college students. Data (N = 741) were from an anonymous online survey distributed to students at a public Midwestern university in 2021. The outcomes were HPV-associated sexual risk behaviors-number of oral or vaginal sexual partners [high (≥ 5) or low (< 5)] and age of oral or vaginal sexual debut [early (< 18 years) or late (≥ 18 years)]. Multivariable logistic regression models estimated the association between HPV-associated risky sexual behaviors and several predictors including age, gender, relationship status, academic level, country of birth, and rural-urban status. Among sexually active students, approximately 47% and 41% had a high number of lifetime vaginal and oral partners, respectively. Among the same group, 60% and 64% had early vaginal and oral sexual debut. Students who were single and dating (aOR = 1.93; 95% CI = 1.21, 3.08) or single and not dating (2.11; 1.28, 3.48) were more likely to have a high number of vaginal lifetime partners compared with married students. Single (vs. married) students were also about twice as likely to have a high number of oral lifetime partners. Relative to graduate students, freshmen/sophomores were more likely to have an early vaginal (2.44; 1.45, 4.11) and oral (2.14; 1.26, 3.63) sexual debut. Interventions tailored to college freshmen/sophomores and unmarried students should encourage students to receive the HPV vaccine for prevention of future HPV-associated diseases.

Hierarchical Carbon Composites for High-Energy/Power-Density and High-Reliability Supercapacitors with Low Aging Rate.

A facile method for preparing hierarchical carbon composites that contain activated carbon (AC), carbon nanospheres (CNSs), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for use as the electrode material in supercapacitors (SCs) was developed. The CNS/CNT network enabled the formation of three-dimensional conducting pathways within the highly porous AC matrix, effectively reducing the internal resistance of an SC electrode. The specific capacitance, cyclability, voltage window, temperature profile during charging/discharging, leakage current, gas evolution, and self-discharge of the fabricated SCs were systematically investigated and the optimal CNS/CNT ratio was determined. A 2.5 V floating aging test at 70 °C was performed on SCs made with various hierarchical carbon electrodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, postmortem electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses were conducted to examine the electrode aging behavior. A hierarchical carbon architecture with an appropriate AC/CNS/CNT constituent ratio could significantly improve charge-discharge performance, increase cell reliability, and decrease the aging-related degradation rate.

Medicare Part D Implementation and Associated Health Impact Among Older Adults in the United States.

This study examined the effect of Medicare (Part D) implementation on health outcomes among U.S. older adults. Study participants were initially extracted from the 2004-2008 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Data from respondents who further participated in the HRS 2005-2007 Prescription Drug Study were analyzed (N = 746). This was a retrospective pre-post design with a treatment and a control group. The difference-in-differences approach with panel ordered logistic regressions was used to examine the Part D effect on three patient health outcomes before and after the implementation, controlling for patient sociodemographic characteristics. People with continuous Part D enrollment from 2006-2008 were less likely to have a worse self-rated health than those who were not enrolled in Part D (odds ratio [OR] = 0.48; p < .05). A higher Charlson Comorbidity Index score was associated with a higher likelihood of having worse self-rated overall health, worse mental health, and worse activities of daily living impairment (ORs = 1.12, 1.17, and 1.36, respectively; all ps < .001). The Part D implementation appears to have a positive effect on older adults' overall health outcomes. A decrease in out-of-pocket cost for health care may encourage older adults to utilize more needed medications, which in turn helped maintain better health.