Economics at the FCC 2020-21: Closing the Connectivity Gap, COVID-19 and Telehealth, Spectrum Auctions, Communications Marketplace Report, and Economic Research.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is responsible for regulation in the communications marketplace and for management of the nation's non-federal radio frequency spectrum. During the past year, FCC economists assisted in the development of initiatives that were aimed at closing the connectivity gap which proved especially critical in light of the COVID-19 pandemic; contributed to the Commission's extensive responses to COVID-19; were involved in various spectrum auctions; evaluated competition in the communications marketplace in the 2020 Communications Marketplace Report; and published a series of working papers.

Survival Sex Trading in Los Angeles County, California, USA.

Most studies on survival sex, defined as sex trading for money, drugs, or other needs, have limited their focus to adolescents. The current study reports about the relationships between survival sex trading (SST) and high-risk behaviors in a sample of adults. Bivariate analysis shows that HIV-positive status, use of cocaine, ketamine, methamphetamine, heroin, having received drug treatment, and having received medical services are associated with SST. SST are more likely to not use condoms with partners other than their main partner, to have partners who inject drugs and are more likely to use drugs with sex. A logistic regression model included unwanted sexual touching, partner abuse, identifying as bisexual, African American, higher age, gender (women more likely), homelessness, a higher number of sexual partners, having anal sex, injection drug use, HIV seropositivity, crack use, and the likelihood of injecting drugs. The model was retested on independently collected Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA) data and showed significant relationships between survival sex and crack use, gender (women more likely), HIV positivity, identifying as bisexual, having anal sex, African American, and a higher number of sex partners. These findings make it imperative to integrate victimization counseling and HIV education into substance abuse treatment programs.

The Relationship between Sexual Minority Verbal Harassment And Utilization of Health Services: Results from Countywide Risk Assessment Survey (CRAS) 2004.

We examined the prevalence of and associations between sexual orientation-based verbal harassment and reported utilization of health services across levels of sexual orientation in a diverse sample of adult recipients of Los Angeles County-funded HIV-related health and social services. Thirty-two percent reported they had experienced verbal harassment, the majority (80.3%) of whom identified as lesbian, gay, orbisexual. Those who reported being verbally harassed received significantly more services overall than those who were not verbally harassed, and service utilization varied by sexual orientation. These findings inform future efforts to identify and assess social discrimination in health and social service settings.

HIV services utilization in Los Angeles County, California.

Recipients of HIV/AIDS prevention services in Los Angeles County California were surveyed in 2004 by 220 HIV prevention service provider staff from 51 agencies funded by the Office of AIDS Programs and Policy. This resulted in 2,102 usable surveys for cluster analysis purposes. This Countywide Risk Assessment Survey assessed demographics, sexual history, substance use, perceptions regarding HIV/AIDS, and use of 18 different services at both the agency administering the survey and at other agencies. The 36 types of service use data were subjected to a cluster analysis that found five clusters. These service pattern clusters differed from each other on proportion HIV positive, HIV testing history, history of abuse, education, type of residence, type of funding, intervention type, and ethnicity. The analysis also suggests that domestic violence services availability and utilization should be examined more thoroughly in the future for HIV infected/affected populations.

Orthomolecular medicine: the therapeutic use of dietary supplements for anti-aging.

Dietary supplements at high doses as part of medical therapy have been controversial, but the evidence suggests that they play a significant role in prevention and treatment of diseases as well as protection from accelerated aging that results from oxygen free-radical damage, inflammation, and glycation. This literature review examines several supplements that have documented roles in medical therapy, including vitamins C and E, coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid, chromium, L-carnitine, and quercetin. The evidence shows benefits in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, congestive heart failure, age-related deterioration of brain function and vision, and immune function, as well as other age-related health problems.