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Baltimore Churches Participate In Program Providing HIV Testing To Residents
Eleven Baltimore churches on Tuesday provided HIV testing to local residents as part of a larger effort by the JACQUES Initiative, a program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine"s Institute of Human Virology, the Baltimore Sun reports. The JACQUES Initiative launched Project SHALEM in partnership with the Maryland AIDS Administration and several local faith-based and community organizations, according to the Sun. Derek Spencer, the executive director of the JACQUES Initiative, said, "The ultimate goal is to make churches, mosques and synagogues a safe place where people can receive HIV support. We are no longer going to wait for people to come into our academic centers for help." He said organizers hoped to test 1,000 people, noting that at one of the testing sites, within the first hour, four people tested positive with the rapid oral swab tests. Angela Wakhweya, deputy director of the Maryland AIDS Administration, said the goal of the project is to eliminate new HIV cases in the state (Bass, 7/22).

Advance In Understanding Cellulose Synthesis
Cellulose is a fibrous molecule that makes up plant cell walls, gives plants shape and form and is a target of renewable, plant-based biofuels research. But how it forms, and thus how it can be modified to design energy-rich crops, is not well understood. Now a study led by researchers at the Carnegie Institution"s Department of Plant Biology has discovered that the underlying protein network that provides the scaffolding for cell-wall structure is also the traffic cop for delivering the critical growth-promoting molecules where needed. The research, conducted in collaboration with colleagues at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and published in the advance online publication (AOP) of Nature Cell Biology on June 14th, is a significant step for understanding how the enzymes that make cellulose and determine plant cell shape arrive at the appropriate location in the cell to do their job.
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Daily Tasks, Quality Of Life May Be Affected After Chemotherapy, MU Researcher Finds
Each day, thousands of people undergo chemotherapy treatments for different types of cancer, and it is widely known that patients are negatively affected during the treatments; previous research has shown decreases in cognitive functioning among cancer survivors following treatment. However, scientists were unsure how these cognitive declines might affect daily tasks or quality of life when the treatments ceased. A new study at the University of Missouri reveals that, following chemotherapy, mild decreases in skills, such as verbal fluency and problem-solving ability, affect the quality of life for cancer survivors.
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Advocates Say Rise In Inquires About Adoption, Abortion Linked To Recession

Several large adoption agencies are reporting an increase in the number of women with unintended pregnancies who are considering adoption, a trend that some advocates say is tied to the recession, USA Today reports. Scott Mars of American Adoptions said that he has observed a 10% to 12% increase in the past year in the number of women asking about adoption and a 7% to 10% increase in actual placements. Mars said that the economy has led women to "take a second look at adoption." Adam Pertman of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a research group, said, "Finances are one of the major reasons women feel compelled to place their children for adoption." According to USA Today, more women also are considering delaying pregnancy or inquiring about abortion because of financial factors. A recent Gallup poll found that the economy has prompted one in 10 married women to delay pregnancy. Vicki Saporta of the National Abortion Federation, which represents abortion providers, said that calls to the group"s hotline have increased nearly threefold since 2008 and that many of the calls have come from women who have experienced job loss in their families.According to Joan Jaeger of the Chicago-area adoption agency The Cradle, about 30% more women are asking about placing a child for adoption than in 2008. She noted that many of the women inquiring about adoption are in their 20s and have at least one child. Joseph Sica of Adoption by Shepherd Care said he has seen a "dramatic increase in girls calling us from the hospital" who are interested in placing a child for adoption. Sica said that many of these women expect to receive assistance in raising their infants but inquire about adoption after they give birth and find that little help is available. He said that in 2008 his agency facilitated 14 such adoptions, an increase from 11 in 2007 and four in 2006. However, Chuck Johnson -- chief operating officer of the advocacy group the National Council for Adoption -- said that the percentage of women who place a child for adoption remains low overall, which he attributed to access to legal abortion and greater societal acceptance of single parenthood. Data from the National Center for Health Statistics show that before abortion became legal in 1973, one in five never-married white women and one in 10 never-married women overall placed a child for adoption after giving birth. Since then, that rate has "plummeted," USA Today reports. A 2002 survey, the most recent available, found that only 1% of such women placed a child for adoption (Koch, USA Today, 5/19). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women"s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women"s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company. © 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.


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