Shining the light on abortion: Drivers of online abortion searches across the United States in 2018
PLOS ONE
Authors: Guendelman, Sylvia; Yon, Elena; Pleasants, Elizabeth; Hubbard, Alan; Prata, Ndola
Abstract
Context Legal abortion restrictions, stigma and fear can inhibit people's voices in clinical and social settings posing barriers to decision-making and abortion care. The internet allows individuals to make informed decisions privately. We explored what state-level policy dimensions were associated with volume of Google searches on abortion and on the abortion pill in 2018. Methods We used Google Trends to quantify the relative search volume (RSV) for "abortion" and "abortion pill" (or "abortion pills" hereafter referred to as "abortion pill") as a proportion of total search volume for all queries in each US state. We also identified the top search queries most related to "abortion" and "abortion pill" and considered these as indicators of population concern. Key exposures were healthcare cost, access and health outcomes, and number of legal restrictions and protections at the state level. In descriptive analyses, we first grouped the states into tertiles according to their RSV on "abortion" and "abortion pill". To examine the association between each exposure (and other covariates) with the two outcomes, we used unadjusted and adjusted linear regression. Results The average RSV for "abortion" in the low, moderate and high tertile groups was 48 (SD = 3.25), 55.5 (SD = 2.11) and 64 (SD = 4.72) (p-value < 0.01) respectively; for "abortion pill" the average RSVs were 39.6 (SD = 16.68), 61.9 (SD = 5.82) and 81.7 (SD = 6.67) (p-value < 0.01) respectively. Concerns about contraceptive availability and access, and unplanned pregnancies independently predicted the relative search volumes for abortion and abortion pill. According to our baseline models, states with low contraceptive access had far higher abortion searches. Volume of abortion pill searches was additionally positively associated with poor health outcomes, poor access to abortion facilities and non-rurality. Conclusion Search traffic analysis can help discern abortion-policy influences on population concerns and require close monitoring. State-policies can predict search volume for abortion and abortion pill. In 2018, concerns about contraceptives and unplanned pregnancies, predicted abortion searches. Current decreases in public contraceptive funding and the Title X Gag rule designed to block millions of people from getting care at Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of birth control and abortion care, may increase concerns about unintended pregnancies that can lead to increases in online relative volume of abortion searches.
Acylphloroglucinols-based meroterpenoid enantiomers with antiviral activities from Dryopteris crassirhizoma
INDUSTRIAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS
Authors: Chen, Nenghua; Wu, Zhongnan; Li, Wen; Li, Yingying; Luo, Ding; Chen, Lifeng; Zhang, Xiaoli; Zhang, Yubo; Wang, Guocai; Li, Yaolan
Abstract
The rhizome of Dryopteris crassirhizoma Nakai is an important traditional Chinese medicine listed in Chinese Pharmacopoeia for the treatment of parasitic infestation and viral diseases. In this work, ten enantiomeric pairs of new acylphloroglucinol meroterpenoids, ( +/- )-dryocrassoids A - J [( +/- )-1 - 101, along with six known acylphloroglucinols (11-16) were isolated from the rhizomes of D. crassirhizoma. Notably, these new enantiomers were the first examples of meroterpenoids constructed by acylphloroglucinols and nerolidol-type sesquiterpenes, while ( +/- )-1a/1b, ( +/- )-2a/2b, ( +/- )-4a/4b were obtained as the inseparable interconverting mixtures of keto and enol tautomers. The new structures and absolute configurations were identified by the interpretation of high resolution electron spray ionization mass spectrum (HRESIMS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data, and quantum chemical electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. In addition, these compounds were assayed for the in vitro antiviral activities against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The results indicated that most of the compounds showed anti-HSV-1 and anti-RSV effects to different extent under the concentration of 100 mu M. This study provided evidences for further study and utilization of D. crassirhizoma in medicinal products.