A twenty-year survey of dermatophytoses in Braga, Portugal

Modifications in social habits together with the increase of emigration have contributed not only to increased dermatophytoses but also to an altered etiology. During the last few years, Braga has suffered a radical change from a rural to a cosmopolitan life-style

The biological etiology of mental health disorders: Social influences and change potential of practitioners’ beliefs

This study was designed to examine mental health professionals’ strength of belief in biological causation of several syndromes including ADHD, unipolar depression, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia and whether a three-hour educational program will alter their thinking. Findings suggest that pre-training, mental health professionals’ reported strength of belief regarding the etiology of many mental health disorders tends toward the biologically based. Also, this study demonstrated that attendance at a three hour training program is able to reduce the expressed acceptance of biological causation of such disorders. The social influences of pharmaceutical direct to consumer advertising and medical guild dominance, as well as empiricism, contributed significantly to prediction of strength of belief in biological causation. Of the three variables, empirical data had the greatest influence. These findings suggest that as mental health professionals’ are exposed to social influences that may be contributing to belief systems supporting biological causation, it is critical examination of empirical data said to support biological causation that contributes the most robust change in expressed belief

Melanotan-II reverses autistic features in a maternal immune activation mouse model of autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interactions, difficulty with communication, and repetitive behavior patterns. In humans affected by ASD, there is a male pre-disposition towards the condition with a male to female ratio of 4:1. In part due to the complex etiology of ASD including genetic and environmental interplay, there are currently no available medical therapies to improve the social deficits of ASD. Studies in rodent models and humans have shown promising therapeutic effects of oxytocin in modulating social adaptation. One pharmacological approach to stimulating oxytocinergic activity is the melanocortin receptor 4 agonist Melanotan-II (MT-II). Notably the effects of oxytocin on environmental rodent autism models has not been investigated to date. We used a maternal immune activation (MIA) mouse model of autism to assess the therapeutic potential of MT-II on autism-like features in adult male mice. The male MIA mice exhibited autism-like features including impaired social behavioral metrics, diminished vocal communication, and increased repetitive behaviors. Continuous administration of MT-II to male MIA mice over a seven-day course resulted in rescue of social behavioral metrics. Normal background C57 male mice treated with MT-II showed no significant alteration in social behavioral metrics. Additionally, there was no change in anxiety-like or repetitive behaviors following MT-II treatment of normal C57 mice, though there was significant weight loss following subacute treatment. These data demonstrate MT-II as an effective agent for improving autism-like behavioral deficits in the adult male MIA mouse model of autism

A study of the impact on ten families of illness and hospitalization of a child

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Subtypes of Attentional Bias within Social Anxiety Disorder: Evaluating Changes following Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Prominent theories of social anxiety disorder (SAD) describe the role of attentional bias in the disorder\u27s etiology and maintenance; some models implicate bias toward social threats (e.g., Rapee & Heimberg, 1997) and others implicate bias to avoid them (e.g., Clark & Wells, 1995). The present investigation examined: 1) whether a clinical sample of individuals with SAD comprises two distinct groups based on attention bias for social threat (vigilant, avoidant), and 2) group-specific changes in attention bias following cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for SAD. Consistent with predictions, results yielded evidence of two pre-treatment groups (vigilant and avoidant). After eight weeks of treatment, the direction of change in attention bias differed between groups, such that the vigilant group became less vigilant, and the avoidant group became less avoidant, with the avoidant group showing a significant change in attention bias from pre- to post-treatment. These findings provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that SAD comprises subgroups with both threat vigilant and threat avoidant attentional styles and change in different directions following treatment. Implications for how individuals who exhibit one attentional bias or the other may differentially respond to treatment are discussed

Understanding the nature and etiology of intimate partner violence and

Theoretical perspectives underlying hypotheses about the nature and etiology of intimate partner violence are important as they inform professionals how they should best respond to reduce or eliminate this social problem. Therefore, it is crucial that practice led initiatives are driven by theory that is supported by good quality empirical evidence. This review aims to provide a synthesis of methodologically sound research to understand how intimate partner violence is best conceptualized, and what the implications of this evidence based theory hold for practice and policy. A wealth of evidence supporting the need to further explore and respond to the spectrum of partner violence from a gender inclusive perspective is demonstrated. Implications of the evidence for multidisciplinary work, prevention, assessment, treatment, and policy related to intimate partner violence are discussed

Subtypes of anhedonia and facial electromyography response to negative affective pictures in healthy adults

Flat affect (i.e., diminished expressivity) and self-reported anhedonia (i.e., lack of pleasure) are associated with many psychiatric disorders. There is a need to examine the relationship between specific anhedonia subtypes and flat affect in a non-clinical sample. Forty-seven undergraduate students (59% male; mean age 20.37; SD = 4.74) completed self-report questionnaires assessing four subtypes of anhedonia - consummatory/anticipatory by social/non-social. Participants then viewed 15 randomly-presented pictures (five neutral, ten negative) from the International Affective Pictures System while facial muscle activity (electromyography; EMG) was recorded. Male participants reporting a greater level of anhedonia, particularly consummatory social anhedonia, showed greater EMG activity change in the corrugator supercilii muscle to negative pictures, as compared with neutral pictures. Females showed the opposite pattern: more consummatory social anhedonia related to less EMG activity change in the corrugator muscle. In summary, consummatory social anhedonia in particular showed a strong relationship with facial expressivity that interacted with sex. In the presence of more consummatory social anhedonia, males show more negative facial reactions to negative stimuli while females show a more flattened affect. These findings may help explain discrepancies in existing research examining anhedonia and flat affect in clinical populations and have implications for etiology and treatments

Is “Unconsummated Marriage” still an appropriate term? A snapshot of reality

The most shared definition of Unconsummated Marriage (UM) refers to “the failure to perform successful sexual intercourse at the beginning of the marriage. UM usually occurs in the first few nights of marriage and so it is frequently referred to as “honeymoon impotence” or “wedding night impotence”. In the Middle-Eastern (MES) and Western (WS) societies, sexuality follows different patterns in terms of meaning and rules. Moreover the evolution of societies all around the world created new contexts and kinds of relationship. This could hamper a correct taxonomy of such sexual dysfunction where a social variable seems crucial. Aim: To analyze and review data on UM all around the world, to understand if in different societies it refers to the same situation. Method: A review of published literature on UM from 1970 to date, was conducted. Results: Substantial difference emerged from MES to WS. In MES, sexuality is allowable only in marriage, while in WS sexuality and relationship are not strongly linked. This could suggest that the term “marriage” is unable to cover the phenomenon in such different countries. Moreover, the average time before the consultation, causal attribution and prevalence are very different in Western and Middle Eastern countries. Conclusion: We found that the term “first attempts dysfunction” could be better used to describe male, female or both difficulties related to ignorance about sexuality or state/performance anxiety. On the other hand over the individual category of sexual dysfunctions, we suggest a new term as “Unconsummated relationship”, where individual difficulties toward sexuality are involved creating a couple’s dysfunction. Keywords: Unconsummated marriage; Honeymoon impotence; White marriage; Vaginismus; Infertilit

Evaluating the Epidemiology and Management of Bovine Congestive Heart Failure

A form of congestive heart failure is increasingly reported as a cause of death in feedlot cattle located at moderate altitude (≤ 1524 m.). Significant knowledge gaps exist in the epidemiology and management of this form of bovine congestive heart failure (BCHF) regarding frequency and timing of BCHF cases and ways in which beef cattle producers and veterinarians can mitigate this condition. These knowledge gaps present major barriers to understanding the mechanism of BCHF and mitigating the consequences of BCHF. The purpose of this thesis is to summarize current knowledge about BCHF, define gaps in knowledge for which more research is needed, formulate hypotheses regarding the knowledge gaps, and discuss two studies designed to test those hypotheses related to the emergence of BCHF. The first study presented is designed to estimate the frequency and timing of BCHF case development. The second study was completed to evaluate the effect of moving two bulls affected by pulmonary arterial hypertension from their ranch of origin to lower elevation as a possible management strategy for mitigation of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Results presented in this thesis provide evidence that the frequency of BCHF cases has increased over the course of six years in the feedlot studied and changing the environment of animals affected by pulmonary arterial hypertension by moving them to lower altitude can lead to a decrease in pulmonary arterial pressure. This thesis will interpret the results of both studies to highlight how these data can aid in understanding the underlying mechanism of BCHF. Advisor: Brian L. Vander Le