The Interaction of Progesterone and Allopregnanolone with Fear Memories

Sex differences in stress and anxiety disorders are well reported in the clinical population. For instance, women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to men. This difference is most profound during the reproductive years, suggesting a role for sex hormones and their metabolites in regulating fear and anxiety. Previous studies suggest sex differences also occur in rodents, which is modulated by gonadal hormones. Despite the majority of clinical cases occurring in women, most rodent studies only include male subjects. An understanding of what contributes to this disparity is necessary for sex-specific therapies and interventions. Here, we use Pavlovian fear conditioning, a learned task in which male rats display higher fear levels compared to females, to understand the neurobiological basis for sex differences in fear and anxiety. Specifically, we focus on allopregnanolone (ALLO), a metabolite of progesterone and potent allosteric modulator of GABAA receptors and its effects in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) in male and female rats. The BNST is a sexually dimorphic brain region and site of hormonal modulation that has been implicated in contextual fear. Raising ALLO levels in the BNST of male rats successfully impaired contextual fear and blocking ALLO in the BNST of female rats successfully increased contextual fear. However, impairing contextual fear via ALLO in male rats proved to be the result of state-dependent learning, which was unique to the BNST as global impairments in both contextual and cued fear to ALLO were found in the basolateral amygdala. In females, hormonal changes across the rodent estrous cycle follow similar patterns to that of the menstrual cycle in women and provide a naturalistic model to observe changes in fear responses at the cellular level when ALLO levels are high or low due to progesterone fluctuations. Results suggest naturally circulating progesterone may also contribute to state-dependent contextual fear; however, ovariectomized rats administered progesterone do not. The work presented here aims to elucidate the mechanisms underlying ALLO’s influence on sex differences in fear and anxiety and contribute to the growing body of literature on women’s healt

Obstacles to family planning use among rural women in Atiak Health Center IV, Amuru District, northern Uganda

Background: Uganda’s rapid population growth (3.2%) since 1948 has placed more demands on health sector and lowered living standard of Ugandans resulting into 49% of people living in acute poverty especially in post conflict Northern Uganda. The population rise was due to low use of contraceptive methods (21% in rural areas and 43% in urban areas) and coupled with high unmet need for family planning (41%). This indicated poor access to reproductive health services. Effective use of family planning could reduce the rapid population growth.Objective: To determine obstacles to family planning use among rural women in Northern Uganda.Design: A descriptive cross-sectional analytical study.Setting: Atiak Health Centre IV, Amuru District, rural Northern Uganda.Subjects: Four hundred and twenty four females of reproductive ages were selected from both Inpatient and Outpatient Departments of Atiak Health Centre IV.Results: There was high level of awareness 418 (98.6%), positive attitude 333 (78.6%) and fair level of utilisation 230 (54.2%) of family planning. However, significant obstacles to family planning usage included; long distance to Health facility, unavailability of preferred contraceptive methods, absenteeism of family planning providers, high cost of managing side effects, desire for big family size ,children dying less than five years old, husbands forbidding women from using family planning and lack of community leaders’ involvement in family planning programme.Conclusions: In spites of the high level of awareness, positive attitude, and free family planning services, there were obstacles that hindered family planning usage among these rural women. However, taking services close to people, reducing number of children dying before their fifth birthday, educating men about family planning, making sure family planning providers and methods are available, reducing cost of managing side effects and involving community leaders will improve utilisation of family planning and thus reduce the rapid population growth and poverty

Determinants of voluntary audit and voluntary full accounts in micro- and non-micro small companies in the UK

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Accounting and Business Research, 42(4), 441 - 468, 2012, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00014788.2012.667969.This study investigates the link between the auditing and filing choices made by a sample of 592 small private companies, which includes 419 micro-companies. It examines decisions made in connection with the 2006 accounts following UK's adoption of the maximum EU size thresholds in 2004, and the impact of the proposed Directive on the annual accounts of micro-companies. The research extends the model of cost, management and agency factors associated with voluntary audit, and develops a complementary model for voluntary full accounts. The results show the benefits of placing full audited accounts on public record that outweigh the costs for a significant proportion of companies. In non-micro small companies, voluntary audit is determined by cost and agency factors, whereas in micro-companies it is driven by cost, management and agency factors. In both groups, the predictors of voluntary full accounts include management and agency factors, and choosing voluntary audit is one of the key factors. The study provides models that can be tested in other jurisdictions to provide evidence of the needs of micro-companies, and the discussion of the methodological challenges for small company researchers in the UK makes further contribution to the literature

Big Data and Changes in Audit Technology: Contemplating a Research Agenda

This study explores the most recent episode in the evolution of audit technology, namely the incorporation of Big Data and Data Analytics (BDA) into audit firm approaches. Drawing on 22 interviews with individuals with significant experience in developing, implementing or assessing the impact of BDA in auditing, together with publicly available documents on BDA published within the audit field, the paper provides a holistic overview of BDA-related changes in audit practice. In particular, the paper focuses on three key aspects, namely the impact of BDA on the nature of the relationship between auditors and their clients; the consequences of the technology for the conduct of audit engagements and the common challenges associated with embedding BDA in the audit context. The study’s empirical findings are then used to establish an agenda of areas suitable for further research on the topic. The study is one of the first empirical accounts providing a perspective on the rise of BDA in auditing

Exploring the impact of 4IR on skills and personal qualities for future accountants: a proposed conceptual framework for university accounting education

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) presents many opportunities and challenges in a digitised world of work. This paper draws on a systematic literature review of recent research published by accounting professional bodies outlining the impact of digital technologies on the accounting profession. By taking advantage of this work this study critically assesses the types of skills and personal qualities that graduates as future accountants will need and explores the implications for accounting education and university curricula. The analysis reveals that necessary skills for future accountants may be summarised into four categories: a) Ethical skills; b) Digital skills; c) Business skills; and d) Soft skills. The analysis reveals ‘adaptability’ and ‘lifelong approach to CPD’ as the two essential personal qualities for future accountants. The practical implications for university accounting education are summarised in a proposed conceptual framework. The proposed conceptual framework: 1) acts as a roadmap for universities to align their accounting curricula with the developments in professional body syllabi; 2) helps university accounting education teachers to update, enrich, and refocus their teaching and learning approach to the requirements of the 4IR; and 3) promotes the coordination and rationalisation of the skills and personal qualities currently pursued by employability agendas at university, course, and module levels

A digital radiology method for assessing vertebral osteoporosis

The radiologic identification of vertebral fractures is usually subjective and reproducibility is poor. This paper describes a new digital radiologic method to perform vertebral morphometry, i.e. osteoradiometry (ORM). Lateral radiographs of the thoracic and lumbar spine were obtained in 50 premenopausal women and digitalized by means of a video camera. A special computer software enables to calculate the anterior (Ha), middle (Hm), and posterior (Hp) heights of vertebral bodies (T4-L5) and the morphometric indices of vertebral fractures. ORM reproducibility was assessed by comparing repeated measurements made by two radiologists: the intra- and interobserver variation coefficients (CV) were respectively 1.5% and 2.3% for Hp; 1.3% and 2% for Hm; 1.4% and 2.1% for Ha. The normal range for vertebral dimensions was therefore established. The anterior and posterior heights increased from T4 to L2, but for L3-L5 the posterior height was lower than the anterior height (Ha/Hp > 1). Vertebral heights positively correlated with the standing heights of the subjects (r = 0.2, p < 0.05). Weight and the body mass index (BMI) were not correlated with vertebral heights. These normal values, compared with those found in osteoporosis patients, will allow to assess ORM diagnostic efficacy in identifying vertebral fractures