Predicting sexual problems in women: The relevance of sexual excitation and sexual inhibition

This is the post-print version of the article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below.Data from a non-clinical sample of 540 heterosexual women were used to examine the relationships between scores on the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W) and ratings of current sexual problems, lifetime arousal difficulty, lifetime orgasm difficulty, and lifetime problems with low sexual interest. Multiple regression analyses also included several demographic/background variables as predictors: age, full-time employment, completed college, children in household, married, health ratings, importance of sex, and whether the woman was in a sexual relationship. The strongest statistical predictors of both current and lifetime sexual problems were the SESII-W inhibition factors Arousal Contingency and Concerns about Sexual Function. Demographic factors did not feature largely in any of the models predicting sexual problems even when statistically significant relationships were found. If future research supports the predictive utility of the SESII-W in identifying women who are more likely to experience sexual difficulties, these scales may be used as prognostic factors in treatment studies.This study was funded, in part, by a grant from the Lilly Centre for Women's Health

Density waves theory of the capsid structure of small icosahedral viruses

We apply Landau theory of crystallization to explain and to classify the capsid structures of small viruses with spherical topology and icosahedral symmetry. We develop an explicit method which predicts the positions of centers of mass for the proteins constituting viral capsid shell. Corresponding density distribution function which generates the positions has universal form without any fitting parameter. The theory describes in a uniform way both the structures satisfying the well-known Caspar and Klug geometrical model for capsid construction and those violating it. The quasiequivalence of protein environments in viral capsid and peculiarities of the assembly thermodynamics are also discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figur

Case Report: Acute Onset Fear of Falling and Treatment With "Cognitive Physical Therapy"

Fear of falling (FoF) is prevalent in older adults, especially those with previous falls, and typically starts insidiously. We present a 78-year-old woman with an abrupt onset FoF and no history of falls, balance problems, vertigo, oscillopsia, psychiatric or psychological issues to account for this. These cognitive changes led to a behavioural alteration of her gait that became slow and wide-based, with her gaze fixed on the floor. She began a tailored program of “Cognitive Physical Therapy (CPT)” combining cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and physical rehabilitation. 1 month later her 6 m walk time and steps were reduced by a 25 and 35%, respectively, and the stride length increased by 34%, with further improvement 2 months later. We postulate that the abrupt onset of symptoms triggered a central shift toward postural hypervigilance and anxiety, suppression of anticipatory (feed forward) postural adjustments (APA) leading to FoF. CPT improved objective gait parameters related to FoF and reduced postural anxiety suggesting that early diagnosis and prompt treatment may avoid chronic symptoms and social isolation

High Energy Secondaries for the Quantitative Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Minerals

The major hurdle in quantitative analysis by SIMS is the inconsistency and non-predictability of ion yields, particularly their sensitivity to sample matrix. High energy (100-500 eV) secondary ions have been shown to be considerably less susceptible to matrix effects than low energy secondary ions, particularly in mineral analysis. Therefore ion yields of some sixty elements were measured utilizing very high energy secondaries (~ 500 eV), from a standard silicate glass. They show a broad ionization potential dependence and a mass (or velocity) dependency which is not removed by the application of a M½ or M factor. The modification of yields with conventional thermodynamic partition functions, improves but does not clearly define agreement with the inverse exponential relationship observed by others, for low energy secondaries sputtered from oxygen rich matrices. The reproducibility of ion yields of high energy secondaries suggests empirical approaches to quantitative analysis are well justified; however the poor agreement of ion yields with an inverse exponential relationship, suggests that ion yielding mechanisms are somewhat different to those proposed in the low energy regime

Dynamics of the magnetic and structural a -> e phase transition in Iron

We have studied the high-pressure iron bcc to hcp phase transition by simultaneous X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) with an X-ray dispersive spectrometer. The combination of the two techniques allows us to obtain simultaneously information on both the structure and the magnetic state of Iron under pressure. The magnetic and structural transitions simultaneously observed are sharp. Both are of first order in agreement with theoretical prediction. The pressure domain of the transition observed (2.4 $\pm$ 0.2 GPa) is narrower than that usually cited in the literature (8 GPa). Our data indicate that the magnetic transition slightly precedes the structural one, suggesting that the origin of the instability of the bcc phase in iron with increasing pressure is to be attributed to the effect of pressure on magnetism as predicted by spin-polarized full potential total energy calculations

The use of needs assessment methodologies to focus technical interventions in root and tuber crop post-harvest systems: a case study to improve incomes and reduce losses associated with marketing of fresh cassava from rural areas to Dar es Salaam

The Transfer of Needs Assessment Methodologies and Post-Harvest Technologies for Non-Grain Starch Staple Food Crops (NGSS) in sub-Saharan Africa project was initiated in Tanzania in July 1993 as a collaborative venture between the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) and the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC). The project was funded by the UK Department For International Development (DFID). The main project involved activities in Ghana and Tanzania but this report deals exclusively with activities in Tanzania focusing on the transfer of needs assessment methodologies, the application of needs assessment in identifying post-harvest problems and technical interventions for NGSS and the identification, validation and dissemination of a technology to improve incomes and reduce post-harvest losses associated with marketing of fresh cassava roots from rural production areas to urban markets in Dar es Salaam. In the first stage of the project a range of needs assessment methodologies were successfully validated under field conditions through the mechanism of three case studies, which were carried out in Lake Zone, Tanga Region and Dar es Salaam of Tanzania. Following the case studies, two training in needs assessment workshops were conducted in Tanzania to disseminate needs assessment technologies to key personnel from research organisations and institutes in Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and Ethiopia. The needs assessment case study in Tanga Region highlighted post-harvest problems as a major constraint facing farmers and traders involved in the marketing of fresh cassava to urban areas, and formed the basis for a more detailed study of the marketing system for fresh cassava from rural production areas to urban markets in Dar es Salaam. Semi structured interviews with key stakeholders in the marketing system demonstrated that reductions in quality resulting from poor handling and delays in marketing lead to serious reductions in income throughout the market chain. Farmers and market personnel identified the criteria for a technical intervention to reduce income losses incurred when marketing fresh cassava. After considering various options a simple low cost storage technique for fresh cassava originally developed by the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) and NRI and later modified with DFID RNRRS funds by the NRI and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in Ghana was selected for validation in Tanzania. Validation exercises in Tanzania demonstrated that low cost fresh cassava root storage technology had the technical and economic potential to alleviate postharvest problems associated with marketing of fresh cassava and improve the incomes of those involved in the cassava market system. In the final stage of the project a flexible dissemination strategy was developed and used to carry out a limited technical dissemination campaign in the major cassava markets in Dares Salaam and selected villages ofKisarawe and Ruf~i Districts in Pwani (Coast) Region, and to promote wider awareness of the technology throughout Tanzania. Needs assessment techniques were used to develop practical approaches for dissemination and two impact assessments (November 1996 and December1997) were carried out to assess effectiveness of dissemination activities and allow for optimisation ofthe strategy. The first impact assessment (November 1996) was used to highlight the strengths and limitations of the initial dissemination strategy, so that a more effective strategy could be developed in collaboration with representatives of the Agricultural Extension Services and key stakeholders in the market system. In December 1997 a second impact assessment was made to assess the effectiveness of the revised dissemination strategy and to highlight any problems. The wider awareness campaign was found to have been effective and a number of expressions of interest had been received from organisations and individuals interested in fresh cassava within Tanzania. A high level of interest and awareness was found in markets and villages where training activities had taken place, but a number of problems were identified which were hampering uptake of the technology. The two main problems were: (a). to be effective the technology needs to be implemented at all points in the market system but individuals were unwilling to take the risk ofbeing the first to use the technology without proof of the economic benefits of the technology; (b). the market system is dominated by a large open type of package called a lumbesa which is not suitable for application of the technology or for transport of cassava but is used for other reasons related to transport charges. To overcome the first difficulty the project team developed a marketing demonstration to provide a practical demonstration of the financial benefits of low cost :fresh cassava root storage technology to potential beneficiaries within the marketing system. The second difficulty was addressed by representatives of various village governments and market co-operatives in collaboration with the TFNCINRI project team. In November of 1997 the village governments of Jaribu and Bungu villages in Rufiji District enacted bylaws to encourage adoption of close packaging for cassava and adoption of the new storage technology. To support this initiative the Agricultural Extension Service in Rufiji District have agreed to integrate the technology into their extension programmes, and in addition the village government in Jaribu has initiated its own training programme in the sub-villages around Jaribu. In December 1997 the village governments of Masaki, Sungwi and Gumba villages in Kisarawe District villages decided to follow the lead taken by villages in Rufiji District and develop bylaws and training programmes to promote uptake ofthe new technology. The Agricultural Extension Service for Kisarawe District have acknowledged the importance of cassava as a source of income generation in the District, and have agreed to integrate the technology into their extension programmes. If co-operation between the various stakeholders is maintained it seems likely that the technology will start to be adopted during 1998. This case study within the main regional Africa project has demonstrated not only that low cost :fresh cassava root storage technology has the technical and economic potential to reduce post-harvest losses and improve incomes, but has also shown that key stakeholders are genuinely interested in adoption of the technology and are willing to co-operate and spend their own funds to promote uptake of the technology. However, for successful uptake of the technology a wider dissemination at both local and national level is required. It is also clear that lack of funds in rural areas could constrain producers and country buyers from adopting this technology. To meet the needs ofthose involved in marketing of fresh cassava throughout Tanzania a sustained campaign of dissemination is required, involving close collaboration between the Agricultural Extension Services, selected NGOs and key stakeholders involved in marketing of fresh cassava from rural areas to various urban centres in Tanzania. A concept note for wider dissemination of low cost fresh cassava root storage technology in Tanzania is included in this report (Appendix 5). The fmdings of this case study have shown that successful adoption of this technology would improve the quality of cassava reaching urban consumers, and contribute to poverty alleviation by improving the income generating potential of marketing of fresh cassava

Utilization of Never-Medicated Bipolar Disorder Patients towards Development and Validation of a Peripheral Biomarker Profile

There are currently no biological tests that differentiate patients with bipolar disorder (BPD) from healthy controls. While there is evidence that peripheral gene expression differences between patients and controls can be utilized as biomarkers for psychiatric illness, it is unclear whether current use or residual effects of antipsychotic and mood stabilizer medication drives much of the differential transcription. We therefore tested whether expression changes in first-episode, never-medicated BPD patients, can contribute to a biological classifier that is less influenced by medication and could potentially form a practicable biomarker assay for BPD. We employed microarray technology to measure global leukocyte gene expression in first-episode (n=3) and currently medicated BPD patients (n=26), and matched healthy controls (n=25). Following an initial feature selection of the microarray data, we developed a cross-validated 10-gene model that was able to correctly predict the diagnostic group of the training sample (26 medicated patients and 12 controls), with 89% sensitivity and 75% specificity (p<0.001). The 10-gene predictor was further explored via testing on an independent cohort consisting of three pairs of monozygotic twins discordant for BPD, plus the original enrichment sample cohort (the three never-medicated BPD patients and 13 matched control subjects), and a sample of experimental replicates (n=34). 83% of the independent test sample was correctly predicted, with a sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 100% (although this result did not reach statistical significance). Additionally, 88% of sample diagnostic classes were classified correctly for both the enrichment (p=0.015) and the replicate samples (p<0.001). We have developed a peripheral gene expression biomarker profile, that can classify healthy controls from patients with BPD receiving antipsychotic or mood stabilizing medication, which has both high sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, assay of three first-episode patients who had never received such medications, to first enrich the expression dataset for disease-related genes independent of medication effects, and then to test the 10-gene predictor, validates the peripheral biomarker approach for BPD

Asexuality: Classification and characterization

This is a post-print version of the article. The official published version can be obtaineed at the link below.The term “asexual” has been defined in many different ways and asexuality has received very little research attention. In a small qualitative study (N = 4), individuals who self-identified as asexual were interviewed to help formulate hypotheses for a larger study. The second larger study was an online survey drawn from a convenience sample designed to better characterize asexuality and to test predictors of asexual identity. A convenience sample of 1,146 individuals (N = 41 self-identified asexual) completed online questionnaires assessing sexual history, sexual inhibition and excitation, sexual desire, and an open-response questionnaire concerning asexual identity. Asexuals reported significantly less desire for sex with a partner, lower sexual arousability, and lower sexual excitation but did not differ consistently from non-asexuals in their sexual inhibition scores or their desire to masturbate. Content analyses supported the idea that low sexual desire is the primary feature predicting asexual identity