The Effect of Method of Delivery and Psychosocial Factors on Postpartum Sexual Satisfaction

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was: 1) to determine factors associated with postpartum sexual satisfaction at 6 and 12 months postpartum; 2) to examine the effect of method of delivery on postpartum sexual satisfaction at 6 and 12 months postpartum. METHODS: This study undertook a secondary data analysis of The Ontario Mother and Infant Study (TOMIS) III which recruited 2560 postpartum women. Participants completed self-report in-hospital questionnaires and structured telephone interviews at 6 months and 12 months. RESULTS: Statistically significant factors associated with sexual satisfaction at 6 months postpartum were country of birth, breastfeeding status, physical health scores, perceived social support, mental health scores and the risk of postpartum depression. At 12 months postpartum, breastfeeding status, physical health scores, perceived social support and mental health scores were associated with postpartum sexual satisfaction. Method of delivery was not found to be statistically significant at both time points

Outlier Detection Methods for Industrial Applications

An outlier is an observation (or measurement) that is different with respect to the other values contained in a given dataset. Outliers can be due to several causes. The measurement can be incorrectly observed, recorded or entered into the process computer, the observed datum can come from a different population with respect to the normal situation and thus is correctly measured but represents a rare event. In literature different definitions of outlier exist: the most commonly referred are reported in the following: - "An outlier is an observation that deviates so much from other observations as to arouse suspicions that is was generated by a different mechanism " (Hawkins, 1980). - "An outlier is an observation (or subset of observations) which appear to be inconsistent with the remainder of the dataset" (Barnet & Lewis, 1994). - "An outlier is an observation that lies outside the overall pattern of a distribution" (Moore and McCabe, 1999). - "Outliers are those data records that do not follow any pattern in an application" (Chen and al., 2002). - "An outlier in a set of data is an observation or a point that is considerably dissimilar or inconsistent with the remainder of the data" (Ramasmawy at al., 2000). Many data mining algorithms try to minimize the influence of outliers for instance on a final model to develop, or to eliminate them in the data pre-processing phase. However, a data miner should be careful when automatically detecting and eliminating outliers because, if the data are correct, their elimination can cause the loss of important hidden information (Kantardzic, 2003). Some data mining applications are focused on outlier detection and they are the essential result of a data-analysis (Sane & Ghatol, 2006). The outlier detection techniques find applications in credit card fraud, network robustness analysis, network intrusion detection, financial applications and marketing (Han & Kamber, 2001). A more exhaustive list of applications that exploit outlier detection is provided below (Hodge, 2004): - Fraud detection: fraudulent applications for credit cards, state benefits or fraudulent usage of credit cards or mobile phones. - Loan application processing: fraudulent applications or potentially problematical customers. - Intrusion detection, such as unauthorized access in computer networks

Mycochemical study of polysaccharides from the edible mushroom Cortinarius caperatus (Gypsy mushroom)

Among basidiomycete molecules, cell wall polysaccharides have been recognized as a major class of bioactive constituents. [1] They are safe molecules and they have a wide spectrum of biological activities, such as immunostimulatory and antioxidant, therefore they possess a prominent role in health benefits coming from mushroom consumption. These properties make mushroom polysaccharides potential candidates for nutraceutical applications and bioactive ingredients production. [2] Fractionation of the hot aqueous extract of Cortinarius caperatus led to isolation of two fractions characterized by spectroscopic analyses (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, DEPT, 1H-1H COSY, DQCOSY, TOCSY, HSQC, HMBC and HMQC), mass spectrometry (EI-MS, ESI-MS), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), chemical reactions of hydrolysis and derivatization followed by GC and HPLC analyses. [3] This mycochemical study revealed a water-soluble fraction characterized as a \u3b2-(1\uf0e06)-D-glucan, whose presence inside C. caperatus has never, to the best of our knowledge, been reported before. Moreover, a water insoluble fraction purified has been characterized as a branched \uf061, (1\u21926) glucan which structure is assumed to be: [\u21926)-\u3b2-D-Glcp(1\u21926)]4-\u3b1-D-Glcp(1\u21924)-\u3b2-D-Glcp(1\u2192 6 \u2191 1 \u3b1-D-Glcp The antioxidant activity of the soluble polysaccharide fraction has been evaluated as radical-scavenging activity with the DPPH test, the \u3b2-(1\uf0e06)-D-glucan showed significative antioxidant activity

Effects of feed composition and gasification parameters on product gas from a pilot scale fluidized bed gasifier

Scope and Method of Study: Biomass gasification is an integral part of a holistic project where low-value feedstocks are converted into ethanol via a gasification fermentation process. Because microbial catalysts are used in the fermentation process, it is vital to know the product gas characteristics. In addition to carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide utilized in the bioconversion process, potentially toxic tar compounds are present and must also be evaluated. In this study, a 10-inch diameter, fluidized bed gasifier was operated in three gasification modes: air, flaming pyrolitic and steam. Switchgrass, bermudagrass, and corn gluten have been gasified at equivalence ratios from 0.0 to 0.35 and steam-tobiomass ratios of 0.4 to 1.25. At each operating condition, synthesis gas and tar compositions were measured. A Gibbs reactor equilibrium model of gas, tar and char compounds was developed for each gasification mode.Findings and Conclusions: As expected, steam gasification generated significantly higher levels of carbon monoxide and hydrogen compared to the air gasification modes. At steam-to-biomass ratio of 1.0, product gas measured over 30 mol% carbon monoxide and 35 mol% hydrogen. Results also showed quantitative and qualitative variations in tars, consisting of over 210 compounds, depending on the feedstock and reactor operating conditions. Of all three biomasses, switchgrass exhibited the highest gas compositions and lowest tar concentrations. High ash content in bermudagrass and corn gluten induced bed agglomeration at reactor temperatures above about 800°C. Steam gasification of corn gluten showed gas results equivalent to those of switchgrass. Tar atomic composition was constant at C7.55H8.62O0.37N0.20 over the range of 700 to 800°C reactor bed temperatures. Gibbs reactor equilibrium modeling showed tar levels were mostly influenced by unreacted carbon

Multimeric, Multifunctional Derivatives of Poly(ethylene glycol)

Abstract: This article reviews the use of multifunctional polymers founded on high-molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The design of new PEG derivatives assembled in a dendrimer-like multimeric fashion or bearing different functionalities on the same molecule is described. Their use as new drug delivery systems based on the conjugation of multiple copies or diversely active drugs on the same biocompatible support is illustrated. Keywords: poly(ethylene glycol); multifunctional polymers; conjugation; drug delivery 1. Introduction For the application of biopharmaceuticals in human therapy, the covalent coupling of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains to drugs, or PEGylation, has been an outstanding innovation. Important pioneering work in this field was performed by Davis and Abuchowski, laying the cornerstone for the commercial success of this technology [1]. Even though many attempts have been undertaken to develop new polymers with improved properties, none of these new substances have been able to compete with poly(ethylene glycol) for this application. This can be explained by the biocompatibility of PEG and the good experience with PEG as a low-cost additive for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry over the last decades. An ideal PEG reagent fulfills at least the following criteria: (a)

A New Bi-Functional Derivative of Polyethylene Glycol as Molecular Carrier for Eugenol and Ibuprofen

Eugenol (EU) and ibuprofene (IBU) were covalently bound to a bi-functionalized PEG, used as molecular carrier of drugs and the release kinetics of the two bioactive molecules was studied in vitro in buffer solution at pH 7.4, in simulated gastric fluid and in mouse plasma. The hydrolysis studies showed a specific cleavage dependent on the pH of the medium and by the presence of proteolytic enzymes in mouse plasma. Studies in vitro on the release of the parent drug from this double prodrug in various media, indicate that the adduct may be sufficiently stable to pass intact the gastrointestinal tract and release into the circulation EU and IBU. Many advantages may be achieved by the synthesis of the prodrug EU-PEG-IBU related to synergistic analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, to the reduction of the adverse reactions and the improvement of the chemical-physical properties of the parent drugs

New Triterpenes from the Fungus Gloeophyllum odoratum

Two new triterpene acids (1, 2), together with a complex mixture of lecithins (3), were isolated from the fungus Gloeophyllum odoratum. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses. The extract of Gloeophyllum odoratum considerably inhibited thrombin (72% at a concentration of 120 g/mL); the less polar fraction of the methanolic extract from the mushroom exhibited interesting activity (47% at a concentration of 120 g/mL) against thrombin. Compounds 1 and 2 were responsible for this activity