“The dice are loaded”: Men’s Experiences of Help-Seeking for Female Perpetrated Domestic Abuse

A paucity of research investigating men as a group has been in observed in the psychological literature, and researchers have further highlighted the need for psychologists to better understand and attend to men’s mental health needs. This study explored the help-seeking experiences of male victims of female-perpetrated domestic abuse. Patterns observed in the literature on men’s help-seeking behaviour have uncovered consistent under-utilisation of mental health resources, as well as the presence of gender role and masculinity-related issues in how mental health issues are perceived and responded to. Various internal and external barriers to help-seeking in male victims of female-perpetrated domestic abuse have also been observed. Review of the relevant theory and literature produced a rationale for exploring male domestic abuse victims using an indepth, qualitative approach. This UK-based study investigated the help-seeking experiences of eight research participants via semi-structured interviews. The resultant data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), and produced five superordinate themes: ‘Blind spots’; ‘Reasons for pause’; ‘Vulnerability’; ‘Invalidation’; and ‘Finding help’. Findings were considered in the context of psychological theory and the current literature, with a focus on aspects of invisibility, masculinity and female privilege. The findings suggest that gender role-related tensions may be a salient issue in helpseeking for men abused by women, that representation of abused men in domestic abuse discourse needs to be increased, and that aspects of female privilege may be used against male victims by female abusers, which can have a detrimental impact on victims’ ability to access help. Clinical implications are discussed, which include the need to challenge stereotypes about domestic abuse, develop gender-informed interventions and harnessing positive aspects of masculinity in designing mental health interventions

Competence to Flower: Age-Controlled Sensitivity to Environmental Cues.

miR156 and SPL transcription factors play various roles in conferring competence to flower in plants

The Effects of Cognitive Stress on Asthma Exacerbations among University Students

Introduction: Many asthmatics complain of worsening respiratory symptoms during periods of stress.This study evaluated the relationship among asthma symptoms, lung physiology, inflammatory parametersand perceived cognitive stress and quality of life in healthy adult students. This relationship was assessedat two time points: a time of normal activity and at a time of cognitive stress during academic examinations. Methods: Subjects attended the University of Alberta Hospital for a screening visit, which included aclinical exam, spirometry, methacholine challenge, allergen skin tests to assess atopy status and MiniInternational Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Eligible subjects returned for a low stress visit (LSV) atleast 14 days prior to an exam and a high stress visit (HSV) within 24 hours of an exam. Spirometry, andmethacholine challenge were performed during both LSV and HSV along with the collection of urine (testedfor cortisol), and the administration of 4 questionnaires to assess perceived stress and quality of life. Results: Subjects showed no significant change in psychosocial or quality of life questionnaires betweenLSV and HSV. No significant change was noted in lung function or urine cortisol. There was an unexpectedhigh rate of pre-existing psychiatric comorbidities in this population (based on the MINI screen failure rate).Conclusion: We did not find a significant change in quality of life, psychosocial wellbeing or pulmonaryfunction or inflammation, measured by urine cortisol, during a high stress period. The high rate ofcomorbidities would be important to consider as part of evaluation used in clinical asthma studies in the future

Coating Carbon Fibers With Platinum

A process for coating carbon fibers with platinum has been developed. The process may also be adaptable to coating carbon fibers with other noble and refractory metals, including rhenium and iridium. The coated carbon fibers would be used as ingredients of matrix/fiber composite materials that would resist oxidation at high temperatures. The metal coats would contribute to oxidation resistance by keeping atmospheric oxygen away from fibers when cracks form in the matrices. Other processes that have been used to coat carbon fibers with metals have significant disadvantages: Metal-vapor deposition processes yield coats that are nonuniform along both the lengths and the circumferences of the fibers. The electrical resistivities of carbon fibers are too high to be compatible with electrolytic processes. Metal/organic vapor deposition entails the use of expensive starting materials, it may be necessary to use a furnace, and the starting materials and/or materials generated in the process may be hazardous. The present process does not have these disadvantages. It yields uniform, nonporous coats and is relatively inexpensive. The process can be summarized as one of pretreatment followed by electroless deposition. The process consists of the following steps: The surfaces of the fiber are activated by deposition of palladium crystallites from a solution. The surface-activated fibers are immersed in a solution that contains platinum. A reducing agent is used to supply electrons to effect a chemical reduction in situ. The chemical reduction displaces the platinum from the solution. The displaced platinum becomes deposited on the fibers. Each platinum atom that has been deposited acts as a catalytic site for the deposition of another platinum atom. Hence, the deposition process can also be characterized as autocatalytic. The thickness of the deposited metal can be tailored via the duration of immersion and the chemical activity of the solution

PIF4 enhances DNA binding by CDF2 to co-regulate target gene expression and promote Arabidopsis hypocotyl cell elongation

How specificity is conferred within gene regulatory networks is an important problem in biology. The basic helix–loop–helix PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORs (PIFs) and single zinc-finger CYCLING DOF FACTORs (CDFs) mediate growth responses of Arabidopsis to light and temperature. We show that these two classes of transcription factor (TF) act cooperatively. CDF2 and PIF4 are temporally and spatially co-expressed, they interact to form a protein complex and act in the same genetic pathway to promote hypocotyl cell elongation. Furthermore, PIF4 substantially strengthens genome-wide occupancy of CDF2 at a subset of its target genes. One of these, YUCCA8, encodes an auxin biosynthesis enzyme whose transcription is increased by PIF4 and CDF2 to contribute to hypocotyl elongation. The binding sites of PIF4 and CDF2 in YUCCA8 are closely spaced, and in vitro PIF4 enhances binding of CDF2. We propose that this occurs by direct protein interaction and because PIF4 binding alters DNA conformation. Thus, we define mechanisms by which PIF and CDF TFs cooperate to achieve regulatory specificity and promote cell elongation in response to light

Immunohistochemical analysis indicates that the anatomical location of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is determined by differentially expressed chemokine receptors, sphingosine-1-phosphate receptors and integrins.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the location of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (B-NHL) at different anatomical sites. We speculated that the malignant B cells in these disorders have the potential for trafficking between blood and secondary lymphoid organs (SLO) or extranodal sites and that their preferential accumulation at different locations is governed by the expression of key molecules that regulate the trafficking of normal lymphocytes.MethodsBiopsy or blood samples from 91 cases of B-NHL affecting SLO (n = 27), ocular adnexae (n = 51) or blood (n = 13) were analysed by immunohistochemistry or flow cytometry for the expression of the following molecules: CCR7, CCL21 and αL (required for the entry of normal lymphocytes into SLO); CXCR4, CXCL12 and α4 (required for entry into extranodal sites); CXCR5, CXCL13 and S1PR2 (required for tissue retention); S1PR1 and S1PR3 (required for egress into the blood). The expression of each of these molecules was then related to anatomical location and histological subtype.ResultsThe expression of motility/adhesion molecules varied widely between individual patient samples and correlated much more strongly with anatomical location than with histological subtype. SLO lymphomas [comprising 10 follicular lymphoma (FL), 8 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 4 mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL) and 5 marginal-zone lymphoma (MZL)] were characterised by pronounced over-expression of S1PR2, suggesting that the malignant cells in these lymphomas are actively retained at the site of clonal expansion. In contrast, the malignant B cells in ocular adnexal lymphomas (10 FL, 9 DLBCL, 4 MCL and 28 MZL) expressed a profile of molecules suggesting a dynamic process of trafficking involving not only tissue retention but also egress via S1PR3 and homing back to extranodal sites via CXCR4/CXCL12 and α4. Finally, leukaemic lymphomas (6 FL, 5 MCL and 2 MZL) were characterised by aberrant expression of the egress receptor S1PR1 and low expression of molecules required for tissue entry/retention.ConclusionsIn summary, our study strongly suggests that anatomical location in B-NHL is governed by the differential expression of specific adhesion/motility molecules. This novel observation has important implications for therapeutic strategies that aim to disrupt protective micro-environmental interactions

Probing elastic and inelastic breakup contributions to intermediate-energy two-proton removal reactions

The two-proton removal reaction from 28Mg projectiles has been studied at 93 MeV/u at the NSCL. First coincidence measurements of the heavy 26Ne projectile residues, the removed protons and other light charged particles enabled the relative cross sections from each of the three possible elastic and inelastic proton removal mechanisms to be determined. These more final-state-exclusive measurements are key for further interrogation of these reaction mechanisms and use of the reaction channel for quantitative spectroscopy of very neutron-rich nuclei. The relative and absolute yields of the three contributing mechanisms are compared to reaction model expectations - based on the use of eikonal dynamics and sd-shell-model structure amplitudes.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review C (Rapid Communication