Post-breakup unwanted pursuit: a refined analysis of the role of romantic relationship characteristics

This study re-examined the role of romantic relationship characteristics in unwanted pursuit behavior (UPB) perpetration. Relationship characteristics were investigated accounting for the role of breakup characteristics using data from 396 divorced adults and advanced count regressions. The main effects of former relationship characteristics (except conflict) did not contribute explained variance to the frequency of UPBs when controlling for significant breakup characteristics (initiator status and post-breakup negative affect). However, moderator analyses revealed significant effects of relationship satisfaction, alternatives, investments, and anxious attachment in interaction with initiator status and of relationship alternatives in interaction with post-breakup negative affect. These findings illustrate that the association between relationship characteristics and UPB perpetration is more complex than previously thought and are theoretically and clinically valuable

Vertical transmission of honey bee viruses in a Belgian queen breeding program

Background: The Member States of European Union are encouraged to improve the general conditions for the production and marketing of apicultural products. In Belgium, programmes on the restocking of honey bee hives have run for many years. Overall, the success ratio of this queen breeding programme has been only around 50%. To tackle this low efficacy, we organized sanitary controls of the breeding queens in 2012 and 2014. Results: We found a high quantity of viruses, with more than 75% of the egg samples being infected with at least one virus. The most abundant viruses were Deformed Wing Virus and Sacbrood Virus (>= 40%), although Lake Sinai Virus and Acute Bee Paralysis Virus were also occasionally detected (between 10-30%). In addition, Aphid Lethal Paralysis Virus strain Brookings, Black Queen Cell Virus, Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus and Varroa destructor Macula-like Virus occurred at very low prevalences (<= 5%). Remarkably, we found Apis mellifera carnica bees to be less infected with Deformed Wing Virus than Buckfast bees ( p < 0.01), and also found them to have a lower average total number of infecting viruses ( p < 0.001). This is a significant finding, given that Deformed Wing Virus has earlier been shown to be a contributory factor to winter mortality and Colony Collapse Disorder. Moreover, negative-strand detection of Sacbrood Virus in eggs was demonstrated for the first time. Conclusions: High pathogen loads were observed in this sanitary control program. We documented for the first time vertical transmission of some viruses, as well as significant differences between two honey bee races in being affected by Deformed Wing Virus. Nevertheless, we could not demonstrate a correlation between the presence of viruses and queen breeding efficacies

Pharmacokinetic models for propofol-defining and illuminating the devil in the detail

The recently introduced open-target-controlled infusion (TCI) systems can be programmed with any pharmacokinetic model, and allow either plasma- or effect-site targeting. With effect-site targeting the goal is to achieve a user-defined target effect-site concentration as rapidly as possible, by manipulating the plasma concentration around the target. Currently systems are pre-programmed with the Marsh and Schnider pharmacokinetic models for propofol. The former is an adapted version of the Gepts model, in which the rate constants are fixed, whereas compartment volumes and clearances are weight proportional. The Schnider model was developed during combined pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modelling studies. It has fixed values for V1, V3, k(13), and k(31), adjusts V2, k(12), and k(21) for age, and adjusts k(10) according to total weight, lean body mass (LBM), and height. In plasma targeting mode, the small, fixed V1 results in very small initial doses on starting the system or on increasing the target concentration in comparison with the Marsh model. The Schnider model should thus always be used in effect-site targeting mode, in which larger initial doses are administered, albeit still smaller than for the Marsh model. Users of the Schnider model should be aware that in the morbidly obese the LBM equation can generate paradoxical values resulting in excessive increases in maintenance infusion rates. Finally, the two currently available open TCI systems implement different methods of effect-site targeting for the Schnider model, and in a small subset of patients the induction doses generated by the two methods can differ significantly

Transient current properties in electronic paper

A lot can be learned about the charge transport inside electronic paper from current measurements. Under normal conditions the current response to a voltage step decays in time. However, under some conditions the current increases before decaying to its steady state value. It is not clear why this current bump occurs for high voltages or what its properties are, based on the applied voltage. In this article we will give an explanation for the current bump, and explain its properties

Unwanted pursuit behavior after breakup: occurrence, risk factors, and gender differences

This study investigated unwanted pursuit behavior (UPB) perpetration in 631 adult ex-partners. UPB involves the unwanted pursuit of intimacy, a widespread and usually less severe form of stalking. The occurrence and various risk factors of UPB perpetration were examined, accounting for differences between male and female ex-partners and same- and opposite-gender ex-partners. Ex-partners showed on average five to six UPBs after their separation. Male and female and same- and opposite-gender ex-partners displayed an equal number of UPBs. The number of perpetrated UPBs was explained by breakup characteristics (ex-partner initiation of the breakup and rumination or cognitive preoccupation with the ex-partner), relationship characteristics (anxious attachment in the former relationship), and individual perpetrator characteristics (borderline traits and past delinquent behaviors). Rumination was a stronger predictor in female than male ex-partners. Borderline traits and anxious attachment positively predicted UPB perpetration in opposite-gender but not in same-gender ex-partners. Implications of these findings are discussed

Reverse-engineering transcriptional modules from gene expression data

"Module networks" are a framework to learn gene regulatory networks from expression data using a probabilistic model in which coregulated genes share the same parameters and conditional distributions. We present a method to infer ensembles of such networks and an averaging procedure to extract the statistically most significant modules and their regulators. We show that the inferred probabilistic models extend beyond the data set used to learn the models.Comment: 5 pages REVTeX, 4 figure

Prevalence of intimate partner violence victimization and victims' relational and sexual well-being

Research shows that experiences with intimate partner violence (IPV) harm victims' individual well-being. Surprisingly, little is known about how IPV might impact on victims' well-being at the relationship level. Based on a population-based study in Flanders (the Northern part of Belgium), this study concentrates on how lifetime experience with IPV impacts on victims' relational and sexual well-being with their current partner. Ten percent of the population was confronted with physical violence and 56.7 % with psychological violence. Higher levels of IPV victimization corresponded with an adverse mental, relational (relationship satisfaction, attachment), and sexual (sexual satisfaction, sexual dysfunction, sexual communication) well-being in both women and men but except for the latter correlates, the effects were more pronounced for women than for men