Couples\u27 Views of the Effects of Natural Family Planning on Marital Dynamics

Purpose: Natural Family Planning (NFP) requires periodic abstinence and partner cooperation to prevent pregnancy. The aim of this study was to learn about the effects of modern NFP methods on marital relationships. Design: Descriptive survey. Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to 1,400 randomly selected couples known to use NFP and residing in the United States of America; 334 couples (24%) responded. Content analysis was used to identify meanings and themes. Numeric analyses were used to determine frequencies. Findings: Nearly two-thirds of the qualitative comments were positive. Four themes were identified in the positive responses: relationship enhancements, knowledge improvements, spirituality enrichments, and method successes. Three negative themes were identified: strained sexual interactions, worsened relationships, and method problems. Although about onefourth of the comments indicated that NFP presented challenges, the majority (74%) found it beneficial, often resulting in stronger bonds, better communication, and improved knowledge. Conclusions: NFP had more positive than negative effects and its use warrants further consideration

Adherence to Weight Control Techniques and Weight Loss: A Case Study

A multiple baseline design across four behaviors was used to assess the effectiveness of a self-monitoring behavioral weight reduction program. The four behaviors were (1) the number of arm lifts used to direct food and liquid, other than water, into the mouth, (2) the number of minutes the subject engaged in daily exercise, (3a) the number of meals eaten per day, and (3b) the number of balanced meals eaten per day. The subject involved in this study was a 22-year-old male graduate student who was approximately 25 pounds overweight. At the completion of the study the subject lost a total of 19 pounds, at a rate of 1.73 pounds per week, over an eleven-week period. The results indicated that a self-monitoring behavioral weight reduction program was effective in reducing the weight in a 22-year-old male graduate student. A follow-up check six months later revealed an additional nine-pound weight loss. The study emphasized the need for reliability checkers in the natural environment to increase the dieter\u27s adherence to weight control techniques

TWO COLEOPTEROUS PESTS OF PET FOOD IN PUERTO RICO (FAMILIES CUCUJIDAE AND TENEBRIONIDAE)

TWO COLEOPTEROUS PESTS OF PET FOOD IN PUERTO RICO (FAMILIES CUCUJIDAE AND TENEBRIONIDAE

Changing the Tide: An Internet/Video Exercise and Low Fat Diet Intervention with Middle School Students

The rising tide of obesity erodes the health of youths and many times results in adult obesity. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effectiveness of an eight-session health promotion/transtheoretical model Internet/video-delivered intervention to increase physical activity and reduce dietary fat among low-income, culturally diverse, seventh-grade students. Those who completed more than half the sessions increased exercise, t(103) = −1.99, p = .05, and decreased the percentage of dietary fat, t(87) = 2.73, p = .008. Responses to the intervention by stage of change, race, and income are examined

In or Out? Perceptions of Inclusion and Exclusion Among AIS Members

People want a sense of community, a benefit that a professional association such as the Association for Information Systems (AIS) can provide to members. When attempts to create a shared experience fall short and we feel excluded, we disengage and stop further attempts to participate. In this paper, we lay a foundation for individual and association inclusion practices in the AIS. First, we describe the current state of inclusion practices in the academy and in the AIS. Then, we describe findings from a survey of AIS members that measured their perceptions about inclusion and exclusion and factors that cultivated these perceptions. In doing so, we establish a baseline against which we can measure future change. Our data yields key insights about diversity and inclusion in the AIS, and we offer recommendations for all individuals in various roles and positions in the AIS

Improved central nervous system symptoms in people with HIV without objective neuropsychiatric complaints switching from Efavirenz to Rilpivirine containing cART

Objective: Occult central nervous system (CNS) symptoms not recognized by people living with HIV (PLWH) receiving efavirenz or their clinicians could occur and impact people’s quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine whether CNS parameters improve in PLWH when switching from efavirenz to rilpivirine. Methods: PLWH receiving tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, emtricitabine, efavirenz (Atripla™) with undetectable HIV RNA, and no CNS symptoms were switched cART to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, emtricitabine, rilpivirine (Eviplera™). CNS parameters including sleep, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were evaluated using patient-reported outcome measures at baseline, 4, 12, and 24 weeks after switching therapy. A median CNS score was derived from the sum of CNS toxicities of all the grades collected in the study questionnaires. Cognitive function was assessed using a computerized test battery. Results: Of 41 participants, median age was 47 years, Interquartile range (IQR) 31, 92% were male and 80% were of white ethnicity. A significant reduction in total CNS score (10 to 7) was observed at 4 weeks (p = 0.028), but not thereafter. Significant improvements in sleep and anxiety were observed 4, 12 and 24 weeks after switching therapy (p < 0.05). No significant change in global cognitive scores was observed. Conclusions: Switching from efavirenz to rilpivirine based regimens in virologically suppressed PLWH without perceived CNS symptoms was well tolerated and slightly improved overall CNS symptoms

Drosophila melanogaster Mini Spindles TOG3 Utilizes Unique Structural Elements to Promote Domain Stability and Maintain a TOG1- and TOG2-like Tubulin-binding Surface

Microtubule-associated proteins regulate microtubule (MT) dynamics spatially and temporally, which is essential for proper formation of the bipolar mitotic spindle. The XMAP215 family is comprised of conserved microtubule-associated proteins that use an array of tubulin-binding tumor overexpressed gene (TOG) domains, consisting of six (A–F) Huntingtin, elongation factor 3, protein phosphatase 2A, target of rapamycin (HEAT) repeats, to robustly increase MT plus-end polymerization rates. Recent work showed that TOG domains have differentially conserved architectures across the array, with implications for position-dependent TOG domain tubulin binding activities and function within the XMAP215 MT polymerization mechanism. Although TOG domains 1, 2, and 4 are well described, structural and mechanistic information characterizing TOG domains 3 and 5 is outstanding. Here, we present the structure and characterization of Drosophila melanogaster Mini spindles (Msps) TOG3. Msps TOG3 has two unique features as follows: the first is a C-terminal tail that stabilizes the ultimate four HEAT repeats (HRs), and the second is a unique architecture in HR B. Structural alignments of TOG3 with other TOG domain structures show that the architecture of TOG3 is most similar to TOG domains 1 and 2 and diverges from TOG4. Docking TOG3 onto recently solved Stu2 TOG1· and TOG2·tubulin complex structures suggests that TOG3 uses similarly conserved tubulin-binding intra-HEAT loop residues to engage α- and β-tubulin. This indicates that TOG3 has maintained a TOG1- and TOG2-like TOG-tubulin binding mode despite structural divergence. The similarity of TOG domains 1–3 and the divergence of TOG4 suggest that a TOG domain array with polarized structural diversity may play a key mechanistic role in XMAP215-dependent MT polymerization activity

Donor Centers and Absorption Spectra in Quantum Dots

We have studied the electronic properties and optical absorption spectra of three different cases of donor centers, D^{0}, D^{-} and D^{2-}, which are subjected to a perpendicular magnetic field, using the exact diagonalization method. The energies of the lowest lying states are obtained as function of the applied magnetic field strength B and the distance zeta between the positive ion and the confinement xy-plane. Our calculations indicate that the positive ion induces transitions in the ground-state, which can be observed clearly in the absorption spectra, but as zeta goes to 0 the strength of the applied magnetic field needed for a transition to occur tends to infinity.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, REVTeX 4, gzipped tar fil

The XMAP215 family drives microtubule polymerization using a structurally diverse TOG array

Structures of Drosophila Msps TOG4 and human ch-TOG TOG4 are presented. TOG4 departs from the other TOG structures and predicts novel α-tubulin engagement. Whereas TOG domains across the array have different tubulin-binding properties, cellular studies show that a fully functional TOG array is required for microtubule polymerase activity.XMAP215 family members are potent microtubule (MT) polymerases, with mutants displaying reduced MT growth rates and aberrant spindle morphologies. XMAP215 proteins contain arrayed tumor overexpressed gene (TOG) domains that bind tubulin. Whether these TOG domains are architecturally equivalent is unknown. Here we present crystal structures of TOG4 from Drosophila Msps and human ch-TOG. These TOG4 structures architecturally depart from the structures of TOG domains 1 and 2, revealing a conserved domain bend that predicts a novel engagement with α-tubulin. In vitro assays show differential tubulin-binding affinities across the TOG array, as well as differential effects on MT polymerization. We used Drosophila S2 cells depleted of endogenous Msps to assess the importance of individual TOG domains. Whereas a TOG1-4 array largely rescues MT polymerization rates, mutating tubulin-binding determinants in any single TOG domain dramatically reduces rescue activity. Our work highlights the structurally diverse yet positionally conserved TOG array that drives MT polymerization