Cortisol reactivity to psychosocial stress is greater in sexual risk takers

Several studies have reported an association between deviant behaviour and cortisol reactivity to stress. However relatively few studies have investigated the relationship between psychobiological stress reactivity and sexual risk taking behaviours. In the present study, cortisol reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was measured in 26 healthy young adults prior to the administration of a sexual health and behaviour questionnaire. The cortisol response to the TSST was greater in those individuals who reported that at least one of their previous two sexual partners was someone whom they had just met. Results are discussed in context of a model which suggests that early life stress dysregulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and increases the likelihood of later life risk taking behaviour. The findings have implications in terms of improving our understanding of psychobiological factors which predispose individuals to engage in adverse sexual health behaviours

The Importance of Rivers in Protected Areas: Macroinvertebrate Sampling Reveals the Impact of Humans and Highways on Water Quality

The water quality and level of contamination of two rivers in a cloud forest ecosystem in the Mejía region of Ecuador, the Tupí River and the Pilatón River were assessed through benthic macroinvertebrate sampling at various sites along the rivers. Many different biological indices were then used to assess water quality at each site. Pollution in the form of grey water, black water, and petroleum negatively impacted the water quality of the both rivers as they pass through the town of La Esperie. Differences in river structure and size also played a role in determining the prevalence of certain benthic macroinvertebrates: the bigger size and better oxygenation of the Pilatón allowed for more abundance of macroinvertebrates, and a higher percentage of certain pollution sensitive taxa. Therefore, differences between testing sites were not solely due to contamination. Overall, the water quality of the rivers was good to excellent before the town of La Esperie, and moderately to slightly contaminated afterwards, suggesting that waste management remains an issue in this region

"Love is Eloquence": Richard Crashaw and the Development of a Discourse of Divine Love

My thesis takes as its subject the poetry of Richard Crashaw. Crashaw aims to represent a mutual relationship of love between God and humanity, which is modelled on the discourses of earthly, erotic love. However, such a relationship, and its expression is highly problematic. Love, and this kind of mutuality are best expressed through suffering. This paradox is central to my thesis. The dissertation falls into three parts which discuss the early , middle and late periods of his life and writing. Section One: Epigrammata Sacra. In these epigrams, Crashaw attempted to forge a language in which to express his love of God. He adapted the conventions of Latin erotic poetry to represent sacred love. The first two chapters discuss Ovid and Prudentius who were important influences on Crashaw since they both adapted the language of Classical Latin poetry for their own purposes. Ovid used the language of Augustan public rituals to write erotic poetry. Prudentius also strove to adapt the language of Roman poetry to the Christian purpose of celebrating the sufferings of the manyrs. Since Crashaw also explores the way in which wounding can aid communication between humanity and God, Prudentius was also an imponant model for this aspect of his poetry. Section Two: Steps to the Temple (1646). The first chapter concerns Counter Reformation meditational writers. Louis Manz contends that such writers were highly influential on English Renaissance poetry. This chapter investigates their views of divine love and how humanity may achieve it. In Steps to the Temple , Crashaw celebrates those who, like St. Teresa, have achieved communion with God, but seems himself to require an intermediate agency through which to communicate his love for the divine. The poems discussed in this section were probably written in the 1630s and 1640s, while Crashaw was resident in Cambridge. The final chapter discusses the political and religious debates of the 1640s and argues that what some critics perceive as Crashaw's 'foreign' sensibility may be a reflection of the views of the 'Beauty of Holiness' movement. Section Three: Steps to the Temple (1648) and Carmen Deo Nostro. Crashaw fled to Europe in 1643 and convened to Catholicism. The two later editions of his poetry, published after his exile from England, contain several new poems and revisions of earlier ones. Poems in hymn form , appear for the first time in the 1648 edition of Steps to the Temple. These are full of images of pain and wounding. The opening chapter compares Crashaw's discussions of religious suffering with those of contemporary poets. The work of his close friend and coUeague at Peterhouse, Joseph Beaumont, is particularly va1uable, since his language and style are very similar to Crashaw's. Beaumont's poetry also offers an insight into the life of Laudians who remained in England during the Interregnum. Hymns of the Church were associated with Catholic ritual. The second chapter considers whether there is any evidence that these poems were written after Crashaw's conversion, and whether they exhibit any change of sensibility as a result . An account of Crashaw's years of exile contends that he may have encountered Catholic thought while still in England. Critics have assumed that once he convened, and particularly once he anived in Rome, he was finally content and at peace with God. I argue, however, there is no evidence for this view, and that Crashaw remained an excluded exile whose sense of isolation found expression in his poetry

Emerging treatments for essential thrombocythemia

In 1934, Epstein and Goedel used the term hemorrhagic thrombocythemia to describe a disorder characterized by permanent elevation of a platelet count to more than three times normal, hyperplasia of megakaryocytes, and the tendency for venous thrombosis and spontaneous hemorrhage. Over the last 75 years, and particularly in the past 6 years, major progress has been made in our understanding of essential thrombocythemia (ET) and its pathogenesis with the identification of the highly prevalent JAK-2 V617F and other mutations. Current management of this condition is based upon historical data and with treatments that have not changed significantly for nearly two decades. This study discusses this and recent progress, highlighting exciting new data with old and new drugs, as well as which patients in particular should be evaluated for these new therapies

National Indigenous Palliative Care Needs Study

This study involved extensive consultation with the community to identify the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in palliative care

New versus old blood - the debate continues

Since the inception of blood banking, refinements in laboratory processes have allowed for progressively longer storage times of red blood cells. Whilst advantageous for the logistics of stock management, the clinical impact of the duration of red blood cell storage prior to transfusion remains uncertain, and a topic of growing interest

Inclusive, adaptive design for students with severe learning disabilities

Young adults with severe disabilities and learning difficulties (SLD) have very limited access to appropriate learning resources. Their unique individual needs and requirements prevent them from accessing traditional methods of online learning, and resources tend not to be age appropriate. The majority of SLD learners has difficulty accessing a computer with standard peripherals such as a mouse and relies on assistive technologies (e.g. switches) to do so. Each learner tends to have specific needs that must be addressed in order to provide an accessible and adaptive platform for learning. The aim of this research project was, with the assistance and support of the learners and their tutors, to design and develop an adaptable and inclusive online learning environment specifically catering for the needs of young adults with SLD. Each stage of development was prototyped and assessed in the college environment to ensure the needs of the learners were thoroughly addressed. 1

Woman’s entrepreneurship as a gendered niche:The implications for regional development policy

In this paper we argue that entrepreneurship is a socio-spatial embedded activity and that the social construction of gender, time, space, economy and culture is manifest in the masculinities that are ascribed a normative role in entrepreneurship development policies. Drawing on feminist approaches to articulate and perform resistance to the hegemonic ‘masculinist’ discourses on entrepreneurship, we argue that women’s entrepreneurship is contextually embedded in institutional and social structures that both limit and provide opportunities for its enactment. Regional economic development policy has focused, inter alia, on stimulating and supporting women’s entrepreneurship through the establishment of women-only entrepreneurial networks to provide support, role models and access to resources. Grounded in feminist geography and based on a detailed qualitative study of network managers and members of formally established women-only networks, we provide evidence of the disconnect between the emancipatory intent and the actual impact of these initiatives. While these networks aim to empower and encourage women into entrepreneurship, in practice they perpetuate women’s marginalisation and ghettoization in gendered niches