Exploring Co‐Parent Experiences of Sexuality in the First 3 Months after Birth

Introduction Research on postpartum sexuality has focused primarily on mothers, though new findings suggest that relational perceptions may have a strong influence over sexual desire and behavior. Little investigation exists regarding sexuality in partners of postpartum women. Additionally, recent findings point to the importance of a partner's sexuality for postpartum women's perceptions of their own sexuality in this time. Aims The goal of this research was to explore women's partners' sexuality in the early postpartum phase taking into account psychosocial context. Methods Partners (N = 114; 95 men, 18 women, 1 unspecified) of postpartum women completed a retrospective online questionnaire about their sexuality during the 3 months following their youngest child's birth. Main Outcome Measures Primary measures included sexual desire ( S exual D esire I nventory), latency to sexual behavior, and enjoyment and initiation of sexual behavior. Other psychosocial variables were investigated: partners' perceptions of the birth mother's sexual desire, perceptions of the birth experience ( Q uestionnaire M easuring A ttitudes A bout L abor and D elivery), postpartum stress ( P erceived S tress S cale), body image self‐consciousness ( B ody I mage S elf‐ C onsciousness S cale), social support ( M ultidimensional S cale of P erceived S ocial S upport), fatigue, and experiences surrounding breastfeeding. Results Partners reported most frequent engagement in intercourse in the postpartum period, earliest engagement in masturbation, and highest enjoyment of receiving oral sex compared with other sexual activities. Partners' sexual desire was not correlated with the psychosocial variables measured in the study. Findings for partners' sexuality were similar by gender, except for perceptions of social support and likelihood to engage in intercourse. Conclusions This study provided a novel perspective on the study of postpartum sexuality by investigating physical and psychosocial influences on the experiences of partners of parous women. Given parallels between sexuality reported by partners in this study and by birth mothers in past studies, this study provided evidence that sexuality in the postpartum period may be experienced similarly, highlighting the social and relational nature of the postpartum. van Anders SM, Hipp LE, and Kane Low L. Exploring co‐parent experiences of sexuality in the first 3 months after birth. J Sex Med 2013;10:1988–1999.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99697/1/jsm12194.pd

Chromosome Number Changes Associated with Speciation in Sedges: a Phylogenetic Study in Carex section Ovales (Cyperaceae) Using AFLP Data

Phylogenetic analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) was used to infer patterns of morphologic and chromosomal evolution in an eastern North American group of sedges (ENA clade I of Carex sect. Ovales). Distance analyses of AFLP data recover a tree that is topologically congruent with previous phylogenetic estimates based on nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) sequences and provide support for four species groups within ENA clade I. A maximum likelihood method designed for analysis of restriction site data is used to evaluate the strength of support for alternative topologies. While there is little support for the precise placement of the root, the likelihood of topologies in which any of the four clades identified within the ENA clade I is forced to be paraphyletic is much lower than the likelihood of the optimal tree. Chromosome counts for a sampling of species from throughout sect. Ovales are mapped onto the tree, as well as counts for all species in ENA clade I. Parsimony reconstruction of ancestral character states suggest that: (1) Heilborn’s hypothesis that more highly derived species in Carex have higher chromosome counts does not apply within sect. Ovales, (2) the migration to eastern North America involved a decrease in average chromosome count within sect. Ovales, and (3) intermediate chromosome counts are ancestral within ENA clade I. A more precise understanding of chromosomal evolution in Carex should be possible using likelihood analyses that take into account the intraspecific polymorphism and wide range of chromosome counts that characterize the genus

Exploring Women's Postpartum Sexuality: Social, Psychological, Relational, and Birth‐Related Contextual Factors

Introduction.  Women's postpartum sexuality can be influenced by factors related to physical, personal, and relationship transitions after the newborn arrives. Despite this, many experiential and social factors remain unexplored. Aims.  This study aims to (i) investigate a range of variables thought to influence postpartum sexuality; (ii) expand the focus beyond latency to penis–vagina intercourse; and (iii) assess positive aspects of postpartum sexuality. Methods.  Via retrospective reporting on the first 3 months postpartum, 304 women completed an online questionnaire. Main Outcome Measures.  The main outcome measures were retrospective reports of sexual desire (Sexual Desire Inventory), latency to resumption of sexual activity, and perceptions of partner's sexual desire. Other measures were birth experience (Questionnaire Measuring Attitudes About Labor and Delivery), breastfeeding status, perceptions of social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support), stress (Perceived Stress Scale), and body image (Body Image Self‐Consciousness Scale). Results.  Significant differences in time to resumption were found. Women performed oral sex on their partners earlier than engaging in masturbation, which was followed by intercourse and then receiving oral sex. Post hoc analyses identified birth experience, social support, importance of partner's sexual fulfillment, and perception of partner's desire as contributors to this pattern. Women's postpartum sexual desire was influenced by their perceptions of their partner's postpartum sexuality and individual's level of fatigue. Results suggested that postpartum desire was not significantly influenced by breastfeeding status, vaginal issues, or psychosocial variables including stress, body image, or social support. Conclusion.  Results suggest that women's perceptions of their partner's sexuality impact postpartum sexuality more than the physical factors most commonly studied (e.g., vaginal trauma and breastfeeding). These results portray postpartum sexuality as a multidimensional phenomenon and highlight the need for further research that addresses its social context. Hipp LE, Kane Low L, and van Anders SM. Exploring women's postpartum sexuality: Social, psychological, relational, and birth‐related contextual factors. J Sex Med 2012;9:2330–2341.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93653/1/j.1743-6109.2012.02804.x.pd

Phylogeny and biogeography of Croton alabamensis (Euphorbiaceae), a rare shrub from Texas and Alabama, using DNA sequence and AFLP data

Croton alabamensis (Euphorbiaceae s.s. ) is a rare plant species known from several populations in Texas and Alabama that have been assigned to var. texensis and var. alabamensis , respectively. We performed maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analyses of DNA sequences from the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 5.8S regions and chloroplast trn L- trn F regions from collections of the two varieties of C. alabamensis and from outgroup taxa. C. alabamensis emerges alone on a long branch that is sister to Croton section Corylocroton and the Cuban endemic genus Moacroton . Molecular clock analysis estimates the split of C. alabamensis from its closest relatives in sect. Corylocroton at 41 million years ago, whereas the split of the two varieties of C. alabamensis occurred sometime in the Quaternary. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses were performed using two selective primer pairs on a larger sampling of accessions (22 from Texas, 17 from Alabama) to further discriminate phylogenetic structure and quantify genetic diversity. Using both neighbour joining and minimum evolution, the populations from the Cahaba and Black Warrior watersheds in Alabama form two well-separated groups, and in Texas, geographically distinct populations are recovered from Fort Hood, Balcones Canyonlands, and Pace Bend Park. Most of the molecular variance is accounted for by variance within populations. Approximately equal variance is found among populations within states and between states (varieties). Genetic distance between the Texas populations is significantly less than genetic distance between the Alabama populations. Both sequence and AFLP data support the same relationships between the varieties of C. alabamensis and their outgroup, while the AFLP data provide better resolution among the different geographical regions where C. alabamensis occurs. The conservation implications of these findings are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72311/1/j.1365-294X.2006.02970.x.pd

Tris(Ethylenediamine)Cobalt(III) Nonaiododibismuthate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Co(C2H8N2)3][Bi2I9], crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Cmc21. The asymmetric unit contains half of a [Co(en)3]3+ cation (en is ethylenediamine) and half of a [Bi2I9]3- anion. Both species are located on mirror planes, requiring the [Co(en)3]3+ cation to be present as a statistically disordered mixture of both enantiomeric forms. Crystals were grown solvothermally from an ethanol-water solvent mixture using rac-[Co(en)3]I3 and bismuth triiodide as starting materials. The compound is a rare example of a mixed-metal halobismuthate material

Urban park use during the COVID-19 pandemic:Are socially vulnerable communities disproportionately impacted?

The COVID-19 pandemic altered human behavior around the world. To maintain mental and physical health during periods of lockdown and quarantine, people often engaged in outdoor, physically distanced activities such as visits to parks and greenspace. However, research tracking outdoor recreation patterns during the pandemic has yielded inconsistent results, and few studies have explored the impacts of COVID-19 on park use across diverse neighborhoods. We used a mixed methods approach to examine changes in park use patterns in cities across North Carolina, USA, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an emphasis on impacts in socially vulnerable communities (based on racial/ethnic composition and socioeconomic status). First, we surveyed a demographically representative sample of 611 urban residents during August 2020 to assess their use of outdoor park spaces before and during the pandemic. Second, we used cell phone location (i.e., geo-tracking) data to document changes in park visits within 605 socioeconomically diverse urban census tracts before (July 2019) and during (July 2020) the pandemic. Data from both methods revealed urban park use declined during the pandemic; 56% of survey respondents said they stopped or reduced park use, and geo-tracked park visits dropped by 15%. Park users also became more homogenous, with visits increasing the most for past park visitors and declining the most in socially vulnerable communities and among individuals who were BIPOC or lower-income. Our results raise concerns about urban park use during the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest pre-existing health disparities in socially vulnerable communities might be exacerbated by inequitable access and utilization of parks and greenspace