Sexual dysfunction associated with infertility' A comparison of sexual function during the fertile and the non-fertile phase of the menstrual cycle

In a study of 40 couples with primary infertility, the 'need to perform' over the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle was assessed. In 50% of women there was a statistically increased incidence of sexual dysfunction during this phase; loss of libido was the commonest dysfunction. In 30% of men a decrease in sexual function was experienced during the fertile phase of their partner's cycle, and 75% of men reported premature ejaculation during intercourse in > 10% of occasions - this was unaltered by the diagnosis of infertility. The frequency of intercourse was increased over the fertile phase. No correlation was found between sexual dysfunction and the identified infertile sexual partner

Lower bounds for polynomials using geometric programming

We make use of a result of Hurwitz and Reznick, and a consequence of this result due to Fidalgo and Kovacec, to determine a new sufficient condition for a polynomial $f\in\mathbb{R}[X_1,...,X_n]$ of even degree to be a sum of squares. This result generalizes a result of Lasserre and a result of Fidalgo and Kovacec, and it also generalizes the improvements of these results given in [6]. We apply this result to obtain a new lower bound $f_{gp}$ for $f$, and we explain how $f_{gp}$ can be computed using geometric programming. The lower bound $f_{gp}$ is generally not as good as the lower bound $f_{sos}$ introduced by Lasserre and Parrilo and Sturmfels, which is computed using semidefinite programming, but a run time comparison shows that, in practice, the computation of $f_{gp}$ is much faster. The computation is simplest when the highest degree term of $f$ has the form $\sum_{i=1}^n a_iX_i^{2d}$, $a_i>0$, $i=1,...,n$. The lower bounds for $f$ established in [6] are obtained by evaluating the objective function of the geometric program at the appropriate feasible points

Pure gonadal dysgenesis: Case report and review

No Abstract

A metric study of skin healing

KI

The development of tape recorded discussions and check lists for evaluating progression in grades one through four.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Pioneering the Field of Deaf Women’s Studies

This article is written by three Deaf women-scholars who pioneered Deaf Women’s Studies (DWS) about thirty plus years ago: the discipline arose from the need to explore the Deaf female experience (Kelly, 2016). Then, the 1990’s was when the DWS coursework was first developed and offered in American academia. To gain a greater understanding for DWS, the article begins by reviewing the emergence of both Black Studies and Women’s Studies as academic fields and how these were the impetus for DWS. A discussion about the Deaf women’s experiences during different periods of American history is given in detail. A brief coverage of the history of Deaf Studies as a discipline shows how it inspired the pioneers to establish the DWS field. Gaps in curricula, resources, and corpus as they appeared at the time that DWS began are described. Finally, the article devotes substantial space to the experiences that the authors had in developing courses, its syllabi, and teaching about Deaf women. A number of current challenges and achievements point to a continued pressing strong need for DWS to gain strength through research and scholarship

The Lerch Zeta Function II. Analytic Continuation

This is the second of four papers that study algebraic and analytic structures associated with the Lerch zeta function. In this paper we analytically continue it as a function of three complex variables. We that it is well defined as a multivalued function on the manifold M equal to C^3 with the hyperplanes corresponding to integer values of the two variables a and c removed. We show that it becomes single valued on the maximal abelian cover of M. We compute the monodromy functions describing the multivalued nature of this function on M, and determine various of their properties.Comment: 29 pages, 3 figures; v2 notation changes, homotopy action on lef

Tumor bed brachytherapy for locally advanced laryngeal cancer: a feasibility assessment of combination with ferromagnetic hyperthermia

Purpose. To assess the feasibility of adding hyperthermia to an original method of organ-preserving brachytherapy treatment for locally advanced head and neck tumors. Methods and materials. The method involves organ-preserving tumor resection and adjunctive high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy delivered via afterloading catheters. These catheters are embedded in a polymeric implant prepared intraoperatively to fill the resection cavity, allowing precise computer planning of dose distribution in the surrounding at-risk tumor bed tissue. Theoretical and experimental analyzes address the feasibility of heating the tumor bed implant by coupling energy from a 100 kHz magnetic field applied externally into ferromagnetic particles, which are uniformly distributed within the implant. The goal is to combine adjuvant hyperthermia (40 °C–45 °C) to at-risk tissue within 5 mm of the resection cavity for thermal enhancement of radiation and chemotherapy response. Results. A five-year relapse free survival rate of 95.8% was obtained for a select group of 48 male patients with T3N0M0 larynx tumors, when combining organ-preserving surgery with HDR brachytherapy from a tumor bed implant. Anticipating the need for additional treatment in patients with more advanced disease, a theoretical analysis demonstrates the ability to heat at-risk tissue up to 10 mm from the surface of an implant filled with magnetically coupled ferromagnetic balls. Using a laboratory induction heating system, it takes just over 2 min to increase the target tissue temperature by 10 °C using a 19% volume fraction of ferromagnetic spheres in a 2 cm diameter silicone implant. Conclusion. The promising clinical results of a 48 patient pilot study demonstrate the feasibility of a new organ sparing treatment for laryngeal cancer. Anticipating the need for additional therapy, theoretical estimations of potential implant heating are confirmed with laboratory experiments, preparing the way for future implementation of a thermobrachytherapy implant approach for organ-sparing treatment of locally advanced laryngeal cancer