Erectile dysfunction - an update of current practice and future strategies

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to achieve and maintain a penile erection adequate for satisfactory sexual intercourse.1 Up to 150 million men worldwide suffer from ED and this figure is likely to double by the year 2025.2 A number of studies have attempted to characterise the true prevalence of ED. In a Danish study, Ventegodt reported that 5.4% of all patients had a decreased ability to achieve an erection.3 The prevalence was reported to be highest (18%) in those aged over 58 years. The Massachusetts Male Aging Study (MMAS)4 reported the results of a regional survey of 1709 men aged 40–69 years. In this study 52% reported some degree of ED, with 10% having complete ED. Moreover, the results suggest that the probability of complete ED at age 70 was threefold compared to that at age 40; the probability of moderate ED was two-fold

A Reflected Moving Boundary Problem Driven by Space-Time White Noise

We study a system of two reflected SPDEs which share a moving boundary. The equations describe competition at an interface and are motivated by the modelling of the limit order book in financial markets. The derivative of the moving boundary is given by a function of the two SPDEs in their relative frames. We prove existence and uniqueness for the equations until blow-up, and show that the solution is global when the boundary speed is bounded. We also derive the expected H\"older continuity for the process and hence for the derivative of the moving boundary. Both the case when the spatial domains are given by fixed finite distances from the shared boundary, and when the spatial domains are the semi-infinite intervals on either side of the shared boundary are considered. In the second case, our results require us to further develop the known theory for reflected SPDEs on infinite spatial domains by extending the uniqueness theory and establishing the local H\"older continuity of the solutions

Optimal execution with rough path signatures

We present a method for obtaining approximate solutions to the problem of optimal execution, based on a signature method. The framework is general, only requiring that the price process is a geometric rough path and the price impact function is a continuous function of the trading speed. Following an approximation of the optimisation problem, we are able to calculate an optimal solution for the trading speed in the space of linear functions on a truncation of the signature of the price process. We provide strong numerical evidence illustrating the accuracy and flexibility of the approach. Our numerical investigation both examines cases where exact solutions are known, demonstrating that the method accurately approximates these solutions, and models where exact solutions are not known. In the latter case, we obtain favourable comparisons with standard execution strategies

“A difficult tightrope to walk”: an exploration of therapists’ experiences of working with suicidal students in Higher Education

Suicide has become a public concern and a high government priority in the UK in recent years. Universities across the UK have witnessed increases in student suicide and with growing demands for university counselling provision, suicide risk amongst the student population is an increasing concern for mental health professionals in higher education. Existing research on suicide is dominated by quantitative research, which has mainly focused on the epidemiology of suicide and the identification of risk and protective factors of suicidal phenomena. Despite increases in mental distress and suicidality amongst students, research on mental health professionals working with this complex population is an area which has been largely neglected. Recognising the imperative need for research in this area, this study aims to address the significant gap in research by exploring therapists’ experiences of working with suicidal students in higher education in the UK. The study used a qualitative design with semi-structured in-depth interviews. Eight participants were selected purposively and interviewed regarding their experiences of working with suicidal students. The interviews were then transcribed and analysed for recurrent themes using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four super-ordinate themes, each with inter-related sub-themes, emerged from the interpretative analysis: Exploring suicidality; The context matters; What helps?; and Barriers to working with suicidality in university counselling services. Participants’ accounts provided valuable insights of working with suicidal students in the higher education sector and created a space for therapists to give voice to their experiences of working with the implicit phenomenon of suicide. This research has increased knowledge, awareness and understanding of working with suicidality in the higher education sector. The findings have implications for therapists and counselling services in higher education as well as universities themselves, and it is argued that the findings could assist heads of university counselling services in planning improvements to service provision for suicidal students and improve support for therapists working with this vulnerable client population. Finally, implications for Counselling Psychologists working in the higher education sector are explored as well as areas for future research

Assessment of Optimal Flexibility in Ensemble of Frequency Responsive Loads

Potential of electrical loads in providing grid ancillary services is often limited due to the uncertainties associated with the load behavior. A knowledge of the expected uncertainties with a load control program would invariably yield to better informed control policies, opening up the possibility of extracting the maximal load control potential without affecting grid operations. In the context of frequency responsive load control, a probabilistic uncertainty analysis framework is presented to quantify the expected error between the target and actual load response, under uncertainties in the load dynamics. A closed-form expression of an optimal demand flexibility, minimizing the expected error in actual and committed flexibility, is provided. Analytical results are validated through Monte Carlo simulations of ensembles of electric water heaters.Comment: IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communication

Substance Abuse Amongst High School and College Students

Substance abuse among young adults is hardly a new trend. About 50% of full-time college students binge drink or abuse prescription drugs, 25% of which meet the definition of having substance abuse or a dependence. That is three times the rate of the general population. Estimated overall total cost of substance abuse in US is $600 billion annually. Ease of access is a main contributor to drug abuse amongst college students.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1047/thumbnail.jp