Processes of Sexual Orientation Questioning Among Heterosexual Women

Because very little is known about heterosexual identity development, this study assesses and describes sexual orientation questioning processes of heterosexual-identified women, and offers a comparison of these processes with those employed by their sexual-minority counterparts. Participants included 333 female college students (ages 18-23; M = 19.2). Two-hundred and twenty-eight participants primarily identified as “exclusively straight/heterosexual”; 105 participants indicated a sexual-minority identity. Sixty-seven percent of exclusively heterosexual respondents (n = 154) indicated having thought about and/or questioned their sexual orientation. The processes by which heterosexual participants described questioning their sexual orientation were coded for the presence of five emergent categories using an inductive thematic coding methodology. These five categories included: unelaborated questioning (19%), other-sex experiences (16%), exposure to sexual minorities (26%), assessment of same-sex attraction (48%), and evaluations of same-sex behavior (26%). Several unifying and differentiating themes emerged between sexual orientation groups. Results from this study suggest that contemporary young women’s heterosexuality is not necessarily an unexamined identity; indeed, the large majority of young women in this sample were deliberately identifying as heterosexual after contemplating alternative possibilities

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection inhibits colonic thiamin pyrophosphate uptake via transcriptional mechanism.

Colonocytes possess a specific carrier-mediated uptake process for the microbiota-generated thiamin (vitamin B1) pyrophosphate (TPP) that involves the TPP transporter (TPPT; product of the SLC44A4 gene). Little is known about the effect of exogenous factors (including enteric pathogens) on the colonic TPP uptake process. Our aim in this study was to investigate the effect of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infection on colonic uptake of TPP. We used human-derived colonic epithelial NCM460 cells and mice in our investigation. The results showed that infecting NCM460 cells with live EHEC (but not with heat-killed EHEC, EHEC culture supernatant, or with non-pathogenic E. Coli) to lead to a significant inhibition in carrier-mediated TPP uptake, as well as in level of expression of the TPPT protein and mRNA. Similarly, infecting mice with EHEC led to a significant inhibition in colonic TPP uptake and in level of expression of TPPT protein and mRNA. The inhibitory effect of EHEC on TPP uptake by NCM460 was found to be associated with reduction in the rate of transcription of the SLC44A4 gene as indicated by the significant reduction in the activity of the SLC44A4 promoter transfected into EHEC infected cells. The latter was also associated with a marked reduction in the level of expression of the transcription factors CREB-1 and ELF3, which are known to drive the activity of the SLC44A4 promoter. Finally, blocking the ERK1/2 and NF-kB signaling pathways in NCM460 cells significantly reversed the level of EHEC inhibition in TPP uptake and TPPT expression. Collectively, these findings show, for the first time, that EHEC infection significantly inhibit colonic uptake of TPP, and that this effect appears to be exerted at the level of SLC44A4 transcription and involves the ERK1/2 and NF-kB signaling pathways

New times, new politics: history and memory during the final years of the CPGB

This article examines the relationship between collective memory, historical interpretation and political identity. It focuses on the dissolution of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) as constructed through collective narrative memory, and on Marxist interpretations of history. The divisions within the party and the wider Marxist community, stretching from 1956 until 1991, were often framed around questions of historical interpretation. The events of 1989–1991 created an historical and mnemonic crisis for CPGB members who struggled to reconcile their past identities with their present situation. Unlike the outward-facing revisionism of other political parties, this was an intensely personal affair. The solution for many was to emphasise the need to find new ways to progress socialist aims, without relying on a discredited grand narrative. In contrast, other Communist parties, such as the Communist Party of Britain, which had been established (or ‘re-established’) in 1988, fared rather better. By adhering to the international party line of renewal and continued struggle, the party was able to hold its narrative together, condemning the excesses of totalitarian regimes, while reaffirming the need for international class struggle

Aortic Morphology Following Endovascular Repair of Acute and Chronic Type B Aortic Dissection: Implications for Management

AbstractObjectiveThe study aimed to define early clinical outcomes, and medium term morphological changes, following endovascular treatment of acute (AAD) and chronic (CAD) Type B aortic dissections.Main outcomesThe cohort comprised 78 patients who underwent endovascular repair for AAD (38) and CAD (40). Early and late clinical outcomes were prospectively recorded. All patients underwent serial follow up with CT scanning. False lumen thrombosis rates, true, false and total aortic short axis diameter were recorded at the mid point of the endograft and below this level in the thoracic aorta. The total maximum aortic diameter in the thoracic, abdominal aorta was quantified.ResultsThe 30-d mortality was 2.6% in AAD and 7.5% in CAD. The 30-d stroke and paraplegia rates were 5.3% and 0% in AAD. There were no cases of stroke or paraplegia in patients with CAD. At 30 months follow up, the cumulative survival for the two groups was 93% for AAD and 66.5% for CAD (P=0.015, Kaplan Meier) and the cumulative re-intervention rate was 62% and 55% in AAD and CAD respectively (P=0.961, Kaplan-Meier). False lumen thrombosis rates were equivalent in the two groups and were higher at the level of the endograft than below this level (P<0.05). Aortic remodelling was greater in AAD, whereas the aortic dimensions after treatment of CAD remained relatively static. Up to 20% of patients in both groups demonstrated enlargement of the thoracic aorta.ConclusionsThe data support the use of endovascular repair of the thoracic aorta in Type B aortic dissection. 30-d outcomes are acceptable. Patients with AAD demonstrate significant aortic remodelling whereas patients with CAD do not. This has significant implications for practice as patients with CAD must rely on maintenance of false lumen thrombosis to preserve the integrity of the endovascular repair

The value of eye-tracking technology in the analysis and interpretations of skeletal remains: A pilot study

This initial study is the first to use eye-trackers as a tool in order to study gaze pattern strategies and decision making processes involved in the assessment of skeletal remains. Three experienced participants were asked to wear eye-tracking glasses (Tobii Pro Glasses 2) when estimating sex and age-at-death of one set of skeletal remains from a known archeological sample. The study assessed participants' fixation points (the features of the skeleton focused on), fixation duration (the total time spent on each assessment and feature) as well as visit count and duration (the total number of visits and the duration of visits to particular areas). The preliminary results of this study identified differences in gaze “strategies” with regards to fixation points, visit duration, and visit counts between the participants. The data generated provide a starting point for assessing how such technologies could be used in order to more fully understand the decision making processes involved in forensic anthropological interpretations and their role in forensic reconstructions

Addressing student models of energy loss in quantum tunnelling

We report on a multi-year, multi-institution study to investigate student reasoning about energy in the context of quantum tunnelling. We use ungraded surveys, graded examination questions, individual clinical interviews, and multiple-choice exams to build a picture of the types of responses that students typically give. We find that two descriptions of tunnelling through a square barrier are particularly common. Students often state that tunnelling particles lose energy while tunnelling. When sketching wave functions, students also show a shift in the axis of oscillation, as if the height of the axis of oscillation indicated the energy of the particle. We find inconsistencies between students' conceptual, mathematical, and graphical models of quantum tunnelling. As part of a curriculum in quantum physics, we have developed instructional materials to help students develop a more robust and less inconsistent picture of tunnelling, and present data suggesting that we have succeeded in doing so.Comment: Originally submitted to the European Journal of Physics on 2005 Feb 10. Pages: 14. References: 11. Figures: 9. Tables: 1. Resubmitted May 18 with revisions that include an appendix with the curriculum materials discussed in the paper (4 page small group UW-style tutorial

Device-specific Outcomes Following Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair

AbstractObjectiveTo compare aneurysm morphology, initial outcomes and mid-term results in patients receiving Talent or Zenith grafts for elective endovascular aneurysm repair (EVR).MethodsOver a 6-year time period ending in 2007, 286 patients underwent elective EVR of infra-renal abdominal aortic aneurysms using Talent or Zenith devices. Patient demographics, aneurysm morphology and initial outcomes (primary-assisted technical success rates, 30-day limb occlusion, re-intervention and mortality) were compared using chi-squared tests or Student's t-tests. Kaplan–Meier curves were calculated to compare cumulative rates of freedom from type I or III endoleak, re-intervention, endograft patency and overall survival over mid-term follow-up.ResultsAdverse aneurysm morphology was more common in patients receiving Zenith stent grafts, with a greater proportion of shorter neck lengths (<10mm, 12.9% vs 0%; p≤0.001) and severe neck angulation (>60°, 25.0% vs 10.3%; p=0.002). Equivalent primary-assisted technical success rates were achieved with both Talent and Zenith grafts (94.0% vs 96.1%; p=0.41). A significant number of adjunctive procedures were required in both groups to obtain a proximal endograft seal, with relatively more procedures performed in the Talent group (28.6% vs 12.4%; p=0.003). Early outcomes were similar for 30-day re-intervention (5.3% vs 3.9%; p=0.91), 30-day limb occlusion (1.5% vs 2.6%; p=0.51), 30-day morbidity (6.8% vs 11.8%; p=0.15) and 30-day mortality (4.5% vs 3.9%; p=0.80).The cumulative incidence of freedom from re-intervention was 88.3±2.9%, 86.1±3.3% and 84.1±3.9% at 1, 2 and 3 years respectively. There were no significant differences between Talent and Zenith groups for re-intervention, type I or III endoleak or limb occlusion rates over the same time period. Overall patient survival was 88.4±2.85% at 1 year, 83.7±4.0% at 2 years and 78.9±5.5% at 3 years.ConclusionsEquivalent primary-assisted technical success rates can be achieved using either Talent or Zenith endografts for endovascular aneurysm repair, but operating teams should be prepared to perform additional adjunctive procedures to obtain a primary proximal seal with either stent. The Zenith endograft performed well in the context of less favourable pre-operative aneurysm morphology. Both Talent and Zenith endografts appeared equally durable in the medium term

The first endovascular repair of an acute type A dissection using an endograft designed for the ascending aorta

Endovascular repair has emerged as a potential alternative to emergency open surgical repair for type A dissection in selected patients, with isolated reports describing the results obtained with a range of devices designed originally for the descending aorta. We believe that we present the first reported repair of an acute ascending aortic dissection using an endovascular stent graft manufactured specifically for the ascending aorta