It\u27s common (but we don\u27t talk about it) : how straight male use of gay male porn influences acts, identities, and desire

This exploratory study was conducted to determine what potential pornography might hold as a productive space for exploring desire and identity, in addition to influencing sexual behaviors or preferences outside of pornography use. Specifically, this research set out to understand how and why individuals may watch pornography that represents identities or acts that are not considered to be in alignment with their stated or felt sexual orientation. In-person semistructured interviews were conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area, with 11 straight- or formerly straight-identified men. From there, interview data was organized and coded with thematic analysis. Although the findings were not generalizable due to the small number of participants and limited racial diversity, some results indicate the need for future research. First, participants indicated that while use of gay porn had had made them think about their sexuality, it did not threaten an identification with straightness. Eight of the participants instead indicated that a primary motivation for watching was that gay porn and the sex acts portrayed therein seemed more authentic and less fake that straight porn. Additionally, interviewees found gay porn to be a site for learning about male sexuality and stereotypically gay sex acts such as anal penetration, which several had then practiced with female partners. Finally, 7 of 11 participants indicated that they felt identification with a non-monogamous lifestyle and/or childhood experiences had influenced both their interest in gay porn and their feelings about how use of gay porn impacted their own identities

Liability for environmental damages

Thesis title Liability for environmental damages Abstract This thesis deals with the position of the institute of liability for environmental damages in the Czech legal order. This is a relatively complex issue in the field of environmental law, which has been constantly evolving. The environment extends beyond national borders, therefore legislation of the environmental protection, including liability for environmental damages, is strongly influenced by international law and, in particular, European law. Liability for environmental damages is one type of the liability for environmental losses and together with liability for public torts (crimes and contraventions) it forms the concept of legal environmental liability. The aim of this work is to analyse the institute of liability for environmental damages in detail and to analyse its individual aspects in a comprehensive way. Because of the fragmentation of legislation and different views of individual acts on the concept of environmental damages, this thesis focuses on the analysis of these views and explanation of the acts' purposes. The most important and in practice the only legislation applied in this area is the system of imposing preventive and remedial measures in the acts regulating individual environmental components and sources of environmental...Název diplomové práce Právní úprava odpovědnosti za ekologickou újmu Abstrakt Tato diplomová práce se zabývá postavením institutu odpovědnosti za ekologickou újmu v českém právním řádu. Jedná se o poměrně složitou problematiku v oblasti práva životního prostředí, která se stále vyvíjí. Vzhledem k tomu, že životní prostředí přesahuje hranice jednotlivých států, i právní úprava ochrany životního prostředí včetně odpovědnosti za ekologickou újmu je silně ovlivněna mezinárodním právem a zejména pak právem evropským. Odpovědnost za ekologickou újmu se řadí mezi odpovědnost za ztráty na životním prostředí a společně s odpovědností za veřejnoprávní delikty tvoří koncept ekologicko-právní odpovědnosti. Cílem této práce je detailně analyzovat institut odpovědnosti za ekologickou újmu a komplexně rozebrat jeho jednotlivé aspekty. Vzhledem k roztříštěnosti právní úpravy a různým pohledům jednotlivých zákonů na pojem ekologické újmy se tato diplomová práce zaměřuje na rozbor jednotlivých pohledů a vysvětlení účelu jednotlivých úprav. Nejdůležitější a v praxi jedinou aplikovanou právní úpravou v této oblasti je systém ukládání preventivních a nápravných opatření v zákonech upravujících jednotlivé složky a zdroje ohrožení životního prostředí. Tato diplomová práce rozebírá jednotlivá opatření ve složkových zákonech a...Katedra práva životního prostředíDepartment of Environmental LawFaculty of LawPrávnická fakult

Computerized Physician Order Entry - effectiveness and efficiency of electronic medication ordering with decision support systems

Health political background: Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems are software to electronically enter medication orders. They can be equipped with tools for decision support (CDS). In Germany, various vendors offer such systems for hospitals and physicians’ offices. These systems have mostly been developed during the last five to ten years. Scientific background: CPOE-systems exist since the 1970’s. Usually, clinical decision support is integrated into the CPOE to avoid errors. Research questions: This HTA-report aims to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of CPOE-/CDS-systems and their ethical, social and legal aspects. Methods: The systematic literature search (27 international data bases) yielded 791 abstracts. Following a two-part selection process, twelve publications were included in the assessment. Results: All reviews and studies included in the present report show that the use of CPOE-/CDS-systems can lead to a reduction of medication errors. Minor errors can be eliminated almost completely. The effect of CPOE-/CDS-systems on the rate of adverse drug events (ADE) is evaluated in only two primary studies with conflicting results. It is difficult to compare the results of economical studies because they evaluate different settings, interventions and time frames. In addition, the documentation often is not fully transparent. All four studies included measure costs and effects from the perspective of a hospital or hospital affiliation. Concerning social aspects, the literature points at changes regard competing interests of technology and humans that result from the implementation of CPOE-systems. The experience of institutions in which the implementation of CPOE-systems leads to problems showed that the importance of considering the socio-organisational context had partly been underestimated. Discussion: CPOE-/CDS-systems are able to reduce the rate of medication errors when ordering medications. The adherence to guidelines, communication, patient care and personnel satisfaction can also be affected positively. However, the literature also reports negative effects, as through the use of CPOE-/CDS-systems new errors can be generated. This makes continuous revisions of the system, as well as data-updates necessary. Concerning the cost-benefit-ratio from the hospital perspective, the two qualitatively best economic studies show contradictory results. Therefore, a positive cost-benefit-ratio for individual hospitals cannot be assumed, particularly as the study results cannot be generalized. Conclusions: If the implementation of CPOE-/CDS-systems is well planned and conducted, the system adapted to the needs of the institution and continuously reviewed, and data used are updated on a regular basis, the rate of medication ordering errors can be reduced considerably by using CPOE-/CDS-systems. However, it is not clear how this results in a reduction of ADE. Prospective, systematic multi-centre evaluation-studies with clear methodology are needed, which include an analysis of the user-friendliness and of social and technical aspects of the system. Such studies should evaluate the impact a CPOE-/CDS-system has on ADE-rates and mortality. A detailed description of the system used and of the hospital evaluated is essential. If possible, costs and cost effects should be surveyed and documented transparently

State Aid in the international law

Právo veřejné podpory je jednou z nejvýznamnějších oblastí hospodářské soutěže v Evropské Unii. Stát jako takový má ve srovnání s ostatními soutěžiteli nezměrnou výhodu: stát disponuje značnými finančními prostředky, které může snadno distribuovat ve prospěch zvýhodněných podniků. V takovém případě existuje podstatné riziko narušení hospodářské soutěže; striktní pravidla pro veřejnou podporu jsou proto nezbytná. Tato práce je rozdělena do 5 částí: úvod, část zaměřující se na mezinárodní smlouvy, všeobecná část, zvláštní část a závěr. Druhá část této práce se zaobírá příslušnými mezinárodními smlouvami, které jsou podstatné pro mechanismy veřejné podpory. Smlouvy jsem rozdělil do tří skupin: dohoda o subvencích a vyrovnávacích opatřeních přijatá v rámci WTO, opatření proti veřejné podpoře v rámci Evropského hospodářského prostoru a protisubvenční opatření vůči třetím státům (tedy nečlenům EHP či WTO). Tato část popisuje výše uvedené mechanismy a jejich společné principy. Část třetí je věnována všeobecným ustanovením. Kapitola 3.1 se věnuje pojmu "veřejná podpora", popisuje hlavní kritéria klasifikace podpory jako podpory neslučitelní s vnitřním trhem. Zaměřil jsem se rovněž na dva rozsudky Tribunálu, které považuji za důležité pro argumentaci, která je v nich použita. Podstatná pozornost byla v podkapitole...State aid law is one of the most important categories of the competition law in the European Union. The state as such has an unprecedented advantage compared to other competitors: the state disposes of a huge amount of funds which could be easily distributed in favor of the privileged undertakings. The risk of the distorting effect on competition is high; thus, strict rules are necessary. The thesis is divided into five parts: introduction, the part focusing on international treaties, the general part, specific provisions and the conclusion. Part two of this thesis deals with the respective international treaties relevant for the aid schemes. There are three groups of such international treaties: the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures adopted in the WTO system, the anti-aid measures in the European Economic Area and the anti- subsidies mechanism towards the third countries (i.e. non-members of EEA or WTO). This part describes these three mechanisms and their common principles. Part three of the thesis is dedicated to the general provision. Section 3.1 deals with the term "state aid", describes the main criteria for qualification of the aid as a state aid incompatible with the internal market. I also focused on two judgments of the Tribunal which I considered important for the used...Department of Business LawKatedra obchodního právaFaculty of LawPrávnická fakult

Analysis of SLC16A11 Variants in 12,811 American Indians: Genotype-Obesity Interaction for Type 2 Diabetes and an Association With RNASEK Expression

Genetic variants in SLC16A11 were recently reported to be associated with type 2 diabetes in Mexican and other Latin American populations. The diabetes risk haplotype had a frequency of 50% in Native Americans from Mexico but was rare in Europeans and Africans. In the current study, we analyzed SLC16A11 in 12,811 North American Indians and found that the diabetes risk haplotype, tagged by the rs75493593 A allele, was nominally associated with type 2 diabetes (P = 0.001, odds ratio 1.11). However, there was a strong interaction with BMI (P = 5.1 × 10(-7)) such that the diabetes association was stronger in leaner individuals. rs75493593 was also strongly associated with BMI in individuals with type 2 diabetes (P = 3.4 × 10(-15)) but not in individuals without diabetes (P = 0.77). Longitudinal analyses suggest that this is due, in part, to an association of the A allele with greater weight loss following diabetes onset (P = 0.02). Analyses of global gene expression data from adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, and whole blood provide evidence that rs75493593 is associated with expression of the nearby RNASEK gene, suggesting that RNASEK expression may mediate the effect of genotype on diabetes

Claudin 7 expression and localization in the normal murine mammary gland and murine mammary tumors

INTRODUCTION: Claudins, membrane-associated tetraspanin proteins, are normally associated with the tight junctions of epithelial cells where they confer a variety of permeability properties to the transepithelial barrier. One member of this family, claudin 7, has been shown to be expressed in the human mammary epithelium and some breast tumors. To set the stage for functional experiments on this molecule, we examined the developmental expression and localization of claudin 7 in the murine mammary epithelium and in a selection of murine mammary tumors. METHOD: We used real-time polymerase chain reaction, in situ mRNA localization, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to examine the expression and localization of claudin 7. Frozen sections were examined by digital confocal microscopy for colocalization with the tight-junction protein ZO1. RESULTS: Claudin 7 was expressed constitutively in the mammary epithelium at all developmental stages, and the ratio of its mRNA to that of keratin 19 was nearly constant through development. By IHC, claudin 7 was located in the basolateral part of the cell where it seemed to be localized to discrete vesicles. Scant colocalization with the tight-junction scaffolding protein ZO1 was observed. Similar results were obtained from IHC of the airway epithelium and some renal tubules; however, claudin 7 did partly colocalize with ZO1 in EPH4 cells, a normal murine mammary cell line, and in the epididymis. The molecule was localized in the cytoplasm of MMTV-neu and the transplantable murine tumor cell lines TM4, TM10, and TM40A, in which its ratio to cytokeratin was higher than in the normal mammary epithelium. CONCLUSION: Claudin 7 is expressed constitutively in the mammary epithelium at approximately equal levels throughout development as well as in the murine tumors examined. Although it is capable of localizing to tight junctions, in the epithelia of mammary gland, airway, and kidney it is mostly or entirely confined to punctate cytoplasmic structures, often near the basolateral surfaces of the cells and possibly associated with basolateral membranes. These observations suggest that claudin 7 might be involved in vesicle trafficking to the basolateral membrane, possibly stabilizing cytoplasmic vesicles or participating in cell–matrix interactions

Immortalized, premalignant epithelial cell populations contain long-lived, label-retaining cells that asymmetrically divide and retain their template DNA

Abstract Introduction During selective segregation of DNA, a cell asymmetrically divides and retains its template DNA. Asymmetric division yields daughter cells whose genome reflects that of the parents, simultaneously protecting the parental cell from genetic errors that may occur during DNA replication. We hypothesized that long-lived epithelial cells are present in immortal, premalignant cell populations, undergo asymmetric division, retain their template DNA strands, and cycle both during allometric growth and during pregnancy. Methods The glands of 3-week-old immune-competent Balb/C female mice were used intact or cleared of host epithelium and implanted with ductal-limited, lobule-limited, or alveolar-ductal progenitor cells derived from COMMA-D1 pre-malignant epithelial cells. 5-Bromo-2-deoxyuridine (5-BrdU) was administered to identify those cells that retain their template DNA. Nulliparous mice were then either injected with [3H]-thymidine (3H-TdR) to distinguish 5-BrdU label-retaining cells that enter the cell cycle and euthanized, or mated, injected with 3H-TdR, and euthanized at various days after coitus. Sections were stained for estrogen receptor-α (ER-α) or progesterone receptor (PR) with immunohistochemistry. Cells labeled with both 5-BrdU and 3H-TdR were indicative of label-retaining epithelial cells (LRECs). Results Cells that retained a 5-BrdU label and cells labeled with [3H]-thymidine were found in all mice and were typically detected along the branching epithelium of mature mouse mammary glands. Cells containing double-labeled nuclei (LRECs) were found in the intact mammary glands of both pregnant and nulliparous mice, and in mammary glands implanted with premalignant cells. Double-labeled cells (3H-TdR/5-BrdU) represent a small portion of cells in the mammary gland that cycle and retain their template DNA (5-BrdU). Some label-retaining cells were also ER-α or PR positive. LRECs distributed their second label (3H-TdR) to daughter cells, and this effect persisted during pregnancy. LRECs, and small focal hyperplasia, were found in all immortalized premalignant mammary-implant groups. Conclusions The results indicate that a subpopulation of long-lived, label-retaining epithelial cells (LRECs) is present in immortal premalignant cell populations. These LRECs persist during pregnancy, retain their original DNA, and a small percentage express ER-α and PR. We speculate that LRECs in premalignant hyperplasia represent the long-lived (memory) cells that maintain these populations indefinitely.Peer Reviewe