Gender identity change in a female adolescent transsexual

Two years of individual and milieu therapy are described of a 141/2-year-old girl who had presented with the persistent request to have a sex-change operation since age 12. Her past history was obtained from her parents and the records of the child guidance clinic which evaluated her at 3 years of age. She gives a history of remarkable tomboyism during her latency years and increasing withdrawal from peers and family during early adolescence. The patient's personal and family dynamics are explored, and these major therapeutic themes are discussed. The individual and milieu therapy are described and discussed with some speculation about the reasons for her positive response to psychotherapy. It would appear that this is a rare case of a postpubertal female transsexual reported to have made a gender identity change.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44103/1/10508_2005_Article_BF01541204.pd

Exposure to Airborne Mould in School Environments and Nasal Patency in Children

Mould in schools has been associated with increased upper airway obstruction in adults. In this study, we investigated the relationship between school indoor mould spore exposure and nasal patency in children. Airborne mould samples were collected in 32 classrooms from 4 primary schools during both summer and winter using a single-stage Anderson sampler. Nasal patency was measured in 275 children in summer and 200 children in winter using acoustic rhinometry. Various mould species were isolated but the most common species found inside the classrooms were Alternaria, Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium spp. and Penicillium spp. In the univariate analyses, significant negative correlations were found between exposure to various mould species, particularly Alternaria, and rhinometric measures in the children. In multivariate analyses, exposure to Alternaria was associated with both decreased mean nasal cross-sectional area (p=0.001) and decreased nasal volume (p=0.026). Decreased nasal patency was also associated with exposure to A. niger (p=0.034) and Penicillium(p=0.043) in the classrooms. The findings of this study suggest that exposure to airborne mould, particularly Alternaria, in school environments may affect the upper airways of children

Detection of diverse mould species growing on building materials by gas sensor arrays and pattern recognition

This work explores the detection of moulds growing in different building materials by using a metal oxide sensor array. Four moulds species have been considered. Pattern classification provides detection rates on the order of 80-85% for different species. Drift degrades only slightly these values subsequent test 4 months later