"It takes a man to put me on the bottom": gay men's experiences of masculinity and anal intercourse

In anal intercourse between gay men, men who are typically insertive (‘tops’) are often perceived as, and may identify as, more masculine than those who are typically receptive (‘bottoms’). ‘Versatile’ men, who may adopt either position, may be perceived as more gender-balanced and may transcend the gender-role stereotypes associated with self-labelling as top or bottom. The aim of this study was to explore how gay men’s beliefs about masculinity were associated with their beliefs about the gendered nature of sexual self-labels, and their behavior in anal intercourse. Individual semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 17, UK-based gay men. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis identified that perceptions of tops and bottoms as gendered social identities varied depending on the extent to which gay men subscribed to the mandates of ‘hegemonic masculinity’, the dominant masculinity in Western society. The findings also suggested that some gay men differentiated between top and bottom as social identities and topping and bottoming as gendered behaviors. This had implications for gay men’s behaviors in anal intercourse. It is suggested that future efforts to engage with gay men about their sexual behavior should account for their beliefs regarding the gender role stereotypes associated with gay sexual self-labels

"I don't want to be seen as a screaming queen": an interpretative phenomenological analysis of gay men's masculine identities

It has been argued that gay men who live in Western societies must negotiate masculine identities against a cultural backdrop where the most desirable and locally hegemonic masculinity is heterosexual. However, contemporary masculinity theories conceptualize masculinities as increasingly inclusive of gay men. The purpose of this study was to use a discourse-dynamic approach to studying masculine subjectivity to identify how gay men in England and Wales negotiated masculinity discourses to construct their masculine identities. One-to-one, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with six younger gay men aged 20 to 24, and 11 older gay men aged 30 to 42. Participants were asked to describe their subjective experiences of masculinity. The results of an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis indicated that discourses of hegemonic and alternative masculinities had implications for lived experiences of masculinity. Older participants in particular emphasized their attributes they associated with masculine dominance, including anti-effeminacy attitudes. The majority of younger participants did not feel masculine. Irrespective of age, many participants resisted hegemonic masculinity by highlighting the value of “gayness” at times. The findings suggested that hegemonic masculinity was the most readily available discourse for conceptualizing masculinity, but that lived experiences of masculinity were not necessarily located within this discourse

'There’s too many gay categories now': discursive constructions of gay masculinity

“Masculine capital” refers to the social power afforded by the display of traits and behaviors that are associated with orthodox, stereotypical masculinity. Men who are concerned with their masculine identity may utilize these traits and behaviors to increase their overall masculine capital, and to mitigate “failures” in other domains of masculinity. However, their success at accruing and trading masculine capital may be limited, because different traits and behaviors are not equal in the capital they convey, and their value may vary depending on the social context in which they are deployed. Research suggests that heterosexuality contributes more to masculine capital than other stereotypically masculine characteristics: The possibilities for gay men to accrue and trade masculine capital may therefore be particularly limited, especially in heteronormative contexts. Focus groups were undertaken with gay men, straight women and straight men living in a coastal city in the south of England to explore discursive constructions of gay masculinity, and to examine gay men’s possibilities for accruing and trading masculine capital. Discourse analysis identified constructions of gay masculinity in reference to hegemonic masculinity, where gay men may acquire masculine capital in similar ways to straight men. However, the meaning and value of this capital may also vary, because certain characteristics and behaviors may have different value for and between gay men than they do for straight men, and in heteronormative contexts. The analysis also identified discourses of gay masculinity where it was not constructed as a singular entity, but rather as complex, multiple and diverse

Closed timelike curves in asymmetrically warped brane universes

In asymmetrically warped spacetimes different warp factors are assigned to space and to time. We discuss causality properties of these warped brane universes and argue that scenarios with two extra dimensions may allow for timelike curves which can be closed via paths in the extra-dimensional bulk. In particular, necessary and sufficient conditions on the metric for the existence of closed timelike curves are presented. We find a six-dimensional warped metric which satisfies the CTC conditions, and where the null, weak and dominant energy conditions are satisfied on the brane (although only the former remains satisfied in the bulk). Such scenarios are interesting, since they open the possibility of experimentally testing the chronology protection conjecture by manipulating on our brane initial conditions of gravitons or hypothetical gauge-singlet fermions (sterile neutrinos) which then propagate in the extra dimensions.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figures; major corrections: CTC metric generalized from 5D to 6D, the new 6D metric satisfies the conclusions attributed (incorrectly) to the 5D metric in v

Rejoinder by James Berger, Woncheol Jang, Surajit Ray, Luis R. Pericchi and Ingmar Visser

No abstract available

Micronutrient supplementation in adults with HIV infection.

Background Micronutrient deficiencies are common among adults living with HIV disease, particularly in low-income settings where the diet may be low in essential vitamins and minerals. Some micronutrients play critical roles in maintenance of the immune system, and routine supplementation could therefore be beneficial. This is an update of a Cochrane Review previously published in 2010. Objectives To assess whether micronutrient supplements are effective and safe in reducing mortality and HIV-related morbidity of HIV-positive adults (excluding pregnant women). Search methods We performed literature searches from January 2010 to 18 November 2016 for new randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of micronutrient supplements since the previous review included all trials identified from searches prior to 2010. We searched the CENTRAL (the Cochrane Library), Embase, and PubMed databases. Also we checked the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) and the ClinicalTrials.gov trials registers. We also checked the reference lists of all new included trials. Selection criteria We included RCTs that compared supplements that contained either single, dual, or multiple micronutrients with placebo, no treatment, or other supplements. We excluded studies that were primarily designed to investigate the role of micronutrients for the treatment of HIV-positive participants with metabolic morbidity related to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Primary outcomes included all-cause mortality, morbidity, and disease progression. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently selected trials for inclusion, and appraised trial quality for risk of bias. Where possible, we presented results as risk ratios (RR) for dichotomous variables, as hazard ratios (HRs) for time-to-event data, and as mean differences (MD) for continuous variables, each with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Since we were often unable to pool the outcome data, we tabulated it for each comparison. We assessed the certainty of the evidence using the GRADE approach. Main results We included 33 trials with 10,325 participants, of which 17 trials were new trials. Ten trials compared a daily multiple micronutrient supplement to placebo in doses up to 20 times the dietary reference intake, and one trial compared a daily standard dose with a high daily dose of multivitamins. Nineteen trials compared supplementation with single or dual micronutrients (such as vitamins A and D, zinc, and selenium) to placebo, and three trials compared different dosages or combinations of micronutrients. Multiple micronutrients We conducted analyses across antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive adults (3 trials, 1448 participants), adults on antiretroviral therapy (ART) (1 trial, 400 participants), and ART-naive adults with concurrent active tuberculosis (3 trials, 1429 participants). Routine multiple micronutrient supplementation may have little or no effect on mortality in adults living with HIV (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.15; 7 trials, 2897 participants, low certainty evidence). Routine supplementation for up to two years may have little or no effect on the average of mean CD4+ cell count (MD 26.40 cells/mm³, 95% CI −22.91 to 75.70; 6 trials, 1581 participants, low certainty evidence), or the average of mean viral load (MD −0.1 log10viral copies, 95% CI −0.26 to 0.06; 4 trials, 840 participants, moderate certainty evidence). One additional trial in ART-naïve adults did report an increase in the time to reach a CD4+ cell count < 250 cells/mm³ after two years of high dose supplementation in Botswana (HR 0.48, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.88; 1 trial, 439 participants). However, the trial authors reported this effect only in the trial arm that received multiple micronutrients plus selenium (not either supplementation alone), which is inconsistent with the findings of other trials that used similar combinations of micronutrients and selenium. In one additional trial that compared high-dose multiple micronutrient supplementation with standard doses in people on ART, peripheral neuropathy was lower with high dose supplements compared to standard dose (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.81, 95% CI 0.7 to 0.94; 1 trial, 3418 participants), but the trial was stopped early due to increased adverse events (elevated alanine transaminase (ALT) levels) in the high dose group. Single or dual micronutrients None of the trials of single or dual micronutrient supplements were adequately powered to assess for effects on mortality or morbidity outcomes. No clinically significant changes in CD4 cell count (data not pooled, 14 trials, 2370 participants, very low or low certainty evidence) or viral load (data not pooled, seven studies, 1334 participants, very low or low certainty evidence), were reported. Supplementation probably does increase blood concentrations of vitamin D and zinc (data not pooled, vitamin D: 4 trials, 299 participants, zinc: 4 trials, 484 participants, moderate certainty evidence) and may also increase blood concentrations of vitamin A (data not pooled, 3 trials, 495 participants, low certainty evidence), especially in those who are deficient. Authors' conclusions The analyses of the available trials have not revealed consistent clinically important benefits with routine multiple micronutrient supplementation in people living with HIV. Larger trials might reveal small but important effects. These findings should not be interpreted as a reason to deny micronutrient supplements for people living with HIV where specific deficiencies are found or where the person's diet is insufficient to meet the recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals

Genome-wide homozygosity and multiple sclerosis in Orkney and Shetland Islanders

There is strong evidence for both genetic and environmental risk factors comprising the aetiology of multiple sclerosis (MS). While much progress has been made in recent years in identifying common genetic variants using genome-wide association studies, alternative approaches have remained relatively neglected. The prevalence of MS in Orkney and Shetland is among the highest in the world. Previous studies have suggested that a higher degree of parental relatedness in these isolated communities may contribute to the high rates of MS, indicating that recessive effects have an important role in MS aetiology. The Northern Isles Multiple Sclerosis (NIMS) study investigated the potential role of genome-wide homozygosity in MS risk by genotyping 88 MS patients, 89 controls matched by age, sex and ancestry, and a further 89 controls matched for sex and ancestry, but passed the majority of lifetime risk of developing MS (>70 years of age). Three participants were removed on the basis of pedigree-genomic anomalies (n=263). Three measures of genome-wide homozygosity were generated for each individual, and association with MS was assessed using logistic regression models. No effect of genome-wide homozygosity was detected, indicating that inbreeding and consanguinity are not risk factors for MS in this population

The trauma film paradigm as an experimental psychopathology model of psychological trauma: intrusive memories and beyond

A better understanding of psychological trauma is fundamental to clinical psychology. Following traumatic event(s), a clinically significant number of people develop symptoms, including those of Acute Stress Disorder and/or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The trauma film paradigm offers an experimental psychopathology model to study both exposure and reactions to psychological trauma, including the hallmark symptom of intrusive memories. We reviewed 74 articles that have used this paradigm since the earliest review (Holmes & Bourne, 2008) until July 2014. Highlighting the different stages of trauma processing, i.e. pre-, peri- and post-trauma, the studies are divided according to manipulations before, during and after film viewing, for experimental as well as correlational designs. While the majority of studies focussed on the frequency of intrusive memories, other reactions to trauma were also modelled. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the trauma film paradigm as an experimental psychopathology model of trauma, consider ethical issues, and suggest future directions. By understanding the basic mechanisms underlying trauma symptom development, we can begin to translate findings from the laboratory to the clinic, test innovative science-driven interventions, and in the future reduce the debilitating effects of psychopathology following stressful and/or traumatic events

Distinct conformational stability and functional activity of four highly homologous endonuclease colicins

The family of conserved colicin DNases E2, E7, E8, and E9 are microbial toxins that kill bacteria through random degradation of the chromosomal DNA. In the present work, we compare side by side the conformational stabilities of these four highly homologous colicin DNases. Our results indicate that the apo-forms of these colicins are at room temperature and neutral pH in a dynamic conformational equilibrium between at least two quite distinct conformers. We show that the thermal stabilities of the apo-proteins differ by up to 20degreesC. The observed differences correlate with the observed conformational behavior, that is, the tendency of the protein to form either an open, less stable or closed, more stable conformation in solution, as deduced by both tryptophan accessibility studies and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Given these surprising structural differences, we next probed the catalytic activity of the four DNases and also observed a significant variation in relative activities. However, no unequivocal link between the activity of the protein and its thermal and structural stability could easily be made. The observed differences in conformational and functional properties of the four colicin DNases are surprising given that they are a closely related ( greater than or equal to65% identity) family of enzymes containing a highly conserved (betabetaalpha-Me) active site motif. The different behavior of the apo-enzymes must therefore most likely depend on more subtle changes in amino acid sequences, most likely in the exosite region (residues 72-98) that is required for specific high-affinity binding of the cognate immunity protein