The Relationship Between Sexual Functioning and Sleep Quality in A Female Undergraduate Student Sample

A relative lack of literature exists regarding the relationship between sexual functioning and sleep quality in women. The current study assessed these constructs in a sample of 260 undergraduate female students via online administration of relevant measures for sleep quality, sexual functioning, stress, and medical conditions and prescription medications. The relationship between sleep quality and sexual functioning was positive but not significant, even when controlling for relevant variables such as stress. As such, future research might seek to clarify this relationship and to identify variables that mediate or moderate this relationship

Talking the Walk: An Autoethnography of Pedestrianism in Chicagoland

This autoethnographic account of pedestrianism in Chicagoland aims to remind us of the sensory, social, and emotional experiences walking can provide, and how an environment centered around automobiles affects those experiences. It utilizes participant observations and refers to literature from a wide range of disciplines to construct a story of walks in downtown Aurora and Chicago, Illinois that illuminates factors at play in the shaping of the pedestrian experience in urban areas

Community Land Trusts: A Help or Hindrance to Community Development in the United States

The availability of affordable housing in the United States continues to be an issue for Americans who are on the brink of homelessness, rely on housing subsidies, or struggle to pay their mortgages or rents. These issues, as well as the gentrification threat that community development poses to low-income residents can have deleterious effects on democratic participation and community development efforts. One proposed solution to these problems is the implementation of more community land trust programs nationally. This paper will assess the practicality of CLTs, and what such an implementation would mean for individuals, government entities, community members, and community development efforts

Adolescent Help-Seeking: The Promise of Text Counseling

This qualitative study addresses the need for additional approaches to reaching youth who are struggling with mental health issues. The paper describes common barriers to serving a youth population, especially in a time of crisis. It explores the use of text counseling as a therapeutic response to youth in crisis or distress. It discusses the use of empowerment theory when developing and implementing services for a youth population. The study concludes with a description and discussion of the common themes identified through an inductive secondary data analysis of 14 text counseling sessions. The findings from this study were consistent with previous research. First, adolescent girls between the ages of 14-17 years old were the most frequent texters in this study. Second, youth quickly and openly make intimate disclosures about their feelings and thoughts when using a text platform. Third, and perhaps most importantly, adolescents do reach out for help when they are feeling overwhelmed, distressed, self-destructive and suicidal. Ongoing research in this area has the potential to strengthen our understanding of how to best serve and respond to the mental health needs of adolescents. Ideas for future research in this area are suggested

Using Excel and VBA for Excel to Learn Numerical Methods

Spreadsheets, by virtue of being distributed with office suites, are availablein most computers, and can be used efficiently in the solution of numericalmethods. In this paper we present calculations for numerical methods,specifically, solution to equations, using one of the most popular spreadsheetsoftware currently available, namely, Microsoft Office's EXCEL. Spreadsheet calculations can be performed by simply using formulas in the spreadsheetcells, or by creating programs (subroutine programs, or SUBs, and FUNCTION programs) using a programming language accessible through the spreadsheet interface. EXCEL uses exclusively a language called Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).Microsoft Excel is a excellent tool for students to learn numerical methods.It makes easy to construct illustrative examples, to experiment with them,and to plot results in graphical forms. The paper outlines the reasons forchoosing Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) for Excel. Certain topics ofinterest with regard to VBA for Excel are explored, and sample programs are included Some illustrative examples are presented to demonstrate the use of Goal Seek and Solver features as a powerful tool for solving of some problems inhydro engineering

Pharmacological activation of PPARβ/δ preserves mitochondrial respiratory function in ischemia/reperfusion via stimulation of fatty acid oxidation-linked respiration and PGC-1α/NRF-1 signaling

Funding Information: The work was supported by core institutional funds and the Graduate Program “Applications of Biology” of the School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Funding Information: The authors thank Dr Reinis Vilskersts for his assistance during ex vivo experimental procedures and Stanislava Korzh for her assistance during high resolution fluorespirometry procedures. This article is based upon work from COST Action EU-CARDIOPROTECTION CA16225 supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Papatheodorou, Makrecka-Kuka, Kuka, Liepinsh, Dambrova and Lazou.Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury leads to significant impairment of cardiac function and remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β/δ (PPARβ/δ) confers cardioprotection via pleiotropic effects including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions; however, the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of PPARβ/δ activation on myocardial mitochondrial respiratory function and link this effect with cardioprotection after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). For this purpose, rats were treated with the PPARβ/δ agonist GW0742 and/or antagonist GSK0660 in vivo. Mitochondrial respiration and ROS production rates were determined using high-resolution fluororespirometry. Activation of PPARβ/δ did not alter mitochondrial respiratory function in the healthy heart, however, inhibition of PPARβ/δ reduced fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and complex II-linked mitochondrial respiration and shifted the substrate dependence away from succinate-related energy production and towards NADH. Activation of PPARβ/δ reduced mitochondrial stress during in vitro anoxia/reoxygenation. Furthermore, it preserved FAO-dependent mitochondrial respiration and lowered ROS production at oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS)-dependent state during ex vivo I/R. PPARβ/δ activation was also followed by increased mRNA expression of components of FAO -linked respiration and of transcription factors governing mitochondrial homeostasis (carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1b and 2-CPT-1b and CPT-2, electron transfer flavoprotein dehydrogenase -ETFDH, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator 1 alpha- PGC-1α and nuclear respiratory factor 1-NRF-1). In conclusion, activation of PPARβ/δ stimulated both FAO-linked respiration and PGC-1α/NRF -1 signaling and preserved mitochondrial respiratory function during I/R. These effects are associated with reduced infarct size.publishersversionPeer reviewe

On the role of GIS technology in Geospatial Education (QGIS vs ARGIS)

In the teaching of modeling concepts and spatial analysis, a major role play technologies and software. Anyhow main aim at the education is the teaching of concept independently on what kind of technologies and software will be used. The latter might be grouped in two categories: the commercial software and Open Source software. In this article emphasises the role of GIS technologies at the process of teaching and it is fulfilled an analysis advantages adn disadvantages between both software: commercial software ArcGis, and so called “Open Source” QuantumGis. Taking in to consideration the financial possibility of the educational institutions and also the complexity of its functionalities, it suggests that Qgis might be an acceptable alternative at the process of teaching and the practice at GIS lab