Alcohol and erectile response: The effects of high dosage in the context of demands to maximize sexual arousal.

Although drinking often precedes men's sexual activity, basic questions about alcohol's effects on men's sexual arousal remain unanswered. Inconsistencies in findings from studies examining subjective and physiological effects on erectile functioning suggest these effects are context specific, for example, dependent on whether a man wants to maximize or suppress his arousal. To address unresolved questions about alcohol and erectile functioning, the authors evaluated the effects of high blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) and arousal instructional demands on indices of penile circumference change and self-reported sexual arousal. In Study 1, a target BAC of .10% (vs. .00%) attenuated peak circumference change from a neutral baseline but did not affect mean change, latency to arousal onset (a 5% increase in circumference from baseline), latency to peak achieved arousal, or subjective arousal, which correlated moderately with physiological indices. In Study 2, instructions to maximize (vs. suppress) arousal increased peak and mean circumference change and interacted with a target BAC of .08% (vs. .00%) to influence latency to arousal onset. Sober men instructed to maximize showed a shorter latency to arousal onset than did those instructed to suppress arousal; however, intoxicated men did not show a differential pattern. Moreover, compared with intoxicated counterparts, sober men instructed to maximize arousal showed a marginally shorter latency to arousal onset. Overall, alcohol and arousal instructions had small but discernible effects. Findings highlight the importance of contextual factors in alcohol's impact on erectile functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative analysis of three tetrachloroethene to ethene halorespiring consortia suggests functional redundancy

Three anaerobic, dechlorinating consortia were enriched from different sites using methanol and tetrachloroethene (PCE) and maintained for approximately 3 years. These consortia were evaluated using chemical species analysis including distribution of dechlorination products, production of organic acids and methane, and using qualitative and quantitative PCR (qPCR), terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) with primers specific to Dehalococcoides 16S rRNA gene sequences. TRFLP and analysis of organic acids revealed differing fermentative populations in each consortium, which were dominated by acetogens. Monitoring methane production combined with qPCR for archaea showed that complete dechlorination of PCE-to-ethene occurred in the presence and absence of methanogens. The 16S rRNA gene-based analyses demonstrated that enrichment with PCE resulted in dechlorinating communities dominated by Dehalococcoides and Dehalobacter, and that up to four different PCE-dechlorinating organisms coexisted in one consortium. Further, the DGGE analysis suggested that at least one consortium contained multiple Dehalococcoides strains. The combined analysis of 16S rRNA and reductive dehalogenase genes suggested that one consortium contained a member of the Dehalococcoides "Cornell" group with the ability to respire VC.     

Issues in using state hospital discharge data in injury control research and surveillance

This study evaluates the quality of injury-related coding in state hospital data and their usefulness to injury researchers. Using 1997 hospital discharge records from 19 states, hospitalized non-fatal injury-related cases were identified by first selecting all cases that met broad criteria for injury, and then dropping cases that appeared incorrectly coded as injuries and cases related to medical care. Based on our criteria, 1,129,980 non-fatal hospitalized cases were identified as probable acute injuries. Three-quarters were coded with a traditional injury diagnosis in the primary diagnosis field, and 90% had a traditional injury diagnosis somewhere in the first six diagnosis fields. Of cases with an injury diagnosis code in the first three diagnosis fields, 88.1% were E coded. E coding completeness varied by state, with some states reporting high rates of E coding by using non-specific E codes. Other challenges included E-coded cases where no injury diagnosis was reported and apparent miscoding of the E code. We conclude that it is possible to combine multiple states' data if researchers are aware of the challenges they may encounter. In order to capture all injury-related cases, it is important to scan secondary diagnosis fields.     

Multiplexed detection of protein-peptide interaction and inhibition using capillary electrophoresis

High-speed capillary electrophoresis (CE) was employed to detect binding and inhibition of SH2 domain proteins using fluorescently labeled phosphopeptides as affinity probes. Single SH2 protein-phosphopeptide complexes were detected and confirmed by competition and fluorescence anisotropy. The assay was then extended to a multiplexed system involving separation of three SH2 domain proteins: Src, SH2-Bbeta, and Fyn. The selectivity of the separation was improved by altering the charge of the peptide binding partners used, thus demonstrating a convenient way to control resolution for the multiplexed assay. The separation was completed within 6 s, allowing rapidly dissociating complexes to be detected. Two low molecular weight inhibitors were tested for inhibition selectivity and efficacy. One inhibitor interrupted binding interaction of all three proteins, while the other selectively inhibited Src only leaving SH2-Bbeta and Fyn complex barely affected. IC(50) of both selective and nonselective inhibitors were determined and compared for different proteins. The IC(50) of the nonselective inhibitor was 49 +/- 9, 323 +/- 42, and 228 +/- 19 microM (n = 3) for Src, SH2-Bbeta, and Fyn, respectively, indicating different efficacy of the nonselective inhibitor for different SH2 domain protein. It is concluded that high-speed CE has the potential for multiplexed screening of drugs that disrupt protein-protein interactions.     

Revealing the Ritually Concealed: Custodians,Conservators, and the Concealed Shoe

Abstract

Concealed shoes are footwear purposely concealed within domestic buildings. The motivations behind their concealments are unknown to us, but the prominent theory suggests that shoes were employed as apotropaic (evil-averting) devices. The metonymical connection between shoe and wearer is believed to imbue the shoe with the necessary protective power, and one theory suggests that, to possess this power, shoes must bear the unambiguous imprint of their past wearers, hence why the vast majority of them are old, well-worn or damaged. From the point of discovery (often during restructuring work), the concealed shoe’s biography can follow a variety of courses. Some debate, for example, surrounds their removal. Some finders believe it to be “bad luck” to remove concealed shoes and therefore wish to keep them in situ. Others are donated to museums, where still more debate surrounds their treatment: should they be restored by textile conservationists or left in their original state, their damaged conditions being considered central to the interpretation of the custom? This paper aims to trace the complex biographies of several examples of concealed shoes following discovery, considering how they have been variously perceived and treated by their finders and custodians.