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Background: Despite current progress, the prognosis of critical limb ischemia (CLI) remains poor. The ageing of the population, the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus, and the stability of tobacco use will increase the prevalence of CLI. CLI patients have risk factors for malnutrition, and the impact of malnutrition on morbidity and mortality has been demonstrated in the general population. However, we have little information on the consequences of undernutrition in the CLI population. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of malnutrition on the early outcomes in CLI patients., Methods: This is a double-center prospective study that included all consecutive hospitalized patients with CLI. All patients were screened for malnutrition and divided into 2 groups: severe malnourished patients (group A) and moderate malnourished and well-nourished (group B). This distribution was based on age-indexed clinical and biological data and the patient's general condition: the Nutritional Risk Index for patients younger than 75 years, the Mini Nutritional Assessment, or the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index for those older than 75 years. The primary end point was defined as the rate of 30-day death. Outcomes were compared in a univariate analysis. Stepwise logistic regression was used for the multivariate analysis. Variables with a P value <0.2 in the univariate analysis were introduced in the multivariate model., Results: We included 106 patients. The prevalence of malnutrition was 75.5%, divided into moderate malnutrition (51.9%) and severe malnutrition (23.6%). Six patients (24%) died in group A compared with 8 in group B (4.9%) (P = 0.01). By univariate analysis, severe malnutrition was the only factor associated with death at 30 days. By stepwise logistic regression, severe malnutrition (odds ratio 6.1, 95% confidence interval 1.6-23.7, P = 0.006) was found to be the significant risk factors for death at 30 days., Conclusions: This study is the first to demonstrate prospectively the major importance of malnutrition in the early prognosis of CLI patients., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) is poorly identified in surgery for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm and an early management is crucial. The aim of this study was to validate how many risk factors were needed to predict ACS. Secondary objectives were to assess its prevalence and the 30-day mortality. Methods All patients operated for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm during 5 years were included. An independent committee performed a retrospective diagnosis of ACS. Eight criteria were selected from the literature, and corresponded to pre- and intraoperative period: anemia (hemoglobin lower than 10 g/dL), prolonged shock (systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg more than 18 min), preoperative cardiac arrest, obesity (body mass index > 30), massive fluid resuscitation (≥3500 mL per hour for at least 1 h) and transfusions (>10 units packed blood red cell since the beginning of the treatment), severe hypothermia (≤33℃), acidosis (pH < 7.2). Sensitivity and specificity were assessed for each number of criteria. Results Eight patients were ACS+ and 28 ACS-, with three criteria for ACS+ and 1.5 for ACS- ( p = 0.002). Three criteria among the eight selected criteria have the best cutoff for sensitivity and specificity (75% and 82%) with a positive predictive value of 54% and a negative predictive value of 92%. The prevalence of ACS was 17%. The 30-day mortality in ACS+ tended to be higher than in ACS- ( p = 0.108). Conclusion The present results suggest that patients with an ACS seemed to have higher mortality and the threshold of three factors among eight specific factors is enough to predict this.

Pancreaticoduodenal artery aneurysms (PDAAs) are rare, but rupture can occur at any time regardless of the size. We describe here the case of 53-year-old woman who presented with a ruptured PDAA associated with compression of the celiac trunk by the median arcuate ligament. We first performed revascularization of the celiac trunk without intervening on the PDAA because of surgically hostile conditions. We observed complete regression of the PDAA, probably due to the dramatic decrease in inflow to the PDAA, thanks to the revascularization procedure. This prompted us to cancel the secondary endovascular embolization. The patient remained asymptomatic at 3 months., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The renal safety of suprarenal (SR) fixation stent grafts has not been demonstrated yet. The principal objective of this study was to analyze the effect of the type of fixation of stent grafts on the renal function at 1 year, by calculating the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The secondary objective was the evaluation of the morphological repercussion of the implants at the renal level by computed tomography., Methods: This is a monocentric retrospective study, including all the patients treated electively between 2008 and 2014 with a bifurcated aortic stent graft. We compared the characteristics of the SR and infrarenal (IR) populations and the evolution of the preoperative and 1-year postoperative renal function. Renal function was evaluated by eGFR, according to the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration formula, and expressed as mL/min/1.73 m 2 . Regarding morphological evolution, we sought renal infarctions and thromboses or stenoses of the renal arteries (RAS)., Results: During the study period, 102 patients were treated: 42 IR and 60 SR. The populations were comparable in terms of operative risk factors and impaired renal function. Preoperative eGFR was similar (SR 71.7 ± 17.8 vs. IR 70.3 ± 17.5, P = 0.7). There was no variation in eGFR at 1 year in the IR group (-0.9; P = 0.4), whereas a significant decrease was observed in the SR group (-5.6, P < 0.0001), a difference which proved to be significant in the intergroup comparison (P = 0.0065). This difference persisted after the exclusion of the patients in which at least one polar renal artery had been covered (P = 0.019). The proportion of patients with a degradation ≥20% of the eGFR was significantly higher in the SR group (SR 13.3%, n = 8 vs. IR 2.4%, n = 1; P = 0.046). We observed significantly more new or progressing RAS in the SR group (SR 21.67%, n = 13 vs. IR 2.38%, n = 1; P = 0.0035). Overall, 15 infarctions were detected but 9 were due to the cover of a polar artery including 8 in the SR group SR, which were thus excluded (SR 6.7%, n = 4 vs. IR 4.8%, n = 2; P = 0.52). No renal artery thrombosis was diagnosed., Conclusions: The report of a significant difference in the evolution of the renal function and the progression of renal stenoses makes us wonder about the real harmlessness of SR fixation stent grafts. If further reflection is necessary, their systematic use should be called into question, in particular in the presence of an anatomy authorizing the use of IR fixation stent grafts., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Most criminal justice responses to address sexual violence and abuse against children are aimed at identifying and incarcerating offenders or at best, trying to prevent them from reoffending. This policy situation, primarily characterized by tertiary intervention strategies, is exacerbated by a lack of evidence-based knowledge about the circumstances in which this phenomenon occurs. This specific information can inform certain types of primary and secondary prevention strategies. In this study, we are taking the first steps to address this situation by (a) organising and reviewing for the first time the empirical knowledge on this phenomenon according to questions asked by environmental criminologists and crime analysts, that is, the who, what, where, when, and how this phenomenon occurs, and (b) discussing directions for future research. By engaging in this exercise, we argue that environmental criminology can substantially contribute to understanding and informing prevention practices in the field of sexual violence and abuse against children., (© The Author(s) 2014.)

Adolescent abuse of younger children has long been recognized, but empirical research on the circumstances of this phenomenon is rare. This article examines how adolescent offenders find and gain access to victims, work out time alone with them, and set up or exploit settings for sexual contact. Prior researchers learned that adult sex offenders use certain routine activities to perform these tasks. The current research inquires whether adolescent offenders are similar. We administered Kaufman's Modus Operandi Questionnaire to a sample of 116 Canadian adolescent males undergoing treatment for a sexual offense against a child. Adolescent offenders follow routines similar to adults but are better able to use games and activities as a prelude to sexual abuse. We discuss how routine legal activities set the stage for activities and should be considered when devising situational prevention strategies., (© The Author(s) 2014.)

Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a prevalent women's sexual pain disorder, which is associated with sexual function difficulties. Attachment theory has been used to understand adult sexual outcomes, providing a useful framework for examining sexual adaptation in couples confronted with PVD. Research to date indicates that anxious and avoidant attachment dimensions correlate with worse sexual outcomes in community and clinical samples. The present study examined the association between attachment, pain, sexual function, and sexual satisfaction in a sample of 101 couples in which the women presented with PVD. The actor-partner interdependence model was used in order to investigate both actor and partner effects. This study also examined the role of sexual assertiveness as a mediator of these associations via structural equation modeling. Women completed measures of pain intensity and both members of the couple completed measures of romantic attachment, sexual assertiveness, sexual function, and satisfaction. Results indicated that attachment dimensions did not predict pain intensity. Both anxious and avoidant attachment were associated with lower sexual satisfaction. Only attachment avoidance predicted lower sexual function in women. Partner effects indicated that higher sexual assertiveness in women predicted higher sexual satisfaction in men. Finally, women's sexual assertiveness was found to be a significant mediator of the relationship between their attachment dimensions, sexual function, and satisfaction. Findings highlight the importance of examining how anxious and avoidant attachment may lead to difficulties in sexual assertiveness and to less satisfying sexual interactions in couples where women suffer from PVD.

The under-reporting of child sexual abuse by victims is a serious problem that may prolong the suffering of victims and leave perpetrators free to continue offending. Yet empirical evidence indicates that victim disclosure rates are low. In this study, we perform regression analysis with a sample of 369 adult child sexual offenders to examine potential predictors of victim disclosure. Specifically, we extend the range of previously examined potential predictors of victim disclosure and investigate interaction effects in order to better capture under which circumstances victim disclosure is more likely. The current study differs from previous studies in that it examines the impact of victim and offense variables on victim disclosure from the perspective of the offender. In line with previous studies, we found that disclosure increased with the age of the victim and if penetration had occurred. In addition, we found that disclosure increased when the victim came from a non-dysfunctional family and resisted the abuse. The presence of an interaction effect highlighted the impact of the situation on victim disclosure. This effect indicated that as victims get older, they are more likely to disclose the abuse when they are not living with the offender at the time of abuse, but less likely to do so when they are living with the offender at the time of abuse. These findings are discussed in relation to previous studies and the need to facilitate victim disclosure., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The main aim of this study was to examine the effect of a potential guardian on the severity of child sexual abuse. Using data obtained on crime events from adult child sexual offenders incarcerated in Queensland (Australia), mixed-effects logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect of potential guardianship on the severity of abuse. Controlling for victim and situational characteristics, the analyses showed that the presence of a potential guardian reduced the duration of sexual contact and the occurrence of penetration. Presence of a potential guardian decreased the risk of sexual penetration by 86%. The study highlights the importance of the presence of a potential guardian for reducing the severity of child sexual abuse, and suggests more broadly that guardianship may be an important protective factor in sexual offending., (© The Author(s) 2013.)

Sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an emerging chronic illness characterized by a progressive pleiotropic pathophysiological mode of actions triggered during the senescence process and affecting the elderly worldwide. The complex molecular mechanisms of AD not only are supported by cholinergic, beta-amyloid, and tau theories but also have a genetic basis that accounts for the difference in symptomatology processes activation among human population which will evolve into divergent neuropathological features underlying cognitive and behaviour alterations. Distinct immune system tolerance could also influence divergent responses among AD patients treated by immunotherapy. The complexity in nature increases when taken together the genetic/immune tolerance with the patient's brain reserve and with neuropathological evolution from early till advance AD clinical stages. The most promising diagnostic strategies in today's world would consist in performing high diagnostic accuracy of combined modality imaging technologies using beta-amyloid 42 peptide-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) positron emission tomography (PET), Pittsburgh compound B-PET, fluorodeoxyglucose-PET, total and phosphorylated tau-CSF, and volumetric magnetic resonance imaging hippocampus biomarkers for criteria evaluation and validation. Early diagnosis is the challenge task that needs to look first at plausible mechanisms of actions behind therapies, and combining them would allow for the development of efficient AD treatment in a near future.

This study examines the efficacy, as experienced by offenders with their victim, of self-protection strategies used in child sexual abuse cases. It also investigates whether the efficacy of self-protection varies according to victim characteristics. The sample consists of 94 adult offenders who sexually abused a single child and who agreed to provide confidential self-report data on the efficacy of self-protection strategies used by their victim. Strategies taken into account are: (1) yelling or screaming, (2) fighting back, (3) saying no, (4) saying they didn't want to, (5) crying, (6) telling someone else about the abuse, (7) saying they were scared, (8) demanding to be left alone, (9) saying they would tell someone, (10) saying that people are not supposed to touch their private parts, (11) trying to get away, and (12) yelling for help. Saying that they do not want to have sexual contact and saying "no" to the offender are the most effective strategies. Because they are more likely to use self-protection initially, younger girls are also more likely to prevent episodes of abuse than older girls.

In the pharmaceutical industry, tablets are obtained by the compaction of two or more components which have different physical properties and compaction behaviours. Therefore, it could be interesting to predict the physical properties of the mixture using the single-component results. In this paper, we have focused on the prediction of the compressibility of binary mixtures using the Kawakita model. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and L-alanine were compacted alone and mixed at different weight fractions. The volume reduction, as a function of the compaction pressure, was acquired during the compaction process ("in-die") and after elastic recovery ("out-of-die"). For the pure components, the Kawakita model is well suited to the description of the volume reduction. For binary mixtures, an original approach for the prediction of the volume reduction without using the effective Kawakita parameters was proposed and tested. The good agreement between experimental and predicted data proved that this model was efficient to predict the volume reduction of MCC and L-alanine mixtures during compaction experiments., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The aim of this work is to study the effect of compaction on the specific surface area of tablets composed of various pharmaceutical materials (microcrystalline cellulose, lactose, and anhydrous calcium phosphate) compacted under seven degrees of compaction pressure., Methods: In a first part, the influence of the deformation behavior of the compacted materials on the evolution of the specific surface area is observed. In a second part, the brittle and ductile abilities of the materials are calculated using the specific surface area values. The experimental results are used to calculate the number and the force of interparticulate bonds inside the tablet., Results and Discussion: Tablets made of microcrystalline cellulose, which deform plastically, have specific surface areas that fall under pressure. In the case of lactose, the tablet specific surface area first increases to reach a maximum value at a pressure of 150 MPa. At higher pressure, however, the specific surface area decreases. The specific surface area of tablets composed of anhydrous calcium phosphate consistently increases, whatever the compaction pressure applied. Moreover, the evolution of the specific surface area is correlated with the tensile strength of the corresponding tablets. The number and the force of interparticulate bonds make it possible to classify the materials according to their deformation behavior and to quantify their ability to form cohesive tablets.

The present study examined whether attributions for vulvo-vaginal pain predicted pain intensity, sexual function, as well as psychological and dyadic adjustment in women with vestibulodynia. Women with vestibulodynia (N = 77) completed measures of attributions, pain, psychological distress, sexual functioning, and dyadic adjustment. They also took part in a structured interview and a gynaecological examination for diagnostic purposes. Attributions are represented by: (1) internality (personal responsibility) or externality (cause lies in an external situation); (2) globality (entire life affected by the problem) or specificity (problem affecting only a specific situation); (3) stability (problem will still remain in the future) or instability (weak probability that the problem will be maintained with time); and (4) partner responsibility (partner responsible or not for the problem). Results indicated that attributions were not significantly correlated with pain outcomes. However, after controlling for pain intensity and relationship duration, internal attributions predicted higher dyadic adjustment, both global and stable attributions predicted lower dyadic adjustment and higher psychological distress, whereas global attributions also predicted increased sexual impairment. Findings suggest that cognitive factors, such as attributions, may be related to psychological distress, sexual functioning, and dyadic adjustment in women with vestibulodynia. Results also highlight the importance of adhering to a biopsychosocial perspective focusing on pain reduction, sexual rehabilitation, and relationship enhancement in the treatment of dyspareunia.

Introduction: Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a highly prevalent vulvovaginal pain condition that results in significant sexual dysfunction, psychological distress, and reduced quality of life. Although some intra-individual psychological factors have been associated with PVD, studies to date have neglected the interpersonal context of this condition., Aim: We examined whether partner responses to women's pain experience-from the perspective of both the woman and her partner-are associated with pain intensity, sexual function, and sexual satisfaction., Methods: One hundred ninety-one couples (M age for women=33.28, standard deviation [SD]=12.07, M age for men=35.79, SD=12.44) in which the woman suffered from PVD completed the spouse response scale of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory, assessing perceptions of partners' responses to the pain. Women with PVD also completed measures of pain, sexual function, sexual satisfaction, depression, and dyadic adjustment., Main Outcome Measures: Dependent measures were women's responses to: (i) a horizontal analog scale assessing the intensity of their pain during intercourse; (ii) the Female Sexual Function Index; and (iii) the Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction Scale., Results: Controlling for depression, higher solicitous partner responses were associated with higher levels of women's vulvovaginal pain intensity. This association was significant for partner-perceived responses (β=0.29, P<0.001) and for woman-perceived partner responses (β=0.16, P=0.04). After controlling for sexual function and dyadic adjustment, woman-perceived greater solicitous partner responses (β=0.16, P=0.02) predicted greater sexual satisfaction. Partner-perceived responses did not predict women's sexual satisfaction. Partner responses were not associated with women's sexual function., Conclusions: Findings support the integration of dyadic processes in the conceptualization and treatment of PVD by suggesting that partner responses to pain affect pain intensity and sexual satisfaction in affected women., (© 2010 International Society for Sexual Medicine.)

Purpose: The pore space anisotropy of pharmaceutical compacts was evaluated in relation to the mechanical property anisotropy., Methods: The topology and the pore space anisotropy were characterized by PGSTE-NMR measurements. Parallelepipedical compacts of anhydrous calcium phosphate (aCP) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) were tested on top, bottom and side faces. A microindentation and three-point single beam tests were used to measure Brinell hardness, tensile strength and Young's modulus. All the data were submitted to a statistical analysis to test for significance., Results: The porous structure of MCC compacts was anisotropic, contrary to those of aCP. The analysis of the pore space by PGSTE-NMR method showed that its structural anisotropy was controlled by the behaviour under compaction of the excipients. At the same time, the Young's modulus and the tensile strength were the same whatever the direction of testing. For the aCP compacts, all the faces had the same Brinell hardness. With MCC compacts, only the bottom face showed a lower Brinell hardness., Conclusions: Except for Brinell hardness measured on MCC compacts, the tested samples were characterized by anisotropic mechanical properties when its porous structures were sometimes anisotropic. Then, there is not a straight link between porosity anisotropy and mechanical properties.

Aim: Dyspareunia is a women's sexual health problem that still often goes undiagnosed despite its high prevalence and its detrimental impact on sexual, relationship, and psychological adjustment. Although sexual and physical abuse may constitute risk factors for the development of dyspareunia, the effects of past abuse on current pain and associated sexual and psychosocial impairments have never been examined. Thus, the aim of this study is to determine the relation between a history of sexual and physical abuse and a series of pain, psychological, dyadic, and sexual functioning variables in a sample of women with dyspareunia., Methods: A hundred and fifty-one women took part in the study via health professional referrals and advertisements in local newspapers. Each participant underwent a standardized gynecological examination and a structured interview in order to confirm the diagnosis of dyspareunia. They also completed self-report questionnaires investigating past sexual and physical abuse, in addition to current pain, psychosocial adjustment, and sexual functioning. Dependent measures included: (i) The Brief Symptom Inventory; (ii) the Sexual History Form; and (iii) the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale. Pain was assessed via the McGill Pain Questionnaire and a visual analogue scale., Results: Results revealed that a history of sexual abuse involving penetration was associated with poorer psychological adjustment and sexual functioning. Additionally, findings showed that women who perceived a link between their dyspareunia and their past sexual abuse reported worse sexual functioning than those who did not. Finally, the experience of sexual abuse was not associated with pain intensity and physical abuse was not associated with any of the outcome measures., Conclusions: Findings suggest that the presence of a sexual abuse history in women with dyspareunia is associated with increased psychological distress and sexual impairment, although there is no relation between a history of physical abuse and these outcomes.

Serotonin (5-HT) stimulation of prolactin (PRL) secretion is mediated through the dopaminergic (DAergic) system, with 5-HT ligands having no direct effect on pituitary PRL release. Infusion of 5-HT into the third ventricle (ICV) or electrical stimulation (ES) of the medial preoptic area (POM) or the ventromedial nucleus (VMN) induces an increase in circulating PRL in the turkey. These increases in PRL do not occur when a selective antagonist blocks the D(1) dopamine (DA) receptors in the infundibular area (INF). In this study, the ICV infusion of (R)(-)-DOI hydrochloride (DOI), a selective 5-HT(2A) eceptor agonist, caused PRL to increase. Pretreatment with Ketanserin tartrate salt (KETAN), a selective 5-HT(2A) receptor antagonist, blocked DOI-induced PRL secretion, attesting to the specificity of the response. DOI-induced PRL secretion was prevented when the D(1) DA receptors in the INF were blocked by the D(1) DA receptor antagonist, R(+)-SCH-23390 hydrochloride microinjection, suggesting that the DAergic activation of the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)/PRL system is mediated by a stimulatory 5-HT(2A) receptor subtype. The DOI-induced PRL increase did not occur when (+/-)-8-OH-DPAT (DPAT) was concurrently infused. DPAT is a 5-T(1A) receptor agonist which appears to mediate the inhibitory influence of 5-HT on PRL secretion. When DPAT was microinjected directly into the VMN, it blocked the PRL release affected by ES in the POM. These data suggested that when 5-HT(2A) receptors are activated, they influence the release of DA to the INF. When 5-HT(1A) receptors are stimulated, they somehow inhibit the PRL-releasing actions of 5-HT(2A) receptors. This inhibition could take place centrally, or it could occur postsynaptically at the pituitary level. It is known that D(2) DA receptors in the pituitary antagonize PRL-releasing effect of VIP. A release of DA to the pituitary, initiated by 5-HT(1A) receptors, could effectively inhibit PRL secretion.

A timing mechanism in the brain governs reproduction in seasonally breeding temperate zone birds by triggering gonad development in response to long days in the spring. The neural mechanism(s) responsible for the timing and induction of reproductive activity by this clock are unknown. Utilizing in situ hybridization, immunocytochemistry and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction techniques, a group of dopamine (DA) neurons in the premammillary nucleus (PMM) of the caudal turkey hypothalamus that synthesize and colocalize both DA and melatonin (MEL) were identified. In addition, these neurons are found to express clock genes and the circadian photoreceptor melanopsin. DA-MEL neurons reach threshold activation (c-fos expression) when a light pulse is given during the photosensitive phase. This is associated with increases in the number of gonadotropin releasing hormone-I (GnRH-I) neurones activated, as well as an up-regulation of GnRH-I mRNA expression. The expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH; the rate limiting enzyme in DA biosynthesis) and tryptophan hydroxylase 1, (TPH1; the first enzyme in MEL biosynthesis) and consequently DAergic-MELergic activities are associated with the daily light-dark cycle. TPH1 mRNA expression shows low levels during the light phase and high levels during the dark phase of the light/dark illumination cycle and is 180 degrees out of phase with the rhythm of TH mRNA expression. Hypothalamic DA-MEL neurons may constitute a critical cellular process involved in the generation and expression of seasonal reproductive rhythms and suggests a previously undescribed mechanism(s) by which light signals gain access to neural targets.

Introduction: Provoked vestibulodynia is a female genital pain condition that results in sexual dysfunction and impacts negatively on the couple. Although patients' causal attributions have been linked to worse psychosexual outcomes, no study has documented the male partners' perspective of this distressing problem and its potential influence on their psychosexual adaptation., Aim: To identify whether male partners' attributions for vestibulodynia are possible predictors of their dyadic adjustment, sexual functioning, sexual satisfaction, and psychological distress, as well as of women's pain and sexual functioning., Methods: Thirty-eight women with vestibulodynia first completed measures of pain intensity and sexual functioning. Male partners responded to mailed questionnaires assessing their own attributions for genital pain as well as their psychological distress, relationship adjustment, sexual functioning, and sexual satisfaction., Main Outcome Measures: Women completed the McGill-Melzack Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Attributions of male partners were measured using an adapted version of the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ)-Partner Version. Men also filled out the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), the Sexual History Form (SHF), and the Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction (GMSEX)., Results: All four negative attribution dimensions and higher levels of women's pain intensity successfully predicted increased psychological distress in male partners. Higher levels of both internal and global attributions were associated with men's poorer dyadic adjustment, whereas global and stable attributions were related to their lower sexual satisfaction. Attributions failed to significantly predict sexual functioning in male partners and women's pain and sexual functioning., Conclusions: Evaluation and treatment of sexual pain problems should involve both partners and should explore the role of negative attributions.

Introduction: Provoked vestibulodynia is a prevalent yet misunderstood women's sexual health issue. In particular, data concerning relationship characteristics and psychosexual functioning of partners of these women are scarce. Moreover, no research to date has examined the role of the partner in vestibulodynia., Aims: This study aimed to characterize and compare the psychosexual profiles of women with vestibulodynia and their partners, in addition to exploring whether partner-related variables correlated with women's pain and associated psychosexual functioning., Methods: Forty-three couples in which the woman suffered from vestibulodynia completed self-report questionnaires focusing on their sexual functioning, dyadic adjustment, and psychological adjustment. Women were diagnosed using the cotton-swab test during a standardized gynecological examination. They also took part in a structured interview during which they were asked about their pain during intercourse and frequency of intercourse. They also completed a questionnaire about their perceptions of their partners' responses to the pain., Main Outcome Measures: Dependent measures for both members of the couple included the Sexual History Form, the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Women completed a horizontal analog scale assessing the intensity of their pain during intercourse and reported their frequency of intercourse per month., Results: Findings show that women with vestibulodynia and their partners did not differ from population norms with regard to global sexual functioning, dyadic adjustment and psychological adjustment. However, mean frequency of intercourse was lower than the standard for this age group. Also, women had significantly poorer sexual functioning than men. In addition, a regression analysis revealed that partner solicitousness and hostility were significantly associated with higher levels of pain during intercourse., Conclusions: Results suggest that although the psychosexual and relationship characteristics of partners of women with vestibulodynia are within norms, their responses may play a role in the experience of pain.

The identification of risk factors for falls in longitudinal studies becomes difficult because of exposures that change during the follow-up and also because individual subjects may experience an event more than once. These issues have been neglected and improper statistical techniques have been used. The typical approaches have been to report the proportion of fallers or the time to first fall. Both avoid the underlying assumption of independence between events and discard pertinent data. We review the existing methods and propose a Cox hazards extension. We exemplify it in the study of potential risk factors associated with all falls in 959 seniors. Finally, we compare the results of the proposed Wei, Lin, & Weissfeld (WLW) method with those of several other techniques. Stable exposure variables measured at baseline and updated time-varying exposures include socio-demographic characteristics, BMI, nutritional risk, alcohol consumption, home hazards, gait and balance, and medications. Results demonstrate that the usual methods of analyzing risk factors for falling are inappropriate, as they produce considerable biases relative to the WLW model using time-dependent covariates. Results also show that modeling for first events may be inefficient, given that the risk of occurrence varies between falls.

The influence of the composition and the relative humidity on the properties of pharmaceutical compacts prepared from mixtures of three excipients and three super-disintegrants was evaluated. Various amounts of super-disintegrant and different conditions of relative humidity during the storage were used to study mechanistically the disintegration process and to connect it to compact's mechanical properties. Three point single beam test was used to measure tensile strength and Young's modulus of compacts containing various amount of disintegrant and stored under various relative humidity. The presence of moisture within pharmaceutical compacts containing a disintegrant influences drastically their mechanical properties. Then, the results are related to micro-cracks visualized by MEB.

Percolation theory has been applied to several mechanical properties of pharmaceutical tablets. This power law describes the change of tablet's properties with the relative density. It defines critical tablet densities from which the mechanical properties start to change. The exponent in the law is expected to be universal for a mechanical property and numerical values are proposed in the literature. In this work, the percolation model was applied to the tensile strength and the reduced modulus of elasticity (obtained from surface indentation test) of three compacted pharmaceutical excipients (a microcrystalline cellulose, a lactose and an anhydrous calcium phosphate). Two approaches were proposed. First, the exponent was kept constant and equal to the values used in the literature (2.7 for the tensile strength and 3.9 for the reduced modulus of elasticity). Secondly, the critical tablet density (i.e. the percolation threshold) and the exponent were determined from the model. In the first approach, the percolation thresholds were higher than the relative tapped density. Using the second approach, the experimentally determined exponents were not close to the values of the literature and the critical relative densities were higher than the relative tapped density or equal to zero. Then, this study showed that the exponent seems not universal and that the model must be used carefully.

The major aim of this study was to get deeper insight into the process of polymer cross-linking and the resulting structure of beads based on chitosan (CS) or chitosan/poly(ethylene oxide) (CS/PEO) semi-interpenetrating networks (semi-IPNs) as new carrier materials for oral drug delivery. Spherical hydrogels were prepared by a dropping method. The uptake kinetics of the cross-linking agent glyoxal into the beads were monitored and quantitatively described using Fick's second law of diffusion. High-resolution synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy (SIRM) was used to characterize the inner structures of the beads. Importantly, the diffusion of glyoxal through the hydrogels was found to be much slower than the cross-linking reaction and the mesh size of the created networks to be much larger than the hydrodynamic diameter of glyoxal. The presence of PEO chains slightly decreased the diffusivity of glyoxal due to obstruction effects. However, the cross-linking reaction was not affected. Interestingly, the polymers were homogeneously cross-linked throughout the beads, except for a thin outer shell showing an elevated cross-linking density. Thus, the obtained cross-linked hydrogel-based beads exhibit well-defined polymeric structures and offer an interesting potential as novel oral drug delivery systems.

Changes in circulating levels of prolactin (PRL) and tissue content of PRL receptor (PRLR) messenger RNA (mRNA) in the liver, pancreas, kidney, and gonads (testis/ovary) were measured in turkey and chicken embryos from embryonic day (ED) 21 or ED15, respectively, to 1 d after hatch by real-time PCR. There were no differences between the sexes in chickens or turkeys. Both species had very similar patterns of PRL release and expression of PRLR mRNA, and no major differences were observed between turkey or chicken embryos. Plasma levels of PRL increased from low levels during the last week of embryonic development and were at significantly higher levels (about 4-fold) by 1 d after hatch. Similarly, in all tissues the content of PRLR mRNA was minimal at the outset and increased to reach maxima about the time of hatch. In both species, the highest levels of transcript were observed in the kidney followed by the gonad, liver, and pancreas. The tissue content of PRLR was correlated (0.6 to 0.8 dependent on the tissue) to circulating levels of PRL, which suggested that PRL may be associated with an increase in its receptor number around the time of hatch. Because levels of PRL and tissue content of PRLR mRNA increased around the time of hatch, this suggests that these tissues may be targets for PRL and may be involved in the physiologic changes occurring in embryos around the time of hatching.

Although the study of both offense processes and implicit theories provides in-depth knowledge about the decision-making of sex offenders, these studies focus solely on the internal psychological processes of the offender leading to the commission of a sexual assault. These studies neglect to look specifically at the offender's decision-making during the offense in interaction with the immediate situations encountered at the offense scene, such as the choices of behavior while interacting with the victim in a specific context. Based on a rational choice approach, this study investigates the decision-making involved in the offending process of 69 serial sexual offenders who have committed their crimes against stranger victims. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with offenders in order to identify the rationale behind their actions during the pre-crime phase (premeditation of the crime, estimation of risk of apprehension by the offender, and forensic awareness of the offender), crime phase (use of a weapon, use of restraints, use of a vehicle, and level of force used), and the post-crime phase (event leading to the end of crime and victim release site location choice). Results show that sex offenders, even if traditionally described as "irrational" and impulsive individuals, are capable, up to a certain point, of an analysis of the costs/benefits related to their actions. Moreover, results emphasize the important role of situational factors, such as victim resistance, on the decision-making process of sex offenders. Implications of the results are briefly discussed in regard of clinical practice and crime prevention.

In this paper, the modus operandi of 103 adolescents involved in sexual offenses against children (12 year old or less) is analyzed. Modus operandi strategies were measured by the participants' responses to the Modus Operandi Questionnaire. Findings indicate that the degree of intrusiveness of the sexual behaviors committed by the adolescents is contingent on the participation of their victims during the sexual episodes. Moreover, the more strategic adolescents may be more likely to secure compliance. This study shows the relevance of analyzing adolescent modus operandi as purposeful behavior and discusses some implications of the findings for crime-commission or offending process models.

Changes in levels of PRLR mRNA in the pituitary gland and hypothalamus of chickens and turkeys from embryonic day (ED) 15 and ED21 to 1 day post-hatch, respectively, were measured by real-time PCR. In both species, PRLR mRNA increased from low levels during the last week of ED to reach maxima at the peri-hatch period. Similarly, circulating levels of PRL also increased during this interval and were highly correlated with levels of the PRLR mRNA in both the pituitary gland and hypothalamus. This suggests that PRL was up-regulating its receptor. In support of this, stimulation of the turkey pituitary gland with VIP on ED24 resulted in a 4- and 3-fold increase in PRL and PRLR, respectively. Since VIP had no direct effect on the levels of PRLR transcript in the hypothalamus, it is likely that VIP is acting indirectly through increased PRL to up-regulate the number of receptors.

Three pharmaceutical excipients (microcrystalline cellulose, lactose, anhydrous calcium phosphate) and their binary mixtures were compacted to form compacts of various mean porosities. Some mechanical properties (Young's modulus, tensile strength and Brinell hardness) were studied on these compacts. The mechanical properties of the binary mixtures were not proportional to the mixture composition expressed in mass. More, for all the properties, a negative deviation was always observed from this linear relationship. In reference to a composition percolation phenomenon, critical mass fractions were detected from the graph mechanical property vs. mass composition of a mixture. The results obtained with Brinell hardness differed from the results of the Young's modulus and the tensile strength, i.e. the most plastic material in the binary mixture controlled the mixture behaviour. Secondly, a predictive model based on a statistical approach was proposed for the Young's modulus and the tensile strength. The validity of this model was verified on experimental data, and an interaction parameter used to characterize the affinity of the two compounds was calculated. Finally, the X-ray tomography technique was applied to the compacts of cellulose/phosphate mixtures to obtain cross-sections images of the compacts. The analysis of the cross-sections images allowed explaining the no linear relationship of the different mechanical properties results observed on these binary mixtures.

The compressibility of three pharmaceutical excipients (microcrystalline cellulose, lactose and anhydrous calcium phosphate) and their binary mixtures was studied. The aim of this work was to observe the impact of the mass composition of the mixture on the compressibility. The single-compound materials and their mixtures were compacted using instrumented presses. It allowed obtaining compression cycles (i.e., force-displacement curves) which were associated with energy measurements (specific compaction energy, Esp cp and specific expansion energy, Esp exp). It was observed that for the mixtures studied, the change of Esp cp with the mass composition could be fitted using a linear relationship (it was not the case with Esp exp). A linear relationship between the porosity of mixture's compacts and the mass composition was also obtained. Heckel's plots were then obtained for the three excipients and the mixtures. The mean yield pressure was calculated with the "in-die-method" and the "out-of-die method". A proportional relationship was not valid for the mean yield pressures. But, a predictive approach was proposed in order to obtain indirectly the mean yield pressure of a binary mixture if the data of the single materials were known. It used the linear mixing rule observed with the porosity. The validity was verified and compared with the experimental values. This comparison showed that it was possible to predict the mean yield pressure of binary mixtures from the accessible data of the single excipients.

Physico-chemical properties of a substance including the compaction behaviour are directly connected with the crystalline structure. The aim of this work is to compare the compaction behaviour in a group of excipient and in this first part, to display the influence of lactose structures on the compressibility. alpha-Lactose monohydrate (LalphaM), anhydrous beta-lactose (LbetaA), anhydrous alpha-lactose (LalphaA) and partly amorphous lactose (FF) were compressed using instrumented presses to investigate the densification behaviour under pressure. Force-displacement curves were associated to two energy parameters, specific cycle energy and specific expansion energy. This approach was used to class the four lactose species. It is possible to differentiate three groups with the specific energy cycle, FF, LalphaA/LbetaA and LalphaM in decreasing order of this energy. At the same time, the values of specific expansion energy are relatively low for FF and LalphaA contrary to LalphaM and LbetaA. Then, Heckel's plots were obtained with two compact geometries and the mean yield pressure was calculated from the in-die-method and the out-of-die-method. Two lactoses seem to differ, LalphaM appears to be the most ductile whereas LalphaA is more brittle than the others. Finally, it is concluded, that in the case of lactoses, pseudopolymorphism seems to affect the compressibility more than anomerisation or partial amorphisation.

Three-dimensional models of urban objects are widely used in geographic information systems, telecommunications, or defense applications. The classic technique for obtaining such models is stereoscopy. Images are densely matched, and images of above-ground structures are delineated. We propose two semiautomatic methods based on the Hough transform and statistically active models to delineate buildings. The first one delineates rectangular shapes; the second one deals with more-complex buildings. Each one is based on a criterion optimization that takes both photometric and altimetric information into account. Results based on real data show that the first method is robust and that the second one, which deals with a broad range of buildings, seems to be a good compromise between robustness and applicability.

It has been shown that Escherichia coli isolates from lesions of cellulitis belong to a limited number of clonal groups distinct from those of isolates found in the environment of these birds. In this study, different in vitro methods were used to evaluate adherence properties of E. coli isolates from cellulitis lesions and environments of high- and low-cellulitis prevalence broiler flocks. One hundred isolates were tested by hemagglutination. Adherence to frozen sections of chicken skin and binding to soluble fibronectin were examined for 40 of these 100 isolates by immunofluorescence and by immunocytofluorometry, respectively. Localization of bacterial adherence to skin tissues was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. It was demonstrated that O78:K80 isolates from cellulitis lesions adhered to skin sections to a much greater extent in deeper than in superficial tissue layers. A greater bacterial adherence following growth in TSB at 37 C was demonstrated for isolates from flocks with high prevalence of cellulitis than for isolates from flocks with low prevalence of cellulitis. MANOVA analysis results showed a significant difference between superficial and deep tissue layers only for one set of isolates from flocks with high prevalence of cellulitis. Hemagglutinating activity was variable among the O78:K80 isolates obtained from flocks with high prevalence of cellulitis. The results obtained for some O78:K80 isolates following growth in TSB suggest a role for type 1 fimbriae or F1 in adherence to skin sections. This was reinforced by the finding that adherence was inhibited by D-mannose. Poultry E. coli isolates that express F1 had no affinity for soluble fibronectin, although localization of the adherence in skin sections suggested a role for extracellular matrix components such as collagen and insoluble fibronectin.

Objective: To compare the antipyretic efficacy of an initial 30-mg/kg acetaminophen loading dose versus a 15-mg/kg maintenance dose., Methods: A double-blind, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial was conducted. A total of 121 febrile (rectal temperature between 39 degrees C and 40 degrees C) but otherwise healthy outpatients who were 4 months to 9 years of age and weighed 4 to 26 kg were assigned randomly to 1 of the dose groups: 15 mg/kg (n = 62) and 30 mg/kg (n = 59)., Results: In an "intention to treat" analysis, the time to obtain a temperature lower than 38.5 degrees C was significantly shorter in the 30-mg/kg than in the 15-mg/kg group (110 +/- 94 minutes vs 139 +/- 113 minutes). The maximum temperature decrease was significantly higher in the 30-mg/kg than in the 15-mg/kg group (2.3 +/- 0.7 degrees C vs 1.7 +/- 0.6 degrees C). Duration of rectal temperature below 38.5 degrees C was significantly longer in the 30-mg/kg than in the 15-mg/kg group (250 +/- 92 minutes vs 185 +/- 121 minutes, respectively). Adverse events were reported in 6 children in the 30-mg/kg group compared with 5 in the 15-mg/kg group (hyperthermia, hypothermia, vomiting). The difference was not statistically significant., Conclusion: An initial 30-mg/kg acetaminophen loading dose seemed to be more effective in reducing fever than a 15-mg/kg maintenance dose. No difference was observed regarding clinical tolerance. These data suggest that acetaminophen treatment of fever may be more efficient in an initial loading dose.

It has been postulated that existing species have been linked in the past in a way that can be described using an additive tree structure. Any such tree structure reflecting species relationships is associated with a matrix of distances between the species considered which is called a distance matrix or a tree metric matrix. A circular order of elements of X corresponds to a circular (clockwise) scanning of the subset X of vertices of a tree drawn on a plane. This paper describes an optimal algorithm using circular orders to compare the topology of two trees given by their distance matrices. This algorithm allows us to compute the Robinson and Foulds topologic distance between two trees. It employs circular order tree reconstruction to compute an ordered bipartition table of the tree edges for both given distance matrices. These bipartition tables are then compared to determine the Robinson and Foulds topologic distance, known to be an important criterion of tree similarity. The described algorithm has optimal time complexity, requiring O(n(2)) time when performed on two n x n distance matrices. It can be generalized to get another optimal algorithm, which enables the strict consensus tree of k unrooted trees, given their distance matrices, to be constructed in O(kn(2)) time.

An exploratory survey was undertaken in the fall 1995 open-water fishing season with nine Bangladeshi and nine Vietnamese-origin sportfishers. Survey methodology and techniques of dietary and fish intake assessment were adapted to the cultural values and second language of each community. A 70-item instrument assessing sportfishing practices and fish consumption habits was administered by dietitians in participants' homes. Two 24-h diet recalls (aided by photographs taken by the participants) and a fish consumption calendar permitted the assessment of fish intake in the overall dietary context. A fish frequency item addressed consumption of locally available fish species (both sport and market fish) as well as imported frozen or dried species. Annually, Bangladeshi fishers consumed 46.8+/-25.6 sportfish meals, and Vietnamese fishers ate 40. 7+/-35.1 meals. In contrast, Bangladeshis reported greater annual consumption of imported, frozen nonsportfish (76.0+/-40.9 meals), and the Vietnamese ate more ocean than freshwater fish (45.1+/-34.4 ocean fish meals). Fish constituted approximately 19% of all protein foods eaten among the Bangladeshi fishers and 10% in the Vietnamese sample. Plasma and erythrocyte eicosapentanoic acid (EPA):arachidonic acid (AA) ratios supported findings from the fish frequency question showing that the two groups of Asian-origin fishers eat differing quantities of different fish species and that Asian-origin sportfishers-particularly the Bangladeshis-eat fish overall more frequently and in greater variety and quantity than francophone Quebecers; species selection appears to be both culturally motivated and influenced by the availability of St. Lawrence sportfish., (Copyright 1999 Academic Press.)

Background: Hereditary tyrosinemia type I is an autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism caused by a deficiency of the enzyme fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase. The disorder clusters in the Saguenay-Lac-St.-Jean area of Quebec. In this region, 1 of 1846 newborns is affected and 1 of every 22 persons is thought to be a carrier. Recently, we identified a splice mutation and two nonsense mutations in the fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase gene in two patients from Quebec with tyrosinemia type I., Methods: We used allele-specific-oligonucleotide hybridization to examine the frequency of these three candidate mutations in patients with tyrosinemia type I and in the population of Quebec., Results: The splice mutation was found in 100 percent of patients from the Saguenay-Lac-St.-Jean area and in 28 percent of patients from other regions of the world. Of 25 patients from the Saguenay-Lac-St.-Jean region, 20 (80 percent) were homozygous for this mutation, a guanine-to-adenine change in the splice-donor sequence in intron 12 of the gene, indicating that it causes most cases of tyrosinemia type I in the region. The frequency of carrier status, based on screening of blood spots from newborns, was about 1 per 25 in the Saguenay-Lac-St.-Jean population and about 1 per 66 overall in Quebec., Conclusions: This study identified the most prevalent mutation causing hereditary tyrosinemia in French Canada; it also showed the feasibility of DNA-based testing for carriers in the population at risk.

Hereditary tyrosinemia type 1 is an autosomal recessive disease caused by a deficiency of the last enzyme in the catabolic pathway of tyrosine, fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH). To analyze the mutations involved in this disease, and as a first step towards elucidating the mechanisms regulating the transcription of the FAH gene, we have isolated and characterized the human gene coding for FAH. The gene contains 14 exons and spans approximately 35 kilobases of DNA. The 5' end of the gene is highly GC-rich, and eleven putative binding sites for the transcription factor Sp 1 were identified in the proximal region of the promoter. We investigated the molecular basis of FAH deficiency in a hereditary tyrosinemia type 1 patient whose liver FAH showed a very low enzymatic activity. Sequencing of the liver FAH cDNA of the patient revealed a C to A transversion in the FAH mRNA, which predicted the replacement of an alanine (A) residue with an aspartic acid (D) residue at position 134 (A134D) of the amino acid sequence of the corresponding protein. Direct sequencing of genomic DNA indicated that the patient was heterozygous for the A134D mutation. The allele that does not carry the A134D mutation was expressed at a very low level in the liver of the patient. Expression of the mutant allele in CV-1 cells confirmed that the A134D mutation was responsible for the lack of enzymatic activity in the liver of the patient.

The study of diffusion in a polymeric system often poses difficult experimental problems, notably when the rate of release is determined in a liquid receptor phase which can interact with the system. In this publication, we propose two experimental methods to determine the diffusion coefficient by a gel-gel kinetic release study, in which the receptor is a same gel unloaded initially. The first method is based on the use of radioactive tracers and a multi-channel radioactivity counter to obtain, at different times, the concentration profiles in the diffusion medium. The theoretical model is given for a gel donor with the concentration C0 of diffusing molecules is below or above the solubility Cs. The second method is based on the measurement of the displacement of solubility front during the diffusion within the system in the case C0 > Cs. The theoretical model shows that this displacement is a function of square root of t. For illustration, two experimental determinations of testosterone diffusion coefficient on the one hand in a silisic acid gels and on the other hand in an acrylic acid gels are given.

In a coppice, under conditions of low grass availability and high stocking rate (300 ewes.ha-1) the time spent eating bushes reaches 60% of grazing time and increases with flock size (stocking rates of 50 ewes.ha-1 vs 150 ewes.ha-1).

The current analysis was designed to examine further the association between total serum carotenoids and a series of preselected variables (dietary intakes, anthropometric parameters, serum cholesterol, vitamin A, transport proteins, and others) using 85 elderly patients. Simple correlation between serum carotene and carotene intake, as estimated by a three-day weighed method, was 0.19 (P = 0.08), which was substantially increased (r = 0.29, P = 0.01) after adjustments for a selected set of variables. Standardized coefficients of multivariate regression indicated that the most important predictors of serum carotene were serum cholesterol (beta = 0.38), total serum proteins (beta = -0.35), and sex (beta = 0.34), followed by carotene intake (beta = 0.28) and midarm circumference (beta = 0.20). These variables accounted for 46% of the variance. Results suggest that serum carotene may be related to protein-energy status in hospitalized elderly, but further investigation should be directed to serum carotene in undernourished elderly. Nevertheless, total serum proteins could be an important factor in any attempt to correlate carotene intake and blood concentration.