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The present study examined the concurrent and longitudinal relationships between multidimensional perfectionism, perceived stress, and self-critical thinking in a sample of UK university students. Specifically, to determine whether self-critical thinking at baseline mediated the longitudinal relationship between baseline perfectionism and future stress at follow-up. At baseline, N=220 students completed measures of multidimensional perfectionism, perceived stress, and self-critical thinking, whereas N=84 completed the same measures at follow-up. Socially prescribed, and self-oriented perfectionism were related to increased stress, self-hatred, and self-inadequacy at baseline. Longitudinal analysis revealed that baseline self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism predicted increased reports of stress and self-critical thinking three weeks later at follow-up. More crucially, multiple mediation analysis found self-hatred and inadequacy at baseline mediated the longitudinal relationship between baseline perfectionism and perceived stress at follow-up. Perfectionistic and self-critical thinking appears to accentuate the experience of perceived stress in the university student population. Student-based interventions to reduce self-critical thinking may prove beneficial in preventing the onset of perceived stress.

Background: The first models of malaria transmission assumed a completely mixed and homogeneous population of parasites. Recent models include spatial heterogeneity and variably mixed populations. However, there are few empiric estimates of parasite mixing with which to parametize such models. Methods: Here we genotype 276 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 5199 P. falciparum isolates from two Kenyan sites and one Gambian site to determine the spatio-temporal extent of parasite mixing, and use Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and linear regression to examine the relationship between genetic relatedness and relatedness in space and time for parasite pairs. Results: We show that there are no discrete geographically restricted parasite sub-populations, but instead we see a diffuse spatio-temporal structure to parasite genotypes. Genetic relatedness of sample pairs is predicted by relatedness in space and time. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that targeted malaria control will benefit the surrounding community, but unfortunately also that emerging drug resistance will spread rapidly through the population.

HRT should remain the treatment of choice for late prevention of hip fracture in most women with osteoporosis. This is particularly so as there is no good evidence that alternative treatments are superior to HRT in their skeletal effects, and the action of HRT on the cardiovascular system could be especially important in elderly women. HRT formulations which do not produce regular uterine bleeding may prove more useful in these elderly women, although it has yet to be established whether such formulations also provide the same cardiovascular benefit as standard HRT. The ideal treatment would be a formulation which would protect not only the skeleton and cardiovascular system, but also the endometrium and breast against cancer. The development of selective oestrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) may eventually lead to the achievement of this goal.

The past decade has seen marked fluctuations in opinions concerning the merits and risks of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT). In July 2002, menopause management faced a major turnin...