Sex differences in response to marketing of an emotional distress helpline

We tested efficacy of marketing on rates of calls to a Scottish emotional distress helpline from men and women. Study 1: billboard advertising mediated a positive relationship between population density and male call rate. Female call rate was predicted by advertising on public transport. Over time (2012-13), calls from men were predicted by cinema and online advertising and from women by cinema, online, and public transport advertising. Study 2: male call rate increased overall in parallel with increased outdoors advertising in rural regions. Over time (2012-17), male call rate was predicted by advertising via radio, billboards and online, and female call rate by online advertising. In conclusion, men and women respond differently to multi-media advertising of an emotional distress helpline.

Medium-chain fatty acids accelerate the incorporation of eicosapentaenoic acid into lung tissue

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) are reported to resolve chronic inflammation in asthma and other lung diseases. This study aimed to accelerate the incorporation of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) into lung tissue through the coapplication of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) which enhance the fat-metabolic rate. Female C57BL/6 mice were supplemented with either 1363,6 mg EPA or 1363,6 mg EPA and MCFAs at 30% of the total fat per kg body weight per day for 28 days (each group size: n=21). The resorption of EPA into the peripheral blood and lung tissue was monitored over 63 days including the wash-out phase. In the peripheral blood plasma and clots the supplementation with EPA always led to higher EPA concentrations than the administration of EPA with MCFAs pointing to a preferred EPA incorporation into tissues induced by MCFAs (EPA in plasma at day 26: EPA 12.33 wt% ± 1.41; EPA and MCFAs 3.91 wt% ± 0.32; Δ 8.42; p< 0.001; EPA in clots at day 26: EPA 16.44 wt% ± 1.82; EPA and MCFAs 4.47 wt% ± 1.26; Δ 11.97; p< 0.001). In the lung tissue the EPA-incorporation at day 26 was increased by MCFAs compared to the EPA-administration alone (EPA in lung tissue at day 26: EPA 1.28 wt% ± 0.18; EPA and MCFAs 1.83 wt% ± 0.17; Δ 0.55; p< 0.01). The present study recommends the use of dietary LCPUFA supplementation with MCFAs to support their incorporation into lung tissues.

Predictors for Loneliness Perceived by the Interviewer or the Individual: Findings from Limited Disability Pensioners and Medical Rehabilitation Patients

Loneliness can be seen as indicator of social participation which is a major concern of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Temporary disability pensioners and medical rehabilitants are persons with disabilities, whose rights should be empowered. Moreover, loneliness is a major burden for the individual and finding ways to overcome loneliness are accordingly required. Previous research has shown that different socio-demographic characteristics, life-satisfaction and social support interrelate with loneliness. The aim of the present study was to replicate findings with two computer-assisted telephone interview studies with individuals insured with a local pension fund. While study 1 recruited N = 453 disability pensioners (mean age=50.4 years, 53.5 % female) and assessed their loneliness with the typical self-report measured by directly asking, study 2 recruited N = 1,044 patients in a medical rehabilitation (mean age=49.5 years, 36 % female) and used the reports of their interviewers without asking the study participants directly about their loneliness. In both studies, more life-satisfaction was significantly associated with less loneliness (beta=-.41 and -.23). However, only in the interviewer-rated study, higher social support was related to less loneliness (beta=-.16). Sex differences were found in the interviewer-rated study (women were rated as lonelier, beta=.11), while an interrelation with age was only found if self-reports were used in terms of younger disability pensioners reported more loneliness (beta=-.24). The findings open options for counseling to also improve self-reported life-satisfaction. While interviewers rate female interviewees as lonelier than men, interventions should not forget about men as they report equal loneliness if controlled for other variables. The results replicate that health and life-satisfaction are imperative and addressable to decrease loneliness. This should be researched further and used for interventions.

Social rank and reproductive performance in a herd of farmed red deer females (Cervus elaphus)

Hierarchical relationships between individuals determine unequal access to recourses like food and individuals of the other gender, resulting in a higher reproductive success of high-social ranked individuals. Environmental conditions and food availability may determine how strong these effects are. The aim of this work was to determine if social rank of farmed red deer females affect the reproductive results of a hormonal oestrous synchronisation treatment with ad libitum food. The studied responses included the time to oestrus onset, percentage of females that came into oestrus, conception and calving rates, gestation length, and calf gender. The study was performed during autumn on a research farm located in Mexico (20°36ʹ N, 99°55ʹ W). Forty-nine adult red deer females were assigned to two replications of 21 and 28 animals respectively and were allocated into independent paddocks with ad libitum food and water availability. Oestrous cycles were synchronised with a traditional protocol of intravaginal devices impregnated with progesterone. Agonistic behaviours between females were recorded (total = 1626 interactions), hierarchical position (Success Index = SI) of each animal was calculated and individuals were categorised as high (n = 13), medium (n = 20) or low-ranked (n = 16) individuals. Reproductive data were recorded during the 5 days after the oestrous synchronisation treatment and during the calving period. Any of the recorded responses differ between HR, MR and LR females. Female SI, age and bodyweight were not related with the probability of coming into oestrus, result pregnant, and giving birth to a male calf. Thirty-seven (78.5%) females of this study gave birth. From these calves, 15 were males and 22 were females. Due to high percentage of females in oestrus that gave birth (85.7%), it was not possible to detect the relationship between female SI, age, and bodyweight with the conception rate. Female SI, age and bodyweight were unrelated to time to oestrus onset (r2 = 0.09; P = 0.17), and to gestation length (r2 = 0.10; P = 0.20). In conclusion, with ad libitum high quality food, the social rank of red deer hinds did not affect the time to oestrus onset, percentage of females that came into oestrus, gestation length, calving and conception rates, and offspring sex ratio after an oestrous synchronisation hormonal treatment.

How Gender Conditions the Way Citizens Evaluate and Engage with Their Representatives

Scholars argue that women’s presence in politics enhances symbolic representation, such as positive evaluations of one’s representative and increased political engagement. However, there is little empirical evidence of these symbolic benefits from descriptive representation. With data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study panel survey, we examine how a change in the gender of a representative affects individuals’ perceptions of that representative and likelihood to contact them. In general, we find that women express more positive evaluations of female representatives than male representatives, yet they are also less likely to contact female representatives. By contrast, the effect of an elected official’s gender does not significantly affect how men evaluate or engage with that official. However, we also show that partisanship conditions these effects, perhaps due to the fact that gender stereotypes operate differently for Democrats than Republicans. For example, women rate female Republican legislators more positively than they do male Republican legislators, but neither women nor men rate Democratic legislators differently based on their gender. The findings provide strong evidence that gender matters when it comes to representation, but contrary to some conventional wisdom, female elected officials may actually enjoy some advantages in terms of their standing among constituents.

Efisiensi pemarasitan parasitoid Trichogramma chilotraeae nagaraja & nagarkatti (Hymenoptera:Trichogrammatidae) pada berbagai jumlah inang dan kepadatan parasitoid.

The objective of the research was to study behaviour and parasitism efficiency of the egg parasitoid Trichogramma chilotraeae in relation to host and parasitoid density under laboratory condition. Eggs of Corcyra cephalonica were used as hosts for Trichogramma chilotraeae. Five different host (egg) densities: 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 eggs were provided to one and two active female parasitoids T. chilotraeae. Percentage of parasitism, female progeny, and selfsuperparasitism were counted. Results showed that, host density was found to have a strong effect on parasitism rate, female progeny and selfsuperparasitism. Two parameters, parasitism and selfsuperparasitism decreases with increasing number of host density, in contrast, female progeny increase with increasing host density. Parasitoid density affected selfsuperparasitism and female progeny only on one level of host density (3 hosts) but not to all parameters of other density treatments.

Microbe-Dependent and Nonspecific Effects of Procedures To Eliminate the Resident Microbiota from Drosophila melanogaster

ABSTRACTComparisons of animals bearing and lacking microorganisms can offer valuable insight into the interactions between animal hosts and their resident microbiota. Most hosts are naturally infected, and therefore, these comparisons require specific procedures (e.g., antibiotic treatment or physical exclusion of microorganisms) to disrupt the microbiota, but the potential for confounding nonspecific effects of the procedure on the traits of the host exists. Microbe-dependent and nonspecific effects can be discriminated by using multiple procedures: microbe-dependent effects are evident in hosts made microbe free by different procedures, but nonspecific effects are unique to individual procedures. As a demonstration, two procedures, oral administration of chlortetracycline (50 μg ml−1diet) and microbiota removal by egg dechorionation, were applied toDrosophila melanogasterin a 2-by-2 factorial design. Microorganisms were undetectable in flies from dechorionated eggs and reduced by >99% in chlortetracycline-treated flies.Drosophilaflies subjected to both protocols displayed an extended preadult development time, suggesting that the microbiota promotes the development rate. Female chlortetracycline-treated flies, whether from untreated or dechorionated eggs, displayed reduced protein content and egg fecundity, which could be attributed to the nonspecific effect of the antibiotic. We recommend that procedures used to disrupt the microbiota of animals should be selected, following systematic analysis of alternative mechanistically distinct procedures, on the basis of two criteria: those that achieve the greatest reduction (ideally, elimination) of the microbiota and those that achieve minimal nonspecific effects.

HE EFFECTIVENESS OF ELECTROHYDRAULIC LITHOTRIPSY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF RE-OPERATIVED BILIARY LITHIASIS

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of electrohydraulic lithotripsy in the treatment of re-perated biliary lithiasis. Materials and Methods: Consist of 108 patients of recurrent biliary lithiasis, underwent diagnosed and re-perated by electrohydraulic lithiotripsy during open surgery or post-operative through a T-tube from january 2005 to may 2011 at Hue Central Hospital. Results: Age average 47.2 ± 6.4 (31-78), rate female/male 1.77/1. Jaundice 42.86%, hepatomegaly 19.44%, fever 66.6%, white blood cell uper 10.000/ml 61.12%, hyperbilirubinemia 88.89%, hight transaminase level 47,28%. Intraoperative complications 19.44%, common post-operative complications 26.8% and not operative mortality. Complete clearance of stones by open surgery accounted for 77.78%, the times of average electrohydraulic lithiotripsy for a patient is 2.19 times. Conclusion: Electrohydraulic lithotripsy in the the treatment of re-perated biliary lithiasis is highly effective and safe with less complication.

ASSESSMENT RESULTS OF SINGLE-PORT LAPAROSCOPIC APPENDECTOMY AT HUE CENTRAL HOSPITAL

Objectives: Laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) is becoming popular for the treatment of acute appendicitis. Since it was the first described, LA has been modified various times. We present the results of a new technique of LA conducted through a single port. Materials and methods: From March 2011 to November 2011, we have performed 28 operations Single Port Laparoscopic Appendectomy at the Surgical Department of Hue Central Hospital. Results: There were 28 patients, 57.1% were female, 42.9% were male, rate female/male was 1.3. The mean age is 36.4. The second port insertion was required in 2 patients (7.2%). Mean operation time was 44.6 minutes and postoperative hospital stay 3-5 days took 71.4%. Postoperative compications occurred in 1 case (3.6%) was of omphalitis. During 2-4 weeks follow up no problem related to the appendectomy have been reported. Conclusions: Single - port intracorporeal appendectomy procedure is a safe, minimal invasive procedure with excellent cosmetic results.

Socioeconomic Change and Suicide

This ecological study examined the association between seven socioeconomic indicators (GDP, unemployment rate, female labor force participation rate, alcohol expenditure, marriage rate, percentage of births outside of marriage, and indictable crime rate) and total, male, and female rates of suicide and suicide plus undetermined death in Ireland during the period 1968-2000. Analysis of the data expressed as absolute values showed highly significant associations between the socioeconomic indicators and the total, male, and female suicide rates. However, these associations were explained by the strongly trended data. The trended nature of the data was removed by using year-to-year differences. Analysis of the first-differenced data showed that none of the socioeconomic indicators was associated with the total, male, or female suicide rates with the exception of indictable crime, which had a significant independent effect on the female suicide rate (coefficient = 2.0, p < .01) but not on suicide plus undetermined death. This study highlights the need to use econometric methods in time-trend analyses, the lack of age-sex specific exposure data in this area, and the challenge of understanding trends in suicide in their socioeconomic context.