Sexual Healing: Daily Diary Investigation of the Benefits of Intimate and Pleasurable Sexual Activity in Socially Anxious Adults

A growing literature attests to deficits in social and romantic life quality in people with elevated social anxiety, but no research to date has explored how intense intimate encounters influence social anxiety symptoms. This study investigated whether the presence and quality of sexual activity on a given day predicted less social anxiety and negative cognitions on a subsequent day. We also explored whether the benefits of sexual activity would be stronger for more socially anxious individuals. Over 21 days, 172 undergraduate students described the presence and quality of sexual activity, social anxiety symptoms, and use of social comparisons on the day in question. Time-lagged analyses determined that being sexually active on one day was related to less social anxiety symptoms and the generation of fewer negative social comparisons the next day. Furthermore, more intense experiences of pleasure and connectedness during sex predicted greater reductions in social anxiety the next day for people high in trait social anxiety, compared to those low in trait social anxiety. These results were similar regardless of whether sex occurred in the context of romantic relationships or on weekdays versus weekends. The results suggest that sexual activity, particularly when pleasurable and intimate, may mitigate some of the social anxiety and negative comparisons frequently experienced by people with high trait social anxiety.     

Skin graft vestibuloplasty exostosis. A report of two cases

Two cases of exostosis developing after mandibular vestibuloplasty and floor-to-mouth lowering with split thickness skin graft are presented, one with multiple recurrences. The lesion is clinically and microscopically described. Hypotheses with respect to the development of this phenomenon are proposed.     

Maternal-child feeding patterns and child body weight: findings from a population-based sample

BACKGROUND: Certain mother-child feeding patterns (MCFPs) may promote childhood obesity and/or disordered eating. OBJECTIVES: To assess the demographic correlates of MCFPs and to test whether differences in MCFPs are associated with child body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) z scores in a population-based study. DESIGN: A secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth main and child cohorts was conducted on more than 1000 Hispanic, African American, and non-Hispanic/non-African American children, aged 3 to 6 years. The MCFPs were measured by means of 3 interview questions probing mother-allotted child food choice, child compliance during meals, and child obedience during meals. RESULTS: Mothers of non-Hispanic/non-African American children allotted greater food choice than mothers of African American or Hispanic children. Maternal BMI and other demographic measures were unrelated to MCFPs. The lowest levels of mother-allotted child food choice and child eating compliance were associated with reduced child BMI, with mean BMI z scores of -0.36 and -0.41, respectively. Effect sizes were small, however, and MCFPs did not discriminate children who were overweight or at risk for being overweight from children who were not (P>.05). CONCLUSIONS: Feeding strategies providing the least child food choice were associated with reduced child BMI. However, MCFPs did not relate to child overweight status.     

ImmPort: disseminating data to the public for the future of immunology

The immunology database and analysis portal (ImmPort) system is the archival repository and dissemination vehicle for clinical and molecular datasets created by research consortia funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation. With nearly 100 datasets now publicly available and hundreds of downloads per month, ImmPort is an important source for raw data and protocols from clinical trials, mechanistic studies, and novel methods for cellular and molecular measurements. To facilitate data transfer, templates for data representation and standard operating procedures have also been created and are also publicly available. ImmPort facilitates transparency and reproducibility in immunology research, serves as an important resource for education, and enables newly generated hypotheses and data-driven science.     

Increased permeability of sheep lung vessels to proteins after Pseudomonas bacteremia

To see whether lung transvascular protein sieving occurred during the period of increased microvascular permeability in response to Pseudomonas bacteremia, we measured lung lymph flow and concentrations of eight protein fractions with molecular radii from 36–96 Å during steady state base line periods and during periods of steady state increased permeability after Pseudomonas infusion in five unanesthetized sheep. Lymph clearance (lymph flow × lymph-plasma concentration ratio) for all of the proteins was markedly increased after Pseudomonas, but, as during base line, clearance still decreased with increasing molecular size. We conclude that Pseudomonas bacteremia causes a marked increase in filtration through lung exchanging vessels. The changes in vessel walls result in decreasing passage of protein molecules with increasing molecular size from 36–96 Å.     

In vivo evaluation in rats of [(18)F]1-(2-fluoroethyl)-4-[(4-cyanophenoxy)methyl]piperidine as a potential radiotracer for PET assessment of CNS sigma-1 receptors

INTRODUCTION: Sigma-1 receptors are expressed throughout the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) and are implicated in several psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and depression. We have recently evaluated the high-affinity (K(D)=0.5+/-0.2 nM, log P=2.9) sigma-1 receptor radiotracer [(18)F]1-(3-fluoropropyl)-4-(4-cyanophenoxymethyl)piperidine, [(18)F]FPS, in humans. In contrast to appropriate kinetics exhibited in baboon brain, in the human CNS, [(18)F]FPS does not reach pseudoequilibrium by 4 h, supporting the development of a lower-affinity tracer [Waterhouse RN, Nobler MS, Chang RC, Zhou Y, Morales O, Kuwabara H, et al. First evaluation of the sigma-1 receptor radioligand [(18)F]1-3-fluoropropyl-4-((4-cyanophenoxy)-methyl)piperidine ([(18)F]FPS) in healthy humans. Neuroreceptor Mapping 2004, July 15-18th, Vancouver, BC Canada 2004]. We describe herein the in vivo evaluation in rats of [(18)F]1-(2-fluoroethyl)-4-[(4-cyanophenoxy)methyl]piperidine ([(18)F]SFE) (K(D)=5 nM, log P=2.4), a structurally similar, lower-affinity sigma-1 receptor radioligand. METHODS: [(18)F]SFE was synthesized (n=4) as previously described in good yield (54+/-6% EOB), high specific activity (2.1+/-0.6 Ci/micromol EOS) and radiochemical purity (98+/-1%) and evaluated in awake adult male rats. RESULTS: Similar to [(18)F]FPS, regional brain radioactivity concentrations [percentage of injected dose per gram of tissue (%ID/g), 15 min] for [(18)F]SFE were highest in occipital cortex (1.86+/-0.06 %ID/g) and frontal cortex (1.76+/-0.38 %ID/g), and lowest in the hippocampus (1.01+/-0.02%ID/g). Unlike [(18)F]FPS, [(18)F]SFE cleared from the brain with approximately 40% reduction in peak activity over a 90-min period. Metabolite analysis (1 h) revealed that [(18)F]SFE was largely intact in the brain. Blocking studies showed a large degree (>80%) of saturable binding for [(18)F]SFE in discrete brain regions. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that [(18)F]SFE exhibits excellent characteristics in vivo and may provide a superior PET radiotracer for human studies due to its faster CNS clearance compared to [(18)F]FPS.