Mariah Devereux Herbeck. Wandering Women in French Film and Literature: A Study of Narrative Drift. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Review of Mariah Devereux Herbeck. Wandering Women in French Film and Literature: A Study of Narrative Drift. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013

Chirality in charge-transfer salts of BEDT-TTF of tris(oxalato)chromate(III)

Crystallisation from chiral electrolyte (R)-(−)-carvone has produced three new chiral semiconducting salts of BEDT-TTF from racemic anion tri(oxalato)chromate(III)

Therapy Insight: Parenteral Estrogen treatment for Prostate Cancer—a new dawn for an old therapy

Oral estrogens were the treatment of choice for carcinoma of the prostate for over four decades, but were abandoned because of an excess of cardiovascular and thromboembolic toxicity. It is now recognized that most of this toxicity is related to the first pass portal circulation, which upregulates the hepatic metabolism of hormones, lipids and coagulation proteins. Most of this toxicity can be avoided by parenteral (intramuscular or transdermal) estrogen administration, which avoids hepatic enzyme induction. It also seems that a short-term but modest increase in cardiovascular morbidity (but not mortality) is compensated for by a long-term cardioprotective benefit, which accrues progressively as vascular remodeling develops over time. Parenteral estrogen therapy has the advantage of giving protection against the effects of andropause (similar to the female menopause), which are induced by conventional androgen suppression and include osteoporotic fracture, hot flashes, asthenia and cognitive dysfunction. In addition, parenteral estrogen therapy is significantly cheaper than contemporary endocrine therapy, with substantive economic implications for health providers

IBM, Elsevier Science, and Academic Freedom

Elsevier Science refused to publish a study of IBM workers that IBM sought to keep from public view. Occupational and environmental health (OEH) suffers from the absence of a level playing field on which science can thrive. Industry pays for a substantial portion of OEH research. Studies done by private consulting firms or academic institutions may be published if the results suit the sponsoring companies, or they may be censored. OEH journals often reflect the dominance of industry influence on research in the papers they publish, sometimes withdrawing or modifying papers in line with industry and advertising agendas. Although such practices are widely recognized, no fundamental change is supported by government and industry or by professional organizations

A retrospective chart review to assess the impact of alpha-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation on symptoms of PTSD and depression in active-duty special operations service members

IntroductionSpecial Operations Forces service members (SOF) are regularly exposed to traumatic and concussive events, increasing the prevalence of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, shortening potential years of service.MethodsThis retrospective chart review presents preliminary data on a Human Performance Optimization (HPO) program that provided an average of 30 sessions of individualized alpha frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (α-rTMS) to active-duty SOF as to reduce symptoms of PTSD and depression following traumatic brain injury. Scores from the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, PROMIS Depression short form and Perceived Deficits Questionnaire (PDQ) were reviewed.ResultsSignificant reductions were noted after the HPO program in all clinical scales with an average 37% decrease in PCL-5 (p<.01), 11.3% reduction in PROMIS depression T-scores (p<.01), and 45.5% reduction in PDQ scales by session 30 (p<.01), with side effects matching those commonly reported in rTMS. Importantly, the average PCL-5 score decreased from 42.9 to 27 by end of the treatment program, which is below the clinical threshold of 33 for presence of PTSD. For those with depression symptoms scores greater than cut off clinical thresholds at baseline, 46% resolved following treatment.ConclusionThis data provides preliminary support for safe application of α-rTMS for symptom reduction in active-duty special operations military personnel

The effect of bacterial contamination on the biological integrity of sperm in boars

The productive longevity of sows leads to an increase in production of marketable products. However, more than half are discarded after the first farrowing due to impaired reproductive qualities under the influence of various factors including infectious diseases. The seminal material of boars can be a source of infection for sows. There is evidence of the relationship between the influence of infectious agents on the reproductive tract of producers and on inflammatory processes in the generative organs of females, which leads to a decrease in reproduction rates. In males, contamination of the sperm-carrying ducts by microorganisms directly affects the quality of sperm production and the function of spermatozoa, which in turn leads to the production of antibodies, reactive oxygen species and DNA fragmentation. To study the effect of bacterial contamination on the biological integrity of sperm in breeding boars, three groups of animals were formed depending on the activity of spermatozoa. For the study, ejaculates of Large White, Landrace and Duroc breeding boars (n= 46) were taken. The age of the producers ranged from 18 to 40 months; ejaculates were collected in JanuaryDecember. To determine qualitative and quantitative parameters of spermatozoa, Argus CASA program (ArgusSoft, St. Petersburg, Russia) was used based on CASA technology, using single-factor analysis methods. A comprehensive assessment of the ejaculates of boar producers showed the presence of yeast and yeast-like fungi (mold) in 44% of the studied samples, in which the total number of colony-forming microorganisms was 489537.5 CFU/cm3, which is 8.1 times more than in samples without contamination, and the proportion of progressive motile spermatozoa was lower by 10%. In the group with high microbial contamination (4895CFU/cm3), activity was 1.2 times lower (p 0.001), the proportion of abnormal spermatozoa was 1.7 times higher (p 0.001) and the level of DNA fragmentation was 3.1 times higher (p 0.001). Correlation analysis between microbial contamination and progressively motile spermatozoa showed a negative bilateral correlationr=0.51 (p 0.01) and a positive correlation with abnormal morphologyr= 0.42 (p 0.05) and DNA fragmentationr= 0.56 (p 0.01). Reproductive indicators of boars-producers in the group with high bacterial contamination were established: fertilizing ability was 23% lower, and the number of abortions was 2.3 times higher, and the frequency of stillbirths and mummified piglets in the litter was 3 times and 2.5 times higher, respectively

Effectiveness of Strategies to Improve Health-Care Provider Practices in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries: a Systematic Review

Inadequate health-care provider performance is a major challenge to the delivery of high-quality health care in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). The Health Care Provider Performance Review (HCPPR) is a comprehensive systematic review of strategies to improve health-care provider performance in LMICs