Hypoactive sexual desire disorder in women: new possibilities to ensure better understanding, diagnosis, and response to treatment.

Background: Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) is a frequent sex-related problem in women; however, a specific tool to characterize HSDD subtypes based on sexual inhibitory and excitatory factors is still lacking.

Aim: (1) To find a cutoff value in Sexual Inhibition Scale (SIS)/Sexual Excitation Scale (SES) scores predicting a diagnosis of HSDD in women consulting for sexual symptoms, (2) to explore the sexual inhibitory and excitatory profiles in women referred to a clinic for female sexual dysfunction by stratifying the sample according to the newfound cutoffs, and (3) to identify biopsychosocial factors significantly associated with the 2 profiles.

Methods: An overall 133 women consulting for sexual symptoms were retrospectively evaluated for clinical, biochemical, and psychosexologic data collected at the first visit.

An Integrated Metabolomics-Based Model, and Identification of Potential Biomarkers, of Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid Toxicity in Zebrafish Embryos.

Known for their high stability and surfactant properties, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been widely used in a range of manufactured products. Despite being largely phased out due to concerns regarding their persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity, legacy PFAS such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid continue to persist at high levels in the environment, posing risks to aquatic organisms. We used high-resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in intact zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos to investigate the metabolic pathways altered by PFOS both before and after hatching (i.

High-Resolution Magic Angle Spinning (HRMAS) NMR Identifies Oxidative Stress and Impairment of Energy Metabolism by Zearalenone in Embryonic Stages of Zebrafish (), Olive Flounder () and Yellowtail Snapper ().

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin, commonly found in agricultural products, linked to adverse health impacts in humans and livestock. However, less is known regarding effects on fish as both ecological receptors and economically relevant "receptors" through contamination of aquaculture feeds. In the present study, a metabolomics approach utilizing high-resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (HRMAS NMR) was applied to intact embryos of zebrafish (), and two marine fish species, olive flounder () and yellowtail snapper (), to investigate the biochemical pathways altered by ZEA exposure.

A comprehensive health effects assessment of the use of sanitizers and disinfectants during COVID-19 pandemic: a global survey.

COVID-19 has affected all aspects of human life so far. From the outset of the pandemic, preventing the spread of COVID-19 through the observance of health protocols, especially the use of sanitizers and disinfectants was given more attention. Despite the effectiveness of disinfection chemicals in controlling and preventing COVID-19, there are critical concerns about their adverse effects on human health.

Art and science: impact of semioccluded vocal tract exercises and choral singing on quality of life in subjects with congenital GH deficiency.

Objective: Currently, not much is known about the interactions between voice and growth hormone (GH). We have described large kindred with isolated GH deficiency (IGHD) due to a GHRH receptor mutation, resulting in severe short stature and high-pitched voice. These IGHD individuals have little interest in GH treatment, as they consider themselves "short long-lived people", rather than patients.

An integrated systems-level model of the toxicity of brevetoxin based on high-resolution magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (HRMAS NMR) metabolic profiling of zebrafish embryos.

Brevetoxins (PbTx) are a well-recognized group of neurotoxins associated with harmful algal blooms, and specifically recurrent "Florida Red Tides," in marine waters that are linked to impacts on both human and ecosystem health including well-documented "fish kills" and marine mammal mortalities in affected coastal waters. Understanding mechanisms and pathways of PbTx toxicity enables identification of relevant biomarkers to better understand these environmental impacts, and improve monitoring efforts, in relation to this toxin. Toward a systems-level understanding of toxicity, and identification of potential biomarkers, high-resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (HRMAS NMR) was utilized for metabolic profiling of zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos, as an established toxicological model, exposed to PbTx-2 (the most common congener in marine waters).

Stochastic modelling and control of antibiotic subtilin production.

A stochastic hybrid model for the production of the antibiotic subtilin by the Bacillus subtilis is investigated. This model consists of 5 variables with four possible discrete dynamical states and this high dimensionality represents a bottleneck for using statistical tools that require to solve the corresponding Fokker-Planck problem. For this reason, a suitable reduced model with 3 variables and two dynamical states is proposed.

Non-Gaussian equilibrium distributions arising from the Langevin equation.

We study the Langevin equation of a point particle driven by random noise, modeled as a two-state Markov process. The corresponding master equation differs from the Fokker-Planck equation. In equilibrium, the velocity of the particle is distributed according to a binomial power law.

Canonical and noncanonical equilibrium distribution.

We address the problem of the dynamical foundation of noncanonical equilibrium. We consider, as a source of divergence from ordinary statistical mechanics, the breakdown of the condition of time scale separation between microscopic and macroscopic dynamics. We show that this breakdown has the effect of producing a significant deviation from the canonical prescription.

Spike-driven synaptic plasticity: theory, simulation, VLSI implementation.

We present a model for spike-driven dynamics of a plastic synapse, suited for aVLSI implementation. The synaptic device behaves as a capacitor on short timescales and preserves the memory of two stable states (efficacies) on long timescales. The transitions (LTP/LTD) are stochastic because both the number and the distribution of neural spikes in any finite (stimulation) interval fluctuate, even at fixed pre- and postsynaptic spike rates.

Fluctuation-dissipation process without a time scale.

We study the influence of a dissipation process on diffusion dynamics triggered by fluctuations with long-range correlations. We make the assumption that the perturbation process involved is of the same kind as those recently studied numerically and theoretically, with a good agreement between theory and numerical treatment. As a result of this assumption the equilibrium distribution departs from the ordinary canonical distribution.

Characterization of six murine monoclonal antibodies specific for toxin B of Clostridium difficile.

Six murine hybridoma cell lines producing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific for Toxin B of Clostridium difficile have been generated from toxin-immunized female RBF/DnJ mice. All six antibodies were reactive in Western blots with a > 200-kD protein in the supernatants of the toxigenic strain 10463 and were unreactive with similarly prepared material from the nontoxigenic strain 2037. Polyclonal antisera from rabbits immunized with Toxin B reacted on Western blots primarily with Toxin B, a 40-kD and a 55-kD band with a minor set of triplet bands at approximately 100 kD.

p-maleimidophenyl isocyanate: a novel heterobifunctional linker for hydroxyl to thiol coupling.

p-Maleimidophenyl isocyanate (PMPI, 1) is a heterobifunctional cross-linking agent useful for thiol to hydroxyl coupling. Several maleimide-activated compounds were prepared and characterized and then shown to be reactive with thiol-containing proteins. Examples include activation of vitamin B12, digoxigenin, digitoxigenin, estradiol, progesterone, and some serine-containing peptides.

Fluorometric enzyme immunoassay for measurement of infectious feline leukemia virus and its neutralization.

A fluorometric enzyme immunoassay using an alkaline phosphatase-conjugated monoclonal antibody was developed to quantitate feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection. Monoclonal antibodies, directed against the FeLV structural protein p27, were conjugated with alkaline phosphatase using a modified maleimide method. The enzyme immunoassay requires only 4 days to reproducibly measure FeLV production instead of the 12 days required for the commonly used transformation assay using C81 cells.

Efficient purification of mouse monoclonal antibodies from ascites fluid by medium-performance anion exchange chromatography.

Medium-performance anion-exchange chromatography was applied to the purification of murine IgG class monoclonal antibodies from ascites fluid. The separations were performed under mild conditions at pH 8 using relatively low sodium-chloride concentrations. Recoveries for monoclonal antibodies of subclasses IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b were about 90%.