Automated electrochemical analysis with combinatorial electrode arrays.

Two combinatorial approaches for rapid automated screening of electrochemical activity of modified electrode surfaces are described. One approach enables simultaneous comparison of electrochemical current by fluorescence associated with pH changes that accompany consumption or production of protons at the electrode surface during a redox process. However, this method cannot distinguish small differences in current at differently modified electrodes. A second approach relies on computer-automated, serial measurement of electrochemical current at each electrode of a 64-electrode array immersed in a single electrochemical cell. Unlike the fluorescent screen, the second method is capable of distinguishing small differences in current at differently modified electrodes, as demonstrated here for gold electrode surfaces covered with organosulfur monolayers of different chain lengths. The improved precision of the computer-automated direct electrochemical method enables examination of active zones that have been first identified by less precise parallel fluorescent screening methods. The direct electrochemical measurement method can easily be extended to a variety of electrode materials, including fuel cell electrocatalysts and redox storage materials. A complete description of the methodology, hardware and computer program for automated measurement is provided.

Identifying causes of disagreement between self-reports and spouse ratings of personality.

Self-reports and spouse ratings of personality traits typically show less-than-perfect agreement, but powerful moderators of agreement have not yet been identified. In Study 1, 47 married couples completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory to describe themselves and their spouses. Extent of agreement was not consistently moderated by response sets; the age, intelligence, or education of the respondent; or the length or quality of the relationship. In Study 2 these couples were interviewed about reasons for substantial disagreements, and an audiotape was content-analyzed. Sixteen reasons were reliably coded, including idiosyncratic understanding of items, reference to different time frames or roles, and unavailability of covert experience to the spouse. Faking good, assumed similarity, and other variables prominent in the psychometric literature were relatively unimportant. Findings (1) suggest that attempts to improve the validity of self-reports and ratings may need to be refocused and (2) underscore the desirability of routinely obtaining multiple sources of information on personality.

Personality characteristics and sexual functioning of 188 cross-dressing men.

The literature on cross-dressing men has been primarily limited to self-identified patients at psychiatric clinics who are in distress. To understand the personality trait characteristics and sexual functioning of nonpatient cross-dressers, 188 non-treatment-seeking male cross-dressers completed the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) and the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI). Respondents were classified as transvestites (TV; N = 83), transgenderists (TG; N = 61), or transsexuals (TS; N = 44) based on self-report and the nature of their cross-gender activities (e.g., use of female hormones, desire for sex reassignment, and amount of time spent in female role). These diagnostic groups did not differ on the five broad personality domains of the NEO-PI, but TS men scored higher than TV and TG men on the Aesthetics facet scale of Openness to Experience (O). In terms of the DSFI scales, TS men reported lower sexual drive than TV and TG men, and TS and TG men exhibited greater psychiatric symptoms and feminine gender role, and poorer body image than TV men. Upon exclusion of a group of 49 respondents who previously sought treatment for psychological problems, no significant differences emerged among the three diagnostic groups on the NEO-PI domain and facet scales. Consideration of the DSFI scales showed that TS men experienced less sexual drive, more psychiatric symptoms, and a greater feminine gender role than TV or TG men. This study suggests that cross-dressers not seen for clinical reasons are virtually indistinguishable from non-cross-dressing men using a measure of personality traits, a sexual functioning inventory, and measures of psychological distress. These results emphasize the importance of using clinical significance criteria as required by DSM-IV guidelines before diagnosing men who cross-dress with an axis I disorder.

Production of perfluoroalkylated nanospheres from buckminsterfullerene.

Perfluoroalkylated nanospheres have been prepared by reaction of fullerenes with a variety of fluoroalkyl radicals. The latter are generated by thermal or photochemical decomposition of fluoroalkyl iodides or fluorodiacyl peroxides. Up to 16 radicals add to C(60) to afford easily isolable fluoroalkylated derivatives. The monosubstituted radical adducts were detected by electron spin resonance in the early stages of the fluoroalkylation reactions. These spheroidal molecules are thermally quite stable, soluble in fluoroorganic solvents, chemically resistant to corrosive aqueous solutions, and more volatile than the parent fullerenes. Films of the sublimed material display properties typical for a perfluoroalkylated material.

The five-factor model of personality and sexual functioning in outpatient men and women.

454 adults seeking evaluation at a sexual behaviors consultation clinic were evaluated for the major dimensions of personality as measured by the NEO Personality Inventory and various aspects of sexual attitudes and experiences via the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory. The results showed that elevated Neuroticism was correlated with dysphoric symptoms, negative body image and lowered satisfaction. More extraverted individuals reported increased drive, more sexual experience, positive body image, and more positive affects. Agreeableness was unrelated to sexual drive and satisfaction but was negatively related to symptomatology. Openness was positively associated with amount of Information, range of sexual experiences, liberal attitudes toward sex, sexual drive and fantasy and appears to broadly impact upon sexual functioning. The more conscientious subjects had lowered sexual drive, but fewer dysphoric symptoms and a better body image. Women showed a similar pattern of personality correlates with the exception that personality was unrelated to females' sexual experiences and sexual satisfaction. The present findings support and expand previous research and contribute to our understanding of how personality dispositions influence the experience and expression of sexual functioning in male and female clinical samples.

A comparison of five-factor personality dimensions in males with sexual dysfunction and males with paraphilia.

We compared personality profiles of men with sexual dysfunction (n = 51) to those of age-matched men with a primary diagnosis of paraphilia (n = 51) employing the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), a measure of the five-factor model. Preliminary analyses in a large sample of patients in a sexual behaviors consultation unit supported the reliability and factorial validity of the NEO-PI for this population. Analysis of variance showed significant differences between the dysfunctional and the paraphilic groups on two of the five NEO-PI domains, Neuroticism (N) and Agreeableness (A). The group personality profile of the sexually dysfunctional men was comparable to the normative sample of the NEO-PI, except for a slight elevation in N. By contrast, men with paraphilia had a personality profile marked by high N, low A, and low Conscientiousness (C). Treatment implications of the average personality profile of the sexual dysfunction group and the distinctive personality profile of paraphilic men are discussed.

Personality and sexual functioning of transvestitic fetishists and other paraphilics.

Utilizing the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) and the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI), 24 transvestitic fetishists (TVs) were compared with a similar clinic-evaluated group of 26 other paraphilics (OPs). The data replicated previous results and extended them by showing that TVs did not differ from OPs on most dimensions of the NEO-PI and the DSFI. Both groups were significantly higher on neuroticism and significantly lower on agreeableness than the NEO-PI male normative population. The other paraphilic group tended to score lower on conscientiousness than the TVs and the normative comparison group. For nine of the 10 DSFI variables, there were no significant differences between the TVs and the OPs. The TVs were significantly higher than the OPs on role identity, indicating a more feminine identification. Both the TVs and OPs reported elevated levels of fantasy. The implications of these findings suggest that, in general, TVs and OPs are more similar than they are different, with a common personality profile and a similar pattern of sexual functioning.

Subtypes of anorgasmia via mathematical taxonomy.

Seventy-six women who presented with a principal complaint of anorgasmia were partitioned into four distinct subtypes on the basis of psychosexual and psychological symptoms using hierarchical cluster analysis, a mathematical taxonomic method. The classification was accomplished with data from the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Comparisons involving age, race, marital status, and social class demonstrated no significant differences between the four subtypes; however, statistical analyses of psychosexual, psychological symptom, and chart-review variables (including psychiatric diagnosis) revealed very significant distinctions between the four groups. From the resulting typology, anorgasmic subtypes were presumptively identified as "low desire" (n = 21), "histrionic/marital conflict" (n = 20) "psychiatric disorder" (n = 12) and "constitutional" (n = 16). Implications of the typology for etiologic and optimal treatment decisions concerning anorgasmia are discussed.

Distressed transvestites. Psychometric characteristics.

Transvestic fetishism is characterized by eroticized cross-dressing in a heterosexual male. Twenty-one transvestites who were seeking psychiatric consultation were evaluated using the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). They were compared with 45 heterosexual married males. The transvestic group was significantly more distressed on most dimensions of the BSI. The transvestic group displayed a more negative body image, a more feminine gender role perception, and less experience than the comparison group on the DSFI. Those transvestites who had no homosexual experience were less frequently gender dysphoric but more frequently had a concurrent axis I disorder. The transvestite with recent homosexual experience reported an earlier age when cross-dressing began. These findings are discussed in the context of previous research on transvestism.

Sexual dysfunction and dual psychiatric diagnoses.

Controversy continues to exist about whether a sexual dysfunction is a discrete problem or it is symptomatic of more elaborate psychiatric disorder. To date no study of this question has been reported on patients evaluated using DSM-III criteria. To meet such a need, 592 patients with various sex-related complaints and their partners were evaluated at the Sexual Behaviors Consultation Unit of the Johns Hopkins Hospital over a 2-year period. Two hundred and eighty-eight patients (males = 223; females = 65) fulfilled DSM-III criteria for psychosexual dysfunction. Of these 30.5% (N = 68) of the males and 30.8% (N = 20) of the females were assigned concurrent Axis I/II diagnoses. Patients who had dual diagnoses reported more (P = .026) problems with alcohol. Despite equivalent psychosocial stressors on Axis IV they were rated less (P less than .01) adjusted on Axis V. Dual diagnostic profiles were described for each of the psychosexual dysfunctions. Results support the hypothesis that while the majority of patients with sexual dysfunction have a discrete disorder, there is another group whose sexual dysfunction is but one of several conditions which deserve treatment.

Alcoholism in patients with sexual disorders.

The authors screened for alcoholism 145 consecutive patients who presented with sexual dysfunction or disorders. Using the Michigan Alcoholic Screening Test (MAST), 29% of the patients scored in the probable alcoholic range. Probable alcoholics were more likely to present without a partner and claimed higher sex drive than nonalcoholic patients. Probable alcoholic males reported less joy and vigor than probable alcoholic females, while the reverse held for the nonalcoholic groups. Blind to the MAST results, the staff made six alcohol-related diagnoses and referred one patient for alcohol treatment. The authors discussed the importance of training faculty and resident staff in the relationship of alcohol abuse associated with psychosexual dysfunctions.

Sexual functioning and psychologic evaluation of in vitro fertilization couples.

Couples requesting in vitro fertilization (IVF) may be sexually dysfunctional either as an etiologic factor in their infertility or because they experience decreased sexual satisfaction as a reaction to previous infertility treatment. The present study assessed the sexual functioning and psychologic status of 45 married couples who had requested IVF. The couples were given complete psychosexual evaluation by senior staff members of the Sexual Behaviors Consultation Unit and each participant completed the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI). Seven couples (15.5%) were experiencing a sexual dysfunction and 13 individuals (14.4%) were given Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders III diagnoses. In total, 19 individuals (21%) of the sample were found to have either a sexual dysfunction or psychologic disorder. Couples with a sexual dysfunction were more likely (P = 0.05) to have unexplained infertility. Norms for psychologic evaluation as part of IVF are suggested and the role of such evaluation discussed.

Sexual dysfunction within an adult developmental perspective.

The focus of this paper is on the adult who has adequately mastered the oedipal stage of psychosexual development and who presents with a sexual dysfunction. Drawing on the developmental sequence of Erik Erikson, the authors suggest that failure to address adequately an adult psychosocial crisis may result in sexual dysfunction. There may be both adult developmental deficits and regression to adolescent and adult stages previously negotiated. Both may be symptomatically represented by sexual dysfunction. The authors urge that the sexual and marital problems be evaluated within an adult developmental framework and that the therapy address the psychosocial issues which are appropriate to the developmental stage of the patient.

Psychological subtypes of anorgasmia: a marker variable approach.

Seventy-six women who presented with a principal complaint of anorgasmia were compared with a matched cohort of sexually functional controls on the domains of the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI). Patients were case matched with controls on age, race, marital status, and social class. Initial comparisons revealed significant differences between patient and control groups on a number of psychosexual characteristics, consistent with prior research. Based on evidence of heterogeneity within the patient sample and earlier research by our group, the anorgasmic cohort was partitioned by a "marker variable" approach into two anorgasmic subtypes. The marker variable used to create the subtypes was the presence of homosexual fantasies. Subsequent contrasts, both between the two anorgasmic subgroups, and with functional controls, revealed highly significant differences, and provided strong evidence for at least two psychologically distinct subtypes of anorgasmia.

Molecular structure of an unusual organoactinide hydride complex determined solely by neutron diffraction.

The structure of an unusual organometallic complex, {Th[(CH(3))(5)C(5)](2) H(micro-H)}(2) . C(6)H(5)CH(3), has been determined from neutron diffraction data, using only the direct-methods program MULTAN. Besides providing accurate metrical information on the first organometallic actinide hydride complex, these results have general and far-reaching implications concerning the complexity and size of crystal structures that can be elucidated solely on the basis of neutron diffraction data.