'Transformed rights' sexual health programme evaluation for the parents and service workers of adults with an intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: To promote sexual health in adults with an intellectual disability (ID) in Taiwan, sexual health programmes were provided to adults with ID, their parents and service workers. This study evaluates the impact of these programmes that involved the parents and service workers. METHODS: Intervention and participatory research paradigms were applied to develop, implement and evaluate programmes that address the challenges that relate to the sexual rights of adults with ID. Additionally, the programmes fostered open dialogue among the participants concerning the sexual health of people with ID. In total, 57 parents and 164 service workers were involved in the programmes. A quasi-experimental design and standardised questionnaires (Attitudes to Sexuality Questionnaire - Individuals with an Intellectual Disability), as well as in-depth interviews, were used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data on the programmes' effectiveness and participants' experiences between April 2012 and July 2015. RESULTS: The findings revealed that after the programmes were implemented, attitudes towards the sexual rights of people with ID were significantly more positive among both the parents and service workers. Participation in the sexual health programmes facilitated constructive dialogue by revealing hidden concerns and by transforming the perspectives of the parents and service workers from viewing sexuality as a social problem to understanding the sexual rights of adults with ID. CONCLUSIONS: Both the quantitative and qualitative results demonstrate that the programmes had a positive impact on the parents and service workers in terms of their attitudes towards the sexual rights of people with ID. Open dialogue and reciprocal interaction strategies caused transformations in the perspectives of parents and service workers on sexual health.

Gene structure and expression characteristic of a novel odorant receptor gene cluster in the parasitoid wasp Microplitis mediator (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).

Odorant receptors (ORs) expressed in the antennae of parasitoid wasps are responsible for detection of various lipophilic airborne molecules. In the present study, 107 novel OR genes were identified from Microplitis mediator antennal transcriptome data. Phylogenetic analysis of the set of OR genes from M. mediator and Microplitis demolitor revealed that M. mediator OR (MmedOR) genes can be classified into different subfamilies, and the majority of MmedORs in each subfamily shared high sequence identities and clear orthologous relationships to M. demolitor ORs. Within a subfamily, six MmedOR genes, MmedOR98, 124, 125, 126, 131 and 155, shared a similar gene structure and were tightly linked in the genome. To evaluate whether the clustered MmedOR genes share common regulatory features, the transcription profile and expression characteristics of the six closely related OR genes were investigated in M. mediator. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends-PCR experiments revealed that the OR genes within the cluster were transcribed as single mRNAs, and a bicistronic mRNA for two adjacent genes (MmedOR124 and MmedOR98) was also detected in female antennae by reverse transcription PCR. In situ hybridization experiments indicated that each OR gene within the cluster was expressed in a different number of cells. Moreover, there was no co-expression of the two highly related OR genes, MmedOR124 and MmedOR98, which appeared to be individually expressed in a distinct population of neurons. Overall, there were distinct expression profiles of closely related MmedOR genes from the same cluster in M. mediator. These data provide a basic understanding of the olfactory coding in parasitoid wasps.

Deciding about sterilisation: perspectives from women with an intellectual disability and their families in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: This qualitative study explores decision-making regarding sterilisation for women with intellectual disabilities (ID) living with their families, including how such decisions are made and who is involved in the decision-making. METHODS: Eleven families including sterilised women with ID participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with family members and four of the women with ID; the interviews took place at the family homes during March 2009. The interview schedule sought information regarding decision-making on sterilisation including the reasons for the sterilisation, the identities of those involved in the decision-making, attitudes towards the sexuality of women with ID and the role of women with ID in decision-making about their own sterilisation. Additionally, women with ID were asked about their experiences of sterilisation. RESULTS: The data showed that most of the women who underwent tubal ligation were married and had mild ID; the decision to perform tubal ligation was mostly made by the husband or parents-in-law, and was made after the women had given birth. The reasons given by the families of these women for deciding on sterilisation included: the woman was unable to care for the children, the family could not afford to raise many children, the concern that the ID might be hereditary, or a perceived risk of pregnancy from rape. The two women who underwent hysterectomy were unmarried and had more severe ID than the married women with ID who received tubal ligation. In these two cases, the decisions were primarily made by the mothers of the women based on concerns about managing their menstruation. Almost none of the women with ID were involved in the decision-making process, and some were not even informed of the nature of the surgery. Health professionals and service workers contacted by the families were also influential in the decision-making. The autonomy of the women to engage in decision-making regarding sterilisation thus was constrained by their families and professionals, without considering either sterilisation or hysterectomy a violation of the essential human rights of the women involved. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that with respect to sexuality and body images among women with ID, concern should exist among society in general and among professionals in particular, regarding human rights; furthermore, more information and better educational programmes must be provided to relevant professionals, as well as to women with ID and their families.

Age-related neural degeneration in nuclear-factor kappaB p50 knockout mice.

Nuclear factor-kappaB is a transcription factor that regulates a variety of genes involved not only with immune and inflammatory responses, but also in cell survival. Nuclear-factor kappaB in the CNS is an area of current research interest; however, its role in age-related neural degeneration is obscure. The present study examines developmental degeneration changes in wild type and nuclear factor-kappaB p50 subunit knockout mice (p50-/-) using various morphological methodologies. P50-/- mice appeared normal at birth. At 6 and 10 months old, the body weight of p50-/- mice was significantly less than that of wild type mice and they started to die from aging. Consistently, terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling positive cells in the cortex were significantly more in p50-/- mice than that in wild type mice, and neuronal cells in the cortex, hippocampus and caudate nucleus-putamen decreased in p50-/- mice. Fewer myelinated axons of the optic nerve were found in p50-/- mice than in wild type mice at 6 months. In p50-/- mice, morphological examinations showed: 1) aging and degenerative changes in the cortex and hippocampus including increased lipofuscin granules in neural cytoplasm, 2) abnormal capillaries, 3) dark and watery alterations and organelle accumulations, 4) apoptotic glia cells, and 5) terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling and caspase-3 positive neurons. These results suggest that nuclear-factor kappaB may play an important role in neurovascular development, cell survival, and the aging process in the CNS. This new evidence linking nuclear-factor kappaB to myelination and aging may be of considerable importance for several areas of basic and clinical neuroscience.

To have or to be: ways of caregiving identified during recovery from the earthquake disaster in Taiwan.

The aim of this article is to report the results of therapy sessions conducted with survivors of an earthquake that struck Luku Township in Nantou County, central Taiwan, in September 1999. The sessions explored survivors' feelings, interactions, and interpretations of the crisis, as well as their roles in post-earthquake relief efforts. The participants were teachers and administrators from four primary schools. The results indicated three distinct forms of caring, namely: encumbered caring, connected caring, and reflected caring. The findings were used to construct a framework for caregiver self-monitoring. They also suggest that therapy groups provide an inner space that self-regulates the frustrations arising from this type of experience, for both caregivers and survivors. The intrasubjective and intersubjective dialogues within the groups are essentially reflective practices for improving services and generating new knowledge about medical ethics.

Regulation of the human acute phase serum amyloid A genes by tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6 and glucocorticoids in hepatic and epithelial cell lines.

The major acute-phase protein serum amyloid A, A-SAA, is upregulated by a variety of inflammatory stimuli, including cytokines and glucocorticoids (GCs). Elevated systemic concentrations of both A-SAA and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha are a feature of inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Here, we examine the roles of TNF-alpha, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and GCs on the transcriptional regulation of the two human A-SAA genes (SAA1 and SAA2) and show that these stimuli have different effects on the SAA1 and SAA2 promoters in HepG2 hepatoma and KB epithelial cell lines. Both genes are induced modestly by TNF-alpha and IL-6 alone and synergistically by TNF-alpha plus IL-6. The TNF-driven induction of SAA1, but not that of SAA2, can be enhanced by GCs in both cell lines, whereas GCs alone can upregulate SAA1 only in epithelial cells. The upregulation of both genes by cytokines, and of SAA1 by GCs, is more rapid in epithelial cells than hepatoma cells. We established that the order in which either cell line was treated with TNF-alpha and IL-6 influenced A-SAA promoter transcriptional activation. Treatment with TNF-alpha followed by IL-6 resulted in a much greater induction of both A-SAA genes than treatment with IL-6 followed by TNF-alpha.

Computer simulation study on the swelling of a polyelectrolyte gel by a Stockmayer solvent.

The swelling of a model polyelectrolyte gel is studied via three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulations, taking into account the counterions and the solvent explicitly. Each network bead carries a charge q(*). The counterion charge is -q(*), and thus the total system is neutral. The solvent is modeled via a Stockmayer fluid, i.e., each solvent particle is a point dipole plus a Lennard-Jones interaction center. A "two-box--particle transfer" simulation method is applied to calculate the swelling ratio of the network as well as the counterion mobility. The swelling of the network shows a broad maximum as a function of q(*) at T(*)(r)=T(*)/T(*)(c)=1.05 and P(*)(r)=P(*)/P(*)(c)=1.0. Here, T(*)(c) and P(*)(c) are the critical temperature and the critical pressure of the pure Stockmayer solvent, respectively, with dipole moments given by mu(*2)=1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0. The residence time of the counterions is calculated, showing a strong coupling to the charged network beads (condensation) as q(*) increases. Additional simulations at three different charge strengths (i.e., q(*)=0.5, 3.5, and 8.6) illustrate the complicated swelling behavior of the network under supercritical and subcritical conditions.

Swelling of model polymer networks with different cross-link densities: a computer simulation study.

The swelling of model polymer networks with different cross-link densities is studied via molecular dynamics simulation. During the simulation, the solvent particles, consisting of one interaction center or six interaction centers, respectively, are transferred between two coupled simulation boxes. The gel box includes both network and solvent particles, whereas the solvent box contains solvent only. The particle transfer is controlled by the solvent chemical potential difference in the two boxes, which is calculated via the Widom test particle method for the one-site solvent and via Rosenbluth sampling for the chainlike solvent. The equilibrium swelling ratio of the network as well as the solvent diffusion coefficient under subcritical and supercritical conditions are computed as functions of the network cross-link density for a wide range of temperatures and pressures. In addition, the simulated swelling behavior is compared to a Flory-Huggins-type theory, which yields qualitative agreement for the systems studied here.

Computer simulation study on the swelling of a model polymer network by a chainlike solvent.

A molecular-dynamics-particle-transfer method was used to study the swelling of a model polymer network by a short chain solvent. The solvent chains were transferred depending on the difference between the solvent chemical potentials in the coupled simulation boxes, containing pure solvent and gel, respectively. The chemical potentials were computed via the Rosenbluth sampling method. The simulated swelling ratio of the network under subcritical and supercritical conditions is compared with the prediction of a modified Flory-Huggins theory. In addition, the chains exhibit markedly different structural and dynamic properties in the corresponding phases due to the constraint imposed by the network, which are discussed in detail.