Gender and Alcohol Use in Early Modern Augsburg

The use of alcohol in early modern German society was prescribed by carefully structured cultural norms. Drinking, even to the point of drunkenness, was not a sign of insecurity and "disorder" as many historians have claimed. Rather, participation in drinking bouts helped define and enhance men's social status. Drunkenness was therefore tolerated among men as long as they lived up to both the rules and norms of tavern society and the demands of their role as householder. Public drinking was a male prerogative, and drunkenness among women was universally condemned. Nonetheless, when alcohol abuse interfered with the household, women could and did deploy public power to impose limits on men's drinking behaviour.

Comparisons of bacterial patterns present at implant and tooth sites in subjects on supportive periodontal therapy. I. Impact of clinical variables, gender and smoking

OBJECTIVE: (I) To compare the oral microflora at implant and tooth sites in subjects participating in a periodontal recall program, (II) to test whether the microflora at implant and tooth sites differ as an effect of gingival bleeding (bleeding on probing (BOP)), or pocket probing depth (PPD), and (III) to test whether smoking and gender had an impact on the microflora. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data were collected from 127 implants and all teeth in 56 subjects. Microbiological data were identified by the DNA-DNA checkerboard hybridization. RESULTS: PPD> or =4 mm were found in 16.9% of tooth, and at 26.6% of implant sites (P<0.01). Tooth sites with PPD> or =4 mm had a 3.1-fold higher bacterial load than implant sites (mean difference: 66%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 40.7-91.3, P<0.001). No differences were found for the red, orange, green, and yellow complexes. A higher total bacterial load was found at implant sites with PPD> or =4 mm (mean difference 35.7 x 10(5), 95% CI: 5.2 (10(5)) to 66.1 (10(5)), P<0.02 with equal variance not assumed). At implant sites, BOP had no impact on bacterial load but influenced the load at tooth sites (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: BOP, and smoking had no impact on bacteria at implant sites but influenced the bacterial load at tooth sites. Tooth sites harbored more bacteria than implant sites with comparable PPD. The 4 mm PPD cutoff level influenced the distribution and amounts of bacterial loads. The subject factor is explanatory to bacterial load at both tooth and implant sites.

Gender and the relationship between traumatic childhood experiences and pain in adulthood

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: Gender differences regarding 17 childhood experiences, thought to have traumatising potential (Traumatic Childhood Experiences = TCE), and pain behaviour in adulthood were assessed using a self-administered, anonymously filled-out questionnaire. Patients were consecutively accrued in the offices of practicing physicians. Three research questions were formulated: 1) Are specific TCE reported more frequently in male and female patients with the diagnosis "Pain Associated with Psychological Factors" (PP), compared to patients with "Pain, explained by Organic Processes" (OP), and "Patients with Diseases without Pain" (OD)? 2) Do PP-men and PP-women differ in reporting TCE?; 3) Are specific TCE correlated with Pain Duration, -Intensity and Number of Operations? RESULTS: 1). TCE occurred more frequently in PP-men and PP-women compared to OP- and OD-patients. 2). The PP-women reported much more TCE-items than the PP-men. 3). Duration and Intensity of adult pain associated with psychological factors correlated with certain TCE-items. CONCLUSIONS: The three research questions can be answered by "yes". In patients with pain which has been impossible to diagnose and/or has resisted conventional forms of therapy, TCE (verbal, physical and sexually abusive) have to be looked for, because they often explain adult pain. Unnecessary examinations and surgery can be avoided and therapies can be tailored for the individual patient.

Course of psychological variables in whiplash injury--a 2-year follow-up with age, gender and education pair-matched patients

This study evaluated the course of psychological variables during a 2-year follow-up in patients after common whiplash of the cervical spine. From a sample of 117 non-selected patients with common whiplash (investigated on average 7.2 +/- 4.2 days after trauma) a total of 21 suffered trauma-related symptoms over 2 years following initial injury. These patients (symptomatic group) were compared with 21 age, gender and education pair-matched patients, who showed complete recovery from trauma-related symptoms during the 2-year follow-up (asymptomatic group). Both groups underwent standardised testing procedures (i.e., Freiburg Personality Inventory and Well-Being Scale) at referral, and at 3, 6 and 24 months. In the symptomatic group during follow-up no significant changes in rating of neck pain or headache were found. Significant differences between the groups and significant deviation of scores over time were found on the Well-Being and Nervousness Scales. There was a lack of significant difference between the groups on the Depression Scale, indicating a possible somatic basis for changes in psychological functioning in the investigated sample. With regard to scales of Extraversion or Neuroticism, there were neither significant differences between the groups nor significant deviation over time. These results highlight that patients' psychological problems are rather a consequence than a cause of somatic symptoms in whiplash.

Gender and the use of antiretroviral treatment in resource-constrained settings: findings from a multicenter collaboration

AIMS: To compare the gender distribution of HIV-infected adults receiving highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) in resource-constrained settings with estimates of the gender distribution of HIV infection; to describe the clinical characteristics of women and men receiving HAART. METHODS: The Antiretroviral Therapy in Lower-Income Countries, ART-LINC Collaboration is a network of clinics providing HAART in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. We compared UNAIDS data on the gender distribution of HIV infection with the proportions of women and men receiving HAART in the ART-LINC Collaboration. RESULTS: Twenty-nine centers in 13 countries participated. Among 33,164 individuals, 19,989 (60.3%) were women. Proportions of women receiving HAART in ART-LINC centers were similar to, or higher than, UNAIDS estimates of the proportions of HIV-infected women in all but two centers. There were fewer women receiving HAART than expected from UNAIDS data in one center in Uganda and one center in India. Taking into account heterogeneity across cohorts, women were younger than men, less likely to have advanced HIV infection, and more likely to be anemic at HAART initiation. CONCLUSIONS: Women in resource-constrained settings are not necessarily disadvantaged in their access to HAART. More attention needs to be paid to ensuring that HIV-infected men are seeking care and starting HAART.

Gender and language in online job advertisements - a cross-cultural study

The aim of this project is to investigate the use of gender-fair language from a cross-linguistic perspective. Specifically, we are interested in whether the use of gender-fair language correlates with socio-economic rankings of gender equality and with structural features of a language. We decided to analyze online job advertisements, as they reflect common language use and can easily be compared across languages. Moreover, formulations in job advertisements have been shown to impact personnel selection via the way target groups are addressed and referred to. In the present study we examined to what extent job advertisements are formulated in a gender-fair way and how this correlates with factors such as language, culture as well as status and gender-typicality of the job advertised. The data consisted of job advertisements published online in four European countries which occupy different positions in socio-economic rankings of gender equality (World Economic Forum, 2011): Switzerland (10), Austria (rank 34), Poland (42), and Czech Republic (75). We randomly selected 100 job advertisements from four lines of business characterized by different proportions of female employees – steels/metals, science, restaurants/food services, and health care. The advertisements were analyzed with regard to the linguistic form of the job title and the remaining text; we also noted indicators of job status, reference to gender-typical traits, pictures of women/men and other information which might be relevant to the use of gender-fair language (e.g., equal opportunity policies). A first analysis of the data indicates that the phrasing of job titles is closely related to the gender-typicality of a profession. While mainly gender-fair forms are used in healthcare, masculine forms are used more often in the domain of steels and metals. Feminine forms only, however, are almost never used. Cultural differences as well as correlations with associated variables will be discussed.