Invisible “Others”: Sexual Health Vulnerabilities of Wives of Men who Have Sex with Men

The recent trend in the feminization of the HIV epidemic poses great risk to women, especially to the wives of men who have sex with men (MSM). The objective of the present study was to explore wives’ responses to their husbands’ sexual orientation as well as the factors that influence their sexual health in India. For this research, 15 wives who were aware of their husbands’ sexual orientation and their husbands were interviewed separately using semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups. The study explored the social and cultural structures that create gender inequality, which put women married to MSM at sexual health risk. These factors need to be addressed carefully through existing MSM targeted interventions, without breaching the confidentiality of either partner.     

Twinning of quasicrystals and related structures

Abstract

We consider for the first time twinning in quasicrystals and related structures in a systematic manner. The twinning operations are considered in the framework of six-dimensional crystallography. The number of twin variants and the symmetry of twinned aggregates are also discussed. It is shown that essentially two different types of interface can arise between any two twin variants.     

A space to “eat,trance, and sleep”: the healing power of Mahanubhav temples in Maharashtra (India)

This paper explores the effectiveness of religious healing by focusing on one important factor that has been much neglected – the stay within the shrine. Drawing on qualitative research in Mahanubhav temples in India, this paper emphasises that the central part of religious healing is the process of being in the temple and becoming familiar with shrine culture. At the same time, I argue that the social space of the shrine is important not only for the benefits of a soothing environment or support system. It is argued that temporary residence within the shrine enables individuals to develop long-term associations with the religious community and sect. Through discussion of indicative cases, this paper elaborates on the process of “becoming a Mahanubhav pilgrim” that is at the heart of temple healing practices in India.     

On the role of Ag in enhanced age hardening kinetics of Mg–Gd–Ag–Zr alloys

The addition of Ag to the age hardenable Mg–Gd–Zr alloy system dramatically enhances early stage age hardening kinetics. Using atom probe tomography (APT), Ag-rich clusters were detected in a Ag-containing Mg–Gd–Zr alloy immediately after solution treatment and water quenching. During subsequent isothermal ageing at 200 °C, a high density of basal precipitates was observed during the early stages of ageing. These basal precipitates were enriched with Ag and Gd, as confirmed by APT. It is posited that Ag-rich clusters in the context of quenched-in vacancies can attract Gd atoms, increasing diffusion kinetics to facilitate the formation of the Ag + Gd-rich basal precipitates. The rapid formation of Ag + Gd-rich precipitates was responsible for accelerated ageing.     

Characterizing variation in the functional connectome: promise and pitfalls

The functional MRI (fMRI) community has zealously embraced resting state or intrinsic functional connectivity approaches to mapping brain organization. Having demonstrated their utility for charting the large-scale functional architecture of the brain, the field is now leveraging task-independent methods for the investigation of phenotypic variation and the identification of biomarkers for clinical conditions. Enthusiasm aside, questions regarding the significance and validity of intrinsic brain phenomena remain. Here, we discuss these challenges and outline current developments that, in moving the field toward discovery science, permit a shift from cartography toward a mechanistic understanding of the neural bases of variation in cognition, emotion and behavior.     

Frank's 'cubic' hexagonal phase: An intermetallic cluster compound as an example

Frank introduced in 1965 the novel idea of projection from a four-dimensional cube to recover the points of a hexagonal lattice with a special c / a ratio of ( 3 - 2 ½. This was called a cubic hexagonal crystal, as there was a similarity to the conventional cubic crystals in that directions were perpendicular to planes with the same Miller-Bravais indices. While a number of crystals in the NiAs-Ni 2 In family have been reported with this special axial ratio, the number of atoms in the unit cell is small. As the first example of an intermetallic cluster compound, we identify µ-Al 4 Mn, µ-Al 4 Cr, Zn-Mg-Sm and a host of related intermetallics featuring a special aggregate of icosahedra as Frank's 'cubic' hexagonal phase or its variant. The metric is generated by the Friauf polyhedra and the icosahedral linkages and leads to a multimetric crystal and several interesting connections with hexagonal quasicrystals, hexagonal phases and derivative orthorhombic and lower-symmetry structures.     

Electron diffraction patterns from the Al–Mn decagonal phase

Abstract

The variety of electron diffraction patterns arising from the decagonal phase has been explored using a stereographic analysis for generating the important zone axes as intersection points corresponding to important relvectors. An indexing scheme employing a set of five vectors and an orthogonal vector has been followed. A systematic tilting from the decagonal axis to one of the twofold axes has been adopted to generate a set of experimental diffraction patterns corresponding to the expected patterns from the stereographic analysis with excellent agreement.     

On the short-range order in Al-Mn quasicrystals during low-temperature ageing

Abstract

We report the evolution of diffuse intensity during the low-temperature ageing of Al-Mn quasicrystals. This is taken as evidence of short-range order in the icosahedral phase prior to its decomposition. The implication of these diffuse intensities is discussed     

Online feedback and the regulation of degrees of freedom in motor control

We tested the hypothesis that the degree to which online feedback is used to control movement influences the regulation of degrees of freedom in a task. Ten participants performed an isometric force production task with their two index fingers with the goal of matching the total force to a target waveform. The role of online feedback was manipulated by changing three factors - the tracking mode, the profile of the target waveform, and the visual gain. The results showed that the coupling between the finger forces was lower in conditions where participants used online feedback to correct their movements compared to conditions where more feedforward strategies were used. The availability of online feedback is dependent on the nature of the task and this contributes to task-dependent changes in the regulation of the degrees of freedom.     

THREE TYPES OF FAMILY STRUCTURE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DIFFERENTIATION: A STUDY AMONG THE JAUNSAR-BAWAR SOCIETY*

The study examines the influence of family structure and family experiences on psychological differentiation in children. Three types of families, viz., monogamous, polyandrous and polygynandrous were selected from the polyandrous society of Jaunsar-Bawar in the Cis-Himalayan region of India. 175 boys and girls of age groups 7-9 and 13-15 years, belonging to the three types of families, were administered the Story-Pictorial EFT, Indo-African EFT and BD tests. Family experiences of the child were assessed through ratings and interview. A 2×3×2 ANOVA performed on differentiation scores revealed significant age and sex effects. Family effect was not statistically significant. But the data suggested a strong trend in the expected direction. The findings have been discussed in terms of the characteristic family patterns of Jaunsar-Bawar and acculturation factors.