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Frontiers in Psychology 2020Defense mechanisms are mental functions which facilitate coping when real or imagined events challenge personal wishes, needs, and feelings. Whether defense mechanisms...
Defense mechanisms are mental functions which facilitate coping when real or imagined events challenge personal wishes, needs, and feelings. Whether defense mechanisms have a specific neural basis is unknown. The present research tested the hypothesis that interhemispheric integration plays a critical role in defense mechanism development, by studying a unique sample of patients born without the corpus callosum (agenesis of the corpus callosum; AgCC). Adults with AgCC ( = 27) and matched healthy volunteers ( = 30) were compared on defense mechanism use across increasing levels of developmental maturity (denial, least; projection, intermediate; identification, most). Narratives generated in response to Thematic Apperception Test images were scored according to the Defense Mechanism Manual. Greater use of denial and less identification was found in persons with AgCC, compared to healthy comparisons. This difference emerged after age 18 when full maturation of defenses among healthy individuals was expected. The findings provide clinically important characterization of social and emotional processing in persons with AgCC. More broadly, the results support the hypothesis that functional integration across the hemispheres is important for the development of defense mechanisms.
PubMed: 32733338
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01534 -
Psychoneuroendocrinology Sep 2023Sex-specific differences in brain connectivity were found in various neuroimaging studies, though little is known about sex steroid effects on insular functioning. Based...
BACKGROUND
Sex-specific differences in brain connectivity were found in various neuroimaging studies, though little is known about sex steroid effects on insular functioning. Based on well-characterized sex differences in emotion regulation, interoception and higher-level cognition, gender-dysphoric individuals receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy represent an interesting cohort to investigate how sex hormones might influence insular connectivity and related brain functions.
METHODS
To analyze the potential effect of sex steroids on insular connectivity at rest, 11 transgender women, 14 transgender men, 20 cisgender women, and 11 cisgender men were recruited. All participants underwent two magnetic resonance imaging sessions involving resting-state acquisitions separated by a median time period of 4.5 months and also completed the Bermond-Vorst alexithymia questionnaire at the initial and final examination. Between scans, transgender subjects received gender-affirming hormone therapy.
RESULTS
A seed based functional connectivity analysis revealed a significant 2-way interaction effect of group-by-time between right insula, cingulum, left middle frontal gyrus and left angular gyrus. Post-hoc tests demonstrated an increase in connectivity for transgender women when compared to cisgender men. Furthermore, spectral dynamic causal modelling showed reduced effective connectivity from the posterior cingulum and left angular gyrus to the left middle frontal gyrus as well as from the right insula to the left middle frontal gyrus. Alexithymia changes were found after gender-affirming hormone therapy for transgender women in both fantasizing and identifying.
CONCLUSION
These findings suggest a considerable influence of estrogen administration and androgen suppression on brain networks implicated in interoception, own-body perception and higher-level cognition.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Gender Dysphoria; Gender Identity; Transsexualism; Brain; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Gonadal Steroid Hormones; Steroids
PubMed: 37499299
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106336 -
Scientific Reports Aug 2023Improving agricultural products by the stimulation of plant growth and defense mechanisms by priming with plant extracts is needed to attain sustainability in...
Improving agricultural products by the stimulation of plant growth and defense mechanisms by priming with plant extracts is needed to attain sustainability in agriculture. This study focused to consider the possible improvement in Vigna radiata L. seed germination rate, plant growth, and protection against the natural stress by increasing the defense mechanisms through the incorporation of Sesamum indicum phytochemical compounds with pre-sowing seed treatment technologies. The gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis revealed that the methanol extract of S. indicum leaf extract contained eight major bioactive compounds, namely, 2-ethylacridine (8.24%), tert-butyl (5-isopropyl-2-methylphenoxy) dimethylsilane (13.25%), tris(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy) arsane (10.66%), 1,1,1,3,5,5,5-heptamethyltrisiloxane (18.50%), acetamide, N-[4-(trimethylsilyl) phenyl (19.97%), 3,3-diisopropoxy-1,1,1,5,5,5-hexamethyltrisiloxane (6.78%), silicic acid, diethyl bis(trimethylsilyl) ester (17.71%) and cylotrisiloxane, hexamethyl-(4.89%). The V. radiata seeds were treated with sesame leaf extract seeds at concentrations 0, 10, 25, 50, and 100 mg/L. Sesame leaf extract at 50 and 100 mg/L concentrations was effective in increasing the germination percentage and the fresh and dry weights of roots and shoots. The increased peroxidase activity was noticed after treatment with S. indicum extract. In addition, disease percentage (< 60%) of both fungal pathogens (Rhizoctonia and Macrophomina) was significantly reduced in V. radiata plants treated with 100 mg/L of sesame leaf extract. These results revealed that physiochemical components present in S. indicum mature leaf extract significantly enhanced growth and defense mechanism in green gram plants.
Topics: Rhizoctonia; Sesamum; Vigna; Agriculture; Ascomycota; Cortodoxone; Defense Mechanisms
PubMed: 37620354
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39660-y -
Archives of Sexual Behavior May 2022Prior qualitative research has noted that gender dysphoria impacts sexual engagement and satisfaction for many trans masculine and nonbinary individuals. As such, the...
Prior qualitative research has noted that gender dysphoria impacts sexual engagement and satisfaction for many trans masculine and nonbinary individuals. As such, the current cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the exact relations between distinct aspects of gender dysphoria (i.e., genital, chest, other secondary sex characteristics, and social) and engagement in, and enjoyment of, specific sexual acts. To achieve this aim, a sample of 141 trans masculine and nonbinary participants who were assigned female at birth and whom had not undertaken a medical transition were recruited. Participants were identified as trans masculine (n = 52), nonbinary (n = 72), and agender (n = 17). Participants completed a survey rating both body and social gender dysphoria and their engagement and enjoyment of receptive and performative roles across six partnered sex act domains (i.e., insertion, oral sex, sex toys, manual stimulation, nipple stimulation, and anal stimulation), as well as masturbation and noncoital activities. The overall results demonstrated that gender dysphoria is more salient to sexual acts that involve receiving versus providing sexual pleasure. In addition, genital and chest dysphoria were often significantly related to lower ratings of engagement and enjoyment. These results support the understanding that trans masculine and nonbinary individuals are likely negotiating sexual encounters to avoid sexual acts that involve areas of their body they find most distressing and marks an important area for future interventions and research.
Topics: Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Gender Dysphoria; Gender Identity; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Sexual Behavior; Transgender Persons; Transsexualism
PubMed: 35449364
DOI: 10.1007/s10508-021-02242-y -
JAMA Network Open Jul 2022Medical education, research, and clinical guidelines are available to support the initiation of gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary people. By contrast,...
IMPORTANCE
Medical education, research, and clinical guidelines are available to support the initiation of gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary people. By contrast, little is known about the clinical experiences of those who discontinue or seek to reverse gender-affirming medical or surgical interventions due to a change in gender identity, often referred to as detransition.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the physical and mental health experiences of people who initiated medical or surgical detransition to inform clinical practice.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Using constructivist grounded theory as a qualitative approach, data were collected in the form of in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using an inductive 2-stage coding process to categorize and interpret detransition-related health care experiences to inform clinical practice. Between October 2021 and January 2022, individuals living in Canada who were aged 18 years and older with experience of stopping, shifting, or reversing a gender transition were invited to partake in semistructured virtual interviews. Study advertisements were circulated over social media, to clinicians, and within participants' social networks. A purposive sample of 28 participants who discontinued, shifted, or reversed a gender transition were interviewed.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
In-depth, narrative descriptions of the physical and mental health experiences of people who discontinued or sought to reverse prior gender-affirming medical and/or surgical interventions.
RESULTS
Among the 28 participants, 18 (64%) were assigned female at birth and 10 (36%) were assigned male at birth; 2 (7%) identified as Jewish and White, 5 (18%) identified as having mixed race and ethnicity (which included Arab, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and South Asian), and 21 (75%) identified as White. Participants initially sought gender-affirmation at a wide range of ages (15 [56%] were between ages 18 and 24 years). Detransition occurred for various reasons, such as an evolving understanding of gender identity or health concerns. Participants reported divergent perspectives about their past gender-affirming medical or surgical treatments. Some participants felt regrets, but a majority were pleased with the results of gender-affirming medical or surgical treatments. Medical detransition was often experienced as physically and psychologically challenging, yet health care avoidance was common. Participants described experiencing stigma and interacting with clinicians who were unprepared to meet their detransition-related medical needs.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
This study's results suggest that further research and clinical guidance is required to address the unmet needs of this population who discontinue or seek to reverse prior gender-affirming interventions.
Topics: Delivery of Health Care; Ethnicity; Female; Gender Identity; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Male; Transgender Persons; Transsexualism
PubMed: 35877120
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.24717 -
Applied and Environmental Microbiology Aug 2023Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) exhibit direct and indirect mechanisms to increase plant resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses. Plant responses to these stresses...
Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) exhibit direct and indirect mechanisms to increase plant resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses. Plant responses to these stresses are interconnected by common regulators such as ethylene (ET), which is involved in both iron (Fe) deficiency and induced systemic resistance responses. In this work, the roots of cucurbit seedlings were primed with Metarhizium brunneum (EAMa 01/58-Su strain), and relative expression levels of 18 genes related to ethylene (ET), jasmonic acid (JA), and salicylic acid (SA) synthesis, as well as pathogen-related (PR) protein genes, were studied by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). Effects of priming on Spodoptera littoralis were studied by feeding larvae for 15 days with primed and control plants. Genes showed upregulation in studied species; however, the highest relative expression was observed in roots and shoots of plants with Fe deficiency, demonstrating the complexity and the overlapping degree of the regulatory network. and should be highlighted; both are key genes of the ET transduction pathway that enhanced their expression levels up to eight and four times, respectively, in shoots of primed cucumber. Also, JA and SA synthesis and PR genes showed significant upregulation during the observation period (e.g., the JA gene increased 506 times). Survival and fitness of were affected with significant effects on mortality of larvae fed on primed plants versus controls, length of the larval stage, pupal weight, and the percentage of abnormal pupae. These results highlight the role of the EAMa 01/58-Su strain in the induction of resistance, which could be translated into direct benefits for plant development. Entomopathogenic fungi are multipurpose microorganisms with direct and indirect effects on insect pests. Also, EPF provide multiple benefits to plants by solubilizing minerals and facilitating nutrient acquisition. A very interesting and novel effect of these fungi is the enhancement of plant defense systems by inducing systematic and acquired resistance. However, little is known about this function. This study sheds light on the molecular mechanisms involved in cucurbits plants' defense activation after being primed by the EPF . Furthermore, the subsequent effects on the fitness of the lepidopteran pest are shown. In this regard, a significant upregulation was recorded for the genes that regulate JA, SA, and ET pathways. This increased expression of defense genes caused lethal and sublethal effects on . This could be considered an added value for the implementation of EPF in integrated pest management programs.
Topics: Animals; Spodoptera; Ethylenes; Plants; Larva; Fungi; Defense Mechanisms
PubMed: 37439674
DOI: 10.1128/aem.00940-23 -
Reproduction & Fertility Apr 2024The rights of transgender and intersex people have become a contentious issue in our current political climate. Whether it be the rights of intersex athletes such as...
The rights of transgender and intersex people have become a contentious issue in our current political climate. Whether it be the rights of intersex athletes such as Caster Semenya (who identifies as a woman) to compete in elite sport, or the rights of transgender women to use women's only spaces, there is an increasingly fierce debate as to the legitimacy of people's gender and sexual identities and what parameters should be used to define them. A common argument accepted by most in our society is that while gender may be a spectrum, sex is an inalienable binary.
Topics: Animals; Female; Humans; Gender Identity; Sports; Athletes; Transsexualism; Transgender Persons
PubMed: 38492308
DOI: 10.1530/RAF-24-0005 -
Pediatric Annals Dec 2023
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Transgender Persons; Gender Identity; Transsexualism; Pediatricians
PubMed: 38049187
DOI: 10.3928/19382359-20231016-01 -
Innate host defense mechanisms SAC bacteria by regulating phosphoinositide kinases and phosphatases.Autophagy Feb 2022Human genetics and loss-of-function studies revealed a critical role for macroautophagy/autophagy in host defense. The autophagic delivery of intracellular pathogens to...
Human genetics and loss-of-function studies revealed a critical role for macroautophagy/autophagy in host defense. The autophagic delivery of intracellular pathogens to lysosomes is a central mechanism of innate immunity; thus, augmentation of host xenophagy represents a promising and powerful approach to combat infections. The precise mechanisms required for autophagosome biogenesis and maturation, however, remain unclear. Using a targeted genetic screen against phosphoinositide kinases and phosphatases, our recent work identified an essential role for the phosphoinositide phosphatase SACM1L/SAC1 in xenophagy. Re-expression of wild-type or catalytically-dead SACM1L in CRISPR knockout cells confirmed that SACM1L enzymatic activity is required to suppress replication of intracellular . Time-dependent, quantitative and live confocal imaging demonstrated that SACM1L-deficient cells accumulate phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PtdIns4P) on bacteria-containing autophagosomes, resulting in delayed fusion with degradative lysosomes and reduced bacterial killing. We further discovered that the secreted effector protein SteA, which specifically binds PtdIns4P, exacerbates the SACM1L-dependent delay in autophagosomal maturation. These findings reveal a relationship in which the balance between host defense and bacterial survival depends upon autophagosomal membrane composition.
Topics: 1-Phosphatidylinositol 4-Kinase; Autophagosomes; Autophagy; Bacteria; Defense Mechanisms; Humans; Lysosomes; Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases; Salmonella
PubMed: 34812102
DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2021.2002102 -
Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience 2021This article is a historical review of the medical and psychiatric diagnoses associated with transgender people across epochs. Ancient Greek and Roman writings already... (Review)
Review
This article is a historical review of the medical and psychiatric diagnoses associated with transgender people across epochs. Ancient Greek and Roman writings already mention gender change. Before a diagnosis even existed, historical documents described the lives of numerous people whom we would consider transgender today. The development of medical classifications took off in the nineteenth century, driven by the blooming of natural sciences. In the nineteenth century, most authors conflated questions of sexual orientation and gender. For example, the psychiatrist Krafft-Ebing reported cases of transgender people but understood them as paranoia, or as the extreme degree of severity in a dimension of sexual inversion. In the early 1900s, doctors such as Magnus Hirschfeld first distinguished homosexual and transgender behaviour. The usual term for transgender people was transvestite, before Harry Benjamin generalised the term transsexual in the mid-20th century. The term transgender became common in the 1970s. This article details the evolution of diagnoses for transgender people from DSM-III and ICD-10 to DSM-5 and ICD-11.
Topics: Female; Gender Dysphoria; Gender Identity; Humans; International Classification of Diseases; Male; Transgender Persons; Transsexualism
PubMed: 35860172
DOI: 10.1080/19585969.2022.2042166