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Clinical Child and Family Psychology... Jun 2021In recent years, there has been a proliferation of research regarding transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people. The stigma and legal discriminations that this... (Review)
Review
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of research regarding transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people. The stigma and legal discriminations that this population faces have obvious and documented repercussions for mental health. In 2015, the American Psychological Association (APA) published Guidelines for Psychological Practice with TGNC People. The APA noted that due to the nuances of working with TGNC youth and the dearth of related literature, the guidelines focus primarily on TGNC adults. To date, there has not been a systematic review of risk and resilience factors for mental health among TGNC children, adolescents, and young adults under the age of 25. Forty-four peer-reviewed articles met inclusion criteria for this systematic review, and were evaluated for their methodological rigor and their findings. Common risk factors for negative mental health variables included physical and verbal abuse, exposure to discrimination, social isolation, poor peer relations, low self-esteem, weight dissatisfaction, and age. Across studies, older children and adolescents tended to report higher rates of psychological distress. Resilience-promoting factors for mental health were also documented, including parent connectedness, social support, school safety and belonging, and the ability to use one's chosen name. By synthesizing the existing literature using a resilience-focused and minority stress framework, the present review provides clinicians and researchers with a coherent evidence-base to better equip them to promote psychological adaptation and wellbeing among TGNC youth.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Gender Identity; Humans; Mental Health; Protective Factors; Social Support; Transgender Persons; Young Adult
PubMed: 33594611
DOI: 10.1007/s10567-021-00344-6 -
Psycho-oncology Sep 2022The purpose of this review was to synthesise the literature on the topic of masculinity and testicular cancer (TC) and investigate the relative impact of TC on men's... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this review was to synthesise the literature on the topic of masculinity and testicular cancer (TC) and investigate the relative impact of TC on men's view of their masculinity.
METHODS
Searches were conducted across four databases (MEDline, PsycInfo, CINAHL Plus and Scopus) for articles published before April 2022 that included (1) TC and (2) masculinity. Two researchers independently rated studies for inclusion with a third resolving conflicts. Of the 6464 articles screened, 24 articles (10 quantitative and 14 qualitative) were included in the review. Articles were rated for quality and a narrative synthesis was performed.
RESULTS
Overall, results indicated some men experience a shift in the way they relate to their sense of masculinity following diagnosis and treatment for TC. Being single and without children was related to the experience of negative masculinity-related outcomes, possibly due to a compounding lack of relational support and being unable to conform to protector, provider traditions. Men who described testicle loss as symbolic of their diminished masculinity were also negatively impacted. However, recent, high-quality literature on the topic using standardised masculinity measures was limited.
CONCLUSION
Some men experience a reduced sense of masculinity after TC, however the impact of TC on masculinity remains person dependent. Further research using validated masculinity measures is required to uncover psycho-social variables that may account for whether and how meaning is made between TC and its treatment and any subsequent impact on perceived masculinity. Such factors may better support these men in life beyond cancer.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION
PROSPERO. International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews: CRD42020185649.
Topics: Child; Humans; Male; Masculinity; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal; Testicular Neoplasms
PubMed: 35789023
DOI: 10.1002/pon.5994 -
Journal of Advanced Research Jan 2018With the development of nanotechnology, silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have become one of the most in-demand nanoparticles owing to their exponential number of uses in... (Review)
Review
With the development of nanotechnology, silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have become one of the most in-demand nanoparticles owing to their exponential number of uses in various sectors. The increased use of Ag-NPs-enhanced products may result in an increased level of toxicity affecting both the environment and living organisms. Several studies have used different model cell lines to exhibit the cytotoxicity of Ag-NPs, and their underlying molecular mechanisms. This review aimed to elucidate different properties of Ag-NPs that are responsible for the induction of cellular toxicity along with the critical mechanism of action and subsequent defense mechanisms observed . Our results show that the properties of Ag-NPs largely vary based on the diversified synthesis processes. The physiochemical properties of Ag-NPs (e.g., size, shape, concentration, agglomeration, or aggregation interaction with a biological system) can cause impairment of mitochondrial function prior to their penetration and accumulation in the mitochondrial membrane. Thus, Ag-NPs exhibit properties that play a central role in their use as biocides along with their applicability in environmental cleaning. We herein report a current review of the synthesis, applicability, and toxicity of Ag-NPs in relation to their detailed characteristics.
PubMed: 30046482
DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2017.10.008 -
Apoptosis : An International Journal on... Dec 2018Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process that plays an essential role in maintaining cellular homeostasis by degrading unneeded cell components. When... (Review)
Review
Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process that plays an essential role in maintaining cellular homeostasis by degrading unneeded cell components. When exposed to hostile environments, such as hypoxia or nutrient starvation, cells hyperactivate autophagy in an effort to maintain their longevity. In densely packed solid tumors, such as glioblastoma, autophagy has been found to run rampant due to a lack of oxygen and nutrients. In recent years, targeting autophagy as a way to strengthen current glioblastoma treatment has shown promising results. However, that protective autophagy inhibition or autophagy overactivation is more beneficial, is still being debated. Protective autophagy inhibition would lower a cell's previously activated defense mechanism, thereby increasing its sensitivity to treatment. Autophagy overactivation would cause cell death through lysosomal overactivation, thus introducing another cell death pathway in addition to apoptosis. Both methods have been proven effective in the treatment of solid tumors. This systematic review article highlights scenarios where both autophagy inhibition and activation have proven effective in combating chemoresistance and radioresistance in glioblastoma, and how autophagy may be best utilized for glioblastoma therapy in clinical settings.
Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Autophagosomes; Autophagy; Brain Neoplasms; Cell Death; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Glioblastoma; Humans; Radiation-Sensitizing Agents; Temozolomide
PubMed: 30171377
DOI: 10.1007/s10495-018-1480-9 -
Journal of Psychosomatic Research Dec 2018The importance of defense mechanisms in cancer progression and adaptation have been largely observed. However, few studies referred to the generally accepted...
The importance of defense mechanisms in cancer progression and adaptation have been largely observed. However, few studies referred to the generally accepted hierarchical organization of defenses and used validated measurements for defensive assessment. In this systematic review, we investigated the whole hierarchy of defense mechanisms and how they associate with various psychological aspects in cancer patients. A literature search was conducted using electronic databases. Among 1570 records published from 1990 to date, only 15 articles met inclusion criteria. Findings related to cancer patients' defensive functioning and its relations with other physical and psychological variables were extracted. A general consistency emerges on the role of defense mechanisms in cancer progression and recovery. Following the hierarchical organization of defenses, higher physical and emotional functioning emerged as being associated with High-adaptive defenses, while Mental Inhibition defenses, in particular repression, promote psychosomatic symptoms, passive decisional preferences and worse physical and emotional health. Disavowal defenses foster lower anxiety and higher emotional functioning by denying anxiety about death. Image distortion defenses, including both Minor and Major image-distorting defenses, were more frequent in cancer patients than in control groups and finally, Action defenses predicted sleep disturbance and lower survival probability. The early detection of maladaptive defensive functioning may foster appropriate psychotherapeutic intervention and prevent worsening of the illness. Further investigations are required to replicate these findings and highlight associations between defense mechanisms and various aspects of mental functioning in cancer patients.
Topics: Adult; Defense Mechanisms; Female; Humans; Male; Neoplasms
PubMed: 30470322
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.10.016 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2023A number of mosquito-borne viruses (MBVs), such as dengue virus (DENV), zika virus (ZIKV), chikungunya (CHIKV), West Nile virus (WNV), and yellow fever virus (YFV) exert... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
A number of mosquito-borne viruses (MBVs), such as dengue virus (DENV), zika virus (ZIKV), chikungunya (CHIKV), West Nile virus (WNV), and yellow fever virus (YFV) exert adverse health impacts on the global population. and are the prime vectors responsible for the transmission of these viruses. The viruses have acquired a number of routes for successful transmission, including horizontal and vertical transmission. Transovarial transmission is a subset/type of vertical transmission adopted by mosquitoes for the transmission of viruses from females to their offspring through eggs/ovaries. It provides a mechanism for these MBVs to persist and maintain their lineage during adverse climatic conditions of extremely hot and cold temperatures, during the dry season, or in the absence of susceptible vertebrate host when horizontal transmission is not possible.
METHODS
The publications discussed in this systematic review were searched for using the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, and websites such as those of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, using the search terms "transovarial transmission" and "mosquito-borne viruses" from 16 May 2023 to 20 September 2023.
RESULTS
A total of 2,391 articles were searched, of which 123 were chosen for full text evaluation, and 60 were then included in the study after screening and removing duplicates.
CONCLUSION
The present systematic review focuses on understanding the above diseases, their pathogenesis, epidemiology and host-parasite interactions. The factors affecting transovarial transmission, potential implications, mosquito antiviral defense mechanism, and the control strategies for these mosquito-borne viral diseases (MBVDs) are also be included in this review.
Topics: Animals; Female; Humans; Aedes; Mosquito Vectors; Mosquito-Borne Diseases
PubMed: 38235494
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1304938 -
PloS One 2016In nature, shooting mechanisms are used for a variety of purposes, including prey capture, defense, and reproduction. This review offers insight into the working... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
In nature, shooting mechanisms are used for a variety of purposes, including prey capture, defense, and reproduction. This review offers insight into the working principles of shooting mechanisms in fungi, plants, and animals in the light of the specific functional demands that these mechanisms fulfill.
METHODS
We systematically searched the literature using Scopus and Web of Knowledge to retrieve articles about solid projectiles that either are produced in the body of the organism or belong to the body and undergo a ballistic phase. The shooting mechanisms were categorized based on the energy management prior to and during shooting.
RESULTS
Shooting mechanisms were identified with projectile masses ranging from 1·10-9 mg in spores of the fungal phyla Ascomycota and Zygomycota to approximately 10,300 mg for the ballistic tongue of the toad Bufo alvarius. The energy for shooting is generated through osmosis in fungi, plants, and animals or muscle contraction in animals. Osmosis can be induced by water condensation on the system (in fungi), or water absorption in the system (reaching critical pressures up to 15.4 atmospheres; observed in fungi, plants, and animals), or water evaporation from the system (reaching up to -197 atmospheres; observed in plants and fungi). The generated energy is stored as elastic (potential) energy in cell walls in fungi and plants and in elastic structures in animals, with two exceptions: (1) in the momentum catapult of Basidiomycota the energy is stored in a stalk (hilum) by compression of the spore and droplets and (2) in Sphagnum energy is mainly stored in compressed air. Finally, the stored energy is transformed into kinetic energy of the projectile using a catapult mechanism delivering up to 4,137 J/kg in the osmotic shooting mechanism in cnidarians and 1,269 J/kg in the muscle-powered appendage strike of the mantis shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus. The launch accelerations range from 6.6g in the frog Rana pipiens to 5,413,000g in cnidarians, the launch velocities from 0.1 m/s in the fungal phylum Basidiomycota to 237 m/s in the mulberry Morus alba, and the launch distances from a few thousands of a millimeter in Basidiomycota to 60 m in the rainforest tree Tetraberlinia moreliana. The mass-specific power outputs range from 0.28 W/kg in the water evaporation mechanism in Basidiomycota to 1.97·109 W/kg in cnidarians using water absorption as energy source.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The magnitude of accelerations involved in shooting is generally scale-dependent with the smaller the systems, discharging the microscale projectiles, generating the highest accelerations. The mass-specific power output is also scale dependent, with smaller mechanisms being able to release the energy for shooting faster than larger mechanisms, whereas the mass-specific work delivered by the shooting mechanism is mostly independent of the scale of the shooting mechanism. Higher mass-specific work-values are observed in osmosis-powered shooting mechanisms (≤ 4,137 J/kg) when compared to muscle-powered mechanisms (≤ 1,269 J/kg). The achieved launch parameters acceleration, velocity, and distance, as well as the associated delivered power output and work, thus depend on the working principle and scale of the shooting mechanism.
Topics: Animals; Biophysical Phenomena; Energy Metabolism; Fungi; Plant Physiological Phenomena; Predatory Behavior
PubMed: 27454125
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158277 -
Body Image Sep 2023Mixed findings exist regarding whether athletes have different levels of body image concerns to non-athletes. Such body image concerns have not been reviewed recently,... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Mixed findings exist regarding whether athletes have different levels of body image concerns to non-athletes. Such body image concerns have not been reviewed recently, meaning that new findings need to be incorporated into our understanding of the adult sporting population. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed first to characterise body image in adult athletes versus non-athletes, and second to explore whether specific sub-groups of athletes report different body image concerns. Impact of gender and competition level were considered. A systematic search identified 21 relevant papers, mostly rated moderate quality. Following a narrative review, a meta-analysis was conducted to quantify the outcomes. While the narrative synthesis indicated possible differences between types of sport, the meta-analysis demonstrated that athletes in general reported lower body image concerns than non-athletes. In general, athletes had a better body image than non-athletes, with no reliable differences between different type of sport. A combination of prevention and intervention strategies might assist athletes in focusing on the benefits to their body image without encouraging restriction/compensation or overeating. Future research should define comparison groups clearly, along with attending to training background/intensity, external pressures, gender and gender identity.
Topics: Adult; Female; Humans; Male; Body Image; Gender Identity; Sports; Athletes
PubMed: 37172557
DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.04.007 -
The Journal of the American Academy of... 2014This article describes a systematic review of prevalence studies on frotteurism. We searched the following databases for previously published, peer-reviewed studies that... (Review)
Review
This article describes a systematic review of prevalence studies on frotteurism. We searched the following databases for previously published, peer-reviewed studies that used suitable diagnostic methods in adult nonclinical samples: Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Pubmed, AccessMedicine, Cochrane Library, Books@Ovid, DynaMed, Micromedex, Science Direct, and SciVerse Scopus. We conducted multiple searches using the following terms: frotteu*, frottage, frotteurism, paraphilia, paraphilic, courtship disorder, prevalence, treatment, diagnosis, and chikan, and we evaluated the articles by using a six-point epidemiologic quality tool. We identified four prevalence studies, all of which were of limited methodological quality. Limitations included small sample sizes, the use of local rather than national samples, the failure to apply DSM or ICD-9 diagnostic criteria, and the lack of assessment regarding the reliability of diagnostic tools. One small study, a statistical outlier, reported a prevalence of 35 percent. In the three other studies, the prevalence of frotteurism was 7.9 percent, 9.1 percent, and 9.7 percent. We found no studies addressing treatment that met our inclusion criteria. Our findings reveal a need to develop more rigorous research on this topic.
Topics: Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Fantasy; Humans; Male; Paraphilic Disorders; Sexual Behavior; Surveys and Questionnaires; Touch
PubMed: 25492074
DOI: No ID Found -
The International Journal of Eating... May 2021The experience of sexual harassment (SH) may exacerbate the drive toward an ideal and often unattainable physical appearance, creating the foundation of unhealthy... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
OBJECTIVE
The experience of sexual harassment (SH) may exacerbate the drive toward an ideal and often unattainable physical appearance, creating the foundation of unhealthy eating, and greater shape and weight concerns. This systematic review aimed to synthesize evidence on the relationship between SH and eating disorder psychopathology, as well as mediating and moderating factors that contribute to this relationship.
METHOD
Six key databases were searched from inception to August 2020; including CINAHL, PsycInfo, PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science.
RESULTS
Overall, 15 studies meeting inclusion criteria were found, with 14 reporting a statistically significant relationship between SH and eating disorder psychopathology. A meta-analysis with 12 cross-sectional studies confirmed a small but significant effect for this concurrent association. Moderators of this relationship included gender, posttraumatic stress, and anxiety. No studies in this review conducted true mediation.
DISCUSSION
Conclusions about causal and mediating relationship between SH and eating disorder psychopathology are constrained by the preponderance of cross-sectional design (14 of the 15 studies). Therefore, it is recommended that future studies focus on the use of longitudinal design, and also on adolescent populations, where first experiences of SH are usually reported, and which is also the peak age of onset for eating disorders.
Topics: Adolescent; Cross-Sectional Studies; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Gender Identity; Humans; Psychopathology; Sexual Harassment
PubMed: 33751633
DOI: 10.1002/eat.23499