Goodecampbell3707
We are witnessing renewed debates regarding definitions and boundaries of human gender/sex, where lines of genetics, gonadal hormones, and secondary sex characteristics are drawn to defend strict binary categorizations, with attendant implications for the acceptability and limits of gender identity and diversity.
Many argue for the need to recognize the entanglement of gender/sex in humans and the myriad ways that gender experience becomes biology; translating this theory into practice in human biology research is essential. Biological anthropology is well poised to contribute to these societal conversations and debates. To do this effectively, a reconsideration of our own conceptions of gender/sex, gender identity, and sexuality is necessary.
In this article, we discuss biological variation associated with gender/sex and propose ways forward to ensure we are engaging with gender/sex diversity. We base our analysis in the concept of "biological normalcy," which allows consideration of the relationships r in human biology, that novel ideas and applications will emerge from within our own discipline.Parents of children with undiagnosed conditions struggle to obtain information about how to treat and support their children. It can be particularly challenging to find communities and other parents who share their experiences and can provide emotional and informational support. This study sought to characterize how parents use social media, both throughout the diagnostic odyssey and post-diagnosis, to meet their informational, social, and emotional support needs. We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with 14 parents from the Stanford site of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN), including five whose children had received a diagnosis through study participation. Interview recordings were analyzed using inductive, team-based coding and thematic analysis based in grounded theory using Dedoose qualitative analysis software. Through this process, we identified four key themes related to social media use. First, parents struggled to find the "right" community, often seeking out groups of similar patients based on symptoms or similar conditions. Second, though they found much valuable information through social media about caring for their child, they also struggled to interpret the relevance of the information to their own child's condition. Third, the social support and access to other patients' and families' lived experiences were described as both highly valued and emotionally challenging, particularly in the case of poor outcomes for similar families. Finally, parents expressed the need to balance concerns about their child's privacy with the value of transparency and data sharing for diagnosis. Our results suggest that the needs and experiences of undiagnosed patients and families differ from those with diagnosed diseases and highlight the need for support in best utilizing social media resources at different stages of the diagnostic odyssey.
There is very little research on the cognitive profile of young children with Williams syndrome (WS).
The present study utilised the Differential Ability Scales - Second Edition to examine the early cognitive abilities of 22 young children with WS (aged 3.98 to 7.70years, 10 male and 12 female participants).
Overall, IQ ranged from 38 (severely impaired) to 81.00 (low average). Consistent with Mervis et al. who looked at an older sample, over half (59.08%) of our young WS sample showed a significant and abnormal weakness in spatial ability relative to verbal ability. Moreover, 81.82% showed a significant and clinically unusual weakness in spatial ability relative to nonverbal reasoning ability. At the subtest level, only 4.55% of our sample showed a significant strength in naming vocabulary compared with verbal comprehension, while 13.64% showed a significant weakness in naming vocabulary relative to verbal comprehension.
The results of the present study show cognitive heterogeneity, consistent with the literature on older children and adults with WS. There were variable levels of intellect and variable patterns of cognitive strength and weakness across both index and subtest scores. Findings highlight the need for individual assessment and management of young children with WS but also indicate that for the majority of WS individuals spatial skills are indeed an area of significant and abnormal weakness and should be a focus for early intervention.
The results of the present study show cognitive heterogeneity, consistent with the literature on older children and adults with WS. There were variable levels of intellect and variable patterns of cognitive strength and weakness across both index and subtest scores. Findings highlight the need for individual assessment and management of young children with WS but also indicate that for the majority of WS individuals spatial skills are indeed an area of significant and abnormal weakness and should be a focus for early intervention.Xanthan gum (XG) and locust bean gum (LBG) are nontoxic polysaccharides that produce culture substrates. The present study examined the effect of XG-LBG gel on in vitro bovine oocyte growth and gene expression in granulosa cells. Oocytes and granulosa cell complexes (OGCs) were cultured in vitro on plastic culture plate (Plate) or XG-LBG gel for 16 days. OGCs formed a dome-like cavity surrounding the oocytes on plate but formed a spherical follicle structure on XG-LBG gel. The total granulosa cell numbers of the OGCs and their survival rate was greater for OGCs cultured on XG-LBG gel than for those cultured on plate. Oocytes grown on XG-LBG gels had higher lipid and mitochondrial content, as well as a larger diameter, than their plate counterparts. When oocytes grown in vitro were subjected to in vitro maturation and fertilization, the normal fertilization rate was significantly higher for oocytes developed on XG-LBG gel than that of oocytes cultured on the plate counterpart. read more RNAseq of the granulosa cells revealed that genes associated with focal adhesion, phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase-Akt and Hippo signaling, and regulation of actin cytoskeleton were upregulated in granulosa cells of OGCs cultured on XG-LBG gel compared with those cultured on plate.In many low- and middle-income countries, geographical accessibility continues to be a barrier to health care utilization. In this paper, we aim to better understand the full relationship between distance to providers and utilization of maternal delivery services. We address three methodological challenges non-linear effects between distance and utilization; unobserved heterogeneity through non-random distance "assignment"; and heterogeneous effects of distance. Linking Malawi Demographic Health Survey household data to Service Provision Assessment facility data, we consider distance as a continuous treatment variable, estimating a Dose-Response Function based on generalized propensity scores, allowing exploration of non-linearities in the effect of an increment in distance at different distance exposures. Using an instrumental variables approach, we examine the potential for unobserved differences between women residing at different distances to health facilities. Our results suggest distance significantly reduces the probability of having a facility delivery, with evidence of non-linearities in the effect. The negative relationship is shown to be particularly strong for women with poor health knowledge and lower socio-economic status, with important implications for equity. We also find evidence of potential unobserved confounding, suggesting that methods that ignore such confounding may underestimate the effect of distance on the utilization of health services.
To report patient and family intensive care experiences using the Measuring the Intensive Care Experience (MICE) tool across two intensive care units (ICU).
The patient and family experience of care is an important indicator for quality improvement of ICUs, yet few studies evaluate both patient and family experiences in relation to overall care quality as well as specifically measuring quality of medical care, nursing care and organisational care as well as overall experience of the quality of intensive care.
A cross-sectional survey.
A 23 item survey was administered to ICU patients and their family members across two ICUs, a regional 189-bed hospital and a metropolitan 227-bed hospital in Queensland, Australia. The response rate was 272 of 394 ICU patients (36.4%). STROBE guidelines were used in reporting this study.
Findings indicate a highly positive overall experience of ICU care among patients and families. However, patients reported areas of unmet needs following their stay in ICU broadly related to (1) symptom management, education and information support, and (2) improving the incorporation of patient and family care ICU-related shared decision-making.
Supportive interventions are needed that target improve symptom management and inform and education ICU patients.
The MICE survey facilitated the identification of a range of areas requiring quality improvement. Improving the integration of patients and families into shared decision-making and support is a key aspect for quality improvement.
The MICE survey facilitated the identification of a range of areas requiring quality improvement. Improving the integration of patients and families into shared decision-making and support is a key aspect for quality improvement.
Sulfur mustard is a blister agent prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the detection of its hydrolysis product, thiodiglycol (TDG), is an important indicator of blister agent contamination. Due to the poor volatility and low extraction efficiency of TDG, derivatization gas chromatography or liquid chromatography is required for conventional methods, and the detection process is cumbersome and time-consuming.
A microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) device and a nano-electrospray ionization (nano-ESI) device were used. The central composite design (CCD) model of Response Surface Methodology was used to optimize the elution procedure; the variance analysis under equal repeated trials with multiple factors was used to quantitatively analyze the significance of the impact of related factors on the nano-ESI efficiency. The MEPS-nano-ESI-MS experimental conditions were optimized.
A new detection method of sulfur mustard hydrolysis products in water based on MEPS-nano-ESI-MS was established; the detection limit was 1ng/mL and was linear between 5ng/mL and 100 ng/mL (R
= 0.9911) with a precision of ≤7.2%, and the recovery rate was 107.89% when the sample concentration was 40 ng/mL.
The experimental results showed that the proposed method could quickly detect the contaminated water samples without chromatographic separation and derivatization, thereby verifying the contamination of sulfur mustard on site.
The experimental results showed that the proposed method could quickly detect the contaminated water samples without chromatographic separation and derivatization, thereby verifying the contamination of sulfur mustard on site.
The treatment of ameloblastoma, an odontogenic epithelial tumour destroying jawbone, mainly depends on radical destructive resections. Other therapeutic options are limited by the characteristics of ameloblastoma, such as high recurrence rates and resistance to radiation and chemotherapy, which implies possible existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in ameloblastoma. Here, we identified a putative CSC population in immortalized and primary human ameloblastoma cells and examined possible therapeutic reagents to reduce the CSC population.
We investigated subpopulations of AM-1 cell line and human ameloblastoma cells using immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry and the effects of Wnt signalling activators on the 2- and 3-dimensional cultured ameloblastoma cells using molecular biological analyses.
Among heterogenous ameloblastoma cells, small-sized and round-shaped cells were found to be proliferative and expressed a marker of dental epithelial stem cells, SRY-box 2 (Sox2). Exogenous activation of Wnt signalling using glycogen synthase kinase 3β inhibitors, lithium chloride (LiCl) and valproic acid (VPA), increased the cell size and decreased proliferation of cells and expression of Sox2 in 2 dimensionally cultured AM-1 and human primary ameloblastoma cells.
