La discriminación, el estrés laboral y el bienestar psicológico en personas trabajadoras LGTBI en España

Discrimination and prejudice against LGBTI people in Spain are much lower than they used to be; however, negative attitudes towards them may still persist. The purpose of this study was to analyze whether LGBTI individuals perceive the existence of prejudice or discrimination due to their sexual orientation in the workplace. To assess these perceptions in relative terms, we compared them with those of heterosexual individuals. We also analyzed whether perceived discrimination was associated with work stress, the presence of common mental disorders, and depression. Results revealed that LGBTI employees reported experiencing greater discrimination in the workplace because of their sexual orientation, which in turn led to a greater incidence of work stress, mental disorders, and depression. Our findings confirm that job discrimination against LGBTI people is still present, along with some of its harmful consequences, and highlight the need for interventions to reduce prejudice against LGBTI persons in the workplace.A pesar de que la discriminación y el prejuicio hacia el colectivo LGTBI en España hayan disminuido, es posible que aún pervivan actitudes negativas hacia estas personas. En la presente investigación analizamos si las personas LGTBI perciben la existencia de prejuicio o discriminación hacia ellas en el ámbito laboral debido a su orientación sexual. Para analizar en términos relativos dichas percepciones, las comparamos con las que tienen las personas de orientación heterosexual. Después se examinó si la percepción de discriminación está relacionada con el estrés laboral, la presencia de trastornos mentales y la depresión. Los resultados mostraron que las personas LGTBI experimentaban mayor discriminación en su trabajo en virtud de su orientación sexual, produciéndoles mayor estrés laboral, trastornos mentales y depresión. Estos resultados confirman la pervivencia de discriminación hacia las personas LGTBI en el ámbito laboral y algunas de sus perniciosas consecuencias y muestran la necesidad de intervenciones para la reducción del prejuicio hacia los trabajadores LGTBI

A Shot in the Dark: Failing to Recognize the Link Between Physical and Mental Illness

A 74-year-old widowed white man with chronic rheumatoid arthritis presented with nausea and weight loss. He was diagnosed with failure to thrive and admitted for hydration. Misoprostol was determined to be the etiology of his symptoms and he was discharged home. Three days later, he killed himself with a gunshot to the head. Clinicians often fail to recognize those at high risk for suicide. Suicidal risk is increased in both psychiatric and physical illness, and particularly when both are present. Psychiatric illness, particularly depression, often underlies chronic medical illness. The purpose of this case report is to remind health care providers of the strong association between depression and chronic medical illness, and to consider this in all patients, including those who present solely with physical symptoms. Recognizing this association and screening for it, as recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, may prevent the unnecessary tragedy of suicide

Biomimetic adhesive containing nanocomposite hydrogel with enhanced materials properties

Chemically crosslinked polyacrylamide (PAAm) nanocomposite hydrogels were prepared with inorganic nano-silicate, Laponite, and dopamine methacrylamide (DMA). DMA consists of a biomimetic adhesive side chain covalently linked to a polymerizable methacrylate monomer. Copolymerizing DMA into a PAAm hydrogel strongly enhanced the interfacial interaction between the polymer network and Laponite. Nanocomposite hydrogels demonstrated reduced water content and increased materials properties that were dependent on both the Laponite and DMA contents. While increasing Laponite content alone improved materials properties moderately, these improvements were drastically enhanced when DMA is incorporated as measured by both unconfined compression testing and oscillatory rheometry. DMA-containing nanocomposite hydrogels demonstrated increased stiffness as well as excellent energy dissipation capability. Nanocomposite hydrogels with relatively low DMA and Laponite contents (2 to 3 wt% for each) demonstrated maximum compressive stress, elastic modulus, toughness, and storage and loss moduli values that were over an order of magnitude higher than control gels. DMA-containing nanocomposite hydrogels also demonstrated improved fracture resistance to compressive loading, capable of repeated compressed to 80% strain without rest for over 10 times while exhibiting compressive stress of over 1.1 MPa. The catechol side chain of DMA likely formed strong physical bonds with Laponite, which can dissipate fracture energy while minimizing permanent damage to the network architecture

S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) derivatization of peptide primary amines to create inducible nitric oxide donor biomaterials

An S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) derivatization approach was used to modify existing free primary amines found in fibrin (a natural protein-based biomaterial) to generate a controlled nitric oxide (NO) releasing scaffold material. The duration of the derivatization reaction affects the NO release kinetics, the induction of controlled NO-release, hydrophobicity, swelling behavior, elastic moduli, rheometric character, and degradation behavior. These properties were quantified to determine changes in fibrin hydrogels following covalent attachment of SNAP. NO-releasing materials exhibited minimal cytotoxicity when cultured with fibroblasts or osteoblasts. Cells maintained viability and proliferative character on derivatized materials as demonstrated by Live/Dead cell staining and counting. In addition, SNAP-derivatized hydrogels exhibited an antimicrobial character indicative of NO-releasing materials. SNAP derivatization of natural polymeric biomaterials containing free primary amines offers a means to generate inducible NO-releasing biomaterials for use as an antimicrobial and regenerative support for tissue engineering