“I´ve done my best to forget this time“ : young men and dysphoria in elementary school

Markmið verkefnisins er að rannsaka reynslu ungra karlmanna sem upplifðu vanlíðan á grunnskólagöngu sinni og leita svara við því með hvaða hætti þeir nýttu sér tiltæk bjargráð. Jafnframt er leitast við að varpa á það ljósi á hvern hátt líðanin hafi mótað sjálfsmynd þeirra. Megintilgangurinn er að upplýsa um og öðlast dýpri skilning á líðan ungu karlmannanna og þekkingu á orsökum, einkennum og helstu afleiðingum vanlíðanar grunnskóladrengja. Tekin voru viðtöl við sex unga karlmenn á aldrinum 18-25 ára sem allir áttu það sammerkt að hafa upplifað vanlíðan á grunnskólagöngu sinni. Þátttakendur voru valdir með snjóboltaúrtaki þar sem fyrsti viðmælandinn varðaði veg rannsakanda að þeim næsta. Helstu niðurstöður rannsóknarinnar sýna að ólíkar ástæður bjuggu að baki vanlíðan og erfiðleikum á grunnskólagöngu þátttakenda. Alvarlegustu afleiðingar þessa má ætla að hafi verið brotthvarf þeirra úr framhaldsskóla sem og langvarandi andleg veikindi með tilheyrandi tækifæramissi sem telja má að slíku fylgi. Bjöguð sjálfsmynd virtist öðru fremur hafa einkennt andlegt ástand þátttakenda og reyndust unglingsárin þeim erfiðust þegar ótti við gagnrýni var hvað mestur. Bjargir skólans og stuðningur foreldra voru yfirleitt til þess fallin að hafa uppbyggileg og styrkjandi áhrif á sjálfsmynd og þroskaframvindu þátttakenda. Engu að síður kom fram gagnrýni þátttakenda á vægar námskröfur, einkum á vettvangi sérkennslu, sem og lítið samráð við ákvarðanatöku af hálfu skólayfirvalda vegna málefna þeirra. Persónuleg viðbrögð og leiðir ungu karlmannanna voru síður uppbyggileg og einkenndust á yngri árum af óhóflegri tölvunotkun og síðar af skaðlegum hugsunum, niðurrífandi tilfinningum og áhættuhegðun. Rannsókninni er ekki síst ætlað að stuðla að yfirgripsmeiri þekkingu á líðan drengja á vettvangi grunnskólans með von um að niðurstöðurnar komi að gagni þegar unnið er að því að koma til móts við börn sem upplifa vanlíðan í grunnskóla. Verkefnið má telja mikilvæga viðbót við rannsóknir á sviði uppeldis- og menntamála með það meginmarkmið að varpa ljósi á upplifun drengja af grunnskólagöngu sinni en einn mikilvægasti þráðurinn eru raddir þeirra drengja sem mynda viðmælendahópinn.The objective of this thesis is to study the experiences of young men who felt dysphoric in elementary school and how they utilised available resources. Moreover, the goal is to shed light on how the dysphoria shaped their self-image. The main purpose is to gain a deeper understanding of the men’s feelings and to understand the causes, symptoms and primary consequences of dysphoria while attending elementary school. Six men, aged 18-25, who at some point felt dysphoric during elementary school, were interviewed. In this qualitative study, participants were chosen through a process where the first interviewee lead the researcher to the second, and so on. The study shows that the causes of dysphoria for boys in elementary school differ. The most serious ramifications of dysphoria are dropping out from college, prolonged loss of psychological well-being and the lost opportunities that result from this. A weak self-image is characteristic of the participants and adolescence proved to be a tough time, when the fear of criticism is at its highest. Support from parents and the school usually had a consolidating effect on the self-image and development of the participants. However, low academic expectations of students with special needs and lack of consultation with the young men in all decision-making are major criticisms. The young men’s personal reactions were less than wholesome; characterised by excessive use of computers, leading to harmful thoughts and feelings and risky behaviour. The study aims to improve the knowledge of boys who felt dysphoric in elementary school and will hopefully prove an asset for other children who feel dysphoric in elementary school. Importantly, this study highlights the voices of the participants, which may be considered an important addition to current research concerning upbringing and the educational experiences of young males in elementary school

Exploring the potential of icelandic seaweeds extracts produced by aqueous pulsed electric fields-assisted extraction for cosmetic applications

Funding Information: The project was partly supported by the Science and technology assistance project of Xinjiang (No. 2014AB033), the science and technology plan project Technology Research Development plan project of Shaanxi Province, China (No. 2014K01-17-07). Science and Technology Major Project of Xianyang city (No. 2014k01-15), Shaanxi Province, China. Funding Information: The project was partly supported by the Science and technology assistance project of Xinjiang (No. 2014AB033), the science and technology plan project of Xi’an city (No. NC1317 (1)), the Science and Technology Research Development plan project of Shaanxi Province, China (No. 2014K01-17-07). Science and Technology Major Project of Xianyang city (No. 2014k01-15), Shaanxi Province, China. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.A growing concern for overall health is driving a global market of natural ingredients not only in the food industry but also in the cosmetic field. In this study, a screening on potential cosmetic applications of aqueous extracts from three Icelandic seaweeds produced by pulsed electric fields (PEF) was performed. Produced extracts by PEF from Ulva lactuca, Alaria esculenta and Palmaria palmata were compared with the traditional hot water extraction in terms of polyphenol, flavonoid and carbohydrate content. Moreover, antioxidant properties and enzymatic inhibitory activities were evaluated by using in vitro assays. PEF exhibited similar results to the traditional method, showing several advantages such as its non-thermal nature and shorter extraction time. Amongst the three Icelandic species, Alaria esculenta showed the highest content of phenolic (mean value 8869.7 µg GAE/g dw) and flavonoid (mean value 12,098.7 µg QE/g dw) compounds, also exhibiting the highest antioxidant capacities. Moreover, Alaria esculenta extracts exhibited excellent anti-enzymatic activities (76.9, 72.8, 93.0 and 100% for collagenase, elastase, tyrosinase and hyaluronidase, respectively) for their use in skin whitening and anti-aging products. Thus, our preliminary study suggests that Icelandic Alaria esculenta-based extracts produced by PEF could be used as potential ingredients for natural cosmetic and cosmeceutical formulations.Peer reviewe