A cross-sectional study on attitudes toward gender equality, sexual behavior, positive sexual experiences, and communication about sex among sexually active and non-sexually active adolescents in Bolivia and Ecuador

Background: It is widely agreed upon that gender is a key aspect of sexuality however, questions remain on how gender exactly influences adolescents’ sexual health. Objective: The aim of this research was to study correlations between gender equality attitudes and sexual behavior, sexual experiences and communication about sex among sexually active and non-sexually active adolescents in 2 Latin American countries. Design: In 2011, a cross-sectional study was carried out among 5,913 adolescents aged 14–18 in 20 secondary schools in Cochabamba (Bolivia) and 6 secondary schools in Cuenca (Ecuador). Models were built using logistic regressions to assess the predictive value of attitudes toward gender equality on adolescents’ sexual behavior, on experiences and on communication. Results: The analysis shows that sexually active adolescents who consider gender equality as important report higher current use of contraceptives within the couple. They are more likely to describe their last sexual intercourse as a positive experience and consider it easier to talk with their partner about sexuality than sexually experienced adolescents who are less positively inclined toward gender equality. These correlations remained consistent whether the respondent was a boy or a girl. Non-sexually active adolescents, who consider gender equality to be important, are more likely to think that sexual intercourse is a positive experience. They consider it less necessary to have sexual intercourse to maintain a relationship and find it easier to communicate with their girlfriend or boyfriend than sexually non-active adolescents who consider gender equality to be less important. Comparable results were found for boys and girls. Conclusions: Our results suggest that gender equality attitudes have a positive impact on adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and wellbeing. Further research is necessary to better understand the relationship between gender attitudes and specific SRH outcomes such as unwanted teenage pregnancies and sexual pleasure among adolescents worldwide

Psychological and physiological effects of compassionate mind training: A pilot randomised controlled study

The development of the compassionate self, associated with practices such as slow and deeper breathing, compassionate voice tones and facial expressions and compassionate focusing is central to Compassion Focused Therapy. This study explores the impact of a two-week Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) program on emotional, self-evaluative and psychopathology measures and on heart rate variability (HRV). Participants (general population and college students) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: CMT (n=56) and Wait-List Control (n=37). Participants in the CMTcondition were instructed to practice CMT exercises during two weeks. Self-report measures of compassion, positive affect, fears of compassion, self-criticism, shame, depression, anxiety and stress, and HRV were collected at pre and post intervention in both conditions. Compared to the control group, the experimental group showed significant increases in positive emotions, associated with feeling relaxed and also safe and content, but not activated; and in self-compassion, compassion for others and compassion from others. There were significant reductions in shame, self-criticism, fears of compassion, and stress. Only the experimental group reported significant improvement in HRV. Developing awareness of the evolved nature and inherent difficulties of our minds allied with practicing CMT exercises has beneficial effects on participants' psychological and physiological well-being.N/

What we talk about when we talk about "global mindset": managerial cognition in multinational corporations

Recent developments in the global economy and in multinational corporations have placed significant emphasis on the cognitive orientations of managers, giving rise to a number of concepts such as “global mindset” that are presumed to be associated with the effective management of multinational corporations (MNCs). This paper reviews the literature on global mindset and clarifies some of the conceptual confusion surrounding the construct. We identify common themes across writers, suggesting that the majority of studies fall into one of three research perspectives: cultural, strategic, and multidimensional. We also identify two constructs from the social sciences that underlie the perspectives found in the literature: cosmopolitanism and cognitive complexity and use these two constructs to develop an integrative theoretical framework of global mindset. We then provide a critical assessment of the field of global mindset and suggest directions for future theoretical and empirical research

Balancing repair and tolerance of DNA damage caused by alkylating agents

Alkylating agents constitute a major class of frontline chemotherapeutic drugs that inflict cytotoxic DNA damage as their main mode of action, in addition to collateral mutagenic damage. Numerous cellular pathways, including direct DNA damage reversal, base excision repair (BER) and mismatch repair (MMR), respond to alkylation damage to defend against alkylation-induced cell death or mutation. However, maintaining a proper balance of activity both within and between these pathways is crucial for a favourable response of an organism to alkylating agents. Furthermore, the response of an individual to alkylating agents can vary considerably from tissue to tissue and from person to person, pointing to genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that modulate alkylating agent toxicity

Exploring the Role of Explicit and Implicit Self-Esteem and Self-Compassion in Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology Following Acquired Brain Injury

[EN] Objectives Acquired brain injury (ABI) can lead to the emergence of several disabilities and is commonly associated with high rates of anxiety and depression symptoms. Self-related constructs, such as self-esteem and self-compassion, might play a key role in this distressing symptomatology. Low explicit (i.e., deliberate) self-esteem is associated with anxiety and depression after ABI. However, implicit (i.e., automatic) self-esteem, explicit-implicit self-discrepancies, and self-compassion could also significantly contribute to this symptomatology. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether implicit self-esteem, explicit-implicit self-discrepancy (size and direction), and self-compassion are related to anxious and depressive symptoms after ABI in adults, beyond the contribution of explicit self-esteem. Methods The sample consisted 38 individuals with ABI who were enrolled in a long-term rehabilitation program. All participants completed the measures of explicit self-esteem, implicit self-esteem, self-compassion, anxiety, and depression. Pearson's correlations and hierarchical regression models were calculated. Results Findings showed that both self-compassion and implicit self-esteem negatively accounted for unique variance in anxiety and depression when controlling for explicit self-esteem. Neither the size nor direction of explicit-implicit self-discrepancy was significantly associated with anxious or depressive symptomatology. Conclusions The findings suggest that the consideration of self-compassion and implicit self-esteem, in addition to explicit self-esteem, contributes to understanding anxiety and depression following ABI.Lorena Desdentado is supported by a FPU doctoral scholarship (FPU18/01690) from the Spanish Ministry of Universities. 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Immune-Mediated Change in the Expression of a Sexual Trait Predicts Offspring Survival in the Wild

BACKGROUND: The "good genes" theory of sexual selection postulates that females choose mates that will improve their offspring's fitness through the inheritance of paternal genes. In spite of the attention that this hypothesis has given rise to, the empirical evidence remains sparse, mostly because of the difficulties of controlling for the many environmental factors that may covary with both the paternal phenotype and offspring fitness. Here, we tested the hypothesis that offspring sired by males of a preferred phenotype should have better survival in an endangered bird, the houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata undulata). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We tested if natural and experimentally-induced variation in courtship display (following an inflammatory challenge) predicts the survival of offspring. Chicks were produced by artificial insemination of females, ensuring that any effect on survival could only arise from the transfer of paternal genes. One hundred and twenty offspring were equipped with radio transmitters, and their survival monitored in the wild for a year. This allowed assessment of the potential benefits of paternal genes in a natural setting, where birds experience the whole range of environmental hazards. Although natural variation in sire courtship display did not predict offspring survival, sires that withstood the inflammatory insult and maintained their courtship activity sired offspring with the best survival upon release. CONCLUSIONS: This finding is relevant both to enlighten the debate on "good genes" sexual selection and the management of supportive breeding programs

A computational analysis of the dynamic roles of talin, Dok1, and PIPKI for integrin activation

Integrin signaling regulates cell migration and plays a pivotal role in developmental processes and cancer metastasis. Integrin signaling has been studied extensively and much data is available on pathway components and interactions. Yet the data is fragmented and an integrated model is missing. We use a rule-based modeling approach to integrate available data and test biological hypotheses regarding the role of talin, Dok1 and PIPKI in integrin activation. The detailed biochemical characterization of integrin signaling provides us with measured values for most of the kinetics parameters. However, measurements are not fully accurate and the cellular concentrations of signaling proteins are largely unknown and expected to vary substantially across different cellular conditions. By sampling model behaviors over the physiologically realistic parameter range we find that the model exhibits only two different qualitative behaviours and these depend mainly on the relative protein concentrations, which offers a powerful point of control to the cell. Our study highlights the necessity to characterize model behavior not for a single parameter optimum, but to identify parameter sets that characterize different signaling modes

Self-compassion and bedtime procrastination: an emotion regulation perspective

The current study extended previous research on self-compassion and health behaviours by examining the associations of self-compassion to bedtime procrastination, an important sleep-related behaviour. We hypothesized that lower negative affect and adaptive emotion regulation would explain the proposed links between self-compassion and less bedtime procrastination. Two cross-sectional online studies were conducted. Study 1 included 134 healthy individuals from the community (mean age 30.22, 77.4% female). Study 2 included 646 individuals from the community (mean age 30.74, 68.9% female) who were screened for the absence of clinical insomnia. Participants in both studies completed measures of self-compassion, positive and negative affect and bedtime procrastination. Participants in study 2 also completed a measure of cognitive reappraisal. Multiple mediation analysis in study 1 revealed the expected indirect effects of self-compassion on less bedtime procrastination through lower negative affect [b = − .09, 95% CI = (− .20, − .02), but not higher positive affect. Path analysis in study 2 replicated these findings and further demonstrated that cognitive reappraisal explained the lower negative affect linked to self-compassion [b = − .011; 95% CI = (− .025; − .003)]. The direct effect of self-compassion on less bedtime procrastination remained significant. Our novel findings provide preliminary evidence that self-compassionate people are less likely to engage in bedtime procrastination, due in part to their use of healthy emotion regulation strategies that downregulate negative mood

Alveolar Epithelial Type II Cells Activate Alveolar Macrophages and Mitigate P. Aeruginosa Infection

Although alveolar epithelial type II cells (AECII) perform substantial roles in the maintenance of alveolar integrity, the extent of their contributions to immune defense is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that AECII activates alveolar macrophages (AM) functions, such as phagocytosis using a conditioned medium from AECII infected by P. aeruginosa. AECII-derived chemokine MCP-1, a monocyte chemoattractant protein, was identified as a main factor in enhancing AM function. We proposed that the enhanced immune potency of AECII may play a critical role in alleviation of bacterial propagation and pneumonia. The ability of phagocytosis and superoxide release by AM was reduced by MCP-1 neutralizing antibodies. Furthermore, MCP-1−/− mice showed an increased bacterial burden under PAO1 and PAK infection vs. wt littermates. AM from MCP-1−/− mice also demonstrated less superoxide and impaired phagocytosis over the controls. In addition, AECII conditioned medium increased the host defense of airway in MCP-1−/− mice through the activation of AM function. Mechanistically, we found that Lyn mediated NFκB activation led to increased gene expression and secretion of MCP-1. Consequently Lyn−/− mice had reduced MCP-1 secretion and resulted in a decrease in superoxide and phagocytosis by AM. Collectively, our data indicate that AECII may serve as an immune booster for fighting bacterial infections, particularly in severe immunocompromised conditions