Between Life and Death: Reimagining Black Reproductive Healthcare

The state of Black reproductive health is in crisis with mortality rates of birthing people in the U.S. being the worst in the developed world. What compounds this issue is historical and cultural evidence of unethical and inhumane treatment of Black people – Black birthing people in particular – by the U.S. healthcare system primarily due to racism and sexism. Those who do not identify with the binary and heteronormative structures of our healthcare system are at further risk of discrimination and health disparities. Due to social and cultural ideals, stigma, and other structural forces, Black, Black birthing and Black LGBTQIA+ individuals have been left to endure various forms of violence that impact their lives. Research on the relationship and intersection of these populations, their reproductive rights, and the U.S. healthcare system is lacking. The research that is available gives promising suggestions on how to rectify these issues, but within a system that reinforces racism, sexism, and other discriminatory tactics with little to no alternatives. This study will examine those relationships and highlight how the U.S. healthcare system’s discriminatory foundation historically contributed and continues to contribute to the healthcare crisis impacting Black people. It will also discuss what safe and competent care would and should look like for these populations

The influence of exercise environment and gender on mood and exertion

This study examined the influence of exercise environment and gender on post-exercise mood and exertion. College student participants (55 females, 49 males) were instructed to pedal a stationary bike at a moderate pace for 20 minutes. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three laboratory conditions: (1) exercising in front of a mirror and posters showing ideal fit body types (i.e., celebrity male and female personal trainers), (2) exercising in front of a mirror only, or (3) a control condition in which participants exercised without a mirror or posters. The Activation- Deactivation Adjective Check List (AD-ACL), measuring exercise-induced mood states, was administered both before and after exercise. Average bike speed throughout the exercise session measured exertion. Mirrors and posters of ideally fit celebrities did interact with gender on postexercise tension in that women felt most tense after exercising in front of the mirror and posters while men were most tense after exercising in front of the mirror only. Exercise exertion was also impacted by experimental condition such that participants rode significantly faster in the mirror and posters condition. There was no significant interaction of gender and condition on exercise exertion, but women pedaled fastest in the mirror and poster condition relative to the other conditions. Results suggest that exercise exertion and tension reduction are partially a by-product of gender and exercise environment

The Influence of Exercise Environment and Gender on Mood and Exertion

International Journal of Exercise Science 7(3) : 220-227, 2014. This study examined the influence of exercise environment and gender on post-exercise mood and exertion. College student participants (55 females, 49 males) were instructed to pedal a stationary bike at a moderate pace for 20 minutes. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three laboratory conditions: (1) exercising in front of a mirror and posters showing ideal fit body types (i.e., celebrity male and female personal trainers), (2) exercising in front of a mirror only, or (3) a control condition in which participants exercised without a mirror or posters. The Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List (AD-ACL), measuring exercise-induced mood states, was administered both before and after exercise. Average bike speed throughout the exercise session measured exertion. Mirrors and posters of ideally fit celebrities did interact with gender on post-exercise tension in that women felt most tense after exercising in front of the mirror and posters while men were most tense after exercising in front of the mirror only. Exercise exertion was also impacted by experimental condition such that participants rode significantly faster in the mirror and posters condition. There was no significant interaction of gender and condition on exercise exertion, but women pedaled fastest in the mirror and poster condition relative to the other conditions. Results suggest that exercise exertion and tension reduction are partially a by-product of gender and exercise environment

Evaluating the Effects of a Tobacco-Free Workplace Program on Provider Beliefs about Guest/Client Tobacco Use and Self-Efficacy to Intervene at Texas Homeless-Serving Agencies during COVID-19

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp23/1051/thumbnail.jp

Enhancing Policy Effectiveness: Examining the Rollout of a Comprehensive Tobacco-Free Workplace Policy within Homeless-Serving Agencies and the Impact of Education Receipt

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp23/1002/thumbnail.jp

Diminution of Heart Rate Variability in Bipolar Depression

Autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation in depression is associated with symptoms associated with the ANS. The beat-to-beat pattern of heart rate defined as heart rate variability (HRV) provides a noninvasive portal to ANS function and has been proposed to represent a means of quantifying resting vagal tone. We quantified HRV in bipolar depressed (BDD) patients as a measure of ANS dysregulation seeking to establish HRV as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for treatment outcome. Forty-seven BDD patients were enrolled. They were randomized to receive either escitalopram–celecoxib or escitalopram-placebo over 8 weeks in a double-blind study design. Thirty-five patients completed the HRV studies. Thirty-six healthy subjects served as controls. HRV was assessed at pretreatment and end of study and compared with that of controls. HRV was quantified and corrected for artifacts using an algorithm that incorporates time and frequency domains to address non-stationarity of the beat-to-beat heart rate pattern. Baseline high frequency-HRV (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia) was lower in BDD patients than controls, although the difference did not reach significance. Baseline low-frequency HRV was significantly lower in BDD patients (ln4.20) than controls (ln = 5.50) (p < 0.01). Baseline heart period was significantly shorter (i.e., faster heart rate) in BDD patients than controls. No significant change in HRV parameters were detected over the course of the study with either treatment. These findings suggest that components of HRV may be diminished in BDD patients