Of Mice and (Wo)Men: Tampons, Menstruation, and Testing

Abstract Vostral provides much-needed insight into the link between women’s bodily experiences with tampons and twentieth-century developments in material science, corporate research, and gynecological observations about menstrual cycles. She examines how design modifications to tampons, changes in material composition, and the cultivation of women test subjects exposed scientific assumptions, ideas about safety, and attitudes concerning gendered and menstruating bodies. Focusing on the practical work of tampon testing, Vostral examines the impact of broad cultural conditions: prevailing ideas about women’s bodies, gender differences, and the role of science and medicine in optimizing well-being. Finally, she shows how patterns of social power and privilege configured this research, with evidence taking different forms over time.

Resilience

Genes, brain, and emotions ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198793014.003.0020 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 286-303 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rebecca Alexander ◽

Justine Megan Gatt

Keyword(s):

Well Being ◽

Neural Systems ◽

Dynamic Interactions ◽

Control Networks ◽

Effective Interventions ◽

Adaptive Recovery ◽

The Brain ◽

Insight Into ◽

Resilience refers to the process of adaptive recovery following adversity or trauma. It is likely to include an intertwined series of dynamic interactions between neural, developmental, environmental, genetic, and epigenetic factors over time. Neuroscientific research suggests the potential role of the brain’s threat and reward systems, as well as executive control networks. Developmental research provides insight into how the environment may affect these neural systems across the lifespan towards greater risk or resilience to stress. Genetic work has revealed numerous targets that alter key neurochemical systems in the brain to influence mental health. Current challenges include ambiguities in the definition and measurement of resilience and a simplified focus on resilience as the absence of psychopathology, irrespective of levels of positive mental functioning. Greater emphasis on understanding the protective aspects of resilience and related well-being outcomes are important to delineate the unique neurobiological factors that underpin this process, so that effective interventions can be developed to assist vulnerable populations and resilience promotion.

The Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Lockdown on Athletes’ Subjective Vitality: The Protective Role of Resilience and Autonomous Goal Motives

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2020.612825 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Natalia Martínez-González ◽

Francisco L. Atienza ◽

Inés Tomás ◽

Joan L. Duda ◽

Isabel Balaguer

Keyword(s):

Linear Models ◽

Well Being ◽

Protective Role ◽

Subjective Vitality ◽

Huge Impact ◽

Mediational Role ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship ◽

The lockdown resulting from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a huge impact on peoples’ health. In sport specifically, athletes have had to deal with frustration of their objectives and changes in their usual training routines. The challenging and disruptive situation could hold implications for their well-being. This study examined the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on changes in athletes’ reported eudaimonic well-being (subjective vitality) and goal motives (autonomous and controlled) over time (i.e., pre-lockdown and during lockdown). The relationship of resilience to changes in subjective vitality was also determined, and changes in athletes’ goal motives were examined as potential mediators. Participants were 127 Spanish university athletes aged between 18 and 34 years (M = 21.14; SD = 2.77). Approximately 4 months before the start of the lockdown in Spain (T1), athletes responded to a questionnaire assessing their resilience, goal motives, and subjective vitality. Around 6 months later into the lockdown period (T2), athletes’ goal motives and subjective vitality were assessed again. Growth modeling using hierarchical linear models revealed a significant decrease of autonomous goal motives and subjective vitality during the lockdown, but athletes did not show change over time in controlled goal motives. Path analysis, adjusting T2 measures for their corresponding T1 measures, showed that resilience significantly predicted changes in athletes’ autonomous goal motives, which then accounted for changes in subjective vitality. The indirect effect was significant. Resilience did not predict changes in athletes’ controlled goal motives. However, changes in controlled goal motives negatively predicted changes in subjective vitality during lockdown. The findings suggest negative impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on athletes’ goal motives and eudaimonic well-being. Results also support the hypothesized mediational role of autonomous goal motives in the relationship between resilience and subjective vitality during the lockdown. As such, findings confirm the relevance of resilience to a key feature of athletes’ eudaimonic well-being and the importance of enhancing their autonomous goal striving.

The Therapist’s Reaction to a Patient’s Suicide

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000062 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 99-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Friedrich Martin Wurst ◽

Isabella Kunz ◽

Gregory Skipper ◽

Manfred Wolfersdorf ◽

Karl H. Beine ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotional Responses ◽

Well Being ◽

Emotional Reaction ◽

Emotional Reactions ◽

Analog Scale ◽

General Hospitals ◽

Item Questionnaire ◽

Retrospective Nature ◽

The Impact ◽

Background: A substantial proportion of therapists experience the loss of a patient to suicide at some point during their professional life. Aims: To assess (1) the impact of a patient’s suicide on therapists distress and well-being over time, (2) which factors contribute to the reaction, and (3) which subgroup might need special interventions in the aftermath of suicide. Methods: A 63-item questionnaire was sent to all 185 Psychiatric Clinics at General Hospitals in Germany. The emotional reaction of therapists to patient’s suicide was measured immediately, after 2 weeks, and after 6 months. Results: Three out of ten therapists suffer from severe distress after a patients’ suicide. The item “overall distress” immediately after the suicide predicts emotional reactions and changes in behavior. The emotional responses immediately after the suicide explained 43.5% of the variance of total distress in a regression analysis. Limitations: The retrospective nature of the study is its primary limitation. Conclusions: Our data suggest that identifying the severely distressed subgroup could be done using a visual analog scale for overall distress. As a consequence, more specific and intensified help could be provided to these professionals.

The link between coronavirus, anxiety, and religious beliefs in the United States and United Kingdom

10.31234/osf.io/wykeq ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Francesco Rigoli

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

United Kingdom ◽

Religious Beliefs ◽

Well Being ◽

The United States ◽

Christian Faith ◽

Stressful Event ◽

Cultural Implications ◽

Research has shown that stress impacts on people’s religious beliefs. However, several aspects of this effect remain poorly understood, for example regarding the role of prior religiosity and stress-induced anxiety. This paper explores these aspects in the context of the recent coronavirus emergency. The latter has impacted dramatically on many people’s well-being; hence it can be considered a highly stressful event. Through online questionnaires administered to UK and USA citizens professing either Christian faith or no religion, this paper examines the impact of the coronavirus crisis upon common people’s religious beliefs. We found that, following the coronavirus emergency, strong believers reported higher confidence in their religious beliefs while non-believers reported increased scepticism towards religion. Moreover, for strong believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus threat was associated with increased strengthening of religious beliefs. Conversely, for non-believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus thereat was associated with increased scepticism towards religious beliefs. These observations are consistent with the notion that stress-induced anxiety enhances support for the ideology already embraced before a stressful event occurs. This study sheds light on the psychological and cultural implications of the coronavirus crisis, which represents one of the most serious health emergencies in recent times.

National movement patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand: the unexplored role of neighbourhood deprivation

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health ◽

10.1136/jech-2020-216108 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. jech-2020-216108 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Malcolm Campbell ◽

Lukas Marek ◽

Jesse Wiki ◽

Matthew Hobbs ◽

Clive E Sabel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Well Being ◽

Policy Debate ◽

Population Mobility ◽

Neighbourhood Deprivation ◽

Movement Data ◽

Spatial Inequalities ◽

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has asked unprecedented questions of governments around the world. Policy responses have disrupted usual patterns of movement in society, locally and globally, with resultant impacts on national economies and human well-being. These interventions have primarily centred on enforcing lockdowns and introducing social distancing recommendations, leading to questions of trust and competency around the role of institutions and the administrative apparatus of state. This study demonstrates the unequal societal impacts in population movement during a national ‘lockdown’.MethodsWe use nationwide mobile phone movement data to quantify the effect of an enforced lockdown on population mobility by neighbourhood deprivation using an ecological study design. We then derive a mobility index using anonymised aggregated population counts for each neighbourhood (2253 Census Statistical Areas; mean population n=2086) of national hourly mobile phone location data (7.45 million records, 1 March 2020–20 July 2020) for New Zealand (NZ).ResultsCurtailing movement has highlighted and exacerbated underlying social and spatial inequalities. Our analysis reveals the unequal movements during ‘lockdown’ by neighbourhood socioeconomic status in NZ.ConclusionIn understanding inequalities in neighbourhood movements, we are contributing critical new evidence to the policy debate about the impact(s) and efficacy of national, regional or local lockdowns which have sparked such controversy.

The Moderating Impact of Attending Services on the Effect of Older Adults’ Discrimination Experiences on Loneliness

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1035 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 323-323

Author(s):

Dahee Kim ◽

Kyuho Lee

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Perceived Discrimination ◽

Well Being ◽

Religious Community ◽

Religious Activities ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Religious Behaviors ◽

Religious Services ◽

Abstract Research has shown that perceived discriminations impact physical and mental health in later life. Discrimination experiences could make older adults consider themselves as a social misfit and decrease their social interactions, which finally increases their loneliness. Religious behaviors has been reported as a key factor of a lower sense of isolation. Considering that religious behaviors provide opportunities to engage in more extensive social networks and have supportive social ties with community members, attending religious services might decrease the impact of older adults’ perceived discrimination on loneliness. The current research aims to examine the moderating role of religious services attendance in the association between older adults’ perceived discrimination and loneliness. We used data of 4,488 adults aged 50 to 80 (M=66.27, SD=10.15) from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) collected in 2012 and 2014. Linear regression analysis was performed to investigate whether older adults’ religious service attendance might decrease the impact of their perceived discriminations in daily life on the level of loneliness. The results indicated that more perceived discriminations older adults face on a daily basis were significantly associated with higher levels of loneliness. However, participants who frequently attended religious services showed a lower impact of perceived discriminations on their loneliness. These findings highlight the positive effects of engaging in religious activities on discriminated older adults’ social well-being. These findings also emphasize the role of the religious community as a social resource for socially marginalized older adults.

Alternative Friendships to Improve Men’s Health Status. The Impact of the New Alternative Masculinities’ Approach

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18042188 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 2188

Author(s):

Oriol Ríos-González ◽

Mimar Ramis-Salas ◽

Juan Carlos Peña-Axt ◽

Sandra Racionero-Plaza

Keyword(s):

Physical Health ◽

Traffic Accidents ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Problems ◽

Healthy Behaviors ◽

Physical Health Problems ◽

Alternative Masculinities ◽

Background: Men who develop behaviors connected with the model of hegemonic masculinity present several health problems. Previous research has shown the types of problems that men commonly suffer in this regard such as chronic diseases, dietary disorders, and traffic accidents. To combat and overcome this situation, several campaigns, policies and recommendations have been undertaken, and consequently, their influence has been analyzed. However, there have been few investigations into the role of men’s friendship in the reduction of these physical health problems. The findings presented in this article are focused on this issue, illustrating the impact of male friendship on the shaping of healthy behaviors. Methods: Drawing upon a qualitative-based methodology articulated in a case study of the Men in Dialogue association, located in Spain, the study has followed the premises of the communicative approach, a total of 15 structured online open-ended questionnaires have been performed and analyzed. The median age of the participants is 37.5 years. Results: The findings show how men involved in Men in Dialogue are promoting a kind of masculine friendship that is improving men’s emotional well-being and, consequently, their physical health.

COVID-19 Barometer: Social Opinion – What Do the Portuguese Think in This Time of COVID-19?

Portuguese Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1159/000513740 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Ana Rita Pedro ◽

Ana Gama ◽

Patrícia Soares ◽

Marta Moniz ◽

Pedro A. Laires ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Services ◽

Online Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

Point Of View ◽

Daily Lives ◽

The People ◽

Huge Impact ◽

The Impact ◽

Continue Monitoring

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges to the global community, reinforcing the role of public health in society. The main measures to combat it had (and still have) a huge impact on the daily lives of citizens. This investigation aimed to identify and monitor the population’s perceptions about how it faced this period and the impact on health, well-being, and daily life. In this study, we describe the main trends observed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of mental health status, confidence in the capacity of the health services to respond to the pandemic, and the use of health services by participants. The online survey collected responses from 171,947 individuals ≥16 years of age in Portugal, over a period of 15 weeks that started on 21 March 2020. Participants could fill the questionnaire once or weekly, which enabled us to analyse trends and variations in responses. Overall, 81% of the respondents reported having felt agitated, anxious, or sad during the COVID-19 pandemic; 19% did not experience these feelings. During the confinement period, the proportion of participants feeling agitated, anxious, or sad every day/almost every day ranged between 20 and 30%, but since the deconfinement this proportion decreased. Around 30% reported having more difficulty getting to sleep or to sleep all night; 28.4% felt more agitated; 25.5% felt sadder, discouraged, or cried more easily; and 24.7% felt unable to do everything they had to do, women more frequently than men. Overall, 65.8% of the participants reported feeling confident or very confident in the health services’ capacity to respond to the challenges associated with the pandemic, and this confidence increased over time. Concerning the people who needed a consultation, 35.6% had one in person and 20.8% had one remotely, but almost 44% did not have one due to cancellation by the service (27.2%) or their own decision not to go (16.3%). At this unusual time in which we find ourselves and based on our findings, it is essential to continue monitoring how the population is facing the different phases of the pandemic until it officially ends. Analysing the effects of the pandemic from the point of view of citizens allows for anticipating critical trends and can contribute to preventative action.

Non-Price Criteria for the Evaluation of the Tender Offers in Public Procurement of Ukraine

International Journal of Financial Studies ◽

10.3390/ijfs8030044 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 44

Author(s):

Alexander Baranovsky ◽

Nataliia Tkachenko ◽

Vladimer Glonti ◽

Valentyna Levchenko ◽

Kateryna Bogatyrova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Procurement ◽

Well Being ◽

Gdp Per Capita ◽

Tender Offers ◽

Product Categories ◽

Per Capita ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact ◽

Over Time ◽

The Eu

Traditionally, public procurement has been associated with the measurement of achieving savings. However, recent research shows that the economic impact of public procurement is not limited only to savings, but by measuring the impact of four capitals—natural, human, social, and economic—on sustainable well-being over time. Ukraine is a country with a very low gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, which exacerbates the problem of the impact of public procurement results on the population’s welfare. Ukrainian public procurement legislation allows customers to apply non-price criteria (the share of non-price criteria cannot be more than 70%), which, together, are taken into account in the formula of the quoted price. The studies show that the effect of the use of non-price criteria depends on the relevance of the method of the evaluation of non-price criteria. The most important non-price criteria for Ukrainian customers by product categories and the methods of their evaluation are analyzed according to the Bi.prozorro.org analytics module. Therefore, it is concluded that the quoted price method, which is used in Ukrainian practice, is not relevant in comparison with the method used in the EU. A survey of the government buyers on the practice of applying non-price criteria was conducted, and the areas of their use were identified.

Proliferation of Uterine Natural Killer Cells Is Induced by Human Chorionic Gonadotropin and Mediated via the Mannose Receptor

Endocrinology ◽

10.1210/en.2008-1309 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 150 (6) ◽

pp. 2882-2888 ◽

Cited By ~ 92

Author(s):

Nicole Kane ◽

Rodney Kelly ◽

Philippa T. K. Saunders ◽

Hilary O. D. Critchley

Keyword(s):

Natural Killer ◽

Mannose Receptor ◽

Lh Receptor ◽

Uterine Natural Killer Cells ◽

Unk Cells ◽

The Impact ◽

Insight Into ◽

Unk Cell ◽

Uterine Natural Killer

The endometrial lining of the human uterus contains a population of phenotypically distinct (CD56bright, CD16dim), tissue-specific, natural killer [uterine natural killer (uNK)] cells that play a key role in the establishment of a successful pregnancy. An increase in the number of endometrial uNK cells occurs when the conceptus implants, and there is a further increase during the early stages of placentation. Here, we describe studies that have identified human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), a glycoprotein synthesized by the preimplantation conceptus, as a novel regulator of uNK cell proliferation. The impact of hCG on uNK cells was mediated via the mannose receptor (CD206) rather than by the classical hCG/LH receptor that was not expressed. The mannose receptor and hCG were colocalized on the surface of uNK cells, and proliferation did not occur if cells were incubated with deglycosylated hCG or intact hCG in the presence of excess d-Mannose. These novel observations provide new insight into the endocrine-immune dialogue that exists between the conceptus and immune cells within the receptive endometrium, and have implications for the role of uNK cell-trophoblast interactions and pregnancy outcome.