Attachment and Epigenetics: A Scoping Review of Recent Research and Current Knowledge

2020 ◽  
pp. 003329412090184
Author(s):  
Pernille Darling Rasmussen ◽  
Ole Jakob Storebø

Background Epigenetic research has pointed to that the interaction between genetics and environmental factors may play a role in making some individuals more vulnerable than others. Aim The aim of this article was to present a broad perspective on the current state of knowledge in a relatively new and complex field of “attachment and epigenetic processes.” Method We conducted a scoping review based on a systematic literature search in PsycINFO, PubMed, and Embase databases for relevant abstracts using the terms attachment and epigenet*. Results In total, 11 studies were included. Research predating 2009 and animal studies were excluded in order to review the current state of research in humans. Conclusion Overall, there seems to be a consistency in the literature, pointing to a link between early childhood adversity, attachment processes, and epigenetic changes. However, research in human subjects is still limited.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 204-204
Author(s):  
Feng Lin ◽  
Yeates Conwell ◽  
Janine Simmons

Abstract Evidence indicates an association between emotional well-being (EWB) and underlying brain processes, and that those processes change with both normal and pathological brain aging. However, the nature of these associations, the mechanisms by which EWB and its component domains change with brain aging, and how those changes may be associated with common neuropathologies like Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), are largely unexplored. The NIA-funded Network for Emotional Well-being and Brain Aging (NEW Brain Aging) has the goal of developing a nationwide community of investigators dedicated to research that identifies and tests mechanisms by which brain aging influences EWB and how EWB may impact risk for and progression of ADRD. Synthesizing human and animal literature, our premise is that relationships between EWB and ADRD are bidirectional – normal and pathological changes in aging brain influence EWB and EWB contributes to brain health and illness, such as ADRD. NEW Brain Aging will identify and coalesce resources for interested investigators and provide pilot funding opportunities to stimulate research and development of the field. Component presentations of this symposium will include (1) an overview by Dr. Robert Kaplan of the current state of research on EWB; (2) the role of animal studies (Kuan Hong Wang) and (3) human subjects research (Feng Vankee Lin) in EWB and aging; and (4) design of NEW Brain Aging and resources it will provide (Yeates Conwell). Janine Simmons will explain NIA’s vision for EWB research and lead open discussion.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026540752110476
Author(s):  
Jennifer A Sharkey ◽  
Jacqueline S Feather ◽  
Sonja Goedeke

This article provides a circumscribed descriptive analysis of the current state of research worldwide related to adult romantic relationship processes and their underlying mechanisms. A scoping review was used to gather data. This yielded 15,418 eligible articles from 1,687 different academic journals. From these, we outline key themes and theories arising in the last seven decades and note the most prolific journals and authors. The study of relational wellbeing has focused on overt behaviors such as communication and commitment, on underlying attitudes and motives such as empathy and contempt, and on substrates and circumstances such as neurobiological functioning and life stressors. The results reveal the strong interdisciplinary research underpinnings of the field of relationship science and show up key influences over its expansion. Results are intended to give an overview of key peer reviewed research that has contributed to the development of current scientific knowledge and theory development in this field.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 795-848
Author(s):  
Alina Köchling ◽  
Marius Claus Wehner

AbstractAlgorithmic decision-making is becoming increasingly common as a new source of advice in HR recruitment and HR development. While firms implement algorithmic decision-making to save costs as well as increase efficiency and objectivity, algorithmic decision-making might also lead to the unfair treatment of certain groups of people, implicit discrimination, and perceived unfairness. Current knowledge about the threats of unfairness and (implicit) discrimination by algorithmic decision-making is mostly unexplored in the human resource management context. Our goal is to clarify the current state of research related to HR recruitment and HR development, identify research gaps, and provide crucial future research directions. Based on a systematic review of 36 journal articles from 2014 to 2020, we present some applications of algorithmic decision-making and evaluate the possible pitfalls in these two essential HR functions. In doing this, we inform researchers and practitioners, offer important theoretical and practical implications, and suggest fruitful avenues for future research.


2009 ◽  
Vol 618-619 ◽  
pp. 291-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Buddery ◽  
Matthew S. Dargusch ◽  
David H. StJohn ◽  
John Drennan ◽  
Samih Nabulsi

This paper outlines the current state of research into laser welding of titanium and its alloys for medical applications. The differences that exist between the medical and other industries are described and a direction for advancing research in this field is proposed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 175-185
Author(s):  
Hana V. Bortlová

Through historical analysis and interpretation of memories of Czech/Czechoslovak firefighters who have been professionally active since 1960s until 1990s (and/or beyond), his paper aims to analyze the ways in which his socio-professional group has been behaving during the last 40–50 years. Given that only very little historical research has been done on members of this group, the paper represents a first pioneer attempt. The research is a continuation of previous research projects conducted by Czech oral historians focused on working class members and on changes of their opinions, attitudes and behavior before and after 1989. The author’s ambition is to contribute to the current knowledge of the nature and specifics of the mentioned „normalization” regime (1969–1989) as well as the „transformation-to-democracy” era (1990s) in Czechoslovakia. In the present paper the author outlines the current state of research (20 conducted interviews with 10 firefighters as to the end of 2012), comments on some methodological problems associated with oral-historical research of this group and offers her interpretations of selected topics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer N. Belding ◽  
Robyn M. Englert ◽  
Shannon Fitzmaurice ◽  
Jourdan R. Jackson ◽  
Hannah G. Koenig ◽  
...  

Although blast exposure has been recognized as a significant source of morbidity and mortality in military populations, our understanding of the effects of blast exposure, particularly low-level blast (LLB) exposure, on health outcomes remains limited. This scoping review provides a comprehensive, accessible review of the peer-reviewed literature that has been published on blast exposure over the past two decades, with specific emphasis on LLB. We conducted a comprehensive scoping review of the scientific literature published between January 2000 and 2019 pertaining to the effects of blast injury and/or exposure on human and animal health. A three-level review process with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria was used. A full-text review of all articles pertaining to LLB exposure was conducted and relevant study characteristics were extracted. The research team identified 3,215 blast-relevant articles, approximately half of which (55.4%) studied live humans, 16% studied animals, and the remainder were non-subjects research (e.g., literature reviews). Nearly all (99.49%) of the included studies were conducted by experts in medicine or epidemiology; approximately half of these articles were categorized into more than one medical specialty. Among the 51 articles identified as pertaining to LLB specifically, 45.1% were conducted on animals and 39.2% focused on human subjects. Animal studies of LLB predominately used shock tubes to induce various blast exposures in rats, assessed a variety of outcomes, and clearly demonstrated that LLB exposure is associated with brain injury. In contrast, the majority of LLB studies on humans were conducted among military and law enforcement personnel in training environments and had remarkable variability in the exposures and outcomes assessed. While findings suggest that there is the potential for LLB to harm human populations, findings are mixed and more research is needed. Although it is clear that more research is needed on this rapidly growing topic, this review highlights the detrimental effects of LLB on the health of both animals and humans. Future research would benefit from multidisciplinary collaboration, larger sample sizes, and standardization of terminology, exposures, and outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surajo Kamilu Sulaiman ◽  
Arnold YL Wong ◽  
Lillian Li Liangchi ◽  
Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari ◽  
Haining Ou ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Globally, hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) are ranked as the eleventh most common cause of disability among adults. Growing evidence suggests that the use of mHealth technology in OA management is effective and reduces the burdens in primary and secondary care. However, a comprehensive state-of-the-art review on the use of mHealth technology in managing OA is lacking. OBJECTIVE This review aimed to assess the current state of research on the use of mHealth technology for self-management/education of adults with OA, identify key research activities, and provide future directions on the development/application of mHealth technology. METHODS The Arksey and O’Malley methodological framework was employed, augmented with a scientometric analysis using VOS viewer. Six databases were searched from inception to 31st March 2021. The PRISMA extension for scoping review was used to report the findings. RESULTS Our review only identified 19 mHealth programs being used to promote self-management of OA. The current evidence suggested that compared to no or other interventions, mHealth technology was feasible and might be more effective in reducing pain, or promoting physical function and quality of life in individuals with OA. However, not all mHealth programs were developed by healthcare professionals. The scientometric analysis revealed various co-occurring keywords that reflected conceptual properties of this research domain. Although some intellectual connections among groups of authors, research articles, and journals were also noted, only a few researchers and journals were the most impactful contributors in this research domain. CONCLUSIONS The use of mHealth technology in OA management is potentially promising, however, there is a great need to investigate the benefits and cost-effectiveness of this approach. More collaborations among organizations are warranted to bolster activity in this area. Future mHealth programs should be developed based on a strong theoretical background to support the uptake of their programs. CLINICALTRIAL Nil


Author(s):  
Uyioghosa Igie

This paper presents a well-researched subject area within academia, with a high degree of application in the industry. Compressor fouling effect is one of the commonest degradations associated with gas turbine operations. The aim of this review is to broadly communicate some of the current knowledge while identifying some gaps in understanding, in an effort to present some industry/operational interest for academic research. Likewise, highlight some studies from academia that present the current state of research, with their corresponding methods (experimental, numerical, actual operations, and analytical methods). The merits and limitations of the individual method and their approaches are discussed, thereby providing industry practitioners with a view to appreciating academic research outputs. The review shows opportunities for improving compressor washing effectiveness through computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This is presented in the form of addressing the factors influencing compressor washing efficiency. Pertinent questions from academic research and operational experiences are posed, on the basis of this review.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e043124
Author(s):  
Isabella Romano ◽  
Claire Buchan ◽  
Leonardo Baiocco-Romano ◽  
Mark A Ferro

ObjectiveEfforts to describe the current state of research are needed to advance the field of physical-mental multimorbidity (ie, the co-occurrence of at least one physical illness and at least one mental disorder) among children and youth. Our objective was to systematically explore the breadth of physical-mental multimorbidity research in children and youth and to provide an overview of existing literature topics.DesignScoping review.MethodsWe conducted a systematic search of four key databases: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Scopus as well as a thorough scan of relevant grey literature. We included studies of any research design, published in English, referring to physical-mental multimorbidity among children and youth aged ≤18 years. Studies were screened for eligibility and data were extracted, charted and summarised narratively by research focus. Critical appraisal was employed using the modified Quality Index (QI).ResultsWe included 431 studies and 2 sources of grey literature. Existing research emphasises the co-occurrence of anxiety, mood and attention disorders among children with epilepsy, asthma and allergy. Evidence consists of mostly small, observational studies that use cross-sectional data. The average QI score across applicable studies was 9.1 (SD=1.8).ConclusionsThere is a pressing need for more robust research within the field of child physical-mental multimorbidity.


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