scholarly journals Sex and gender in respiratory physiology

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (162) ◽  
pp. 210038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonella LoMauro ◽  
Andrea Aliverti
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Physiology ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Physiological Changes ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Exercise Protocol ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
Biological Variable ◽  
Inflammatory Processes ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Almost All

Sex is a biological concept determined at conception. Gender is a social concept. Medicine recognises sex as a biological variable and recommends including sex as a factor in clinical practice norms and as a topic of bench and clinical research. Sex plays a role in respiratory physiology according to two pathways: hormones and anatomy, with females characterised by smaller dimensions at every level of the respiratory system. Sex hormones also play specific roles in lung inflammatory processes, breathing control and in response to diseases. The literature is extremely controversial because many factors need to be considered to avoid erroneous comparisons. The main difficulty lies in creating homogeneous groups of subjects according to age, body weight, lung/airway size, fluctuations in circulating hormone levels, and exercise protocol. Because almost all of the knowledge available in physiology is based on research in males, medicine for women is therefore less evidence-based than that being applied to men. Finally, the number of transsexual people is increasing and they represent new challenges for clinicians, due to the anatomical and physiological changes that they undergo.

The Culture Wars of Faith, Sex, and Gender

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mugambi Jouet
Keyword(s):  
Culture Wars ◽  
Family Values ◽  
Sexual Education ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Developed Country ◽  
The Bible ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Developed World ◽  
The U.S

In virtually no other developed country are issues like abortion, contraception, homosexuality, and sexual education as controversial as in America. People in almost all other Western nations tend to share the liberal-moderate view of these questions. Few share the Christian fundamentalist position that represents a major side of America’s culture wars. Even though the vast majority of Americans are devout Christians, religion ironically divides them far more than Europeans. America is exceptionally polarized by rival understandings of faith, secularism, family values, gender roles, and sexuality. According to conventional wisdom, religious polarization in America reflects a clash between believers and non-believers. In reality, the divide is mainly among people of faith, as atheists or agnostics remain a limited proportion of the U.S. population. While nearly three-quarters of Americans identify as Christian, their churches are often at odds on basic issues like whether the Bible should be interpreted literally. The chapter particularly analyzes the ultra-traditionalist values prevalent in conservative America and demonstrates how unusual they are in the developed world.

scholarly journals Considering Sex as a Biological Variable in Basic and Clinical Studies: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditi Bhargava ◽  
Arthur P Arnold ◽  
Debra A Bangasser ◽  
Kate M Denton ◽  
Arpana Gupta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Endocrine Society ◽  
Biological Variable ◽  
And Gender

Abstract In May 2014, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) stated its intent to “require applicants to consider sex as a biological variable (SABV) in the design and analysis of NIH-funded research involving animals and cells.” Since then, proposed research plans that include animals routinely state that both sexes/genders will be used; however, in many instances, researchers and reviewers are at a loss about the issue of sex differences. Moreover, the terms sex and gender are used interchangeably by many researchers, further complicating the issue. In addition, the sex or gender of the researcher might influence study outcomes, especially those concerning behavioral studies, in both animals and humans. The act of observation may change the outcome (the “observer effect”) and any experimental manipulation, no matter how well-controlled, is subject to it. This is nowhere more applicable than in physiology and behavior. The sex of established cultured cell lines is another issue, in addition to aneuploidy; chromosomal numbers can change as cells are passaged. Additionally, culture medium contains steroids, growth hormone, and insulin that might influence expression of various genes. These issues often are not taken into account, determined, or even considered. Issues pertaining to the “sex” of cultured cells are beyond the scope of this Statement. However, we will discuss the factors that influence sex and gender in both basic research (that using animal models) and clinical research (that involving human subjects), as well as in some areas of science where sex differences are routinely studied. Sex differences in baseline physiology and associated mechanisms form the foundation for understanding sex differences in diseases pathology, treatments, and outcomes. The purpose of this Statement is to highlight lessons learned, caveats, and what to consider when evaluating data pertaining to sex differences, using 3 areas of research as examples; it is not intended to serve as a guideline for research design.

scholarly journals The Integration of Sex and Gender Considerations into Biomedical Research: Lessons from International Funding Agencies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie White ◽  
Cara Tannenbaum ◽  
Ineke Klinge ◽  
Londa Schiebinger ◽  
Janine Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Gender Effects ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Personalized Care ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Biological Variable ◽  
Funding Agencies ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender

Abstract To improve the outcomes of research and medicine, government-based international research funding agencies have implemented various types of policies and mechanisms with respect to sex as a biological variable and gender as a sociocultural factor. After the 1990s, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR), and the European Commission (EC) began 1) requesting that applicants address sex and gender considerations in grant proposals and 2) offering resources to help the scientific community integrate sex and gender into biomedical research. Although, it is too early to analyze data on the success of all of the policies and mechanisms implemented, here we review the use of both carrots (incentives) and sticks (requirements) developed to motivate researchers and the entire scientific research enterprise to consider sex and gender influences on health and in science. The NIH focused on sex as a biological variable (SABV) aligned with an initiative to enhance reproducibility through rigor and transparency; CIHR instituted a sex- and gender-based analysis (SGBA) policy; and the EC required the integration of the “gender dimension”, which incorporates sex, gender, and intersectional analysis into research and innovation. Other global efforts are briefly summarized. Although we are still learning what works, we share lessons learned to improve the integration of sex and gender considerations into research. In conjunction with refining and expanding the policies of funding agencies and mechanisms, private funders/philanthropic groups, editors of peer-reviewed journals, academic institutions, professional organizations, ethics boards, healthcare systems, and industry also need to make concerted efforts to integrate sex and gender into research, and we all must bridge across silos to promote system-wide solutions throughout the biomedical enterprise. For example, policies that encourage researchers to disaggregate data by sex and gender, the development of tools to better measure gender effects, or policies similar to SABV and/or SGBA adopted by private funders would accelerate progress. Uptake, accountability for, and a critical appraisal of sex and gender throughout the biomedical enterprise will be crucial to achieving the goal of relevant, reproducible, replicable, and responsible science that will lead to better evidence-based personalized care for all, but especially for women.

scholarly journals Sexual Dimorphism in Immunity to Oral Bacterial Diseases: Intersection of Neutrophil and Osteoclast Pathobiology

2018 ◽  
Vol 97 (13) ◽  
pp. 1416-1423 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.S. Valerio ◽  
K.L. Kirkwood
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Osteoclast Differentiation ◽  
Bacterial Disease ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Bacterial Diseases ◽  
Biological Variable ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
And Gender

Sex is a biological variable that affects immune responses to bacterial and other types of infectious agents. Males and females are known to have differential oral bacterial disease burden in periodontal and endodontic disease. Understanding that there is a contribution from both sex and gender to these oral diseases, we discuss in this review recent sex-based findings that provide a pathobiological basis for differences observed between males and females. Sexual dimorphism of immune responses with respect to neutrophil trafficking and osteoclast differentiation and formation is presented as a plausible mechanism to explain the sexual differences. We also emphasize that sex, as a biological variable, should be considered in these types of oral immunologic studies.

Sex and Gender

ASHA Leader ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-4
Keyword(s):  
Sex And Gender ◽  
And Gender

Sex and Gender Differences

2012 ◽  
Vol 220 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Hausmann ◽  
Barbara Schober
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Sex And Gender Differences

Evidence-based regulation of labour migration in OECD countries: setting quotas, selection criteria, and shortage lists

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Chaloff
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Market Analysis ◽  
Multiple Criteria ◽  
Labour Migration ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Periodic Review ◽  
Market Data ◽  
Almost All

The growing complexity of selection criteria for discretionary labour migration in OECD countries has been accompanied by an expanded demand for labour market analysis and consultation with stakeholders. While some features of general or detailed criteria may be fixed in legislation, numerical quotas or targets, shortage lists, and multiple-criteria points-based systems are generally subject to periodic review and revision based on labour market data and consultation with stakeholders. Official government bodies have maintained co-ordination of this process, with varying degrees of externalization. In most countries expertise is internal, with recourse to external mandated bodies rare. In almost all cases, however, the process is designed to promote consensus around the policy while maintaining political control.

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