Improving Mental Health Among Transgender Adolescents: Implementing Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of an online self-compassion intervention for transgender adolescents, with the aim of improving mental health. Participants identified as transgender or gender expansive, were between the ages of 13 and 17, and lived in the U.S. or Canada. The empirically-based self-compassion program, Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens (formerly Making Friends with Yourself) was implemented in eight 1.5 hour sessions on the Zoom platform by two trained instructors. Surveys were administered pre-, post-intervention, and at 3 months follow-up, and qualitative data were collected through end-of-program interviews and open-ended questions on the post-survey. All protocols were approved by the university IRB. Quantitative data analysis included repeated measures ANOVAs, and qualitative data were analyzed via both inductive and deductive methods. Results indicated that all but one psychosocial measure significantly improved from pre- to post-intervention, which then significantly improved at 3-month follow-up; most other improvements were maintained at follow-up. Four themes emerged from the qualitative data: virtual safe space; connection to body; personal growth; and recommended course changes and are discussed. Results suggest that self-compassion interventions can be incorporated into therapy programs to support and improve mental health for transgender adolescents.

Timesync: Web Based Timetable Scheduling and Visualization System for Schools and Colleges

Timetable scheduling is a problem that concerns every teaching institution. Every semester or year a new timetable must be produced to take account of faculty, student and course changes causing a necessarily large amount of work. All institutions face a considerable number of difficulties especially before the start of academic semesters in colleges due to the increased number of students and courses. Also, visualizing the timetable needs drastic amount of work like to print them on papers and display it then to its respective classes, that too in colleges need to be secured since it got snatched away by the students there. And timetable updation require to follow full steps as followed during its creation in traditional paper-based method but here using timesync, it makes everything so smooth that it need to only update it with its user-friendly UI and no need to follow other steps as in orthodox method. The main objective of this study is to develop a web-based application for timetable scheduling and visualizing for schools and colleges. However, some work and studies still need to be done to make this system further smart and consistent as described in the recommendations section.

Changes in Corneal Parameters after DMEK Surgery: A Swept-Source Imaging Analysis at 12-Month Follow-Up Time

Purpose. To assess the time course changes in corneal topographic parameters during the one-year follow-up after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) surgery. Materials and Methods. Twenty-one patients (24 eyes) who underwent DMEK surgery were evaluated. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), endothelial cell count (ECC), central corneal thickness (CCT), mean keratometry (MK), mean astigmatism (MA), astigmatism asymmetry (AA), and higher-order aberration (HOA) were assessed at baseline and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after the surgery using CASIA2 anterior segment swept-source OCT (Tomey, Japan). Results. In patients who underwent DMEK surgery, BCVA improved gradually at the subsequent visits during the 12-month follow-up. A significant reduction in ECC and CCT at the 1st month was noted, which remained stable until the 6th month postoperatively. Anterior and total MK values remained unchanged, whereas changes in posterior keratometry were noticeable until the 6th month after surgery. A significant reduction in the anterior, posterior, and total astigmatism magnitude as well as astigmatism asymmetry was observed during the first 6 months after surgery. A gradual anterior, posterior, and total HOA decrease was documented until the 12th month after surgery. Negative correlations between baseline values of CCT, MK, MA, AA, and HOA and postoperative variations in those parameters at consecutive follow-up time points were observed. Accordingly, negative correlations between baseline CCT and postoperative changes in corneal topographic parameters after surgery were found. Conclusion. The stabilization of most corneal topographic parameters takes place within 6 months after the procedure, whereas HOA reduction and BCVA improvement gradually occur during the first year after surgery. Preoperative values of corneal topographic parameters strongly determine their changes detected after DMEK surgery, which may suggest that early therapeutic intervention results in better visual outcomes.

Features of the course of new coronavirus infection in newborns and first-year infants

The aim of the study was to assess the features of the course of new coronavirus infection in newborns and children of the first year of life. Materials and methods. Thirty-six children aged eight days to 11 months were hospitalized in the covid centre of the National Medical Research Center for Children’s Health (of which nine children were transferred from one of the surgical hospitals in Moscow due to the contact with SARS-CoV-2). Results. Despite severe concomitant surgical pathology in 25% of patients, 98% of children had mild to moderate disease. Febrile temperature (up to a maximum of 39 oC) was observed in 4 infants, sub-febrile temperature in 5 people. In other children, for the entire period of treatment, there was no increase in temperature. Mothers’ complaints about lethargy dominated the clinical picture of the disease, followed by refusal to eat, runny nose, sneezing, swallowing voice, coughing, shortness of breath in their children. During the examination, the following signs were revealed: yawn hyperemia, mucous separated from the nose, hard breathing and dry wheezing (in 1 infant). The general blood test showed anemia (mostly related to prematurity anemia, or iron deficiency anemia), leftward leukocytosis (due to concomitant surgical pathology), leukopenia, various changes in the leukocytic formula of blood. In some instances, thrombocytopenia increased in D-dimer C-RP, procalcitonin, ferritin, bilirubin, and alanine aminotransferase. In only six infants with a moderate disease course, changes characteristic of a new coronavirus infection were identified on the chest CT scan. Six infantas had rhythm disorders detected in electrocardiographic examination (no deviations were found in echocardiographic examination). Conclusion. According to both foreign literature and data obtained during our study, it can be concluded that, compared with adults, infants have a milder course of the disease and less pronounced changes obtained during laboratory and instrumental studies.