Decision making in metoidioplasty and phalloplasty gender-affirming surgery: a mixed methods study.

Background: Gender-affirming surgical procedures, such as metoidioplasty and phalloplasty for those assigned female at birth, are complex and multistaged and involve risks. Individuals considering these procedures experience greater uncertainty or decisional conflict, compounded by difficulty finding trustworthy information.

Aim: (1) To explore the factors contributing to decisional uncertainty and the needs of individuals considering metoidioplasty and phalloplasty gender-affirming surgery (MaPGAS) and (2) to inform development of a patient-centered decision aid.

Arl15 upregulates the TGFβ family signaling by promoting the assembly of the Smad-complex.

The hallmark event of the canonical transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) family signaling is the assembly of the Smad-complex, consisting of the common Smad, Smad4, and phosphorylated receptor-regulated Smads. How the Smad-complex is assembled and regulated is still unclear. Here, we report that active Arl15, an Arf-like small G protein, specifically binds to the MH2 domain of Smad4 and colocalizes with Smad4 at the endolysosome.

A systematic review of decision aids for gender affirming therapy.

Background: Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) persons considering gender affirming therapy have to make many complex medical decisions, potentially without understanding the associated harms or benefits of hormonal and surgical interventions. Further, clinicians are often unaware of how best to communicate information to persons seeking gender affirming therapy. Patient decision aids have been developed to provide evidence-based information as a way to help people make decisions in collaboration with their clinicians.

Food craving in daily life: comparison of overweight and normal-weight participants with ecological momentary assessment.

Background: The present study examined food cravings in daily life by comparing overweight and normal-weight participants right before eating events and at non-eating moments. It was hypothesised that overweight participants would have (i) more frequent, (ii) stronger and (iii) a greater variety of high-caloric palatable food cravings, and also would (iv) consume more high-caloric palatable foods, than normal-weight participants.

Methods: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) was used to assess food craving strength and frequency, variety of specific food cravings, and food intake.

Amino acids stimulate the endosome-to-Golgi trafficking through Ragulator and small GTPase Arl5.

The endosome-to-Golgi or endocytic retrograde trafficking pathway is an important post-Golgi recycling route. Here we show that amino acids (AAs) can stimulate the retrograde trafficking and regulate the cell surface localization of certain Golgi membrane proteins. By testing components of the AA-stimulated mTORC1 signaling pathway, we demonstrate that SLC38A9, v-ATPase and Ragulator, but not Rag GTPases and mTORC1, are essential for the AA-stimulated trafficking.