Demarginalizing Stigmatized Identities of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Individuals Through Affirmative Group Therapy.

Drawing from the existing literature on minority stress and stigma, this article highlights challenges - psychological, social, and interpersonal - confronting transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals in relation to their gender identity and expression. TGNC individuals are at risk for poor health due to societal stigma and stressors they face as a gender minority group. Further, TGNC individuals may experience stigma in different shapes and forms; specifically, stigma may occur as enacted, felt, internalized, and anticipated stigma.

IL-13 receptor α2 contributes to development of experimental allergic asthma.

Background: IL-13 receptor α2 (IL-13Rα2) binds IL-13 with high affinity and modulates IL-13 responses. There are soluble and membrane forms of IL-13Rα2 generated by alternative splicing in mice, but human subjects express only the membrane form of IL-13Rα2 (memIL-13Rα2).

Objective: We determined the role of memIL-13Rα2 in the development of allergic inflammation in mouse models of asthma.

Adiponectin-deficiency exaggerates sepsis-induced microvascular dysfunction in the mouse brain.

Obesity increases circulating cell-endothelial cell interactions; an early marker of inflammation in laboratory model of sepsis, but little is known about the effect of different adipokines. Adiponectin is an anti-inflammatory adipokine secreted by adipocytes. Adiponectin deficiency is implicated in exaggerated proinflammatory phenotype in both obesity and sepsis via increased proinflammatory cytokine expression.

A randomized comparison of a new flexible bipolar hemostasis forceps designed principally for NOTES versus a conventional surgical laparoscopic bipolar forceps for intra-abdominal vessel sealing in a porcine model.

Background: Current devices for hemostasis in flexible endoscopy are inferior to methods used during open or laparoscopic surgery and might be ineffective for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery.

Objective: To compare new flexible bipolar forceps (FBF), designed principally for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, with laparoscopic bipolar forceps (LBF) for hemostasis of intra-abdominal porcine arteries.

Setting: Surgical laboratories in Europe and the United States.

Optimizing bipolar electrocoagulation for endoscopic hemostasis: assessment of factors influencing energy delivery and coagulation.

Background: Few data inform decisions on the optimal bipolar electrocoagulation (BPEC) technique.

Objectives: To assess how technical factors influence energy delivery and coagulation.

Design: Prospective, randomized study in experimental models: meat, live pig mesenteric arteries.

V75R576 IL-4 receptor alpha is associated with allergic asthma and enhanced IL-4 receptor function.

Asthma is a complex polygenic disease. Many studies have implicated the importance of IL-4R alpha in the development of allergic inflammation and its gene has been implicated in the genetics of asthma and atopy. In this study, we examined the functional consequences of two of the human IL-4R alpha allelic variants that have been found to associate with asthma and atopy.

Analysis of the life cycle of stat6. Continuous cycling of STAT6 is required for IL-4 signaling.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription (Stat)6 is a transcription factor important for the development of Th2 cells and regulation of gene expression by IL-4 and IL-13. It is known that Stat6 is rapidly activated in response to IL-4; however, the fate of activated Stat6 is less clear. We examined the fate of activated Stat6 and found that during continuous exposure to IL-4, Stat6 activity was sustained for 72 h and that the maintenance of a constant level of activated Stat6 did not require new protein synthesis.