Publications by authors named "Maria Fernanda Garcia"

Climate-related disasters pose significant risks to mental health and well-being globally. Individuals from disaster-prone regions, such as Puerto Rico, are at even greater risk. The devastating effects of recurrent hurricanes, compounded with pre-existing structural disparities (e.

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Understanding the experiences of unaccompanied youths in refugee foster care is important to tailor such systems to support the complex needs and desires of these youth. This instrumental case study sought to understand how a cohort of unaccompanied refugee youth experience refugee foster care as they navigate the "in-betweenness" of adolescence. Eight youth (ages 17-21) from Guatemala and Honduras, nine foster parents, and two staff were interviewed.

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Research suggests that forced migration may lead to cultural stress and psychological distress. However, little is known about immigrant parents' pre- and post-migration concerns for their children's welfare. The present study examined the concerns of Venezuelan parents who migrated to the United States versus those who migrated to Colombia, and whether post-migration concerns were related to cultural stressors, mental health, and cultural identity.

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Background: Since 2015, ~ 8 million Venezuelans have fled what was once Latin America's most prosperous nation, with many relocating to nearby Colombia and others migrating to the United States (U.S.).

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Purpose: We present a psychometric evaluation of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Boston Form (CES-D-B) for use with different Latino subgroups as there is inconsistency regarding its performance across subgroups of Latinos, a large and rapidly growing cultural group in the United States.

Methods: We evaluated the reliability and structural validity of the scores generated by the CES-D-B using four distinct Latino samples residing in US: Mexicans, Venezuelans, Cubans, and "other Latinos" (total N = 1033). To further explore structural validity of CES-D-B scores, we conducted measurement invariance analyses across different countries of origin, gender groups, educational levels, and languages of assessment (English, Spanish).

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Article Synopsis
  • The aftermath of Hurricane María in 2017 led to a significant migration of Puerto Ricans to the continental U.S., despite their territorial ties to the U.S. and distinct cultural identity.
  • The study focused on the experiences of 42 Puerto Rican parents who were displaced, using cultural stress theory and psychological sense of community to understand their challenges and resilience.
  • Findings reveal that these parents faced the loss of social connections and support networks in exchange for the potential economic and safety benefits in the U.S., highlighting their complex journey as cross-cultural migrants.
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Background: Angiogenesis is a process that many tumors depend on for growth, development, and metastasis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the major players in tumor angiogenesis in several tumor types, including melanoma. VEGF inhibition is achieved by bevacizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds with high affinity to VEGF and prevents its function.

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Objectives: A growing body of research points to a relationship between exposure to migration-related cultural stress and mental health problems. However, such research is often conducted with the tacit assumption that postmigration experiences are the primary-if not singular-driver of psychological distress. In the present study, we aim to extend the cultural-stress paradigm by examining the influences of both premigration crisis exposure and postmigration cultural stress on depression in a sample of Venezuelan crisis migrants in Colombia.

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Hurricane María caused significant devastation on the island of Puerto Rico, impacting thousands of lives. Puerto Rican crisis migrant families faced stress related to displacement and relocation (cultural stress), often exhibited mental health symptoms, and experienced distress at the family level. Although cultural stress has been examined as an individual experience, little work has focused on the experience as a family.

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Emerging research provides insights into migration-related cultural stress experiences and mental health among Venezuelan migrants; however, prior studies have not considered the critical distinction between xenophobia and discrimination. To address this gap, we assess the psychometric properties of an abbreviated version of the Perceived Online Racism Scale (PORS) with Venezuelan migrant youth and examine the interplay between online xenophobia, in-person discrimination, and mental health. Survey data were collected from Venezuelan migrant youth ( = 319; ages 13-17, 49.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, leading to significant migration and cultural stress for many survivors now living in the U.S. mainland.
  • A study with 319 participants analyzed how different levels of cultural stress, identified through methods like latent profile analysis, affected mental health outcomes, revealing four distinct stress profiles among survivors.
  • Those in moderate to high cultural stress categories reported notably higher symptoms of depression and anxiety, indicating the importance of understanding these stressors in clinical settings and supporting affected individuals.
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Anxiety is the most prevalent mental health disorder among adults worldwide. Given its increased prevalence among migrants due to their marginalized position in the societies where they reside, psychometric evaluations of anxiety measures such as the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) are needed for use with migrants. The present study is the first attempt to compare the structure of GAD-7 scores for (a) different Latino groups in the same country and (b) the same Latino group in two different countries.

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ChiTn, a mouse/human chimeric anti-Tn monoclonal antibody, was radiolabeled with iodine-131 (I) and technetium-99m (Tc) to assess its biodistribution and internalization in Tn-expressing (Tn+) and wild-type (Tn-) LL/2 lung cancer cells. Selective accumulation and gradual internalization of ChiTn were observed in Tn+ cells. Biodistribution in mice with both Tn+ or Tn- lung tumors indicated that the uptake of radiolabeled ChiTn within tumors increased over time.

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  • Acute retinal necrosis (ARN) is a serious eye condition that needs prompt antiviral and steroid treatment to avoid blindness.
  • A case series involving eight patients diagnosed with ARN was studied, where various treatments and their outcomes were evaluated.
  • The results showed that both oral and intravenous antiviral treatments had similar visual outcomes, but initial poor vision and involvement of the macula predicted worse final visual acuity.
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  • The political climate's impact on Hispanic/Latino (HL) adolescents was examined before and after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, highlighting the volatility associated with new leadership.
  • The study, conducted in Los Angeles and Miami with a sample of 304 HL adolescents, assessed perceived negative political climate and its relationship with depressive symptoms, anxiety, and substance use.
  • Findings revealed that negative political climate increased in Miami and among Cuban-origin adolescents post-election, underscoring the need to understand variations in political stressors as they relate to mental health disparities in HL youth.
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Glioblastoma (GBM), as the most central nervous system (CNS) intractable disease, has spoiled millions of lives due to its high mortality. Even though several efforts have been made, the existing treatments have had limited success. In this sense, we studied a lead compound, the boron-rich selective epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-inhibitor hybrid , as a potential drug for GBM treatment.

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Hurricane Maria (2017) caused great damage to Puerto Rico, undermining people's quality of life and forcing thousands to migrate to the U.S. mainland.

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Grounded in an ecodevelopment perspective, in the current study we examined unique and moderating effects of daily COVID-19 prevalence (social contexts) on effects of COVID-19 related risk and protective factors such as emotional distress (individual contexts) and employment (working from home and unemployment status; family contexts) on family functioning among 160 recent immigrant families in Israel. In general, results indicate several unique effects of COVID-19 related factors (such as COVID-19 emotional distress, unemployment, and remote work arrangements) on both parents' and adolescents' reports of family functioning. However, results indicated that there were more significant associations between COVID-19 factors (e.

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Purpose: In September 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. Houses were destroyed, millions of people lost power and access to clean water, and many roads were flooded and blocked. In the years following the storm, hundreds of thousands of people have left Puerto Rico and settled on the U.

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Socioeconomic inequalities in the detection and treatment of non-communicable diseases represent a challenge for healthcare systems in middle-income countries (MICs) in the context of population ageing. This challenge is particularly pressing regarding hypertension due to its increasing prevalence among older individuals in MICs, especially among those with lower socioeconomic status (SES). Using comparative data for China, Colombia, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa, we systematically assess the association between SES, measured in the form of a wealth index, and hypertension detection and control around the years 2007-15.

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  • Understanding the changing political climate around immigration is crucial for studying how it affects recent immigrants' adaptation.
  • Methods to recruit and keep recently arrived Hispanic families engaged in research are discussed, emphasizing the challenges faced in this process.
  • Key barriers include frequent moves, mistrust of authority, and irregular work hours, which complicate building trust and maintaining participation in longitudinal studies.
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The present study was designed to examine the extent to which, in a sample of 873 Hispanic college students, daily levels of, and variability in, well-being would mediate the predictive effects of culturally related stressors (discrimination, negative context of reception, and bicultural stress) on internalizing and externalizing symptoms 11 days later. A 12-day daily diary design was utilized, where reports of cultural stressors were gathered on Day 1, daily well-being reports were gathered on Days 2-11, and outcomes were measured on Day 12 (with controls for Day 1 levels of these same outcomes). Structural equation modeling results indicated that daily means of, and variability in, well-being significantly mediated the predictive effect of Day 1 ethnic/racial discrimination, negative context of reception, and bicultural stress on Day 12 symptoms of anxiety and depression.

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  • The migration of unaccompanied immigrant and refugee youth has surged globally, driven by factors like war, violence, and poverty, with notable peaks in 2014 (U.S.) and 2015 (Europe).
  • Research involving 31 studies (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods) focuses on the stages of their immigration journeys, from the decision to leave their home countries to resettlement experiences in new countries.
  • The review identifies four key stages: the decision to migrate, experiences during the migration, psychological adjustment upon arrival, and the challenges of adaptation, emphasizing the role of social support in these youth's resettlement.
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