Human Function Research Articles

814 SLEEP DISORDERS AND DYSBIOSIS: CULPRITS IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

Abstract Introduction Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide, has become a mainstay in addressing this considerable global challenge. It has become clear that the gut microbiome plays a vital role in human metabolism, immunity, and reactions to diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Growing evidence suggests that sleep quality can be influenced by the Gut Microbiome (GM), since probiotic supplementation has been found to improve subjective sleep healthy. Disruption of sleep and sleep/wake functions has been associated with both short (increased stress responsivity or psychosocial issues) and long term health consequences, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Emerging evidence suggests that disturbance of circadian rhythm, which incorporates essential physiological and humoral functions in a 24-hour cycle, could be an understudied risk factor for cardiovascular disease. While impaired sleep quality is a significant contributor to circadian rhythm disturbance, the evidence regarding sleep interventions and their effect on cardiovascular events is lacking. We conduct a literature review to synthesize a body of evidence on the interaction between sleep and GM in order to achieve robust and broad conclusions and implications with the cardiovascular system. Methods We reviewed the literature on the relationship between sleep, gut microbiome and cardiovascular disease, from January 2017 up until August 2022. Results The human GM can influence health through a bidirectional communication channel linking the brain and gut, the Brain-Gut-Microbiome Axis (BGMA). Many authors have described several underlying factors that could be involved in sleep-disorder, such as the immune system, the vagus nerve (VN), the neuroendocrine system, and bacterial metabolites. Furthermore, several interventions targeting the GM have been proved to be beneficial for amelioration of sleep problems: gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) produced by the intestinal microbiota may influence the central nervous system through the VN and have an influence on sleep, as some studies reported Conclusions Sleep health may constitute a novel cardiovascular risk factor and target for preventive intervention. More research and well-designed studies are needed to better evaluate the role of the microbiome in the multi-directional relationship between sleep, diet and CVD. From our analysis GM provides a wide range of potential therapeutic targets. Challenges ahead include the development of therapeutic interventions that target reversing gut dysbiosis, at an early stage, combined with good sleep behavior, which may open new horizons to prevent cardiovascular disease.

Лингвобезопасность и противостояние коммуникативным угрозам в сфере здравоохранения (материалы международного круглого стола, РАНХиГС, телерадиоканал «Русский мир», 21.06.2022)

Review of the round table "Linguistic security. Anti-vaccination as a communicative threat: linguistic mechanisms of consciousness manipulation", organized by the staff of the research laboratory "Linguistic security and psychology of information impact" of the Institute of Law and National Security of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. During the discussion, the changed nature of communication threats in general was considered, and the destructive flows of medical topics, in particular, the formed stereotypes and anti-values of the anti-vaccination discourse, were highlighted. The participants in the discussion distinguished between such concepts as “covid dissident” and “anti-vaccination”. An excursion into the history of vaccination is given, the path of the emergence of anti-vaccination discourse is traced. The Soviet experience of working with health education, as well as Chinese practices from the moment of the formation of the PRC to the present day, are analyzed. The participants of the round table highlighted the methods by which the Russian audience is retained and new users are involved, they dwelled in detail on the proximity strategy actively used by anti-vaccinators. Tactics for consolidating society in times of crisis are proposed, special attention is paid to the strategy of nomination, euphemization, which, from a manipulatory means, can become a therapeutic method with the help of mitigation. The functions of black humor as a popular form of popular opposition to destructive information flows are also indicated. Proposals have been put forward for the development of strategic programs for the training of new specialists, such as "infodemiologist", where informational and biological aspects will be equally taken into account when covering public health topics. Improvement of legislation in the field of content labeling seems to be tactical measures in the near future.

HIERARCHY OF NEEDS AND SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING

Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Subjective Well-Being (SWB) are the two concepts that this paper addresses. The SWB measures used include Eudaimonic Wellbeing (EWB), Human Functioning (HF), and Satisfaction with Life (SWL). Issue: A range of human needs must be fulfilled in order to maintain SWB. However, SWB is not always dependent on the criteria that were considered significant; rather, it depends on the factors that respondents believe are most significant based on their cognitive assessments. Furthermore, people do not have to fully satisfy one need for the subsequent need to rise in the hierarchy. Purpose: In order to determine how SWB relates to the convenience and difficulty of meeting human needs, this study delves into such relationships. Method: Mann Whitney U-Tests were implemented to determine the median SWL across 24 human needs, accounting for both convenience and difficulty. These basic requirements for life are what people typically and widely strive for. Findings: SWB increased by how convenient the majority of human needs can be satisfied. The SWB did not significantly interact with some human needs, despite their being regarded vital.

Functions and transmission of humour in interpreter-mediated healthcare consultations

Abstract This paper presents an exploratory study of humour in multilingual, multicultural healthcare interactions with an interpreter. Data are part of a dataset of healthcare encounters observed in a hospital in Madrid (Spain) for a period of five months, which included the participation of six interpreters. Four aspects were analysed: (1) who initiates humour, (2) who receives humour, (3) what the functions of humour are, and (4) how interpreters behave vis-à-vis humour occurrences. Preliminary findings indicate that humour allows patients, healthcare providers and interpreters to pursue relational and transactional goals similar to those present in monolingual healthcare interactions, such as handling negative emotions. Interpreters are active co-constructors of humour, and all participants in the triad work together towards the establishment and recognition of a humorous frame, where hierarchical relationships seem to exist. Together with linguistic and cultural differences between participants, interpreters must appropriately render background and contextual knowledge to ensure humour maintains its intended function, which emphasises the healthcare interpreter’s active role in interaction. These findings call for greater attention to research on humour, as well as specific training for interpreters to highlight its relational power and, thus, ensure successful communication in multicultural, multilingual (healthcare) settings.

Dissecting the types and functions of religious humor in Nasreddin Hoja short-stories

Humor is a significant element in funny stories. This study aims to analyze the types and functions of humor in selected Nasreddin’s short stories from the book Nasreddin’s Funniest Stories (2011) by Yusup Priyasudiarja and Y. Sri Purwaningsih. By using the descriptive qualitative method, the study adopts textual analysis to examine the materials. Based on the analysis result, the types of humor applied in the stories are that joke, sarcasm, satire, replies to rhetorical question, clever replies, and double entendres. However, these writings lack some other typical types of spontaneous conversational humor used in short stories’ texts: puns and self-deprecation. Meanwhile, unintentional humor is also not found in the Nasreddin short stories because it is raised from the speaker’s misspellings, mispronunciations, errors in logic, and Freudian slips. Further reading shows that the underlying usage of humor in these stories is for social management: to control and mediate readers.

Humor as a Multifaceted Resource in Healthcare: An Initial Qualitative Analysis of Perceived Functions and Conditions of Medical Assistants’ Use of Humor in their Everyday Work and Education

It has been argued that humor serves as a crucial resource for healthcare professionals (HCPs). For example, they can use it to cope with work stress, to build relationships with patients, and/or to educate medical students and residents—to name but a few functions. However, empirical studies on the importance of humor among HCPs are still scarce. Existing studies primarily focus on nurses and physicians and rarely distinguish between different humor styles (e.g., light and dark). Based on qualitative interviews with 14 German Medical Assistants (MAs), we investigate the potential of humor as a resource for MAs’ work and education. We focus on the perceived functions and conditions of MAs’ successful use of humor as well as the role of humor styles (i.e., comic styles). Results indicate various functions of humor in MAs’ everyday work (e.g., soothing patients, coping with mistakes, fostering team cohesion, or promoting apprentices’ education) as well as different conditions for a successful use of humor (e.g., positive social basis, current well-being, and social sensitivity). Further, the results suggest that the use of a certain humor style depends on the interlocutor as well as the intended goal of the humor. The results not only stress the multifaceted potential as well as the relevance of conditions of successful humor for MAs’ everyday work and education, but also provide valuable real-life insights into MAs’ everyday humor, thus offering several implications for practice to promote humor as a positive resource in MAs.

The Function and Style of Humor in The Amphibian Abu Shallakh

The Function and Style of Humor in The Amphibian Abu Shallakh

A Comparative Study of Humor Functions in Wojooh wa Hekayat” Short Story Collection” and Red and Black

A Comparative Study of Humor Functions in Wojooh wa Hekayat” Short Story Collection” and Red and Black

Effects of meditation on physiological and metabolic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus “MindDM”: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundSri Lanka is faced with the challenge of managing a large population with diabetes mellitus by 2030. Psychological stress plays a major role in disease outcome by exerting physiological, psychological and social effects on individuals with chronic disorders.Meditation-based interventions have positive effects on the management of stress and diabetes, which are mediated via modulation of neuro-humoral mechanisms and autonomic functions, among others. Mechanisms of bio-physiological effects of meditation are considered to be through reduction of stress hormones, improvement of insulin resistance and improvement of autonomic dysfunction.MethodsThis study will be conducted as an open-label, randomized controlled clinical trial in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo. The aim is to investigate the effects of meditation on glycaemic control and possible mechanisms of how meditation affects glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. The study was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo (ERC/2019/094). Patients who are attending the professorial unit medical clinic with type 2 diabetes (172 in total) will be recruited based on inclusion-exclusion criteria. Patients who have never meditated or rarely meditated (less than once every three months) will be randomized using block randomization to meditation and waitlisted arms (1:1 allocation ratio). The meditation arm will undergo a mindfulness meditation program (selected after studying several meditation methods) conducted by a qualified instructor weekly for a period of 12 weeks in addition to usual care, while the waitlisted arm will only receive usual care. Daily meditation practices will be recorded in a diary. The primary outcome measure is HbA1c. Secondary outcome measures are fasting blood sugar, fructosamine, insulin resistance (calculated using fasting serum insulin), 24-h urinary cortisol, body mass index, cardiac autonomic reflex testing (Ewing’s battery of tests) and orocecal transit time using hydrogen breath analysis. All these will be done prior to commencement of the intervention and after 3 months in both arms. Data will be analysed using SPSS V-23.DiscussionThis study aims to identify the effect of mindfulness meditation on glycaemic control and the possible mechanisms (neuro humoral and autonomic functions) by which beneficial effects are mediated.Trial registrationRegistered under Sri Lanka Clinical Trial Registry: SLCTR/2021/015The Universal Trial Number (UTN) U1111-1266-8640

Organizational humor as making our work more meaningful: mediation by crafting job resources

Abstract In the present study, we examined the impact of humor’s positive functions on the perception of a job’s meaningfulness. We argued that liberating and stress-relieving humor act as job resources enhancing job crafting to increase social and structural resources to experience meaningfulness. We hypothesized that crafting the job to increase structural and social resources would mediate the link between organizational humor functions (i.e., liberating and stress-relieving) and meaningfulness. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 200 Turkish employees from different occupations. Our results revealed that increasing structural resources mediated the relationship between liberating humor and meaningfulness, while this mediation was partially for stress-relieving humor. The mediating role of increasing social resources was partial and conditional for both types of organizational humor functions. The practical and theoretical implications have been discussed from a positive organizational scholarship perspective.

Memes as culture repositories - social emotions during “Stay at home” phase in Poland from public health perspective

Aim. The main goal of the article is to obtain a socio-medical picture of COVID-19 pandemic from Polish Internet memes. Memes are part of a collective memory and could help one understand the ongoing social processes during the pandemic.
 Methodology. We perform qualitative analysis of the selected memes shared on the Polish Internet. Among over 2000 gathered memes, 25 examples of memes were dedicated to #stayathome phase (18 March 2020 until 7 April 2020).
 Results. We have distinguished three main topics, areas and functions: uncertainty and anxiety in everyday life; managing isolation and making sense of the safety measures; building support community and solidarity with medical staff. We found a relatively high number of supportive, pro-health memes during the stay-at-home phase in comparison to prepandemic era as well as other phases of the pandemic.
 Conclusions. Memes go beyond the humorous function, as they also carry new information and give context to new situations or events. Thus, memospheres should be monitored and used in public health awareness campaigns helping people who are coping with uncertainty, facilitating the internalization process of acceptance as well as promoting help-giving attitudes. Memes could be utilised as health communication techniques to influence Internet users.

From Tears to Laughter: Gender, Humour and Democracy in Ishii Momoko's Non-chan Kumo ni Noru

Ishii Momoko (1907–2008) is arguably the most important and influential figure in Japanese children’s literature, not only as a prolific and award-winning writer and translator, but also as an editor of important series, a critic, and a pioneer of the children’s library movement. This article examines the significance of humour in her works, especially her acclaimed novel for children, Non-chan kumo ni noru (Little Non rides on the clouds, 1947), and its relationships with gender and democracy. The article first outlines Ishii’s activities in the pre-war, wartime, post-war and later periods, and the centrality of humour throughout her life. Despite the critical acclaim and popularity of her works, humour in Non-chan has been neglected in humour studies and studies of children’s literature. Through a detailed analysis of the quantity and quality of laughter in Non-chan, I argue that Ishii has skilfully depicted various functions of humour, including expression and sharing of merriment, consolation and diversion, healing, revelation, derision, protest and revolt. As Tsurumi Shunsuke (2001) theorised, humour has the potential to communicate with a diverse range of people and find democratic, non-violent solutions to what look like dark, desperate situations.

On Second Thought

On Second Thought

“Do they fit together like the Joker and Harley Quinn?”: Joking, laughing, humor styles, and dyadic adjustment among people in long-term romantic relationships

While people value a good sense of humor in their potential romantic partners, we know comparatively less about the function of humor in long-term relationships. Using the survey method, we measured the production, appreciation, and quality of humor along with humor styles and dyadic adjustment in long-term relationships among 149 heterosexual couples. Men produced more jokes than women, but the sexes responded to their partners' jokes at the same frequency. Men also rated their jokes as funnier than the jokes of their partners. Partners were matched in aggressive and self-defeating humor styles. Laughing and humor quality ratings as well as humor styles had effects for men's and women's dyadic adjustment. We conclude that in long-term, romantic relationships, a sense of humor is part of the mechanisms involved in building relationships.

The Role of JAKs and STAT3 in Regulation of Regenerative-Competent Cells of the Nervous Tissue in β-Amyloid-Induced Neurodegeneration.

We studied the role of JAKs and STAT3 in the growth potential of neural stem cells and the humoral neurotrophic function of neuroglia in modeling β-amyloid-induced neurodegeneration in vitro. It was found that these signaling molecules do not participate in the neural stem cell functioning, and JAKs plays an inhibitory role (realized, however, without STAT3) in the secretion of neurotrophins by glial cells under conditions of their optimal vital activity. The effect of β-amyloid on progenitor cells is accompanied by the appearance of a "negative" effect of STAT3 signaling pathway on their proliferative activity. At the same time, JAKs and STAT3 during neurodegeneration stimulate specialization/differentiation of neural stem cells and production of growth factors by neuroglial cells. These results indicate the possibility of stimulating proliferation of neural stem cells coupled with their differentiation by using selective STAT3 inhibitors.

Communicating urgency through humor: School Strike 4 Climate protest placards

Protest placards are an important part of School Strike 4 Climate (SS4C) protest culture and illustrate how protesters view, understand and share their environmental concerns. Many of the placards use humor to convey the messages of their creators. Bringing together science communication and humor studies, this paper examines the communicative functions of humor in Australian SS4C posters by asking to what extent protest signs can be understood as a vehicle of science communication. The paper reveals how humorous protest placards become the means of grassroots creativity, exploring bottom-up science communication in an ambiguous, but accessible and enjoyable form.

“I Can Go Slapsticks”: Humor as Humanizing Pedagogy for Science Instruction With Multilingual Adolescent Immigrant Learners

Research shows that humor can play an important role in students’ language learning and literacy development. However, studies on how teachers intentionally enact humor as a pedagogical tool are still limited. This classroom discourse study examines the interactional construction and pedagogical functions of humor in one U.S. multilingual high school science classroom. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of languaging and affect, we took a discourse analytic approach to analyze classroom interactions and interview data to examine how the teacher used humor as humanizing pedagogy. We illustrate that the teacher held a humanizing teaching approach to working with immigrant students and viewed “slapstick humor” as part of his humanizing pedagogy. He co-constructed humor with his multilingual students in classroom interaction, and his pedagogical humor worked towards simultaneously humanizing learning, teaching scientific content, and building authentic caring relationships with students through care and empathy. We conclude the article with a discussion of the implications of this study for the research and practice of using humor in language and literacy classrooms with immigrant multilingual students.

Laughing at revolutionary times: the socio-linguistic and pragmatic functions of Jordanian political humour after the Arab Spring

ABSTRACT This article investigates the socio-linguistic and pragmatic functions of Jordanian political humour after the Arab Spring revolutions from the perspective of Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of carnival and the carnivalesque (folk humour). The analysis undertaken here of Jordanian political humour reveals a peculiar use of carnivalesque political humour via the use of humour as a socio-linguistic and pragmatic device that allows the ridicule of the government but not of the monarch. This occurs through the use of (1) conversational implicature, (2) rhetorical question, (3) malapropism, (4) taboo language and (5) reference and inference. This humour appears to be a form of ‘licensed disruption,’ an idea that is used extensively by some scholars of Bakhtin to talk about the popular politics of resistance and its limits and targets – what can and cannot be said within legal frameworks and societal expectations. Such humour, I found, has constantly called for reform of the government but not for regime change or revolution and has led to significant socio-political changes in Jordanian society, through which people are more willing to criticise and mock the government in social media platforms, such as Facebook.

Acute Surge of Atypical Memory and Plasma B-Cell Subsets Driven by an Extrafollicular Response in Severe COVID-19.

BackgroundDespite the use of vaccines and therapeutics against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, this severe disease has been a critical burden on public health, whereas the pathogenic mechanism remains elusive. Recently, accumulating evidence underscores the potential role of the aberrant B-cell response and humoral immunity in disease progression, especially in high-risk groups.MethodsUsing single-cell RNA (scRNA) sequencing analysis, we investigated transcriptional features of B-cell population in peripheral blood from COVID-19 patients and compared them, according to clinical severity and disease course, against a public B-cell dataset.ResultsWe confirmed that acute B cells differentiate into plasma cells, particularly in severe patients, potentially through enhanced extrafollicular (EF) differentiation. In severe groups, the elevated plasma B-cell response displayed increased B-cell receptor (BCR) diversity, as well as higher levels of anti–severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (anti–SARS-CoV-2) spike antibodies in plasma, than those in moderate cases, suggesting more robust and heterogeneous plasma cell response in severe COVID-19 patients. Trajectory analysis identified a differentiation pathway for the EF B-cell response from active naïve to atypical memory B cells (AM2), in addition to the emergence of an aberrant plasma cell subset (PC2), which was associated with COVID-19 progression and severity. The AM2 and PC2 subsets surged in the acute phase of the severe disease and presented multiple inflammatory features, including higher cytokine expression and humoral effector function, respectively. These features differ from other B-cell subsets, suggesting a pathogenic potential for disease progression.ConclusionThe acute surge of AM2 and PC2 subsets with lower somatic hypermutation and higher inflammatory features may be driven by the EF B-cell response during the acute phase of severe COVID-19 and may represent one of the critical drivers in disease severity.

Avidity in antibody effector functions and biotherapeutic drug design.

Antibodies are the cardinal effector molecules of the immune system and are being leveraged with enormous success as biotherapeutic drugs. A key part of the adaptive immune response is the production of an epitope-diverse, polyclonal antibody mixture that is capable of neutralizing invading pathogens or disease-causing molecules through binding interference and by mediating humoral and cellular effector functions. Avidity — the accumulated binding strength derived from the affinities of multiple individual non-covalent interactions — is fundamental to virtually all aspects of antibody biology, including antibody–antigen binding, clonal selection and effector functions. The manipulation of antibody avidity has since emerged as an important design principle for enhancing or engineering novel properties in antibody biotherapeutics. In this Review, we describe the multiple levels of avidity interactions that trigger the overall efficacy and control of functional responses in both natural antibody biology and their therapeutic applications. Within this framework, we comprehensively review therapeutic antibody mechanisms of action, with particular emphasis on engineered optimizations and platforms. Overall, we describe how affinity and avidity tuning of engineered antibody formats are enabling a new wave of differentiated antibody drugs with tailored properties and novel functions, promising improved treatment options for a wide variety of diseases.