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An introduction is presented in which the author discusses articles within the issue on topics including the role of visual experiences and sociocultural pressures in the shaping of body images of people diagnosed with blindness, feasibility and acceptability of using videoconferencing tools to present an adapted job-search intervention, and low vision rehabilitation of optometrists providing services in the Pubjab, Pakistan.

This paper aims to uncover assumptions about inclusion held by preservice teachers in physical education. The focus is on how they construct ideas about inclusion and how these constructions inform their attempts to reduce inequities and enhance inclusion in their teaching practices. A critical approach to the reflections of 41 Dutch preservice teachers, revealed how they struggled with inclusion and perceived it both as a gift and a project. Their positive affection for students whose bodies and attitudes resembled the ideal of the preservice teacher, opened the window for exclusionary practices in which all students became responsible for their own inclusion. The preservice teachers tended to apply discourses of transformation to those who underperformed or whose attitudes were perceived as inappropriate. The paper concludes with reflections on how teaching stances that are shaped by cruel optimism can inform inclusion and exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The paper examines preferences for nutritional and health‐related food attributes, the importance placed on intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of food and the individual, household and psychographic determinants when making choices. To address the lack of empirical studies, the paper estimates Poisson, negative binomial and linear regressions using data from 457 young Chinese adults between 18 and 30 years. The results show a strong preference for nutritional and health‐related food attributes. Gender and unemployment are associated with a decrease in the number of nutritional features valued in food choices. In contrast, a higher income and a positive perception of body shape are associated with an increase in the number of valued nutritional features. Also, older individuals assign lower importance to intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics in evaluating food, while larger household size, higher income, and positive body shape perception increase the importance placed on intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics in evaluating food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible Summary: What is known on the subject?: Bulimia nervosa is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating, inappropriate compensatory behaviours to prevent weight gain and excessive mental preoccupation with body weight and shape. What the paper adds to existing knowledge?: In this paper, the feelings, thoughts and experiences of an individual with bulimia nervosa are explained, and the positive and negative effects of their experiences during the treatment process are emphasized.This paper offers advice to patients, relatives and healthcare professionals in recognizing and treating bulimia nervosa. What are the implications for practice?: Mental health nurses should organize training, seminars and conferences to raise awareness of society against bulimia nervosa, which is defined as a mannequin disease and therefore creates a positive perception.Mental health nurses, an essential part of the health system, should raise awareness of individuals and families about recognizing, monitoring and supporting the early symptoms of bulimia nervosa. Introduction: Bulimia nervosa is one of the areas where mental health professionals have difficulties due to its nature and course. It is important to understand the factors related to this problem in‐depth to discover the dynamics unique to the individual that causes the difficulty, identify new perspectives on these dynamics and identify alternative behaviours, stop stubborn binge‐eating attacks and prevent relapse. Aim: It is aimed to provide an in‐depth insight into the nature, course and treatment processes of bulimia nervosa through the narrative of the lived experience of an individual living with this problem. Implication for Practice: The perception of beauty seriously impacts the onset and later course of bulimia nervosa and draws attention to the fact that mental health professionals and media workers have important duties to change the concept of beauty equals being skinny, created in society and the media. Quality of perceived social support is very important in preventing, treating and rehabilitating bulimia nervosa. Adopting a more objective approach, which will prevent the positive or negative stigmatization of the disease in explaining bulimia nervosa to the public, should be adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic resonance imaging produces detailed anatomical and physiological images of the human body that can be used in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of diseases. However, MRI suffers its comparatively longer acquisition time than other imaging methods and is thus vulnerable to motion artifacts, which ultimately lead to likely failed or even wrong diagnosis. In order to perform faster reconstruction, deep learning-based methods along with traditional strategies such as parallel imaging and compressed sensing come into play in recent years in this field. Meanwhile, in order to better analyze the diseases, it is also often necessary to acquire images in the same region of interest under different modalities, which yield images with different contrast levels. However, most of these aforementioned methods tend to use single-modal images for reconstruction, neglecting the correlation and redundancy information embedded in MR images acquired with different modalities. While there are works on multi-modal reconstruction, the information is yet to be efficiently explored. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end neural network called MLMFNet, which helps the reconstruction of the target modality by using information from the auxiliary modality across feature channels and layers. Specifically, this is highlighted by three components: (I) An encoder based on UNet with a single-stream strategy that fuses auxiliary and target modalities; (II) a decoder that tends to multi-level features from all layers of the encoder, and (III) a channel attention module. Quantitative and qualitative analyses are performed on a public brain dataset and knee brain dataset, which show that the proposed method achieves satisfying results in MRI reconstruction within the multi-modal context, and also demonstrate its effectiveness and potential to be used in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of retargeting rigid body attitude with attitude constraints has been extensively investigated, whereas the challenge persists in maneuvering rigid-body attitude with multiple concurrent attitude constraints and finite sequential actuator faults. Finite sequential actuator faults, which can reduce controllability or destabilize the system, necessitate the implementation of fault-tolerant control strategies. Therefore, this paper aims to address the issue of redirecting spacecraft attitude subject to multiple attitude constraints and finite sequential actuator faults comprehensively. Firstly, we represent spacecraft attitude using unit quaternions and employ an artificial potential function to effectively handle multi-attitude constraints. The negative gradient direction guides the rigid-body spacecraft towards seamless convergence with the desired attitude. Our proposed unwinding strategy effectively avoids unwinding phenomena during large-angle spacecraft reorientation as well. Additionally, we design an adaptive compensation strategy for finite sequential actuator faults that enables real-time calculation of the fault compensation matrix under such actuator faults. Importantly, we propose an improved adaptive fault-tolerant back-stepping controller integrated with a potential function that effectively addresses both attitude constraints and finite sequential actuator faults simultaneously. Subsequently, stability analysis is conducted on the proposed controller to ensure its stability in practical applications rigorously. Finally, numerical simulations are performed meticulously to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of our proposed controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During pregnancy, women's bodies undergo rapid body weight and size changes within a relatively short period. Pregnancy may therefore, be associated with an increased vulnerability for developing body image dissatisfaction linked to adverse health outcomes for the mother (e.g., depression, eating disorders) and child (e.g., impaired self-regulation, childhood obesity). The present study aims to examine the prevalence and trajectories of body image dissatisfaction during pregnancy and postpartum and its relationship to pre-pregnancy BMI. This is the first study that investigates prevalence rates of body image dissatisfaction not only ante- but also postpartum, and that compares trajectories of women with normal weight and overweight. Methods: A prospective longitudinal design with a quantitative approach was applied. Healthy pregnant women (N = 136) answered paper-pencil or online questionnaires at four time points (18th-22nd and 33rd-37th week of gestation, 3 and 6 months postpartum). Body image dissatisfaction was assessed using the German version of the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). Both questionnaires are considered reliable and valid measures of several aspects of body image, and the BSQ allows for calculating prevalence rates by providing cut-off values. Using not just one but two body image questionnaires, trajectories of body image dissatisfaction can be compared. Pre-pregnancy BMI was assessed retrospectively via self-reported weight and height. Results: The proportion of women reporting elevated levels of body image dissatisfaction was 6.6% (n = 9) in the second trimester, 2.9% (n = 4) in the third trimester, 11.0% (n = 15) three months postpartum, and 10.3% (n = 14) six months postpartum. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that body image dissatisfaction significantly decreased from pre-pregnancy to pregnancy, remained stable during pregnancy, and returned to pre-pregnancy levels three to six months postpartum. Mixed between-within ANOVA showed that the overweight/obese group reported significantly higher levels of body image dissatisfaction at each measurement point except during the third trimester than women in the normal weight group. Significant but small interaction effects between time and pre-pregnancy BMI were found. Conclusions: The results revealed that approximately every tenth woman is affected by body image dissatisfaction after childbirth. Women with a higher BMI level before pregnancy are particularly at risk of experiencing body image dissatisfaction. Healthcare providers should screen for body image dissatisfaction, in particular after childbirth, and inform affected women about possible adverse health outcomes and treatment options. Study limitations concern the drop-out rate of 51.4% and the retrospective and self-reported assessment of pre-pregnancy BMI. Future studies should include additional assessment points in the first trimester and more than six months postpartum and try to include a matched control group of non-pregnant women to compare prevalence rates and trajectory of body image dissatisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present times, there is a high influence caused by social media platforms in case of body image issues faced by an individual. Pregnancy is a stage for women where they go through several mental and physical changes. Realizing the inseparable role played by social media in this aspect, it is an attempt here to determine the effect caused by social media on the body image of pregnant women as well for those in their post-partum stages. The PRISMA method is used by the authors to arrive at 55 research papers from the Scopus databases that are systematically reviewed. The authors' review reveals that social media can have both negative and positive effects on women's perception of body image during pregnancy and the postpartum period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sheds light on how digital technologies and transnational media culture in the U.S. promote new ways of making sense of Korean American identity by renegotiating Asian attractiveness in terms of body images and identity. As a prominent case of media globalization, the rise of the Korean Wave in a global context initiated the exploration of Korean Americans' imagination of attractiveness. Noting that white standardized body images have spread along with mass-mediated content, this paper questions whether this new media environment brought with it a similar shift in perceptions of attractiveness. Employing the concepts of intersectionality and Appadurai's notion of global imagination, the researcher delved into the daily lives and media practices of Korean Americans during ten months of fieldwork in the Philadelphia area and conducted in-depth interviews with about thirty Korean Americans. Transnational media became emancipative resources for their global imagination, embracing their ethnic identity. Yet, young Korean American women in particular actively engaged in consumerism driven by global capitalism, as well as Western-centered beauty standards and fashion trends, via mediated images in Korean media. In this way, this new media environment is not an exclusively emancipative force, especially for young women in a racial minority group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing deep learning techniques for the semantic segmentation of remote sensing images has emerged as a prevalent approach for acquiring information about water bodies. Yet, current models frequently fall short in accurately extracting water bodies from high-resolution remote sensing images, as these images often present intricate details of terrestrial objects and complex backgrounds. Vegetation, shadows, and other objects close to water boundaries have increased similarity to water bodies. Moreover, water bodies in high-resolution images have different boundary complexities, shapes, and sizes. This situation makes it somewhat challenging to accurately distinguish water bodies in high-resolution images. To overcome these difficulties, this paper presents a novel network model named EU-Net, specifically designed to extract water bodies from high-resolution remote sensing images. The proposed EU-Net model, with U-net as the backbone network, incorporates improved residual connections and attention mechanisms, and designs multi-scale dilated convolution and multi-scale feature fusion modules to enhance water body extraction performance in complex scenarios. Specifically, in the proposed model, improved residual connections are introduced to enable the learning of more complex features; the attention mechanism is employed to improve the model's discriminative ability by focusing on important channels and spatial areas. The implemented multi-scale dilated convolution technique enhances the model's receptive field while maintaining the same number of parameters. The designed multi-scale feature fusion module is capable of processing both small-scale details and large-scale structures in images, while simultaneously modeling the spatial context relationships of features at different scales. Experimental results validate the superior performance of EU-Net in accurately identifying water bodies from high-resolution remote sensing images, outperforming current models in terms of water extraction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This commentary discusses a principal contribution of Monocello et al.'s paper presenting a cultural models approach to body fatness perceptions, which provides a rigorous and systematic means of identifying analytic categories that are locally meaningful, in contrast to categories derived from a solely universalizing perspective. In situating their work within an underrepresented population in eating disorders research—young men in South Korea—the authors step beyond the constraints of a universalizing, or etic, framework for probing how body dissatisfaction relates to eating disorder risk. The value of an alternative analytic framework, based on a culturally local, or emic, perspective on how bodies are perceived is demonstrated through the use of a cultural models approach exploring the relationship between culturally defined conceptualizations of body image and eating disorder risk. Understanding such relationships and the meanings attributed to the myriad aspects of body image through locally grounded frameworks provides an essential tool for investigators and clinicians to better understand the lived experience of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating, and also to inform more culturally salient approaches to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. An emic approach that centers local perspectives and priorities also facilitates participation of communities underrepresented in research in knowledge production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to in the modern world, possessing an attractive appearance is often considered a highly valued attribute. As such, the perceptions and satisfaction with one's body are shaped by dominant cultural norms. Adolescents, women in particular, who are heavily influenced by media representations, may tend to have a distorted body image (BI), including adopting extreme dieting methods. This study reviews the adverse effects of excessive weight loss associated with this. Design/methodology/approach: The authors searched journals and the internet for relevant literature using the keywords "eating disorders", "body image" and "weight stigma". In the case study field, they added papers that considered "nutrition" to identify the link between dieting behaviour and nutrition. From these reviews, the authors ultimately selected 190 articles that appeared to meet their research objectives. The papers cover a range of studies published between 1995 and 2023. Findings: Among adolescent girls and young women in their early 20s, there is a social media-driven culture of being extremely thin and petite. Weight stigma puts more pressure on them and makes strange behaviours like pro-ana syndrome a part of the culture. The authors have seen that modern BI standards leave young women vulnerable to eating disorders caused by excessive dieting. Originality/value: Adolescence is a time of continuous growth, so balanced nutrition is essential. However, biased societal standards of beauty can push adolescent girls who are sensitive to external gaze into excessive dieting and make eating disorders a culture. This review provides a perspective on the behaviours that should be pursued for a healthy BI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe and enduring anorexia nervosa (SE-AN), is a serious and persistent illness, despite 'state of the art' treatment. Criteria have been theoretically proposed, but not tested, and may not adequately capture illness complexity, which potentially inhibits treatment refinements. The clinical reality of death as an outcome for some people who experience SE-AN (1 in 20) and broadening access to voluntary assisted dying, further complicates the field, which is undeveloped regarding more fundamental concepts such as nosology, treatment, recovery definitions and alternative conceptualisations of SE-AN. The present paper is in response to this and aims to build upon qualitative literature to enhance phenomenological understandings of fatal SE-AN. Method: A published book, being the legacy of a 32-year-old professional artist offers a rich account of a life lived with AN, for 18 years with continuous treatment. A polysemous narrative via the interrelationship between the languages of the artist's words and visual art is translated via interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), offering rich insight into the SE-AN experience. Findings: The process of analysis induced three superordinate themes (1) Disappearing Self (2) Dialectical Dilemma (3) Death and Dying: Finding Meaning. Two cross cutting themes traversed these themes: (a) Colour and (b) Shifting Hope, where the former produced a visual representation via the 'SE-AN Kaleidoscope'. Collectively the themes produce a concept of SE-AN, grounded in the data and depicted visually through the artist's paintings. Conclusions: The picture of SE-AN revealed in the analysis extends upon conceptualisations of SE-AN, highlighting key processes which are thus far under explored. These factors are implicated in illness persistence eliciting opportunities for further research testing including diagnostic considerations and treatment directions. In SE-AN, distorted body image extends to a global distortion in the perception of self. Additional criteria for the severe and enduring stages of illness related to (1) self and identity processes (2) measures of 'global impoverishment' across life domains are proposed for consideration in the future testing of putative defining features of SE-AN. Plain English summary: Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a serious and life-threatening illness. There is a need to understand more about why AN persists in becoming severe and enduring (SE-AN) for some people. One such way to build understanding of a condition is via the stories of those who experience it. This study utilizes a person's unique artistic language to do so. This has the potential to generate new ideas about a condition, especially those that may be beyond words for some people and therefore progress classifications for SE-AN for research and treatment purposes. The artist in this study contributes a unique perspective offering new areas for potential research such as understudied complex psychological processes for example shame, dissociation, 'self', emotional literacy, and anorexia as an identity. Additionally, other factors to be considered in the assessment and classifications of long-term cases of AN as well as an alternative understanding of AN persistence is proposed, beyond the concept of 'body image disturbance'. Alternative treatment approaches such as art therapy are indicated. Note: Contents of this paper may be distressing to people who have lost a loved one to an eating disorder and the following website may provide access to support if any of the content of his paper causes the reader distress: USA - NEDA https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ UK BEAT https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/ Australia Butterfly https://butterfly.org.au/ or Lifeline - which is an international organisation with local websites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the relationship between Black cultural identity body image and mental well-being among Black Americans and Black immigrant women who attend predominately white universities (PWIs). As part of the Multi-Site University Study of Identity and Culture (MUSIC) survey, participants completed the Brief Inventory of Body Image, which included questions such as "I'm proud of my body," "I often feel ugly," 'I have a good figure," "I'm ashamed of my body," and "I am anxious about the way I look." The results showed that there were several similarities between the subgroups in the correlations between body image and mental health indices, such as social anxiety, depression, psychological well-being, and self-esteem. Both Black American and Black immigrant college-aged women had a positive association between body image and indicators of Black women's sense of self, like self-esteem and psychological well-being. They also had a negative association between body image and mental health, such as social anxiety and depression. However, there was one key difference in that Black American women had a stronger association between their sense of self and self-esteem and psychological well-being compared to Black immigrant women. These findings support other studies that suggest Black women tend to have a stronger positive body satisfaction relative to their overall mental well-being. The study has important implications for the understanding of Black women, ethnic identity, body image, and mental health, which are discussed in the paper. Plain Language Summary: Examining body image issues among Black women and its impact on their mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much work has been done to promote the development of positive body image in schools. This paper aims to tell some stories from the past 35 years of work in this field that illuminate important issues in developing, evaluating, and disseminating programs, and in removing policies and practices that could trigger weight stigma and body shame or disordered eating attitudes and behaviours. The need for, goals of, and approaches to body image programs, problematic activities we have ‘good enough’ evidence to avoid, and next steps for advocacy, research, and action are explored as we celebrate how far we’ve come and have hope for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context of complex and contradictory discourses of ‘good’ motherhood, women are often expected to quickly resume or take up a physically active lifestyle postpartum for both their own health and that of their children. Guided by post-structuralist feminism and drawing upon interviews with 12 mothers with young children living in Aotearoa New Zealand, we reveal the various ways mothers navigate social pressures and expectations surrounding ‘good’ motherhood. A reflexive thematic analysis revealed the various pressures on mothers in relation to their physical activity practices. A key element was achieving ‘good mother’ status by taking control of their bodies through exercise and role-modelling proactive physical activity practices for their children and families. While some mothers worked to achieve this unrealistic ideal, others problematised and resisted such pressures. Concerns about body image, pressures from ‘other mothers’, limited time and energy, and feelings of guilt were all key contributing factors influencing mothers’ physical activity practices. Mothers also considered themselves integral in their children’s lives, expressing a desire to increase physical activity time and role modelling for an active family. Focusing on New Zealand mothers’ lived experiences of negotiating the various pressures and expectations of motherhood, including the pursuit of a physically active lifestyle, this paper makes an original contribution to a growing body of literature on the complex relationship between motherhood, sport, and physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culture affects individuals' perceptions and experiences of their bodies. In order to provide the most effective solutions to body image-related issues, it is necessary to understand cultures and their influences on body image in various populations. This paper focuses on the effects of culture on body image. Therefore, a systematic literature search following PRISMA guidelines was performed in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, yielding 2064 articles published between 1990 and 2023. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 54 articles were selected. Our findings showed a strong influence of culture on body image, highlighting the impact of societal expectations on individuals' mental well-being. Western cultures, with their preference for thinness, differ from non-Western ideals. The findings also showed the impact of regional variations within the same culture and society on body image. Furthermore, the study found that the young demographic, especially females, is the most vulnerable to body image issues; however, emerging research within our review also indicates a growing concern among males. This study underscores the necessity of culturally considering interventions to address body image issues, which are integral to improving mental health concerns like body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychosocial factors play an important role in the disease course and illness experience of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Consultation with a health psychologist is an important component of care for many IBD patients and provides an opportunity to identify areas of psychosocial concern, recognize coping deficits and strengths, and facilitate treatment recommendations. Psychosocial assessment in IBD requires a nuanced approach that goes beyond general mental health screening and considers the disease-specific concerns that impact patients. In this paper, we outline strategies for an IBD-focused psychological evaluation, including specific guidance for assessing disease-specific concerns of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, sleep, pain, body image disturbance, food-related quality of life, and psychological resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of a mother's diet is important to ensure child growth and development and keep women healthy. This systematic review aimed to identify the outcomes of a carbohydrate-restricted diet during lactation. PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and LILACS were searched for studies published between 2012 and 2023; 16 studies were selected, all of them case reports or care series. The carbohydrate restriction described in the papers mainly was ketogenic, low-carb, low-carbohydrate and high-fat, and modified ketogenic diets. The main goal of women undertaking these diets was weight loss, with therapeutic purposes (monitored and supervised by health professionals) in only 2 cases: (1) ketogenic diet therapy for treatment of seizures in the infant and (2) to reduce symptoms of mother's gastroesophageal reflux. Most articles reported that lactating women were hospitalized, experiencing symptoms such as vomiting, muscle weakness, nausea, abdominal pain, general malaise, and fatigue. However, articles did not mention poor outcomes for the infants. Most of the studies in this review were published in the past 3 years, indicating a possible increase in cases of women practicing carbohydrate restriction during lactation for weight loss caused by body dissatisfaction. In conclusion, carbohydrate restriction during lactation may be harmful to the lactating woman and contribute to the state of lactational ketoacidosis, but infant outcomes are mainly a change in feeding patterns. Thus, education on food and nutrition is necessary for this population. Carbohydrate restriction during lactation may cause problems for both the mother and the child. There has been an increase in the number of cases of lactating women restricting carbohydrates for weight loss purposes because of dissatisfaction with their bodies. This could result in hospitalization. Ketogenic diet therapy, when assisted by specialized professionals and performed for therapeutic purposes, provides evidence for the potential treatment and control of convulsions in infants. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to theoretically reconsider body image development in infants from a phenomenological viewpoint of the body. Because body image is defined as the mental picture of one's whole body, our main question is how we obtain the perspective to view our own body as a whole in constituting body image. First, focusing on the development of mirror self‐cognition in the first 2 years of life, we find that this perspective derives from that of others in embodied interactions with infants. We then trace the process whereby others' perspectives appear in dyadic interactions between infants and caregivers. Since joint attention is established around 9 months, this dyadic interaction is transformed into a triadic relationship between the infant, caregiver, and object, which is experienced as “secondary intersubjectivity.” Infant body image is constituted gradually within this intersubjective context. Based on phenomenological descriptions, we propose that the hands are the first organ and the face the last organ to be incorporated into one's body image. We conclude that the constitution of body image is not merely a sensory task of integrating proprioceptive and visual images of the body, but a social task of internalizing others' perspectives regarding one's own body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Body dysmorphic disorder is a severe psychiatric condition characterised by a preoccupation with a perceived appearance flaw or flaws that are typically not observable to others. Although significant advances in understanding the disorder have been made in the past decade, current explanations focus on cognitive, behavioural and visual perceptual disturbances that contribute to the disorder. Such a focus does not consider how perception of the internal body or interoception may be involved, despite (1) clinical observations of disturbed perception of the body in body dysmorphic disorder and (2) disturbed interoception being increasingly recognised as a transdiagnostic factor underlying a wide range of psychopathologies. In this paper, we use an existing model of hierarchical brain function and neural (predictive) processing to propose that body dysmorphic disorder involves defective interoception, with perceived appearance flaws being the result of 'interoceptive prediction errors' that cause body parts to be experienced as 'not just right'. We aim to provide a framework for interoceptive research into body dysmorphic disorder, and outline areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about the effectiveness of instructors when presenting content in videos alone. In recent years, researchers have increasingly begun to explore the effects of instructors' social cues (e.g., eye gaze, body orientation, etc.) on learning. However, previous studies exploring the effects of eye gaze have confounded the role of body orientation, while studies exploring body orientation have confounded the role of eye gaze. Objectives: To explore the role of direct gaze and body orientation in learning with instructional videos, absent an instructional screen, in a less confounded manner. Methods: A total of 63 subjects were presented select concepts regarding schizophrenia. Eye‐tracking technology combined with current theories of parasocial interaction and social agency was used to explore different social cues that affect learning performance. Students were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: frontal body + direct gaze group (FD group), frontal body + no direct gaze group (FND group), and lateral body + no direct gaze group (LND group). Result and Conclusions: Direct gaze facilitated students' immediate retention and transfer scores, reduced learners' extraneous cognitive load, and guided students' attention to the instructor. However, counter to our expectations, parasocial interaction did not affect social cues. Implications: In both online and offline classes, instruction is expected to be enhanced by focusing on the camera to the extent possible, particularly when instructional screens are absent. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: In recent years, how instructors' social cues (eye gaze, body orientation, gestures, etc.) can improve video learning has aroused widespread concern.Instructors' eye gaze and body orientation can increase society and improve learning in the online learning environment.The empirical research confounds the role of eye gaze and body orientation on video learning when only the instructors are present. What this paper adds: When only the instructor is present in the video, instructor's direct gaze can foster learner's learning outcome in the instructional video.When only the instructor is present in the video, instructor's direct gaze can draw the learner's attention to the instructor's face.When only the instructor is present in the video, instructor's direct gaze can reduce learner's extraneous cognitive load. Implications for practice and/or policy: In online teaching, educators should consider looking at the camera as much as possible, especially when there are no instructional screens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops the notion of the technological unconscious by engaging with the geographic relationship between technology and the production of subjectivity. Drawing upon research with the Alternate Anatomies Laboratory in Australia, the paper advances this relationship through an empirical encounter with sonographic imaging. Contributing to conceptualisations of the ways technologies participate in unconscious activity, in this paper ultrasound imaging (sonography) is turned to as one way to think about the enunciation of subjectivity that assists the ultrasound technician in homing-in to particular signifying and a-signifying semiotic cues. Rather than siding with broad understandings of the technological unconscious, the paper articulates the production of specific processes of the technological unconscious via machinic enunciation, which reveals ways of rethinking human-technology relationships through infra-sensible semiotic operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The real-time monitoring and detection of the fruit carrying for monorail transporter in the mountain orchard are significant for the transporter scheduling and safety. In this paper, we present a fruit carrying monitoring system, including the pan-tilt camera platform, AI edge computing platform, improved detection algorithm and the web client. The system used a pan-tilt camera to capture images of the truck body of the monorail transporter, realizing monitoring of fruit carrying. Besides, we present an improved fruit carrying detection algorithm based on YOLOv5s, taking the "basket", "orange" and "fullbasket" as the object. We introduced the improved attention mechanism E-CBAM (Efficient-Convolutional Block Attention Module) based on CBAM, into the C3 module in the neck network of YOLOv5s. Focal loss was introduced to improve the classification and confidence loss to improve detection accuracy; to deploy the model on the embedded platform better, we compressed the model through the EagleEye pruning algorithm to reduce the parameters and improve the detection speed. The experiment was performed on the custom fruit-carrying datasets, the mAP was 91.5%, which was 9.6%, 9.9% and 12.0% higher than that of Faster-RCNN, RetinaNet-Res50 and YOLOv3-tiny, respectively, and detection speed at Jetson Nano was 72 ms/img. The monitoring system and detection algorithm proposed in the paper can provide technical support for the safe transportation of monorail transporter and scheduling transportation equipment more efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, secrecy and stigma are associated with infertility and adoption choice. This paper presents the findings of a phenomenological study which examined psychological (emotional) and socio-cultural experiences of seven Indian adoptive parents through the retrospective accounts of their pre-adoption phase. This phase analyzed the coping of childless couples with a diagnosis of primary/secondary infertility while undergoing various assisted reproductive techniques for several years and then opting for adoption. Amidst the deep-seated socio-cultural belief in pronatalism, a non-kinship domestic adoption process was followed as an alternative to biological parenthood. An interpretative phenomenological analysis highlighted the pertinent themes related to gender differences in grief resolution, surrogacy vs. adoption option, belief in theory of 'karma' (destiny), perception of body image and role of women in adoption initiation. The themes are further supported by the views of Indian adoption social workers and the medical professionals, to have the holistic framework of the psychological journey of pre-adoptive couples. These findings would be particularly relevant not only for researchers in South Asian/Southeast Asian countries where the area of infertility and adoption is under-researched but also for those studying the emotional voyage of childless couples to attain adoptive parenthood in other cultural contexts. The paper recommends the interventions required at the level of government, community, adoption agencies and therapeutic services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health impacts The adverse mental and physical health impacts of stigma are robustly documented and consistent across many different types of stigma, including due to eating disorders, weight, and other aspects of appearance. We encourage papers that enhance understanding of stigma in relation to eating disorders, weight, or body image, with strong interest in studies that include diverse samples, examine intersecting forms of stigma, or analyze stigma at multiple levels. We also invite papers that contribute new knowledge of how stigma affects health and well-being, and that move toward developing and implementing innovative interventions to prevent and reduce stigma for people with eating disorders and body image concerns. [Extracted from the article]

Objective Muscle dysmorphia is a relatively recently identified psychological condition that, since its inception, has been variously conceptualized as an eating disorder and subsequently as a type of body dysmorphic disorder within the somatoform disorders. This review aims to inform and encourage ongoing debate surrounding the diagnostic placement of this disorder. Method We present a review and synthesis of the extant literature with a view to informing future decisions regarding the conceptualization of muscle dysmorphia. Results The validity of muscle dysmorphia as a clinical entity has been empirically demonstrated. While the condition bears little semblance to somatization as currently conceptualized, the research suggests a strong conceptual similarity with anorexia nervosa. However, future research needs to utilize more appropriate measures of male eating disorder pathology. Muscle dysmorphia is also inclusive of obsessive compulsive features that are typical to those seen in eating disorder presentations. Discussion We suggest that muscle dysmorphia be reanalyzed through the lens of an eating disorder spectrum. Recognition of muscle dysmorphia as an eating disorder may offer more clinical utility in recognizing the male experience of eating disorder pathology and also help reduce the number of current male cases falling into the EDNOS category. © 2010 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2010; 43:483-491 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gender dysphoria among transgender adolescents has predominantly been examined in relation to body dissatisfaction. While in adult transgender samples, body dissatisfaction is higher than in cisgender controls, this has so far rarely been investigated for adolescents. In the context of a cisnormative society, the impact of influences from the social environment on body dissatisfaction and gender dysphoria has been neglected in research. Therefore, this study aimed to (1) provide a detailed analysis of body dissatisfaction among young transgender people and (2) investigate whether body dissatisfaction and gender dysphoria are associated with experiences of minority stress such as trans hostility and poor peer relations (PPR). Methods: The paper presents a cross-sectional study among a sample of transgender adolescents, presenting at a specialized outpatient counseling clinic (N = 99; age M = 15.36, SD = 1.85). First, body dissatisfaction (assessed by the Body-Image-Scale; BIS), was explored and compared to data from a population-based control group of cisgender peers (N = 527; age M = 14.43, SD = 0.97). Second, within a clinic-referred transgender subsample (n = 74), associations between body dissatisfaction and gender dysphoria (measured by Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale; UGDS), PPR (measured by the Youth-Self-Report; YSR-R), and trans hostile experiences (assessed in clinical interview) were examined by correlations, t-tests and multivariate regression. Results: Transgender adolescents reported more body dissatisfaction than cisgender peers. The dissatisfaction with sex characteristics, non-hormonal reactive body regions and the total score for body dissatisfaction were positively related with gender dysphoria. The majority had experienced trans hostility in the present and/or past (54.1%) and PPR (63.5%). More body dissatisfaction was correlated with more PPR regarding visible body parts i.e., hair, overall appearance and muscles, whilst PPR and gender dysphoria were not associated. Transgender adolescents who experienced trans hostility showed higher gender dysphoria and PPR, but not more body dissatisfaction. In multiple regression, trans hostility predicted gender dysphoria, whilst age and PPR predicted body dissatisfaction. Discussion: Experiences of minority-stress differentially interact with body dissatisfaction and gender dysphoria among transgender adolescents. Social correlates of body dissatisfaction and gender dysphoria must be considered when working with young transgender people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eating disorders (EDs) are serious, deadly disorders that emerge in adolescence and early adulthood. Further, reported incidences of EDs are increasing worldwide. As such, accessible, affordable, and effective early intervention and prevention efforts are critical. The Body Project is a well-established ED prevention program with demonstrated success at reducing ED symptom severity and the risk of onset of EDs in young females. However, it has not yet been formally evaluated in an Australian population, nor have the benefits of the treatment for young people of all genders been thoroughly investigated. This protocol paper outlines the design for a study which aims to investigate the outcomes and feasibility of the Body Project as a brief ED prevention program within an Australian youth mental health service: headspace Camperdown. This pragmatic trial will compare outcomes between a Body Project treatment group and a Treatment-as-usual control group. Primary outcomes include body image concerns, ED symptomatology and general psychological distress, measured pre- and post-treatment, and at one-month follow-up. All young people attending headspace Camperdown for care are eligible for participation in the trial. The Body Project program is comprised of four group-based 1.5 h sessions run over 4 consecutive weeks. Overall, a trial of the Body Project as an ED prevention program is warranted to investigate the outcomes of the intervention in this sample and will provide valuable information about the feasibility for widespread implementation of the treatment as part of a stepped-care approach to intervention for EDs at youth mental health service locations across Australia. ANZCTR Trial Registration Number: ACTRN12623000695606 (registered 29 June 2023). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morality is conceived as a form of cognition that determines social values and behaviors. Nevertheless, traditional representational cognitive explanations have been unsatisfactory. Alternative theories are the embodiment, which considers that the body, action, and context constitute cognition. These approaches offer a revolutionary perspective in the study of morality, making it possible to overcome the limitations of more traditional positions. Therefore, this work sought to analyze the characteristics and main results of the articles published between 1980 and 2022 that have addressed morality from an embodied cognition perspective. A scoping review was carried out according to the PRISMA statement. Fifty-one articles met the inclusion criteria. These papers showed that research on embodied morality has increased in the last decade, especially empirical research, and has been primarily concerned with the relationship between sensorimotor metaphors and moral behavior. In particular, the authors report the following associations: perception of disgust with immorality, cleanliness of body and hands with reduction of distress caused by wrong actions, body weight with guilt, and body openness with immorality. Furthermore, few studies were found outside of North America and Europe, showing a lack of research in other world areas where it could have critical applications, such as Africa or South America. The applications were primarily theoretical, although political, clinical, and social uses were also explored. We recommend several pathways for future research in this area based on these findings. First, sample diversity should be expanded regarding participants' age, social, cultural, and economic background. Future research should include practitioners from disciplines other than psychology and neuroscience, as embodied morality encompasses social, economic, and linguistic factors. Regarding the methods used, future research could implement more situated techniques that consider the body and environmental, relational, and cultural factors. Lastly, we recommend that researchers in this area continue replicating the results, which gives them greater validity and broadens their theories by implementing different and diverse methods and samples and studying new body aspects. 1) there is a gradual increase during the 20th century in publications, reflecting a developing disciplinary field; 2) the samples used to be university students, limiting the generalization of the results; 3) the most consistent association between morality and the body refers to the use of sensorimotor metaphors about disgust, cleanliness, openness, and body weight; and 4) the most used methods continue to be the classic moral dilemmas, which indicates that a methodological break towards more situated and ecological methods is still required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effects of model fidelity and parameter uncertainty on the performance of a hybrid model-based feedback-feedforward control scheme for attitude tracking of a satellite with flexible appendages. The feedforward component is an inverse model-based term produced through a computational approach known as inverse simulation (InvSim), which works by iteratively solving a discretised reference trajectory. The hybrid controller's feedback is proportional-derivative (PD) based, using body attitude and rate feedback to provide stability and robustness. Furthermore, to ensure that the flexible modes do not trigger instability, the PD control gains are tuned to give a closed-loop response that is significantly slower than the flexible modes. Additionally, excitation of the flexible modes is reduced by minimising jerk through polynomial rest-to-rest manoeuvres, following the shortest quaternion path using spherical–linear-interpolation (SLERP). The effects of the appendage flexing on attitude tracking are then compensated through the feedforward element of the hybrid controller, with performance being compared to a traditional PD tracking law. The effect of the model fidelity on the performance of the hybrid controller is investigated through the use of both rigid body and multiple-fidelity finite-element mathematical models. Additionally, the effect of uncertainties in the model parameters is investigated to determine the accuracy of the model required to obtain significant improvement in attitude tracking. It is found that in the absence of any model parameter uncertainty, the hybrid controller outperforms the PD tracking control law by at least one order of magnitude when the finite-element model is used. Increasing the number of finite elements was found to provide no significant improvement in performance, with one element being sufficient and favourable with its lower computational overhead. It was also found that to ensure good performance compared to the PD tracking controller, the uncertainty in the inertia tensor should be < 1%. Similarly, uncertainty in the first flexible modal frequency should be < 0.5 rad/s. • Inverse simulation (InvSim) used to produce model-based feedforward control. • Combined with PD feedback to improve attitude tracking. • Effects of model uncertainty and fidelity on model-based control investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the demand of noise reduction in millimeter‐wave human body security imaging, this paper proposes a new method for 3D segmentation denoising in millimeter‐wave images. The test results indicate that with the incorporation of 3D segmentation denoising technology, the noise in the background area of millimeter wave images has decreased by approximately 20–40 dB, significantly improving image quality. The detection rate has increased from 90% to 95%, while the false positive rate has decreased from 13% to 5%. This has important practical significance for real‐world applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The papers collected in this series were originally presented at the 83rd Oral History Workshop during the American Psychoanalytic Association's meetings in February of 2021. The topic of the workshop, "The Social Voices of Psychoanalysts: The 1960s and 1970s", was chosen because over the last several years, members of the psychoanalytic community had been debating the question of the role of psychoanalysts in a deeply divided political, social and cultural environment governed by an individual that many, both analysts and non-analysts, viewed as a dangerous and unstable leader. John Martin-Joy presented Erik Erikson's "Reflections on the Dissent of Contemporary Youth" (1970), and Daniel H. Jacobs reviewed Andrew Peto's "On Crowd Violence: The Role of Archaic Superego and Body Image" (1975). Their papers were discussed by Nancy Chodorow drawing on her experiences as member of this generation as well as her training in both sociology and psychoanalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The papers collected in this series were originally presented at the 83rd Oral History Workshop during the American Psychoanalytic Association's meetings in February of 2021. The topic of the workshop, "The Social Voices of Psychoanalysts: The 1960s and 1970s", was chosen because over the last several years, members of the psychoanalytic community had been debating the question of the role of psychoanalysts in a deeply divided political, social and cultural environment governed by an individual that many, both analysts and non-analysts, viewed as a dangerous and unstable leader. John Martin-Joy presented Erik Erikson's "Reflections on the Dissent of Contemporary Youth" (1970), and Daniel H. Jacobs reviewed Andrew Peto's "On Crowd Violence: The Role of Archaic Superego and Body Image" (1975). Their papers were discussed by Nancy Chodorow drawing on her experiences as member of this generation as well as her training in both sociology and psychoanalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The papers collected in this series were originally presented at the 83rd Oral History Workshop during the American Psychoanalytic Association's meetings in February of 2021. The topic of the workshop, "The Social Voices of Psychoanalysts: The 1960s and 1970s", was chosen because over the last several years, members of the psychoanalytic community had been debating the question of the role of psychoanalysts in a deeply divided political, social and cultural environment governed by an individual that many, both analysts and non-analysts, viewed as a dangerous and unstable leader. John Martin-Joy presented Erik Erikson's "Reflections on the Dissent of Contemporary Youth" (1970), and Daniel H. Jacobs reviewed Andrew Peto's "On Crowd Violence: The Role of Archaic Superego and Body Image" (1975). Their papers were discussed by Nancy Chodorow drawing on her experiences as member of this generation as well as her training in both sociology and psychoanalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the global attitude stabilization of a rigid body, a task that is subjected to topological obstacles. As a result of these obstructions, continuous feedbacks cannot globally stabilise the rigid body attitude. Therefore, this paper presents an observer-based hybrid controller to overcome these restrictions. Consequently, a new kind of synergistic potential function is designed which induces a gradient vector field to globally stabilise a given set. Moreover, the gradient of the proposed potential functions is utilised to derive a hybrid observer. Furthermore, this paper considers two types of constraints: angular velocity constraint and torque constraint. Afterward, these constraints are formulated in terms of the Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI) optimisation problem to perform constraints satisfaction. Besides, this paper introduces a novel hybrid quantiser to deal with the problem of the low-price wireless network. Finally, a comparative study in simulations is provided to assess the performance of the proposed scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Hobbes, we find an image of the Undocile Body. An account that refers to the figure of the Amazons: women who, in the state of nature, consolidate a government. Perhaps a unique mention in early modernity that highlights the summa potestas of an entirely feminine sovereign regime. The purpose, in this paper, is to provide an interpretation of the relationship between the image of the Amazons and the doctrine of the original power that a mother can maintain. In the first place, I defend the stronger claim that the cryptic statement "even today in many places there are women who have supreme power" is a consequence of the influence that America exerts on Hobbesian thought. Thirdly, I argue that this last point allows us to show some contemporary po-litical uses that could emerge from the doctrine of original maternal dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: An interplay of clinical and psychosocial variables affects breast cancer patients' experiences and clinical trajectories. Several studies investigated the role of socio-demographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors in predicting relevant outcomes in breast cancer care, thus developing predictive models. Our aim is to summarize predictive models for specific psychological and behavioral outcomes: psychological distress, quality of life, and medication adherence. Specifically, we aim to map the determinants of the outcomes of interest, offering a thorough overview of these models.Methods: Databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase) have been searched to identify studies meeting the inclusion criteria: a breast cancer patients' sample, development/validation of a predictive model for selected psychological/behavioral outcomes (ie, psychological distress, quality of life, and medication adherence), and availability of English full-text.Results: Twenty-one papers describing predictive models for psychological distress, quality of life, and adherence to medication in breast cancer were included. The models were developed using different statistical approaches. It has been shown that treatment-related factors (eg, side-effects, type of surgery or treatment received), socio-demographic (eg, younger age, lower income, and inactive occupational status), clinical (eg, advanced stage of disease, comorbidities, physical symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia, and pain) and psychological variables (eg, anxiety, depression, body image dissatisfaction) might predict poorer outcomes.Conclusion: Predictive models of distress, quality of life, and adherence, although heterogeneous, showed good predictive values, as indicated by the reported performance measures and metrics. Many of the predictors are easily available in patients' health records, whereas others (eg, coping strategies, perceived social support, illness perceptions) might be introduced in routine assessment practices. The possibility to assess such factors is a relevant resource for clinicians and researchers involved in developing and implementing psychological interventions for breast cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poor body image is prevalent among adolescents and associated with several negative outcomes for their physical and psychological health. There is a pressing need to address this growing public health concern, yet there are few evidence-informed universal programmes for older adolescents that address contemporary body image concerns (i.e., social media). BodyKind is a four lesson, school-based, teacher led, universal body image programme that incorporates empirically supported principles of cognitive dissonance, self-compassion, compassion for others and social activism, to support positive body image development. Building on previous pilot trials in the USA, this paper outlines the protocol for a cluster randomised control trial (cRCT) and implementation evaluation of the BodyKind programme which was culturally adapted for the Irish cultural context. Methods: We aim to recruit 600 students aged 15-17 years in Transition Year (4th year) across 26 second-level schools in Ireland. Using minimisation, schools will be randomly assigned to receive BodyKind (intervention condition, n=300) or classes as usual (waitlist control, n=300). Teachers in intervention groups will receive training and deliver the programme to students over four weeks, at a rate of one lesson per week. Primary outcomes of body appreciation, body dissatisfaction and psychological wellbeing and secondary outcomes of self-compassion, compassion for others, body ideal internalisation, social justice motives and appearance-based social media use will be assessed at pre-, post- and 2 month follow up. Mediation and moderation analyses will be conducted to identify how and for whom the intervention works best. An implementation evaluation will assess the quality of programme implementation across schools and how this may influence intervention outcomes. Waitlist control schools will receive the programme after the 2-month follow up. Conclusion: This study will be the first to implement a cRCT and an implementation evaluation to assess the impact of this multicomponent school-based body image programme designed to support healthy body image development. If shown to be effective, BodyKind will have the potential to improve adolescent body image and wellbeing and inform efforts to implement sustainable and scalable programmes in schools. Trial registration: The trial was retrospectively registered on 10/10/2023 on ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06076993. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Scandinavian countries, reablement has become a principle permeating all parts of elderly care, hence potentially transforming care and care work. This article explores the advent of new knowledge paradigms and practices of physiotherapists and occupational therapists transforming reabling care in particular ways, leading to what we term a logic of training emerging in the field. These professional groups have obtained a dominant position as reablement specialists in Norway and Denmark, where our extensive fieldwork was performed as part of a 3‐year research project. Taking inspiration from Annemarie Mol's concept of logic, we study how professional practices are organised and infused with specific values, meanings and ideals in situated contexts. We hence explore the logic of training, its abstracted image of the body and rational goal‐oriented model for progress measurement and its ramifications when addressing ageing bodies in a complex field marked by the unpredictabilities of the social and lived bodies, administrative rules and temporalities and the quest for empowering and involving clients. The paper concludes by pointing at new contradictions arising when practicing reabling care and particularly points out the tensions arising in care relations, where ambitions on empowering and disciplining the client and the elderly body may collide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appearance and voice are essential factors impacting users' affective preferences for humanoid robots. However, little is known about how the appearance and voice of humanoid robots jointly influence users' affective preferences and visual attention. We conducted a mixed-design eye-tracking experiment to examine the multisensory integration effect of humanoid robot appearances and voices on users' affective preferences and visual attention. The results showed that the combinations of affectively preferred voices and appearances attracted more affective preferences and shorter average fixation durations. The combinations of non-preferred voices and preferred appearances captured less affective preferences and longer fixation durations. The results suggest that congruent combinations of affectively preferred voices and appearances might motivate a facilitation effect on users' affective preference and the depth of visual attention through audiovisual complements. Incongruent combinations of non-preferred voices and preferred appearances might stimulate an attenuation effect and result in less affective preferences and a deeper retrieval of visual information. Besides, the head attracted the most amount of visual attention regardless of voice conditions. This paper contributes to deepening the understanding of the multisensory integration effect on users' affective preferences and visual attention and providing practical implications for designing humanoid robots satisfying users' affective preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on using Philosophical Practice to help clients with maladaptive body images. Specifically, the author argues that Philosophical Practice can play a central role in treating clients with Body Dysmorphia, even those who are, or should be, under the care of a clinician. The author describes a case in which a Practitioner uses clinical research on the role of aesthetics in Body Dysmorphia. In this instance, the Practitioner explored with the client both Aesthetic and Ethical ideals to help the client refashion their hierarchy of values and attain a more rewarding sense of meaning and self-identity. The Practitioner guided the client by delving into Walter Benjamin’s aesthetic notion of aura and Aristotle’s ethics to bring them self-realization as they came to see the importance of uniqueness in aesthetic value and the value in Aristotle’s idea of the great-souled person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a qualitative study on masculinity, embodiment and sexuality, we interviewed men who were recreational gym-goers about their bodywork practices in Melbourne, Australia. We also asked whether the men had used performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs) as an adjunct to their bodywork practices. While none had used PIEDs, all were considering, or had considered, using them. We found that participants held varying opinions on PIED use and those who used them. The literature on PIEDs noted men's concerns with body appearance and health and focused largely on individual problematic use, but non-users were not mentioned. A second issue in the literature focused on social influences on PIED use, but again with no mention of non-users. Discussion on risk reduction as a public health response did not mention non-users either. This paper, therefore, reports on non-users' thoughts on, regular exposure to, and considerations of PIEDs and other men who use them. We propose that PIEDs might more usefully be understood as an everyday, if contradictory, consideration within most men's bodywork and health practices. We argue that PIEDs constitute a discursive practice exposing a potentiality that engages non-users also and this requires new health promotion approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a novel VTOL aircraft design which evolves from our previous work on passively coupled systems. This can be seen as an improvement over our previous drone topology since the present one allows the main hub of the drone to assume any arbitrary orientation, while the center of mass of the main hub is stabilized at a desired point. This design manages to decouple the movement of the center of mass by the movement of the orientation. Therefore the reference for the center of mass of the main hub is independent by the reference for the orientation of the main hub at any point of the trajectory. We derive in detail the full nonlinear model using D'Alembert's principle and propose a fully nonlinear control techniques composed of two cascaded controllers. The inner loop controller performs an additional optimization step to assign commands to eight rotors such that six variables are fully controlled. The outer loop controller upon solving a nonlinear algebraic equation provides the required references to the inner loop controller such that a six degrees of freedom reference (trajectory of the c.o.m and attitude of main body) is followed with vanishing error. Simulations of the mathematical model as well the proposed control law for different types of trajectories are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A growing gap in exclusive breastfeeding across racial/ethnic groups in the United States includes a very low proportion of African American/Black women, with only 17.4% breastfeeding exclusively in 2015. While many quantitative studies examine these disparities, few qualitative studies have examined the overall experience of breastfeeding for Black women. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the existing qualitative literature on experiences of African American/Black women who breastfeed to gain insight on barriers and facilitators unique to this population. Methods: This scoping review included studies that had a focus on any qualitative study design. Evidence was identified by searching electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, and PsychINFO). Results: Thirteen papers met the inclusion criteria for this review. Each study was summarized and then analyzed for content to produce a synthesis. Seven themes that influence Black women's experience with breastfeeding were identified: influence of interpersonal relationship on intention to and sustained breastfeeding experiences, influence of institutional systems on initiating and sustaining infant feeding decision, influence of personal beliefs on breastfeeding decisions and experience, material barriers and facilitators to breastfeeding experience, traditional stigma of breastfeeding, historical stigma of breastfeeding influences feeding choice in Black women, and negative impacts of body image. Conclusion: The breastfeeding experience for Black women is unique and poses additional areas for intervention based on cultural and historical stigma. Incorporating the identified factors into intervention design is key to creating more effective policies for improving breastfeeding rates in the Black women and closing the gap across racial/ethnic demographics in the United States. Still, more qualitative research with culturally relevant theories needs to be done to investigate the full scope and complexities of breastfeeding as a Black woman to develop messaging to encourage the behavior. Significance: What is Already Known on this Subject? Many barriers hinder women from breastfeeding, and disproportionately impact Black women, leading to growing disparities in breastfeeding rates. What does this study add? This scoping review synthesizes the findings from prior qualitative studies on the breastfeeding experiences of Black women, exploring the presence of current well-documented themes across studies, with additional attention to themes that may be unique for Black women to further investigate Black women's experiences with breastfeeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on a late medieval example to show that images of nature can also be images of the human body. It presents the Anthropologium de hominis dignitate by the Leipzig magister Magnus Hundt (1449–1519). The Anthropologium is a text that prominently integrates the human body into its conception of man and its account of human dignity. The body is not presented as a prison of the soul, but as a perfectly balanced physical counterpart to the soul. The paper shows how Hundt's reflections were influenced by his commitment to the Thomistic school. Moreover, it reveals how the elevated Imago Dei thesis provides a justification for the study of the human body. Hundt is shown to offer nothing less than a theological–philosophical legitimation for practising medicine. In doing so, he also incorporates images of nature in a literal sense, insofar as he includes images of the human body in his book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the theory and method of social representations (Moscovici, 1979; Abric, 2001) this paper answered how the construction of the ideal body is dynamized in eating practices from the virtual spaces of young university students in the state of Chiapas during SARS-COV-2 confinement. The research is based on the anthropology of food and digital ethnography on the WhatsApp and Facebook networks. This paper pointed out the modified practices due to the pace of life and family detachment, as well as information consumption, education, entertainment, and models of transformation of the construction of the ideal body through social networks.The results conclude thet before and during the pandemic, the perception of the ideal body among young college girls was restructured by basing their social representations on certain eating practices and on the experience of using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To identify and review the success of non-pharmaceutical, non-surgical biopsychosocial interventions in individuals with endometriosis, in managing pain and improving body image. Methods: Cochrane, EBSCO, IBSS, NICE, Open Grey, OVID, Proquest, Scopus and Science Direct were searched in April 2021, using inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data collection and analysis: Five randomised control trials, and one controlled clinical trial resulted from the search. Study quality was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) Quality Assessment Tool. Studies were synthesised by intervention type, into physical only, and physical and psychological. Results: Across the six papers, 323 participants were recruited, through medical records or self-referral, and treatments largely administered by specialist practitioners. From the EPHPP quality assessment,2 weak quality papers, and four moderate quality papers found improvements to pain, with large effect sizes in four papers. No studies used established body image measures to examine intervention effects on body image, and all lacked health psychology theoretical basis. There were common issues in selection bias, confounders and blinding. Conclusion: Without gold-standard methodology, evidence of effectiveness cannot be concluded. However, there is promising rationale if these issues are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]