https://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/457 sun, 12 jan 2025 15:14:34 gmt 2025-01-12t15:14:34z https://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/5403 hyperpolarized xenon-129 chemical exchange saturation transfer (hypercest) molecular imaging: achievements and future challenges batarchuk, viktoriia; shepelytskyi, yurii; grynko, vira; halen kovacs, antal; aldossary, ruba; talwar, tanu; hasselbrink, carson; ruset, iulian c.; deboef, brenton; albert, mitchell s. molecular magnetic resonance imaging (mri) is an emerging field that is set to revolutionize our perspective of disease diagnosis, treatment efficacy monitoring, and precision medicine in full concordance with personalized medicine. a wide range of hyperpolarized (hp) 129xe biosensors have been recently developed, demonstrating their potential applications in molecular settings, and achieving notable success within in vitro studies. the favorable nuclear magnetic resonance properties of 129xe, coupled with its non-toxic nature, high solubility in biological tissues, and capacity to dissolve in blood and diffuse across membranes, highlight its superior role for applications in molecular mri settings. the incorporation of reporters that combine signal enhancement from both hyperpolarized 129xe and chemical exchange saturation transfer holds the potential to address the primary limitation of low sensitivity observed in conventional mri. this review provides a summary of the various applications of hp 129xe biosensors developed over the last decade, specifically highlighting their use in mri. moreover, this paper addresses the evolution of in vivo applications of hp 129xe, discussing its potential transition into clinical settings. mon, 01 jan 2024 00:00:00 gmt https://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/5403 2024-01-01t00:00:00z https://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/5397 symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder and cycle phase are associated with enhanced facial emotion detection: an online cross-sectional study boboc, bianca; oinonen, kirsten a. background: premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a depressive disorder affecting 5%–8% of people with menstrual cycles. despite evidence that facial emotion detection is altered in depressive disorders, with enhanced detection of negative emotions (negativity bias), minimal research exists on premenstrual dysphoric disorder. objectives: the goal of this study was to investigate the effect of premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms and the premenstrual phase on accuracy and intensity at detection of facial emotions. design: cross-sectional quasi-experimental design. method: the facial emotion detection task was administered to 72 individuals assigned female at birth with no premenstrual dysphoric disorder (n=30), and provisional pmdd (n=42), based on a retrospective diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders—fifth edition-based measure of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. facial emotion detection was examined both irrespective of menstrual cycle phase, and as a function of premenstrual phase (yes, no). the task used neutral-to-emotional facial expression morphs (15 images/morph). participants indicated the emotion detected for each image within the progressive intensity morph. for all six basic emotions (sad, angry, fearful, happy, disgust, and surprise), two scores were calculated: accuracy of responses and the intensity within the morph at which the correct emotion was first detected (image number). results: individuals reporting moderate/severe symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder had more accurate and earlier detection of disgust, regardless of cycle phase. in addition, those with provisional premenstrual dysphoric disorder detected sad emotions earlier. a premenstrual dysphoric disorder group×cycle phase interaction also emerged: individuals reporting premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms were more accurate at detecting facial emotions during the premenstrual phase compared to the rest of the cycle, with a large effect size for sad emotions. conclusion: the findings suggest enhanced facial emotion processing in individuals reporting symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, particularly for sadness and disgust. however, replication is required with larger samples and prospective designs. this premenstrual dysphoric disorder premenstrual emotion detection advantage suggests an adaptive cognitive mechanism in premenstrual syndrome/premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and challenges stigma surrounding premenstrual experiences. the authors wish to thank chyenne panetta and nandini parekh who helped with the organization and sorting of the data for the fedt. some of the data in this paper were reported in the ma thesis of the first author. mon, 01 jan 2024 00:00:00 gmt https://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/5397 2024-01-01t00:00:00z https://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/5396 revolutionizing women’s health: the quest for materials for next-generation, non-hormonal intrauterine devices maclean bunting, jacob john; chin lai leung, zuleika; boboc, bianca; betts, dean harvey; gilroy, joe b.; oinonen, kirsten a.; choi, kate; chambers, lori; rafea, basim abu; gateman, samantha michelle with over 200 million users worldwide, copper intrauterine devices (cu-iuds) are the world’s most popular, non-hormonal, long-acting, and reversible contraception method. cu-iuds cause uncomfortable side effects such as longer and heavier menstruation and cramping, all of which persist for the duration of use and often lead to early removal. with the rise in concern about potential physical and psychological side effects from hormonal contraceptive use, an improvement in non-hormonal contraceptive options is needed to alleviate discomforting side effects and inhibit costs. this perspective article provides an overview of the current state of non-hormonal iuds and experimental factors to consider when developing new materials that have potential as alternative contraceptives, including copper alloys, zinc, iron, and passive metals. it also explores the sustainability and socioeconomic impact of advancing non-hormonal contraceptive options and considers international policy, cultural factors, and costs that must be considered when developing these options. overall, the article highlights the interdisciplinary nature of this field, the complexities involved in creating effective non-hormonal contraceptives, and the need for innovation and equity in contraceptive care. mon, 01 jan 2024 00:00:00 gmt https://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/5396 2024-01-01t00:00:00z https://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/5395 short-term responsive mating intentions increase with estradiol and testosterone across the menstrual cycle: scale development and an observational study zugic, kaitlyn e.; teatero, missy l.; phillips, maggie; oinonen, kirsten a. the extent to which estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone influence mating behavior across the menstrual cycle is unclear. the proactive and responsive mating strategies scales (parmss) were developed to separately examine two specific components of sexuality and were used here to test divergent hormonal associations. preliminary psychometric data (n = 364 females) suggest that both scales consist of one factor and demonstrate strong psychometric properties (internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and construct and convergent validity). the parmss were used in a repeated-measures observational study to examine the relationships between changes in endogenous hormone levels and both proactive and responsive mating intentions with potential new short-term or long-term partners in healthy pre-menopausal participants (n = 38). at two points in their cycle, participants provided salivary hormone samples in the laboratory and reported the likelihood of engaging in proactive and responsive behaviors with men in photos and vignettes. participants reported greater responsive than proactive intentions. increases in estradiol and testosterone across the cycle were associated with increases in short-term mating intentions, particularly responsivity to potential short-term relationship partners. no associations were found for intentions that were proactive or that involved potential long-term partners or for progesterone. changes in the three hormones explained changes in short-term responsive mating intentions (22% of the variance). the results suggest (a) cyclical changes in estradiol and testosterone are differentially associated with changes in responsive vs. proactive mating intentions and (b) context-dependent changes (i.e., short-term vs. long-term mating intentions and possibly relationship status). the findings require replication with larger and diverse samples. mon, 01 jan 2024 00:00:00 gmt https://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/5395 2024-01-01t00:00:00z