Labia Minora Elongation and its Implications on the Health of Women: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Labia minora elongation (LME) is a female genital modification practice categorized among the types included in the fourth group of female genital mutilation. In this article, we display the results of a systematic review of the evidence-based knowledge published on the health risks and benefits of LME as informed by African female respondents who are insiders of the practice. No other systematic review on this specific topic has been published before. Methods: A methodological bibliographic search was done in scientific databases by manual referencing and by contacting experts on this area of knowledge. Seventeen articles were eligible for this review, which corresponded to nine different studies. Eight of these studies were conducted in Eastern and Southern African countries and one was carried out in Italy. Results: This review concludes that pain at the beginning of the practice, nuisances related to the use of caustic herbs, and stigmatization in failing to comply with the practice are the principal health risks associated with LME. At the same time, there is evidence that labial elongation may benefit the sexual health and well-being of women. Conclusions: More research of a quantitative nature is necessary to determine the prevalence of LME across the practicing cultures and to determine its implications on the sexual and reproductive health of women who engage in this female genital modification.     

Biosocial Influences on the Family: A Decade Review

The past decade brought a remarkable increase in the number and quality of biosocial studies of family processes. The current review summarizes recent advances in biosocial family research by providing key exemplars of emerging research paradigms. Research in the past decade has substantiated the claim in the previous Decade Review ( Booth, Carver, & Granger, 2000 ) that bidirectional influences between all levels of analysis are paramount. There is an emerging consensus that integrating factors at multiple biological and social levels is highly informative. Because ignoring biological factors often will underestimate mediating or moderating mechanisms, the review provides recommendations for biosocial family research. We also highlight the need for researchers who understand complex family environments to lend their expertise to biosocial studies.     

Academic freedom and the university

Abstract

A review article of Louis Menand (ed) 1996: The Future of Academic Freedom. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press and Bill Readings 1996: The University in Ruins. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press.     

Sexual Health Interventions for Black Women in the United States: A Systematic Review of Literature

Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to identify and evaluate approaches used in sexual health interventions targeting Black women in the United States. Methods: We conducted a review of 15 sexual health intervention studies for Black women published between January 2000 and May 2017 in the United States. Results: Each intervention focused on HIV/sexually transmitted infection prevention, incorporated an asset and deficit-based approach, primarily used individual-level assets, and was effective in achieving the stated sexual health-related outcomes. Conclusions: Comprehensive sexual health interventions require further development and refinement to include more community and institutional-level assets to improve long-term sustainable change and empower Black women.     

Latin American Productivity from 1990 to 1998 in the Mexican Journal of Psychology

Published uninterruptedly since 1984, the Mexican Journal of Psychology (MJP) has been recognized as one of the most important periodicals in Spanish-language psychology. After coping with financial impediments and a lack of scientific contributions, the significance of the MJP emerged. The journal remains vital in the development of Latin American psychology. It is today recognized as having the highest impact of all Latin American psychology journals as well as having the second highest impact of all psychology journals in the Spanish language. The goal of the present study was to review the profiles of the MJP from 1990 to 1998 by using a bibliometric classification procedure. Four indicators were employed in the present analysis of the articles including measurement techniques, methodology, field of psychology, and main results.     

Mirroring,Mentalizing, and the Social Neuroscience of Listening

Listening to another speak is a basic process in social cognition. In the social neurosciences, there are relatively few studies that directly bear on listening; however, numerous studies have investigated the neural bases of some of the likely constituents of successful listening. In this article, I review some of this work as it relates to listening, with a focus on two auxiliary processes in the comprehension of speech: perceiving the nonverbal behaviors, such as facial expression, that accompany an utterance (i.e., how it is being said); and interpreting an utterance and the nonverbal behaviors that accompany it in terms of the speaker's state of mind (i.e., why it is being said). The review indicates the presence of two large-scale systems in the human brain that play a major role in successful listening: the putative mirror neuron system, which likely facilitates the relatively automatic perception of the how of speech; and the so-called mentalizing system, which likely underlies our ability to actively reach conclusions about the why of speech behavior. I conclude by considering the possibility that the dynamic interaction of mirroring and mentalizing processes may be pivotal for successful listening and social interaction more generally.     

Paternal domination and the mafia state under post-communism

This review essay discusses Bálint Magyar’s most recent book, Stubborn Structures: Conceptualizing Post-communist Regimes (Budapest: CEU Press 2019). Bálint Magyar first published in Hungarian in 2015 (published in English by CEU Press in 2016) a path-breaking book on The Post-Communist Mafia State: The Case of Hungary. This was the first major attempt to move beyond political controversies and offer a systematic critique of post-communist states. The book also went beyond the usual accusation of “corruption.” Magyar’s key point is that—at least in Hungary—a mafia style of “upper-world” was created, with a “godfather” at the top of it and an “adopted family” below it. This fascinating idea was followed by edited books that included contribution by other scholars. The latest such book is Magyar’s Stubborn Structures: Conceptualizing Post-communist Regimes (CEU Press 2019), which includes articles applying the “mafia state theory” to a great variety of post-communist countries.

     

From race to ethnic identity: South central Africa,social anthropology and the shadow of the holocaust 1

The Political Economy of Pondoland 1860–1930 by William Beinart, Johannesburg. Ravan: New History of Southern Africa Series, No. 3, 1983, pp. xi + 220. R11.50

The Land Belongs To Us: The Pedi Polity, the Boers and the British in theNineteenth Century Transvaal, by Peter Delius. Johannesburg, Ravan: New History of Southern Africa Series, 1983, pp. xii + 278. R11.50

The Agrarian Question and Reformism in Latin America by Alain de Janvry. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981.306 pp.

The Crisis in South Africa: Class Defence. Class Revolution by John S Saul and Stephen Gelb, New York: Monthly review Press, 1981.156 pp.     

Talcott Parsons and national socialism: The case of the “ten mysterious missing letters”

This essay is a response to questions raised by my review of a book by Uta Gerhardt called Talcott Parsons on National Socialism.In short, I found many issues unresolved in the Cold War years from 1946 to 1954 at Harvard University, especially the role of Talcott Parons and Clyde Kluckhohn in allegedly bringing Nazi collaborators to the United States. I have tried to address these controversial issues in this response.     

Epidemic Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Infection at a College for the Deaf

Abstract

An outbreak of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection affected up to 110 students and employees at a college for deaf students (Gallaudet). After the introduction of M. pneumoniae onto the campus in late August 1977, the disease spread slowly among the students; the last documented case occurred in mid-December. A thorough review of chart records, mail surveys, a dormitory survey, and a three-month surveillance of the student health service provided an intensive look at the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of a mild to moderately severe disease in the epidemic setting. A matched-pair analysis demonstrated a more serious clinical illness among patients with M. pneumoniae than other patients presenting with febrile respiratory illness. Appropriate antimicrobial therapy appeared to suppress a high antibody response to M. pnuemoniae. A follow-up serosurvey one year after this outbreak demonstrated diagnostic titers to M. pneumoniae in 11 of 30 patients with confirmed infection in the original epidemic.     

THe Use of Hormone Therapy in the Male-to-Female Transgender Population: Issues for Consideration in Thailand

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Prejudice against transgender people is evident around the world with discrimination in many aspects of life, including access to health care. Even in Thailand, where male-to-female (MTF) transgender people are particularly visible and society is reputedly accepting, barriers to attaining appropriate health care still exist. The vast majority of MTF transgender people in Thailand are reported to be taking hormone therapy; however, most do not seek medical advice regarding these regimens, with the initiation and tailoring of medication often being guided by sympathetic peers instead. The objectives of this review are to consider hormone therapy in the context of the Thai population and provide recommendations regarding ways to improve practice and reduce health risks. Methods: The data analysis in this article represents a comprehensive literature review regarding hormone therapy for MTF transgender people including the guidelines for initiation, prescribing, and monitoring of hormone therapy, risks for serious adverse events and reported hormone use by the MTF transgender population in Thailand. Results: There is a notable lack of published research regarding hormone therapy in the transgender population. Guidelines, whilst relying considerably on expert opinion, do provide clear recommendations on the initiation, maintenance and monitoring of hormone therapy. Comparison of endocrine guidelines with reported practice in Thailand reveals significant opportunities for improvement in MTF transgender hormone therapy. Conclusions: The incautious use of hormone therapy may represent a considerable health risk behavior undoubtedly contributing to the morbidity and mortality in MTF transgender people. Although there is currently considerable focus on sexually transmitted infections in the MTF transgender population, a more comprehensive approach to health care is required, including education for transgender people and the health professionals who attend to them regarding appropriate hormone therapy.     

BOOK NOTES

Books review in this article: Trends in Social Welfare edited by James Farndale Social Welfare Institutions: A Sociological Reader edited by Mayer N. Zald Into Work by Michael Carter     

Making sense of political contention: Approaches, substantive issues, and interpretation in social movement analysis

This review essay discusses and compares three books that cover aspects of political contention and social movements. The books are Freedom is an Endless Meeting: Democracy in American Social Movements by Francesca Polletta (Chicago: The University of Chicago, 2002); Making Sense of Social Movements by Nick Crossley (Buckingham: Open University Press, 2002); and Methods of Social Movement Research, edited by Bert Klandermans and Suzanne Staggenborg (Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press, 2002).     

Functional outcomes and complications following B-TURP versus HoLEP for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a review of the literature and Meta-analysis

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and Meta-analysis of the literature on the efficacy and safety of B-TURP versus HoLEP for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in terms of demographic and clinical baseline characteristics, peri-operative variables, and postoperative outcomes and complications.

Methods: Trials comparing B-TURP and HoLEP were identified systematically using Pubmed, Embase, CNKI, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library. Primary outcomes were the peak urinary flow rate (Q_max), post-void residual volume (PVR) and international prostate symptom score (IPSS). Secondary outcomes were operation time, irrigation duration, catheterization duration, resected tissue and complications.

Results: Four trials assessing B-TURP and HoLEP were considered eligible for Meta-analysis, including three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and one retrospective study. There was no statistically significant difference between B-TURP and HoLEP in terms of Q_max, IPSS, PVR at 3–6?months follow-up, operation duration, catheterization duration, resected tissue and complications (p?>?0.05). HoLEP was associated with a significantly shorter irrigation time as compared with B-TURP (p?Conclusion: Both B-TURP and HoLEP are safe and minimally invasive techniques that are similar in terms of symptomatic relief, although these findings need further validation in larger RCTs involving larger numbers of patients and over a longer follow-up duration for B-TURP or HoLEP before a new gold standard procedure emerges for surgical treatment of BPH.     

Citizenship on the Margins: A Critique of Scholarship on Marginalized Women and Community Activism

This critical review essay addresses the underappreciation of citizenship inequalities in scholarship on marginalized women’s community activism in the United States. Although both students of citizenship and women’s grassroots resistance argue that neither citizenship nor lived experience is an individual‐level phenomenon or a public issue divorced from private troubles and that politics need not be formal and male, the two literatures do not break bread with each other. I contend that this lack of cross‐pollination owes to our fixation on the hallowed trifecta of race, class, gender intersectionality, but one that has elided the fact that the three have always constituted, and been constituted by, citizenship. Despite the fact that in recent decades immigrant women of color have taken the helm of community campaigns – such as in social reproduction (e.g. schools, churches, health), Environmental Justice, and immigration reform – few scholars mention citizenship and thus few analyze citizenship racism and its ties to other axes of inequality. I critique the existing scholarship by drawing on the contributions of the few works that analyze and intersect citizenship within women’s community resistance struggles. I then point to future research directions to underscore their importance in an age of more exclusionary and draconian citizenship paradigms.     

Measurement of the sexual health and wellbeing of women who have undergone female genital mutilation/Cutting: A scoping review

Objective: We conducted a scoping review to identify and assess instruments used to measure sexual health and wellbeing in women who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Method: We retrieved and assessed 10 validated instruments using an 18-item checklist derived from the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Status Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) checklist. Results: All instruments were developed and initially validated among literate, predominantly Caucasian participants in North America and Europe. Only 1 validation study was conducted among women living with FGM/C. Conclusion: Most instruments only measured sexual functioning. Findings underscore the need to validate instruments appropriate for use among FGM/C survivors.     

Sexuality in Older Adults (65+)—An Overview of the Literature,Part 1: Sexual Function and its Difficulties

Objectives: The aim of the current article was to provide an overview of literature on sexual function and sexual difficulties in older adults. Method: The authors conducted a narrative review of papers published in English between January 2005 and July 2015 based on an extensive search in PsycINFO. Results: The review showed that although common biological changes may adversely affect sexual function in old age, sexual experience seems to also be affected by psychological and interpersonal factors. Conclusions: Greater life expectancy and better medical care will result in older individuals with chronic diseases living longer. The need for help to cope with changes in sexual health is likely to increase in older adults, as sexuality may be negatively affected through several pathways.     

Trends in Evolutionary Explanations for Human Male Same-Sex Eroticism: A Commentary on Riegel (2011)

Objectives: Riegel (2011) argued there is a moral panic surrounding the issue of male transgenerational eros in the West. In response, he offered a variety of contrasting perspectives, one being that such eros has an evolutionary basis. The present article offers commentary. Methods: I supplement his hypothesis with a review of seven related evolutionary hypotheses and then compare/contrast all eight. Results: All these hypotheses constitute a work in progress, which Riegel adds to by properly restricting evidence (e.g., cross-cultural) to male homoerotic type (i.e., transgenerational). Conclusions: Riegel contributes to addressing the moral panic, and his evidence-type matching, which is part of a new trend in this area, promises to improve validity.