Introduction The prevalence of impostor syndrome among PhD students has increased rapidly in recent years, having very negative effects on their mental and psychological health as well as on their ...doctoral journey. This exploratory study aims to examine whether there is a causal correlation between impostor syndrome among PhD students and empathy among supervisors. Methods This study encompasses 562 doctoral students (300 females, 262 males) and 152 Tunisian supervisors (68 females, 84 males). Results Employing ANOVA, significant influences on impostor syndrome emerge for gender, marital status, professional status, and the doctoral enrollment level ( p < 0.001). Concurrently, supervisors’ empathy is significantly affected by gender, marital status, and experience ( p < 0.001). Linear regression establishes a noteworthy negative correlation ( p = 0.045): a 1-unit increase in empathy correlates with a 0.122-unit decrease in impostor syndrome. Discussion These findings underscore the intricate relationship between socio-professional factors, empathy, and impostor syndrome within the academic milieu, offering crucial insights for interventions and psychological support. The study aligns with the broader context of understanding mental health challenges in academia, emphasizing the imperative for ongoing support initiatives.
Following peripheral nerve injury, remnant Schwann cells adopt a migratory phenotype and remodel the extracellular matrix allowing axonal regrowth. Although much evidence has demonstrated that TGF‐β1 ...promotes glioma cell motility and induces the expression of extracellular matrix proteins, the effects of TGF‐β1 on Schwann cell migration has not yet been studied. We therefore investigated the cellular effects and the signal transduction pathways evoked by TGF‐β1 in rattus norvegicus neuronal Schwann RSC96 cell. TGF‐β1 significantly increased migration and invasion of Schwann cells assessed by the wound‐healing assay and by cell invasion assay. TGF‐β1‐enhanced migration/invasion was blocked by inhibition of MMP‐2 and MMP‐9. Consistently, by real‐time and western blot analyses, we demonstrated that TGF‐β1 increased MMP‐2 and MMP‐9 mRNA and protein levels. TGF‐β1 also increased MMPs activities in cell growth medium, as shown by gelatin zymography. The selective TGF‐β Type I receptor inhibitor SB431542 completely abrogated any effects by TGF‐β1. Indeed, TGF‐β1 Type I receptor activation provoked the cytosol‐to‐nucleus translocation of SMAD2 and SMAD3. SMAD2 knockdown by siRNA blocked MMP‐2 induction and cell migration/invasion due to TGF‐β1. TGF‐β1 also provoked phosphorylation of MAPKs extracellular regulated kinase 1/2 and JNK1/2. Both MAPKs were upstream to p65/NF‐kB inasmuch as both MAPKs’ inhibitors PD98059 and SP600125 or their down‐regulation by siRNA significantly blocked the TGF‐β1‐induced nuclear translocation of p65/NF‐kB. In addition, p65/NF‐κB siRNA knockdown inhibited the effects of TGF‐β1 on both MMP‐9 and cell migration/invasion. We conclude that TGF‐β1 controls RSC96 Schwann cell migration and invasion through MMP‐2 and MMP‐9 activities. MMP‐2 is controlled by SMAD2 whilst MMP‐9 is controlled via an ERK1/2‐JNK1/2‐NF‐κB dependent pathway.
Following peripheral nerve injury, Schwann cells remodel the extracellular matrix allowing axonal regrowth. We investigated the role of TGF‐β1 in migration and invasion of RSC96 Schwann cells. Signaling along the TGF‐β1 pathway activates SMAD2 that enhances transcription of matrix metalloproteinase MMP‐2. Furthermore, TGF‐β1 activates MAPKs ERK1/2 and JNK1/2 that control p65/NFkB, which enhances the transcription of MMP‐9. Secretion of metalloproteinases thus plays an important role in the motility capacity of Schwann cells.
Since the lipid profile is altered by physical activity, the study of lipid metabolism is a remarkable element in understanding if and how physical activity affects the health of both professional ...athletes and sedentary subjects. Although not fully defined, it has become clear that resistance exercise uses fat as an energy source. The fatty acid oxidation rate is the result of the following processes: (a) triglycerides lipolysis, most abundant in fat adipocytes and intramuscular triacylglycerol (IMTG) stores, (b) fatty acid transport from blood plasma to muscle sarcoplasm, (c) availability and hydrolysis rate of intramuscular triglycerides, and (d) transport of fatty acids through the mitochondrial membrane. In this review, we report some studies concerning the relationship between exercise and the aforementioned processes also in light of hormonal controls and molecular regulations within fat and skeletal muscle cells.
(1) Background: One mechanism through which physical activity (PA) provides benefits is by triggering activity at a molecular level, where neurotrophins (NTs) are known to play an important role. ...However, the expression of the circulating levels of neurotrophic factors, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-4 (NT-4/5), in response to exercise, is not fully understood. Therefore, the aim was to provide an updated overview on the neurotrophin (NT) variation levels of BDNF and NT-4/5 as a consequence of a long-term aerobic exercise intervention, and to understand and describe whether the upregulation of circulating NT levels is a result of neurotrophic factors produced and released from the brain, and/or from neurotrophic secreting peripheral organs. (2) Methods: The articles were collected from PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, MEDLINE, and Embase. Data were analyzed through a narrative synthesis. (3) Results: 30 articles studied humans who performed training protocols that ranged from 4 to 48 weeks; 22 articles studied rodents with an intervention period that ranged from 4 to 64 weeks. (4) Conclusions: There is no unanimity between the upregulation of BDNF in humans; conversely, concerning both BDNF and NT-4/5 in animal models, the results are heterogeneous. Whilst BDNF upregulation appears to be in relative agreement, NT-4/5 seems to display contradictory and inconsistent conclusions.
Emotional intelligence (EI) has been recently the main target in research on sports psychology. The objectives of this study were to investigate the relation between self-report measures of emotional ...intelligence, pre-competitive anxiety, and performance among students during the physical education exam of the high school final year. This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 350 students attending the physical education exam in the year 2021–2022. Analysis of the correlations between the scores of Emotional intelligence and anxiety showed that self-confidence was positively correlated with all dimensions of Emotional intelligence (Beta = 0.524;
p
= 0.000). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the most related items to performance were self-confidence in a positive direction (
r
= 0.56;
p
= 0.000) and negatively with somatic anxiety (
r
= −0, 39;
p
= 0.000). Considering the Emotional intelligence subscales, hetero-emotional management was significantly positively associated with performance (
p
= 0.000) however emotional perception was negatively correlated with performance (
p
= 0.003). These results demonstrate the importance of social and emotional learning programs for improving self-confidence and better management of emotions during physical education and sports.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the adapted basketball cycle on the perceived level of difficulty and physical enjoyment in girls and boys with overweight. Sixty-six ...students with overweight (aged 16–18 years) were randomly assigned to an experimental group (EG, n = 32 including 20 boys and 12 girls) and a control group (CG, n = 34; including 21 boys and 13 girls). Statistical analysis also showed that the levels of perceived difficulty decreased significantly after of seven-week of the adapted basketball cycle in both boys (Δ% = - 0.27; p < 0.001; and girls (Δ% = - 0.36; p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in students who participated in the traditional basketball cycle.
A physical activity enjoyment Scale revealed that in girls, the level of enjoyment increased significantly (Δ% = + 0.27; P < 0.001) after an adapted basketball cycle. There was no significant change in physical enjoyment in boys EG (P = 0.808) and participants in the control groups. These results push us to opt more for adapted and motivational learning situations to make the teaching-learning process better, in students with overweight.
The global prevalence of childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity increases rapidly. Physical activity plays a major role in the prevention of obesity. The present study aimed to analyze the ...effect of adapted basketball sessions according to the empathic capacity of adolescent girls with overweight. Forty-two girls with overweight (age: 16.09 ± 0.85; years; height: 1.64 ± 0.67 m: weight: 73.02 ± 0.61 kg; BMI: 27.15 ± 1.37) volunteered to participate in the study and were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG,
= 21) and control group (CG,
= 21). EG was submitted to a basketball intervention adapted to students with obesity while the CG performed classic basketball exercises for 7 weeks. Each week girls had 2 basketball teaching-learning sessions, lasting 50 min. The participants' empathy was assessed before and after the intervention using the Favre CEC. The results showed that adaptation intervention was associated with a significant emotional contagion decrease (Δ% = 0.466) and splitting with emotions (Δ% = 0.375), and with an empathy increase (Δ% = 1.387), in EG compared to CG. No significant difference was assessed in the empathy CG, before and after the intervention. This study demonstrated that adapted physical education classes could be an effective strategy to improve empathetic skills and inclusion of overweight girls as well as a means to prevent obesity.
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