Conceptualization of Breast Cancer and Attitudes toward Breast Cancer Screening: A Qualitative Study on Iranian and Australian Women.

OBJECTIVE: Regular screening can lead to early diagnosis of breast cancer. Australia is one of the countries with a high rate of participation in breast cancer screening, while in Iran, most patients are diagnosed in advanced stages. This qualitative study used a thematic analysis method to examine the attitudes and beliefs of Iranian and Australian women toward breast cancer and breast cancer screening. METHOD: In-depth interviews were conducted with eight Iranian and seven Australian women. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis with an inferential approach. RESULTS: According to the results, four main themes were extracted for the perceptions of breast cancer, including "the meaning of breast cancer", "causes of breast cancer", "prevention of breast cancer" and "effects of significant people in life". Considering the perceptions of breast cancer screening, three themes were identified, including "beliefs about breast cancer screening," "sources of information about breast cancer screening," and "barriers to breast cancer screening." CONCLUSION: Cultural and social factors influence women's perceptions of breast cancer and screening. Therefore, investigating the cultural meaning of breast cancer and breast cancer screening for women can be useful for screening and prevention purposes.

The adherence of Trichomonas vaginalis to host ectocervical cells is influenced by lactobacilli.

OBJECTIVES: Trichomoniasis is a common sexually transmitted disease, and adhesion of the pathogen Trichomonas vaginalis to the host vaginal cells is the first step in establishing infection. For this to happen, the pathogen has to overcome a natural protective barrier composed mostly of lactobacilli. The objective of this study was to understand the role of lactobacilli in the adhesion of T vaginalis to host cells. METHODS: Adhesion assays were carried out by incubating vaginal epithelial cells (VECs) with T vaginalis and lactobacilli together and compared with non-lactobacilli recipient controls. By varying incubation parameters and testing several microbial isolates, the number of pathogens that adhered to the VECs was determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Overall, but with few exceptions, lactobacilli caused inhibition of T vaginalis adhesion to a variable degree. Lactobacillus gasseri ATCC 9857 and CBI3 (ambiguous Lactobacillus plantarum or Lactobacillus pentosus) caused the highest level of parasite adhesion inhibition and enhancement, respectively. These isolates of Lactobacillus can profoundly alter the adhesive properties of low-adherent and high-adherent strains of T vaginalis in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, the effects of lactobacilli on T vaginalis adhesion are strictly contact-dependent, and surface lipoglycans of T vaginalis are most likely not involved in this modulation of adhesion mediated by the bacteria. CONCLUSIONS: Lactobacilli can modulate adhesion of T vaginalis by significantly modifying the natural adhesive properties of various T vaginalis strains. This study highlights the importance of considering the role of the vaginal microbiota in the pathogenesis of trichomoniasis.

An improved quantitative method to assess adhesive properties of Trichomonas vaginalis to host vaginal ectocervical cells using flow cytometry.

Microbial adhesion is a critical step for infection and colonization of the host. Trichomonas vaginalis, a human urogenital extracellular parasite, relies on host cell adhesion for infection and pathogenesis. Although host cell adhesion of T. vaginalis is strain-dependent and it may be influenced by many environmental factors, a technical limitation to quantify T. vaginalis adhesion falls upon a laborious and time-consuming protocol of fluorescent microscopy. This technical limitation reduces the ability of screening multiple parameters or detecting multiple cell types simultaneously. Here we tested the capability of using flow cytometry as a qualitative and quantitative method to measure adhesion of this human infectious microorganism to vaginal ectocervical cells. Various strains of T. vaginalis with different adhesion properties were stained with CellTracker Orange (CMTMR) prior to incubation with host cells. Analyses by flow cytometry revealed that adhered CMTMR-stained parasites were clearly distinguishable from the host cells and also enabled absolute cell counts to be determined. This method was validated with the comparison of parasite strains that display variable degrees of host cell adhesion. This assay can now be applied to test many variables and environmental factors simultaneously that may affect T. vaginalis adhesion.