RESUMO
El factor de atención emocional ha sido reportado con frecuencia negativamente asociado con indicadores de salud mental; al contrario de los resultados obtenidos con los factores de claridad y de reparación emocional. Los objetivos del estudio fueron examinar las relaciones entre atención, claridad y reparación emocional con los factores de respuestas rumiativas y determinar si la relación entre la atención emocional y rumiación varía de acuerdo con los niveles de atención, claridad y reparación emocional en estudiantes universitarios de Lima, Perú. Para ello, primero se realizó un estudio de la estructura factorial y la confiabilidad de la TMMS-24 y de la Escala de Respuestas Rumiativas, en 320 estudiantes de una universidad pública de Lima, Perú. Segundo, se llevó a cabo un estudio correlacional mediante la aplicación de ambos instrumentos a 529 estudiantes de la misma universidad. En la muestra total se obtuvo que ambos factores de rumiación correlacionaron positivamente con atención emocional, pero solo reproche correlacionó con claridad y con reparación, siendo tal correlación negativa. Para determinar si la relación positiva entre atención y rumiación varía con los niveles de atención, claridad y reparación, se compararon las correlaciones entre atención y rumiación correspondientes a los grupos de baja, media y alta atención, claridad y reparación. Estas comparaciones mostraron que la relación entre atención y los factores de rumiación variaban solo en función del nivel de reparación. Los resultados indican diferencias importantes en la manera en que se relaciona cada factor de rumiación con la atención emocional, por un lado, y con la claridad y la reparación emocional, por el otro.
The emotional attention factor has been often reported as negatively associated with mental health indicators, contrary to the results attained with the emotional clarity and repair factors. The objectives of this study were to examine relationships between emotional attention, clarity and repair and factors of ruminative responses and to determine whether the relation between emotional attention and rumination could vary according to the levels of emotional attention, clarity and repair in university students from Lima, Peru. For this, in first place, a study was carried out to determine the factor structure and the internal consistency of the TMMS-24 and the Ruminative Responses Scale in 320 undergraduates of a public university in Lima, Peru. After this psychometric study, it was carried out a correlation study in 529 undergraduates from the same university. In the whole sample, both rumination factors positively correlated with emotional attention, but only brooding correlated with clarity and repair, negatively. In order to determine whether the positive relation between attention and rumination varies with the levels of attention, clarity and repair, the attention-rumination correlations were compared between groups of low, medium and high attention, clarity and repair. These comparisons shown that the relationship between attention and rumination factors varied only as a function of the level of repair. These results indicate important differences in the way that each rumination factor is related with emotional attention, on the one hand, and with emotional clarity and repair, on the other.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Despite significant achievements in the treatment of cervical cancer, it is still a deadly disease; hence newer therapeutical modalities are needed. Preliminary investigations suggest that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) might have a role in the development of cervical cancer, therefore it is important to determine whether this growth factor pathway is functional and its targeting with imatinib mesylate leads to growth inhibition of cervical cancer cells. RESULTS: PDGF receptors (PDGFR) and their ligands are frequently expressed in cervical cancer and the majority exhibited a combination of family members co-expression. A number of intronic and exonic variations but no known mutations in the coding sequence of the PDGFRalpha gene were found in cancer cell lines and primary tumors. Growth assays demonstrated that PDGFBB induces growth stimulation that can be blocked by imatinib and that this tyrosine kinase inhibitor on its own inhibits cell growth. These effects were associated with the phosphorylation status of the receptor. CONCLUSION: The PDGFR system may have a role in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer as their members are frequently expressed in this tumor and cervical cancer lines are growth inhibited by the PDGFR antagonist imatinib.
RESUMO
Cervical cancer is the seventh most frequent cancer worldwide but more than 80% of cases occur in developing countries. Till date, radiation therapy with external beam and brachytherapy remains as the core treatment for most stages of cervical cancer. However, radiation treatment protocols and equipment modelled on the best developed countries can be seldom applied directly to developing countries owing to financial constraints and lack of qualified personnel, thus, a substantial proportion of patients do not have access to even palliative radiation therapy. Treatment options when the standard therapy is either not available or difficult to reproduce in particular settings is highly desirable with the potential to save lives that otherwise could be lost by the lack of adequate treatment. These options of treatment ideally had to have show, 1) that these are not inferior to the "standard" in terms of either survival or quality of life; 2) that these can be delivered in settings were the "standard" is not available or if available its quality is poor; and 3) that the treatment option be accepted by the population to be treated. Based on these considerations, it is obvious that cervical cancer patients, particularly those who live in countries with limited resources and therefore may not have sufficient radiation therapy resources are in need of newer therapeutical options. There is now a considerable amount of information emanating from clinical studies where surgery has a major role in treating this disease. These forms of "radiation-sparing" treatments include total mesometrial resection that could make unnecessary the use of adjuvant radiation; neoadjuvant chemotherapy that could avoid the use of adjuvant radiation in around 85% of patients and preoperative chemoradiation that could make brachytherapy dispensable. The feasibility and therapeutical value of these potential forms of management need to be prospectively evaluated.
RESUMO
El propósito de este trabajo es realizar una defensa de la posición objetivista frente a la insistente presencia de epistemologías constructivistas y relativistas en el campo de la psicología. Para cumplir este objetivo, examinamos críticamente algunos argumentos constructivistas y luego revisamos el papel de los factores no cognoscitivos y del marco conceptual del investigador en la construcción del conocimiento. Finalizamos con una breve discusión de la racionalidad en la decisión científica y de la posibilidad de un desarrollo progresivo, y no solo sustitutivo, del conocimiento científico. Nuestra conclusión es que, contrario a lo que sostienen constructivistas y relativistas, es posible generar conocimiento y que existe una línea real de progreso en el saber humano; a todo lo cual denominamos optimismo epistémico.
The purpose of this paper is to carry out a defense of the objectivist stance before the insistent presence of constructivist and relativist epistemologies in psychology. For this, we critically examine some constructivist arguments and then we review the role of non-cognitive factors and researchers' conceptual frameworks in constructing knowledge. We finalize with a brief account about rationality of scientific decision and the possibility of a progressive, not only substitute, development of scientific knowledge. We substitutive that, contrary to claims of constructivists and relativists, it is indeed possible to create knowledge and there exists a way of true progress in it, all of which we call epistemic optimism.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Aberrant DNA methylation and histone deacetylation participate in cancer development and progression; hence, their reversal by inhibitors of DNA methylation and histone deacetylases (HDACs) is at present undergoing clinical testing in cancer therapy. As epigenetic alterations are common to breast cancer, in this proof-of-concept study demethylating hydralazine, plus the HDAC inhibitor magnesium valproate, were added to neoadjuvant doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide in locally advanced breast cancer to assess their safety and biological efficacy. METHODOLOGY: This was a single-arm interventional trial on breast cancer patients (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00395655). After signing informed consent, patients were typed for acetylator phenotype and then treated with hydralazine at 182 mg for rapid-, or 83 mg for slow-acetylators, and magnesium valproate at 30 mg/kg, starting from day -7 until chemotherapy ended, the latter consisting of four cycles of doxorubicin 60 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 every 21 days. Core-needle biopsies were taken from primary breast tumors at diagnosis and at day 8 of treatment with hydralazine and valproate. MAIN FINDINGS: 16 patients were included and received treatment as planned. All were evaluated for clinical response and toxicity and 15 for pathological response. Treatment was well-tolerated. The most common toxicity was drowsiness grades 1-2. Five (31%) patients had clinical CR and eight (50%) PR for an ORR of 81%. No patient progressed. One of 15 operated patients (6.6%) had pathological CR and 70% had residual disease <3 cm. There was a statistically significant decrease in global 5mC content and HDAC activity. Hydralazine and magnesium valproate up- and down-regulated at least 3-fold, 1,091 and 89 genes, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Hydralazine and magnesium valproate produce DNA demethylation, HDAC inhibition, and gene reactivation in primary tumors. Doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide treatment is safe, well-tolerated, and appears to increase the efficacy of chemotherapy. A randomized phase III study is ongoing to support the efficacy of so-called epigenetic or transcriptional cancer therapy.