Psychometric evaluation of the German Version of the Supportive Care Needs Survey for Partners and Caregivers (SCNS-P&C-G) of cancer patients.

This study aimed for psychometric validation of the German version of the Supportive Care Needs Survey for Partners and Caregivers (SCNS-P&C-G). In- and outpatients with lung, urological and gastrointestinal cancer at Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany and in each case one relevant caregiver were asked to complete a set of questionnaires assessing their unmet needs together with distress, depression, anxiety and caregiver strain. In addition, medical data of the patients were collected. Fully completed questionnaires were received from 188 pairs of patients and their caregivers. Using exploratory factor analysis, four domains of unmet needs were identified with an appropriate variance explanation (58.7%) and acceptable (>0.70) internal consistencies (α = 0.95 to 0.76) for each domain. Convergent validity was found with respect to significant positive correlations (>0.40) of the SCNS-P&C-G domains with caregivers' anxiety, depression and strain. Although poorer health status of the patient indicated more unmet caregiver needs, this finding was not consistent for all need domains. Overall, associations were only moderate to weak pointing out the necessity of a separate screening for caregivers' needs. The findings of this study support that the SCNS-P&C-G is an appropriate research instrument to assess caregivers' needs on different domains throughout the disease trajectory.

[Effect of manganese (II), cobalt (II), and nickel (II) ions on the growth and production of coumarins in the suspension culture of Angelica archangelica L]. / Vliv manganatých, kobaltnatých a nikelnatých iontu na rust a produkci kumarinu v suspenzní kulture Angelica archangelica L.

The plant cell reacts to an increased concentration of metals in the environment by various mechanisms. They include an increase in the formation of heat-shock proteins, metallothioneins, phytochelatins, amino acids (cysteine, histidine), organic acids (citric, malic), or secondary metabolites. The latter mechanism is being investigated for its possible use in explant cultures for the stimulation of secondary metabolism, which is the source of substances of pharmaceutical importance. The study tested manganese (II) (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 mM in the medium), cobalt (II), and nickel (II) ions (0, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 200, and 500 microM in the medium) as potential elicitors of coumarin production. At the same time, toxicity of these metals for the culture was examined by evaluating their effect on growth (characterized by fresh and dry weight of biomass at the end of a two-week cultivation). Cultures were cultivated in the dark and in the light. It has been found that the growth of cultures is not influenced by manganese in concentrations ranging from 0 to 2 mM, then it slightly decreases, at a concentration of 50 mM it is lower by 20 % when cultivated in the dark and by 30 % when cultivated in the light in comparison with the control. Cobalt in concentrations of 0 to 50 microM does not significantly influence the growth of the culture, higher concentrations decrease the biomass yields, more markedly when cultivated in the light (at 500 microM Co by 60 %, in the dark only by 30 % in comparison with the controls). Nickel in concentrations of 0.1 to 200 microM does not influence growth, and in a concentration of 500 microM decreases it by approximately 30 % in comparison with the control both in the light and dark. Production of coumarins was not stimulated by any metal in comparison with the control cultures, only the removal of manganese from the medium in the culture cultivated in the dark increased production by about 15 % versus the control.