ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A breast cancer diagnosis with all that it entails is a highly stressful moment for women. Chemotherapy is one of the main treatments for this type of cancer, and it also brings several side effects and physical changes that often lead to emotional distress and adjustment difficulties. This study aims to analyse the quality of life and psychosocial variables in women with breast cancer submitted to different chemotherapy procedures. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: We used a convenience sample of 50 women with breast cancer submitted to adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Women were interviewed after obtaining their informed consent. The instruments used were: a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being-12-Item, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and Brief Resilient Coping Scale. RESULTS: Participants demonstrated reasonable levels of all dimensions analysed, except for resilient coping, which was relatively low. Neither treatment significantly improves quality of life or any other psychosocial variable more than the other. Most of the variables were correlated, especially quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the choice of treatment according to the most favourable objective criteria (e.g., stage, patients' characteristics) and multidisciplinary work with the integration of a psychologist are vital to achieve good outcomes and the best possible quality of life. Interesting insights were obtained, such as the need for health literacy to make informed decisions and the variation of needs during the cancer course. Future research could use a longitudinal approach and a more representative sample.
ABSTRACT
The negative impact of ticks and tick-borne diseases on animals and human health is driving research to discover novel targets affecting both vectors and pathogens. The salivary glands are involved in feeding and pathogen transmission, thus are considered as a compelling target to focus research. In this study, proteomics approach was used to characterize Rhipicephalus bursa sialoproteome in response to Babesia ovis infection and blood feeding. Two potential tick protective antigens were identified and its influence in tick biological parameters and pathogen infection was evaluated. Results demonstrate that the R. bursa sialoproteome is highly affected by feeding but infection is well tolerated by tick cells. The combination of both stimuli shifts the previous scenario and a more evident pathogen manipulation can be suggested. Knockdown of ub2n led to a significative increase of infection in tick salivary glands but a brusque decrease in the progeny, revealing its importance in the cellular response to pathogen infection, which is worth pursuing in future studies. Additionally, an impact in the recovery rate of adults (62%), the egg production efficiency (45.75%), and the hatching rate (88.57 %) was detected. Building knowledge on vector and/or pathogen interplay bridges the identification of protective antigens and the development of novel control strategies.
ABSTRACT
Emerging adulthood has been described in literature as a new phase of individual and family life cycle. This new stage (18-25 years old) is characterized by identity configuration, instability, self-focused and feeling in between of emerging adults. Notwithstanding the theoretical relevance of this topic, there is a research gap about parent-child communication in this stage, perhaps because of the lack of appropriate measures. The purpose of this study was to validate a scale originally developed to assess parent-adolescent communication (Perception Scale of Parenting Communication) to this new stage of life cycle. A cross-sectional and descriptive design was used to explore the perception of 217 emerging adults (68.2% females) about communication with their parents. A new version of Perception Scale of Parenting Communication was designed with 17 items distributed by four factors (parental confidence/sharing, children confidence/sharing, emotional support/affective expression, and negative communication patterns), according to confirmatory factor analysis. Results showed that Perception Scale of Parenting Communication is a valid and consistent measure (α= .934 mother version; α= .923 father version) to assess parent-emerging adult communication. This study provides important implication for research and practice such as the design of a new tool to assess family communication in emerging adulthood stage
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