Patient adherence to tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy in chronic myeloid leukemia: influence of coping strategies and psychological factors

BACKGROUND: Medication non-adherence is associated with poor health outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Although the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treatment is satisfactory in clinical results, it is subject to non-adherence. In this study, we intend to verify if there are psychological factors, such as anxiety, depression, and coping style that can influence medication adherence.METHODS: The study was conducted on 120 patients with CML receiving long-term TKI therapy. The sample was collected in the years 2016-2017 at Department of Oncology-Hematology in Pescara, Italy. Adherence behaviour was measured with the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and psychological factors investigated included: anxiety and depression symptoms [Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)] and coping strategies [abbreviated version of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (Brief-COPE)]. T-test and logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate factors associated with medication adherence.RESULTS: The participants, 74 men and 46 women, reported a mean age of 56.65 ± 15.80 years. The results showed that 71.67% of the patients were adherent while 28.33% were non-adherent. Furthermore, adherence was positively associated with active coping (P < 0.050) and instrumental support (P < 0.001). Also, depression symptoms were risk factor for non-adherence (P < 0.050).CONCLUSION: This study suggests that active coping strategies with a good level of instrumental support are factors associated with greater adherence to long-term therapy. The results of this study support paying attention to factors identified as being helpful in monitoring patients with a risk of non-adherence. There is a need to provide increased psychosocial support for patients with chronic disease by planning effective client‐focused interventions

Il linguaggio delle immagini nella sociologia di Auguste Comte

Attraverso la teoria sociologica del linguaggio elaborata da Auguste Comte negli anni '50 del XIX secolo, si è mostrata la centralità dello statuto delle immagini nella rivoluzione scientifica. Si è poi messo in relazione la contemporanea comparsa della fotografia e della sociologia in relazione alla nuova visione del mondo e dell'uomo che si accredita a partire dal positivismo

Bloch surface waves-controlled emission of organic dyes grafted on a one-dimensional photonic crystal

An alternative route to plasmon-controlled fluorescence for improving the detection of fluorescence is proposed. In place of a metallic layer, a suitable silicon-based one-dimensional photonic crystal is used to generate a Bloch surface waves-coupled emission from a thin polymeric layer decorated with a fluorescent dye. Fluorescent radiation coupled to Bloch surface waves is strongly polarized and directional, with an angular divergence of 0.3 corresponding to a spectral bandwidth of 3 nm. Within this range, an overall signal enhancement of a factor larger than 500 is obtained as compared to a conventional glass substrate thanks to an additional enhancement mechanism based on dyes excitation via Bloch surface wave

Unsteady Flow Field Measurements In An Industrial Centrifugal Compressor

Lecturepg. 49-58Unsteady flow field measurements of both static and total pressure, and discharge angle have been carried out downstream of an industrial centrifugal impeller. Phase-resolved measurements were performed using a cylindrical single sensor fast response aerodynamic pressure probe (FRAPP) traversing and rotating from the impeller hub up to the shroud. Since FRAPP operates as a virtual tree-hole probe, it was possible to obtain a detailed bidimensional reconstruction of the flow field. An experimental campaign was conducted on a closed loop rotating rig, where a multistage compressor was replicated using a pseudostage just upstream of the impeller to be tested, which was purposely designed for oil and gas applications. By varying the flow coefficient along a speed line, flow field modifications with pressure ratio variations were highlighted and analyzed in detail. The results are presented as bidimensional distributions of total and static pressure as well as blade to blade angle (i.e., the angle in the plane normal to the probe axis) and Mach number; hub-to-shroud profiles and mass averaged data of the most significant quantities are also shown. Moreover the typical pulsating behavior of centrifugal impellers, also known as the jet and wake phenomenon, has been captured and verified against standard pneumatic pressure probes (such as multihold probes) that in some cases evidence a lack of reliability. A comparison of these different techniques has been drawn through a commercial five-hole probe that was mounted in the same radial location as the fast response probe

Silicon-based microcavities: theory and experiment

A detailed analysis, both experimental and theoretical, of light-matter interaction in dielectrically coupled semiconductor microcavities is presented. More specifically, we have designed and realized all a-SiN:H coupled planar microcavities, whose optical investigation via transmission/reflection as well as photoluminescence experiments reveals a clear fingerprint of cavity-cavity coupling effects. The latter have been quantitatively modelled via fully three-dimensional calculations based on a scattering-state approach including energy-dependent refractive indices and absorption coefficients

Biomimetic Tailoring of the Surface Properties of Polymers at the Nanoscale: Medical Applications

New-generation biomaterials are information-rich and incorporate biologically active components derived from Nature. The chapter reviews current approaches for the realization of biomimetic coatings for tissue engineering applications, via functionalization with bioactive molecules such as native long chains of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins as well as short peptide sequences derived from intact ECM proteins. Biomimetic materials provide cues for cell-matrix interactions, favouring cell adhesion, proliferation, spreading, and differentiation. The recently developed scanning probe techniques for optical and spectroscopic characterization of surfaces are also described, providing advanced topographical imaging and sensitive force measurements. The spectroscopic imaging of surfaces at the nanoscale provides insight into the function and structure of biomimetic molecules and represents a tool for tailoring the surface desig

Effects due to the temperature measurement section on the performance estimation of a centrifugal compressor stage

A wide-ranging analysis was performed by GE Oil & Gas and the University of Florence to investigate the effects on the estimation of centrifugal compressor performance induced by a different choice of the total temperature measurement section. With this goal in mind, the study focused on the analysis of a commonly found discrepancy between the measurements at the impeller outlet section and at the stage exit section. Based on the experimental data collected on a centrifugal impeller, three main physical phenomena were analyzed and discussed in further detail. First, the effect of the heat exchange was examined, and its influence on the total temperature variation throughout the machine was extrapolated. Next, the influence of the heat-exchange phenomena affecting the temperature sensors was evaluated by means of numerical models and physical assumptions. Finally, the effects on the temperature measurement of the flow structure at the impeller outlet were investigated. In particular, a corrective model to account for the thermal inertia of the thermocouples normally applied in this section was applied to the experimental data. The corrected temperatures at the investigated measurement sections were then compared, and their influence on the correct stage performance estimation is discussed in this study

Surface label-free sensing by means of a fluorescent multilayered photonic structure

A fluorescent dielectric multilayer is exploited for label-free sensing in aqueous microenvironment. Fluorescence is laser-excited and collected through prism-coupling to a surface electromagnetic mode, also known as Bloch surface waves (BSW) localized at the interface between the multilayer and the outer aqueous medium. By detecting the spectral changes of the BSW-coupled light emission due to an external perturbation of the refractive index (Dn), a sensitivity of 2500 nm/RIU and a limit of detection down to Dn=3 10^-6 are obtaine