Thinking Through the Chemo-Fog: Occupational Therapy’s Role in Promoting Participation in Adults with Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is currently the most common type of cancer in women (American Cancer Society, 2012). In 2012, 2,971,610 women in the United States were breast cancer survivors (American Cancer Society, 2012). Chemotherapy is often used to effectively treat breast cancer but can cause chemobrain, or chemotherapy-related cognitive impairments (CRCI), including decreased attention, concentration, memory, and difficulty learning new skills and completing routine tasks (American Cancer Society, 2013). CRCI can persist for years and may impact an individual’s occupational performance in daily activities and occupations. Occupational therapy practitioners currently work with this population in other areas including cancer-related fatigue management, lymphedema, physical limitations post-surgery, and psychosocial distress. However, the increasing number of breast cancer survivors and prevalence of CRCI highlight the importance for expanding and defining occupational therapy’s role with this population. The purpose of this presentation is to present the results of a systematic review on interventions within occupational therapy’s scope of practice that can be used to improve CRCI in adults with breast cancer, and to discuss the implications for clinical practice. A comprehensive literature review was performed to understand the role of occupational therapy in treating individuals with chemobrain. CINAHL, Medline and Cochrane databases were used to conduct the review following inclusion criteria (literature published after 2003, and adults with breast cancer who have received chemotherapy) and exclusion criteria. To minimize bias, all articles were critiqued by a primary and secondary reviewer. Thirteen articles were reviewed. The literature review determined health professionals tend to not acknowledge the presence of CRCI, and there is a need for health care professionals to address the symptoms of CRCI. Current interventions that fit within the scope of occupational therapy are being implemented primarily by other disciplines, such as memory strategies and training, and running support groups. The lack of high quality evidence supporting the role of occupational therapy highlights the need for further research and the development of evidence-based interventions that include using compensatory, remedial, psychosocial, and patient education interventions. References: American Cancer Society. (2012). Cancer treatment and survivorship facts & figures 2012-2013. Retrieved from http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/document/acspc-033876.pdf. American Cancer Society. (2013). Chemo brain. Retrieved from http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/physicalsideeffects/chemotherapyeffects/chemo-brai

On the Limited Role of Electronic Support Effects in Selective Alkyne Hydrogenation: A Kinetic Study of Au/MO\u3csub\u3ex\u3c/sub\u3e Catalysts Prepared from Oleylamine-Capped Colloidal Nanoparticles

We report a quantitative kinetic evaluation and study of support effects for partial alkyne hydrogenation using oleylaminecapped Au colloids as catalyst precursors. The amine capping agents can be removed under reducing conditions, generating supported Au nanoparticles of ~2.5 nm in diameter. The catalysts showed high alkene selectivity (\u3e90%) at all conversions during alkyne partial hydrogenation. Catalytic activity, observed rate constants, and apparent activation energies (25– 40 kJ/mol) were similar for all Au catalysts, indicating support effects are relatively small. Alkyne adsorption, probed with FTIR and DFT, showed adsorption on the support was associated with hydrogen-bonding interactions. DFT calculations indicate strong alkyne adsorption on Au sites, with the strongest adsorption sites at the metal-support interface (MSI). The catalysts had similar hydrogen reaction orders (0.7–0.9), and 1- octyne reaction orders (~ 0.2), suggesting a common mechanism. The reaction kinetics are most consistent with a mechanism involving the non-competitive activated adsorption of H2 on an alkyne-covered Au surface