SUBJECTIVE AGE AND SUBJECTIVE EVALUATION OF THE HEALTH OF WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER

This article is devoted to the results of the study of the relationship between subjective age and subjective assessment of health among women with breast cancer. The analysis of the literature showed that subjective age is a predictor of death, mental wellness, assessment of life prospects (approach of death), possibility of coping with a bad trauma (e.g. oncological disease). The research included 170 women in the age of 31 to 85 (the average age is 56,5) diagnosed with breast cancer on different stages. Summarising received data, it should be noted that the women who feel rather danger than their chronological age address to own resources and, in general their subjective health assessment is connected with role functioning based on the emotional condition and general mental health. The women with adequate perception of their age have issues with role functioning connected with physical condition as well as the women who feel older than they actually are do. The results of this research expand a notion about potential predictors for breast cancer course, besides the results can be used for building the forecast of the disease course and its outcome

Pressure tuning of charge ordering in iron oxide

A Verwey-type charge-ordering transition in magnetite at 120 K leads to the formation of linear units of three iron ions with one shared electron, called trimerons. The recently-discovered iron pentoxide (Fe$_4$O$_5$) comprising mixed-valent iron cations at octahedral chains, demonstrates another unusual charge-ordering transition at 150 K involving competing formation of iron trimerons and dimerons. Here, we experimentally show that applied pressure can tune the charge-ordering pattern in Fe$_4$O$_5$ and strongly affect the ordering temperature. We report two charge-ordered phases, the first of which may comprise both dimeron and trimeron units, whereas, the second exhibits an overall dimerization involving both the octahedral and trigonal-prismatic chains of iron in the crystal structure. We link the dramatic change in the charge-ordering pattern in the second phase to redistribution of electrons between the octahedral and prismatic iron chains, and propose that the average oxidation state of the iron cations can pre-determine a charge-ordering pattern

Comparative Study of the Aftereffect of CO2 Inhalation or Tiletamine–Zolazepam–Xylazine Anesthesia on Laboratory Outbred Rats and Mice

CO2 inhalation is currently the most common method of euthanasia for laboratory rats and mice, and it is often used for further terminal blood sampling for clinical biochemical assays. Lately, this method has been criticized due to animal welfare issues associated with some processes that develop after CO2 inhalation. The stress reaction and the value of the clinical laboratory parameters significantly depend on the used anesthetics, method, and the site of blood sampling. Especially in small rodents, an acute terminal state followed by a cascade of metabolic reactions that can affect the studied biochemical profile may develop and cause unnecessary suffering of animals. The aim of this study was to compare the stability of biochemical parameters of outbred Sprague Dawley rats and CD-1 mice serum collected after CO2 inhalation or the intramuscular injection of tiletamine–zolazepam–xylazine (TZX). The serum content of total protein and albumin, cholesterol, triglycerides, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotr ansferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin, and creatinine was decreased by the injection of TZX in comparison with CO2 inhalation. In addition, the levels of calcium, phosphates, chlorides and potassium were lowered by TZX vs. CO2 administration, while the level of sodium increased. Finally, the level of the majority of serum clinical biochemical parameters in rats and mice tend to be overestimated after CO2 inhalation, which may lead to masking the possible effect of anti-inflammatory drugs in animal tests. Injection anesthesia for small rodents with TZX is a more feasible method for terminal blood sampling, which also reduces the suffering of animals

Psychological Predictors of Favorable and Unfavorable Course of Stomach Cancer

Рак желудка занимает пятое место среди наиболее часто диагностируемых видов рака и считается третьей по значимости причиной смертности от рака в мире. Психологические особенности пациентов с раком желудка могут способствовать созданию и усилению благоприятных либо неблагоприятных условий развития онкологического заболевания, а также его течения. Цель исследования – выявить психологические предикторы благоприятного и неблагоприятного течения болезни у пациентов с раком желудка. В качестве методик исследования выступили: шкала базисных убеждений, опросник «Способы совладающего поведения», опросник личностной беспомощности, тест жизнестойкости, русскоязычная версия опросника качества жизни (SF-36), тест жизненной ориентации, опросник уровня субъективного контроля. Для определения совокупности психологических показателей, связанных с различным течением рака желудка, использовался дискриминантный анализ (пошаговый метод, лямбда Уилкса). Исследование проводилось на базе ГБУЗ «Челябинский областной клинический центр онкологии и ядерной медицины» (Челябинск, РФ). Выборку составили пациенты с раком желудка на разных стадиях заболевания с благоприятным (N=63) и неблагоприятным (N=61) течением болезни. С помощью дискриминантного анализа был определен перечень дискриминантных переменных, классифицирующих выборку респондентов с благоприятным и неблагоприятным течением рака желудка: когнитивное убеждение о справедливости окружающего мира; копинг-стратегии «конфронтация» и «планирование решения проблемы»; ролевое функционирование, обусловленное физическим состоянием, ролевое функционирование, обусловленное эмоциональным состоянием, и общее состояние здоровья как показатели субъективной оценки качества жизни; самооценка; эмоциональная стабильность; вовлеченность как компонент жизнестойкости. Выявление психологических особенностей пациентов, способствующих благоприятному/неблагоприятному течению онкологического заболевания, открывает новые возможности в персонализированном подходе к лечению болезни и в повышении его эффективности. Полученный набор психологических показателей, ассоциированных с тем или иным течением онкологического заболевания, может быть рекомендован для применения в медицинской, психосоциальной и психотерапевтической практике при работе с пациентами со злокачественными новообразованиямиStomach cancer ranks fifth among the most commonly diagnosed cancers and the third leading cause of cancer mortality in the world. Psychological characteristics of patients with stomach cancer can contribute to creating and strengthening both favorable and unfavorable conditions of the cancer development as well as its course. The purpose of the study is to identify psychological predictors of favorable and unfavorable course of the disease in patients with gastric cancer. The research methods included the Scale of Basic Beliefs, “Strategies of Coping Behavior” questionnaire, Personal Helplessness questionnaire, Resilience test, Russian-language version of the Quality of Life questionnaire (SF-36), Life Orientation test, Level of Subjective Control questionnaire. Discriminant analysis (step-by-step method, Wilkes lambda) was used to determine the set of psychological predictors associated with different courses of stomach cancer. The study was conducted on the premises of Chelyabinsk Regional Clinical Center of Oncology and Nuclear Medicine (Chelyabinsk, Russia). The research sample consisted of patients with stomach cancer with a favorable (remission, stabilization; N=63) and unfavorable (generalization, relapse, progression, second concomitant cancer, death; N=61) course of the disease. With the help of discriminant analysis a list of discriminant variables was determined that allow to identify the groups of respondents with a favorable and unfavorable course of stomach cancer: cognitive belief about the justice of surrounding world; coping strategies “confrontation” and “problem solving planning”; role functioning due to physical condition, role functioning due to emotional state, and general health as indicators of subjective assessment of the life quality; self-esteem; emotional stability; engagement as a component of resilience. Revealing the psychological predictors of the course of cancer provides new opportunities in a personalized approach to the cancer treatment, in obtaining positive results and increasing its effectiveness. The obtained set of prognostic indicators of the cancer course can be recommended for the medical, psychosocial and psychotherapeutic practice when working with patients with malignant neoplasm

AICAR Improves Outcomes of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes Induced by High-Fat Diet in C57Bl/6 Male Mice

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of AMP-activated protein kinase activator 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR) on the consequences of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes induced by the consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) in male C57Bl/6 mice. Additionally, the animals from group 6 were administered Methotrexate (MTX) at a dose of 1 mg/kg in parallel with AICAR, which slows down the metabolism of AICAR. The animals were recorded with signs of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus by recording their body weights, glucose and insulin levels, and the calculating HOMA-IRs. At the end of the study, at the end of the 13th week, during necropsy, the internal organs were assessed, the masses of the organs were recorded, and special attention was paid to visceral fat, assessing its amount and the mass of the fat surrounding epididymis. The biochemical parameters and histology of the internal organs and tissues were assessed. The animals showed signs of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, namely, weight gain, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, an increase in the amount and mass of abdominal fat, and metabolic disorders, all expressed in a pathological change in biochemical parameters and pathological changes in internal organs. The AICAR treatment led to a decrease in body weight, a decrease in the amount and mass of abdominal fat, and an improvement in the pathomorphological picture of internal organs. However, some hepatotoxic effects were observed when the animals, on a received standard diet (STD), were treated with AICAR starting from the first day of the study. The additional administration of MTX, an AICAR metabolic inhibitor, did not improve its efficacy. Thus, AICAR has therapeutic potential for the treatment of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes