A prospective study of the impact of child maltreatment and friend support on psychological distress trajectory : from adolescence to emerging adulthood

Background Transition into adulthood is a critical developmental period that may be influenced by adverse life events as well as by protective factors. This study aimed at investigating the effect of different forms of child maltreatment experienced prior to age 14 (i.e., sexual abuse, physical abuse and exposure to intimate partner violence), and of friend support at age 14 on the psychological distress trajectory from age 14 to 24. Methods Participants were 605 adolescents from the general population involved in a 10-year longitudinal study. Psychological distress was evaluated at ages 14, 16, 18 and 24. Child maltreatment prior to 14 years was retrospectively assessed at 14 and 24 years while perception of support from friends was evaluated at age 14. Results Multilevel growth modeling indicated that psychological distress followed a significant decreasing curvilinear trajectory, with participants reporting fewer distressing psychological symptoms after 18 years. All three forms of child maltreatment, as well as their cumulative effect, predicted more psychological distress over 10 years above and beyond the protective effect of support from friends. Higher support from friends at age 14 was related to lower distress at baseline andover 10 years, beyond the effect of child maltreatment. Limitations Self-report nature of all measures, attrition, and measures of child maltreatment forms. Conclusions Psychological distress decreased during the transition from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Results also revealed the detrimental impact of child maltreatment and the promotive role of friend support, which underscore the importance of early intervention

Ascites in Ovarian Cancer Progression: Opportunities for Biomarker Discovery and New Avenues for Targeted Therapies

Until recently, ovarian cancer research has mainly focused on the tumor cell themselves ignoring for the most part the surrounding tumor environment. However, one of the major conceptual advances in oncology over the last few years has been the appreciation that major aspects of cancer biology are influenced by the tumor environment. Malignant ascites accumulates in the peritoneal cavity during ovarian cancer progression and constitutes a unique pro-inflammatory tumor environment providing a framework that orchestrates cellular and molecular changes contributing to aggressiveness and disease progression. The composition of ascites, which includes cellular and acellular components, constantly adapts during the course of the disease in response to various cellular cues originating from both tumor and stromal cells. Increasing evidence now supports an active role of ascites in the progression of ovarian cancer. Although much work is still needed to fully understand the contribution of ascites to ovarian cancer aggressiveness, this tumor environment potentially provides a wealth of opportunities for translational research including biomarker discovery and novel therapeutic target identification. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of ascites pathophysiology, the characterization of its cellular and acellular contents, the intercellular crosstalks, and how these data can be used to improve the outcome of ovarian cancer

Prognostic significance of IL-6 and IL-8 ascites levels in ovarian cancer patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The acellular fraction of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) ascites promotes <it>de novo </it>resistance of tumor cells and thus supports the idea that tumor cells may survive in the surrounding protective microenvironment contributing to disease recurrence. Levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8 are elevated in EOC ascites suggesting that they could play a role in tumor progression.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We measured IL-6 and IL-8 levels in the ascites of 39 patients with newly diagnosed EOC. Commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine IL-6 and IL-8 ascites levels. Ascites cytokine levels were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and progression-free survival.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean ascites levels for IL-6 and IL-8 were 6419 pg/ml (SEM: 1409 pg/ml) and 1408 pg/ml (SEM: 437 pg/ml) respectively. The levels of IL-6 and IL-8 in ascites were significantly lower in patients that have received prior chemotherapy before the surgery (Mann-Whitney U test, <it>P </it>= 0.037 for IL-6 and <it>P </it>= 0.008 for IL-8). Univariate analysis revealed that high IL-6 ascites levels (<it>P </it>= 0.021), serum CA125 levels (<it>P </it>= 0.04) and stage IV (<it>P </it>= 0.009) were significantly correlated with shorter progression-free survival. Including these variables in a multivariate analysis revealed that elevated IL-6 levels (<it>P </it>= 0.033) was an independent predictor of shorter progression-free survival.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Elevated IL-6, but not IL-8, ascites level is an independent predictor of shorter progression-free survival.</p

Sortir de la religion : spécificités d'une sécularisation catholique au Québec et en Irlande : expériences du "Celtic Tiger" et de la Révolution tranquille

Cette thèse porte sur une comparaison entre le déclin rapide des pratiques catholiques dans l'Irlande du Celtic Tiger (1994-2008) et dans le Québec de la Révolution Tranquille (1963-1980). Elle tend à démontrer que ces deux contextes de réelle effervescence politique, économique, sociale et culturelle, ont constitué un passage fondamental dans l'imaginaire collectif de ces deux sociétés, et que la perte d'autorité de l'Église catholique lors de ces périodes est constitutive de ce passage. De cette « sortie de la religion » a résulté des sociétés profondément transformées au coeur même du sens commun. Dans les deux cas, c'est la jeune génération qui, favorisée par la démographie, a le plus contribué à faire chuter la pratique religieuse. L'abandon de la messe dominicale, point d'ancrage d'une certaine religiosité traditionnelle basée sur l'appartenance à la famille et la paroisse, est le marqueur de ce déclin. L'étude compare les contextes historiques du Québec et de l'Irlande afin d'y montrer l'influence de la conquête britannique sur le type de catholicisme qui s'y est élaboré. Face à une difficile conquête pour la souveraineté politique, l'Église est devenue l'institution identitaire par excellence. Avec l'ultramontanisme du XIXe siècle, l'Irlande, tout comme le Québec, connaît un renouveau religieux initié par une solide prise en charge des domaines de la santé et de l'éducation par le clergé et les ordres religieux. Cette situation incite à une nouvelle ferveur qui sera au coeur d'un type de religiosité qui englobe toutes les sphères de l'existence. Plus tard, au moment où les normes de vie basculent et où les changements s'accélèrent pendant les périodes étudiées, l'Église catholique devient soudainement désuète pour la majorité des gens. Il s'agit alors de s'en extirper. C'est le récit de cette sortie qui est relaté ici. Inspirée par Max Weber et basée sur des observations et des données de terrains effectués au Québec et en Irlande sur une période de 20 ans, cette thèse explore et trace les contours de ce qui semble être une sécularisation typiquement catholique. Mots clés : Québec, Irlande, catholicisme, Église catholique, sécularisation, protestantisme, expérience religieuse, Révolution tranquille, Celtic tiger, Max Webe

Boom économique et déclin des pratiques religieuses en Irlande: quand le tigre celtique dévore le sens

Ireland’s Celtic Tiger years are a spectacular example of the passage from a traditional society to one where the market becomes the new reference point. That sociological mutation took place during the economic boom of 1995–2005, when a whole new generation, born during the Irish baby-boom of the 1970s and 1980s, experienced their coming of age. It is within that period that the major religious/economic change took place, making Ireland’s Celtic Tiger a fascinating anthropological case study for the passage from traditional modalities of life to consumerist ones. The culture shock felt by the author when returning to the field after the economic boom becomes the core of the comprehension of that passage: that culture shock informs the anthropologist looking at the profound religious mutation that propelled the market to become the transcendent reference, while the Catholic Church of Ireland was losing power and social meaning and significance. </jats:p