Subjects At-Risk for Genetic Diseases in Portugal: Illness Representations

http://sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/1059-7700/This study investigates illness representations of subjects at-risk for 3 autosomal dominant late-onset disorders: Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy (FAP) TTR V30M, Huntington's disease (HD) and Machado-Joseph disease (MJD), comparing them with the illness representations of subjects at-risk for Hemochromatosis (HH). The present study included a clinical group that consisted of 213 subjects at genetic risk (FAP, HD and MJD), comprising 174 subjects at-risk for FAP, 34 subjects at-risk for HD and only 5 subjects at-risk for MJD; and the control group consisting of 31 subjects at genetic risk for HH. All subjects at-risk were undergoing the process of genetic counseling to learn their genetic status (carrier or non-carrier). Subjects were assessed through a semi-structured single interview, in order to obtain sociodemographic data and the answer to an open-ended question relating to the illness representation issue: "What does this illness mean to you?/ What is this disease to you?" It was in the subjects' metaphors that subjects best expressed what they felt regarding the disease and the situation of being at-risk for this disease. Family is their mirror and their source of learning and, therefore, it is inevitable that family is related to the meaning of the disease itself.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dendroecological Studies with Cedrela odorata L., Northeastern Brazil

Northeastern Brazil is home to the Caatinga Forest, characterized as a Tropical Dry Forest (TDF), and the Dense Ombrophilous Forest (the Atlantic Forest) predominates near the coast. In the Caatinga, the climate is semiarid, with <600 mm of mean annual precipitation and a mean annual air temperature of 27 °C ± 6 °C. The precipitation presents a seasonal pattern, with a rainy season concentrated in the first half of the year and at least 6 months of dry season, with volumes <50 mm/month. The climate in the Atlantic Forest has a milder air temperature and a mean rainfall of 1450 mm/year. In both regions the tree species, Cedrela odorata L., widely studied in dendrochronology, presents populations in farms, with several individuals per hectare. In recent decades, 10 chronologies of C. odorata have been produced and compared to precipitation and other environmental factors, and their competition with lianas and support of the herbivorous process has been noted. This chapter presents the potential of C. odorata for dendrochronology in Northeastern Brazil; the anatomy of true rings with marginal parenchyma associated with vessels differed from the false rings by the absence of vessels. Absent rings were also observed. Nine chronologies had correlations above the critical level of 0.51 (0.51?0.79) and sensitivity between 0.547 and 0.771. The correlation between all series (rbt) of all chronologies had values between 0.27 and 0.68 and expressed population signal (EPS) above 0.85 (between 0.88 and 0.98). In both biomes, several populations of C. odorata have resulted in climate-related chronologies that showed the seasonal rainfall from May to July induces metabolism and growth rings formation. We also presented the methodology used for tropical dendroecology studies and the relationship between plant growth and environmental conditions.Fil: Lisi, Claudio Sergio. Universidade Federal de Sergipe; BrasilFil: Alves Pagotto, Mariana. Universidade Federal de Sergipe; BrasilFil: Anholetto, Claudio Roberto. Universidade Federal de Sergipe; BrasilFil: Carvalho Nogueira, Francisco. Universidade Federal de Sergipe; BrasilFil: Lima Santos, Helberson . Universidade Federal de Sergipe; BrasilFil: Costa, Clayane Matos . Universidade Federal de Sergipe; BrasilFil: Romany Nunes Menezes, Ítallo  . Universidade Federal de Sergipe; BrasilFil: Roig Junent, Fidel Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Filho, Mario Tommasiello . Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasi