Construct validity and reliability of the Informal Caregiver Burden Assessment Questionnaire (QASCI) in caregivers of patients with COPD

Highlights • Caring for a person with COPD can impact several dimensions of caregivers' lives. • The caregiving experience should be assessed to develop tailored interventions. • The QASCI tool presented good construct validity and reliability results. • It may be valuable to assess caregiving burden in caregivers of patients with COPD.Introduction: COPD often leads to loss of independence in daily activities which may increase the dependency on the informal caregiver, resulting in caregiving burden. Several instruments have been used to assess caregiving burden in COPD; however, their measurement properties have been poorly investigated in this population. This study assessed the construct validity and reliability of the Informal Caregiver Burden Assessment Questionnaire (QASCI) in informal caregivers of patients with COPD. Methods: Participants completed the QASCI (higher scores indicate higher burden) and the following questionnaires to assess construct validity: Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument – Short Form (WHOQOL-Bref). QASCI was completed again one week later to assess test-retest reliability. Statistical analyses included: Pearson’s (r) or Spearman’s (ρ) correlations (construct validity); Cronbach’s α (internal consistency); Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC2,1, test-retest reliability) and Standard Error of Measurement (SEM), Minimal Detectable Change (MDC95) and Bland and Altman 95% Limits of Agreement (LoA). Results: Fifty caregivers (62.7 ± 9.8 years, 88% female; patients’ FEV1 = 45.2 ± 21.3%predicted) participated. QASCI mean score was 28.5 ± 19.8 (moderate burden). QASCI was positively correlated with ZBI (r = 0.908; p < 0.01), HADS anxiety (r = 0.613; p < 0.01) and depression (ρ = 0.634; <0.01) and negatively correlated with WHOQOL-Bref ( 0.476 to 0.739) (all p < 0.01). Cronbach’s α was 0.793 for the QASCI total score (subscales: 0.747–0.932). The ICC2,1 was 0.924, SEM 2.8 and MDC95 7.8, and the LoA were 18.3 to 11.1. Conclusions: The QASCI seems to be a promising measure to assess burden levels associated with informal caregiving in COPD.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Construct validity and reliability of the Informal Caregiver Burden Assessment Questionnaire (QASCI) in caregivers of patients with COPD

COPD often leads to loss of independence in daily activities which may increase the dependency on the informal caregiver, resulting in caregiving burden. Several instruments have been used to assess caregiving burden in COPD; however, their measurement properties have been poorly investigated in this population. This study assessed the construct validity and reliability of the Informal Caregiver Burden Assessment Questionnaire (QASCI) in informal caregivers of patients with COPD.publishe

Relationship between distress and physical activity in informal carers of patients with COPD

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can lead to an increase in patient’s dependence on the informal carer and consequently to higher levels of distress. In the general population, higher levels of physical activity (PA) have been found to contribute to lower levels of distress. However, this relationship has been scarcely studied in carers of patients with COPD. Aim: This study aimed to explore the relationship between distress and PA in informal carers of patients with COPD and the influence of caregiving duration. Methods: Forty-one carers (62.4±10.1 years, 90.2% female; 41.5% caring for patients >40h/week; patients’ FEV1=43.7±19.7%pred) completed the Portuguese tool to assess distress related to caregiving (Informal Caregiver Burden Assessment Questionnaire [QASCI]; higher score meaning higher distress; 7 subscales); the Habitual Physical Activity Questionnaire (HPAQ) to assess PA; and questions related to the caregiving duration (h/week, years). Pearson’s correlations and linear regressions were used. Results: There was a negative moderate correlation between the QASCI (30.3±20.7) and the HPAQ (5.1±1.2) (r=-.517; p=.01). Correlations were also found between PA and some of the QASCI subscales (emotional burden r=-.500; implications for personal life r=-.652; financial burden r=-.471; perception of efficacy and control mechanisms r=.428; p<.01). Two linear regression models were tested to predict the QASCI score involving as predictors: 1) HPAQ (B1=-9.094) (p=.001; r2=.27); 2) HPAQ (B1=-7.401) and caregiving h/week (B2=6.156) (p<.001; r2=.39). Conclusions: Higher PA levels may be related to decreased levels of distress in this population. Further research is needed.publishe

An integrated in vitro approach unveils the biocompetence and glutathiolomic profile of a human hepatocyte-like cell 3d model

Funding: This work was supported by FCT (Portugal) through the research grant PTDC/MED-TOX/29183/2017. Acknowledgments: The authors thank ECBio S.A. for providing the hnMSCs and F.A. Beland (NCTR, Jefferson, AR, USA) for the kind donation of nevirapine. FCT (UID/DTP/04138/2019, UID/QUI/00100/2019, RECI/QEQ-MED/0330/2012, SFRH/BD/144130/2019 to J.S.R., SFRH/BD/110945/2015 to P.F.P. and CEECIND/02001/2017 to A.M.M.A) are also acknowledged.The need for competent in vitro liver models for toxicological assessment persists. The differentiation of stem cells into hepatocyte-like cells (HLC) has been adopted due to its human origin and availability. Our aim was to study the usefulness of an in vitro 3D model of mesenchymal stem cell-derived HLCs. 3D spheroids (3D-HLC) or monolayer (2D-HLC) cultures of HLCs were treated with the hepatotoxic drug nevirapine (NVP) for 3 and 10 days followed by analyses of Phase I and II metabolites, biotransformation enzymes and drug transporters involved in NVP disposition. To ascertain the toxic effects of NVP and its major metabolites, the changes in the glutathione net flux were also investigated. Phase I enzymes were induced in both systems yielding all known correspondent NVP metabolites. However, 3D-HLCs showed higher biocompetence in producing Phase II NVP metabolites and upregulating Phase II enzymes and MRP7. Accordingly, NVP-exposure led to decreased glutathione availability and alterations in the intracellular dynamics disfavoring free reduced glutathione and glutathionylated protein pools. Overall, these results demonstrate the adequacy of the 3D-HLC model for studying the bioactivation/metabolism of NVP representing a further step to unveil toxicity mechanisms associated with glutathione net flux changes.publishersversionpublishe

the complexity of host's effective immune response against a polymorphic parasitic disease

This review is aimed at providing a comprehensive outline of the immune response displayed against cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), the more common zoonotic infection caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. Although of polymorphic clinical presentation, classically CL is characterized by leishmaniotic lesions on the face and extremities of the patients, which can be ulcerative, and even after healing can lead to permanent injuries and disfigurement, affecting significantly their psychological, social, and economic well-being. According a report released by the World Health Organization, the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to leishmaniasis are close to 2.4 million, annually there are 1.0-1.5 million new cases of CL, and a numerous population is at risk in the endemic areas. Despite its increasing worldwide incidence, it is one of the so-called neglected tropical diseases. Furthermore, this review provides an overview of the existing knowledge of the host innate and acquired immune response to cutaneous species of Leishmania. The use of animal models and of in vitro studies has improved the understanding of parasite-host interplay and the complexity of immune mechanisms involved. The importance of diagnosis accuracy associated with effective patient management in CL reduction is highlighted. However, the multiple factors involved in CL epizoology associated with the unavailability of vaccines or drugs to prevent infection make difficult to formulate an effective strategy for CL control.publishersversionpublishe

Enrichment of IFN- producing cells in different murine adipose tissue depots upon infection with an apicomplexan parasite.

Here we report that lean mice infected with the intracellular parasite Neospora caninum show a fast but sustained increase in the frequency of IFN-γ-producing cells noticeable in distinct adipose tissue depots. Moreover, IFN-γ-mediated immune memory could be evoked in vitro in parasite antigen-stimulated adipose tissue stromal vascular fraction cells collected from mice infected one year before. Innate or innate-like cells such as NK, NK T and TCRγδ(+) cells, but also CD4(+) and CD8(+) TCRβ(+) lymphocytes contributed to the IFN-γ production observed since day one of infection. This early cytokine production was largely abrogated in IL-12/IL23 p40-deficient mice. Moreover, production of IFN-γ by stromal vascular fraction cells isolated from these mice was markedly lower than that of wild-type counterparts upon stimulation with parasite antigen. In wild-type mice the increased IFN-γ production was concomitant with up-regulated expression of genes encoding interferon-inducible GTPases and nitric oxide synthase, which are important effector molecules in controlling intracellular parasite growth. This increased gene expression was markedly impaired in the p40-deficient mice. Overall, these results show that NK cells but also diverse T cell populations mediate a prompt and widespread production of IFN-γ in the adipose tissue of N. caninum infected mice

Cell division protein FtsK coordinates bacterial chromosome segregation and daughter cell separation in Staphylococcus aureus

Funding Information: We thank Nathalie Reichmann and Leendert Hamoen (University of Amsterdam) for critical reading of the manuscript, Ana Velic (Proteome Center Tübingen) for help with proteome analysis and Mike VanNieuwenhze (Indiana University) for the generous gift of HADA. This study was funded by the European Research Council through grant ERC‐2017‐CoG‐771709 (to MGP), by national funds through FCT– Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, PTDC/BIA‐MIC/6982/2020 (to HV); PTDC/BIA‐PLA/3432/2012 (to SRF); FCT through MOSTMICRO‐ITQB R&D Unit (UIDB/04612/2020, UIDP/04612/2020) and LS4FUTURE Associated Laboratory (LA/P/0087/2020) and FCT fellowship SFRH/BD/147052/2019 (to BMS); by the Swiss National National Foundation through P300P3_155346 (to AJ); by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska‐Curie grant agreement No 839596 (to SS) and by the European Molecular Biology Organization through award ALTF 673‐2018 (to SS). Figure 6D and Appendix Fig S7 were created with Biorender.com . Funding Information: We thank Nathalie Reichmann and Leendert Hamoen (University of Amsterdam) for critical reading of the manuscript, Ana Velic (Proteome Center Tübingen) for help with proteome analysis and Mike VanNieuwenhze (Indiana University) for the generous gift of HADA. This study was funded by the European Research Council through grant ERC-2017-CoG-771709 (to MGP), by national funds through FCT– Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, PTDC/BIA-MIC/6982/2020 (to HV); PTDC/BIA-PLA/3432/2012 (to SRF); FCT through MOSTMICRO-ITQB R&D Unit (UIDB/04612/2020, UIDP/04612/2020) and LS4FUTURE Associated Laboratory (LA/P/0087/2020) and FCT fellowship SFRH/BD/147052/2019 (to BMS); by the Swiss National National Foundation through P300P3_155346 (to AJ); by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 839596 (to SS) and by the European Molecular Biology Organization through award ALTF 673-2018 (to SS). Figure 6D and Appendix Fig S7 were created with Biorender.com. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY NC ND 4.0 license.Unregulated cell cycle progression may have lethal consequences and therefore, bacteria have various mechanisms in place for the precise spatiotemporal control of cell cycle events. We have uncovered a new link between chromosome replication/segregation and splitting of the division septum. We show that the DNA translocase domain-containing divisome protein FtsK regulates cellular levels of a peptidoglycan hydrolase Sle1, which is involved in cell separation in the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. FtsK interacts with a chaperone (trigger factor, TF) and establishes a FtsK-dependent TF concentration gradient that is higher in the septal region. Trigger factor binds Sle1 and promotes its preferential export at the septal region, while also preventing Sle1 degradation by the ClpXP proteolytic machinery. Upon conditions that lead to paused septum synthesis, such as DNA damage or impaired DNA replication/segregation, TF gradient is dissipated and Sle1 levels are reduced, thus halting premature septum splitting.publishersversionpublishe

Extraction and characterization of collagen from Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic squid and its potential application in hybrid scaffolds for tissue engineering

Collagen is the most abundant protein found in mammals and it exhibits a low immunogenicity, high biocompatibility and biodegradability when compared with others natural polymers. For this reason, it has been explored for the development of biologically instructive biomaterials with applications for tissue substitution and regeneration. Marine origin collagen has been pursued as an alternative to the more common bovine and porcine origins. This study focused on squid (Teuthoidea: Cephalopoda), particularly the Antarctic squid Kondakovia longimana and the Sub-Antarctic squid Illex argentinus as potential collagen sources. In this study, collagen has been isolated fromthe skins of the squids using acid-based and pepsin-based protocols, with the higher yield being obtained from I. argentinus in the presence of pepsin. The produced collagen has been characterized in terms of physicochemical properties, evidencing an amino acid profile similar to the one of calf collagen, but exhibiting a less preserved structure, with hydrolyzed portions and a lower melting temperature. Pepsin-soluble collagen isolated fromI. argentinus was selected for further evaluation of biomedical potential, exploring its incorporation on poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) 3D printed scaffolds for the development of hybrid scaffolds for tissue engineering, exhibiting hierarchical features.This work was partially funded by ERDF through POCTEP Project 0687_NOVOMAR_1_P and by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement on ERC-2012-ADG 20120216-321266 (ComplexiTE). The Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) is also acknowledged for post-doctoral fellowships of JMS (SFRH/BPD/70230/2010) and RPP (SFRH/BPD/101886/2014), financed by POPH/FSE, and FCT Investigator grant of JX (IF/00616/2013). The authors also want to thank Dr. Julio Maroto (Fundación CETMAR, Spain) for the kind offer of the samples of skins of I. argentinus, to Dr. Dario Fassini for the assistance in SDS-PAGE and to Raphael Canadas for assistance in micro-CT data processing.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Relação entre a Fadiga e a Atividade Física na DPOC

Introdução e Objetivos: A Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crónica (DPOC) manifesta-se através da dispneia, tosse e expetoração. Porém, o 2º sintoma mais prevalente – a fadiga - é muitas vezes negligenciado e pode estar associado a uma menor capacidade para a prática de Atividade Física (AF). Assim, explorou-se a relação entre a fadiga e a AF na DPOC, e a influência de outros fatores na fadiga (objetivo secundário). Material e Métodos: Foi realizado um estudo transversal em pessoas com DPOC. Foram recolhidos dados de espirometria e dos instrumentos: Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) para avaliar a dispneia; n.º de exacerbações no último ano; classificação GOLD e ABCD; Checklist of Individual Strength (CIS20) e a sua Dimensão Subjetiva de Fadiga (DSF); acelerómetro Actigraph GT3X para avaliar a AF (i.e., AF leve, AF Moderada-a-Vigorosa (AFMV), AF total e n.º de passos). Realizaram-se correlações de Spearman (ρ) e de Phi (ϕ) e regressões lineares. Resultados: A amostra incluiu 83 participantes (68±8 anos; 83% homens; 47±18 FEV1% previsto), em que 72% relatou presença de fadiga (DSF≥27) e apresentou uma média de 73±25 no score total do CIS20-P. Foi observada uma correlação negativa entre a fadiga e a AF (AFMV e CIS20-P: ρ=-0,29; AFMV e DSF: ρ=-0,28; passos/dia e CIS20-P: ρ=-0,30; passos/dia e DSF: ρ=-0,25) (p<0,05). Verificaram-se correlações positivas entre a fadiga e as exacerbações (CIS20-P: ρ=0,30; DSF: ρ=0,27), classificação ABCD (CIS20-P: ρ=0,43; DSF: ρ=0,38) e a dispneia (CIS20-P ρ=0,50; DSF: ρ=0,47) (p<0,05). A correlação entre ‘ter fadiga’ e a participação num programa de reabilitação respiratória, hábitos tabágicos e nível de dispneia (mMRC<2 vs. mMRC≥2) foi fraca (ϕ= 0,12, ϕ= 0,16, ϕ= 0,30, respetivamente). A dispneia revelou-se o maior preditor do CIS20-P e da DSF (ambos β=0,48, p<0,005). Conclusões: As pessoas com DPOC menos ativas apresentam maiores níveis de fadiga, embora a relação seja fraca. A dispneia parece ter a maior influência sobre a fadiga. São necessários mais estudos para explorar a relação entre a fadiga, a AF e outros fatores nesta população.N/