Effects of optimism, interpersonal relationships, and distress on psychosexual well-being among women with early stage breast cancer

This study examined associations between optimism, social support, and distress as they relate to psychosexual well-being among 136 women with Stage 0, I, and II breast cancer. Women were assessed immediately post-surgery and 3, 6, and 12 months post-surgery. Results support two cross-sectional mediation models. The first model indicates that patients who are more optimistic experience greater psychosexual well-being (i.e., feel more feminine, attractive, and sexually desirable) partly because they perceive themselves as having more social support available. The second model indicates that patients who are more optimistic experience greater psychosexual well-being partly because they experience less emotional distress related to the disease. When the two models were tested simultaneously, distress no longer contributed uniquely to the model at any time point except for 12 months follow-up

Perceived partner support and psychosexual adjustment to breast cancer

Support from a partner can play a key role in a woman's emotional adjustment to breast cancer. However, little is known about the influence of partner behaviours on a woman's sexual adjustment. This study examined the prospective relationship between baseline levels of several types of perceived partner support (instrumental, informational, emotional and negative) and psychosexual adjustment (sexual functioning and relationship satisfaction) over the course of 12 months post-surgery in a sample of 130 women with breast cancer. Results indicated that perceptions of greater emotional and informational support from the partner at baseline were associated with less sexual difficulties among breast cancer patients concurrently and 6 months post-surgery. Baseline perceptions of greater emotional and instrumental support from a partner were associated with greater relationship satisfaction at all time points. Perceptions of informational support at baseline were related to greater concurrent relationship satisfaction. Baseline perceptions of negative partner support were related to less relationship satisfaction, but only concurrently. These findings suggest that the perception of a partner's provision of emotional, instrumental and informational support may each play a role in facilitating sexual adjustment and relationship satisfaction

Statistical modeling of a fluorescent tube coating process

Robotics Institut

Remote sensing of environmental risk factors for malaria in different geographic contexts

Abstract Background Despite global intervention efforts, malaria remains a major public health concern in many parts of the world. Understanding geographic variation in malaria patterns and their environmental determinants can support targeting of malaria control and development of elimination strategies. Methods We used remotely sensed environmental data to analyze the influences of environmental risk factors on malaria cases caused by Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax from 2014 to 2017 in two geographic settings in Ethiopia. Geospatial datasets were derived from multiple sources and characterized climate, vegetation, land use, topography, and surface water. All data were summarized annually at the sub-district (kebele) level for each of the two study areas. We analyzed the associations between environmental data and malaria cases with Boosted Regression Tree (BRT) models. Results We found considerable spatial variation in malaria occurrence. Spectral indices related to land cover greenness (NDVI) and moisture (NDWI) showed negative associations with malaria, as the highest malaria rates were found in landscapes with low vegetation cover and moisture during the months that follow the rainy season. Climatic factors, including precipitation and land surface temperature, had positive associations with malaria. Settlement structure also played an important role, with different effects in the two study areas. Variables related to surface water, such as irrigated agriculture, wetlands, seasonally flooded waterbodies, and height above nearest drainage did not have strong influences on malaria. Conclusion We found different relationships between malaria and environmental conditions in two geographically distinctive areas. These results emphasize that studies of malaria-environmental relationships and predictive models of malaria occurrence should be context specific to account for such differences

Perceived Partner Reactions to Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer Impact on Psychosocial and Psychosexual Adjustment

Two studies examined breast cancer patients' perceptions of their partners' reactions to their diagnosis and treatment as influences on 3 aspects of patients' well-being: psychosexual adjustment, emotional distress, and marital satisfaction. Study 1, cross-sectional, indicated that partner initiation of sex, frequency of sex, a positive 1st sexual experience after treatment, and especially perception of the partner's emotional involvement in the relationship, were relevant to these outcomes. Study 2, longitudinal, confirmed many of these findings in prospective tests across 1 year of recovery after surgery. Partner involvement prospectively predicted all 3 outcomes. Partner initiation of sex predicted greater marital satisfaction; partner adverse reaction to the scar predicted less marital satisfaction. Rated quality of the 1st sexual experience after treatment predicted less distress. The pattern suggests that women's impressions of their partners' emotional involvement after surgery for breast cancer forecast their adjustment in sexual, marital, and emotional arenas over the following year

Coping among african-american, hispanic, and non-hispanic white women recently treated for early stage breast cancer

Relatively little is known about how members of minority groups cope with experiences such as diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer - in particular, whether coping patterns among minorities differ from that of the majority. This study adds to the existing knowledge base using a cross-sectional sample of middle-class African-American (n = 26), Hispanic (n = 59), and non-Hispanic White women (n = 151) who had been treated for early stage breast cancer in the past year. We tested for differences in coping responses per se and also for the possibility that coping would relate to distress differently in different groups. There were only two differences in coping (controlling for medical variables, education, and distress): compared to non-Hispanic White women, the other two groups both reported using humor-based coping less, and religion-based coping more. There was one difference in how coping related to distress: venting related more strongly to elevated distress among Hispanic than among non-Hispanics. Discussion centers on a growing consensus on ethnic differences in religious and humor-based coping, and on the relative absence of other coping differences among these populations

How stress management improves quality of life after treatment for breast cancer.

The range of effects of psychosocial interventions on quality of life among women with breast cancer remains uncertain. Furthermore, it is unclear which components of multimodal interventions account for such effects. To address these issues, the authors tested a 10-week group cognitive–behavioral stress management intervention among 199 women newly treated for nonmetastatic breast cancer, following them for 1 year after recruitment. The intervention reduced reports of social disruption and increased emotional well-being, positive states of mind, benefit finding, positive lifestyle change, and positive affect for up to 12 months (indeed, some effects strengthened over time). With respect to mechanisms tested, the intervention increased confidence in being able to relax at will. There was also evidence that effects of the intervention on the various outcomes examined were mediated by change in confidence about being able to relax. Thus, this intervention had beneficial effects on diverse aspects of quality of life after treatment for breast cancer, which appear linked to a specific stress management skill taught in the intervention

How Stress Management Improves Quality of Life After Treatment for Breast Cancer.

The range of effects of psychosocial interventions on quality of life among women with breast cancer remains uncertain. Furthermore, it is unclear which components of multimodal interventions account for such effects. To address these issues, the authors tested a 10-week group cognitive–behavioral stress management intervention among 199 women newly treated for nonmetastatic breast cancer, following them for 1 year after recruitment. The intervention reduced reports of social disruption and increased emotional well-being, positive states of mind, benefit finding, positive lifestyle change, and positive affect for up to 12 months (indeed, some effects strengthened over time). With respect to mechanisms tested, the intervention increased confidence in being able to relax at will. There was also evidence that effects of the intervention on the various outcomes examined were mediated by change in confidence about being able to relax. Thus, this intervention had beneficial effects on diverse aspects of quality of life after treatment for breast cancer, which appear linked to a specific stress management skill taught in the intervention

Functional analysis of the GTPases EngA and YhbZ encoded by Salmonella typhimurium

The S. typhimurium genome encodes proteins, designated EngA and YhbZ, which have a high sequence identity with the GTPases EngA/Der and ObgE/CgtAE of Escherichia coli. The wild-type activity of the E. coli proteins is essential for normal ribosome maturation and cell viability. In order to characterize the potential involvement of the Salmonella typhimurium EngA and YhbZ proteins in ribosome biology, we used high stringency affinity chromatography experiments to identify strongly binding ribosomal partner proteins. A combination of biochemical and microcalorimetric analysis was then used to characterize these protein:protein interactions and quantify nucleotide binding affinities. These experiments show that YhbZ specifically interacts with the pseudouridine synthase RluD (KD = 2 μM and 1:1 stoichiometry), and we show for the first time that EngA can interact with the ribosomal structural protein S7. Thermodynamic analysis shows both EngA and YhbZ bind GDP with a higher affinity than GTP (20-fold difference for EngA and 3.8-fold for YhbZ), and that the two nucleotide binding sites in EngA show a 5.3-fold difference in affinity for GDP. We report a fluorescence assay for nucleotide binding to EngA and YhbZ, which is suitable for identifying inhibitors specific for this ligand-binding site, which would potentially inhibit their biological functions. The interactions of YhbZ with ribosome structural proteins that we identify may demonstrate a previously unreported additional function for this class of GTPase: that of ensuring delivery of rRNA modifying enzymes to the appropriate region of the ribosome