Music performance anxiety: a critical review of etiological aspects, perceived causes, coping strategies and treatment

Background Music performance anxiety (MPA) is understood as a sub-type of social anxiety and is characterised by fears of a musical presentation. Objective To carry out a critical literature review on clinical and etiological aspects, perceived causes, coping strategies and treatment of MPA. Methods Electronic databases PubMed, PsycINFO and Lilacs as well as specific periodicals were used based on the key-words symptoms, diagnosis, aetiology, perceived causes, coping strategies and treatment. Results MPA is highly prevalent among musicians (>; 16%), regardless of culture and formation. Cognitive, behavioural and physiological factors are associated with the aetiology of MPA, including biological and psychological predispositions. In addition, one should highlight factors related to the individual, aspects related to tasks and musical situation as perceived causes and/or predictor variables of MPA. As for the coping strategies, one can also highlight the use of breathing/relaxing techniques, increased musical practice, use of homeopathy and substances without medical prescription. Discussion MPA is impacting in the musician’s life. Despite the increasing interest in its study, it is necessary to better understand this complex phenomenon, mainly in the therapeutic context, in addition to the publicising and offering of services for prevention and treatment of MPA

Indicators of Psychiatric Disorders in Different Oncology Specialties: A Prevalence Study

Objective. This study evaluated the prevalence of various indicators of psychiatric disorders in Brazilian outpatients with cancer and assessed possible associations with sociodemographic indicators. Materials and Methods. A total of 1,385 patients were evaluated using the following instruments: Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), and Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST). Results. The sample was composed of both genders with a slight predominance of women (55.8%), subjects with incomplete/completed elementary school (59%), married (67.4%), with children (94%), not active from a labor viewpoint (61.6%), and following some type of religion (79.5%). The prevalence of anxiety for the total sample varied between 21.5 and 27.4%. The prevalence of depression was 21.1%, tobacco abuse/dependence was 40.2%, and alcohol was 20.3%. Women had significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression than men. Men had higher levels of substance abuse/dependence indicators than women. Conclusion. These results are consistent with the literature, which attests to the high prevalence of psychiatric disorder indicators in cancer patients, especially compared to the general population

Human case of West Nile neuroinvasive disease in Portugal, summer 2015

A case of West Nile virus (WNV) infection was reported in the Algarve region, Portugal, in the first week of September 2015. WNV is known to circulate in Portugal, with occasional reports in horses and birds (2004 to 2011) and very sporadically human cases (in 2004 and in 2010). Here we present the clinical and laboratory aspects related to the first human case of West Nile neuroinvasive disease reported in Portugal

Rotterdam Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator: Development and Usability Testing of the Mobile Phone App

BACKGROUND: The use of prostate cancer screening tools that take into account relevant prebiopsy information (ie, risk calculators) is recommended as a way of determining the risk of cancer and the subsequent need for a prostate biopsy. This has the potential to limit prostate cancer overdiagnosis and subsequent overtreatment. mHealth apps are gaining traction in urological practice and are used by both practitioners and patients for a variety of purposes. OBJECTIVE: The impetus of the study was to design, develop, and assess a smartphone app for prostate cancer screening, based on the Rotterdam Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator (RPCRC). METHODS: The results of the Rotterdam arm of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) study were used to elaborate several algorithms that allowed the risk of prostate cancer to be estimated. A step-by-step workflow was established to ensure that depending on the available clinical information the most complete risk model of the RPCRC was used. The user interface was designed and then the app was developed as a native app for iOS. The usability of the app was assessed using the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) developed by IBM, in a group of 92 participants comprising urologists, general practitioners, and medical students. RESULTS: A total of 11 questions were built into the app, and, depending on the answers, one of the different algorithms of the RPCRC could be used to predict the risk of prostate cancer and of clinically significant prostate cancer (Gleason score ≥7 and clinical stage >T2b). The system usefulness, information quality, and interface quality scores were high-92% (27.7/30), 87% (26.2/30), and 89% (13.4/15), respectively. No usability problems were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The RPCRC app is helpful in predicting the risk of prostate cancer and, even more importantly, clinically significant prostate cancer. Its algorithms have been externally validated before and the usability score shows the app's interface is well designed. Further usability testing is required in different populations to verify these results and ensure that it is easy to use, to warrant a broad appeal, and to provide better patient care.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The psychologist as an interconsultant on the pneumology ward of teaching hospital: characterization of the requests for psychological care

Objetiva-se caracterizar as solicitações de atendimento psicológico feitas a um Serviço de Psicologia em Interconsulta, numa Enfermaria de Pneumologia de um Hospital-Escola, por meio da análise dos formulários de solicitação de interconsulta (PI). Analisaram-se os PIs enviados no período de três semestres, caracterizando-se o número total de pacientes, distribuição quanto ao sexo, idade, motivo de solicitação e encaminhamento dado ao caso. Quanto aos resultados obtidos, detectou-se que, para 11,3% dos pacientes internados na enfermaria, no citado período, foi solicitada interconsulta psicológica. Desses pacientes, predominaram os de sexo masculino, na faixa etária dos 50-69 anos. Quanto aos motivos de solicitação, predominaram referências às seguintes categorias: doença neoplásica pulmonar, sintomatologia depressiva, falta de colaboração no tratamento, sintomatologia ansiosa, quadros de somatização, dificuldade de adaptação hospitalar e presença de doença crônica prévia. Quanto ao encaminhamento dos casos, predominou a indicação de atendimento psicoterápico de apoio, seguido de orientação familiar. Percebe-se que a demanda para atendimento psicológico, na Enfermaria de Pneumologia, é adequadamente percebida pela equipe médica, principalmente frente a doenças em que o componente emocional é relevante, tanto no aparecimento como no enfrentamento, e em situações em que sintomas de maior fragilidade psíquica, como a depressão, já se fazem presentes. Conclui-se que, em tal contexto hospitalar, o psicólogo tem um campo de atuação configurado: melhorar a qualidade da assistência ao paciente, provendo cuidados aos aspectos psicossociais, envolvidos na situação de a pessoa estar doente e hospitalizada.The objective of the present study was to characterize the requests for psychological care presented to an Consultation Psychology Service on a Pneumology ward of a Teaching Hospital, by analyzing the forms for interconsultation requests (PI). The PIs submitted during a period of 3 semesters were analyzed in terms of total number of patients, sex and age distribution, reason for the request, and referral of the case. The results showed that psychological consultation was requested for 11.3% of the patients admitted to the ward during the study period. Male gender and age range from 50 to 69 years predominated among these patients. Among the reasons for the requests there was a predominance of reference to the following categories: neoplastic pulmonary disease, depressive symptoms, lack of compliance with treatment, anxiety symptoms, somatic disorders, difficulty in adapting to the hospital, and presence of a previous chronic disease. With respect to referral, there was a predominance of indication of support psychotherapy, followed by family orientation. A demand for psychological care was observed on the Pneumology ward and was adequately perceived by the medical team, especially in the presence of diseases in which the emotional component is relevant both at the onset of the disease and in terms of coping with it, and in situations in which symptoms of greater psychic fragility, such as depression, are already present. We conclude that, within this hospital context, the field of activity of the psychologist is clearly defined: to improve the quality of patient care by devoting attention to the psychosocial aspects involved in the situation of being ill and hospitalized

Importância do endotélio na patologia corneana

Importância do endotélio na patologia cornean

Competitividade de um grupo de produtores da cadeia produtiva da maçã na região de Vacaria/RS.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar se um grupo de produtores da cadeia produtiva da maçã na microrregião dos Campos de Cima da Serra está enfrentando dificuldades, e quais seriam elas, bem como identificar possíveis oportunidades que possam impactar na continuidade desta cadeia, através da metodologia de pesquisa exploratória, com caráter qualitativo e quantitativo quanto à abordagem metodológica, e, descritivo-explicativa quanto aos objetivos e levantamento de bibliografia. A coleta de informações foi realizada pelo método de entrevistas semiestruturadas, por meio de questionário. Os resultados indicaram que os produtores vêm enfrentando problemas de ordem produtiva e comercial, como fatores vinculados à mão de obra e clima, estabilização de preços, baixo consumo nacional da fruta, dentre outros, podendo ser amenizados pela introdução de técnicas, variedades e controle de custos. Além disso, a introdução paralela de novas culturas similares, como uva e pêra, pode aperfeiçoar o processo produtivo pela redução do custo. Palavras-chave: Maleicultura, produtividade, competitividade

The incidence of cancer and potential role of sirolimus immunosuppression conversion on mortality among a single-center renal transplantation cohort of 1,816 patients

INTRODUCTION: The chronic use of immunosuppressive drugs in renal transplant recipients increases the risk of developing de novo malignancies. Herein we analyze the incidence of de novo tumors and the potential role of sirolimus to improve cancer-specific survival among a cohort at a single center. METHODS: This retrospective analysis of our 1,816 patients allografted between January 1983 and December 2009 sought subjects who developed de novo tumors. Epidemiological and clinical data were examined using Mann-Whitney and Pearson's chi-square or Fisher exact tests for statistical comparisons of continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to determine cancer-specific survival according to type of neoplasia and immunosuppressive regimen, namely, conversion to sirolimus. RESULTS: One hundred patients (5.5%) were diagnosed with a de novo malignancy. The 110 different cancers were diagnosed at a median interval of 73 months after kidney transplantation. The overall cancer-specific survivals at 1 and 5 years after cancer diagnosis were 87.0% and 76.9%, respectively. The 15 patients converted to sirolimus showed no difference in survival. CONCLUSION: The observed frequencies of cancer in our center are consistent with the literature. Among our cohort, sirolimus did not significantly impact survival among subjects who had de novo malignancies