The fatigue of caregivers in assistance.

BackgroundCaregivers of people with Multiple Sclerosis are required to provide ongoing assistance especially during the advanced stages of the disease. They have to manage interventions and assume responsibilities which significantly impact both their personal quality of life and family’s dynamics.ObjectiveA qualitative phenomenological study was carried out to understand the experience of burden in caregivers and their resources to manage it. The study also explores how healthcare services involved in the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway respond to the needs of well-being of patients and family members.Methods17 caregivers were involved in focus groups and in semi-structured individual interviews.ResultsFatigue is experienced by all respondents and it starts when physical disabilities increase or when people become aware of them. Many caregivers declare that they refer to intrinsic (love towards their relatives, patience and dedication) or extrinsic (family members, hobbies) resources to cope with the burden of assistance. Patient associations and the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway play a significant role in supporting caregivers.ConclusionsFatigue, loneliness, and isolation are experienced by caregivers and strongly affect their quality of life and health status. The study highlights caregivers’ need to reconcile working times with care times, to give more space to self-care and to have moments to share their experiences with someone else. These needs should be at the core of health policies in order to avoid physical and emotional breakdowns which could lead to the rupture of the relational balance on which home care is based.</div

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BackgroundCaregivers of people with Multiple Sclerosis are required to provide ongoing assistance especially during the advanced stages of the disease. They have to manage interventions and assume responsibilities which significantly impact both their personal quality of life and family’s dynamics.ObjectiveA qualitative phenomenological study was carried out to understand the experience of burden in caregivers and their resources to manage it. The study also explores how healthcare services involved in the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway respond to the needs of well-being of patients and family members.Methods17 caregivers were involved in focus groups and in semi-structured individual interviews.ResultsFatigue is experienced by all respondents and it starts when physical disabilities increase or when people become aware of them. Many caregivers declare that they refer to intrinsic (love towards their relatives, patience and dedication) or extrinsic (family members, hobbies) resources to cope with the burden of assistance. Patient associations and the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway play a significant role in supporting caregivers.ConclusionsFatigue, loneliness, and isolation are experienced by caregivers and strongly affect their quality of life and health status. The study highlights caregivers’ need to reconcile working times with care times, to give more space to self-care and to have moments to share their experiences with someone else. These needs should be at the core of health policies in order to avoid physical and emotional breakdowns which could lead to the rupture of the relational balance on which home care is based.</div

Needs expressed, grouped by type of need.

BackgroundCaregivers of people with Multiple Sclerosis are required to provide ongoing assistance especially during the advanced stages of the disease. They have to manage interventions and assume responsibilities which significantly impact both their personal quality of life and family’s dynamics.ObjectiveA qualitative phenomenological study was carried out to understand the experience of burden in caregivers and their resources to manage it. The study also explores how healthcare services involved in the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway respond to the needs of well-being of patients and family members.Methods17 caregivers were involved in focus groups and in semi-structured individual interviews.ResultsFatigue is experienced by all respondents and it starts when physical disabilities increase or when people become aware of them. Many caregivers declare that they refer to intrinsic (love towards their relatives, patience and dedication) or extrinsic (family members, hobbies) resources to cope with the burden of assistance. Patient associations and the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway play a significant role in supporting caregivers.ConclusionsFatigue, loneliness, and isolation are experienced by caregivers and strongly affect their quality of life and health status. The study highlights caregivers’ need to reconcile working times with care times, to give more space to self-care and to have moments to share their experiences with someone else. These needs should be at the core of health policies in order to avoid physical and emotional breakdowns which could lead to the rupture of the relational balance on which home care is based.</div

Characteristics of people interviewed.

BackgroundCaregivers of people with Multiple Sclerosis are required to provide ongoing assistance especially during the advanced stages of the disease. They have to manage interventions and assume responsibilities which significantly impact both their personal quality of life and family’s dynamics.ObjectiveA qualitative phenomenological study was carried out to understand the experience of burden in caregivers and their resources to manage it. The study also explores how healthcare services involved in the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway respond to the needs of well-being of patients and family members.Methods17 caregivers were involved in focus groups and in semi-structured individual interviews.ResultsFatigue is experienced by all respondents and it starts when physical disabilities increase or when people become aware of them. Many caregivers declare that they refer to intrinsic (love towards their relatives, patience and dedication) or extrinsic (family members, hobbies) resources to cope with the burden of assistance. Patient associations and the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway play a significant role in supporting caregivers.ConclusionsFatigue, loneliness, and isolation are experienced by caregivers and strongly affect their quality of life and health status. The study highlights caregivers’ need to reconcile working times with care times, to give more space to self-care and to have moments to share their experiences with someone else. These needs should be at the core of health policies in order to avoid physical and emotional breakdowns which could lead to the rupture of the relational balance on which home care is based.</div

The resources of caregivers.

BackgroundCaregivers of people with Multiple Sclerosis are required to provide ongoing assistance especially during the advanced stages of the disease. They have to manage interventions and assume responsibilities which significantly impact both their personal quality of life and family’s dynamics.ObjectiveA qualitative phenomenological study was carried out to understand the experience of burden in caregivers and their resources to manage it. The study also explores how healthcare services involved in the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway respond to the needs of well-being of patients and family members.Methods17 caregivers were involved in focus groups and in semi-structured individual interviews.ResultsFatigue is experienced by all respondents and it starts when physical disabilities increase or when people become aware of them. Many caregivers declare that they refer to intrinsic (love towards their relatives, patience and dedication) or extrinsic (family members, hobbies) resources to cope with the burden of assistance. Patient associations and the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway play a significant role in supporting caregivers.ConclusionsFatigue, loneliness, and isolation are experienced by caregivers and strongly affect their quality of life and health status. The study highlights caregivers’ need to reconcile working times with care times, to give more space to self-care and to have moments to share their experiences with someone else. These needs should be at the core of health policies in order to avoid physical and emotional breakdowns which could lead to the rupture of the relational balance on which home care is based.</div

States of mind and worries.

BackgroundCaregivers of people with Multiple Sclerosis are required to provide ongoing assistance especially during the advanced stages of the disease. They have to manage interventions and assume responsibilities which significantly impact both their personal quality of life and family’s dynamics.ObjectiveA qualitative phenomenological study was carried out to understand the experience of burden in caregivers and their resources to manage it. The study also explores how healthcare services involved in the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway respond to the needs of well-being of patients and family members.Methods17 caregivers were involved in focus groups and in semi-structured individual interviews.ResultsFatigue is experienced by all respondents and it starts when physical disabilities increase or when people become aware of them. Many caregivers declare that they refer to intrinsic (love towards their relatives, patience and dedication) or extrinsic (family members, hobbies) resources to cope with the burden of assistance. Patient associations and the Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Pathway play a significant role in supporting caregivers.ConclusionsFatigue, loneliness, and isolation are experienced by caregivers and strongly affect their quality of life and health status. The study highlights caregivers’ need to reconcile working times with care times, to give more space to self-care and to have moments to share their experiences with someone else. These needs should be at the core of health policies in order to avoid physical and emotional breakdowns which could lead to the rupture of the relational balance on which home care is based.</div

Biomolecular Characterization of the Levansucrase of Erwinia amylovora, a Promising Biocatalyst for the Synthesis of Fructooligosaccharides

Erwinia amylovora is a plant pathogen that affects Rosaceae, such as apple and pear. In <i>E. amylovora</i> the fructans, produced by the action of a levansucrase (EaLsc), play a role in virulence and biofilm formation. Fructans are bioactive compounds, displaying health-promoting properties in their own right. Their use as food and feed supplements is increasing. In this study, we investigated the biomolecular properties of EaLsc using HPAEC-PAD, MALDI-TOF MS, and spectrophotometric assays. The enzyme, which was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli in high yield, was shown to produce mainly fructooligosaccharides (FOSs) with a degree of polymerization between 3 and 6. The kinetic properties of EaLsc were similar to those of other phylogenetically related Gram-negative bacteria, but the good yield of FOSs, the product spectrum, and the straightforward production of the enzyme suggest that EaLsc is an interesting biocatalyst for future studies aimed at producing tailor-made fructans

Refinement statistics for native and selenomethionine substituted AmyR.

<p>Refinement statistics for native and selenomethionine substituted AmyR.</p

Ribbon representation of the overall structure of the AmyR monomer.

<p>The AmyR monomer is coloured by secondary structure. Secondary structure elements are labelled with residue numbers. The right panel is rotated 90°. β-strand 1 interacts with the equivalent residues in the dimer, shown in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0176049#pone.0176049.g002" target="_blank">Fig 2</a>.</p

Structural alignment of AmyR monomer with other YbjN and T3C proteins.

<p>The two views are rotated horizontally 90°. The alignment includes the PDB entries 1JYO:D (<i>Salmonella enterica</i> SicP, ice blue), 1S28:A (<i>Pseudomonas savastanoi</i> AvrPphF ORF1, gold), 1TTW:A (<i>Yersinia pestis</i> SycH, coral), 1XKP:B (<i>Yersinia pestis</i> SycN, grey), 2PLG:B (<i>Synechococcus elongates</i> T110839, pink), 3EPU:A (<i>Salmonella enterica</i> STM2138, sea green), 3KXY:J (<i>Escherichia coli</i> ExsC, brown), and 4H5B:A (<i>Deinococcus radiodurans</i> DR_1245, lilac), and 5FR7:A (<i>Erwinia amylovora</i> AmyR, yellow).</p