Impact of parental cancer in offspring’s psychological development: literature review

O presente artigo engloba uma extensa revisão da literatura sobre a temática do câncer parental e as consequências pessoais e familiares desta vivência. Nesse sentido, são abordadas as principais consequências médicas e psicossociais do diagnóstico e tratamento do câncer e, usando o modelo sistémico, é descrita a influência (negativa e positiva) deste acontecimento no doente e noutros membros da família. É dado especial enfoque ao desenvolvimento psicológico dos filhos, incluindo os resultados dos estudos referentes ao stress traumático e crescimento pós-traumático, em particular no câncer da mama. São tecidas algumas implicações para a investigação nesta área, bem como sugestões para futuras investigações.The present paper includes an extended literature review about parental cancer and personal and family consequences of such experience. Some of the most important medical and psychosocial issues regarding the diagnosis and treatment of parental cancer are presented. Using a systemic theory as the background model it addresses the influences (negative and positive) of the event in the patient and in other family members. The present paper gives special focus on the offspring’s psychological development, including the results regarding traumatic stress and posttraumatic growth, particularly on breast cancer. Some implications and suggestions for future research are addressed.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and family functioning in adult children facing parental cancer: a comparison study

This study analyzed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and family functioning in a sample of adult children caregivers of cancer patients and in a group of adult children of nonchronically ill parents. Participants completed measures of family functioning and PTSD symptoms. The parental cancer group was subdivided into PTSD subgroups, and significant differences, on family functioning, were found. In the parental cancer group, the predictors of PTSD symptoms were being a woman and having an enmeshed or chaotic family functioning. Chaotic functioning mediated the relationship between family communication/satisfaction and PTSD symptoms, in the parental cancer group. Finally, there was a higher prevalence of PTSD symptoms in the parental cancer group, and participants with a probable PTSD diagnosis showed higher levels of family imbalance. This study shows that adult children facing parental cancer, who have a poorer family balance, may benefit from interventions that target family functioning.This research was supported by a grant (SFRH/BD/43275/2008) awarded to the first author (RJT) by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Promoção da saúde na doença oncológica: Intervenção de redução do stress baseada no mindfulness

The main goal of this revision article is (1) to convey a general vision and discussion about mindfulness meditations and its clinical practical value in oncology and (2) to report, in detail – assessing critically the existing research data, as well as the emergent one about mindfulness meditation – an intervention to people with cancer disease. In addition, it wishes to bring up the hypothesis of a program of health promotion and stress reduction, based on mindfulness, exploring its effects in terms of biologic and psychosocial variables. Foreign studies refer significant levels of change on psychosocial items of assessment, in the different moments of assessment. In that way, the intervention has relative theoretical support, even though this theoretical basis needs empirical refinement. It’s hoped that the eventual application of the intervention here described will allow to work the factors taken as beneficial to promote a better adjustment to the oncologic disease, rising proactively the actions of the individual has an informed intervenient of its process of progressive adaptation to the disease.O objectivo deste artigo de revisão é (1) fornecer uma visão geral e uma discussão acerca da meditação mindfulness e sua aplicabilidade clínica em oncologia e (2) relatar detalhadamente avaliando criticamente a pesquisa existente e emergente sobre a meditação mindfulness como uma intervenção para doentes com cancro. Para além disso, pretende lançar uma hipótese manualizada de um programa de promoção da saúde e de redução do stress, baseado no mindfulness, explorando os seus efeitos em termos de variáveis biológicas e psicossociais. Estudos estrangeiros referem níveis significativos de mudança em itens psicossociais de avaliação, nos diferentes momentos de avaliação, pelo que a intervenção tem relativa sustentação teórica, embora a necessitar de refinamento empírico. Espera-se que a eventual aplicação da intervenção descrita neste artigo permita trabalhar os factores tidos como benéficos para um melhor ajustamento à doença oncológica, aumentando proactivamente a acção do indivíduo doente como interveniente informado do seu processo de adaptação progressiva à doença

Design of a lab-on-a-chip for clinical tests of human physiological fluids

Labs-on-a-chip are useful to perform in situ clinical tests with instantaneous results. In this work, the design phase of the development of a lab-on-a-chip is presented. The device will be used to perform tests on physiological fluids. It will be able to test 8 components: calcium, chloride, creatinine, glucose, magnesium, total protein, urea and uric acid. A sample of the physiological fluid reacts with several reagents and the device measures the absorbance of the reaction products. The lab-on-a-chip is composed of a microfluidic system and an optical detection system. The first contains microchannels and micro-reactors fabricated using SU-8 techniques. The second includes CMOS photodetectors and readout electronics, as well as optical filters fabricated using CMOS-compatible post-processing on top of the photodetectors. Careful design of the microfluidic system of a lab-on-a-chip requires knowledge of the transport phenomena in the microchannels. Numerical methods are used to simulate the electroosmotic flow, reaction and mixture in the system. Velocitypressure formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations is solved by a finite difference method. Mass transport equation is solved by a second order finite difference method. For enzymatic reactions, biochemical reaction kinetics is considered. Design choices are presented and explained. The final design of the microfluidic system complies with layout restriction and kinetic, mass transport and other physical limitations. The dimensions of the micro-reactors are optimized to maximize mixing. The design of the optical detection system involves selection of the dielectric layers available in the CMOS process for the photodetectors and selection of the dielectric thin-films layers for the optical filters. An array of 8 selective optical filters is designed for parallel testing of the 8 reported components. They are structurally optimized for an optical response at the absorption peak of each reaction product. The lab-on-a-chip output provides a digital signal for computer interfacing.R&D Centre Algoritmi.Escola de Engenharia da Universidade do Minho - Program IN2TEC.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Grant SFRH/BPD/17689/2004

A soft-computing approach for non-invasive temperature estimation

The domain of thermal therapies applications can be improved with the development of accurate non-invasive timespatial temperature models. These models should represent the non-linear tissue thermal behaviour and be capable of tracking temperature at both time-instant and spatial position. If such estimators exist then efficient controllers for the therapeutic instrumentation could be developed, and the desired safety and effectiveness reached

Morphology determined by waves in fluvial beaches. "La Concordia" in the Uruguay River, a case study.

Sediment characteristics and the direction and magnitude of the velocity of the current in the river, amongst other factors, usually established the pro file and the plan shape of fluvial beaches. However, in sorne cases, even far from its estuary or river mouth, this morphology can be determined by the incidence of the waves despite not being a marine environment. In this paper a qualitative methodology will be presented which will allow us to recognize the aspects that influence the existen ce of such morphologies. For this purpose a case study will be analyzed: the beach of La Concordia located on the left bank ofthe Uruguay River, 70 km upstreamfrom its mouth at the estuwy of Rio de la Plata. Furthermore, plan shape will be analyzed and its determination by wave action will be proved.Tanto el perfil como la forma en planta de las playas fluviales vienen establecidos por numerosos factores entre los que cabría destacar las características del sedimento y la dirección y módulo de la velocidad de la corriente en el río. Sin embargo, en ciertos casos, lejos incluso de su estuario o desembocadura, esta morfología puede estar determinada principalmente por la incidencia del oleaje pese a no tratarse de un entorno marítimo. Se presenta aquí una metodología cualitativa que nos permitirá reconocer los aspectos que influyen en la existencia de este tipo de morfologías. Para ello, se estudiará un caso particular, el de la playa de La Concordia ubicada en la margen izquierda del río Uruguay a 70 km de su desembocadura en el estuario del Rio de la Plata. Asimismo se analizará la forma en planta y se verificará que la misma está determinada por la acción del oleaje

Methodologies for teaching an engineering subject in different countries: comparison and results

Engineering or technical degrees are difficult to teach and, consequently, have always been characterized by a large number of academic failures. Therefore, continuous assessment has been applied to classes of similar content, related to Port and Coastal Engineering during these last years in three different Universities worldwide: University of La Republica (Montevideo, Uruguay), Nova de Lisboa (Portugal) and Cadiz (Spain). This paper presents different methodologies used to teach and evaluate these courses at each University, together with the results of the evaluations of the students who were enrolled during the current and previous stages. Generally, a decrease in the number of students who abandon the classes has been noticed together with an increase in the percentage of students who pass and an improvement of their grades, except at the University Nova de Lisboa were the results have remained stable. In addition, changes experienced in the courses are discussed herein by comparing the percentage of success in the different locations. Moreover, influence of the different methodologies and the possible reasons for these changes are also presented and analysed. As a conclusion, the improvement in educational outcomes has been achieved through the concurrence of different factors: the existence of more frequent written and/or oral exams, practical examples of case studies as well as access to specific tools of new technology and to documentation specifically prepared for the classes and available online. Evidently, the above mentioned tasks require a strong commitment and great effort by the teaching staff. If human resources diminish, as it is happening in Spain and Portugal due to the budget reduction in education, two difficult questions arise: For how long will teachers’ current effort be maintained? What impact will have their complete devotion to teaching in their research performance

Endosalpingiosis of choledochal duct

Surgery. 2007 Nov;142(5):778. Endosalpingiosis of choledochal duct. Mesquita I, Encinas A, Gradil C, Davide J, Daniel J, Graça L, Teixeira M. PMID:17981201[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

Depression, anxiety and stress in adult children caregivers of oncological patients

Te aim of this study is to describe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress in adult ofspring of cancer patients; and to analyze gen der diferences in psychological morbidity, as well as the association between psychological morbidity and traumatic symptomatology. Tis study is correlational with a sample of 214 adult ofspring who completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Te results revealed that 6-60% of the participants showed ‘normal’ or ‘mild’ levels of stress, anxiety, or depression; 15-26% ‘moderate’ levels; and 4-12% ‘severe’ or ‘extremely severe’ levels. Women had higher levels of anxiety and stress than men. Positive correlations were found between the DASS 21 and the IES-R. In conclusion, some adult ofspring caregivers re veal severe levels of psychological morbidity. Te results show a need for psychological intervention in this population, particularly in the female gender.Tis study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (PSI/01662), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds, and co-fnanced by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653)

Improvement of a sequential injection method for the determination of chromium (VI) in waters using a GlobalFIA platform.

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio