Sarcopenia is a complex syndrome characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. Malignancy is a major determinant of sarcopenia, and gastric cancer (GC) is ...among the most common causes of this phenomenon. As sarcopenia is a well-recognized poor prognostic feature in GC and has been associated with worse tolerance of surgical and medical treatments, members of the multidisciplinary team should be aware of the clinical relevance, pathogenic mechanisms, and potential treatments for this syndrome. The importance of sarcopenia is often underestimated in everyday practice and clinical trials, particularly among elderly or fragile patients. As treatment options are improving in all disease stages, deeper knowledge and greater attention to the metabolic balance in GC patients could further increase the benefit of novel therapeutic strategies and dramatically impact on quality of life. In this review, we describe the role of sarcopenia in different phases of GC progression. Our aim is to provide oncologists and surgeons dealing with GC patients with a useful tool for comprehensive assessment and timely management of this potentially life-threatening condition.
Aristotle's theory of tragic katharsis is the most ancient and debated theory of the effect of the theatrical experience on the audience. It affirms that tragedy effects the katharsis of fear and ...pity, engaging readers with the controversy whether by katharsis Aristotle meant purification of the emotions (i.e. their perfection within the mind) or purification of the mind from the emotions (i.e. their abreaction from the mind).
In this paper I will explore how Freud's theory of transference can suggest a new interpretation of Aristotle's tragic katharsis. Transference allows for the representation and expression of repressed emotions through the re-enactment of past relational dynamics. Although this process is essential to the psychoanalytic method, it is the subsequent analytic endeavour which allows for the "working through" of repressed emotions, bringing into effect the transference cure.
I argue that the dynamic between emotional arousal in re-enactment and emotional distancing in analysis offers an effective parallel of the dynamic between katharsis of fear and katharsis of pity in Aristotle's theory. Such interpretation of tragic katharsis suggests that the theatrical effect in audiences may be an opportunity for self-analysis and the 'working through' of unconscious psychic dynamics.
IntroductionIt is important to promote resilience in preadolescence; however, there is limited research on children’s understandings and experiences of resilience. Quantitative approaches may not ...capture dynamic and context-specific aspects of resilience. Resilience research has historically focused on white, middle-class Western adults and adolescents, creating an evidence gap regarding diverse experiences of resilience in middle childhood which could inform interventions. East London’s Muslim community represents a diverse, growing population. Despite being disproportionately affected by deprivation and racial and cultural discrimination, this population is under-represented in resilience research. Using participatory and arts-based methods, this study aims to explore lived experiences and perceptions of resilience in black and South Asian Muslim children living in East London.Methods and analysisWe propose a qualitative study, grounded in embodied inquiry, consisting of a participatory workshop with 6–12 children and their parents/carers to explore lived experiences and perceptions of resilience. Participants will be identified and recruited from community settings in East London. Eligible participants will be English-speaking Muslims who identify as being black or South Asian, have a child aged 8–12 years and live in East London. The workshop (approx. 3.5 hours) will take place at an Islamic community centre and will include body mapping with children and a focus group discussion with parents/carers to explore resilience perspectives and meanings. Participants will also complete a demographic survey. Workshop audio recordings will be transcribed verbatim and body maps and other paper-based activities will be photographed. Data will be analysed using systematic visuo-textual analysis which affords equal importance to visual and textual data.Ethics and disseminationThe Queen Mary Ethics of Research Committee at Queen Mary University of London has approved this study (approval date: 9 October 2023; ref: QME23.0042). The researchers plan to publish the results in peer-reviewed journals and present findings at academic conferences.
The quality of the honeybee queen has an important effect on a colony’s development, productivity, and survival. Queen failure or loss is considered a leading cause for colonies’ mortality worldwide. ...The queen’s quality, resulting from her genetic background, developmental conditions, mating success, and environment, can be assessed by some morphological measures. The study aims to investigate variability for traits that could assess the quality of the queen. Related animals were enrolled in this study. Variance components were estimated fitting a mixed animal model to collected data. Heritabilities of body and tagmata weights ranged from 0.46 to 0.54, whereas lower estimates were found for the tagmata width and wing length. Heritabilities estimated for the spermatheca diameter and volume, number of ovarioles, and number of sperms were 0.17, 0.88, 0.70, and 0.57, respectively. Many phenotypic correlations related to size were high and positive, while weak correlations were found between morphology and reproductive traits. Introducing a queen’s traits in a selection program could improve colonies’ survivability. Further research should focus on better defining the correlations between the individual qualities of a queen and her colony’s performance.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In a test battery consisting of an open-field arena, a light-dark box, a mirror-chamber box, an elevated plus maze, and an elevated square maze, 1,671 mice were tested, generating over 100 putative ...measures of anxiety in rodents. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis was carried out on all measures, plus composite measures and phenotypic factor scores. Significant LOD scores were found for QTL on 17 chromosomes, with large and consistent QTL behavioral effects on chromosomes 1, 4, 7, 8, 14, 15, l8, and X. QTL on chromosomes 4 and 8 largely influence locomotor activity in both home cages and novel environments, whereas QTL on chromosomes 1, 15, and 18 influence anxiety-related behaviors. Five genetically separable, cross-test dimensions of anxiety could be identified: (i) the suppression of locomotor activity in low to moderately anxiogenic regions of the tests; (ii) a shift toward proportionally less time and activity spent in high-anxiogenic test areas; (iii) the suppression of rearing behavior; (iv) increased latency to enter novel areas; (v) increased autonomic responses, as assessed by defecation and urination. Patterns of QTL influence on cross-test composite scores were distinctive. For example, the QTL on chromosome 1 strongly influenced safe-area locomotor activity (LOD = 35) and autonomic responses (LOD = 16), whereas the QTL on chromosome 15 influenced the proportion of activity in high-anxiogenic areas (LOD = 16), latency to enter novel areas (LOD = 36) and rearing behavior (LOD = 57). Phenotypic factor analysis identified factors heavily loaded on single tests, rather than cross-test factors. The use of factor analysis or within-test principal components for data reduction before genetic analysis was less satisfactory than using genetic dissection methods on the original measures and logically derived composites.
Purpose
Service users’ voice is at the forefront of movements within psychiatry that look to create more humanising care. Although genuine co-production of knowledge is limited by the power ...differential intrinsically functional to the health care setting, the arts have the potential to create collaborative environments and equalise relationships. The purpose of this case study is to describe and discuss the design and pilot evaluation of creative writing workshops in a forensic mental health ward as an innovative method for humanising care.
Design/methodology/approach
A creative writing intervention focussing on everyday experiences was implemented in a forensic mental health ward and involved four residents and four mental health professionals working together. Interviews were conducted with the four mental health professionals as part of a service evaluation. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings
Two themes emerged from the analysis of interviews with mental health professionals: “a new way of learning about each other” and “imagining beyond the staff-resident relationship”. The authors discuss the intervention’s benefits in terms of its potential to foster mutuality and empathy beyond the illness narrative.
Practical implications
Creative writing can be used to engage patients and mental health professionals to jointly share everyday experiences and identities beyond illness.
Originality/value
The creative writing workshops present an innovative approach concerning the use of creative arts for humanising care through mutuality.
La teoría de la catarsis trágica de Aristóteles es la teoría más antigua y debatida sobre el efecto de la experiencia teatral en la audiencia. Afirma que la tragedia logra la catarsis del miedo y la ...pena, involucrando a los lectores en la controversia de si Aristóteles por katharsis se refería a la purificación de las emociones (es decir, su perfección dentro de la mente) o a la purificación de la mente de sus emociones (es decir, la abreacción de la mente).
En este artículo, exploraré cómo la teoría de la transferencia de Freud puede proponer una nueva interpretación de la catarsis trágica de Aristóteles. La transferencia permite la representación y la expresión de emociones reprimidas a través de la re-actuación (re-enactment) de dinámicas relacionales pasadas. Si bien este proceso es esencial para el método psicoanalítico, es el trabajo analítico posterior lo que permite "resolver"las emociones reprimidas, poniendo en práctica la cura por transferencia. Argumento que la dinámica entre el despertar emocional en la re-actuación y la distancia emocional en el análisis, ofrece un paralelismo efectivo de la dinámica entre la katharsis del miedo y la katharsis de la pena en la teoría de Aristóteles. Tal interpretación de la katharsis trágica sugiere que el efecto teatral en las audiencias puede ser una oportunidad de autoanálisis y la "resolución" de dinámicas psíquicas inconscientes.
The traditional model of psychiatric assessment and diagnosis can be criticised as reductive. We developed an innovative model for psychiatric assessment of adult patients referred to our adult ...mental health team, the Systemic Assessment Clinic, incorporating the principles and techniques of systemic family therapy and dialogical practice into standard psychiatric assessment. We conducted a service evaluation, comparing prospective use of mental health services for patients assessed either in the Systemic Assessment Clinic or in standard assessment. Patients assessed in the Systemic Assessment Clinic had more favourable outcomes than those in standard assessment: they were significantly less likely to need multiple follow-up treatment appointments with a psychiatrist and to be re-referred to mental health services once discharged, indicating reduced healthcare costs. Satisfaction rates for participants attending the systemic assessment clinic were high. Our service evaluation gives preliminary evidence that the Systemic Assessment Clinic could be a potential new model for psychiatric assessment; further evaluation is warranted in a randomised controlled trial.
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutations in the SMN1 gene. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of SMA and treatment prescription in Italy.
An ...online survey was distributed to 36 centers identified by the Italian government as referral centers for SMA. Data on the number of patients with SMA subdivided according to age, type,
copy number, and treatment were collected.
One thousand two hundred fifty-five patients with SMA are currently followed in the Italian centers with an estimated prevalence of 2.12/100,000. Of the 1,255, 284 were type I, 470 type II, 467 type III, and 15 type IV with estimated prevalence of 0.48, 0.79, 0.79 and 0.02/100,000, respectively. Three patients with SMA 0 and 16 presymptomatic patients were also included. Approximately 85% were receiving one of the available treatments. The percentage of treated patients decreased with decreasing severity (SMA I: 95.77%, SMA II: 85.11%, SMA III: 79.01%).
The results provide for the first time an estimate of the prevalence of SMA at the national level and the current distribution of patients treated with the available therapeutical options. These data provide a baseline to assess future changes in relation to the evolving therapeutical scenario.
OBJECTIVESThe improvements in survival with expansion of the survivors' population, along with evolution of endoscopically-based treatment modalities, have contributed to emphasize the clinical ...relevance of recurrences in sinonasal cancers. However, at present, literature is scant regarding the pattern of recurrences and the therapeutic strategies available to manage long survivors who experienced single or multiple failures. The aim of the present study was to analyze sinonasal cancers recurrences to provide data regarding rates and patterns of relapse, predictors of failure and prognostic impact of the recurrence. MATERIALS AND METHODSAll patients receiving multimodal treatments including endoscopic surgery between 1995 and 2021 in three European referral centers were included. Statistical analysis of survival was performed through univariable, multivariable and unidirectional multistate models. Survival after recurrence analysis was implemented for patients experiencing at least one recurrence. RESULTSThe 5- and 10-year recurrence free survival rates were 34.1% and 38.4% for the whole population. With a mean follow-up time of 60 months, a global recurrence rate of 32.9% was observed. The 5- and 10-year survival after recurrence rates were 27.2% and 21.7%, respectively. Incidence and rates of recurrences were significantly associated with histology subtypes. CONCLUSIONThis study provides valuable oncologic outcomes regarding a large homogenous cohort of patients affected by sinonasal malignances treated within a multimodal framework, emphasizing the strong correlation of histologic type with prognosis, as well as with pattern of recurrences.
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