scholarly journals Social Support and Hope among Egyptian Women with Breast Cancer after Mastectomy

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. BCBCR.S6655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adel Denewer ◽  
Omar Farouk ◽  
We'am Mostafa ◽  
Karima Elshamy
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Egyptian Women ◽  
High Degree

Introduction Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Egyptian women. We report the unique assessment of hope and social support outcomes of women with breast cancer after mastectomy in Egyptian community. Patients and methods Between July 2009 and June 2010, three hundred and one women with newly diagnosed breast cancer joined this study. Socio-demographic data including patient's age, level of education, occupation, social status, and residence were collected by means of structured interviews based on special questionnaires. These questionnaires were designed to measure hope and social support. Results Age ranged from 21 to 88 years (median = 45.8 years and SD ± 13.3). A low degree of hope was reported in 103 patients (34.2%), a moderate degree in 109 patients (36.2%), and a high degree in 89 patients (29.6%). A low degree of social support was reported in 119 patients (39.5%), a moderate degree in 101 patients (33.6%), and a high degree in 81 patients (26.9%). Conclusions Social support is related to many psychological factors, which can be quantitatively analyzed and it can predict hope. However, there were no significant differences between the socio-demographic variables (age, educational levels, residence and martial status) and social support, hope, and their sub-components among Egyptian women with breast cancer.

scholarly journals Quantitative Assessment of Organic And Inorganic Contaminants In Charcoal Applied for Food Processing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zbigniew Jelonek ◽  
Monika Fabiańska ◽  
Iwona Jelonek
Keyword(s):  
Toxic Elements ◽  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Inorganic Contaminants ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
High Degree

Abstract Thirty-one batches of commercial charcoal from various regions of Poland and Germany were tested for the presence of twenty toxic elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Elements that are toxic to living organisms were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). They were classified as elements representing a very high degree of hazard (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, and Pb), high degree of hazard (Zn, Ba, Cr, Mn, and Mo), moderate degree of hazard (Co, Ni, Sn, and Te), and a low degree of hazard for living organisms and the environment (Ag, Bi, Ce, Se, Sr, and Zr). When it comes to the most toxic elements, the highest concentration in the whole tested material was recorded for Cu. In addition, considerable amounts of Ba, Mn, and Sr, i.e., elements representing high or moderate degree of hazard, were found in the tested charcoals. Moreover, all charcoals contained a wide range of PAHs, from naphthalene to benzo(ghi)perylene, with concentrations in the range between 12.55 and 3554.11 ng/g of charcoal. In total, 25 unsubstituted PAHs were identified in the charcoal extracts. PAHs distributions were dominated by 5-ring PAHs. The results indicate the high carcinogenicity with ∑PAHcarc/∑PAHtot close to 1, as well as high TEQ and MEQ values. Thus, prolonged exposure to charcoal and charcoal dust might cause serious health problems. This applies to employees actively involved in the production and transport of charcoal, and, to a lesser extent, also to users of this fuel.

“I Had to Make Them Feel at Ease”: Narrative Accounts of How Women With Breast Cancer Navigate Social Support

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232198999
Author(s):  
Jaime D. Wright ◽  
Candyce H. Kroenke ◽  
Marilyn L. Kwan ◽  
Lawrence H. Kushi
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Information Control ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cognitive Reframing ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Emotional Strain ◽  
Analysis Of Narratives

Social scientific studies of social support predominantly focus on the positive associations between social support and emotional well-being. The negative aspects of social support have received much less attention. We conducted semi-structured interviews of women with breast cancer ( n = 47) to examine the emotional strain associated with social support and how recipients navigate it in ways that protect themselves and their relationships. Based on our analysis of narratives of women’s lived experiences of breast cancer, we found that social support can be perceived negatively and associated with experiences of emotional strain. Interviewees engaged in strategies of avoidance, information control, and cognitive reframing to minimize emotional strain. We applied the concept of emotion work to understand the complexity of emotional strain in this context. The findings highlight the difficulties of social support from a recipient’s perspective and emphasize the importance of perception and agency in navigating this experience.

scholarly journals Key Issues in Global Technological Innovation Projects

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 04-28
Author(s):  
Marcos Roberto Piscopo ◽  
Roberto Sbragia
Keyword(s):  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Business Results ◽  
Iron Triangle ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Innovation Projects ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Performance Dimensions ◽  
High Degree

This article aimed to identify those issues that were present in global technological innovation projects carried out by Brazilian multinational companies and which performance criterions these undertakings met. We investigated 36 global technological innovation projects from Brazilian multinational enterprises through a web-survey. Findings show that these companies went beyond the traditional iron triangle to evaluate their technological efforts and considered additional performance dimensions such as customer satisfaction, business results, and preparation for the future. Results also show high degree of presence for issues emerging from the industry, moderate degree of presence for issues emerging from both the project and R&D activities, and low degree of presence for issues emerging from the headquarters, the subsidiaries, and the external environment. Further research is needed to find out if and how these issues influenced the performance of the global technological innovation projects studied.DOI:10.5585/gep.v3i1.72

The effect of women’s breast cancer fear and social support perceptions on the process of participating in screening

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 52-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aygul Kissal ◽  
Birgül Vural ◽  
Fatma Ersin ◽  
Tuğba Solmaz
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Cancer Screening ◽  
Breast Cancer Screening ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Screening Process ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Cancer Fear

Introduction: Social support and fear have been shown to be important factors affecting women’s participation in breast cancer screening. This study aimed to determine the effect of women’s perceived breast cancer fear and social support on participating in the breast cancer screening process, and to investigate the relationship between the perception of breast cancer fear and social support. Methods: This is a descriptive study, carried out in a state hospital on 198 women. The data were collected through a Socio-Demographic Data Form, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and Breast Cancer Fear Scale (BCFS) by the researchers by means of face-to-face interview. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the women’s perceptions of social support and breast cancer fear and screening behaviors ( p > 0.05). It was found that the mean BCFS score of those who had a family history of breast cancer was high, and the MSPSS score was lower ( p < 0.05). There was a quite weak and statistically insignificant positive relationship between the women’s BCFS scores and perceived social support ( r = 0.08, p > 0.05), friend support ( r = 0.04, p > 0.05) and support from a special person ( r = 0.14, p > 0.05). Conclusion: We found no statistically significant difference between breast cancer fear, social support and the women’s screening behavior. However, breast cancer fear and the effect of social support on screening attitude may be important. Nurses and other health workers should particularly focus on social support and breast cancer fear in their health education programs. Formative research into the use of social support to promote positive empowering messages should be carried out and incorporated in future health promotion campaigns to improve the breast cancer screening process.

scholarly journals Quantitative Assessment of Organic and Inorganic Contaminants in Charcoal

Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Zbigniew Jelonek ◽  
Monika Fabiańska ◽  
Iwona Jelonek
Keyword(s):  
Toxic Elements ◽  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Inorganic Contaminants ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
High Degree

Thirty-one batches of commercial charcoal from various regions of Poland and Germany were tested for the presence of 20 toxic elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Elements that are toxic to living organisms were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). They were classified as elements representing a very high degree of hazard (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, and Pb), high degree of hazard (Zn, Ba, Cr, Mn, and Mo), moderate degree of hazard (Co, Ni, Sn, and Te), and a low degree of hazard for living organisms and the environment (Ag, Bi, Ce, Se, Sr, and Zr). In regard to the most toxic elements, the highest concentration in the whole tested material was recorded for Cu. In addition, considerable amounts of Ba, Mn, and Sr, i.e., elements representing a high or moderate degree of hazard, were found in the tested charcoals. Moreover, all charcoals contained a wide range of PAHs, from naphthalene to benzo(ghi)perylene, with concentrations in a range between 12.55 and 3554.11 ng/g charcoal. In total, 25 unsubstituted PAHs were identified in the charcoal extracts. PAHs distributions were dominated by five-ring PAHs. The results indicate high carcinogenicity with ∑PAHcarc/∑PAHtot close to 1, as well as high TEQ and MEQ values. Thus, prolonged exposure to charcoal and charcoal dust might cause serious health problems. This applies to employees actively involved in the production and transport of charcoal and, to a lesser extent, users of this fuel.

scholarly journals The Perceived Social Support by Iranian Women with Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Mokhtari ◽  
Abdollah Khorami Markani ◽  
Hamid Reza Khalkhali ◽  
Aram Feizi
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Family

Abstract Background: Social support has an importnat role in improving health outcomes and is considered as one of the crucial aspects of the modern care in cancer patients. Therefore this article aims at discovering and describing the dimensions of social support based on the lived experience of women suffering from breast cancer.Methods: In this qualitative study, 22 women with breast cancer were selected through purposive sampling from 7 hospitals affiliated to Urmia University of Medical Sciences. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and were analyzed by the Conventional Qualitative Content Analysis and Graneheim’s and Lundman’s (2004) approach, using MAXQDA software, version 10.Results: After completion of the analyzing process, 6 categories were appeared including “creating an empathic atmosphere by family and community”, “creating a safe communication network for the patient”, “adaption to disease”, “giving meaning to life”, “the feeling of satisfaction with the healthcare providers for fulfilling their role”, and “accepting the support and help of family and friends in fighting the disease”. Conclusion: According to the findings, good social support during the illness can result in the spiritual, mental, and physical well-being of the patients and is one of the most effective factors in fighting the disease and feeling of recovery. The findings of this study can be used to develop plans to help the patients to achieve more support from the family, healthcare providers and the community and even providing the required supportive care for this group of women.

scholarly journals Burnout Among Anesthesiologists and Intensive Care Physicians: Results From an Italian National Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 004695802091926
Author(s):  
Maria Vargas ◽  
Gianmario Spinelli ◽  
Pasquale Buonanno ◽  
Carmine Iacovazzo ◽  
Giuseppe Servillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
Personal Accomplishment ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Chronic Health Problems ◽  
Psychological Dimensions

Burnout is one of the main chronic health problems with negative consequences on caregivers but also on the quality of care. This is a multidimensional occupational syndrome, characterized by three main criteria: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and low personal accomplishment (PA). Burnout is particularly identified in professionals working in caregiving and human services, especially the ones who are interpersonally stressed and emotionally vulnerable. Intensive care professionals seem to face a critical risk of burnout. This study aiming to evaluate the occurrence and the risk factors of burnout among Italian anesthesiologists and intensive care physicians. All members included in the mailing list of the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, and Intensive Care were invited to participate in an online survey. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed via a specific website. Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire. All responses were evaluated through univariate and multivariable logistic regression. A total of 859 physicians out of 3,654 (23.5%) participated in this online survey. According to the MBI criteria for a high degree of burnout, 10.2% (88) of the respondents reported high EE, high DP, and low PA together; 79.9% (686) exhibited a moderate degree of burnout; and 9.9% (85) reported a low degree of burnout, with normal values in all three of the explored psychological dimensions. This study reported mostly a moderate level of burnout among Italian anesthesiologist and intensive care physicians since we found 10.2% incidence for high degree of burnout according to the MBI criteria.

scholarly journals The Effective Healing Strategy against Localized Attacks on Interdependent Spatially Embedded Networks

Complexity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Gong ◽  
Jia-Jian Wu ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Qing Li ◽  
Run-Ran Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Communication Networks ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Power Grids ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Embedded Networks ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Functional Components ◽  
Failed Node

Many real-world infrastructure networks, such as power grids and communication networks, always depend on each other by their functional components that share geographic proximity. A lot of works were devoted to revealing the vulnerability of interdependent spatially embedded networks (ISENs) when facing node failures and showed that the ISENs are susceptible to geographically localized attacks caused by natural disasters or terrorist attacks. How to take emergency methods to prevent large scale of cascading failures on interdependent infrastructures is a longstanding problem. Here, we propose an effective strategy for the healing of local structures using the connection profile of a failed node, called the healing strategy by prioritizing minimum degrees (HPMD), in which a new link between two active low-degree neighbors of a failed node is established during the cascading process. Afterwards, comparisons are made between HPMD and three healing strategies based on three metrics: random choice, degree centrality, and local centrality, respectively. Simulations are performed on the ISENs composed of two diluted square lattices with the same size under localized attacks. Results show that HPMD can significantly improve the robustness of the system by enhancing the connectivity of low-degree nodes, which prevent the diffusion of failures from low-degree nodes to moderate-degree nodes. In particular, HPMD can outperform other three strategies in the size of the giant component of networks, critical attack radius, and the number of iterative cascade steps for a given quota of newly added links, which means HPMD is more effective, more timely, and less costly. The high performance of HPMD indicates low-degree nodes should be placed on the top priority for effective healing to resist the cascading of failures in the ISENs, which is totally different from the traditional methods that usually take high-degree nodes as critical nodes in a single network. Furthermore, HPMD considers the distance between a pair of nodes to control the variation in the network structures, which is more applicable to spatial networks than previous methods.

scholarly journals Social support for breast cancer patients in the occupied Palestinian territory

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252608
Author(s):  
Mona I. A. Almuhtaseb ◽  
Francesca Alby ◽  
Cristina Zucchermaglio ◽  
Marilena Fatigante
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Occupied Palestinian Territory ◽  
Available Information ◽  
Palestinian Territory

Previous research indicates that social support is beneficial to cancer patients in adjusting to the stress of the disease. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis of 36 semi-structured interviews, this article explores sources and types of social support in Arab-Palestinian women with breast cancer. Results show that members of the immediate family, husbands in particular, are reported to be the most supportive social sources. Given the limitations that characterize access to cancer care in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) and the collectivistic values of the society, women with breast cancer seem to rely mainly on their husbands to handle emotional, functional and informational needs. Emotional support includes the provision of care, trust, reassurance, and companionship. Functional support includes the practical assistance that the cancer patients receive in terms of financial support, attendance during treatment or help with domestic chores and childcare. Accessing appropriate informational support can be quite challenging in the OPT since available information is not always reliable. The family plays a key role in mediating communication with doctors. Contact with breast cancer patients and survivors is also a source of supporting information, with however a possible negative impact in terms of emotional coping. In this context, the immediate family becomes a fundamental resource for coping and a relational space that mediates connections with others, including doctors, acting as a “proxy” between the patient and the social environment. Findings are discussed in light of the historical and sociocultural context of the OPT.

Comparative analysis of algorithms to generate adjacency constraints

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1277-1288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Yoshimoto ◽  
J. Douglas Brodie
Keyword(s):  
Heuristic Algorithms ◽  
Analysis Of Algorithms ◽  
Computational Effort ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Final Solution ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Analytical Algorithm ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Conventional Algorithm

A mathematical programming formulation of the area-based forest planning problem can result in a large number of adjacency constraints with much potential for redundancy. Two heuristic algorithms have been proposed for reducing redundant adjacency constraints generated by the conventional algorithm. In this paper another analytical algorithm is proposed, and its efficiency and that of the conventional algorithm and the two heuristics are evaluated and compared. Comparison is based on the number of constraints, and on the computational effort needed both to derive the adjacency constraints and to solve the associated planning problem. Evaluation for several adjacency maps shows that the conventional algorithm has the largest number of constraints, with a low degree of effort in derivation of adjacency constraints and a small computational task to find a final solution. The first heuristic algorithm has the smallest number of constraints but involves a high degree of effort and a large computational task. The second heuristic has a small number of constraints with a moderate degree of effort and a large computational task, and the proposed algorithm has a small number of constraints with a low degree of effort and a moderate to large computational task.

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