Role of self-efficacy and behaviour change

Behaviour change is an important concept in relation to health promotion and disease prevention. Self-efficacy has been identified as an important determinant of health behaviour, future health behaviour and health behaviour change. In order to effectively facilitate behaviour change, it is essential that interventions are research based, and emphasize the utility of theory in practice. The effective practice of health promotion and disease prevention requires a full understanding of the processes of patient behaviour. This article presents the role of the nurse in influencing health-related behaviour change. Self-efficacy and related but distinct theories that underpin behaviour change are discussed. The empirical evidence that supports the link between self-efficacy and predictions of health behaviours is also examined.     

Increased incidence of mosaicism detected by FISH in murine blastocyst cultured in vitro

The majority of in-vitro-derived human preimplantation embryos are chromosomally abnormal but whether the same pattern exists in vivo is unknown. This would be impossible to demonstrate in humans. Hence we chose murine embryos to study this difference owing to their ease of manipulation and compared the incidence of mosaicism between in-vivo- and in-vitro-cultured embryos. Two groups of embryos were analysed. Group A (in vitro) were obtained 48h following superovulation and cultured in vitro until the blastocyst stage. Fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH) was performed at different stages that included the cleavage, morula and blastocyst stage. Group B (in vivo) were obtained on day 2 or day 5 and FISH was performed immediately without culture. There was an increase in chromosomal mosaicism seen from the cleavage stage up to the blastocyst stage in the in-vitro culture group. Overall chromosomal abnormality from day 3 to day 5 was found to be 30% (28/94) in group A. The incidence of chromosomal abnormalities in blastocysts from group B was significantly lower than group A blastocysts (8% (3/40) and 31% (20/64) respectively; P<0.05). These data show that in-vitro cultured embryos had a significantly higher incidence of mosaicisim in comparison with the in-vivo group. Cultured human embryos show high levels of chromosomal abnormalities but whether this is a pattern seen in all embryos or is the result of culture is unknown. To study this pattern we used mouse embryos and carried out chromosome analysis by fluorescent in-situ hybridization. We compared embryos that were cultured (in vitro) with those that were not (in vivo, i.e. grown exclusively in the mouse). We found that cultured embryos showed significantly higher chromosomal abnormalities as compared with in vivo embryos. This suggests that certain culture conditions are responsible for the high level of chromosomal abnormalities seen in these embryos, which should be investigated further.     

Inhibition of ovarian cancer cell metastasis by a fusion polypeptide Tat-ELP

Tumor cell metastasis is a complex, multi-step process that is a major cause of death and morbidity amongst cancer patients. Cell adhesion plays a critical role in the development of metastatic cancer, and it is mediated by interactions between receptors on the cell surface and ligands of the extracellular matrix or other surfaces. Therefore, inhibition of the cell adhesion process appears to be an effective method of preventing metastasis. This work describes a genetically engineered polypeptide with the potential to prevent cell adhesion and inhibit metastasis. We have found that the cell penetrating peptide Tat, fused with elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) inhibited adhesion, spreading, invasion and migration of SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells in cell culture. Furthermore, we have also confirmed that Tat-ELP has anti-metastatic potential in an experimental ovarian cancer metastasis model in vivo, causing approximately 80% reduction in the tumor burden. Since cell attachment is an important step in tumor cell invasion and metastasis, these results suggest a novel role of Tat-ELP as a therapeutic intervention in cancer metastasis. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Role of Flow Cytometry in the Diagnosis of Chronic Granulomatous Disease: the Egyptian Experience

Introduction

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is an inherited mutational defect in any of the NADPH oxidase complex, CYBB (gp91-phox), NCF1 (p47-phox), CYBA (p22-phox), NCF2 (p67-phox), or NCF4 (p40-phox) leading to inability of phagocytes to perform effective respiratory burst and thus diminished killing of bacteria and fungi. The identification of defective proteins aids in establishing a diagnosis prior to genetic analysis, which is rather labor-intensive, expensive, and time-consuming.

Aim

The present study aims at assessing the NADPH proteins by performing the intracellular staining with specific monoclonal antibodies and their assessment on flow cytometry. The use of flow cytometry is less laborious and faster to perform than western blot. It also confirms the diagnosis of CGD and detects the affected components allowing proper management of patients.

Materials and Methods

Twenty-eight patients from 25 different kindred, clinically suspected as CGD were recruited in Egypt. Dihydrorhodamine test was performed to confirm the diagnosis of the patients. Intracellular staining of NADPH components using specific monoclonal antibodies was performed followed by flow cytometric analysis.

Results

The present study revealed that the most common defective protein in our cohort is p22-phox, found in 13 patients (46.4 % of cases) followed by p47-phox in 8 patients (28.6 %), gp91-phox in 5 patients (17.9 %), and finally p67-phox in 2 patients (7.1 %).

Conclusion

In countries with limited resources and yet large number of CGD patients, the analysis of the defective proteins by flow cytometry is an optimum solution for confirming the diagnosis and is a step for targeted sequencing in families seeking prenatal diagnosis.

     

Fine-needle aspiration cytology of metastatic transitional cell carcinoma

In this article we described the fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of five cases of metastatic transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). There were four cases of metastatic lymph nodes and one case of metastatic skin lesion. All of the TCC cases were primarily in the urinary bladder and were high grade on histopathology (grade 3). Three cases showed bladder muscle involvement and two cases showed superficial TCC at the time of primary diagnosis. FNAC smears showed abundant cellularity. The cells were present in discrete and small syncytial clusters. Nuclear position of the cell was central to eccentric. Many cells showed prominent nucleoli. Cercariform cells (CCs) were noted in four cases. These cells are malignant cells with a nucleated globular body and a unipolar nontapering cytoplasmic process. Two cases showed intranuclear inclusions. Prominent cytoplasmic vacuoles were noted in three cases. In addition, cell cannibalism and attempted pearl formations were noted in two cases.In conclusion, clinical history along with the certain cytological features such as the presence of CCs, cells with eccentric nuclei, and intranuclear inclusions are helpful to diagnose metastatic TCC on FNAC material.     

Novel sigma (sigma) receptor agonists produce antidepressant-like effects in mice.

Many antidepressant drugs interact with sigma receptors and accumulating evidence suggests that these proteins mediate antidepressant-like effects in animals and humans. sigma Receptors are localized in brain regions affected in depression, further strengthening the hypothesis that they represent logical drug development targets. In this study, two novel sigma receptor agonists (UMB23, UMB82) were evaluated for antidepressant-like activity in mice. First, radioligand binding studies confirmed that the novel compounds had preferential affinity for sigma receptors. Second, the forced swim test, a well established animal model for screening potential antidepressant drugs, showed that both compounds dose-dependently reduced immobility time. The sigma receptor antagonist BD1047 attenuated the antidepressant-like effects of UMB23 and UMB82. Third, locomotor activity suggested that the effects of UMB23 and UMB82 in the forced swim test were not due to non-specific motor activating effects. Together, the data provide further evidence that sigma receptor agonists represent a possible new class of antidepressant medication.     

Feeding Practices and Growth in Yemeni Children

A nutritional survey in the Tihama region of Yemen allowed an analysis of the relationship between infant feeding practices and the growth of children 3-23 months of age. The survey was conducted in 1979 on a representative sample of 364 preschool children 3-23 months of age. After adjustment for demographic and socioeconomic factors, breast feeding was found to be associated with higher weight-for-length and weight-for-age. The strongest beneficial effect of breast feeding on weight-for-length was seen at 3-6 months, a weaker effect at 7-12 months, and essentially no effect over 12 months of age. A higher weight-for-age was seen in breast-fed infants 3-6 months of age only. Introducing other foods was associated with higher weight-for-length only in children 13-23 months of age. Neither breast feeding nor introducing other foods was associated with length-for-age. Infant feeding practices appear to be associated with weight gain, but not linear growth in Yemeni infants.