Relationship between academic performance, psychological well-being, and coping strategies in medical students / Relationship between academic performance, psychological well-being, and coping strategies in medical students.

INTRODUCTION: Academic performance is a product of the complex environment that surrounds the student, shaped by aspects such as intensity of study, motivation and context of relationships, which affect the academic achievement of individuals. There may be other psychological or emotional factors, such as anxiety, level of psychological well-being, and behavior strategies for effective adaptation to concrete environment demands and their associated emotional stress. OBJECTIVES: This research study aims at determining the level of psychological well-being and coping strategies in students of the Basic Common Cycle of studies leading to an MD degree in the School of Medicine of the National University of Córdoba, Argentina. METHODS AND MATERIALS: This is an observational study based on a "Questionnaire on determiners of academic performance", that was answered by 374 students. Data was processed using statistical bivariate analysis (p< 0.05) and multiple correspondence factorial analysis. RESULTS: Students with "VG/G (Very Good/Good) performance" show high levels of satisfaction and well-being use direct coping strategies which lead them to "cope with problematic situations" by means of "problem solving". Students with "R/I (Regular/Insufficient) academic performance" declare "dissatisfaction with most aspects of their personalities", feel unable to give a satisfactory response to environment demands, and assume "avoidance behaviors" as coping strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Student academic performance is associated with psychological well-being, feeling of satisfaction with achievements, and coping with stressful situations.

Studies of membrane fluidity and heart contractile force in Trypanosoma cruzi infected mice

In Chagas disease serious cardiac dysfunction can appear. We specifically studied the cardiac function by evaluating: ventricle contractile force and norepinephrine response, affinity and density of beta-adrenergic receptors, dynamic properties of myocardial membranes, and electrocardiography. Albino swiss mice (n = 250) were infected with 55 trypomastigotes, Tulahuen strain and studied at 35, 75, and 180 days post-infection, that correspond to the acute, indeterminate, and chronic phase respectively. Cardiac beta-adrenergic receptors' affinity, myocardial contractility, and norepinephrine response progressively decreased from the acute to the chronic phase of the disease (p < 0.01). The density (expressed as fmol/mg.prot) of the receptors was similar to non-infected mice (71.96 ± 0.36) in both the acute (78.24 ± 1.67) and indeterminate phases (77.28 ± 0.91), but lower in the chronic disease (53.32 ± 0.71). Electrocardiographic abnormalities began in the acute phase and were found in 65 percent of the infected-mice during the indeterminate and chronic phases. Membrane contents of triglycerides, cholesterol, and anisotropy were similar in all groups. A quadratic correlation between the affinity to beta-adrenergic receptors and cardiac contractile force was obtained. In conclusion the changes in cardiac beta-adrenergic receptors suggests a correlation between the modified beta-adrenergic receptors affinity and the cardiac contractile force.

Cardiac beta receptors' density or affinity modified by different Trypanosoma cruzi amount

Chagas'disease presents complex physiopathogenic mechanism, many of them poorly understood, that in our country generally produce cardiac lesions. The acute phase related with the presence of the parasite is usually asymptomatic. This report studies if the amount of T. cruzi that induced acute infection could modify the myocardiopathy evolution. Previous works have shown that Albino Swiss mice inoculated with 45 tripomastigotes (AcL) presented alterations in the cardiac pharmacological response to adrenergic agonist and anatogonist studied at 30 days post-infection (p.i.). Mice inoculated with 7 x 10(4) parasites/animal showed similar behaviour at 7 days p.i. We studied the involvement of the affinity and density of cardiac beta receptors in both acute groups by binding with (3)H/DHA. The AcH group presented less cardiac beta receptors number (p<0.001), but their affinity was conserved. The AcL model presented significantly less affinity (p<0.01) but desinty, was not different from non infected animals. Beta receptors'affinity of both infected groups were similar, but AcH density was significantly diminished when compared with AcL. These studies demonstrates that the amount of T. cruzi received by the host determines and acelerates the evolution of the chagasic myocardiopathy.

Cardiac B-receptors in experimental Chagas`disease

Estudaram-se os receptores beta cardiacos de camundongos infectados pelo Trypanosoma cruzi na fase pos-aguda da doenca de Chagas para estabelecer em que medida os mesmos contribuem a gerar respostas anomalas as catecolaminas observadas nestes miocardios. Utilizara-se 3-H/DHA para a marcacao dos receptores beta cardiacos dos camundongos normais e dos infectados na fase pos-aguda (45 a 90 dias pos-infeccao). O numero dos sitios de fixacao foi similar nos dois grupos, 78.591 ñ 3.125 fmol/mg. Proteina no grupo controle. Em vez disso, a afinidade verificou-se significamente diminuida no grupo chagasico (Kd = 7.299 ñ 0.212 nM) p < 0.001. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que as modificacoes observadas na estimulacao adrenergica do miocardio chagasico se correlacionam com a menor afinidade dos receptores beta cardiacos e que estas alteracoes exerceriam uma parte determinante para as consequencias funcionais que sao detectadas na fase cronica.