Conceptos básicos para aprender a llevar una vida con cáncer / Basic concepts for learning to live a life with cancer

El cáncer es una enfermedad altamente prevalente que afecta a millones de personas de todas las edades y más allá de comprometer la parte física del paciente, juega un papel muy importante en la salud no solo del enfermo, sino incluso de todo su núcleo familiar. Es bien conocido que los pacientes oncológicos tienen una mayor susceptibilidad y una mayor prevalencia a padecer trastornos clínicos psiquiátricos como ansiedad y depresión, y otros síntomas subclínicos que se pueden presentar en etapas tan tempranas como el diagnóstico, entre los que se encuentran: baja autoestima (debido a los cambios corporales producto del tratamiento: calvicie, cicatrices, amputaciones, etc.), miedo al tratamiento, culpa, enfado hacia sí mismo, negación, fatiga y preocupación por los otros, entre otros. En conjunto y sin una intervención adecuada, el gran distrés psicológico al que se enfrenta un paciente con cáncer en sus diferentes etapas puede afectar de forma muy negativa su calidad de vida, la adherencia al tratamiento, las relaciones familiares y sociales, e incluso aumentar la mortalidad de las personas diagnosticadas, como muestra un estudio de cohortes con 9.138 hombres diagnosticados con cáncer en el cual una baja resiliencia a estos estresores psicológicos anteriormente descritos aumentaron la tasa de mortalidad en un 61% en todos los tipos de cáncer.

Cancer is a highly prevalent disease that affects millions of people of all ages and beyond compromising the physical part of the patient, it plays a very important role in the health not only of the patient, but also of the entire family. It is well known that cancer patients have a greater susceptibility and a higher prevalence of clinical psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression, and other subclinical symptoms that can present themselves in stages as early as the diagnosis, among which are: low self-esteem (due to body changes resulting from the treatment: baldness, scars, amputations, etc.), fear of treatment, guilt, anger towards oneself, denial, fatigue and concern for others, among others. Taken together and without adequate intervention, the great psychological distress faced by a cancer patient in its different stages can negatively affect quality of life, adherence to treatment, family and social relationships, and even increase the mortality of those diagnosed, as shown in a cohort study of 9,138 men diagnosed with cancer in which low resilience to these psychological stressors described above increased the mortality rate by 61% in all types of cancer.

Graphene Oxide Quantum Dots as the Support for the Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles and Their Applications as New Catalysts for the Decomposition of Composite Solid Propellants.

Graphene oxide quantum dot (GOQD) and reduced GOOD (rGOQD) were synthetized using a simple and straight methodology based on an oxidative treatment and sonication. GOQD and rGOQD were used as supporting agents for the in situ generation of gold nanoparticles, avoiding the use of additional stabilizers. GOQD resulted as a better support than rGOQD because of the presence of higher functional groups that can interact with gold. Theoretical studies through density functional theory revealed the important role of the epoxy groups of GOQD on the stabilization of gold. GOQD and GOQD-Au were tested for the first time as catalysts for the decomposition of solid composite propellants. GOQD not only lowered the decomposition temperature of ammonium perchlorate (AP) but also enhanced the exothermic heat of AP, in comparison to graphene and GO. GOQD-Au increased the energy release; however, the effect on the decrease of the decomposition temperature of AP was not as significant as other previous reported catalysts.