Fe3O4/bioactive glass nanostructure: a promising therapeutic platform for osteosarcoma treatment.

An effective strategy of hyperthermia-chemotherapy-regeneration for bone-related cancer treatment is presented. For this purpose, a new approach of magnetic particles (MPs) encapsulated in bioactive glass (BG) structure, with anti-cancer activity, is evaluated. MPs are initially synthesized using a co-precipitation method and then embedded into BG structure through a sol-gel synthesis process. Results confirmed the formation of a crystalline and pure MP structure. MP-BG particles were found to be bioactive by forming a hydroxyapatite layer on their surface. The hyperthermia application of a MP-BG system was also studied. It was found that the particles reach a temperature of 42 °C in an alternating magnetic field. Doxorubicin (DOX), a widely used anticancer drug, was loaded in MP-BG. To enhance the loading efficiency, the BG was surface modified to create NH2groups on the surface. The encapsulation and release of DOX was studied over 48 h.In vitrotests were performed using human osteosarcoma cell line (MG63). The results demonstrated the non-cytotoxic nature of MP and MP-BG tested at various concentrations. DOX release from MP-BG resulted in decreased MG63 viability. Also, fluorescence microscopy visualization confirmed the intracellular uptake of MP-BG particles and the release of DOX. These results indicate that our suggested strategy of combined hyperthermia-chemotherapy-regeneration using MP-BG structure represents a powerful approach in cancer treatment and tissue regeneration.

Stress, Burnout and Coping among Emergency Physicians at a Major Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica.

OBJECTIVES: The study examined the prevalence of stress, burnout, and coping, and the relationship between these variables among emergency physicians at a teaching hospital in Kingston, Jamaica. METHODS: Thirty out of 41 physicians in the Emergency Department completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, and a background questionnaire. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Fifty per cent of study participants scored highly on emotional exhaustion; the scores of 53.3% also indicated that they were highly stressed. Stress correlated significantly with the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization components of burnout. Depersonalization was significantly correlated with two coping strategies: escape-avoidance and accepting responsibility; emotional exhaustion was also significantly correlated with escape-avoidance. CONCLUSION: Emergency physicians at the hospital scored high on stress and components of burnout. Interventions aimed at reducing the occupational contributors to stress and improving levels of coping will reduce the risk of burnout and enhance psychological well-being among emergency physicians.

Beliefs and expectations regarding etiology, treatment and outcome in bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: To examine pretreatment client beliefs and expectations about the causes of bulimia nervosa (BN), and helpfulness of treatment. The association between outcome expectations, pretreatment characteristics, and treatment outcome was also tested. METHOD: 76 BN clients completed a questionnaire assessing beliefs and expectations before participating in a randomized treatment trial. RESULTS: Clients attributed their BN to problems of dysphoria, low self-esteem, perfectionism, and weight preoccupation. They also anticipated a wide array of therapeutic modalities to be helpful, and expected to make changes within 7 weeks of treatment. Surprisingly, outcome expectations were not related to treatment response. Clients who were identified as treatment optimists were more likely to be older, have a longer duration of illness, and greater pretreatment depression and BN symptomatology. DISCUSSION: These results are discussed in the context of the transtheoretical model, suggesting that veteran BN clients who experience greater complications are less ambivalent and more hopeful about change.

Weight-related other evaluation in eating disorders.

Weight-related self-evaluation has been described as the fundamental maladaptive cognitive feature of disordered eating. It is not clear, however, whether the process of determining personal-worth based on an evaluation of body size is specific to the self, or whether it is relevant to the evaluation of people in general. Thirty-three eating disordered patients and 54 undergraduates read an article about a woman who was described as either overweight or slender and evaluated the woman on several dimensions. Both undergraduates and eating disordered patients rated the heavy woman as less attractive than the thin woman. However, the patients' evaluation of the overweight target's attractiveness was significantly more negative than the undergraduates'. Patients also rated the overweight woman as less popular and claimed that they liked the overweight woman less than the thin woman. These effects were not present among the undergraduate students. Finally, the eating disorder participants rated the overweight woman as more overweight and less intelligent than did the undergraduate students. The results suggest that weight-related evaluation in eating disorders extends beyond the self to include the evaluation of other people.

Weight-related and shape-related self-evaluation in eating-disordered and non-eating-disordered women.

OBJECTIVE: Weight- and shape-related self-evaluation refers to the process whereby an individual determines her self-worth based on an evaluation of her body weight and shape. This is a hallmark feature of both anorexia and bulimia nervosa, as specified in the 4th ed. of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The purpose of this study was to further our understanding of weight-related self-evaluation in eating-disordered women. METHOD: Eating-disordered patients, restrained eaters, and unrestrained eaters completed an experimenter-designed questionnaire that examines different dimensions of weight-related self-evaluation (i.e., the Multidimensional Weight-Related Self-Evaluation Inventory). RESULTS: Results revealed that weight-related self-evaluation is a feature shared, to some extent, by both eating-disordered patients and restrained eaters. However, eating-disordered patients extend weight-related self-evaluation to include more domains of self-esteem than did restrained eaters. DISCUSSION: These findings support a multidimensional approach to weight-related self-evaluation and further our understanding of the process of weight-related self-evaluation in eating-disordered patients.

Eating disorders, dieting, and the accuracy of self-reported weight.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the accuracy of self-reported weight and height in individuals with an eating disorder (i.e., anorexia nervosa [AN] and bulimia nervosa [BN]) and in individuals without an eating disorder (i.e., dieters and nondieters). METHOD: Self-reported and measured weights and heights were obtained from the eating disorder sample (n = 81) and the college student sample (n = 163) and were compared within and between the groups. RESULTS: Eating disorder patients were extremely accurate at self-reporting their weight. However, there was a significant difference in accuracy between AN and BN patients. AN patients slightly overreported their weight, whereas BN patients slightly underreported their weight. Both dieters and nondieters significantly underreported their weight. However, dieters significantly underreported their weight to a greater degree than did the nondieters. DISCUSSION: The implications of these subgroup differences and their specificity to weight reporting are discussed with reference to the accuracy of self-reported height.

Effects of false weight feedback on mood, self-evaluation, and food intake in restrained and unrestrained eaters.

Restrained and unrestrained eaters were weighted 5 lb (2.27 kg) heavier or 5 lb lighter than their actual weight or were not weighed at all. Unrestrained eaters and restrained eaters who were told they weighed 5 lb less were not affected by the false weight feedback. However, restrained eaters who were informed that they weighted 5 lb more reported lower self-esteem, less positive moods, and more negative moods than did restrained eaters in the other 2 conditions. Furthermore, restrained eaters who were led to believe that they weighed heavier ate significantly more food during a subsequent "taste test" than did each of the other groups. Restrained eaters who believed that they were heavier experienced lowered self-worth and a worsening of mood that led them to relinquish their dietary restraint and overindulge in available food. Implications for patients with eating disorders are discussed.

Increasing willingness to taste novel foods: effects of nutrition and taste information.

This study was designed to examine the effects of various kinds of information on willingness to ingest novel foods in individuals varying in the extent to which they reported that nutritional concerns affected their food choices. Male and female volunteers ranging in age from 10 to 79 (N = 401), saw six familiar and six novel foods, and received no information, taste likability information, general nutrition information, or specific nutrition information about the whole set of foods. They rated their willingness to taste each food, with the clear implication that their willingness ratings would determine which foods they would taste later in the study. On a separate questionnaire, they also rated the factors influencing their food everyday choices, and these ratings were used to compute an "importance of nutrition" score for each individual. Results indicated that older subjects were generally more willing to try novel foods than younger ones, that general nutrition information was effective for high school and college students, and that specific nutrition information was influential for young adults. It was also found that general nutrition information increased willingness to taste novel food in subjects for whom nutrition is important and decreased such willingness in subjects for whom nutrition is not important.

Effects of anxiety on eating: does palatability moderate distress-induced overeating in dieters?

When confronted with an anxiety-producing threat to self-esteem, restrained eaters (dieters) increase their food consumption. The functional explanation suggests that increased eating temporarily counteracts or masks dysphoria for the restrained eater; externality or stimulus sensitivity theories propose that distress shifts the dieter's attention to external stimulus properties (e.g., taste) and to activities stimulated by such external cues. In an attempt to distinguish between these two explanations, anxious and nonanxious restrained and unrestrained eaters were given palatable and unpalatable foods, and consumption was measured. Results support the functional explanations: Distressed dieters increased their intake of food regardless of taste properties. Theoretical and practical implications for both restrained eating and the behavior of eating disorder patients are discussed.