Efficacy of a Home-Based, Unsupervised Physical Activity Program on Fatigue, Sleep Quality, and Quality of Life in Survivors of Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Women with breast cancer (BC) experience symptoms related to fatigue, sleep quality, and quality of life (QOL) in the post- treatment period. Oncology nurses need to plan interventions such as physical activity (PA) aimed at reducing the symptoms experienced by patients. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this article is to determine the efficacy of a home-based, unsupervised PA program on fatigue, sleep quality, and QOL in survivors of BC. METHODS: This study was an experimental study with a prospective control group. Female survivors of BC were randomly assigned to either the home-based, unsupervised PA intervention group or the control group for 12 weeks. Fatigue, sleep quality, and QOL were assessed with questionnaires at baseline and the 12th week. FINDINGS: The home-based, unsupervised PA program yielded positive effects on fatigue and QOL among participants. The program did not affect sleep quality.

A two-step purification platform for efficient removal of Fab-related impurities: A case study for Ranibizumab.

Antibodies (mAbs) and antibody fragments (Fabs) constitute one of the largest and most rapidly expanding groups of protein pharmaceuticals. In particular, antibody fragments have certain advantages over mAbs in some therapeutic settings. However, due to their greater chemical diversity, they are more challenging to purify for large-scale production using a standard purification platform. Besides, the removal of Fab-related byproducts poses a difficult purification challenge. Alternative Fab purification platforms could expedite their commercialization and reduce the cost and time invested. Accordingly, we employed a strong cation exchanger using a pH-based, highly linear gradient elution mode following Protein L affinity purification and developed a robust two-step purification platform for an antibody fragment. The optimized pH gradient elution conditions were determined on the basis of purity level, yield, and the abundance of Fab-related impurities, particularly free light chain. The purified Fab molecule Ranibizumab possessed a high degree of similarity to its originator Lucentis. The developed purification platform highly intensified the process and provided successful clearance of formulated Fab- and process-related impurities (∼98 %) with an overall process recovery of 50 % and, thus, might be a new option for Fab purification for both academic and industrial purposes.

Preoperative Anxiety Levels in Surgical Patients: A Comparison of Three Different Scale Scores.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare Anxiety Specific to Surgery Questionnaire (ASSQ) with Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) in the assessment of preoperative anxiety level and to evaluate the fears associated with surgery and anesthesia in surgical patients. DESIGN: This is descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study. METHOD: The study sample included 507 surgical patients in four surgery wards who underwent elective surgery. All the data were collected using The Descriptive Characteristics and Clinical Information Form, STAI, APAIS and ASSQ. FINDINGS: A majority (70.8%) of the participants had fears associated with surgery and anesthesia and nearly half of them had a moderate level of preoperative anxiety. Anxiety prevalence was 46.4% according to the APAIS, 44.4% according to STAI and 49.3% according to ASSQ. Women, participants with no primary school education, participants undergoing major surgery and general anesthesia who did not have knowledge about the surgical procedure, and surgical complications had higher anxiety according to three scale scores. CONCLUSION: Nearly half of the participants had moderate/high preoperative anxiety, there were consistent results among the scales and the tools were interchangeable to evaluate the preoperative anxiety level in the surgical patients.

The Effect on Quality of Life and Body Image of Mastectomy Among Breast Cancer Survivors.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to determine effect on quality of life (QoL) and body image level following mastectomy among breast cancer (BC) survivors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive study was carried out between February 2015 and December 2016 with 57 women with modified radical mastectomy and who in stage II and stage III. Data were collected using the socio-demographic and body cathexis scale, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) to determine QoL. The study was carried out in home environment in which women lived. RESULTS: The average age of the women was 49.34 years (ranged 28-78 years). Most of the women had undergone mastectomy for more than 6 months.. Most of the women also received adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The study showed that the mean FACT-B total score of the women was 68.47 (SD=22.44), and the body image score was 121.61(SD=21.96). According to the results of linear regression analysis, except for the social/family well-being of FACT-B, positive correlations were calculated among the other sub-dimensions of FACT-B and the FACT-B total score and the body image total score respectively (ß=0.822, p=0.000). In the multiple linear regression model, there was medium correlation between education and work status with QoL, no correlation between QoL and other features of women. There was important positive relationship between body image with time after mastectomy and chemotherapy and no correlation between body image and other features of women. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that the mastectomy has a negative impact on body image and QoL of women and there was a strong positive correlation between body image and QoL.