BackgroundThis study systematically reviewed the evidence on the influence of stigma and nihilism on lung cancer patterns of care; patients’ psychosocial and quality of life (QOL) outcomes; and how this may link to public health programs.MethodsMedline, EMBASE, ProQuest, CINAHL, PsycINFO databases were searched. Inclusion criteria were: included lung cancer patients and/or partners or caregivers and/or health professionals (either at least 80% of participants had lung cancer or were partners or caregivers of lung cancer patients, or there was a lung cancer specific sub-group focus or analysis), assessed stigma or nihilism with respect to lung cancer and published in English between 1st January 1999 and 31st January 2011. Trial quality and levels of evidence were assessed.ResultsEighteen articles describing 15 studies met inclusion criteria. The seven qualitative studies were high quality with regard to data collection, analysis and reporting; however most lacked a clear theoretical framework; did not address interviewer bias; or provide a rationale for sample size. The eight quantitative studies were generally of low quality with highly selected samples, non-comparable groups and low participation rates and employed divergent theoretical and measurement approaches. Stigma about lung cancer was reported by patients and health professionals and was related to poorer QOL and higher psychological distress in patients. Clear empirical explorations of nihilism were not evident. There is qualitative evidence that from the patients’ perspectives public health programs contribute to stigma about lung cancer and this was supported by published commentary.ConclusionsHealth-related stigma presents as a part of the lung cancer experience however there are clear limitations in the research to date. Future longitudinal and multi-level research is needed and this should be more clearly linked to relevant theory.

This normative data and the identification of suitable in vivo markers of pericytes and SMCs will allow meaningful interpretation of the changes in these cell types. When examining the role of mural cells in developmental and pathologic vascularization, the results show that there is a need to use multiple-marker immunohistochemistry because of significant mural cell heterogeneity. The observation that the expression of caldesmon and calponin in arteriolar SMCs coincides with resistance to hyperoxia in the developing rat retina, lead us to suggest that maturation of SMCs and their consequent ability to regulate blood flow may play a key role in vessel stabilization.

The presence of astrocyte precursor cells (APCs) and time course and topography of astrocyte differentiation during development were investigated by triple-label immunohistochemistry with intact fetal and adult human retinas. Throughout retinal development and adulthood, expression of Pax2 was restricted to cells of the astrocytic lineage. Three distinct stages of astrocytic differentiation were identified during development: i) Pax2+/vimentin+/GFAP- APCs; ii) Pax2+/vimentin+/GFAP+ immature perinatal astrocytes; and iii) Pax2+/vimentin-/GFAP+ mature perinatal astrocytes. In adult, cells with the antigenic phenotype of mature perinatal astrocytes were restricted to a region surrounding the optic nerve head (ONH), whereas cells at a fourth stage of differentiation, adult astrocytes (Pax2-/vimentin-/GFAP+), were apparent throughout the vascularized retina. APC appearance was centered around the ONH and preceded the appearance of perinatal astrocytes. A cluster of Pax2+ somas was also present in a small region surrounding the ONH at the ventricular surface of the developing retina, which suggests the existence of two distinct sites of astrocytic differentiation. The coincidence in the location of APCs and perinatal astrocytes at the ventricular zone with that of optic nerve colobomas, together with the association of Pax2 gene mutations with this condition, suggests that coloboma formation may result from impaired astrocyte differentiation during development.

The synthesis, characterization, and reversible guest-exchange chemistry of a new porous magnetic material that orders ferrimagnetically at 60.5 K are described. The material, Co(5)(OH)(8)(chdc).4H(2)O (chdc = trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate), contains tetrahedral-octahedral-tetrahedral Co(II)-hydroxide layers of composition Co((oct))(3)Co((tet))(2)(OH)(8) that are linked together by bis(unidentate) chdc pillars. Noncoordinated water molecules occupy 1-D channels situated between the chdc pillars. The material remains monocrystalline during dehydration from Co(5)(OH)(8)(chdc).4H(2)O (CDCC.4H(2)O) to Co(5)(OH)(8)(chdc) (CDCC) via an intermediate Co(5)(OH)(8)(chdc).2H(2)O (CDCC.2H(2)O) upon heating or evacuation. In-situ single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that the interlayer spacing decreases in two steps, each corresponding to the loss of two water molecules per formula unit as determined by thermogravimetry. The single crystal structure of the fully dehydrated material, CDCC, has no void volume due to a tilting of the pillars and 9% decrease of the interlayer spacing with water removal. Exposure of CDCC to air causes rapid rehydration of this material to CDCC.4H(2)O, as determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, and vibrational spectroscopy. Both the hydrated and dehydrated forms order magnetically below 60.5 K. The susceptibility data are consistent with ferrimagnetic behavior, and the value of the saturation magnetization at 2 K (ca. 2 micro(B)) is explained by a model of two sublattices, one comprising three octahedral cobalt atoms and another comprising two tetrahedral cobalt atoms. There is an enhanced 2-D correlation within the layer at temperatures just above the Curie temperature, as seen by nonlinearity in the ac susceptibility data and remanence in the isothermal magnetization. The crossover from 2-D to 3-D ordering occurs at T(C). The large anisotropy in the magnetization data on a single crystal suggests either a 2-D Ising or an XY magnet while the critical exponent of 0.25 is in favor of the latter. Both magnetization data in a small field in the ac and dc mode and isothermal magnetization data provide evidence of a further change in behavior at 23 K, which may originate from a reorientation of the moments within the layer. Variation of the pillar and of the guest-exchange chemistry, including the exchange of magnetic guests such as O(2), offers the possibility of tailoring the magnetic properties of this material.