Invest in yourself: the Internet: uses in administrative research and practice

There have been marked movements toward using the Internet in research and practice. No administration today can ignore the Internet either in research or practice. This method has replaced the traditional ways of collecting data and retrieving information. The use of the Internet for data collection and in practice has advantages and disadvantages; however, some researchers and practitioners have to take the lead in using such methodology, since it is a promising means for administrative and nursing research as well as nursing practice.     

Disasters and development: Part 3: Assessing trade-offs in investing in vulnerability reduction

This lesson describes how a government decides whether and how much it should spend on vulnerability reduction. There are techniques and methods by which decision-makers compare development alternatives. The differences between the risk that a potentially catastrophic event will occur and uncertainty are described, with uncertainty providing greater difficulty in economic analyses. There is a range of methods for identifying the complex mix of competing costs and benefits associated with any restructuring of investment priorities to accomplish disaster mitigation. The possibilities are described in terms of the opportunity costs and present value. Impact and consequent losses include: (1) direct monetary effects; (2) indirect monetary effects; (3) direct, non-monetary effects; (4) indirect, non-monetary effects; and (5) loss of non-renewable natural resources. The difficulties in assigning values to these effects are described, as well as the means of judging the cost-effectiveness of such interventions. An advantage of screening projects using a framework of analytical methods is that it can assist in focusing on a variety of possible outcomes and make the factors influencing these outcomes quite explicit.     

Fluconazole and testosterone: in vivo and in vitro studies.

Fluconazole (UK-49,858), a novel bis-triazole antifungal agent, was given orally to groups of 10 male volunteers at doses of 25 and 50 mg/day for 28 days. Blood samples for testosterone estimation were taken from these and from a placebo group at several time points on days 1, 14, and 28 of the study, and the assay results demonstrated that the compound had no significant effect on circulating testosterone levels. Similarly, in studies with rat Leydig cells in vitro, fluconazole at concentrations up to 10 micrograms/ml was found to be only a weak inhibitor of testosterone production, whereas ketoconazole caused more than 50% inhibition at 0.1 microgram/ml. It is concluded that fluconazole, in contrast to ketoconazole, has little effect on the biosynthesis of testosterone by mammalian cells.     

Biologics in asthma: difficulties and drawbacks

Background: Biologics have become an increasingly important class of therapeutic compounds in a variety of immune and/or inflammatory diseases. Patients with severe uncontrolled asthma represent a significant unmet need. Methods: This review gives some examples of the complex use of biologics in asthma. Results/Conclusions: It is very difficult to predict the efficacy of biologics in severe asthma and only one monoclonal antibody to date has been found to be effective and approved by both the FDA and European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the treatment of difficult allergic asthma. New pathways may prove to be of importance for the development of biologics. Biologics are not devoid of side effects, which can, although not always, be predicted from their mechanism of action. These include hypersensivity reactions, which need to be better understood to prevent and control them. Finally, biologics should be cost-effective. This review gives some examples of the complex use of biologics in asthma.     

Nursing and respiratory: partners in care

Learn about RCP licensure and nursing's support of this process, as well as the clinical advancements, new and altered procedures, and novel applications of drugs and devices in respiratory care.     

Hypercholesterolemia in children: risk and management

Hypercholesterolemia in children is currently a controversial issue. Screening and management recommendations are inconsistent due to the lack of longitudinal data currently available to support specific long-term interventions. Children who are generally at risk and the options for management are discussed.     

Racial differences in oxidative stress and inflammation: in vitro and in vivo

African American race is an independent risk factor for enhanced oxidative stress and inflammation. We sought to examine whether oxidative-stress and inflammatory markers that are typically measured in humans also differ by race in cell culture. We compared levels between African American and Caucasian young adults and then separately in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) from both races. We found heightened oxidative stress and inflammation in the African Americans both in vitro and in vivo. African American HUVECs showed higher nitric oxide (NO) levels (10.8 ± 0.4 vs. 8.8 ± 0.7 μmol/L/mg, p = 0.03), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels (61.7 ± 4.2 vs. 23.9 ± 9.0 pg/mg, p = 0.02), and lower superoxide dismutase activity (15.6 ± 3.3 vs. 25.4 ± 2.8 U/mg, p = 0.04), and also higher protein expression (p < 0.05) of NADPH oxidase subunit p47phox, isoforms NOX2 and NOX4, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS), inducible NOS, as well as IL-6. African American adults had higher plasma protein carbonyls (1.1 ± 0.1 vs. 0.8 ± 0.1 nmol/mg, p = 0.01) and antioxidant capacity (2.3 ± 0.2 vs. 1.1 ± 0.3 mM, p = 0.01). These preliminary translational data demonstrate a racial difference in HUVECs much like that in humans, but should be interpreted with caution given its preliminary nature. It is known that racial differences exist in how humans respond to development and progression of disease, therefore these data suggest that ethnicity of cell model may be important to consider with in vitro clinical research.     

Respiration in tetraplegia and in hemiplegia: A review

Impairment of respiratory function is one of the most serious complications of both complete cervical cord injury and stroke with hemiplcgia. This review updates the information first gathered 15 years ago. The overall improvement in prognosis is documented and the methods of treatment, including diaphragmatic pacing and physiotherapy are discussed.