The implications of Project 2000 and the formation of links with higher education for the professional and academic needs of nurse teachers in the United Kingdom

A national study was conducted between 1991 and 1994 to explore and describe the changing role of the nurse teacher following the introduction of Project 2000 pre-registration nursing courses. Multiple methods were used to collect data from a wide variety of respondents (nurse teachers, midwife teachers, clinical nurses, health service managers and higher education lecturers). This paper presents the findings relating to the impact of Project 2000 and the move into higher education on the continuing educational needs of nurse teachers. Views on college strategies for staff development, the changing nature of teachers'academic and professional development needs and the problems of the conflicting demands experienced are reported. The research highlights the need for clinical credibility to be clearly defined in relation to nurse teachers and for educational institutions to place more emphasis on teachers'clinical development if the rhetoric of policy is to become a reality.     

Isometric muscle strength is an indicator of self-reported physical functional disability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The objective of our study was to examine (1) whether isometric muscle strength contributes to the explanation of the physical functional disability of a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient population after accounting for other disease parameters and demographic variables and (2) whether change in isometric muscle strength is an indicator of change in physical functional disability. Sixty-five consecutive patients fulfilling the American Rheumatism Association 1987 revised criteria for RA were included in the study. Isometric muscle strength was measured with a validated Muscle Strength Index (MSI) calculated as the mean score of standardized isometric extension and flexion strength of the knee and elbow joints. Physical functional disability was measured with the physical dimension of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). For 56 patients, we could obtain 1 yr follow-up data. Cross-sectionally, there was a significant correlation (r = - 0.51, P < 0.01) between the MSI and the HAQ. Muscle strength remained a significant determinant of the HAQ in multivariate analysis accounting for disease and demographic variables. Longitudinally, change in MSI explained additional variance of change in HAQ after accounting for change in pain, the most important correlate of change in HAQ.      

Postoperative radiotherapy for locally advanced colon cancer

Background: The role of adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy for locally advanced colon cancer is not well documented. Methods: Seventy-eight patients who underwent a complete resection of B2-C colon cancer received postoperative radiotherapy. Twenty-eight patients received ⩽45 Gy; 50 patients received 50–55 Gy. Twenty-seven patients received adjuvant fluorouracil-based chemotherapy. All patients were followed for a minimum of 3 years; no patients were lost to follow-up. Results: The overall local control rate was 88%. The 5-year actuarial rate of local control was 96% after 50–55 Gy postoperative radiotherapy compared with 76% after <50 Gy (p=0.0095). Multivariate analysis of local control showed that only radiotherapy dose significantly influenced this end point. Cause-specific survival rates at 5 years were B2, 67%; B3, 90%; C1, 100%; C2, 61%; C3, 36%; and overall, 63%. Multivariate analysis of cause-specific survival showed that only stage significantly influenced this end point. Bowel obstruction caused by adhesions developed in three patients and required a laparotomy; radiation-induced sarcoma developed in one additional patient. Conclusions: Postoperative radiotherapy appears to reduce the risk of local recurrence in patients with locally advanced colon cancer. The optimal dose is probably 50–55 Gy at 1.8 Gy per fraction. Postoperative radiotherapy may improve cause-specific survival for patients with stages B3 and C2 cancers.     

Nursing and substance misuse: responding to the challenge

The widespread use and misuse of alcohol, drug and other psychoactive substances are major health and social concerns that affect the lives of many The social and health sequelae of psychoactive drugs and alcohol are preventable and manageable with minimal interventions Nurses and other health workers can effectively respond to substance misuse problems and their existing generic skills can be easily adapted in working with substance misusers This paper considers some of the issues such as the extent of the problem, attitudinal considerations, response to substance misusers and a brief outline of the role of the nurse The urgent need for education and training in substance misuse and addictive behaviour for nurse practitioners is also addressed     

Ethanol-induced Changes in Morphology and Strength of Femurs of Rats

Chronic ingestion of ethanol resulted in ultrastructural and mechanical changes in rat femurs. Scanning electron microscopy of the distal end of the femur revealed that the trabeculae of bones from ethanol-fed rats were thinner, more columnar, and more extensive than those from control rats. Three-point bending tests of the rat femurs showed that the maximum force or so-called "strength" required to break the bone was less in ethanol- than in control-fed animals. A significant inverse correlation was observed between the strength required to break the femur and the dose of ethanol calculated on a body weight basis. For the first time our study presents quantitative proof that a relationship exists between bone strength and the consumption of ethanol in rats. The study revealed that ethanol consumption resulted in a weaker femur compared to controls. We suggest that a common mechanism may be responsible for the decreased bone strength of ethanol-fed rats and the increased incidence of fractures in human alcoholics.     

Social support,onset of depression and personality

Summary The effects of personality characteristics on social support and hence risk of depression are explored in a group of 150 largely working-class mothers, a subsample of 400 women who took part in a prospective study. This established that once those with depression at first interview were excluded, practically all of the onsets of depression in the follow-up year occurred among 150 women with a severe event or major difficulty — that is a provoking agent. It was also found that low self-esteem and lack of support from a core tie at the time of the crisis was associated with a considerably increased risk. In the subsample as a whole, measures of dependency and attitudinal constraints to support taken at first interview were not associated with risk of depression. But, it is argued, any enduring personality traits that play a role in the link between lack of support and depression would most likely be seen in a smaller group, namely those who had had early inadequate parenting. And the most promising lead concerning the role of personality characteristics did in fact emerge in relation to a small high risk group with such parenting. Most of them had low self-esteem, and they appeared to confide in inappropriate and unreliable sources of support at time of crisis.     

Measuring maternal mortality: An overview of opportunities and options for developing countries

Background  

There is currently an unprecedented expressed need and demand for estimates of maternal mortality in developing countries. This has been stimulated in part by the creation of a Millennium Development Goal that will be judged partly on the basis of reductions in maternal mortality by 2015.     

The effects of co-culture with human fibroblasts on human embryo development in vitro and implantation

In a human in-vitro fertilization (IVF) programme, the effect of co- culture of embryos with human fibroblasts was evaluated with respect to pregnancy rate and embryo development. Patients were included in the study after giving informed written consent. The IVF treatments were randomly assigned by stratification of both age (<36 versus > or =36 years) and previous IVF attempts (yes versus no). After fertilization was established, the zygotes were transferred to a 4-well dish with or without fibroblasts and cultured for 2 days. On the third day after ovum pick-up (OPU), cell number and quality [5 (good) to 1 (poor)] of the embryos were scored and a maximum of three embryos was transferred. Supernumerary embryos of good quality were cryopreserved. The design of this study was a group sequential trial with the objective of detecting differences between pregnancy rates following IVF with conventional incubation or incubation in co-culture with fibroblasts. This design included one evaluation at half-way data collection. In the study, 148 patients had an OPU, of whom 77 were allocated to the co-culture group. There was no statistically significant difference in pregnancy rate, cell number and embryo quality between the two groups. The ongoing pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was 27% in co-culture and 30% in the conventional culture group. The implantation rates per transferred embryo were 17 and 18% respectively. Using a multivariate logistic regression model for the probability of ongoing pregnancies, the odds ratio of co-culture, adjusted for age and previous IVF attempts, was not statistically significant. In conclusion, co-culture with human fibroblasts does not contribute to an improvement of embryo quality nor to a higher pregnancy rate after IVF in an unselected group of patients.      

Hydrosalpinges adversely affect markers of endometrial receptivity

While in-vitro fertilization (IVF) was initially developed in women with tubal factor infertility, recent clinical studies have suggested that the presence of hydrosalpinges lowers implantation and pregnancy rates. We postulated that these hydrosalpinges cause impaired endometrial receptivity. A total of 103 women with hydrosalpinges were prospectively evaluated, and compared with 55 infertile and 44 fertile controls. All women had endometrial biopsies during the window of implantation, analysed by conventional histological criteria, and also stained for three integrin markers of endometrial receptivity (alpha1beta1, alpha4beta1 and alpha vbeta3). Women with hydrosalpinges (cases) expressed significantly less of the alpha vbeta3 integrin compared with controls. There was no difference in expression of alpha1beta1 or alpha4beta1 among groups. A significantly greater number of cases had out of phase histology and missing alpha vbeta3 (type I defects) and absent integrin expression despite normal histological maturation (type II) defects, compared with controls. Of 20 women with impaired endometrial receptivity who were also biopsied after hydrosalpinx surgery, 70% demonstrated increased alpha vbeta3 expression. Seventy-seven percent of type I and 57% of type II defects were corrected postoperatively. Using markers of endometrial receptivity, this study demonstrates that inflammatory hydrosalpinges have an adverse effect on endometrial receptivity, which in some cases may be overcome by surgical treatment of the hydrosalpinx.