Nurses' guide to the impact of alcohol on health and wellbeing

In this the second part of this series, the authors map the impact of alcohol on human health and social well-being. While historically nurses have thought of these matters as being distinct, they interact regularly and challenge health professionals in accident and emergency departments, the community and the mental health services. This article discusses how nurses can begin to determine when alcohol consumption has become 'too much'--threatening not only personal health but the well-being of others. The article then examines physical problems that follow alcohol abuse (e.g. brain and liver damage) as well as those associated with social dysfunction (e.g. accidents, aggression and violence).     

Part 3: Nurses' guide to alcohol and promoting healthy lifestyle changes

In this the third and final part, the focus is on the support and care of patients who are working towards a solution for their drink problem. While a number of treatment regimens exist for the management of alcohol abuse and there are well established groups to assist patients and their families, this article concentrates on three critical themes. The first concerns the promotion of insight. Only when the drink problem is understood by patients, carers and professionals alike, and shared in common terms, can rehabilitation begin to work. The second concerns communication channels. The propensity of some patients to deny their problem, or to lapse from therapy, makes communication especially challenging. While some patients are helped to overcome the risk of lapsing by being segregated from their usual community for some time (the clinic approach), many less well-resourced patients must tackle this problem from home and with the help of community-based practitioners. Finally, the interplay of treatment (detoxification) and psychological support is discussed, arguing that the nurse has an important part to play in motivating patients and helping them to solve problems as they arise.     

河北省4个地区广泛焦虑症的流行病学调查

目的:了解广泛焦虑症的患病率及人口学特点。方法:于2004-10/2005-03随机抽取河北省邯郸、保定、秦皇岛、承德4个地级市18岁以上人口进行全省精神疾病流行病学现场抽样调查工作,总样本24000人。调查筛选工具采用改编后的一般健康问卷12项,以《DSM-Ⅳ-TR轴Ⅰ障碍定式临床检查》病人版为调查的诊断工具。根据被调查者一般健康问卷12项总分,把被调查者分为高危人群、中危人群、低危人群3类。根据预试验调查结果确定三段危险人群的分界分:总分≥4分属于高危人群,高危人群全部进行DSM-Ⅳ-TR轴Ⅰ障碍定式临床检查;总分为2分或3分即属中危人群,中危人群约40%需进行DSM-Ⅳ-TR轴Ⅰ障碍定式临床检查,总分为0分或1分即属低危人群,低危人群中10%需进行DSM-Ⅳ-TR轴Ⅰ障碍定式临床检查。改编后的一般健康问卷12项分数及内容不变,另外增加8个问题均为高危因素,并进行DSM-Ⅳ-TR轴Ⅰ障碍定式临床检查。结果:①实际完成调查20716人,其中男10343人(49.9%),女10373人(50.1%)。共诊断焦虑症患者127例。②按高中低危因素调整后时点患病率为7.69/1000(95%CI6.50/1000～8.88/1000)。城市患病率4.87/1000,农村患病率8.10/1000,两者差异无显著性意义(u=1.78,P>0.05)。女性患病率明显高于男性,差异有显著性意义(分别为10.42/1000,4.97/1000,u=4.49,P<0.01),男女患病率比例为1:2.10。按不同年龄阶段的人口计算出各年龄段的时点患病率,20～29岁患病率较低(3.17/1000),50～59岁患病率较高(15.56/1000)。③通过12个因素的Logistic回归分析发现,影响广泛焦虑症的危险因素有年龄50～59岁(OR=1.713);保护性因素男性(OR=0.431),年龄20～29岁(OR=0.393),收入10001～20000元(OR=0.568),收入20001～40000元(OR=0.117)。结论:广泛焦虑症的流行病学特征为女性、中老年人患病率较高,男性、青年、收入中等者患病率较低。     

Identification of normal human peripheral blood monocytes and liver as sites of synthesis of coagulation factor XIII a-chain

Factor XIII is the fibrin-stabilizing factor that covalently cross- links fibrin monomers to form a highly organized, stable fibrin clot. The plasma form of factor XIII is a heterodimer, a2b2, consisting of two a-chains and two b-chains; the intracellular form, such as in platelets and placenta, is a dimer, a2, consisting of a-chains only. The catalytic function of factor XIII, a transglutaminase, resides in the a-chain. To address questions regarding sites of synthesis of factor XIII a-chain, an EcoRI restriction fragment from the protein- coding region of the factor XIII a-chain cDNA was used as a probe for Northern blot analysis. The cDNA probe showed hybridization with a single approximately 4.0-kilobase (kb) message in poly (A)+ mRNA prepared from normal human peripheral blood monocytes and normal human liver. The results demonstrate conclusively that factor XIII a-chains are actively synthesized in circulating monocytes and in liver. To our knowledge, these data represent the first demonstration of synthesis of any blood coagulation factor in primary uncultured and unstimulated monocytes or macrophage cells.     

Cancer stem cell markers in breast cancer: pathological, clinical and prognostic significance

Introduction  

The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis states that tumours consist of a cellular hierarchy with CSCs at the apex driving tumour recurrence and metastasis. Hence, CSCs are potentially of profound clinical importance. We set out to establish the clinical relevance of breast CSC markers by profiling a large cohort of breast tumours in tissue microarrays (TMAs) using immunohistochemistry (IHC).     

Radical Scavenging Activity of Selected Medicinal Plants From Limpopo Province of South Africa

Plants collected from Limpopo province of South Africa were investigated for their antioxidative potential using the DPPH radical scavenging assay. Acetone extracts of Flueggea virosa had the highest antioxidant activity with an IC₅₀ value of 30 µg/ml, closely matching the ascorbic acid with an IC₅₀ value of 25 µg/ml. The lowest antioxidant readings were observed with extracts of Rhynchosia venulosa (root extract) and Ficus ingens (leaf extract). Acetone extract of Bridelia virosa leaves had the highest phenolic content (156 mg GAE/g extract), while the lowest content was recorded for R. venulosa root extract and leaf extract of F. ingens (8.3 and 17.7 mg GAE/g extract, respectively). There was a linear correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. Extracts with high phenolic content had low IC₅₀ values, while extracts with low phenolic concentrations had high IC₅₀ values.     

Antimycobacterial Evaluation of Fifteen Medicinal Plants in South Africa

Fifteen plant species were collected from the Nelspruit Botanical Garden based on a list of plants provided by Phytomedicine Programme at the University of Pretoria and their ethnopharmacological information. Hexane, dichloromethane (DCM), acetone and methanolic extracts were screened for antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis. The acetone extract of Milletia stulhimannii was the most active, showing activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.13 mg/ml. Acetone extracts for all plants had lower MIC values ranging between 0.11–1.25 mg/ml against M. smegmatis. Milletia stulhimannii, Albizia gummifera, Xanthocercis zambesiaca and Barringtonia racemosa have shown great potential as anti-tuberculosis agents. They were active against M. smegmatis with average MIC values of acetone extracts of 0.13 mg/ml.