Testing the Senior Exercise Self-efficacy Project (SESEP) for use with urban dwelling minority older adults

ABSTRACT Objectives: To test the feasibility and effectiveness of the Senior Exercise Self-efficacy Project (SESEP).
Design: A feasibility study using a randomized control trial.
Sample: The total sample included 166 persons, with a mean age of 73 years ( SD =8.2 years), the majority of whom were female (81%), African American (72%), unmarried (86%), had at least a high school education (64%), and were retired (77%). There were 100 participants in the intervention group and 66 in the comparison group.
Methods: The SESEP was a combined physical activity and efficacy-enhancing intervention for community-dwelling minority older adults. The primary outcomes included self-efficacy, outcome expectations, exercise, and overall physical activity, and the secondary outcomes were mental and physical health-related quality of life, depressive symptoms, pain, fear of falling, mobility, and chair rise time. Data were collected at baseline and following the 12-week intervention.
Results: There were statistically significant improvements in outcome expectations ( p =.02), time spent in exercise ( p =.04), and depressive symptoms ( p =.02). Overall, there was a 77% rate of participation in classes.
Conclusion: Although there was good participation in the SESEP among minority older adults, the primary outcomes were only minimally supported and there was even less support for the secondary outcomes.     

Shock waves activate in vitro cultured progenitors and precursors of cardiac cell lineages from the human heart

Postischemic cardiomyopathy remains one of the disorders in urgent need of effective noninvasive therapy. It is currently accepted that the isolation, expansion and application of resident cardiac stem cells may hold therapeutic promise for the future. Recently, it has been demonstrated that shock waves (SW) could enhance the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor, Flt-1. As the development of angiogenic noninvasive therapy is very important for future therapeutic strategies in cardiovascular diseases, we examined in vitro, the effects of SW treatment on adult resident cardiac primitive cells isolated from bioptic fragments of normal human hearts and from explanted pathologic hearts with postischemic cardiomyopathy. This study demonstrates that SW have positive influence on both the proliferation and the differentiation of cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle and endothelial cells precursors, with a more obvious effect being evident in the cells from normal heart than in those taken from pathologic hearts. Our results suggest that SW treatment could inhibit or retard the pathologic remodeling and functional degradation of the heart if applied during the early stages of heart failure.     

Trauma Care and Managing the Injured Pregnant Patient

Trauma is the leading cause of maternal death in the United States. Nurses must optimize the well-being of 2 patients in the pregnant trauma patient. Rapid assessment, initiating immediate interventions for life-threatening injuries, and transport to a trauma center are critical to optimize maternal and fetal outcome. Understanding these factors can facilitate an effective resuscitation and optimize the outcome for both mother and baby.