Moderators of the intention-behaviour and perceived behavioural control-behaviour relationships for leisure-time physical activity

Background  

Intention is a key determinant of action. However, there is a gap between intention and behavioural performance that remains to be explained. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify moderators of the intention-behaviour and perceived behavioural control (PBC)- behaviour relationships for leisure-time physical activity.     

In vitro inhibition of histamine metabolism in guinea pig lung by S-(-)-nicotine

S-(-)-Nicotine competitively inhibits the metabolism of histamine to its N tau-methylated derivative in guinea pig lung homogenates. S-(-)-Nicotine exhibited a dissociation constant of the enzyme:inhibitor complex, Ki, of 9.4 X 10(-5) M compared with Km's for histamine and co-factor, S-adenosylmethionine, of 4.74 X 10(-5) M and 1.76 X 10(-5) M, respectively. This demonstrates the first reported involvement of nicotine in histaminergic mechanisms.     

Factors influencing intentions of pregnant women to exercise after giving birth

The aim of this study was to identify factors that may influence a pregnant woman's decision to exercise after giving birth. A sample of 98 pregnant women were asked to complete a questionnaire investigation attitudes, social norms, perceived barriers to exercise, and intention regarding exercising after giving birth. Also determined were age, education level, exercise habits, number of months elapsed since onset of present pregnancy, and number of children. The regressions of intentions to exercise on all variables yielded R2 of 0.52 for nulliparous and 0.60 for pluriparous pregnant women. Important differences in variables that explained intentions were found between both groups of women, with perceived barriers to exercise being a key predictor that was, in turn, influenced by previous experience with pregnancy. It is suggested that the experience of the postnatal period modifies the interrelation between the variables explaining intentions regarding exercise after giving birth. Consequently, the programs should take into account the impact that the birth of a first child will have on the perceived barriers to exercise.     

Comparative in vitro activity of three fluoroquinolones against clinical isolates by E test

The in vitro susceptibility of levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin against several gram-positive and gram-negative clinical isolates was tested by E test. We found that the MIC(50) and MIC(90) values against all members of the Enterobacteriaceae family except Serratia were <0.5 mg/l for ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin (MIC range 0.006-32 mg/l) based on the in vitro susceptibility data. The susceptibility rates for ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin were more than 85% for Escherichia coli, citrobacter, enterobacter cloacae, enterobacter aerogenes and Klebsiella pneumoniae, although Serratia and Acinetobacter exhibited more or less similar susceptibility rates (about 80%). Pseudomonas aeruginosa demonstrated significant resistance to fluoroquinolones (MIC(90) >32 mg/l) and decreased bactericidal rates (<65%) to levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Respiratory pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae were highly susceptible (100%) to levofloxacin and moxifloxacin. The ineffectiveness of fluoroquinolones for treating coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus was demonstrated by poor in vitro susceptibility rates with levofloxacin (52%) and moxifloxacin (57%). Coagulase-negative staphylococci demonstrated significantly decreased bactericidal rates to levofloxacin (21%), while the in vitro susceptibility to moxifloxacin was higher (66%) than that to levofloxacin. We propose that the beneficial effect of inclusion of any of these three fluoroquinolones in treating Enterococcus infections is marginal, as demonstrated by significantly reduced susceptibility rates (<32%). These data demonstrate the utility of fluoroquinoles to treat several gram-negative bacterial infections (with the exception of Acinetobacter and P. aeruginosa), as well as S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae.     

Understanding physical activity intentions among French Canadians with type 2 diabetes: an extension of Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour

Background  

Regular physical activity is considered a cornerstone for managing type 2 diabetes. However, in Canada, most individuals with type 2 diabetes do not meet national physical activity recommendations. When designing a theory-based intervention, one should first determine the key determinants of physical activity for this population. Unfortunately, there is a lack of information on this aspect among adults with type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to fill this gap using an extended version of Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as reference.     

Semi-automated quantification of filopodial dynamics

Cellular motility underlies critical physiological processes including embryogenesis, metastasis and wound healing. Nerve cells undergo cellular migration during development and also extend neuronal processes for long distances through a complex microenvironment to appropriately wire the nervous system. The growth cone is a highly dynamic structure that responds to extracellular cues by extending and retracting filopodia and lamellipodia to explore the microenvironment and to dictate the path and speed of process extension. Neuronal responses to a myriad of guidance cues have been studied biochemically, however, these approaches fail to capture critical spatio-temporal elements of growth cone dynamics. Live imaging of growth cones in culture has emerged as a powerful tool to study growth cone responses to guidance cues but the dynamic nature of the growth cone requires careful quantitative analysis. Space time kymographs have been developed as a tool to quantify lamellipodia dynamics in a semi-automated fashion but no such tools exist to analyze filopodial dynamics. In this work we present an algorithm to quantify filopodial dynamics from cultured neurons imaged by time-lapse fluorescence microscopy. The method is based on locating the end tips of filopodia and tracking their locations as if they were free-moving particles. The algorithm is a useful tool and should be broadly applicable to filopodial tracking from multiple cell types.     

Psychological adjustment of critically injured patients three months after an unexpected,potentially life‐threatening accident

? Cognitive processing and meaning theories suggest that a patient’s psychological adjustment following a traumatizing event depends on an ability to cognitively integrate the trauma event and restore a sense of meaning in life. These processes may be facilitated by using coping strategies such as sharing concerns, mobilizing support, and reframing. ? A correlational study explored the magnitude of the relationships between psychological adjustment, cognitive processing, sense of meaning, and coping strategies in critically injured patients 3 months after a potentially life‐threatening injury. ? Fifty‐one critically injured patients completed the Brief Symptom Inventory, Bradburn’s Psychological Well‐Being Scale, Impact of Events Scale, the Meaning‐of‐Illness Questionnaire, and Family Crisis‐Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale in face‐to‐face interviews 8–12 weeks after the accident. Bivariate and partial correlation coefficients were used to test the main hypothesis, and Pearson correlation coefficients, to address the three research questions. ? The main hypothesis that psychological adjustment will be significantly related to cognitive processing, sense of meaning, and use of coping strategies in critically injured patients 3 months after the accident was partially upheld. ? Depressive symptomatology was found to be significantly associated with increased cognitive processing efforts and a decreased ability to acknowledge the accident’s negative effects on the self. ? In contrast, psychological well‐being was found to be significantly associated with decreased cognitive processing efforts and an increased ability to acknowledge the accident’s negative effects on the self. ? Restoring a sense of meaning, however, was found to be unrelated to sharing concerns, mobilizing support and re‐framing. The potential theoretical and clinical implications of the findings for nursing practice are discussed.     

Standardization of assay methods reduces variability of total PSA measurements: an Irish study

Study Type – Diagnosis (quality control) Level of Evidence 2b What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Today, numerous assays for PSA detection are available from various manufacturers. However, these various assays do not detect PSA equally and several studies have demonstrated variability between them. In order to harmonise PSA results and reduce the discrepancies, reference materials are available for assay calibration. We have demonstrated significantly variability between 6 different assay methods currently in use in 9 hospitals despite assay calibration. Variability in PSA values was reduced with the standardisation of the assay method in 4 hospitals. Our results highlight the dilemma of PSA assay variability and stress the need for nationwide standardisation of PSA testing.

OBJECTIVE

• ? To determine whether standardization of total prostate‐specific antigen (tPSA) assay methods reduces variability in tPSA measurements.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

• ? Blood samples from 84 patients attending a single urology department were distributed across nine hospitals selected throughout Ireland for the independent determination of tPSA under the same conditions.
• ? The selected hospitals collectively used six different assay methods for tPSA detection: Beckman Hybritech WHO Calibrated (used as reference method), Tosoh AIA 1800, Roche E170 (used in three hospitals), Abbott AxSYM, Immulite 2500 2nd Generation (used in two hospitals) and Siemens ADVIA Centaur.
• ? The method of tPSA detection was next standardized in a subset of four hospitals using the same assay method and the measurements were repeated.
• ? The difference in mean tPSA in the cohort across the hospitals tested was determined and the Bland–Altman test was used to assess the agreement between each test. Analysis was performed over both the full (0.5–30 µg/L, N= 84) and a narrow (3–7 µg/L, n= 25) tPSA range.

RESULTS

• ? The range and the mean tPSA of the full cohort were inflated across the eight test hospitals, when compared with the reference hospital.
• ? The poorest agreement between assay methods was associated with a bias of 2.2 ± 2.4 µg/L. The variability in tPSA measurements between assay methods was inconsistent across the range of tPSA values tested and increased with increasing mean tPSA.
• ? Agreement in reported tPSA was excellent after standardization of tPSA assay methods (bias <0.2 µg/L).
• ? Over the narrow 3–7 µg/L PSA range, 12/25 (48%) patients had a tPSA range of values across all hospitals in excess of 2 µg/L. Following standardization of the tPSA assay method, patient tPSA ranges were <0.5 µg/L for 13/25 (52%) patients.

CONCLUSIONS

• ? We have shown that the lack of standardization of tPSA assay methods across a panel of Irish hospitals leads to significant variability in the measured tPSA values for the same patient samples.
• ? Variability in tPSA values was reduced with the standardization of the assay method in four hospitals.
• ? Standardization of PSA testing on a nationwide scale is warranted.