Menopausal women: perceiving continuous power through the experience of regular exercise

Background. Menopausal women are at high risk for cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis. However, for so long, women have devoted much of their time and energy to family, children, and work such that they could not regularly exercise. There are few studies addressing the experiences of Taiwanese women who regularly exercise. Objectives. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of regularly exercising, defined as thoughts or actions by menopausal women who did not regularly exercise before menopause, but who now exercise regularly. Design. A grounded theory research design was used. Methods. In‐depth interviews were undertaken with a purposive sampling of 12 menopausal women who began to do regular exercises after menopause and who have continued exercising for more than 6 months. The constant comparative method was used to analyse the interview data. Results. ‘Perceiving Continuous Power’ was the core category during the process of regularly exercising. Every participating woman perceived that her body and mind were filled with continuous power including the subcategories of ‘Overcoming the initial discomfort’, ‘Experiencing Benefits to Body and Mind’ and ‘Broadening’ during the process. ‘Awareness of Health Crisis’, which included the subcategories of ‘Cureless Chronic Disease’, ‘Mood Swings’, and ‘Conflict on Medication’, was identified as occurring when these women first began regularly exercising. Throughout the process of perceiving continuous power, women experienced the following interactive behaviour categories: ‘Exercise Selection’ with subcategories of ‘Self‐Evaluation’, ‘Seeking and Fitting’, ‘Comparing’ and ‘Health Becoming’ with the subcategories of ‘Releasing Health Crisis’, ‘Regaining Flowering Life’, and ‘Self‐Fulfilling’. Conclusions. Regular exercises provided continuous power for menopausal women. Relevance to clinical practice. The experiences with exercise we uncovered in this study can provide a reference for nurses to guide menopausal women with their regular exercise plans.     

Lower limb wrapping prevents hypotension, but not hypothermia or shivering, after the introduction of epidural anesthesia for cesarean delivery

The decrease of arterial blood pressure and body temperature after epidural or spinal anesthesia is thought to be the result of sympathetic block, which could cause pooling and redistribution of blood into the lower extremities. Studies have demonstrated that leg wrapping with elastic bandages may reduce the incidence of hypotension after spinal anesthesia. We tried to extend these previous observations to epidural anesthesia by testing the hypothesis that leg wrapping with elastic bandages should decrease the incidence of hypotension in patients receiving epidural anesthesia. Moreover, we evaluated the effect of this maneuver as regards hypothermia and shivering. Sixty parturients were randomly allocated to receive either leg wrapping with tight elastic bandages (leg-wrapped group) or not (control group) before anesthesia. Sublingual temperature was observed at five periods: baseline, immediately after epidural anesthesia, abdominal skin disinfection, skin incision, and delivery. Hypotension and shivering during the observation periods were also recorded. The incidence of hypotension was significantly less frequent (P = 0.03) in the leg-wrapped group (23%) compared with the control group (50%). Shivering incidences were similar in both groups (70% versus 70%). Sublingual temperature decreased significantly (P < 0.001) throughout the procedure in each group. However, no differences were found between the two groups at each designated observation, even if compared by the magnitude of temperature decrease. We conclude that although leg wrapping with elastic bandages prevents maternal hypotension after epidural anesthesia, it does not reduce the incidence or magnitude of hypothermia or prevent shivering.     

Immortalization and characterization of human myometrial cells from term-pregnant patients using a telomerase expression vector

An examination of cellular processes involved in myometrial function has been greatly assisted by the use of human myometrial cells in primary culture. However, these cells can be used only for several passages before they senesce, and responses to various agents change with time in culture. The use of transformed cells is limited, as they can be polynucleated and can lose or gain chromosomes. We have developed three telomerase-immortalized cell lines from term-pregnant human myometrium to eliminate variability between passage numbers and allow genetic manipulations of myometrial cells to fully characterize signal pathways. These cells have a normal karyotype and were verified to be uterine smooth muscle by immunocytochemical staining for smooth muscle cell-specific alpha-actin and high affinity oxytocin antagonist binding sites. The three cell lines and the cells in primary culture from which they were derived were examined by cDNA microarray analysis. Of >10 000 expressed genes, there were consistent changes in the expression of approximately 1% in the three immortalized cell lines. We were unable to detect any significant differences between primary and immortalized cells in signal pathways such as epidermal growth factor-stimulated epidermal growth factor receptor phosphorylation, insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation, oxytocin and lysophosphatidic acid-stimulated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 phosphorylation, myosin light chain phosphorylation, and interleukin-1 induction of IkappaBalpha degradation. The immortalized cells should be useful for a range of studies, including high throughput analyses of the effects of environmental agents on the human myometrium.     

Alternate forms of health attitude scale

OBJECTIVES: To develop valid and reliable alternate forms to measure college students' attitudes toward health. METHODS: Final scale, composed of 2 different but equivalent 15-item forms, was administered to 2 sets of college students. The mixed format of 30 items was administered to one sample of college students whereas a pre-post format was administered to another set of students. RESULTS: Item analysis showed adequate internal consistency of each subscale for both forms. Equivalent form reliability coefficients were .91 and .88. Factor analyses confirmed the 3 underlying constructs of the scale. CONCLUSIONS: Statistical analyses demonstrated the comparability of the alternate forms.     

Hematologic problems in immigrants from Southeast Asia

An increasing number of Southeast Asian immigrants have come to North America. Physicians who care for this population should be aware of the high prevalence of hematologic disorders and develop an approach to their diagnosis and management. Malaria and the hematologic sequelae, glucose-6-phophate dehydrogenase deficiency, the thalassemia syndromes, Southeast Asian ovalocytosis, visceral leishmaniasis, HIV infection, and iron-deficiency anemia, all of which may pertain to these patients, are reviewed in this article.     

c-Jun N-terminal kinase and, to a lesser extent, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase regulate inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in hyaluronan fragments-stimulated BV-2 microglia

Lower molecular weight of hyaluronan (HA) fragments are capable of activating macrophages to express a number of inflammatory mediators through the interaction with the HA receptor CD44. Recent evidence has demonstrated that concomitant induction of CD44 and HA synthase 2 (HAS-2) mRNA in microglia of the ischemic brain. However, the influence of HA fragments on the activation of microglia is poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that HA fragments induced inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression in BV-2 microglia in a dose-dependent manner and was synergized with interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). Moreover, HA fragments could induce the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/ERK2), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in a time and dose-dependent fashion. The HA fragments-induced iNOS expression was suppressed by the selective inhibitors of JNK and, to a lesser extent, p38 MAPK. These results suggest that the induction of iNOS by HA fragments is significantly dependent on JNK than on p38 MAPK signaling pathways and support the hypothesis that HA fragments may be an important regulator in the activation of microglia at sites of ischemic brain.     

A kinetic study of the murine mixed lymphocyte reaction by 5,6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester labeling

Alternatives to the use of radioisotopes to measure cell proliferation in mixed lymphocyte reactions (MLR) are desirable to avoid the hazards and costs associated with radioisotope use. The versatile fluorochrome 5,6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE) has been used to measure MLR and provides the opportunity to measure several different growth parameters. This study was aimed at determining which growth parameter is most practical and suitable for measuring murine MLR. The parameters measured were: the relative number of daughter T-cells, the relative number and frequency of reactive T-cell precursors and the relative number of mitotic events. Responder cells were CFSE-labeled unfractionated splenocytes from C57BL/6 mice. Stimulator cells included irradiated splenocytes from C57BL/6 (control), B6D2F(1) (haplo-allogeneic) or FVB/N (allogeneic) mice. Cultures were harvested daily for 1 week. Stimulator T-cells rapidly declined to less than 0.2-0.3% of the mixed population by day 2 of culture. Experimental groups had a significantly higher number of daughter T-cells and mitotic events after 2 days of culture with the number of daughter T-cells climbing exponentially after 5 days of culture. The number and frequency of reactive T-cell precursors were significantly higher in experimental groups on days 2-3, but this difference became insignificant by day 4. Among all the parameters, the relative number of daughter T-cells was the most practical for measuring MLR, after 5 days of culture, based upon the growth kinetics of responder T-cells and the survival of the stimulator cells.     

One-stage reconstruction of soft tissue and Achilles tendon defects using a composite free anterolateral thigh flap with vascularized fascia lata: clinical experience and functional assessment

The combined loss of the Achilles tendon with overlying soft tissue is a reconstructive challenge. To achieve acceptable rehabilitation, such patients need skin coverage including functional repair of the Achilles tendon. This article presents four such patients who were treated successfully by means of an anterolateral thigh (ALT) composite flap with vascularized fascia lata. The size of the ALT flaps ranged from 10 to 16 cm in length and 6 to 9 cm in width. All flaps included vascularized fascia lata, which was rolled to serve as vascularized tendon graft (range 8 x 6 cm to 10 x 8 cm) for reconstruction of the Achilles tendon defect. Flap success rate was 100%. All patients could walk and climb stairs without support; however, mild difficulty when running was reported. Functional outcome of the recipient ankle and donor thigh morbidity were investigated by using a kinetic dynamometer comparing reconstructed sides with the healthy contralateral limbs. This assessment was performed in two patients at 2 years postoperatively. In the reconstructed ankles, isokinetic concentric measurements of dorsiflexion and plantar flexion showed a deficit of 30% and 40%, respectively. Functional evaluation of quadriceps femoris muscle contraction forces after free ALT composite flap harvest showed a 10% to 25% deficit. However, there were no difficulties in daily ambulating. In summary, the free composite ALT flap with vascularized fascia lata provides an alternative option for Achilles tendon reconstruction in complex defects.     

Free anterolateral thigh perforator flap for reconstruction of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa-associated squamous cell carcinoma in the foot: case report

The authors present a patient with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa-associated squamous cell carcinoma in the foot. The patient underwent successful reconstruction with a free anterolateral thigh flap based on a perforator with minimal donor site morbidity.