Early Neurodegeneration after Hypoxia-Ischemia in Neonatal Rat Is Necrosis while Delayed Neuronal Death Is Apoptosis

We used silver staining to demonstrate neuronal cell body, axonal, and terminal degeneration in brains from p7 rat pups recovered for 0, 1.5, 3, 6, 24, 48, 72 h, and 6 days following hypoxia-ischemia. We found that initial injury is evident in ipsilateral forebrain by 3 h following hypoxia-ischemia, while injury in ventral basal thalamus develops at 24 h. A secondary phase of injury occurs at 48 h in ipsilateral cortex, but not until 6 days in basal ganglia. Initial injury in striatum and cortex is necrosis, but in thalamus the neurodegeneration is primarily apoptosis. Degeneration also occurs in bilateral white matter tracts, and in synaptic terminal fields associated with apoptosis in regions remote from the primary injury. These results show that hypoxia-ischemia in the developing brain causes both early and delayed neurodegeneration in specific systems in which the morphology of neuronal death is determined by time, region, and potentially by patterns of neuronal connectivity.     

The changing nature of fatherhood: the nurse and social policy

Fathers, fathering and fatherhood are topics which receive little attention throughout the world's professional literature. Only recently has there been increased interest and research on the changing roles of men with particular emphasis on nurturing and parenting. A body of knowledge has started to accumulate which investigates the role of fathers with their families. The purpose of this article is to summarize the research literature about fatherhood in the United States of America today and to discuss the implications of this research for the practice of nursing. This analysis synthesizes the literature using two different perspectives. The developmental perspective traces the role of fathers from family planning through the family life cycle to grandfatherhood. The social contextual perspective summarizes the literature related to fathers for three common variations in society today: single custodial fathers, fathers in dual earner families, and adolescent fathers. Lastly, implications for nursing practice and social policy are discussed.     

An Assessment of Arab American Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs about AIDS

An important component of an effective AIDS prevention program is the dissemination of relevant information concerning AIDS risk behaviors. The purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of 411 randomly selected Arab Americans. The results indicate a low level of self-assessed knowledge about AIDS, a high number of misconceptions about the transmission of HIV, and a high level of anxiety about HIV infection .