Nurse Migration from a Source Country Perspective: Philippine Country Case Study

Objectives. To describe nurse migration patterns in the Philippines and their benefits and costs.
Principal Findings. The Philippines is a job-scarce environment and, even for those with jobs in the health care sector, poor working conditions often motivate nurses to seek employment overseas. The country has also become dependent on labor migration to ease the tight domestic labor market. National opinion has generally focused on the improved quality of life for individual migrants and their families, and on the benefits of remittances to the nation. However, a shortage of highly skilled nurses and the massive retraining of physicians to become nurses elsewhere has created severe problems for the Filipino health system, including the closure of many hospitals. As a result, policy makers are debating the need for new policies to manage migration such that benefits are also returned to the educational institutions and hospitals that are producing the emigrant nurses.
Conclusions and Recommendations. There is new interest in the Philippines in identifying ways to mitigate the costs to the health system of nurse emigration. Many of the policy options being debated involve collaboration with those countries recruiting Filipino nurses. Bilateral agreements are essential for managing migration in such a way that both sending and receiving countries derive benefit from the exchange.     

Inhaled allergen-driven CD1c up-regulation and enhanced antigen uptake by activated human respiratory-tract dendritic cells in atopic asthma

Background Dendritic cells (DC) mediate inflammation in rodent models of allergic airway disease, but the role played by human respiratory‐tract DC (hRTDC) in atopic asthma remains poorly defined. Recent data suggest that CD1 antigen presentation by hRTDC may contribute to asthma pathogenesis. Objective To investigate the influence of hRTDC on the balance between atopy and allergic asthma in human subjects and to determine whether CD1 expression by hRTDC is modulated during asthmatic inflammation. Methods Sputum cells were induced from steroid‐naïve, allergen‐challenged and allergen‐naïve subjects (atopic asthmatics, atopic non‐asthmatics and non‐atopic controls). hRTDC were identified using monoclonal antibody labelling and analysis by flow cytometry. Results hRTDC stained HLA‐DR⁺ (negative for markers of other cell lineages) were predominantly myeloid and comprised ∼0.5% of viable sputum cells. Sputum cells were potent stimulators of allogeneic CD4⁺ naïve T cells and enrichment/depletion experiments correlated stimulatory potency with DC numbers. Sputum contained cells that exhibited typical dendritic morphology when analysed by electron microscopy. Myeloid hRTDC were endocytically active, but uptake of FITC‐dextran was enhanced in cells from asthmatics (P<0.001). Despite their increased endocytic capacity, asthmatic myeloid hRTDC appeared mature and expressed increased levels of maturation markers (P<0.05–P<0.001), CD1c, CD1d and langerin (P<0.05). CD1c expression by asthmatic myeloid hRTDC was enhanced upon in vivo allergen challenge (three to ninefold within 24 h; P<0.05). CD11c⁻CD123^high hRTDC were only detected in asthmatic sputum and were increased in number following allergen challenge. Conclusion Despite limited cell numbers, it proved possible to analyse human RTDC in induced sputum, providing evidence that increased antigen uptake and enhanced CD1 presentation by activated hRTDC may contribute to allergic airway disease. CD1 presentation by hRTDC in atopic asthma may therefore constitute a novel target for future intervention strategies.     

刺梨酸的分离与结构研究

从刺梨中分离出一种新的五环三萜酸,命名为刺梨酸。通过光谱分析和衍生物的制备,确定其化学结构为2β,3α,7β,19α-四羟基乌苏-12-烯-28-羧酸。     

Working With Human Research Protections

PURPOSE: To provide a primer for novice nurse scientists about the increasingly regulated human research environment. ORGANIZING CONSTRUCTS: Federal regulations and international guidelines about protection of human research participants are discussed, with particular attention to institutional review boards for human research. CONCLUSION: Understanding the processes used by institutional review boards to foster ethical human research promotes collaborative interactions and supports compliant research work.     

超声介导上调Smad7表达对腹膜炎大鼠腹膜炎症和功能的影响

目的 通过基因转染的方法上调Smad7在大鼠腹膜组织的表达，旨在探讨Smad7的高表达对大鼠腹膜炎模型的炎症反应和腹膜功能的影响。方法 Ⅱ级雄性SD大鼠18只随机分入正常组、对照组和模型组，后两组分别给予空载体和Smad7质粒转染，72 h后腹腔内注射大肠杆菌(E.Coli, ATCC 25922) 10⁹ CFU/kg体重诱导腹膜炎，在48 h后做腹膜功能试验并杀检大鼠。检测腹水及血白细胞计数、腹水细菌菌落计数。间接免疫荧光检测Smad7和CD45在腹膜组织的表达。Western印迹检测腹膜组织Smad7蛋白的表达。应用SPSS 11.0统计软件对腹膜功能与腹水白细胞数和细菌菌落数进行Pearson多元线性相关分析。 结果 与空载体组比较，Smad7转基因组大鼠腹膜组织Smad7的表达、腹水白细胞计数和腹膜组织浸润的白细胞数均显著增加，但腹水细菌菌落计数显著降低、腹膜功能显著恶化。相关分析显示腹膜功能的恶化与腹水白细胞计数相关而与腹水细菌菌落计数无相关。结论 Smad7在大鼠腹膜组织的高表达增强了腹膜局部的炎症反应，而过强的炎症反应导致腹膜功能进一步受损。     

The nocturnal jejunal migrating motor complex: defining normal ranges by study of 51 healthy adult volunteers and meta-analysis

Interdigestive human small bowel motility is characterized by the migrating motor complex (MMC). The aims of this study were to: (i) establish the normal range of variables of the nocturnal jejunal MMC and (ii) incorporate these data in a subsequent meta-analysis. Eighty-one recordings were performed by prolonged (24 h) ambulatory manometry in 51 subjects in two centres. Quantitative analysis was undertaken of 419 Phase III and 332 Phase II episodes. Adjusted mean values of seven variables were calculated using a mixed-effects model. Meta-analysis of pooled published data to generate a reliable 95% reference range was also performed. Adjusted mean values and confidence intervals are presented for all seven variables. Intrasubject variances were large in comparison with intersubject. Meta-analysis of 19 studies (356 pooled patients) meeting inclusion criteria produced wide reference ranges. At least five such ranges are useful for the detection of abnormality in the individual. This is the largest study of normal volunteers presented to date, with ranges for many variables produced using appropriate statistical methodology. A model for definition of abnormality has been proposed. We recommend that these data may be used by investigators in this field as a complement to other existing indicators of small bowel dysmotility.     

Screening for major depression in persons with HIV infection: the concurrent predictive validity of the Profile of Mood States Depression‐Dejection Scale

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is among the most prevalent but underdiagnosed psychiatric disorders in persons with HIV infection. Given the known adverse impact of comorbid MDD on HIV disease progression and health‐related quality of life, it is important both for research and for efficient, effective clinical care, to validate existing screening measures that may discriminate between MDD and the somatic symptoms of HIV (such as fatigue). In the current study, we evaluated the concurrent predictive validity of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) Depression‐Dejection scale in detecting current MDD in 310 persons with HIV infection. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV (SCID) diagnosis of MDD and the Cognitive‐Affective scale from the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI‐CA) served as comparative diagnostic and severity measures of depression, respectively. Results demonstrated that the POMS Depression‐Dejection scale accurately classified persons with and without MDD SCID diagnoses, with an overall hit rate of 80%, sensitivity of 55%, specificity of 84%, and negative predictive power of 91% using a recommended cutpoint of 1.5 standard deviations above the normative mean. Moreover, the POMS performed comparably to the BDI‐CA in classifying MDD. Findings support the predictive validity of the POMS Depression‐Dejection scale as a screening instrument for MDD in persons with HIV disease. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

首例中国可视化人体心脏三维重建及临床意义

目的 对首例中国数字化可视人体的心脏进行三维重建，为心脏疾病的影像学诊断和外科手术提供三维解剖学依据。方法 将首例中国数字化可视人体心脏部分的薄层断面(层厚1．0mm)输入SGI工作站，经数据分割、对位重建、平滑处理和三维显示等步骤，完成对心脏结构的三维重建。结果 本研究完整地重建出了心脏结构，重建的结构能够以多结构、多彩色实体模型方式显示，可显示心脏内部各结构的空间位置和毗邻关系，可在三维空间伴置上绕任意轴旋转任意角度。结论 重建出的三维图像清晰地显示了心脏内部和整体的结构，实现了心脏的二维可视化。     

Monoclonal Antibody Specific for TIRC7 Induces Donor-specific Anergy and Prevents Rejection of Cardiac Allografts in Mice

T cell immune response c-DNA (TIRC7) is up-regulated during the early stages of T-cell activation in response to alloantigens. In this study, we analyzed the effects of newly developed monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against TIRC7 in acute cardiac allograft rejection. Fully vascularized heterotopic allogeneic heart transplantation was performed in mice across a full-mismatch barrier (C57Bl/10 into CBA). Recipients received seven injections (day 0-7) of a novel anti-TIRC7 mAb or remained untreated. Graft survival, histology and ex vivo lymphocyte functions were tested. Targeting of TIRC7 with an anti-TIRC7 mAb diminishes lymphocyte infiltration into grafts resulting in delay of morphological graft damage and prolongation of allograft survival. The lymphocytes from anti-TIRC7 mAb-treated animals exhibit hypo-responsiveness without evidence of lymphocyte depletion against the donor allo-antigens. Proliferation and expression of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were down-regulated while interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-10 expression were spared. Moreover, anti-TIRC7 mAb enhanced up-regulation of CTLA-4 expression but suppressed up-regulation of CD25 on stimulated lymphocytes in vitro and in vivo. Ligation of TIRC7 has important effects on the regulation of co-stimulatory signaling pathways associated with suppressing of T-cell activation. Targeting of TIRC7 may therefore provide a novel therapeutic approach for modulating T cell immune responses during organ transplantation.     

原位杂交与免疫组化技术在HPV检测中的应用

目的：对两种HPV检测技术DNA原位杂交和免疫组化染色方法进行对比观察。方法：选取本院外阴尖锐湿疣病例95例，组织经固定、脱水、石蜡包埋、切片，分别采用原位杂交和免疫组化技术进行检测。结果：HPV—DNA阳性率为94．7％(90／95)，阳性反应由鳞状上皮表层的空泡细胞核内延伸至棘层中下部近基底层的细胞核内；HPV—Ag阳性率为63．1％(60／95)，阳性反应主要位于鳞状上皮表层的空泡细胞核内及角质层内。个别阳性细胞可在棘层出现。结论：原位杂交技术在敏感度、阳性率及阳性强度、背景染色等方面均优于免疫组化方法，为尖锐湿疣的确诊及临床治疗提供更准确、可靠的依据。