Validation of the Brazilian-Portuguese Version of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey in Asthma Patients

Background. The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) questionnaire was planned to answer questions about the distribution of asthma. Our objective was to determine the cultural equivalence of the ECRHS into the Brazilian-Portuguese language. Methods. We translated the ECRHS according to international criteria. Results. Small cultural adaptations were necessary. Among the 80 participating patients, the Cronbach indices were higher (0.98-1.00) and the Kappa indices varied from 0.77 to 1.00. Conclusion. The study suggests that the Brazilian version of the ECRHS is conceptually equivalent to the original and similarly reliable and may be used in international studies involving Portuguese-speaking respiratory patients.     

基层医院护理科研论文的现状和护士长工作指导

护理作为一门独立的专业，其发展应以科学研究为基础。护理科研、论文的数量和水平是评价一个地区或单位的护理整体水平的重要指标之一。笔者通过我院10年间医院工作人员科研立项、科研论文发表交流情况及护理人员论文写作的调查，对护理科研滞后的应用进行了综合分析，认为缺乏科研意识、科研潜力不足，观行制度制约，客观条件制约是重要因素。提出改变这种状态应从学科带头人入手，详细阐述了护士长对护理科研、论文工作的指导。     

Occupational chronic exposure to metals

Summary Stainless steel welders (n = 103) were examined. To estimate external exposure, personal air sampling was used. Internal exposure was quantified by the determination of nickel levels in erythrocytes, plasma and urine. Men and women (n = 123) were examined for control purposes. In the plasma and erythrocytes of the controls the nickel concentration was below the level of detection (< 1.81 μg/l). The element concentrations in urine were between < 0.1 and 13.3 μg/l. Of the controls 95% showed nickel levels in urine below 2.2 μg/l (reference value). The average concentration of nickel in the air was 93 ± 81 μg/m³. The average concentration of nickel in the plasma samples was 4.9 ± 4.0 μg/l (95th percentile 12.8 μg/L). In erythrocytes nickel could not be detected. The nickel concentrations in the urine of the welders were 18.5 ± 28.5 μg/l on average (95th percentile 52.5 μg/l). Only a weak correlation between the nickel levels of plasma and urine could be detected (C_urine = 2.07 + 8.45 C_plasma; r = 0.294; p < 0.01). Based on our results and on the reported literature a future limit value for the nickel concentration in urine should lay between 30 and 50 μg/l. This value corresponds to an external exposure of 500 μg nickel per cubic metre.     

Changing helplessness to coping: an exploratory study of social skills training with individuals with long-term mental illness

The primary purpose of this study was to apply an occupational therapy programme for social skills training based on a cognitive-behavioural frame of reference to individuals with long-term mental illness. The goal of the social skills training group was to enable patients to develop verbal and non-verbal communication skills that could be generalised to everyday interpersonal encounters. A case example of the application of social skills training with a 38-year-old single male with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia is described. The Group-Interaction Skills Survey developed by the author served as an outcome measure. Qualitative data confirmed the researcher's hypothesis that individuals with long-term mental illness can benefit from social skills training using a combination of role-playing, sociodrama, videotape recordings and creative media. Copyright © 1996 Whurr Publishers Ltd.     

Cadmiumkonzentrationen im blut von stadt- und inselbewohnern in Schleswig-Holstein

Zusammenfassung Die Cadmiumkonzentrationen im Blut von Kindern and Erwachsenen der Landeshauptstadt Kiel and der Nordseeinsel Pellworm (Schleswig-Holstein, Norddeutschland) wurden gemessen. Die Teilnahme an einem Programm der externen Qualitätskontrolle der Europäischen Gemeinschaft sicherte die Richtigkeit der Analysen. Bei den repräsentativen Stichproben von 35 Kindern aus Kiel and 25 von Pellworm im Alter zwischen 7 und 16 Jahren Bowie 45 Kieler and 53 Pellwormer Erwachsenen lagen alle Meßwerte zwischen 0,1 and 4,0 g Cd/l Blut. Kinder sind in beiden Regionen geringer belastet als Erwachsene. Eine Gefährdung durch das Schwermetall Cadmium konnte bei diesen fur Schleswig-Holstein typischen Bevölkerungs-gruppen nicht festgestellt werden, obwohl die Cadmiumbelastung des Blutes durch Zigarettenrauchen signifikant zunimmt.     

An acute fatal occupational cadmium poisoning by inhalation

Summary A 43-year-old male smelter was admitted to a hospital on account of severe dyspnea about 2 days after exposure to brownish-yellow smoke produced by melting of copper scrap. On admission pronounced hypoxemia was revealed, and an oxygen-enriched gas was administered after intubation. Although inspired oxygen concentration was gradually increased, hypoxemia progressed and he died on day 11 in hospital.The principal autopsy finding was chiefly confined to the lungs. Both lungs were heavy (the left weighing 1,470 g; the right 1,710 g) and firm to the touch. Histologically, no normal alveoli were found throughout the entire lung. Some alveolar spaces were occupied by pneumocytes, others by organized exudate with fibrosis. Interstitial fibrosis was present. Patchy areas of inflammatory cell infiltrations as well as intra-alveolar hemorrhages were observed. On the basis of the above findings a diagnosis of diffuse alveolar damage was made.Based on the available evidence (presence of cadmium in the copper scrap, feature of the smoke, clinical signs with latent time, and high cadmium concentration of the lung), the diffuse alveolar damage was considered to have been caused by inhaled cadmium. The pulmonary change of the present case was more advanced in pathologic stage in comparison with those reported in the literature.     

小学生心理行为问题调查分析

目的:了解小学生存在的心理行为问题。方法:对116名7~12岁的小学生分别用Achenbach儿童行为调查表、教师报告表、Conners父母症状问卷、Conners教师用简明问卷进行评定。结果:低、高年级组各行为问题分差异无显著性,教师问卷与家长问卷相比,大多数差异显著。儿童行为问题检出率20.0%。结论:结合家长与教师的评价,有助于全面了解学生;对注意缺陷多动障碍应严格按照诊断标准判断,以免将其扩大化。     

Sociodemographic correlates of psychiatric diseases: accounting for misclassification in survey diagnoses of major depression, alcohol and drug use disorders

This paper illustrates how validation data can be used to correct for errors in survey indicators of psychiatric disorders in models where the outcome of interest is the probability of a positive diagnosis. Nonlinear models of the risks associated with a broad range of sociodemographic factors for three disorders (major depression, alcohol and drug use disorders) are estimated with adjustments for classification errors in the survey diagnoses. Estimates show that inferences drawn from the unadjusted models may seriously understate gender and regional differences in the prevalence rates of all three disorders, the effects of education and ethnicity on the development of alcohol use disorders, and the relationship between marital status and the risk of major depression.