Predictors of Maternal Responsiveness

PURPOSE: To explore maternal responsiveness in the first 2 to 4 months after delivery and to evaluate potential predictors of maternal responsiveness, including infant feeding, maternal characteristics, and demographic factors such as age, socioeconomic status, and educational level. DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was used to assess the variables of maternal responsiveness, feeding patterns, and maternal characteristics in a convenience sample of 177 mothers in the first 2 to 4 months after delivery. The 60-item self-report instrument included scales to measure maternal responsiveness, self-esteem, and satisfaction with life as well as infant feeding questions and sociodemographic items. An online data-collection strategy was used, resulting in participants from 41 U.S. states. FINDINGS: Multiple regression analysis showed that satisfaction with life, self-esteem, and number of children, but not breastfeeding, explained a significant portion of the variance in self-reported maternal responsiveness scores. In this analysis, sociodemographic variables such as age, education, income, and work status showed little or no relationship to maternal responsiveness scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides additional information about patterns of maternal behavior in the transition to motherhood and some of the variables that influence that transition. Satisfaction with life was a new predictor of maternal responsiveness. However, with only 15% of the variance explained by the predictors in this study, a large portion of the variance in maternal responsiveness remains unexplained. Further research in this area is needed.     

Impact of Multifocality and Multilocation of Positive Surgical Margin After Radical Prostatectomy on Predicting Oncological Outcome

Objective

To assess the impact of focality and location of positive surgical margins (PSM) on long-term outcomes after radical prostatectomy (RP) for prostate cancer (PCa), including biochemical recurrence (BCR), metastasis and overall mortality.

Implementing remote triage in large health systems: A qualitative evidence synthesis

Remote triage (RT) allows interprofessional teams (e.g., nurses and physicians) to assess patients and make clinical decisions remotely. RT use has developed widespread interest due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, and has future potential to address the needs of a rapidly aging population, improve access to care, facilitate interprofessional team care, and ensure appropriate use of resources. However, despite rapid and increasing interest in implementation of RT, there is little research concerning practices for successful implementation. We conducted a systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis of practices that impact the implementation of RT for adults seeking clinical care advice. We searched MEDLINE®, EMBASE, and CINAHL from inception through July 2018. We included 32 studies in this review. Our review identified four themes impacting the implementation of RT: characteristics of staff who use RT, influence of RT on staff, considerations in selecting RT tools, and environmental and contextual factors impacting RT. The findings of our systemic review underscore the need for a careful consideration of (a) organizational and stakeholder buy‐in before launch, (b) physical and psychological workplace environment, (c) staff training and ongoing support, and (d) optimal metrics to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of implementation. Our findings indicate that preimplementation planning, as well as evaluating RT by collecting data during and after implementation, is essential to ensuring successful implementation and continued adoption of RT in a health care system.     

Platelets in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura are increased in size but are of normal density

To determine whether platelet size and volume are related to one another or to platelet age, subpopulations of platelets from patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) have been produced on the basis of density using Percoll gradients. The density distribution of platelets from patients with ITP and from patients with other forms of thrombocytopenia (thought to be nonimmune in nature) was the same as in normal controls. However, the platelets in each density subpopulation from ITP patients were increased in size. beta-thromboglobulin (beta TG) content of platelets from each patient group and the normals increased with density and tended to be higher in ITP than in normal controls. beta TG concentration per unit platelet volume and its level in plasma were similar in ITP patients and in normal controls. This suggests that the apparently normal density of ITP platelets was not a result of degranulation of large, dense platelets. Thus platelet size and density are independently determined and the increased size of platelets in immune thrombocytopenia may be the result of abnormalities in their production.     

The perspectives of psychosexual therapists towards using play therapy techniques in sex and relationship therapy: A qualitative study

Play therapy is an intervention traditionally used with children that is beginning to be used with adults. One area of use is within the psychosexual context; however, there is an absence of empirical research in this area. This qualitative study explored therapists’ perspectives on using play therapy techniques in psychosexual therapy. The 16 participants were either qualified or trainee psychosexual therapists. Data were collected through focus group interviews and analysed thematically. Four interlinking themes were identified: (1) playfulness already used but not recognised as play therapy; (2) delivery and receiving of play techniques; (3) attachment; and (4) well-being and social skills. Overall, participants believed there were benefits to using play therapy in the psychosexual context but that the therapeutic environment should be conducive to its use. Recommendations for practice include views about whether or not play therapy can be further developed and refined for use within the psychosexual context.     

Enhanced short-latency responses in the ventral posterior medial (VPM) thalamic nucleus following whisker trimming in the adult rat

This study examined the effects of whisker trimming on the functional organization of the adult somatosensory thalamus. In vivo extracellular unit recordings were made on ventral posterior medial (VPM) thalamic neurons in urethane anaesthetised adult rats. Neuronal response properties to controlled whisker deflection were recorded in untrimmed control animals and in animals where one row of whiskers had been trimmed for a median of 18 days. Trimming significantly increased short-latency responses to stimulation of the centre receptive field whisker (mean increase of 36%, p<.001). Longer latency responses to surround receptive field whiskers were unaffected. Spontaneous firing was significantly decreased in trimmed animals. A condition-test paradigm indicated that thalamic inhibition was reduced following whisker trimming, although this effect failed to reach statistical significance. These results demonstrate a capacity of the adult somatosensory thalamus to undergo functional reorganization in response to non-traumatic and innocuous whisker trimming.