Measuring hope amongst Tanzanian women who participate in microfinance: An evaluation of the Snyder hope scale

ABSTRACT

Measuring hope reliably and accurately remains an important research objective, not least in less prosperous settings where ‘holding on to hope’ may be critically important in the struggle against adverse life conditions. The State Hope Scale was designed for use in the US. Despite reported application in diverse cultures and using translations the scale has not been extensively validated outside US populations. This study contributes to a larger project exploring the measurement of hope and provides a critique of Snyder’s scale as used in a Tanzanian female population of 1021 urban microfinance participants. We evaluate the scale’s validity through assessment of the empirical distribution of scores, item response profiles, internal consistency and discriminatory ability. Participants mostly scored very high and many reached very near the maximum attainable score. Hardly any endorsed the negative half of the response scale. Several problems are discussed including poor discrimination and strong evidence of acquiescence response bias. We also found little association of the scale scores with hypothesised correlates of hope. Future improvements on the measurement of hope are recommended, especially in studies outside the narrow Western context in which the scale was devised.     

Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) levels inversely correlate with lung function improvement (delta FEV1) in cystic fibrosis patients receiving ivacaftor treatment

Background

We have recently shown that human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) levels correlate with the severity of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. However, there are no data on how HE4 levels alter in patients receiving CFTR modulating therapy.

Altered modulation of prefrontal and subcortical brain activity in newly diagnosed schizophrenia and schizophreniform disorder. A regional cerebral blood flow study.

To measure prefrontal and subcortical activity during a cognitive task, we examined 19 newly diagnosed schizophrenics and patients with schizophreniform psychosis. Seven healthy volunteers served as controls. The patients were drug naive or had received neuroleptics for a few days only. Cerebral blood flow distribution was depicted by single photon emission computed tomography at rest and during activation with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. A significant relative activation deficit in the left inferior-prefrontal region was revealed during the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in the patient group. Furthermore, the patients had impaired striatal suppression on the left side during the cognitive task. The test performance was significantly impaired in the patients. The inability to reduce striatal activity may be due to a lack of corticostriatal feedback during prefrontal activation.     

Occupational therapy workforce needs: a model for demand-based studies.

PURPOSE: To provide a model for assessing occupational therapy workforce needs by using a demand-based approach to determine current workforce status in the Northwest region. Regional information may have implications for addressing national occupational therapy service needs. METHOD: A questionnaire was sent to a proportional random sample of 234 facilities that hire occupational therapy practitioners. Data were collected in July-August 2003 using structured mailing and follow-up procedures. RESULTS: Response rate was 79%. Twenty-four percent reported occupational therapy vacancies and 11% occupational therapy assistant vacancies; 48% predicted an increase in occupational therapy positions in the next 2 years and 41% an increase in occupational therapy assistant positions. Sixty-three percent of respondents reported difficulty in hiring. DISCUSSION: This study identifies an occupational therapy workforce shortage in the Northwest. Management of a shortage is critical, for even short-term adjustments could lead to permanent changes in service provision. This study demonstrates the importance of current information on the status of the national workforce and serves as a model for future studies.     

Neurostimulation as a new treatment for severe tinnitus: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Tinnitus is an uncomfortable symptom for the patient and an embarrassing one for the consulted physician. So far, there is no treatment that can be considered well established in terms of providing long-term reduction of tinnitus in excess of placebo effects. There is considerable evidence of pathophysiological similarity between tinnitus and chronic pain. Some forms of chronic pain can be treated by neurostimulation. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the feasibility of neurostimulation of the cochlear nerve in order to reduce tinnitus. STUDY DESIGN: Pilot study. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Five patients with therapeutically refractory tinnitus were selected for this study. INTERVENTION: Placing a stimulation lead around the cochlear nerve through the suboccipital approach and connecting the stimulation lead to a pulse generator. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The patients experienced 1) an absence of major or minor complications, such as death, meningitis, cranial nerve deficit, and vestibular problems; 2) tolerance of the procedure as considered by the patient; 3) relief of tinnitus in at least one patient. RESULTS: Implantation of the neurostimulation system was accomplished in each patient without any difficulty. None of the patients considered the treatment unbearable. No major or minor complications occurred in this study. Subjective tinnitus reduction was accomplished in four patients. CONCLUSION: Our preliminary data show that neurostimulation of the cochlear nerve is feasible, is bearable for the patient, and is a safe treatment modality without major complications. The effects on tinnitus are promising.     

An evaluation of two indirect methods of blood pressure measurement in ill patients

Direct (intraarterial) and two indirect (using a mercury sphygmomanometer [MS] and an automatic [auscultatory] device) methods of blood pressure measurement were compared in intensive care patients (N = 32). One trained observer blind to both automatic and direct measurements obtained all indirect MS measurements. All direct and indirect measurements were made on the same arm. Direct measurements were obtained from 10-second strip chart recordings. In normotensive patients both indirect measurements of systolic blood pressure (SBP) underestimated the direct SBP; however, only the SBP value obtained with the automatic device (106 mm Hg) was significantly different, p less than .05, from the direct SBP value (120 mm Hg). No significant difference was noted between methods in measurement of normotensive diastolic blood pressure. In hypertensive patients direct SBP was significantly greater, p less than .05, from both values obtained by indirect measurement. In patients without hypotension the automatic device may be substituted for the MS and direct blood pressure methods. The automatic device may offer the advantage of decreasing observer bias and variability in blood pressure measurement.     

Evaluation of beta-lactamase activity and microbial interference in treatment failures of acute streptococcal tonsillitis

Out of 169 patients with streptococcal tonsillitis treated with phenoxymethylpenicillin, 13 (8%) developed a new clinical infection with the same streptococcal strain within 2 weeks of completing the therapy (clinical treatment failure) and 24 (14%) were clinically healthy but harboured the same streptococcal strain after treatment (bacterial treatment failure). Patients with clinical treatment failure showed beta-lactamase activity in their saliva pellet significantly more often than patients with bacterial treatment failure, healed streptococcal tonsillitis or non-streptococcal tonsillitis as well as healthy controls. In an interference study, clinical treatment failures were compared with healthy streptococcal carriers, i.e. persons living in the same household and harbouring the same beta-streptococcal strain. 11/12 healthy carriers had alpha-streptococci with interfering activity against their own beta-streptococcal strain, while the corresponding figure for the clinical treatment failures was 2/13. Furthermore, 6/12 healthy carriers had beta-streptococci inhibiting their own alpha-strains, while the streptococci in 11/13 clinical treatment failures had this ability. The beta-lactamase activity and the interference between alpha- and beta-streptococci may be a contributory cause to treatment failure in streptococcal tonsillitis.     

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting (TIPS) with balloon-expandable and self-expanding stents: Technical and clinical aspects after 3 1/2 years’ experience

Purpose To evaluate prospectively our experience with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) using four different metallic stents. Methods Between November 1991 and April 1995, 57 patients (41 men and 16 women; age 35–72 years, mean 54 years) underwent the TIPS procedure. Techniques for portal vein localization before and during TIPS were fluoroscopy, computed tomography (CT) studies, wedged hepatic venography, arterial portography, and ultrasound. After predilation we deployed balloon-expandable (n=48) and self-expanding (n=45) metallic stents. Fifteen patients underwent variceal embolization. Initial follow-up angiograms (mean 6.9 months, range 3–24 months) were obtained in 39 of these patients. Results Fifty-three patients (93%) had successful TIPS placement. The mean decrease in portal pressure was 42.7%. Besides fluoroscopy, the most helpful techniques for portal vein localization were venography and CT. Residual stenosis (n=1) and late shortening (n=4) of Wallstents resulted in shunt dysfunction. The technical problems encountered with the Palmaz stent resulted from its lack of flexibility. We combined balloon-expandable and self-expanding stents in 12 patients. The 30-day and late follow-up (mean 11.9 months) percutaneous reintervention rates were 11.3% and 64.2%, respectively. There were no clinically significant complications related to the TIPS insertions. Conclusion An ideal stent does not exist for TIPS, and the authors recommend combining a Palmaz stent with a flexible self-expanding stent.     

Identification of human T-cell epitopes on the S4 subunit of pertussis toxin.

Ten adult humans were vaccinated with the Japanese acellular pertussis vaccine JNIH-3, containing detoxified pertussis toxin (PT), formaldehyde, and filamentous hemagglutinin. The vaccination induced a specific antibody response to PT and filamentous hemagglutinin, and a Western blot (immunoblot) analysis of the antibody response to PT revealed antibodies to PT subunits S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5. The response of peripheral lymphocytes to PT was assessed in an in vitro proliferation assay. A proliferative response to detoxified PT and PT dimers S2-S4 and S3-S4 was found, and it was further demonstrated that the proliferative response to detoxified PT and dimer S2-S4 was mediated by T cells of the CD4+ phenotype. The specificity of the proliferative response to subunit S4 was analyzed with a range of synthetic peptides synthesized on the basis of the primary sequence of subunit S4. The proliferative response to the peptides revealed two major and one minor T-cell epitope located in the NH2-terminal end of subunit S4.