Dutch women's perceptions of childbirth in the Netherlands

PURPOSE: To explore the lived experience of childbirth in Dutch women who had given birth at home in the Netherlands. METHODS: Qualitative study using audiotaped interviews with 14 women. RESULTS: Themes included the advantages of giving birth in the home, where the women felt more in control of their environment; the difficulty and normalcy of the pain associated with giving birth; the feelings of fulfillment and empowerment that come with childbirth and motherhood; and the importance of the supportive role of the midwife-caregiver. NURSING IMPLICATIONS: Women in a culture different from that of the United States who gave birth at home felt fulfilled and empowered by the experience. These results can help U.S. nurses more fully understand the meaning of childbirth in a different culture and may help identify possible improvements in the design of care for women and newborns in the United States.     

CpG oligodeoxynucleotides augment the murine immune response to the Yersinia pestis F1-V vaccine in bubonic and pneumonic models of plague

The current U.S. Department of Defense candidate plague vaccine is a fusion between two Yersinia pestis proteins: the F1 capsular protein, and the low calcium response (Lcr) V-protein. We hypothesized that an immunomodulator, such as CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN)s, could augment the immune response to the plague F1-V vaccine in a mouse model for plague. CpG ODNs significantly augmented the antibody response and efficacy of a single dose of the plague vaccine in murine bubonic and pneumonic models of plague. In the latter study, we also found an overall significant augmentation the immune response to the individual subunits of the plague vaccine by CpG ODN 2006. In a long-term, prime-boost study, CpG ODN induced a significant early augmentation of the IgG response to the vaccine. The presence of CpG ODN induced a significant increase in the IgG2a subclass response to the vaccine up to 5 months after the boost. Our studies showed that CpG ODNs significantly augmented the IgG antibody response to the plague vaccine, which increased the probability of survival in murine models of plague (P < 0.0001).     

Temporal growth factor release from platelet‐rich plasma,trehalose lyophilized platelets,and bone marrow aspirate and their effect on tendon and ligament gene expression

Platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) has generated substantial interest for tendon and ligament regeneration because of the high concentrations of growth factors in platelet α‐granules. This study compared the temporal release of growth factors from bone marrow aspirate (BMA), PRP, and lyophilized platelet product (PP), and measured their effects on tendon and ligament gene expression. Blood and BMA were collected and processed to yield PRP and plasma. Flexor digitorum superficialis tendon (FDS) and suspensory ligament (SL) explants were cultured in 10% plasma in DMEM (control), BMA, PRP, or PP. TGF‐β1 and PDGF‐BB concentrations were determined at 0, 24, and 96 h of culture using ELISA. Quantitative RT‐PCR for collagen types I and III (COL1A1, COL3A1), cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), decorin, and matrix metalloproteinases‐3 and 13 (MMP‐3, MMP‐13) was performed. TGF‐β1 and PDGF‐BB concentrations were highest in PRP and PP. Growth factor quantity was unchanged in BMA, increased in PRP, and decreased in PP over 4 days. TGF‐β1 and platelet concentrations were positively correlated. Lyophilized PP and PRP resulted in increased COL1A1:COL3A1 ratio, increased COMP, and decreased MMP‐13 expression. BMA resulted in decreased COMP and increased MMP‐3 and MMP‐13 gene expression. Platelet concentration was positively correlated with COL1A1, ratio of COL1A1:COL3A1, and COMP, and negatively correlated with COL3A1, MMP‐13, and MMP‐3. White blood cell concentration was positively correlated with COL3A1, MMP3, and MMP13, and negatively correlated with a ratio of COL1A1:COL3A1, COMP, and decorin. These findings support further in vivo investigation of PRP and PP for treatment of tendonitis and desmitis. © 2009 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 27: 1033–1042, 2009     

The Role of Growth Factors in Cartilage Repair

Background  

Full-thickness chondral defects and early osteoarthritis continue to present major challenges for the patient and the orthopaedic surgeon as a result of the limited healing potential of articular cartilage. The use of bioactive growth factors is under consideration as a potential therapy to enhance healing of chondral injuries and modify the arthritic disease process.     

Relative body weight and psychological distress in late life: observations of gender and race comparisons

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the association between relative body weight (measured with body mass index; BMI) and multiple forms of psychological distress and whether those associations are contingent on gender and race. METHOD: Interviews were conducted in 2001-2002 with persons 65 years and older in the District of Columbia and adjoining Maryland counties (N = 1,152). BMI is associated (a) positively with depression, anger, and physical symptoms among White women; (b) positively with physical symptoms among Black women and men; and (c) negatively with anxiety among White men. RESULTS: Tests for gender by race interactions find significant contrasts between White women and men when depression, anxiety, and physical symptoms are considered as outcomes; contrasts between White and Black women are significant for anger. DISCUSSION: Results underscore the importance of gender by race interactions, multiple forms of distress in analyses of effects of BMI, and the role of negative self-evaluations and health difficulties as explanations.