Decreased Ability (decreased + ability)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Medical Sciences


Selected Abstracts


,The everlasting trial of strength and patience': transitions in home care nursing as narrated by patients and family members

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 6 2001
Dip NEd, Eva Efraimsson MSc
,,The aim of this study was to describe and interpret patients' and their family members' lived experiences of caring at home. Twelve tape-recorded narratives, with seven patients and five family members, were interpreted in accordance with a phenomenological,hermeneutic method inspired by Ricoeur. ,,The findings revealed life situations where natural caring was changed into patient,care-giver relations and the home became a public room. The patients had to deal with decreased abilities and the family members with adjusting to caring needs. ,,The changes in the life situations were interpreted as long lasting and trying transitions. ,,Implications for nursing and further research are proposed. [source]


Psychotic and behavioural symptoms in a population-based sample of the very elderly subjects

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2 2009
S. Östling
Objective:, The aim was to elucidate the relationship between psychotic and behavioural symptoms in the elderly. Method:, A representative sample of 85 year old subjects living in Gothenburg, Sweden (n = 451) was assessed with neuropsychiatric examinations, key informant interviews and record reviews. Results:, Fourteen percent of these very elderly subjects had paranoid symptoms with concomitant anxious agitation and/or irritability/anger. Hallucinations and paranoid symptoms were both associated with a pattern of behavioural symptoms including both anxious agitation and irritability/anger simultaneously in both demented [hallucinations, Odds ratio (OR) 2.8, Confidence interval (CI) 1.2,6.7, paranoid symptoms OR 5.6 CI 2.2,14.2] and non-demented (hallucinations OR 3.2 CI 1.2,8.3, paranoid symptoms OR 4.8 CI 2.0,11.8). Conclusion:, Psychotic symptoms are associated with behavioural symptoms regardless of dementia status. Since these symptoms lead to decreased ability to function in daily life and increased caregiver burden, it is important for health professionals to identify and treat these symptoms also in non-demented. [source]


Xenopus axin-related protein: A link between its centrosomal localization and function in the Wnt/,-catenin pathway

DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 1 2010
Evguenia M. Alexandrova
Abstract The Wnt/,-catenin signaling pathway regulates cell proliferation and cell fate determination in multiple systems. However, the subcellular localization of Wnt pathway components and the significance of this localization for the pathway regulation have not been extensively analyzed. Here we report that Xenopus Axin-related protein (XARP), a component of the ,-catenin destruction complex, is localized to the centrosome. This localization of XARP requires the presence of the DIX domain and an adjacent region. Since other components of the Wnt pathway have also been shown to associate with the centrosome, we tested a hypothesis that the ,-catenin destruction complex operates at the centrosome. However, XARP mutants with poor centrosomal localization revealed an enhanced rather than decreased ability to antagonize the Wnt/,-catenin pathway. Our data are consistent with the idea that the inactivation of XARP at the centrosome is an important regulatory point in Wnt signaling. Developmental Dynamics 239:261,270, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


At-risk mental state (ARMS) detection in a community service center for early attention to psychosis in Barcelona

EARLY INTERVENTION IN PSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2010
Yanet Quijada
Abstract Aim: To describe the strategy and some results in at-risk mental state (ARMS) patient detection as well as some of the ARMS clinical and socio-demographical characteristics. The subjects were selected among the patients visited by an Early Care Equipment for patients at high risk of psychoses, in Barcelona (Spain) during its first year in operation. Methods: Descriptive study of the community,team relations, selection criteria and intervention procedure. Description of patient's socio-demographic and symptomatic characteristics according to the different instruments used in detection and diagnoses, taking account of four principal origins of referrals: mental health services, primary care services, education services and social services. Results: Twenty of 55 referred people fulfilled the at-risk mental state criteria, showing an incidence of 2.4 cases per 10 000 inhabitants. They were mainly adolescent males referred from health, education and social services. Overall, negative symptoms were predominant symptoms and the more frequent specific symptoms were decrease of motivation and poor work and school performance, decreased ability to maintain or initiate social relationships, depressed mood and withdrawal. Conclusions: It is possible to detect and to provide early treatment to patients with prodromal symptoms if the whole matrix of the community , including the social services , contributes to the process. The utilization of a screening instrument and a two-phase strategy , the second carried out by the specialized team , seems to be an appropriate approach for early psychosis and ARMS detection. [source]


GENETIC STUDY: BclI glucocorticoid receptor polymorphism and smoking in the general population

ADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
Satu J. Siiskonen
ABSTRACT We studied the hypothesis that the BclI polymorphism of the glucocorticoid receptor gene is associated with an increased probability of being a (heavy) smoker and a decreased ability to quit smoking. The study cohort consisted of all subjects in the Rotterdam Study, a Dutch population-based cohort of people aged 55 years and older, for whom BclI genotyping and smoking status at baseline were available. In prospective analyses, the smoking status was reassessed during three additional examination rounds. Logistic regression analysis was used to study the association between BclI polymorphism and being a smoker or a heavy smoker at baseline. Furthermore, the relationship between BclI polymorphism and incident smoking cessation was tested with Cox proportional hazards analysis within those who smoked at baseline. In total, 6358 subjects were included in the study. The presence of a G-allele was not associated with current smoking at baseline [odds ratio (OR) = 0.96, 95%confidence interval (CI): 0.85,1.09] or with the incidence of smoking cessation during follow-up [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.98, 95%CI: 0.80,1.19]. Within current smokers, having a G-allele was not significantly associated with the risk of being a heavy smoker when measured by pack-years smoked (OR = 1.07, 95%CI: 0.85,1.35) or daily consumption of tobacco (OR = 1.10, 95%CI: 0.88,1.37). We were not able to replicate the earlier findings indicating that the proportion of current smokers is lower among carriers of the CC-genotype of the BclI glucocorticoid receptor. Furthermore, the BclI glucocorticoid receptor polymorphism did not predict the incidence of smoking cessation in the general elderly population. [source]


Listeria monocytogenes response regulators important for stress tolerance and pathogenesis

FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 1 2001
Birgitte H. Kallipolitis
Abstract Environmental sensing by two-component signal transduction systems is likely to play a role for growth and survival of Listeria monocytogenes both during transmission in food products and within a host organism. Two-component systems typically consist of a membrane-associated sensor histidine kinase and a gene regulatory protein, the response regulator (RR). We have identified seven putative RR genes in L. monocytogenes LO28 by PCR using degenerate oligonucleotide primers. By insertional inactivation we obtained data suggesting that three of the putative RRs contribute to the pathogenicity of L. monocytogenes in mice. Strikingly, the mutants that were attenuated in virulence also had a decreased ability to grow in the presence of various stress conditions potentially encountered in an infection process. Thus, our data point to a connection between the ability of the putative two-component systems to sense and respond to certain environmental stimuli, and the virulence of L. monocytogenes. [source]


Fatigued Elderly Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING TERMINOLOGIES AND CLASSIFICATION, Issue 2003
Anna Ehrenberg
PURPOSE To compare descriptions of fatigue based on the NANDA characteristics from interviews with elderly people with congestive heart failure (CHF) and data recorded by nurses at a Swedish outpatient heart failure clinic. METHODS Patients were screened for moderate to severe CHF. A total of 158 patients were interviewed using a revised form of the Fatigue Interview Schedule (FIS) based on the NANDA characteristics. Of these patients, half (n= 79) were offered visits at a nurse-monitored heart failure clinic. Nursing documentation of fatigue at the heart failure clinic was reviewed based on the NANDA characteristics and compared with the content in the patient interviews. FINDINGS Tiredness was documented in 43 (75%) records and indicated in 36 patients based on patient scores on the FIS (X,= 5.5; range 1,9). The most frequently recorded observation related to fatigue was the symptom emotionally labile or irritable, followed by notes on lack of energy and decreased performance. Patients' descriptions of their fatigue were expressed as a decreased ability to perform and a perceived need for additional energy. Results indicated poor concordance in patients' descriptions and record content concerning fatigue. Whereas patients emphasized the physical characteristics of fatigue, nurses emphasised the emotional features. Decreased libido was linked to fatigue according to the patients but not according to the nurses' records. Whereas cognitive characteristics of fatigue occurred rarely in the records, they were more frequent in the patient interviews. DISCUSSION Symptoms such as irritability and accident-proneness may be seen as manifestations of the patients' experiencing the need for more energy or a feeling of decreased performance. These consequences of being fatigued, rather than the different dimensions of fatigue, seemed to have been easy for the nurses to observe and document. Earlier studies indicate that poor observation, medication, and diet in patients with heart failure might partly be explained by cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS Findings of this study highlight the need for nurses to pay attention to the experience of fatigue in patients who suffer from CHF, and to validate their observations with the patients own expressions. Using the patients' words and expressions and the diagnostic characteristics of fatigue in recording can support the nurses in developing both understanding of patients living with CHF and strategies to help patients cope with their restricted ability in daily life. [source]


Bullying among nurses and its effects

INTERNATIONAL NURSING REVIEW, Issue 4 2009
m phd
Background:, The victims of bullying are subjected to being terrorized, annoyed, excluded, belittled, deprived of resources, isolated and prevented from claiming rights. The victims of bullying have decreased job satisfaction, work performance, motivation and productivity. Bullying also negatively affects victims' social relationships inside and outside the institution. Objectives:, This study was conducted as a cross-sectional and descriptive study for the purpose of assessing the workplace, bullying of nurses in Turkey and the effects it has on nursing practices. Method:, The sample was composed of 286 nurses, and all of the respondents were female. The research instrument was a questionnaire in five parts. The first section included the participants' demographic information; the other variables were measured in four categories: psychologically violent behaviours, workload, organizational effects and depression. Findings:, Thirty-seven per cent of the nurses participating in the research had never or almost never encountered workplace bullying behaviour in the last 12 months, 21% of the nurses had been exposed to these behaviours. There were no differences between position and educational level in workplace bullying. Workplace bullying leads to depression, lowered work motivation, decreased ability to concentrate, poor productivity, lack of commitment to work, and poor relationships with patients, managers and colleagues. Conclusion:, Workplace bullying is a measurable problem that negatively affects the psychology and performance of the nurses in this study. [source]


siRNA mediated inhibition of MMP-1 reduces invasive potential of a human chondrosarcoma cell line

JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2005
Xiaoling Jiang
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a crucial role in tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Expression of MMP-1 has been reported as a prognostic predictor of recurrence in human chondrosarcoma, and studies using human chondrosarcoma cell lines indicate that MMP-1 expression levels correlate with in vitro invasiveness. These observations suggest that MMP-1 activity has a central role in cell egress from the primary tumor at an early step in the metastatic cascade. In this study, siRNA was used to investigate whether knock down of the MMP-1 gene could be used to inhibit invasiveness in a human chondrosarcoma cell line. The inhibitory effect of siRNA on endogenous MMP-1 gene expression and protein synthesis was demonstrated via RT-PCR, Northern blotting, Western blotting, collagenase activity assay, and an in vitro cell migration assay. The siRNA inhibited MMP-1 expression specifically, since it did not affect the expression of endogenous glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) nor other collagenases. Most importantly, the siRNA mediated reduction in MMP-1 expression correlated with a decreased ability of chondrosarcoma cells to invade a Type I collagen matrix. The reduction of invasive behavior demonstrated by human chondrosarcoma cells transfected with MMP-1 siRNA and the specificity of this inhibition supports the hypothesis that this metalloproteinase molecule is involved in initiation of chondrosarcoma metastasis. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Regulation of plant water loss by manipulating the expression of phospholipase D,

THE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 2 2001
Yongming Sang
Summary Phospholipase D (PLD) has been implicated in various processes, including signal transduction, membrane trafficking, and membrane degradation. Multiple forms of PLD with distinct biochemical properties have been described in the cell. In Arabidopsis, PLD, and PLD,, but not PLD,, were detected in guard cells, and antisense suppression resulted in a specific loss of PLD,. The abrogation of PLD, rendered plants less sensitive to abscisic acid and impaired stomatal closure induced by water deficits. PLD,-depleted plants exhibited accelerated transpirational water loss and a decreased ability to tolerate drought stress. Overexpression of PLD, enhanced the leaf's sensitivity to abscisic acid. These findings provide molecular and physiological evidence that PLD, plays a crucial role in regulating stomatal movement and plant-water status. [source]


High P-glycoprotein-mediated export observed in patients with a history of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2002
Adam S. Levy
Summary., Studies have suggested that high P-glycoprotein expression in lymphocytes from patients with autoimmune disorders may affect disease outcome. Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and Evans' syndrome are widely thought to be autoimmune processes, however, the precise mechanisms remain unknown. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with refractory or recurrent ITP or Evans' syndrome were studied using the rhodamine 123 flow cytometric assay to investigate functional export levels. Lymphocytes from ITP and Evans' syndrome patients showed a significantly decreased ability to retain rhodamine, suggesting increased export protein function. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction distinguished P-glycoprotein as the likely export protein. [source]