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[The impact of infertility and its treatment on sexual life and marital relationships: review of the literature].

This paper reviews the literature on the psychosocial impact of infertility and its treatments by the ART on the marital sexuality, by paying special attention to the relationship between gender and the infertility experience. It is convenient to divide this literature into articles that explore the sexual life of the infertile couples on the one hand, and those focusing on the couple relationship - marital satisfaction and marital adjustment-, on the other hand. The literature on the infertile couples' sexuality and sexual satisfaction, mostly descriptive, presents infertility as a deleterious experience for both women and men even if the repercussion differ according to gender, with correlative dynamic effects within the couple. The contributions to the investigation of the couple relationship, mostly quantitative Anglo-Saxon studies, have produced equivocal or contradictory results concerning the satisfaction with the relationship, the closeness between the two partners so that it is difficult to assume a trend in this field. This situation is largely due to the problems of sampling. In this view, future research should perform its methodological apparatus to take into account the processual nature of the infertility experience, at both levels of couple history and its involvement in the ART process.

Female↗

The diagnosis of breast cancer: transition from health to illness.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To gain a better understanding of the common meanings and shared experiences that women encounter after a diagnosis of breast cancer. RESEARCH APPROACH: Qualitative using Heideggerian hermeneutics. SETTING: Tertiary breast care center in suburban Buffalo, NY. PARTICIPANTS: Purposive, convenience sampling recruited 30 women. METHODOLOGIC APPROACH: Secondary analysis on tape-recorded interviews of women receiving their last cycle of chemotherapy. Narratives were interpreted using the seven-stage hermeneutic process. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Life experiences, shared meanings, and perceptions. FINDINGS: Four themes emerged: Changing Health Overnight, Erasing of a Former Self, Appraising of Illness, and Approaching the Future Now What? The constitutive pattern was transitioning from health to illness. CONCLUSIONS: Women experience a precipitous change in their lives after a diagnosis of breast cancer. How they mentally and emotionally approached diagnosis and treatment affected their symptom experience and outcomes. INTERPRETATION: This study provides oncology nurses with the awareness that beyond physical symptoms, women experience profound and precipitous emotional transformation following a diagnosis of breast cancer. It gives meaning to the devastation and symptom distress women experience that may be lessened if they are given adequate information and support. Women in the study who approached diagnosis and treatment more positively better incorporated the breast cancer process into their lives and better managed the side effects of treatment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Evaluation of alternative sampling methods for Salmonella critical control point determination at broiler processing.

Several sampling methods have been developed for the detection of Salmonella on broiler carcasses during commercial processing. The present study evaluated three sampling methodologies for sensitivity of Salmonella detection on processed broiler carcasses. Furthermore, the effect of crop removal or chill tank exposure on the frequency of Salmonella recovery was also examined. In two experiments, swab, skin, and carcass rinse samples were compared for sensitivity of Salmonella detection. The results indicated that culture of swabs was less effective (P < 0.05) for Salmonella detection than either skin or carcass rinse samples. No significant (P > 0.05) differences were observed in Salmonella recovery from culture of skin or carcass rinse. In two subsequent experiments, skin and carcass rinse samples were found to be equally sensitive in their ability to detect Salmonella. Additionally, the stages of processing between feather and crop removal were observed to cause significant (P < 0.05) increases in Salmonella recovery within an individual flock. Similar increases (P < 0.05) in Salmonella recovery were also observed following crop removal and immediately following immersion chilling in two separate flocks. These results suggest that culture of skin samples obtained from the thoracic inlet region may be a viable alternative to the traditional whole carcass rinse method for sensitivity of Salmonella detection. Furthermore, these experiments provided some evidence that the majority of Salmonella cross-contamination of carcasses prior to immersion chilling occurred following evisceration, with the chill tank potentially providing a major site for cross-contamination between Salmonella-negative and-positive flocks.

Animals↗

[Pseudoreplication in ecological research: the problem overlooked by Russian scientists].

The use of differential statistics to test for treatment effect with data from experiments where either treatments were not replicated (though samples may be) or replicates are not statistically independent leads to serious methodological problem. This problem, discovered by Hurbert (1984), is called pseudoreplication. Due to unknown reasons, pseudoreplication issue was completely overlooked by the Russian ecologists, in spite of the fact that the international scientific community is aware of pseudoreplication for almost twenty years. As the result, up to 47% of the experimental ecological papers, published in six Russian academic journals (Botanicheskij zhurnal, Ekologia, Izvestija RAN Ser. Biol., Lesovedenie, Zhurnal Obshchei Biologii, Zooligicheskij zhurnal) in 1998-2001, are pseudoreplicated; this proportion is nearly twice as high as the proportion of pseudoreplicated studies in international journals during 1960-1980, e.g. before the problem was discovered by Hurlbert (1984). This situation is alarming, especially because a substantial part of pseudoreplication arise from incorrect use of statistics, not from incorrect designing of experiments. By using several examples from the recent papers of Russian ecologists I shortly review the situations where pseudoreplication may occur and discuss some aspects of the experimental design, which are critical for correct processing and interpretation of ecological data.

Animals↗

Some considerations for the planning of total-community prevention trials--when is sample size adequate?

Despite the large accumulated experience of statisticians with sample-size calculations for clinical trials, little information is available on extending this methodology to total community trials, in which the units of randomization are total communities and surveillance methods are used to assess event rates. As in clinical trials, the asymptotic formula for total sample size is used. However, the assumptions underlying the usual method of computing the expected T-year even rate for the experimental group, pe, are no longer valid in total community trials: all emigrants (dropouts) from large communities cannot practically be identified or followed. Immigrants, similar to dropouts in clinical trials in that they are exposed to the treatment for only a portion of the period but are followed to the end of the study, present an additional problem. This paper presents a method for the computation of pe in total community trials, taking into account in- and out-migration as well as the determinants usually considered in clinical trials. Sample computations are presented, and general problems of design, execution and data analysis of total community prevention trials are briefly discussed.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Towards time-resolved MicroED grid preparation using mix-and-inject gas dynamic virtual nozzles.

Recent progress in gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN) technologies in combination with high-brilliance synchrotron and X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) has allowed the visualization of protein dynamics in crystallo by mixing macromolecular protein crystals with a substrate using tunable mixing times on the order of milliseconds to seconds prior to serial X-ray diffraction data collection. This has become the method of choice for high-resolution structure determination of intermediate states. However, such experiments require large counts of crystals of proper sizes for high-resolution data collection, and premium beam times for screening efforts. Cryogenic microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) represents a complementary technique that may be a more accessible avenue for time-resolved nanocrystallography compared with serial X-ray diffraction experiments. MicroED can produce full diffraction datasets from just a few submicrometre-thick crystals, and the approach is more readily accessible, requiring standard cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipment available at many universities and institutes. Cryogenic MicroED, like other forms of cryo-EM, begins with rapidly freezing biological material on electron microscopy grids. In the case of MicroED, micro- to nano-crystals (<500&#x2005;nm thick) are deposited onto electron microscopy grids and plunge-frozen for subsequent electron diffraction data collection. Here, we have incorporated GDVN technology developed originally for XFEL experiments into the freezing process as a first step towards time-resolved studies. We describe the limited deposition efficiency of the model MicroED protein proteinase K on TEM grids using GDVNs, preceding sample vitrification and successful MicroED data collection. We discuss both the initial results from such experiments and the methodological challenges in developing this approach into a reliable workflow for millisecond-to-second time-resolved structural studies of macromolecules. Our results promise a strategy to deposit crystals on grids using GDVNs and determine high-resolution structures by MicroED, constituting a first step towards development of time-resolved MicroED experiments.

MicroED↗

Body care experienced by people hospitalized with severe respiratory disease.

AIM: The paper gives a theoretical account of experiences of assisted personal body care (APBC) in hospitalized patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). BACKGROUND: Body care has been identified as a central but underestimated area of nursing. Hospitalized patients with severe COPD suffer from breathlessness on exertion and are dependent on help with personal body care. Studies have described patient strategies for managing breathlessness and preferences regarding nursing care during hospitalization. Yet the problems that patients can experience because of their inability to manage personal body care by themselves have not previously been explored. This study explored patients' experiences of being assisted with personal body care. METHODS: A grounded theory methodology was used with a convenience sample of 12 patients. Data were gathered from participant observation of sessions of APBC, in-depth interviews after the observed sessions and measurement of breathlessness perceived by patients before and after the sessions. FINDINGS: The patients perceived body care as a significant daily activity that needed to be carried out in order to preserve their integrity. Dependency and breathlessness, however, impeded the performance of body care activities and patients were struggling for self-preservation. They managed APBC by using a threefold strategy of not letting go, coping with dependency, and minimizing the risk of escalating breathlessness. Two dilemmas were identified as being inherent to the strategy. CONCLUSION: Increased knowledge of the complexities involved in providing assistance might improve nurses' ability to facilitate patients in managing APBC. Dependency is a central issue to address in order to support patients' efforts to preserve integrity and resolve dilemmas inherent to the strategy they use.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Aerial Dispersal and Epiphytic Survival of Pseudomonas syringae during a Pretest for the Release of Genetically Engineered Strains into the Environment.

Prospective experimental field evaluation of genetically engineered microorganisms, such as microbial pest control agents, raises issues of how to properly ascertain their fate and survival in the environment. Field trials with recombinant organisms must reflect requirements for sampling and monitoring. Field trials were conducted at Tulelake, Calif., to monitor the numbers of viable cells of a nonrecombinant strain of Pseudomonas syringae that entered the atmosphere and landed on plants and soil during and after an aerosol spray application. An exponential decrease in numbers of viable cells deposited at increasing distances from three sprayed plots was observed. The relative rate of survival of cells sprayed directly on plants was more than 10 times higher than that of cells dispersed through the air to similar adjacent plants. Results are being used to gain experience with the characteristics of a release site that influence containment or dispersal and to develop appropriate sampling methodologies for evaluating survival and dispersal characteristics of genetically engineered bacteria released into the environment. The ability to make predictions about microbial dispersal and survival will reduce the uncertainties associated with environmental releases of recombinant organisms.

Journal Article↗

Synthesis, metabolism, and disposition of the antiinflammatory 3-[2-(4-methylphenyl)-thioethyl]-sydnone-5-14C in the rat.

The synthesis, as well as the in vivo and in vitro disposition, of 3-[2-(4-methylphenyl)thioethyl]-sydnone-5-14C (5) in the rat is described. After intraperitoneal injection of a single dose of 5 in female Sprague-Dawley rats, the distribution and excretion of radioactive substances was monitored (24 h). Radioactivity in the blood declined in a biphasic manner with half-lives of 0.55 and 15.2 h for the alpha- and beta-phase, respectively. About 8% of the administered radioactivity was detected in feces and approximately 90% in urine (24 h). In 3.75 h, 50% of the radio-dose was excreted in the urine. Tissue distribution studies demonstrated a selective uptake of radioactivity only by the adrenal glands and the ovaries. The radioactivity in these organs reached a maximum approximately 1 h after dosing and then declined rapidly. None of the parent drug was excreted from such a single dose (i.p. injection) which indicated rapid in vivo metabolism. Nor could there be found any metabolites related to the whole structure, for example, the sulfoxide or aromatic hydroxy compounds. The sydnone 5, its sulfoxide and unconjugated metabolites were detected and quantitated by GC/MS methodology using unlabelled authentic samples. Radioactive carbon dioxide was not detected during the in vivo or in vitro experiments, nor was it released from alkaline urine samples upon acidification. Radiolabelled urinary metabolites were glycolic acid-1-14C 9 (34%), its glycine conjugate 10 (52%) and 3-vinylsydnone-5-14C 11 (4%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Stories from the sealed rooms: patient interviews during the Gulf war.

The mass deployment of gas masks to an entire population, which occurred in Israel prior to the Persian Gulf crisis and their use in early 1991, were phenomena without precedent. In addition to the historical significance, there were considerable health and psychological ramifications. This research examines the experiences of the Israeli public during the Gulf war using a qualitative methodological approach, narrative analysis. Interviews of a convenience sample of 60 patients attending primary care clinics were audio-recorded by three family physicians using an open-ended interview guide. Encounters took place at sites located in the north, south and centre of the country during the period of Iraqi missile attacks. Patients' stories were analysed using a multistep narrative analysis protocol. Seventy per cent of subjects reported deleterious health effects related to the missile attacks or civil defence measures, mainly psychological and neurological complaints, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms. Recurrent themes and metaphors in the narratives most often focused on the difference of this war to others, the central involvement of the family, concern for children and identification and connection to the nation. The Scud missile attacks combined with the civil defence measures had significant impact on the population, as manifested in subjects' stories, symptoms, symbols and behaviour. Narrative analysis provided an efficient method to capture the rich texture of patients' experiences.

Adolescent↗

Two sample comparison for large groups of correlated binary responses.

Although there is much literature on testing the treatment effect in experiments with correlated binary outcomes, the existing methodologies only work well when the cluster size is small. In this paper, I propose a simple method to test the treatment effect in experiments with large groups of correlated binary outcomes. I use the weighted estimating equations approach to estimate the treatment effect. The proposal is appropriate under any correlation structure. Power comparisons show the advantage of the new procedure.

Computer Simulation↗

Childhood sexual victimization among college men: definitional and methodological issues.

Little information exists on the childhood sexual victimization of males as it occurs in nonclinical samples. Employing a broad funnel-type of questionnaire methodology, the current study examined childhood sexual victimization in two samples of college men consisting of 253 and 329 students from a large Midwestern and Southeastern university, respectively. There was general consistency between the two samples in the prevalence and descriptive features of the abuse. However, different definitions of abuse generated markedly different outcomes in the data. Depending on the definition utilized, prevalence rates varied from 4% to 24% of the samples being defined as "abused." Moreover, the quality of experiences varied by definition. Using less restrictive definitions, the experiences reported by men were distinctively different from those reported in studies of college women or clinical samples of boys. This study identifies methodological and definitional issues as being critical to the study of childhood sexual victimization, particularly among males.

Adolescent↗

Goodness-of-fit methods for additive-risk models in tumorigenicity experiments.

In tumorigenicity experiments, a complication is that the time to event is generally not observed, so that the time to tumor is subject to interval censoring. One of the goals in these studies is to properly model the effect of dose on risk. Thus, it is important to have goodness of fit procedures available for assessing the model fit. While several estimation procedures have been developed for current-status data, relatively little work has been done on model-checking techniques. In this article, we propose numerical and graphical methods for the analysis of current-status data using the additive-risk model, primarily focusing on the situation where the monitoring times are dependent. The finite-sample properties of the proposed methodology are examined through numerical studies. The methods are then illustrated with data from a tumorigenicity experiment.

Animals↗

Application of protein lysate microarrays to molecular marker verification and quantification.

This study presents the development and application of protein lysate microarray (LMA) technology for verification of presence and quantification of human tissue samples for protein biomarkers. Sub-picogram range sensitivity has been achieved on LMA using a non-enzymatic protein detection methodology. Results from a set of quality control experiments are presented and demonstrate the high sensitivity and reproducibility of the LMA methodology. The optimized LMA methodology has been applied for verification of the presence and quantification of disease markers for atherosclerosis. LMA were used to measure lipoprotein [a] and apolipoprotein B100 in 52 carotid endarterectomy samples. The data generated by LMA were validated by ELISA using the same protein lysates. The correlations of protein amounts estimated by LMA and ELISA were highly significant, with r2 > or = 0.98 (p < or = 0.001) for lipoprotein [a] and with r2 > or = 0.94 (p < or = 0.001) for apolipoprotein B100. This is the first report to compare data generated using proteins microarrays with ELISA, a standard technology for the verification of the presence of protein biomarkers. The sensitivity, reproducibility, and high-throughput quality of LMA technology make it a potentially powerful technology for profiling disease specific protein markers in clinical samples.

Journal Article↗

[Experimental analysis of some determinants of inductive reasoning].

Three experiments were conducted from a behavioral perspective to investigate the determinants of inductive reasoning and to compare some methodological differences. The dependent variable used in these experiments was the threshold of confident response (TCR), which was defined as "the minimal sample size required to establish generalization from instances." Experiment 1 examined the effects of population size on inductive reasoning, and the results from 35 college students showed that the TCR varied in proportion to the logarithm of population size. In Experiment 2, 30 subjects showed distinct sensitivity to both prior probability and base-rate. The results from 70 subjects who participated in Experiment 3 showed that the TCR was affected by its consequences (risk condition), and especially, that humans were sensitive to a loss situation. These results demonstrate the sensitivity of humans to statistical variables in inductive reasoning. Furthermore, methodological comparison indicated that the experimentally observed values of TCR were close to, but not as precise as the optimal values predicted by Bayes' model. On the other hand, the subjective TCR estimated by subjects was highly discrepant from the observed TCR. These findings suggest that various aspects of inductive reasoning can be fruitfully investigated not only from subjective estimations such as probability likelihood but also from an objective behavioral perspective.

Adult↗

Interpretive description: a noncategorical qualitative alternative for developing nursing knowledge.

Despite nursing's enthusiastic endorsement of the applicability of qualitative research approaches to answering relevant clinical questions, many nurse researchers have been hesitant to depart from traditional qualitative research methods. While various derivations of phenomenology, grounded theory, and ethnography have been popularized within qualitative nursing research, the methodological principles upon which these approaches are based reflect the foundations and objectives of disciplines whose aims are sometimes quite distinct from nursing's domain of inquiry. Thus, as many nurse researchers have discovered, nursing's unique knowledge mandate may not always be well served by strict adherence to traditional methods as the "gold standard" for qualitative nursing research. The authors present the point of view that a non-categorical description, drawing on principles grounded in nursing's epistemological mandate, may be an appropriate methodological alternative for credible research toward the development of nursing science. They propose a coherent set of strategies for conceptual orientation, sampling, data construction, analysis, and reporting by which nurses can use an interpretive descriptive approach to develop knowledge about human health and illness experience phenomena without sacrificing the theoretical or methodological integrity that the traditional qualitative approaches provide.

Humans↗

Experiences of a primary health care rehabilitation programme. A focus group study of persons with chronic pain.

PURPOSE: The objective of the study was to describe participants' experiences of a rehabilitation programme for persons with chronic pain. METHOD: A qualitative design with focus group methodology was used. The sample consisted of 24 individuals with chronic pain who were divided into six focus groups. The rehabilitation programme, which was led by an occupational therapist and a physiotherapist, took place at a healthcare centre and comprised 12 group sessions. RESULTS: The qualitative themes described the programme as a meaningful place to which to belong and as an encouraging environment. They also included a criticism of the format and content of the programme. The participants had, however, not reflected over their possibility of influencing parts of the programme, as they took for granted that it was predetermined. The themes furthermore described the participants' expectations of being regarded as sick, but also their valuing of their own contribution in taking responsibility for carrying out the programme and for having integrated the content and becoming aware of their limitations. CONCLUSIONS: The participants' experiences of the design, content and format of the programme were positioned between two extremes: A passive and an active role; their own responsibility and that of the leaders; weakness and ego-strength; and commitment and lack of commitment.

Adult↗

Physiological aspects on catecholamine sampling.

Catecholamine (CA) determinations are valuable tools in studies of sympatho-adrenal activity. However, several methodological problems should be considered when designing experiments and interpreting plasma CA results. The commonly assessed antecubital venous noradrenaline (NA) concentrations reflect local nerve activity, since about half of this NA is derived from the forearm tissues. Sympathetic nerve activity is not uniform, but may vary considerably between organs. Overall sympathetic activity is best assessed by measurements of NA in arterial or mixed venous blood. Venous adrenaline (ADR) levels may also be unrepresentative due to marked and variable extraction in the peripheral tissues. Urinary NA and ADR excretion studies still provide valuable information. Regional studies of NA overflow from individual organs give good estimates of local nerve activity and will increase the understanding of the functional organization of the sympathetic nervous system.

Animals↗