Obesity is recognized as a severe threat to overall human health and is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. Abnormal expansion of white ...adipose tissue involves increasing the existing adipocytes' cell size or increasing the number through the differentiation of new adipocytes. Adipogenesis is a process of proliferation and differentiation of adipocyte precursor cells in mature adipocytes. As a key process in determining the number of adipocytes, it is a possible therapeutic approach for obesity. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the molecular mechanisms involved in adipogenesis that could serve as suitable therapeutic targets. Reducing bodyweight is regarded as a major health benefit. Limited efficacy and possible side effects and drug interactions of available anti-obesity treatment highlight a constant need for finding novel efficient and safe anti-obesity ingredients. Numerous studies have recently investigated the inhibitory effects of natural products on adipocyte differentiation and lipid accumulation. Possible anti-obesity effects of natural products include the induction of apoptosis, cell-cycle arrest or delayed progression, and interference with transcription factor cascade or intracellular signaling pathways during the early phase of adipogenesis.
Tobacco use is the second major cause of morbidity and the 4th most common health risk factor in the world. Medical professionals have a critical role in the process of smoking cessation both as ...advisers and behavioural models for the citizens. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of smoking among health care professionals, their smoking habits and personal attitudes toward smoking, role and the responsibility of health care professionals in the prevention of smoking.
Out of the total number of examinees, 175 (35,1%) are active smokers, 29 (5,8%) are former smokers, and 295 (59,1%) are non-smokers. Nurses with secondary education disagree the most with the claim that passive smoking is more harmful to health (χ2 test,
= .008), also with the claim that the introduced Smoking Act is fair to smokers (χ2 test,
= .021). More nurses with secondary education disagree completely or partially that one should pay attention to smoking in the presence of non-smokers (χ2 test,
= .012).
Training programs for health care workers are needed to improve their ability in smoking cessation techniques to provide active support to their patients.
This study intended to investigate whether the workload of nurses in the course of providing end-of-life care correlated with their religiousness, spiritual experience and level of agreement with ...dysthanasia procedures. The respondents included 279 nurses from four Croatian hospitals. A structured and validated instrument was applied. Almost 90% of respondents are religious, and almost 45% of them have daily spiritual experiences. Respondents, especially those with high levels of religiousness and spiritual experience, express a low level of agreement with dysthanasia (mean = 58.21; score = 25−125). Moreover, nurses self-rated (on a scale of 1−5) their workload as quite high, especially when performing contradictory tasks imposed on them by their superiors (mean = 3.05) and during direct contact with dying patients and their family members (mean = 2.56). This significantly highest level of workload was experienced by the youngest nurses (p = 0.01) and nurses with little work experience (p < 0.01). This study also indicated that nurses who agree with dysthanasia experienced a higher level of workload when providing end-of-life care (r = 0.178; p < 0.01), while more frequent spiritual experiences reduced the level of workload (r = −0.205; p < 0.01). A deeper understanding of nurses’ attitudes toward dysthanasia, as well as of their religiousness and spiritual experiences, may ensure the collection of data beneficial to the timely identification of potential risks caused by workload.
The aim of this clinical study was to determine the impact of the consumption of chicken eggs enriched with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, selenium, vitamin E, and lutein on micro- and ...macrovascular endothelium-dependent dilation, inflammation biomarkers, and oxidative stress levels in participants with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS). This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study that included 30 CCS participants (9 women, 21 men) randomized into the control group (N = 15), who ate ordinary chicken eggs (three per day), and the Nutri4 group (N = 15), who ate enriched eggs (three per day) for 21 days. Microvascular and macrovascular endothelium-dependent vasodilation was evaluated by measuring forearm skin post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH) and acetylcholine-induced dilation (AChID) and the flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery, respectively. The serum lipid profile, anti- and proinflammatory cytokine levels, serum concentration of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms, and oxidative stress biomarkers were measured before and after the diet protocols. Enriched, but not regular, chicken eggs significantly improved microvascular PORH and AChID and macrovascular FMD, increased the serum concentration of inducible NOS, decreased serum triglyceride levels, and decreased proinflammatory cytokine IL-17A and TGF-1β levels compared to initial measurements. Patients with CCS can benefit from the consumption of enriched chicken eggs due to improved lipid biomarkers, a more favorable anti-inflammatory milieu, and improved vascular relaxation at micro- and macrovascular levels.
Depression and Suicidality during Pregnancy Miksic, Stefica; Miskulin, Maja; Juranic, Brankica ...
Psychiatria Danubina,
03/2018, Letnik:
30, Številka:
1
Journal Article, Paper
Odprti dostop
Pregnant women experience a set of biological and psychological disturbances. The aim of this study was to assess the appearance of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts in pregnant women during ...the third trimester of pregnancy.
A total of 110 pregnant women were included in the study. All of them filled out an anonymous questionnaire about sociodemographic data, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).
Study participants were between 18-46 years of age. 45.45% of the pregnant women were between 37 and 39 weeks pregnant. According to the EPDS, the risk for perinatal depression was observed in 29 (23.36%) pregnant women: 15 (13.64%) of them had a total score on EPDS from 10-12, and 14 (12.72%) had a total score of 13-20. A higher score on both Beck scales was characteristic for pregnant women with a higher risk for the development of perinatal depression based on the results on EPDS. The prevalence of suicidal thoughts was 2.73%.
Perinatal depression is a state which should be given more attention. The recognition of perinatal depression during pregnancy allows health medical workers to observe pregnant women at risk and then to make preventive and clinical interventions. The risk for perinatal depression is higher in pregnant women with more expressed depressive and anxiety symptoms. Pregnant women with suicidal thoughts are more anxious and depressed.
This study aimed to test the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-enriched hen egg consumption on serum lipid and free fatty acid profiles, inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers, ...and microvascular reactivity in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Forty CAD patients participated in this study. Of those, 20 patients had acute CAD (Ac-CAD), and 20 patients had chronic CAD (Ch-CAD). The control group (N = 20) consumed three regular hen eggs/daily (249 mg n-3 PUFAs/day), and the n-3 PUFAs group (N = 20) consumed three n-3 PUFA-enriched hen eggs/daily (1053 g n-3 PUFAs/day) for 3 weeks. Serum n-3 PUFA concentration significantly increased (in all CAD patients), while LDL cholesterol and IL-6 (in Ac-CAD patients), and hsCRP and IL-1a (in all CAD patients) significantly decreased in the n-3 PUFAs group. Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity significantly decreased, and forearm skin microvascular reactivity in response to vascular occlusion (postocclusive reactive hyperemia (PORH)) remained unchanged in both the n-3 PUFAs and control groups in total CAD, Ac-CAD, and Ch-CAD patients. Potentially, n-3 PUFA-enriched hen eggs can change the free fatty acid profile to a more favorable lower n6/n3 ratio, and to exhibit mild anti-inflammatory effects but not to affect microvascular reactivity in CAD patients.
Background: The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) has been developed through extensive and qualitative research. Numerous studies have confirmed the reliability and validity of the DSES among ...different populations. Most of the studies have shown association of the DSES with physical and psychological well-being. Purpose: The current study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the DSES in the Croatian population. Method: The 16-item scale was translated through standard translation/back-translation procedures. The scale was afterwards applied to a sample of 535 test subjects (49% men and 51% women), mean age 42.6 years. Results: The coefficient of reliability (Cronbach alpha = 0.945) is very high. The coefficients of discriminant validity were satisfactory for 15 items, whereas only one item (14) has a coefficient of less than 0.30. The factor analysis after oblique rotation resulted in two related factors: the relationship with God and relationship with others. Using these two factors explained the 66.1% of the variance. Conclusion: Based on the data, it can be concluded that DSES has satisfactory psychometric characteristics and can be applied to the Croatian population, but its correlation with other religious and non-religious constructs should be verified in further research.
A nurse is the first person who comes in contact with patients and their family members. She shares information with them by verbal and non-verbal communication, with the goal of establishing a good ...relationship and focusing her attention on the patient as a whole person. Nurse’s sincere thoughts and feelings create a sense of security and open communication, which are key elements for providing healthcare and inclusion of the family in the decision-making process. A nurse who spends her time by the patient’s side plans, implements, evaluates and documents the changes in the patient’s condition. That way the healthcare is focused on meeting the physiological needs and maintaining stable condition of the patient. Struggle for life doesn’t leave any time for the family to adjust to the new situation. Establishing the patient – family – nurse relationship is important not only in the beginning, but also during the whole treatment and decision-making process. When relationships within the family are stable, the family has an irreplaceable role in developing a sense of security and belonging for the patient.
Providing care for the patient is a priority for the healthcare team, whereas the most significant thing for the family are sincere and correct information about the patient’s current condition, the effect of the applied therapy and the possible outcome of the treatment. Developing care philosophy focused on the family and the holistic approach includes assessment of the family’s needs and the impact of the disease on its overall functioning. Cultural factors play a significant role in the ability to understand not only the patient’s but also the family’s point of view. Medical, ethical, legal and a whole range of other problems connected to the receiver and provider of services can be avoided by effective communication.
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of a partner relationship, focusing on the family and the essential role of the nurse in decision-making.
The incentive for revalorization of aging and old age derives from the tendencies of modern society which looks upon this stage in life with depreciation and stigmatization of the expending agents of ...pension, social and healthcare funds. It is therefore necessary to affirm this stage in life by promoting vitalizing tendencies of the positive aspect of healthy and active aging with bioethical-legal protection and empathic support from the pastoral proximity of church-pastoral models.
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