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Background: There have been many single cross‐sectional studies on nurse or patient outcomes. However, long‐term evidence on improving nurse and patient outcomes is still limited. The High‐Quality Care Project is a national project in China for improving nurse and patient outcomes by implementing primary nursing. Aim: (1) To assess the long‐term changes in nurse and patient outcomes in the context of the High‐Quality Care Project. (2) To explore the potential influences of primary nursing on nurse and patient outcomes based on this study and broader existing evidence. Methods: The data of two cross‐sectional studies were used for analysis. The two cross‐sectional studies were conducted before (2009) and after (2016) the High‐Quality Care Project. A total of 1376 nurses and 904 patients from 40 units of 10 tertiary hospitals were surveyed. Reliable and validated instruments were used to measure nurse and patient outcomes. Multilevel modelling was the main method for data analysis. Results: Nurses in 2016 were more satisfied than nurses in 2009 with most dimensions of nurse work environment and job satisfaction. However, they were not more satisfied with burnout, global job satisfaction or intention to leave their job. Nurses in 2016 also reported better quality of patient care and patient safety while their patients reported higher patient satisfaction. Conclusion: The analysis of our results based on existing evidence indicates that primary nursing could be considered as a potentially effective way to improve nurse work environment and patient outcomes. More studies with rigorous study design from micro perspectives would be useful to further explore the direct effects of primary nursing on nurse or/and patient outcomes. Implications for nursing and nursing policy: Policymakers, healthcare service leaders and nurse managers should make efforts to provide multi‐level supports to cultivate an encouraging environment for nurses to practice primary nursing, because the implementation of primary nursing may improve the nurse work environment and patient outcomes. Furthermore, improving nurse participation in hospital affairs and developing nursing discipline and education for increasing nursing staff resource and nurses' capacity – which all need policy and management supports – are crucial to further improve nurse and patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the results of a study on the tribes of Onagraceae and on the existing phylogenetic relationships among them. The tribes were studied using the PgiC sequences, a nuclear gene encoding cytosolic phosphoglucose isomerase. Results show that PgiC has a greater rate of divergence as compared to the chloroplast genes.

This paper reviews the evidence that three pairs of diploid annual plant species are related as progenitor and recent derivative. The species pairs are Layia glandulosa and Layia discoidea, Clarkia biloba and Clarkia lingulata, and Stephanomeria exigua ssp. coronaria and Stephanomeria malheurensis. The three cases are examples of Verne Grant's model of ‘Quantum Speciation’, in which a derived species is budded off and acquires new traits while the parental species continues more or less as before. The derived species differ from their progenitors in different ways and show different modes of reproductive isolation. However, the number of differences between each derivative and its progenitor appears to be few and relatively simple in genetic terms. Comparison of a recently evolved species with its progenitor can reveal what happens during speciation because overall divergence is minimal and the direction of evolution is clear. Evidence from DNA sequences may be particularly useful to recognize additional examples of progenitor and derivative relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines PgiC genes in two allotetraploid species in the wildflower genus Clarkia that have one of their diploid parents in common. Overview of an allotetraploid plant species; Electrophoretic pattern of PgiC isozymes in Clarkia delicata; Difficulties of recognizing genes that no longer encode functional protein products.

Provides information on a study which reported one of the first molecular characterizations of genes encoding enzymes in tetraploid species and a diploid progenitor and related diploid species. Materials and methods; Results and discussion.

Electrophoretic variability was examined in 15 natural populations of Salicornia europaea and Salicornia ramosissima, two nearly indistinguishable, diploid, annual plant species common in salt marshes in England and Europe. All of the 800 plants examined were hormozygous at the 30 loci which were scored and the number of isozymes for each of the enzyme systems was the same in all individuals. The electrophoretic mobilities of 24 of the enzymes were identical in all plants. With respect to the gene loci coding the other six enzymes, only two classes of individuals were detected: a plant possessed either one set of alleles, or an alternate set for the six loci. One electrophoretic pattern was found primarily in individuals from the upper levels, of salt marshes, whereas the other pattern was common in plants from the lower levels. The two patterns are characteristic of Salicornia ramosissima and Salicornia europaea respectively. The electrophoretic evidence confirms the reproductive isolation of the species, indicates an apparent lack of genetic variability in both of them and simplifies the interpretation of the ecological differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves intermittent inhalation of 100% oxygen under a pressure greater than 1 atm. Despite over a century of use in medical settings, hyperbaric oxygen remains a controversial therapy. The last 20 years have seen a clarification of the mechanism of action of hyperbaric therapy and a greater understanding of its potential benefit. However, despite the substantial evidence that hyperbaric oxygen may have a therapeutic effect in certain carefully defined disease states, many practitioners remain unaware of these findings or are concerned about using hyperbaric therapy because of the controversy it has engendered. This review examines the indications currently considered appropriate for hyperbaric oxygen and briefly evaluates animal and clinical data substantiating these indications. Areas in which the mechanism of action of hyperbaric oxygen is still not well understood, as well as possible new areas of applications, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allotetraploid plant species originate when the genomes of diploid species are brought together in hybrids and then duplicated, a process apparently initiated by fertilization involving at least one unreduced gamete containing a diploid rather than a haploid complement of chromosomes. In an allotetraploid, the genomes of the diploid parents become homoeologous subgenomes. Many genes in the two sub-genomes are expected to be similar in sequence and regulation, but others might be divergent.

OBJECTIVE. This study was conducted to determine whether a specialized form of nursing could help prevent or reduce psychosocial maladjustment among children, aged 4 to 16 years, with chronic physical disorders. In contrast to other studies, nurses were chosen to provide the intervention based on their central role in health care and the appropriateness of their training for this task. METHODOLOGY. A clinical trial was conducted in which 332 children and their families were randomly assigned either to receive this specialized nursing for a 1-year period, or to remain in the control condition. The children were all active outpatients in nine clinics at the Montreal Children's Hospital. Three measures of psychosocial functioning administered before and after the intervention were the basis for assessing its efficacy. The measures included the behavior problems profile of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, the Personal Adjustment and Role Skills, completed by the parents, and two versions of the Self-Perception Profile (Harter) for children aged 4 to 7 years and 8 to 16 years. RESULTS. Differences between groups were examined both categorically and quantitatively. In the former, the percent of children with clinical scores (those above or below a cut-off indicative of maladjustment) at baseline and postintervention were compared. In the latter, the mean scores at the end of the trial were analyzed using analysis of covariance with the baseline scores as covariates. Statistically significant positive differences were found in the domain of anxiety/depression on the Personal Adjustment and Role Skills, and in the areas of scholastic competence, behavior, and global self-worth on the Harter. CONCLUSION. The results indicate that this intervention helps children with chronic disorders by preventing or reducing maladjustment. Most university-prepared nurses already have the basic skills required to achieve these results; only a modest investment in reorientation may be needed. Thus, other pediatric centers should be able to replicate these findings and thereby take a major step toward improving the lives of children with chronic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been associated with dysglycaemia. However, there is scarce data on the risk of developing diabetes mellitus (DM) in HIV/AIDS patients in Africa. Objectives: Primarily to quantify and compare the risk of having diabetes mellitus in HIV/AIDS patients on HAART and HAART-naïve patients in Limbe, Cameroon; and secondarily to determine if there is an association between HAART and increased DM risk. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Limbe Regional Hospital HIV treatment center between April and June 2013, involving 200 HIV/AIDS patients (100 on first-line HAART regimens for at least 12 months matched by age and gender to 100 HAART-naïve patients). The Diabetes Risk Score (DRS) was calculated using a clinically validated model based on routinely recorded primary care parameters. A DRS ≥ 7% was considered as indicative of an increased risk of developing DM. Results: The median DRS was significantly higher in patients on HAART (2.30%) than in HAART-naïve patients (1.62%), p = 0.002. The prevalence of the increased DM risk (DRS ≥ 7%) was significantly higher in patients on HAART, 31% (95% CI: 22.13–41.03) than in HAART-naïve patients, 17% (95% CI: 10.23–25.82), p = 0.020. HAART was significantly associated with an increased DM risk, the odds ratio of the HAART group compared to the HAART-naïve group was 2.19 (95% CI: 1.12–4.30, p = 0.020). However, no association was found after adjusting for BMI-defined overweight, hypertension, age, sex, family history of DM and smoking (Odds ratio = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.42–3.59, p = 0.708). Higher BMI and hypertension accounted for the increased risk of DM in patients on HAART. Also, more than 82% of the participants were receiving or had ever used Zidovudine based HAART regimens. Conclusion: HIV/AIDS patients on HAART could be at a greater risk of having DM than HAART-naïve patients as a result of the effect of HAART on risk factors of DM such as BMI and blood pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has greatly reduced the morbidity and mortality of HIV/AIDS patients but has also been associated with increased metabolic complications and cardiovascular diseases. Data on the association between HAART and hypertension (HTN) in Africa are scarce. Objectives: Primarily to compare the prevalence of HTN in HIV/AIDS patients on HAART and HAART-naïve patients in Limbe, Cameroon; and secondarily to assess other socio-demographic and clinical factors associated with HTN in this population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Limbe Regional Hospital HIV treatment center between April and June 2013, involving 200 HIV/AIDS patients (100 on first-line HAART regimens for at least 12 months matched by age and sex to 100 HAART-naïve patients). HTN was defined as a systolic blood pressure (BP) ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg. Results: The prevalence of HTN in patients on HAART was twice (38%; 95% CI: 28.5–48.3) that of the HAART-naïve patients (19%; 95% CI, 11.8–28.1), p = 0.003. In multivariate analyses adjusted for age, gender, smoking, family history of HTN, and BMI-defined overweight, HAART was associated with HTN, the adjusted odds ratio of the HAART-treated versus HAART-naïve group was 2.20 (95% CI: 1.07–4.52), p = 0.032. HTN was associated with older age and male gender, in the HAART group and with BMI-defined overweight in the HAART-naïve group. Conclusion: The prevalence of hypertension in HIV/AIDS patients in Limbe stands out to be elevated, higher in patients on HAART compared to those not on treatment. Blood pressure and cardiovascular risk factors should be routinely monitored. Other factors such as diet, weight control and physical exercise should also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]