Free will perceptions and psychiatric symptoms in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Some research suggests that holding a free will perspective may offer mental health and physical health benefits. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This study is the first to examine links between free will perceptions and psychiatric symptoms in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Study results suggest that helping people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia to recognize situations where they do have some freedom of choice over their actions and emotional reactions (free will) may assist them in improving their experiences and better managing their symptoms. ABSTRACT: Introduction Some research indicates that having a strong sense that one possesses free will may be associated with better psychological and physical health. This study is the first to examine the relationship between free will perceptions and psychiatric symptoms in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Method Thirty-two participants were interviewed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale to assess symptom severity and the Free Will Subscale of the Free Will and Determinism Scale to assess free will perceptions. Results As hypothesized, a negative association was found between free will perceptions and total symptom severity, though it appears that this was mainly accounted for by positive symptoms. A content analysis was also conducted to qualitatively examine how patients conceptualize the construct of free will and its role in coping with their own mental illness. Discussion Study results suggest that holding a free will perspective may mitigate psychiatric symptoms in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Thus, psychiatric nurses and other mental health clinicians may improve current treatments for schizophrenia by helping patients recognize situations where they do have some freedom of choice over their actions and emotional reactions (free will) to stressful life events.

Salmonella enterica: survival, colonization, and virulence differences among serovars.

Data indicate that prevalence of specific serovars of Salmonella enterica in human foodborne illness is not correlated with their prevalence in feed. Given that feed is a suboptimal environment for S. enterica, it appears that survival in poultry feed may be an independent factor unrelated to virulence of specific serovars of Salmonella. Additionally, S. enterica serovars appear to have different host specificity and the ability to cause disease in those hosts is also serovar dependent. These differences among the serovars may be related to gene presence or absence and expression levels of those genes. With a better understanding of serovar specificity, mitigation methods can be implemented to control Salmonella at preharvest and postharvest levels.

Detection of quinolones in commercial eggs obtained from farms in the Espaíllat Province in the Dominican Republic.

Previously, we reported the use of quinolones in broiler chickens resulted in residues in retail poultry meat obtained from nine districts in the Santiago Province of the Dominican Republic. Residues in poultry products are a concern due to consumer allergies and the potential to develop antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Given the use of quinolones in poultry production and our previous findings in poultry meat, the objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of quinolone residues in eggs. Samples were collected from 48 different farms located in three of the four municipalities (Moca, Cayetano Germosén, and Jamao) of the Espaíllat Province. Each farm was sampled three times between July and September for a total of 144 samples. Samples were evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively for quinolone residues using the Equinox test. Operation systems (cage or floor), seasonality, and location were considered along with egg-producer sizes that were defined as small scale, <30,000 eggs per day; medium scale, 30,000 to 60,000 eggs per day; or large scale, >60,000 eggs per day. From small-, medium-, and large-scale producers, 69, 50, and 40% of samples were positive for quinolone residues, respectively. A greater number of samples were positive (61%) in floor-laying hen producers compared with those using cages (40%). In the Jamao municipality, 67% of the samples were positive compared with Moca and Cayetano Germosén, where 56 and 25% of samples were positive, respectively. Sampling time had an effect on percent positives: samples collected in July, August, and September were 71, 19, and 63% positive, respectively. Overall, 51% of the samples obtained from eggs produced in the province of Espaíllat were positive for quinolone residues at levels higher than the maximum limits for edible tissue established by the regulatory agencies, including the European Union and U.S. Department of Agriculture. The results obtained from this research confirmed the presence of quinolone residue in eggs, which may present a health risk to some consumers.

Repercusión del embarazo prolongado en resultados perinatales / Repercution of the prolonged pregnancy in perinatal results

Se realiza un estudio de casos y controles con las gestantes con embarazo prolongado que parieron en el Hospital General Docente Dr. Agostinho Neto de Guantánamo. Se determina la repercusión del embarazo prolongado, que culmina en operación cesárea, en los resultados perinatales en nuestro medio. Se tomaron 140 gestantes con embarazo prolongado y que terminaron por vía cesárea y 150 con embarazos normales que terminaron también por esta vía. Se determinan algunas variables como: edad, paridad, forma de inicio del trabajo de parto, complicaciones maternas de las cesáreas e indicaciones de las cesáreas. Las gestantes con embarazo prolongado tienen 3 veces más posibilidades de terminar el embarazo mediante inducción del parto que el resto de las embarazadas a término. No existen diferencias estadísticamente significativas en las complicaciones relacionadas a la operación cesárea. El sufrimiento fetal agudo es 2 veces más frecuente entre los embarazos prolongados y la inducción fallida es 3 veces más frecuente (AU)

Influencia de la adolescencia en los resultados perinatales / Adolescente influence in perinatal results

Se realiza un estudio de caso-control en el Hospital General Docente Dr. Agostinho Neto de la provincia Guantánamo durante el año 2006, para determinar la influencia de la adolescencia en determinados resultados perinatales en nuestro medio, en comparación con aquellas gestantes con edades consideradas adecuadas para el parto. Se selecciona una muestra aleatoria de 100 embarazadas adolescentes y 100 no adolescentes. Se utiliza el Odds Ratio como medida para comparar ambos grupos. Fue significativa la amenaza de parto pretérmino en el 16 por ciento de las adolescentes contra el 7 por ciento de las no adolescentes. La anemia, enfermedad hipertensiva gravídica, rotura prematura de membranas y sepsis urinaria no tuvieron diferencias estadísticamente significativas. El bajo peso se presentó en el 21 y 5 por ciento de los grupos de estudio y de control, respectivamente. El parto distócico no tuvo diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre ambos grupos de estudio (AU)