Using positive images to manage resistance-to-care and combative behaviors in nursing home residents with dementia: A pilot study.

This pilot study attempted to reduce resistance-to-care (RTC) and combative behaviors in nursing home residents with dementia by eliciting their positive affect. Four female residents with dementia were recruited from a nursing facility. Each resident was involved in one intervention trial and one control trial. The response of the residents was assessed by the Agitated Behavior Scale and the Observational Measurement of Engagement Tool. The distress level of the certified nursing assistants (CNAs) delivering the care was reported through the Distress Thermometer. Results showed that the residents displayed fewer behavioral symptoms in the intervention trial than in the control trial. The CNAs reported less distress in the intervention trial than in the control trial. These preliminary findings suggest that it might be feasible to use positive images to reduce residents' behavioral symptoms and decrease the distress of CNAs.

The impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus on mortality in hospitalized female cancer patients in Taiwan.

INTRODUCTION: The goal of this study was to determine the relationships among type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), specific cancer histological types and mortality in hospitalized women. METHODS: Patients over 19 years of age were included if the indication for hospital admission was a diagnosis of type 2 DM or a malignancy. In total, 67,660 female patients with a mean age 62.76 ± 14.48 years were enrolled. These patients were categorized into the following three groups: patients with cancer but without type 2 DM (group A); patients with cancer and type 2 DM (group B) and patients with type 2 DM but without cancer (group C). Attributable fractions (AF) were calculated as ([hazard ratio - 1]/hazard ratio) × 100 to evaluate the impact of type 2 DM on mortality for specific cancers. RESULTS: Of the study participants, 37,204 (55%) were diagnosed with type 2 DM. The patients were categorized as follows: group A, 30,456 patients; group B, 5992 patients and group C, 31,212 patients. Group B patients had high frequencies of pancreatic, liver and renal cancers and low frequencies of thyroid, breast and ovarian cancers. Of the 36,448 cancer patients, 2906 (8%) died. The mortality rate in group B (10 %) was significantly higher than that in groups A and C. Type 2 DM was associated with increased mortality and AF for thyroid, nasopharyngeal, urinary tract, ovarian, breast and cervical cancers (hazard ratio over 1.50). CONCLUSION: The incidence of type 2 DM in patients with different histological types of cancer varied widely, ranging from 8-34%. Among the cancer patients, type 2 DM had a significantly greater impact on the mortality rates of patients with cancers associated with relatively low mortality.

Notebook computer use with different monitor tilt angle: effects on posture, muscle activity and discomfort of neck pain users.

This study aimed to evaluate the posture, muscle activities, and self reported discomforts of neck pain notebook computer users on three monitor tilt conditions: 100°, 115°, and 130°. Six subjects were recruited in this study to completed typing tasks. Results showed subjects have a trend to show the forward head posture in the condition that monitor was set at 100°, and the significant less neck and shoulder discomfort were noted in the condition that monitor was set at 130°. These result suggested neck pain notebook user to set their monitor tilt angle at 130°.

Incidences of cancers in diabetic and non-diabetic hospitalized adult patients in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: The study was to investigate the relationship between diabetes mellitus ( DM), specific cancers, age, and gender. METHODS: This was a retrospective study that examined the frequency of different forms of cancer among male and female patients with or without DM admitted to a single hospital in Taiwan between January 2009 and June 2010. RESULTS: Of 101,002 study patients admitted to the hospital, 15,901 (15.74%) were diagnosed with DM and 16,748 (16.58%) with a malignancy. The frequency of DM differed between males and females (17.5% vs 14.2%; P<0.001), and males had a higher cancer incidence than females (20.2% vs 13.5%; P<0.001). Patients with DM had a greater frequency of cancer diagnosis than non-DM patients (18.1% vs 16.3%, respectively), with pancreatic, liver, uterine, urinary tract, lung, and secondary cancers being more frequent in DM compared with non-DM patients. In contrast, the proportion of patients with thyroid, esophagus, breast, NPC, and other cancers was lower in DM versus non-DM patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that DM was associated with the incidence of specific cancers and that males had a higher frequency of cancer than females. The association of DM and cancer depended upon cancer type, gender, and age.