ABSTRACT
Curli are adhesive surface structures produced by some Escherichia coli and Salmonella strains that bind host proteins and activate inflammatory mediators. In this study, 61 E. coli isolates from 36 clinical cases of bovine mastitis were characterized using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR and screened for their ability to produce curli. Effect of curli production on case recovery, based on a return to precase milk yield, was investigated for a subset of 43 isolates from 20 quarters of 19 cows. Thirty-five (57%) of 61 isolates were curli positive. Fifty-eight of the 61 isolates clustered into 2 clonal groups at 52% genetic similarity. Genetically diverse E. coli isolates were simultaneously cultured from individual cases. Twenty-three isolates from 13 cows were clustered in clonal group I, of which 5 cases (38%) were curli positive; 35 isolates from 22 cows were clustered in clonal group II, of which 15 cases (68%) were curli positive. No association was found between genetic similarity and phenotypic curli expression of isolates from cows with clinical E. coli mastitis cases. Phenotypic curli expression in isolates did not affect recovery of cows' milk yield to premastitis production levels.
Subject(s)
Escherichia coli Infections/veterinary , Escherichia coli/classification , Escherichia coli/genetics , Mastitis, Bovine/microbiology , Milk/microbiology , Animals , Cattle , Congo Red/metabolism , DNA Primers/chemistry , Escherichia coli/isolation & purification , Escherichia coli Infections/microbiology , Escherichia coli Proteins/genetics , Female , Lactation , Milk/metabolism , Phenotype , Phylogeny , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Trans-Activators/geneticsABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The former Soviet Union (including the present independent republics of Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Belarus, Lithuania, and Georgia) is the leading source of children adopted from overseas by persons in the United States (US Department of State, 1998). This study sought to (a) characterize the current social, academic, and conduct competencies of 6- to 9-year-old children adopted from the former Soviet Union who have resided in the United States for at least 2 years and (b) evaluate both risks and protective influences of adoptive families and their relationships to competence via a structural equation model. METHOD: Telephone interviews and a postal survey of children were drawn from a US community sample of 105 children. Measures included (a) Child Behavior Checklist, (b) Teacher Report Form, (c) Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, (c) Family Environment Scale, and (d) demographic information. RESULTS: Many children had experienced abuse, abandonment, or neglect between birth and entry to the institution. Their mean birth weight was 2637 g, and alcohol abuse by the birth mother was common (41%). Although the children scored below average in competence, adoptive family environments were positive and served as buffers between the risks experienced by the children and the subsequent development of competence within the adoptive family. CONCLUSION: Children's abilities ranged from severely challenged to developmentally normal. The high rate of fetal alcohol exposure in the children may portend future challenges for families.
Subject(s)
Adoption , Child, Institutionalized , Developmental Disabilities/etiology , Developmental Disabilities/prevention & control , Family , Foster Home Care , Adaptation, Psychological , Adoption/psychology , Child , Child Abuse/psychology , Child, Institutionalized/psychology , Child, Institutionalized/statistics & numerical data , Developmental Disabilities/ethnology , Developmental Disabilities/psychology , Educational Status , Family/psychology , Female , Foster Home Care/psychology , Foster Home Care/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Male , Models, Psychological , Population Surveillance , Risk Factors , Social Adjustment , Socialization , Surveys and Questionnaires , USSR/ethnology , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
A new paradigm for delivering comprehensive mental and general health services has been born out of the necessity to integrate all aspects of health care. Because of issues of cost-effectiveness and capitation, fragmentation of services is no longer viable. Graduate programs in nursing will need to: (1) effectively prepare its practitioners to manage the complexity of both medical and psychiatric problems of clients, (2) promote health and prevent disease, and (3) counsel and refer clients. The psychiatric nurse practitioner is uniquely suited to provide comprehensive health care to both clients in psychiatric settings as well as primary care environments. An overview of the Psychiatric-Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Pittsburgh is described.
Subject(s)
Education, Nursing, Graduate/organization & administration , Models, Nursing , Nurse Practitioners/education , Primary Health Care/organization & administration , Psychiatric Nursing/education , Clinical Competence , Comprehensive Health Care/organization & administration , Curriculum , Forecasting , Humans , Program EvaluationABSTRACT
Resilience describes a process whereby people bounce back from adversity and go on with their lives. It is a dynamic process highly influenced by protective factors. Protective factors are specific competencies that are necessary for the process of resilience to occur. Competencies are those healthy skills and abilities that the individual can access and may occur within the individual or the interpersonal or family environment. Psychiatric-mental health nursing has always focused on mental-health promotion and attempted to discern positive outcomes from adversity and states of wellness amidst difficult circumstances or severe illness. Defining specific protective factors that facilitate mental health in high-risk groups would enhance our position in today's health care climate.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Interpersonal Relations , Life Change Events , Mental Disorders/nursing , Psychiatric Nursing , Risk Factors , Self ConceptABSTRACT
As part of an ongoing study of risk factors for unipolar depression in adult first-degree relatives of depressed probands, we have evaluated the relationship between cognitions and social adjustment in parents and adult offspring. Asymptomatic relatives of families with at least one parent with major depression, of families with no affected parent, and of normal control families were assessed. Maternal social adjustment was associated with both negative thinking and social adjustment in adult offspring. These effects were independent of the influence of personal history of depression in offspring, an effect that also influenced offspring thinking and social adjustment. These findings suggest that impairments in social adjustment in mothers may persist well beyond an episode and influence the adjustment and thinking of at least some of their offspring. Within the context of parent-child interaction, increased vulnerability for depression in offspring of depressed parents may be mediated in part by the enduring impact of these factors.
Subject(s)
Depressive Disorder/psychology , Parent-Child Relations , Social Adjustment , Adult , Aged , Cognition , Family Health , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Regression Analysis , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
The efficacy and safety of single oral doses (10, 20, 40, and 80 mg) of loratadine (SCH 29851) in suppressing formation of histamine-induced wheals were assessed in a crossover study in 29 healthy male subjects. One hour prior to dosing and 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, and 48 hours after dosing, histamine and saline were injected intradermally into opposite arms. Measurements of resulting wheal areas showed loratadine suppressed wheal formation significantly better than placebo; suppression was dose related. The mean suppression over 48 hours was 16% in placebo-treated subjects and 35%, 45%, 51%, and 67% in the 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg loratadine-treated subjects, respectively. The onset of action occurred within the first hour. Duration of suppression was dose related, ranging from 12 hours with the lowest dose (10 mg) to 48 hours with the higher doses (40 and 80 mg). Incidence of sedation and other side effects were comparable among all doses of loratadine and placebo.
