Applying rapid serial visual presentation to adolescent sexual offenders: attentional bias as a measure of deviant sexual interest?

Attentional bias toward child images is assessed among adolescent sexual offenders and nonsexual offenders using the rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) method, which measures the effects of "attentional blink." Twenty adolescent sexual offenders against children and 26 nonsexual offenders are asked to identify a child or animal image and then a second image in streams of 10 images. A stronger attentional blink effect is expected for offenders against children after viewing child rather than animal images. However, the expected differences between offender groups are not found. It is questioned whether the RSVP images can elicit a response in adolescent sexual offenders indicative of DSI. The clinical utility of applying the RSVP assessment with adolescents rather than adults is also queried because (a) adolescents' cognitive abilities may not allow them to conceptualize and concentrate on the assessment in its present form and (b) deviant sexual interest may be evident to different degrees in adolescent sexual offenders.

Care for the caregiver: the art of self-care.

Self-care is that self-initiated behavior that people choose to incorporate into their daily lives. The purpose of self-care is to promote health and general well-being. In today's stressful health care environment, including the perioperative setting, nurses have good reason to revisit the benefits of self-care. Nurses teach or recommend self-care to others, and some nurses practice self-care techniques ranging from relaxation to aerobic exercise. However, while many health care providers understand the benefits of self-care, they do not care for themselves adequately. This article incorporates a holistic view of self-care and reviews common strategies that perioperative nurses may consider to improve the quality of their lives and to reduce stress.

The limits of language: ethical aspects of strike action from a New Zealand perspective.

Over the last decade, successive New Zealand governments have instituted social, political and economic changes that have fundamentally challenged nurses' sense of themselves and their position in society. Major upheavals in the health service have occurred as a result of reforms promoting competition and contestability. This paper deals with the impact of one aspect of the reforms, that of the deregulation of the labour market through the Employment Contracts Act 1991. More specifically, the way in which discussions and decisions regarding the withdrawal of nursing labour are shaped by the language available to those involved are considered. The intersection of ethics and union discourses may exacerbate feelings of ambiguity and confusion in nurses facing strike action. The result can be unnecessary and unproductive division and conflict: among nurses, between employers and employees, between unions, between nurses and the public, and between nursing organizations and the Government. An examination of some of the discourses of strike action may serve as a tool to elucidate the way nurses see themselves and their clients in the context of social change and social action.

Isolation of H. pylori Genomic DNA and Restriction Analysis.

Since Helicobacter pylori was first described in 1983 (1), the study of genomic DNA has been central to the development of its microbiology and molecular genetics. For instance, DNA base composition estimation (mol% G+C) was crucial in demonstrating affinities of the microorganism to the genus Campylobacter (2). Likewise, DNA-DNA hybridization assays revealed a high degree of base sequence homology between different isolates of H. pylori, yet a low relatedness to Campylobacter fetus and other species of Campylobacter (3). In 1987, rRNA-DNA hybridization and hybrid thermal stability analyses were used to show that H. pylori was phylogenetically distinct from Campylobacter sensu stricto and that the species merited classification in a new genus (4). The most significant application of DNA analysis has been in showing the diversity between genomes of different strains within H. pylori. The first indication of such genome diversity was from restriction endonuclease digest analysis of genomic DNA (6) and was subsequently confirmed by ribosomal RNA gene analysis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based analysis of urease and other genes (7).

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of Listeria monocytogenes in diluted milk and reversal of PCR inhibition caused by calcium ions.

DNA from Listeria monocytogenes was used as the model system from this investigation, with PCR primers based on the listeriolysin O gene. Under standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) conditions and with no prior treatment, amplification failed in the presence of more than 5% milk. Since inhibition of the PCR occurred at the same milk concentrations with full fat, half fat and fat-free milk, inhibition was not attributed to the fat content of the milk. Calcium ions were, however, identified as a major source of PCR inhibition. The results demonstrated that the inhibitory effects of calcium ions and milk could be partially reversed by increasing the magnesium concentration in the reaction to well above the standard levels normally required for PCR. This work has important implications for the use of the PCR in the direct detection of food pathogens.

Comparison of PCR-based restriction length polymorphism analysis of urease genes with rRNA gene profiling for monitoring Helicobacter pylori infections in patients on triple therapy.

Multiple isolates of Helicobacter pylori from antral biopsies of nine patients were examined by DNA fingerprinting. Analysis of rRNA gene patterns and HaeIII restriction fragment length polymorphism of PCR-amplified urease genes were compared and used to study colonization before and after failed triple therapy. H. pylori isolates from a single biopsy shared the same HaeIII DNA fingerprint regardless of the isolation method (plate or broth). DNA pattern types of paired strains of H. pylori were distinct between patients and were not grossly affected by treatment except for one patient with an altered strain type. H. pylori infections were generally associated with several subpopulations of strains, evident from the subtypic variation before and after treatment, detectable by both DNA fingerprinting methods. The urease gene patterns also provided evidence that some cultures of H. pylori probably contained a mixture of genomic subtypes. The study suggests that triple therapy has the effect either of inducing minor genomic variations or of changing the proportions of different subtypes of H. pylori. It was concluded that urease gene profiling provides a simple yet reliable method of establishing whether treatment failures are attributable to incomplete eradication of H. pylori.

Evaluation of the polymerase chain reaction for detecting the urease C gene of Helicobacter pylori in gastric biopsy samples and dental plaque.

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay with oligonucleotide primers homologous to a portion of the urease C gene of Helicobacter pylori was evaluated for specificity with pure DNA and biopsy material. The assay was used to test for the presence of the organism in dental plaque. The species specificity of detection was confirmed by ensuring that the primers did not amplify DNA extracts from H. cinaedi, H. felis, H. fennelliae, H. mustelae and H. nemestrinae. Sixty-two gastric biopsy samples collected from 14 patients (antrum, body and duodenal sites) were cultured and PCR was performed on the samples after culture. Primer sites were conserved in genomically diverse strains. Samples prepared by single-step heat lysis of bacterial cells and biopsy material did not inhibit PCR. The overall specificity was 96% irrespective of genotype. H. pylori was not cultured from dental plaque (15 patients), neither was H. pylori DNA detected by PCR in either urea breath test-positive or -negative individuals. The results showed that primer pair sequences within the urease C gene are conserved in most strains and provide an accurate basis for detecting H. pylori. As the PCR assay was not inhibited and did not yield false positive results with crude extracts from organisms or in the presence of biopsy material, its value as a diagnostic test was confirmed.

Helicobacter pylori: comparison of DNA fingerprints provides evidence for intrafamilial infection.

Although a high prevalence of antibodies to Helicobacter pylori has been documented within families, culture and DNA typing of strains from infected children and their parents has not been evaluated. This study aimed to analyse H pylori infection within family groups. Endoscopy, gastric biopsy, and H pylori culture were performed on all eight parents of four children who presented with dyspepsia and who had a positive H pylori culture. All biopsy specimens were cultured on Columbia based blood agar under microaerophilic conditions for four days. The DNA from each strain was extracted and electrophoretic patterns were compared after digestion with restriction endonucleases Hae III or Hind III. Ribotyping using a biotinylated cDNA probe prepared from 16S and 23S rRNA of H pylori NCTC 11638 was also used. Seven of the parents were positive for H pylori on urease testing, histology, and on culture. DNA typing showed the same or a similar strain to be present in at least two family members in three of the four family groups. In family 1, the mother, father, and child all had an identical strain; in family 2, father and son had a similar related strain; father and mother had the same strain in family 3; and all strains were unique in family 4. These data provide evidence for either intrafamilial cross infection or a common source of infection within family groups.