Selection of highly osteogenic and chondrogenic cells from bone marrow stromal cells in biocompatible polymer-coated plates.

To enrich the subpopulation that preserves self-renewal and multipotentiality from conventionally prepared bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs), we attempted to use 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) polymer-coated plates that selected the MSCs with strong adhesion ability and evaluated the proliferation ability or osteogenic/chondrogenic potential of the MPC polymer-selected MSCs. The number of MSCs that were attached to the MPC polymer-coated plates decreased with an increase in the density of MPC unit (0-10%), whereas no significant difference in the proliferation ability was seen among these cells. The surface epitopes of CD29, CD44, CD105, and CD166, and not CD34 or CD45, were detectable in the cells of all MPC polymer-coated plates, implying that they belong to the MSC category. In the osteogenic and chondrogenic induction, the MSCs selected by the 2-5% MPC unit composition showed higher expression levels of osteoblastic and chondrocytic markers (COL1A1/ALP, or COL2A1/COL10A1/Sox9) at passage 2, compared with those of 0-1% or even 10% MPC unit composition, while the enhanced effects continued by passage 5. The selection based on the adequate cell adhesiveness by the MPC polymer-coated plates could improve the osteogenic and chondrogenic potential of MSCs, which would provide cell sources that can be used to treat the more severe and various bone/cartilage diseases.

[Comparison of the effects of two different breastcare methods].

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two breastcare methods-one with moist heating pad (the pad group) and the other with moist hot towel (the towel group). Data were collected from May, 1996 to April, 1997 in a southern hospital in Taiwan. Mothers who breastfed, had no postpartum complications and had a healthy newborn were recruited in the study. Mothers who breastfed less than 2 days and those newborns without a complete body weight record were excluded. The numbers of participants were 94 in the towel group and 52 in the pad group. The tools used in this study were the questionnaire developed by the researchers, the heating pad, and the newborn body weight scale. The results revealed that: (1) there is no differences in the changes of newborns' body weight between the two groups; (2) the mothers in the pad group felt more comfortable, convenient and private than those in the towel group; (3) nurses spent less time helping mothers in the pad group than those in the towel group. The conclusion was that the heating pad could substitute for the hot towel in the breastcare method.

[The development of a competency-based clinical performance examination model in maternity nursing for BSN graduates].

The purpose of the study was to establish a competency-based clinical performance examination model in maternity nursing for baccalaureate students. Action research was the main research methodology used in the study. A committee, consisting of nursing faculty, students and experienced obstetric nurses, was established to develop the model. Based on intensive literature reviews and standards of nursing practice in Taiwan, the first draft of the model, including the content and process, was created by the committee. The draft then was revised twice after expert review and pilot testing. The revised version of the model was formally implemented into the curriculum to examine the competencies of forty-one BSN students at the end of the perinatal nursing course. Responses from students, clinical examiners, clinical staff and clients were all gathered and integrated to refine the model. The model has content, expert and discriminative validity. The reliability of the model was proven by the high consistency in administration and scoring of the model among clinical examiners.