Plos One
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To investigate the risks of overactive bladder (OAB) and bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients. A nationwide, population-based cohort study was conducted using data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. From 2001 to 2010, participants with newly diagnosed pSS were recognized as the study group. ⋯ I.: 1.59-3.44, p<0.01), respectively. The risks of OAB and BPS/IC were significantly increased for pSS patients aged < 65 years (HR: 1.73 and 2.67), female patients (HR: 1.74 and 2.34), and patients requiring treatment for dry eyes and dry mouth (HR: 2.06 and 2.93). pSS patients exhibited an increased risk of OAB and BPS/IC. Female gender, younger age, and severe glandular dysfunction requiring treatments were potential risk factors.
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Fatigue-related impairments in the nursing workforce contribute to a multitude of health, safety, and economic consequences at the individual, organizational and societal levels. Long and compressed work schedules are commonly worked in the healthcare industry, but more research is needed to understand the cumulative effects of multiple work shifts on physiology-based performance outcomes in nurses. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a single nursing work shift versus three compressed (one every 24 hours) 12 hour shifts on performance-based fatigue in nurses and aides. ⋯ These findings use objective measures to substantiate that fatigue impairments occur from working a single 12 hour shift, and in several instances, increase further with more successive work shifts. Caution should be employed by personnel and administrators with work schedules involving multiple compressed 12 hour shifts. Fatigue management strategies may be used to improve risks and consequences from fatigue-related mishaps, and this study reports several variables that appear sensitive to identifying and tracking fatigue in this population.
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Oculometric measures have been proven to be useful markers of mind-wandering during visual tasks such as reading. However, little is known about ocular activity during mindfulness meditation, a mental practice naturally involving mind-wandering episodes. In order to explore this issue, we extracted closed-eyes ocular movement measurements via a covert technique (EEG recordings) from expert meditators during two repetitions of a 7-minute mindfulness meditation session, focusing on the breath, and two repetitions of a 7-minute instructed mind-wandering task. ⋯ The results show a significantly smaller average amplitude of eye movements in the delta band (1-4 Hz) during mindfulness meditation than instructed mind-wandering. Moreover, participants' meditation expertise correlated significantly with this average amplitude during both tasks, with more experienced meditators generally moving their eyes less than less experienced meditators. These findings suggest the potential use of this measure to detect mind-wandering episodes during mindfulness meditation and to assess meditation performance.
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Dipeptidyl amino-peptidase 3 (DPP3) is an aminopeptidase involved in peptide degradation, including hormone peptides as angiotensin II and enkephalins. DPP3 plasma activity increases in septic patients and correlates with mortality risk. However, the exact physiological role of DPP3 remains unclear and animal studies are necessary to reveal the function of DPP3 in vivo. ⋯ Additionally, protein stability and storage in relevant buffers were tested. Our results provide a promising strategy for fast and efficient isolation of human DPP3. The purified human DPP3 represents the native state of DPP3, suitable for future in vivo applications to investigate the physiological role of DPP3 and its involvement in pathophysiological conditions.
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There is a lack of reliable epidemiological data on long-term survival trends of first-ever stroke patients in Lithuanian population. ⋯ This population-based study of patients with first-ever stroke demonstrated that the long-term survival was better in women than men, and improved significantly in both men and women during the past decade. Long-term survival was better of those with first-ever ischemic stroke and of younger age- 25 to 54 years.