Stigma, Social Support, and Decision Satisfaction in Terminations of Pregnancy for Medical Reasons.

Objective: Existing abortion stigma research has rarely isolated the reason for termination; thus, the consequences of termination for medical reasons (TFMR) are poorly understood. We aimed to understand the association of stigma and social support with decision satisfaction in TFMR.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study on the experiences of 132 individuals who had a TFMR in the second or third trimester.

Perceptions of Patient-Centered Care and Their Association With Patient Satisfaction in Abortions for Medical Reasons.

Objective: Abortions for medical reasons, which happen in the event of fetal abnormalities or maternal life endangerment, are highly politicized and understudied given their prevalence. Our objective was to understand the health care experiences of U.S.

Testing the Impact of Protocolized Care of Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Without Intracranial Pressure Monitoring: The Imaging and Clinical Examination Protocol.

Background: Most patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) in low- or-middle-income countries and surprisingly many in high-income countries are managed without intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring. The impact of the first published protocol (Imaging and Clinical Examination [ICE] protocol) is untested against nonprotocol management.

Objective: To determine whether patients treated in intensive care units (ICUs) using the ICE protocol have lower mortality and better neurobehavioral functioning than those treated in ICUs using no protocol.

Relationships between the Religious Backgrounds and Evolution Acceptance of Black and Hispanic Biology Students.

The evolution education experiences of students of color represent an emerging area of research, because past inquiries indicate these students have differential outcomes, such as lower evolution acceptance and severe underrepresentation in evolutionary biology. Religion is often an important support for students of color who are navigating a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics culture that privileges White nonreligious students. For instance, religion helps mitigate the negative effects of racism, but religious students are also more likely to experience conflict when learning evolution.

"Accepting Evolution Means You Can't Believe in God": Atheistic Perceptions of Evolution among College Biology Students.

Although many scientists agree that evolution does not make claims about God/god(s), students might assume that evolution is atheistic, and this may lead to lower evolution acceptance. In study 1, we surveyed 1081 college biology students at one university about their religiosity and evolution acceptance and asked what religious ideas someone would have to reject if that person were to accept evolution. Approximately half of students wrote that a person cannot believe in God/religion and accept evolution, indicating that these students may have atheistic perceptions of evolution.

The Impact of Broadly Relevant Novel Discoveries on Student Project Ownership in a Traditional Lab Course Turned CURE.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been shown to lead to multiple student benefits, but much is unknown about how CUREs lead to specific student outcomes. In this study, we examined the extent to which students making "broadly relevant novel discoveries" impacted student project ownership by comparing the experiences of students in a CURE and a traditional lab course. The CURE and traditional lab were similar in most aspects; students were exposed to an identical curriculum taught by the same instructor.

To be funny or not to be funny: Gender differences in student perceptions of instructor humor in college science courses.

For over 50 years instructor humor has been recognized as a way to positively impact student cognitive and affective learning. However, no study has explored humor exclusively in the context of college science courses, which have the reputation of being difficult and boring. The majority of studies that explore humor have assumed that students perceive instructor humor to be funny, yet students likely perceive some instructor humor as unfunny or offensive.

Effects of Vibration Therapy in Pediatric Immunizations.

A randomized clinical trial of 100 children (52 boys, 48 girls) ages 2 months to 7 years was conducted to evaluate the effect of vibration therapy without cold analgesia on pain. A convenience sample was recruited at two sites: a publicly funded, free immunization clinic and a private group pediatric practice. Participants were randomly assigned to receive vibration therapy via a specialized vibrating device or standard care.

Judicial bypass of parental consent for abortion: characteristics of pregnant minor "Jane Doe's".

Pregnant minors can obtain an abortion without parental consent through a judicial bypass procedure in 38 states. To grant such a petition in Ohio, the Court must determine that the young woman is either "sufficiently mature and well enough informed to intelligently decide whether to have an abortion," or that notification of her parents is "not in her best interest," usually due to abuse. For the sake of anonymity in these emotionally and politically charged cases, the evaluee is referred to as "Jane Doe.

Neurocognitive impairment associated with predominantly early stage HIV infection in Abuja, Nigeria.

Detailed neuropsychological testing was performed on 133 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive (SP) and 77 HIV seronegative (SN) individuals, 86 % with early stage HIV infection in Nigeria, to determine the frequency of HIV-related neurocognitive impairment among the HIV-infected group. The tests were administered to assess the following seven ability domains: speed of information processing, attention/working memory, executive functioning, learning, memory, verbal fluency, and motor function motor. Demographically corrected individual test scores and scores for each domain or reflecting a global deficit (a global deficit score, or GDS) were compared for the SP and SN groups.

Oncology rehabilitation outcomes over time: a mixed-methods approach.

Purpose/objectives: To evaluate an oncology rehabilitation program over time.

Design: A cross-sectional, retrospective program evaluation using a mixed-methods approach.

Setting: An outpatient oncology rehabilitation program housed in an urban, hospital-based comprehensive cancer center in Alaska.

A practical guide to prevention for forensic nursing.

Interpersonal violence (IPV) is a pervasive issue across the United States, affecting one in five women and costing the nation up to $750 billion per year in additional healthcare spending. Prevention of IPV by forensic nurses may be an underrecognized and underutilized activity as forensic nursing emphasizes collection of evidence and provision of acute care to victims of violence. The "Upstream Adage" parable has been used to identify activities that can be applied to the care of victims.

A trial of intracranial-pressure monitoring in traumatic brain injury.

Background: Intracranial-pressure monitoring is considered the standard of care for severe traumatic brain injury and is used frequently, but the efficacy of treatment based on monitoring in improving the outcome has not been rigorously assessed.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, controlled trial in which 324 patients 13 years of age or older who had severe traumatic brain injury and were being treated in intensive care units (ICUs) in Bolivia or Ecuador were randomly assigned to one of two specific protocols: guidelines-based management in which a protocol for monitoring intraparenchymal intracranial pressure was used (pressure-monitoring group) or a protocol in which treatment was based on imaging and clinical examination (imaging-clinical examination group). The primary outcome was a composite of survival time, impaired consciousness, and functional status at 3 months and 6 months and neuropsychological status at 6 months; neuropsychological status was assessed by an examiner who was unaware of protocol assignment.

Nursing student perceptions of reflective journaling: a conjoint value analysis.

This study used a statistical technique, conjoint value analysis, to determine student perceptions related to the importance of predetermined reflective journaling attributes. An expert Delphi panel determined these attributes and integrated them into a survey which presented students with multiple journaling experiences from which they had to choose. After obtaining IRB approval, a convenience sample of 66 baccalaureate nursing students completed the survey.

Traumatic brain injury in Latin America: lifespan analysis randomized control trial protocol*.

Background: Although in the developed world the intracranial pressure (ICP) monitor is considered the standard of care for patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), its usefulness to direct treatment decisions has never been tested rigorously.

Objective: The primary focus was to conduct a high-quality, randomized, controlled trial to determine whether ICP monitoring used to direct TBI treatment improves patient outcomes. By providing education, equipment, and structure, the project will enhance the research capacity of the collaborating investigators and will foster the collaborations established during earlier studies.

Intracranial pressure monitoring in severe traumatic brain injury in latin america: process and methods for a multi-center randomized controlled trial.

In patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), the influence on important outcomes of the use of information from intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring to direct treatment has never been tested in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). We are conducting an RCT in six trauma centers in Latin America to test this question. We hypothesize that patients randomized to ICP monitoring will have lower mortality and better outcomes at 6-months post-trauma than patients treated without ICP monitoring.

Assessing neuropsychological performance in a migrant farm working Colonia in Baja California, Mexico: a feasibility study.

Neuropsychological impairments (NPI) can lead to difficulties in daily functioning and ultimately contribute to poor health outcomes. However, evidence for the feasibility of NPI assessment in resource-limited settings using tests developed in high literacy/high education cultures is sparse. The main objectives were to: (1) determine the feasibility and appropriateness of conducting neuropsychological assessments among a migrant farm worker population in Baja California, Mexico and (2) preliminary describe neuropsychological test performance in this unique population.

Group exercise mode and health-related quality of life among healthy adults.

Aim: This paper is a report of a study conducted to identify the difference between mode of group exercise and health-related quality of life (HRQOL), to determine the associations between mode of group exercise chosen by participants and their demographic characteristics, and to identify themes from narrative comments for each group exercise modality.

Background: Regular exercise has been shown to improve HRQOL in the general population. However, few studies have compared mode of exercise--Pilates, step aerobics, and strength training--and their impact on HRQOL.

Self-efficacy-based training for research literature appraisal: a competency for evidence-based practice.

Evidence-based practice requires nurses to integrate research findings into patient care. The lack of skill and confidence in effective literature appraisal remains a barrier for many nurses. The author describes a self-efficacy-based pilot project designed to enhance nurses' skill and confidence, thus increasing their ability and willingness to critically evaluate research findings.

Thymic nurse cells exhibit epithelial progenitor phenotype and create unique extra-cytoplasmic membrane space for thymocyte selection.

Thymic nurse cells (TNCs) are epithelial cells in the thymic cortex that contain as many as 50 thymocytes within specialized cytoplasmic vacuoles. The function of this cell-in-cell interaction has created controversy since their discovery in 1980. Further, some skepticism exists about the idea that apoptotic thymocytes within the TNC complex result from negative selection, a process believed to occur exclusively within the medulla.

Medical error reporting in America: a changing landscape.

Should the United States require mandatory reporting of medical errors within the health care system? Many barriers to medical error reporting currently exist and have made it difficult to establish a nationwide reporting system. As such, individual states have begun to address this issue one state at a time. This article reviews the barriers to nationwide reporting, provides a brief historical perspective on quality initiatives including medical error reporting, examines what the individual states have initiated, and considers these implications from a nursing perspective.

Thymic nurse cell multicellular complexes in HY-TCR transgenic mice demonstrate their association with MHC restriction.

This study examines thymic nurse cell (TNC) function during T-cell development. It has been suggested that TNCs function in the removal of nonfunctional and/or apoptotic thymocytes and do not participate in major histocompatibility complex restriction. We analyzed TNCs isolated from both normal C57BL/6 mice and C57BL/6 TgN (TCRHY) mice (HY-TCR transgenic mice).

Prescription drug re-importation: a balanced look.

The rising cost of prescription drugs has decreased access for some older adults to purchase needed medications. For this reason, some older adults are purchasing prescriptions from foreign and Internet mail-order sites. There are two main concerns related to drug re-importation--price and safety.