Level and prognostic value of serum myeloperoxidase in patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: This study tested the hypothesis that the baseline plasma level of myeloperoxidase (MPO) independently predicts risk of patients with ST-segment elevation (ST-se) acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods And Results: Plasma MPO levels in 128 patients were examined by ELISA. They were significantly higher in AMI patients than in normal controls (P<0.

[Ethical dilemma for nurses who manage marital violence in clinical setting].

Marital violence or intimate partner violence is a serious and recurring public health issue. In the clinical setting, battered women often seek medical advice, because of the health problems that result from marital violence. Thus, nursing staff are the first persons to come into contact with the battered women.

Cilostazol therapy attenuates monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension in rat model.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by a progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance caused by a proliferation of vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells, resulting in occlusion of the lumen of small pulmonary arteries. Cilostazol, with its antiproliferative effects on vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells, may ameliorate monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH in rats.

Methods And Results: Male Sprague - Dawley rats (n=10/each group) were randomized to receive MCT (75 mg/kg) only (group 1), MCT plus cilostazol (20 mg .

D:C-friedooleanane-type triterpenoids from Lagenaria siceraria and their cytotoxic activity.

Four new D:C-friedooleanane-type triterpenes, 3 beta-O-(E)-feruloyl-D:C-friedooleana-7,9(11)-dien-29-ol (1), 3 beta-O-(E)-coumaroyl-D:C-friedooleana-7,9(11)-dien-29-ol (2), 3 beta-O-(E)-coumaroyl-D:C-friedooleana-7,9(11)-dien-29-oic acid (3), and methyl 2 beta,3 beta-dihydroxy-D:C-friedoolean-8-en-29-oate (6), together with five known triterpenes with the same skeleton, 3-epikarounidiol (4), 3-oxo-D:C-friedoolena-7,9(11)-dien-29-oic acid (5), bryonolol (7), bryononic acid (8), and 20-epibryonolic acid (9), were isolated from the methanol extract of the stems of Lagenaria siceraria. The structures of those compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic methods. Compounds 3 and 9 showed significant cytotoxic activity against the SK-Hep 1 cell line with IC50 values of 4.

Hypotensive and antiaggregative effects of eugenosedin-B with serotonin and alpha/beta-adrenoceptor antagonistic activities in rats and human platelets.

Eugenosedin-B is able to block serotonin (5-HT) and alpha/beta receptors and to inhibit platelet aggregation. In Wistar rats, intravenous injections of eugenosedin-B (2.4, 7.

[The illness experience of women with epilepsy in a Taiwanese cultural context].

The purpose of this study was to explore in a Taiwanese cultural context and on the basis of analysis of narrative data the illness experience of women with epilepsy and their interpretation of life after being diagnosed with epilepsy. The narrative data were obtained by in-depth interviews of ten women with epilepsy. The theme of "comparing oneself with others" emerged.

Effect of Oriental Medicinal Plant Extracts on Spore Germination of Alternaria brassicicola and Nature of Inhibitory Substances from Speedweed.

Among 65 species of oriental medicinal plants tested, 39 contained substances inhibitory to conidial germination of Alternaria brassicicola, with the most inhibitory extract from speedweed (Polygonum perfoliatum). The inhibitory substances in dried speedweed were insoluble in water. However, the inhibitors were readily extracted with ethanol or methanol, but not with acetone, ether, or chloroform.

Eugenosedin-A amelioration of lipopolysaccharide-induced up-regulation of p38 MAPK, inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2.

In this study, we investigate the protective effects of eugenosedin-A on p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), inflammatory nitric oxide (NO) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) pathways in a rat model of endotoxin shock. Rats were pretreated with eugenosedin-A, trazodone, yohimbine (1 mg kg(-1), i.v.

Downregulation of peroxisme proliferator activated receptor gamma co-activator 1alpha in diabetic rats.

Diabetes mellitus (DM), which induces alterations in energy metabolism, is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease. We postulated that peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1alpha (PGC-alpha), a transcriptional coactivator that is the primary regulator of oxidative metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis, and cardiac function are depressive in DM and simvastatin and losartan therapy can improve the affects of DM on mRNA expression of PGC-1alpha and cardiac function. An experimental model of DM (induced by streptozocin 60 mg/kg) in adult male rats (n = 24) was used to investigate the mRNA expression of PGC-1alpha in the left ventricular myocardium.

Impact of simvastatin and losartan on antiinflammatory effect: in vitro study.

Antiinflammatory properties of losartan are currently unclear. This study tested the hypothesis that losartan itself has an antiinflammatory effect comparable to that of simvastatin. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were (1) incubated with culture medium alone, (2) incubated with added C-reactive protein (CRP) (25, 50, 75, and 100 microg/mL) for stimulation, and (3) pretreated with losartan (stepwise increased dose: 100, 300, 500, and 750 micromol/L) and simvastatin (stepwise increased dose: 25, 50, 75, and 100 micromol/L) for 4 hours before adding CRP for stimulation.

The impact of social support and job stress on public health nurses' organizational citizenship behaviors in rural Taiwan.

Objective: To examine the relationship between job stress, social support, and organizational citizenship behaviors, by using job satisfaction and organizational commitment as intervening variables among public health nurses (PHNs) in rural areas of Taiwan.

Design: A cross-sectional design was used to sample all 265 PHNs in two rural counties of Taiwan. Of those, 231 (87.

[The self-determination and family empowerment of nursing home residents].

Long-term care for the elderly, disabled and handicapped is changing, with the trend shifting away from the prior emphasis on professional qualifications and cost management and toward allowing individuals increased authority to influence care policies and determine services provided. Within this trend, increased participation by family members, expanded care recipient rights, and family empowerment are driving the development of a new cooperative relationship between professional health care providers, care recipients and their families.

The relationships among turnover intentions, professional commitment, and job satisfaction of hospital nurses.

This study investigated the relationships among turnover intentions, professional commitment, and job satisfaction of registered nurses. A structured, self-administered questionnaire, including the Professional Commitment Scale, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and demographic data, was distributed to 2,550 registered nurses. A total of 2,197 subjects completed the questionnaires with an 86.

The influence of professional commitment on turnover intention.

This study investigated the influence of professional commitment on turnover intentions of nurses. The study also examined the relationships between demographic data, work-related variables and the professional commitment. The self-administered questionnaires were distributed to one fifth of Southern Taiwan's population of nurses (n = 4,000).