Does size matter concerning impact of position on oxygenation status in spontaneously breathing patients with unilateral effusion?

Background: Inconsistent and contradictory findings have appeared in the literature concerning the impact of body position on oxygenation in pleural effusion.

Methods: We attempted to elucidate whether the size of the pleural effusion in patients with no parenchymal disease is the main determinant of posture-induced alterations in oxygenation parameters. We studied 62 spontaneously breathing patients aged 65.

How Greek nurses perceive and overcome the barriers in implementing treatment for pressure ulcers: 'against the odds'.

Objective: Although the occurrence of pressure ulcers (PUs) is now considered as an indicator of poor quality nursing care, questions and concerns remain regarding situations where PUs were unavoidable, irrespective of the care provided. The aim of this study was to explore Greek nurses' perceptions about the barriers involved and to identify the factors that influence care planning in PU treatment.

Method: A grounded theory approach was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses who provided pressure care to clients in a rehabilitation centre in Greece.

Initial size of unilateral pleural effusion determines impact of thoracocentesis on oxygenation.

Background: There have been contradicting reports in the literature regarding the impact of pleural fluid aspiration on patients' oxygenation. The aim of this study was to assess the role of the initial size of effusion on post-drainage oxygenation.

Methods: We studied 122 patients, aged (mean±SD) 61.

Maternal screening for early postnatal vulnerability.

Research has highlighted the wide impact of maternal mental health problems during and beyond the postpartum period and the public health role of community health professionals in early detection of women who may be at risk. This paper aims to describe, explore and test an a priori hypothesised conceptual model of postnatal experience, identifying the relationships between postnatal mental vulnerability and postnatal adjustment to maternal roles and attitudes, marital/partner-relationship and sense of coherence. Three validated self-report questionnaires (WAST, MAMA, SOC) measuring the variables of the encompassing framework and EPDS were administered in random order.

Nursing student profiles and occurrence of early academic failure: Findings from an explorative European study.

Background: In the European context regulated by the Bologna Process principles, there is little evidence to date on the different profiles, if any, of nursing students enrolled in the 1st academic year and their academic outcomes.

Aims: To describe and compare the nursing student profiles and their academic outcomes at the end of the 1st year across European Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNS) courses.

Design: An exploratory multicentre cohort study involving five countries: Nursing students who were enrolled in nursing programmes for the academic year 2011/2012 in the participating BNS courses, willing to participate and regularly admitted to the 2nd academic year, were included in this study undertaken in 2013.

Right Upper Lobe Shadow and Tracheobronchopathia Osteochondroplastica Confined to Right Main Bronchus: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica (TO) is a well documented benign entity of endoscopic interest. We describe a case of 76-year-old patient who presented with fever, cough, purulent sputum during the past four days, and presence of an ovoid shadow in right upper zone of his chest X-ray. Medical history included diagnosis of colon diverticuli identified by colonoscopy 3 months ago.

Construction and validation of the quality of oncology nursing care scale (QONCS).

Background: There is scarcity of questionnaires specifically on the quality of the nursing care provided to patients diagnosed with cancer. The available questionnaires have been developed without attributing a holistic approach to the care provided with important patient's needs remaining without assessment. The main aim was to develop a self-administered cancer specific questionnaire exploring patients' views on quality nursing care provided in oncology settings.

A new PET resolution measurement method through Monte-Carlo simulations.

Objective: The aim of this study was to propose a novel method for image quality assessment in PET scanners through estimation of the modulation transfer function (MTF) of a plane source. The simulation was implemented using the previously validated Monte-Carlo model. A comparison of the proposed method with the more traditional technique, based on a line source, was also performed.

Figure of image quality and information capacity in digital mammography.

Objectives: In this work, a simple technique to assess the image quality characteristics of the postprocessed image is developed and an easy to use figure of image quality (FIQ) is introduced. This FIQ characterizes images in terms of resolution and noise. In addition information capacity, defined within the context of Shannon's information theory, was used as an overall image quality index.

Comparative analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of demographic policies in EU countries (2009-2010).

Purpose: This article contains a comparative analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of population policies in European Union (EU) countries, using multivariate analysis.

Data And Methods: To study these differences, it is primarily necessary to have the relevant data. The most recent database available was developed by the OECD in 2007 and currently covers OECD countries and most EU Member States.

Smoking and physical activity interrelations in health science students. Is smoking associated with physical inactivity in young adults?

Background: Smoking and physical inactivity constitute a major public health concern for Greece. The purpose of this study was to examine smoking behaviour and physical activity (PA) in Greek health science students.

Methods: A standardised questionnaire and the Greek version of IPAQ-short were given to 2000 health science students, randomly selected from five higher education institutions, in order to record smoking behaviour and PA status.

Problematic Internet Use among Greek university students: an ordinal logistic regression with risk factors of negative psychological beliefs, pornographic sites, and online games.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationships between Problematic Internet Use (PIU) among university students in Greece and factors such as gender, age, family condition, academic performance in the last semester of their studies, enrollment in unemployment programs, amount of Internet use per week (in general and per application), additional personal habits or dependencies (number of coffees, alcoholic drinks drunk per day, taking substances, cigarettes smoked per day), and negative psychological beliefs. Data were gathered from 2,358 university students from across Greece. The prevalence of PIU was 34.

Assessment of the health status of Greek centenarians.

The present study aims at describing the health status of a sample of relatively functional and healthy Greek centenarians and at exploring the potential gender differences in health in this sample. Its objectives are to add to the accumulation of knowledge about the health status of centenarians and therefore to contribute to the exploration of the mechanisms of healthy longevity. The study employs a non-representative community sample of Greek centenarians of both sexes (N=47).

Post traumatic paraplegics living in Athens: the impact of pressure sores and UTIs on everyday life activities.

This paper contains the findings of a scientific research which was done on post-traumatic paraplegics who live in the area of Athens. Greece, and measured the impact of pressure sores and UTIs on their everyday life activities. The target population was 127 individuals out of which 98 were observed and interviewed.

New role of a medical documentation system.

Architecture of a new medical documentation system (MDS) is proposed. First, we studied the traditional MDS in terms of organizational structure, main functions, means (resources) and personnel. Special emphasis is given to the information retrieval (IR) system which is the kernel of a MDS.

Medical data protection: a proposal for a deontology code.

In this paper, a proposal for a Medical Data Protection Deontology Code in Greece is presented. Undoubtedly, this code should also be of interest to other countries. The whole effort for the composition of this code is based on what holds internationally, particularly in the EC countries, on recent data acquired from Greek sources and on the experience resulting from what is acceptable in Greece.