Circadian-clock system in mouse liver affected by insulin resistance.

Circadian rhythms are exhibited in the physiological and behavioral processes of all mammals; they are generated by intracellular levels of circadian oscillators, which are named as a set of circadian-clock genes. These genes compose the transcriptional/translational feedback loops to regulate not only circadian rhythmicity, but also energy metabolism. Previous studies have shown that obesity and diabetes cause the dysregulation of the circadian-clock system, and vice versa.

Psychometric testing of an instrument measuring core competencies of nursing students: an application of Mokken scaling.

Assessing the core competencies of nursing students provides information about students' learning outcomes for educational evaluation and improvement. The aim of this study was to develop the Nursing Students Core Competencies scale to measure 8 core competencies of nursing students in Taiwan. The study employed factor analysis and Mokken scaling analysis for psychometric testing of this instrument between a group of nursing graduates and their evaluators.

Psychometric testing of an instrument measuring nurse aides' patient safety attitudes.

Aim: To develop and test the patient safety attitude scale-nurse aide (PSAS-NA) scale in measuring nurse aides' attitudes to patient safety and event reporting.

Background: Although nurse aides are unlicensed personnel, their roles in delivering care can not be ignored. A measure specific to nurse aides is needed.

Menarche and menstruation through the eyes of pubescent students in eastern Taiwan: implications in sociocultural influence and gender differences issues.

Background: Menstruation is a significant part of women's lives. It has been studied from many perspectives to draw various conclusions about biological and physiological development, gender differences, and sociocultural environments.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how male and female pubescent students perceive and interpret menarche and menstruation and how their perceptions reflect gender differences and the sociocultural environment in eastern Taiwan.

[Creating baby-friendly neonatal intensive care units].

Most expectant parents anticipate giving birth to a healthy newborn. Admission of a neonate to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is thus nearly always a significant and negative shock to parents and family members. We derived core concepts for this article from the World Health Organization/United Nations Children's Fund (WHO/UNICEF)'s Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative: Revised, updated, and expanded for integrated care (2009).

Characterization of musclin as a new target for treatment of hypertension.

Musclin is a novel skeletal muscle-derived factor found in the signal sequence trap of mouse skeletal muscle cDNAs. Recently, it has been demonstrated that musclin is involved in the pathogenesis of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). However, it is known as a genetic hypertension model.

Depletion of albumin and immunoglobulin G from human serum using epitope-imprinted polymers as artificial antibodies.

Serum is a readily available source for noninvasive studies in clinical research, but it contains abundant proteins such as albumin and immunoglobulin G that can hinder the presence of low-abundant proteins as well as decrease sample loading capacity of analytical methods. Therefore, depletion of these two proteins is required to observe low-abundance serum proteins. Molecularly imprinted polymers are template-induced artificial antibodies with the ability to recognize and selectively bind the target molecule.

Syntheses and structures of Zr4 tetrahedral clusters containing direct Zr-Zr bonds: the missing cluster in the series Zr(n) (n = 2-6).

The reduction of [(μ(2)-H)( μ(3)-H)(Cp*ZrCl)](4) by excess Na/Hg led to the isolation of the mixed-valence Zr(III)/Zr(IV) Zr(4) cluster [(μ(2)-H)(8)(μ(2)-Cl)(2)(Cp*Zr)(4)], 1, and the Zr(II)/Zr(III) Zr(4) cluster [(μ(2)-H)(6)(Cp*Zr)(4)], 2. The proton NMR data supports the diamagnetic property of both clusters in solution and the solid state structure of each cluster revealed a distorted tetrahedral skeleton comprised of four Zr atoms and the presence of direct Zr-Zr bonds. The hydride-bridged Zr-Zr bond distances are in the range of 3.

Nurses' attitudes towards physical activity care among older people.

Aims And Objectives: To understand nurses' attitudes towards physical activity care for older people in long-term care facilities.

Background: In long-term care facilities, a common approach to daily physical activity is based on the identifiable portions of daily life during which the activity occurs. However, older people are at risk of falling when they perform daily physical activities.

Frontline healthcare providers' views of depression and its prevention in older adults.

Aims And Objectives: To describe healthcare providers' views on depression and its prevention in older people.

Background: There is an urgent need to develop public health approaches to depression prevention in older adults because of the growing older population and the high rate of depression among community-dwelling older adults in Taiwan. Prior studies have focused on the prevalence of and risk factors for depression in Taiwanese community-dwelling older adults.

Telecare for the elderly--community nurses' experiences in Taiwan.

Advances in science, technology, and healthcare have contributed to the global growth of an aging population. With a concomitant decline in birth rate, the increasing need for elder care cannot be met effectively by traditional care models as fewer caregivers are available. This study adopted a qualitative research method, and 13 nurses who have experiences in telecare were interviewed in a regional hospital in northern Taiwan.

Qualitative inquiry into motivators for maintaining medication adherence among Taiwanese with schizophrenia.

Medication non-adherence is associated with higher rates of relapse in persons with schizophrenia. Psychiatric nurses play a significant role in facilitating their medication adherence. The motivators which strengthen patients with schizophrenia to maintain their adherence to medication have seldom been explored.

[Prevention and management of pressure ulcers in critical patients].

The Taiwan Join Commission on Hospital Accreditation identified pressure ulcers as an important clinical care indicator in 2011. Pressure ulcers are a particularly critical medical care issue in hospital intensive care units. Pressure ulcers can influence patient physiology in terms of greater perceived pain, elevated infection and sepsis incidence, increased unplanned surgical treatments, and reduced activities of daily living (ADL).

A comparison of physical and dosimetric properties of lung substitute materials.

Purpose: The need for an accurate estimate of absorbed doses within and around irradiated thorax tissues necessitates the use of carefully selected materials from which phantoms are constructed. A lung substitute is more difficult to establish mostly due to its low physical density. Although many researchers have used cork as a lung substitute, very little research data address cork's characteristics to determine which type of cork is optimal as a substitute for lung tissue.

Prevalence of High Blood Pressure and its Relationship with Body Weight Factors among Inpatients with Schizophrenia in Taiwan.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to document the prevalence of high blood pressure (BP) and to explore its relationship with weight among inpatients with schizophrenia. Additionally, other possible risk factors impacting BP levels in relation to patients' demographic characteristics and use of atypical antipsychotic drugs and medications to reduce blood pressure were analyzed.

Methods: Using medical records, demographic data, and results of physical examination, this cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of hypertension and high BP and its association with body weight among 1,030 inpatients with schizophrenia in a large psychiatric facility in Taiwan.

Comparison of technology-based cooperative learning with technology-based individual learning in enhancing fundamental nursing proficiency.

Background: The aim of nursing education is to prepare students with critical thinking, high interests in profession and high proficiency in patient care. Cooperative learning promotes team work and encourages knowledge building upon discussion. It has been viewed as one of the most powerful learning methods.

Construct validation of the Nurse Cultural Competence Scale: a hierarchy of abilities.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the development of a Nurse Cultural Competence Scale using Mokken scaling.

Background: The psychometrics of the present cultural competence assessment tools has been questioned. The levels of competence measured by existing tools are not capable of indicating individual differences.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with spinal pain in adolescent computer users: a systematic review.

Background: Increased computer use has been suggested as a contributing factor for a rapid increase in the prevalence of neck and back pain in adolescents in the late 1990s and the beginning of 2000.

Objective: The overall objective of this review was to synthesise the best available evidence on the estimates of prevalence of, and risk factors associated with, spinal discomfort in adolescent computer users.

Inclusion Criteria: This review considered cross-sectional, case-control, or cohort studies.

High classification of chronic heart failure increases risk of overactive bladder syndrome and lower urinary tract symptoms.

Objective: To assess the urologic symptoms among patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and to explore whether a higher classification of CHF increases the risk associated with overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) and lower urinary tract symptoms.

Methods: A total of 214 ambulatory patients with CHF (129 men and 85 women) and 378 age-matched subjects (222 men and 156 women) were enrolled in the present study. The urologic symptoms were evaluated using the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS) and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) from January to June 2010.

Effect of time ratio of heat to cold on brachial artery blood velocity during contrast baths.

Background: Contrast baths have been adopted widely in clinics. However, the time ratio of heat to cold modalities has not been well established.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of time ratio on brachial artery mean blood velocity (aMBV) and determine the optimal duration in the second heating phase.

Beneficial effects of enalapril on chlorhexidine digluconate-induced liver peritoneal fibrosis in rats.

Peritoneal fibrosis (PF) is a recognized complication of long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD) and can lead to ultrafiltration failure. The present study was designed to investigate the protective effects of enalapril on chlorhexidine digluconate-induced liver PF by decreasing transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) production in rats. PF was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats by daily administration of 0.

The effect of an intervention combining self-efficacy theory and pedometers on promoting physical activity among adolescents.

Aim: To study the effect of an intervention combining self-efficacy theory and pedometers on promoting physical activity among adolescents.

Background: The beneficial effects of regular physical activity on health in youths are well-documented. However, adolescence is found to be the age of greatest decline in physical activity participation.

Symptom burden and quality of life in patients with malignant fungating wounds.

Aim: This study describes the relationship between symptoms and quality of life in patients with malignant fungating wounds.

Background: Malignant fungating wounds are complex wounds that can bleed, become malodorous due to infection and are painful causing physical and psychological distress. However, there is a lack of literature on the impact that such wounds can have on quality of life.