Priorities to inform research on tire particles and their chemical leachates: A collective perspective.

Concerns over the ecological impacts of urban road runoff have increased, partly due to recent research into the harmful impacts of tire particles and their chemical leachates. This study aimed to help the community of researchers, regulators and policy advisers in scoping out the priority areas for further study. To improve our understanding of these issues an interdisciplinary, international network consisting of experts (United Kingdom, Norway, United States, Australia, South Korea, Finland, Austria, China and Canada) was formed.

Interventions for Drug-Using Offenders with Mental Health Problems.

Editor's note: The mission of Cochrane Nursing is to provide an international evidence base for nurses involved in delivering, leading, or researching nursing care. Cochrane Corner provides summaries of recent systematic reviews from the Cochrane Library. For more information, see https://nursing.

Hormonal Therapy Before Surgery for Uterine Fibroids.

Editor's note: This is a summary of a nursing care-related systematic review from the Cochrane Library. For more information, see http://nursingcare.cochrane.

The Effectiveness of Speech and Language Therapy for Poststroke Aphasia.

Editor's note: This is a summary of a nursing care-related systematic review from the Cochrane Library. For more information, see http://nursingcare.cochrane.

Inflammatory changes and age-related hearing loss.

Lifestyle factors such as smoking and a high-fat diet are associated with hearing loss in older people. It is possible that this is because they cause cardiovascular disease which affects the blood supply to the cochlea. The authors suggest that it may also be due to the direct impact of inflammatory processes, associated with cardiovascular disease, on the cochlea.

Balance of power shifts when providing care in patients' homes.

Nursing practice at home involves entering a place where the patient's and family's values and habits predominate. In hospital, nurses work in safe territory with the aid of conferred authority but this manner might not be suitable in a patient's own home. When people need nursing care, the meaning of home is at risk of changing.

Use of non-invasive ventilation.

As blood levels of carbon dioxide increase (hypercapnia) in lung disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), patients can show signs of delirium, becoming increasingly confused and sleepy. They may also have wrist tremor, muscle twitching, seizures and dilation of conjunctival and superficial facial blood vessels.

Three common eye problems.

Cataract, macular degeneration and dry eye are the three main age-related eye conditions.

Obesity link with pain.

Chronic pain is common in older people, affects women more than men and is highly associated with obesity. The link may, in part, be related to the greater mechanical load on weight-bearing joints causing pain in the legs and low back pain, however, pain is also more common in non-weight-bearing areas.

Catheterisation options.

There is no single method of urinary catheterisation that suits all patients. Options available are intermittent catheterisation and indwelling catheterisation, which can be urethral or suprapubic. Suprapubic catheterisation involves insertion through the abdomen into the bladder.

Raising awareness of abuse is key to prevention.

Elder abuse encompasses at least five categories of harm including physical, psychological, sexual, financial and neglect. A study by the organisation Action on Elder Abuse found the most frequently reported type of abuse was psychological, followed by financial and physical. Its report also highlighted incidents of discrimination, community harassment (such as noisy neighbours) socially unacceptable behaviour and 'loss of power' related to ageism.

Nurses need to assess problems related to stress in care giving.

The cost of caring for people with dementia is enormous in monetary and psychological terms. Carers experience emotional, physical and financial stress, depression and poor quality of life. The result may be poor standards of care, neglect or even abuse.