The symbiotic relationship of vulnerability and resilience in Nursing

Background: Whilst the terms vulnerability and resilience are commonly used within professional nursing discourses, they are often poorly understood. Vulnerability is often framed negatively and linked to being at risk of harm, whilst resilience is often perceived as the ability to withstand challenges. Aim: The aim of this paper is to explore resilience and vulnerability; re-positioning them within the context of contemporary professional nursing practice. Design: Discussion paper. Method: Drawing upon historical and contemporary international literature, both concepts are de-constructed and then re-constructed, examining them from the position of patient care as well as from the perspective of nurses and the nursing profession. Conclusion: Resilience and vulnerability have an interdependent relationship as resilience comes into play in situations of vulnerability. Yet, contrary to the popular discourse they are multi-faceted, complex phenomena based on factors such as individual circumstances, supports and resources

The study design and methodology for the ARCHER study - adolescent rural cohort study of hormones, health, education, environments and relationships

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Adolescence is characterized by marked psychosocial, behavioural and biological changes and represents a critical life transition through which adult health and well-being are established. Substantial research confirms the role of psycho-social and environmental influences on this transition, but objective research examining the role of puberty hormones, testosterone in males and oestradiol in females (as biomarkers of puberty) on adolescent events is lacking. Neither has the tempo of puberty, the time from onset to completion of puberty within an individual been studied, nor the interaction between age of onset and tempo. This study has been designed to provide evidence on the relationship between reproductive hormones and the tempo of their rise to adult levels, and adolescent behaviour, health and wellbeing.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The ARCHER study is a multidisciplinary, prospective, longitudinal cohort study in 400 adolescents to be conducted in two centres in regional Australia in the State of New South Wales. The overall aim is to determine how changes over time in puberty hormones independently affect the study endpoints which describe universal and risk behaviours, mental health and physical status in adolescents. Recruitment will commence in school grades 5, 6 and 7 (10–12 years of age). Data collection includes participant and parent questionnaires, anthropometry, blood and urine collection and geocoding. Data analysis will include testing the reliability and validity of the chosen measures of puberty for subsequent statistical modeling to assess the impact over time of tempo and onset of puberty (and their interaction) and mean-level repeated measures analyses to explore for significant upward and downward shifts on target outcomes as a function of main effects.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The strengths of this study include enrollment starting in the earliest stages of puberty, the use of frequent urine samples in addition to annual blood samples to measure puberty hormones, and the simultaneous use of parental questionnaires.</p

Cellular and Molecular Basis of Deiodinase-Regulated Thyroid Hormone Signalinga

The iodothyronine deiodinases initiate or terminate thyroid hormone action and therefore are critical for the biological effects mediated by thyroid hormone. Over the years, research has focused on their role in preserving serum levels of the biologically active molecule T3 during iodine deficiency. More recently, a fascinating new role of these enzymes has been unveiled. The activating deiodinase (D2) and the inactivating deiodinase (D3) can locally increase or decrease thyroid hormone signaling in a tissue- and temporal-specific fashion, independent of changes in thyroid hormone serum concentrations. This mechanism is particularly relevant because deiodinase expression can be modulated by a wide variety of endogenous signaling molecules such as sonic hedgehog, nuclear factor-κB, growth factors, bile acids, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, as well as a growing number of xenobiotic substances. In light of these findings, it seems clear that deiodinases play a much broader role than once thought, with great ramifications for the control of thyroid hormone signaling during vertebrate development and metamorphosis, as well as injury response, tissue repair, hypothalamic function, and energy homeostasis in adults