Effect of Maturity and Storage Temperature on Shelf-Life and Quality of Banana Cv. Grand Naine

A study was undertaken at Regional Horticulture Research Station, NAU, Navsari, during 2008-2009 to assess the effect of maturity stage and storage temperature on shelf-life and quality of banana cv. Grand Naine. The experiment was evaluated in Completely Randomized Ddesign based on the factorial concept, and comprised of three maturity stages (75, 90 and 100% maturity) and four storage temperatures (12°C, 14°C, 16°C&ambient temperature). Fruits harvested at 75% maturity and stored at 12°C recorded maximum green-life and better overall shelf-life, whereas, yellow-life was highest when fruits at 75% maturity were stored at 14°C. Best colour and texture was seen in fruits harvested at 100% maturity and stored at 16°C

Stres na radu i zdravlje medicinskih sestara u jedinicama intenzivne njege u Srbiji

The aim of this study was to identify and analyse professional stressors, evaluate the level of stress in nurses in Intensive Care Units (ICU), and assess the correlation between the perception of stress and psychological and somatic symptoms or diseases shown by nurses. The research, designed as a crosssectional study, was carried out in the Intensive Care Units (ICU), in health centres in Serbia. The sample population encompassed 1000 nurses. Expanded Nursing Stress Scale (ENSS) was used as the research instrument. ENSS revealed a valid metric characteristic within our sample population. Nurses from ICUs rated situations involving physical and psychological working environments as the most stressful ones, whereas situations related to social working environment were described as less stressful; however, the differences in the perception of stressfulness of these environments were minor. Socio-demographic determinants of the participants (age, marital status and education level) significantly affected the perception of stress at work. Significant differences in the perception of stressfulness of particular stress factors were observed among nurses with respect to psychological and somatic symptoms (such as headache, insomnia, fatigue, despair, lower back pain, mood swings etc.) and certain diseases (such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes mellitus etc). In view of permanent escalation of professional stressors, creating a supportive working environment is essential for positive health outcomes, prevention of job-related diseases and better protection of already ill nurses.Cilj je ovoga rada bio identifi cirati i analizirati profesionalne stresore, procijeniti razinu stresa kod medicinskih sestara u jedinicama intenzivne njege te procijeniti korelaciju između percepcije stresa i prisutnosti psiholoških i somatskih simptoma ili bolesti kod medicinskih sestara. Istraživanje je provedeno u obliku studije presjeka u Jedinicama intenzivne njege u zdravstvenim centrima u Srbiji. Uzorak se sastojao od 1000 medicinskih sestara-tehničara. Za procjenu i analizu profesionalnih stresora korišten je upitnik Expanded Nursing Stress Scale (ENSS), koji je pokazao validne metrijske karakteristike na našoj ispitanoj populaciji. Medicinske sestre u Jedinicama intenzivne njege ocijenile su situacije iz fizičkoga i psihološkoga radnog okruženja kao izrazito opterećujuće, a situacije iz socijalnoga radnog okruženja kao manje opterećujuće. Razlika u percepciji stresogenosti navedenih radnih okruženja nije bila statistički značajna. Sociodemografske determinante ispitanika (dob, bračno stanje i stupanj obrazovanja) značajno utječu na percepciju stresa na radnom mjestu. Utvrđena je statistički značajna razlika u opažanju stresogenosti pojedinih stresnih situacija na radnom mjestu između medicinskih sestara u odnosu na postojanje psihosomatskih simptoma (kao što su glavobolja, nesanica, umor, očaj, bol u leđima, česte promjene raspoloženja) ili određenih bolesti (kao što su povišena hipertenzija, infarkt miokarda, cerebrovaskularni inzult, šećerna bolest). Zbog sve izraženije prisutnosti profesionalnih stresora nužno je poduzeti određene strateške mjere kod medicinskih sestara u Jedinicama intenzivne njege. Strateške mjere podrazumijevaju unaprjeđenje psihosocijalne radne klime, što bi unaprijedilo njihovo zdravlje i spriječilo nastanak bolesti u svezi s radom, ali i omogućilo bolju zaštitu već oboljelim medicinskim sestrama

Burnout within forensic psychiatric nursing:Its relationship with ward environment and effective clinical supervision?

4.1 Introduction Despite extensive research examining burnout in psychiatric nursing staff, literature exploring key predictors of burnout in secure psychiatric settings has been relatively neglected. Research has yet to explore burnout in these settings by adopting previously identified predictors such as support or the ward environment. 4.2 Aim The current study aimed to reduce this gap by exploring burnout, the perceived effectiveness of clinical supervision and ward environment. 4.3 Method In 2014, nursing staff working in a medium secure forensic psychiatric unit in the United Kingdom (N = 137) provided demographic information and completed the measures assessing: Burnout, clinical supervision and the ward environment. 4.4 Results Approximately 10% of nursing staff could be classed as “burnt‐out”. The main predictors of burnout were age and ward environment. Clinical supervision had minimal association with burnout. 4.5 Discussion The current study sheds doubt on clinical supervision as a potential intervention for burnout and results appear comparable to research within other settings. The implications of the ward environment, supervision and burnout are discussed herein. 4.6 Implication for Practice Interventions may need to focus on a positive ward environment (including patient cohesion, experienced safety and enhancing the therapeutic atmosphere). Organizations should support younger nursing staff as they appear particularly vulnerable to burnout