Nurses attitudes and beliefs to attempted suicide in Southern India

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Mental Health on 20-5-15, available online: https://doi.org/10.3109/09638237.2015.1019051Background: There is growing global interest into the attitudes and clinical management of persons who have attempted suicide. Aims: The principal purpose was to determine senior nursing staff attitudes towards patients who had attempted suicide from a professional and cultural perspective, which might influence care following hospital admission. The focus concerned nursing staff interactions at a psychological level that compete with physical tasks on general hospital wards. Methods: A qualitative methodology was employed with audio-taped interviews utilising four level data coding. This article reports on a group of 15 nursing staff from a large general hospital in Mysore, Southern India. Results: Findings suggested that patient care and treatment is directly influenced by the nurse’s religious beliefs within a general hospital setting with physical duties prioritised over psychological support, which was underdeveloped throughout the participant group. Conclusion: The results allow a series of recommendations for educational and skills initiatives before progressing to patient assessment and treatment projects and cross-cultural comparison studies. In addition, interventions must focus on current resources and context to move the evidence-based suicide prevention forward

Phenolic, polysaccharidic and lipidic fractions of mushrooms from northeast Portugal: chemical compounds with antioxidant properties

Mushrooms do not constitute a significant portion of the human diet, but their consumption continues to increase due to their functional benefits and presence of bioactive compounds. Some of those compounds can be found in the phenolic, polysaccharidic and lipidic fractions of edible and inedible species. Herein, those fractions of five wild mushrooms (Coprinopsis atramentaria, Lactarius bertillonii, Lactarius vellereus, Rhodotus palmatus and Xerocomus chrysenteron) from Northeast Portugal were studied for their chemical composition and antioxidant properties. Protocatechuic, p-hydroxybenzoic, p-coumaric and cinnamic acids were found in the phenolic fraction, ramnose, xylose, fucose, arabinose, fructose, glucose, manose, mannitol, sucrose, maltose and trehalose were quantified in polysaccharidic fraction, linoleic and stearic (only in Lactarius sp.) acids, and β- and γ-tocopherols were the main compounds in the lipidic fraction. C. atramentaria and X. chrysenteron phenolic fractions gave the highest free radical scavenging activity, reducing properties and lipid peroxidation inhibition in brain homogenates, which is in agreement with its highest content in total phenolics. Furthermore, among the polysaccharidic fractions C. atramentaria also gave the highest antioxidant activity, which is accordingly with its highest total polysaccharides content and sugars obtained after hydrolysis.The authors are grateful to Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) and COMPETE/QREN/EU (research project PTDC/AGR-ALI/110062/2009) for financial support. L. Barros (BPD/4609/2008) and S.A. Heleno (BD/70304/2010) also thank FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE. The GIP-USAL is financially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación through the Consolider-Ingenio 2010 Programme (FUN-C-FOOD, CSD2007-00063), and Junta de Castilla y León (Grupo de Investigación de Excelencia, GR133)

The role of empathy and emotional intelligence in nurses’communication attitudes using regression models andfuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis models

Aims and objectives: To analyse link between empathy and emotional intelligence as a predictor of nurses' attitudes towards communication while comparing the contribution of emotional aspects and attitudinal elements on potential behaviour. Background: Nurses' attitudes towards communication, empathy and emotional intelligence are key skills for nurses involved in patient care. There are currently no studies analysing this link, and its investigation is needed because attitudes may influence communication behaviours. Design: Correlational study. Method: To attain this goal, self-reported instruments (attitudes towards communication of nurses, trait emotional intelligence (Trait Emotional Meta-Mood Scale) and Jefferson Scale of Nursing Empathy (Jefferson Scale Nursing Empathy) were collected from 460 nurses between September 2015-February 2016. Two different analytical methodologies were used: traditional regression models and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis models. Results: The results of the regression model suggest that cognitive dimensions of attitude are a significant and positive predictor of the behavioural dimension. The perspective-taking dimension of empathy and the emotional-clarity dimension of emotional intelligence were significant positive predictors of the dimensions of attitudes towards communication, except for the affective dimension (for which the association was negative). The results of the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis models confirm that the combination of high levels of cognitive dimension of attitudes, perspective-taking and emotional clarity explained high levels of the behavioural dimension of attitude. Conclusions: Empathy and emotional intelligence are predictors of nurses' attitudes towards communication, and the cognitive dimension of attitude is a good predictor of the behavioural dimension of attitudes towards communication of nurses in both regression models and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. In general, the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis models appear to be better predictors than the regression models are. Relevance to clinical practice: To evaluate current practices, establish intervention strategies and evaluate their effectiveness. The evaluation of these variables and their relationships are important in creating a satisfied and sustainable workforce and improving quality of care and patient health.Sin financiación1.757 JCR (2018) Q1, 28/120 Nursing0.768 SJR (2018) Q1, 18/152 Nursing (miscellaneous); Q2, 836/2844 Medicine (miscellaneous)No data IDR 2018UE

Discovery of Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-κB Ligand with a Superior Therapeutic Index

Receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) constitutes the master mediator of osteoclastogenesis, while its pharmaceutical inhibition by a monoclonal antibody has been approved for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. To date, the pursuit of pharmacologically more favorable approaches using low-molecular-weight inhibitors has been hampered by low specificity and high toxicity issues. This study aimed to discover small-molecule inhibitors targeting RANKL trimer formation. Through a systematic screening of 39 analogues of SPD-304, a dual inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and RANKL trimerization, we identified four compounds (1b, 3b, 4a, and 4c) that selectively inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis in a dose-dependent manner, without affecting TNF activity or osteoblast differentiation. Based on structure-activity observations extracted from the most potent and less toxic inhibitors of RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis, we synthesized a focused set of compounds that revealed three potent inhibitors (19a, 19b, and 20a) with remarkably low cell-toxicity and improved therapeutic indexes as shown by the LC50 to IC50 ratio. These RANKL-selective inhibitors are an excellent starting point for the development of small-molecule therapeutics against osteolytic diseases.

Fabry disease due to D313Y and novel GLA mutations

Objectives Our aim is to report four novel α-gal A gene (GLA) mutations resulting in Fabry disease (FD) and provide evidence of pathogenicity of the D313Y mutation regarding which contradictory data have been presented in the literature. Setting and participants Twenty-five family members of nine unrelated patients with definite FD diagnosis, 10 clinically suspected cases and 18 members of their families were included in this polycentric cohort study. Primary and secondary outcome measures Genotyping and measurement of lyso-Gb 3 was performed in all individuals. The α-Gal A activity was measured in all men as well as plasma and urine Gb 3 concentration in selected cases. Optical and electron microscopy was performed in kidney biopsies of selected patients. All the above were evaluated in parallel with the clinical data of the patients. Results Fourteen new cases of FD were recognised, four of which were carrying already described GLA mutations. Four novel GLA mutations, namely c.835C>T, c.280T>A, c.924A>C and c.511G>A, resulting in a classic FD phenotype were identified. Moreover, FD was definitely diagnosed in five patients carrying the D313Y mutation. Eight D313Y carriers were presenting signs of FD despite not fulfilling the criteria of the disease, two had no FD signs and two others were apparently healthy. Conclusions Four novel GLA pathogenic mutations are reported and evidence of pathogenicity of the D313Y mutation is provided. It seems that the D313Y mutation is related to a later-onset milder phenotype than the typical phenotype with normal lysoGb 3 concentration. Our study underlines the significance of family member genotyping and newborn screening to avoid misdiagnoses and crucial delays in diagnosis and treatment of the disease. © Article author(s) 2017