Exploring the cultural aspects of compassion in nursing care: a comparative study of Greece and Cyprus

Introduction: It is important to consider the concept of compassionate care within a cultural context in terms of how it might be perceived and demonstrated in practice. People may vary in what constitutes suffering due to variations in their values, culture, needs and understanding. In this paper we report on the findings from data collected from Greek and Greek-Cypriot Nurses during a study which sought to explore similarities and differences between the two countries with regard to perceptions of compassion. Methods: This is an exploratory, cross-sectional descriptive study. The data discussed within this paper have been extracted from a large scale on-line survey involving 15 countries. Greek-Cypriot participants were recruited through local professional organizations and university/college student associations. In Greece, participants were recruited through university associations and social networks. Participants were emailed a link to the survey which was completed on-line. The research tool consisted of 10 open and closed questions. Results: Many similarities were identified between the two groups following their response to the survey, although some small differences were also identified. From the findings of the qualitative data, 3 main themes emerged for both groups of nurses: compassionate communication; awareness of needs; and kindness, whilst a fourth theme was also identified applying mostly to the Greek nurses with regard to factors which might hinder compassion and referring mainly to the effects of economic crisis. Discussion: A number of similarities were identified between the two countries and both countries reported feeling that compassion in nursing is very important, and also stating that they themselves received little compassion from management. However, despite similarities in the perceptions of Greek and Greek-Cypriot nurses, some differences were also identified. Furthermore, our study revealed a greater number of Greek nurses reporting effects of austerity. Conclusion: Greek and Greek Cypriot nurses may differ on how they define compassion but their practical expressions on compassion are very similar. Both countries felt that their own experiences of compassion were most likely to come from colleagues or patients, and most unlikely to come from their managers. There is an urgent need for compassionate leaders within their public health care systems, who will develop organizational cultures which nurture and sustain compassion. This is particularly evident in the case of Greece where we identified a larger number of nurses reporting restraints due to financial crisis

Being There: Young People Supporting Their Friends through Tough Times

This report documents one of the largest mixed methods studies to date examining informal help support provided by young people to their friends. We report on national survey data (n=169), as well as focus group data with 34 young people aged 16 - 25 who provide support to their friends. Specifically, the study examines the experiences of friends who support friends through tough times by focusing on how they perform this support, what resources young supporters use and have access to, what constrains this support and what they might need to enable the support they provide to their friends and peers. Our findings show the critical work young people are doing as supporters and documents the careful personalised support they offer their friends. Following sector consultations and discussions with young people, we offer key recommendations to ensure young people are resourced and supported in their care practices

COVID-19 update: the first 6 months of the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is sweeping the world and will feature prominently in all our lives for months and most likely for years to come. We review here the current state 6 months into the declared pandemic. Specifically, we examine the role of the pathogen, the host and the environment along with the possible role of diabetes. We also firmly believe that the pandemic has shown an extraordinary light on national and international politicians whom we should hold to account as performance has been uneven. We also call explicitly on competent leadership of international organizations, specifically the WHO, UN and EU, informed by science. Finally, we also condense successful strategies for dealing with the current COVID-19 pandemic in democratic countries into a developing pandemic playbook and chart a way forward into the future. This is useful in the current COVID-19 pandemic and, we hope, in a very distant future again when another pandemic might arise

Variation of leaf litter decomposition among rivers, lagoons and sea: an experiment from Corfu island (Greece)

In aquatic ecosystems, the decomposition of organic detritus represents one of the most important ecosystem functions, which support complex detritus-based food webs that determine the critical balance between carbon mineralization and sequestration. The performance of the decomposition process is usually expressed as rate of decomposition, being a synthetic measure that take into account both abiotic and biotic factors. Decomposition rates have been also applied to evaluate the ecological status in terms of ecological functionality. However, despite a growing number of studies have tested the rate of decomposition between leaves of different riparian tree species in different aquatic ecosystems including rivers, transitional waters and sea, no comparative study among ecosystems typology is available up to date. Here, we compare decomposition rates from rivers, lagoons and sea of Corfu island (Greece). Five sampling sites were fixed in each of the three of the most important rivers and lagoons; other five sampling sites were fixed in the sea around the island. Twelve leaf packs containing 3±0.005 g of oven-dried Phragmites australis leaves were submerged in April 2014 and retrieved in May 2014 (after 30 days). Abiotic parameters were recorded in both sampling times. The retrieved leaf packs were cleaned and the macroinvertebrates retained were removed, counted, identified at lower taxonomic level and weighted. Leaf pack decomposition rates were calculated, and their variability was compared within each aquatic ecosystem, within each ecosystem typology (river, lagoon, sea) and among ecosystem typology. The results are going to be presented on the poster

Update of the human and mouse SERPIN gene superfamily

The serpin family comprises a structurally similar, yet functionally diverse, set of proteins. Named originally for their function as serine proteinase inhibitors, many of its members are not inhibitors but rather chaperones, involved in storage, transport, and other roles. Serpins are found in genomes of all kingdoms, with 36 human protein-coding genes and five pseudogenes. The mouse has 60 Serpin functional genes, many of which are orthologous to human SERPIN genes and some of which have expanded into multiple paralogous genes. Serpins are found in tissues throughout the body; whereas most are extracellular, there is a class of intracellular serpins. Serpins appear to have roles in inflammation, immune function, tumorigenesis, blood clotting, dementia, and cancer metastasis. Further characterization of these proteins will likely reveal potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for disease. © 2013 Heit et al

Scientific evidence supporting the newly developed one-health labeling tool “Med-Index”: an umbrella systematic review on health benefits of mediterranean diet principles and adherence in a planeterranean perspective

Background: Med-Index is a one-health front-of-pack (FOP) label, based on Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) principles, developed to summarize information about the nutritional properties and related-health benefits of any food as well as its sustainable production processes, and the associated food company’s social responsibility parameters in a new “Planeterranean” perspective. Thus, Med-Index can be adopted in and by any European region and authority as well as worldwide; this is achieved by consumption and cooking of locally available and sourced foods that respect MedDiet principles, both in terms of healthy nutrition and sustainable production. The huge body of scientific evidence about the health benefits of the MedDiet model and principles requires a comprehensive framework to encompass the scientific reliability and robustness of this tool. A systematic review was carried out to examine the association between human health and adherence to MedDiet patterns upon which the “Med-Index” tool was subsequently developed. Methods: MEDLINE and PubMed databases were searched for eligible publications from 1990 to April 2023. Systematic literature reviews, with or without meta-analysis, of clinical trials and observational studies were screened by two independent investigators for eligibility, data extraction, and quality assessment. English language and the time interval 1990–2023 were applied. A registry code CRD42023464807 was generated on PROSPERO and approved for this search protocol. The corrected covered area (CCA), calculated to quantify the degree of overlap between reviews, gave a slight overlap (CCA = 4%). Results: A total of 84 systematic reviews out of 6681 screened records were selected. Eligible reviews included studies with predominantly observational designs (61/84, 72.6%%), of which 26/61 referenced studies of mixed observational and RCT designs, while 23/84 (27.4%) were RCT-only systematic reviews. Seventy-nine different entries were identified for health outcomes, clustered into 10 macro-categories, each reporting a statistically significant association with exposure to the MedDiet. Adherence to MedDiet was found to strongly benefit age-related chronic diseases (21.5%), neurological disorders (19%), and obesity-related metabolic features (12.65), followed by CVDs (11.4%), cancer (10.1%), diabetes (7.5%), liver health (6.3%), inflammation (5%), mortality (5%), and renal health (1.2%). The quality of the studies was moderate to high. Conclusion: In the context of a “Planeterranean” framework and perspective that can be adopted in any European region and worldwide, MedDiet represents a healthy and sustainable lifestyle model, able to prevent several diseases and reduce premature mortality. In addition, the availability of a FOP, such as Med-Index, might foster more conscious food choices among consumers, paying attention both to human and planetary health

Glutathione de Novo Synthesis but Not Recycling Process Coordinates with Glutamine Catabolism to Control Redox Homeostasis and Directs Murine T Cell Differentiation

Upon antigen stimulation, T lymphocytes undergo dramatic changes in metabolism to fulfill the bioenergetic, biosynthetic and redox demands of proliferation and differentiation. Glutathione (GSH) plays an essential role in controlling redox balance and cell fate. While GSH can be recycled from Glutathione disulfide (GSSG), the inhibition of this recycling pathway does not impact GSH content and murine T cell fate. By contrast, the inhibition of the de novo synthesis of GSH, by deleting either the catalytic (Gclc) or the modifier (Gclm) subunit of glutamate–cysteine ligase (Gcl), dampens intracellular GSH, increases ROS, and impact T cell differentiation. Moreover, the inhibition of GSH de novo synthesis dampened the pathological progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). We further reveal that glutamine provides essential precursors for GSH biosynthesis. Our findings suggest that glutamine catabolism fuels de novo synthesis of GSH and directs the lineage choice in T cells