Translation and Psychometric Validation of the German Version of the Family Nursing Practice Scale (FNPS).

This article describes the cross-cultural adaption and psychometric testing of the Family Nursing Practice Scale (FNPS) German version. The FNPS aims to examine self-reported family nursing practice skills and reciprocity in the nurse-family relationship. Using a cross-sectional design, 583 acute and critical care nurses were invited to complete the FNPS German version. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the structural validity. Internal consistency was determined using Cronbach's alpha. A total of 317 nurses returned a completed online questionnaire. Principal axis factor analysis suggests a one-factor solution in which all 10 items are retained, accounting for 36% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha was .84. In contrast to the original version, our findings indicate the unidimensionality of the construct. The FNPS German version appears to be a valid and reliable scale to assess nurses' perception of their family nursing practice proficiency. Further testing is needed to confirm the unidimensionality and to establish test-retest reliability.

Consultations of HIV-infected women who wish to become pregnant.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the impact and outcome of consultations of HIV-infected women if a pregnancy is planned. METHODS: This study was performed retrospectively based on patient's records of HIV-infected women with the desire to become pregnant between 2000 and 2008. Relevant data regarding HIV infection, obstetrical history, diagnostic procedures and medical interventions related to conception, as well as pregnancy outcomes, were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 57 HIV-infected women (and their partner) were included; 38% (n = 22) of the couples showed a reduced fertility and 24 women (42%) became pregnant once or several times during the study period. Conception resulted from unprotected intercourse (n = 11), self-insemination (n = 10), assisted insemination (n = 2) or in vitro fertilization (n = 1). The outcome of all pregnancies was: 26 live births, 1 intrauterine fetal demise (38 weeks), 1 miscarriage, 1 cervical pregnancy and 1 legal abortion. No horizontal transmission occurred in serodiscordant couples. Seven (12%) women were lost to follow-up, 12 couples (21%) abandoned the attempt to get pregnant, and 14 couples (25%) reported an ongoing wish for a child. CONCLUSIONS: In this group of HIV-affected couples, we showed a high rate of reduced fertility. In our study, consultations and interventions led to a pregnancy rate of 42% without horizontal transmission of HIV.

Machine learning for a combined electroencephalographic anesthesia index to detect awareness under anesthesia.

Spontaneous electroencephalogram (EEG) and auditory evoked potentials (AEP) have been suggested to monitor the level of consciousness during anesthesia. As both signals reflect different neuronal pathways, a combination of parameters from both signals may provide broader information about the brain status during anesthesia. Appropriate parameter selection and combination to a single index is crucial to take advantage of this potential. The field of machine learning offers algorithms for both parameter selection and combination. In this study, several established machine learning approaches including a method for the selection of suitable signal parameters and classification algorithms are applied to construct an index which predicts responsiveness in anesthetized patients. The present analysis considers several classification algorithms, among those support vector machines, artificial neural networks and Bayesian learning algorithms. On the basis of data from the transition between consciousness and unconsciousness, a combination of EEG and AEP signal parameters developed with automated methods provides a maximum prediction probability of 0.935, which is higher than 0.916 (for EEG parameters) and 0.880 (for AEP parameters) using a cross-validation approach. This suggests that machine learning techniques can successfully be applied to develop an improved combined EEG and AEP parameter to separate consciousness from unconsciousness.

Ketamine's Effects on the Glutamatergic and GABAergic Systems: A Proteomics and Metabolomics Study in Mice.

Ketamine, a noncompetitive, voltage-dependent N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, has been shown to have a rapid antidepressant effect and is used for patients experiencing treatment-resistant depression. We carried out a time-dependent targeted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics profiling analysis combined with a quantitative based on in vivo 15N metabolic labeling proteome comparison of ketamine- and vehicle-treated mice. The metabolomics and proteomics datasets were used to further elucidate ketamine's mode of action on the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic and glutamatergic systems. In addition, myelin basic protein levels were analyzed by Western Blot. We found altered GABA, glutamate and glutamine metabolite levels and ratios as well as increased levels of putrescine and serine - 2 positive modulators of the NMDAR. In addition, GABA receptor (GABAR) protein levels were reduced, whereas the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) subunit Gria2 protein levels were increased upon ketamine treatment. The significantly altered metabolite and protein levels further significantly correlated with the antidepressant-like behavior, which was assessed using the forced swim test. In conclusion and in line with previous research, our data indicate that ketamine impacts the AMPAR subunit Gria2 and results in decreased GABAergic inhibitory neurotransmission leading to increased excitatory neuronal activity.

Can antipsychotic dose reduction lead to better functional recovery in first-episode psychosis? A randomized controlled-trial of antipsychotic dose reduction. The reduce trial: Study protocol.

Antipsychotic medication has been the mainstay of treatment for psychotic illnesses for over 60 years. This has been associated with improvements in positive psychotic symptoms and a reduction in relapse rates. However, there has been little improvement in functional outcomes for people with psychosis. At the same time there is increasing evidence that medications contribute to life shortening metabolic and cardiovascular illnesses. There is also uncertainty as to the role played by antipsychotic medication in brain volume changes. AIM: The primary aim of the study is, in a population of young people with first-episode psychosis, to compare functional outcomes between an antipsychotic dose reduction strategy with evidence-based intensive recovery treatment (EBIRT) group (DRS+) and an antipsychotic maintenance treatment with EBIRT group (AMTx+) at 24-months follow-up. METHODS: Our single-blind randomized controlled trial, within a specialist early psychosis treatment setting, will test the whether the DRS+ group leads to better vocational and social recovery than, the AMTx+ group over a 2-year period in 180 remitted first-episode psychosis patients. Additionally, we will examine the effect of DRS+ vs AMTx+ on physical health, brain volume and cognitive functioning. This study will also determine whether the group receiving DRS+ will be no worse off in terms of psychotic relapses over 2 years follow-up. RESULTS: This paper presents the protocol, rationale and hypotheses for this study which commenced recruitment in July 2017. CONCLUSION: This study will provide evidence as to whether an antipsychotic dose-reduction recovery treatment leads to improved functioning and safer outcomes in first-episode psychosis patients. In addition, it will be the first-controlled experiment of the effect of exposure to antipsychotic maintenance treatment on brain volume changes in this population.

The temporal dynamics of intrahippocampal corticosterone in response to stress-related stimuli with different emotional and physical load: an in vivo microdialysis study in C57BL/6 and DBA/2 inbred mice.

There is strong evidence for a pivotal interaction of corticosteroid signalling and behavioral adaptation to stress. To further elucidate this relation, we monitored the dynamics of free corticosterone in the murine hippocampus of two inbred mouse strains using in vivo microdialysis. C57BL/6JOlaHsd (C57BL/6) and DBA/2OlaHsd (DBA/2) inbred mouse strains have been shown to differ in their anxiety-related and depression-like behavior and provide, thus, an interesting animal model to study the stimulus-response profile of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system as a function of emotional and physical load. We, first, compared peripheral and intracerebral concentration patterns of corticosterone by simultaneous microdialysis of the jugular vein and the hippocampus in anesthetized mice and found strain differences in blood versus intracerebral free corticosterone concentrations. C57BL/6 showed almost the same steroid levels in either compartment, whereas DBA/2 mice displayed higher glucocorticoid levels in the circulation than in the hippocampus. This data suggest a strain difference in the tissue environment influencing the amount of biological active corticosterone at the receptor site. Measurements of intrahippocampal corticosterone in freely moving mice revealed that DBA/2 display a prolonged glucocorticoid increase in response to a single forced swimming stress (FST), as compared to C57BL/6 mice indicating a reduced inhibitory HPA axis feedback. Exposure to a novel environment (NE) induced a desensitization of the HPA system in DBA/2 animals as they show an attenuated intracerebral corticosterone dynamics after a subsequent FST. Testing animals in an elevated plus-maze (EPM), however, did not significantly stimulate coriticosterone release in either strain. The analysis of the area under the curve revealed a high amount of corticosterone released through FST and a low glucocorticoid release after NE or EPM exposure that are independent of the strain. This data indicate a strong stimulus dependency of corticosterone secretion that is strain independent, whereas the dynamics and feedback of the HPA axis is different between both inbred strains. Behavioral phenotyping of animals revealed a strong impact of microdialysis procedure on FST and EPM performance. Innate emotionality differences of both strains, however, were not affected. Though descriptive in nature, the present results suggest an altered corticosteroid signalling in the DBA/2 strain compared to C57BL/6 mice. Whether this observation causally underlies the differences in anxiety-related and depression-like behavior has to be further experimentally validated. In addition, our study highlights the use of in vivo microdialysis to assess the neuroendocrine endophenotype of animal models via profiling of stimulus-response patterns of stress hormones.

Association of a Met88Val diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI) gene polymorphism and anxiety disorders with panic attacks.

Several lines of evidence suggest that anxiety disorders have a strong genetic component, but so far only few susceptibility genes have been identified. There is preclinical and clinical evidence for a dysregulation of the central gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic tone in the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders. Diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI) has been suggested to play a pivotal role in anxiety disorders through direct and indirect, i.e. via synthesis of neuroactive steroids, modulation of GABA(A) receptor function. These findings suggest that the DBI gene can be postulated as a candidate for a genetic association study in this disorder. Thus, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the DBI gene were investigated for putative disease associations in a German sample of anxiety disorder patients suffering from panic attacks and matched controls. We were able to detect a significant association between a non-synonymous coding variant of DBI with anxiety disorders with panic attacks. The rare allele of this polymorphism was more frequent in controls than in patients (OR=0.43; 95% CI: 0.19-0.95). In conclusion, these results suggest a central role of DBI genetic variants in the susceptibility for the development of anxiety disorders that are characterized by the occurrence of panic attacks.