Is there congruence in hospice nurses' view of their patients' quality of life and their hospice patients' view of their own quality of life?

Since the development of the hospice movement in the United States, care of the terminally ill has undergone vital change. This change involves the alternative of home care for the terminally ill. It allows the patients, the primary caregiver, and the rest of the family to be in control of care. As stated by Masters, hospice is unique in that the patient and family controls the environment, and lifestyle, including treatment modalities, more than in any other concept in health care. Hospice was developed to give people with a terminal illness an option to traditional medicine. Hospice is a concept of care that has been established to improve the quality of life of the terminally ill. Therefore, the ultimate goal of hospice care is to enhance the quality of life of patients with terminal illness, mainly cancer. In the hospice setting, the nurse applies a holistic approach when planning and providing primary care. The nurse becomes increasingly more knowledgeable about the problems and strengths of the patient and family to whom he/she is caring for. The nurse must make the transition in her philosophy from cure-to-care in hospice, and symptom control being the nurses' priority in order to enhance the patients quality of life. Curtis and Fernsler explain that hospice care focuses on helping patients to communicate effectively and to share life agendas with their primary caregiver and the hospice nurse. These researchers continue to state that these efforts promote congruence between patient, primary caregiver, and the hospice nurses' view of the patients quality of life.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of glycerol on turkey sperm cell viability and fertilizing capacity.

To test the cryoprotective action of glycerol, intravaginal (I.V.A.I.) and intramagnal (I.M.A.I.) artificial inseminations were performed on 100 turkey hens using semen treated with glycerol; treated with glycerol then diluted and centrifuged; treated with glycerol and frozen-thawed; treated with glycerol, frozen-thawed then diluted and centrifuged; and untreated control. With I.V.A.I. no progeny were obtained from any turkeys within the treated group. I.V.A.I. subsequent to semen dilution and centrifugation to lower the glycerol level yielded only two poults from one of the 36 hens inseminated. When I.M.A.I. was used, many poults were hatched from eggs produced by hens in the four treated groups. To study the cause of glycerol's antifertility action, histological sections of uterovaginal junction (UVJ) and infundibular (INF) tissues were observed. Following I.V.A.I., no sperm cells were found in either the UVJ or INF regions except in the controls where they were readily seen in the UVJ region. Conversely with I.M.A.I., sperm cells were seen in the INF region in all treatment groups while in the controls, sperm cells were also found in the UVJ region.

The effect of a low energy diet on the concentration of DDT in the adipose tissue of turkeys.

Turkey hens which had completed a breeding season and contained DDT in their fat were divided into 2 groups of 20 hens each. One group was fed a high wheat control diet throughout a 6 week period while another group was fed a low energy diet for 3 weeks and then the control diet for 3 weeks. Biopsy samples of adipose tissue taken initially and at 3 weeks and carcass adipose tissue samples of 6 weeks were analyzed for DDT and DDE. Total DDT concentration in adipose tissue increased when the hens were fed the low energy diet but decreased again when fed the control diet so that the overall change in DDT concentration over the 6 week period was not different for the two groups. The biopsy technique used in this study was successful in greatly reducing variability and improving precision.

Scanning electron microscope studies of turkey semen.

Turkey spermatozoa were examined morphologically with the aid of a Cambridge Stereoscan electron microscope. Mean dimensions, in micra, of normal spermatozoa were: acrosome, 1.8; nucleus, 9.1; midpiece, 4.8; tail, 61.0; total length 76.7. The maximum diameter of the head at its widest was 0.8 microns. There was an increase in abnormal spermatozoa in yellowish semen, with coiling being the most prevalent abnormality. The spherical-shaped cells with granular appearance, also present in yellowish semen, were ascertained to be large macrophages. Occasionally, macrophages filled with phagocytized sperm cells were evident. Hens inseminated with yellowish semen had 57.6 percent fertility compared to 92.1 percent for hens inseminated with control semen.