Effect of gestational diabetes mellitus on testis and pancreatic tissues of male offspring.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on some reproductive characteristics, testicular and pancreatic oxidative status and pancreatic endocrine receptor densities of male offspring at post-pubertal stage. A total of 36 1-day-old Wistar Albino male offspring including 12 pups of nontreated mothers (control group), 14 pups of 40 mg/kg STZ-injected mothers (STZ-40 group) and 10 pups of 60 mg/kg STZ-injected mothers (STZ-60 group) were used. The offspring were euthanised on post-natal day 60, their blood, reproductive organs and pancreatic tissues were obtained and examined. When compared with the control group, there was a significant decrease in body and absolute reproductive organ weights, serum testosterone level, testicular and pancreatic catalase activities, pancreatic glutathione level, epididymal sperm concentration of both STZ-40 and STZ-60 groups as well as in testicular glutathione level of only STZ-60 group. Significant increases were determined in testicular and pancreatic malondialdehyde level and glutathione peroxidase activity in both groups and in fasting serum glucose of only STZ-60 group in comparison with the control group. Although some histopathological damages were observed in testes of both STZ-40 and STZ-60 groups, there were no detectable differences between the groups in density of insulin, glucagon and somatostatin receptors in pancreas. In conclusion, GDM has negative effects on reproductive efficiency and testicular-pancreatic tissue oxidant/antioxidant balance of male offspring at post-pubertal stage.

Intraoperative changes in blood pressure associated with cerebral desaturation in infants.

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative hypotension has been linked to poor postoperative neurological outcomes. However, the definition of hypotension remains controversial in children. We sought to determine arterial blood pressure threshold values associated with cerebral desaturation in infants. METHODS: After ethics committee approval, infants younger than 3 months were included in this prospective observational study. Cerebral saturation was assessed using near-infrared spectroscopy. The primary goal of the study was to determine percentage reductions in intraoperative systolic blood pressure (SBP) and mean blood pressure (MBP) associated with decreases in cerebral blood oxygen saturation of >20%, when compared to baseline. Analyses were performed using a bootstrap receiving operator characteristic (ROC) curves with determination of the gray zone. RESULTS: Sixty patients were recruited and 960 measurement points were recorded. Fifty-nine data points (6.1%) recorded cerebral desaturation of >20% when compared to baseline. The areas under the ROC curves were 0.79 (0.74-0.84) and 0.67 (0.6-0.75) for percentage decreases in SBP and MBP, respectively. Gray zone values with false-positive and negative rates <10% were SBP decreases of 20.5% and 37.5%, respectively, and MBP decreases of 15.5% and 44.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that falls in noninvasive systolic blood pressure of <20% from baseline are associated with a <10% chance of cerebral desaturation in neonates and infants <3 months of age undergoing noncardiac surgery. As such, maintaining systolic blood pressure above this threshold value appears a valid clinical target.

A randomized controlled trial of the effects of nursing care based on Watson's Theory of Human Caring on distress, self-efficacy and adjustment in infertile women.

AIMS: To investigate the effects of nursing care based on the Theory of Human Caring on distress caused by infertility, perceived self-efficacy and adjustment levels. BACKGROUND: Infertility leads to individual, familial and social problems. Nursing care standards for women affected by infertility have yet to emerge. DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial. METHODS: This study was conducted from May 2010-February 2011, with 105 Turkish women with infertility (intervention group: 52, control group: 53). We collected data using the Infertility Distress Scale, the Turkish-Infertility Self Efficacy Scale Short Form and the Turkish-Fertility Adjustment Scale. The intervention group received nursing care based on the Theory of Human Caring. Data were analysed using t-tests, chi-square tests and intention-to-treat analyses. RESULTS: The intervention and control groups significantly differed with regard to infertility distress, self-efficacy and adjustment levels. The intervention group's mean self-efficacy score increased by seven points and adjustment score decreased by seven points (in a positive direction). In addition, there was a significant reduction in infertility distress scores in the intervention group, but there was no change in the control group. CONCLUSION: Nursing care based on the Theory of Human Caring decreased the negative impact of infertility in women receiving infertility treatment and increased self-efficacy and adjustment.

Tendency to Stigmatize Epidemic Diseases Scale: Scale Development and Validity Study.

PURPOSES: The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure stigma during epidemics among adults in nursing care and validate its psychometric properties. METHODS: The preliminary items of the Tendency to Stigmatize Epidemic Diseases Scale scale were developed through a literature review, the Delphi technique, and content validity analysis. A total of 723 adults living in Turkey responded to the questionnaire from June to December 2021. The collected data were analyzed by exploratory factor analysis and confirmative factor analysis using SPSS and AMOS programs. RESULTS: The experts agreed on 51 scale items, and 24 items were removed following exploratory factor analysis. On the 27-item scale, a five-factor structure was found with an eigenvalue >1, explaining 59.2% of the total variance. The overall Cronbach's α value was 0.88. CONCLUSIONS: This scale is a reliable and valid measurement tool for adults to determine their level of stigma during epidemics in nursing care. This scale helps develop interventions to improve the psychological health of adults in nursing care.

Prediction of Undrained Shear Strength by the GMDH-Type Neural Network Using SPT-Value and Soil Physical Properties.

This study presents a novel method for predicting the undrained shear strength (cu) using artificial intelligence technology. The cu value is critical in geotechnical applications and difficult to directly determine without laboratory tests. The group method of data handling (GMDH)-type neural network (NN) was utilized for the prediction of cu. The GMDH-type NN models were designed with various combinations of input parameters. In the prediction, the effective stress (σv'), standard penetration test result (NSPT), liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL), and plasticity index (PI) were used as input parameters in the design of the prediction models. In addition, the GMDH-type NN models were compared with the most commonly used method (i.e., linear regression) and other regression models such as random forest (RF) and support vector regression (SVR) models as comparative methods. In order to evaluate each model, the correlation coefficient (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean square error (RMSE) were calculated for different input parameter combinations. The most effective model, the GMDH-type NN with input parameters (e.g., σv', NSPT, LL, PL, PI), had a higher correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.83) and lower error rates (MAE = 14.64 and RMSE = 22.74) than other methods used in the prediction of cu value. Furthermore, the impact of input variables on the model output was investigated using the SHAP (SHApley Additive ExPlanations) technique based on the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) ensemble learning algorithm. The results demonstrated that using the GMDH-type NN is an efficient method in obtaining a new empirical mathematical model to provide a reliable prediction of the undrained shear strength of soils.

Cacao Butter as Prophylaxis for Nipple Problems: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study.

Objective: Cacao butter is a type of oil extracted from the fruit of the Theobroma Cacao plant. This study was conducted to compare the use of breast milk and cacao butter for the prevention of nipple problems in the early postpartum period. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled study involved 72 participants, who were randomized into the cacao and mother's milk groups. Data were collected using Descriptive questionnaire, Nipple assessment form, and IMDAT (Amount of Urine Output, Condition of Breasts, Amount of Stool, Weight Increase and Satisfaction Status). Results: On postpartum day 10, the rates of nipple pain (11.40% cacao group versus 40.50% mother's milk group), rashes (14.30% cacao group versus 35.10% mother's milk group), and cracks (14.30% cacao group versus 43.20% mother's milk group) significantly reduced in the cacao group when compared with the mother's milk group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The application of cacao butter to the nipples is possibly a more effective method than the application of mother's milk for preventing nipple pain, rashes, or cracked nipples. Cacao butter can be used prophylactically to prevent nipple problems in the early postpartum period.

The Elephant in the Room: Nurses' Views of Communication Failure and Recommendations for Improvement in Perioperative Care.

Perioperative communication failures endanger patient safety and may reduce efficiency. The objective of our phenomenological research study was to determine the reasons for and consequences of perioperative communication failures and to seek recommendations for improvement. Fourteen perioperative nurses participated in this study. We conducted in-depth interviews with a semi-structured questionnaire following Colaizzi's seven-step methodology to extract themes. We organized the themes into categories: causes, consequences, and recommendations for preventing communication failure. Some themes for causes were inadequate time for preoperative preparation, lack of personnel, and disruptive behaviors of physicians. Consequences of communication failure were decreased staff retention, avoidance of colleagues, threats to patient safety, and intra-team violence. Two recommendations included enforcing institutional regulations and creating team spirit. The study revealed that nurses believe that institutional regulations should not only be present but enforced. Further, nurses believe that strengthening employees' interpersonal skills is essential to preventing communication issues.

Cultural Validation of the Turkish Version of the Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (TISE-SF).

PURPOSE: To translate and test the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (TISE-SF). METHODS: The convenience sample consisted of 120 infertile women. A psychometric research design was used with content and construct validity and reliability. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha of .78 showed moderate reliability, whereas item-total correlations ranged from .30 to .54. Factor analysis extracted a single component, explaining 40.3% of the variance. Kendall W showed agreement with each expert regarding the appropriateness of the items, confirming the content validity of the translated TISE-SF. CONCLUSION: The results supported the construct validity and reliability of the TISE-SF for measuring infertility self-efficacy in a population of Turkish women. IMPLICATIONS: Evaluating infertile women's perception of self-efficacy with the TISE-SF may be useful in clinical studies in Turkey. TISE-SF can be used by professionals as a counseling tool to help guide women in managing their treatments at infertility centers.

Pregnancy planning and antenatal health behaviour: findings from one maternity unit in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: to determine the relationship between pregnancy planning and antenatal behaviours. DESIGN AND METHOD: a descriptive study using a questionnaire completed during face-to-face interviews. SETTING: the obstetric and gynaecology department of one public hospital in Turkey. PARTICIPANTS: 1355 postpartum women. FINDINGS: of the pregnancies among these women, 71.3% were planned, 17% were unplanned and 11.7% were unwanted. Women with unwanted or unplanned pregnancies smoked more often than the women whose pregnancies were planned; these women were also less likely to take recommended vitamins such as folic acid, and were less likely to have adequate nutrition or gain an appropriate level of weight during pregnancy. Women with unwanted pregnancies tended to attend later for antenatal care, to not attend as often as women with planned or unplanned pregnancies (p<0.01). This study found that pregnancy planning influenced antenatal health behaviour.