Exploring hope in patients with end stage renal disease on chronic hemodialysis.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the definitions and sources of hope in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) receiving chronic hemodialysis. A convenience sample was recruited from a population of chronic hemodialysis patients from two dialysis centers in a rural area of the Pacific northwest. Study participants consisted of 9 men and 5 women between the ages of 43 and 81 (M = 62.5) who had been on chronic hemodialysis an average of 8.3 years. The data collection process consisted of an audiotaped interview guided by the pre-established research questions. The results of this study provide examples of the experience of hope in patients with ESRD on chronic hemodialysis. Hope is a multifaceted human response. The participants in this study were able to adapt to situational changes by attaching their hopes to reality consideration, therefore developing a cognitive process for maintaining hope.

Losses, maintenance and recruitment of patients in a peritoneal dialysis home training program.

The St. Peter Hospital Kidney Dialysis Center began a peritoneal dialysis home training program in 1988, and demonstrated steady growth until the end of its sixth year at which time the census plummeted. Peritoneal dialysis staff sought to determine a cause for the reduction in census by evaluating the reasons for drop-out. They concluded that drop-out rates were not unexpected or unusual and that maintenance and referrals are influenced by: (a) patient predialysis education and (b) continual conversation and collaboration between the nephrologists and peritoneal dialysis home training staff.

Category structure and semantic priming in retarded adolescents.

This study was designed to investigate the internal structure of semantic categories in mentally retarded adolescents as reflected in naming times to pictures of common objects. Pictures were presented in pairs that consisted of either categorically related or unrelated items. For related pairs, both the primes (first pictures) and targets (second pictures) varied in rated "typicality" (Rosch, 1975), being either typical or relatively atypical members of their primary superordinate category. An analysis of naming times to targets revealed a semantic-priming effect; targets in related pairs were named faster than those in unrelated pairs. Of major importance was the finding that naming times varied as a function of both prime typicality and target typicality. The data suggest that the semantic categories of retarded persons have an internal structure generally similar to that of the nonretarded persons from whom the typicality ratings were obtained and that even relatively atypical exemplars are functional category members for retarded persons.

Internal field strength measurements in chick forebrains at 50, 147, and 450 MHz.

This report describes some experimental measurements of the internal field levels induced within isolated chick-forebrains irradiated at 50, 147, and 450 MHz, under essentially the same conditions as those used in the in vitro calcium-ion efflux experiments. Ratios of incident power at 50/147 MHz and 147/450 MHz that are needed to establish the same probe output are given and comparisons made with values predicted by different spherical models. Data predicted by the layered-sphere model were found to be in close agreement with measured values for the 50/147-MHz ratio. Agreement for the 147/450-MHz ratio was poorer.

Exposure of rats to 425-MHz (cW) radiofrequency radiation: effects on lymphocytes.

Four experiments were performed in which six pregnant rats were exposed from day 12 of pregnancy to parturition, for 4 hours a day in a temperature-controlled environment, to 425-MHz (CW) radiation, using a multimode rectangular strip transmission line. Four male pups born to each dam were subsequently irradiated under the same RF exposure condition for 20-21 days of age (2 pups) and 40-41 days of age (2 pups). Specific absorption rates (SARs) for rats of different ages were determined by twin-well calorimetry as well as from calculations of power measurements of incident, reflected, and transmitted energy. Values of SARs between 3.1 and 6.7 mW/g were obtained for rats so exposed at 425 MHz. At selected times, rats were weighed to determine if the irradiation affected growth. Two rats from each litter (4 pups) were euthanized at 20-21 and two at 40-41 days of age and blood was obtained for complete blood counts. The in vitro blastogenic response of blood and lymph-node lymphocytes was measured by 3H-thymidine incorporation into DNA following stimulation of cells with T- or B-lymphocyte mitogens. No difference was observed in the weights of irradiated compared with sham-irradiated rats. No consistent change in the peripheral blood picture was observed between irradiated and sham-irradiated rats. Significant increases in the response of lymph-node but not of blood lymphocytes from irradiated rats following stimulation with mitogens was observed in two of four experiments. These changes were observed for both T- and B-lymphocytes. In another experiment at the same frequency, six pregnant rats were irradiated for 16 hours daily from day 6 through day 19 of pregnancy. The pups born to these dams were not subsequently irradiated. These rats, born to irradiated dams, showed a similar increased response of node but not of blood lymphocytes to T-cell mitogens at 42 days of age. These results indicate that exposure to 425-MHz microwave radiation, under the conditions described, may lead to increased responsiveness of node lymphocytes to in vitro stimulation by mitogen.

Assessment of the immune responsiveness of mice irradiated with continuous wave or pulse-modulated 425-MHz radio frequency radiation.

Groups of female BALB/C mice were irradiated with 425-MHz radio frequency (RF) radiation either continuous wave (CW) or pulse modulated (PM, 1-ms pulse width, 250 pulses/s). Mice were irradiated in a rectangular strip-transmission line at average forward powers of 78, 17.7, or 5 W for CW and 17.7, 5, or 1.25 W for PM. The mean specific absorption rate, as measured using twin-well calorimetry was 7.7 W/kg for a forward power of 70 W. No differences in the mitogen-stimulated response of lymphocytes or in the primary antibody response to sheep erythrocytes or polyvinylpyrrolidone were observed between irradiated and sham-irradiated mice, nor between mice exposed to either CW or PM 425-MHz RF radiation.

Biological effects of long-term exposure of rats to 970-MHz radiofrequency radiation.

Rats (N = 16) exposed individually in circularly polarized waveguides to 970-MHz electromagnetic radiation (SAR = 2.5 mW/g, 22 h daily for 70 consecutive days) had significantly higher serum levels of triglycerides, albumin, and total protein compared with sham-irradiated controls. No difference was observed in the weights, hematologic profile, or in vitro lymphocyte responses to mitogens between these two groups. The higher serum levels of triglycerides in radiofrequency-radiation-exposed rats suggest a non-specific stress reaction.

The relationship between psychosocial factors and asthma morbidity in inner-city children with asthma.

OBJECTIVE: Children living in the inner city are affected disproportionately by asthma morbidity and mortality. Previous research has shown that behavioral and psychosocial factors affect asthma morbidity in children. The National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study investigated the factors that contribute to asthma morbidity among inner-city children. This article examines the relationship between psychosocial factors and asthma morbidity in this population. METHODS: A total of 1528 English- and Spanish-speaking children 4 to 9 years of age with asthma and their primary caretakers were recruited from 8 research centers in 7 metropolitan inner-city areas in the United States. Psychosocial variables were assessed at baseline and included measures of child and caretaker mental health, caretaker's problems with alcohol, life stress, social support, and parenting style. Morbidity measures were evaluated at baseline and at 3-, 6-, and 9-month follow-up intervals. These included number of hospitalizations and unscheduled visits for asthma in the past 3 months and number of days of wheeze and functional status in the previous 2-week period. RESULTS: Of the psychosocial variables assessed, mental health had the strongest relationship to children's asthma morbidity. Children whose caretakers had clinically significant levels of mental health problems were hospitalized for asthma at almost twice the rate as children whose caretakers did not have significant mental health problems. Children with clinically significant behavior problems had significantly more days of wheeze and poorer functional status in the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Psychosocial factors, particularly the mental health of children and caretakers, are significant factors in predicting asthma morbidity. They may need to be included in intervention programs aimed at decreasing asthma morbidity in inner-city children with asthma in order for these programs to be successful.