Irradiation of Phenylalanine at 300 K by MeV Ions.

Phenylalanine (Phe) is an amino acid that has been identified in carbonaceous meteorites; its formation mechanism in space is unknown, and its radioresistance has been the subject of investigation. This work aims at studying, in the laboratory, the Phe radiolysis by cosmic analogues. The Phe destruction rate, at 300 K, is measured for H, He, and N ion beam irradiation in the 0.5 to 2 kinetic MeV range. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was employed to monitor the molecular degradation as a function of fluence. The Phe apparent destruction cross-section, σapd, which includes radiolysis and sputtering processes, is determined to be proportional to the electronic stopping power, Se. The measured parameter D0 = 14.3 ± 2.2 eV/molec in the relationship, and σdap = Se/D0 is interpreted as the mean absorbed dose necessary to dissociate or eject a Phe molecule. The Phe half-life in the interstellar medium is predicted to be about 10 million years, H+ ions the main destructive cosmic ray constituent.

Implementation of Electronic Records Related to Nursing Diagnoses.

INTRODUCTION: The quality of nursing care is related to the execution of the nursing process, which should be properly documented. In this context, there is an evident need to implement electronic health records with the use of standardized languages. OBJECTIVE: To implement electronic records related to nursing diagnoses in a computerized health management system. METHODOLOGY: The project followed four stages, based on the plan-do-check-act tool. This tool guided the activities to be carried out in the axes: planning, execution of activities, evaluation, and action. The activities performed included: registration of nursing diagnoses and related factors, as well as the association of these in the Tasy software, test execution, and applicability assessment. RESULTS: We included 229 nursing diagnoses and these were associated with 1,664 related factors, a decision tree with 436 defining characteristics was also constructed, which allows the software to suggest nursing diagnoses according to the related signs and symptoms. CONCLUSION: The practical consolidation of the steps of the nursing process was verified as well as the possibility of nurses assessing the patients by way of a clinical reasoning and decision making in coherence with the human needs of the patient.

An educational intervention impact on the quality of nursing records.

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on the quality of nursing records. METHOD: quasi-experimental study with before-and-after design conducted in a hospital. All the nurses in the cardiac intensive care unit of the hospital received the intervention, which consisted of weekly meetings during five months. To collect data, the instrument Quality of Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes was applied to the patients' charts in two moments: baseline and after intervention. RESULTS: the educational intervention had an impact on the quality of the records, since most of the items presented a significant increase in their mean values after the intervention, despite the low values in the two moments. CONCLUSION: the educational intervention proved to be effective at improving the quality of nursing records and a lack of quality was identified in the evaluated records, revealed by the low mean values and by the weakness of some questions presented in the items, which did not present a significant increase. Therefore, educational actions focused on real clinical cases may have positive implications for nursing practice.

An educational intervention impact on the quality of nursing records / Impacto de uma intervenção educativa na qualidade dos registros de enfermagem / Impacto de una intervención educativa en la calidad de los anotaciones de enfermería

ABSTRACT Objective: to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on the quality of nursing records. Method: quasi-experimental study with before-and-after design conducted in a hospital. All the nurses in the cardiac intensive care unit of the hospital received the intervention, which consisted of weekly meetings during five months. To collect data, the instrument Quality of Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes was applied to the patients' charts in two moments: baseline and after intervention. Results: the educational intervention had an impact on the quality of the records, since most of the items presented a significant increase in their mean values after the intervention, despite the low values in the two moments. Conclusion: the educational intervention proved to be effective at improving the quality of nursing records and a lack of quality was identified in the evaluated records, revealed by the low mean values and by the weakness of some questions presented in the items, which did not present a significant increase. Therefore, educational actions focused on real clinical cases may have positive implications for nursing practice.

RESUMO Objetivo: avaliar o impacto de uma intervenção educativa na qualidade dos registros de enfermagem. Método: trata-se de ensaio quase experimental do tipo antes e depois, realizado em instituição hospitalar. Todas as enfermeiras da unidade de terapia intensiva cardiológica do hospital em questão receberam a intervenção composta de sessões semanais, durante cinco meses. Para a coleta de dados, nos prontuários dos pacientes, foi utilizado o instrumento Quality of Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes, aplicado em dois momentos, basal e após intervenção. Resultados: a intervenção educativa teve efeito na qualidade dos registros, visto que a maioria dos itens teve aumento significativo nos seus valores médios, após a intervenção, apesar de médias baixas dos itens para os dois momentos. Conclusão: demonstrou-se a efetividade da intervenção para a melhora da qualidade dos registros de enfermagem, bem como evidenciou-se a falta de qualidade dos registros avaliados, revelada pelos baixos valores de média e, ainda, a fragilidade de algumas questões apresentadas em itens, as quais não obtiveram aumento significativo. Assim, ações educativas, com foco em casos reais, podem ter implicações positivas para a prática de enfermagem.

RESUMEN Objetivo: evaluar el impacto de una intervención educativa en la calidad de las anotaciones de enfermería. Método: se trata de un estudio cuasi-experimental del tipo antes y después, realizado en una institución hospitalaria. Todas las enfermeras de la unidad de cuidados intensivos de cardiologia del hospital en cuestión recibieron la intervención compuesta por sesiones semanales, durante cinco meses. Para la recolección de datos de las historias clinicas de los pacientes, se utilizó el instrumento Quality of Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes (Calidad de Diagnósticos, Intervenciones y Resultados), aplicado en dos momentos, basal y pos-intervención. Resultados: la intervención educativa causó efecto en la calidad de las anotaciones, visto que la mayoría de los ítems aumentó significativamente los valores medios posteriores a la intervención, a pesar de los promedios bajos de los ítems en los dos momentos. Conclusión: se demostró la efectividad de la intervención para mejorar la calidad de las anotaciones de enfermería y se evidenció la falta de calidad de las anotaciones evaluadas, revelada por los valores bajos del promedio y la fragilidad de algunas preguntas presentadas en los ítems, las cuales no obtuvieron un aumento significativo. Por eso, acciones educativas, con enfoque en casos reales, pueden impactar positivamente en la práctica de enfermería.

Nursing Diagnosis Based on Signs and Symptoms of Patients With Heart Disease.

PURPOSE: The aim was to identify the main signs and symptoms of cardiac patients hospitalized in a unit of intensive cardiology care in order to infer the main nursing diagnoses (NDs). METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study; the sample consisted of 77 randomly selected records. Those records included only patients hospitalized for cardiovascular causes and with electronic chart available. FINDINGS: Signs and symptoms identified at admission were psychic (40.3%), compressive dressing on arterial puncture site (33.8%), chest pain (29.9%), tachycardia (22.1%), and hemodynamic instability (20.8%). CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: According to the data collected, we were able to infer that acute pain, excess of fluid volume, decreased cardiac output, spontaneous ventilation impaired, anxiety and impaired skin integrity are priority for the NDs in the studied population. OBJETIVO: identificar os principais sinais e sintomas de pacientes cardíacos internados em uma unidade de cuidados intensivos de cardiologia, visando inferir os diagnósticos de enfermagem prioritários. MÉTODO: Estudo transversal; a amostra foi composta por 77 registros selecionados aleatoriamente. Incluíram-se apenas pacientes internados por causa cardiovascular e com registro eletrônico disponível. RESULTADOS: Os sinais e sintomas identificados na admissão foram psíquicos (40,3%), curativo compressivo em sítio de punção arterial (33,8%), dor torácica (29,9%), taquicardia (22,1%) e instabilidade hemodinâmica (20,8%). CONCLUSÕES E IMPLICAÇÕES PARA A PRÁTICA: De acordo com os dados levantados foram inferidos Dor Aguda, Volume de Líquidos Excessivo, Débito Cardíaco Diminuído, Ventilação Espontânea Prejudicada, Ansiedade e Integridade da Pele Prejudicada como diagnósticos de enfermagem prioritários para a população estudada.

The ent-15α-Acetoxykaur-16-en-19-oic Acid Relaxes Rat Artery Mesenteric Superior via Endothelium-Dependent and Endothelium-Independent Mechanisms.

The objective of the study was to investigate the mechanism of the relaxant activity of the ent-15α-acetoxykaur-16-en-19-oic acid (KA-acetoxy). In rat mesenteric artery rings, KA-acetoxy induced a concentration-dependent relaxation in vessels precontracted with phenylephrine. In the absence of endothelium, the vasorelaxation was significantly shifted to the right without reduction of the maximum effect. Endothelium-dependent relaxation was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with L-NAME, an inhibitor of the NO-synthase (NOS), indomethacin, an inhibitor of the cyclooxygenase, L-NAME + indomethacin, atropine, a nonselective antagonist of the muscarinic receptors, ODQ, selective inhibitor of the guanylyl cyclase enzyme, or hydroxocobalamin, a nitric oxide scavenger. The relaxation was completely reversed in the presence of L-NAME + 1 mM L-arginine or L-arginine, an NO precursor. Diterpene-induced relaxation was not affected by TEA, a nonselective inhibitor of K+ channels. The KA-acetoxy antagonized CaCl(2)-induced contractions in a concentration-dependent manner and also inhibited an 80 mM KCl-induced contraction. The KA-acetoxy did not interfere with Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores. The vasorelaxant induced by KA-acetoxy seems to involve the inhibition of the Ca(2+) influx and also, at least in part, by endothelial muscarinic receptors activation, NO and PGI(2) release.