A qualitative study of women in polygynous marriages.

UNLABELLED: Polygyny, the practice of taking more than one wife at the same time is a common practice in several countries including Africa. This study, conducted in Ghana, West Africa, investigated married women's experiences in polygyny and their ways of coping. METHODS: Using exploratory qualitative methodology, data were collected from 15 married women who consented to in-depth interviews. The study was conducted in the summer of 2005 with approval from an institutional review board and permission from community leaders from the study site. FINDINGS: Three themes emerged from the study: infertility, co-wives' relationships and ways of coping. The findings indicated that infertility was the number one reason that women allowed for co-wives in their marriages because this was necessary to protect the marriage rather than divorce. Unhappiness, loneliness, sense of competition and jealousy, and lack of intimacy with the spouse were identified as disadvantages of polygyny. The perceived advantages of polygyny included sharing of house chores and child rearing. The women's ways of coping included the use of religion, faith and a strong sisterly bond formed with the co-wives. Though the majority of the women disapproved of polygyny unions, divorce was not an option. CONCLUSION: These findings have implications for nursing and policy-makers. Nurses can provide education and implement programmes that teach coping mechanisms and stress management. Policy-makers should be made aware of the implications of polygynous marriages on women's health and well-being. There is the need to conduct more research to investigate the effects of polygyny on women's mental health and the need to develop programmes to support women.

Tenderfoot Preemie vs a manual lancet: a clinical evaluation.

PURPOSE: To compare the amount of time required to collect a blood specimen, the number of heel punctures required, and the rate of hematology re-collections required when using a Monolet lancet vs a Tenderfoot Preemie device. DESIGN: Randomized, two-group, quasi-experimental. SAMPLE: Neonates with a birth weight >800 gm were eligible to participate in the study. Twenty subjects were randomized to the Monolet lancet (control) group and 20 to the Tenderfoot Preemie (experimental) group. A total of 157 blood specimens was collected, 89 of which were for hematology testing. RESULTS: For this sample population of preterm infants, less collection time was required, fewer heel punctures were necessary, and a lower re-collection rate occurred with use of the Tenderfoot Preemie than with use of the Monolet lancet.

Some regulatory properties of a glucose-6-phosphate-dependent form of glycogen synthase purified from rabbit renal medulla.

Glycogen synthase D was purified greater than 1000-fold from rabbit renal medulla. The enzyme was almost completely dependent upon glucose-6-P for activity (activity ratio approximately equal to 0.01). The A0.5 for glucose-6-P activation was 420 microM when UDPGlc was present at 4.4 mM and the A0.5 was 2.23 mM when UDPGlc was present at physiological concentration (100 microM). The S0.5 for UDPGlc of glycogen synthase D was dependent on glucose-6-P. The S0.5 ranged from 250 to 70 microM when glucose-6-P was varied from 0.2 to 10 mM. The Vmax increased 3-fold. Inhibition of glycogen synthase D by ATP was competitive with respect to UDPGlc. The Ki for ATP inhibition was 340 microM. At physiological concentration of UDPGlc, the enzyme was inhibited 50% by 500 microM ATP. ATP inhibition was not reversed by glucose-6-P. These results suggest that renal medullary glycogen synthase D would be inactive at normal cellular concentrations of the substrate UDPGlc, the activator glucose-6-P, and the inhibitor ATP.

Purification and some regulatory properties of glycogen synthase I from rabbit renal medulla.

1. Glycogen synthase I (activity ratio approximately equal to 1) was purified over 10,000-fold from rabbit renal medulla. 2. The purified synthase was stimulated about 1.5-fold by glucose-6-P and other divalent anions when assayed at pH 7.7 and near saturating UDPGlc. When assayed at physiological UDPGlc (75-100 microM), the enzyme was stimulated about 5-fold by glucose-6-P. 3. At pH 7.7 the activation by either Na2SO4 or glucose-6-P was due to an increase in V and a decrease in S0.5 for UDPGlc. At pH. 6.9, activation was due to a decrease in S0.5. 4. At low UDPGlc, synthase activity was inhibited by adenine nucleotides and the inhibition was partially relieved by glucose-6-P, UDP inhibited in a competitive manner with respect to UDPGlc. 5. These results suggest that the activity of renal medullary synthase I may be regulated by cellular metabolites.