This article is being retracted as a part of the manuscript was a 'duplicate publication' from an earlier publication.

No abstract available.
Delivery of Health Care* ; Family Practice* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Delivery of Health Care* ; Family Practice* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Histiocytoma, Benign Fibrous*

No abstract available.
Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract*

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress occurs in white adipose tissue and dysregulates the expression of adipokines secreted from adipocytes. Since adipokines influence inflammation, supplementation with antioxidants might be beneficial for preventing oxidative stress-mediated inflammation in adipocytes and inflammation-associated complications. β-Carotene is the most prominent antioxidant carotenoid and scavenges reactive oxygen species in various tissues. The purpose of this study was to determine whether β-carotene regulates the expression of adipokines, such as adiponectin, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes treated with glucose/glucose oxidase (G/GO). METHODS: 3T3-L1 adipocytes were cultured with or without β-carotene and treated with G/GO, which produces H2O2. mRNA and protein levels in the medium were determined by a real-time PCR and an ELISA. DNA binding activities of transcription factors were assessed using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay. RESULTS: G/GO treatment increased DNA binding affinities of redox-sensitive transcription factors, such as NF-κB, activator protein-1 (AP-1), and STAT3. G/GO treatment reduced the expression of adiponectin and increased the expression of MCP-1 and RANTES. G/GO-induced activations of NF-κB, AP-1, and STAT3 were inhibited by β-carotene. G/GO-induced dysregulation of adiponectin, MCP-1, and RANTES were significantly recovered by treatment with β-carotene. CONCLUSIONS: β-Carotene inhibits oxidative stress-induced inflammation by suppressing pro-inflammatory adipokines MCP-1 and RANTES, and by enhancing adiponectin in adipocytes. β-Carotene may be beneficial for preventing oxidative stress-mediated inflammation, which is related to adipokine dysfunction.
Adipocytes ; Adipokines ; Adiponectin ; Adipose Tissue, White ; Antioxidants ; beta Carotene ; Chemokine CCL2 ; Chemokine CCL5 ; DNA ; Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Inflammation ; Oxidative Stress ; Oxidoreductases ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; Transcription Factor AP-1 ; Transcription Factors

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the features, risk scores and risk factors for deep vein thrombosis in critically ill patients who developed deep vein thrombosis in their lower extremities. METHODS: The participants in this prospective descriptive study were 175 adult patients who did not receive any prophylactic medication or mechanical therapy during their admission in the intensive care unit. RESULTS: The mean age was 62.24 (+/-17.28) years. Men made up 54.9% of the participating patients. There were significant differences in age, body mass index, and leg swelling between patients who developed deep vein thrombosis and those who did not have deep vein thrombosis. The mean risk score was 6.71(+/-2.94) and they had on average 4.01(+/-1.35) risk factors. In the multiple logistic regression, body mass index (odds ratio=1.14) and leg swelling (odds ratio=6.05) were significant predictors of deep vein thrombosis. CONCLUSION: Most critically ill patients are in the potentially high risk group for deep vein thrombosis. However, patients who are elderly, obese or have leg edema should be closely assessed and more than one type of active prophylactic intervention should be provided.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Body Mass Index ; *Critical Illness ; Female ; Humans ; Leg/*blood supply ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Venous Thrombosis/diagnosis/*etiology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the current situation of clinical alarms in intensive care unit (ICU), nurses' recognition of and fatigue in relation to clinical alarms, and obstacles in alarm management. METHODS: Subjects were ICU nurses and devices from 48 critically ill patient cases. Data were collected through direct observation of alarm occurrence and questionnaires that were completed by the ICU nurses. The observation time unit was one hour block. One bed out of 56 ICU beds was randomly assigned to each observation time unit. RESULTS: Overall 2,184 clinical alarms were counted for 48 hours of observation, and 45.5 clinical alarms occurred per hour per subject. Of these, 1,394 alarms (63.8%) were categorized as false alarms. The alarm fatigue score was 24.3 +/- 4.0 out of 35. The highest scoring item was "always get bothered due to clinical alarms". The highest scoring item in obstacles was "frequent false alarms, which lead to reduced attention or response to alarms". CONCLUSIONS: Nurses reported that they felt some fatigue due to clinical alarms, and false alarms were also obstacles to proper management. An appropriate hospital policy should be developed to reduce false alarms and nurses' alarm fatigue.
Clinical Alarms* ; Critical Care* ; Critical Illness ; Fatigue* ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units*

BACKGROUND: Midazolam relaxes airway smooth muscle. The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of flumazenil or verapamil on the relaxation effects of midazolam in tracheal smooth muscle of guinea pig. METHODS: After isolating guinea-pig tracheal preparations, the maximal tracheal tones were induced by 2 10(-7) M carbachol. When tracheal tones stabilized, midazolam was added cumulatively (10(-6), 3 10(-6), 10(-5), 3 10(-5), 10(-4) M, n=14) with or without flumazenil (10(-6) M, n=15) and verapamil (10(-5) M, n=13) to obtain the concentration-relaxation curves, and then the ED50 and ED95 calculated. RESULTS: Midazolam decreased maximal tracheal smooth muscle tones in concentration-dependent manners. Pretreatment with flumazenil had no effect on the midazolam-induced relaxation. Verapamil enhanced the relaxation effect of midazolam. CONCLUSIONS: Midazolam relaxes airway smooth muscle and has synergistic effect with calcium channel blocker, verapamil.
Animals ; Calcium Channels ; Carbachol ; Flumazenil* ; Guinea Pigs ; Midazolam* ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Relaxation* ; Verapamil*

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to identify the adequacy of enteral feeding, and the reason and prevalence of under-nutrition, and to determine the relationships between caloric intake and resulting nutritional parameters among neurosurgical intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHODS: The participants for this descriptive study were 47 neurosurgical ICU patients who had enteral feeding initiated after ICU admission. Data were collected from the initial day of enteral feeding for 7 days. Data related to enteral feeding, feeding interruptions or delay, prealbumin, and transferrin were collected. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 56.62 years. Twenty-six patients did not receive their feeding formula more than once during 7 days, and 11 had interruptions more than 6 times. The mean number of feeding interruptions was 3.23 (SD= 4.47). On the average, only 76.44% of the estimated energy requirement was provided by enteral feeding to the patients. The frequency of underfeeding was 52.17% with respect to enteral feeding. The most frequent reason for the feeding interruption was observation before and after intubation and extubation, which was unavoidable. The next most common reason was gastrointestinal bleeding, mostly due to old clots or trace, followed by residual volume less than 100 mL. Changes in prealbumin and transferrin levels for 7 days between the underfed and adequately fed groups were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The management of enteral feeding by nurses was overprotective because of the unpredictable nature of ICU patients in terms of their underlying disease process. The management of feeding intolerance needs to be evidence-based and nurses must consistently follow the protocol that has been supported as a useful measure.
Energy Intake ; Enteral Nutrition ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Intubation ; Malnutrition ; Neurosurgical Procedures ; Nutritional Support ; Prealbumin ; Prevalence ; Residual Volume ; Transferrin