Northeastern Ohio Research Articles

Adaptive functioning and depressive symptoms in school‐aged children

This paper is a report of a secondary data analysis to the hypothesis that a child's resourcefulness moderates the relationships between the primary female caregiver's variables (depressive symptoms and learned resourcefulness) and the child's outcomes (depressive symptoms and adaptive functioning). School-aged children between 10 and 12 years of age are at an important stage of development characterized by dramatic biological and psychosocial challenges. Maladaptive functioning and depressive symptoms increase markedly in this stage. To prevent long-term effects of depressive symptoms and impaired adaptive functioning, identifying moderators of the relationship between stress and these mental health indicators is critical. A secondary analysis was conducted in 2004 using the data obtained in 2000 from a community-based sample of 122 school students aged 10-12 years and their primary female caregivers in four suburban public schools in Northeastern Ohio. Instruments included the Self-Control Schedule, Beck Depression Inventory, the Children's version of the Self-Control Schedule, the Children's Community Living Skills Scale, and the Children's Depression Inventory. Children's resourcefulness significantly moderated the relationship between their female caregiver's depressive symptoms and their own adaptive functioning (P<0.01). Children's resourcefulness had a statistically significant impact on depressive symptoms and adaptive functioning (P<0.001). The key to reducing depressive symptoms and enhancing adaptive functioning among middle school children is to build their resourcefulness skills, especially in children whose female caregivers are depressed. This is an important role for school nurses.

Let the Dead Teach the Living: The Rise of Body Bequeathal in 20th-Century America

America's medical schools have long used human cadavers to teach anatomy, but acquiring adequate numbers of bodies for dissection has always been a challenge. Physicians and medical students of the 18th and 19th centuries often resorted to robbing graves, and this history has been extensively examined. Less studied, however, is the history of body acquisition in the 20th century, and this article evaluates the factors that coalesced to transition American society from body theft to body donation. First, it describes the legislation that released the unclaimed bodies of those dying in public institutions to medical schools for dissection, thereby effectively ending grave robbery. Then it discusses midcentury journalistic exposés of excesses in the funeral industry-works that were instrumental in bringing alternatives, including the previously unpopular option of body donation, to public consciousness. Finally, it examines the rise of body transplantation, the Uniform Anatomical Gifts Act of 1968, and the subsequent state of willed-body programs at the turn of the 21st century. Body-donation programs have gradually stabilized since and currently provide most of the bodies used for dissection in American medical schools. Relying as they do on public trust, however, these programs remain potentially precarious and threatened by public scandals. Whether American medical schools will receive enough bodies to properly educate students in the future remains to be seen.

Effects of fragmentation on juvenile morphology of Acer saccharum Marsh. (sugar maple) in temperate forests of northeastern Ohio, USA

The influence of forest fragmentation on population and community dynamics of woody plants has been well established worldwide, but rarely at the level of an individual plant. We evaluated the influence of fragmentation on juvenile stem morphology of Acer saccharum Marsh. (sugar maple), while also examining light levels and considering possible confounding effects attributed to elevation gradients in temperate forests of northeastern Ohio, USA. At two sites, plant stem dimensions, canopy openness, and relative ground level elevation were measured using randomly positioned plots in forest edge and interior habitats that were within 25 and 60–100 m from a forest edge, respectively. Ratios of stem length to stem basal diameter were greater in forest interiors than near forest edges. These differences in stem morphology between habitats were likely a result of stem elongation in relation to a shade avoidance response in forest interiors that were consistently darker than forest edge areas across study sites. By contrast, such morphological differences were likely not related to variation in relative ground level elevation since a subtle elevation gradient was detected at only one site. We encourage experimentation to identify mechanisms that affect plant stem morphology of young individuals and its influence, in turn, on plant population dynamics in fragmented forests.

Recovery From Schizophrenia: An International Perspectiveedited by Kim Hopper, Glynn Harrison, Aleksandar Janca, and Norman Sartorious; New York, Oxford University Press, 2007, 392 pages, $89.50

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book ReviewFull AccessRecovery From Schizophrenia: An International PerspectiveFrederick J. Frese Ph.D.Frederick J. Frese Ph.D.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:1 Sep 2007https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2007.58.9.1230AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail This volume is based on the findings of the International Study of Schizophrenia, a project coordinated by the World Health Organization. The book has some 69 contributors from around the world. The first three editors, Kim Hopper, Glynn Harrison, and Aleksandar Janca, are from the Nathan S. Kline Institute in the United States, the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and the University of Western Australia, respectively. Norman Sartorious is the previous director of the Division of Mental Health at the World Health Organization.Although somewhat difficult to navigate, this book offers some valuable and interesting information on schizophrenia worldwide. This work focuses on the results of a global longitudinal study of persons with schizophrenia by the World Health Organization. It concentrates on findings from 16 cities in 12 countries around the world. The International Study of Schizophrenia encompasses several treated incidence cohorts, primarily from earlier World Health Organization studies, with results supplemented with data from several Asian locations. In total, information was collected on 1,043 individuals, with follow-up times ranging from 12 to 26 years.The book is laid out in a systematic manner. After the initial seven chapters describe the background and overall findings of the study, 16 chapters follow, each describing the studies in the different geographic locations. These chapters are grouped in clusters. Three centers—Agra, India; Cali, Colombia; and Prague—had been part of a World Health Organization study beginning in 1968 and had a 26-year follow-up period. Findings from a 15-year follow-up period are included from an additional seven locations: Chandigarh, India; Dublin; Honolulu; Moscow; Nagasaki; Nottingham, United Kingdom; and Rochester, New York.Findings from three additional centers—Groningen, Netherlands; Mannheim, Germany; and Sofia, Bulgaria—where cohorts were followed for 14 to 16 years, are reviewed in a third group of chapters. Next are three chapters overviewing retrospective findings from centers in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Chennai, which the authors indicate were included to strengthen the "cultural diversity" of the report.Finally, the book has an exhaustive tabular summary, comparing and contrasting the data from the various centers.I found the organization of this work to be very complex. I had difficulty keeping in mind the differences in the parameters of the several substudies being reported. Nevertheless, the findings are most interesting. One salient finding reflected throughout the text is that schizophrenia seems to have a less disabling course in developing countries. Also the recovery rates reported in all locations tend to be considerably higher than those generally expected for persons diagnosed as having schizophrenia, raising significant questions about the traditional premise concerning the deteriorating course of the illness.One caveat should be mentioned. The manuscript for this book was completed in 1999. There has been an unexplained, lengthy delay in its publication. Potential readers should be aware that information in this volume is more dated than one would expect in a volume with a 2007 publication date.Dr. Frese is assistant professor at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, and executive director of the Ohio Adult Recovery Network. FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByJournal of Religion and Health, Vol. 54, No. 5 Volume 58Issue 9 September, 2007Pages 1230-1230PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES September 2007 Volume 58 Number 9 Metrics PDF download History Published online 1 September 2007 Published in print 1 September 2007

Prenatal Echocardiographic Diagnosis of a Right Aortic Arch and Bilateral Arterial Duct With Isolation of the Left Subclavian Artery From the Left Pulmonary Artery

Journal of Ultrasound in MedicineVolume 26, Issue 8 p. 1107-1110 Case Report Prenatal Echocardiographic Diagnosis of a Right Aortic Arch and Bilateral Arterial Duct With Isolation of the Left Subclavian Artery From the Left Pulmonary Artery Chandrakant R. Patel MBBS, Corresponding Author Chandrakant R. Patel MBBS cpatel@chmca.org Department of Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, Ohio USA.Address correspondence to Chandrakant R. Patel, MBBS, The Heart Center, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, 2 Perkins Sq, Akron, OH 44308-1062 USA.Search for more papers by this authorGrace L. Smith MD, Grace L. Smith MD Department of Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, Ohio USA.Search for more papers by this authorJohn R. Lane MD, John R. Lane MD Department of Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, Ohio USA.Search for more papers by this authorHaynes B. Robinson MD, Haynes B. Robinson MD Department of Pediatrics Division of Genetics. Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, Ohio USA.Search for more papers by this author Chandrakant R. Patel MBBS, Corresponding Author Chandrakant R. Patel MBBS cpatel@chmca.org Department of Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, Ohio USA.Address correspondence to Chandrakant R. Patel, MBBS, The Heart Center, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, 2 Perkins Sq, Akron, OH 44308-1062 USA.Search for more papers by this authorGrace L. Smith MD, Grace L. Smith MD Department of Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, Ohio USA.Search for more papers by this authorJohn R. Lane MD, John R. Lane MD Department of Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, Ohio USA.Search for more papers by this authorHaynes B. Robinson MD, Haynes B. Robinson MD Department of Pediatrics Division of Genetics. Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, Ohio USA.Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 August 2007 https://doi.org/10.7863/jum.2007.26.8.1107Citations: 6Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume26, Issue8August 2007Pages 1107-1110 RelatedInformation

Research with Severely Mentally Ill Latinas: Successful Recruitment and Retention Strategies

Individuals from minority groups in the United States have been found less likely than non-Hispanic whites to participate in research studies. The recruitment and retention of individuals from minority groups has also proved challenging. We describe the challenges that we encountered in recruiting and retaining a sample of severely mentally ill Mexican and Puerto Rican ethnicity for a study of the context of HIV risk. We recruited women in San Diego County, California and northeastern Ohio who were between the ages of 18 and 50 and who had diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression. We identified challenges to recruitment and retention at the macro, mediator, and micro levels. We were able to retain 81.1% of the Puerto Rican cohort and 26.7% of the Mexican cohort over a 5-year period. The vast majority of barriers to recruitment and retention within the Puerto Rican cohort occurred at the micro (individual) level. Macro level barriers occurred more frequently and impacted retention to a greater extent within the cohort of Mexican women. Our experience underscores the importance of outreach to the community and the interaction between staff and individual participants. Diverse strategies are required to address the impact of migration on follow-up, which may vary across groups.

Plant community establishment in a restored wetland: Effects of soil removal

AbstractQuestion: This study investigated the establishment of wetland plant assemblages following soil removal and restored hydrology in a former agricultural field. The following questions were posed. Does plant community composition differ as a result of soil removal? Does soil removal reduce the frequency of non‐wetland plants? Does soil removal reduce the frequency of non‐native invasive plants?Location: The Panzner Wetland Wildlife Reserve (PWWR) in Summit County, northeastern Ohio, USA.Methods: During 2000–2001, restoration was conducted on two adjoining fields (3.9 ha total) by excavating the upper 40–50 cm of soil layer and establishing 12 10 m × 10 m undisturbed control plots. Preliminary data included seed bank composition and soil organic matter, estimated from three different soil depths on the control plots. In spring 2004, a 10 m × 10 m soil‐removed plot was established adjacent to each control plot. Plant percent cover of all species was estimated within the center 5 m × 5 m of every plot. Above‐ground biomass of all species from three 0.25‐m2 quadrats was collected. Environmental water measurements included water depth, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and conductivity.Results: The top 10 cm of soil contained the most seeds, the highest species diversity, the greatest proportion of annual to perennial plants, and the lowest organic content. Obligate and facultative wetland plants were found in soil‐removed plots while facultative upland and upland plants were found in control plots. The only plots with arable weeds were the control plots. However, plant communities on soil‐removed plots in the North field, which had a higher elevation (ca. 15–20 cm), had a different species composition than soil‐removed plots in the South field.Conclusions: The results of a controlled, replicated large‐scale study on the effects of soil removal showed that soil removal altered both the biotic and abiotic environment, but that the proximity to the water table was the primary controlling factor in the assembly of plant communities.

NORMAN GARY LANE: PRESIDENT OF THE PALEONTOLOGICAL SOCIETY (1987–1988) AND FOUNDER OF “FRIENDS OF THE ECHINODERMS” (1967)

Norman Gary Lane (1930–2006), president of the Paleontological Society (1987–88) and founder of “Friends of the Echinoderms” (1967), contributed to the lives of each of the authors of this essay. He was an excellent paleontologist, a very fine person, and our friend. He influenced each of us, in ways large and small, and through his wisdom, insight, and sheer human decency he helped each of us to become better scientists, better teachers, and better human beings. We are proud to number ourselves among a great many for whom Gary Lane was a role model. Gary Lane (Fig. 1) was born in French Lick, Indiana, on February 19, 1930. In his early childhood the family moved to Sidell, Illinois, where for many years his father owned and operated the small-town newspaper that served the local farming community. Following graduation from high school, Gary attended Oberlin College in northeastern Ohio—at that time and for many decades earlier regarded as among the most outstanding of all liberal arts colleges—from which he received his Bachelor's degree in Geology in 1952. Even in his student days Gary delighted in carrying out geologic field work. This, coupled with the accessibility of the kindly (if demanding) faculty of the Oberlin Geology Department, kindled Gary's interest in fossils and the history of life, just as it spurred on two of his classmates, E. G. Driscoll and J. A. Fagerstom, each of whom, like Gary, were later to become professors of paleontology. Figure 1 —Norman Gary Lane (1930–2006) Gary obtained his graduate education at the University of Kansas, where he studied with the distinguished paleontologist Raymond C. Moore (lead author of the famous Moore-Lalicker-Fischer textbook, the “Bible of Invertebrate Paleontology” in the 1950s and '60s). His Masters thesis (1954) was a study of the Lower Permian Grenola Limestone in …

Evolving Psychosis: Different Stages, Different Treatments

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book ReviewFull AccessEvolving Psychosis: Different Stages, Different TreatmentsFrederick J. Frese Ph.D.Frederick J. Frese Ph.D.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:1 Mar 2007https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2007.58.3.416aAboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail This volume is the third in a series of titles produced under the auspices of the International Society for the Psychological Treatments of the Schizophrenias and Other Psychoses (ISPS). Two of the editors of this latest production, Jan Johannessen and Johan Cullberg, are the current and past presidents of ISPS, respectively. The other editor, Brian Martindale, is chair of the ISPS network in the United Kingdom and editor of ISPS books. The ISPS group claims a history of over 50 years of pursuing biological explanations for psychosis, but, particularly with this volume, the group is now suggesting that the tide is turning in its direction.In this book's 16 chapters, the editors have collected the views of some 29 international authorities, based in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and Scandinavian countries. These contributors present various nonbiological perspectives on the treatment and understanding of psychotic conditions. I found the sections on early identification and targeted interventions aimed at preventing these conditions to be particularly valuable. The chapters by Patrick McGorry and Jean and Donald Addington focus on stages and phase-specific approaches to treatment of prodromal signs and symptoms and are especially useful. Also, New York-based social workers Susan Miller and Rachel Mason provide very helpful, practical advice regarding various approaches to treatment of first-episode patients, including techniques for maximizing family involvement.Erik Simonsen's chapter on psychosis and personality gives a particularly helpful, research-based explanation of the relationship between premorbid personality types with high probabilities of developing psychotic conditions. Other chapters of particular interest focus on topics such as the phenomenological prediction and cognitive remediation of schizophrenia and associated syndromes.Although most of the chapters provide useful or at least interesting information, two of them are little more than thinly veiled polemics arguing for reviving the concept of the schizophrenogenic mother and other such inherently family-blaming concepts that are couched under such adjectival rubrics as "trauma-based" and "post-Lacanian." However, I must admit that even these atypical viewpoints tend to contribute a degree of stimulation to the discourse.Overall, despite the outlier chapters, this volume provides a very useful collection of views on nonbiological approaches to the understanding, treatment, and possible prevention of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. For providers looking for a treatment approach beyond the prescribing and med-checks approach to care, this volume provides a broad spectrum of nonbiological perspectives on caring for members of this vulnerable population.As a person living with schizophrenia, I think it may have been very helpful if I had been alerted as a youth to the fact that I was a person with a vulnerability for psychosis, before having it come crashing down on me without warning. I also feel that the perspectives on etiology and treatment overviewed in this volume may have value for those of us who are subject to these psychotic conditions. As the editors announce at the beginning of Psychosis Evolving , with the help of this book, perhaps the tide may well be turning. Dr. Frese is assistant professor at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, and executive director of the Ohio Adult Recovery Network. FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByNone Volume 58Issue 3 March, 2007Pages 416-417PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES March 2007 Volume 58 Number 3 Metrics PDF download History Published online 1 March 2007 Published in print 1 March 2007

Fandom, Failure, and Despair: An Introspective Look at Professional Baseball in Cleveland

Fandom, Failure, and Despair:An Introspective Look at Professional Baseball in Cleveland Joel Nathan Rosen (bio) Long ago, when mankind was young and wit was fresh, if someone in an audience called out, "Say something funny," Mort Sahl, the comic, would say: "John Foster Dulles." Today's last-gasp, laugh-getter for desperate comics is some reference to Cleveland. George Will, Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball There is something disconcerting yet strangely cathartic that occurs when two fans of northeastern Ohio sport converge. On the one hand, these moments offer a time to reminisce, a moment to stroll through the garret of one's innocence, reliving youthful passions with another who speaks of sport in a similar dialect. And yet, amidst the joie de vivre of the moment, and perhaps in a way best understood only by anthropologists and circus clowns, there emerges a curious yet inevitable mix of gloom and desolation. There is a desperate feeling of never having tasted the forbidden fruit, of never having reveled in the ecstasy of raising one's index finger in triumph alongside the realization that the hopes and aspirations one once held were all part of an elaborate scheme that, to paraphrase those philosophical misfits at The National Lampoon, shows unequivocally that, whether one can hear it or not, the universe really can laugh behind one's back!1 More than anything else, despair is what defines Cleveland; its franchises; and its legions of adoring, hard-bitten, and long-suffering fans. It is a place of such remarkable athletic frustration and unforeseen misfortune that, in spite of its historical record of futility, has somehow managed to slip beneath the radar amid the cacophony of curses; headphone-wearing eccentrics; and countless tales of poor old Billy Buckner, Ralph Branca, and Fred Merkle. In [End Page 106] this regard Cleveland sport suffers on two fronts: its own repetitive ineptitude and its remarkable lack of national recognition. Within the invisible barricade that marks the Greater Cleveland area (a region that includes those who have taken part in its long and storied diaspora, its hell-bent-for-losing leitmotif, and its bleak owning up to the words, "I am a Cleveland fan") is a cloud cover that cannot be brushed aside on the clearest of days. In every way, Cleveland—a town that marks the passing of the seasons through a rabid and insatiable thirst for a champion—really is fate's fool, bearing witness to an unending parade of moments that simply slipped by in the course of the most bizarre set of circumstances imaginable. The antipathy that Clevelanders have always felt toward anyone who hails from south of Akron, east of Erie, or west of Toledo is palpable and can be flat-out intimidating some days, but it is only a fraction of the sort of antipathy they reserve for one another. Cleveland is and has been a town so remarkably stratified along so many distinct lines (not the least of which is the ongoing eastside-westside antagonism), that to this day Cleveland artists continue to revel in its simplicity, or at least its backwardness. This is exemplified in Joe Walsh's "Ordinary Average Guy" or Drew Carey's remarkably prescient hard-drinking, low-achieving, high-threshold-for-pain ne'er-do-well.2 Indeed, if there is any part of the Cleveland narrative that does enjoy national recognition, it is probably that odd reactive pose brought to public spaces by Robin Williams's Adrian Cronaur in Good Morning, Vietnam!, who responds to a soldier's disclosure that he hails from Cleveland with the off-the-cuff slight, "Obviously Vietnam's not that much of a change for you, then!"3 There are also the more ubiquitous put-downs such as Randy Newman's lament ("Burn on, big river, burn on") and countless Tonight Show monologues that made Clevelanders flinch when they heard that Dennis Kucinich was making a presidential run in 2004, and not necessarily because they didn't like his politics.4 On the contrary, most never made it that far. What they recall instead is the convergence of the moribund '70s and his administration's attempts to sell off...

Aquatic Beetles in the Ravenna Training and Logistics Site of Northeastern Ohio

Abstract Aquatic beetles in the families Dryopidae, Dytiscidae, Elmidae, Gyrinidae, Haliplidae, Hydrophilidae, Noteridae, Psephenidae, and Scirtidae were sampled at the Ravenna Training and Logistics (RTLS) site in northeast Ohio from 1999 through 2001. The site is a military base with restricted access, but military activities can cause considerable environmental disturbance. The RTLS has many headwater streams that are part of the Mahoning River basin. It is therefore an important resource in maintaining stream quality in this watershed. This survey is the first comprehensive effort at surveying the aquatic beetles at the RTLS. 124 species were collected including three haliplids, three dytiscids, one gyrinid, and three hydrophilids that were new state records for Ohio. We used these capture data to obtain preliminary estimates of biodiversity in different portions of the RTLS, and estimate how many species we missed in our sampling program. We estimated that about 90% of the total species present at th...

Constrictive Pericarditis Diagnosed by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a Pacemaker Patient

A 71-year-old male was referred for evaluation of 6 months of progressively worsening dyspnea on exertion and peripheral edema, mainly of the legs. During the symptomatic period, he had undergone 3 thoracentesis procedures, each draining more than 1500 mL of transudative fluid. His functional impairment was so severe that he contemplated suicide. His cardiac history was significant for syncope attributable to sinus node dysfunction 19 years earlier, requiring implantation of an atrioventricular pacing system. Because of atrial lead fracture, a second atrial lead had been placed 1 month before the onset of the dyspnea and leg edema. Physical examination revealed diminished breath sounds over both lung fields and moderate (2+) edema of both lower extremities to the level of the knee. The 12-lead ECG demonstrated normal sinus rhythm at 79 bpm with low-voltage and diffuse ST and T-wave abnormalities (Figure 1). A chest x-ray revealed a dual-chamber permanent cardiac pacemaker, 2 retained leads, and bilateral pleural effusions (Figure 2). Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography and …

Nurse Managed Center: Access to Primary Health Care for Urban Native Americans

Urban Native Americans represent a small, diverse minority with unique health needs. The purposes of this descriptive retrospective study were to describe (a) the characteristics and primary health problems of urban Native Americans who receive primary health care at an urban nurse managed center (NMC) and (b) the nursing interventions provided at an urban NMC to urban Native Americans. A sample of 334 participant's patient data were abstracted from a computerized clinical data set and coded based on the Omaha Classification System. The majority were over 40 years of age, were female, were single, completed high school, and were poor and uninsured, and many were unemployed. The most frequent health problems were related to pain, cardiovascular symptoms, dentition problems, and respiratory illnesses. The most frequent nursing interventions were for surveillance of physical signs and symptoms. The NMC was an accessible source of primary health care for urban Native Americans in northeastern Ohio.

Nurse Managed Center: Access to Primary Health Care for Urban Native Americans

Abstract Urban Native Americans represent a small, diverse minority with unique health needs. The purposes of this descriptive retrospective study were to describe (a) the characteristics and primary health problems of urban Native Americans who receive primary health care at an urban nurse managed center (NMC) and (b) the nursing interventions provided at an urban NMC to urban Native Americans. A sample of 334 participant's patient data were abstracted from a computerized clinical data set and coded based on the Omaha Classification System. The majority were over 40 years of age, were female, were single, completed high school, and were poor and uninsured, and many were unemployed. The most frequent health problems were related to pain, cardiovascular symptoms, dentition problems, and respiratory illnesses. The most frequent nursing interventions were for surveillance of physical signs and symptoms. The NMC was an accessible source of primary health care for urban Native Americans in northeastern Ohio.

Model Program Shows Rewards Of Addiction-Medicine Career

Model Program Shows Rewards Of Addiction-Medicine Career

Building a Better Neighborhood Housing Partnership

Prior research has examined the role of intermediary organizations in affordable housing development and community-based housing organization (CBHO) capacity building. This article built on this work by examining an applied research project aimed at assessing the feasibility of creating a neighborhood housing partnership (NHP) organization in Buffalo, New York NHPs are nonprofit umbrella organizations created through public-private partnerships. They provide technical assistance, training, monitoring, and funding support to local CBHOs. This research was based on case study analysis. Selected NHP best practices in western New York and northeastern Ohio were described, and CBHO capacity in Buffalo was examined. Recommendations were discussed for reforms to Buffalo ‘s nonprofit housing sector shaped by institutional conditions in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. This analysis highlighted how local intermediaries need to be designed in response to these conditions, and offers insights into why NHP structures vary across the U.S.

Effects of Combined Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise and a Support Group on Urinary Incontinence and Quality of Life of Postprostatectomy Patients

To examine the effect of combined pelvic floor muscle exercise (PFME) and a support group on postprostatectomy urinary incontinence and quality of life. Pilot study of a randomized, controlled clinical trial. Two metropolitan hospitals in northeastern Ohio. 29 men with postprostatectomy urinary incontinence. The participants learned PFME through biofeedback and were randomized to the control group (n = 15) or the support group (n = 14). The control group practiced PFME at home, whereas the support group attended six biweekly group meetings facilitated by a health psychologist. Assessment of urinary incontinence and quality of life was conducted at baseline and three months. Urinary incontinence and disease-specific quality of life. Eighty-six percent of the support group participants versus 46% of the control group participants practiced PFME four to seven days per week. The support group had a lower rating of urinary incontinence based on a 0- to 10-point visual analog rating scale than the control group (X = 3.2 versus 4.7), and fewer support group participants used pads (50%) than control group participants (85%) at three months. The support group also scored significantly lower on the severity of incontinence problems than the control group at three months, especially in relationship with spouse and social outing, despite no group difference in these areas at baseline. The study provided promising evidence regarding the effect of the proposed intervention on adherence to PFME, urinary incontinence, and quality of life. Reports regarding nursing practice are lacking with respect to PFME. This study suggests that practicing PFME in a group with patients with incontinence who have undergone prostatectomy can be a useful nursing intervention.

Diversity of Fungi, Bacteria, and Actinomycetes on Leaves Decomposing in a Stream

Although fungi, bacteria, and specific bacterial taxa, such as the actinomycetes, have been studied extensively in various habitats, few studies have examined them simultaneously, especially on decomposing leaves in streams. In this study, sugar maple and white oak leaves were incubated in a stream in northeastern Ohio for 181 days during which samples were collected at regular intervals. Following DNA extraction, PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was performed using fungus-, bacterium-, and actinomycete-specific primers. In addition, fungal and bacterial biomass was estimated. Fungal biomass differed on different days but not between leaves of the two species and was always greater than bacterial biomass. There were significant differences in bacterial biomass through time and between leaf types on some days. Generally, on the basis of DGGE, few differences in community structure were found for different leaf types. However, the ribotype richness of fungi was significantly greater than those of the bacteria and actinomycetes, which were similar to each other. Ribotype richness decreased toward the end of the study for each group except bacteria. Lack of differences between the two leaf types suggests that the microorganisms colonizing the leaf biofilm were primarily generalists that could exploit the resources of the leaves of either species equally well. Thus, we conclude that factors, such as the ecological role of the taxa (generalists versus specialists), stage of decay, and time of exposure, appeared to be more important determinants of microbial community structure than leaf quality.

Spirituality, Coping, and HIV Risk and Prevention in a Sample of Severely Mentally Ill Puerto Rican Women

Hispanics have been disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. Although HIV risk is significantly elevated among severely mentally ill persons (SMI), the risk of infection appears to be even greater among those SMI who are Hispanic, reflecting the increased risk of HIV among Hispanics. We report on findings from the first 41 participants in a qualitative study examining the context of HIV risk and risk reduction strategies among severely mentally ill Puerto Rican women residents in northeastern Ohio. Individuals participated in a baseline interview, two follow-up interviews, and up to 100 hours of shadowing. Interviews and shadowing activities were recorded and analyzed using a grounded theory. The majority of individuals reported using identification with a religious faith. A large proportion of the participants reported that their religious or spiritual beliefs were critical to their coping, had influenced them to reduce risk, and/or provided them with needed social support. Several participants also reported having experienced rejection from their faith communities. The emphasis on spirituality among Puerto Rican SMI is consistent with previous research demonstrating the importance of spirituality in the Hispanic culture and reliance on spiritual beliefs as a mean of coping among SMI. Our results support the incorporation of spiritual beliefs into secular HIV prevention efforts.

Morphology and wall ultrastructure of the megaspore Lagenicula (Triletes) variabilis (Winslow, 1962) Arioli et al. (2004) from the Lower Carboniferous of Ohio, USA

Megaspores assigned to Lagenicula (Triletes) variabilis (Winslow, M., 1962. Plant spores and other microfossils from Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian Rocks of Ohio. Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 364, 1–93) Arioli et al., 2004, from the Lower Carboniferous (Tournaisian) of northeastern Ohio, USA, have been analysed using light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These studies provide new information on morphology, gross structure and wall ultrastructure. Previous reports of in situ megaspores indicate that Upper Carboniferous Lagenicula (and related forms) derive from the Lepidocarpaceae, that include many of the large arborescent lycopsids that dominated the Euramerican Coal Measure forests. Based on morphological and, to a lesser extent, ultrastructural similarities with Upper Carboniferous forms, it seems likely that Lower Carboniferous Lagenicula also derive from similar plants. This suggests that large arborescent lycopsids typical of the Upper Carboniferous (or at least their precursors) were already present in the Lower Carboniferous, possibly forming forests in similar environments. These may be underrepresented in the fossil record because of the paucity of deposits of this age representing such environments.