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WHAT IS KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT?: The physical health of people with serious mental illness (SMI) is an issue of growing concern in New Zealand and internationally. Metabolic syndrome is prevalent among people with severe mental illness and increases the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. No previous international research has investigated rates of metabolic monitoring in specialist mental health services and in primary care. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Rates of metabolic monitoring are low in this specialist mental health service and in primary care. Primary care nurses are positive in their views of their role in providing care for people with mental illness, and would value further education in this area. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Services need to consider ways in which nurses can be supported to improve rates of metabolic monitoring. Guidelines may have a role to play in improved monitoring but need service-level support in order to be effective. ABSTRACT: Introduction People with serious mental illness experience significant disparities in their physical health compared with the general population. One indicator of health impairment is metabolic syndrome, which increases the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. No international studies have reported both primary care and mental health nurses' rates of metabolic monitoring among people with serious mental illness, and no New Zealand studies have investigated rates of metabolic monitoring. Aim To evaluate metabolic monitoring practices within one of New Zealand's 20 district health board regions. Method An audit of clinical records in primary care (n = 46) and secondary care (n = 47) settings and a survey of practice nurses were conducted. A survey was sent to 127 practice nurses with a response rate of 19% (n = 24). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results Rates of metabolic monitoring were low in both services. Survey participants expressed positive views towards physical health monitoring and confidence in relating to mental health consumers. Rates of treatment of metabolic abnormalities were low, and communication between primary and secondary services was limited. Conclusion Despite existence of guidelines and protocols, metabolic monitoring rates in both primary and secondary health services are low. Incorporating metabolic monitoring systems into service delivery, supported by appropriate tools and resourcing, is essential to achieve better clinical outcomes for people experiencing mental illness.

Aims and objectives To identify the point prevalence of indwelling urinary catheters (IDCs) in adult inpatients in acute care hospitals, and to describe the indications for IDC insertion based on patient age, gender, specialty and hospital. Background Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are preventable healthcare-associated infections. IDC duration is the strongest predictor of CAUTI, and little is known about characteristics of patients who receive an IDC. Design Two single-day point prevalence surveys collected baseline patient data as part of a larger pre-post control-intervention study. Methods Surveys were conducted at four acute care hospitals in NSW, Australia, for all adult patients. Data collection included IDC presence, insertion details and urine culture collection. Point prevalence data were linked with electronically extracted patient demographic data. This study is presented in line with STROBE checklist (See Supplementary File 1). Result Data from 1,630 patients were analysed, with 196 patients (12%) identified as having an IDC on the survey dates. IDC prevalence rates were higher in males (13%) than in females (11%). Critical care had the highest rate of patients with IDCs (42%). Urine cultures were collected in 70 patients with an IDC (43%). Conclusions Findings indicated similar rates of IDC use in males and females, and there was no significant difference in age between patients with or without an IDC. However, indication for IDC varied by patient age and gender. High rates of urine culture collection may represent routine collection. Relevance to clinical practice IDC use is found across genders, all age groups and specialties. Nurses should be aware that any of their patients may have an IDC and be particularly aware of certain indications based on patient age and gender. Routine urine culture collection is not advised, and instead, nurses should be guided by clinical decision-making tools.

AimsThis study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Carers' Fall Concern Instrument (CFC-I) for measuring carers' concern for older people (care recipients) at risk of falling.BackgroundFamily carers are crucial in preventing older people from falling at home. Their concerns for older people at risk of falling have severe implications on carers' psychological well-being and ability to prevent falls. However, there is no validated instrument measuring this concern.MethodsA cross-sectional study was used to examine the validity and reliability of the CFC-I. Carers looking after older people living at home completed the 17-item CFC-I and provided information about their care arrangements and the older people's fall history. Construct validity was tested using exploratory factor analysis and hypothesis testing. Internal consistency was determined by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient.Results143 carers completed the survey either by face-to-face or by online. After deleting one item with an item-total correlation of below 0.3, the remaining 16-item CFC-I reported a Cronbach alpha of 0.93. Construct validity was supported by strong item-total correlations (0.51-0.76), mean inter-item correlations (0.47) and factor loadings (0.557-0.809). Factor analysis revealed three factors that include concerns about care recipients' health and function, living environment and carers' perception of fall and fall risk. The 16-item CFC-I can discriminate between carers of older people with and without recurrent (fallen 3/ more times) falls.ConclusionThe 16-item CFC-I is a valid and reliable scale for measuring carers' concern for the older people's risk of falling. Future analysis of test-retest and inter-rater reliability of the instrument will further support its clinical use for carers.Implications for practiceThe newly developed multi-item CFC-I can be used to quantify the carers' level of fall concern and inform targeted interventions for carers when caring for older people who are at risk of falling.

Before 2020 the term ‘social distancing’ while not new, was barely known. The concept was promoted by the World Health Organisation in 2008 as a public health measure to prevent transmission of influenza, and in various forms it can be identified in reference to epidemics going back hundreds of years. However, in common parlance social distancing is more likely to have been associated with stigma or social class, something with negative connotations, something to be avoided.

New Zealand police report a high level of involvement with people in mental health crisis, something that has been reported in the international literature in recent decades. Involvement of police represents a coercive pathway to care and is likely to be associated with use of force. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical, legal, and social characteristics of individuals subject to police response in the Waikato region of New Zealand. Data were also collected on characteristics of police response, including use of force, time of day, and disposition. Use of force, most commonly use of handcuffs, occurred in 78% of cases involving police. The study showed that Māori were overrepresented in police responses, but no more likely than Europeans to experience use of force. Almost half those subject to police response were not subsequently admitted to hospital, raising questions about the need for and nature of police response in these cases. Because mental health nurses are often part of police response, nurses need to take cognisance of their relationship with police and contribute to any initiatives that can reduce coercion in the pathway to care, and improve service users' experience in mental health crises.

Health professionals can hold stigmatizing views about people with mental illness. In addition to being discriminatory, these beliefs cause anxiety that can affect learning in the clinical environment. A review of an undergraduate nursing curriculum introduced the Modern Apprenticeship curriculum model and provided an opportunity for an educational intervention designed to address stigmatizing beliefs about people with mental health and addiction problems. The aim of the present study was to measure the extent to which an educational intervention - guided clinical experience in an acute mental health unit during the first year of the curriculum - decreased stigmatizing beliefs of undergraduate nurses towards those with mental health and addiction issues. In a before-and-after design, Corrigan's Attribution Questionnaire was used to collect data pre- and post-guided clinical experience in an acute mental health unit. The intervention resulted in a significant positive change in stigmatizing attitudes for four of the nine factors tested. There was a non-significant positive change in three factors, while two factors showed a non-significant negative change. Using guided clinical experience as an educational intervention in the first year of an undergraduate nursing curriculum can contribute to positive change in undergraduate nurses' stigmatizing beliefs. The findings have implications for teaching of mental health content in undergraduate nursing programmes.

We use measurements from NASA's Van Allen Probes to calculate the decay time constants for electrons over a wide range of energies (30 keV - 4 MeV) and values ( = 1.3 - 6.0) in the Earth's radiatio...

Four different polymorphs of nanostructured iron oxyhydroxides, namely; goethite (α-FeOOH), akaganeite (β-FeOOH), lepidocrocite (ɣ-FeOOH), and feroxyhyte (δ-FeOOH) were synthesized and fully characterized by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, UV-Visible spectrophotometry, BET measurements and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The relationship between these iron oxyhydroxide polymorphs and their photocatalytic properties was explored by examining the extent of methylene blue (MB) degradation by each polymorph under visible light irradiation. Feroxyhyte exhibited the best photocatalytic properties and degraded 85% of the MB dye in five hours. In comparison, goethite, akaganeite and lepidocrocite degraded only 40%, 35% and 30% of the MB in five hours, respectively. In order to understand this trend, the surface area, particle size and shape, and electronic band properties were systematically studied and discussed. It was found that the rate of MB degradation relates mainly to the surface area of the FeOOH polymorphs more than any other factor. This is the first report of a comparative study of the physical, electronic and photocatalytic properties of all four polymorphs of nanostructured iron oxyhydroxides.

New graduate nurses have reported negative experiences in mental health settings, particularly during the transitional period of practice. Previous research has focused on addressing the undergraduate preparation of nurses for practice instead of the experiences and outcomes of the transitional period. Recently, there has been growing interest in exploring the experiences of graduate nurses in transition and the implementation of promising interventions to facilitate new graduates' assimilation to practice. Despite these initiatives, the overall shortage of mental health nurses continues to rise, and graduates still report negative experiences in the mental health setting. The purpose of this study was to identify and explore the experiences of new graduate nurses in mental health services in their first year of clinical practice. An integrative review was conducted with 22 studies sourced from the CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, and PsychINFO electronic databases, as well as through hand-searching the literature. Literature review findings have highlighted negative clinical experiences and increased attrition from mental health services for graduate nurses. These experiences were closely linked with the changes in the training of mental health nurses, role ambiguity, inadequate clinical preceptorship, encountering the reality of mental health services, and the role of health services in transitioning graduate nurses into clinical practice. Established research into organizational cultures demonstrates that negative organizational outcomes result from negative workplace experiences. Therefore, further research into new graduate nurses' experiences of mental health nursing and its culture might clarify the reasons why they might not be attracted to the discipline and/or are leaving early in their career.

Advance care planning is becoming an increasingly important feature of health service provision. Although the New Zealand Mental Health Commission has advocated strongly for the provision of advance directives in mental health services, little is known about clinician or service user views on advance directives. The aim of the study was to survey the perspectives of service users and clinicians on the use of psychiatric advance directives. The study used an anonymous online survey to collect data from 110 mental health service users and 175 clinicians. Survey items included existing knowledge, preferred content and potential benefits of advance directives. Descriptive statistics and intergroup comparisons were conducted. Over 90% of service users and clinicians agreed that they support advance directives in mental health. There were similarities in the preferred content of an advance directive across the two groups, particularly regarding the notification of support persons, cultural support and preferred methods of de-escalation. Significant differences in opinion were found regarding the use of coercive measures and the ability of mental health legislation to override advance directives. The results indicate strong support for the use of advance directives within New Zealand mental health services, as well as for further research in the area.

Background The world's leading cause of preventable deaths, diseases and disabilities is smoking. Hospitalization can provide an opportunity for smokers to quit. Previous research found that smokers make up a high percentage of patients admitted to intensive care. Health care professionals working in critical care environments can make a valuable contribution to this public health issue by providing smoking cessation advice. Aim To identify factors that inhibit and facilitate the delivery of smoking cessation advice by nurses and doctors in critical care settings. Design Quantitative design using an online survey. Methods This research was a single centre study carried out in a large tertiary hospital. Study sites were two adult critical care departments including a 14-bed general intensive care and a 16-bed cardiovascular intensive care unit. The target population for this research was the nursing and medical staff working in adult critical care environments. Results The data suggests that doctors and nurses have a good understanding of the complications related to tobacco use and also have education on smoking cessation. Additionally the data suggest that doctors and nurses at the study sites generally have positive attitudes towards smoking cessation. Patient acuity and competence were concerns raised in relation to the delivery and effectiveness of smoking cessation advice in critical care environments. Conclusions The recovery phase following critical illness might be an opportunity to provide cessation advice. This could include focusing cessation advice efforts on awake, orientated and extubated patients. Further research might be required to confirm this. Relevance to clinical practice The provision of smoking cessation advice is an on-going World Health Organization and New Zealand Government priority and all parts of the health sector need to provide responses. However, responses need to be adapted to the specific context such as the unique challenges of critical care.

Thermal treatment of ultrathin films of hematite (α-Fe2 O3 ) under an atmosphere of 5 % H2 in Ar is presented as a means of activating α-Fe2 O3 towards the photoelectrochemical splitting of water. Spin-coated films annealed in air exhibited no photoactivity, whereas films treated in hydrogen exhibited a photocurrent response. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy results showed that the H2 -treated films contain oxygen vacancies, which suggests improved charge transport. However, Tafel slopes, scan-rate dependent measurements, and kinetic analyses performed by using H2 O2 as a hole scavenger suggested that surface modification may also contribute to their induced photoactivity. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results revealed the buildup of a surface trap capacitance at the point of photocurrent onset for the hydrogen-treated films under illumination. A decrease in charge trapping resistance was also observed, which suggests improved transport of charges away from the surface.

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) can be used in conjunction with organic charge‐transporting layers to produce light‐emitting diodes, solar cells and other devices. The efficacy of CQDs in these applications is reduced by the non‐radiative recombination associated with surface traps. Here we investigate the effect on the recombination dynamics in CdTe CQDs of the passivation of these surface traps by chloride ions. Radiative recombination dominates in these passivated CQDs, with the radiative lifetime scaling linearly with CQD volume over τr=20–55 ns. Before chloride passivation or after exposure to air, two non‐radiative components are also observed in the recombination transients, with sample‐dependent lifetimes typically of less than 1 ns and a few ns. The non‐radiative dynamics can be explained by Auger‐mediated trapping of holes and the lifetimes of this process calculated by an atomistic model are in agreement with experimental values if assuming surface oxidation of the CQDs.

The decomposition of Mo2O3(S2CNEt2) 4 (1) and Mo2O3(S2COEt)4 (2) single-source precursors (SSPs) via aerosol-assisted (AA−) CVD onto glass substrates is reported. The films grown from 2 are achieved at a lower temperature than 1 (300 and 425 °C, respectively), potentially attributable to the Chugaev elimination mechanism. Raman spectroscopy (RS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) show the composition of the films to be variable; films that are grown from the AACVD reaction of 1 are found to be of pure MoS2 nanoplates, whereas those grown from 2 consist of MoO3 microparticles and MoO2 noncrystalline films, together with various nanostructures of MoS2, depending on deposition temperature. The decomposition processes of the SSPs are assessed to determine why these variations in thin films are seen.

The size dependence of the photothermal effect of palladium nanocrystals enables the selectivity of the solar powered heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to be finely tailored towards producing either carbon monoxide through the reverse water gas shift reaction, CO2 + H2 → CO + H2O, favored for small nanocrystals or to methane, via the Sabatier methanation reaction, CO2 + 4H2 → CH4 + 2H2O, preferred for larger nanocrystals. This is described by Geoffrey A. Ozin and co‐workers in article number 1700252.

Aims and objectives To identify issues, from the emergency department clinicians' viewpoint, with the management of patients presenting to the emergency department with a mental illness. Background Despite the introduction of several statewide and national initiatives, barriers remain affecting the care and management of consumers presenting with an mental illness to the emergency department. Improving the responsiveness of mental health services, including the provision of more efficient emergency responses for people in crisis, is a key goal. To achieve responsive mental health services in emergency departments, services are required to work together to ensure appropriate referrals between mainstream services and to those services developed to meet the unique needs of specific population groups. Design A mixed method approach using surveys and focus groups. Methods Data were collected from patients with mental illness and their next of kin/carers, as well as staff working within the emergency department and the mental health services of the healthcare network. Results The study found that there were inconsistencies and deficits in the educational preparation of emergency department staff to manage consumers presenting with mental illness. Further, the inadequate physical environment of the emergency department contributed to difficulties in assessing and managing this group of patients. Conclusions Staff members working within mental health services and the emergency department summarised the key improvement areas as the need for electronic case notes, improvements to the emergency department environment, mental health training, implementation of a referral service and increasing the number of staff. Relevance to clinical practice Although initiatives have been implemented, there needs to be a greater focus on educating the staff in emergency departments in relation to the policies and strategies which aim to improve the care and management of patients presenting with a mental health problem.

Aim To identify the perceived needs of Saudi families of patients in Intensive Care in relation to their culture and religion. Background Admission of a family member to an intensive care unit (ICU) is a deeply distressing and often unexpected life event to the family. Families of critically ill patients have needs that should be acknowledged and met by the ICU team. Literature is virtually silent on the issue of recognizing the ICU family needs in relation to the influence of their cultural values and religious beliefs. Design A descriptive exploratory qualitative study. Method Individual, semi-structured interviews of a purposive sample of 12 family members were carried out between November 2011 and February 2012. The closest family members were recruited to participate in the interviews with a mean age of 44·25 years in eight mixed medical-surgical ICUs of eight major trauma hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Results The family needs and experiences are described via six major themes: looking for information, maintaining reassurance, spiritual healing, maintaining close proximity, involvement in care and support not being facilitated. The results indicated that family members sought to access information readily to diminish their anxiety. They also needed to be reassured that the best care was being delivered to their loved one and to feel supported during this critical time. Saudi families have cultural and spiritual healing beliefs and practices including faith in God and that God is the ultimate healer, reading of the Qur'an, prayer and charity. These lessen their stress and connect them to hold on to hope. In addition, maintaining proximity to their ill family member was considered of the greatest importance to the families. Conclusion The study provided an in-depth understanding of the family members' experience of having a relative in Intensive Care and focussed on a range of unmet needs, particularly those related to culture and religion. The ICU team need to work collaboratively with family members to improve their experience. Relevance to practice The recognition of family needs, experiences and situations can enhance the care provided by the critical care team to patients and families.

Aim: To identify the needs of families of adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients in Saudi Arabia as perceived by family members and health care providers.

Some Like It Hot: Geoffry A. Ozin and co‐workers demonstrate that the reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction, driven by a visible and near infrared responsive Pd@Nb2O5 is thermally activated with measured conversion rates as high as 1.8 mmol gcat−1 h−1, in article 1600189. Specifically, the RWGS reaction is enabled by heat generated from thermalization of photoexcited charge carriers in the Pd nanocrystals that function as “nanoheaters” for the entire Pd@Nb2O5 assembly, through non‐radiative relaxation of inter‐band and intra‐band conduction electron transitions. Overall this study advances our understanding of the underlying mechanism of photothermally driven CO2 reduction. Cover illustration by Chenxi Qian.

Research into layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), most notably those of molybdenum and tungsten disulfides, has become extensive, involving fields as diverse as optoelectronics, spintronics, energy storage, lubrication, and catalysis. The modification of TMDCs by transition metal doping can improve their performance in such applications and hence extend their potential for technological applications. This review concerns the synthetic strategies that have been used to incorporate transition metals into TMDCs and the applications of the resultant materials and relevant computational studies on the predicted properties of the doped materials.

The issue of potential conflict of interest and its risk to professional integrity in journal article publication has been strongly debated in medical circles. Most medical journals adhere to international requirements for disclosure of potential conflict of interest. The debate on this issue in nursing, and specifically mental health nursing, has been neither prolific nor strong, despite nursing's potential to influence particular viewpoints about treatment and indeed to prescribe particular treatments; and nursing being a target for pharmaceutical industry marketing. The purpose of this paper is to raise debate about potential conflict of interest in journal article publication and to make recommendations for the management of such potential for this journal.

Alcohol misuse is a prevalent problem in New Zealand society, and one that exacts a considerable cost in terms of health, social cohesion, and economic productivity. Despite the burden of alcohol misuse, screening, brief assessment, and interventions for alcohol problems are frequently poorly performed within general health services. In this paper we explore the response to alcohol problems in a New Zealand emergency department and discuss difficulties encountered in improving rates of detection by emergency department personnel. We report the results of a clinical audit of alcohol screening and brief assessment and a staff education programme designed to improve practice in this area, but which met with limited success. The potential role for an advanced practice nurse providing a clinical consultation and liaison service to the emergency department staff is explored. We argue that such a role has potential to reduce the health and social costs of alcohol misuse, and to meet the national policy objective of providing a treatment response to people with alcohol-related problems in contact with health services.

LIANG C.-H., YANG C.-Y., LU K.-C., CHU P., CHEN C.-H., CHANG Y.-S., O'BRIEN A.P., BLOOMER M. & CHOU K.-R. (2011) Factors affecting peritoneal dialysis selection in Taiwanese patients with chronic kidney disease. International Nursing Review58, 463–469 Background: Taiwan has the highest incidence and prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the world with 55 499 ESRD patients on long-term dialysis. Nevertheless, 90.96% of these patients are managed on maintenance haemodialysis (HD), with only 9.03% enrolled in a peritoneal dialysis (PD) programme. Aim: The study aim was to identify the factors affecting Taiwanese patient's selection of PD in preference to HD for chronic kidney disease. Methods: A cross-sectional research design was utilized with 130 chronic renal failure (CRF) patients purposively selected from outpatient nephrology clinics at four separate Taiwan hospitals. Logistic regression was used to identify the main factors affecting the patient's choice of dialysis type. Results: Single-factor logistic regression found significant differences in opinion related to age, education level, occupation type, disease characteristics, lifestyle modifications, self-care ability, know-how of dialysis modality, security considerations and findings related to the decisions made by medical personnel (P

Nanoparticles of lead sulfide, selenide and telluride have been synthesized by the reduction of sulfur, selenium or tellurium powder with sodium borohydride (NaBH4) to produce sulfide, selenide or telluride ions, followed by their reaction with a lead salt. In comparison to the chloride, nitrate or sulfate, considerable control of the product is possible when lead carbonate is used as the salt; various shapes of nanoparticles are obtained on varying temperatures and/or times of reaction. The nanoparticles were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Bipolar disorder is a chronic and recurrent disorder with fluctuating symptoms. Few patients with bipolar disorder experience a simple trajectory of clear-cut episodes, with recovery typically occurring slowly over time. The chronic and disabling course of the disorder has a marked impact on the person's functioning and relationships with others. The objectives of this study were to investigate the impact of bipolar disorder on the lives of people diagnosed with this disorder. The method used was a general inductive qualitative approach. Twenty-one participants were interviewed between 2008 and 2009 about how they had experienced the impact of bipolar disorder. The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. The core theme that emerged was the participants were feeling out of control. Their own reactions and the reactions of others to the symptoms of bipolar disorder contributed to this core theme. The core theme was constituted by feeling overwhelmed, a loss of autonomy and felling flawed. Mental health nurses can help facilitate a sense of personal control for people with bipolar disorder by exploring what the symptoms mean for that person and implementing strategies to manage the symptoms, address social stigma and facilitate active involvement in treatment.

Lowe G., Plummer V., O’Brien A.P. & Boyd L. (2012) Time to clarify – the value of advanced practice nursing roles in health care. Journal of Advanced Nursing68(3), 677–685. Abstract Aim. This article presents a discussion of the importance of providing meaningful advanced practice nursing role definition and clarity to improve international standards of nursing titles and scopes of practice. Background. A plethora of international literature exists discussing advanced practice nursing roles and their contribution to healthcare delivery in various countries. However, lack of consistency around title, role definition and scope of practice remains. Data sources. CINAHL and Medline databases were searched using ‘nurse practitioner’, ‘nurse practitioner role’, ‘nurse practitioner practice’, ‘nurse practitioner in public health’, ‘advanced practice nursing roles’ and ‘development of new nursing roles’ with articles limited to years 1995–2010. Citations used in those articles were also explored. All cited articles were in the English language. Discussion. This article supports the need to strengthen the Nurse Practitioner role in health care and professional clarity is identified as a strategy to enhance this. Themes around role clarity, professional identity, ability to enhance healthcare provision and inter-professional issues are examined. The need to more clearly articulate advanced nursing roles in light of the evolution of the Nurse Practitioner role is highlighted. Much work has already occurred in this domain and a means of adapting and broadening these developments for a wider, more global audience whilst maintaining local context is discussed. Conclusion. Although evidence exists that advanced practice nursing roles are increasing internationally, uncertainty around role clarity remains. This is problematic because the valuable contribution of nursing roles is lost, if the ability to clearly express their function does not exist.

The ligand N,N-diisobutyl-N'-(4-nitrobenzoyl)selenourea (4-NO(2)-C(6)H(4)CONHCSeNiBu(2)) (1) and its complex {bis[N,N-diisobutyl-N'-(4-nitrobenzoyl)selenoureato]lead(II)} [(4-NO(2)-C(6)H(4)CONHCSeNiBu(2)) Pb(II)] (2) have been synthesized, and their structures determined by single-crystal X-ray methods. Compound 2 was employed as a single-source precursor (SSP) for the deposition of PbSe thin films by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) in the temperature range 250-500 degrees C on glass substrates. The films obtained at low temperature consist of globular-shaped crystallites, whereas at higher temperature (ca. 500 degrees C) wirelike morphologies are dominant. PbSe nanocrystals were also prepared from compound 2 by solution thermolysis at 200-250 degrees C. Photoluminescence (PL) life time measurements based on the time-correlated single-photon-counting (TCSPC) technique showed significantly faster PL decay in as-prepared PbSe nanocrystals relative to previous reports. The purity and elemental composition of the as-deposited PbSe thin films and nanocrystals were determined by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX).

We investigated the effect of epidural volume extension on spinal blockade in pregnant women undergoing elective caesarean section with a combined spinal-epidural technique. We randomly allocated 90 healthy subjects to three groups to receive spinal hyperbaric bupivacaine 7.5 mg (group B7.5), spinal hyperbaric bupivacaine 7.5 mg immediately followed by epidural volume extension with saline 5 ml (group B7.5-EVE) or spinal hyperbaric bupivacaine 10 mg without epidural volume extension (group B10). We evaluated the height of the block every 5 min for 15 min following the spinal injection. The overall sensory block level increased with time (p < 0.001), regardless of the group studied, and there were significantly fewer failures of block in the group B10 compared with both B7.5 and B7.5-EVE groups (p = 0.001). In conclusion, we could not demonstrate a benefit in using epidural volume extension with 5 ml saline as part of a combined spinal epidural technique in term parturients undergoing elective caesarean section.