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Nurses may be at a higher risk of experiencing work-related traumatic stress response during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to other clinicians. This study aimed to investigate the correlations between work-related trauma symptoms and demographic factors, psychosocial hazards and stress response in a census sample of nurses working in COVID-19 settings in Cyprus. In this nationwide descriptive and cross-sectional study, data were collected between April and May 2020 using a questionnaire that included sociodemographic, educational and employment and work-related variables, as well as a modified version of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) for the assessment of work-related trauma symptoms during the pandemic. Overall, 233 nurses participated (with a response rate of 61.3%) and 25.7% of them reported clinical work-related trauma symptoms (STSS-M > 55; actual scale range: 17–85). The mean value for emotional exhaustion was 7.3 (SD: 2.29; visual scale range: 1–10), while the value for distress that was caused by being avoided due to work in COVID-19 units was 6.98 (SD: 2.69; visual scale range: 1–10). Positive associations were noted between trauma symptoms and both emotional exhaustion and distress from being avoided by others due to work in a COVID-19 setting and a negative association was also found between trauma symptoms and satisfaction from organizational support variables (all p < 0.002). Working in COVID-19 settings during the pandemic is a stressful experience that has been linked to psychologically traumatic symptoms Thus, supportive measures are proposed for healthcare personnel, even in countries with low COVID-19 burden.

Aim:This study aimed to investigate the perceived empowerment and turnoverintention of middle nurse managers before and after the implementation of a majorreform of the health care system in Cyprus, which also includes the transition of pub-lic hospitals towards administrative and financial autonomy.Background:The empowerment of nurse managers is important since previous stud-ies have shown that it is associated with performance at work and may have animpact on their turnover intention.Methods:A repeated cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2019 (firstphase) and was repeated in March 2020 (second phase), after the introduction ofmajor changes. The target population was all nurse managers of the public hospitals.The final sample consisted of 175 (RR 94%) participants in the first phase and178 (RR 95.6%) in the second.Results:Measurements at both time points revealed moderate levels of perceivedempowerment among Cyprus nurse managers. Empowerment score (17.95)appeared slightly lower at the repeat measurement compared to the first empower-ment score (18), but the observed difference was not statistically significant(p=0.184). Among the categories of empowermentopportunitieswas presentingstatistically significant differences between the two phases. At the second phase,mean scores of empowerment were consistently lower among those who statedYEScompared to those who statedNOin relation to (a) the intention to change depart-ment, (b) the intention to change profession and (c) the intention to change organiza-tion/hospital.Conclusions:This study demonstrated lower levels of empowerment among nursemanagers with turnover intentions. It is therefore needed to be investigated furtherReceived: 30 November 2021 Revised: 25 January 2022 Accepted: 23 March 2022DOI: 10.1111/jonm.136061196© 2022 John Wiley & Sons LtdJ Nurs Manag.2022;30:1196–1205.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jonmwhether lower empowerment levels are the main reason for turnover intentions. Italso suggests the need for senior management to create opportunities and todevelop and implement interventions which aim to maintain and further improve theempowerment of the nurse managers and assess their effectiveness in terms of turn-over intention in the organization.Implications for nursing policy:The senior management of the hospitals needs toadopt retention strategies by establishing an empowered positive working environ-ment for nurse managers. Nurse managers need to collaborate with the senior man-agement and seek more access to opportunities, information, support and resourceswhich will enable them to perform their duties with efficiency and be more effective.

Aim To investigate the perceived self-efficacy, structural empowerment and power of middle nurse managers before the implementation of a major reform of public hospitals in Cyprus. Background Nurse managers' self-efficacy is important as it makes a difference in nurses' motivation and the way they feel, think and behave. Empowerment promotes workers' engagement at work, leading to positive performance outcomes. Methods This is a descriptive correlational study with a sample of 175 nurse managers. It was conducted during March-April 2019. Results The results showed that nurse managers perceived relatively high scores of self-efficacy, moderate levels of empowerment and moderate levels of both formal and informal power. Access to resources has been recorded as low. Statistically significant correlations have been found between self-efficacy, age and work experience. Nurse managers with a bachelor's degree had a higher informal power than those with a master's degree. Conclusions The present study provides recommendations for maintaining and enhancing the self-efficacy, empowerment and power of nurse managers in the evolving conditions of health care reforms. Implications for nursing management Nurse managers need to improve their access to empowerment structures and be involved in policy decision-making, future planning, organisation and control, aiming for the improvement of services and care that they provide.

Η παρούσα εργασία διαπραγματεύεται, στο πρώτο μέρος, τη σχεδίαση και κατασκευή πρωτότυπου μετρητή ολοσώμου και επιμέρους γ-ακτινοβολίας, τύπου εγγύς θωράκισης, καθώς και τη μελέτη και του προσδιορισμού χαρακτηριστικών παραμέτρων του όπως η ευαισθησία, η ομοιομορφία και την βαθμολογία του συστήματος. Η πρωτοτυπία του μετρητή έγκειται στο ότι εύκολα μεταβάλλεται η απόσταση μεταξύ των ανιχνευτών του (2 κρύσταλλοι ΝαΙ(ΤΙ), συνολικού ενεργού όγκου 12500 cm³), με αποτέλεσμα να επιτυγχάνεται κάθε φορά η επιθυμητή ομοιομορφία ή η ευαισθησία της μέτρησης. Στο δεύτερο μέρος της η μελέτη, αναφέρεται στη χρήση του μετρητή, στη μέτρηση του ολόσωμου Καλίου στο ανθρώπινο σώμα, και προσδιορίζονται οι τιμές του ολικού Καλίου και της συγκέντρωσης του στο σώμα 166 φυσιολογικών Ελλήνων. Η συσχέτιση της συγκέντρωσης του Καλίου με διάφορες ανθρωπομετρικές παραμέτρους έδειξε εξάρτηση με την ηλικία και τη μάζα του σώματος. Aκόμη, μετρώντας in-vivo την ραδιενέργεια σε διάφορες ομάδες ατόμων, αξιολογείται η ραδιενεργός επίπτωση από τα ραδιονουκλίδια του Καισίου (¹³⁷Cs-¹³⁴C₃), που έφθασαν στην Ελλάδα από το πυρηνικό ατύχημα του Τσέρνομπιλ. Προσδιορίστηκε η ολόσωμη εσωτερική δόση στις ομάδες που μελετήθηκαν και βρέθηκε, για τα πρώτα 2.5 χρόνια, να είναι 0.420 mSv για τους άνδρες και 0.275 mSv για τις γυναίκες. Για τα παιδιά βρέθηκε για τον πρώτο 1.5 χρόνο να είναι 0.232 mSv.

The structure of mouse skin collagen fibrils treated with 500 rad gamma irradiation was studied by electron microscopy. Examination of specimens after 1, 4 and 8 weeks of treatment revealed collagen fibrils consistently larger in diameter than those from normal specimens with the majority of irradiated fibrils measuring 110–138 nm, as opposed to 62–84 nm in the control. No marked differences in cross-linking were detected between irradiated and control reconstituted type I or type III collagen, either by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis or by thermal stability measurements.

The organization as well as the positive staining pattern of mouse skin collagen fibrils treated with 500 rad gamma irradiation were studied by electron microscopy. The parallel packing of fibrils remained throughout without any areas of disorganization, also all fibrils were seen to retain normal banding periodicity. These observations suggest that gamma irradiation leads to aggregation of collagen into a regular arrangement of fibrils, as well as to normal axial relationships between the molecules within a fibril.

The structure of mouse skin collagen fibrils after treatment with 0.5, 1 and 2.5 Gy gamma-irradiation was studied by electron microscopy. Animals were sacrificed 1, 4 and 8 weeks after irradiation. Although there were areas where the normal parallel packing of fibrils was retained in some regions packing was interrupted by abnormal fibrils and in some cases helical twisting was apparent. Irradiated collagen fibrils had a lower mean diameter compared with normal and a large variability in width. The diameter of 0.5 Gy irradiated fibrils returned to normal by 4 or 8 weeks after irradiation. Clusters of abnormal fibrils were found when viewed in cross-sections. Their number and size was reversibly dependent on the dose level. All fibrils retained normal banding periodicity. Computer analysis of irradiated and control patterns led to the conclusion that 0.5-2.5 Gy gamma-irradiation had no considerable effect in modifying the charge distribution along the mouse skin collagen fibril. Int J Radiat Biol

Lithium is being used for the treatment of mental diseases and for the attenuation of muelosuppression during chemotherapy. As during long term lithium treatment kidney damage has been reported, we studied morphological alterations in cells of kidney origin after exposure to lithium chloride. Above the level of 4 mmol, lithium has fatal effects in CV1 cells while HeLa cells that are not originating from kidneys, tolerate higher lithium concentrations. Cellular morphology alters during treatment duration. At early stages, cells become flatter on their substrate and upon longer than 4 days treatment begin to detach from their substrate and eventually cell death comes in a concentration dependent manner. The only morphological alteration observed in a lymphoblastoid cell line was a statistically significant cellular swelling. Cell Biol Int