Benzohydroxamate and nitrobenzohydroxamate affect membrane order: Correlations between spectroscopic and molecular dynamics to approach tuberculosis.

This work correlates the effects of benzohydroxamate (BH) and nitrobenzohydroxamate (NBH) anions in two membrane models which may be used for anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) spectroscopic studies and/or computational studies. Firstly, the BH and NBH influence in the physico-chemical properties of soy asolectin (ASO)-based large multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) were evaluated by spectroscopic and calorimetric studies. In parallel, the BH and NBH interaction with a Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) inner membrane model, composed of phosphatidyl-myo-inositol-dimannoside (PIM), was investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

Spirituality As A Determinant Of Health: Emerging Policies, Practices, And Systems.

Reimagining public health's future should include explicitly considering spirituality as a social determinant of health that is linked to human goods and is deeply valued by people and their communities. Spirituality includes a sense of ultimate meaning, purpose, transcendence, and connectedness. With that end in mind, we assessed how recommendations recently issued by an expert panel for integrating spiritual factors into public health and medicine are being adopted in current practice in the United States.

ZYP1-mediated recruitment of PCH2 to the synaptonemal complex remodels the chromosome axis leading to crossover restriction.

Chromosome axis-associated HORMA domain proteins (HORMADs), e.g. ASY1 in Arabidopsis, are crucial for meiotic recombination.

Caught in the Act: Live-Cell Imaging of Plant Meiosis.

Live-cell imaging is a powerful method to obtain insights into cellular processes, particularly with respect to their dynamics. This is especially true for meiosis, where chromosomes and other cellular components such as the cytoskeleton follow an elaborate choreography over a relatively short period of time. Making these dynamics visible expands understanding of the regulation of meiosis and its underlying molecular forces.

COMET Functions as a PCH2 Cofactor in Regulating the HORMA Domain Protein ASY1.

The formation of the chromosome axis is key to meiotic recombination and hence the correct distribution of chromosomes to meiotic products. A key component of the axis in Arabidopsis is the HORMA domain protein (HORMAD) ASY1, the homolog of Hop1 in yeast and HORMAD1/2 in mammals. The chromosomal association of ASY1 is dynamic, i.

A scale to assess religious beliefs in end-of-life medical care.

Background: Studies postulate that certain religious beliefs related to medical care influence the end-of-life (EOL) medical decision making and care of patients with advanced cancer. Because to the best of the authors' knowledge no current measure explicitly assesses such beliefs, in the current study the authors introduced and evaluated the Religious Beliefs in EOL Medical Care (RBEC) scale, a new measure designed to assess religious beliefs within the context of EOL cancer care.

Methods: The RBEC scale consists of 7 items designed to reflect religious beliefs in EOL medical care.

Training Community Clergy in Serious Illness: Balancing Faith and Medicine.

Community-based clergy are highly engaged in helping seriously ill patients address spiritual concerns at the end of life (EOL). While they desire EOL training, no data exist in guiding how to conceptualize a clergy-training program. The objective of this study was used to identify best practices in an EOL training program for community clergy.

The Spiritual Event of Serious Illness.

Thought leaders in palliative care have long recognized the spiritual implications of illness, including Dame Cicely Saunders' groundbreaking concept of suffering as comprising physical, emotional, social, and spiritual sources of pain. However, despite such recognition, spirituality remains an oft-neglected component of the biopsychosocial spiritual model of caregiving in serious illness. We aim in this article to highlight, through an in-depth account of patients' experiences and attitudes, the concept of illness as a spiritual event.

Seeking and Accepting: U.S. Clergy Theological and Moral Perspectives Informing Decision Making at the End of Life.

Background: People with serious illness frequently rely on religion/spirituality to cope with their diagnosis, with potentially positive and negative consequences. Clergy are uniquely positioned to help patients consider medical decisions at or near the end of life within a religious/spiritual framework.

Objective: We aimed to examine clergy knowledge of end-of-life (EOL) care and beliefs about the role of faith in EOL decision making for patients with serious illness.

U.S. Clergy Religious Values and Relationships to End-of-Life Discussions and Care.

Context: Although clergy interact with approximately half of U.S. patients facing end-of-life medical decisions, little is known about clergy-congregant interactions or clergy influence on end-of-life decisions.

Developing a Medical School Curriculum for Psychological, Moral, and Spiritual Wellness: Student and Faculty Perspectives.

Context: Although many studies have addressed the integration of a religion and/or spirituality curriculum into medical school training, few describe the process of curriculum development based on qualitative data from students and faculty.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to explore the perspectives of medical students and chaplaincy trainees regarding the development of a curriculum to facilitate reflection on moral and spiritual dimensions of caring for the critically ill and to train students in self-care practices that promote professionalism.

Methods: Research staff conducted semiscripted and one-on-one interviews and focus groups.

How Community Clergy Provide Spiritual Care: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Clergy End-of-Life Education.

Context: Community-based clergy are highly engaged in helping terminally ill patients address spiritual concerns at the end of life (EOL). Despite playing a central role in EOL care, clergy report feeling ill-equipped to spiritually support patients in this context. Significant gaps exist in understanding how clergy beliefs and practices influence EOL care.

Student and Faculty Reflections of the Hidden Curriculum.

The hidden curriculum, or the socialization process of medical training, plays a crucial role in the development of physicians, as they navigate the clinical learning environment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine medical faculty and students' perceptions of psychological, moral, and spiritual challenges during medical training in caring for critically ill patients. Focus groups were conducted with 25 Harvard Medical School (HMS) students, and interviews were conducted with 8 HMS faculty members.

Clergy Views on a Good Versus a Poor Death: Ministry to the Terminally Ill.

Background: Clergy are often important sources of guidance for patients and family members making medical decisions at the end-of-life (EOL). Previous research revealed spiritual support by religious communities led to more aggressive care at the EOL, particularly among minority patients. Understanding this phenomenon is important to help address disparities in EOL care.

Religion, Spirituality, and the Hidden Curriculum: Medical Student and Faculty Reflections.

Context: Religion and spirituality play an important role in physicians' medical practice, but little research has examined their influence within the socialization of medical trainees and the hidden curriculum.

Objectives: The objective is to explore the role of religion and spirituality as they intersect with aspects of medicine's hidden curriculum.

Methods: Semiscripted, one-on-one interviews and focus groups (n = 33 respondents) were conducted to assess Harvard Medical School student and faculty experiences of religion/spirituality and the professionalization process during medical training.

Teaching health care providers to provide spiritual care: a pilot study.

Background: Health care providers' lack of education on spiritual care is a significant barrier to the integration of spiritual care into health care services.

Objective: The study objective was to describe the training program, Clinical Pastoral Education for Healthcare Providers (CPE-HP) and evaluate its impact on providers' spiritual care skills.

Methods: Fifty CPE-HP participants completed self-report surveys at baseline and posttraining measuring frequency of and confidence in providing religious/spiritual (R/S) care.

Whose role? Oncology practitioners' perceptions of their role in providing spiritual care to advanced cancer patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine how oncology nurses and physicians view their role in providing spiritual care (SC), factors influencing this perception, and how this belief affects SC provision.

Methods: This is a survey-based, multisite study conducted from October 2008 to January 2009. All oncology physicians and nurses caring for advanced cancer patients at four Boston, MA cancer centers were invited to participate; 339 participated (response rate = 63 %).

Examining Forms of Spiritual Care Provided in the Advanced Cancer Setting.

Spiritual care (SC) is important to the care of seriously ill patients. Few studies have examined types of SC provided and their perceived impact. This study surveyed patients with advanced cancer (N = 75, response rate [RR] = 73%) and oncology nurses and physicians (N = 339, RR = 63%).

The relationship between medicine, spirituality and religion: three models for integration.

The integration of medicine and religion is challenging for historical, ethical, practical and conceptual reasons. In order to make more explicit the bases and goals of relating spirituality and medicine, we distinguish here three complementary perspectives: a whole-person care model that emphasizes teamwork among generalists and spiritual professionals; an existential functioning view that identifies a role for the clinician in promoting full health, including spiritual well-being; and an open pluralism view, which highlights the importance of differing spiritual and cultural traditions in shaping the relationship.

Undergraduate physiotherapy students' competencies, attitudes and perceptions after integrated educational pathways in evidence-based practice: a mixed methods study.

This mixed methods study aimed to explore perceptions/attitudes, to evaluate knowledge/ skills, to investigate clinical behaviours of undergraduate physiotherapy students exposed to a composite education curriculum on evidence-based practice (EBP). Students' knowledge and skills were assessed before and after integrated learning activities, using the Adapted Fresno test, whereas their behaviour in EBP was evaluated by examining their internship documentation. Students' perceptions and attitudes were explored through four focus groups.

Nurse and physician barriers to spiritual care provision at the end of life.

Context: Spiritual care (SC) from medical practitioners is infrequent at the end of life (EOL) despite national standards.

Objectives: The study aimed to describe nurses' and physicians' desire to provide SC to terminally ill patients and assess 11 potential SC barriers.

Methods: This was a survey-based, multisite study conducted from October 2008 through January 2009.

Provision of spiritual support to patients with advanced cancer by religious communities and associations with medical care at the end of life.

Importance: Previous studies report associations between medical utilization at the end-of-life (EoL) and religious coping and spiritual support from the medical team. However, the influence of clergy and religious communities on EoL outcomes is unclear.

Objective: To determine whether spiritual support from religious communities influences terminally ill patients' medical care and quality of life (QoL) near death.