Cultural considerations for substance use and substance use disorders among Black men.

There are complex cultural considerations for understanding, assessing, and treating substance use disorders (SUD) among Black men, from the initiation of substance use through SUD-related outcomes. This narrative review provides insight into some of these factors, including the individual, interpersonal, and community-level risk and protective factors (e.g.

Design and Implementation of a Nursing Capstone Across a Multisite Health System.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic created profound effects in nursing education. Using a robust academic-practice partnership, a college of nursing and a health care organization collaborated to launch Jefferson Capstone Experience (JCE), an education delivery model that included a one-to-one, 108-hour clinical preceptorship between an experienced RN and an undergraduate nursing student.

Method: The expedited design, implementation, and evaluation of JCE is described.

Gut microbiota composition and diversity before, during, and two months after rifamycin-based tuberculosis preventive therapy.

Tuberculosis (TB) preventive therapy (TPT) is an effective strategy to eliminate TB in low-incidence settings. Shorter TPT regimens incorporating the antimicrobial class of rifamycins are designed to improve adherence and completion rates but carry the risk of modifications to the gut microbiota. We enrolled six subjects diagnosed with latent TB infection (LTBI) who accepted to initiate TPT.

16S rRNA gene sequencing of stool samples collected from patients with latent tuberculosis infection before, during, and two months after treatment with 3HP or 4R.

Objective: We present 16s rRNA gene sequencing (V1-V2 region) and sample data from a pilot observational cohort study to describe the gut microbiota dynamics of subjects with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) treated with daily 600 mg rifampicin for four months (4R) or a weekly dose of 900 mg combination of rifapentine and isoniazid for three months (3HP). Our objectives were to (1) document changes to the gut microbiota immediately following exposure to the rifamycins and (2) document recovery to baseline two months after treatment completion.

Data Description: We enrolled six subjects with subjects with LTBI and prospectively followed them for 5-6 months.

Thermal Behavior of Ti-64 Primary Material in Electron Beam Melting Process.

The Electron Beam Melting (EBM) process has emerged as either an alternative or a complement to vacuum arc remelting of titanium alloys, since it is capable of enhancing the removal of exogenous inclusions by dissolution or sedimentation. The melting of the primary material is a first step of this continuous process, which has not been studied so far and is investigated experimentally and numerically in the present study. Experiments have been set up in a 100 kW laboratory furnace with the aim of analyzing the effect of melting rate on surface temperature of Ti-64 bars.

HOW SCAPHOID FRACTURES ARE TREATED IN BRAZIL.

Objective: To verify how hand surgeons manage scaphoid fractures and their complications.

Methods: Two hundred questionnaires were distributed during the 36 Brazilian Hand Surgery Congress (2016).

Results: On suspicion of fracture without radiographic confirmation, 57% of surgeons request a CT or MRI scan, while 43% opt for immobilization and consecutive radiographs.

Toward Better Control of Inclusion Cleanliness in a Gas Stirred Ladle Using Multiscale Numerical Modeling.

The industrial objective of lowering the mass of mechanical structures requires continuous improvement in controlling the mechanical properties of metallic materials. Steel cleanliness and especially control of inclusion size distribution have, therefore, become major challenges. Inclusions have a detrimental effect on fatigue that strongly depends both on inclusion content and on the size of the largest inclusions.

Stem radial growth and water storage responses to heat and drought vary between conifers with differing hydraulic strategies.

We investigated stem radial growth and water storage dynamics of 2 conifer species differing in hydraulic carbon strategies, Juniperus monosperma and Pinus edulis, under conditions of ambient, drought (∼45% reduction in precipitation), heat (∼4.8 °C temperature increase), and the combination of drought + heat, in 2013 and 2014. Juniper maintained low growth across all treatments.

Does Contracting with Managed Care Organizations Remain A Barrier for Nurse Practitioners?

Upon implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many managed care organizations (MCOs) initially increased their nurse practitioner (NP) contracting. This trend has not continued, potentially frustrating ACA efforts to expand primary care provider capacity. In this study, about 25% of the responding MCOs did not contract with NPs as primary care providers.

Soil moisture and its role in growth-climate relationships across an aridity gradient in semiarid Pinus halepensis forests.

In Mediterranean areas with limited availability of water, an accurate knowledge of growth response to hydrological variables could contribute to improving management and stability of forest resources. The main goal of this study is to assess the temporal dynamic of soil moisture to better understand the water-growth relationship of Pinus halepensis forests in semiarid areas. The estimates of modelled soil moisture and measured tree growth were used at four sites dominated by afforested Pinus halepensis Mill.

Hartford Gerontological Nursing Leaders: From Funding Initiative to National Organization.

In 2000, the John A. Hartford Foundation established the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Program initiative, acknowledging nursing's key role in the care of the growing population of older adults. This program has supported 249 nurse scientists with pre- and postdoctoral awards.

Use of quick response coding to create interactive patient and provider resources.

Background: Since their creation more than 20 years ago, the proliferation of Quick Response (QR) codes has expanded tremendously. Little was found in the literature to support the innovative use of QR coding in the classroom or in health care provision. Thus, the authors created a doctoral-level practicum experience using QR coding to create interactive, individualized patient or provider resource guides.

Characteristics of acute care utilization of a Delaware adult sickle cell disease patient population.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood disorder that is chronic in nature and manifests itself through many facets of the patient's life. Comprehensive specialty centers have the potential to reduce health care costs and improve the quality of care for patients who have chronic medical conditions such as heart failure and SCD. The purpose of this practice inquiry was to analyze de-identified data for acute care episodes involving SCD in order to create a detailed picture of acute care utilization for adult patients in Delaware with SCD from 2007 to 2009.

Nursing home culture change: what does it mean to nurses?

The purpose of this study was to explore, from the perspectives of licensed nurses, the organizational culture, work environment, and factors influencing culture change in two nursing homes participating in the Wellspring Program. All licensed nurses ≥ 0.25 full-time equivalent from two nursing homes were invited to complete the Organizational Culture Inventory and the Work Environment Scale.

Defining and assessing organizational culture.

Problem: Using theories from several disciplines, the concept of organizational culture remains controversial. Conflicting definitions, lack of semantic clarity, and debate over the most appropriate methods for assessing organizational culture have led to disagreement over the value and validity of such inquiry.

Methods: This paper reviews development of the concept of organizational culture and methods for assessing organizational culture, focusing on the healthcare environment.

Bulk leaf delta(18)O and delta(13)C reflect the intensity of intraspecific competition for water in a semi-arid tussock grassland.

We investigated the extent to which plant water and nutrient status are affected by intraspecific competition intensity and microsite quality in a monodominant tussock grassland. Leaf gas exchange and stable isotope measurements were used to assess the water relations of Stipa tenacissima tussocks growing along a gradient of plant cover and soil depth in a semi-arid catchment of Southeast Spain. Stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate decreased with increasing intensity of competition during the wet growing season, leading to foliar delta(18)O and delta(13)C enrichment.

Human impacts on land cover and water balances in a coastal Mediterranean county.

We analyzed the effects of changes in land cover on the water balance in Spain's Marina Baixa County, on the Mediterranean coast. To reveal how different land management strategies have affected the area's environment, four municipalities within the same catchment were studied: Benidorm, Callosa d'en Sarrià, Beniardà, and Guadalest. In the municipalities of Callosa and Benidorm, the proportion of the area covered by woodland declined by 4.

Influence of particle diameter distribution on protein recovery in the expanded bed adsorption process.

The General Rate model has been developed and solved to describe protein adsorption in an expanded bed. The model takes into account axial and local variation of particle size distribution (PSD), external and intra-particle mass transfer resistances, and dispersion in liquid phase. The influence of PSD on breakthrough profiles has been analysed.

Theoretical investigation of axial and local particle size distribution on expanded bed adsorption process.

The general rate model was developed and solved to describe protein adsorption in an expanded bed. The model takes into account axial variation of bed porosity, particle size distribution (PSD), external and intraparticle mass transfer, and dispersion in liquid and solid phase. The analysis of the influence of the model parameters on dynamic capacity (DC) was investigated.

Pretreatment p53 nuclear overexpression as a prognostic marker in superficial bladder cancer treated with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG).

Introduction: Altered p53 gene product correlates with the stage and grade of bladder tumor, but its value as a predictor of BCG response has been disappointing. In order to revisit the prognostic value of pretreatment p53 nuclear overexpression for the BCG response, we studied a large cohort of consecutive patients with superficial bladder cancer treated with BCG.

Methods: From 1988 to 2001, 102 patients with a history of multifocal, recurrent, and/or high-risk papillary transitional cell carcinoma or carcinoma in situ, were treated for the first time with BCG.

Cavitation, stomatal conductance, and leaf dieback in seedlings of two co-occurring Mediterranean shrubs during an intense drought.

Seedling shrubs in the Mediterranean semi-arid climate are subjected to intense droughts during summer. Thus, seedlings often surpass their limits of tolerance to water stress, resulting in the loss of hydraulic conductivity due to xylem cavitation. The response in terms of stomatal conductance, vulnerability to cavitation, leaf dieback, and survival were analysed in two co-occurring seedlings of mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus L.

Effects of hypoxia on retinal pigmented epithelium cells: protection by antioxidants.

Age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy, are probably linked to the effects of oxygen radicals derived from light or metabolic reactions. We have investigated the effects of hypoxia on bovine retinal pigmented epithelial cells (RPE) and the response of these cells to two antioxidants that have previously shown a beneficial action against free radical-linked senescent involution. The main results of the study were as follows: (i) Hypoxia induced apoptotic damage on RPE cells, with LDH leakage and ATP reduction; (ii) both vitamin C (VC) and N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) treatment protected against hypoxia-induced apoptosis, with less DNA fragmentation.

Inhibition of COX in ocular tissues: an in vitro model to identify selective COX-2 inhibitors.

The aim of this work was to study the regulation of LPS-stimulated PGE 2 synthesis by traditional NSAIDs (piroxicam and diclofenac) and a selective COX-2 inhibitor (NS-398), in cultured bovine corneal endothelial cells and retinal pigmentary epithelial cells. The IC50 values of piroxicam and diclofenac were compared with IC50 values of NS-398, diclofenac, in both types of cells, showed higher potency than piroxicam. Diclofenac seemed to be a COX-2 inhibitor because its IC50 values were similar to the IC50 values of NS-398.