Generation of recombinant hyperimmune globulins from diverse B-cell repertoires.

Plasma-derived polyclonal antibody therapeutics, such as intravenous immunoglobulin, have multiple drawbacks, including low potency, impurities, insufficient supply and batch-to-batch variation. Here we describe a microfluidics and molecular genomics strategy for capturing diverse mammalian antibody repertoires to create recombinant multivalent hyperimmune globulins. Our method generates of diverse mixtures of thousands of recombinant antibodies, enriched for specificity and activity against therapeutic targets.

Technical Note: Implications of using EGSnrc instead of EGS4 for extracting electron stopping powers from measured energy spectra.

Purpose: NRC Report PIRS-0626 (https://doi.org/10.4224/40000364) describes how measured electron energy deposition spectra can be used to determine the electronic stopping power.

Determination of W in high-energy electron beams using graphite detectors.

Purpose: ICRU Report 90 on Key Data for Ionizing-Radiation Dosimetry: Measurement Standards and Applications (2014) has reaffirmed the recommended value of the mean energy required to create an ion pair in air, W , to be 33.97(12) eV. The report also indicates that this "constant" of radiation dosimetry is energy independent above 10 keV, since there is no theoretical or experimental evidence to the contrary.

Extracting W from the electron beam measurements of Domen and Lamperti.

Purpose: The average energy expended by an energetic electron to create an ion pair in dry air, W , is a key quantity in radiation dosimetry. Although W is well established for electron energies up to about 3 MeV, there is limited data for higher energies. The measurements by Domen and Lamperti [Med.

Electron beam water calorimetry measurements to obtain beam quality conversion factors.

Purpose: To provide results of water calorimetry and ion chamber measurements in high-energy electron beams carried out at the National Research Council Canada (NRC). There are three main aspects to this work: (a) investigation of the behavior of ionization chambers in electron beams of different energies with focus on long-term stability, (b) water calorimetry measurements to determine absorbed dose to water in high-energy beams for direct calibration of ion chambers, and (c) using measurements of chamber response relative to reference ion chambers, determination of beam quality conversion factors, k , for several ion chamber types.

Methods: Measurements are made in electron beams with energies between 8 MeV and 22 MeV from the NRC Elekta Precise clinical linear accelerator.

Direct measurement of electron beam quality conversion factors using water calorimetry.

Purpose: In this work, the authors describe an electron sealed water calorimeter (ESWcal) designed to directly measure absorbed dose to water in clinical electron beams and its use to derive electron beam quality conversion factors for two ionization chamber types.

Methods: A functioning calorimeter prototype was constructed in-house and used to obtain reproducible measurements in clinical accelerator-based 6, 9, 12, 16, and 20 MeV electron beams. Corrections for the radiation field perturbation due to the presence of the glass calorimeter vessel were calculated using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations.

The Role of the Nurse Practitioner and Asymptomatic Urinary Treatments.

Asymptomatic urinary tract infections (aUTIs) are common among older adults in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and studies have shown that they are inappropriately treated with antibiotics. We retrospectively characterized treatment strategies among 89 cases of aUTIs before and after a long-term facility hired a full-time nurse practitioner (NP). We found that residents with aUTIs were prescribed significantly more supportive treatment strategies after hiring an NP.

The older adult experiencing sepsis.

Sepsis is a potentially fatal response to infection affecting patients across the life span. Sepsis can progress from systemic inflammatory response to severe sepsis and septic shock if not recognized promptly and managed effectively. Risk factors for sepsis include age, gender, the presence of invasive devices (eg, urinary catheters), and chronic medical conditions (eg, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

Millennial generation student nurses' perceptions of the impact of multiple technologies on learning.

Aim: To determine how millennial nursing students perceive the effects of instructional technology on their attentiveness, knowledge, critical thinking, and satisfaction. BACKGROUND Millennial learners develop critical thinking through experimentation, active participation, and multitasking with rapid shifts between technological devices. They desire immediate feedback.

The journey toward shared governance: the lived experience of nurse managers and staff nurses.

Aims: The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experience of nurse managers and staff nurses in shared governance.

Background: Shared governance refers to systems and services aligned in partnership. The information gained by studying the lived experience of nurse managers and staff nurses in shared governance is valuable for providing knowledge of empowerment.

Human patient simulators and interactive case studies: a comparative analysis of learning outcomes and student perceptions.

Although human patient simulators provide an innovative teaching method for nursing students, they are quite expensive. To investigate the value of this expenditure, a quantitative, quasi-experimental, two-group pretest and posttest design was used to compare two educational interventions: human patient simulators and interactive case studies. The sample (N = 49) consisted of students from baccalaureate, accelerated baccalaureate, and diploma nursing programs.

Treatment head disassembly to improve the accuracy of large electron field simulation.

Purpose: The purposes of this study are to improve the accuracy of source and geometry parameters used in the simulation of large electron fields from a clinical linear accelerator and to evaluate improvement in the accuracy of the calculated dose distributions.

Methods: The monitor chamber and scattering foils of a clinical machine not in clinical service were removed for direct measurement of component geometry. Dose distributions were measured at various stages of reassembly, reducing the number of geometry variables in the simulation.

Benchmarking of Monte Carlo simulation of bremsstrahlung from thick targets at radiotherapy energies.

Several Monte Carlo systems were benchmarked against published measurements of bremsstrahlung yield from thick targets for 10-30 MV beams. The quantity measured was photon fluence at 1 m per unit energy per incident electron (spectra), and total photon fluence, integrated over energy, per incident electron (photon yield). Results were reported at 10-30 MV on the beam axis for Al and Pb targets and at 15 MV at angles out to 90 degrees for Be, Al, and Pb targets.

Oil and gas projects in the Western Amazon: threats to wilderness, biodiversity, and indigenous peoples.

Background: The western Amazon is the most biologically rich part of the Amazon basin and is home to a great diversity of indigenous ethnic groups, including some of the world's last uncontacted peoples living in voluntary isolation. Unlike the eastern Brazilian Amazon, it is still a largely intact ecosystem. Underlying this landscape are large reserves of oil and gas, many yet untapped.

Nicaragua: an example of commitments and strengths despite problems of poverty.

Nicaragua is located in the middle of the Central American isthmus between the countries of Honduras and Costa Rica. It is the largest Central American country and is equivalent in size to the state of Georgia. Nicaragua is cited by Pan American Health Organization as one of the poorest third-world countries.

Experimental determination of beam quality factors, kQ, for two types of Farmer chamber in a 10 MV photon and a 175 MeV proton beam.

Absorbed doses determined with a sealed water calorimeter operated at 4 degrees C are compared with the results obtained using ionization chambers and the IAEA TRS-398 code of practice in a 10 MV photon beam (TPR(20,10) = 0.734) and a 175 MeV proton beam (at a depth corresponding to the residual range, R(res) = 14.7 cm).

An investigation of the photon energy dependence of the EPR alanine dosimetry system.

The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) alanine dosimetry system is based on EPR measurements of radicals formed in alanine by ionizing radiation. The system has been studied to determine its energy dependence for photons in the 10-30 MV region relative to those of 60Co and to find out if the system would be suitable for dosimetry comparisons. The irradiations were carried out at the National Research Council, Ottawa, Canada and the doses ranged from 8 to 54 Gy.

Evaluation of an ion-exchange membrane for the purification of plasmid DNA.

Separation and purification of large quantities of plasmid DNA (pDNA) is a particularly difficult manufacturing issue because of the relatively low capacity, flow rate and purity observed using traditional bead-based chromatography. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the performance of anion-exchange membranes for the purification of pDNA from Escherichia coli lysate solution. The fate of host-cell protein and endotoxin relative to pDNA was measured and used to calculate recoveries, mass balances, dynamic capacities and purification factors as a function of the flow rate and loading volume of the lysate solution.

Water Calorimetry: A Correction to the Heat Defect Calculations.

In a recent publication, we used a reaction model (model III) to calculate the heat defect for the irradiation of aqueous solutions with ionizing radiation at 21 °C. Subsequent work has revealed that the literature value used for one of the rate constants in the model was incorrect. A revised model (model IIIR) incorporates the correct rate constant for 21 °C.

Water Calorimetry: The Heat Defect.

Domen developed a sealed water calorimeter at NIST to measure absorbed dose to water from ionizing radiation. This calorimeter exhibited anomalous behavior using water saturated with gas mixtures of H and O. Using computer simulations of the radiolysis of water, we show that the observed behavior can be explained if, in the gas mixtures, the amount-of-substance of H and of O differed significantly from 50 %.