Integrated information systems for electronic chemotherapy medication administration.

Introduction: Chemotherapy administration is a highly complex and distributed task in both the inpatient and outpatient infusion center settings. The American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Oncology Nursing Society (ASCO/ONS) have developed standards that specify procedures and documentation requirements for safe chemotherapy administration. Yet paper-based approaches to medication administration have several disadvantages and do not provide any decision support for patient safety checks.

The regulation of trophoblast migration across endothelial cells by low shear stress: consequences for vascular remodelling in pregnancy.

Aims: In early human pregnancy placental trophoblasts migrate along uterine spiral arteries (SAs) and remodel these vessels into wide-bore conduits in a process essential for successful pregnancy. Until 10-12 weeks gestation trophoblasts plug spiral arteries, resulting in slow, high-resistance blood flow. This work examined the consequences of these low shear stress conditions on trophoblast migration, adhesion molecule expression, and attraction to chemotactic factors.

Mineral bridges in nacre.

We confirm with high-resolution techniques the existence of mineral bridges between superposed nacre tablets. In the towered nacre of both gastropods and the cephalopod Nautilus there are large bridges aligned along the tower axes, corresponding to gaps (150-200nm) in the interlamellar membranes. Gaps are produced by the interaction of the nascent tablets with a surface membrane that covers the nacre compartment.

Long-term care nurse role models in clinical nursing education: the ECLEPs experience.

This article describes the partnership formed between long-term care (LTC) staff nurses and clinical nursing faculty to provide students with excellent clinical experiences in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The nurses, called Clinical Education Liaisons, contributed to faculty understanding about LTC and served as resources for students. Faculty provided ongoing mentorship about current trends in clinical education.

Elevated glucocorticoid metabolism in placental tissue from first trimester pregnancies at increased risk of pre-eclampsia.

Background: The local actions of glucocorticoids in the placenta can be modulated by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11βHSD) enzymes, which catalyse inter-conversion of cortisol with its inert metabolite, cortisone, and are known to be expressed in the term placenta and decidua. However, the expression and activity of these enzymes have not been well characterised in the first trimester placenta. The aim of this study was to compare 11βHSD2 expression and activity in first trimester placental tissue from pregnancies at either relatively low or high risk of developing pre-eclampsia as determined by Doppler ultrasound.

Lymphoid and myeloid cell populations in the non-pregnant human Fallopian tube and in ectopic pregnancy.

Lymphoid and myeloid cell populations in human endometrium are well-documented and are known to play important roles in providing immune tolerance, controlling trophoblast invasion, and mediating vascular remodeling. Immune cell populations in the Fallopian tube have not been comprehensively studied. The aim of this study was to characterize lymphoid and myeloid cell populations in non-pregnant Fallopian tube and determine whether they are altered in Fallopian tube from women with ectopic pregnancy.

Chemical-garden formation, morphology, and composition. II. Chemical gardens in microgravity.

We studied the growth of metal-ion silicate chemical gardens under Earth gravity (1 g) and microgravity (μg) conditions. Identical sets of reaction chambers from an automated system (the Silicate Garden Habitat or SGHab) were used in both cases. The μg experiment was performed on board the International Space Station (ISS) within a temperature-controlled setup that provided still and video images of the experiment downlinked to the ground.

Chemical-garden formation, morphology, and composition. I. Effect of the nature of the cations.

We have grown chemical gardens in different sodium silicate solutions from several metal-ion salts--calcium chloride, manganese chloride, cobalt chloride, and nickel sulfate--with cations from period 4 of the periodic table. We have studied their formation process using photography, examined the morphologies produced using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and analyzed chemical compositions using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) to understand better the physical and chemical processes involved in the chemical-garden reaction. We have identified different growth regimes in these salts that are dependent on the concentration of silicate solution and the nature of the cations involved.

Expression of protein complexes using multiple Escherichia coli protein co-expression systems: a benchmarking study.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) remains the most commonly used host for recombinant protein expression. It is well known that a variety of experimental factors influence the protein production level as well as the solubility profile of over-expressed proteins.

Shear stress and spiral artery remodelling: the effects of low shear stress on trophoblast-induced endothelial cell apoptosis.

Aims: In the first trimester of pregnancy, placental trophoblasts migrate along uterine spiral arteries (SA) and replace endothelial cells (EC) lining these vessels by mechanisms involving EC apoptosis. Inadequate SA remodelling has been associated with pre-eclampsia and intra-uterine growth restriction. Until 10-12 weeks of gestation, trophoblasts plug SA, preventing maternal blood flow into the intervillous space and resulting in high resistance, low shear flow in these vessels.

The role of tumour-derived iNOS in tumour progression and angiogenesis.

Background: Progressive tumour growth is dependent on the development of a functional tumour vasculature and highly regulated by growth factors and cytokines. Nitric oxide (NO) is a free radical, produced both by tumour and host cells, and functions as a signalling molecule downstream of several angiogenic factors. Both pro- and antitumourigenic properties have been attributed to NO.

Passengers' decisions to ride with a driver under the influence of either alcohol or cannabis.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to identify the risk factors associated with passenger decisions to ride with a driver who is under the influence of either alcohol or cannabis.

Method: We analyzed data from the 2008 Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey (CADUMS), a nationally represented telephone sample of 16,672 Canadians age 15 and older, of whom 60.5% were female.

The relationship of home smoking bans to the physical and mental health of smokers.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to examine whether the adoption of home smoking bans is associated with the physical and mental health of smokers. Two potential pathways that link home smoking bans to smoker's health are analyzed. The first argues that home smoking bans are positively related to physical health by encouraging smoking cessation while reducing daily cigarette consumption.

Chemical gardens from silicates and cations of group 2: a comparative study of composition, morphology and microstructure.

We have compared the behaviour of the chloride salts of the cations Ca(2+), Sr(2+) and Ba(2+) of Group 2 of the Periodic Table in the formation of chemical gardens in silicate solutions. We performed analyses of morphology, composition and microstructure using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). We have identified different growth regimes in these salts (jetting and budding), which are dependent on the concentration of the silicate solution.

Remodelling at the maternal-fetal interface: relevance to human pregnancy disorders.

In human pregnancy, successful placentation and remodelling of the uterine vasculature require the integration of a number of stages, which are crucial for a healthy pregnancy. As the demands of the developing fetus for nutrients and oxygen increase, the capacity of the maternal blood vessels to supply this must be altered radically, with deficiencies in this process implicated in a number of dangerous pregnancy complications. The complex signalling networks that regulate these tightly co-ordinated events are becoming clearer as more studies of early pregnancy are performed.

Trophoblast- and vascular smooth muscle cell-derived MMP-12 mediates elastolysis during uterine spiral artery remodeling.

During the first trimester of pregnancy, the uterine spiral arteries are remodeled, creating heavily dilated conduits that lack maternal vasomotor control but allow the placenta to meet an increasing requirement for nutrients and oxygen. To effect permanent vasodilatation, the internal elastic lamina and medial elastin fibers must be degraded. In this study, we sought to identify the elastolytic proteases involved in this process.

Mammography decision making in older women with a breast cancer family history.

Purpose: This study's purpose is to describe and explain how women 55 years of age and older with a family history of breast cancer make screening mammography decisions.

Design: A qualitative design based on grounded theory. This purposeful sample consisted of 23 women 55 years of age or older with one more first-degree relatives diagnosed with breast cancer.

Do the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales measure outcome?

Objective: Among mental health outcome measures that have been developed for routine use, most of the information concerns the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS). This instrument is widely used in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, but not in Canada. We tested its sensitivity and predictive validity under conditions that would resemble, as closely as possible, routine use.

Inhibition of trophoblast-induced spiral artery remodeling reduces placental perfusion in rat pregnancy.

Rats harboring the human angiotensinogen and human renin genes develop preeclamptic features in pregnancy. The preeclamptic rats exhibit a deeper trophoblast invasion associated with a reduced resistance index by uterine Doppler. Doxycycline inhibits matrix metalloproteinase activity.