International Spread of Multidrug-Resistant Rhodococcus equi.

A multidrug-resistant clone of the animal and human pathogen Rhodococcus equi, MDR-RE 2287, has been circulating among equine farms in the United States since the 2000s. We report the detection of MDR-RE 2287 outside the United States. Our finding highlights the risk for MDR-RE spreading internationally with horse movements.

An overview of the outcomes and impact of specialist and advanced nursing and midwifery practice, on quality of care, cost and access to services: A narrative review.

Objectives: This paper presents the results of a systematic rapid review and narrative synthesis of the literature of the outcomes and impact of specialist and advanced nursing and midwifery practice regarding quality of care, cost and access to services.

Design: A rapid review was undertaken of the relevant national and international literature, regulatory and policy documents relating to the establishment and definition of nurses' and midwives' specialist and advanced practice roles.

Data Sources: A search of the Cumulative Index to the Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed (MEDLINE) was undertaken from 2012 to 2015.

The perceptions of key stakeholders of the roles of specialist and advanced nursing and midwifery practitioners.

Aim: To explore the perceptions of key stakeholders of the roles of specialist and advanced nursing and midwifery practitioners.

Background: There is evidence that the contribution of these roles to patient care is poorly understood.

Design: This research took place over 2 months in 2015 and is part of a larger study involving a rapid review to inform policy development on the specialist and advanced nursing and midwifery practice in Ireland.

Using rapid reviews: an example from a study conducted to inform policy-making.

Aim: A discussion of the potential use of rapid review approaches in nursing and midwifery research which presents a worked example from a study conducted to inform policy decision-making.

Background: Rapid reviews, which can be defined as outputs of a knowledge synthesis approach that involves modifying or omitting elements of a systematic review process due to limited time or resources, are becoming increasingly popular in health research. This paper provides guidance on how a rapid review can be undertaken and discusses the strengths and challenges of the approach.

The usefulness of whole-exome sequencing in routine clinical practice.

Purpose: Reports of the use of whole-exome sequencing in clinical practice are limited. We report our experience with whole-exome sequencing in 115 patients in a single center and evaluate its feasibility and clinical usefulness in clinical care.

Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was utilized based on the judgment of three clinical geneticists.

Short term and long term effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on physical activity in COPD.

Unlabelled: The central purpose of pulmonary rehabilitation is to reduce morbidity by improving functional capacity through exercise. It is still unknown if improvements in functional capacity are maintained in the long-term and if this leads to increased physical activity levels as measured by a free-living activity monitor. The hypothesis of this study was that pulmonary rehabilitation would lead to a sustained increase in standard outcome measures and in daily physical activity.

Acupuncture as an adjunct to pulmonary rehabilitation.

Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by airflow limitation and by both systemic and airway inflammation. In COPD, acupuncture has been shown to improve quality-of-life scores and decrease breathlessness; similar findings have also been reported after pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). The hypothesis of this study was that acupuncture in conjunction with pulmonary rehabilitation would improve COPD outcome measures compared to pulmonary rehabilitation alone.

Screening of clinical, food, water and animal isolates of Escherichia coli for the presence of blaCTX-M extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) antibiotic resistance gene loci.

A small study was carried out in order to examine the molecular presence of bla CTX-M gene phylogenetic groups in E. coli (n=263) isolated from food (n=54), water (n=7), animal sources (n=69), using consensus bla CTX-M primers and PCR, in addition to human faecal isolates (n=69) and VTEC O157:H7 (n=64). None of the clinically significant faecal VTEC O157:H7 isolates were shown to carry blaCTX-M type phylogenetic groups, nor were such phylogenetic groups observed in any of the food, water and animal isolates.

Emergence of tacts following mand training in young children with autism.

This study sought to examine the effects of training mands on the emergence of tacts with the same response forms. Results indicated that training adjective sets as mands resulted in the emergence of adjective sets as tacts under modified, but not standard, antecedent conditions. The findings suggested that the apparent functional independence of mands and tacts may be explained by a lack of appropriate antecedent control over responding.

Structure shows that a glycosaminoglycan and protein recognition site in factor H is perturbed by age-related macular degeneration-linked single nucleotide polymorphism.

A common single nucleotide polymorphism in the factor H gene predisposes to age-related macular degeneration. Factor H blocks the alternative pathway of complement on self-surfaces bearing specific polyanions, including the glycosaminoglycan chains of proteoglycans. Factor H also binds C-reactive protein, potentially contributing to noninflammatory apoptotic processes.

The influence of gestation and mechanical ventilation on serum clara cell secretory protein (CC10) concentrations in ventilated and nonventilated newborn infants.

Clara cell secretory protein (CC10) is an important anti-inflammatory mediator in the adult lung, but its role in newborn pulmonary protection is uncertain. We examined the early postnatal behavior of CC10 in newborn serum and tracheal fluid and hypothesized that CC10 production is positively influenced by gestation. Blood from 165 infants from the first, third/fourth, and seventh days of life (gestational ages: 23-29 wk, 30-36 wk, >36 wk) and tracheal fluid (TF) from the first day of life from 32 ventilated infants were analyzed for CC10.

A two-step species-specific 16S rRNA PCR assay for the detection of Taylorella equigenitalis in horses.

: A two-step PCR assay was developed for the molecular detection of Taylorella equigenitalis, a Gram-negative genital bacterial pathogen in horses. Two specific oligonucleotide primers (TE16SrRNABCHf [25mer] and TE16SrRNABCHr [29mer]) were designed from multiple alignments of the 16S rRNA gene loci of several closely related taxa, including T. asinigenitalis.