Objective: To ensure quality-assured care for patients, validation of a cleaning process for blister machines is essential. Due to the high operating costs of maintaining high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) which is mainly used for this type of analysis, a new, quick and cost-effective analysis method using UV-Vis spectroscopy has been developed.
Method: Marker substances (metamizole (dipyrone) and paracetamol tablets) were packed in blisters.
Purpose: The shortage of nursing staff as well as the slow progress in the German health care system's digitalisation has gained much attention due to COVID-19. Patient-specific medication management using the unit-dose dispensing system (UDDS) has the potential for a lasting and positive influence on both digitalisation and the relief of nursing staff.
Methods: Nursing staff UDDS-acceptance was determined via a validated online survey.
Purpose: Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are used internationally since the 1980s. These systems reduce costs, enhance drug therapy safety, and improve quality of care. A few years ago, there was a growing effort to digitize the healthcare sector in Germany.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is evidence that low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is modified by hydrolytic enzymes, and that the product (E-LDL) induces selective production of interleukin 8 (IL-8) in endothelial cells. Since nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) is a major regulator of IL-8 transcription, we studied its activation in endothelial cells treated with E-LDL. Unexpectedly, the modified lipoprotein not only failed to activate NF-kappaB, but completely blocked its activation by tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in EA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Modification with proteases and cholesterylesterase transforms LDL to a moiety that resembles lipoproteins isolated from atherosclerotic lesions and possesses atherogenic properties. To identify changes in monocyte-derived foam cells laden with enzymatically modified LDL (E-LDL), we compared patterns of the most abundant transcripts in these cells after incubation with LDL or E-LDL.
Methods And Results: Serial analyses of gene expression (SAGE) libraries were constructed from human monocytes after treatment with LDL or E-LDL.
Background: Treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) with a protease and cholesterolesterase transforms the lipoprotein to an entity that resembles lipoprotein particles in atherosclerotic lesions, which have a high content of free cholesterol, reflecting extensive de-esterification in the intima. Because de-esterification would occur beneath the endothelium, we examined the effects of enzymatically modified LDL (E-LDL) on cultured endothelial cells.
Methods And Results: Incubation of endothelial cells with E-LDL provoked selective accumulation of interleukin (IL)-8 mRNA and production of the cytokine.
Streptolysin O (SLO), archetype of a cholesterol-binding bacterial cytolysin, forms large pores in the plasma membrane of mammalian cells. We have recently reported that when a limited number of pores are generated in a cell, they can be sealed in a Ca++-dependent process. Here, we show that resealing is followed by the release of IL-6 and IL-8 from keratinocytes and from endothelial cells, both relevant targets for SLO attack.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF