Assessment and management of snake bites in the emergency department.

Snake bites are a relatively rare presentation to emergency departments in the Western world. In the UK, there were 510 cases of snake bites between 2004 and 2010. However, it is important that nurses are aware of how to assess and manage these presentations and understand the importance of ascertaining information on factors such as the type of snake involved and how long the snake was biting the patient for.

Cost-effectiveness development for the postoperative care of craniotomy patients: a safe transitions pathway in neurological surgery.

OBJECTIVE The authors' institution is in the top 5th percentile for hospital cost in the nation, and the neurointensive care unit (NICU) is one of the costliest units. The NICU is more expensive than other units because of lower staff/patient ratio and because of the equipment necessary to monitor patient care. The cost differential between the NICU and Neuro transitional care unit (NTCU) is $1504 per day.

Synthesis and catalytic activity of poly-L-histidyl-L-aspartyl-L-seryl-glycine.

Poly(His-Asp-Ser-Gly) was synthesized from the fully protected tetrapeptide active ester hydrochloride, which was prepared by stepwise coupling, using pentachlorophenyl ester and mixed anhydride methods. Complete deprotection of the protected tetrapeptide polymer was achieved by using 90% trifluoroacetic acid. The free polymer was dialyzed for 24 hr using a membrane (which retains molecules with molecular weights greater than 5000).