The Efficacy of Liposomal Bupivacaine in Regional Nerve Blocks for Below Knee Amputations.

Postamputation pain is highly prevalent. Opioids are often utilized postoperatively; however, they have significant side effects. Liposomal bupivacaine (LB) was introduced to extend nerve blocks from hours into days.

Public health preparedness and response competency model methodology.

Objective: The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act calls for establishing a competency-based training program to train public health practitioners. To inform such training, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Schools of Public Health managed groups of experts to produce a competency model which could function as a national standard of behaviorally based, observable skills for the public health workforce to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from all hazards.

Design: A systematic review of existing competency models generated a competency model of proposed domains and competencies.

First assessment of pollutant exposure in two balaenopterid whale populations sampled in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway.

Pollutant concentrations are poorly known for the largest animals on Earth, blue whales Balaenoptera musculus and fin whales Balaenoptera physalus. In this study, concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were determined in blubber biopsies and stable isotope values for nitrogen (δN) and carbon (δC) were measured using skin biopsies for 18 blue whales and 12 fin whales sampled in waters surrounding the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway. The samples were collected in summer during the period 2014-2018.

Safety of one-stage conversion surgery after failed gastric band: our experience and review of the literature.

The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (AGB) has fallen out of favor due to poor long-term weight loss and frequent complications. Many patients stand to benefit from elective conversion of AGB to more durable procedures such as sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Whether it is safer to perform this conversion in one or two stages, however, remains controversial.

Anticipation, teamwork and cognitive load: chasing efficiency during robot-assisted surgery.

Introduction: Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) has changed the traditional operating room (OR), occupying more space with equipment and isolating console surgeons away from the patients and their team. We aimed to evaluate how anticipation of surgical steps and familiarity between team members impacted efficiency.

Methods: We analysed recordings (video and audio) of 12 robot-assisted radical prostatectomies.

Laparoscopic versus open pyloromyotomy in infants: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: To determine whether open or laparoscopic pyloromyotomy is superior for the treatment of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis in infants.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL for articles comparing laparoscopic and open procedures. We conducted meta-analyses when possible and described other results narratively.

Negligible Impact of Ingested Microplastics on Tissue Concentrations of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Northern Fulmars off Coastal Norway.

The northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) is defined as an indicator species of plastic pollution by the Oslo-Paris Convention for the North-East Atlantic, but few data exist for fulmars from Norway. Moreover, the relationship between uptake of plastic and pollutants in seabirds is poorly understood. We analyzed samples of fulmars from Norwegian waters and compared the POP concentrations in their liver and muscle tissue with the corresponding concentrations in the loads of ingested plastic in their stomachs, grouped as "no", "medium" (0.

Current status, between-year comparisons and maternal transfer of organohalogenated compounds (OHCs) in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from Bjørnøya, Svalbard (Norway).

High levels of organohalogenated compounds (OHCs) have been found in Arctic char from Lake Ellasjøen at Bjørnøya (Svalbard, Norway) compared to char from other arctic lakes. The first aim of the study was to investigate the OHC status, contaminant profile, and partitioning of OHCs between muscle and ovary tissue in spawning female char from the high-polluted Lake Ellasjøen and the low-polluted Lake Laksvatn. The second aim was to investigate if OHC levels in muscle tissue have changed over time.

Improving global health education: development of a Global Health Competency Model.

Although global health is a recommended content area for the future of education in public health, no standardized global health competency model existed for master-level public health students. Without such a competency model, academic institutions are challenged to ensure that students are able to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) needed for successful performance in today's global health workforce. The Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) sought to address this need by facilitating the development of a global health competency model through a multistage modified-Delphi process.

Public health preparedness and response competency model methodology.

Objective: The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act calls for establishing a competency-based training program to train public health practitioners. To inform such training, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Schools of Public Health managed groups of experts to produce a competency model which could function as a national standard of behaviorally based, observable skills for the public health workforce to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from all hazards.

Design: A systematic review of existing competency models generated a competency model of proposed domains and competencies.

Implications of preparedness and response core competencies for public health.

Public health care practitioners and organizations are a part of community readiness for, response to, and recovery from emergencies and disasters of all kinds. Although response to health threats, particularly communicable disease outbreaks, have long been a part of public health practice, 2 advancements in preparedness, including the integration of public health into the broader community emergency response system and the clarification of exactly what knowledge, skills, and attitudes a public health professional brings to the response, have been made since 2001. This article presents the newly affirmed core competencies to be attained and maintained by the majority of the public health workforce and discusses some of the many ways in which these competencies influence practice, research, and education.

Building and sustaining a multiuniversity and multicampus program or school of public health.

Drawing from New Jersey's successful efforts and from other less successful efforts, we offer lessons learned for those who will consider a multiuniversity and multi-campus program or school of public health. These lessons include building a faculty collaboration, senior administrative support, and external constituencies and developing a set of documents that institutionalize processes, logistics, and other operations. In our experience, building and sustaining faculty support is the greatest challenge, followed by protecting existing resources and securing additional resources when administrators in the host universities change.

Nuclease-resistant single-stranded DNA controls for nucleic acid amplification assays.

Molecular diagnostic tests based on the PCR or alternative nucleic acid amplification technologies are commonly used for pathogen screening at blood drawing centers. Contrived process surveillance using test-specific external and internal controls is critical for the efficient leverage of PCR power. We describe here novel control constructs for use in nucleic acid amplification assays for pathogens with a single-stranded DNA genome, e.

Determination of the enantiomer fraction of PBB 149 by gas chromatography/electron capture negative ionization tandem mass spectrometry in the selected reaction monitoring mode.

Enantioselective determination of the atropisomers of 2,2',3,4',5',6-hexabromobiphenyl (PBB 149) in a purified sample from a bird egg was attempted in this work. By application of the classic method for PBB determination, i.e.

Analytical strategies for successful enantioselective separation of atropisomeric polybrominated biphenyls 132 and 149 in environmental samples.

Some of the polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) found in the environment are axially chiral, due to hindered rotation about the interannular phenyl-phenyl bond. This applies for PBB congeners having two or more bromine substituents in ortho-position to this bond. In this study analytical methods were developed that allow determining the enantiomer fraction (EF) of axially chiral (atropisomeric) PBBs in environmental samples.

Chromatographic enrichment and enantiomer separation of axially chiral polybrominated biphenyls in a technical mixture.

The separation properties of different chromatographic methods regarding the enantioselective separation of axially chiral (atropisomeric) polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) were studied. For this purpose, the technical hexabromobiphenyl product Firemaster BP-6 was characterised by gas-chromatography coupled to electron capture detection (GC/ECD) and electron-capture negative ion mass spectrometry (GC/ECNI-MS) as well as by liquid chromatographic fractionating on active carbon and celite. Twelve individual PBBs including potential atropisomeric PBBs were isolated from Firemaster BP-6 by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on three serially coupled octadecylsilane columns.

The influence of trainee characteristics on the effectiveness of health and safety training for hazardous waste site operations work.

A 10-year retrospective analysis was done using training records for 869 trainees who had attended a 40-hour course for hazardous waste site work. The course is intended for professional site workers, but had been attended by a demographically diverse audience. Analysis of test, demographic, and course data revealed some spurious effects but also indicated that trainees were not disadvantaged in their learning gains based on their own background or that of the class overall.

Worker health and safety training: assessing impact among responders.

A mail survey was conducted among emergency responders who received training at the New Jersey/New York Hazardous Materials Worker Training Center. Responses indicate that technical topics are extremely important (i.e.

Health behaviors and health promotion/disease prevention perceptions of medical students.

Health promotion and disease prevention must be addressed in medical education, and the assessment of future physicians' health preventive perceptions and behaviors is a critical step in the process. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 512 medical students enrolled during the 1992-1993 academic year. Outcome measures were self-reported health behaviors and ratings of the importance of prevention.

Medical surveillance practices of blue collar and white collar hazardous waste workers.

Given the occupational risks of hazardous waste workers, this study was conducted to explore possible differences in medical surveillance practices among blue and white collar workers. Demographic and medical surveillance data were collected from 636 white collar and 206 blue collar trainees, enrolled in health and safety training courses. Overall, 4.

Strategies for evaluating the effectiveness of training programs.

This chapter has provided examples of practical and theoretical considerations that should be made when developing evaluation activities concomitant to training. Evaluation choices have been described based on considerations and experiences from others in the training field, sound rationale for program and policy research, and realistic constraints and demands of training. The discussion has presented some of the basic technical issues associated with the collection and analysis of trainee, program, and test data.

Patient, professional, and public education on behavioral aspects of asthma: a review of strategies for change and needed research.

Combating increases in asthma morbidity and mortality necessitates an understanding of social and behavioral aspects of the disease. Education for patients, professionals, and the public based on the most current scientific information is required. This paper reviews the existing research on patient education and management of asthma.