Evaluating implementation of a community-focused patient navigation intervention at an NCI-designated cancer center using RE-AIM.

Background: Patient navigation is an evidence-based intervention that reduces cancer health disparities by directly addressing the barriers to care for underserved patients with cancer. Variability in design and integration of patient navigation programs within cancer care settings has limited this intervention's utility. The implementation science evaluation framework, RE-AIM, allows quantitative and qualitative examination of effective implementation of patient navigation programs into cancer care settings.

A transient flow reactor for rapid gas switching at atmospheric pressure.

Herein, we present a design for a transient flow reactor system with high detection sensitivity and minimal dead volume, such that it is capable of sub-second switching of the gas stream flowing through a catalytic bed. We demonstrate the reactor's capabilities for step transient, pulse, and stream oscillation experiments using the model system of CO oxidation over Pd catalysts, and we find that we are able to precisely model step transients for CO oxidation using a pseudo-homogenous-packed bed reactor model. The design principles leading to minimal gas hold-up time and increased sensitivity that are described in this paper can be implemented into existing flow reactor designs with minimal cost, providing a readily accessible alternative to the existing transient instrumentation.

The prevalence of bacterial infections during cyclosporine therapy in dogs: A critically appraised topic.

Cyclosporine is used to treat immune-mediated and allergic conditions and to prevent transplant rejection. To determine the prevalence of bacterial infections during cyclosporine therapy in dogs, 2 databases were searched and 14 articles reporting usable data were identified. In 828 dogs with atopic dermatitis receiving anti-allergic dosages of cyclosporine, the prevalence of bacterial infections was 11%; these occurred most often in the integument and urinary systems and not in multiple systems.

Rapid response of hyperkeratotic erythema multiforme to oclacitinib in two dogs.

Background: Hyperkeratotic erythema multiforme (HKEM) is a clinically distinct dermatosis and poorly characterized syndrome, comprised of hyperkeratotic plaques with variable symmetry and apoptosis similar to "classic" erosive canine EM. Hyperkeratotic EM has a protracted clinical course and, although treatments with glucocorticoids, azathioprine and/or ciclosporin have been tried, rates of remission are low.

Objectives: To describe successful treatment of HKEM in two dogs using oclacitinib.

Development and validation of a graphic 2D investigator's global assessment instrument for grading the overall severity of atopic dermatitis in dogs.

Background: Clinical trials enrolling dogs with atopic dermatitis (AD) use validated instruments that aggregate the extent and severity of selected skin lesions; none of these provides a global assessment of the severity of all lesions.

Objectives: To validate an Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) instrument to globally evaluate the severity of skin lesions in dogs with AD.

Animals: Forty dogs with AD.

Surface Reaction Barriometry: Methane Dissociation on Flat and Stepped Transition-Metal Surfaces.

Accurately simulating heterogeneously catalyzed reactions requires reliable barriers for molecules reacting at defects on metal surfaces, such as steps. However, first-principles methods capable of computing these barriers to chemical accuracy have yet to be demonstrated. We show that state-resolved molecular beam experiments combined with ab initio molecular dynamics using specific reaction parameter density functional theory (SRP-DFT) can determine the molecule-metal surface interaction with the required reliability.

Development and application of a quantitative PCR assay to study equine herpesvirus 5 invasion and replication in equine tissues in vitro and in vivo.

Equine herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) infection is associated with pulmonary fibrosis in horses, but further studies on EHV-5 persistence in equine cells are needed to fully understand viral and host contributions to disease pathogenesis. Our aim was to develop a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay to measure EHV-5 viral copy number in equine cell cultures, blood lymphocytes, and nasal swabs of horses. Furthermore, we used a recently developed equine primary respiratory cell culture system to study EHV-5 pathogenesis at the respiratory tract.

Chemically Accurate Simulation of a Polyatomic Molecule-Metal Surface Reaction.

Although important to heterogeneous catalysis, the ability to accurately model reactions of polyatomic molecules with metal surfaces has not kept pace with developments in gas phase dynamics. Partnering the specific reaction parameter (SRP) approach to density functional theory with ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) extends our ability to model reactions with metals with quantitative accuracy from only the lightest reactant, H2, to essentially all molecules. This is demonstrated with AIMD calculations on CHD3 + Ni(111) in which the SRP functional is fitted to supersonic beam experiments, and validated by showing that AIMD with the resulting functional reproduces initial-state selected sticking measurements with chemical accuracy (4.

Inadequate Source Control and Inappropriate Antibiotics are Key Determinants of Mortality in Patients with Intra-Abdominal Sepsis and Associated Bacteremia.

Background: Patients with intra-abdominal sepsis and associated bacteremia have a high mortality rate. However, outcomes studies in this population are limited, in part because of the small numbers of such patients. The objective of this study was to describe characteristics of critically ill patients with secondary blood stream infection (BSI) of intra-abdominal origin and identify predictors of mortality.

Promoting community preparedness: lessons learned from the implementation of a chemical disaster tabletop exercise.

Health educators are frequently called on to facilitate community preparedness planning. One planning tool is community-wide tabletop exercises. Tabletop exercises can improve the preparedness of public health system agencies to address disaster by bringing together individuals representing organizations with different roles and perspectives in specific disasters.