A national qualitative study of surgical coaching: Opportunities and barriers for colorectal surgeons.

Background: Surgical coaching interventions have been recommended as a method of technological skills improvement for individual surgeons and lifelong occupational learning. Patient outcomes for laparoscopic colectomy vary significantly based on surgeon experience and case volume. As surgical coaching is an emerging area, little is known about how surgeons view coaching interventions.

Patient Experience with Congenital (Hereditary) Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura: A Conceptual Framework of Symptoms and Impacts.

Background And Objective: Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is a rare, life-threatening disorder characterized by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia, with variable clinical manifestations (e.g., central nervous system, renal, gastrointestinal, and cardiac effects).

Impact of Video Aid on Quality of Bowel Preparation Among Patients Undergoing Outpatient Screening Colonoscopy.

Aim: To investigate the effect of video aid on quality of bowel preparation.

Study: A retrospective study was done on patients undergoing outpatient screening colonoscopy. All subjects received educational video prior to colonoscopy in addition to the standard counseling.

MHC diversity and female age underpin reproductive success in an Australian icon; the Tasmanian Devil.

Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), a highly contagious cancer, has decimated Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) numbers in the wild. To ensure its long-term survival, a captive breeding program was implemented but has not been as successful as envisaged at its launch in 2005. We therefore investigated the reproductive success of 65 captive devil pair combinations, of which 35 produced offspring (successful pairs) whereas the remaining 30 pairs, despite being observed mating, produced no offspring (unsuccessful pairs).

Recombinant ADAMTS-13: first-in-human pharmacokinetics and safety in congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of recombinant ADAMTS-13 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13; BAX 930; SHP655) were investigated in 15 patients diagnosed with severe congenital ADAMTS-13 deficiency (plasma ADAMTS-13 activity <6%) in a prospective phase 1, first-in-human, multicenter dose escalation study. BAX 930 was well tolerated, no serious adverse events occurred, and no anti-ADAMTS-13 antibodies were observed. After single-dose administration of BAX 930 at 5, 20, or 40 U/kg body weight to adolescents and adults, there was approximate dose proportionality with respect to maximum plasma concentration (C [U/mL]) and area under the concentration-time curve (AUC [h∙U/mL]).

Species management benchmarking: outcomes over outputs in a changing operating environment.

Species management has been utilized by the zoo and aquarium industry, since the mid-1990s, to ensure the ongoing genetic and demographic viability of populations, which can be difficult to maintain in the ever-changing operating environments of zoos. In 2009, the Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia reviewed their species management services, focusing on addressing issues that had arisen as a result of the managed programs maturing and operating environments evolving. In summary, the project examined resourcing, policies, processes, and species to be managed.

Syk and Slp-76 mutant mice reveal a cell-autonomous hematopoietic cell contribution to vascular development.

Developmental studies support a common origin for blood and endothelial cells, while studies of adult angiogenic responses suggest that the hematopoietic system can be a source of endothelial cells later in life. Whether hematopoietic tissue is a source of endothelial cells during normal vascular development is unknown. Mouse embryos lacking the signaling proteins Syk and Slp-76 develop abnormal blood-lymphatic endothelial connections.

Density of platelet collagen receptors glycoprotein VI and alpha2beta1 and prior myocardial infarction in human subjects, a pilot study.

Background: Prior studies evaluating whether platelet collagen receptors affect risk of myocardial infarction (MI) have used common polymorphisms thought to affect receptor density, and have yielded conflicting results. Our objective in the current pilot study was to obtain preliminary information on the relationship between platelet collagen receptor density and prior MI.

Material/methods: We measured glycoprotein VI (GPVI) and integrin alpha2beta1 density by flow cytometry using FITC-conjugated monoclonal antibodies in consecutive subjects from an outpatient cardiology practice.

The endothelial cell-specific antibody PAL-E identifies a secreted form of vimentin in the blood vasculature.

During mammalian vascular development, endothelial cells form a complex array of vessels that differ markedly in structure and function, but the molecular basis for this vascular complexity is poorly understood. Recent insights into endothelial diversity have come from the identification of molecular markers expressed on distinct endothelial cell populations. One such marker, the PAL-E antibody, has been used for almost 20 years to distinguish blood and lymphatic vessels, but the identity of the protein recognized by PAL-E has been unknown.

Volatile compounds associated with microbial growth on normal and high pH beef stored at chill temperatures.

Volatile compounds produced by Pseudomonas fragi and mixed, natural floras on beef of normal pH (5.5-5.8; glucose greater than 1500 micrograms/g) and high pH (6.

Amines in fresh beef of normal pH and the role of bacteria in changes in concentration observed during storage in vacuum packs at chill temperatures.

The amine content of fresh and vacuum-packaged beef of normal pH stored at 1 degree C was evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography of dansyl derivatives. Fresh samples contained five amines, viz. putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, spermine and spermidine.

Volatile compounds produced by meat pseudomonads and relate reference strains during growth on beef stored in air at chill temperatures.

Volatile compounds produced by 31 strains of pseudomonads and by reference strains of Pseudomonas fragi and Ps. fluorescens biotype 1 during growth on beef stored at 6 degrees C in air were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of headspace gases. Compounds of major sensory significance were ethyl and methyl esters of C2-C8 fatty acids and sulphur-containing compounds which included methane- and isopropanethiols and their related sulphides and thioesters but not hydrogen sulphide.

The cholescintigraphic pattern of small bowel obstruction.

An elderly patient presenting with acute abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting underwent a hepatobiliary scan. This demonstrated normal filling of the gallbladder but dilatation of the small bowel, which was found to correspond radiographically to partial small bowel obstruction.

Bacterial sources of putrescine and cadaverine in chill stored vacuum-packaged beef.

Of the meat strains of streptobacteria, leuconostocs, Enterobacteriaceae and Brochothrix thermosphacta tested, only Hafnia alvei and Serratia liquefaciens showed diamine-producing potential during growth in pure culture on beef stored in vacuum packs at 1 degree C. Both organisms produced cadaverine at concentrations similar to those reported previously in naturally contaminated beef stored under the same conditions. Putrescine concentrations produced by the two organisms, however, were an order of magnitude lower.

Time course of volatile compound formation during refrigerated storage of naturally contaminated beef in air.

The microbial flora of naturally contaminated beef stored in air was similar to that frequently recorded for meat stored under gas permeable films. Compounds produced as a result of microbial growth were acetoin, diacetyl, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, ethyl esters of acetic, propionic, butyric, isovaleric and hexanoic acids, methane thiol, dimethylsulphide, dimethyl disulphide, 1-undecene and 1,4-undecadiene. The first four compounds, which are known end-products of Brochothrix thermosphacta metabolism, were consistently detected at earlier stages of storage than the others, all of which have been shown to be produced by Pseudomonas spp.

Putrescine and cadaverine formation in vacuum packed beef.

Bacterial numbers, putrescine and cadaverine concentrations and pH were measured at regular intervals during the chill storage of vacuum packed beef. Odours on opening the packs were also assessed. Cadaverine concentration increased more rapidly than that of putrescine and measurable increases were evident before maximum bacterial numbers were attained and before any permanent off-odours were detected.

Volatile compounds associated with the aerobic growth of some Pseudomonas species on beef.

Five strains representing four clusters of meat spoilage pseudomonads were grown on sterile beef at 5 degrees C. After 7 days incubation sensory assessments were made and the chemical composition of the headspace gases determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. There was good correlation between odour descriptions and chemical data for three of the strains.