Retrospective evaluation of factors affecting successful fit testing of respiratory protective equipment during the early phase of COVID-19.

Objectives: Respiratory protective equipment is critical to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19 infection, which includes filtering facepiece respirators (FFP3). There are reports of fitting issues within healthcare workers, although the factors affecting fitting outcomes are largely unknown. This study aimed to evaluate factors affecting respirator fitting outcomes.

Does registered nurse involvement in improving healthcare services, influence registered nurse retention?

Background: Registered nurses are 'critical' to population health, international responses to emergencies, epidemics and disasters. Retention of registered nurses (RNs) is an international nursing priority. In England, RNs are encouraged to be involved in improving healthcare services.

Transition of Care from Pediatric to Adult Care in Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Insights From a Patient Perspective Survey.

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic immune-mediated disease. Patients with a childhood diagnosis require ongoing disease management in adulthood; however, knowledge of the patient experience during pediatric to adult healthcare transition is lacking. Here, an online survey captured patient perceptions of the challenges faced by patients with EoE in the United States during transition to adult healthcare, and which resources, if implemented, could better support transition.

Routine use of the Bath Adolescent Pain Questionnaire in a paediatric pain clinic.

Introduction: Assessment of outcomes from health interventions are of increasing importance, primarily to identify effective and safe treatment, but also to justify funding decisions. The Bath Adolescent Pain Questionnaire (BAPQ) is a self-report questionnaire, validated in 11-18 year olds, assessing the impact of pain in multiple domains of adolescent life. The similarly validated Bath Adolescent Pain Questionnaire for Parents (BAPQ-P) uses the same domains as the BAPQ, assessing the functioning and development of the adolescent from the parents' perspective.

DebriefLive: A Pilot Study of a Virtual Faculty Development Tool for Debriefing.

Introduction: The quality of healthcare simulation learning relies heavily on effective debriefers. Traditional methods of faculty development in debriefing lack a structured approach to achieve expertise via graduated and reflective practice.

Methods: The Simulation Learning, Education and Research Network (SimLEARN) developed DebriefLive, a virtual teaching environment, bringing together faculty and participant debriefers from across the Veterans Health Administration.

Nurses+QI=better hospital performance? A critical review of the literature.

NHS regulators, such as NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission, promote staff involvement in quality improvement (QI), while national nursing leaders and the Nursing and Midwifery Council advocate nurses' involvement in improving services. This article critically explores the evidence base for a national nursing strategy to involve nurses in QI using a literature review. A thematic analysis shows that nurse involvement in QI has several positive outcomes, which are also included in the NHS Improvement's Single Oversight Framework for NHS Providers.

The Effect of Extensive Human Presence at an Early Age on Stress Responses and Reactivity of Juvenile Ostriches towards Humans.

The effect of extensive human presence and regular gentle handling performed at an early age (0⁻3 months old) on stress responses and reactivity of juvenile ostriches towards humans was investigated. A total of 416 ostrich chicks over two years were exposed to one of three treatments for three months after hatching; namely, Human Presence 1 (HP1, = 144): extensive/prolonged human presence with physical contact (touch, stroking), gentle human voice, and visual stimuli; Human Presence 2 (HP2, = 136): extensive/prolonged human presence without physical contact, but with gentle human voice and visual stimuli; and the Standard treatment (S, = 136): human presence limited to routine feed and water supply as a control. At 7.

A Systematic Review of Criteria-Led Patient Discharge.

Background: This article reports on a systematic review conducted to critique safety, quality, length of stay, and implementation factors regarding criteria-led discharge.

Purpose: Improving patient flow and timely bed capacity is a global issue. Criteria-led discharge enables accelerated patient discharge in accordance with patient selection.

Dose-response effects of light at night on the reproductive physiology of great tits (Parus major): Integrating morphological analyses with candidate gene expression.

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is increasingly recognized as a potential threat to wildlife and ecosystem health. Among the ecological effects of ALAN, changes in reproductive timing are frequently reported, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship are still poorly understood. Here, we experimentally investigated these mechanisms by assessing dose-dependent photoperiodic responses to ALAN in the great tit (Parus major).

Diet and Stress in Pediatric Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

Clinical experiences and recent studies suggest that eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) has the potential to induce caregiver (CG) and child stress. The specific sources of CG EoE-related stress remain uncertain. To address this, we performed a survey of CGs and youth attending a patient with EoE education symposium that measured potential stressful elements in their daily life.

Prenatal programming of neuroendocrine reproductive function.

It is now well recognized that the gestational environment can have long-lasting effects not only on the life span and health span of an individual but also, through potential epigenetic changes, on future generations. This article reviews the "prenatal programming" of the neuroendocrine systems that regulate reproduction, with a specific focus on the lessons learned using ovine models. The review examines the critical roles played by steroids in normal reproductive development before considering the effects of prenatal exposure to exogenous steroid hormones including androgens and estrogens, the effects of maternal nutrition and stress during gestation, and the effects of exogenous chemicals such as alcohol and environment chemicals.

Reflection, return to practice and revalidation.

This article explores the use of reflection and critical thinking during a return-to-practice programme, demonstrating both concepts and their value in developing insight. The aim of the article is to provide insight into a learner's reflection about nursing older people and encourage nurses to reflect and think critically about their own practice, which is a requirement of forthcoming revalidation. Lessons learned as a result of reflection must be demonstrated in order for registered nurses to revalidate.

Children's Food Allergies: Development of the Food Allergy Management and Adaptation Scale.

Objective: Develop a measure that evaluates effective pediatric food allergy (FA) management, child and parent FA anxiety, and integration of FA into family life.

Methods: A semistructured family interview was developed to evaluate FA management using a pilot sample (n = 27). Rating scales evaluated eight dimensions of FA management (FAMComposite), child anxiety, parent anxiety, and overall balanced integration (BI).

Disorders of follicle development and steroidogenesis in ovaries of androgenised foetal sheep.

The prenatally androgenised (PA) sheep is a well-recognised model for the study of developmental programming of adult polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Most of the studies to date have involved examination of the reproductive and metabolic effects in the offspring after puberty, but more recently, it has been reported that there is disruption of follicle formation and steroid gene expression in ovaries of foetal sheep after exposure of the mother to excess androgen. Our study examines evidence for precocious primordial follicle formation at day 90 of gestation in ovaries of foetal Poll Dorset sheep.

Sexing in guinea fowls (Numida meleagris).

Despite the potentials and contributions of guinea fowls to economic and social life in Ghana, accurate sex identification in these birds is still a major problem. Three hundred and sixty guinea fowls (180 birds per sex) were used in determining a more accurate and farmer friendly sexing technique. The sexing methods explored were vent, biometric, and molecular techniques.

Effects of inhibition of gonadotropin releasing hormone secretion on the response to novel objects in young male and female sheep.

This study investigated the actions of blocking the GnRH receptor using a specific agonist on the response of male and female sheep to a novel object placed in their pen. The study is part of a series performed on 46 same sex twin animals. One of the pair received a subcutaneous implant of the GnRH agonist Goserelin acetate every four weeks while the other remained untreated.

Peri-pubertal gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist treatment affects sex biased gene expression of amygdala in sheep.

The nature of hormonal involvement in pubertal brain development has attracted wide interest. Structural changes within the brain that occur during pubertal development appear mainly in regions closely linked with emotion, motivation and cognitive functions. Using a sheep model, we have previously shown that peri-pubertal pharmacological blockade of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) receptors, results in exaggerated sex-differences in cognitive executive function and emotional control, as well as sex and hemisphere specific patterns of expression of hippocampal genes associated with synaptic plasticity and endocrine signaling.

Developmental post-natal stress can alter the effects of pre-natal stress on the adult redox balance.

Across diverse vertebrate taxa, stressful environmental conditions during development can shape phenotypic trajectories of developing individuals, which, while adaptive in the short-term, may impair health and survival in adulthood. Regardless, the long-lasting benefits or costs of early life stress are likely to depend on the conditions experienced across differing stages of development. Here, we used the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) to experimentally manipulate exposure to stress hormones in developing individuals.

Symptom occurrence and severity on the therapy-related symptom checklist for children among Hispanic pediatric oncology outpatients.

Background: A calibrated easy-to-use symptom checklist for children who are under treatment for cancer had been developed and reported in Cancer Nursing. The 30-item Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist for Children (TRSC-C) has good measurement and psychometric properties and uses "kid-friendly" terms to monitor symptom occurrence and severity during oncology treatment. A secondary analysis is reported using participants who self-identified as Hispanic.

RCN should resist temptation to quit international nursing body.

The RCN is on the cusp of a decision that could have profound effects on nursing worldwide. RCN council faces a momentous choice about whether and when to exercise its new power to withdraw the college from membership of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) (letters April 10, analysis and letters April 17, news and letters May 1).

Effects of peripubertal gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist on brain development in sheep--a magnetic resonance imaging study.

In many species sexual dimorphisms in brain structures and functions have been documented. In ovine model, we have previously demonstrated that peri-pubertal pharmacological blockade of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) action increased sex-differences of executive emotional behavior. The structural substrate of this behavioral alteration however is unknown.

Sex-specific development of spatial orientation is independent of peripubertal gonadal steroids.

Prenatal exposure to androgens has been shown to modulate brain development, resulting in changed behavioral attitudes, sexual orientation and cognitive functions, including processing of spatial information. Whether later changes in gonadotropic hormones during puberty induce further organizational effects within the brain is still insufficiently understood. The purpose of this study was to assess development of spatial orientation before and after the time of normal pubertal development, in an ovine model where half of the animals did not undergo typical reproductive maturation due to the pharmacological blockade of gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor (GnRHR) signaling.

Conference report: host cell protein workshop at the 2012 annual bioassay meeting of the biopharmaceutical emerging best practices association.

At its 2012 Annual Bioassay Meeting, the Biopharmaceutical Emerging Best Practices Association held a 1-day workshop on host cell protein assays, which reflected the recent increase in activity and interest in this field. The workshop included 13 oral presentations and five posters and was attended by 70 delegates. It provided the opportunity for experts and newcomers to the field to discuss the particular challenges presented by these assays, addressing both technical issues and the theoretical considerations for future strategies.