CONNECT Workshops to Enhance Physician and Patient Experience: Interviews Reveal the Physician Perspective.

Introduction: Physicians' relationships with patients are a critical determinant of job satisfaction, and patients who experience compassionate care have better outcomes. The CONNECT workshop at Seattle Children's teaches communication strategies to optimize both patient and physician experience. This article describes participants' experiences during the workshops and the impact on their subsequent behaviors and satisfaction.

Using Practice Facilitation to Increase Rates of Colorectal Cancer Screening in Community Health Centers, North Carolina, 2012-2013: Feasibility, Facilitators, and Barriers.

Introduction: Practice facilitation involves trained individuals working with practice staff to conduct quality improvement activities and support delivery of evidence-based clinical services. We examined the feasibility of using practice facilitation to assist federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to increase colorectal cancer screening rates in North Carolina.

Methods: The intervention consisted of 12 months of facilitation in 3 FQHCs.

Researcher readiness for participating in community-engaged dissemination and implementation research: a conceptual framework of core competencies.

Participating in community-engaged dissemination and implementation (CEDI) research is challenging for a variety of reasons. Currently, there is not specific guidance or a tool available for researchers to assess their readiness to conduct CEDI research. We propose a conceptual framework that identifies detailed competencies for researchers participating in CEDI and maps these competencies to domains.

Patient adoption of an internet based diabetes medication tool to improve adherence: A pilot study.

Objective: To investigate the effect of a video intervention, Managing Your Diabetes Medicines, on patient self-efficacy, problems with using medication, and medication adherence in a rural, mostly African American population.

Methods: Patients selected their problem areas in medication use and watched one of nine 2-min videos with a research assistant at a clinic or pharmacy and were given an access code to watch all the videos at their convenience. Outcomes were measured at baseline and 3-month follow-up.

Effectiveness of percutaneous flexor tenotomies for the management and prevention of recurrence of diabetic toe ulcers: a systematic review.

Background: Diabetic toe ulcers are a potentially devastating complication of diabetes. In recent years, the percutaneous flexor tenotomy procedure for the correction of flexible claw and hammer-toe contraction deformities has been proposed as a safe and effective technique for facilitating the healing of toe-deformity related diabetic ulcers. The aim of this review is to critically appraise the evidence for the effectiveness of this surgical procedure in achieving ulcer healing, prevention of re-ulceration, and to summarise the rate of post-operative complications.

Development of a new diabetes medication self-efficacy scale and its association with both reported problems in using diabetes medications and self-reported adherence.

Background: Although there are several different general diabetes self-efficacy scales, there is a need to develop a self-efficacy scale that providers can use to assess patient's self-efficacy regarding medication use. The purpose of this study was to: 1) develop a new diabetes medication self-efficacy scale and 2) examine how diabetes medication self-efficacy is associated with patient-reported problems in using diabetes medications and self-reported adherence.

Patients And Methods: Adult English-speaking patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited from a family medicine clinic and a pharmacy in Eastern North Carolina, USA.

Bridging Research, Practice, and Policy: The "Evidence Academy" Conference Model.

Innovative models to facilitate more rapid uptake of research findings into practice are urgently needed. Community members who engage in research can accelerate this process by acting as adoption agents. We implemented an Evidence Academy conference model bringing together researchers, health care professionals, advocates, and policy makers across North Carolina to discuss high-impact, life-saving study results.

Receptors for thyroid-stimulating hormone and thyroid hormones in human ovarian tissue.

Dysfunction in thyroid regulation can cause menstrual and ovulatory disturbances, the mechanism of which is not clear. The distribution and activity of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSHR), and the thyroid hormone receptors (TR) alpha1, alpha2 and beta1 in human ovarian tissue and in granulosa cells was studied using immunohistochemistry, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), quantitative PCR and immunoassays. Strong immunostaining of TSHR, TRalpha1 and TRbeta1 was observed in ovarian surface epithelium and in oocytes of primordial, primary and secondary follicles, with minimal staining in granulosa cells of secondary follicles.

Kit ligand and c-Kit are expressed during early human ovarian follicular development and their interaction is required for the survival of follicles in long-term culture.

The receptor tyrosine c-Kit and its cognate ligand, c-Kit ligand (KL, stem cell factor, SCF), are involved in ovarian follicular development in several animal species. We studied the expression of KL and c-Kit using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry in donated human ovarian cortical tissue. The KL transcripts were expressed in granulosa cells of primary follicles, whereas the expression of c-Kit was confined to the oocyte and granulosa cells in primary and secondary follicles.

Distribution of cyclooxygenase-1, cyclooxygenase-2, and cytosolic phospholipase A2 in the luteal phase human endometrium and ovary.

Objective: To identify the distribution of the enzymes cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and cytosolic phospholipase A(2) (cPLA(2)) in the human ovary and endometrium.

Design: Prospective clinical study.

Setting: Hospital-based unit for reproductive health and research laboratories.

Human ovarian tissue cultures: extracellular matrix composition, coating density and tissue dimensions.

Human ovarian tissue can be successfully cryopreserved for fertility preservation. Optimal use of this approach requires the development of reliable restoration methods, including in-vitro culture of follicles. A culture system has been established, but improvement of the basic handling and techniques is necessary.

Benefits of 8-bromo-guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-br-cGMP) in human ovarian cortical tissue culture.

Guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) is an important intracellular second messenger in many cells of the body; however, its importance in the ovary is only now being realized. The effects of the cGMP analogue 8-bromo-guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-br-cGMP) were tested on human ovarian follicle development and survival using an established tissue culture method. Ovarian biopsies were collected from 27 women (mean age 32 years) undergoing Caesarean sections or gynaecological operations.

Growth differentiation factor-9 promotes the growth, development, and survival of human ovarian follicles in organ culture.

Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) is a growth factor and a member of the TGFbeta superfamily that is secreted by oocytes in growing ovarian follicles. In the current study we cultured human ovarian follicles within slices of ovarian cortical tissue in the presence and absence of recombinant rat GDF-9. Ovarian tissue was obtained by biopsy during cesarean section (31 women) or gynecological laparoscopy (3 women).