Protease: Serpin complexes to assess contact system and intrinsic pathway activation.

Mounting evidence suggests that a variety of disease states are pathophysiologically related to activation of the contact system in vivo. The plasma contact system is composed of a cascade of serine proteases initiated by surface activation of factor XII, which can then proceed through a procoagulant pathway by activating the intrinsic coagulation factor XI, or a proinflammatory pathway by activating prekallikrein. Serpins are the primary endogenous inhibitors of the contact system, which irreversibly inhibit their respective protease(s), forming a stable complex.

Predictors of Functional and Quality of Life Outcomes following Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery in Parkinson's Disease Patients: Disease, Patient, and Surgical Factors.

Objective: The primary objective was to evaluate predictors of quality of life (QOL) and functional outcomes following deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The secondary objective was to identify predictors of global improvement.

Methods: PD patients who underwent DBS at our Center from 2006 to 2011 were evaluated by chart review and email/phone survey.

Changing the practice learning landscape.

Engagement in real life practice has long been acknowledged as the most effective way to learn a trade or profession and practice learning is consistently highlighted by nursing and midwifery placement students for its impact on both their professional and personal development. The paper examines the current complexities of practice learning that have emerged from educational reform and policy and debates the increased interest in the development of alternative approaches to practice learning in the UK.

Adverse Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Adolescent Pregnancy.

Study Objective: To investigate the outcomes of adolescent pregnancy.

Design: Retrospective cohort study from the Consortium on Safe Labor between 2002 and 2008.

Setting: Twelve clinical centers with 19 hospitals in the United States.

Do They Stand a Chance? Vaginal Birth after Cesarean Section in Adolescents Compared to Adult Women.

Study Objective: To determine the rate of elective repeat cesarean delivery (CD), vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) attempt, and VBAC success in adolescent mothers presenting for delivery of a second child after a prior CD compared to their adult counterparts.

Design: Retrospective cohort study analyzing data from the Consortium on Safe Labor Database which includes data for 228,668 deliveries from 2002 to 2008.

Setting: 19 hospitals within 12 institutions in the United States.

Clinical and programming pattern of patients with impending deep brain stimulation power failure: a retrospective chart review.

Background: It is important to prevent complications of implanted pulse generators (IPG) depletion by replacing the IPG in time.

Methods: We reviewed the charts of all patients with deep brain stimulation treated movement disorders who were seen at our institution over a period of 6 months. Among these, we retained for analyses those who had undergone IPG replacement within the previous 3 years.

Educating nurses for the twenty-first century abilities-based outcomes and assessing student learning in the context of democratic professionalism.

This article describes recent work in implementing a framework of abilities-based learning outcomes and related practices for assessing student learning in a Canadian Baccalaureate nursing degree program. The authors describe steps in implementing an abilities-based paradigm for nursing education, and subsequently developing an assessment framework based on abilities-based learning outcomes. The discussion reviews theoretical and policy-level influences involved in this initiative.

Falls related to accidental deactivation of deep brain stimulators in patients with Parkinson's disease living in long term care facilities.

This case series highlights three patients with Parkinson's disease residing at nursing home facilities whose deep brain stimulators were accidentally deactivated for varying lengths of time, which was associated with an increase in falls. In all three cases, neither the patients nor the caregivers were aware of the random deactivations/reactivations. We propose a specific care plan for these patients that includes further education of caregivers regarding deep brain stimulators and regular checks of the review device, especially when there is concern about a patient's mobility or balance that is out of character.

Name that neurotransmitter: using music to teach psychopharmacology concepts.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the use of music (i.e., two original songs, "Neurotransmitter Twitter" and "Parkinson's Shuffle") to teach aspects of psychopharmacology to students in the course Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing.

Amantadine induced reversible corneal edema.

Amantadine is becoming more commonly used for Parkinson's disease (PD), particularly for its efficacy in treating the drug-induced dyskinesias. Corneal edema is a known but unusual side effect of amantadine therapy, rarely reported in the neurological literature. We report amantadine-induced reversible corneal edema in a patient with advanced PD.

Effect of the dose volume of perfluorocarbon when starting partial liquid ventilation.

Objective: Very preterm neonates are prone to brain injury if cerebral blood flow fluctuates. Partial liquid ventilation (PLV) may benefit any lung disease but giving 30 mL/kg of perfluorocarbon when starting PLV increases cortical cerebral blood flow velocity. We aimed to determine if varying the initial dose of perfluorocarbon alters the effect on cerebral blood flow velocity when starting PLV.

A modified cementing technique using BoneSource to augment fixation of the acetabulum in a sheep model.

Background And Purpose: Our aim was to assess in an animal model whether the use of HA paste at the cement-bone interface in the acetabulum improves fixation. We examined, in sheep, the effect of interposing a layer of hydroxyapatite cement around the periphery of a polyethylene socket prior to fixing it using polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA).

Methods: We performed a randomized study involving 22 sheep that had BoneSource hydroxyapatite material applied to the surface of the acetabulum before cementing a polyethylene cup at arthroplasty.

Perfluorocarbon dosing when starting partial liquid ventilation: haemodynamics and cerebral blood flow in preterm lambs.

Background: Very preterm neonates can have severe lung disease and are prone to brain injury if cerebral blood flow fluctuates. Partial liquid ventilation (PLV) may benefit the lung disease, but it is unknown whether the administration of intratracheal perfluorocarbon when starting PLV affects haemodynamics or cerebral blood flow.

Objectives: To determine if haemodynamics or cerebral blood flow are affected in preterm lambs receiving a dose of perfluorocarbon when starting PLV.

Pre- and post-natal treatment of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of infancy and childhood that is invariably fatal if not treated. We report on the first patient to receive post-natal HSCT for HLH after receiving in utero chemotherapy for disease stabilization.

Progressive declines in neurocognitive function among survivors of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for pediatric hematologic malignancies.

Neurocognitive function of pediatric patients is of great concern after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We evaluated the neurocognitive function of pediatric patients pre-HSCT, 1, 3, and 5 years post-HSCT. All patients had a hematologic malignancy and received therapy to their central nervous system.

JCAHO preparation: an educational plan.

This article discusses Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) preparedness. A literature search reveals articles discussing varying tactics for addressing JCAHO preparedness (e.g.

Dipylidium caninum mimicking recurrent enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) infection.

Pinworm infection is a very common diagnosis in young children that is not always confirmed through laboratory evaluation before empiric therapy is prescribed. This article describes a toddler who was treated several times for pinworms because small white worms were seen in her perianal area. Laboratory analysis of parasite material found in her diaper later confirmed a diagnosis of dipylidiasis.

Activin-A: a novel dendritic cell-derived cytokine that potently attenuates CD40 ligand-specific cytokine and chemokine production.

Activin-A is a transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily member that plays a pivotal role in many developmental and reproductive processes. It is also involved in neuroprotection, apoptosis of tumor and some immune cells, wound healing, and cancer. Its role as an immune-regulating protein has not previously been described.

'Tapping a tie': successful partnerships in managing addictions with methadone.

The Fredericton Community Health Clinic (FCHC) was established to provide comprehensive, accessible, and acceptable services to an underserved population who were downtown, poor, homeless, and living with addictions. A research team conducted a descriptive study to investigate how nurses' roles evolved in this setting and to understand these roles through stakeholders' eyes. We describe the perceptions of client stakeholders who first accessed the FCHC for help with opioid addictions.

Prolonged pancytopenia in a gene therapy patient with ADA-deficient SCID and trisomy 8 mosaicism: a case report.

A patient with adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immune deficiency (ADA-SCID) was enrolled in a study of retroviral-mediated ADA gene transfer to bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells. After the discontinuation of ADA enzyme replacement, busulfan (75 mg/m2) was administered for bone marrow cytoreduction, followed by infusion of autologous, gene-modified CD34+ cells. The expected myelosuppression developed after busulfan but then persisted, necessitating the administration of untransduced autologous bone marrow back-up at day 40.

Effects of long-term storage on plasmid stability in Bacillus anthracis.

The plasmid profiles of 619 cultures of Bacillus anthracis which had been isolated and stored between 1954 and 1989 were analyzed using the Laboratory Response Network real-time PCR assay targeting a chromosomal marker and both virulence plasmids (pXO1 and pXO2). The cultures were stored at ambient temperature on tryptic soy agar slants overlaid with mineral oil. When data were stratified by decade, there was a decreasing linear trend in the proportion of strains containing both plasmids with increased storage time (P < 0.

Successful hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for Niemann-Pick disease type B.

Histocompatible hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was conducted on a 4.5-year-old girl with Niemann-Pick disease type B. The donor was her unaffected brother.

Selective survival of peripheral blood lymphocytes in children with HIV-1 following delivery of an anti-HIV gene to bone marrow CD34(+) cells.

Two HIV-1-infected children on antiretroviral therapy were enrolled into a clinical study of retroviral-mediated transfer of a gene that inhibits replication of HIV-1, targeting bone marrow CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Two retroviral vectors were used, one encoding a "humanized" dominant-negative REV protein (huM10) that is a potent inhibitor of HIV-1 replication and one encoding a nontranslated marker gene (FX) to serve as an internal control for the level of gene marking. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) containing the huM10 gene or FX gene were detected by quantitative PCR at frequencies of approximately 1/10,000 in both subjects for the first 1-3 months following re-infusion of the gene-transduced bone marrow, but then were at or below the limits of detection (<1/1,000,000) at most times over 2 years.