Pathfinder experiments with atom interferometry in the Cold Atom Lab onboard the International Space Station.

Deployment of ultracold atom interferometers (AI) into space will capitalize on quantum advantages and the extended freefall of persistent microgravity to provide high-precision measurement capabilities for gravitational, Earth, and planetary sciences, and to enable searches for subtle forces signifying physics beyond General Relativity and the Standard Model. NASA's Cold Atom Lab (CAL) operates onboard the International Space Station as a multi-user facility for fundamental studies of ultracold atoms and to mature space-based quantum technologies. We report on pathfinding experiments utilizing ultracold Rb atoms in the CAL AI.

Quantum gas mixtures and dual-species atom interferometry in space.

The capability to reach ultracold atomic temperatures in compact instruments has recently been extended into space. Ultracold temperatures amplify quantum effects, whereas free fall allows further cooling and longer interactions time with gravity-the final force without a quantum description. On Earth, these devices have produced macroscopic quantum phenomena such as Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), superfluidity, and strongly interacting quantum gases.

Using Aromatherapy to Improve Nighttime Comfort in Hospitalized Patients With Cancer: A Pilot Study.

Background: Sleep disturbances have been shown to have negative health effects leading to inferior well-being, increased fatigue, and impaired performance. For hospitalized patients receiving oncology care, improving nighttime comfort may positively affect well-being and health outcomes, leading to decreased length of stay. Aromatherapy can improve sleep quantity and quality.

Effect of Post-traumatic Amnesia Duration on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) First Year Hospital Costs: A Veterans Affairs Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Study.

Objective: To examine the association between severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) as measured by duration of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) and first year hospitalization costs for service members and veterans (SMVs) treated for TBI at Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers (PRCs) within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Design: Multivariable models of merged datasets from the VA TBI Model Systems (VA TBIMS) national database containing TBI clinical characterization including PTA with VHA hospital cost data.

Setting: Five VA PRCs.

The impact of the work environment on the health-related quality of life of Licensed Practical Nurses: a cross-sectional survey in four work environments.

Background: Nurses are known to have negative health outcomes related to their work. While it is acknowledged that nursing work is associated with things like back injuries and burnout, there is limited evidence as to what factors in the work environment contribute to these issues.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to assess how Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) report their Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and how nurses' health is impacted by their work environment.

Moral distress: Does this impact on intent to stay among adult critical care nurses?

Background: Moral distress is recognized as an international problem that contributes to decreased work productivity, job dissatisfaction and intent to leave for adult Critical Care nurses.

Aim: To explore Critical Care nurses moral distress levels using the Moral Distress Scale Revised (MDS-R) and its relationship with intention to stay. The study reported in this paper was part of a larger study that also investigated Critical Care nurses' work environment in Canada and the Midlands region of the UK.

Licenced practical nurses' perceptions of their work environments and their intention to stay: A cross-sectional study of four practice settings.

Aims And Objectives: This study aimed to understand how licenced practical nurses perceive their work environments across different work settings and to analyse the association between these nurses' perceptions of their work environments and their intentions to stay employed at their current nursing unit.

Design: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted with Licensed Practical Nurses in Alberta, Canada.

Methods: The study population consisted of 598 licenced practical nurses.

Information literacy skills and training of licensed practical nurses in Alberta, Canada: results of a survey.

Background: Although information literacy skills are recognized as important to the curriculum and professional outcomes of two-year nursing programs, there is a lack of research on the information literacy skills and support needed by graduates.

Objective: To identify the information literacy skills and consequent training and support required of Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) in Alberta, Canada.

Method: An online survey using a random sample of new graduates (graduated within 5 years) from the registration database of the College of Practical Nurses of Alberta (CLPNA).

Building Capacity for Evidence-Based Practice: Understanding How Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) Source Knowledge.

Background: In Canada, all nurses are required to engage in evidence-based practice (EBP) as an entry-to-practice competency; however, there is little research that examines Licensed Practical Nurses' (LPNs') information seeking behaviors or preferred sources of knowledge to conduct EBP.

Aims: Due to the differences in education and roles of LPNs and Registered Nurses (RNs), it is both necessary and important to gain an understanding of how LPNs utilize evidence in their unique nursing practice. The purpose of this study was to investigate how LPNs source knowledge for their nursing practice.

Return on investment in healthcare leadership development programs.

Purpose Strong leadership has been shown to foster change, including loyalty, improved performance and decreased error rates, but there is a dearth of evidence on effectiveness of leadership development programs. To ensure a return on the huge investments made, evidence-based approaches are needed to assess the impact of leadership on health-care establishments. As a part of a pan-Canadian initiative to design an effective evaluative instrument, the purpose of this paper was to identify and summarize evidence on health-care outcomes/return on investment (ROI) indicators and metrics associated with leadership quality, leadership development programs and existing evaluative instruments.

Scope of practice review: providers for triage and assessment of spine-related disorders.

Purpose: This study explored which health care providers could be involved in centralized intake for patients with nonspecific low back pain to enhance access, continuity, and appropriateness of care.

Methods: We reviewed the scope of practice regulations for a range of health care providers. We also conducted telephone interviews with 17 individuals representing ten provincial colleges and regulatory bodies to further understand providers' legislated scopes of practice.

Development of key performance indicators to evaluate centralized intake for patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Centralized intake is integral to healthcare systems to support timely access to appropriate health services. The aim of this study was to develop key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate centralized intake systems for patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Phase 1 involved stakeholder meetings including healthcare providers, managers, researchers and patients to obtain input on candidate KPIs, aligned along six quality dimensions: appropriateness, accessibility, acceptability, efficiency, effectiveness, and safety.

Combative Sports Injuries: An Edmonton Retrospective.

Objective: Mixed martial arts (MMA) is an increasingly popular combative sport involving aggressive techniques that present substantial injury risk. We examined the incidence and types of injuries sustained in MMA fights and compared this with injuries sustained in boxing matches.

Design: Consecutive Case Series.

The impact of fatal pediatric trauma on aboriginal children.

Background/purpose: Injuries are the leading cause of death in young people. Our aim is to examine the differences between aboriginal and non-aboriginal pediatric trauma mortality as a means to focus on prevention strategies.

Methods: The records for all traumatic pediatric (0-18 years) deaths between 1996 and 2010 were reviewed from the regional Medical Examiner's office.

Non-pharmacological sleep interventions for youth with chronic health conditions: a critical review of the methodological quality of the evidence.

Purpose: Restorative sleep is clearly linked with well-being in youth with chronic health conditions. This review addresses the methodological quality of non-pharmacological sleep intervention (NPSI) research for youth with chronic health conditions.

Method: The Guidelines for Critical Review (GCR) and the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool (EPHPP) were used in the review.

Focus on pediatric intentional trauma.

Background: Based on our previous study, pediatric intentional trauma injuries with Injury Severity Scores (ISS) ≥ 12 were more commonly observed in the urban than the rural setting (15.2% vs. 5.

Workers' perspectives on low back pain recurrence: "it comes and goes and comes and goes, but it's always there".

Although various measures of low back pain (LBP) recurrence have been proposed, none have been tested to determine if they are consistent with what those with LBP perceive a "recurrence" to be. To further the understanding of LBP recurrence and how to measure it, we examined how individuals with a history of LBP describe their back pain experiences. A qualitative approach was chosen and six mixed-gender focus groups were conducted.

Promoting physical activity among youth through community-based prevention marketing.

Background: Community-based prevention marketing (CBPM) is a program planning framework that blends community-organizing principles with a social marketing mind-set to design, implement, and evaluate public health interventions. A community coalition used CBPM to create a physical activity promotion program for tweens (youth 9-13 years of age) called VERB Summer Scorecard. Based on the national VERB media campaign, the program offered opportunities for tweens to try new types of physical activity during the summer months.

Urban vs rural pediatric trauma in Alberta: where can we focus on prevention?

Purpose: Understanding differences between rural and urban pediatric trauma is important in establishing preventative strategies specific to each setting.

Methods: Data were extracted from a Provincial Pediatric Trauma Registry on pediatric patients (0-17 years) with Injury Severity Scores (ISS) 12 or more, treated from 1996 to 2006 at 5 major trauma centers in the province. Urban and rural patients were compared with respect to demographic data, as well as injury type and severity.

Whiplash-associated disorders: who gets depressed? Who stays depressed?

Depression is common in whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). Our objectives were to identify factors associated with depressive symptomatology occurring in the initial stages of WAD, and to identify factors predicting the course of depressive symptoms. A population-based cohort of adults sustaining traffic-related WAD was followed at 6 weeks, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

The epidemiology of hospitalized head injury in British Columbia, Canada.

Objective: This descriptive study seeks to identify the incidence rates of head injuries in a large Canadian province, given incident cases for a ten year period. It describes cases in terms of age standardized rates, demographics, and health care utilization.

Methods: The analyses were done using descriptive statistics.

VERB summer scorecard: findings from a multi-level community-based physical activity intervention for tweens.

The benefits of physical activity for adolescents are well established. Multi-level interventions may be especially effective in establishing and sustaining health-enhancing behaviors. This study explored the influences of a multi-level community intervention aimed at increasing physical activity among tweens (youth 9-13).