Use of Daily Web-Based, Real-Time Feedback to Improve Patient and Family Experience.

Real-time feedback is a growing trend in patient- and family experience (PFE) work as it allows for immediate service recovery, though it typically requires a significant investment of time and financial resources. We describe a partnership with our "edutainment" system to administer an automated daily experience question (the "Daily Pulse Measure [DPM]") that allowed targeted just-in-time responses to low scores with minimal administrative cost. Through a series of Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles guided by family feedback, the question was created and modified, and the use of the question spread to all hospital units.

DETECT: DEveloping and testing a model to identify preventive vision loss among older paTients in gEneral praCTice - protocol for a complex intervention in Denmark.

Introduction: The number of people living with visual impairment is increasing. Visual impairment causes loss in quality of life and reduce self-care abilities. The burden of disease is heavy for people experiencing visual impairment and their relatives.

Theory of Planned Behavior and Active Duty Air Force Members' Mental Health Help-Seeking.

Introduction: Although military members often encounter significant atypical stressors while serving, many service members are still reluctant to seek mental health (MH) treatment. Help-seeking behavior for MH needs is a rising concern for active duty Air Force personnel. Conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse are just a few issues that military members deal with, but things like stigma, attitudes toward MH, and behavioral control might keep these individuals from seeking services.

X-ray structure of Fasciola hepatica Sigma class glutathione transferase 1 reveals a disulfide bond to support stability in gastro-intestinal environment.

Sigma class GST (Prostaglandin D synthase), FhGST-S1, is present in the excretory-secretory products (ES) of the liver fluke parasite Fasciola hepatica as cargo of extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by the parasite. FhGST-S1 has a well characterised role in the modulation of the immune response; a key fluke intercession that allows for establishment and development within their hosts. We have resolved the three-dimensional structure of FhGST-S1 in complex with its co-factor glutathione, in complex with a glutathione-cysteine adduct, and in a glutathione disulfide complex in order to initiate a research pipeline to mechanistically understand how FhGST-S1 functions within the host environment and to rationally design selective inhibitors.

Evaluation of MALDI-ToF as a method for the identification of bacteria in the veterinary diagnostic laboratory.

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation-Time of Flight (MALDI-ToF) Mass Spectrometry with Bruker MALDI Biotyper software was evaluated as a method for identifying veterinary bacteria. For 620 isolates (~100 bacterial species), identification by MALDI-ToF and non-16S rDNA methods (mainly phenotypic/biochemical) agreed to species-level (95.3%) and to species/genus-level (100%), but in the absence of 16S rDNA as a gold standard.

A proof of concept study to assess the potential of PCR testing to detect natural Mycobacterium bovis infection in South American camelids.

Background: Cases of Mycobacterium bovis infection South American camelids have been increasing in Great Britain. Current antemortem immunological tests have some limitations. Cases at post mortem examination frequently show extensive pathology.

Real Time PCR to detect and differentiate Campylobacter fetus subspecies fetus and Campylobacter fetus subspecies venerealis.

Bovine venereal campylobacter infection, caused by Campylobacter fetus venerealis, is of significant economic importance to the livestock industry. Unfortunately, the successful detection and discrimination of C. fetus venerealis from C.

A hospital-wide quality-improvement collaborative to reduce catheter-associated bloodstream infections.

Background: Catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CA BSIs) are associated with increased hospital length of stay, total hospital costs, and mortality. Quality-improvement collaboratives (QICs) are frequently used to improve health care quality. Our PICU was previously involved in a successful national QIC to reduce the incidence of CA BSI in critically ill children.

Access and utilization patterns of school-based health centers at urban and rural elementary and middle schools.

Objective: We examined patterns of enrollment, use, and frequency of use in school-based health centers (SBHCs), as well as the referral, diagnosis, and disposition of SBHC visits among newly implemented SBHCs.

Methods: Four rural and four urban school districts implementing SBHCs were examined from 2000 to 2003. Total school enrollment for students was 13,046.

Improvements in health-related quality of life among school-based health center users in elementary and middle school.

Objective: To examine the role of school-based health centers (SBHCs) on changes in student health-related quality of life (HRQOL) over a 3-year period among elementary and middle school students.

Design: Three-year longitudinal prospective study.

Setting: Four elementary schools with newly implemented SBHCs and 4 elementary comparison schools matched for rural/urban and state, percentage of nonwhite students, and percentage of free or reduced-price lunch-eligible students.

The Fasciola hepatica thioredoxin: High resolution structure reveals two oxidation states.

The Fasciola hepatica thioredoxin protein structure has been determined to 1.45A resolution. This is the first example of a single crystal structure to show the active site cysteine residues in both the reduced and disulfide oxidised form.

Natural methods of protein stabilization: thermostable biocatalysts.

Enzymes that are naturally found in thermophilic and hyperthermophilic organisms are being used as robust biocatalysts in the fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries. They have important use in these industries due to their increased stability which is often required during commercial reaction conditions. The approach used in these studies is to learn how nature has managed to stabilize these proteins using a detailed knowledge of their biochemical properties and three-dimensional structures.

Investigation of the redox centres of periplasmic selenate reductase from Thauera selenatis by EPR spectroscopy.

Periplasmic SER (selenate reductase) from Thauera selenatis is classified as a member of the Tat (twin-arginine translocase)-translocated (Type II) molybdoenzymes and comprises three subunits each containing redox cofactors. Variable-temperature X-band EPR spectra of the purified SER complex showed features attributable to centres [3Fe-4S]1+, [4Fe-4S]1+, Mo(V) and haem-b. EPR-monitored redox-potentiometric titration of the SerABC complex (SerA-SerB-SerC, a hetero-trimetric complex of alphabetagamma subunits) revealed that the [3Fe-4S] cluster (FS4, iron-sulfur cluster 4) titrated as n=1 Nernstian component with a midpoint redox potential (E(m)) of +118+/-10 mV for the [3Fe-4S]1+/0 couple.

Synthesis and characterisation of a ligand that forms a stable tetrahedral intermediate in the active site of the Aureobacterium species (-) gamma-lactamase.

The crystal structure of a (-) gamma-lactamase from an Aureobacterium species showed a molecule bound covalently to the active site serine residue. This enzyme complex represented the first structure of a stably bound tetrahedral intermediate for an alpha/beta hydrolase fold enzyme. The structural elucidation of tetrahedral intermediates is important for the understanding of enzymatic mechanism, substrate recognition and enzyme inhibition.

The crystal structure of a (-) gamma-lactamase from an Aureobacterium species reveals a tetrahedral intermediate in the active site.

The structure of the recombinant (-) gamma-lactamase from an Aureobacterium species has been solved at 1.73A resolution in the cubic space group F23 with unit cell parameters a=b=c=240.6A.

The effect of large openings on cavity amplification at ultrasonic frequencies.

It is sometimes desired to exploit acoustic amplification in a cavity that is not entirely enclosed. Because of the presence of openings in the cavity, acoustic energy will leave the cavity and degrade the degree of amplification. The extent of this problem is unknown when the size of the openings becomes large relative to a wavelength.