Bedside Allogeneic Erythrocyte Washing with a Cell Saver to Remove Cytokines, Chemokines, and Cell-derived Microvesicles.

Background: Removal of cytokines, chemokines, and microvesicles from the supernatant of allogeneic erythrocytes may help mitigate adverse transfusion reactions. Blood bank-based washing procedures present logistical difficulties; therefore, we tested the hypothesis that on-demand bedside washing of allogeneic erythrocyte units is capable of removing soluble factors and is feasible in a clinical setting.

Methods: There were in vitro and prospective, observation cohort components to this a priori planned substudy evaluating bedside allogeneic erythrocyte washing, with a cell saver, during cardiac surgery.

Consensus categorization of cheese based on water activity and pH-A rational approach to systemizing cheese diversity.

Development of science-based interventions in raw milk cheese production is challenging due to the large diversity of production procedures and final products. Without an agreed upon categorization scheme, science-based food safety evaluations and validation of preventive controls would have to be completed separately on each individual cheese product, which is not feasible considering the large diversity of products and the typically small scale of production. Thus, a need exists to systematically group raw milk cheeses into logically agreed upon categories to be used for food safety evaluations.

Coping with Multiple Sclerosis Scale: Reconsideration of the Factorial Structure.

Background: The Coping with Multiple Sclerosis Scale (CMSS) was developed to assess coping strategies specific to multiple sclerosis (MS). Despite its wide application in MS research, psychometric support for the CMSS remains limited to the initial factor analytic investigation by Pakenham in 2001.

Methods: The current investigation assessed the factor structure and construct validity of the CMSS.

Walk-friendly suburbs for older adults? Exploring the enablers and barriers to walking in a large suburban municipality in Canada.

The neighbourhood environment may enable active aging by allowing the integration of walking into an older adult's daily routine. This study explores the relationship between the neighbourhood built environment and walking among a small group of older adults in a large suburban municipality in Canada. In-depth interviews using a photo-voice approach revealed that the participants walked largely to accumulated physical activity.

The importance of patient expectations as a determinant of satisfaction with waiting times for hip and knee replacement surgery.

Objectives: The disconfirmation model hypothesizes that satisfaction is a function of a perceived discrepancy from an initial expectation. Our objectives were: (1) to test the disconfirmation model as it applies to patient satisfaction with waiting time (WT) and (2) to build an explanatory model of the determinants of satisfaction with WT for hip and knee replacement.

Methods: We mailed 1000 questionnaires to 2 random samples: patients waiting or those who had received a joint replacement within the preceding 3-12 months.