Identification of Listeria monocytogenes Genes Contributing to Oxidative Stress Resistance under Conditions Relevant to Host Infection.

The Gram-positive bacterium survives in environments ranging from the soil to the cytosol of infected host cells. Key to intracellular survival is the activation of PrfA, a transcriptional regulator that is required for the expression of multiple bacterial virulence factors. Mutations that constitutively activate ( mutations) result in high-level expression of multiple bacterial virulence factors as well as the physiological adaptation of for optimal replication within host cells.

Chewing over the future: khat consumption, anxiety, depression, and time among young men in Jimma, Ethiopia.

This article draws on qualitative and quantitative research to examine the relationship between the consumption of khat, symptoms of depression and anxiety and the experience of time among young men in urban Ethiopia. Young men claim that khat, a mild stimulant, both causes and alleviates symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, our quantitative data indicate that there is not a direct relationship between khat and symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Brief interventions for heavy alcohol users admitted to general hospital wards.

Background: Brief interventions involve a time-limited intervention focusing on changing behaviour. They are often motivational in nature using counselling skills to encourage a reduction in alcohol consumption.

Objectives: To determine whether brief interventions reduce alcohol consumption and improve outcomes for heavy alcohol users admitted to general hospital inpatient units.

What is patient safety culture? A review of the literature.

Purpose: To organize the properties of safety culture addressed by many studies and to develop a conceptual culture of safety model.

Design And Methods: A comprehensive review of the culture of safety literature within the U.S.

Brief interventions for heavy alcohol users admitted to general hospital wards.

Background: Brief interventions involve a time-limited intervention focusing on changing behaviour. They are often motivational in nature using counselling skills to encourage a reduction in alcohol consumption.

Objectives: To determine whether brief interventions reduce alcohol consumption and improve outcomes for heavy alcohol users admitted to general hospital inpatient units.

The role of inflammatory mediators in the pathogenesis of otitis media and sequelae.

This review deals with the characteristics of various inflammatory mediators identified in the middle ear during otitis media and in cholesteatoma. The role of each inflammatory mediator in the pathogenesis of otitis media and cholesteatoma has been discussed. Further, the relation of each inflammatory mediator to the pathophysiology of the middle and inner ear along with its mechanisms of pathological change has been described.

Case studies in medical futility.

Technology has provided means to sustain life and provide care regardless of whether the treatment is appropriate and compassionate given the condition of the patient. This study presents two case histories, compiled from historical patient charts, staff notes and observations, that illustrate the variety of ethical issues involved and the role culture plays in the decision making process related to possible futile medical treatment. Ethical and cultural issues related to the cases are discussed and processes are presented that can help hospitals to avoid, or decrease the level of, medically futile care, and improve the cultural appropriateness of medical care and relationships with patients.

Organizational culture in a terminally ill hospital.

This study analyzed an organizational culture in a community hospital in Texas to measure organizational culture change and its impact on Patient Satisfaction (PS). The study employed primary and secondary data, combining quantitative and qualitative methods for a case study. Participant observation was used and archival data were collected to provide a better understanding of the organizational culture and the context in which change was taking place.

Barriers to women's cardiovascular risk knowledge.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, resulting in a greater emphasis on research and methods for addressing issues relating to this health problem both nationally and worldwide. The authors' purpose was to identify barriers to women's cardiovascular risk knowledge, both personal and organizational, through key informant interviews of health leaders at 10 community health organizations. Analysis showed an overall lack of awareness of CVD risk for women.

Phytostabilization of gold mine tailings from New Zealand. Part 2: Experimental evaluation of arsenic mobilization during revegetation.

Revegetation of mine tailings usually requires amendments of phosphorus. However, phosphate addition can mobilize arsenic (As) from the tailings. A 5-mo lysimeter field trial was conducted to quantify As mobilization in gold mine tailings, in association with different P amendment products and different plant species (barley Hordeum vulgare, blue lupin Lupinus angustifolius, rye corn Secale cereale) necessary for short-term revegetation of mine tailings.

Phytostabilization of gold mine tailings, New Zealand. Part 1: Plant establishment in alkaline saline substrate.

Tailings from the Macraes mine, southern New Zealand, are prone to wind erosion. Use of a vegetation cover for physical stabilization is one potential solution to this environmental problem. This study used field trials contained in lysimeters to 1), test the ability of different plant species to grow in un/amended tailings and 2), provide background information on the nutrient and chemical content of waters in tailings.

An employee assistance program for caregiver support.

The Comprehensive Caregiver Choices Program provided support for employee caregivers of elderly people for employees at a hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. Key informant interviews and focus groups provided direction for program development and implementation. A full-time MSW and professionals with expertise in gerontology/geriatrics provided education and care coordination services to caregivers.

Characteristics of osteopathic physicians choosing to practice rural primary care.

As increasing numbers of women and osteopathic physicians enter medical practice, it is important to identify their choices in medical specialty and practice location and the implications these choices have for the future of healthcare in the United States. In 2003, data from the Texas Medical Board and the Office of the [Texas] State Demographer were aggregated to compare the rates at which physicians differed in their choices to practice primary care specialties in a rural location. In addition, the impact of sex and type of medical degree on these choices was examined.

Rapid plant-cover establishment on gold mine tailings in southern New Zealand: glasshouse screening trials.

The use of a short-term vegetation cover to temporarily control the negative environmental effects of inactive tailings ponds is notfrequently practiced during operational mining, but could have some merit This article reports on a glasshouse trial designed to examine some of the issues associated with short-term vegetation: fast germination of a high proportion of seed, the ability of seedlings to survive in unamended substrates, and potentially toxic substrate. Five nonindigenous plant species were tested--barley (Hordeum vulgare), rye corn (Secale cereale), Italian ryegrass (Lolium multifiorum), red clover (Trifolium pratense), and lucerne (Medicago sativa)--in five different types of substrate: unamended tailings, tailings and fertilizer, tailings and greenwaste, biosolid-blend compost, and local topsoil. The nutrient and heavy metal status (As, Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb) of each substrate type was determined Plant species performance was monitored over 14 wk Substrate metal concentrations were low except for As, which was elevated in all substrate types.

Poisoning hospitalizations among Texas adolescents: age and gender differences in intentional and unintentional injury.

Using 1999 Hospital Discharge Data, this study examines age and gender differences in the pattern of poisoning hospitalizations of Texas youngsters (N = 1246) aged 10 through 17 years and investigates self-inflicted poisoning as a function of age and gender. Nearly three quarters of poisoning admissions are girls and two thirds of admissions are older children (aged 15 through 17 years). Analgesics and psychotropic drugs are the two most common agents used.

An analysis of osteoporosis-related hip fractures using hospital discharge data.

The purpose of this study was to assess whether physicians in practice inadequately diagnose osteoporosis in a high-risk population of postmenopausal women who have sustained hip fractures. Using the Texas Hospital Discharge Data-Public Use Data File (PUDF) provided through the Texas Health Care Information Council, the authors conducted a review of all postmenopausal women older than 55 years with fractured hips discharged from Texas hospitals during 1999. A total of 13,628 patients meeting these criteria were found using the PUDF.

A meta-analysis of trials evaluating patient education and counseling for three groups of preventive health behaviors.

Objectives: To examine the overall effectiveness of patient education and counseling on preventive health behaviors and to examine the effects of various approaches for modifying specific types of behaviors.

Data Sources: Computerized databases (Medline, Healthline, Dissertation Abstracts, and Psychological Abstracts), bibliographies 1971-1994. Search terms (patient education, patient compliance, and self care) with modifiers (evaluation and specific preventive behaviors).

Characteristics of controlled studies of patient education and counseling for preventive health behaviors.

To determine characteristics of controlled studies (quasi-experimental and randomized) of clinical patient education/counseling for behavior change to prevent disease, we conducted an extensive literature review of published and unpublished studies from 1971 to 1989. Sixty-four studies with 101 intervention groups met specific criteria for relevance and scientific acceptability. We examine these studies in terms of prevention area, subject source, intervention characteristics, and use of educational principles.

A meta-analysis of controlled trials of cardiac patient education.

Because of the heavy burden of morbidity and mortality exacted by coronary heart disease and the role of behavior in secondary prevention, patient education is a crucial part of cardiac care. Yet evaluations of such programs have not been synthesized to assess the average effects nor which program characteristics have greatest impact. This study used the quantitative methods of meta-analysis to answer these questions, with 28 controlled studies measuring behavioral and clinical outcomes.

Definition and yield of inclusion criteria for a meta-analysis of patient education studies in clinical preventive services.

Because selection of studies for a literature review influences conclusions, inclusion criteria are of utmost importance. For a meta-analysis of studies testing effects of patient education on preventive behaviors, we present the framework and concepts used for setting inclusion criteria for primary studies. We also present the yield in terms of number and distribution of studies that resulted from the inclusion criteria.

Health expenditures in Texas for 1987.

Total, per capita, and state government health spending by category of service for 1987 were estimated along with the distribution of spending by sources of payment. Definitions, methods, and sources of data are similar to those used by the US Health Care Financing Administration in estimating national health care expenditures and payments. Comparisons are made with prior-years' spending and with estimates of spending at the national level.

Health care spending in Texas: 1980-1986.

This paper reports health care spending and payment patterns for Texas by category of service. Various methods and sources are used to generate annual estimates of total spending, state government spending, and spending per person. The basic approach is similar to that used by the US Health Care Financing Administration in estimating national health care spending.