Stability of porphyrins and porphyrin precursors in urine and plasma samples: implications for sample handling and storage.

The porphyrias are rare disorders of haem biosynthesis. Diagnosis requires demonstrating increased porphyrins or porphyrin precursors in blood, urine and faeces. Patients may only be investigated once, and therefore, understanding the preanalytical factors affecting the reliability of results is crucial.

Pore evolution mechanisms during directed energy deposition additive manufacturing.

Porosity in directed energy deposition (DED) deteriorates mechanical performances of components, limiting safety-critical applications. However, how pores arise and evolve in DED remains unclear. Here, we reveal pore evolution mechanisms during DED using in situ X-ray imaging and multi-physics modelling.

Most common principal diagnoses assigned to Australian emergency department presentations involving alcohol use: a multi-centre study.

Objectives: Alcohol is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in Australia and the consequences of alcohol consumption have enormous personal and social impacts. This study aimed to describe the principal diagnoses of emergency department (ED) presentations involving alcohol use in the previous 12 hours at eight hospitals in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

Methods: Twelve months' data (1 July 2018 - 30 June 2019) were collected from eight EDs, including demographics, ICD-10 codes, hospital location and self-reported drinking in the preceding 12 hours.

Neuromodulation using ultra low frequency current waveform reversibly blocks axonal conduction and chronic pain.

Chronic pain remains a leading cause of disability worldwide, and there is still a clinical reliance on opioids despite the medical side effects associated with their use and societal impacts associated with their abuse. An alternative approach is the use of electrical neuromodulation to produce analgesia. Direct current can block action potential propagation but leads to tissue damage if maintained.

Perceptions and attitudes of parents and healthcare professionals about the option of using infant massage in neonatal intensive care units.

Background: Infant moderate pressure massage is an effective evidence-based intervention that counters the consequences of prematurity and exposure to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) environment. This touch-based therapy reduces physiological stress and improves physical, cognitive and neurological development in stable preterm and low birth weight (LBW) infants. Currently, little is known about the barriers and facilitators that surround its implementation.

Testing Two Student Nurse Stress Instruments in Chinese Nursing Students: A Comparative Study Using Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Background: The development and transformation of nursing within professional tertiary education have exerted a great pressure and challenge upon nursing students. Stress experienced by nursing students is a common precursor of psychological distress and attrition. However, no scale is specifically used to evaluate the sources of stress experienced by nursing students in Mainland China.

Cortical Mechanisms of Single-Pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Migraine.

Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (sTMS) of the occipital cortex is an effective migraine treatment. However, its mechanism of action and cortical effects of sTMS in migraine are yet to be elucidated. Using calcium imaging and GCaMP-expressing mice, sTMS did not depolarise neurons and had no effect on vascular tone.

Evaluation of the impact of an augmented model of The Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care on staff and patient outcomes: a naturalistic stepped-wedge trial.

Background: Improving the quality and efficiency of healthcare is an international priority. A range of complex ward based quality initiatives have been developed over recent years, perhaps the most influential programme has been Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care. The programme aims to improve work processes and team efficiency with the aim of 'releasing time', which would be used to increase time with patients ultimately improving patient care, although this does not form a specific part of the programme.

Cross-cultural validation of the Student Nurse Stress Index Scale: A descriptive survey targeting student nurses in China.

Background: Currently, relatively little is known regarding the sources and levels of stress experienced by nursing students in China. This is largely because there is no reliable and valid, culturally appropriate measure of student nurse' stress. A culturally acceptable, Chinese Version of the Student Nurse Stress Index Scale (SNSI-CHI), with established reliability and validity, is needed to identify sources of stress in Chinese nursing students.

Clinical decisions and time since rest break: An analysis of decision fatigue in nurses.

Objective: The present study investigates whether nurses working for a national medical telephone helpline show evidence of "decision fatigue," as measured by a shift from effortful to easier and more conservative decisions as the time since their last rest break increases.

Method: In an observational, repeated-measures study, data from approximately 4,000 calls to 150 nurses working for the Scottish NHS 24 medical helpline (37% of the national workforce) were modeled to determine whether the likelihood of a nurse's decision to refer a patient to another health professional the same day (the clinically safest but most conservative and resource inefficient decision) varied according to the number of calls taken/time elapsed since a nurse's last rest break and/or since the start of shift. Analyses used mixed-effect logistic regression.

Intention, beliefs and mood assessed using electronic diaries predicts attendance at cardiac rehabilitation: An observational study.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitationis effective in promoting physical/psychological recovery following acute coronary syndrome. Yet, rates of attendance at outpatient cardiac rehabilitation by eligible patients are low.

Objectives: This study examined the determinants of attendance at outpatient cardiac rehabilitation in acute coronary syndrome patients following discharge until cardiac rehabilitation commencement.

Why does work cause fatigue? A real-time investigation of fatigue, and determinants of fatigue in nurses working 12-hour shifts.

Background: One of the striking regularities of human behavior is that a prolonged physical, cognitive, or emotional activity leads to feelings of fatigue. Fatigue could be due to (1) depletion of a finite resource of physical and/or psychological energy or (2) changes in motivation, attention, and goal-directed effort (e.g.

Acute presentation of a partially obstructing laryngeal tumour: adjuvant agents to gaseous induction of anaesthesia.

We present the case of a 53-year-old man who attended our emergency department with stridor. He had recently undergone investigation for possible glottic cancer. We discuss the airway management of such a case.

Exploring the psychological health of emergency dispatch centre operatives: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.

Background: The study objective was to investigate and synthesize available evidence relating to the psychological health of Emergency Dispatch Centre (EDC) operatives, and to identify key stressors experienced by EDC operatives.

Methods: Eight electronic databases (Embase, PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, The Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, and Google Scholar) were searched. All study designs were included, and no date limits were set.

Extending the assessment of patient-centredness in health care: Development of the updated Valuing Patients as Individuals Scale using exploratory factor analysis.

Aims And Objectives: To update and re-validate the Valuing Patients as Individuals Scale for use as a patient appraisal of received healthcare.

Background: Healthcare in the United Kingdom and beyond is required to deliver high quality, person-centred care that is clinically effective and safe. However, patient experience is not uniform, and complaints often focus on the way patients have been treated.

'Just not for me' - contributing factors to nonattendance/noncompletion at phase III cardiac rehabilitation in acute coronary syndrome patients: a qualitative enquiry.

Aims And Objectives: To explore what reasons do nonattenders and noncompleters give for their patterns of participation or nonparticipation in cardiac rehabilitation programmes and how future uptake could be enhanced.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation is a cost-effective clinical intervention designed for adults with acute coronary syndrome. Despite evidence from meta-analyses demonstrating that cardiac rehabilitation programmes facilitate physical and psychological recovery from acute coronary syndrome, only 20-50% of eligible patients attend Phase III outpatient programmes.

Stressors, Appraisal of Stressors, Experienced Stress and Cardiac Response: A Real-Time, Real-Life Investigation of Work Stress in Nurses.

Background: Stress in health care professionals may reflect both the work and appraisal of work and impacts on the individuals, their patients, colleagues and managers.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to examine physiological and psychological effects of stressors (tasks) and theory-based perceptions of work stressors within and between nurses in real time.

Methods: During two work shifts, 100 nurses rated experienced stress, affect, fatigue, theory-based measures of work stress and nursing tasks on electronic diaries every 90 min, whereas heart rate and activity were measured continuously.

What is the mechanism effect that links social support to coping and psychological outcome within individuals affected by prostate cancer? Real time data collection using mobile technology.

Purpose: Unmet support needs are prevalent in men affected by prostate cancer. Moreover, little is known about the optimal type of social support, or its mechanism effect between coping and emotional outcome in men affected by this disease to identify areas for clinical intervention. This study aimed to empirically test the propositions of social support theory in "real time" within individual men living with and beyond prostate cancer.

Stress in telephone helpline nurses is associated with failures of concentration, attention and memory, and with more conservative referral decisions.

Nurses working for telephone-based medical helplines must maintain attentional focus while quickly and accurately processing information given by callers to make safe and appropriate treatment decisions. In this study, both higher levels of general occupational stress and elevated stress levels on particular shifts were associated with more frequent failures of attention, memory, and concentration in telephone nurses. Exposure to a stressful shift was also associated with a measurable increase in objectively assessed information-processing errors.

An exploration of self-efficacy and self-management in COPD patients.

Aim: This study examined if self-efficacy in managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is associated with better mood, less breathlessness and fewer exacerbations; what helps or hinders patients in managing their chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); and patients' suggestions to improve the self-management support they receive.

Background: COPD is the fifth leading cause of death in the UK, and it has been suggested that supporting self-efficacy and self-management could improve patient outcomes and reduce demands for NHS resources.

Methods: An exploratory, descriptive survey involving the collection of both quantitative and semistructured qualitative data was chosen.

Nurses leading care in custody suite environments: a qualitative study from Scotland.

This paper outlines the qualitative findings of a recent multimethod study exploring the impact of nurses assuming leadership roles in delivering primary health care to detainees within police custody suites in Scotland. The full multimethod study was conducted within a framework of realistic evaluation with key findings indicating that the nurse-led model of service delivery offers positive outcomes for all key stakeholders. Findings from the qualitative component of the study showed that the quality of clinical care for detainees improved, policing concerns for detainee safety were mitigated, and forensic medical examiners were able to expand their specialist roles.

Ethnic differences and socio-demographic predictors of illness perceptions, self-management, and metabolic control of type 2 diabetes.

Objectives: This study investigated ethnic differences in diabetes-specific knowledge, illness perceptions, self-management, and metabolic control among black-African, black-Caribbean,and white-British populations with type 2 diabetes. The study also examined associations between demographic/disease characteristics and diabetes-specific knowledge, illness perceptions, self-management, and metabolic control in each of the three ethnic groups.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Frequency of nursing tasks in medical and surgical wards.

Aim: To explore the frequency of different nursing tasks in medical and surgical wards.

Background: The time nurses spend on direct patient care is important for both patients and nurses. However, little is known about the time nurses spend on various nursing tasks.

Exploring the relationship between coping, social support and health-related quality of life for prostate cancer survivors: a review of the literature.

Objective: Men affected by prostate cancer can experience profound physical and psychological sequalae; and unmet support needs are prevalent in men affected by this disease. Social support has been linked to improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and coping strategies, but little is known about the relationship between social support, coping and HRQoL for prostate cancer survivors. This review aims to identify the mechanism through which social support influences the relationship between coping and HRQoL for prostate cancer survivors.

Promoting the health, safety and welfare of adults with learning disabilities in acute care settings: a structured literature review.

Aims And Objectives: To present the findings of a structured literature review that aimed to identify the influences on the health, safety and welfare of adults with learning disabilities in acute hospitals.

Background: There is increasing evidence regarding the inadequacy of care for people with learning disabilities in acute care settings. However, few studies have specifically addressed their health, safety and welfare in such contexts.