The bacterial displacement test: an in vitro microbiological test for the evaluation of intermittent catheters and urinary tract infection.

Aims: Intermittent catheters (ICs) are commonly used in bladder management, but catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) remain challenging. Insertion tips may reduce the risk of CAUTIs by minimizing bacterial transfer along the urinary tract. However, there are few laboratory tests to evaluate such technologies.

Annelid adult cell type diversity and their pluripotent cellular origins.

Many annelids can regenerate missing body parts or reproduce asexually, generating all cell types in adult stages. However, the putative adult stem cell populations involved in these processes, and the diversity of cell types generated by them, are still unknown. To address this, we recover 75,218 single cell transcriptomes of the highly regenerative and asexually-reproducing annelid Pristina leidyi.

Blue carbon benefits from global saltmarsh restoration.

Coastal saltmarshes are found globally, yet are 25%-50% reduced compared with their historical cover. Restoration is incentivised by the promise that marshes are efficient storers of 'blue' carbon, although the claim lacks substantiation across global contexts. We synthesised data from 431 studies to quantify the benefits of saltmarsh restoration to carbon accumulation and greenhouse gas uptake.

Annelid adult cell type diversity and their pluripotent cellular origins.

Annelids are a broadly distributed, highly diverse, economically and environmentally important group of animals. Most species can regenerate missing body parts, and many are able to reproduce asexually. Therefore, many annelids can generate all adult cell types in adult stages.

A genomic timescale for placental mammal evolution.

The precise pattern and timing of speciation events that gave rise to all living placental mammals remain controversial. We provide a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of genetic variation across an alignment of 241 placental mammal genome assemblies, addressing prior concerns regarding limited genomic sampling across species. We compared neutral genome-wide phylogenomic signals using concatenation and coalescent-based approaches, interrogated phylogenetic variation across chromosomes, and analyzed extensive catalogs of structural variants.

Developmental mRNA clearance by PIWI-bound endo-siRNAs in Paramecium.

The clearance of untranslated mRNAs by Argonaute proteins is essential for embryonic development in metazoans. However, it is currently unknown whether similar processes exist in unicellular eukaryotes. The ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia harbors a vast array of PIWI-clade Argonautes involved in various small RNA (sRNA) pathways, many of which have not yet been investigated.

Microplastics alter multiple biological processes of marine benthic fauna.

Marine sediments are a sink for microplastics, making seabed organisms particularly exposed. We used meta-analysis to reveal general patterns in a surge in experimental studies and to test for microplastic impact on biological processes including invertebrate feeding, survival and energetics. Using Hedge's effect size (g), which assesses the mean response of organisms exposed to microplastics compared to control groups, we found negative impacts (significant negative g values) across all life stages (overall effect size (g) = -0.

Association of Partner Support and Partner Communication with Provider Prescribed Contraceptive Method Use among Heterosexual Couples in Kisumu, Kenya.

We explored partner support and communication factors associated with provider prescribed contraceptive (PPC) use to inform contraception interventions among heterosexual couples in Kenya. From April 2014 through September 2016, 252 community recruited couples in Kisumu, Kenya, were enrolled. Men and women were surveyed separately and asked about communication regarding sexual/reproductive health and relationship characteristics.

ACME dissociation: a versatile cell fixation-dissociation method for single-cell transcriptomics.

Single-cell sequencing technologies are revolutionizing biology, but they are limited by the need to dissociate live samples. Here, we present ACME (ACetic-MEthanol), a dissociation approach for single-cell transcriptomics that simultaneously fixes cells. ACME-dissociated cells have high RNA integrity, can be cryopreserved multiple times, and are sortable and permeable.

Utilizing an Integrated Learning Experience in a Senior Undergraduate Nursing Program.

Integration of nursing classroom didactics with clinical and simulation experiences is crucial to obtaining improved student learning outcomes and successful academic achievement. According to the Institute of Medicine (2010), to ensure the delivery of safe, patient-centered care across settings, the nursing education system must be improved. Patient needs have become more complicated, and nurses need to attain requisite competencies to deliver high-quality care.

Lipomatrix: A Novel Ascorbyl Palmitate-Based Lipid Matrix to Enhancing Enteric Absorption of Serenoa Repens Oil.

The class of lipophilic compounds coming from vegetal source represents a perspective in the adjuvant treatment of several human diseases, despite their poor bioavailability in humans. These compounds are generally soluble in fats and poorly soluble in water. The major reason for the poor bioavailability of lipophilic natural compounds after oral uptake in humans is related to their reduced solubility in enteric water-based fluids, leading to an ineffective contact with absorbing epithelium.

Occupational therapy practitioners' ratings of job satisfaction factors through a lens of social capital.

While there is a body of knowledge regarding job satisfaction in occupational therapy, less is known about job satisfaction in occupational therapy through a lens of social capital. The purpose of this research was to investigate practitioners' rankings of 14 aspects of job satisfaction by gender, generation, therapist vs. manager, therapist vs.

Comparative Phylogeography of Forest-Dependent Mammals Reveals Paleo-Forest Corridors throughout Sundaland.

The evolutionary history of the colugo, a gliding arboreal mammal distributed throughout Sundaland, was influenced by the location of and connections between forest habitats. By comparing colugo phylogenetic patterns, species ecology, sample distributions, and times of divergence to those of other Sundaic taxa with different life-history traits and dispersal capabilities, we inferred the probable distribution of paleo-forest corridors and their influence on observed biogeographic patterns. We identified a consistent pattern of early diversification between east and west Bornean lineages in colugos, lesser mouse deer, and Sunda pangolins, but not in greater mouse deer.

Evolution of a maternal immune activation (mIA) model in rats: Early developmental effects.

Maternal immune activation (mIA) in rodents is rapidly emerging as a key model for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia. Here, we optimise a mIA model in rats, aiming to address certain limitations of current work in this field. Specifically, the lack of clear evidence for methodology chosen, identification of successful induction of mIA in the dams and investigation of male offspring only.

eQTL discovery and their association with severe equine asthma in European Warmblood horses.

Background: Severe equine asthma, also known as recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), is a debilitating, performance limiting, obstructive respiratory condition in horses that is phenotypically similar to human asthma. Past genome wide association studies (GWAS) have not discovered coding variants associated with RAO, leading to the hypothesis that causative variant(s) underlying the signals are likely non-coding, regulatory variant(s). Regions of the genome containing variants that influence the number of expressed RNA molecules are expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs).

Measuring Family Satisfaction With Care Delivered in the Intensive Care Unit.

Background: In our competitive health care environment, measuring the experience of family members of patients in the intensive care unit to ensure that health care providers are meeting families' needs is critical. Surveys from Press Ganey and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are unable to capture families' satisfaction with care in this setting.

Objective: To implement a sustainable measure for family satisfaction in a 12-bed medical and surgical intensive care unit.

Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2015 (AAIC 2015) (July 18-23, 2015 - Washington, D.C., USA).

The Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) was held in Washington, D.C. this year.

Evaluating recovery following hip fracture: a qualitative interview study of what is important to patients.

Objective: To explore what patients consider important when evaluating their recovery from hip fracture and to consider how these priorities could be used in the evaluation of the quality of hip fracture services.

Design: Semistructured interviews exploring the experience of recovery from hip fracture at two time points-4 weeks and 4 months postoperative hip fixation. Two approaches to analysis: thematic analysis of data specifically related to recovery from hip fracture; summarising the participant's experience overall.

Compassion fatigue, moral distress, and work engagement in surgical intensive care unit trauma nurses: a pilot study.

Preparation for replacing the large proportion of staff nurses reaching retirement age in the next few decades in the United States is essential to continue delivering high-quality nursing care and improving patient outcomes. Retaining experienced critical care nurses is imperative to successfully implementing the orientation of new inexperienced critical care nurses. It is important to understand factors that affect work engagement to develop strategies that enhance nurse retention and improve the quality of patient care.

Use of simulation to practice multidisciplinary anaphylaxis management.

Multidisciplinary clinical simulation can be an essential part of nursing education strategies to improve and enhance patient safety and experience. Clinical simulation can be utilized to change practice, reinforce practices, and direct patient and family education needs for a safe discharge. Anaphylaxis is potentially fatal and is increasing in occurrence.

WHOQOL Pain and Discomfort Module: development and validity testing of the Italian version.

Background: The World Health Organization Quality of Life scale Pain and Discomfort Module (WHOQOL PDM) was designed to assess quality of life (QoL) in adults with chronic pain. It comprises 16 items covering four facets of pain: relief, anger/frustration, vulnerability/fear/worry, and uncertainty.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to validate the Italian version of the WHOQOL PDM.