How to choose between single-use and reusable medical materials for sustainable nursing: Methodological lessons learned from a national study.

Aim: To demonstrate and reflect upon the methodological lessons by which healthcare organizations can address questions of environmental sustainability related to single-use healthcare materials.

Design: A cross-sectional multi-centre study in hospitals was performed, followed by an exploratory analysis of the sustainability of commonly used healthcare materials.

Methods: A hospital survey was conducted to collect the procurement data for single-use medical materials.

Analysis of ergonomic occupational accidents and near misses in a large Belgian university hospital.

Introduction: Health-care organizations are facing a high burden of ergonomic occupational accidents, and prevention is a continuous point of interest. In this manuscript, we describe the characteristics of ergonomic accidents in a large Belgian university hospital and discuss the value of near misses.

Methods: Combining databases, we identified the frequency [number of accidents × 10 hours worked per year], severity (number of days off work × 10 hours worked per year), and profile of the victims of occupational ergonomic accidents (with absence from work) or incidents or near-misses (without absence from work).

Difference in receptor-binding contributes to difference in biological activity between the unique guinea pig GnRH and mammalian GnRH.

In the current study, we compared the in vitro potency of a unique form of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) present in the brain of the guinea pig (gpGnRH) with that of mammalian GnRH (mGnRH) as well as their binding affinities to the GnRH receptor. In gpGnRH, the highly conserved histidine in position 2 (His(2)) and leucine in position 7 (Leu(7)) are substituted by tyrosine and valine, respectively. In vivo, gpGnRH was shown to be less potent than mGnRH, possibly in part because of higher susceptibility to enzymatic degradation.

Further evaluation of the biological activity of the unique gonadotropin-releasing hormone peptide in the guinea pig brain.

In this study we compared the biological activity of a unique form of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in the brain of the guinea pig (gpGnRH) with mammalian GnRH (mGnRH). In gpGnRH, the highly conserved histidine in position 2 (His(2)) and leucine in position 7 (Leu(7)) are substituted by tyrosine and valine, respectively. The gpGnRH was less potent than mGnRH in stimulating the release of luteinizing hormone (LH) in vivo in the guinea pig and displayed only low activity in the rat.

Further characterisation of particulate neuronal nitric oxide synthase in rat small intestine.

Neuronal NO-synthase (nNOS) was investigated in rat longitudinal muscle/myenteric plexus (LM/MP) tissue at the cellular and subcellular level. Using preparations and double immune staining and light and electron microscopy, we concluded that, in these preparations, nNOS is only present in neuronal cells. However, in spite of numerous attempts to morphologically identify the NOS-containing subcellular structure, no firm conclusions were possible.

Cellular activity of dopamine DA2 receptor splice variants and mutants.

Two splice variants of the dopamine D2 (DA2) receptors-a long (DA2l) and short (DA2s) form-and two corresponding mutants (serine at position 311 replaced by a cysteine) have been described. Using CHO-cells transfected with the genes for the splice variants and their respective mutants and a bioassay based on the online registration of the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) of intact cells, we investigated the cellular activity upon stimulation of the receptor. We first confirmed that the acute response upon short agonist stimulation was significantly higher for DA2s than for DA2l.