Pain Catastrophizing, Beliefs and Perception, and Their Association With Profiling Characteristics in Athletes.

Context: Variables associated with pain catastrophizing and beliefs in athletes presenting with musculoskeletal pain and/or sports-related injuries are largely unexplored.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate which anthropometric, sociodemographic, sporting, injury history, and care-seeking characteristics were associated with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and Pain Beliefs and Perceptions Inventory (PBAPI) scores in athletes.

Design: This study followed a cross-sectional design.

Public Health Response to Diabetes in Delaware through Partnership, Referral, and the Diabetes Self-Management Program.

Diabetes is a major health concern in Delaware, affecting approximately 85,000 adult Delawareans. Diabetes can lead to amputation, blindness, kidney failure, impaired hearing, heart and dental disease, and other complications. The Division of Public Health (DPH) launched a project in collaboration with Quality Insights (QI) to assist physician practices improve their National Quality Forum (NQF) Clinical Quality Measure NQF 0059.

Evaluation of ultraviolet C for disinfection of endocavitary ultrasound transducers persistently contaminated despite probe covers.

Objective: To determine the rate of bacterial and viral contamination of endocavitary ultrasound probes after endorectal or endovaginal examination with the use of probe covers and to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of a disinfection procedure consisting of cleaning with a disinfectant-impregnated towel followed by disinfection with ultraviolet C (UVC) light.

Methods: Endovaginal or endorectal ultrasound examinations were performed for 440 patients in 3 institutions. All probes were covered by a condom or sheath during the examination.

Wyoming Cloud Lidar: instrument description and applications.

The Wyoming Cloud Lidar (WCL), a compact two-channel elastic lidar, was designed to obtain cloud measurements together with the Wyoming Cloud Radar (WCR) on the University of Wyoming King Air and the National Science Foundation/National Center of Atmospheric Research C-130 aircraft. The WCL has been deployed in four field projects under a variety of atmospheric and cloud conditions during the last two years. Throughout these campaigns, it has exhibited the needed reliability for turn-key operation from aircraft.

Bactericidal efficacy of a 1.5min surgical hand-rubbing protocol under in-use conditions.

In healthy volunteers, surgical hand rubbing with Sterillium for 1.5min has been shown to be as effective as a 3min procedure. The aim of this study was to assess whether this result was reproducible under in-use conditions.

Impact of electronic alerts on isolation precautions for patients with multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Background: Health care workers' compliance with isolation precautions for patients colonized or infected with multidrug-resistant bacteria (MRB) is low.

Methods: In a 750-bed, acute care university hospital with a patient information system covering the entire hospital, a database that included all patients with MRB was created and was merged daily with the admission-discharge-transfer application. An electronic alert was generated for all new cases of MRB and for all transfers between wards and all readmissions of patients with MRB.

Evaluation of a new disinfection procedure for ultrasound probes using ultraviolet light.

Following 183 ultrasound examinations, a randomized trial was conducted to compare three procedures for disinfection of probes under routine conditions: dry wiping with a soft, dry, non-sterile paper towel, antiseptic wiping with a towel impregnated with disinfectant spray and dry wiping followed by a 10 min ultraviolet C (UVC) cycle in a disinfection chamber. After ultrasonography, swabs were taken from transducer heads before and after cleaning and streaked onto plates that were then cultured. The number of colonies per plate was counted and organisms identified.

New Jersey's case for local control of the Medicare review process.

The government is launching a program called the Health Care Quality Improvement Initiative (HCQII). The government plans to reposition PROs as educational rather than judgmental entities. The PRO of New Jersey, Inc.

Federal PRO program undergoing fundamental transformation.

The PRO of New Jersey, Inc. is committed to the ideal of a localized peer review process--one that is based on the belief that New Jersey physicians are best suited to assess the work of their peers. The concept of a local peer review remains absolutely essential.