Bioluminescent images of viral replication in live animals (in vivo) reveal disease dynamics and effects of medical countermeasures over time. After selecting an appropriate orthopoxvirus animal model for the study, a recombinant virus with the firefly luciferase gene inserted in the genome is used to infect the animals. On the day of bioluminescent imaging, the substrate, D-luciferin, is prepared; animals are sedated and injected with the substrate and IVIS imager is utilized; various bioluminescent images are acquired; then animals recover and are able to continue in the study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF. Facing risk of contracting COVID-19, adopting individual health and safety behaviors to prevent infection was critical for first responders to ensure personal and public safety. This study assessed direct and indirect relationships between safety leadership, safety behaviors and the effect of risk perceptions on these relationships among aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Given the prevalence of mental health concerns, dentists have an opportunity to provide mental health screenings to enhance overall patient care. The purpose of this study is to summarize and discuss the characteristics of mental health curricula related to patient care in accredited dental schools.
Methods: We identified accredited predoctoral dental programs incorporating mental health training related to patient care into their curriculum.
Background: With the rising importance of mental health screenings in nontraditional settings, dental offices offer an important opportunity to provide these services. This feasibility study examined mental health screenings and referral to treatment procedures in dental practices.
Methods: A total of 17 dentists, dental hygienists, and dental office staff members (dental office personnel [DOP]) from 5 dental practices enrolled 36 patients in the study.
The antiviral drug tecovirimat* has been used extensively to treat U.S. mpox cases since the start of a global outbreak in 2022.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOn 25-26 March 2023, the U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) held its 2024 annual meeting in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Firefighter injuries and fatalities have been attributed to improper or ineffective use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Although studies have examined predictors of PPE to include situational, leadership, stressors and other psychosocial factors, research has not thoroughly examined the relationships between effective safety training administration, knowledge creation, and the influence of those factors on PPE use among firefighters.
Method: This study aimed to assess those relationships by using structural equation modeling analysis.
Nurses are uniquely positioned to significantly impact organizational and system improvement through improving quality and reducing costs. Using an evidenced based tool to identify costs and the financial benefit involved in any quality improvement project is invaluable in developing and evaluating proposals and allocation of resources to support the organization's financial health and viability. The return on investment analysis is an essential accounting tool that will provide nurse leaders with critical information quantifying costs and benefits of both financial and nonfinancial metrics to identify the feasibility, efficacy, risk or efficiency of a proposed project.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrials
August 2024
Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) poses a significant global health burden with available treatments limited by inconsistent efficacy and notable side effects. Classic psychedelics, including lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), have garnered attention for their potential in treating psychiatric disorders. Microdosing, the repeated consumption of sub-hallucinogenic doses of psychedelics, has emerged as a self-treatment approach for depression within lay communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochem Mol Biol Educ
August 2024
A common exercise given to students early in a molecular biology course is the creation of a restriction map of a plasmid "digested" by two restriction enzymes (RE). Meanwhile, students have learned from an early age about the properties and analyses of circles in their mathematics courses. But it is rare for students to learn using puzzle-based assignments at the intersection of molecular biology and mathematics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This study explored the views of young people from diverse backgrounds, with or without a history of self-harm, on the motivation and impacts of sharing self-harm imagery online and the use of their social media data for mental health research.
Design: Thematic analysis of 27 semi-structured one-to-one interviews.
Setting: Two workshops were conducted in 2021.
Objective: Motor vehicle incidents or apparatus crashes are a leading cause of firefighter fatalities in the United States. Nonuse of seat belts has been linked to some of these fatalities. This research seeks to understand the relationship between safety climate and seat belt use among firefighters, as findings will provide insights into factors that may bolster seat belt use and protect firefighters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany thinkers lament the decline of liberal democracy. Some argue that, to rejuvenate it, we must think big. Thinking big involves generating new ideas about how to achieve an unprecedented level of social transformation aimed at cultivating solidarity, empowering citizen efficacy, and promoting the common good.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) personnel are first responders located at airports in the United States who provide emergency response, mitigation, evacuation, and rescue of passengers and crew of aircraft at airports. The nature of their work puts ARFF personnel in close contact with travelers on a regular basis and at elevated risk for COVID-19 exposure.
Objective: In this study, we focused on safety behavior, perceived risk, and workplace resources to understand COVID-19 outcomes in the early pandemic among the overlooked worker population of ARFF personnel.
Objectives: Dental practices can have additional positive impacts on public health by implementing mental health screening and referral to treatment in dental care workflows. In this study, we examined how dental practices identify and address adult patient mental health concerns, attitudes about implementing mental health screening and referral, and potential barriers and facilitators to treatment.
Methods: We conducted semi-structured focus groups with 17 dentists, 10 dental hygienists, and 5 dental assistants/office staff in the South-Central region of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.
Background: Unit-based critical care nurse leaders (UBCCNL) play a role in exemplifying ethical leadership, addressing moral distress, and mitigating contributing factors to moral distress on their units. Despite several studies examining the experience of moral distress by bedside nurses, knowledge is limited regarding the UBCCNL's experience.
Research Aim: The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of Alabama UBCCNLs regarding how they experience, cope with, and address moral distress.
Background: Moral distress (MD) occurs when clinicians are constrained from taking what they believe to be ethically appropriate actions. When unattended, MD may result in moral injury and/or suffering. Literature surrounding how unit-based critical care nurse leaders address MD in practice is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The purpose of this study was to conduct a scoping review to examine and summarize the characteristics of research related to mental health (MH) screenings and/or referrals to treatment in dental practices.
Methods: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for Scoping Reviews and searched multiple databases for terms connected with dental care, MH concerns, screening, and referral. Included articles: (1) described care provided in a dental practice, (2) described a situation where the patient is experiencing the potential MH problem, (3) did not involve dental anxiety exclusively, and (4) involved some form of MH screening and/or referral to treatment.
Background: Asynchronous telemedicine (ATM), which describes telemedical interaction between a patient and provider where neither party communicates simultaneously, is an important telemedicine modality that is seeing increased use. In this article, we summarize the published peer-reviewed literature specifically related to ATM to (1) identify terms or phrases that are used to describe ATM, (2) ascertain how this research has thus far addressed the various aspects of the quadruple aim of medicine, and (3) assess the methodological rigor of research on ATM. We also divided the literature into pre- and post-COVID-19 onset periods to identify potential variations in the literature between these two periods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDisaster Med Public Health Prep
November 2023
Objective: Evacuation and relocation are key actions used to protect the public in response to natural or technological disasters, but there are inherent risks to both. Unfortunately, these risks have not been fully quantified, which limits the ability of emergency managers and the public to effectively balance the risks and benefits of evacuation or relocation. This work provides quantitative data on the risks of health effects from displacement following evacuation or relocation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring the 2022 multinational outbreak of monkeypox virus (MPXV) infection, the antiviral drug tecovirimat (TPOXX; SIGA Technologies, Inc., https://www.siga.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The strategic nursing plan for a large Midwestern health care system includes achievement of the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet recognition for all their hospitals. This study explored the barriers to and perceived value of certification among nurses employed by the same health care system across eight facilities in a metropolitan region. One of these facilities holds Magnet recognition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMoral distress (MD) is well-documented within the nursing literature and occurs when constraints prevent a correct course of action from being implemented. The measured frequency of MD has increased among nurses over recent years, especially since the COVID-19 Pandemic. MD is less understood among nurse leaders than other populations of nurses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Globally, an estimated 260 million people suffer from depression [1], and there is a clear need for the development of new, alternative antidepressant therapies. In light of problems with the tolerability and efficacy of available treatments [2], a global trend is emerging for patients to self-treat depression with microdoses of psychedelic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin [3]. Beyond anecdotal reports from those who self-medicate in this way, few clinical trials have evaluated this practice.
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