Point-of-care D-dimer testing in emergency departments.

Overcrowding and prolonged patient stays in emergency departments (EDs) affect patients' experiences and outcomes, and increase healthcare costs. One way of addressing these problems is through using point-of-care blood tests, laboratory testing undertaken near patient locations with rapidly available results. D-dimer tests are used to exclude venous thromboembolism (VTE), a common presentation in EDs, in low-risk patients.

Management of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2010) estimates that 137,000 women in England experience per vaginal (PV) bleeding and abdominal pain in early pregnancy every year, while the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (2006) estimates that PV bleeding occurs in between 10 and 25 per cent of women who are less than 12 weeks pregnant and that up to half of these women miscarry. Some authors suggest that care for such women could be improved and that their psychological needs could be met more effectively (Washbourne and Cox 2002). This article aims to help emergency department nurses give safe and compassionate care to women who experience PV bleeding by offering an overview of its pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment.

Synthesis of substituted benzoxacycles via a domino ortho-alkylation/Heck coupling sequence.

The synthesis of a variety of alkylidene benzoxacycles via a domino palladium-catalyzed ortho-alkylation/intramolecular Heck reaction is described. Under the optimized conditions [Pd(OAc)2 (10 mol %), P(2-Furyl)3 (20 mol %), norbornene (4 equiv), Cs2CO3 (2 equiv), CH3CN, 80 degrees C], aryl iodides with oxygen-tethered Heck acceptors are coupled with alkyl bromides (5 equiv) to generate a variety of six- and seven-membered-ring benzoxacyclic products.

Chemolabile cellular microarrays for screening small molecules and peptides.

Microarrays that mediate the uptake of small molecules into living cells are described. Tissue culture cells were seeded onto glass substrates functionalized locally with fluorescently labelled test substances. In order to enable a localized transfer of substances after contact of cells with the substrate, substances were immobilized on the surface either by non-covalent interactions or chemolabile linker groups.