Improving Advanced Care Planning Discussions at an Internal Medicine Clinic.

Objective: The project aimed to standardize advanced care planning (ACP) at an internal medicine clinic by initiating physician-patient communication regarding the patient's knowledge, understanding, and openness to pursuing advanced medical directives.

Methods: Data collection was conducted from February 1 to April 1, 2024, with the study concluding on April 24, 2024. ACP was facilitated through an initial standardized six-question pre-intervention survey in both English and Spanish.

SAUSI: an integrative assay for measuring social aversion and motivation.

Social aversion is a key feature of numerous mental health disorders such as Social Anxiety and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Nevertheless, the biobehavioral mechanisms underlying social aversion remain poorly understood. Progress in understanding the etiology of social aversion has been hindered by the lack of comprehensive tools to assess social aversion in model systems.

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccination in Catalonia.

(1) Background: In epidemiological terms, it has been possible to calculate the savings in health resources and the reduction in the health effects of COVID vaccines. Conducting an economic evaluation, some studies have estimated its cost-effectiveness; the vaccination shows highly favorable results, cost-saving in some cases. (2) Methods: Cost-benefit analysis of the vaccination campaign in the North Metropolitan Health Region (Catalonia).

Relationship between the ABO blood group and COVID-19 susceptibility, severity and mortality in two cohorts of patients.

Background: Several articles reported the existence of an association between ABO blood groups and COVID-19 susceptibility. Group A and group O individuals showed a higher and lower risk, respectively, of becoming infected. No association was observed between ABO groups and mortality.

[Catalonia's primary healthcare accreditation model: a valid model].

There are few experiences of accreditation models validated by primary care teams (EAP). The aim of this study was to detail the process of design, development, and subsequent validation of the consensus EAP accreditation model of Catalonia. An Operating Committee of the Health Department of Catalonia revised models proposed by the European Foundation for Quality Management, the Joint Commission International and the Institut Català de la Salut and proposed 628 essential standards to the technical group (25 experts in primary care and quality of care), to establish consensus standards.

[Accreditation model for acute hospital care in Catalonia, Spain].

The implementation of an accreditation model for healthcare centres in Catalonia which was launched for acute care hospitals, leaving open the possibility of implementing it in the rest of lines of service (mental health and addiction, social health, and primary healthcare centres) is described. The model is based on the experience acquired over more tan 31 years of hospital accreditation and quality assessment linked to management. In January 2006 a model with accreditation methodology adapted to the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model was launched.

[Notification of incidents related to patient safety in hospitals in Catalonia, Spain during the period 2010-2013].

The aim of this paper is to discover the aggregated results of a general notification system for incidents related to patient safety implemented in Catalan hospitals from 2010 to 2013. Observational study describing the incidents notified from January 2010 to December 2013 from all hospitals in Catalonia forming part of the project to create operational patient safety management units. The Patient Safety Notification and Learning System (SiNASP) was used.

[Design, implementation and evaluation of a management model of patient safety in hospitals in Catalonia, Spain].

Since its inception in 2006, the Alliance for Patient Safety in Catalonia has played a major role in promoting and shaping a series of projects related to the strategy of the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, for improving patient safety. One such project was the creation of functional units or committees of safety in hospitals in order to facilitate the management of patient safety. The strategy has been implemented in hospitals in Catalonia which were selected based on criteria of representativeness.

Acute kidney injury: what part do toll-like receptors play?

The innate immune system plays an important role as a first response to tissue injury. This first response is carried out via germline-encoded receptors. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the first identified and best studied family of pattern recognition receptors.

Reproductive development, GnRHa-induced spawning and egg quality of wild meagre (Argyrosomus regius) acclimatised to captivity.

The objective of the study was to acclimatise wild-caught meagre (Argyrosomus regius) to captivity to produce viable eggs for aquaculture production. Twelve meagre (3 males and 9 females, mean weight = 20 ± 7 kg) were caught and transported to a land-based facility on 26 October 2006. During, March to June 2007, all three males were spermiating and five of the nine females were in vitellogenesis with mean maximum oocyte diameter ≥550 μm.

Toll-like receptor 4 expression on circulating leucocytes in hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Lipopolysaccharide stimulation of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activates signal transduction pathways leading to proinflammatory cytokine secretion. We investigated TLR4 surface receptor expression on peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes and their ability to modulate inflammatory cytokine release in 15 patients 1, 3, and 10 days after hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) onset. Seven patients with Escherichia coli (EHEC)-associated diarrhea and seven healthy controls were also studied.

Asenapine effects on cognitive and monoamine dysfunction elicited by subchronic phencyclidine administration.

Purpose: Repeated, intermittent administration of the psychotropic NMDA antagonist phencyclidine (PCP) to laboratory animals causes impairment in cognitive and executive functions, modeling important sequelae of schizophrenia; these effects are thought to be due to a dysregulation of neurotransmission within the prefrontal cortex. Atypical antipsychotic drugs have been reported to have measurable, if incomplete, effects on cognitive dysfunction in this model, and these effects may be due to their ability to normalize a subset of the physiological deficits occurring within the prefrontal cortex. Asenapine is an atypical antipsychotic approved in the US for the treatment of schizophrenia and for the treatment, as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy to lithium or valproate, of acute manic or mixed episodes associated bipolar I disorder.

Clinical chemistry and hematology values in a Caribbean population of African green monkeys.

Background: Hematology and clinical chemistry (HCC) reference values are critical in veterinary practice and in vivo pre-clinical research, enabling detection of health abnormalities, response to therapeutic intervention or adverse toxicological effects, as well as monitoring of clinical management.

Methods: In this report, reference ranges for 46 HCC parameters were characterized in 331 wild-caught and colony-bred African green monkeys. Effects of sex, weight and duration of captivity were determined by one-way analysis of variance.

Developmental lead exposure attenuates methamphetamine dose-effect self-administration performance and progressive ratio responding in the male rat.

Perinatal (gestation/lactation) lead exposure modifies the reinforcement efficacy of various psychoactive drugs (e.g., cocaine, opiates) across the phases of initial selection, use, and abuse [Nation J.

Developmental lead exposure alters methamphetamine self-administration in the male rat: acquisition and reinstatement.

The rate of acquisition of drug self-administration and the return to drug seeking are important elements of the overall drug profile, and are essential factors in understanding risks associated with drug abuse. Experiment 1 examined the effects of perinatal (gestation/lactation) lead exposure on adult rates of acquisition of intravenous (i.v.

The effects of concurrent administration of +/-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and cocaine on conditioned place preference in the adult male rat.

Conditioned place preference (CPP), a commonly used model for studying the role of contextual cues in drug reward and drug seeking, was employed to explore possible behavioral interactions between (+/-)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; "ecstasy") and cocaine. On each of four occasions, adult male rats received one of three doses of MDMA (0 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg; administered subcutaneously [s.c.

The effects of acquisition training schedule on extinction and reinstatement of cocaine self-administration in male rats.

Partial reinforcement is known to increase resistance to extinction (Rn) relative to training with continuous reinforcement. This phenomenon, referred to as the partial reinforcement extinction effect, is one of the most robust in learning and conditioning studies. Experiment 1 investigated manipulations known to affect the partial reinforcement extinction effect and determined their possible relevance for drug use patterns.

Enhanced acquisition of cocaine self-administration in rats developmentally exposed to lead.

The rate of acquisition of drug self-administration may serve as a predictor of later drug-taking behavior, possibly influencing the vulnerability to use drugs. The present study examined the effects of perinatal (gestation/lactation) lead exposure on adult rates of acquisition of intravenous cocaine self-administration using an automated procedure that included both Pavlovian and operant components. For Experiment 1, female rats were gavaged daily with 0 or 16 mg lead for 30 days prior to breeding with nonexposed males.

The effects of the GABAA antagonist bicuculline on cocaine self-administration in rats exposed to lead during gestation/lactation.

The present investigation examined the effects of perinatal lead exposure on cocaine self-administration following a GABAA antagonist pretreatment. Female rats were exposed to either 0 or 16 mg lead daily for 30 days prior to breeding with unexposed males. Beginning on postnatal day (PND) 75, control (N=10) and lead-exposed (N=8) animals were trained to self-administer 0.

Exposure to cadmium during gestation and lactation decreases cocaine self-administration in rats.

This investigation examined the effects of perinatal cadmium exposure on subsequent self-administration of cocaine during the adult cycle. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged daily with 0.0 (14% sucrose solution, w/v) or 5.