Parenting Concepts, Skills, and Attitudes Among Selected South Louisiana University Freshmen.

Parenting is probably one of the most important jobs in the entire world. Education in parenting can help the individual decide if and when the process of parenting will be undertaken. The problem as found in society is that individuals may not be receiving adequate education in parenting. The overall purpose of this study was to help identify the educational needs of youth in South Louisiana in the area of parenting. Parenting knowledge, skills, and attitudes were specifically focused upon. Each of these aspects of parenting behavior was studied to also determine differences among males and females. Freshmen entering a South Louisiana University comprised the population of the study. Data were collected with a questionnaire covering concepts, skills, and attitudes concerned with parenting, as well as personal and family characteristics. Two hundred and two males and 201 females returned usable questionnaires. The data were analyzed to determine the relationship between sex of the respondents and their knowledge of specific parenting concepts, ability to perform parenting tasks, and attitudes toward parenting. The findings related to these dimensions of parenting were as follows: Parenting Knowledge. (a)For a majority of the 52 concepts grouped under 7 major areas of parenting knowledge, more than 70 percent of all respondents indicated adequate knowledge. Two areas where adequate knowledge fell within the 50-70 percent range pertained to family and social situations and problems and health care. Some variations in adequacy of knowledge were observed among the several concepts within the seven major areas. (b)It was statistically significant that females had more knowledge than males of concepts related to the anatomy and physiology of the female; limiting family size; treating childhood illnesses; growth, discipline and management of children; self-responsibility; working of child care centers; and role of mother and child. (c)It was statistically significant that males had more knowledge than females of concepts related to the anatomy and physiology of the male; premarital sex; first aid and child safety; and role of the father. Parenting Tasks. (a)It was statistically significant that more females than males had already performed, or felt confident of performing in the future, parenting tasks related to general child care (8 tasks), health care (3 tasks) and resource management (4 tasks). (b)There were no differences on two child care and four resource management tasks. Parenting Attitudes. (a)Both males and females had a relatively modern attitude toward parenting. (b)Females tended to have a more modern attitude than males as evidenced by higher modern attitudes scores on 20 of 26 statements. Utilizing information from this study, a curriculum could be designed to meet the learning needs of youth incorporating in particular those concepts and skills in which deficiencies were observed. Group discussions, lectures, literature, actual practice and films can be useful. The individuals who are responsible for guiding youth to become better parents need to be well qualified in human relations. Parenting must be respected as a critical undertaking in which the entire community has an important stake. Parent-child interaction should be seen as a worth-while social investment. A deepening of parental commitment by parents is essential along with a consciousness of child-rearing responsibility by the community at large

MicrobeWorld Radio and Communications Initiative

MicrobeWorld is a 90-second feature broadcast daily on more than 90 public radio stations and available from several sources as a podcast, including www.microbeworld.org. The feature has a strong focus on the use and adapatbility of microbes as alternative sources of energy, in bioremediation, their role in climate, and especially the many benefits and scientific advances that have resulting from decoding microbial genomes. These audio features are permanantly archived on an educational outreach site, microbeworld.org, where they are linked to the National Science Education Standards. They are also being used by instructors at all levels to introduce students to the multiple roles and potential of microbes, including a pilot curriculum program for middle-school students in New York

A comparison of human brain dissection by drill versus saw on nucleic acid quality

This study examined the effect of two dissection techniques on the quality of human brain specimens. Frozen cerebellar samples were obtained from postmortem brains of 10 subjects free from neurological and psychiatric disease. These tissues were tested for RNA and DNA concentration and quality after being dissected with either an electric dental drill or a small handsaw. RNA and DNA were extracted separately from each sample, and the concentrations and quality of each were measured. We found that dissection technique does not significantly affect RNA or DNA quality/yield. RNA and DNA yields, as well as RNA integrity showed no significant differences between the two dissection techniques. Therefore, these results support the use of a high-speed hand-held electric dental drill as an efficient and anatomically precise means of human brain dissection without compromising tissue quality. Published by Elsevier B.V

Nurses', physicians' and radiographers' perceptions of the safety of a nurse prescribing of ionising radiation initiative: A cross-sectional survey

Background: A new initiative was introduced in Ireland following legislative changes that allowed nurses with special training to prescribe ionising radiation (X-ray) for the first time. A small number of studies on nurse prescribing of ionising radiation in other contexts have found it to be broadly as safe as ionising radiation prescribing by physicians. Sociological literature on perceptions of safety indicates that these tend to be shaped by the ideological position of the professional rather than based on objective evidence. Objectives: To describe, compare and analyse perceptions of the safety of a nurse prescribing of ionising radiation initiative across three occupational groups: nursing, radiography and medicine. Design: A cross-sectional survey design. Settings: Participants were drawn from a range of clinical settings in Ireland. Participants: Respondents were 167 health professionals comprised of 49 nurses, 91 radiographers, and 27 physicians out of a total of 300 who were invited to participate. Non-probability sampling was employed and the survey was targeted specifically at health professionals with a specific interest in, or involvement with, the development of the nurse prescribing of ionising radiation initiative in Ireland. Methods: Comparisons of perspectives on the safety of nurse prescribing of ionising radiation across the three occupational groups captured by questionnaire were analysed using the Kruskal–Wallis H test. Pairwise post hoc tests were conducted using the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: While the majority of respondents from all three groups perceived nurse prescribing of ionising radiation to be safe, the extent to which this view was held varied. A higher proportion of nurses was found to display confidence in the safety of nurse prescribing of ionising radiation compared to physicians and radiographers with differences between nurses’ perceptions and those of the other two groups being statistically significant. Conclusion: That an occupational patterning emerged suggests that perceptions about safety and risk of nurse prescribing of ionising radiation are socially constructed according to the vantage point of the professional and may not reflect objective measures of safety. These findings need to be considered more broadly in the context of ideological barriers to expanding the role of nurses

Phylogeography, Salinity Adaptations and Metabolic Potential of the Candidate Division KB1 Bacteria Based on a Partial Single Cell Genome

Deep-sea hypersaline anoxic basins (DHABs) and other hypersaline environments contain abundant and diverse microbial life that has adapted to these extreme conditions. The bacterial Candidate Division KB1 represents one of several uncultured groups that has been consistently observed in hypersaline microbial diversity studies. Here we report the phylogeography of KB1, its phylogenetic relationships to Candidate Division OP1 Bacteria, and its potential metabolic and osmotic stress adaptations based on a partial single cell amplified genome (SAG) of KB1 from Orca Basin, the largest hypersaline seafloor brine basin in the Gulf of Mexico. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis – previously developed based on 14C incorporation experiments with mixed-species enrichments from Mediterranean seafloor brines - that KB1 has adapted its proteins to elevated intracellular salinity, but at the same time KB1 apparently imports glycine betaine; this compatible solute is potentially not limited to osmoregulation but could also serve as a carbon and energy source

Australian Perspectives on Opt-In and Opt-Out Consent Systems for Deceased Organ Donation

Introduction: As many countries change to opt-out systems to address organ shortages, calls for similar reform in Australia persist. Community perspectives on consent systems for donation remain under-researched, therefore Australian perspectives on consent systems and their effectiveness in increasing donation rates were explored. Design: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, participants completed a survey presenting opt-in, soft opt-out, and hard opt-out systems, with corresponding descriptions. Participants chose the system they perceived as most effective and described their reasoning. Results: Participants (N = 509) designated soft opt-out as the most effective system (52.3%; hard opt-out 33.7%; opt-in 13.7%). Those who identified with an ethnic/cultural group or were not registered had greater odds of choosing opt-out. Six themes identified in thematic analysis reflected their reasoning: 1) who decides (individual, shared decision with family); 2) right to choose; 3) acceptability (ethics, fairness); and utility in overcoming barriers for 4) individuals (apathy, awareness, ease of donating, fear/avoidance of death); 5) family (easier family experience, family veto); 6) society (normalising donation, donation as default, expanding donor pool). Choice and overcoming individual barriers were more frequently endorsed themes for opt-in and opt-out, respectively. Discussion: Results suggested the following insights regarding system effectiveness: uphold/prioritise individual’s recorded donation decision above family wishes; involve family in decision-making if no donation preference is recorded; retain a register enabling opt-in and opt-out for unequivocal decisions and promoting individual control; and maximise ease of registering. Future research should establish whether systems considered effective are also acceptable to the community to address organ shortages

Assessing Patients\u27 Perceptions of Clinician Communication: Acceptability of Brief Point-of-Care Surveys in Primary Care

BACKGROUND: Improving patient-centered (PC) communication is a priority in many healthcare organizations. Most PC communication metrics are distal to the care encounter and lack clear attribution, thereby reducing relevance for leaders and clinicians. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the acceptability of measuring PC communication at the point-of-care. DESIGN: A brief patient survey was conducted immediately post-primary care appointments at one Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Audit-feedback reports were created for clinicians and discussed in qualitative interviews. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 485 patients completed the survey. Thirteen interviews were conducted with clinicians and hospital leaders. MAIN MEASURE(S): Measures included collaboRATE (a 3-item tool measuring PC communication), a question about how well needs were met, and overall visit satisfaction. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to characterize the mean and distribution of collaboRATE scores and determine the proportion of patients giving clinicians a top score on each item. Associations among responses were examined. Interviews focused on the value of measuring PC communication and were analyzed using a framework approach. KEY RESULTS: The proportion of patients giving PC communication top scores ranged from 41 to 92% for 16 clinicians who had \u3e /= 25 completed surveys. Among patients who gave top scores for PC communication, the odds of reporting that needs were completely met were 10.8 times higher (p \u3c .001) and the odds of reporting being very satisfied with their care were 13.3 times higher (p \u3c .001) compared with patients who did not give top scores. Interviewees found clinician-specific feedback useful; concerns included prioritizing this data when other measures are used to evaluate clinicians\u27 performance. Difficulties improving PC communication given organizational structures were noted. Recommendations for interventions included peer-to-peer education and mentoring by top-scoring clinicians. CONCLUSIONS: Assessing provider communication at the point-of-care is acceptable and useful to clinicians. Challenges remain to properly incentivize and support the use of this data for improving PC communication

Retrospective review of medication-related incidents at a major teaching hospital and the potential mitigation of these incidents with electronic prescribing and medicines administration

Objectives To describe the frequency of the different types of medication-related incidents that caused patient harm, or adverse consequences, in a major teaching hospital and investigate whether the likelihood of these incidents occurring would have been reduced by electronic prescribing and medicines administration (EPMA).Methods A retrospective review of harmful incidents (n=387) was completed for medication-related reports at the hospital between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021. Frequencies of different types of incidents were collated. The potential for EPMA to have prevented these incidents was assessed by reviewing DATIX reports and additional information, including results of any investigations.Results The largest proportion of harmful medication incidents were administration related (n=215, 55.6%), followed by incidents classified as ’other’ and ’prescribing’. Most incidents were classified as low harm (n=321, 83.0%). EPMA could have reduced the likelihood of all incidents which caused harm by 18.6% (n=72) without configuration, and a further 7.5% (n=29) with configuration where configuration refers to adapting the software’s functionality without supplier input or development. For 18.4% of the low-harm incidents (n=59) and 20.3% (n=13) of the moderateharm incidents, EPMA could reduce the likelihood of the incident occurring without configuration. Medication errors most likely to be reduced by EPMA were due to illegibility, multiple drug charts or missing drug charts.Conclusion This study found that administration incidents were the most common type of medicationrelated incidents. Most of the incidents (n=243, 62.8%) could not be mitigated by EPMA in any circumstance, even with connectivity between technologies. EPMA has the potential to prevent certain types of harmful medication related incidents, and further improvements could be achieved with configuration and development