Self-sampling is appropriate for detection of Staphylococcus aureus: a validation study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies frequently use nasal swabs to determine <it>Staphylococcus aureus</it> carriage. Self-sampling would be extremely useful in an outhospital research situation, but has not been studied in a healthy population. We studied the similarity of self-samples and investigator-samples in nares and pharynxes of healthy study subjects (hospital staff) in the Netherlands.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One hundred and five nursing personnel members were sampled 4 times in random order after viewing an instruction paper: 1) nasal self-sample, 2) pharyngeal self-sample, 3) nasal investigator-sample, and 4) pharyngeal investigator-sample.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For nasal samples, agreement is 93% with a kappa coefficient of 0.85 (95% CI 0.74-0.96), indicating excellent agreement, for pharyngeal samples agreement is 83% and the kappa coefficient is 0.60 (95% CI 0.43-0.76), indicating good agreement. In both sampling sites self-samples even detected more <it>S. aureus</it> than investigator-samples.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This means that self-samples are appropriate for detection of <it>Staphylococcus aureus</it> and methicillin-resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus</it>.</p

The role of remediation in mitigating the negative consequences of psychological contract breach : a qualitative study in the banking sector

This study examined whether remediation (providing another inducement to compensate for an undelivered obligation in the psychological contract) was perceived as a useful way to deal with the consequences of a psychological contract breach in the context of organizational change. Data was collected by means of semi-structured face-to-face focus-group sessions and individual interviews in a restructuring organization in the Dutch banking sector. Fourteen focus groups and eight individual interviews were conducted with 30 non-managerial employees and 48 supervisors/professionals. The results bring the potential of offering compensating inducements to remedy psychological contract breach to the fore and highlight the role of other factors such as communication and the availability of job alternatives. Suggestions are provided for improving employee relations in situations of organizational change by taking the psychological contract into account

Supporting a teacher identity in health professions education:AMEE Guide No. 132

This guide provides an understanding of what teacher identity is and how it can be developed and supported. Developing a strong teacher identity in the context of health professions education is challenging, because teachers combine multiple roles and the environment usually is more supportive to the identity of health practitioner or researcher than to that of teacher. This causes tensions for those with a teaching role. However, a strong teacher identity is important because it enhances teachers’ intention to stay in health professions education, their willingness to invest in faculty development, and their enjoyment of the teaching role. The guide offers recommendations on how to establish workplace environments that support teacher identity rather than marginalise it. Additionally, the guide offers recommendations for establishing faculty development approaches that are sensitive to teacher identity issues. Finally, the guide provides suggestions for individual teachers in relation to what they can do themselves to nurture it

Centaur 1948

Digitised by the Faculty of the Veterinary Scienc

Effects of a Semi-rigid Knee Brace on Mobility and Pain in People with Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective: Osteoarthritis is one of the most common chronic conditions leading to disability among older people (age 60+ years). Knee osteoarthritis has a significant impact on daily functioning. Pain, stiffness, reduced strength, changes in posture, and reduced knee stability may result in reduced mobility. The aim of this study is to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of conservative therapeutic use of a semi-rigid knee brace for management of patients with knee osteoarthritis, using patient-reported outcomes.Design: Patients with osteoarthritis using a semi-rigid knee brace were asked to complete a questionnaire about the effectiveness of the brace after wearing it for 3 weeks. The primary outcome measure was mobility, assessed using an ordinal scale with and without use of the knee brace. Secondary outcome measures were pain symptoms and overall daily functioning.Results: A total of 381 patients completed the questionnaire. The results show considerably improved mobility while using a knee brace in different mobility groups. In the group of respondents who were limited to their home environment mobility decreased by 74% while using a knee brace. In the group of respondents who were able to walk to a nearby shop mobility increased by 50%, and the group experiencing no mobility restrictions increased from 3% without using a knee brace to 13% while using a knee brace. In addition, 54% of respondents reported a reduction in pain symptoms and 62% of respondents reported an improvement in overall daily functioning while using a knee brace.Conclusion: The results of this large-scale patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) study show that the use of a semi-rigid knee brace appears to provide suitable joint support, offering pain relief and freedom of movement and should be considered a useful non-surgical treatment method for use in patients with knee osteoarthritis.Clinical trial: This study does not include a clinical trial.</p

Capillary Condensation and Interface Structure of a Model Colloid-Polymer Mixture in a Porous Medium

We consider the Asakura-Oosawa model of hard sphere colloids and ideal polymers in contact with a porous matrix modeled by immobilized configurations of hard spheres. For this ternary mixture a fundamental measure density functional theory is employed, where the matrix particles are quenched and the colloids and polymers are annealed, i.e. allowed to equilibrate. We study capillary condensation of the mixture in a tiny sample of matrix as well as demixing and the fluid-fluid interface inside a bulk matrix. Density profiles normal to the interface and surface tensions are calculated and compared to the case without matrix. Two kinds of matrices are considered: (i) colloid-sized matrix particles at low packing fractions and (ii) large matrix particles at high packing fractions. These two cases show fundamentally different behavior and should both be experimentally realizable. Furthermore, we argue that capillary condensation of a colloidal suspension could be experimentally accessible. We find that in case (ii), even at high packing fractions, the main effect of the matrix is to exclude volume and, to high accuracy, the results can be mapped onto those of the same system without matrix via a simple rescaling.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, submitted to PR