Exploring the Effectiveness of the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team at a Washington State Hospital

Patient-to-staff assaults have become a barrier to workplace safety at U.S. psychiatric hospitals. Assaults on staff result in loss of productive social service for the mentally ill; increases in labor, industrial, and medical costs from claims; and psychological scars, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, that may never completely heal. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the effectiveness of the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) at the Washington state hospital in reducing patient assaults on staff. There is very little research to substantiate the effectiveness of the PERT program as a conduit of workplace safety in psychiatric institutional care and none demonstrating that PERT is a useful program at the Washington state hospital. The theoretical approach in the current study for examining how organizations function with cohesiveness under certain organizational equilibrium constraints was Bandura’s social learning theory. A quantitative archival analysis design was used to determine relationship between several levels of an independent variable (time) and the dependent variable (number of assaults) via a time-series procedure, the one-way within subjects ANOVA. Results showed that there was an increase in assaults in the 6 months post-PERT implementation compared to the 6 months before but a reduction of work loss. Decreased work loss after assaults could lead to less severe injuries due to the PERT response to incidents. Reducing injuries could lead to positive social change by affecting the psychological and physical well-being of patients and staff. For patients, it could promote healing and recovery as they discharge from the hospital and re-enter society

Die Entwicklung eines Theorie-Praxisseminars mit multiperspektivischen Unterrichtsvideos an der Leuphana Universität Lüneburg

Universitäre Lehrkräftebildung steht seit jeher vor der Herausforderung, Studierende adäquat auf die unterrichtlichen Anforderungen in heterogenen Lerngruppen vorzubereiten. Zur Vermittlung entsprechender diagnostischer und unterstützender Handlungskompetenzen wurde im Rahmen des Projekts ZZL-Netzwerk ein innovatives universitäres mathematikdidaktisches Seminar u.a. mit multiperspektivischen Unterrichtsvideos in Kooperation von Lehrkräften und Wissenschaftler/-innen entwickelt. Die diesbezügliche Evaluationsstudie erfolgt im Rahmen eines Pre-Post-Designs mit Kontrollgruppe

A minimaj-preserving crystal on ordered multiset partitions

We provide a crystal structure on the set of ordered multiset partitions, which recently arose in the pursuit of the Delta Conjecture. This conjecture was stated by Haglund, Remmel and Wilson as a generalization of the Shuffle Conjecture. Various statistics on ordered multiset partitions arise in the combinatorial analysis of the Delta Conjecture, one of them being the minimaj statistic, which is a variant of the major index statistic on words. Our crystal has the property that the minimaj statistic is constant on connected components of the crystal. In particular, this yields another proof of the Schur positivity of the graded Frobenius series of the generalization $R_{n,k}$ due to Haglund, Rhoades and Shimozono of the coinvariant algebra $R_n$. The crystal structure also enables us to demonstrate the equidistributivity of the minimaj statistic with the major index statistic on ordered multiset partitions.Comment: 17 pages; v2 contains minor changes suggested by referee, references update

Backside Wear Analysis of Retrieved Acetabular Liners with a Press-Fit Locking Mechanism in Comparison to Wear Simulation In Vitro

Backside wear due to micromotion and poor conformity between the liner and its titanium alloy shell may contribute to the high rates of retroacetabular osteolysis and consequent aseptic loosening. The purpose of our study was to understand the wear process on the backside of polyethylene liners from two acetabular cup systems, whose locking mechanism is based on a press-fit cone in combination with a rough titanium conical inner surface on the fixation area. A direct comparison between in vitro wear simulator tests (equivalent to 3 years of use) and retrieved liners (average 13.1 months in situ) was done in order to evaluate the backside wear characteristics and behavior of these systems. Similar wear scores between in vitro tested and retrieved liners were observed. The results showed that this locking mechanism did not significantly produce wear marks at the backside of the polyethylene liners due to micromotion. In all the analyzed liners, the most common wear modes observed were small scratches at the cranial fixation zone directly below the rough titanium inner surface of the shell. It was concluded that most of the wear marks were produced during the insertion and removal of the liner, rather than during its time in situ

Contextual influences on physical activity and eating habits -options for action on the community level

Background: This conceptual paper aims to illustrate the ways in which communities are able to advance health improvements on a population level. Outcome measures may include increased physical activity and healthier eating habits in particular, as well as an improved health-related quality of life and social cohesion as more generic outcomes. Main body: The paper begins by asking initial questions: Why did previous health-specific interventions only show moderate effects on an individual level and mixed effects on a population level? What is the added value of a community-based public health perspective compared to the traditional biomedical perspective when it comes to prevention? Why are we living the way we are living? Why do we eat what we eat? Why do we move the way we move? Subsequently, we illustrate the broad spectrum of contextual interventions available to communities. These can have geographical and technological as well as economic, political, normative and attitude-specific dimensions. It is shown that communities have a strong influence on health-related contexts and decision-making of adults, adolescents and children. In addition contextual characteristics, effects, mediators, moderators and consequences relevant for health can differ greatly between age groups. Both small-scale settings and overarching sectors possess physical, economic, political and sociocultural characteristics that can be proactively influenced by community decision-makers in the sense of a “health in all policies”-strategy. Short conclusion: After presenting various interdisciplinary approaches to community-based health interventions, the manuscript closes with the following core message: Successful community-based health promotion strategies consist of multilevel – multicomponent interventions on the micro, meso and macro-level-environments

A utilização de práticas complementares por enfermeiros do Rio Grande do Sul

Considering that complementary practices use in Nursing is still little debated, this work aimed to investigate who are currently the nurses from Rio Grande do Sul, specialized in some integrative therapy and which ones they in their professional and/or personal practice. It was carried out a descriptive exploratory study of qualitative nature with five nurses registered in the Regional Counsel of Nursing - COREN/RS and with some involvement with the Brazilian Association of Natural Therapies in Nursing - ABRATEN. Answered questionnaires by research subjects’ analysis demonstrated a variety of practices modalities that are care possibilities used by the Nursing with the team, patients and community. The lack of disciplines that approach the integrative therapies area in the curriculums of Nursing courses and the spreading of these positive experiences were told by these professionals who today commit themselves with the study of complementary practicesLa utilización de prácticas complementarias en Enfermería aún es poco discutida, ese trabajo ha objetivado investigar quiénes son actualmente los enfermeros de la Provincia brasileña de Río Grande del Sur especializados en alguna terapia integrativa y cuáles son las que utilizan en sus prácticas profesionales y/o personales. Estudio exploratorio descriptivo de carácter cualitativo hecho con cinco enfermeros registrados en el Consejo Regional de Enfermería- COREN/RS y con algún envolvimiento junto a la Asociación Brasileña de Terapias Naturales en Enfermería– ABRATEN. El análisis de los cuestionarios contestados por los sujetos de la investigación demostró una variedad de modalidades de prácticas que son posibilidades de cuidado utilizados por la Enfermería junto al equipo, a los pacientes y a la comunidad. La falta de asignaturas que aborden el área en los currículos de los cursos de Enfermería y la divulgación de esas experiencias positivas han sido relatadas por esos profesionales que hoy se empeñan en el estudio de las prácticas complementarias.Tendo em vista que a utilização de práticas complementares na Enfermagem ainda é pouco discutida, esse trabalho objetivou investigar quem são atualmente os enfermeiros do Rio Grande do Sul, especializados em alguma terapia integrativa e quais são as utilizadas por eles em suas práticas profissionais e/ou pessoais. Estudo exploratório descritivo de caráter qualitativo realizado com cinco enfermeiros registrados no Conselho Regional de Enfermagem – COREN/RS e com algum envolvimento junto a Associação Brasileira de Terapias Naturais em Enfermagem – ABRATEN. A análise dos questionários, respondidos pelos sujeitos da pesquisa, demonstraram uma variedade de modalidades de práticas que são possibilidades de cuidados utilizados pela Enfermagem junto à equipe, aos pacientes e à comunidade. A falta de disciplinas que abordem essa área nos currículos dos cursos de Enfermagem e a divulgação dessas experiências positivas foram relatadas por esses profissionais que hoje se empenham no estudo das práticas complementares

Licit and illicit substance use patterns among university students in Germany using cluster analysis

Schilling L, Zeeb H, Pischke C, et al. Licit and illicit substance use patterns among university students in Germany using cluster analysis. SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT PREVENTION AND POLICY. 2017;12(1): 44.The use of multiple licit and illicit substances plays an important role in many university students' lives. Previous research on multiple substance use patterns of university students, however, often fails to examine use of different illicit substances and/or hookah. Our objective was to complement and advance the current knowledge about common consumption patterns regarding illicit substances and hookah use in this group. Students from eight German universities completed an online survey as part of the INSIST study ('INternet-based Social norms Intervention for the prevention of substance use among STudents') regarding their consumption of alcohol, tobacco, hookah, cannabis and other illicit substances. Cluster analysis identified distinct consumption patterns of concurrent and non-concurrent substance use and multinomial logistic regressions described key sociodemographic factors associated with these clusters. Six homogeneous groups were identified: 'Alcohol Abstainers' (10.8%), 'Drinkers Only' (48.2%), 'Drinkers and Cigarette Smokers' (14.6%), 'Cannabis and Licit Substance Users' (11.2%), 'Hookah Users with Co-Use' (9.8%) and 'Illicit Substance Users with Co-Use' (5.4%). Illicit substance use clustered with the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. Hookah use was regularly associated with alcohol consumption, less commonly associated with tobacco or cannabis use and very rarely associated with use of other illicit substances. Individuals consuming licit and illicit substances or hookah were mostly male and lived together with other students. Characteristics such as the number of years an individual had spent studying at a university, subject of study, immigrant background and religious affiliation were less commonly associated with cluster membership. Although we found substance use patterns in our sample largely similar to previous reports, we identified an important subgroup of individuals using both illicit and licit substances. These individuals may benefit especially from targeted interventions that focus on modifying addictive behavior patterns

Common signatures of differential microRNA expression in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease brains

Dysregulation of microRNA gene expression has been implicated in many neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease. However, the individual dysregulated microRNAs remain largely unknown. Previous meta-analyses have highlighted several microRNAs being differentially expressed in post-mortem Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer's disease brains versus controls, but they were based on small sample sizes. In this study, we quantified the expression of the most compelling Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease microRNAs from these meta-analyses (‘candidate miRNAs’) in one of the largest Parkinson’s/Alzheimer’s disease case–control post-mortem brain collections available (n = 451), thereby quadruplicating previously investigated sample sizes. Parkinson’s disease candidate microRNA hsa-miR-132-3p was differentially expressed in our Parkinson’s (P = 4.89E−06) and Alzheimer’s disease samples (P = 3.20E−24) compared with controls. Alzheimer’s disease candidate microRNAs hsa-miR-132-5p (P = 4.52E−06) and hsa-miR-129-5p (P = 0.0379) were differentially expressed in our Parkinson’s disease samples. Combining these novel data with previously published data substantially improved the statistical support (α = 3.85E−03) of the corresponding meta-analyses, clearly implicating these microRNAs in both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Furthermore, hsa-miR-132-3p/-5p (but not hsa-miR-129-5p) showed association with α-synuclein neuropathological Braak staging (P = 3.51E−03/P = 0.0117), suggesting that hsa-miR-132-3p/-5p play a role in α-synuclein aggregation beyond the early disease phase. Our study represents the largest independent assessment of recently highlighted candidate microRNAs in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease brains, to date. Our results implicate hsa-miR-132-3p/-5p and hsa-miR-129-5p to be differentially expressed in both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, pinpointing shared pathogenic mechanisms across these neurodegenerative diseases. Intriguingly, based on publicly available high-throughput sequencing of RNA isolated by cross-linking immunoprecipitation data, hsa-miR-132 may interact with SNCA messenger RNA in the human brain, possibly pinpointing novel therapeutic approaches in fighting Parkinson’s disease