Encouraging practitioners in infection prevention and control to publish: a cross-sectional survey

Aim: The aim of this cross-sectional survey was to determine the views of infection prevention and control practitioners (IPCPs) on publishing research. Methods: A convenience sample was obtained by approaching delegates at the 2015 Infection Prevention Society conference and data was captured via a hand-held electronic device. Findings: Of the 79 respondents most (83%) read Journal of Infection Prevention (JIP) and found it useful for informing their practice (72%). However, most (91%) had never published in JIP, and less than half (40%) published elsewhere. The main barrier to publication was not having work suitable for publication (38%). Support (37%), training in writing for publication (10%) and time (9%) were considered to be important facilitators in encouraging respondents to publish. Discussion: Strategies that support IPCPs in developing their writing skills may encourage more IPCPs to disseminate evidence to support best practice by publishing their work in peer reviewed journals

The method of Laplace Transform MultiQuadrics (LTMQ) for the solution of the groundwater flow equation

This paper presents a new numerical method, the Laplace Transform MultiQuadrics (LTMQ) method, developed for the solution of the diffusion-type parabolic Partial Differential Equation (PDE) of fluid flow through porous media. LTMQ combines a MultiQuadrics (MQ) approximation scheme with a Laplace transform formulation. The use of MQ in the spatial approximations allows the accurate description of problems in complex porous media with a very limited number of nodes. The Laplace transform formulation eliminates the need for time discretization, thus allowing an unlimited time step size without any loss of accuracy. LTMQ is tested against results from three test problems of groundwater flow obtained from a standard Finite Difference (FD) model, as well as from analytical solutions. An excellent agreement between the LTMQ and the analytical and FD solutions is observed, while significant reductions in computer execution times may be achieved

Vacuum requirements for heavy ion recirculating induction linacs

We examine the requirements of the vacuum system for the LLNL/LBL recirculating induction linac concept. We reexamine processes, including beam stripping, background gas ionization, intra-beam charge exchange and desorption of gas molecules from the wall due to the incident ionized gas molecules and stripped ions, in the context of the proposed recirculator. We discuss implications for the vacuum system layout and estimate the cost of such a system. 18 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

Efficacy of an intensive outpatient rehabilitation program in alcoholism: Predictors of outcome 6 months after treatment

Treatment of alcohol-dependent patients was primarily focused on inpatient settings in the past decades. The efficacy of these treatment programs has been evaluated in several studies and proven to be sufficient. However, with regard to the increasing costs in public healthcare systems, questions about alternative treatment strategies have been raised. Meanwhile, there is growing evidence that outpatient treatment might be comparably effective as inpatient treatment, at least for subgroups of alcohol dependents. On that background, the present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a high-structured outpatient treatment program in 103 alcohol-dependent patients. 74 patients (72%) terminated the outpatient treatment regularly. At 6 months' follow-up, 95% patients were successfully located and personally re-interviewed. Analyses revealed that 65 patients (64%) were abstinent at the 6-month follow-up evaluation and 37 patients ( 36%) were judged to be non-abstinent. Pretreatment variables which were found to have a negative impact (non-abstinence) on the 6-month outcome after treatment were a higher severity of alcohol dependence measured by a longer duration of alcohol dependence, a higher number of prior treatments and a stronger alcohol craving (measured by the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale). Further patients with a higher degree of psychopathology measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (depression) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (anxiety) relapsed more often. In summary, results of this study indicate a favorable outcome of socially stable alcohol-dependent patients and patients with a lower degree of depression, anxiety and craving in an intensive outpatient rehabilitation program

Single-Molecule Super-Resolution Imaging of T-Cell Plasma Membrane CD4 Redistribution upon HIV-1 Binding

The first step of cellular entry for the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) occurs through the binding of its envelope protein (Env) with the plasma membrane receptor CD4 and co-receptor CCR5 or CXCR4 on susceptible cells, primarily CD4+ T cells and macrophages. Although there is considerable knowledge of the molecular interactions between Env and host cell receptors that lead to successful fusion, the precise way in which HIV-1 receptors redistribute to sites of virus binding at the nanoscale remains unknown. Here, we quantitatively examine changes in the nanoscale organisation of CD4 on the surface of CD4+ T cells following HIV-1 binding. Using singlemolecule super-resolution imaging, we show that CD4 molecules are distributed mostly as either individual molecules or small clusters of up to 4 molecules. Following virus binding, we observe a local 3-to-10-fold increase in cluster diameter and molecule number for virus-associated CD4 clusters. Moreover, a similar but smaller magnitude reorganisation of CD4 was also observed with recombinant gp120. For one of the first times, our results quantify the nanoscale CD4 reorganisation triggered by HIV-1 on host CD4+ T cells. Our quantitative approach provides a robust methodology for characterising the nanoscale organisation of plasma membrane receptors in general with the potential to link spatial organisation to function

Validating the predicted lateral straggling of MeV-energy proton beams.

Proton imaging is a potential nondestructive method for characterizing NIF (National Ignition Facility) targets in two- and three-dimensions with micron-scale spatial resolution. The main limitation for high resolution imaging with proton beams, especially for thick samples, is the positional blurring of the proton beam, known as 'lateral straggling'. Accurate prediction of the amount of lateral straggling and, consequently, the achievable spatial resolution in pertinent NIF target material combinations and geometries requires validated proton transport models. We present results of Monte Carlo simulations of MeV-energy proton transport through thin ({approx}1 micron thick) metal foils. The calculated residual proton distributions are compared to recent lateral straggling measurements obtained at the LLNL 4-MV Pelletron accelerator