Anti-staphylococcal activity and mode of action of thioridazine photoproducts

Antibiotic resistance became an increasing risk for population health threatening our ability to fight infectious diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the activity of laser irradiated thioridazine (TZ) against clinically-relevant bacteria in view to fight antibiotic resistance. TZ in ultrapure water solutions was irradiated (1–240 min) with 266 nm pulsed laser radiation. Irradiated solutions were characterized by UV–Vis and FTIR absorption spectroscopy, thin layer chromatography, laser-induced fluorescence, and dynamic surface tension measurements. Molecular docking studies were made to evaluate the molecular mechanisms of photoproducts action against Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA. More general, solutions were evaluated for their antimicrobial and efflux inhibitory activity against a panel of bacteria of clinical relevance. We observed an enhanced antimicrobial activity of TZ photoproducts against Gram-positive bacteria. This was higher than ciprofloxacin effects for methicillin- and ciprofloxacin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Molecular docking showed the Penicillin-binding proteins PBP3 and PBP2a inhibition by sulforidazine as a possible mechanism of action against Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA strains, respectively. Irradiated TZ reveals possible advantages in the treatment of infectious diseases produced by antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. TZ repurposing and its photoproducts, obtained by laser irradiation, show accelerated and low-costs of development if compared to chemical synthesis.publishersversionpublishe

Methods for studying migrant doctors’ transition to a new language

Based on a three-year long research project, with a focus on medical doctors’ second language acquisition, the aim of the article is to problematise methodological issues in the process of collecting data. The model for data collection is a combination of participant observation and staged activities that provide opportunities for doctors to speak Swedish in a professional role and reflect on their language learning process. Data has been collected during visits to a medical Swedish language course in Poland and consists of role plays, interviews and focus group discussions. A second part of the data collection consists of recordings of some of the doctor’s real occurring interaction at work in the Swedish context

Utvecklingen av interaktionell kompetens hos läkare som lär sig svenska

County councils in Sweden annually engages foreign-educated doctors from other EU countries, to cover the shortage of doctors. This article examines a group of fourteen doctors that have been recruited from Eastern and Southern Europe to work in Sweden. It investigates the doctors’ development of interactional competence during an intensive Swedish course conducted on a campus in Poland for 14 weeks. The investigation is conducted through role-plays in the form of medical consultations arranged on two occasions in the course, in the 6th and 12th weeks respectively. A total of 28 role-plays have been audio recorded and analysed using conversation analysis, CA. The main question is whether the participants’ ability to respond to the patients’ concerns advanced during the course. The analysis shows that the doctors’ ability to ask follow-up questions related to the patients’ problem description improved on the second role-play occasion, as well as their ability to demonstrate their understanding of the patients’ descriptions. There is also a tendency, the second time, for follow-up questions to lead to more fully developed responses from the patients. The result therefore indicates that the doctors’ interactional competence increased during the course, despite the fact that the language teaching during the course is mainly based on written texts. In addition, a minor quantitative analysis indicates a faster talk rate, increased length of turns, and fewer hesi- tation marks during the second role-play.https://doi.org/10.33063/diva-399803</p

Samma arbete, nytt språk : byte av arbetsspråk för läkare med utländsk bakgrund

De flesta svenska landsting rekryterar aktivt läkare, framför allt specialister, i andra länder. Hela 58 procent av de läkare som fick sin svenska läkarlegitimation 2014 var utbildade i ett annat land. Vårt forskningsprojekt berör läkare som rekryterats från Öst-och Sydeuropa och som får intensivutbildning i svenska i Polen, innan de börjar sina anställningar i Sverige.  Det övergripande syftet med projektet är att undersöka hur en yrkesrelaterad språkutbildning som äger rum utanför målspråksmiljön förbereder deltagarna för mötet med svenskt arbetsliv. Inledningsvis har vi undersökt utbildningen på plats i Polen vid tre tillfällen för att få svar på frågor som hur språkutbildningen förbereder för arbetet på ett nytt arbetsspråk och vilka kommunikativa färdigheter som tränas. Senare, efter att läkarna påbörjat sina anställningar i Sverige, kommer vi att undersöka hur väl förberedda de är inför de kommunikativa utmaningar de ställs inför i mötet med den svenska sjukvården.   I denna delstudie fokuserar vi på läkarnas förväntningar om sitt arbetsliv i Sverige och deras föreställningar om vad bytet av arbetsspråk kan innebära. Vi intresserar oss för hur deras tidigare erfarenheter från arbete som läkare kan överföras till den nya kontexten och hur deras erfarenheter kan tillämpas på ett nytt språk. Materialet består av intervjuer och fokusgruppssamtal som genomförts med läkarna i slutet av deras språkutbildning, där de utbyter tankar om läkarens samtalskompetens (interaktionskompetens) och hur sådan utvecklas. Visst material från intervjuer med läkare som hunnit påbörja sitt arbete i Sverige ingår också

Callers’ Descriptions of Stroke Symptoms during Emergency Calls in Victims Who Have Fallen or Been Found Lying Down: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Early identification of stroke symptoms is essential. The rate of stroke identification by call-takers at emergency medical communication centres (EMCCs) varies, and patients who are found in a lying down position are often not identified as having an ongoing stroke. Objectives: this study aimed to explore signs and symptoms of stroke in patients who had fallen or were found in a lying position. Design: a retrospective exploratory qualitative study design was used. Method: a total of 29 emergency calls to EMCCs regarding patients discharged with a stroke diagnosis from a large teaching hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, in January–June 2011, were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: during the emergency calls, the callers described a sudden change in the patient’s health status including signs such as the patient’s loss of bodily control, the patient’s perception of a change in sensory perception, and the callers’ inability to communicate with the patient. Conclusions: The callers’ descriptions of stroke in a person found in a lying position are not always as described in assessment protocols describing the onset of a stroke. Instead, the symptom descriptions are much vaguer. Therefore, to increase identification of stroke during emergency calls, there is a need for an increased understanding of how callers describe stroke symptoms and communicate with the call-takers