Job satisfaction and career development of men in nursing

Background: Men are a growing minority in nursing. A deeper understanding of their motivation, career paths, and job satisfaction is needed to target recruitment and retention efforts. Currently the largest male cohort entering nursing is by second career. This study examines if job satisfaction differs for men who choose nursing as their first choice of career, as a convenience after exploring other options, or as a second career. Methods: This mixed-method study examined the relationship between men entering nursing by choice, convenience or second career and their resultant job satisfaction. A convenience sample of 238 men answered an online survey. Entry path, current practice position, and future career plans in five years was by self report. Job satisfaction was measured using Lester’s instrument. Results: Second career men were significantly more likely to work in specialty practice and more likely to aspire to advanced practice than those entering by choice or convenience early in their careers. No significant differences in job satisfaction were found between entry paths. Conclusions: These data raise provocative issues relating to recruiting men and the impact of men on the profession of nursing. Despite the steady but slow growth in the percent of men in nursing, its image remains overwhelmingly female. This survey does not identify substantial differences in job satisfaction between men who enter through different career paths or substantial differences with other studies of male and female nurses

Topical delivery of 3-O-ethyl L-ascorbic acid from complex solvent systems

3-O-ethyl l-ascorbic acid (EA), an ether derivative of Vitamin C, is widely used in skincare formulations. Previously, we reported the effects of neat solvents on EA percutaneous absorption and observed that 0.6–7.5% of the applied EA was delivered through the skin over 24 h. In this work, we designed complex formulations using combinations of solvents that may act synergistically and examined their impact on EA permeation in porcine skin in vitro under finite dose conditions. Binary combinations of propylene glycol (PG) with propylene glycol monolaurate (PGML) were effective in enhancing skin permeation of EA compared with individual solvents (p 0.05). Addition of the volatile solvent isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to PG solutions also did not improve EA skin delivery compared with neat PG. Ternary solvent systems containing PG:PGML were subsequently prepared by the addition of a lipophilic solvent, either isopropyl myristate (IPM), medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) or isostearyl isostearate (ISIS). The optimum vehicle, PG:PGML:IPM, promoted up to 70.9% skin delivery of EA. The PG:PGML:ISIS vehicles also promoted EA permeation across the skin, but to a significantly lesser extent than the IPM-containing vehicles. No enhancement of EA delivery was noted for the PG:PGML:MCT mixtures. These results will inform the development of targeted formulations for EA in the future

Homogeneity of the 16S rDNA sequence among geographically disparate isolates of Taylorella equigenitalis

BACKGROUND: At present, six accessible sequences of 16S rDNA from Taylorella equigenitalis (T. equigenitalis) are available, whose sequence differences occur at a few nucleotide positions. Thus it is important to determine these sequences from additional strains in other countries, if possible, in order to clarify any anomalies regarding 16S rDNA sequence heterogeneity. Here, we clone and sequence the approximate full-length 16S rDNA from additional strains of T. equigenitalis isolated in Japan, Australia and France and compare these sequences to the existing published sequences. RESULTS: Clarification of any anomalies regarding 16S rDNA sequence heterogeneity of T. equigenitalis was carried out. When cloning, sequencing and comparison of the approximate full-length 16S rDNA from 17 strains of T. equigenitalis isolated in Japan, Australia and France, nucleotide sequence differences were demonstrated at the six loci in the 1,469 nucleotide sequence. Moreover, 12 polymorphic sites occurred among 23 sequences of the 16S rDNA, including the six reference sequences. CONCLUSION: High sequence similarity (99.5% or more) was observed throughout, except from nucleotide positions 138 to 501 where substitutions and deletions were noted

Using online teaching resources to increase nursing students\u27 knowledge and assessment skills of skin cancer

Nurses are in an excellent position to teach the public about skin cancer prevention and perform cancer screenings. This study was designed to test an educational intervention intended to teach nursing students about skin cancer so they can reach competence and be certified by faculty to educate their patients. Similarly, students are educated and certified in other areas, namely asthma and naloxone administration. By conducting this quasi-experimental study, the researchers sought to evaluate the effectiveness of adding online skin cancer education to traditional educational methods. Using a quasi-experimental design, we assigned nursing students (n = 146) to either an intervention group, which received an online educational treatment, or to a control group, which did not receive any such treatment. Both groups then completed a post-test measure assessing their knowledge about skin cancer (‘knowledge’), sun protective behaviours (‘behavior’), and perceptions about the role of the nurse in skin cancer prevention (‘role’). Participants in the intervention group had significantly higher scores on the ‘behavior’ and ‘role’ measures, suggesting that the intervention had successfully impacted these dimensions

Journey to a Heart Safe Community

Riding the Wave of Wellness Conference a UNC-Wilmington from the Building Healthy Academic Communities organizatio

Functional characterisation of substrate-binding proteins to address nutrient uptake in marine picocyanobacteria.

Marine cyanobacteria are key primary producers, contributing significantly to the microbial food web and biogeochemical cycles by releasing and importing many essential nutrients cycled through the environment. A subgroup of these, the picocyanobacteria (Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus), have colonised almost all marine ecosystems, covering a range of distinct light and temperature conditions, and nutrient profiles. The intra-clade diversities displayed by this monophyletic branch of cyanobacteria is indicative of their success across a broad range of environments. Part of this diversity is due to nutrient acquisition mechanisms, such as the use of high-affinity ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters to competitively acquire nutrients, particularly in oligotrophic (nutrient scarce) marine environments. The specificity of nutrient uptake in ABC transporters is primarily determined by the peripheral substrate-binding protein (SBP), a receptor protein that mediates ligand recognition and initiates translocation into the cell. The recent availability of large numbers of sequenced picocyanobacterial genomes indicates both Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus apportion >50% of their transport capacity to ABC transport systems. However, the low degree of sequence homology among the SBP family limits the reliability of functional assignments using sequence annotation and prediction tools. This review highlights the use of known SBP structural representatives for the uptake of key nutrient classes by cyanobacteria to compare with predicted SBP functionalities within sequenced marine picocyanobacteria genomes. This review shows the broad range of conserved biochemical functions of picocyanobacteria and the range of novel and hypothetical ABC transport systems that require further functional characterisation

3D Printed Franz cells - update on optimization of manufacture and evaluation

The evaluation of permeation profiles from cosmetic formulations is considered to be a crucial component in both the development and quality assurance of any new product [1, 2]. Data gathered from such studies allow researchers to assess the viability of delivering different materials to and through biological membranes. To date, laboratory in vitro permeation processes require the use of modified Franz type diffusion cells, conventionally fabricated from glass, which are available in different formats that can be customised to experimental requirements [3]

Exploring the relationship between adolescent biological maturation, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour: A systematic review and narrative synthesis

Context: Across adolescence, there is a notable decline in physical activity in boys and girls. Maturational timing may be a risk factor for disengagement from physical activity and increased sedentary behaviours during adolescence. Objective: This systematic review aimed to summarise literature that examined the relationship between maturational timing, physical activity and sedentary behaviour in adolescents. Methods: Six electronic databases were searched for articles that assessed biological maturation and physical activity (including sports participation and active transportation) or sedentary behaviours in adolescents. Two reviewers conducted title, abstract, and full-text screening, reference and forward citation searches. Included articles were evaluated for quality using a standardised tool. A narrative synthesis was used to analyse the findings due to the heterogeneity of the studies. Results: Searches yielded 78 articles (64 unique studies) that met the inclusion criteria, representing 242,316 participants (153,179 unique). Studies ranged from 30.0% (low) to 91.7% (high) in quality. An inverse relationship between maturational timing and physical activity (in 50 and 60% of studies in boys and girls, respectively) and a positive relationship between maturational timing and sedentary behaviour (in 100% and 53% of studies in boys and girls, respectively) was most commonly reported. Evidence supporting an association between maturational timing, sports participation, and active transportation was inconsistent. Conclusions: While this review demonstrates some evidence for early maturational timing as a risk factor for disengagement from physical activity and increase in sedentary behaviours, the reviewed literature also demonstrates that this relationship is complex. Future research that tracks maturity-related variations in physical activity and sedentary behaviours over adolescence is warranted