Development of Evidence-Based Scenario with High Fidelity Simulation to Improve Nursing Care of Chest Pain Patients

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality in the United States, and a primary educational objective is to develop professional competency among nurses to ensure the provision of safe and effective care to the cardiac patient. Benner\u27s theory of novice-to-expert led to the development of an evidence-based scenario for the care of the patient with chest pain using risk-free high-fidelity simulation environments that focused on assessment, history taking, and communication, while evaluating improvements in the competency of nurses providing care to chest pain patients. Thirty-six nurses volunteered in the study. Feedback from nurse educators, which led to modifications to the scenario, preceptor evaluation of participants during simulation, and post simulation feedback of participants, were analyzed using an inductive and exploratory theme analysis. Participants reported they learned meaningful information but felt somewhat confused regarding the correct course of action when multiple events occurred simultaneously. Preceptors\u27 feedback identified participant failure to meet stated scenario expectations. Quantitative analysis of data, using one sample t test, compared the pre- and post-test scores measuring participant knowledge on assessment, history taking, and communication. Although knowledge scores increased, the difference was not clinically significant based on the negative feedback from both preceptor and participants. Accurate appraisal of nurses\u27 competency in assessment, history-taking, and communication skills is needed prior to exposure to simulation. Simulation scenarios may be more clinically significant when tailored to an individual participant\u27s competency levels

Urine/Plasma Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin Ratio Is a Sensitive and Specific Marker of Subclinical Acute Kidney Injury in Mice

Background Detection of acute kidney injury (AKI) is still a challenge if conventional markers of kidney function are within reference range. We studied the sensitivity and specificity of NGAL as an AKI marker at different degrees of renal ischemia. Methods Male C57BL/6J mice were subjected to 10-, 20- or 30-min unilateral renal ischemia, to control operation or no operation, and AKI was evaluated 1 day later by histology, immunohistochemistry, BUN, creatinine, NGAL (plasma and urine) and renal NGAL mRNA expression. Results A short (10-min) ischemia did not alter BUN or kidney histology, but elevated plasma and urinary NGAL level and renal NGAL mRNA expression although to a much smaller extent than longer ischemia. Surprisingly, control operation elevated plasma NGAL and renal NGAL mRNA expression to a similar extent as 10-min ischemia. Further, the ratio of urine to plasma NGAL was the best parameter to differentiate a 10-min ischemic injury from control operation, while it was similar in the non and control-operated groups. Conclusions These results suggest that urinary NGAL excretion and especially ratio of urine to plasma NGAL are sensitive and specific markers of subclinical acute kidney injury in mice

Tagging Live Cells that Express Specific Peptidase Activity with Solid-State Fluorescence

International audienceA three-component probe harnesses the extraordinary properties of a solid-state fluorophore for the detection of living cells exhibiting a particular peptidase activity. The off–on mode by which the probe operates, the bright fluorescence of the resulting precipitate, and the rapid response allow an exceptional signal-to-background ratio during microscopic imaging. A tertiary carbamate link between the spacer and phenolic fluorophore is at the heart of the probe's long-term stability. The degree of chlorination of the probe determines its response time and thus its suitability for live-cell analysis. Our probe also allows highly resolved localization of peptidase activity during gel analysis or on agar. In comparison, probes releasing soluble fluorophores demonstrate complete diffusion of the fluorescent signal. These results demonstrate the probe's potential for diverse biomedical applications, including high-fidelity flow cytometry and sensitive colony assays

The wheat-meal-fermentation time test

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1963 M37Master of Scienc

Utilizing Social Media in Improving Creative Writing Skills of Grade 7 Students in English

The study identified the performance of Grade 7 students enrolled in Umingan Central National High School across their academic performance in English under creative writing skill. In gathering the profile of the students and their performance in identifying morphological and syntactical errors, descriptive and correlational research designs with the use of rubrics and standard deviation were used in the treatment of data. In answering the relationship between the students’ profile variables and their performance in identifying morphological and syntactical errors, Pearson R and Spearman Rho were used. It disclosed that most of the students achieved an overall rating of “good” in identifying morphological errors while “fair” in identifying syntactical errors. There was a significant relationship between the students’ academic performance in English and their performance in identifying syntactical errors. Further, the computed significance value 0.00 which was less than the level of alpha 0.05, the r value reflected a moderately positive correlation between English grade and controlled group. The experimental group was found out to have no significant relationship to the ability to identify performance of students in creative writing skill

Cytoprotective Properties of Makabuhay (Tinospora crispa) Bark Decoction in Cisplatin-induced Nephrotoxic Mice

Renal failure in cancer patients is one common problem in chemotherapy. Patients are frequently treated with nephrotoxic antibiotics like cisplatin. After a single dose of cisplatin, thirty-three percent (30%) of patients develops nephrotoxicity that leads to acute kidney injury. This study investigated the cytoprotective properties of makabuhay bark decoction in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxic mice. The makabuhay was extracted through decoction. Nine adult albino mice were used and divided into three groups. Nephrotoxicity was induced through repeated low dose cisplatin intraperitoneally and makabuhay extracts were administered orally. The treatment lasted for five consecutive days and animals were sacrificed under anesthesia on the 6th day after an overnight fast. Blood was collected for blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels evaluation. Results showed that there is a significant difference in the blood urea nitrogen levels of makabuhay treated mice compared to other groups. However, serum creatinine levels among treatments did not show any significant difference. On the other hand, kidney sections of mice were prepared and interpreted. The normal control group showed normal kidney tissues. Kidney sections from the cisplatin group showed severe renal degeneration and necrosis with congestion. The makabuhay treated mice presented moderate renal congestion and degeneration. The data from this study, proved that makabuhay possess cytoprotective properties in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity using established mouse model