Assaying Environmental Nickel Toxicity Using Model Nematodes

Although nickel exposure results in allergic reactions, respiratory conditions, and cancer in humans and rodents, the ramifications of excess nickel in the environment for animal and human health remain largely undescribed. Nickel and other cationic metals travel through waterways and bind to soils and sediments. To evaluate the potential toxic effects of nickel at environmental contaminant levels (8.9-7,600 µg Ni/g dry weight of sediment and 50-800 µg NiCl2/L of water), we conducted assays using two cosmopolitan nematodes, Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus. We assayed the effects of both sediment-bound and aqueous nickel upon animal growth, developmental survival, lifespan, and fecundity. Uncontaminated sediments were collected from sites in the Midwestern United States and spiked with a range of nickel concentrations. We found that nickel-spiked sediment substantially impairs both survival from larval to adult stages and adult longevity in a concentration-dependent manner. Further, while aqueous nickel showed no adverse effects on either survivorship or longevity, we observed a significant decrease in fecundity, indicating that aqueous nickel could have a negative impact on nematode physiology. Intriguingly, C. elegans and P. pacificus exhibit similar, but not identical, responses to nickel exposure. Moreover, P. pacificus could be tested successfully in sediments inhospitable to C. elegans. Our results add to a growing body of literature documenting the impact of nickel on animal physiology, and suggest that environmental toxicological studies could gain an advantage by widening their repertoire of nematode species

A qualitative study of pharmacy nurse providers of community based post-birth care in Queensland, Australia

Background: Reduced length of hospital stay following childbirth has placed increasing demands on community-based post-birth care services in Australia. Queensland is one of several states in Australia in which nurses are employed privately by pharmacies to provide maternal and child health care, yet little is known about their prevalence, attributes or role. The aims of this paper are to (1) explore the experiences and perspectives of a sample of pharmacy nurses and GPs who provide maternal and child health services in Queensland, Australia (2) describe the professional qualifications of the sample of pharmacy nurses, and (3) describe and analyze the location of pharmacy nurse clinics in relation to publicly provided services.Methods: As part of a state-wide evaluation of post-birth care in Queensland, Australia, case studies were conducted in six regional and metropolitan areas which included interviews with 47 key informants involved in postnatal care provision. We report on the prevalence of pharmacy nurses in the case study sites, and on the key informant interviews with 19 pharmacy nurses and six General Practitioners (GPs). The interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically.Results: The prevalence of pharmacy nurses appears to be highest where public services are least well integrated, coordinated and/or accessible. Pharmacy nurses report high levels of demand for their services, which they argue fill a number of gaps in the public provision of maternal and child health care including accessibility, continuity of carer, flexibility and convenient location. The concerns of pharmacy nurses include lack of privacy for consultations, limited capacity for client record keeping and follow up, and little opportunity for professional development, while GPs expressed concerns about inadequate public care and about the lack of regulation of pharmacy based care.Conclusions: Pharmacy based clinics are a market-driven response to gaps in the public provision of care. Currently there are no minimum standards or qualifications required of pharmacy nurses, no oversight or regulation of their practice, and no formal mechanisms for communicating with other providers of postnatal care. We discuss the implications and possible mechanisms to enhance best-practice care