Interview with Karen Mansfield

Benefits Counselor, Personnel OfficeDigitized 2013 by Avant Productions, Inc

Modification of kraft wood-pulp fibre with silica for surface functionalisation

A new science strategy for natural fibre modification was devised in which glass surface properties would be imparted to wood-derived fibre. The enhancements known from addition of silane reagents to glass fibre–polymer composites could therefore be realised for modified cellulose fibre–polymer composites. A process is described whereby the internal void spaces and micropores of never-dried Kraft pulp fibre walls were impregnated with silica. This was achieved by initial dehydration of never-dried fibre through azeotropic distillation to achieve substitution of fibre water with the silicon chemical solution over a range of concentrations. Kraft fibres were stiffened and made resistant to collapse from the effect of the azeotrope drying. Specific chemical reaction of azeotrope-dried fibre with the reagent ClSi(OEt)3 followed by base-catalysed hydrolysis of the ester groups formed a fibre-bound silica composite. The physico-chemical substitution of water from micropores and internal voids of never-dried fibre with property-modifying chemicals offers possibilities in the development of new fibre characteristics, including fibres which may be hardened, plasticised, and/or stabilised against moisture, biodegradation or fire. The embedded silica may also be used as sites of attachment for coupling agents to modify the hydrophilic character of the fibre or to functionalise the fibre surface

Rapid Molecular Detection Methods for Arboviruses of Livestock of Importance to Northern Europe

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) have been responsible for some of the most explosive epidemics of emerging infectious diseases over the past decade. Their impact on both human and livestock populations has been dramatic. The early detection either through surveillance or diagnosis of virus will be a critical feature in responding and resolving the emergence of such epidemics in the future. Although some of the most important emerging arboviruses are human pathogens, this paper aims to highlight those diseases that primarily affect livestock, although many are zoonotic and some occasionally cause human mortality. This paper also highlights the molecular detection methods specific to each virus and identifies those emerging diseases for which a rapid detection methods are not yet developed

Breaking the transactional mindset: A new path for healthcare leadership built on a commitment to human experience

Numerous health care publications have focused on the compelling need to improve patient experience and the associated improvements necessary to address workforce well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated and illuminated long-standing problems in health care including workforce shortages, inequity in health care delivery outcomes, care provider burnout, and overall societal structural racism.1,2 The Beryl Institute’s Nursing Executive Council (NEC) manuscript Rebuilding a Foundation of Trust: A Call to Action in Creating a Safe Environment for Everyone3 focused on actions and behaviours to heal relationships and build trust between care providers and leaders with commitments to safety, empathy, shared decision making, transparency, growth and development. Research studies abound offering new frameworks and interventions intending to strengthen systems of care that respect whole person needs. The nursing profession has always been anchored in holistic person-centered care yet continues to be challenged in work environments laden with fragmentation and barriers to human caring. The purpose of this paper is to review the dominance of transactional business mindsets and practices today that may foster those challenging environments and assert that the use of Service-Dominant Logic (SDL) demonstrates the importance of human relations in developing effective and sustainable organizational performance. Ultimately it can help us lead differently at all levels as we work to transform the human experience in healthcare. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Culture & Leadership lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework (https://theberylinstitute.org/experience-framework/). Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this lens

Psychoeducational interventions for informal caregivers of people with dementia: a systematic review

A summary of key features from a systematic review protocol registered in PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews

Happier during lockdown: a descriptive analysis of self-reported wellbeing in 17,000 UK school students during Covid-19 lockdown.

Funder: The Westminster FoundationRelatively little research has focused on children and young people (CYP) whose mental health and wellbeing improved during Covid-19 lockdown measures. We aimed to (1) determine the proportion of CYP who self-reported improvement in their mental wellbeing during the first Covid-19 lockdown and (2) describe the characteristics of this group in relation to their peers. We conducted a descriptive analysis of data from the 2020 OxWell Student Survey, a self-report, cross-sectional survey of English CYP. A total of 16,940 CYP primarily aged 8-18 years reported on change in mental wellbeing during lockdown. We characterised these CYP in terms of school, home, relational, and lifestyle factors as well as feelings about returning to school. One-third (33%) of CYP reported improved mental wellbeing during the first UK national lockdown. Compared with peers who reported no change or deterioration, a higher proportion of CYP with improved mental wellbeing reported improved relationships with friends and family, less loneliness and exclusion, reduced bullying, better management of school tasks, and more sleep and exercise during lockdown. In conclusion, a sizeable minority of CYP reported improved mental wellbeing during lockdown. Determining the reasons why these CYP felt they fared better during lockdown and considering how these beneficial experiences can be maintained beyond the pandemic might provide insights into how to promote the future mental health and wellbeing of school-aged CYP. All those working with CYP now have an opportunity to consider whether a systemic shift is needed in order to understand and realise any learnings from experiences during the pandemic.Funding ES is funded by a Gates Cambridge Scholarship (Grant Number: OPP1144). SP is funded by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Post-Doctoral Fellowship award (Grant Number PDF-2017-10-029) and The Westminster Foundation. NC is supported by funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Emerging Minds Network. KLM is funded by the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20005). PBJ is supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England. MF was supported by funding from the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. The OxWell Student Survey is supported by the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre, an MRC Pathfinder Award to the University of Oxford, and the Westminster Foundation. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care

Rebuilding a foundation of trust: A call to action in creating a safe environment for everyone

Well before the COVID-19 pandemic, incivility and physical threats directed toward healthcare employees and often registered nurses was a growing concern by Chief Nurse Executive (CNE) leaders. In 2019, conversations initiated by The Beryl Institute’s Nurse Executive Council (NEC) to consider how best to achieve a much-needed balance between patient/family and staff safety have now become a critical priority to ensure the safety of everyone receiving and providing health care services. The heart of this work was organized around a set of newly developed ethical precepts designed to guide the exploration of key concepts. A call to action grounded in rebuilding a foundation of trust is proposed. In pursuing future steps to deepen this foundation, and to reaffirm the vital role for nurse leaders and of all in healthcare, we must be willing to engage in dialogue, to ask openly, and question respectfully. We believe healthcare systems and nurse leaders both play a vital role in elevating the humanity on which we will find brighter days ahead. Through a sustained commitment to this aim, we seek to strengthen health care delivery environments that shape physically and psychologically safe environments for everyone. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Culture & Leadership lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework (https://www.theberylinstitute.org/ExperienceFramework). Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this len

A molecular epidemiological study of rabies epizootics in kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) in Namibia

BACKGROUND: A panel of 37 rabies virus isolates were collected and studied, originating mainly from the northern and central regions of Namibia, between 1980 and 2003. RESULTS: These virus isolates demonstrated a high degree of genetic similarity with respect to a 400 bp region of the nucleoprotein gene, with the virus isolates originating from kudu antelope (n = 10) sharing 97.2–100% similarity with jackal isolates, and 97–100% similarity with those isolated from domestic dogs. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that these viruses were all of the canid rabies biotype of southern Africa. The viruses from kudu were closely associated with jackal isolates (n = 6), bat-eared fox isolates (n = 2) and domestic dog isolates (n = 2) at the genetic level and identical at the amino acid level, irrespective of the year of isolation. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that jackal and kudu may form part of the same epidemiological cycle of rabies in Namibian wildlife, and might demonstrate the close-relationship between rabies virus strains that circulate within Namibia and those that circulate between Namibia and its neighbouring countries such as Botswana and South Africa

Nursing leadership during COVID-19: Enhancing patient, family and workforce experience

The global COVID-19 pandemic has challenged nurse leaders in ways that one could not imagine six months ago. Along with ongoing priorities of providing high quality, cost-effective and safe care, nurse leaders are also committed to creating environments that support excellence in patient and family experience. This article will provide exemplars of how nurse leaders used decisive decision-making, adapted to novel situations and issues, ensured reliable and safe delivery of care and engaged patients, families and their workforce to create excellent experiences of care during the pandemic. Throughout this crisis, nurse leaders have learned how to grapple with quick and often uncertain decision-making, adapted ways to engage patient and family amidst new care situations and operational policies, delivered care reliably with ever changing metrics and measures and created environments to support and bring smiles to nurses and other health care staff. New opportunities to care for and positively engage patients and families have emerged. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Culture & Leadership lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework) Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this len

Willingness of children and adolescents to have a COVID-19 vaccination: Results of a large whole schools survey in England.

BackgroundVaccine hesitancy has affected COVID-19 adult vaccination programs in many countries. Data on hesitancy amongst child and adolescent populations is largely confined to parent opinion. We investigated the characteristics of vaccine hesitant children and adolescents using results from a large, school-based self-report survey of the willingness to have a COVID-19 vaccination in students aged 9 -18 years in England.MethodsData from the OxWell Student Survey on mental health, life experiences and behaviours were used, collected from four counties across England. Local authority partners recruited schools. The vaccine hesitancy question gave six response options and were clustered to inform delivery: eager and willing were categorised as vaccination 'opt-in', don't know and not bothered categorised as 'undecided', and unwilling and anti-vaccination categorised as 'opt-out'. We conducted a multinomial regression to determine associations between vaccine hesitancy and sociodemographic, health behaviour and social connection variables.Findings27,910 students from 180 schools answered the vaccine hesitancy question between 14th May and 21st July 2021, of whom 13984 (50.1%) would opt-in to take a vaccination, 10322 (37.0%) were undecided, and 3604 (12.9%) would opt-out. A lower percentage of younger students reported that they would opt-in to vaccination, for example, 35.7% of 9-year-olds and 51.3% of 13-year-olds compared to 77.8% of 17-year-olds would opt-in to take a vaccination. Students who were 'opt-out' or 'undecided' (a combined 'vaccine hesitant' group) were more likely to come from deprived socioeconomic contexts with higher rates of home rental versus home ownership and their school locations were more likely to be in areas of greater deprivation. They were more likely to smoke or vape, spend longer on social media, feel that they did not belong in their school community but had lower levels of anxiety and depression. The vaccine hesitant students- the undecided and opt-out groups- were similar in profile, although the opt-out students had higher reported confirmed or probable previous COVID-19 infection than the opt-in group, whereas those undecided, did not.InterpretationIf government vaccination strategies move towards vaccinating younger school-aged students, efforts to increase vaccination uptake may be necessary. Compared with students who would opt-in, those who were vaccine hesitant had greater indicators of social deprivation and felt a lack of community cohesion by not feeling a sense of belonging at their school. There were indications that those students who would opt-out had higher levels of marginalisation and mistrust. If programmes are rolled out, focus on hesitant younger students will be important, targeting more marginalised and deprived young people with information from trusted sources utilising social media; improving access to vaccination centres with provision both in and outside school; and addressing fears and worries about the effects of the vaccine. The main limitation of this study is that the participant group may not be wholly representative of England or the UK, which may bias population-level estimates of willingness to be vaccinated.FundingThe Westminster Foundation, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre