Delayed O-methylation of l-DOPA in MB-COMT-deficient mice after oral administration of l-DOPA and carbidopa

1.?Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is involved in the O-methylation of l-DOPA, dopamine, and other catechols. The enzyme is expressed in two isoforms: soluble (S-COMT), which resides in the cytoplasm, and membrane-bound (MB-COMT), which is anchored to intracellular membranes.

2.?To obtain specific information on the functions of COMT isoforms, we studied how a complete MB-COMT deficiency affects the total COMT activity in the body, peripheral l-DOPA levels, and metabolism after l-DOPA (10?mg kg^?1) plus carbidopa (30?mg kg^?1) administration by gastric tube in wild-type (WT) and MB-COMT-deficient mice. l-DOPA and 3-O-methyl-l-DOPA (3-OMD) levels were assayed in plasma, duodenum, and liver.

3.?We showed that the selective lack of MB-COMT did not alter the total COMT activity, COMT enzyme kinetics, l-DOPA levels, or the total O-methylation of l-DOPA but delayed production of 3-OMD in plasma and peripheral tissues.     

Chronic meningitis in systemic lupus erythematosus: An unusual etiology

Chronic aseptic meningitis is a rare manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Apart from immunological causes and drugs, the aseptic meningitis group can include some unidentified viral infections that cannot be detected by routine microbiological testing. It is imperative to do complete cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) workup before implicating the symptoms to disease activity or drugs, as untreated infections cause significant mortality in SLE. We present a case of young female with SLE who presented with chronic meningitis of an uncommon etiology.     

Screening of Bacteriophage Encoded Toxic Proteins with a Next Generation Sequencing-Based Assay

Bacteriophage vB_EcoM_fHy-Eco03 (fHy-Eco03 for short) was isolated from a sewage sample based on its ability to infect an Escherichia coli clinical blood culture isolate. Altogether, 32 genes encoding hypothetical proteins of unknown function (HPUFs) were identified from the genomic sequence of fHy-Eco03. The HPUFs were screened for toxic properties (toxHPUFs) with a novel, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)-based approach. This approach identifies toxHPUF-encoding genes through comparison of gene-specific read coverages in DNA from pooled ligation mixtures before electroporation and pooled transformants after electroporation. The performance and reliability of the NGS screening assay was compared with a plating efficiency-based method, and both methods identified the fHy-Eco03 gene g05 product as toxic. While the outcomes of the two screenings were highly similar, the NGS screening assay outperformed the plating efficiency assay in both reliability and efficiency. The NGS screening assay can be used as a high throughput method in the search for new phage-inspired antimicrobial molecules.     

Psychosocial work environment and cross‐cultural competence among native and foreign‐born registered nurses

Cross‐cultural competence is an essential component of the nursing profession, but little is known about the specific psychosocial work characteristics that potentially promote or hinder such competence. In the present study, psychosocial work characteristics were based on Karasek's Job Demand—Control Model. The researchers examined whether Karasek's psychosocial work characteristics, such as high‐strain jobs, high‐strain isolated jobs, active jobs, and active collective jobs, are associated with cross‐cultural competence (empathy, skills, positive attitudes, and motivation), and whether there are differences between native and foreign‐born registered nurses (RN) in these potential associations. A random sample of 744 native RNs (91.0% women) and a total sample (n = 212) of foreign‐born RNs (94.3% women) working in Finland were used. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed with a series of multiple linear regression analyses. High‐strain and high‐strain isolated jobs were negatively associated with all four dimensions of cross‐cultural competence. Active collective jobs, but not active jobs, were positively associated with cross‐cultural skills. There were no differences between native and migrant nurses in these associations. The psychosocial work environment is associated with cross‐cultural competence in both native and migrant nurses. Improvements in psychosocial working conditions, especially minimizing negative factors in the work environment, such as high‐strain and high‐strain isolated jobs, may need to be considered as a part of the efforts aimed to enhance cross‐cultural competence among nursing personnel.     

The Utilization of Quality KPIs in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Purpose

The overall aim of this study was to investigate the significance of quality key performance indicators (KPIs) and how comprehensively they are used in the pharmaceutical industry. A specific aim was to find which KPIs were relevant to personnel from the perspective of their own work responsibilities. A further aim was to determine which factors motivate personnel enough to respond to improve KPIs.

Methods

Qualitative theme interviews of ten staff from one case company were conducted to study the impact of KPIs. Interview data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis and reductive analysis.

Results

Personnel considered deviations in manufacturing and packaging to be the most important quality KPI when they considered their own work responsibilities. The quality indicators data were utilized quite efficiently, for example, in complaint and deviation handling processes, and they provided useful information for corrective and preventive actions (CAPA)-reporting. The most important factors that motivated supervisors, managers, and experts regarding KPIs were those that affected interviewees own particular work responsibilities, the cooperation within the operators own departments, and the cooperation between different departments. The interviewees opined that the production bonus was the most important motivational factor for production operators to improve upon quality indicator performance.

Conclusions

Quality indicator feedback data were utilized widely by the case company and were considered to be a useful tool to guide personnel in ensuring or potentially improving the quality of operations.     

Predictors of mortality in children with typhoid ileal perforation in a Nigerian tertiary hospital

Purpose

Childhood typhoid ileal perforation is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Our aim was to ascertain the predictors of survival in children.

Materials and methods

This is a tertiary hospital-based retrospective review of patients aged ≤15 years managed for typhoid ileal perforations between January 2005 and December 2013. The details of their biodata, potential risk factors and outcome were evaluated.

Results

Forty-five children out of a total of 97 with typhoid fever had typhoid ileal perforation. The age range was 2–15 years, mean (±SD) = 9.3 (±3.31) years, median = 10 years. There were more males than females (26:19). Thirty-nine (86.7 %) patients were >5 years old. There were nine deaths (20 % mortality). The mean (±SD) age of survivors was 9.8 (±2.9) years and 7.1 (±4.2) for non-survivors (p = 0.026). The duration of illness at presentation, gender, admission temperature, nutritional status and packed cell volume, perforation-operation interval, number of perforations, surgical procedure, and the duration of surgery did not statistically influence survival (p > 0.05). The age of the patients and burst abdomen attained statistical significance (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The patients’ age and postoperative burst abdomen were significant determinants of survival in children with typhoid ileal perforation.     

Anti-phytoviral Activity of Carvacrol vis-a-vis Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMV)

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences - Viruses are causative agents of infections in plants which are found worldwide and cause a serious threat to...     

Impact of the implementation of the safewards model on the social climate on adolescent psychiatric wards

The Safewards model was created to reduce conflict and containment in psychiatric inpatient units. The model suggests alternative methods for containment and aims to create a safer hospital experience for both patients and staff. The evaluation of this model has provided evidence that it might be implemented on adolescent psychiatric wards. This study evaluated the impact of the implementation process of the Safewards model on the social climate of adolescent psychiatric inpatient wards by using the Essen Climate Evaluation Schema questionnaire. The study was carried out on six closed wards of one Finnish hospital district. Data were collected at baseline (42 adolescent inpatients and 134 staff members) and after the implementation of the model (39 inpatients and 115 staff members). The data were analysed using the Mann–Whitney U‐test. The findings of this preliminary study indicate that inpatients' experience of patient cohesion and therapeutic hold and staff members' experience of safety on adolescent psychiatric wards might be improved by the implementation of the Safewards model on adolescent psychiatric wards.     

An outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes serotype 3a infections from butter in Finland

In February 1999, an outbreak of listeriosis caused by Listeria monocytogenes serotype 3a occurred in Finland. All isolates were identical. The outbreak strain was first isolated in 1997 in dairy butter. This dairy began delivery to a tertiary care hospital (TCH) in June 1998. From June 1998 to April 1999, 25 case patients were identified (20 with sepsis, 4 with meningitis, and 1 with abscess; 6 patients died). Patients with the outbreak strain were more likely to have been admitted to the TCH than were patients with other strains of L. monocytogenes (60% vs. 8%; odds ratio, 17.3; 95% confidence interval, 2.8-136.8). Case patients admitted to the TCH had been hospitalized longer before cultures tested positive than had matched controls (median, 31 vs. 10 days; P=.008). An investigation found the outbreak strain in packaged butter served at the TCH and at the source dairy. Recall of the product ended the outbreak.