Staff Nurses’ Perceptions and Experiences about Structural Empowerment: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study

The aim of the study reported in this article was to investigate staff nurses’ perceptions and experiences about structural empowerment and perceptions regarding the extent to which structural empowerment supports safe quality patient care. To address the complex needs of patients, staff nurse involvement in clinical and organizational decision-making processes within interdisciplinary care settings is crucial. A qualitative study was conducted using individual semi-structured interviews of 11 staff nurses assigned to medical or surgical units in a 600-bed university hospital in Belgium. During the study period, the hospital was going through an organizational transformation process to move from a classic hierarchical and departmental organizational structure to one that was flat and interdisciplinary. Staff nurses reported experiencing structural empowerment and they were willing to be involved in decision-making processes primarily about patient care within the context of their practice unit. However, participants were not always fully aware of the challenges and the effect of empowerment on their daily practice, the quality of care and patient safety. Ongoing hospital change initiatives supported staff nurses’ involvement in decision-making processes for certain matters but for some decisions, a classic hierarchical and departmental process still remained. Nurses perceived relatively high work demands and at times viewed empowerment as presenting additional. Staff nurses recognized the opportunities structural empowerment provided within their daily practice. Nurse managers and unit climate were seen as crucial for success while lack of time and perceived work demands were viewed as barriers to empowerment.     

The environmental fate and behaviour of antifouling paint booster biocides: A review

Antifouling paint booster biocides are a group of organic compounds added to antifouling paints to improve their efficacy. They have become prevalent since the requirement for alternative antifouling paints formulations for small boats (< 25 m). This need followed a ban on the use of triorganotin biocides in antifouling paints for small boats, in the late 1980's. Worldwide, around eighteen compounds are currently used as antifouling biocides, viz. benzmethylamide, chlorothalonil, copper pyrithione, dichlofluanid, diuron, fluorofolpet, Irgarol 1051, Sea‐Nine 211, Mancozeb, Polyphase, pyridine‐triphenyl‐borane, TCMS (2,3,5,6‐tetrachloro‐4‐methylsulfonyl) pyridine, TCMTB [2‐(thiocyanomethylthio)benzothia‐zole], Thiram, tolyfluanid, zinc pyrithione (ZPT), ziram and Zineb. Any booster biocide released into the environment is subjected to a complex set of processes. These processes include transport mechanisms, transformation, degradation, cross media partitioning, and bioaccumulation. This paper reviews the fate and behaviour data currently available in the public domain concerning antifouling paint booster biocides.     

Modulation of adenosine receptor affinity and intrinsic efficacy in adenine nucleosides substituted at the 2-position

We studied the structural determinants of binding affinity and efficacy of adenosine receptor (AR) agonists. Substituents at the 2-position of adenosine were combined with N(6)-substitutions known to enhance human A(3)AR affinity. Selectivity of binding of the analogues and their functional effects on cAMP production were studied using recombinant human A(1), A(2A), A(2B), and A(3)ARs. Mainly sterically small substituents at the 2-position modulated both the affinity and intrinsic efficacy at all subtypes. The 2-cyano group decreased hA(3)AR affinity and efficacy in the cases of N(6)-(3-iodobenzyl) and N(6)-(trans-2-phenyl-1-cyclopropyl), for which a full A(3)AR agonist was converted into a selective antagonist; the 2-cyano-N(6)-methyl analogue was a full A(3)AR agonist. The combination of N(6)-benzyl and various 2-substitutions (chloro, trifluoromethyl, and cyano) resulted in reduced efficacy at the A(1)AR. The environment surrounding the 2-position within the putative A(3)AR binding site was explored using rhodopsin-based homology modeling and ligand docking.     

Functional evolution of two subtly different (similar) folds

Background

The function of proteins is a direct consequence of their three-dimensional structure. The structural classification of proteins describes the ways of folding patterns all proteins could adopt. Although, the protein folds were described in many ways the functional properties of individual folds were not studied.

Results

We have analyzed two β-barrel folds generally adopted by small proteins to be looking similar but have different topology. On the basis of the topology they could be divided into two different folds named SH3-fold and OB-fold. There was no sequence homology between any of the proteins considered. The sequence diversity and loop variability was found to be important for various binding functions.

Conclusions

The function of Oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding (OB) fold proteins was restricted to either DNA/RNA binding or sugar binding whereas the Src homology 3 (SH3) domain like proteins bind to a variety of ligands through loop modulations. A question was raised whether the evolution of these two folds was through DNA shuffling.     

Virus isolation and molecular epidemiology of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) from an outbreak in free-ranging wild birds,India 2016

We report the molecular epidemiology of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus involved in an outbreak causing death in free-ranging wild birds at Mysore, Karnataka state of India. The virus was typed as HPAI A(H5N8) by conventional and TaqMan probe based real-time PCR assays. Six isolates of HPAI virus were recovered in 9-day-old embryonated chicken eggs. Haemagglutinin gene-based phylogeny of virus isolates showed >?99.9% nucleotide sequence identity with HPAI A(H5N8) isolates from migratory birds and domestic poultry from China and Korea indicating either these wild birds have routed their migration through Korea and/or eastern China or these dead birds must have directly or indirectly contacted with wild birds migrating from Eastern China and/or Korean regions. The study emphasises the role of migratory wild birds in spread of HPAI across the globe.     

Llama-derived Single Variable Domains (Nanobodies) Directed against Chemokine Receptor CXCR7 Reduce Head and Neck Cancer Cell Growth in Vivo

The chemokine receptor CXCR7, belonging to the membrane-bound G protein-coupled receptor superfamily, is expressed in several tumor types. Inhibition of CXCR7 with either small molecules or small interference (si)RNA has shown promising therapeutic benefits in several tumor models. With the increased interest and effectiveness of biologicals inhibiting membrane-bound receptors we made use of the “Nanobody platform” to target CXCR7. Previously we showed that Nanobodies, i.e. immunoglobulin single variable domains derived from naturally occurring heavy chain-only camelids antibodies, represent new biological tools to efficiently tackle difficult drug targets such as G protein-coupled receptors. In this study we developed and characterized highly selective and potent Nanobodies against CXCR7. Interestingly, the CXCR7-targeting Nanobodies displayed antagonistic properties in contrast with previously reported CXCR7-targeting agents. Several high affinity CXCR7-specific Nanobodies potently inhibited CXCL12-induced β-arrestin2 recruitment in vitro. A wide variety of tumor biopsies was profiled, showing for the first time high expression of CXCR7 in head and neck cancer. Using a patient-derived CXCR7-expressing head and neck cancer xenograft model in nude mice, tumor growth was inhibited by CXCR7-targeting Nanobody therapy. Mechanistically, CXCR7-targeting Nanobodies did not inhibit cell cycle progression but instead reduced secretion of the angiogenic chemokine CXCL1 from head and neck cancer cells in vitro, thus acting here as inverse agonists, and subsequent angiogenesis in vivo. Hence, with this novel class of CXCR7 inhibitors, we further substantiate the therapeutic relevance of targeting CXCR7 in head and neck cancer.     

General protein patterns of muscle homogenates of some Lake Victoria haplochromines (Pisces: Cichlidae)

Cichlid fishes of the great East African lakes have been the subject of many evolutionary studies over the last decades. Over 100 haplochromine species have been described from Lake Victoria alone, many of which are endemic to that lake. Two recent studies, using enzyme electrophoresis, could not detect any genetic differentiation among the examined species. Consequently, it was concluded that the gene loci which were scored in these studies were not relevant to the genetic changes which occurred during speciation. Analyses of general protein electrophoretic patterns, however, does reveal differentiation on the supraspecific level. Three basic species groups can be discerned, each associated with ecological characteristics of these species such as diet and substratum. Implications for haplochromine evolution and taxonomy are discussed. Our data seem to support the hypothesis that trophic differentiation may have occurred within habitats, implying the possible importance of sympatric speciation in haplochromine evolution in Lake Victoria.     

Thymidine and thymidine-5'-O-monophosphate analogues as inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis thymidylate kinase

The affinity of a series of 2', 3'- and 5-modified thymidine analogues for Mycobacterium tuberculosis thymidine monophosphate kinase (TMPKmt) was evaluated. The affinities of several non-phosphorylated analogues are in the same order of magnitude as those of their phosphorylated congeners. In view of drug delivery problems associated with phosphorylated compounds, these 'free' nucleosides seem more promising leads in the search of TMPKmt inhibitors as novel anti-tuberculosis agents.     

Efficient transposition in mycobacteria: construction of Mycobacterium smegmatis insertional mutant libraries.

The Tn611 transposon was inserted into pCG63, a temperature-sensitive plasmid isolated from an Escherichia coli-mycobacterial shuttle vector which contains the pAL5000 and pUC18 replicons. The resulting plasmid, pCG79, was used to generate a large number of insertional mutations in Mycobacterium smegmatis. These are the first mycobacterial insertional mutant libraries to be constructed by transposition directly into a mycobacterium. No highly preferential insertion sites were detected by Southern blot analysis of the chromosomal DNAs isolated from the insertion mutants. Auxotrophic mutants with various phenotypes were isolated at a frequency ranging from 0.1 to 0.4%, suggesting that the libraries are representative. The pCG79 system thus seems to be a useful tool for the study of M. smegmatis genetics and may be applicable to other mycobacteria, such as the M. tuberculosis complex.     

Associations of Forest Type,Parasitism and Body Condition of Two European Passerines,Fringilla coelebs and Sylvia atricapilla

Human-induced forest modification can alter parasite-host interactions and might change the persistence of host populations. We captured individuals of two widespread European passerines (Fringilla coelebs and Sylvia atricapilla) in southwestern Germany to disentangle the associations of forest types and parasitism by haemosporidian parasites on the body condition of birds. We compared parasite prevalence and parasite intensity, fluctuating asymmetries, leukocyte numbers, and the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H/L-ratio) among individuals from beech, mixed-deciduous and spruce forest stands. Based on the biology of bird species, we expected to find fewer infected individuals in beech or mixed-deciduous than in spruce forest stands. We found the highest parasite prevalence and intensity in beech forests for F. coelebs. Although, we found the highest prevalence in spruce forests for S. atricapilla, the highest intensity was detected in beech forests, partially supporting our hypothesis. Other body condition or health status metrics, such as the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H/L-ratio), revealed only slight differences between bird populations inhabiting the three different forest types, with the highest values in spruce for F. coelebs and in mixed-deciduous forests for S. atricapilla. A comparison of parasitized versus non-parasitized individuals suggests that parasite infection increased the immune response of a bird, which was detectable as high H/L-ratio. Higher infections with blood parasites for S. atricapilla in spruce forest indicate that this forest type might be a less suitable habitat than beech and mixed-deciduous forests, whereas beech forests seem to be a suboptimal habitat regarding parasitism for F. coelebs.