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.     

Seasonal succession in the plankton of a naturally acidic, highly humic lake in Northeastern Ohio, USA

A 13 month study of the plankton in a naturally acidic bog lakeshowed high algal biovohune, year-round dominance by flagellatesand mid-summer dominance by Gonyostomum semen. Zooplankton abundanceand species richness was very low. Rotifers were the year-rounddominants.     

Phytoplankton and periphyton responses to in situ experimental nutrient enrichment in a shallow subtropical lake

Experiments were performed in situ in shallow, subtropical LakeOkeechobee (Florida. USA) to quantify and compare the responsesof phytoplanklon (in 20 I clear polycarbonate carboys) and periphyton(on nutrient-diffusing clay substrates) to additions of nitrogenand/or phosphorus. During early and late summer. 1994, bothassemblages were nitrogen limited or co-limited by nitrogenand phosphorus, indicating the potential for competition betweenbenthic and planktonic communities. During late summer, therewas evidence that high phytoplankton biomass reduced light penetrationthrough the water column and may have suppressed periphytongrowth. The similar phytoplankton and periphyton taxonomic structures,both dominated by Lyngbya sp. and pennate diatoms, suggestedthat in shallow regions of this lake, resuspended meroplanktonmight account for a large portion of phytoplankton biomass.This phenomenon has been observed in other shallow, wind-drivenFlorida lakes.     

The effects of nutrient addition and pH manipulation in bag experiments on the phytoplankton of a small acidic lake in West Virginia,USA

In situ bag experiments were performed during summer and autumn in a small acidic lake, Tibbs Run Lake, West Virginia, USA. The objective was to evaluate phytoplankton responses to pH manipulation and nutrient addition. Increasing the pH from below 4.5 to over 6.3 resulted in great declines in phytoplankton biovolume. There was also a succession from dinoflagellates (Peridinium inconspicuum to small chlorophytes. The trend was more rapid where phosphorus (P) additions were made along with pH enhancement. During summer, P limitation was indicated, while nitrogen (N) appeared to limit production in autumn. In both seasons, nutrient additions greatly altered the phytoplankton composition in high pH treatments, but had no discernable effects at (the natural) low pH. A low pH, P addition treatment in autumn was the single exception. When N was subsequently added, phytoplankton composition changed dramatically, probably because the proceeding P additions caused severe secondary N-limitation. In general, however, the results supported the view that phytoplankton compositional responses to nutrient additions are suppressed in low pH, relative to high pH lake water.     

Summer zooplankton dynamics in the limnetic and littoral zones of a humic acid lake

The limnetic and littoral zooplankton were studied during summer 1989 in Triangle Lake, a humic acid (pH 4.9) bog lake in Ohio, USA. The limnetic zooplankton showed low species richness and biomass, and dominance by the rotifers Kellicottia bostoniensis and Polyarthra vulgaris. In the littoral, species richness and biomass were markedly higher, and the crustaceans Alona guttata, Ceriodaphnia quadrangula, Chydorus sphaericus, Simocephalus serrulatus and Tropocyclops prasinus, and the rotifer Ascomorpha ecaudis were the dominants. The extreme rotifer dominance and lack of cladocerans in the limnetic zone were likely the result of Chaoborus predation. A pronounced mid-summer decline in cladoceran biomass in the littoral was likely due to predation by T. prasinus and Utricularia (bladderwort).     

Premating isolation is determined by larval rearing substrates in cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis. IX. Host plant and population specific epicuticular hydrocarbon expression influences mate choice and sexual selection

Sexual signals in cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis include cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), contact pheromones that mediate female discrimination of males during courtship. CHCs, along with male courtship songs, cause premating isolation between diverged populations, and are influenced by genotype × environment interactions caused by different host cacti. CHC profiles of mated and unmated adult flies from a Baja California and a mainland Mexico population of D. mojavensis reared on two host cacti were assayed to test the hypothesis that male CHCs mediate within‐population female discrimination of males. In multiple choice courtship trials, mated and unmated males differed in CHC profiles, indicating that females prefer males with particular blends of CHCs. Mated and unmated females significantly differed in CHC profiles as well. Adults in the choice trials had CHC profiles that were significantly different from those in pair‐mated adults from no‐choice trials revealing an influence of sexual selection. Females preferred different male CHC blends in each population, but the influence of host cactus on CHC variation was significant only in the mainland population indicating population‐specific plasticity in CHCs. Different groups of CHCs mediated female choice‐based sexual selection in each population suggesting that geographical and ecological divergence has the potential to promote divergence in mate communication systems.     

The potential role of public gardens as sentinels of plant invasion

Public gardens can help prevent detrimental effects of plant invasions by collecting and sharing data on taxa spreading from cultivation early in the invasion process, thereby acting as sentinels of plant invasion. Existing initiatives have called for public gardens to adopt measures preventing plant invasion, but it is unclear what actions individual gardens are implementing, as there is no formal mechanism for communicating their progress. This study used internal lists of escaping taxa from seven public gardens in the Midwestern United States and Canada to demonstrate how public gardens can collectively contribute data that is critical to assessing potential invasiveness. It also reveals methodological differences in how gardens develop their lists of escaping plants, leading to recommendations for standardization. Data pooled across gardens yielded 769 species spreading from cultivation at one or more gardens. Eight woody species were listed by all gardens despite not consistently being recognized as invasive by states and provinces containing the gardens; some species recorded by multiple gardens did not appear on any invasive lists. While it may be premature to call taxa escaping from cultivation at a few public gardens “invasive” or even “potentially invasive”, these plants should be monitored and evaluated with this information shared to facilitate stronger conclusions about risk. Thus, public gardens have a unique expertise in assisting invasive plant efforts as sentinels, particularly if challenges related to methodological inconsistencies and data sharing are suitably addressed, which is herein recommended through the adoption of a set of standardized guidelines.

     

Development of a microplate-based, electrophoretic fluorescent protein kinase a assay: comparison with filter-binding and fluorescence polarization assay formats

A microplate-based electrophoretic assay has been developed for the serine/threonine kinase protein kinase A (PKA). The ElectroCapture PKA assay developed uses a positively charged, lissamine-rhodamine-labeled kemptide peptide substrate for the kinase reaction and Nanogen's ElectroCapture HTS Workstation and 384-well laminated membrane plates to electrophoretically separate the negatively charged phosphorylated peptide product from the kinase reaction mix. After the electrophoretic separation, the amount of rhodamine-labeled phosphopeptide product was quantified using a Tecan Ultra384 fluorescence reader. The ElectroCapture PKA assay was validated with both known PKA inhibitors and library compounds. The pK(iapp) results obtained in the ElectroCapture PKA assay were comparable to those generated with current radioactive filter-binding assay and antibody-based competitive fluorescence polarization PKA assay formats.