Rapid antigen testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection in a university setting in Ireland: Learning from a 6-week pilot study

Objectives

Study design

Methods

Results

Conclusions

The UCD nanosafety workshop (03 December 2018): towards developing a consensus on safe handling of nanomaterials within the Irish university labs and beyond - a report

Careful handling of the nanomaterials (NMs) in research labs is crucial to ensure a safe working environment. As the largest university in Ireland, University College Dublin (UCD) has invested significant resources to update researchers working with NMs. Due to sizes often <100 nm, the NMs including nanoparticles, harbor unprecedented materialistic properties, for example, enhanced reactivity, conductivity, fluorescence, etc. which albeit conferring the NMs an edge over bulk materials regarding the applied aspects; depending on the dose, also render them to be toxic. Thus, a set of regulatory guidelines have emerged regarding safe handling of the NMs within occupational set-ups. Unfortunately, the current regulations based on the toxic chemicals and carcinogens are often confusing, lack clarity, and difficult to apply for the NMs. As a research-intensive university, a diverse range of research activities occur within the UCD labs, and it is difficult, at times impossible, for the UCD Safety, Insurance, Operational Risk & Compliance (SIRC) office to develop a set of common guidelines and cater throughout all its labs conducting research with the NMs. Hence, a necessity for dialog and exchange of ideas was felt across the UCD which encouraged the researchers including early stage researchers (e.g. PhDs, Postdocs) from multiple schools to participate in a workshop held on the 03 December 2018. The workshop tried to follow a pragmatic approach, where apart from discussing both the in vitro and in vivo scenarios, practical cases simulating situations faced frequently in the labs were discussed. This report summarizes the findings made during the workshop by this emerging critical mass in UCD.

Evaluation of fixed and variable hospital costs due to Clostridium difficile infection: institutional incentives and directions for future research

BACKGROUND

Economic analysis of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) should consider the incentives facing institutional decision-makers. To avoid overstating the financial benefits of infection prevention, fixed and variable costs should be distinguished.

AIM

To quantify CDI fixed and variable costs in a tertiary referral hospital during August 2015.

METHODS

A micro-costing analysis estimated CDI costs per patient, including the additional costs of a CDI outbreak. Resource use was quantified after review of patient charts, pharmacy data, administrative resource input, and records of salary and cleaning/decontamination expenditure.

FINDINGS

The incremental cost of CDI was €75,680 (mean: €5,820 per patient) with key cost drivers being cleaning, pharmaceuticals, and length of stay (LOS). Additional LOS ranged from 1.75 to 22.55 days. For seven patients involved in a CDI outbreak, excluding the value of the 58 lost bed-days (€34,585); costs were 30% higher (€7,589 per patient). Therefore, total spending on CDI was €88,062 (mean: €6,773 across all patients). Potential savings from variable costs were €1,026 (17%) or €1,768 (26%) if outbreak costs were included. Investment in an antimicrobial pharmacist would require 47 CDI cases to be prevented annually. Prevention of 5%, 10% and 20% CDI would reduce attributable costs by €4,403, €8,806 and €17,612. Increasing the incremental LOS attributable to CDI to seven days per patient would have increased costs to €7,478 or €8,431 (if outbreak costs were included).

CONCLUSION

As much CDI costs are fixed, potential savings from infection prevention are limited. Future analysis must consider more effectively this distinction and its impact on institutional decision-making.

INPP4B is an oncogenic regulator in human colon cancer

Inositol polyphosphate 4-phosphatase type II (INPP4B) negatively regulates phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling and is a tumor suppressor in some types of cancers. However, we have found that it is frequently upregulated in human colon cancer cells. Here we show that silencing of INPP4B blocks activation of Akt and serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 3 (SGK3), inhibits colon cancer cell proliferation and retards colon cancer xenograft growth. Conversely, overexpression of INPP4B increases proliferation and triggers anchorage-independent growth of normal colon epithelial cells. Moreover, we demonstrate that the effect of INPP4B on Akt and SGK3 is associated with inactivation of phosphate and tensin homolog through its protein phosphatase activity and that the increase in INPP4B is due to Ets-1-mediated transcriptional upregulation in colon cancer cells. Collectively, these results suggest that INPP4B may function as an oncogenic driver in colon cancer, with potential implications for targeting INPP4B as a novel approach to treat this disease.

Peer-reviewed publication output of psychiatric nurses in the Republic of Ireland

Pre-registration psychiatric nursing education, in the Republic of Ireland, has recently moved to a 4-year degree programme, with the first cohort of psychiatric nursing graduants graduating in 2006. In addition, a number of other policy initiatives have taken place that will have a significant impact on psychiatric nursing practice, education and research activity. To provide a baseline for future benchmarking and evaluation, the year 2005 seemed an appropriate time to reflect on and record publications by psychiatric nurses in the Republic of Ireland. This article reports the findings of a study undertaken to identify psychiatric nursing publications in peer-reviewed journals, with a view to establishing trends in publication, such as the type of publication, subject area and journal type. Emerging trends are identified and discussed in light of concurrent changes in psychiatric nursing and mental health care, and suggestions are made for future development of publication capacity.

How state counter-industry campaigns help prime perceptions of tobacco industry practices to promote reductions in youth smoking

OBJECTIVE

This study assessed the impact of state media campaigns that prominently feature counter-industry messages on youth cigarette smoking, beyond the effects of price, secular trends, tobacco control efforts, and the national truth campaign.

METHODS

Rates of youth smoking were compared in three groups of states: (1) those with long funded counter-industry campaigns (California, Florida, and Massachusetts); (2) states with more recently funded counter-industry media campaigns (Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, and New Jersey); and (3) other states. An analysis was performed for a series of national telephone surveys of 12-17 year olds between 1999 and 2002, controlling for differences in demographic background, the price of cigarettes, and exposure to the national truth campaign.

RESULTS

Between 1999 and 2002, rates of current smoking and established smoking decreased significantly faster in states with established or more newly funded counter-industry campaigns than in other states. State counter-industry campaigns appear to prime, or make more salient, negative perceptions about tobacco industry practices.

CONCLUSION

Results highlight the value of continued state counter-industry campaigns.

An examination of the role and function of psychiatric nurses in clinical practice in Ireland

AIM OF THE STUDY

The aim of the study was to describe the role and function of all grades of psychiatric nurse in clinical practice so as to clarify the nature and scope of psychiatric nursing services.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

The psychiatric nursing role in Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK) in recent years has undergone a period of great change. There is a new emphasis on health promotion, early intervention, community development, with nursing being provided closer to where people live and work as well as making access to services easier for vulnerable groups of the population. Role ambiguity and the difficulty with defining psychiatric nursing work is a constant theme in the psychiatric nursing literature and this leaves the profession of psychiatric nursing rather vulnerable during this period of intense change.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A descriptive qualitative research design with a multimethods approach to data collection was utilized involving three disparate but complimentary methods.

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

Following data analysis, nine categories of nursing role were identified; these included both independent and interdependent roles. Clearly psychiatric nursing occupied a pivotal role in all mental health care settings. A major proportion of psychiatric nursing related to caring interactions and this appears to be a central nursing element. The assessment and maintenance of patient's safety was also important as mental health problems may place the patient or others in a position where their physical safety is threatened.

CONCLUSION

It is concluded that Irish psychiatric nurses have been innovative and initiated many new services in response to emerging needs. Our understanding of psychiatric nursing is far from complete and the immediate challenge is to determine the knowledge and skills base required for independent therapeutic roles in response to changing mental health care needs.

Evaluation of S-100beta assays for the prediction of recurrence and prognosis in patients with AJCC stage I-III melanoma

We performed prospective serial studies on 266 melanoma patients undergoing surgery for high risk primary or lymph node metastases to assess the predictive value for recurrence of melanoma of S-100beta detection in the serum using immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) or Immunoluminometric assay (LIA-mat). The tests for S-100beta were most frequently positive in the first 3 months after surgery. Results of the assays did not show a strong correlation with clinical stage of the disease. Studies on a cohort of 147 patients who had been followed for a minimum of 2 years post-surgery were carried out to assess the sensitivity of the assays for identifying patients who develop recurrence of their melanoma. The LIA-mat and IRMA assays detected S-100beta in the serum of 47.5% and 23%, respectively, of the subset of 61 patients who developed recurrence of disease. By Kaplan Meler analysis, patients positive for S-100beta by LIA-mat assay in the first 3 months post-surgery were shown to have an approximately 2.7 times shorter disease-free survival (DFS) period than patients negative for S-100beta. This was significant by log rank analysis. Multivariate analysis indicated that the presence of S-100beta was an independent prognostic determinant of DFS, and was independent of tumour thickness and lymph node status. This prospective analysis in a large number of patients suggests that assays for S-100beta in patients following surgical resection of AJCC stage I-III melanoma are of limited value for identifying patients who will develop recurrence of their disease. The results of the LIA-mat assays, but not the IRMA assays, do however provide an additional measure of prognosis that is independent of existing measures.

Efficacy of part- and full-time early intervention

The effectiveness of an early intervention program to remediate developmental delays in children age birth to 3 years was examined in part- and full-time groups (Study 1). Significant improvements on age-appropriate measures of developmental standing were observed for both groups, with the greatest gains observed for the full-time group. In Study 2, the stress of parents with developmentally delayed children was measured on the Parental Stress Inventory. Reductions in stress related to children's characteristics and dysfunctional parenting skills were observed on some subscales, supporting prior research which indicated extension of the outcomes of early intervention beyond the child was desirable.

Depression following laryngectomy. A pilot study

When a group of 10 patients who had received surgery for carcinoma of the larynx were compared with 10 control patients who had received radiotherapy for carcinoma of the larynx, four of the former but none of the latter were found to be suffering from depression, a statistically significant difference. Depression was associated with poor communication skills and geographical isolation. Psychiatric intervention is recommended for patients undergoing mutilating forms of surgery.