Exploring similarities and differences in teamwork across diverse healthcare contexts using communication analysis

Teamwork is prevalent in many work contexts. This study explored the similarities and differences in teamwork processes across different healthcare work contexts with the aim of assessing knowledge transfer feasibility. The research approach was to aggregate team communication analyses from four healthcare contexts to uncover teamwork similarities and differences. The four healthcare contexts included two handoffs and two surgery contexts. The communication analysis segmented communication into meaningful sequences. It categorized utterances into content categories and verbal behaviors. There were a few similar content categories across the four contexts. A clear information structure emerged in the two handoff contexts. In addition, there were more dialogues and requests in the surgeries compared to more reports in the handoffs. The content similarities suggest that some knowledge is transferable among the contexts. However, the differences in communication patterns reflect fundamental differences between handoff and surgery contexts in some teamwork processes. This research demonstrated that using communication analysis can uncover similarities and differences in team cognition and teamwork processes across work contexts. This in turn can help determine what knowledge and methods pertaining to team training, procedures, and technology are transferable across the contexts.     

Regulation of phosphatidylinositol turnover,calcium metabolism and enzyme secretion by phorbol dibutyrate in neutrophils

The action of the tumor promoter, phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), on rabbit peritoneal and human neutrophils is associated with stimulation of¹⁴C-arachidonic acid incorporation into phospholipids within 1–2 min. Stimulated¹⁴C-arachidonate incorporation was relatively selective for phosphatidylinositol (PI) in rabbit neutrophils. In contrast, the secretory response of human neutrophils to PDBu coincided with stimulated label incorporation into phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidic acid (PA) and PI. Significant increases in label incorporation were observed with PDBu concentrations as low as 2 nM, and the dose response of stimulated label incorporation paralleled that of evoked lysozyme secretion. A parallel, but partial, inhibition of PDBu-stimulated PI labeling and enzyme release was observed after exposing rabbit neutrophils to calcium-deprived medium, whereas calcium deprivation failed to significantly depress either of these stimulant actions of PDBu in human neutrophils. Further, in rabbit neutrophils PDBu elicited an increase in cell associated⁴⁵Ca. However, PDBu was unable to promote the incorporation of³²P orthophosphate into PI or enhance phospholipase A₂ activity in broken cells. These findings suggest that one expression of the interaction between phorbol esters and their receptors on neutrophils involves the turnover of arachidonic acid in phospholipids. This stimulated turnover of arachidonate may be a critical step in the cascade of events associated with neutrophil activation.     

The effect of dietary fatty acid balance on myocardial lesions in male rats

Three hundred (experiment I) and 350 (experiment II) weanling, 3-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 40–50 g were randomly assigned two per cage and 50 per dietary treatment to study the effect of dietary fatty acid balance on myocardial lesions. The following oils were tested: Experiment I.Brassica napus var. Tower rapeseed oil [Tower RSO, 1974 cultivar and 1975 cultivar, each containing 0.3% erucic (22∶1) acid];B. napus var. Zephyr RSO containing 0.9% 22∶1; corn oil; olive oil; and soybean oil. Experiment II.B. napus var. Tower RSO (1974 cultivar), olive oil, soybean oil, and the following oils to which was added the indicated level of free 22∶1; Tower +0.5% 22∶1; Tower +5.6% 22∶1; olive oil +4.4% 22∶1; soybean oil +5.7% 22∶1. In each case the oils were incorporated in a semisynthetic diet at a level of 20% by weight. Heart and heart lipid weights of rats fed the different oils did not differ statistically from each other. Fatty acid analyses of heart lipids revealed that the fatty acid composition of the cardiac lipids reflected that of the diet fed. In experiment I, there was a definite but significantly lower incidence (P<0.01) and severity (P<0.01) of heart lesions in rats fed control oils (corn, olive, soybean) than in rats fed rapeseed oils. Also, in experiment II, a definite but lower incidence and severity of heart lesions occurred in rats fed control oils (soybean, olive) compared to rats fed Tower RSO or this oil with added free 22∶1. Adding 22∶1 to an oil naturally high in 18∶3 (soybean) did not alter the incidence of heart lesions, whereas adding 22∶1 to an oil naturally high in 18∶1 (olive) increased significantly (P<0.01) both the incidence and severity of heart lesions. Thus, it appears that the background incidence of heart lesions that are found in the rat in any case, and which are increased by rapeseed oil feeding, is caused by the imbalanced fatty acid composition of the oil for the growing rat, i.e. high monoenes (18∶1, 20∶1, and 22∶1) and high 18∶3 and is not only due to the presence of excess 18∶3. Contribution No. 706, Animal Research Institute.     

Entanglement networks of 1,2-polybutadiene crosslinked in states of strain. IV. States of ease and stress–strain behavior

Linear 1,2-polybutadiene, glass transition temperature (T_g) ?18°C, is crosslinked at ?10°C, to ?20°C by γ irradiation while strained in simple extension, with extension, ratios (λ₀) from 1.2 to 2.7. After release, the sample retracts to a state of ease (λ_s) at room temperature. From equilibrium stress–strain measurements up to a stretch ratio relative to the state of ease (Λ) of 1.2, together with λ₀ and λ_s, the concentration of network strands terminated by trapped entanglements (νN) is calculated. For this purpose, a three-constant Mooney–Rivlin formulation is used, in which the entanglement network is described by Mooney–Rivlin coefficients C_1N and C_2N, whereas the crosslink networks is described by the coefficient C_1x only. The ratio ψ_N = C_2N/(C_1N + C_2N) is estimated from parallel studies of nonlinear stress relaxation of the uncrosslinked polymer, taking into account the thermal history before and during irradiation. For substantial degrees of crosslinking, i.e., for R_0′ = ν_x/ν_N > 0.4 (where ν_N is the concentration of network strands terminated by crosslinks), and for λ₀ < 1.8, C_2N agrees rather well with the value obtained from stress relaxation of the uncrosslinked polymer in the range of time scale where it is nearly independent of time (1.87 X 10⁵ pascals). The corresponding value of ν_N is 2.3 × 10^?4 moles/cm³, in good agreement with that obtained from viscoelastic measurements of the uncrosslinked polymer in the plateau zone (2.5 × 10^?4). However, for R_0′ ? 0.2, smaller values of C_2N and ν_N are obtained, indicating that for low degrees of crosslinking the entanglements are not completely trapped. Also, for higher values of λ₀, C_2N and ν_N turn out to be somewhat smaller. Similar, less extensive results were obtained previously on a 1,2-polybutadiene with somewhat higher vinyl content and a higher T_g. Crosslinked samples of both these polymers were subjected to equilibrium stress–strain measurements in simple elongation from the state of ease at higher strains up to Λ = 1.7. The results agreed closely with calculations from the three-constant Mooney–Rivlin theory.     

Brassica campestris var. Span: I. Fractionation of Rapeseed oil by molecular distillation and adsorption chromatography

Procedures for the large scale isolation of pure triglycerides and fractions rich in nontriglyceride components from Span rapeseed oil are described. Fractionation ofBrassica campestris var. Span rapeseed oil by molecular distillation yielded 4 triglyceride fractions, all of which contained traces of sterol esters. An additional triglyceride fraction rich in free and esterified sterols and other volatile components was obtained from the oil. Separation by adsorption chromatography of Span rapeseed oil yielded three fractions: A) a pure triglyceride fraction; B) a triglyceride fraction rich in sterol esters; and C) another fraction containing free sterols and other polar components. Contribution no. 559 Animal Research Institute.     

Thermo-oxidative degradation of polyolefins observed by isothermal long-term DTA

Isothermal differential thermal analysis (DTA) is well known for measuring thermal stability of polyolefins by determining the oxidative induction time at elevated temperatures. Oxidative induction time, measured up to 7,000 hours and over a temperature range from 240°C to 120°C, has been used to study the stability of polybutene-1 and crosslinked polyethylene in the melt state. The Arrhenius plots of DTA results show that straight line extrapolation from high to low temperatures is not possible. Thermoanalytically measured oxidation induction times and mechanical failure in oven aging experiments agree for polybutene and crosslinked polyethylene, Measurements of molecular weight and of mechanical properties of polybutene-1 during the induction period of oven aging experiments at low temperatures revealed that molecular weight and tensile properties are not sensitive indicators for the beginning of aging. The state of deterioration can be estimated easier by measurement of residual lifetime in the isothermal DTA experiment. Diffusion processes of stabilizers in polyolefins, as well as the consumption of stabilizer at elevated temperatures, especially during the induction period also was observed by DTA. Finally the extraction of stabilizer by hot water was measured by isothermal DTA.     

Testing a short-term feeding trial to assess compositional and histopathological changes in hearts of rats fed vegetable oils

Male, female and castrated rats, three wk of age, were fed a low-fat diet for 14 wk followed by high-fat diets (20% by weight) for one wk containing graded levels of erucic acid from 1 to 50%, to evaluate the effect of short-term feeding and interaction of male sex hormones on formation of heart lesions. Some rats within each group were returned to the low-fat diet for one wk after the test period. For comparison, one group of three-wk-old male rats was fed the high fat 50% erucic acid diet for 15 wk. Erucic acid depressed growth rate and food consumption and increased cardiac lipidosis and triglycerides proportional to the erucic acid content of the diet. There were no sex differences, and the effects disappeared once rats were returned to the low-fat diet for one week. There was a significance (P<0.05) in the incidence of myocardial necrosis among male rats fed increased levels of erucic acid for one week, but the response was not linear to the increase in dietary erucic acid. Furthermore, the response was much less than in males fed the 50% erucic acid diet continually for 15 weeks. These results suggest that the short-term model is not a suitable substitute for the long-term feeding trial to test the cardiopathogenicity of a vegetable oil. The significantly lower incidence in myocardial lesions in female and castrated male rats compared with male rats suggests involvement of sex hormones. However, the process appears to be long term, since changes in cardiac lipids and their fatty acid pattern between sexes became evident after one wk on diet but was significant only after long-term feeding. Deceased.     

Quantitating heart lipids: Comparison of results obtained using the Iatroscan method with those from phosphorus and gas chromatographic techniques

The precision and accuracy of the Iatroscan method was evaluated by comparing the results obtained with established phosphorus and gas chromatographic techniques. A complete lipid class analysis of rat heart lipids was chosen in order to evaluate the performance of the Iatroscan method for biological samples which contained both neutral lipids and phospholipids. A partial scan and repeat development with chloroform/methanol/water (68.5∶29∶2.5) was introduced to achieve consistently good separations of the phospholipids on the Chromarods in the Iatroscan method. The results showed that the precision of the Iatroscan method for some lipid classes was comparable to that of phosphorus or gas chromatographic techniques, while for other lipid classes it was lower. Compared to the data obtained using the phosphorus method, the Iatroscan data were generally similar, while the gas chromatographic method generally gave lower values. These findings, together with the advantages of time required for analysis, size of sample, and universality of detection, suggest that the Iatroscan is a valuable complementary method for complex lipid analyses.     

Fluoroscopic MR imaging at 0.064 Tesla

The authors developed a system for ultrafast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols at low field. The system design permits the acquisition of the raw data in the background while the reconstruction and display steps repeat as fast as they can in the foreground. The performance speeds depends partly on the desired use. By collecting raw data at a rate of 20 ms per echo with an echo delay of 9 ms, a complete data cycle for a 128x64 image takes 1.28 s. However, once half of that data is incorporated into the reconstruction, the image appears complete. Using this set of parameters the authors were able to get the rate of the recon/display loop to paint about two times per completed raw data cycle, showing an entirely new image at least once per second with an apparent frame rate of two per second. Interleaving of two or three orthogonal scans reduces the speed of update but provides better information. The authors discuss the system design for rapid scan/recon/display and demonstrate the image quality available at low field strength with scan times below one second.     

Low-field 3-DFT MRI: conceptual, analytical, and experimental aspects

Three-dimensional Fourier transform (3-DFT) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers advantages in terms of signal-to-noise (S/N) per unit of time for the case where a large number of slices is desired. This advantage is enhanced when the relaxation time, T(1 ), is short. Because time limitations in 3-DFT imaging force the use of short time intervals, TR, between excitations of a slice, lesion contrast is often undesirable at mid-and high-field strength even when the S/N is good. At low fields, where T(1) values are short, high S/N and contrast can both be achieved with 3-DFT MR images. The conceptual and analytical aspects of low-field 3-DFT MRI are presented and demonstrated at 640 G.