Biomedical subjects

Dorothy Jones

Publications and source records attributed to Dorothy Jones.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Professional Practice Environment (PPE) scale.

PURPOSE: To describe the Professional Practice Environment (PPE) scale, its conceptual development and psychometric evaluation, and its uses in measuring eight characteristics of the professional practice environment in an acute care setting. DESIGN AND METHODS: The 38-item PPE Scale was validated on a sample of 849 professional practice staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Psychometric analysis included: item analysis, principal components analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation and Kaiser normalization, and internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. FINDINGS: Eight components were shown, confirming the original conceptually derived model's structure and accounting for 61% of explained variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the eight PPE subscales ranged from .78 to .88. CONCLUSIONS: Findings showed the 38-item PPE Scale was reliable and valid for use in health outcomes research to examine the professional practice environment of staff working in acute care settings.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2002

Reduced sodium channel density, altered voltage dependence of inactivation, and increased susceptibility to seizures in mice lacking sodium channel beta 2-subunits.

Sodium channel beta-subunits modulate channel gating, assembly, and cell surface expression in heterologous cell systems. We generated beta2(-/-) mice to investigate the role of beta2 in control of sodium channel density, localization, and function in neurons in vivo. Measurements of [(3)H]saxitoxin (STX) binding showed a significant reduction in the level of plasma membrane sodium channels in beta2(-/-) neurons. The loss of beta2 resulted in negative shifts in the voltage dependence of inactivation as well as significant decreases in sodium current density in acutely dissociated hippocampal neurons. The integral of the compound action potential in optic nerve was significantly reduced, and the threshold for action potential generation was increased, indicating a reduction in the level of functional plasma membrane sodium channels. In contrast, the conduction velocity, the number and size of axons in the optic nerve, and the specific localization of Na(v)1.6 channels in the nodes of Ranvier were unchanged. beta2(-/-) mice displayed increased susceptibility to seizures, as indicated by reduced latency and threshold for pilocarpine-induced seizures, but seemed normal in other neurological tests. Our observations show that beta2-subunits play an important role in the regulation of sodium channel density and function in neurons in vivo and are required for normal action potential generation and control of excitability.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2002

Knowledge Impact Conference 2001: action plans linking nursing knowledge to practice outcomes.

The work of the Knowledge Conferences in Northeastern USA over 2 decades has been significant. A major contribution is a Consensus Statement that provides the basis for dialogue about nursing knowledge worldwide. In addition to proceedings that have been circulated, the best of the most recent series of conferences-from 1996 through the recent conference in October 2001-will be included in the forthcoming book on knowledge and practice.

Clinical Competence↗