Optimizing obstetrical suite staffing: it's more than mathematics.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Watson-MacDonell.
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Milk of mammalian species contains a wide spectrum of anti-infectious factors, some of which are heat stable. Focusing on recently discovered heat-stable antibacterial peptides called defensins, which are expressed in epithelial tissues such as airway, skin, and kidney, we hypothesized that mammary gland epithelia produce and secrete defensins onto the epithelial surface and into milk. Using a reverse-transcription PCR assay, we identified the human beta-defensin-1 (hBD-1) gene transcript in a human mammary gland epithelial cell line, MCF-12A, and in mammary glandular tissue of nine nonlactating women. Epithelial cells harvested from milk of lactating women also expressed hBD-1 mRNA. Presence of hBD-1 peptide in mammary epithelia was confirmed by immunostaining with an hBD-1 antibody. In contrast, expression of human beta-defensin-2 was not apparent both at mRNA and protein levels. Our findings suggest a biologic role of hBD-1 in the human mammary gland.
Studies at area hospitals revealed many gaps between research evidence and intrapartum nursing practices. A randomized controlled trial involving 20 hospitals was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a marketing strategy to promote research-based nursing care. It was hypothesized that the strategy would result in lower rates of epidural analgesia, through increasing the amount of support nurses provided to their patients. Other outcomes included rates of narcotic analgesia, episiotomy, and operative delivery. The marketing strategy was unsuccessful in improving intrapartum nursing care. Much more research is needed about the factors that facilitate improvements in nursing practice.