Role of BGS13 in the Secretory Mechanism of Pichia pastoris.

The methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris has been utilized for heterologous protein expression for over 30 years. Because P. pastoris secretes few of its own proteins, the exported recombinant protein is the major polypeptide in the extracellular medium, making purification relatively easy. Unfortunately, some recombinant proteins intended for secretion are retained within the cell. A mutant strain isolated in our laboratory, containing a disruption of the BGS13 gene, displayed elevated levels of secretion for a variety of reporter proteins. The Bgs13 peptide (Bgs13p) is similar to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein kinase C 1 protein (Pkc1p), but its specific mode of action is currently unclear. To illuminate differences in the secretion mechanism between the wild-type (wt) strain and the bgs13 strain, we determined that the disrupted bgs13 gene expressed a truncated protein that had reduced protein kinase C activity and a different location in the cell, compared to the wt protein. Because the Pkc1p of baker's yeast plays a significant role in cell wall integrity, we investigated the sensitivity of the mutant strain's cell wall to growth antagonists and extraction by dithiothreitol, determining that the bgs13 strain cell wall suffered from inherent structural problems although its porosity was normal. A proteomic investigation of the bgs13 strain secretome and cell wall-extracted peptides demonstrated that, compared to its wt parent, the bgs13 strain also displayed increased release of an array of normally secreted, endogenous proteins, as well as endoplasmic reticulum-resident chaperone proteins, suggesting that Bgs13p helps regulate the unfolded protein response and protein sorting on a global scale.IMPORTANCE The yeast Pichia pastoris is used as a host system for the expression of recombinant proteins. Many of these products, including antibodies, vaccine antigens, and therapeutic proteins such as insulin, are currently on the market or in late stages of development. However, one major weakness is that sometimes these proteins are not secreted from the yeast cell efficiently, which impedes and raises the cost of purification of these vital proteins. Our laboratory has isolated a mutant strain of Pichia pastoris that shows enhanced secretion of many proteins. The mutant produces a modified version of Bgs13p. Our goal is to understand how the change in the Bgs13p function leads to improved secretion. Once the Bgs13p mechanism is illuminated, we should be able to apply this understanding to engineer new P. pastoris strains that efficiently produce and secrete life-saving recombinant proteins, providing medical and economic benefits.

Improving Nursing Care: Examining Errors of Omission.

This cross-sectional study examined missed care in a Central New York community using the MISSCARE Survey. A great deal of the research on missed care has been focused in the midwestern United States. This study replicates a midwestern study to determine results in other parts of the United States.

A cross-hospital exploration of nurses' experiences with horizontal violence.

AIM: To explore nurses' experiences of horizontal violence (HV) in three diverse non-affiliated organisations within a single city in the USA. BACKGROUND: Horizontal violence, also called workplace bullying or lateral violence, is a long-standing nursing issue. METHOD: Content analysis was used to analyse open-format textual responses from 126 registered nurses. RESULTS: A powerful collective story emerged from nurses' shared experiences with HV, describing the characters and the setting in which HV and its consequences exist. Nurses' depictions of HV were consistent despite the different organisational structures of their workplaces suggesting that hospital type is not the explanation for HV, rather the culture of acute care nursing. Nurses want change and asked for tactics to resolve HV within their institutions; some provided specific solutions. CONCLUSION: Nurse managers must continue to address HV by using a variety of known tactics, as well as adopting new evidence-based interventions as they are identified. The anti-bullying message should be disseminated through professional nursing organisations as well as in local health-care establishments. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse managers need to be the culture champions who hold individuals accountable for HV and foster professionalism through their leadership.

Evaluating Schwartz Center Rounds in an urban hospital center.

PURPOSE: Schwartz Center Rounds (SCRs) bring multidisciplinary caregivers together to discuss authentic patient cases from the social and emotional perspective. The monthly sessions provide a forum to share personal thoughts and feelings. The purpose of this paper is to learn why people attend SCR, understand what is gained from the experience, and identify key elements to use in measuring the program's effectiveness. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This qualitative descriptive study used four focus groups and three telephone interviews for data collection. Purposive sampling resulted in a multidisciplinary sample of 30 participants. Thematic analysis was conducted with complete transcripts by all researchers. FINDINGS: All parties viewed SCR as beneficial. Six themes emerged during data analysis: culture change, exposing emotions, walking in another's shoes, inequality of topics, influence of rules and boundaries, and personal impact. Institutional culture was positively influenced through SCR. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Limitations include a single institution and restricted data gathered from physicians. Future research should focus on identifying outcome measures to evaluate the long-term impact of SCR on healthcare organizations. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This study confirms that the SCR program should be continued at the study organization, and expanded to increase availability to all staff. The growth of this program in healthcare organizations across the country is encouraged. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This research provides support for healthcare organizations to offer SCR and highlights how the emotional aspects of patient care can be acknowledged, explored, and discussed.

A description of patient characteristics, insurance status and travel distance at a free inner-city clinic.

This study was designed to investigate patient characteristics at Amaus Health Services at Cathedral, a free medical clinic in Syracuse, New York which provides interim primary health care to the underserved and uninsured populations in the downtown area of Syracuse. The mission of the clinic is to serve an inner-city population. This study found that the clinic sees equal numbers of men and women and half of the visits were for chronic disease management. Patients traveled from 33 different zip codes, most of which were outside of the intended service area. In addition, of the 278 visits, 50 clinic users reported having some form of insurance. These findings can help Amaus leadership direct volunteers and donations to enhance the services provided, and may assist other areas of the country to identify needs for enhanced access as changes occur in the health care system.

Progress of the regional alliances in moving the New York State Research Agenda forward.

The New York State Research Agenda promotes nursing research and evidence-based practice as a means of improving the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of care in the state. One way to put the research agenda into action is through the development of regional nursing research alliances across New York State. These alliances are focused on ways to make research and evidence-based practice more tangible to all nurses. In this article the authors provide an overview of each alliance and detail the activities being undertaken to move the research agenda forward.

How to initiate a nursing research alliance in New York State.

A nursing research alliance is a group of individuals in a geographic area who come together to identify ways to promote evidence-based practice, collaborate on research projects, and raise awareness of nursing research in the healthcare community. Six alliances currently exist in New York State. These alliances are actively engaged as catalysts for the generation and use of best evidence as the basis for nursing practice. In this article the authors will provide information about how interested individuals can develop an alliance in their area.

Social support, anxiety, and support group participation in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

Although the use of support groups for patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is recommended, little information concerning support and anxiety exists in relation to group attendance. Using a comparative descriptive design, this study sought to examine differences in demographics, ICD indicators, anxiety, and social support between the ICD recipients who attended a support group and those who did not. Characteristics of 150 ICD patients (77 nonattendees, 73 attendees) were evaluated using Sarason's 6-item Social Support Questionnaire and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results show that those who attended a support group had higher trait anxiety (P=.05) and were less satisfied with their social support (P=.03) compared with nonattendees. Among all participants, trait anxiety was higher in those diagnosed with tachycardia (P=.046). Finally, higher satisfaction with support was associated with less anxiety (P=.000) and a larger social network (P=.02). Thus, support group attendees were not less anxious, nor did they experience more support than nonattendees, indicating that support groups may serve a vital role for ICD recipients who are characteristically anxious and lack supportive resources. This study recommends evaluating patient support and anxiety to improve support group efficacy.

Research in the perianesthesia setting: the basics of getting started.

Research can be defined as a process that systematically investigates a situation with the objective of expanding the existing knowledge of a profession. Research asks the question "Does what we do as nurses help or hinder?" The purpose of this article is to provide a brief history of nursing research and to review basic research methods. In addition, examples of potential research projects focused in the perianesthesia practice arena will be explored. Practical steps will be outlined to guide novice nurse researchers in their early endeavors.