BackgroundAlberta Health Services is a provincial health authority responsible for healthcare for more than four million people. The organization recognized a need to change its care delivery model to make care more patient- and family-centred and use its health human resources more effectively by enhancing collaborative practice. A new care model including changes to how providers deliver care and skill mix changes to support the new processes was piloted on a medical unit in a large urban acute care hospital Evidence-based care processes were introduced, including an initial patient assessment and orientation, comfort rounds, bedside shift reports, patient whiteboards, Name Occupation Duty, rapid rounds, and team huddles. Small teams of nurses cared for a portion of patients on the unit. The model was intended to enhance safety and quality of care by allowing providers to work to full scope in a collaborative practice environment.MethodsWe evaluated the new model approximately one year after implementation using interviews with staff (n = 15), surveys of staff (n = 25 at baseline and at the final evaluation) and patients (n = 26 at baseline and 37 at the final evaluation), and administrative data pulled from organizational databases.ResultsStaff interviews revealed that overall, the new care processes and care teams worked quite well. Unit culture and collaboration were improved, as were role clarity, scope of practice, and patient care. Responses from staff surveys were also very positive, showing significant positive changes in most areas. Patient satisfaction surveys showed a few positive changes; scores overall were very high. Administrative data showed slight decreases in overall length of stay, 30-day readmissions, staff absenteeism, staff vacancies, and the overtime rate. We found no changes in unit length of stay, 30-day returns to emergency department, or nursing sensitive adverse events.ConclusionsConclusions from the evaluation were positive, providing initial support for the idea of the collaborative practice model vision for adult medical units across Alberta. There were also a few positive effects on patient care suggesting that models such as this one could improve the organization’s ability to deliver sustainable, high-quality, patient- and family-centred care without compromising quality.

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AbstractColored effluents containing dyes from various industries pollute the environment and pose problems in municipal wastewater treatment systems. Industrial effluents consist of a mixture of dyes and require study of the simultaneous removal of dyes. Simultaneous quantification of dyes in the solution is a common problem while using a spectrophotometric method due to overlapping of their absorption spectra. Derivative spectroscopy and chemometric methods in spectrophotometric analysis facilitate simultaneous quantification of dyes. Adsorption is a widely used treatment method for the removal of a mixture of recalcitrant dyes in industrial wastewaters. Confirming the assertion, this paper presents a state-of-the-art review on methods used for simultaneous quantification of dyes and the effects of various parameters on their adsorptive removal. This paper also reviews the adsorption equilibrium, modeling, mechanisms of dyes adsorption, and adsorbent regeneration techniques in multicomponent dye systems. It has been observed that chemometric techniques provide accuracy, repeatability, and high speed in processing and helps in better operability in real wastewater treatment plants. The conclusions include the need for the development of thermodynamic models that can predict simultaneous physisorption and chemisorption exhibited by different dyes and to develop isotherm models that can describe chemisorption of a mixture of dyes. The paper delves into inadequately researched gray areas of adsorption of a mixture of dyes which require the development of modified adsorption methods that serves process intensification for complete degradation/mineralization.

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Aims: Soil salinity is a huge obstacle in crop production worldwide. Saline soil can reduce active chemical contents in medicinal plants of the Leguminosae family through crippled normal nodule function. Intensive efforts are underway to improve yield and medicinal value of leguminous herbs under salt stress condition by using benign microbes. Here, an attempt was made to explore the salt-tolerant bacteria associated with rhizosphere of fenugreek plant (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) and to evaluate their impact on host plant growth and metabolite of pharmaceutical importance. Methods and results:A salt-tolerant plant growth promoting rhizobacterial (PGPR) strain Priestia endophytica SK1 isolated from fenugreek rhizospheric soil, which increased biomass and metabolite content in plants grown under saline stress. SK1 bacterial application induced nodule formation and enhanced nitrogen and phosphorus content under salt (100 mM NaCl) stress as compared to control plants. H 2 O 2 production and lipid peroxidation as a measure of stress were observed high in control plants, while a reduction in these parameters was observed in plants inoculated with SK1. In addition, a significant effect was found on the phenolic compounds and trigonelline content in fenugreek plant inoculated with SK1 bacterium. An increased trigonelline content of about 54% over uninoculated control was recorded under salt stress. Conclusion:The results of this study revealed that the application of salt-tolerant PGPR strain P. endophytica SK1 induced nitrogen fixation machinery that leads to alleviate salt stress and improved the biosynthesis of trigonelline content in fenugreek. Significance of the study:This study extends our understanding on the significance of rhizosphere microbiome and their beneficial role in plant health under environmental stress to promote agro-eco-farming practices.