No abstract

Psychometric analyses support the construct validity and internal consistency reliability of TSUQ, which is available in both English and Spanish at a readability level of 8th grade. Both rural and urban participants reported high levels of satisfaction and found all IDEATel components useful. Further work is needed to examine the relationships between utilization and perceptions of satisfaction and usefulness and to explore the effects of location (urban versus rural) and ethnicity on satisfaction with telemedicine services.

A native-feather-degrading thermophilic anaerobe was isolated from a geothermal hot stream in Indonesia. Isolate AW-1, identified as a member of the species Fervidobacterium islandicum, was shown to degrade native feathers (0.8%, w/v) completely at 70 degrees C and pH 7 with a maximum specific growth rate (0.14 h(-1)) in Thermotoga- Fervidobacterium(TF) medium. After 24 h of culture, feather degradation led to an increase in free amino acids such as histidine, cysteine and lysine. Moreover, nutritionally essential amino acids such as tryptophan and methionine, which are rare in feather keratin, were also produced as microbial metabolites. A homomultimeric membrane-bound keratinolytic protease (>200 kDa; 97 kDa subunits) was purified from a cell extract of F. islandicum AW-1. The enzyme exhibited activity toward casein and soluble keratin optimally at 100 degrees C and pH 9, and had a half-life of 90 min at 100 degrees C. The enzyme showed higher specific activity for the keratinous substrates than other proteases and catalyzed the cleavage of peptide bonds more rapidly following the reduction of disulfide bridges in feather keratin by 10 mM dithiothreitol. Therefore, the enzyme from F. islandicum AW-1 is a novel, thermostable keratinolytic serine protease.

Purpose: To develop and test the validity and reliability of the Korean version of PES-NWI measuring nursing work environments in hospitals. Methods: The Korean version of the PES-NWI was developed through forward-backward translation techniques, and revision based on feedback from focus groups. An internal consistency reliability and construct validity using confirmatory factor analysis were conducted using SPSS WIN (16.0) and AMOS (18.0). Survey data were collected from 733 nurses who worked in three acute care hospitals in Seoul, South Korea. Results: The Korean version of PES-NWI showed reliable internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha for the total scale of .93. Factor loadings of the 29 items on the five subscales ranged from .28 to .85. The five subscales model was validated by confirmatory factor analysis (RMR< .05, CFI > .9). Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate that the Korean version of PES-NWI has satisfactory construct validity and reliability to measure nursing work environments of hospitals in Korea.

This cross-sectional study examines baccalaureate nursing programs in South Korea to determine how and to what extent patient safety education was delivered, and to assess nursing students' patient safety competency. The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) student evaluation survey and a Patient Safety Competency Self-Evaluation tool were used. We distributed 234 surveys to senior students in four nursing schools; 206 (88%) students responded to the survey. The majority of students (81.6%) reported that they had received patient safety education during coursework. Patient safety education was delivered primarily by lecture rather than during laboratory or simulation sessions. The degree of coverage of QSEN competency and the students' self-reported competency in total and attitude scores showed statistical differences among nursing schools. Students' attitude score was significantly higher than skill and knowledge. Our results confirm the need to revise the nursing curriculum and to use various teaching methods to deliver patient safety education more comprehensively and effectively. Furthermore, there is a need to develop an integrated approach to ensuring students' balanced competency.