University of Lincoln

About: University of Lincoln is a education organization based out in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 2341 authors who have published 7025 publications receiving 124797 citations.

Recognizing and managing a deteriorating patient: a randomized controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of clinical simulation in improving clinical performance in undergraduate nursing students

Abstract: Aims. To report the results of a randomized controlled trial which explored the effectiveness of clinical simulation in improving the clinical performance of recognizing and managing an adult deteriorating patient in hospital. Background. There is evidence that final year undergraduate nurses may lack knowledge, clinical skills and situation awareness required to manage a deteriorating patient competently. The effectiveness of clinical simulation as a strategy to teach the skills required to recognize and manage the early signs of deterioration needs to be evaluated. Design. This study was a two centre phase II single, randomized, controlled trial with single blinded assessments. Method. Data were collected in July 2013. Ninety-eight first year nursing students were randomized either into a control group, where they received a traditional lecture, or an intervention group where they received simulation. Participants completed a pre- and postintervention objective structured clinical examination. General Perceived Self Efficacy and Self-Reported Competency scores were measured before and after the intervention. Student satisfaction with teaching was also surveyed. Results. The intervention group performed significantly better in the postobjective structured clinical examination. There was no significant difference in the postintervention General Perceived Self Efficacy and Self-Reported Competency scores between the control and intervention group. The intervention group was significantly more satisfied with their teaching method. Conclusion. Simulation-based education may be an effective educational strategy to teach nurses the skills to effectively recognize and manage a deteriorating patient. Keywords: clinical performance, critical illness, nursing education, patient deterioration, patient simulation, randomized controlled trial, self-efficacy

Sensing the outdoors: a visual and haptic phenomenology of outdoor exercise embodiment

Abstract: In recent years, there has been a burgeoning of academic interest in exercise embodiment issues, including a developing field of phenomenologically inspired analyses of the lived body experience of physical activity and exercise. Calls have been made for researchers to explore the sensory dimension of such embodiment, and a corpus of sensory ethnographic studies is now beginning to grow, focusing on the ways in which people engage in ‘making sense of the senses’ within a sociocultural framework. This article contributes to a developing body of phenomenological-sociological empirical work on the sensory dimension, by addressing the lived experience of organised physical activities in ‘natural’ outdoor leisure environments. We draw upon the findings from a two-year ethnographic study of a Welsh national physical activity programme, ‘Mentro Allan/Venture Out’, which aimed to increase physical activity levels amongst specific ‘target groups’. Based on fieldwork and on interviews (n = 68) with Programme partic...

Modular assembly of proteins on nanoparticles.

Abstract: Generally, the high diversity of protein properties necessitates the development of unique nanoparticle bio-conjugation methods, optimized for each different protein. Here we describe a universal bio-conjugation approach which makes use of a new recombinant fusion protein combining two distinct domains. The N-terminal part is Glutathione S-Transferase (GST) from Schistosoma japonicum, for which we identify and characterize the remarkable ability to bind gold nanoparticles (GNPs) by forming gold–sulfur bonds (Au–S). The C-terminal part of this multi-domain construct is the SpyCatcher from Streptococcus pyogenes, which provides the ability to capture recombinant proteins encoding a SpyTag. Here we show that SpyCatcher can be immobilized covalently on GNPs through GST without the loss of its full functionality. We then show that GST-SpyCatcher activated particles are able to covalently bind a SpyTag modified protein by simple mixing, through the spontaneous formation of an unusual isopeptide bond.

GWAS on longitudinal growth traits reveals different genetic factors influencing infant, child, and adult BMI.

Abstract: Early childhood growth patterns are associated with adult health, yet the genetic factors and the developmental stages involved are not fully understood. Here, we combine genome-wide association studies with modeling of longitudinal growth traits to study the genetics of infant and child growth, followed by functional, pathway, genetic correlation, risk score, and colocalization analyses to determine how developmental timings, molecular pathways, and genetic determinants of these traits overlap with those of adult health. We found a robust overlap between the genetics of child and adult body mass index (BMI), with variants associated with adult BMI acting as early as 4 to 6 years old. However, we demonstrated a completely distinct genetic makeup for peak BMI during infancy, influenced by variation at the LEPR/LEPROT locus. These findings suggest that different genetic factors control infant and child BMI. In light of the obesity epidemic, these findings are important to inform the timing and targets of prevention strategies.