What Is Really Needed to Provide Effective, Person-Centered Care for Behavioral Expressions of Dementia? Guidance from The Alzheimer's Association Dementia Care Provider Roundtable.

In April, 2019, the Alzheimer's Association Dementia Care Provider Roundtable convened to discuss common challenges faced when implementing person-centered, non-pharmacological practices in long-term care and other settings that provide care and programs for persons living with dementia, and to develop relevant, specific guidance from the perspective of administrative leaders from 23 long-term and community-based care provider organizations (representing home, community-based, and residential care). Guidance related to 5 practice areas emerged from the facilitated discussion: having a foundational person-centered culture, conceptualizing behaviors as expressions and focusing on behavioral support, identifying antecedents and placing person-centeredness before protocols, modifying training to promote person-centered culture, and valuing implementation flexibility. In developing the practice guidance, a related list of priority areas for research and policy were also identified.

Role for dnaK locus in tolerance of multiple stresses in Staphylococcus aureus.

Heat-shock proteins are essential for stress tolerance and allowing organisms to survive conditions that cause protein unfolding. The role of the Staphylococcus aureus DnaK system in tolerance of various stresses was studied by disruption of dnaK by partial deletion and insertion of a kanamycin gene cassette. Deletion of dnaK in S. aureus strain COL resulted in poor growth at temperatures of 37 degrees C and above, and reduced carotenoid production. The mutant strain also exhibited increased susceptibility to oxidative and cell-wall-active antibiotic stress conditions. In addition, the mutant strain had slower rates of autolysis, suggesting a correlation between DnaK and functional expression of staphylococcal autolysins. Deletion of dnaK also resulted in a decrease in the ability of the organism to survive in a mouse host during a systemic infection. In summary, the DnaK system in S. aureus plays a significant role in the survival of S. aureus under various stress conditions.