Translating an intervention to address chronic pain in home care workers: The COMPASS-NP Pilot.

OBJECTIVE: Pilot test the COMmunity of Practice And Safety Support for Navigating Pain (COMPASS-NP) intervention for home care workers (HCWs) experiencing chronic pain. METHODS: HCWs with chronic pain participated (n = 19; 2 groups) in a 10-week online group program focused on workplace safety and pain self-management. Primary outcomes were changes in pain interference with work and life. Other outcomes related to ergonomics, pain levels, opioid misuse risk, mental health, sleep, and physical activity. RESULTS: The intervention produced a large reduction in pain interference with life (d = -0.85) and a moderate reduction in pain interference with work time demands (d = -0.61). Secondary outcomes showed favorable effect sizes, including a substantial increase in the use of ergonomic tools and techniques (d = 1.47). CONCLUSION: Findings were strongly encouraging. The effectiveness of COMPASS-NP will be evaluated in a future randomized controlled trial.

Monitoring biosensor capture efficiencies: development of a model using GFP-expressing Escherichia coli O157:H7.

One of the known limitations for biosensor assays is the high limit of detection for target cells within complex samples (e.g., Escherichia coli at 10(4) to 10(5) CFU/mL) due to poor capture efficiencies. Currently, researchers can only estimate the cell capture efficiency necessary to produce a positive signal for any type of biosensor using either cumbersome techniques or regression modeling. To solve this problem, green fluorescent protein (GFP) transformed E. coli O157:H7 was used to develop a novel method for directly and easily measuring the cell capture efficiency of any given biosensor platform. For demonstration purposes, E. coli-GFP was assayed on both fiber optic and planar waveguide biosensor platforms. Cells were enumerated using an epifluorescent microscope and digital camera to determine the number of cells captured on the surfaces. Conversion algorithms were used with these digital images to determine the cell density of entire waveguide surface areas. For E. coli-GFP, the range of cell capture efficiency was between 0.4 and 1.2%. This indicates that although the developed model works for calculating cell capture, there is still need for significant improvements in capture methods themselves, to increase the capture efficiency and thereby lower detection limits. The use of GFP-transformed target cells and cell capture efficiency calculations can facilitate the development and optimization processes by allowing direct enumeration of new biosensor design configurations and sample processing strategies.

Automated dead-end ultrafiltration for concentration and recovery of total coliform bacteria and laboratory-spiked Escherichia coli O157:H7 from 50-liter produce washes to enhance detection by an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.

An automated concentration system (ACS) based on dead-end ultrafiltration was used in this study to concentrate bacteria, including Escherichia coli O157:H7, from 50-liter produce washes (PWs, sieved produce wash). Cells trapped in the filters were recovered in approximately 400 ml of buffer to create PW retentates (PWRs). Extent of concentration was determined by analyzing PWs and PWRs for total coliform bacteria and E. coli O157:H7 using standard methods. In addition, an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay was evaluated for detection of E. coli O157:H7 in spiked PWs and PWRs to demonstrate usefulness of the ACS for same-day detection. The levels of total coliform bacteria and E. coli O157:H7 in PWRs were higher than those in PWs by 1.85 ± 0.41 log most probable number per 100 ml and 1.82 ± 0.24 log CFU/ml, respectively. Electrochemiluminescence detection of E. coli O157:H7 was accomplished within 2 h using ACS concentration of lettuce and spinach wash water artificially spiked with the pathogen at levels as low as 0.36 log CFU/ml and 1.39 log CFU/ml, respectively. Detection of E. coli O157:H7 at -0.93 ± 0.15 log CFU/ml in lettuce wash occurred within approximately 6 h when a 4-h enrichment step was added to the procedure. Use of dead-end ultrafiltration increased bacterial concentrations in PWR and allowed same-day detection of low levels of E. coli O157:H7 in PW. This concentration system could be useful to improve the sensitivity of current rapid methods for detection of low levels of foodborne pathogens in PW water.

Effects of chlorine injury, starvation, and Colitag(TM) enrichment on sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (sELISA) detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7.

The validity of ELISA for detection of E. coli O157:H7 under many conditions is not proven. In this work, sELISA was able to detect bacteria after sub-lethal chlorine exposure and after seven days of starvation with little to no change in limit of detection and fluorescence signal as long as chlorine was not present in the sample or was neutralized by sodium thiosulfate. After Colitag enrichment, sELISA detected approximately 3 colony forming units/ml of originally added E. coli O157:H7. Thus, the present sELISA is valid for detection of E. coli O157:H7 in water sources, although sample matrices may interfere with assay.

Current and developing technologies for monitoring agents of bioterrorism and biowarfare.

Recent events have made public health officials acutely aware of the importance of rapidly and accurately detecting acts of bioterrorism. Because bioterrorism is difficult to predict or prevent, reliable platforms to rapidly detect and identify biothreat agents are important to minimize the spread of these agents and to protect the public health. These platforms must not only be sensitive and specific, but must also be able to accurately detect a variety of pathogens, including modified or previously uncharacterized agents, directly from complex sample matrices. Various commercial tests utilizing biochemical, immunological, nucleic acid, and bioluminescence procedures are currently available to identify biological threat agents. Newer tests have also been developed to identify such agents using aptamers, biochips, evanescent wave biosensors, cantilevers, living cells, and other innovative technologies. This review describes these current and developing technologies and considers challenges to rapid, accurate detection of biothreat agents. Although there is no ideal platform, many of these technologies have proved invaluable for the detection and identification of biothreat agents.