Critical review and recent advances of 2D materials-Based gas sensors for food spoilage detection.

Many people around the world are concerned about meat safety and quality, which has resulted in the ongoing advancement of packaged food technology. Since the emergence of graphene in 2004, the number of studies on layered two-dimensional materials (2DMs) for applications ranging from food packaging to meat quality monitoring has been expanding quickly. Recently, scientists have been working hard to develop a novel class of 2DMs that keep the good things about graphene but don't have zero bandgaps at room temperature. Much work has been done on layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) like different metal sulfides and selenides for meat spoilage gas sensors. This review looks at (i) the main indicators of meat spoilage and (ii) the detection methods that can be used to find out if meat has been spoiled, such as chemiresistive, electrochemical, and optical methods. (iii) the role of 2DMs in meat spoilage detection and (iv) the emergence of advanced methods for selective classification of target analytes in meat/food spoilage detection in recent years. Thus, this review demonstrates the potential scope of 2DMs for developing intelligent sensor systems for food and meat spoilage detection with high viability, simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and other multipurpose tools.

Use of a Quality Scorecard to Enhance Quality and Safety in Community Hospital Newborn Nurseries.

OBJECTIVE: To implement a quality improvement (QI) scorecard as a tool for enhancing quality and safety efforts in level 1 and 2 community hospital nurseries affiliated with Nationwide Children's Hospital. STUDY DESIGN: A QI scorecard was developed for data collection, analytics, and reporting of neonatal quality metrics and cross-sector collaboration. Newborn characteristics were included for risk stratification, as were clinical and process measures associated with neonatal morbidity and mortality. Quality and safety activities took place in community hospital newborn nurseries in Ohio, and education was provided in both online and in-person collaborations, followed by local team sessions at partner institutions. Baseline (first 12 months) and postbaseline comparisons of clinical and process measures were analyzed by logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: In logistic regression models, at least 1 center documented improvements in each of the 4 process measures, and 3 of the 4 centers documented improvements in compliance with glucose checks obtained within 90 minutes of birth among at-risk infants. CONCLUSION: Collaborative QI projects led to improvements in perinatal metrics associated with important outcomes. Formation of a center-driven QI scorecard is feasible and provides community hospitals with a framework for collecting, analyzing, and reporting neonatal QI metrics.

Hospital work environment, nurse staffing and missed care in Chile: A cross-sectional observational study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To characterise the problem of missed nursing care in Chilean hospitals and to test associations with hospital organisational variables. BACKGROUND: Missed nursing care is a common problem in different countries, but it has not been studied in Chile. DESIGN: Multihospital cross-sectional study (Supplementary file 1: STROBE guideline). METHODS: Study population of 45 adult high-complexity hospitals and 1853 registered nurses (RN) working on medical-surgical units. Primary data were collected through a nurse survey. Nurses reported, out of a list of nursing care activities, the ones left undone during their last shift. The main independent variables were the work environment, measured through the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, patient-to-nurse ratios and RN skillmix. Adjusted logistic regression analyses were used to test associations, accounting for clustering of nurses working in the same hospital. RESULTS: The hospital response rate was 88.9% and, for nurses, 88.1%. The mean patient-to-nurse ratio was 14.5 (range 6-23). The average skillmix was 31% RN. Eighty-six percent of nurses missed at least one activity. The activities most frequently missed included patient education, comforting patients and surveillance. The adjusted model showed a significant association between the work environment, staffing ratios and missed care. The RN skillmix was not associated. CONCLUSIONS: Missed care is highly prevalent problem in Chilean hospitals. Clinical activities were the least missed. It is necessary to improve work environments and reduce the number of patients per nurse to improve the safety and quality of care. RELEVANCE FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: The study results are relevant since they provide new data to Chile. Better work environments and adequate human resources are modifiable factors that can be addressed from a managerial perspective, with low-cost strategies to effectively reduce missed care and improve safety and quality.

Factores que influyen en la calidad y seguridad de la atención de enfermería durante el enlace de turno / Factors influencing the quality and safety of nursing attention during the change of shift

Introducción: el traspaso de información a través del enlace de turno es el eje para la continuidad del cuidado y el aseguramiento de la calidad de la atención en el bienestar del paciente. No obstante, existen factores que dificultan el enlace de turno que a menudo pasan inadvertidos debido a la rutina creada en torno del cuidado. Objetivo: conocer los factores que influyen en la calidad y seguridad de la atención de enfermería durante el enlace de turno. Metodología: revisión sistematizada con metodología integradora y pregunta clínica PICOT. Descriptores: enlace de turno, calidad y seguridad en español, inglés y portugués; búsqueda en las bases de datos: CUIDEN, LILACS, PubMed y SciELO y en los repositorios Redalyc y BiDi UNAM; lectura, evaluación crítica con CASPe y análisis de contenido según lo describió Berelson. Resultados: 16 artículos cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión. Prevalecieron los estudios con nivel de evidencia y grado de recomendación III/C (81.25%), en idioma inglés (50%) y del área de enfermería (92.30%). Modelo de categorías: factores personales, profesionales y organizacionales, herramienta estandarizada para su cumplimiento e instrumentos para evaluar la calidad del proceso. Conclusión: la comunicación es el factor principal que produce el adecuado o inadecuado enlace de turno. A pesar de contar con una herramienta estandarizada, en ocasiones no se utiliza de manera correcta o no se emplea para evaluar el proceso.

Introduction: The transfer of information through nurse duty shift is the axis for continuing care and ensuring quality in favor of patient's well-being. However, there are factors that make it difficult to liaise nurse duty shift that often go unnoticed due to routine created around care. Objective: Identify factors that influence the quality and safety of nursing care during duty shift. Methods: Systematic review with integrative methodology. PICOT clinical question. DeSC and MeSH: change of shift, quality and safety in Spanish, English and Portuguese; in the CUIDEN, LILACS, PubMed and SciELO databases as well as in the Redalyc and BiDi UNAM repositories; reading and evaluation with CASPe and content analysis described by Berelson.Results: 16 articles met the inclusion criteria. Studies with level of evidence and grade of recommendation III/C (81.25%) prevailed, in English (50%) and in the nursing area (92.30%). Category model: personal, professional and organizational factors, standardized tool for compliance and instruments to assess the quality of the process. Conclusion: Communication is the main factor that determines an adequate or inadequate change-of-shift. Despite having a standardized tool, sometimes it is not used correctly or is not used to evaluate the process.

Strategies for Microbial Decontamination of Fresh Blueberries and Derived Products.

Increasing consumption of blueberries is associated with appreciation of their organoleptic properties together with their multiple health benefits. The increasing number of outbreaks caused by pathogenic microorganisms associated with their consumption in the fresh state and the rapid spoilage of this product which is mainly caused by moulds, has led to the development and evaluation of alternatives that help mitigate this problem. This article presents different strategies ranging from chemical, physical and biological technologies to combined methods applied for microbial decontamination of fresh blueberries and derived products. Sanitizers such as peracetic acid (PAA), ozone (O3), and electrolyzed water (EOW), and physical technologies such as pulsed light (PL) and cold plasma (CP) are potential alternatives to the use of traditional chlorine. Likewise, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) or pulsed electrical fields (PEF) successfully achieve microbial reductions in derivative products. A combination of methods at moderate intensities or levels is a promising strategy to increase microbial decontamination with a minimal impact on product quality.

Quality and safety innovations in the Radiology Department during the COVID-19 pandemic: a Latin American experience / Inovações de qualidade e segurança no Departamento de Radiologia durante a pandemia pela COVID-19: uma experiência Latino-Americano

ABSTRACT Radiology departments were forced to make significant changes in their routine during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, to prevent further transmission of the coronavirus and optimize medical care as well. In this article, we describe our Radiology Department's policies in a private hospital for coronavirus disease 2019 preparedness focusing on quality and safety for the patient submitted to imaging tests, the healthcare team involved in the exams, the requesting physician, and for other patients and hospital environment.

RESUMO Os departamentos de radiologia precisaram adotar mudanças significativas em sua rotina durante a pandemia da doença causada pelo novo coronavírus, a fim de reduzir sua transmissibilidade e otimizar os cuidados médicos. Neste artigo, descrevemos as políticas adotadas pelo Departamento de Radiologia de um hospital privado durante a pandemia, com foco em qualidade e segurança de paciente submetido a exames de imagem, equipe de assistência do departamento de imagem, médico solicitante, demais pacientes e ambiente hospitalar.

US Internal Medicine Program Director Perceptions of Alignment of Graduate Medical Education and Institutional Resources for Engaging Residents in Quality and Safety.

Alignment between institutions and graduate medical education (GME) regarding quality and safety initiatives (QI) has not been measured. The objective was to determine US internal medicine residency program directors' (IM PDs) perceived resourcing for QI and alignment between GME and their institutions. A national survey of IM PDs was conducted in the Fall of 2013. Multivariable linear regression was used to test association between a novel Integration Score (IS) measuring alignment between GME and the institution via PD perceptions. The response rate was 72.6% (265/365). According to PDs, residents were highly engaged in QI (82%), but adequate funding (14%) and support personnel (37% to 61%) were lower. Higher IS correlated to reports of funding for QI (76.3% vs 54.5%, P = .012), QI personnel (67.3% vs 41.1%, P < .001), research experts (70.5% vs 50.0%, P < .001), and computer experts (69.0% vs 45.8%, P < .001) for QI assistance. Apparent mismatch between GME and institutional resources exists, and the IS may be useful in measuring GME-institutional leadership alignment in QI.

Annotated Bibliography: Understanding Ambulatory Care Practices in the Context of Patient Safety and Quality Improvement.

The ambulatory care setting is an increasingly important component of the patient safety conversation. Inpatient safety is the primary focus of the vast majority of safety research and interventions, but the ambulatory setting is actually where most medical care is administered. Recent attention has shifted toward examining ambulatory care in order to implement better health care quality and safety practices. This annotated bibliography was created to analyze and augment the current literature on ambulatory care practices with regard to patient safety and quality improvement. By providing a thorough examination of current practices, potential improvement strategies in ambulatory care health care settings can be suggested. A better understanding of the myriad factors that influence delivery of patient care will catalyze future health care system development and implementation in the ambulatory setting.

Applying an ecological restoration approach to study patient safety culture in an intensive care unit.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To gain an understanding of medication safety culture and other quality issues in a Brazilian intensive care unit using a restorative approach. BACKGROUND: Patient safety should be considered one of the pillars of quality in health care. Thus, patient safety culture is increasingly being explored as a guide for quality improvement efforts. DESIGN: A qualitative approach. METHODS: Participatory photographic research methods from the field of ecological restoration were adapted in this study. This study used focus groups, then subsequent nurse-led photo-narrated walkabouts, and photo elicitation with 23 nurses and one physician in interactive phases of data collection and analysis over an eight-month timeframe. RESULTS: The core themes identified were: the 'medication system shapes patient safety' and the 'feeling of helplessness in the face of the prevailing organization culture'. Participants discussed supports exiting in the intensive care unit that shape medication safety, the barriers that impede safe medication management, the solutions to improve medication safety and the creation of a better medication safety culture. CONCLUSIONS: The methods used allowed participants to visualise sound practices as well as key safety issues, reflect on their day-to-day work, re-think potential improvements, and enact changes to improve medication safety and medication safety culture. However, the patient safety culture is also marked by administrative pressure. The hospital needs to adopt participatory management, where the health professionals can act together with the organisational leaders to promote a just culture. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The participatory photographic research methods from the field of ecological restoration provided participants with a tool to promote patient safety culture and engage policy change dialogue. However, it will be important in future restorative research to track-specific safety outcomes over time to assess the cost-benefit of the adoption of participatory management models.