Lost in Translation: An OSCE-Based Workshop for Helping Learners Navigate a Limited English Proficiency Patient Encounter.

Introduction: Residents have been known to report a lack of self-efficacy in their ability to provide care for limited English proficiency (LEP) patients. Interpreters must be utilized to help navigate these patient encounters, but many institutions do not have a curriculum focused on utilizing interpreters effectively. Methods: We created a 3-hour workshop for physician learners working with the pediatric population. It included a panel discussion, best-practices presentation, video demonstration, observing scenarios, and pre- and postworkshop objective structured clinical exams (OSCEs). The first OSCE introduced learners to a scenario (4-day-old with jaundice with an LEP parent) where interpreter use was imperative. The second OSCE allowed learners to perform another case (12-year-old with an abscess with an LEP parent) and practice newly obtained skills from the workshop. Both OSCEs were scored using a 16-item yes/no checklist. All pediatric residents filled out an eight-item survey to evaluate the workshop; a subset of that group performed the pre- and postworkshop OSCEs. Results: Forty pediatric residents attended the workshop and completed the survey. The workshop was well received, with the majority of residents stating they would change their current interpreter usage practices. Ten pediatric residents performed the pre- and postworkshop OSCEs; all improved their scores. Discussion: The workshop was effective in improving how residents navigated LEP encounters. It is applicable to learners of all levels who want to improve their communication skills to provide better care for LEP patients and can be tailored to fit the needs of a specific institution.

Preparation and characterization of insulin-loaded injectable hydrogels as potential adjunctive periodontal treatment.

BACKGROUND: The application of local drugs as adjunctive periodontal treatment is a topic of rapidly increasing interest. Consequently, new discoveries are arising, a noteworthy portion of which employ hydrogels as delivery systems due to their high biocompatibility with and similarity to human tissues. In the search for new therapeutic agents capable of aiding periodontal treatment, authors became interested in a unique concept investigated by very few in vitro or in vivo studies concerning the local application of insulin. These studies concluded that insulin promotes the recovery and regeneration of damaged soft and bone tissues. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was an endeavor to design a linear hydrogel that is injectable into periodontal pockets, and is able to carry a small insulin load through physical bonds and provide sustained release. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The chitosan hydrogel as well as blends of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) were prepared and characterized in terms of the hydrogel texture and injectability. Afterward, to study the insulin release kinetics, a specific amount of each formulation was loaded with insulin, and then incubated in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Specimens of the incubated samples were withdrawn daily to measure insulin concentrations by means of the ultraviolet (UV)-absorbance method; ultimately the cumulative release was calculated. RESULTS: Out of the 5 formulations, 4 had homogenous one-phasic texture and their insulin release profiles in vitro ranged from a few hours to about 2 weeks. The blend of 26.5 wt% PVP, 6.6 wt% PVA, 0.03 wt% calcium chloride dihydrate (CaCl2.2H2O), and 66.8 wt% water, loaded with 2 IU/g of insulin, had favorable regular sustained release, approaching 13 days. CONCLUSIONS: The composition of the hydrogel, the component ratio and the amount of loaded insulin were found to affect the release profile. A linear hydrogel of copolymerized PVP, PVA and CaCl2.2H2O can serve as a local vehicle for the sustained delivery of insulin inside periodontal pockets.

Energy-dispersive Laue diffraction by means of a pnCCD detector coupled to a CsI(Tl) scintillator using ultra-hard X-ray synchrotron radiation.

The lattice parameters and unit-cell orientation of an SrLaAlO4 crystal have been determined by means of energy-dispersive X-ray Laue diffraction (EDLD) using a pnCCD detector coupled to a columnar structure CsI(Tl) scintillator in the energy range between 40 and 130 keV. By exploiting the high quantum efficiency (QE) achieved by this combined detection system for hard X-rays, a large number of Bragg reflections could be recorded by the relatively small detector area, allowing accurate and fast determination of the lattice parameters and the moduli of the structure factors. The experiment was performed on the energy-dispersive diffraction (EDDI) beamline at the BESSY II synchrotron using a pnCCD detector with 128 × 128 pixels. Since the energies and positions of the Laue peaks can be recorded simultaneously by the pnCCD system, the tetragonal structure of the investigated specimen was determined without any prior information. The unit-cell parameters and the angles between the lattice vectors were evaluated with an accuracy of better than 0.7%, while the structure-factor moduli of the reflections were determined with a mean deviation of 2.5% relative to the theoretical values.

Electronic properties of several two dimensional halides from ab initio calculations.

Using density functional theory, we study the electronic properties of several halide monolayers. We show that their electronic bandgaps, as obtained with the HSE hybrid functional, range between 3.0 and 7.5 eV and that their phonon spectra are dynamically stable. Additionally, we show that under an external electric field some of these systems exhibit a semiconductor-to-metal transition.

Two-dimensional silicon and carbon monochalcogenides with the structure of phosphorene.

Phosphorene has recently attracted significant interest for applications in electronics and optoelectronics. Inspired by this material an ab initio study was carried out on new two-dimensional binary materials with a structure analogous to phosphorene. Specifically, carbon and silicon monochalcogenides have been considered. After structural optimization, a series of binary compounds were found to be dynamically stable in a phosphorene-like geometry: CS, CSe, CTe, SiO, SiS, SiSe, and SiTe. The electronic properties of these monolayers were determined using density functional theory. By using accurate hybrid functionals it was found that these materials are semiconductors and span a broad range of bandgap values and types. Similarly to phosphorene, the computed effective masses point to a strong in-plane anisotropy of carrier mobilities. The variety of electronic properties carried by these compounds have the potential to broaden the technological applicability of two-dimensional materials.