Fostering green transformational leadership: the influence of green educational intervention on nurse managers' green behavior and creativity.

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the influence of green transformational leadership educational intervention on nurse managers' green behavior and creativity. BACKGROUND: Organizational creativity is greatly influenced by leaders and their personality attributes. Additionally, innovative employee behavior is crucial for organizational performance and survival, which in turn promotes long-term organizational growth. METHOD: A quasi-experimental design was conducted by using pre-test, post-test, and follow-up for a group that included 116 nurse managers who completed the intervention. Data were collected through the green transformational leadership knowledge questionnaire, green transformational leadership scale, green behavior questionnaire, and green creativity scale. RESULTS: Following the implementation of the Green Transformational Leadership educational intervention, there was an improvement in responses connected to the nurse manager's use of green behavior and creativity. Three months after the intervention ended, the improvement was still present. CONCLUSION: Nurse managers who had good knowledge about green transformational leadership showed increased green behavior and green creativity, which enhanced the organization's success. This study showed the significance of developing and improving the skills of managerial creativity for the nurse supervisor of a hospital through training in transformational leadership. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The concept of "green transformational leadership" refers to leadership behaviors and strategies aimed at promoting environmental sustainability and responsibility within an organization or a specific context. In the case we mentioned, it involves implementing educational interventions targeted at nurse managers to enhance their understanding and adoption of green practices, as well as fostering green behavior and creativity among them.

Determinants of vaccine adherence among non-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients in Qatar.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health problem. Reduced innate and adaptive immunological responses predispose CKD patients to infections. Despite the clinical and epidemiological importance of CKD and the great value of vaccination as a prophylactic measure, the utilization of recommended vaccines in Qatar has not yet been evaluated. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study to estimate the level of influenza, pneumococcal, and hepatitis B vaccination and the predictors of adherence to these recommended vaccines among non-dialysis CKD patients receiving renal ambulatory care in Qatar from 1 September 2020 to 30 April 2021. Complete vaccination was defined as receiving the three vaccines, and partial vaccination was defined as receiving one or two vaccines. The full and partial vaccination predictors were assessed using multivariate logistic regression and reported as odds ratio (OR) with p<0.05 indicating statistical significance. RESULTS: 416 non-dialysis CKD patients were included in our analysis. 73% were males; the mean age was 56 ± 15 years. More than 50% of the patients were from the Middle East, followed by 36% from Asia. Most patients had concurrent hypertension, concurrent diabetes mellitus, and were stage V CKD. Only 12% of the patients were fully vaccinated, while 73% received partial vaccination. The predictors of vaccination included age, gender, Asian origin, employment, living conditions, concurrent medical conditions, CKD stage, allergy to medications, and use of injectable medications. Only stage V CKD positively predicted adherence to full and partial vaccinations in non-dialysis CKD patients. CONCLUSION: There is very low adherence to the recommended vaccines in CKD patients, with a prevalence of complete vaccination of 12% only. Increased public awareness about the importance of vaccination in CKD may improve the adherence rates among these patients in Qatar.

Cathepsin G in Experimental Tuberculosis: Relevance for Antibacterial Protection and Potential for Immunotherapy.

Neutrophil serine proteases, such as cathepsin G (CG) and neutrophil elastase (NE), have been implicated in the protective response against infections, including experimental mycobacterial infections. The goal of this study was to explore the role of CG in immunocompetent mice challenged aerogenically with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We used genetically CG- or CG/NE-deficient mice to define the importance of these neutrophil serine proteases for antibacterial protection, granulomatous response, and survival. In addition, we explored the effect of intratracheally delivered liposomally encapsulated CG/NE as a therapeutic approach early during M. tuberculosis infection. Our data show that the presence of CG or CG/NE prolongs survival in M. tuberculosis-infected mice. However, CG is not directly involved in antibacterial defenses, and exogenous intratracheal administration of CG combined with NE does not reduce bacterial loads in the lungs of M. tuberculosis-infected mice.

Control of Mycobacterial Infections in Mice Expressing Human Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) but Not Mouse TNF.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is an important cytokine for host defense against pathogens but is also associated with the development of human immunopathologies. TNF blockade effectively ameliorates many chronic inflammatory conditions but compromises host immunity to tuberculosis. The search for novel, more specific human TNF blockers requires the development of a reliable animal model. We used a novel mouse model with complete replacement of the mouse TNF gene by its human ortholog (human TNF [huTNF] knock-in [KI] mice) to determine resistance to Mycobacterium bovis BCG and M. tuberculosis infections and to investigate whether TNF inhibitors in clinical use reduce host immunity. Our results show that macrophages from huTNF KI mice responded to BCG and lipopolysaccharide similarly to wild-type macrophages by NF-κB activation and cytokine production. While TNF-deficient mice rapidly succumbed to mycobacterial infection, huTNF KI mice survived, controlling the bacterial burden and activating bactericidal mechanisms. Administration of TNF-neutralizing biologics disrupted the control of mycobacterial infection in huTNF KI mice, leading to an increased bacterial burden and hyperinflammation. Thus, our findings demonstrate that human TNF can functionally replace murine TNF in vivo, providing mycobacterial resistance that could be compromised by TNF neutralization. This new animal model will be helpful for the testing of specific biologics neutralizing human TNF.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis embB codon 306 mutations confer moderately increased resistance to ethambutol in vitro and in vivo.

Ethambutol (EMB) is a major component of the first-line therapy of tuberculosis. Mutations in codon 306 of embB (embB306) were suggested as a major resistance mechanism in clinical isolates. To directly analyze the impact of individual embB306 mutations on EMB resistance, we used allelic exchange experiments to generate embB306 mutants of M. tuberculosis H37Rv. The level of EMB resistance conferred by particular mutations was measured in vitro and in vivo after EMB therapy by daily gavage in a mouse model of aerogenic tuberculosis. The wild-type embB306 ATG codon was replaced by embB306 ATC, ATA, or GTG, respectively. All of the obtained embB306 mutants exhibited a 2- to 4-fold increase in EMB MIC compared to the wild-type H37Rv. In vivo, the one selected embB306 GTG mutant required a higher dose of ethambutol to restrict its growth in the lung compared to wild-type H37Rv. These experiments demonstrate that embB306 point mutations enhance the EMB MIC in vitro to a moderate, but significant extent, and reduce the efficacy of EMB treatment in the animal model. We propose that conventional EMB susceptibility testing, in combination with embB306 genotyping, may guide dose adjustment to avoid clinical treatment failure in these low-level resistant strains.

Mycobacteria-induced granuloma necrosis depends on IRF-1.

In a mouse model of mycobacteria-induced immunopathology, wild-type C57BL/6 (WT), IL-18-knockout (KO) and IFN-alphabeta receptor-KO mice developed circumscript, centrally necrotizing granulomatous lesions in response to aerosol infection with M. avium, whereas mice deficient in the IFN-gamma receptor, STAT-1 or IRF-1 did not exhibit granuloma necrosis. Comparative, microarray-based gene expression analysis in the lungs of infected WT and IRF-1-KO mice identified a set of genes whose differential regulation was closely associated with granuloma necrosis, among them cathepsin K, cystatin F and matrix metalloprotease 10. Further microarray-based comparison of gene expression in the lungs of infected WT, IFN-gamma-KO and IRF-1-KO mice revealed four distinct clusters of genes with variable dependence on the presence of IFN-gamma, IRF-1 or both. In particular, IRF-1 appeared to be directly involved in the differentiation of a type I immune response to mycobacterial infection. In summary, IRF-1, rather than being a mere transcription factor downstream of IFN-gamma, may be a master regulator of mycobacteria-induced immunopathology.

Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein 2 Regulates Neutrophil Recruitment Into the Lungs After Streptococcus pneumoniae Infection.

Peptidoglycan (PGN) recognition proteins (PGLYRPs) are a highly conserved group of host defense proteins in insects and mammals that sense bacterial cell wall PGN and act bactericidally or cleave PGN by amidase function. Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae is one of the top five killers worldwide and causes, e.g., pneumonia, endocarditis, meningitis and sepsis. S. pneumoniae accounts for approximately 1.5-2 million deaths every year. The risk of antibiotic resistance and a general poor prognosis in young children and elderly people have led to the need for new treatment approaches. To the best of our knowledge, there is no report on the relevance of PGLYRP2 in lung infections. Therefore, we infected mice deficient for PGLYRP2 transnasally with S. pneumoniae and examined the innate immune response in comparison to WT animals. As expected, PGLYRP2-KO animals had to be sacrificed earlier than their WT counterparts, and this was due to higher bacteremia. The higher bacterial load in the PGLYRP2-KO mice was accomplished with lower amounts of proinflammatory cytokines in the lungs. This led to an abolished recruitment of neutrophils into the lungs, the spread of bacteria and the subsequent aggravated course of the disease and early mortality of the PGLYRP2-KO mice. These data suggest a substantial role of PGLYRP2 in the early defense against S. pneumoniae infection, and PGLYRP2 might also affect other infections in the lungs.

Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein 4 Limits Bacterial Clearance and Inflammation in Lungs by Control of the Gut Microbiota.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most frequent cause of community-acquired pneumonia. Endogenous host defense molecules such as peptidoglycan recognition protein 4 (PGLYRP4) might influence the course of this disease. To the best of our knowledge, there are no reports on the relevance of PGLYRP4 in pneumonia. Therefore, wild type (WT) and PGLYRP4-deficient (PGLYRP4KO) mice were analyzed in an in vivo and in vitro experimental setting to examine the influence of PGLYRP4 on the course of pneumococcal pneumonia. Furthermore, caecal 16S rRNA microbiome analysis was performed, and microbiota were transferred to germfree WT mice to assess the influence of microbiotal communities on the bacterial burden. Mice lacking PGLYRP4 displayed an enhanced bacterial clearance in the lungs, and fewer mice developed bacteremia. In addition, an increased recruitment of immune cells to the site of infection, and an enhanced bacterial killing by stronger activation of phagocytes could be shown. This may depend partly on the detected higher expression of complement factors, interferon-associated genes, and the higher pro-inflammatory cytokine response in isolated primary PGLYRP4KO vs. WT cells. This phenotype is underlined by changes in the complexity and composition of the caecal microbiota of PGLYRP4KO compared to WT mice. Strikingly, we provided evidence, by cohousing and stable transfer of the respective WT or PGLYRP4KO mice microbiota into germfree WT mice, that the changes of the microbiota are responsible for the improved clearance of S. pneumoniae lung infection. In conclusion, the deficiency of PGLYRP4, a known antibacterial protein, leads to changes in the gut microbiota. Thus, alterations in the microbiota can change the susceptibility to S. pneumoniae lung infection independently of the host genotype.

Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein 3 Does Not Alter the Outcome of Pneumococcal Pneumonia in Mice.

Pneumococci frequently cause community-acquired pneumonia, a disease with high mortality rates, particularly in young children and in the elderly. Endogenous antimicrobial peptides and proteins such as PGLYRP3 may contribute to the progression and outcome of this disease. Since increasing antibiotic resistant strains occur all over the world, these endogenous antimicrobial molecules are interesting new targets for future therapies. In this study, the expression pattern of PGLYRP3 was analyzed in alveolar epithelial cells, alveolar macrophages and neutrophils. Additionally, the function of PGLYRP3 during Streptococcus pneumoniae-induced pneumonia was investigated in a murine pneumococcal pneumonia model using PGLYRP3KO mice. PGLYRP3 is expressed in all selected cell types but pneumococcus-dependent induction of PGLYRP3 was observed only in neutrophils and alveolar macrophages. Interestingly, there were no significant differences in the bacterial loads within the lungs, the blood or the spleens, in the cytokine response, the composition of immune cells and the histopathology between wild type and PGLYRP3KO mice. Finally, we could neither observe significant differences in the clinical symptoms nor in the overall survival. Collectively, PGLYRP3 seems to be dispensable for the antibacterial defense during pneumococcal pneumonia.

Location of persisting mycobacteria in a Guinea pig model of tuberculosis revealed by r207910.

The lengthy chemotherapy of tuberculosis reflects the ability of a small subpopulation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria to persist in infected individuals. To date, the exact location of these persisting bacteria is not known. Lung lesions in guinea pigs infected with M. tuberculosis have striking similarities, such as necrosis, mineralization, and hypoxia, to natural infections in humans. Guinea pigs develop necrotic primary lesions after aerosol infection that differ in their morphology compared to secondary lesions resulting from hematogenous dissemination. In infected guinea pigs conventional therapy for tuberculosis during 6 weeks reduced the bacterial load by 1.7 logs in the lungs and, although this completely reversed lung inflammation associated with secondary lesions, the primary granulomas remained largely unaffected. Treatment of animals with the experimental drug R207910 (TMC207) for 6 weeks was highly effective with almost complete eradication of the bacteria throughout both the primary and the secondary lesions. Most importantly, the few remnants of acid-fast bacilli remaining after R207910 treatment were to be found extracellular, in a microenvironment of residual primary lesion necrosis with incomplete dystrophic calcification. This zone of the primary granuloma is hypoxic and is morphologically similar to what has been described for human lung lesions. These results show that this acellular rim may, therefore, be a primary location of persisting bacilli withstanding drug treatment.

Selectin ligand-independent priming and maintenance of T cell immunity during airborne tuberculosis.

Immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is critically dependent on the timely priming of T effector lymphocytes and their efficient recruitment to the site of mycobacterial implantation in the lung. E-, P-, and L-selectin counterreceptors control lymphocyte homing to lymph nodes and leukocyte trafficking to peripheral sites of acute inflammation, their adhesive function depending on fucosylation by fucosyltransferases (FucT) IV and VII. To address the relative importance of differentially glycosylated selectin counterreceptors for priming of T cell effector functions in a model of mycobacteria-induced granulomatous pulmonary inflammation, we used aerosol-borne M. tuberculosis to infect FucT-IV-/-, FucT-VII-/-, FucT-IV-/-/FucT-VII-/-, or wild-type control mice. In lymph nodes, infected FucT-IV-/-/FucT-VII-/- and, to a lesser extent, FucT-VII-/- mice had severely reduced numbers of T cells and reduced Ag-specific effector responses. By contrast, recruitment of activated T cells into the lungs was similar in all four groups of mice during infection and expression of T cell, and macrophage effector functions were only delayed in lungs of FucT-IV-/-/FucT-VII-/- mice. Importantly, lungs from all groups expressed CXCL13, CCL21, and CCL19 and displayed organized follicular neolymphoid structures after infection with M. tuberculosis, which suggests that the lung served as a selectin ligand-independent priming site for immune responses to mycobacterial infection. All FucT-deficient strains were fully capable of restricting M. tuberculosis growth in infected organs until at least 150 days postinfection. Our observations indicate that leukocyte recruitment functions dictated by FucT-IV and FucT-VII-dependent selectin ligand activities are not critical for inducing or maintaining T cell effector responses at levels necessary to control pulmonary tuberculosis.