Exploring the human emotion of feeling cared for in the workplace.

AIM: To explore the emotion of feeling cared for in the workplace. BACKGROUND: The emotion of feeling cared for drives health-promoting behaviours. Feeling cared for is the end-product of caring, affecting practice, environment and outcomes. Identifying behaviours that lead to feeling cared for is the first step in promoting caring practices in leadership. METHOD: A survey with open-ended questions was designed, validated and electronically distributed. Data from 35 responses were thematically analysed. RESULTS: Unit culture and leadership style affect caring capacity in the workplace. First level coding revealed two caring behaviour categories: recognition and support. Themes emerged aligned to Chapman's model of workplace appreciation: words of affirmation, receiving gifts, quality time and acts of service. The importance of being treated as a whole person was reported: being appreciated personally and professionally. Feeling cared for drives outcomes such as feeling valued, important, teamwork and organisational loyalty. CONCLUSIONS: This study generalises the applicability of Chapman's model developed for workplace appreciation in the health-care setting. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Concrete examples of how leaders stimulate feeling cared for are provided. Caring leadership behaviours have the potential to improve retention, engagement, the healing environment and the capacity for caring for others.

NICHE Recommended Care of the Critically Ill Older Adult.

Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders provides evidence-based best practices for the care of the hospitalized older adult. Older adults are a vulnerable population at greater risk of functional decline during and after hospitalization, safety concerns related to polypharmacy, ineffective pain management, and population-specific physiological responses to medications. Family members of hospitalized older adults are also vulnerable and may experience postintensive care syndrome. This manuscript explores the application of Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders standards through a case study approach to optimize patient/family-centered care of the critically ill older adult.

Assessing RN-to-RN peer review on clinical units.

AIM: The primary purpose of this study was to measure informal registered nurse (RN)-to-RN peer review (defined as collegial communication about the quality of nursing care) at the work-unit level. METHODS: Survey design with cluster sampling of 28 hospital or ambulatory care units (n = 541 respondents). Results were compared with existing patient safety and satisfaction data. A chi-squared test was used to compare responses against nurse characteristics. RESULTS: Nurses agreed that RN-to-RN peer review takes place on their units, but no correlation with patient safety and satisfaction data was found. Misunderstandings about the meaning of peer review were evident. Open-ended comments revealed barriers to peer review: fear of retribution, language barriers and lack of professionalism. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses need clarification of peer review. Issues with common language in a professional environment need to be addressed and nurses can learn collaboration from each other's cultures. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Managers should support RN-to-RN peer review on clinical units. Methods used here may be useful to assess current departmental nurse peer review.

Biosynthesis of flavan 3-ols by leucoanthocyanidin 4-reductases and anthocyanidin reductases in leaves of grape (Vitis vinifera L.), apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) and other crops.

Catechin and epicatechin biosyntheses were studied of grape (Vitis vinifera L.), apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) and other crop leaves, since these monomers and the derived proanthocyanidins are important disease resistance factors. Grape and apple leucoanthocyanidin 4-reductase (LAR; EC 1.17.1.3) enzymes were characterized on basis of plant and recombinant enzymes. In case of grape, two LAR cDNAs were cloned by assembling available EST sequences. Grape and apple leaf anthocyanidin reductase (ANR; EC 1.3.1.77) cDNAs were also obtained and the respective plant and recombinant enzymes were characterized. Despite general low substrate specificity, within the respective flavonoid biosyntheses of grape and apple leaves, both enzyme types deliver differently hydroxylated catechins and epicatechins, due to substrate availability in vivo. Furthermore, for LAR enzymes conversion of 3-deoxyleucocyanidin was shown. Beside relevance for plant protection, this restricts the number of possible reaction mechanisms of LAR. ANR enzyme activity was demonstrated for a number of other crop plants and its correlation with (-)-epicatechin and obvious competition with UDP-glycosyl:flavonoid-3-O-glycosyltransferases was considered.

Induction of stilbene phytoalexins in grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and transgenic stilbene synthase-apple plants (Malus domestica) by a culture filtrate of Aureobasidium pullulans.

Products containing the epiphytic yeast Aureobasidium pullulans are commercially available and applied by fruit growers to prevent several fungal and bacterial diseases of fruit trees. The proposed beneficial mechanisms relate to limitations of space and nutrients for the pathogens in presence of the rapidly proliferating yeast cells. These explanations ignore the potential of yeasts to elicit the plant's defense. Our experiments aim at clarifying if an autoclaved and centrifuged suspension of A. pullulans may induce defense mechanisms. As a model system, the biosynthesis and accumulation of stilbene phytoalexins in callus and shoots of grapevine Vitis vinifera grown in vitro was used. Yeast application to the plant tissue stimulated stilbene biosynthesis, sometimes at the cost of flavonoids. The expression of the gene encoding stilbene synthase was enhanced and the enzyme showed higher activity while chalcone synthase activity and expression was reduced in some cases. An accumulation of stilbenes was also found in transgenic apple trees (Malus domestica cv. Holsteiner Cox) harboring the stilbene synthase-gene under control of its own promoter. These results clearly show that the application of A. pullulans may induce defense mechanisms of the treated plants.

A double mutation in the anthocyanin 5-O-glucosyltransferase gene disrupts enzymatic activity in Vitis vinifera L.

The inability of most European grapevines ( Vitis vinifera ) to produce 3,5-di-O-glucosides of anthocyanidin-3-O-glucosides while in other Vitis species diglucosides are found has long been used as a diagnostic tool for the classification of wines according to their varietal origin. A functional 5-O-glucosyltransferase (5GT) gene and its nonfunctional allele were recently cloned from the heterozygous hybrid cultivar 'Regent'. Protein sequence comparison revealed only five amino acid substitutions and a truncation at the C-terminus in the inactive enzyme. Restoration of the C-terminus in the European allele alone proved to be insufficient for a reversal to a functional allele. An additional V121L transition located in close spatial vicinity of the catalytically active histidine in the active site of the nonfunctional protein was also essential to recover 5GT activity. Thus, two mutations render the 5GT inactive in V. vinifera and explain why revertants for this mutant allele have not been observed in breeding programs. The results have a significant effect on the classification and breeding of Vitis varieties and the evaluation of derived products.