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Long-distance sled dogs are known for their great endurance and ability to run several hundred kilometres over the course of a few days. There are several factors to consider when selecting a team of high-performing sled dogs, including their physique, body score condition, appetite, paws, and ability to adapt to unknown environments and situations. The most common breed used in sled dog racing, Alaska Huskies, are known for their great work diligence, and determined mindset. It has previously been researched how well these dogs endure such intense physical activity using observation of behavioural patterns, physical examinations, and the analysis of alterations in blood parameters. This study aimed to evaluate serum chemistry and haematology alterations in dogs before and after completing a 300 km race in Norway. Changes were observed in haematology and serum chemistry between pre- and post-race blood sampling. Significant increases were observed in the white blood cell count, haemoglobin in blood and creatine phosphokine activity in serum (CK), and significant decreases were seen in the electrolytes (e.g., chlorides, potassium), cholesterol levels, liver (e.g., alkaline phosphatase) and pancreatic enzymes (α-amylase, lipase), and total red blood cell count. Several other parameters were measured, and resulted in insignificant changes. Our results indicated that long-distance racing, in fact, has an impact on the physiology of the dog, influencing muscular system, the gastrointestinal tract, electrolyte balance and haematopoiesis among others.

Classroom questioning is a common teaching and learning strategy in postgraduate nurse education. Technologies such as audience response systems (ARS) may offer advantage over traditional approaches to classroom questioning. However, despite being available since the 1960s, ARSs are still considered novel in many postgraduate nurse education classroom settings. This article aims to explicate the attitudes of postgraduate nursing students in an Irish academic teaching hospital towards classroom questioning (CQ) and the use of ARSs as an alternative to traditional CQ techniques. The results of this small-scale study demonstrate that ARSs have a role to play in CQ in the postgraduate setting, being regarded by students as beneficial to learning, psychological safety and classroom interaction.

Aim: To describe the implementation of a novel first-responder programme in which home care providers equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) were dispatched in parallel with existing emergency medical services in the event of a suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA)., Methods: We evaluated a one-year prospective study that trained home care providers in performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and using an AED in cases of suspected OHCA. Data were collected from cardiac arrest case files, case files from each provider dispatch and a survey among dispatched providers. The study was conducted in a rural district in Denmark., Results: Home care providers were dispatched to 28 of the 60 OHCAs that occurred in the study period. In ten cases the providers arrived before the ambulance service and subsequently performed CPR. AED analysis was executed in three cases and shock was delivered in one case. For 26 of the 28 cases, the cardiac arrest occurred in a private home. Ninety-five per cent of the providers who had been dispatched to a cardiac arrest reported feeling prepared for managing the initial resuscitation, including use of AED., Conclusion: Home care providers are suited to act as first-responders in predominantly rural and residential districts. Future follow-up will allow further evaluation of home care provider arrivals and patient survival.

Health care workers, nurses, and nursing students face a high risk of workplace aggression and violence. Potential adverse consequences oblige health care providers and educators to protect the safety of everyone in the health care setting. It is broadly agreed that health care personnel should receive education and training in the management of work-related aggression and violence. However, there are no training programs designed to meet the specific needs of nursing students. In the absence of Irish or international policies or guidelines, an evidence-based training program for first-year undergraduate nursing students was developed. Its focus was to enable nursing students to recognize potential problems and develop the skills necessary to appropriately handle situations that may arise during their clinical nursing practice. This article outlines the development and delivery of a training program for first-year nursing students, entitled Managing Challenging Situations in Practice., (Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.)

In recent years, the Chilean Health Ministry has developed a strategy in order to improve the safety and opportunity of the blood supply through the creation of a nationally co-ordinated blood transfusion service, centralizing collection management, production and testing in three Blood Centers along the country and promoting voluntary, regular, blood donation. In 2007, a comprehensive study of the situation of Blood Transfusion Services in Chile concluded that several critical factors make it difficult to achieve a safe and adequate access to blood and blood components in the country. For example there is a low donation rate (14.3/1000 inhabitants), very low percentage of voluntary donors (10%), excessive amount of blood banks collecting, processing and testing blood revealing an atomized non-centralized system, lack of a national IT system and insufficient national standards. There are two regions in the country, Bio Bio and Valparaíso, where Regional Blood Centers are located, that have put in place several strategies in order to obtain better results., (Copyright 2009 The International Association for Biologicals. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

E-learning is regularly promoted in higher education settings as a way of fostering more flexible approaches to learning. It has been argued however that the 'potential benefits of new information and communication technology instruments in education' have not been subjected to critical scrutiny (Debande, O., 2004. ICTs and the development of e-learning in Europe: the role of the public and private sectors. European Journal of Education 39 (2), 191-208, p. 192). This paper outlines a multi-method evaluation of an e-learning innovation designed to teach clinical skills to student nurses. Responding to the challenges of teaching clinical skills to large class sizes, we developed a set of instructional videos for one undergraduate skills-based module, which are now integral to the module and available online to students on a continuous basis. Evaluation suggests that students' performance outcomes are unchanged. The students view the flexible and self-management aspects of this method of learning positively, with some attitudinal differences between male and female, and mature and non-mature students. However, it is best used to complement rather than replace lecturer demonstration, lending support to a 'blended' model (Collis, B., van der Wende, M., 2002. Models of Technology and Change in Higher Education: An International Comparative Survey on The Current and Future Use of ICT in Higher Education, University of Twente, Center for Higher Education Policy Studies, The Netherlands).