Excerpt: A study by Tromp et al1 concluded that “Our multifaceted hand hygiene improvement program resulted in a sustained improvement of hand hygiene knowledge and compliance in nurses as well as physicians.” However, the support for the conclusions is weak because of a number of drawbacks. These drawbacks would inhibit the application of those conclusions in health care. The first drawback is the absence of a control group and, secondly, the contradictions in the data, as explained below.

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Introduction: Hand osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by gradual destruction of cartilage in the joints of the hand. It is commonly characterized by pain, reduced grip strength, stiffness, and reduced pinch strength, resulting in difficulty performing basic daily tasks. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological practices are employed for hand OA treatment. Many research has been conducted on the effectiveness of treating hand OA using pharmacological and non-pharmacological practices. However, not many studies are carried out to review the effectiveness of those treatment processes, especially the non-pharmacological practices. In this thesis, I systematically review the literature to evaluate and analyze the existing non-pharmacological interventions to provide evidence-based knowledge of existing hand OA treatments. Methods:  PRISMA guidelines were used to design the study selection protocol. The identification of non-pharmacological treatments was performed using PubMed, Scopus, PEDro, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Initially, 268 articles were selected through a search process. Following the selection procedure, 10 articles were chosen to address the research question. The PEDro scale was used to assess the methodological quality and eligibility of the selected studies.  Result:  In the selected studies, a variety of interventions were examined for managing hand OA, such as exercise therapy, blood flow resistance training (BFRT), high intensity training (HIT)), patient education, conservative therapies (education, splints, and hand exercises), splinting. Other interventions such as paraffin therapy and kinesio taping (KT) and functional consultation were also employed. The selected studies examined pain, grip strength, hand function, pinch strength, and stiffness.  Conclusion: Based on the selected studies, it is found that non-pharmacological rehabilitative intervention has a significant impact on pain, grip strength, hand function, pinch strength, and stiffness.  BFRT and HIT are the two most feasible options for individuals with hand OA that relieve pain, grip strength and hand function and achieve the clinical outcomes that were previously set or examined by the physician.  Additionally, KT combined with paraffin therapy, splinting, and hand exercises can also significantly decrease pain and improve pinch strength, grip strength.

Now more than ever, consumers are deciding to forgo modern products and are buying vintage instead. Yet, despite the growing importance of vintage products in the consumer marketplace, research investigating why consumers buy old, often outdated products remains limited. Research that examines customer shopping behavior in second-hand retail markets, were vintage products are bought and sold, is similarly rare. What drives consumers to buy vintage products? What factors influence customer-shopping behavior at second-hand retailers? This three-paper dissertation addresses these gaps by developing better and more actionable insights into why some consumers purchase vintage items. Furthermore, this three-paper dissertation looks to explain customer-shopping behavior and drives consumers to make a purchase at second-hand retail establishments.

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Signs are commonly used in the foodservice industry to portray food safety messages. However, many of these signs do not consider employee preferences or current needs in the industry. Employee perceptions can provide crucial information about the design of effective food safety messages. Surveys were conducted with meat and poultry processing employers in the mid-Atlantic region to determine food safety needs in the industry. Follow-up focus groups in both English (5) and Spanish (5) were conducted based on language availability and size. The most important food safety topics were hand washing (60.9%), cleaning/sanitizing (78.3%), and cross contamination (69.9%). Employees believe that color, text, and multiple language options could increase employee recognition and retention of intended messages. New, employee-driven hand washing signs were developed from the information in the focus groups. Signs were evaluated by video observation through five hand washing practice behaviors (soap use, complete wash, time to wash, complete rinse, and towel use) at two different poultry processing facilities in the mid-Atlantic at three different time points (baseline, short term, and long term). Soap use significantly increased at both facilities when baseline data was compared to short term and long term time periods. Facility B showed a significant increase in washing, time, and rinsing when baseline data was compared to short term, which indicates that a new sign could increase hand washing compliance. Sign color had a significant effect on behavior for washing and time of washing, while time had a significant effect on behavior for four of five variables tested. New signs could be a useful way to encourage compliance to food safety message for multicultural employees; however, they may need to be frequently changed as workers tend to refer back to old habits. / Ph. D.

An attempt to reproduce tendon sheaths using autologous venous grafts has been undertaken in Cercopithecus aethiops (Blue Vervet Monkey). Ten venous grafts were tested. Five were placed around sutured tendons in paratenon, and the remainder around tendons in sheath formation. In no instance did synovial-like sheaths form. In the latter series, the experiment was controlled, and the results obtained expressed in terms of function. The functional results of the venous ensheathed tendons were worse than those of the controlled tendons.The controlled experiment was confined to the digital sheath, an area notoriously liable to adhesion formation, and the one which offered the most critical test of operative technique.A method for the evaluation of function, following the repair of divided tendons in the experimental animal has been presented. Voluntary movement of joints in the experimental animal was obviously impossible, but the method employed in this experiment, namely, the electrical stimulation of muscles, and the photographic recording of the range of joint movement, presented no disadvantages.The experimental animal used in this study was ideal, in that anatomical studies of the hand of this species, revealed features both structurally and functionally comparable to those in man.The anatomical and physiological aspects of tendon action, the mechanics of tendon gliding, and the healing processes in divided tendons have been studied.The fate of human autologous venous grafts has been investigated.A review of previous methods employed to prevent peritendinous adhesions has been presented.