3 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This is an randomized, prospective study utilizing volunteers from the anesthesia department at Geisinger Medical Center (GMC). Subjects' hands will be randomized 1:1 using statistical software to determine which hand will receive the gel polish using proportional stratified random sampling. The glove juice method will be used to measure hand bacterial counts to determine whether or not hands with nail polish harbor more bacteria than hands without polish. In addition, all subjects will fill out an employee satisfaction survey related to their satisfaction at work at the beginning of the study as well as at the end of the study.
The MiLC trial is a randomized control trial of two different breast pump set-ups: mother's own and sterile. The objective of this trial is to investigate the bacterial composition of human milk pumped and stored in "real-life" conditions. To meet this objective, lactating mothers will fully express breast milk from one breast on two consecutive pumping sessions at home, once with the participant's own pumps and collection kits (own pump set-up) and once with a hospital-grade pump and disposable, sterile collection kits (sterile pump set-up). Randomization will be used to determine which pump participants use first. From the total volume of milk pumped during each pumping session, the researchers will collect 1 oz. Milk from both pumps will be stored at home and sampled on days 0, 2, 4, and 30 after expression for analysis of its bacterial composition.
The purpose of this study is to see how oral preparations containing both probiotics and prebiotics impact the growth, bacterial colonization of the intestines, and fecal short chain fatty acid content in premature infants. Our hypothesis is that short term growth will be improved, the stool will have more healthy bacteria, and the fecal short chain fatty acid content will increase in the babies who receive the probiotic/prebiotic combinations compared to control groups.