Developing evaluation capacities in integrated care projects: Lessons from a scientific support mission implemented in Belgium.

The capacity of self-assessment, to learn from experience, to make information-based decisions, and to adapt over time are essential drivers of success for any project aiming at healthcare system change. Yet, many of those projects are managed by healthcare providers' teams with little evaluation capacity. In this article, we describe the support mission delivered by an interdisciplinary scientific team to 12 integrated care pilot projects in Belgium, mobilizing a set of tools and methods: a dashboard gathering population health indicators, a significant event reporting method, an annual report, and the development of a sustainable "learning community.

[Quality of life in the medical field : a brief overview of its origin, semantics, measuring instruments and clinical use].

Since the early 1970s, the concept of quality of life has been the subject of increasing interest in the medical field, although no scientific consensus has emerged on how to define and measure it. The aim of this narrative review of the literature is to decrypt the notion of quality of life in the medical field, in order to enable clinicians-researchers and clinicians who use quality of life measurement instruments in clinical practice to form an informed and nuanced opinion on the issue. To do so, the paper is divided into three parts.

Evaluating Large-Scale Integrated Care Projects: The Development of a Protocol for a Mixed Methods Realist Evaluation Study in Belgium.

Background: The twelve Integrated Care Program pilot projects (ICPs) created by the government plan aim to achieve four outcome types (the Quadruple Aim) for people with chronic diseases in Belgium: improved population health, improved patient and provider experiences and improved cost efficiency. The aim of this article is to present the development of a mixed methods realist evaluation of this large-scale, whole system change programme.

Methods: A scientific team was commissioned to co-design and implement an evaluation protocol in close collaboration with the government, the ICPs and several other involved stakeholders.

Comparing student nurse knowledge and performance of basic life support algorithm actions: An observational post-retention test design study.

This study aims to identify which basic life support skills of student nurses deteriorate in a period of four months. Secondly, it investigates the link between a specific cognitive skill and its corresponding motor skill in BLS. The population for this study consisted of 169 general nursing students within the first year cohort of a three-year undergraduate nursing education program.

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Imaging of Melanin in Honey Bee.

Honey bees play a crucial role in the nature by pollinating wild flowers. Over the past years, there has been an increasing concern regarding the honey bee colony decline. Pesticides or environmental effects targeting the biochemistry of insect chitin and cuticle coating may be in part responsible for honey bee pathologies.

Use of a cocktail of spin traps for fingerprinting large range of free radicals in biological systems.

It is well established that the formation of radical species centered on various atoms is involved in the mechanism leading to the development of several diseases or to the appearance of deleterious effects of toxic molecules. The detection of free radical is possible using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and the spin trapping technique. The classical EPR spin-trapping technique can be considered as a "hypothesis-driven" approach because it requires an a priori assumption regarding the nature of the free radical in order to select the most appropriate spin-trap.

The effect of a specialized content knowledge workshop on teaching and learning Basic Life Support in elementary school: A cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Research investigating the effect of specialised content knowledge (SCK) on teaching and learning Basic Life Support (BLS) is lacking.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of a specialised content knowledge workshop on teaching behaviour, lesson context and student learning of BLS. Specialised content knowledge comprises knowledge of content progressions, skill analysis, and how to correct common errors.

[Reflection around the return home of a head injury patient].

The rehabilitation of people having suffered a head injury requires an inter-disciplinary perspective. Understanding the family dynamics as well as assessing the patient's resources and limits help professionals organise the necessary support to guide the patient and their family towards social reintegration.

Serious games for improving knowledge and self-management in young people with chronic conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials assessing the effectiveness of serious games in improving knowledge and/or self-management behaviors in young people with chronic conditions.

Materials And Methods: The authors searched the databases PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Sciences, and PsychINFO for articles published between January 1990 and January 2014. Reference lists were hand-searched to retrieve additional studies.

Peer-assisted Learning in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: The Jigsaw Model.

Background: Training a large cohort of the population could, over time, increase the rate of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Objectives: This study investigates 1) the quality of peer-assisted learning (PAL) by means of the jigsaw method compared to direct teaching by an instructor for learning CPR, and 2) the extent to which acquired skills can be passed on from tutor to tutee without loss of learning.

Methods: One hundred thirty-seven master students were randomized into a jigsaw and a control group.

A multiple linear regression analysis of factors affecting the simulated Basic Life Support (BLS) performance with Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in Flemish lifeguards.

Background: Research investigating lifeguards' performance of Basic Life Support (BLS) with Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is limited.

Aim: Assessing simulated BLS/AED performance in Flemish lifeguards and identifying factors affecting this performance.

Methods: Six hundred and sixteen (217 female and 399 male) certified Flemish lifeguards (aged 16-71 years) performed BLS with an AED on a Laerdal ResusciAnne manikin simulating an adult victim of drowning.

Learning basic life support (BLS) with tablet PCs in reciprocal learning at school: are videos superior to pictures? A randomized controlled trial.

Background: It is often assumed that animations (i.e., videos) will lead to higher learning compared to static media (i.

Reciprocal learning with task cards for teaching Basic Life Support (BLS): investigating effectiveness and the effect of instructor expertise on learning outcomes. A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Basic Life Support (BLS) education in secondary schools and universities is often neglected or outsourced because teachers indicate not feeling competent to teach this content.

Objective: Investigate reciprocal learning with task cards as instructional model for teaching BLS and the effect of instructor expertise in BLS on learning outcomes.

Methods: There were 175 students (mean age = 18.

Game-based learning as a vehicle to teach first aid content: a randomized experiment.

Background: Knowledge of first aid (FA), which constitutes lifesaving treatments for injuries or illnesses, is important for every individual. In this study, we have set up a group-randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a board game for learning FA.

Methods: Four class groups (120 students) were randomly assigned to 2 conditions, a board game or a traditional lecture method (control condition).

Game-based assessment of first aid and resuscitation skills.

Aim: Effective assessment of motor skills in large-size classes is a challenge in medical education. This case-study investigates whether a game can be considered a valid tool for the summative assessment of first aid and basic life support skills.

Methods: Using a traditional exam as bench-mark, a board game format was experimentally trialed to assess students' competency after taking a first aid course.

Replication of not-known-vector flaviviruses in mosquito cells is restricted by intracellular host factors rather than by the viral envelope proteins.

Chimeric yellow fever virus 17D (YFV-17D) and dengue virus type 2 (DENV2) carrying the surface proteins of Modoc virus (MODV), a not-known-vector (NKV) flavivirus, replicated efficiently in mammalian (Vero-B) and mosquito (C6/36) cells, whereas MODV failed to replicate in mosquito cells. Transfection of C6/36 cells with MODV RNA did not result in virus replication; however, transfection of these mosquito cells with YFV-17D or DENV2 RNA did. The inability of NKV viruses (such as MODV) to infect and replicate in arthropod cells is thus not determined by the viral envelope, but by a post-entry event.

Keeping Kids Smokefree: lessons learned on community participation.

Community participation in program decision-making and implementation is an ideal that community and academic stakeholders aspire to in participatory research. This ideal, however, can be difficult to achieve. We describe lessons learned about community participation from a quasi-experimental trial aimed at reducing the uptake of smoking among pre-adolescents in a community with a high percentage of Māori and Pacific Island people.

Nano-emulsions of fluorinated trityl radicals as sensors for EPR oximetry.

This article reports the development and evaluation of two nano-emulsions (F45T-03/HFB and F15T-03/PFOB) containing fluorinated trityl radicals dissolved in perfluorocarbons. Preparation with a high-pressure homogenizer conferred sub-micronic size to both nano-emulsions. In vitro and in vivo EPR spectroscopy showed that the nano-emulsions had much greater oxygen sensitivity than the hydrophilic trityl, CT-03.

Assessment of liver phagocytic activity using EPR spectrometry and imaging.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and imaging in assessing the phagocytic activity of the liver after administration of India ink. We conducted experiments on livers from control rodents and from rodents in which the Kupffer cell population had been depleted by pretreatment with gadolinium chloride. The EPR signal intensity recorded in liver homogenates was about two times lower in GdCl(3) treated rats than in control rats.

Synthesis of two persistent fluorinated tetrathiatriarylmethyl (TAM) radicals for biomedical EPR applications.

Tetrathiatriarylmethyl radicals are attractive spin probes extensively used in biomedical magnetic resonance applications. We report a straightforward synthesis of two original tetrathiatriarylmethyl radicals incorporating, respectively, 15 and 45 fluorine atoms, and thus possessing a high affinity to fluorous media. F15T-03 and F45T-03 exhibit a single sharp EPR spectrum and their EPR line broadening is highly sensitive to molecular oxygen.

The acidic tumor microenvironment promotes the reconversion of nitrite into nitric oxide: towards a new and safe radiosensitizing strategy.

Purpose: The biological status of nitrite recently evolved from an inactive end product of nitric oxide catabolism to the largest intravascular and tissue storage of nitric oxide (NO). Although low partial O(2) pressure favors enzymatic reconversion of nitrite into NO, low pH supports a nonenzymatic pathway. Because hypoxia and acidity are characteristics of the tumor microenvironment, we examined whether nitrite injection could preferentially lead to NO production in tumors and influence response to treatments.

Molecular electron paramagnetic resonance imaging of melanin in melanomas: a proof-of-concept.

The incidence of malignant melanoma is increasing at an alarming rate. As the clinical outcome of the disease strongly depends on the localization of the lesion, early detection at the initial stages of development is critical. Here, we suggest spatial characterization of melanoma based on the presence of endogenous stable free radicals in melanin pigments.

Conservation of the pentanucleotide motif at the top of the yellow fever virus 17D 3' stem-loop structure is not required for replication.

The pentanucleotide (PN) sequence 5'-CACAG-3' at the top of the 3' stem-loop structure of the flavivirus genome is well conserved in the arthropod-borne viruses but is more variable in flaviviruses with no known vector. In this study, the sequence requirements of the PN motif for yellow fever virus 17D (YFV) replication were determined. In general, individual mutations at either the second, third or fourth positions were tolerated and resulted in replication-competent virus.

Mouse and hamster models for the study of therapy against flavivirus infections.

Small animal models that are reminiscent of flaviviral disease in human will be instrumental in identifying therapeutic strategies against flavivirus infections. Here we review models in mice and hamsters for the most clinically important flaviviruses: dengue virus, yellow fever virus, West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus and tick-borne encephalitis virus. In addition, models are discussed that employ no known vector viruses such as the Modoc virus.

Evaluation of lipid-based carrier systems and inclusion complexes of diethyldithiocarbamate-iron to trap nitric oxide in biological systems.

The success of spin trapping techniques in vivo hinges on whether spin traps with high trapping efficiency and biocompatibility can be developed. Currently, two iron chelates based on the dithiocarbamate structure (hydrophilic ferro-di(N-methyl-D-glucamine-dithiocarbamate, or Fe(II)-MGD, and lipophilic ferro-di(diethyldithiocarbamate), or Fe(II)-DETC), are used for spin trapping of nitric oxide (NO) in biologic systems. However, detection efficiency is hampered by a complex redox chemistry for Fe(II)-MGD and by the insolubility of Fe(II)-DETC in water.