Microglial contribution to the pathology of neurodevelopmental disorders in humans.

Microglia are the brain's resident macrophages, which guide various developmental processes crucial for brain maturation, activity, and plasticity. Microglial progenitors enter the telencephalic wall by the 4th postconceptional week and colonise the fetal brain in a manner that spatiotemporally tracks key neurodevelopmental processes in humans. However, much of what we know about how microglia shape neurodevelopment comes from rodent studies.

Immature bovine cartilage wear is due to fatigue failure from repetitive compressive forces and not reciprocating frictional forces.

Objective: Wear of articular cartilage is not well understood. We hypothesize that cartilage wears due to fatigue failure in repetitive compression instead of reciprocating friction.

Design: This study compares reciprocating sliding of immature bovine articular cartilage against glass in two testing configurations: (1) a stationary contact area configuration (SCA), which results in static compression, interstitial fluid depressurization, and increasing friction coefficient during reciprocating sliding, and (2) a migrating contact area configuration (MCA), which maintains pressurization and low friction while producing repetitive compressive loading in addition to reciprocating sliding.

An Exploratory Study Provides Insights into MMP9 and Aβ Levels in the Vitreous and Blood across Different Ages and in a Subset of AMD Patients.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) and total amyloid-beta (Aβ) are prospective biomarkers of ocular ageing and retinopathy. These were quantified by ELISA in the vitreous and blood from controls ( = 55) and in a subset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients ( = 12) for insights and possible additional links between the ocular and systemic compartments. Vitreous MMP9 levels in control and AMD groups were 932.

Defining cardiac cell populations and relative cellular composition of the early fetal human heart.

While the adult human heart is primarily composed of cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial and smooth muscle cells, the cellular composition during early development remains largely unknown. Reliable identification of fetal cardiac cell types using protein markers is critical to understand cardiac development and delineate the cellular composition of the developing human heart. This is the first study to use immunohistochemistry (IHC), flow cytometry and RT-PCR analyses to investigate the expression and specificity of commonly used cardiac cell markers in the early human fetal heart (8-12 post-conception weeks).

Person-Centered Healthcare Practice in a Pandemic Context: An Exploration of People's Experience of Seeking Healthcare Support.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic increased pressure upon healthcare resources resulting in compromised health services. Enforced national lockdown led to people being unable to access essential services in addition to limiting contact with social support networks. The novel coronavirus, and subsequent condition known as long covid were not well-understood and clinicians were not supported by existing guidelines or pathways.

UK nurses' and midwives' experiences of healthful leadership practices during the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid realist review.

Aim: We aim to explore healthful leadership practices in nursing and midwifery evident within the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the contextual facilitators, barriers and outcomes.

Background: Globally, the health and care sectors are under pressure and despite nurses and other professionals, demonstrating resilience and resourcefulness in the COVID-19 pandemic; this has negatively impacted on their health and wellbeing and on patient care.

Evaluation: Two searches were conducted in July 2021 and December 2021.

Support after COVID-19 study: a mixed-methods cross-sectional study to develop recommendations for practice.

Unlabelled: Objectives of study stage 1 were to: explore people's experiences of illness due to COVID-19 while feeling socially isolated or socially isolating; identify perceptions of what would support recovery; and synthesise insights into recommendations for supporting people after COVID-19. Study stage 2 objectives were to engage stakeholders in evaluating these recommendations and analyse likely influences on access to the support identified.

Design: A two-stage, multimethod cross-sectional study was conducted from a postpositivist perspective.

Developing New Methods for Person-Centred Approaches to Adjudicate Context-Mechanism-Outcome Configurations in Realist Evaluation.

Realist evaluation provides a general method of evaluating the application of interventions including policy, legislation, projects, and new processes in social settings such as law enforcement, healthcare and education. Realist evaluation focuses on what about interventions works, for whom, and in what circumstances, and there is a growing body of work using realist evaluation to analyse interventions in healthcare organizations, including those using Lean Six Sigma improvement methodologies. Whilst realist evaluation facilitates the analysis of interventions using both qualitative and quantitative research, there is little guidance given on methods of data collection and analysis.

A Realist Inquiry to Identify the Contribution of Lean Six Sigma to Person-Centred Care and Cultures.

A lack of fidelity to Lean Six Sigma's (LSS) philosophical roots can create division between person-centred approaches to transforming care experiences and services, and system wide quality improvement methods focused solely on efficiency and clinical outcomes. There is little research into, and a poor understanding of, the mechanisms and processes through which LSS education influences healthcare staffs' person-centred practice. This realist inquiry asks 'whether, to what extent and in what ways, LSS in healthcare contributes to person-centred care and cultures'.

Towards the development of a national patient transfer document between residential and acute care-A pilot study.

Background: A lack of standardisation of documentation accompanying older people when transferring from residential to acute care is common and this may result in gaps in information and in care for older people. In Ireland, this lack of standardisation prompted the development of an evidence based national transfer document.

Objectives: To pilot a new national transfer document for use when transferring older people from residential to acute care and obtain the perceptions of its use from staff in residential and acute care settings.

Exploring mediating effects between nursing leadership and patient safety from a person-centred perspective: A literature review.

Aims: To evaluate the mechanism through which nursing leadership impacts patient safety.

Background: Patient safety has received considerable attention among policymakers, governments and public sectors with the emphasis in health care settings on minimizing the risk to patients. Claims are made leadership plays a crucial role in patient safety.

In vitro stem cell modelling demonstrates a proof-of-concept for excess functional mutant TIMP3 as the cause of Sorsby fundus dystrophy.

Sorsby fundus dystrophy (SFD) is a rare autosomal dominant disease of the macula that leads to bilateral loss of central vision and is caused by mutations in the TIMP3 gene. However, the mechanisms by which TIMP3 mutations cause SFD are poorly understood. Here, we generated human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal pigmented epithelial (hiPSC-RPE) cells from three SFD patients carrying TIMP3 p.

Relational ethics in palliative care research: including a person-centred approach.

The traditional approach to research ethics is to ensure that all ethical issues are adhered to through the scrutiny of research proposals by research ethics committees, themselves sitting within national research governance frameworks. The current approach implies that all potential ethical issues can be considered and mitigated prior to the research. This article is a perspective piece whereby we consider how this approach, on its own, is not enough to ensure ethical practice.

The Diverse Roles of TIMP-3: Insights into Degenerative Diseases of the Senescent Retina and Brain.

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3) is a component of the extracellular environment, where it mediates diverse processes including matrix regulation/turnover, inflammation and angiogenesis. Rare risk alleles and mutations are directly linked with retinopathies such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Sorsby fundus dystrophy, and potentially, through indirect mechanisms, with Alzheimer's disease. Insights into TIMP-3 activities may be gleaned from studying Sorsby-linked mutations.

Strategies to prevent dehydration in older people with dementia: a literature review.

Dehydration is prevalent in hospitalised older people and residents in care homes, and older people with dementia are particularly at risk. A literature review was conducted to determine the evidence-based interventions used to prevent and manage dehydration in older people with dementia. Three databases were searched for relevant literature: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and MEDLINE, alongside hand-searching.

Caring for people with multiple sclerosis who use cannabis for symptom control.

Research suggests that a large proportion of people living with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) are using cannabis to self-manage symptoms, or at least believe there are potential benefits in using this drug. Since community nurses are frontline caregivers, they are likely to encounter PwMS who use cannabis within the home setting. The literature base surrounding this topic is largely driven by quantitative research examining the effectiveness of cannabis as a medicine.

Using two models of workplace facilitation to create conditions for development of a person-centred culture: A participatory action research study.

Aims And Objectives: To examine facilitation in workplace learning where nurses are focused on creating person-centred cultures; to provide a framework for novice and proficient facilitators/practitioners to learn in and from their own workplaces and practices; and to provide the conditions where practitioners can gain an understanding of the culture and context within their own workplace.

Background: Evidence suggests that person-centred cultures depend on purposeful, facilitated practice-based learning activities. For person-centredness to become more meaningful to nursing leaders in their daily work, focus must be placed on their acquisition and use of facilitation skills.