Follow-Up of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Levels in Belgian Nursing Home Residents and Staff Two, Four and Six Months after Primary Course BNT162b2 Vaccination.

When COVID-19 vaccines were implemented, nursing home residents (NHRs) and staff (NHS) in Belgium were prioritized for vaccination. To characterize the vaccine response over time in this population and to identify poorly responding groups, we assessed antibody concentrations two (T1), four (T2) and six months (T3) after primary course BNT162b2 vaccination in six groups of infection-naive/infection-primed NHRs/NHS, with/without comorbidity (NHRs only). Participant groups (N = 125 per group) were defined within a national serosurveillance study in nursing homes, based on questionnaire data.

Interpretative phenomenological analysis of the collaboration among healthcare professionals in the nursing home setting.

Background: The theory of planned behavior (TPB) postulates that behavioral performance is guided by the intention to perform that behavior, influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. This framework can be applied to studying interprofessional collaboration among healthcare professionals to enhance patient safety and public health within nursing homes.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the roles of physicians, pharmacists, and nurses in the interprofessional collaboration process while identifying facilitators and barriers to effective collaboration among healthcare professionals.

Vaccine hesitancy for the COVID-19 vaccine booster dose among nursing home staff fully vaccinated with the primary vaccination course in Belgium.

In Belgium, nursing home (NH) staff (NHS) and residents were prioritised for the initial COVID-19 vaccination and successive booster doses. The vaccination campaign for the first booster started in September 2021 in Belgian NH. Our first study about vaccine hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine in Belgian NHS already showed a degree of fear for the primary vaccination course (T1).

The DAWN antivirals trial: process evaluation of a COVID-19 trial in general practice.

Background: The DAWN antivirals trial was a multicentric, randomised placebo-controlled trial evaluating antiviral medication for COVID-19 in general practice. The trial was prematurely terminated because of insufficient recruitment.

Aim: To explore which factors contributed to the premature termination.

Validation of a rapid SARS-CoV-2 antibody test in general practice.

Objectives: To validate a rapid serological test (RST) for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies used in seroprevalence studies in healthcare providers, including primary healthcare providers (PHCPs) in Belgium.

Design: A phase III validation study of the RST (OrientGene) within a prospective cohort study.

Setting: Primary care in Belgium.

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among Belgian nursing home residents and staff during the primary COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Background: Nursing home residents (NHR) and staff have been disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and were therefore prioritised in the COVID-19 vaccination strategy. However, frail older adults, like NHR, are known to have decreased antibody responses upon vaccination targeting other viral antigens.

Objectives: As real-world data on vaccine responsiveness, we assessed the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among Belgian NHR and staff during the primary COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Prevalence, incidence and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers in Belgium: a prospective cohort study with 12 months of follow-up.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence, incidence and longevity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers (PHCPs).

Design: Prospective cohort study with 12 months of follow-up.

Setting: Primary care in Belgium.

Mapping the current knowledge in syndemic research applied to men who have sex with men: A scoping review.

Men who have sex with Men (MSM) represent a population affected by numerous health conditions. Syndemic theory has been used as a framework to study the health of MSM for nearly 20 years. However, the literature is plagued by a lack of consensus regarding what constitutes a synergy in a syndemic and recent reviews have shown that most of the papers published thus far have failed to demonstrate a synergy nor describe the bio-social interaction needed to account for a true syndemic.

Vaccine Hesitancy towards the COVID-19 Vaccine in a Random National Sample of Belgian Nursing Home Staff Members.

In Belgium, nursing home staff (NHS) and residents were prioritised for COVID-19 vaccination. However, vaccine hesitancy may have impacted vaccination rates. In this study, a random stratified sample of NHS ( = 1142), vaccinated and unvaccinated, completed an online questionnaire on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (between 31 July and 15 November 2021).

Prevalence and incidence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among primary healthcare providers in Belgium during 1 year of the COVID-19 epidemic: prospective cohort study protocol.

Introduction: National SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence data provide essential information about population exposure to the virus and help predict the future course of the epidemic. Early cohort studies have suggested declines in levels of antibodies in individuals associated with, for example, illness severity, age and comorbidities. This protocol focuses on the seroprevalence among primary healthcare providers (PHCPs) in Belgium.

Involvement of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the long-term memory effects of glucocorticoid stimulation during adolescence/young adulthood.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in cognition and the effects of chronic stress. We have previously shown in mice that chronic adolescent treatment with corticosterone (CORT), to simulate stress, resulted in spatial memory deficits and markedly elevated levels of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunit NR2B in adult male BDNF heterozygous mice (BDNF), but not in wildtype controls (WT) or females. The aim of the present study was to further characterize this 'two hit' model, including whether these effects are long-lasting.

Dealing with health literacy at the organisational level, French translation and adaptation of the Vienna health literate organisation self-assessment tool.

Background: Efforts to address health literacy should favour a system-based approach with the dual aim both of fostering the material conditions and creating a work culture inside health care organisations that makes it easier for people to use information. The Vienna Health Literate Organisation (V-HLO) self-assessment tool is a German-speaking questionnaire for quality managers of health care organisations. Its objective is to provide a diagnostic of the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation in terms of health literacy.

[Health literacy, a lever to make health care systems more equitable? Tools to support professionals and involve institutions].

This article briefly recalls why low levels of health literacy should be considered to constitute a public health issue. It then proposes the concept of health literacy as a possible lever to help health care systems to more effectively take social health inequalities into account. Finally, it provides concrete tools for field workers, both clinicians and quality of care managers, and emphasises the importance of an organizational approach to health literacy.

Chloroplastic and nuclear diversity of wild beets at a large geographical scale: Insights into the evolutionary history of the section.

Historical demographic processes and mating systems are believed to be major factors in the shaping of the intraspecies genetic diversity of plants. Among Caryophyllales, the section of the genus within the Amaranthaceae/Chenopodiaceae alliance, is an interesting study model with species and subspecies (, , and differing in geographical distribution and mating system. In addition, one of the species, , mainly diploid, varies in its level of ploidy with a tetraploid cytotype described in the Canary Islands and in Portugal.

Gene-environment interaction of reelin and stress in cognitive behaviours in mice: Implications for schizophrenia.

Cognitive deficits are a particularly debilitating symptom group in schizophrenia. We investigated the effect of a 'two hit' combination of two factors implicated in schizophrenia development, reelin deficiency and stress, on cognitive behaviours in mice. Male and female heterozygous reelin mice (HRM) and wild-type (WT) controls received the stress hormone, corticosterone (CORT), during early adulthood to simulate chronic stress.

Environmental Enrichment Ameliorates Behavioral Impairments Modeling Schizophrenia in Mice Lacking Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5.

Schizophrenia arises from a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. Abnormalities in glutamatergic signaling have been proposed to underlie the emergence of symptoms, in light of various lines of evidence, including the psychotomimetic effects of NMDA receptor antagonists. Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) has also been implicated in the disorder, and has been shown to physically interact with NMDA receptors.

Corticosterone treatment during adolescence induces down-regulation of reelin and NMDA receptor subunit GLUN2C expression only in male mice: implications for schizophrenia.

Stress exposure during adolescence/early adulthood has been shown to increase the risk for psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Reelin plays an essential role in brain development and its levels are decreased in schizophrenia. However, the relationship between stress exposure and reelin expression remains unclear.