Analytical and Clinical Validation of a Target-Enhanced Whole Genome Sequencing-Based Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Test.

Evaluation of the test performance of the Target enhanced whole-genome sequencing (TE-WGS) assay for comprehensive oncology genomic profiling. The analytical validation of the assay included sensitivity and specificity for single nucleotide variants (SNVs), insertions/deletions (indels), and structural variants (SVs), revealing a revealed a sensitivity of 99.8% for SNVs and 99.

Cognitive Impairment among Veterans in Outpatient Vision Rehabilitation.

Significance: Outpatient vision rehabilitation improves function in veterans with vision impairment, but the prevalence of cognitive impairment and the degree to which it may affect rehabilitation outcomes in the Veterans Affairs system are unknown.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of cognitive impairment among veterans receiving outpatient vision rehabilitation in the Veterans Affairs system and compare the benefits of rehabilitation in veterans with and without cognitive impairment.

Methods: We conducted cognitive assessments and a nested longitudinal cohort study in veterans with eye disorders at two outpatient rehabilitation sites.

Exploring the influence of the nursing and medical professions on policy and politics.

Background: The Nursing Now global campaign is aimed at raising the profile of nursing and its influence on policy and politics. Calls for the profession to have an increased role in policymaking are not new, but recent developments offer significant opportunities to advance this message.

Aim: To compare and contrast the published scholarly evidence, indexed in Web of Science (WoS), relating to how medicine and nursing influence policy and politics.

A retrospective study of more than 400 feline nasal biopsy samples in the UK (2006-2013).

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to utilise a large database from a UK-based, commercial veterinary diagnostic laboratory to ascertain the prevalence of different forms of nasal disease within the feline population. Further objectives included using this database to detect any breed, sex or age predilections, or associations between the degree of brachycephalism, and the different conditions diagnosed.

Methods: Records from the laboratory were searched for feline submissions received between 31 May 2006 and 31 October 2013.

Imperative for Health Systems Research, How Robust Evidence Collection Advances Global Health.

For the advancement of universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), especially SDG 3, strong health systems research is needed and to understand how systems are performing and how can these be strengthen and organized as to support the advancement towards universal health coverage with a perspective to social determinants of health.

What interests young autistic children? An exploratory study of object exploration and repetitive behavior.

Behaviors characterized as restricted and repetitive (RRBs) in autism manifest in diverse ways, from motor mannerisms to intense interests, and are diagnostically defined as interfering with functioning. A variety of early autism interventions target RRBs as preoccupying young autistic children to the detriment of exploration and learning opportunities. In an exploratory study, we developed a novel stimulating play situation including objects of potential interest to autistic children, then investigated repetitive behaviors and object explorations in 49 autistic and 43 age-matched typical young children (20-69 months).

Beyond a Single Country's Borders: Trade in Services Uncovered Through Bibliometrics.

We live and work in an increasingly connected global environment where actions in one part of the world can have consequences for all of us. This article examines, through the use of bibliometric analysis, the extent to which nursing scholars are engaged in the policy debate surrounding trade in services. Results demonstrate that, in comparison to medical colleagues, the nursing profession is more regionally orientated, focused on more operational-based themes and orientated to Mode 4: Mobility of the Profession.

Opportunities for change: the United Nations Working for Health and Growth report.

The United Nations High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth recently published a report that makes ten recommendations and four calls for immediate action. Analysis of the report, Working for Health and Growth: Investing in the Health Workforce, highlights several opportunities for nursing to contribute to a wide-based agenda while positioning the profession to gain wider influence. The report, when analysed through the lens of regulation, professional practice and socio-economic welfare, offers opportunities for nurses in different sectors to work collaboratively to further the recommendations.

Want to Create Jobs and Drive Economic Growth? Invest In Nursing and Global Health Workforce.

The High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth was created by the United Nations to tackle the projected global shortfall of health care workers. The Commission developed recommendations addressing job creation, gender and women's rights, education, training and skills, health service delivery and organization, technology, and crises and humanitarian settings. The Commission report is an opportunity for nurse leaders, key stakeholders, and advocates in our nation to continue to champion heath workforce issues.

The World Health Organization Launches the 2016-2020 Global Strategic Directions for Strengthening Nursing and Midwifery.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Strategic Directions for Strengthening Nursing and Midwifery 2016-2020 provide a framework to ensure nursing and midwifery interventions are developed, implemented, and evaluated at global, regional, and country levels and in partnership with key stakeholders. The Global Strategic Directions for Strengthening Nursing and Midwifery 2016-2020 supports the WHO's Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030. The WHO Global Strategic Directions for Strengthening Nursing and Midwifery 2016-2020 presents a vision, guiding principles, and four themes to maximize nursing and midwifery workforce contributions to improve global health.

Windows to the Future: Can the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Provide Opportunities for Nursing?

Windows of opportunity are wide open for the nursing profession to actively participate and engage in the policy implementation, evaluation, and achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Nurses bring valuable perspectives as members of diverse governance structures and offer a range of solutions that can help governments pursue and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and targets by 2030.

How anxiety about communication affects the role of nurse leaders in international social networks.

Social network analysis examines the way individuals are connected within groups or networks, and the role they play in these groups. In terms of its application to issues related to nurse leaders, much of the research focuses on the structure of their networks, the roles they play, and whether the networks can be changed to improve communication flows. This article reports results of a study that aimed to deepen understanding of how a particular trait - communication apprehension - can affect the roles that nurse leaders play within network structures.

The ICN Leadership For Change™ Programme--20 years of growing influence.

Aim: The aim of this article was to present experiences from the field in the context of the International Council of Nurses' Leadership for Change™ programme, which celebrates 20 years of excellence in 2016 for developing the leadership and management capacity of nurses worldwide.

Background: The programme was launched in 1996 in order to boost nurse participation in the healthcare policy-making process, globally, and to foster within the nursing profession the requisite skills for nurses to lobby for and assume a greater responsibility in the leadership and management of health care services.

Introduction: Over the course of two decades, the programme has been implemented in cooperation between ICN, national nurses associations, the World Health Organization, Ministries of Health and a variety of donor organizations such as the W.

The World Health Organization's Sixty-Eighth World Health Assembly: Updates and Opportunities.

The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the decision-making body of the World Health Organization. Delegates attending the Sixty-Eighth WHA, May 2015, covered a wide range of global challenges and agreed on several key resolutions of importance to nurse leaders. Some of the resolutions adopted relevant for nurse leaders and nursing care such as air pollution, strategies to strengthen epilepsy care, antimicrobial drug resistance, and strategies to strengthen surgical care, are highlighted.

The World Health Organization: Is It Still Relevant?

The World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nation's lead agency for directing and coordinating health. As leaders, nurse executives must advocate for a stronger nursing and midwifery health policy agenda at the global level and a seat at the table on WHO's technical advisory bodies and expert committees. There are no more borders as nurse executives; we are global citizens, leading global change.

Transformational Nurse Leaders Key to Strengthening Health Systems Worldwide.

This column, presented by the director of the International Council of Nurses (ICN), discusses the work of the ICN over the past 20 years and into the future in developing nursing leaders across the globe. Dr Ferguson relates this activity to the constructs of the Magnet Recognition Program. The ICN is at the forefront of making sure nurses and nurse executives have the knowledge, skills, and ability to lead effectively worldwide and meet the global health challenges.

How nurse leaders are connected internationally.

Aim: To determine whether communication networks exist in a diverse and competitively selected cohort of nurse leaders, and to identify variables that explain any patterns of connection.

Method: Twenty seven nurse leaders completed a form to ascertain the presence and strength of communication between participants. Data were analysed using social network analysis, generating a visualisation of the network and associated quantitative measures.

The global quest for nursing excellence.

In this month's column, Stephanie Ferguson, PhD, RN, FAAN, Director, International Council of Nurses' (ICN) Leadership for Change Programme; Facilitator, ICN Global Nursing Leadership Institute; ICN Consultant for Nursing and Health Policy; and World Health Organization Consultant, provides a perspective on the importance of global nursing excellence and highlights the American Nurses Credentialing Center's strategic global quest for nursing excellence.

Assessment and treatment of vocal stereotypy associated with television: a pilot study.

A 6-year-old boy who had been diagnosed with autism participated in a pilot study that showed that (a) television was associated with increased vocal stereotypy and (b) sitting was associated with lower levels of vocal stereotypy. Subsequently, we reduced vocal stereotypy while the television was on by reinforcing sitting on a variable-interval schedule. Results suggest that conditional percentages may be useful for the identification of alternative behaviors as part of treatments for stereotypy.