Advancing District Nursing Care Through a Learning Healthcare System: A Viewpoint on Key Requirements.

The increasing complexity of healthcare needs driven by an ageing population places pressure on district nursing care. Many vulnerable older adults prefer to remain at home, requiring care coordinated with general practitioners and other professionals. This demand for integrated care is further challenged by a shortage of nursing professionals and the lack of standardised approaches to measure care quality.

Exploring the barriers, facilitators and needs to use patient outcomes in district nursing care: A multi-method qualitative study.

Aim And Objectives: To provide an in-depth insight into the barriers, facilitators and needs of district nurses and nurse assistants on using patient outcomes in district nursing care.

Background: As healthcare demands grow, particularly in district nursing, there is a significant need to understand how to systematically measure and improve patient outcomes in this setting. Further investigation is needed to identify the barriers and facilitators for effective implementation.

Impact of age on pneumococcal colonization of the nasopharynx and oral cavity: an ecological perspective.

Pneumococcal carriage studies have suggested that pneumococcal colonization in adults is largely limited to the oral cavity and oropharynx. In this study, we used total abundance-based β-diversity (dissimilarity) and β-diversity components to characterize age-related differences in pneumococcal serotype composition of respiratory samples. quantitative PCR (qPCR) was applied to detect pneumococcal serotypes in nasopharyngeal samples collected from 946 toddlers and 602 adults, saliva samples collected from a subset of 653 toddlers, and saliva and oropharyngeal samples collected from a subset of 318 adults.

A spitting image: molecular diagnostics applied to saliva enhance detection of and pneumococcal serotype carriage.

Background: Despite strong historical records on the accuracy of saliva testing, oral fluids are considered poorly suited for pneumococcal carriage detection. We evaluated an approach for carriage surveillance and vaccine studies that increases the sensitivity and specificity of pneumococcus and pneumococcal serotype detection in saliva samples.

Methods: Quantitative PCR (qPCR)-based methods were applied to detect pneumococcus and pneumococcal serotypes in 971 saliva samples collected from 653 toddlers and 318 adults.

Modeling long QT syndrome type 2 on-a-chip via in-depth assessment of isogenic gene-edited 3D cardiac tissues.

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a cardiovascular disease characterized by QT interval prolongation that can lead to sudden cardiac death. Many mutations with heterogeneous mechanisms have been identified in , the gene that encodes for hERG (Kv11.1), which lead to onset of LQTS type 2 (LQTS2).

Exploring nurse-sensitive patient outcomes in Dutch district nursing care: A survey study.

There is a lack of evidence to guide district nurses in using nurse-sensitive patient outcomes as it is unclear how these outcomes are currently used in daily district nursing practice. Therefore, we aimed to explore (1) which nurse-sensitive patient outcomes are measured and how these outcomes are measured, (2) how district nurses use the outcomes to learn from and improve current practice and (3) the barriers and facilitators to using outcomes in current district nursing practice. An exploratory cross-sectional survey study was conducted.

It Takes Two to Tango: Combining Conventional Culture With Molecular Diagnostics Enhances Accuracy of Detection and Pneumococcal Serogroup/Serotype Determination in Carriage.

Background: The specificity of molecular methods for the detection of carriage is under debate. We propose a procedure for carriage surveillance and vaccine impact studies that increases the accuracy of molecular detection of live pneumococci in polymicrobial respiratory samples.

Methods: Culture and qPCR methods were applied to detect pneumococcus and pneumococcal serotypes in 1,549 nasopharyngeal samples collected in the Netherlands ( = 972) and England ( = 577) from 946 toddlers and 603 adults, and in paired oropharyngeal samples collected exclusively from 319 Dutch adults.

Cardiac ischemia on-a-chip to investigate cellular and molecular response of myocardial tissue under hypoxia.

Tissue engineering has enabled the development of advanced and physiologically relevant models of cardiovascular diseases, with advantages over conventional 2D in vitro assays. We have previously demonstrated development of a heart on-a-chip microfluidic model with mature 3D anisotropic tissue formation that incorporates both stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts within a collagen-based hydrogel. Using this platform, we herein present a model of myocardial ischemia on-a-chip, that recapitulates ischemic insult through exposure of mature 3D cardiac tissues to hypoxic environments.

The Impact of COVID-19 from the Perspectives of Dutch District Nurses: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Little is known about how COVID-19 affects older patients living at home or how it affects district nursing teams providing care to these patients. This study aims to (1) explore, from the perspectives of Dutch district nurses, COVID-19's impact on patients receiving district nursing care, district nursing teams, and their organisations during the first outbreak in March 2020 as well as one year later; and (2) identify the needs of district nurses regarding future outbreaks. A mixed-methods, two-phase, sequential exploratory design was followed.

Evidence-based interventions and nurse-sensitive outcomes in district nursing care: A systematic review.

Background: Measuring nursing interventions and nurse-sensitive outcomes in a standardized manner is essential because it provides insight into the quality of delivered care. However, there is currently no systematic overview of the interventions conducted by district nurses, the evidence for the effects of these interventions, or what nurse-sensitive outcomes should be measured.

Objective: 1) To provide an overview of interventions for community-living older people evaluated in district nursing care and evidence for the effects of these interventions and 2) to identify the nurse-sensitive outcomes that are used to evaluate these district nursing care interventions, how these outcomes are measured, and in which patient groups they are applied.

Predictors of district nursing care utilisation for community-living people in the Netherlands: an exploratory study using claims data.

Objective: To explore predictors of district nursing care utilisation for community-living (older) people in the Netherlands using claims data. To cope with growing demands in district nursing care, knowledge about the current utilisation of district nursing care is important.

Setting: District nursing care as a part of primary care.

Developing 3D Organized Human Cardiac Tissue within a Microfluidic Platform.

The leading cause of death worldwide persists as cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, modeling the physiological and biological complexity of the heart muscle, the myocardium, is notoriously difficult to accomplish in vitro. Mainly, obstacles lie in the need for human cardiomyocytes (CMs) that are either adult or exhibit adult-like phenotypes and can successfully replicate the myocardium's cellular complexity and intricate 3D architecture.

Nurse-sensitive outcomes in district nursing care: A Delphi study.

Objectives: To determine nurse-sensitive outcomes in district nursing care for community-living older people. Nurse-sensitive outcomes are defined as patient outcomes that are relevant based on nurses' scope and domain of practice and that are influenced by nursing inputs and interventions.

Design: A Delphi study following the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method with two rounds of data collection.

How can we build and maintain the resilience of our health care professionals during COVID-19? Recommendations based on a scoping review.

Objective: To explore how to build and maintain the resilience of frontline healthcare professionals exposed to COVID-19 outbreak working conditions.

Design: Scoping review supplemented with expert interviews to validate the findings.

Setting: Hospitals.

Influenza-like Illness Exacerbates Pneumococcal Carriage in Older Adults.

Background: In older adults, pneumococcal disease is strongly associated with respiratory viral infections, but the impact of viruses on Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage prevalence and load remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effects of influenza-like illness (ILI) on pneumococcal carriage in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: We investigated the presence of pneumococcal DNA in saliva samples collected in the 2014/2015 influenza season from 232 individuals aged ≥60 years at ILI onset, followed by sampling 2-3 weeks and 7-9 weeks after the first sample.

Three-dimensional scaffold-free microtissues engineered for cardiac repair.

Cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction (MI), persist as the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The limited regenerative capacity of the myocardium presents significant challenges specifically for the treatment of MI and, subsequently, heart failure (HF). Traditional therapeutic approaches mainly rely on limiting the induced damage or the stress on the remaining viable myocardium through pharmacological regulation of remodeling mechanisms, rather than replacement or regeneration of the injured tissue.

Engineering anisotropic human stem cell-derived three-dimensional cardiac tissue on-a-chip.

Despite significant efforts in the study of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), they persist as the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Considerable research into human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) has highlighted their immense potential in the development of in vitro human cardiac tissues for broad mechanistic, therapeutic, and patient-specific disease modeling studies in the pursuit of CVD research. However, the relatively immature state of hPSC-CMs remains an obstacle in enhancing clinical relevance ofengineered cardiac tissue models.

What feedback do reviewers give when reviewing qualitative manuscripts? A focused mapping review and synthesis.

Background: Peer review is at the heart of the scientific process. With the advent of digitisation, journals started to offer electronic articles or publishing online only. A new philosophy regarding the peer review process found its way into academia: the open peer review.

The role of tumor-stroma interactions on desmoplasia and tumorigenicity within a microengineered 3D platform.

The tumor microenvironment has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in modulating cancer progression. Amongst various cell types within the tumor microenvironment, cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are in abundance, serving to modulate the biophysical properties of the stromal matrix, through excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins that leads to enhanced tumor progression. There is still a critical need to develop a fundamental framework on the role of tumor-stromal cell interactions on desmoplasia and tumorigenicity.

Endothelial Immune Activation by Medin: Potential Role in Cerebrovascular Disease and Reversal by Monosialoganglioside-Containing Nanoliposomes.

Background The function of medin, one of the most common human amyloid proteins that accumulates in the vasculature with aging, remains unknown. We aim to probe medin's role in cerebrovascular disease by comparing cerebral arterial medin content between cognitively normal and vascular dementia (VaD) patients and studying its effects on endothelial cell (EC) immune activation and neuroinflammation. We also tested whether monosialoganglioside-containing nanoliposomes could reverse medin's adverse effects.

Three-dimensional microengineered models of human cardiac diseases.

In vitro three-dimensional (3D) microengineered tissue models have been the recent focus of pathophysiological studies, particularly in the field of cardiovascular research. These models, as classified by 3D biomimetic tissues within micrometer-scale platforms, enable precise environmental control on the molecular- and cellular-levels to elucidate biological mechanisms of disease progression and enhance efficacy of therapeutic research. Microengineered models also incorporate directed stem cell differentiation and genome modification techniques that warrant derivation of patient-specific and genetically-edited human cardiac cells for precise recapitulation of diseased tissues.

Comparative genomics reveals a lack of evidence for pigeons as a main source of stx-carrying Escherichia coli causing disease in humans and the common existence of hybrid Shiga toxin-producing and enteropathogenic E. coli pathotypes.

Background: Wild birds, in particular pigeons are considered a natural reservoir for stx-carrying E. coli. An extensive comparison of isolates from pigeons and humans from the same region is lacking, which hampers justifiable conclusions on the epidemiology of these pathogens.