21 research outputs found
Newly Qualified Nurses’ Perception of Their Competency Achievement on Leaving University: A Qualitative Study
Thanks to all nurses, nursing students and independent researchers who voluntarily participated in this study.Background: After implementing the Tuning Educational Structures in Europe Project,
numerous efforts have been made to define, establish, and evaluate nursing competences. The
European Federation of Nurses Association played a key role in enacting the nursing competences
included in Directive 2013/55/EU. Nevertheless, assessing competences remains elusive, and there
is little research into nurses’ perceptions of the competency training provided by their universities.
The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of newly qualified nurses
about the competences they acquired during their university education. Methods: A qualitative
research study was developed in a Spanish university. Twelve semi-structured interviews with
newly qualified nurses were conducted, and two focus groups made up of twelve students were
carried out in order to triangulate the results. Participants were recruited through email contact.
Interviews focused on clinical training, theoretical content, and the reality of healthcare. Data was
analyzed thematically. Results: Two main themes emerged: (1) improving theoretical content and
(2) rethinking practical lessons and clinical training. A lack of knowledge about mental health,
pharmacology, or critical care has been found; in addition, it was highlighted, among others, the
need to improve communication skills in difficult and conflictive situations. Conclusions:
Considering the participants’ perception of deficiency in some aspects of most of the competences
established by the European Federation of Nurses Association, further research has been suggested
to include other stakeholders’ views
Cav-1 Protein Levels in Serum and Infarcted Brain Correlate with Hemorrhagic Volume in a Mouse Model of Thromboembolic Stroke, Independently of rt-PA Administration.
Thrombolytic therapy with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is currently the only FDA-approved drug for acute ischemic stroke. However, its administration is still limited due to the associated increased risk of hemorrhagic transformation (HT). rt-PA may exacerbate blood-brain barrier (BBB) injury by several mechanisms that have not been fully elucidated. Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), a major structural protein of caveolae, has been linked to the endothelial barrier function. The effects of rt-PA on Cav-1 expression remain largely unknown. Here, Cav-1 protein expression after ischemic conditions, with or without rt-PA administration, was analyzed in a murine thromboembolic middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and in brain microvascular endothelial bEnd.3 cells subjected to oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD). Our results show that Cav-1 is overexpressed in endothelial cells of infarcted area and in bEnd.3 cell line after ischemia but there is disagreement regarding rt-PA effects on Cav-1 expression between both experimental models. Delayed rt-PA administration significantly reduced Cav-1 total levels from 24 to 72 h after reoxygenation and increased pCav-1/Cav-1 at 72 h in the bEnd.3 cells while it did not modify Cav-1 immunoreactivity in the infarcted area at 24 h post-MCAO. Importantly, tissue Cav-1 positively correlated with Cav-1 serum levels at 24 h post-MCAO and negatively correlated with the volume of hemorrhage after infarction, the latter supporting a protective role of Cav-1 in cerebral ischemia. In addition, the negative association between baseline serum Cav-1 levels and hemorrhagic volume points to a potential usefulness of baseline serum Cav-1 levels to predict hemorrhagic volume, independently of rt-PA administration.This work was supported by grants from Instituto de Salud
Carlos III and co-fnanced by the European Development Regional
Fund “A Way to Achieve Europe” Health Strategic Action Program PI13/02258 and PI17/02123 (MC), PI20/00535 (IL), and Spanish Stroke Research Network RETICS RD12/0014/0010 (MC), and
RD16/0019/0003 (JS), RD16/0019/0004 (MC), and RD16/0019/0009
(IL); from Regional Madrid Government B2017/BMD- 3688 (IL);
from Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation PID2019-106581RBI00 (MAM); from Leducq Foundation for Cardiovascular Research
TNE-19CVD01 (MAM); and from Fundación La Caixa HR17_00527
(MAM). P. Comajoan was a recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from
the University of Girona (IF-UdG 2015).S
Outcomes measured by mortality rates, quality of life and degree of autonomy in the first year in stroke units in Spain
Altres ajuts: The study has been funded by an unrestricted grant from Boehringer Ingelheim Spain.The primary objective of this sub analysis of the CONOCES study was to analyse outcomes in terms of mortality rates, quality of life and degree of autonomy over the first year in patients admitted to stroke units in Spain. The secondary objective was to identify the factors determining good prognosis. We studied a sample of patients who had suffered a confirmed stroke and been admitted to a Stroke Unit in the Spanish healthcare system. Socio-demographic and clinical variables and variables related to the level of severity (NIHSS), the level of autonomy (Barthel, modified Rankin) and quality of life (EQ-5D) were recorded at the time of admission and then three months and one year after the event. Factors determining prognosis were analysed using logistic regression and ROC curves. A total of 321 patients were recruited, 33% of whom received thrombolytic treatment, which was associated with better results on the Barthel and the modified Rankin scales and in terms of the risk of death. Mean quality of life measured through EQ-5D improved from 0.57 at discharge to 0.65 one year later. Full autonomy level measured by Barthel index increased from 30.1% at discharge to 52.8% at one year and by the modified Rankin scale from 51% to 71%. The rates for in-hospital and 1-year mortality were 5.9% and 17.4% respectively. Low NIHSS scores were associated with a good prognosis with all the outcome variables. The three instruments applied (NIHSS, Barthel and modified Rankin scales) on admission showed good discriminative ability for patient prognosis in the ROC curves. There has been a change in the prognosis for stroke in Spain in recent years as the quality of life at 1 year observed in our study is clearly higher than that obtained in other Spanish studies conducted previously. Moreover, survival and functional outcome have also improved following the introduction of a new model of care. These results clearly promote extension of the model based on stroke units and reinforced rehabilitation to the majority of the more than 100,000 strokes that occur annually in Spain
Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line (ESi107-A) from a transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) patient carrying a p.Ser43Asn mutation in the TTR gene
Transthyretin (TTR) amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) is a life-threatening disease caused by the abnormal production of misfolded TTR protein by liver cells,
which is then released systemically. Its amyloid deposition in the heart is linked to cardiac toxicity and progression toward heart failure. A human induced
pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line was generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from a patient suffering familial transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy carrying a c.128G>A (p.Ser43Asn) mutation in the TTR gene. This iPSC line offers a useful resource to study the disease pathophysiology and a cell-based
model for therapeutic discovery
Catheter-based intramyocardial injection of FGF1 or NRG1-loaded MPs improves cardiac function in a preclinical model of ischemia-reperfusion
Cardiovascular protein therapeutics such as neuregulin (NRG1) and acidic-fibroblast growth factor
(FGF1) requires new formulation strategies that allow for sustained bioavailability of the drug in the
infarcted myocardium. However, there is no FDA-approved injectable protein delivery platform due
to translational concerns about biomaterial administration through cardiac catheters. We therefore
sought to evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous intramyocardial injection of poly(lactic-co-glycolic
acid) microparticles (MPs) loaded with NRG1 and FGF1 using the NOGA MYOSTAR injection catheter
in a porcine model of ischemia-reperfusion. NRG1- and FGF1-loaded MPs were prepared using a
multiple emulsion solvent-evaporation technique. Infarcted pigs were treated one week after ischemiareperfusion
with MPs containing NRG1, FGF1 or non-loaded MPs delivered via clinically-translatable
percutaneous transendocardial-injection. Three months post-treatment, echocardiography indicated
a significant improvement in systolic and diastolic cardiac function. Moreover, improvement in bipolar
voltage and decrease in transmural infarct progression was demonstrated by electromechanical
NOGA-mapping. Functional benefit was associated with an increase in myocardial vascularization
and remodeling. These findings in a large animal model of ischemia-reperfusion demonstrate the
feasibility and efficacy of using MPs as a delivery system for growth factors and provide strong evidence
to move forward with clinical studies using therapeutic proteins combined with catheter-compatible
biomaterials
Outcomes measured by mortality rates, quality of life and degree of autonomy in the first year in stroke units in Spain
Efecto de la suplementación deportiva en la ganancia de masa muscular en un grupo de mujeres de entre 25-35 años
[abstract not available
Catheter-based intramyocardial injection of FGF1 or NRG1-loaded MPs improves cardiac function in a preclinical model of ischemia-reperfusion
Cardiovascular protein therapeutics such as neuregulin (NRG1) and acidic-fibroblast growth factor
(FGF1) requires new formulation strategies that allow for sustained bioavailability of the drug in the
infarcted myocardium. However, there is no FDA-approved injectable protein delivery platform due
to translational concerns about biomaterial administration through cardiac catheters. We therefore
sought to evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous intramyocardial injection of poly(lactic-co-glycolic
acid) microparticles (MPs) loaded with NRG1 and FGF1 using the NOGA MYOSTAR injection catheter
in a porcine model of ischemia-reperfusion. NRG1- and FGF1-loaded MPs were prepared using a
multiple emulsion solvent-evaporation technique. Infarcted pigs were treated one week after ischemiareperfusion
with MPs containing NRG1, FGF1 or non-loaded MPs delivered via clinically-translatable
percutaneous transendocardial-injection. Three months post-treatment, echocardiography indicated
a significant improvement in systolic and diastolic cardiac function. Moreover, improvement in bipolar
voltage and decrease in transmural infarct progression was demonstrated by electromechanical
NOGA-mapping. Functional benefit was associated with an increase in myocardial vascularization
and remodeling. These findings in a large animal model of ischemia-reperfusion demonstrate the
feasibility and efficacy of using MPs as a delivery system for growth factors and provide strong evidence
to move forward with clinical studies using therapeutic proteins combined with catheter-compatible
biomaterials