Search results

Educational intervention for patients with head and neck cancer in the discharge phase

The consequences of head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment have great impact on patients' lives. Despite the importance of preparing patients for the period after discharge, patients frequently experience a lack of information. Aims of the study were to develop a nurse-led educational intervention to provide information during a discharge interview and to investigate the effects of the intervention on informational needs and satisfaction with information in HNC patients.

Fusing the electromagnetic articulograph, high-speed video cameras and a 16-channel microphone array for speech analysis

Electromagnetic articulography (EMA) is one of the instrumental phonetic research methods used for recording and assessing articulatory movements. Usually, articulographic data are analysed together with standard audio recordings. This paper, however, demonstrates how coupling the articulograph with devices providing other types of information may be used in more advanced speech research. A novel measurement system is presented that consists of the AG 500 electromagnetic articulograph, a 16-channel microphone array with a dedicated audio recorder and a video module consisting of 3 high-speed cameras. It is argued that synchronization of all these devices allows for comparative analyses of results obtained with the three components. To complement the description of the system, the article presents innovative data analysis techniques developed by the authors as well as preliminary results of the system’s accuracy.

A higher protein intake is not associated with 5-year change in mid-thigh muscle cross-sectional area by computed tomography in older adults

Rationale: A higher protein intake is suggested to preserve muscle mass during aging, and may therefore reduce the risk for sarcopenia. We explored whether the amount, type (animal/vegetable) and essential amino acid (EAA) composition of protein intake were associated with 5-year change in mid-thigh muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) in older adults.Methods: Protein intake was assessed at year 2 by a Block food frequency questionnaire in 2,597 participants of the Health ABC study, aged 70–79 y. At year 1 and year 6 mid-thigh muscle CSA (cm2) was measured by computed tomography. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the association between energy adjusted protein residuals (total, animal and vegetable protein) and muscle CSA at year 6, adjusted for muscle CSA at year 1 and potential confounders including prevalent health conditions, physical activity and 5-year change in fat mass. EAAintake was expressed as percentage of total protein intake.Results: Mean protein intake was 0.90 (SD 0.36) g/kg/d and mean 5-year change in muscle CSA was −9.8 (17.0) cm2 (n = 1,561). No association was observed between energy adjusted total (β = −0.00 cm2 ; SE = 0.03; P = 0.98), animal (β = −0.00 cm2; SE = 0.03; P = 0.92), and plant (β = +0.07 cm2; SE = 0.07; P = 0.291) protein intake and muscle CSA at year 6, adjusted for baseline mid-thigh muscle area and potential confounders. No associations were observed for the EAAs.Conclusion: A higher total, animal or vegetable protein intake was not associated with 5 year change in mid-thigh cross sectional area in older adults. This conclusion contradicts some, but not all previous research, therefore optimal protein intake for older adults is currently not known.

Implementing Medical Technological Equipment in the OR

from the Article: "Operating rooms (ORs) more and more evolve into high-tech environments with increasing pressure on finances, logistics, and a not be neglected impact on patient safety. Safe and cost-effective implementation of technological equipment in ORs is notoriously difficult to manage, specifically as generic implementation activities omit as hospitals have implemented local policies for implementations of technological equipment. )e purpose of this study is to identify success factors for effective implementations of new technologies and technological equipment in ORs, based on a systematic literature review. We accessed ten databases and reviewed included articles. )e search resulted in 1592 titles for review, and finally 37 articles were included in this review. We distinguish influencing factors and resulting factors based on the outcomes of this research. Six main categories of influencing factors on successful implementations of medical equipment in ORs were identified: “processes and activities,” “staff,” “communication,” “project management,” “technology,” and “training.” We identified a seventh category “performance” referring to resulting factors during implementations. We argue that aligning the identified influencing factors during implementation impacts the success, adaptation, and safe use of new technological equipment in the OR and thus the outcome of an implementation. The identified categories in literature are considered to be a baseline, to identify factors as elements of a generic holistic implementation model or protocol for new technological equipment in ORs."

Co-Design in a Pressure Cooker

The Co-Design Pressure Cooker was set up to gather knowledge on co-design in product development activities of Small-to-Medium Enterprises(SMEs). This booklet gives an impression of ten projects conducted in the Province of Utrecht, the Netherlands. In these ten projects, a total of 22 companies were involved. 5000 booklets have already been printed in Dutch and handed out to SMEs for knowledge dissemination. We have received ample requests from the international community, which leads us to believe that there is an international audience for the cases conducted and knowledge gathered. This is why we decided to publish an English version of this booklet. The booklet will be followed by a scientific publication on the knowledge gathered for the academic community. Feel free to contact us for more information on this project

Current Practice of Airway Care in ICUs in the Netherlands