Multi-array Technology for Secreted Cytokine Profiling in a Nano-aerosol Exposed 3D Human Alveolar Cell Model.

Multi-array technology allows for multiplex profiling of protein biomarker panels through sandwich immunoassays with high sensitivity, excellent reproducibility, and wide dynamic range. We describe here the detection of secreted cytokine levels in media of an in vitro stimulated human alveolar cell model that vary in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Depending on the analyte concentrations, several sample dilutions can be tested on a single multi-spot plate.

Brachial Plexus Anatomy of Sprague Dawley Rat Compared to Human.

Brachial plexus injury (BPI) occurs when the brachial plexus (BP) is compressed, stretched, or avulsed. A mild BPI results in acute arm pain, tingling, or numbness, while more severe injuries can lead to permanent muscle weakness or loss of function of the extremity if left untreated. Many BPI treatments developed in small animal models fail to translate effectively to human clinical trials.

Enduring differential patterns of neuronal loss and myelination along 6-month pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone therapy in individuals with Down syndrome.

Despite major progress in understanding the impact of the triplicated chromosome 21 on the brain and behaviour in Down syndrome, our knowledge of the underlying neurobiology in humans is still limited. We sought to address some of the pertinent questions about the drivers of brain structure differences and their associations with cognitive function in Down syndrome. To this aim, in a pilot magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study, we monitored brain anatomy in individuals with Down syndrome receiving pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) therapy over 6 months in comparison with typically developed age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

Mineral coated microparticles delivering Interleukin-4, Interleukin-10, and Interleukin-13 reduce inflammation and improve function after spinal cord injury in a rat.

After spinal cord injury (SCI) there is excessive inflammation and extensive infiltration of immune cells that leads to additional neural damage. Interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, and IL-13 are anti-inflammatories that have been shown to reduce several pro-inflammatory species, alter macrophage state, and provide neuroprotection. However, these anti-inflammatories have a short half-life, do not cross the blood-spinal cord barrier, and large systemic doses of ant-inflammatory cytokines can cause increased susceptibility to infections.

Application of the market-ready NAVETTA electrodeposition chamber for controlled exposure with nano-scaled aerosols.

Exposure of lung epithelia to aerosols is omnipresent. Chronic exposure to polluted air is a significant factor in the development of pulmonary diseases, which are among the top global causes of death, including COVID-19, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and tuberculosis. As efforts to prevent and treat lung diseases increase, the development of pulmonary drug delivery systems has become a major area of interest.

Integrating patient-centred and tumour-centred cancer care: the EU-MyPath implementation project offers an innovative digital solution with care pathways.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality, with new cases expected to rise. Medical advances increase cure rates and prolong patient lives, but survivorship involves high symptom burden, loss of function and emotional distress. Improving patient-centred care (PCC) and quality of life throughout the care process is essential.

Interlaboratory comparison of endotoxin contamination assessment of nanomaterials.

Endotoxin contamination is a significant hurdle to the translation of nanomaterials for biomedical applications. Multiple reports now describe that more than one-third of nanomaterials fail early pre-clinical assessment due to levels of endotoxin above regulatory requirements. Additionally, most immunological studies or studies testing nanomaterials in the literature lack inclusion of this assessment, which may lead to false-positive or false-negative results if high levels of the contaminant are present.

assessment of acute airway effects from real-life mixtures of ozone-initiated oxidation products of limonene and printer exhaust.

In indoor air the reaction of ozone (O) with terpenes may lead to the formation of irritating gas-phase products which may induce acute airway effects (i.e. sudden, short-term changes or symptoms related to the respiratory system).

Proof of stability of an RSV Controlled Human Infection Model challenge agent.

In 2018, SGS Belgium NV developed RSV-NICA (Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Nasobronchial Infective Challenge Agent), an RSV type A challenge agent for use in RSV Controlled Human Infection Model (CHIM) studies.It is widely recognized that the stability of RSV can be influenced by a variety of environmental parameters, such as temperature and pH. Consequently, our objective was to evaluate the stability of the viral titer of RSV-NICA following five years of controlled storage and to determine the uniformity of the viral titers across different vials of a GMP-qualified batch of RSV-NICA.

Pro-opiomelanocortin and ACTH-cortisol dissociation during pediatric cardiac surgery.

In critically ill adults, high plasma cortisol in face of low ACTH coincides with high pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) levels. Glucocorticoids further lower ACTH without affecting POMC. We hypothesized that in pediatric cardiac surgery-induced critical illness, plasma POMC is elevated, plasma ACTH transiently rises intraoperatively but becomes suppressed post-operatively, and glucocorticoid administration amplifies this phenotype.

Selective Replacement of Cholesterol with Cationic Amphiphilic Drugs Enables the Design of Lipid Nanoparticles with Improved RNA Delivery.

The delivery of RNA across biological barriers can be achieved by encapsulation in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Cationic amphiphilic drugs (CADs) are pharmacologically diverse compounds with ionizable lipid-like features. In this work, we applied CADs as a fifth component of state-of-the-art LNPs via microfluidic mixing.

Vitamin D insufficiency in infants with increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes: a secondary analysis of the POInT Study.

Background: Vitamin D insufficiency (VDI) may be a factor in the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D). The aim of this study is to investigate the presence and persistence of VDI in a large cohort of infants with increased risk of developing T1D, in light of the differences in local supplementation guidelines.

Methods: In the POInT Study, a multicentre primary prevention study between February 2018 and March 2021 in Germany, Poland, Belgium, England and Sweden, including infants aged 4-7 months at high genetic risk of developing β-cell autoantibodies, vitamin D levels were analysed at each study visit from inclusion (4-7 months) until 3 years, with an interval of 2 months (first three visits) or 4-6 months (visits 4-8).

Pigmented Hypertrichosis with Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Syndrome: A Case Series.

Introduction: Pigmented hypertrichosis with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (PHID) syndrome is a rare disease, and part of the cluster histiocytosis-lymphadenopathy plus syndrome (H syndrome), which is associated with mutations in the SLC29A3 gene. Patients with PHID show clinical features of H syndrome but also have insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The PHID has previously been described as predominantly in absence of pancreatic autoantibodies.

Differential alternative splicing analysis links variation in ZRSR2 to a novel type of oral-facial-digital syndrome.

Purpose: Oral-facial-digital (OFD) syndromes are genetically heterogeneous developmental disorders, caused by pathogenic variants in genes involved in primary cilia formation and function. We identified a previously undescribed type of OFD with brain anomalies, ranging from alobar holoprosencephaly to pituitary anomalies, in 6 unrelated families.

Methods: Exome sequencing of affected probands was supplemented with alternative splicing analysis in patient and control lymphoblastoid and fibroblast cell lines, and primary cilia structure analysis in patient fibroblasts.

The Dynamic Adoption Journey: A Typology for Users and Non-Users of Occupational Exoskeletons.

Various barriers prevent the adoption of occupational exoskeletons. It is therefore important to understand why some people are willing to use occupational exoskeletons, while others are not. To identify why people use or do not use exoskeletons, we created a typology describing different types of users and non-users.

Does a Soft Actuated Back Exosuit Influence Multimodal Physiological Measurements and User Perception During an Industry Inspired Task?

Back support soft exosuits are promising solutions to reduce risk of musculoskeletal injuries at workplaces resulting from physically demanding and repetitive lifting tasks. Design of novel active exosuits address the impact on the muscle activity and metabolic costs but do not consider other critical aspects such as comfort and user perception during the intended tasks. Thus, in this study, we describe a novel soft active exosuit in line with its impact on physiological and subjective measures during lifting.

Exploring technology acceptance of head-mounted device-based augmented reality surgical navigation in orthopaedic surgery.

Background: This study used the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to investigate the acceptance of HMD-based AR surgical navigation.

Methods: An experiment was conducted in which participants drilled 12 predefined holes using freehand drilling, proprioceptive control, and AR assistance. Technology acceptance was assessed through a survey and non-participant observations.

Interdisciplinary evaluation of a robot physically collaborating with workers.

Collaborative Robots-CoBots-are emerging as a promising technological aid for workers. To date, most CoBots merely share their workspace or collaborate without contact, with their human partners. We claim that robots would be much more beneficial if they physically collaborated with the worker, on high payload tasks.

Human cell-based in vitro systems to assess respiratory toxicity: a case study using silanes.

Inhalation is a major route by which human exposure to substances can occur. Resources have therefore been dedicated to optimize human-relevant in vitro approaches that can accurately and efficiently predict the toxicity of inhaled chemicals for robust risk assessment and management. In this study-the IN vitro Systems to PredIct REspiratory toxicity Initiative-2 cell-based systems were used to predict the ability of chemicals to cause portal-of-entry effects on the human respiratory tract.

The association of hypoglycemia with outcome of critically ill children in relation to nutritional and blood glucose control strategies.

Background: Withholding parenteral nutrition (PN) until one week after PICU admission facilitated recovery from critical illness and protected against emotional and behavioral problems 4 years later. However, the intervention increased the risk of hypoglycemia, which may have counteracted part of the benefit. Previously, hypoglycemia occurring under tight glucose control in critically ill children receiving early PN did not associate with long-term harm.

The role of phone-based triage nurses in supporting older adults with multimorbidity to digitally self-manage - Findings from the ProACT proof-of-concept study.

Background: Achieving patient-centred care necessitates supporting individuals to have more involvement in the self-management of their care. Digital health technologies are widely recognised as a solution to empower more effective self-management. However, given the complexity of multiple chronic condition (multimorbidity) management, coupled with changes that occur as part of the normal ageing process, human support alongside digital self-management is often necessary for older people with multimorbidity (PwM) to sustain successful self-management.

Characterising extracellular vesicles from individual low volume cerebrospinal fluid samples, isolated by SmartSEC.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are suggested to have a role in the progression of neurodegeneration, and are able to transmit pathological proteins from one cell to another. One of the biofluids from which EVs can be isolated is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). However, so far, few studies have been performed on small volumes of CSF.

Impact of critical illness and withholding of early parenteral nutrition in the pediatric intensive care unit on long-term physical performance of children: a 4-year follow-up of the PEPaNIC randomized controlled trial.

Background: Many critically ill children face long-term developmental impairments. The PEPaNIC trial attributed part of the problems at the level of neurocognitive and emotional/behavioral development to early use of parenteral nutrition (early-PN) in the PICU, as compared with withholding it for 1 week (late-PN). Insight in long-term daily life physical functional capacity after critical illness is limited.

A Digital Health Platform for Integrated and Proactive Patient-Centered Multimorbidity Self-management and Care (ProACT): Protocol for an Action Research Proof-of-Concept Trial.

Background: Multimorbidity is defined as the presence of two or more chronic diseases and associated comorbidities. There is a need to improve best practices around the provision of well-coordinated, person-centered care for persons with multimorbidities. Present health systems across the European Union (EU) focus on supporting a single-disease framework of care; the primary challenge is to create a patient-centric, integrated care ecosystem to understand and manage multimorbidity.

A Digital Platform to Support Self-management of Multiple Chronic Conditions (ProACT): Findings in Relation to Engagement During a One-Year Proof-of-Concept Trial.

Background: Populations globally are ageing, resulting in higher incidence rates of chronic diseases. Digital health platforms, designed to support those with chronic conditions to self-manage at home, offer a promising solution to help people monitor their conditions and lifestyle, maintain good health, and reduce unscheduled clinical visits. However, despite high prevalence rates of multimorbidity or multiple chronic conditions, most platforms tend to focus on a single disease.