Air pollution and long COVID: association with pulmonary function and radiological abnormalities 3-15 months post-COVID.

While studies have examined associations between air pollution and subjective long COVID outcomes such as fatigue and symptoms, no studies have focused on objective lung health measures. This study aimed to assess the impact of air pollution, examined through different exposure methods (exposures assigned via geospatial model, versus residential and personal measurements) on pulmonary function and radiological abnormalities in long COVID patients. We recruited 95 patients who attended a hospital outpatient clinic 3-6 months post-infection, during which pulmonary function was assessed via spirometry (FEV1,FVC,FEV1/FVC ratio) and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO), along with a chest CT.

Quantitative assessment and comparison of susceptibility to colibacillosis in pure lines of broiler breeders and their commercial offspring.

Colibacillosis, caused by avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC), is a disease of major economic importance to the broiler industry. This study aimed to investigate genetic variation in susceptibility to colibacillosis by comparing four pure broiler breeder lines and their commercial four-way cross offspring. Three consecutive experiments were performed assessing mortality, growth retardation and mean lesion scores (MLS) after E.

Performance of non-invasive prenatal testing in vanishing-twin and multiple pregnancies: results of TRIDENT-2 study.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in vanishing-twin and multiple pregnancies.

Methods: This study was conducted as part of the TRIDENT-2 study, in which NIPT was offered as a first-tier screening test to women with a multiple pregnancy or vanishing-twin pregnancy between 1 June 2020 and 31 March 2023 in The Netherlands. Abnormal NIPT results were investigated by follow-up invasive prenatal testing and/or postnatal genetic testing.

Exploring the Frontiers of Technology in Forensic Psychiatric Youth Care: Ethical Challenges.

Technologies such as virtual reality, wearables, and mobile apps have the potential to improve forensic psychiatric treatment of youths. Meanwhile, these technological advancements have given rise to new, complex ethical challenges. Paying attention to ethics is especially relevant in forensic psychiatric youth settings because of the often coercive context of treatment and the vulnerable patient population.

Diagnostic accuracy of dual-layer spectral CT for osteolytic vertebral metastases.

Objectives: To evaluate whether dual-layer spectral computed tomography, compared with conventional CT, improves diagnostic accuracy for osteolytic vertebral metastases. Furthermore, to investigate the influence of dual-layer CT on the subjective visibility of metastases.

Materials And Methods: In this single-center retrospective study, consecutive patients with an untreated primary tumor who underwent dual-layer CT and either MRI or PET-CT as reference standard within 14 days were included.

Technologies for equine welfare and performance monitoring under field conditions - Where do we stand?

The need for comprehensive equine welfare assessments has become particularly evident amid ongoing debates about the social licence to operate in equestrian sports. During exercise, multiple physiological systems, principally the cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular, thermoregulatory, endocrine, and locomotory systems, undergo complex adaptations. To monitor and determine equine welfare, an approach that focuses on the quantitative monitoring of both physiological and psychological parameters to determine and understand the impact of equestrian sports on horses is essential.

Relapsed rhabdomyosarcoma: treatment recommendations from the European pediatric soft tissue sarcoma study group (EpSSG).

At least one-third of patients with localized rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) and 60-70% of patients with metastatic RMS experience progressive disease or relapse. Following relapse, outcomes generally remain poor with limited treatment options and a high risk of subsequent recurrence. Optimal treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach incorporating chemotherapy with local control.

Identification of robust associations between admission microbiome profiles and complications of acute pancreatitis.

Objective: Patients with acute pancreatitis show reduced gut microbiome diversity and high abundance of pathogenic bacteria compared with healthy subjects. Admission microbiome profiles are increasingly linked to severity, but methodology and study quality hamper interpretation. Our aim was to investigate whether admission microbiome analysis provides robust and reproducible associations with severity and complications of acute pancreatitis.

A novel peptidoglycan deacetylase modulates daughter cell separation in E. coli.

Peptidoglycan hydrolases facilitate bacterial cell wall growth by creating space for insertion of new material and allowing physical separation of daughter cells. In Escherichia coli, three peptidoglycan amidases, AmiA, AmiB and AmiC, cleave septal peptidoglycan during cell division. The LytM-domain proteins EnvC, NlpD and ActS activate these amidases either from inside the cell or the outer membrane: EnvC binds to the cytoplasmic membrane-anchored divisome components FtsEX, while NlpD and ActS are outer membrane-anchored lipoproteins.

Genetically determined body mass index is associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in polygenic and Mendelian randomization analyses.

Obesity has been associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but the evidence is inconclusive. We examined the association between genetically determined adiposity and four common NHL subtypes: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and marginal zone lymphoma, using eight genome-wide association studies of European ancestry (N = 10,629 cases, 9505 controls) and constructing polygenic scores for body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI). Higher genetically determined BMI was associated with an increased risk of DLBCL [odds ratio (OR) per standard deviation (SD) = 1.

Leftists and Rightists Differ in Their Cardiovascular Responses to Changing Public Opinion on Migration.

People may feel stressed when engaging with contentious topics, such as migration. However, when individuals learn that their opinion-based ingroup is growing or shrinking, they may experience this stress in different ways, namely as a threat or a challenge. In a preregistered study (N = 203 Dutch university students), we examined among host society members how progressive and conservative changes (vs.

Arabidopsis root defense barriers support beneficial interactions with rhizobacterium Pseudomonas simiae WCS417.

Plant roots interact with pathogenic and beneficial microbes in the soil. While root defense barriers block pathogens, their roles in facilitating beneficial plant-microbe associations are understudied. Here, we examined the impact of specific root defense barriers on the well-known beneficial association between Arabidopsis thaliana and the plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium Pseudomonas simiae WCS417.

SyFi: generating and using sequence fingerprints to distinguish SynCom isolates.

The plant root microbiome is a complex community shaped by interactions among bacteria, the plant host and the environment. Synthetic community (SynCom) experiments help disentangle these interactions by inoculating host plants with a representative set of culturable microbial isolates from the natural root microbiome. Studying these simplified communities provides valuable insights into microbiome assembly and function.

Applying the "positive predictive value-recall diagram" to monitor performance and provide recommendations for screening radiologists.

Objectives: To evaluate the suitability of "positive predictive value-recall" (PPV-recall) diagrams for monitoring performance and providing recommendations for groups of radiologists (RUs or reading units) in breast cancer screening.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study used datasets from triennial quality assurance audits within the Dutch screening programme. The recall rate (RR), cancer detection rate (CDR), and PPV between 2010 and 2019 were plotted in PPV-recall diagrams separately for initial and subsequent screening.

Perceptions and Experiences of HIV Nurses on Peer Support for People Living With HIV in the Netherlands: A Qualitative Study.

BackgroundPeer support is an important intervention to achieve increased quality of life for people with HIV. We set out to understand the perceptions and experiences of HIV nurses with peer support in the Netherlands.MethodsWe conducted 21 semi-structured interviews which were analysed using thematic analysis.

Ingroup preferences, segregation, and intergroup contact in neighborhoods and civic organizations.

Segregation perpetuates social inequalities and undermines social cohesion. It can already emerge if individuals act upon weak preferences to associate with similar others. Yet, little remains known about how such ingroup preferences compare across social settings and different identity dimensions.

Dental Adverse Effects Following Multimodality Treatment for Head and Neck Rhabdomyosarcoma: Results of a Trans-Atlantic Multicentre Study.

Introduction: As survival of paediatric cancer improves, more emphasis is placed on late adverse effects. However, the dental and periodontal adverse effects of cancer treatments in children remain an underinvestigated complication. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of late clinical dental adverse effects (cDAE) in survivors of paediatric head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma (HNRMS).

A prudent planetary limit for geologic carbon storage.

Geologically storing carbon is a key strategy for abating emissions from fossil fuels and durably removing carbon dioxide (CO) from the atmosphere. However, the storage potential is not unlimited. Here we establish a prudent planetary limit of around 1,460 (1,290-2,710) Gt of CO storage through a risk-based, spatially explicit analysis of carbon storage in sedimentary basins.

Adaptive and context-aware volumetric printing.

We introduce Generative, Adaptive, Context-Aware 3D Printing (GRACE), a new approach combining 3D imaging, computer vision and parametric modelling to create tailored, context-aware geometries using volumetric additive manufacturing. GRACE rapidly and automatically generates complex structures capable of conforming directly around features ranging from cellular to macroscopic scales with minimal user intervention. Here we demonstrate its versatility in applications ranging from synthetic objects to biofabrication, including adaptive vascular-like geometries around cell-laden bioinks, resulting in improved functionality.

Global methane footprints growth and drivers 1990-2023.

Methane has been identified as the second-largest contributor to climate change, accounting for approximately 30% of global warming. Countries have established targets and are implementing various measures to curb methane emissions. However, our understanding of the trends in methane emissions and their drivers remains limited, particularly from a consumption perspective (i.