Development and Face and Content Validation of Augmedicine: Ultrasound-An Extended Reality Application for Ultrasound Training.

Objectives: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a bedside imaging technique increasingly taught to physicians and medical students. Beginners often face challenges with probe orientation and hand-eye coordination. Extended reality (XR) can enhance POCUS education by projecting a 3D anatomical model onto a phantom or patient, providing unlimited training and direct feedback on probe orientation and image acquisition.

A modified technique for mechanical isolation of stromal vascular fraction yields increased final product volume and high viable nucleated cells count.

Purpose: Purpose of the present study is to report a modified protocol for stromal vascular fraction (SVF) isolation from abdominal fat, analyse its cellular composition and gene expression profile, and verify the safety and feasibility of the harvesting-preparation technique and subsequent intra-articular knee injection.

Methods: The SVF was obtained after mechanical dissociation of the autologous harvested adipose tissue. It was combined with autologous platelet-rich plasma and subsequently intra-articularly injected into both knees of patients with osteoarthritis.

Quality of vitamin K antagonist treatment during the last year of life.

Limited data exist on the quality of anticoagulation in patients approaching the end of life. This study evaluated vitamin K antagonist (VKA) anticoagulation control during the last year of life, using nationwide data from Statistics Netherlands, linked to anticoagulation clinics' data and the Netherlands Cancer Registry. We included prevalent VKA users who were hospitalized with a severe medical condition and died between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2019.

Effect of Low Red-to-Far-Red Light on Stem Elongation and Pith Cell Development in Dicots.

In dense canopies, light becomes a limiting factor for plant growth. Many plants respond to neighbor cues by growing taller to improve light capture, a phenomenon known as the shade avoidance syndrome (SAS). The major neighbor detection is via enrichment of far-red (FR) light that leads to a low red:far-red light ratio (R:FR), suppressing phytochrome activity.

Biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases in regulatory decision-making by the European Medicines Agency.

Introduction: Biomarkers (BMs) are valuable tools to facilitate early diagnosis of (subtypes of) diseases, improve patient selection and stratification, and detect therapeutic effects or safety concerns. This study explores the extent to which BMs are utilized in the development of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), as well as topics of discussion regarding BMs in regulatory advice- and decision-making processes and sharing of BM-related data.

Methods: The European Medicines Agency's marketing authorization application (MAA), qualification (QA/QO), and scientific advice (SA) procedures regarding NDDs were screened, and those that mention BMs were analyzed.

Burden of Coronary Artery Disease as a Predictor of New Vascular Events and Mortality in Patients With Ischemic Stroke: Insights From the Norwegian Stroke in the Young Study.

Background: Studies in young patients with stroke identified coronary artery disease (CAD) as a main contributor to mortality. In the present NOR-SYS (Norwegian Stroke in the Young Study), we aimed to investigate the prevalence of CAD, and the impact on new vascular events and mortality.

Methods: A total of 385 patients with ischemic stroke, aged ≤60 years, were included.

Double-level osteotomy (DLO) for varus deformity results in over a decade of mean survival without compromising subsequent total knee arthroplasty function at a mean 26-year follow-up.

Purpose: Double-level osteotomies (DLOs) have shown promising results for knee joint preservation, however, most ultimately progress in terms of degenerative disease resulting in conversion to total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the time to TKA conversion, long-term clinical outcomes and revision rates of patients who have undergone TKA after prior ipsilateral DLO.

Methods: Patients who underwent simultaneous or staged DLO and subsequently underwent conversion to TKA at a single academic institution from 1997 to 2022 were evaluated.

Prospective life cycle assessment of climate and biodiversity impacts of meat-based and plant-forward meals: A case study of Indonesian and German meal options.

The emerging field of prospective life cycle assessment (pLCA) offers opportunities for evaluating the environmental impacts of possible future consumption shifts. One such shift involves a transition from meat-based to plant-forward diets, acknowledged to mitigate environmental impacts of the food system under present day conditions. Current diets are often meat intensive ("meat-based"), whilst "plant-forward" diets include mainly plant-based foods, encompassing flexitarian, vegetarian, and vegan diets.

Prevalence, Predictors, and Outcomes of HIV Care in HIV-Positive Clients Entering HIV Care With Advanced HIV Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa 2010-2022: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background And Aims: Sub-Saharan Africa drives global HIV-related mortality, and patients continuously present with advanced HIV disease (AHD) at diagnosis. We describe prevalence, predictors, and treatment outcomes in HIV clients with AHD.

Methods: We systematically reviewed PUBMED, SCOPUS, Web of Science, JSTOR, and CINAHL for relevant studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2010 to 2022.

Definitions matter: Multicenter investigation of incidence and outcome of poor graft function after hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Despite advances in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), poor graft function (PGF) remains an important complication with substantial morbidity and mortality. The investigation of preventive and therapeutic PGF treatments is hindered by inconsistencies in reported incidence and outcomes across studies, which may be explained by heterogeneity in PGF definition. To assess the impact of definition heterogeneity, we conducted a multicenter study, analyzing over 35.

The Secret Family Life of a Group of Golden Jackals on Samos, Greece.

The golden jackal () is remarkably flexible in terms of behaviour. This is advantageous to the range expansion of the species to northern and western Europe. Despite the widespread distribution of the golden jackal, many aspects of its behaviour are still poorly known.

The Quantified Galloway Ternary Diagram of Delta Morphology.

Waves, rivers, and tides shape delta morphology. Recent studies have enabled predictions of their relative influence on deltas globally, but methods and associated uncertainties remain poorly known. Here, we address that gap and show how to quantify delta morphology within the Galloway ternary diagram of river, wave, and tidal sediment fluxes.

Ecological and Reproductive Cycles Drive Henipavirus Seroprevalence in the African Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat ().

Bats are known to host zoonotic viruses, including henipaviruses that cause high fatality rates in humans (Nipah virus and Hendra virus). However, the determinants of zoonotic spillover are generally unknown, as the ecological and demographic drivers of viral circulation in bats are difficult to ascertain without longitudinal data. Here we analyse serological data collected from African straw-coloured fruit bats () in Ghana over the course of 2 years and across four sites, comprising three wild roosts and one captive colony.

Clinical Features and Outcomes of Pediatric -Related Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Although genetic variants in are the most frequent cause of pediatric genetic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), there are no studies available describing this entity. We sought to describe clinical features, analyze variant location, and explore predictors of bad prognosis in pediatric -related DCM.

Methods And Results: We evaluated clinical records from 44 patients (24 men; median age at diagnosis, 0.

Changes in child and adolescent mental health across the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-2023): Insights from general population and clinical samples in the Netherlands.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected child and adolescent mental health and at the end of the pandemic (April 2022) child mental health had not returned to pre-pandemic levels. We investigated whether this observed increase in mental health problems has continued, halted, or reversed after the end of the pandemic in children from the general population and in children in psychiatric care.

Methods: We collected parent-reported and child-reported data at two additional post-pandemic time points (November/December 2022 and March/April 2023) in children (8-18 years) from two general population samples ( = 818-1056 per measurement) and one clinical sample receiving psychiatric care ( = 320-370) and compared these with data from before the pandemic.

Summer primary production of Arctic kelp communities is more affected by duration than magnitude of simulated marine heatwaves.

Fjord systems in the Norwegian Arctic are experiencing an increasing frequency and magnitude of marine heatwaves. These episodic heat stress events can have varying degrees of acute impacts on primary production and nutrient uptake of mixed kelp communities, as well as modifying the biogeochemical cycling in nearshore systems where vast areas of kelp create structural habitat. To assess the impact of future marine heatwaves on kelp communities, we conducted a 23 day mesocosm experiment exposing mixed kelp communities to warming and heatwave scenarios projected for the year 2100.

An ethics framework for the transition to an operational learning healthcare system.

Introduction: While Learning Healthcare Systems (LHSs) have received increasing attention in health care and research, the amount of operational LHSs remains limited. Given the investment of resources in these projects, a moral responsibility to pursue the transition toward an LHS falls on projects and their participating stakeholders. This paper provides an ethics framework for projects that have taken steps toward building an LHS and are in the position to transition to an operational LHS.

NOTCH1 fusions in pediatric T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma: A high-risk subgroup with CCL17 (TARC) levels as diagnostic biomarker.

Twenty percent of children with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) will relapse and have an extremely poor outcome. Currently, we can identify a genetically low-risk subgroup in pediatric T-LBL, yet these high-risk patients who need intensified or alternative treatment options remain undetected. Therefore, there is an urgent need to recognize these high-risk T-LBL patients through identification of molecular characteristics and biomarkers.

Scalable purification of extracellular vesicles with high yield and purity using multimodal flowthrough chromatography.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell derived membranous nanoparticles. EVs are important mediators of cell-cell communication via the transfer of bioactive content and as such they are being investigated for disease diagnostics as biomarkers and for potential therapeutic cargo delivery to recipient cells. However, existing methods for isolating EVs from biological samples suffer from challenges related to co-isolation of unwanted materials such as proteins, nucleic acids, and lipoproteins.

Cell culture-derived extracellular vesicles: Considerations for reporting cell culturing parameters.

Cell culture-conditioned medium (CCM) is a valuable source of extracellular vesicles (EVs) for basic scientific, therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Cell culturing parameters affect the biochemical composition, release and possibly the function of CCM-derived EVs (CCM-EV). The CCM-EV task force of the Rigor and Standardization Subcommittee of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles aims to identify relevant cell culturing parameters, describe their effects based on current knowledge, recommend reporting parameters and identify outstanding questions.

Adapter dimer contamination in sRNA-sequencing datasets predicts sequencing failure and batch effects and hampers extracellular vesicle-sRNA analysis.

Small RNA (sRNA) profiling of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) by Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) often delivers poor outcomes, independently of reagents, platforms or pipelines used, which contributes to poor reproducibility of studies. Here we analysed pre/post-sequencing quality controls (QC) to predict issues potentially biasing biological sRNA-sequencing results from purified human milk EVs, human and mouse EV-enriched plasma and human paraffin-embedded tissues. Although different RNA isolation protocols and NGS platforms were used in these experiments, all datasets had samples characterized by a marked removal of reads after pre-processing.