Psychometrics of Wearable Devices Measuring Physical Activity in Ambulant Children With Gait Abnormalities: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objective: To evaluate psychometrics of wearable devices measuring physical activity (PA) in ambulant children with gait abnormalities due to neuromuscular conditions.

Data Sources: We searched PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and SPORTDiscus in March 2023.

Study Selection: We included studies if (1) participants were ambulatory children (2-19y) with gait abnormalities, (2) reliability and validity were analyzed, and (3) peer-reviewed studies in the English language and full-text were available.

Survival of periodontal ligament myofibroblasts after short-term mechanical strain in rats and in vitro: Could myofibroblasts contribute to orthodontic relapse?

Objectives: To investigate in vivo whether myofibroblasts formed in the PDL after exposure to short-term high experimental orthodontic forces in rats survive. To study in vitro whether human PDL fibroblasts can differentiate into myofibroblasts and survive when chemical or mechanical stimuli are removed.

Design: Nine 6-week-old male Wistar rats were used in this experiment.

Collaborative working with Parents of Children with DLD in Speech and Language Therapy: Identifying Dutch Speech and Language Therapists' barriers to enhancing practice.

Background: Collaboration between Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) and parents is considered best practice for children with developmental disorders. However, such collaborative approach is not yet implemented in therapy for children with developmental language disorders (DLD) in the Netherlands. Improving Dutch SLTs' collaboration with parents requires insight in factors that influence the way SLTs work with parents.

Exploring needs and requirements for a prototype device measuring physical activity in pediatric physical therapy: A qualitative study.

Aims: To analyze needs and requirements of Pediatric Physical Therapists (PPTs), parents, children and adolescents with and without developmental disabilities in the future use of an activity monitor prototype (AM-p) in everyday clinical practice.

Methods: Qualitative exploratory study with a thematic analysis approach, based on Braun and Clarke's six steps. Codes derived from the analysis and central themes were collated, based on Fleuren et al.

Nationwide quality assurance of high-throughput diagnostic molecular testing during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: role of the Belgian National Reference Centre.

Since the onset of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Belgium, UZ/KU Leuven has played a crucial role as the National Reference Centre (NRC) for respiratory pathogens, to be the first Belgian laboratory to develop and implement laboratory developed diagnostic assays for SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) and later to assess the quality of commercial kits. To meet the growing demand for decentralised testing, both clinical laboratories and government-supported high-throughput platforms were gradually deployed across Belgium. Consequently, the role of the NRC transitioned from a specialised testing laboratory to strengthening capacity and coordinating quality assurance.

Respiratory Viruses in Wastewater Compared with Clinical Samples, Leuven, Belgium.

In a 2-year study in Leuven, Belgium, we investigated the use of wastewater sampling to assess community spread of respiratory viruses. Comparison with the number of positive clinical samples demonstrated that wastewater data reflected circulation levels of typical seasonal respiratory viruses, such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and enterovirus D68.

Using a behavior change toolkit in pediatric physical therapy to support physical activity: A feasibility study.

Introduction: Physical activity levels of children with disabilities are low, as these children and their parents face a wide variety of both personal and environmental barriers. Behavior change techniques support pediatric physical therapists to address these barriers together with parents and children. We developed the What Moves You?! intervention Toolkit (WMY Toolkit) filled with behavioral change tools for use in pediatric physical therapy practice.

Collaboration: How does it work according to therapists and parents of young children? A systematic review.

Background: Collaboration between therapists and parents of children with developmental disabilities is a key element of family-centred care. In practice, collaboration appears to be challenging for both parents and therapists. This systematic review aims to make explicit how therapists can optimise their collaboration with parents of young children with developmental disabilities, according to the perspectives of parents and therapists.

Collaborative working in speech and language therapy for children with DLD-What are parents' needs?

Background: Collaborative practice between therapists and parents is a key element of family-centred care and is essential if we want to address family priorities and needs in interventions. However, collaborative practice is challenging for speech and language therapists (SLTs) and parents. To facilitate collaboration, collaborative practices need to be implemented into speech and language therapy for young children with developmental language disorders (DLD) and their families.

Design and validation of a laboratory-developed diagnostic assay for monkeypox virus.

Mpox is a viral zoonosis with endemic circulation in animals and humans in some West and Central African countries. The disease was imported a few times in the past to countries outside the African continent through infected animals or travelers, one of which resulted in an unprecedented global outbreak sustained by human-to-human transmission in 2022. Although timely and reliable diagnosis is a cornerstone of any disease control, availability of accurate diagnostic assays and comparative performance studies of diagnostic assays remains limited despite of the long-known identification of monkeypox virus (MPXV) as a human pathogen since 1970.

A potential osteogenic role for microRNA-181a-5p during palatogenesis.

Background: In a previous study, we found that the highly conserved hsa-miR-181a-5p is downregulated in palatal fibroblasts of non-syndromic cleft palate-only infants.

Objectives: To analyze the spatiotemporal expression pattern of mmu-miR-181a-5p during palatogenesis and identify possible mRNA targets and their involved molecular pathways.

Material And Methods: The expression of mmu-miR-181a-5p was analyzed in the developing palates of mouse embryos from E11 to E18 using qPCR and ISH.

Immunovirological and environmental screening reveals actionable risk factors for fatal COVID-19 during post-vaccination nursing home outbreaks.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination has resulted in excellent protection against fatal disease, including in older adults. However, risk factors for post-vaccination fatal COVID-19 are largely unknown. We comprehensively studied three large nursing home outbreaks (20-35% fatal cases among residents) by combining severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) aerosol monitoring, whole-genome phylogenetic analysis and immunovirological profiling of nasal mucosa by digital nCounter transcriptomics.

Sequencing directly from antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests in Belgium, 2022: a gamechanger in genomic surveillance?

BackgroundLateral flow antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for viral infections constitute a fast, cheap and reliable alternative to nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). Whereas leftover material from NAATs can be employed for genomic analysis of positive samples, there is a paucity of information on whether viral genetic characterisation can be achieved from archived Ag-RDTs.AimTo evaluate the possibility of retrieving leftover material of several viruses from a range of Ag-RDTs, for molecular genetic analysis.

Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 concentration and circulation of variants of concern in wastewater of Leuven, Belgium.

Wastewater surveillance plays an important role in the management of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic all over the world. Using different wastewater collection points in Leuven, we wanted to investigate the use of wastewater surveillance as an early warning system for an uprise of infections and as a tool to follow the circulation of specific variants of concern (VOCs) in particular geographic areas. Wastewater samples were collected from local neighborhood sewers and from a large regional wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the area of Leuven, Belgium.

Barriers and Facilitators to the Acceptance of eHealth Interventions by Dutch Pediatric Physical Therapists in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Approach.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created an urgent need for eHealth as the relevance of infection control and social distancing continues. Evidence describing the acceptability of implementing eHealth into pediatric physical therapy services is limited.

Purpose: To investigate the determinants of eHealth acceptance by Dutch pediatric physical therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concurrent de novo ZFHX4 variant and 16q24.1 deletion in a patient with orofacial clefting; a potential role of ZFHX4 and USP10.

A girl with a unilateral cleft lip, alveolus and palate, tooth agenesis, and mild dysmorphic features, without a specific underlying syndrome diagnosis, was genotypically characterized and phenotypically described. Cleft gene panel analysis, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array, whole genome sequencing (WGS), whole exome sequencing, and quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) analysis were used as diagnostic tests. SNP array revealed a maternal deletion at 16q24.

Using a Co-design Approach to Create Tools to Facilitate Physical Activity in Children With Physical Disabilities.

There is a lack of effective interventions available for Pediatric Physical Therapists (PPTs) to promote a physically active lifestyle in children with physical disabilities. Participatory design methods (co-design) may be helpful in generating insights and developing intervention prototypes for facilitating a physically active lifestyle in children with physical disabilities (6-12 years). A multidisciplinary development team of designers, developers, and researchers engaged in a co-design process-together with parents, PPTs, and other relevant stakeholders (such as the Dutch Association of PPTs and care sports connectors).

Rotavirus vaccine-derived cases in Belgium: Evidence for reversion of attenuating mutations and alternative causes of gastroenteritis.

Since the introduction of live-attenuated rotavirus vaccines in Belgium in 2006, surveillance has routinely detected rotavirus vaccine-derived strains. However, their genomic landscape and potential role in gastroenteritis have not been thoroughly investigated. We compared VP7 and VP4 nucleotide sequences obtained from rotavirus surveillance with the Rotarix vaccine sequence.

Two Separate Clusters of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Infections in a Group of 41 Students Travelling from India: An Illustration of the Need for Rigorous Testing and Quarantine.

We report two clusters of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.

Excess vitamin a might contribute to submucous clefting by inhibiting WNT-mediated bone formation.

Objectives: Cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) is a common craniofacial birth defect caused by genetic as well as environmental factors. The phenotypic spectrum of CLP also includes submucous clefts with a defect in the palatal bone. To elucidate the contribution of vitamin A, we evaluated the effects of the vitamin A metabolite all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on the osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of mouse embryonic palatal mesenchymal cells (MEPM).