Quantification of Difference in Nonselectivity Between In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices.

Correct measurement results from in vitro diagnostic (IVD) medical devices (MD) are crucial for optimal patient care. The performance of IVD-MDs is often assessed through method comparison studies. Such studies can be compromised by the influence of various factors.

Community-based reconstruction and simulation of a full-scale model of the rat hippocampus CA1 region.

The CA1 region of the hippocampus is one of the most studied regions of the rodent brain, thought to play an important role in cognitive functions such as memory and spatial navigation. Despite a wealth of experimental data on its structure and function, it has been challenging to integrate information obtained from diverse experimental approaches. To address this challenge, we present a community-based, full-scale in silico model of the rat CA1 that integrates a broad range of experimental data, from synapse to network, including the reconstruction of its principal afferents, the Schaffer collaterals, and a model of the effects that acetylcholine has on the system.

Investigating inequalities in patient outcomes for first-episode psychosis.

Background: Understanding inequalities in outcomes between demographic groups is a necessary step in addressing them in clinical care. Inequalities in treatment uptake between demographic groups may explain disparities in outcomes in people with first-episode psychosis (FEP).

Aims: To investigate disparities between broad demographic groups in symptomatic improvement in patients with FEP and their relationship to treatment uptake.

Assessing the Performance of Machine Learning Methods Trained on Public Health Observational Data: A Case Study From COVID-19.

From early in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there was interest in using machine learning methods to predict COVID-19 infection status based on vocal audio signals, for example, cough recordings. However, early studies had limitations in terms of data collection and of how the performances of the proposed predictive models were assessed. This article describes how these limitations have been overcome in a study carried out by the Turing-RSS Health Data Laboratory and the UK Health Security Agency.

Investigating heavy metal concentrations in sea snakes (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae) as an outcome of oil spill exposure.

This study reports the concentration of heavy metals in the tissues of stranded sea snakes that died as a result of exposure to an oil spill on the eastern coast of Sharjah, UAE. Given the limited occurrence of stranded sea snakes observed along Sharjah's eastern coast outside this spill incident, we are using strandings collected from the nearby Arabian Gulf coast of Sharjah to compare the levels of heavy metals in sea snakes affected by the oil spill against their non-oiled counterparts. The sample comprised 14 Arabian Gulf Coral Reef Sea Snakes ), 6 Yellow-bellied Sea Snakes (), and 4 Yellow Sea Snakes ().

Extent of Equivalence of Results for Urine Albumin among 3 Candidate Mass Spectrometry Reference Measurement Procedures.

Background: Urine albumin (UA) is an important biomarker of chronic kidney disease. Current in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVD-MDs) for measuring UA are not standardized, and median results among IVD-MDs differ by approximately 45%. Since fixed decision values are used to interpret UA, higher-order reference measurement procedures (RMPs) are needed for metrological traceability.

Parasomnias in Post-Secondary Students: Prevalence, Distress, and Coping Strategies.

Parasomnias are a group of sleep disorders characterized by abnormal and unpleasant motor, verbal, or behavioral events that occur during sleep or during transitions between wake and sleep states. They disrupt sleep and can have a detrimental impact on the individual experiencing them. Our goal was to identify types of parasomnias and their prevalence in the current and recent post-secondary student population and to explore their coping strategies for parasomnias they found distressing.

A ketogenic diet, regardless of fish oil content, does not affect glucose homeostasis or muscle insulin response in male rats.

Ketogenic diets (KDs) are very high in fat and low in carbohydrates. Evidence supports that KDs improve glucose metabolism in humans and rodents that are obese and/or insulin resistant. Conversely, findings in healthy rodents suggest that KDs may impair glucose homeostasis.

A large-scale and PCR-referenced vocal audio dataset for COVID-19.

The UK COVID-19 Vocal Audio Dataset is designed for the training and evaluation of machine learning models that classify SARS-CoV-2 infection status or associated respiratory symptoms using vocal audio. The UK Health Security Agency recruited voluntary participants through the national Test and Trace programme and the REACT-1 survey in England from March 2021 to March 2022, during dominant transmission of the Alpha and Delta SARS-CoV-2 variants and some Omicron variant sublineages. Audio recordings of volitional coughs, exhalations, and speech were collected in the 'Speak up and help beat coronavirus' digital survey alongside demographic, symptom and self-reported respiratory condition data.

Making Sense of the Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Clinical Practice Guidelines: What Clinicians Need to Know.

Standards of care summarized in clinical practice guidelines for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) offer clinicians a streamlined diagnostic and management approach based on the best available evidence. These recommendations have changed a great deal in recent years; today, there is a clear focus on screening for the early identification and risk stratification of patients at high risk of steatohepatitis and clinically significant fibrosis to promote timely referrals to specialty care when needed. This article reviews and provides the rationale for current guidelines for NAFLD screening, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring and addresses barriers to providing evidence-based NAFLD care and how to overcome them.

Stimulation of fat oxidation in rat muscle by unacylated ghrelin persists for 2-3 hours, but is independent of fatty acid transporter translocation.

While a definitive mechanism-of-action remains to be identified, recent findings indicate that ghrelin, particularly the unacylated form (UnAG), stimulates skeletal muscle fatty acid oxidation. The biological importance of UnAG-mediated increases in fat oxidation remains unclear, as UnAG peaks in the circulation before mealtimes, and decreases rapidly during the postprandial situation before increases in postabsorptive circulating lipids. Therefore, we aimed to determine if the UnAG-mediated stimulation of fat oxidation would persist long enough to affect the oxidation of meal-derived fatty acids, and if UnAG stimulated the translocation of fatty acid transporters to the sarcolemma as a mechanism-of-action.

Recommendations for Setting a Criterion and Assessing Commutability of Sample Materials Used in External Quality Assessment/Proficiency Testing Schemes.

It is important for external quality assessment materials (EQAMs) to be commutable with clinical samples; i.e., they should behave like clinical samples when measured using end-user clinical laboratory in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVD-MDs).

Recommendations for Setting a Criterion for Assessing Commutability of Secondary Calibrator Certified Reference Materials.

A secondary higher-order calibrator is required to be commutable with clinical samples to be suitable for use in the calibration hierarchy of an end-user clinical laboratory in vitro diagnostic medical device (IVD-MD). Commutability is a property of a reference material that means results for a reference material and for clinical samples have the same numeric relationship, within specified limits, across the measurement procedures for which the reference material is intended to be used. Procedures for assessing commutability have been described in the literature.

Burnout Related to Electronic Health Record Use in Primary Care.

Physician burnout has been increasing in the United States, especially in primary care, and the use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is a prominent contributor. This review article summarizes findings from a PubMed literature search that shows the significant contributors to EHR-related burnout may be documentation and clerical burdens, complex usability, electronic messaging and inbox, cognitive load, and time demands. Documentation requirements have escalated and have inherently changed from paper-based records.

Assessment of WHO 07/202 reference material and human serum pools for commutability and for the potential to reduce variability among soluble transferrin receptor assays.

Objectives: The clinical use of soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) as an iron status indicator is hindered by a lack of assay standardization and common reference ranges and decision thresholds. In 2009, the WHO and National Institute for Biological Standards and Controls (NIBSC) released a sTfR reference material (RM), 07/202, for assay standardization; however, a comprehensive, formal commutability study was not conducted.

Methods: This study evaluated the commutability of WHO 07/202 sTfR RM and human serum pools and the impacts of their use as common calibrators.

Deprescribing Strategies for Opioids and Benzodiazepines with Emphasis on Concurrent Use: A Scoping Review.

While the Food and Drug Administration's black-box warnings caution against concurrent opioid and benzodiazepine (OPI-BZD) use, there is little guidance on how to deprescribe these medications. This scoping review analyzes the available opioid and/or benzodiazepine deprescribing strategies from the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases (01/1995-08/2020) and the gray literature. We identified 39 original research studies (opioids: n = 5, benzodiazepines: n = 31, concurrent use: n = 3) and 26 guidelines (opioids: n = 16, benzodiazepines: n = 11, concurrent use: n = 0).

A reduction of skeletal muscle DHA content does not result in impaired whole body glucose tolerance or skeletal muscle basal insulin signaling in otherwise healthy mice.

Delta-6 desaturase (D6D), encoded by the gene, catalyzes the first step in the conversion of α-linolenic acid to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The ablation of D6D in whole body knockout (KO) mice results in an inability to endogenously produce EPA and DHA. Evidence supports a beneficial role for EPA and DHA on insulin-stimulated glucose disposal in skeletal muscle in the context of a metabolic challenge; however, it is unknown how low EPA and DHA levels impact skeletal muscle fatty acid composition and insulin signaling in a healthy context.

Guidance on Which Calibrators in a Metrologically Traceable Calibration Hierarchy Must Be Commutable with Clinical Samples.

Equivalent results for the same measurand in clinical samples (CSs), measured using different end-user in-vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVD-MDs), are essential for the application of clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, or risk assessment. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) document 17511:2020 specifies how to establish metrological traceability to the highest available reference system component to enable equivalent results among IVD-MDs. Commutability with CSs is an essential property of a reference material used as a calibrator in a calibration hierarchy.

Development of minimal resource pre-screening tools for chronic kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes.

Regular chronic kidney disease (CKD) screening can facilitate earlier diagnosis of CKD and preventative action to reduce the risk of CKD progression. People with type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk of developing CKD; hence, it is recommended that they undergo annual screening. However, resources may be limited, particularly in lower-to-middle income countries, and those at the highest risk of having an abnormal CKD screening result should be prioritised for screening.