Distal Hypoperfusion Ischemic Syndrome in a Patient With End-Stage Renal Disease.

Distal hypoperfusion ischemic syndrome (DHIS), also known as dialysis access steal syndrome (DASS), is a rare but significant complication in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis through arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs). This case report presents a female patient in her 40s with a complex medical history, including peripheral arterial disease, coronary artery disease, and recurrent cellulitis affecting her right hand, who developed DHIS following the placement of a brachiobasilic AVF. Despite optimal medical management, the patient exhibited persistent ischemic symptoms, including hand coolness and necrosis, ultimately requiring surgical ligation of the AVF.

Natural language processing to identify lupus nephritis phenotype in electronic health records.

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by an unpredictable course of flares and remission with diverse manifestations. Lupus nephritis, one of the major disease manifestations of SLE for organ damage and mortality, is a key component of lupus classification criteria. Accurately identifying lupus nephritis in electronic health records (EHRs) would therefore benefit large cohort observational studies and clinical trials where characterization of the patient population is critical for recruitment, study design, and analysis.

N-acetylglucosamine inhibits inflammation and neurodegeneration markers in multiple sclerosis: a mechanistic trial.

Background: In the demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic-active brain inflammation, remyelination failure and neurodegeneration remain major issues despite immunotherapy. While B cell depletion and blockade/sequestration of T and B cells potently reduces episodic relapses, they act peripherally to allow persistence of chronic-active brain inflammation and progressive neurological dysfunction. N-acetyglucosamine (GlcNAc) is a triple modulator of inflammation, myelination and neurodegeneration.

Using the project ECHO™ model to teach mental health topics in rural Guatemala: An implementation science-guided evaluation.

Background: Mental health (MH) disorders are major causes of disability in Guatemala. Unfortunately, limited academic training and funding resources make MH care inaccessible to most people in rural Guatemala. These disparities leave many indigenous populations without care.

Dysregulated neutrophil extracellular traps formation in sepsis.

The migration and antimicrobial functions of neutrophils seem to be impaired during sepsis and contribute to the dysregulation of immune responses and disease pathogenesis. However, the role of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) remains to be clarified. The study aimed to analyse sequential phenotypic and functional changes of neutrophils during the time following the diagnosis of sepsis.

Humoral Response Following Triple Dose of mRNA Vaccines Against SARS-CoV-2 in Hemodialysis Patients: Results After 1 Year of Follow-Up.

Introduction: COVID-19 is associated with an increased mortality in hemodialysis patients. Therefore, achieving a long-lasting effective immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is essential. This study describes the humoral immune response in hemodialysis patients following three doses of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, and explores the factors associated with a sustained immune response.

Projecting the Impact of Nutrition Policy to Improve Child Stunting: A Case Study in Guatemala Using the Lives Saved Tool.

Background: Child stunting is a critical global health issue. Guatemala has one of the world's highest levels of stunting despite the sustained commitment to international nutrition policy best practices endorsed by the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement. Our objective was to use Guatemala as a case study to project the impact of a recently published national nutrition policy, the Great Crusade, that is consistent with SUN principles.

Clinical and economic impact of HeartLogic™ compared with standard care in heart failure patients.

Aims: The implantable cardiac defibrillator/cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator-based HeartLogic™ algorithm has recently been developed for early detection of impending decompensation in heart failure (HF) patients; but whether this novel algorithm can reduce HF hospitalizations has not been evaluated. We investigated if activation of the HeartLogic algorithm reduces the number of hospital admissions for decompensated HF in a 1 year post-activation period as compared with a 1 year pre-activation period.

Methods And Results: Heart failure patients with an implantable cardiac defibrillator/cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator with the ability to activate HeartLogic and willingness to have remote device monitoring were included in this multicentre non-blinded single-arm trial with historical comparison.

Economic evaluation of an ultra-high density mapping system compared to non-ultra-high density mapping systems for radiofrequency catheter ablation procedures in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Purpose: Advanced non-fluoroscopic mapping systems for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) have shown to be an effective treatment of atrial fibrillation. This study analyzes the resource usage and subsequent costs associated with the implementation of an ultra-high density mapping system (UHDMS) compared to non-ultra-high density mapping systems (NUHDMS).

Methods: This retrospective observational study included 120 patients (18 years or older) with paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation who underwent RFA for de novo pulmonary vein isolation guided either by an UHDMS (n=63) or NUHDMS (n=57) for their index procedure.

Advancing child nutrition science in the scaling up nutrition era: a systematic scoping review of stunting research in Guatemala.

Introduction: Ever since the 1960s, Guatemala has been a principle site for global academic research on child growth and nutrition. Nevertheless, Guatemala still has one of the highest rates of child stunting in the world. Since 2012, Guatemala has had a comprehensive national policy on stunting, calling for a renewed investment in innovative, multilevel nutrition interventions and implementation science.

Towards standardisation of contact and contactless electrical measurements of CVD graphene at the macro-, micro- and nano-scale.

Graphene has become the focus of extensive research efforts and it can now be produced in wafer-scale. For the development of next generation graphene-based electronic components, electrical characterization of graphene is imperative and requires the measurement of work function, sheet resistance, carrier concentration and mobility in both macro-, micro- and nano-scale. Moreover, commercial applications of graphene require fast and large-area mapping of electrical properties, rather than obtaining a single point value, which should be ideally achieved by a contactless measurement technique.

Mapping the conductivity of graphene with Electrical Resistance Tomography.

Electronic applications of large-area graphene films require rapid and accurate methods to map their electrical properties. Here we present the first electrical resistance tomography (ERT) measurements on large-area graphene samples, obtained with a dedicated measurement setup and reconstruction software. The outcome of an ERT measurement is a map of the graphene electrical conductivity.

Duration of Treatment with Corticosteroids and Recovery of Kidney Function in Acute Interstitial Nephritis.

Background And Objectives: Drug-induced acute interstitial nephritis represents an emerging cause of acute kidney disease, especially among polymedicated elderly patients. Although corticosteroids are frequently used, controversy exists about the timing of initiation, efficacy, safety, and duration of treatment.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We performed a retrospective study of 182 patients with biopsy-proven drug-induced acute interstitial nephritis from 13 Spanish centers.

Movement velocity in the chair squat is associated with measures of functional capacity and cognition in elderly people at low risk of fall.

Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationships between muscular performance consisting of a single repetition on the chair squat exercise (CSQ) and different measures of functional capacity, balance, quality of life and cognitive status in older adults.

Methods: A total of 40 participants (22 women, 18 men; age = 72.2 ± 4.

Evaluating the need to reform the organisation of care for major trauma patients in Belgium: an analysis of administrative databases.

Purpose: In light of the international evolutions to establish inclusive trauma systems and to concentrate the care for the most severely injured in major trauma centres, we evaluated the degree of dispersion of trauma care in Belgium.

Methods: We used descriptive statistics to illustrate the dispersion of major trauma care in Belgium based on two independent administrative databases: the registry of Mobile Intensive Care Units (2009-2015) and the Belgian Hospital Discharge Dataset (2009-2014).

Results: Patients with a severe trauma (n = 3856 in 2015) were transported towards 145 different hospital sites (on a total of 198 hospital sites) resulting in a median of 17 cases per hospital site (min = 1; P25 = 4; P75 = 30; max = 165).

High levels of circulating TNFR1 increase the risk of all-cause mortality and progression of renal disease in type 2 diabetic nephropathy.

Background: Several studies have demonstrated that levels of circulating inflammatory markers such as tumour necrosis factorα (TNFα), are associated with early progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN). The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is an association between circulating TNFα receptor and disease progression in patients with advanced type 2 DN and severe proteinuria.

Methods: Between 2006 and 2011, we measured levels of circulating soluble TNFα receptor 1 (TNFR1) and soluble TNFα receptor 2 (TNFR2) at baseline and 4 and 12 months in 101 patients included in a multicenter randomized controlled trial to compare the effect of optimal doses of renin-angiotensin system blockers in monotherapy or in combination (dual blockade) to slow progression of established type 2 DN.

Indentation hardness: A simple test that correlates with the dissipated-energy predictor for fatigue-life in bovine pericardium membranes for bioprosthetic heart valves.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the variation of hardness with fatigue in calf pericardium, a biomaterial commonly used in bioprosthetic heart valves, and its relationship with the energy dissipated during the first fatigue cycle that has been shown to be a predictor of fatigue-life (García Páez et al., 2006, 2007; Rojo et al., 2010).

[Prevalence of aphysiologic performance on dynamic posturography in work-related patients].

Introduction And Objectives: Medical-legal implications of dizziness and imbalance in work-related patients are important. In these cases, computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) adds information to standard vestibular tests and aphysiologic patterns have been described. The objective is to assess the prevalence of aphysiologic performance on CDP in work-related patients complaining of dizziness/imbalance.

Aphysiologic performance on dynamic posturography in work-related patients.

It has been suggested that malingering should be suspected in patients suffering from dizziness or imbalance and who had a potential gain associated with insurance and worker's compensation claims. This study aimed to assess and compare the prevalence of aphysiologic performance on computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) in patients with the potential for secondary gain using a retrospective review of two groups of patients: work-related patients referred for dizziness and/or imbalance (Group 1) were compared against a group of patients with complaints of dizziness or imbalance, who had no history of work-related injury, or litigation procedures (Group 2). CDP and videonystagmography (VNG) were carried out in all patients.

Prognostic determinants in patients with stage I uterine papillary serous carcinoma: a 15-year multi-institutional review.

Objective: The aim of this retrospective, multi-institutional study was to evaluate the importance of surgical staging for stage I uterine papillary serous carcinomas (UPSCs) to determine optimal management of this rare tumor.

Methods: With institutional review board approval from both participating institutions, all patients with 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage I mixed serous and UPSC diagnosed between January 1, 1992, and December 31, 2007, were identified at the 2 institutions. Clinical factors were correlated using Spearman correlation coefficients, Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and a Cox proportional hazards model.

Propagation of tears in pericardium from young bulls: influence of the suture.

The tearing of the collagen fibers of biological materials utilized in implants or bioprostheses is an important, and sometimes early cause of the failure of these devices. We studied the force necessary to propagate a tear in a biomaterial, pericardium from young bulls, and the influence of the suture. An Elmendorf pendulum capable of measuring the force necessary to tear a given length of tissue was employed.

Energy consumption as a predictor test of the durability of a biological tissue employed in cardiac bioprosthesis.

The mechanical behavior of the young bull pericardium in a fatigue test has been studied. This material is a similar tissue to those used in valve leaflet construction for a cardiac bioprosthesis. The consumed energy on each test was evaluated and afterwards used as a predictor of the biomaterial strength.