The outcome of kidneys transplanted following organ donation after euthanasia (ODE) remains unclear. This study analyzed all kidney transplantations in the Netherlands from January 2012 to December 2021, comparing the outcomes following ODE, donation after circulatory death (DCD-III), and donation after brain death (DBD). 9,208 kidney transplantations were performed: 148 ODE, 2118 DCD-III, and 1845 DBD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCalcium phosphate cement (CPC) has evolved as an appealing bone substitute material, especially since CPCs were combined with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) porogens to render the resulting CPC/PLGA composite degradable. In view of the multiple variables of CPC and PLGA used previously, the effect of CPC composition and PLGA porogen morphology (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) remains a significant public health concern in West Pokot County, Kenya, where a large outbreak between 2020 and 2022 emphasised the need for improved VL control strategies. However, these measures are partially hampered by limited insight into the geographical distribution of cases and localised outbreaks of the disease. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology and spatiotemporal patterns of VL in West Pokot between 2018 and 2022, in order to map the spread of VL transmission and identify regions that should be prioritised for control interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychiatry has recently witnessed the launch of digital phenotyping as a new research agenda. According to digital phenotyping's hypothesis, data about a patient's daily behavior can be continuously collected through wearable monitoring devices and used to build software that would send warnings of mental relapse or would tailor treatment choices. The research is exploratory, and the claims upon which it is based are contentious.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVisceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a severe infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites of the complex. Blood cytokine concentrations in VL patients can inform us about underlying immunopathogenesis and may serve as a biomarker for treatment effectiveness. However, cytokine levels have not yet been studied in VL patients from Kenya, where case load is high.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a severe parasitic disease transmitted by phlebotomine sandflies. VL is endemic in West Pokot County, Kenya, where effective strategies to interrupt transmission are impeded by the limited understanding of VL risk factors. Therefore, this case-control study aimed to explore environmental, behavioural and household determinants of VL in West Pokot.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Organ donation after euthanasia (ODE) has been performed over 100 times in the Netherlands, primarily involving patients suffering from a neurodegenerative or psychiatric disease. In recent years, the number of euthanasia cases related to dementia has increased in the Netherlands, with some patients living with dementia expressing a wish for organ donation after euthanasia.
Methods: We describe a unique case of a 67-year-old female diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia as part of frontotemporal dementia who requested and underwent organ donation after euthanasia.
Background: Diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in resource-limited endemic regions is currently based on serological testing with rK39 immunochromatographic tests (ICTs). However, rK39 ICT frequently has suboptimal diagnostic accuracy. Furthermore, treatment monitoring and detection of VL relapses is reliant on insensitive and highly invasive tissue aspirate microscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOsteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs) are the most common cause of chronic deep ankle pain. Joint-preserving surgeries include bone marrow stimulating, chondral transporting, and cellular-based procedures. Each procedure has its advantages and disadvantages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) can achieve remarkable responses in urothelial cancer (UC), which may depend on tumor microenvironment (TME) characteristics. However, the relationship between the TME, usually characterized by immune cell density, and response to ICI is unclear. Here, we quantify the TME immune cell densities and spatial relationships (SRs) of 24 baseline UC samples, obtained before pre-operative combination ICI treatment, using multiplex immunofluorescence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEuthanasia in psychiatric patients presents unique challenges, especially when combined with organ donation. In this article, the hurdles psychiatric patients might encounter after expressing their wish for organ donation after euthanasia, are discussed and illustrated by the case of Martijn, a 45-year-old psychiatric patient who altruistically donated his organs after euthanasia. Hospital and physician-related factors, including caution in determination of mental capacity, consideration of conflicting interests, and healthcare staff stress are discussed as impediments to organ donation after euthanasia (ODE) in psychiatric patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although the number of older patients requiring medical care is increasing, caring for older patients is often seen as unattractive by medical trainees (i.e., medical students, residents, interns, and fellows).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHistorically, coronal plane deformities of greater than 10° to 15° have been deemed contraindications for total ankle replacement (TAR). However, recent studies show satisfactory results in TAR with severe preoperative varus deformity. When correctly applying ancillary procedures, preoperative varus deformity can be structurally corrected, resulting in similar clinical scores to those obtained with "regular TAR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: COVID-19 vaccines have been widely used to control the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In individuals receiving replication-incompetent, adenovirus vector-based COVID-19 vaccines (eg, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 [AstraZeneca] or Ad26.COV2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrgan donation after euthanasia is performed in Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada and Spain. Directed deceased organ donation is currently possible under strict conditions in a limited number of countries, while it is currently not possible to opt for directed donation following euthanasia. While organ donation after euthanasia is a deceased donation procedure, directed organ donation after euthanasia could be seen as a deceased donation procedure with a living donation consent process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe would like to respond to the comment we received from our colleagues on our case report about organ donation after euthanasia starting at home. We reply to their statements on medical and legal aspects, and provide more information on our view of informed consent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and malaria are two deadly parasitic diseases that coexist in West Pokot County, Kenya. The local population is at considerable risk of coinfection with VL and malaria; however, few studies have described the clinical implications of this comorbidity. Questions remain regarding the immune responses responsible for possible predisposing or protective effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExcess nitrogen is a pollutant and global problem that harms ecosystems and can severely affect human health. Pollutant nitrogen is becoming more widespread and intensifying in the tropics. There is thus a requirement to develop nitrogen biomonitoring for spatial mapping and trend analysis of tropical biodiversity and ecosystems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcidophytic, oligotrophic lichens on tree trunks are widely considered to be the most sensitive biota to elevated concentrations of atmospheric ammonia (NH). We studied the relationships between measured NH concentrations and the composition of macrolichen communities on the acidic bark of Pinus sylvestris and Quercus robur and the base-rich bark of Acer platanoides and Ulmus glabra at ten roadside and ten non-roadside sites in Helsinki, Finland. NH and nitrogen dioxide (NO) concentrations were higher at the roadside than non-roadside sites indicating traffic as the main source of NH and nitrogen oxides (NO).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalar J
March 2023
Background: Point-of-care diagnosis of malaria is currently based on microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests. However, both techniques have their constraints, including poor sensitivity for low parasitaemias. Hence, more accurate diagnostic tests for field use and routine clinical settings are warranted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalaria molecular surveillance has great potential to support national malaria control programs (NMCPs), informing policy for its control and elimination. Here, we present a new three-day workflow for targeted resequencing of markers in 13 resistance-associated genes, and , a country (Peru)-specific 28 SNP-barcode for population genetic analysis, and apical membrane antigen 1 (), using Illumina short-read sequencing technology. The assay applies a multiplex PCR approach to amplify all genomic regions of interest in a rapid and easily standardizable procedure and allows simultaneous amplification of a high number of targets at once, therefore having great potential for implementation into routine surveillance practice by NMCPs.
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