Normothermic regional perfusion in controlled DCD liver procurement: Outcomes of the Swedish national implementation protocol.

Liver transplantation (LTX) using donors after controlled circulatory death (cDCD) is associated with poorer graft survival and increased incidence of nonanastomotic biliary strictures (NASs) compared to livers procured from brain-dead donors (DBD). The use of normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) during cDCD procurement may improve posttransplant outcomes and reduce the incidence of NAS. In Sweden, cDCD LTX was introduced through a national pilot protocol with mandatory NRP.

Severe Lung Dysfunction and Pulmonary Blood Flow during Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is indicated for patients with severe respiratory and/or circulatory failure. The standard technique to visualize the extent of pulmonary damage during ECMO is computed tomography (CT).

Purpose: This single-center, retrospective study investigated whether pulmonary blood flow (PBF) measured with echocardiography can assist in assessing the extent of pulmonary damage and whether echocardiography and CT findings are associated with patient outcomes.

Public Perceptions Of COVID-19 Lockdown Policies In Europe: Socioeconomic Status And Trust Were Factors.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide implemented nonpharmaceutical lockdown policies to mitigate the impact of the virus. The effectiveness of these policies depended on public support, and they came with serious consequences for the population. Given that people's perceptions can influence their support for lockdown policies, we aimed to elicit perceptions of policy stringency among people in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom in early 2021 as part of the European Covid Survey.

A review of low dose interleukin-2 therapy in management of chronic graft-versus-host-disease.

Introduction: Patients with chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) have low circulating regulatory T cells (Tregs). Interleukin-2(IL-2) is a growth factor for Tregs, and clinical trials have explored its use in cGVHD patients.

Areas Covered: Here we will discuss the biology of IL-2, its rationale for use and results of clinical trials in cGVHD.

Performance, Efficiency, and Flexibility Analysis of a High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell-Based Micro-Combined Heat-and-Power System with Intensification of the Steam Methane Reforming Step by Using a Millistructured Reactor.

The complete simulation model of an existing 1 kW high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cell-based residential micro-combined heat-and-power process, including a compact intensified heat-exchanger-reactor, is developed in the simulation software ProSimPlus v3.6.16.

Lowering of Circulating Sclerostin May Increase Risk of Atherosclerosis and Its Risk Factors: Evidence From a Genome-Wide Association Meta-Analysis Followed by Mendelian Randomization.

Objective: In this study, we aimed to establish the causal effects of lowering sclerostin, target of the antiosteoporosis drug romosozumab, on atherosclerosis and its risk factors.

Methods: A genome-wide association study meta-analysis was performed of circulating sclerostin levels in 33,961 European individuals. Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to predict the causal effects of sclerostin lowering on 15 atherosclerosis-related diseases and risk factors.

Lipid network and moiety analysis for revealing enzymatic dysregulation and mechanistic alterations from lipidomics data.

Lipidomics is of growing importance for clinical and biomedical research due to many associations between lipid metabolism and diseases. The discovery of these associations is facilitated by improved lipid identification and quantification. Sophisticated computational methods are advantageous for interpreting such large-scale data for understanding metabolic processes and their underlying (patho)mechanisms.

Variations in long-term care home resident hospitalizations before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario.

Objectives: To examine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the demographic and clinical characteristics, in-hospital care, and outcomes of long-term care residents admitted to general medicine wards for non-COVID-19 reasons.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of long-term care residents admitted to general medicine wards, for reasons other than COVID-19, in four hospitals in Toronto, Ontario between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2020. We used an autoregressive linear model to estimate the change in monthly admission volumes during the pandemic period (March-December 2020) compared to the previous two years, adjusting for any secular trend.

Health State Utility Values Associated with Cochlear Implants in Adults: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: The cost-effectiveness of bilateral cochlear implants in adults remains uncertain despite established clinical benefits. In cost-effectiveness studies, benefit is often measured by change in health state utility value (HSUV), a single number summary of health-related quality of life anchored at 0 (state of being dead) and 1 (perfect health). Small differences in bilateral cochlear implant HSUV change conclusions of published models, and invalid estimates can therefore mislead policy and funding decisions.

The impact of low input DNA on the reliability of DNA methylation as measured by the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip.

DNA methylation (DNAm) is commonly assayed using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip, but there is currently little published evidence to define the lower limits of the amount of DNA that can be used whilst preserving data quality. Such evidence is valuable for analyses utilizing precious or limited DNA sources. We used a single pooled sample of DNA in quadruplicate at three dilutions to define replicability and noise, and an independent population dataset of 328 individuals (from a community-based study including US-born non-Hispanic Black and white persons) to assess the impact of total DNA input on the quality of data generated using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip.

Developing a cross-validation tool for evaluating economic evidence in rapid literature reviews.

Rapid economic reviews efficiently summarize economic evidence. However, reporting main findings without assessing quality and credibility can be misleading. The objective of this study was to develop a rapid cross-validation screening tool to evaluate economic evidence when conducting rapid economic literature reviews.

Cytosolic glutaredoxin 1 is upregulated in AMD and controls retinal pigment epithelial cells proliferation via β-catenin.

Thioredoxin (Trx) family proteins are key players in redox signaling. Here, we have analyzed glutaredoxin (Grx) 1 and Grx2 in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and in retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE-19) cells. We hypothesized that these redoxins regulate cellular functions and signaling circuits such as cell proliferation, Wnt signaling and VEGF release that have been correlated to the pathophysiology of AMD.

Differential hypoxemia and the clinical significance of venous drainage position during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Differential hypoxemia (DH) has been recognized as a clinical problem during veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) although its features and consequences have not been fully elucidated. This single center retrospective study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients manifesting DH as well as the impact of repositioning the drainage point from the inferior vena cava (IVC) to the superior vena cava to alleviate DH. All patients (>15 years) commenced on VA ECMO at our center between 2009 and 2020 were screened.

Exposure based cognitive behavioral group therapy for IBS at a gastroenterological clinic - a clinical effectiveness study.

Background: Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may benefit from psychological treatment when diet changes and medications do not sufficiently reduce symptoms. Our research team has developed an exposure based cognitive behavioral therapy protocol (ECBT), which has been shown to be effective in several randomized controlled trials.

Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of ECBT in clinical routine care at a gastroenterological clinic in Stockholm and to find predictors for treatment outcome.

LFA1 and ICAM1 are critical for fusion and spread of murine leukemia virus in vivo.

Murine leukemia virus (MLV)-presenting cells form stable intercellular contacts with target cells during infection of lymphoid tissue, indicating a role of cell-cell contacts in retrovirus dissemination. Whether host cell adhesion proteins are required for retrovirus spread in vivo remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the lymphocyte-function-associated-antigen-1 (LFA1) and its ligand intercellular-adhesion-molecule-1 (ICAM1) are important for cell-contact-dependent transmission of MLV between leukocytes.

Epigenetic Regulation of Associates With Myocardial Infarction and Platelet Function.

Background: DNA hypomethylation at the (F2R like thrombin or trypsin receptor 3) locus has been associated with both smoking and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; whether these smoking-related associations form a pathway to disease is unknown. encodes protease-activated receptor 4, a potent thrombin receptor expressed on platelets. Given the role of thrombin in platelet activation and the role of thrombus formation in myocardial infarction, alterations to this biological pathway could be important for ischemic cardiovascular disease.

Developmental Monitoring and Referral for Low-Income Children Served by WIC: Program Development and Implementation Outcomes.

Objective: To develop, implement, and assess implementation outcomes for a developmental monitoring and referral program for children in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Methods: Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Learn the Signs. Act Early.

Misoprostol treatment prevents hypoxia-induced cardiac dysfunction through a 14-3-3 and PKA regulatory motif on Bnip3.

Systemic hypoxia is a common element in most perinatal emergencies and is a known driver of Bnip3 expression in the neonatal heart. Bnip3 plays a prominent role in the evolution of necrotic cell death, disrupting ER calcium homeostasis and initiating mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT). Emerging evidence suggests a cardioprotective role for the prostaglandin E1 analog misoprostol during periods of hypoxia, but the mechanisms for this protection are not completely understood.

[Chlamydial infection still a common and sometimes serious infection].

Chlamydial infection is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in Sweden and worldwide, despite extensive testing, efficient treatment and partner notification. The incidence of Lymphogranuloma venereum, currently occurring among men who have sex with men and most often in the rectum, shows no tendency to decline. This infection is usually symptomatic but still evading diagnosis due to similarities to other causes of proctitis.

GWAS meta-analysis followed by Mendelian randomization revealed potential control mechanisms for circulating α-Klotho levels.

The protein α-Klotho acts as transmembrane co-receptor for fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) and is a key regulator of phosphate homeostasis. However, α-Klotho also exists in a circulating form, with pleiotropic, but incompletely understood functions and regulation. Therefore, we undertook a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis followed by Mendelian randomization (MR) of circulating α-Klotho levels.

Investigating Global Lipidome Alterations with the Lipid Network Explorer.

Lipids play an important role in biological systems and have the potential to serve as biomarkers in medical applications. Advances in lipidomics allow identification of hundreds of lipid species from biological samples. However, a systems biological analysis of the lipidome, by incorporating pathway information remains challenging, leaving lipidomics behind compared to other omics disciplines.

Factors and Outcomes Related to the Use of Guideline-Recommended Antibiotics in Patients With Neutropenic Fever at the Uganda Cancer Institute.

Background: Neutropenic fever (NF) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality for patients receiving cancer treatment in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA). However, the antibiotic management of NF in sub-Saharan Africa has not been well described. We evaluated the timing and selection of antibiotics for patients with NF at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI).

Conversion from Venovenous to Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Adults.

No major study has been performed on the conversion from venovenous (VV) to venoarterial (VA) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in adults. This single-center retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the incidence, indication, and outcome in patients who converted from VV to VA ECMO. All adult patients (≥18 years) who commenced VV ECMO at our center between 2005 and 2018 were screened.

Infective Endocarditis Due to Species: Clinical Features and Antibiotic Resistance.

Background: species are often dismissed as contaminants in blood cultures, but they can also cause infective endocarditis (IE), which is a severe condition. Antibiotic resistance of corynebacteria is increasing making treatment challenging. Reports on IE caused by species are scarce and more knowledge is needed.