Urgent lung allocation system in the Scandiatransplant countries.

Background: Throughout the world, the scarcity of donor organs makes optimal allocation systems necessary. In the Scandiatransplant countries, organs for lung transplantation are allocated nationally. To ensure shorter wait time for critically ill patients, the Scandiatransplant urgent lung allocation system (ScULAS) was introduced in 2009, giving supranational priority to patients considered urgent.

Education and Cognitive Aging: Accounting for Selection and Confounding in Linkage of Data From the Danish Registry and Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.

Earlier studies report inconsistent associations between education and cognitive aging. We assessed the association, accounting for selective dropout due to death or dementia, and, in a subsample, accounting for confounding by early-life intelligence. Data from the Danish component of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (n = 3,400) were linked to registry data (education records, dementia diagnoses, and mortality) and the Danish Conscription Database (youth intelligence measurements for 854 men).

Effect of Donor Age on Outcome of Lung Transplantation Stratified by Recipient Diagnosis: A Nordic Multicenter Study.

Background: Organs from older donors are increasingly used in lung transplantation, and studies have demonstrated that this could be safe in selected recipients. However, which recipient groups that have the largest benefit of older organs are unclear. This multicenter study reviews all bilateral lung transplantations (BLTx) from donors 55 years or older stratified by recipient diagnosis and compares outcomes with transplantations from younger donors.

Langmuir-Blodgett Deposition of Graphene Oxide-Identifying Marangoni Flow as a Process that Fundamentally Limits Deposition Control.

Langmuir-Blodgett deposition is a popular route to produce thin films of graphene oxide for applications such as transparent conductors and biosensors. Unfortunately, film morphologies vary from sample to sample, often with undesirable characteristics such as folded sheets and patchwise depositions. In conventional Langmuir-Blodgett deposition of graphene oxide, alcohol (typically methanol) is used to spread the graphene oxide sheets onto an air-water interface before deposition onto substrates.

[ST-elevation myocardial infarction and dual antiplatelet therapy: new guidelines].

This report summarizes some of the most important changes and new recommendations from the ESC ST-elevation myocardial infarction and double antiplatelet therapy guidelines for 2017, which are of interest for physicians managing patients with coronary artery disease.

Use of Communication Tools for Mechanically Ventilated Patients in the Intensive Care Unit.

The use of light and no sedation is gaining currency in the intensive care unit, resulting in more conscious patients. Due to mechanical ventilation, patients are unable to communicate verbally, and may feel frustration. Communication tools may help; however, they are not used systematically in clinical practice.

Endoscopic Cyanoacrylate Glue Injection in Management of Gastric Variceal Bleeding: US Tertiary Care Center Experience.

Background/aims: Although endoscopic cyanoacrylate glue injection (ECGI) is recommended as first-line treatment for bleeding gastric varices (GV) there is still limited experience with this method in the US. Our aim was to analyze our 10-year experience of ECGI for treatment and prophylaxis of gastric variceal bleeding.

Methods: Records of patients undergoing ECGI of GV at our US tertiary care center between 6/2005 and 5/2015 were reviewed.

Bleeding complications after myocardial infarction in a real world population - An observational retrospective study with a sex perspective.

Introduction: The aim of the current study was to assess bleeding events, including severity, localisation and prognostic impact, in a real world population of men and women with myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods And Results: In total 850 consecutive patients were included during 2010 and followed for one year. Bleeding complications were identified by searching of each patients' medical records and characterised according to the TIMI criteria.

Use of diagnostic tests and the appropriateness of the treatment decision in patients with suspected urinary tract infection in primary care in Denmark - observational study.

Background: Inappropriate prescription of antibiotics is the leading driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The majority of antibiotics are prescribed in primary care. Understanding how general practitioners (GPs) use diagnostic tests and the effect on treatment decision under daily practice conditions is important to reduce inappropriate prescription of antibiotics.

Comparison of antibiotic prescribing and antimicrobial resistance in urinary tract infections at the municipal level among women in two Nordic regions.

Objectives: To describe and compare the prescribing of antibiotics used for urinary tract infections and its correlation with resistance in Escherichia coli in urinary samples across two adjacent regions-the Capital Region and the Skaane Region-and their municipalities in Denmark and Sweden.

Methods: The Capital Region consists of 29 municipalities and 725 960 female inhabitants aged ≥18 years and the Skaane Region consists of 33 municipalities and 515 668 female inhabitants aged ≥18 years. Aggregated data from outpatient care on the prescribing of pivmecillinam, trimethoprim and nitrofurantoin from both regions were analysed.

[Microbe hunters are advancing within rapid diagnostics].

Rapid diagnostics within clinical microbiology is more required, as hospitals need to be more effective. Tests for multi-resistant organisms, influenza virus and life-threatening diseases such as malaria and meningitis are warranted. This review describes the advances within rapid diagnostics and the impact on patient care.

Painless period after Spitzy shelf operation for residual hip dysplasia-A long-term study of 47 children and young adults.

Objective: To study the effects of the Spitzy shelf operation on hip pain.

Method: A modified Spitzy shelf procedure was performed in 60 hips with residual hip dysplasia. The mean age at surgery was 11.

Lung transplantation for scleroderma lung disease: An international, multicenter, observational cohort study.

Background: Due to its multisystemic nature, scleroderma is considered a relative contraindication to lung transplantation at many centers. However, recent studies suggest similar post-transplant outcomes in patients with scleroderma compared to those with other causes of interstitial lung disease (ILD). Furthermore, it remains unknown whether scleroderma-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) influences post-transplant outcomes.

First-line nurse managers' perceptions of the challenges involved in decision-making when older patients' wish to die.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore first-line nurse managers' perceptions of the challenges involved in decision-making concerning older patients who wish to die.

Design: A descriptive qualitative design in three communities in Norway between January 2016 and June 2016.

Methods: Qualitative focus group interviews with eight first-line nurse managers.

Distinct pain profiles in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Few studies have examined changes in the pain experience of patients with COPD and predictors of pain in these patients.

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to examine whether distinct groups of COPD patients could be identified based on changes in the occurrence and severity of pain over 12 months and to evaluate whether these groups differed on demographic, clinical, and pain characteristics, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Patients And Methods: A longitudinal study of 267 COPD patients with very severe COPD was conducted.

Lung transplantation after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: a pan-European experience.

Late-onset noninfectious pulmonary complications (LONIPCs) affect 6% of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) recipients within 5 years, conferring subsequent 5-year survival of 50%. Lung transplantation is rarely performed in this setting due to concomitant extrapulmonary morbidity, excessive immunosuppression and concerns about recurring malignancy being considered contraindications. This study assesses survival in highly selected patients undergoing lung transplantation for LONIPCs after SCT.

Precision of MRI-based body composition measurements of postmenopausal women.

Objectives: To determine precision of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based fat and muscle quantification in a group of postmenopausal women. Furthermore, to extend the method to individual muscles relevant to upper-body exercise.

Materials And Methods: This was a sub-study to a randomized control trial investigating effects of resistance training to decrease hot flushes in postmenopausal women.

Low genetic variation of invasive spp. in their northernmost European distribution range.

Knowledge about the reproduction strategies of invasive species is fundamental for effective control. The invasive taxa (Japanese knotweed .) reproduce mainly clonally in Europe, and preventing spread of vegetative fragments is the most important control measure.

Microvascular Mural Cell Organotypic Heterogeneity and Functional Plasticity.

Microvascular mural cells (MMCs), comprising pericytes and microvascular smooth muscle cells, are of increasing interest in multiple fields of research for their plasticity and their organotypic functional roles in microvascular homeostasis and disease. They have been described as a heterogeneous cell population constituting a continuum of cell phenotypes along the microvascular bed with vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) at one end of the spectrum and pericytes at the other end. MMC organotypic subpopulations have been suggested to function in a tissue-context-dependent manner, thereby contributing to organ-specific functional roles.

Socioeconomic Position Across the Life Course and Cognitive Ability Later in Life: The Importance of Considering Early Cognitive Ability.

Investigate direct and indirect associations between markers of socioeconomic position (SEP) across the life course and midlife cognitive ability while addressing methodological limitations in prior work. Longitudinal data from the Danish Metropolit cohort of men born in 1953 ( = 2,479) who completed ability tests at age 12, 18, and 56-58 linked to register-based information on paternal occupational class, educational attainment, and occupational level. Associations were assessed using structural equation models, and different models were estimated to examine the importance of accounting for childhood ability and measurement error.

The Role of Airway Inflammation and Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness in Athlete's Asthma.

Purpose: Asthma is frequently reported in endurance athletes. The aim of the present study was to assess the long-term airway inflammatory response to endurance exercise in high-level athletes with and without asthma.

Methods: In a cross-sectional design, 20 asthmatic athletes (10 swimmers and 10 cross-country skiers), 19 athletes without asthma (10 swimmers and 9 cross-country skiers), and 24 healthy nonathletes completed methacholine bronchial challenge, lung function tests, and sputum induction on two separate days.

Psychiatric (Axis I) and personality (Axis II) disorders and subjective psychiatric symptoms in chronic tinnitus.

Objective: Chronic tinnitus has been associated with several psychiatric disorders. Only few studies have investigated these disorders using validated diagnostic interviews. The aims were to diagnose psychiatric and personality disorders with structured interviews, to assess self-rated psychiatric symptoms and elucidate temporal relations between psychiatric disorders and tinnitus.

Tc-Sestamibi/I Subtraction SPECT/CT in Parathyroid Scintigraphy: Is Additional Pinhole Imaging Useful?

Objectives: This retrospective study evaluated whether the use of additional anterior Tc-sestamibi/I pinhole imaging improves the outcome of Tc-sestamibi/I subtraction SPECT/CT in parathyroid scintigraphy (PS).

Materials And Methods: PS using simultaneous dual-isotope subtraction methods and an acquisition protocol combining SPECT/CT and planar pinhole imaging was performed for 175 patients with primary or secondary hyperparathyroidism. All patients who proceeded to surgery with complete postsurgery laboratory findings were included in this study ( = 94).

Neuromodulation of orexin neurons reduces diet-induced adiposity.

Background/objectives: Low levels of orexin are associated with obesity and reduced physical activity in humans and animals.

Subjects/methods: Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) selectively activated orexin neurons in mouse lateral hypothalamus (LH) to measure effects on spontaneous physical activity (SPA). DREADD targeting was achieved by stereotaxic injection of AAV vectors into caudal lateral LH of heterozygous orexin-Cre or C57/B6J mice.

The Bedside Index for Severity in Acute Pancreatitis: a systematic review of prospective studies to determine predictive performance.

: predicting the development of severe disease has remained a major challenge in management of acute pancreatitis. The Bedside Index for Severity in Acute Pancreatitis (BISAP) is easy to calculate from the data available in the first 24 hours. Here, we performed a systematic review to determine the prognostic accuracy of the BISAP for severe acute pancreatitis (SAP).