Functional Roles of Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor in Retinal Degenerative and Vascular Disorders: A Scoping Review.

Purpose: This review explores the role of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) in retinal degenerative and vascular disorders and assesses its potential both as an adjunct to established vascular endothelial growth factor inhibiting treatments for retinal vascular diseases and as a neuroprotective therapeutic agent.

Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted, focusing on the neuroprotective and anti-angiogenic properties of PEDF. The review evaluated its effects on retinal health, its dysregulation in ocular disorders, and its therapeutic application in preclinical models.

Discharge Destination of Patients in Fast-Track Primary Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: Results From a Prospective Danish Cohort.

Background: Following the implementation of the fast-track protocol in total hip arthroplasty (THA), total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA), the median length of stay (LOS) has been significantly reduced without an increase in readmissions. However, it is unclear if the reduction in LOS is at the expense of an increase in nonhome discharge. The aim of this study was to investigate the discharge destination among THA, TKA, and UKA patients.

The Prognostic Potential of circRNAs in Multiple Myeloma: Insights From Whole Bone Marrow and Purified Plasma Cells.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a haematological malignancy with abnormal proliferation of plasma cells in the bone marrow (BM), and MM patients with highly proliferative plasma cells have reduced overall survival. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are endogenous, non-coding molecules that are promising biomarkers in cancer. Here, we present the largest study of circRNAs in MM to date and explore the prognostic potential of circRNAs and the link between proliferation and circRNA expression in MM.

Feasibility of continuous physical activity monitoring: first-month recovery markers following joint replacement surgery.

Background: The role of physical activity (PA) monitoring during the recovery after orthopaedic surgeries is unclear. This study aimed to explore early changes in the pattern and level of PA following orthopedic surgeries.

Methods: This observational feasibility study included 11 hip replacement patients (four females) with a mean age of 66 years and five knee replacement patients (four females) with a mean age of 65 years.

Myopia control with orthokeratology lenses. A 3-year follow-up study including a cross-over design: Clinical study Of Near-sightedness; TReatment with Orthokeratology Lenses 2 (CONTROL2 study).

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate 3-year efficacy of orthokeratology lenses (OKL) in controlling axial length progression in myopic Scandinavian children. Through a cross-over design of the control group to compare the treatment efficacy in younger versus older children, with the latter having higher cycloplegic spherical refractive error (cSEQ) at treatment initiation. Further, the study aimed to evaluate the safety of the treatment.

The chronic wound characterisation study and biobank: a study protocol for a prospective observational cohort investigation of bacterial community composition, inflammatory responses and wound-healing trajectories in non-healing wounds.

Introduction: Chronic wounds affect 1%-2% of the global population, with rising incidence due to ageing and lifestyle-related diseases. Bacterial biofilms, found in 80% of chronic wounds, and scattered single-cell bacteria may hinder healing. Microbes are believed to negatively impact healing by exacerbating inflammation and host immune response.

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bone and joint pathogens using isothermal microcalorimetry.

The rise in osteomyelitis and periprosthetic joint infections, in combination with increasing life expectancy and the prevalence of diabetes, underscores the urgent need for rapid and accurate diagnostic tools. Conventional culture-based methods are often time-consuming and prone to false-negatives, leading to prolonged and inappropriate antibiotic treatments. This study aims to improve osteomyelitis diagnostics by decreasing the time to detection and the time to an antibiotic susceptibility result to enable a targeted treatment using isothermal microcalorimetry (IMC).

Machine learning for predicting duration of surgery and length of stay: A literature review on joint arthroplasty.

Introduction: In recent years, different factors such as population aging have caused escalating demand for hip and knee arthroplasty straining already limited hospitals' resources. To address this challenge, focus is put on medical and operational efficiency improvements. This includes an increased use of machine learning (ML) to predict duration of surgery (DOS) and length of stay (LOS) for total knee and total hip arthroplasty, which can be utilized for optimizing resource allocation to satisfy medical and operational limitations.

Multivariable model for gait pattern differentiation in elderly patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis: A wearable sensor approach.

Background: Hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients demonstrate distinct gait patterns, yet detecting subtle abnormalities with wearable sensors remains uncertain. This study aimed to assess a predictive model's efficacy in distinguishing between hip and knee OA gait patterns using accelerometer data.

Method: Participants with hip or knee OA underwent overground walking assessments, recording lower limb accelerations for subsequent time and frequency domain analyses.

Exploring the prognostic value of circular RNAs in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma using genome-wide expression profiling.

Background/objectives: Median survival of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is around eight months and new prognostic tools are needed. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have gained interest in different types of cancer. However, only a few studies have evaluated their potential in PDAC.

The Transcriptional Landscape of Coding and Noncoding RNAs in Recurrent and Nonrecurrent Colon Cancer.

A number of patients with colon cancer with local or local advanced disease suffer from recurrence and there is an urgent need for better prognostic biomarkers in this setting. Here, the transcriptomic landscape of mRNAs, long noncoding RNAs, snRNAs, small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), small Cajal body-specific RNAs, pseudogenes, and circular RNAs, as well as RNAs denoted as miscellaneous RNAs, was profiled by total RNA sequencing. In addition to well-known coding and noncoding RNAs, differential expression analysis also uncovered transcripts that have not been implicated previously in colon cancer, such as RNA5SP149, RNU4-2, and SNORD3A.

Vision-related quality of life in children: Cross-cultural adaptation and test-retest reliability of the Danish version of the paediatric refractive error profile 2.

Purpose: To translate and cross-culturally adapt PREP2 into Danish and to investigate the face validity and reliability of Danish PREP2 through cognitive interviewing, Rasch and reliability analyses.

Methods: The Danish PREP2 was translated using a standardized procedure and then pretested following the Three-Steps-Interviews (TSTI) process. A total of 15 myopic children aged 7-14 wearing either orthokeratology lenses (ortho-k) or single-vision spectacles (SVS) were included in pretesting comprising cognitive interviews and Rasch analysis.

Subretinal AAV delivery of RNAi-therapeutics targeting reduces choroidal neovascularization in a large animal model.

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is a frequent cause of vision loss among the elderly in the Western world. Current disease management with repeated injections of anti-VEGF agents accumulates the risk for adverse events and constitutes a burden for society and the individual patient. Sustained suppression of VEGF using gene therapy is an attractive alternative, which we explored using adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based delivery of novel RNA interference (RNAi) effectors in a porcine model of choroidal neovascularization (CNV).

Biomechanics of a collum-fixated short stem in total hip arthroplasty.

Background: Biomechanical reconstruction of the hip significantly impacts the clinical outcome and implant survival. Our knowledge is limited of the ability of neck-stabilised prostheses to restore hip biomechanics. We hypothesised that hip biomechanics, specifically leg length and global offset (GO), may be restored to an acceptable range using the Primoris™ stem.

Novel sampling technique maintaining the two-dimensional organization of microbes during cultivation from chronic wounds: The Imprint method.

This study aimed to develop and validate "the Imprint method,", a technique for sampling microbes from chronic wounds while preserving their two-dimensional spatial organization. We used nylon filters to sample bacteria and compared with sampling using Eswabs in 12 patients. The Imprint method identified a mean of 0.

Digital mapping of shoulder pain in patients with shoulder disorders: a reliability study.

Introduction: Digital body mapping can be used to document and quantify the area and location (distribution) of pain and discomfort and support assessment, monitoring, and treatment in clinical populations. This study determines the test-retest reliability of drawings detailing pain and pins and needles using digital body charts and their relationship to pain intensity and patient-reported shoulder function.

Methods: Sixty-two participants with shoulder disorder completed pain and pins and needles drawings with test-retest interval of 30 minutes.

Inhibition of quorum sensing by chemical induction of the MexEF-oprN efflux pump.

The cell-to-cell communication system quorum sensing (QS), used by various pathogenic bacteria to synchronize gene expression and increase host invasion potentials, is studied as a potential target for persistent infection control. To search for novel molecules targeting the QS system in the Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen , a chemical library consisting of 3,280 small compounds from LifeArc was screened. A series of 10 conjugated phenones that have not previously been reported to target bacteria were identified as inhibitors of QS in .

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The prevalence of myopia is estimated to be 2.6 billion people worldwide and the percentage of individuals with sight-threatening high myopia (≤ -6 diopters) is increasing. Myopia is primarily caused by excessive axial elongation of the eyeball, and treatment modalities attempt to reduce this progression.