Palliative care for people living with heart failure: European Association for Palliative Care Task Force expert position statement.

Contrary to common perception, modern palliative care (PC) is applicable to all people with an incurable disease, not only cancer. PC is appropriate at every stage of disease progression, when PC needs emerge. These needs can be of physical, emotional, social, or spiritual nature.

Whitefly Control Strategies against Tomato Leaf Curl New Delhi Virus in Greenhouse Zucchini.

(1) Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV), transmitted by tobacco whitefly ( Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is of major concern in the cultivation of zucchini. The threat of this virus motivates reliance on chemical vector control but European consumers' demands for vegetables grown free of pesticides provides an important incentive for alternative pest management; (2) Different whitefly management strategies and ToLCNDV incidences were surveyed in commercial zucchini greenhouses in south-east Spain. In an experimental greenhouse, three different whitefly control strategies, biological, chemical, and integrated (IPM), were evaluated in a replicated trial to determine the most effective strategy for virus suppression (3) Whitefly was present in all commercial zucchini crops surveyed, whereas fewer crops had or other natural enemies.

Rape of the lock: note on nineteenth-century hair fetishists.

The ostensibly bizarre crime of braid-cutting invited occasional alienist inferences from the late 1850s onwards, until it entered mid-1880s police profiles and forensic-psychiatric taxonomies as a corollary of perversion, specifically sadism and fetishism. Cases were rare, but were reported as late as the mid-1930s and enduringly cited as encompassing a staple variety of fetishism. This note briefly reconstructs entries in German, French and English forensic psychiatry, sexual psychopathology and psychoanalysis.

Multi-disciplinary palliative care is effective in people with symptomatic heart failure: A systematic review and narrative synthesis.

Background: Despite recommendations, people with heart failure have poor access to palliative care.

Aim: To identify the evidence in relation to palliative care for people with symptomatic heart failure.

Design: Systematic review and narrative synthesis.

Left main coronary artery stent placement in a 7.0 kg infant with Williams Syndrome.

We report the case of a 9-month-old male with Williams syndrome who underwent patch augmentation of supravalvar aortic stenosis and pulmonary artery stenosis, and required emergent drug-eluting left coronary artery stenting on post-operative day 1 for severe left ventricular dysfunction related to myocardial ischemia.

Clustering of 27,525,663 Death Records from the United States Based on Health Conditions Associated with Death: An Example of big Health Data Exploration.

Background: Insight into health conditions associated with death can inform healthcare policy. We aimed to cluster 27,525,663 deceased people based on the health conditions associated with death to study the associations between the health condition clusters, demographics, the recorded underlying cause and place of death.

Methods: Data from all deaths in the United States registered between 2006 and 2016 from the National Vital Statistics System of the National Center for Health Statistics were analyzed.

The effects of manufacturing tolerances and assembly force on the volumetric wear at the taper junction in modular total hip arthroplasty.

Fretting and corrosion at the taper-head interface in total hip arthroplasty has been reported as a potential cause of early failure of the implant system. The finite element (FE) method can be used to study the mechanics at the taper junction that are difficult to assess experimentally. Taper mismatch is one of the factors that can influence the performance of the taper junction.

The superexacerbator phenotype in patients with COPD: a descriptive analysis.

http://bit.ly/30q2k7M.

Biochemical properties of a Pseudomonas aminotransferase involved in caprolactam metabolism.

The biodegradation of the nylon-6 precursor caprolactam by a strain of Pseudomonas jessenii proceeds via ATP-dependent hydrolytic ring opening to 6-aminohexanoate. This non-natural ω-amino acid is converted to 6-oxohexanoic acid by an aminotransferase (PjAT) belonging to the fold type I pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) enzymes. To understand the structural basis of 6-aminohexanoatate conversion, we solved different crystal structures and determined the substrate scope with a range of aliphatic and aromatic amines.

Quantification of human bone microarchitecture damage in press-fit femoral knee implantation using HR-pQCT and digital volume correlation.

Primary press-fit fixation of femoral knee prostheses is obtained thanks to the inside dimensions of the implant being undersized with respect to the bone cuts created intra-operatively, dictated by a press-fit specified by the implant design. However, during prostheses press-fit implantation, high compressive and shear stresses at the implant-bone interface are generated, which causes permanent bone damage. The extent of this damage is unknown, but it may influence the implant stability and be a contributing factor to aseptic loosening, a main cause of revisions for knee arthroplasty.

Disease-Specific Comorbidity Clusters in COPD and Accelerated Aging.

Background: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often suffer from multiple morbidities, which occur in clusters and are sometimes related to accelerated aging. This study aimed to assess the disease specificity of comorbidity clusters in COPD and their association with a biomarker of accelerated aging as a potential mechanistic factor.

Methods: Body composition, metabolic, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and psychological morbidities were objectively evaluated in 208 COPD patients (age 62 ± 7 years, 58% males, FEV 50 ± 16% predicted) and 200 non-COPD controls (age 61 ± 7 years, 45% males).

Discontinuation Rates of Antidepressant Use by Dutch Soldiers.

Introduction: Soldiers have a higher risk for developing psychiatric disorders that require treatment; often with antidepressants. However, antidepressants as well as the psychiatric disorder, may influence military readiness in several ways. In the general population, early discontinuation of antidepressant treatment is often seen.

Revealing Methodological Challenges in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Studies Assessing Comorbidities: A Narrative Review.

Beyond respiratory impairment, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often suffer from comorbidities which are associated with worse health status, higher health care costs and worse prognosis. Reported prevalences of comorbidities largely differ between studies which might be explained by different assessment methods (objective assessment, self-reported assessment, or assessment by medical records), heterogeneous study populations, inappropriate control groups, incomparable methodologies, etc. This narrative review demonstrates and further evaluates the variability in prevalence of several comorbidities in patients with COPD and control individuals and discusses several shortcomings and pitfalls which need to be considered when interpreting comorbidity data.

Pulmonary rehabilitation, physical activity, respiratory failure and palliative respiratory care.

The CIRO Academy in Horn (the Netherlands) organised a 2-day meeting to present and discuss the studies published in 2017 pertaining to key priority areas of respiratory and critical care medicine. This review summarises studies focussing on pulmonary rehabilitation and exercise training, physical activity, chronic respiratory failure and palliative respiratory care published in 2017.

A noninvasive MRI based approach to estimate the mechanical properties of human knee ligaments.

Characterization of the main tibiofemoral ligaments is an essential step in developing patient-specific computational models of the knee joint for personalized surgery pre-planning. Tensile tests are commonly performed in-vitro to characterize the mechanical stiffness and rupture force of the knee ligaments which makes the technique unsuitable for in-vivo application. The time required for the limited noninvasive approaches for properties estimation based on knee laxity remained the main obstacle in clinical implementation.

Feasibility study of intraoperative cone-beam CT navigation for benign bone tumour surgery.

Background: Intraoperative cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) offers the advantage of navigation on the current anatomical situation and the possibility to take a control scan. We assessed the feasibility of using intraoperative CBCT for navigated intralesional curettage.

Methods: Nine benign bone tumour patients were studied.

Timely recognition of palliative care needs of patients with advanced chronic heart failure: a pilot study of a Dutch translation of the Needs Assessment Tool: Progressive Disease - Heart Failure (NAT:PD-HF).

Background: The Needs Assessment Tool: Progressive Disease - Heart Failure (NAT:PD-HF) was developed to identify and triage palliative care needs in patients with chronic heart failure. A Dutch version is currently lacking.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of a Dutch NAT:PD-HF in chronic heart failure outpatients; and to gain preliminary data regarding the effect of the NAT:PD-HF on palliative care referral, symptoms, health status, care dependency, caregiver burden and advance directives.

Efficient Enzymatic Cyclization of Disulfide-Rich Peptides by Using Peptide Ligases.

Disulfide-rich macrocyclic peptides-cyclotides, for example-represent a promising class of molecules with potential therapeutic use. Despite their potential their efficient synthesis at large scale still represents a major challenge. Here we report new chemoenzymatic strategies using peptide ligase variants-inter alia, omniligase-1-for the efficient and scalable one-pot cyclization and folding of the native cyclotides MCoTI-II, kalata B1 and variants thereof, as well as of the θ-defensin RTD-1.

Absolute Quantification of Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus Spain strain, ToLCNDV-ES: Virus Accumulation in a Host-Specific Manner.

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) (family Geminiviridae, genus Begomovirus) has recently been introduced in western Mediterranean countries. Isolates in Spain constitute a new strain, denominated ToLCNDV-ES, that is causing losses in commercial zucchini and melon crops; however, it is also, although less often, detected in commercial tomato crops. We developed a tissue-print hybridization test to detect the two genomic components of the virus and a TaqMan quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) test to estimate the number of genome copies in plants.

Cluster-randomised trial of a nurse-led advance care planning session in patients with COPD and their loved ones.

Rationale: Advance care planning (ACP) is uncommon in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Objectives: To assess whether a nurse-led ACP-intervention can improve quality of patient-physician end-of-life care communication in patients with COPD. Furthermore, the influence of an ACP-intervention on symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients and loved ones was studied.

Microbial Synthesis and Transformation of Inorganic and Organic Chlorine Compounds.

Organic and inorganic chlorine compounds are formed by a broad range of natural geochemical, photochemical and biological processes. In addition, chlorine compounds are produced in large quantities for industrial, agricultural and pharmaceutical purposes, which has led to widespread environmental pollution. Abiotic transformations and microbial metabolism of inorganic and organic chlorine compounds combined with human activities constitute the chlorine cycle on Earth.

A prediction model of surgical site infection after instrumented thoracolumbar spine surgery in adults.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop and internally validate a multivariable model for accurate prediction of surgical site infection (SSI) after instrumented spine surgery using a large cohort of a Western European academic center.

Method: Data of potential predictor variables were collected in 898 adult patients who underwent instrumented posterior fusion of the thoracolumbar spine. We used logistic regression analysis to develop the prediction model for SSI.

Comprehensive Lung Function Assessment Does not Allow to Infer Response to Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Patients with COPD.

The degree of lung function is frequently used as referral criterion for pulmonary rehabilitation. The efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation was assessed in 518 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, after clustering based on a comprehensive pre-rehabilitation lung function assessment. Mean improvements in dyspnea, exercise performance, health status, mood status and problematic activities of daily life after pulmonary rehabilitation were mostly comparable between the seven clusters, despite significant differences in the degree of lung function.