Peer teachers as ultrasound instructors? - a systematic literature review of peer teaching concepts in undergraduate ultrasound education.

Background: As ultrasound is one of the most utilized imaging procedures in clinical practice in Germany, its integration into undergraduate medical education is imperative. Thereby, the limited availability of qualified instructors is a major challenge. Peer tutors, who are trained to instruct their peers collaboratively, could resolve staff constraints.

Exploring the dynamics of ultrasound training in medical education: current trends, debates, and approaches to didactics and hands-on learning.

Introduction: Medical education, especially in ultrasound training, is undergoing significant changes. This study examines practical issues in ultrasound medical education, emphasizing state-of-the-art teaching methods, their effectiveness, and implementation challenges.

Methods: The study analyzed advancements in ultrasound education, including randomized controlled trials comparing peer-to-peer teaching with traditional faculty-led instruction.

Diagnosis, Management and Outcome of Truncus Arteriosus Communis Diagnosed during Fetal Life-Cohort Study and Systematic Literature Review.

: Truncus arteriosus communis (TAC) is a rare congenital heart defect characterized by a single arterial trunk that supplies systemic, pulmonary, and coronary circulations. This defect, constituting approximately 1-4% of congenital heart diseases, poses significant challenges in prenatal diagnosis, management, and postnatal outcomes. : A retrospective analysis was conducted at the local tertiary referral center on cases of TAC diagnosed prenatally between 2019 and 2024.

Undergraduate musculoskeletal ultrasound training based on current national guidelines-a prospective controlled study on transferability.

Introduction: Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) is integral to routine clinical diagnostics for musculoskeletal and joint disorders. This study aims to establish and validate a sonography course tailored to undergraduate medical students acquiring MSUS-specific skills at a German university.

Methods: A blended learning training concept, comprising 24 instruction sessions of 45 min each, was designed based on the current national guidelines of the German Society for Ultrasound in Medicine (DEGUM).

Evidence-based Ultrasound Education? - A Systematic Literature Review of Undergraduate Ultrasound Training Studies.

Despite a large number of studies previously conducted on educational concepts of ultrasound teaching in medical school, various controversial issues remain. Currently, recommendations for ultrasound curricula that aim to standardize ultrasound teaching are frequently based on expert panel advice instead of relying on valid evidence-based literature. In December 2022, a systematic literature review on the subject of undergraduate ultrasound education was conducted.

A four year follow-up survey on the teledidactic TELUS ultrasound course: long-term benefits and implications.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional medical education, prompting innovative teaching methods for practical skills training. The teledidactic TELUS ultrasound course, launched in 2020-2021, aimed to provide remote instruction in ultrasound techniques.

Objective: This study assesses the long-term impact of the teledidactic ultrasound course conducted during the study years on current clinical practice.

Conceptualization of Cloud-Based Motion Analysis and Navigation for Wearable Robotic Applications.

The behavior of pedestrians in a non-constrained environment is difficult to predict. In wearable robotics, this poses a challenge, since devices like lower-limb exoskeletons and active orthoses need to support different walking activities, including level walking and climbing stairs. While a fixed movement trajectory can be easily supported, switches between these activities are difficult to predict.

Enhancing ultrasound education in obstetrics and gynecology in Germany: insights and innovations from postgraduate training.

Background: Ultrasound (US) has become integral to obstetrics and gynecology (Ob/Gyn), necessitating proficient training during residency. Despite its clinical importance, there is a perceived gap in the quality and structure of postgraduate ultrasound education in Germany.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Ob/Gyn residents in Germany from October 2023 to March 2024, using the LimeSurvey platform.

Student ultrasound education - current views and controversies.

As an extension of the clinical examination and as a diagnostic and problem-solving tool, ultrasound has become an established technique for clinicians. A prerequisite for high-quality clinical ultrasound practice is adequate student ultrasound training. In light of the considerable heterogeneity of ultrasound curricula in medical studies worldwide, this review presents basic principles of modern medical student ultrasound education and advocates for the establishment of an ultrasound core curriculum embedded both horizontally and vertically in medical studies.

The Current Situation of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Education: A Systematic Literature Review.

As a radiation-free and dynamic imaging tool, musculoskeletal ultrasound improves diagnostic and therapeutic safety. With its growing application, the demand for training opportunities rises rapidly. Therefore, this work was aimed at mapping the current state of musculoskeletal ultrasonography education.

A prospective, open-label, non-comparative study of ambrisentan with anti-fibrotic agent combination therapy in the treatment of diffuse systemic sclerosis.

Background: Systemic Sclerosis is a multifactorial autoimmune rheumatic disease characterized by inflammation, fibrosis, immune dysregulation and vascular dysfunction.

Methods: An open label, prospective, non-comparative study evaluating ambrisentan with an antifibrotic agent in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc). Recruited 15 consecutive patients with dcSSc who were already on a stable dose of an antifibrotic agent and if they met inclusion criteria they were initiated on ambrisentan 5 mg/day for 12 months.

Results of ASERTAA, a Randomized Prospective Crossover Pharmacogenetic Study of Immediate-Release Versus Extended-Release Tacrolimus in African American Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Background: Differences in tacrolimus dosing across ancestries is partly attributable to polymorphisms in CYP3A5 genes that encode tacrolimus-metabolizing cytochrome P450 3A5 enzymes. The CYP3A5*1 allele, preponderant in African Americans, is associated with rapid metabolism, subtherapeutic concentrations, and higher dose requirements for tacrolimus, all contributing to worse outcomes. Little is known about the relationship between CYP3A5 genotype and the tacrolimus pharmacokinetic area under the curve (AUC) profile in African Americans or whether pharmacogenetic differences exist between conventional twice-daily, rapidly absorbed, immediate-release tacrolimus (IR-Tac) and once-daily extended-release tacrolimus (LifeCycle Pharma Tac [LCPT]) with a delayed absorption profile.

Protein diffusion in a bicontinuous microemulsion: inducing sub-diffusion by tuning the water domain size.

We study the diffusion of an enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP+) in bicontinuous sugar-surfactant based microemulsions. The size of the water domains in such systems is controlled by changes of the oil-to-water ratio. Hence, microemulsions allow to produce confinement effects in a controlled way.

Genome Sequence of the Urethral Isolate Pseudomonas aeruginosa RN21.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is known to cause complicated urinary tract infections (UTI). The improved 7.0-Mb draft genome sequence of P.

A metaproteomics approach to elucidate host and pathogen protein expression during catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs).

Long-term catheterization inevitably leads to a catheter-associated bacteriuria caused by multispecies bacterial biofilms growing on and in the catheters. The overall goal of the presented study was (1) to unravel bacterial community structure and function of such a uropathogenic biofilm and (2) to elucidate the interplay between bacterial virulence and the human immune system within the urine. To this end, a metaproteomics approach combined with in vitro proteomics analyses was employed to investigate both, the pro- and eukaryotic protein inventory.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase-independent bioactivation of nitroglycerin in porcine and bovine blood vessels.

The vascular bioactivation of the antianginal drug nitroglycerin (GTN), yielding 1,2-glycerol dinitrate and nitric oxide or a related activator of soluble guanylate cyclase, is catalyzed by aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) in rodent and human blood vessels. The essential role of ALDH2 has been confirmed in many studies and is considered as general principle of GTN-induced vasodilation in mammals. However, this view is challenged by an early report showing that diphenyleneiodonium, which we recently characterized as potent ALDH2 inhibitor, has no effect on GTN-induced relaxation of bovine coronary arteries (De La Lande et al.

Potent inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 by diphenyleneiodonium: focus on nitroglycerin bioactivation.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) catalyzes vascular bioactivation of the antianginal drug nitroglycerin (GTN) to yield nitric oxide (NO) or a related species that activates soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), resulting in cGMP-mediated vasodilation. Accordingly, established ALDH2 inhibitors attenuate GTN-induced vasorelaxation in vitro and in vivo. However, the ALDH2 hypothesis has not been reconciled with early studies demonstrating potent inhibition of the GTN response by diphenyleneiodonium (DPI), a widely used inhibitor of flavoproteins, in particular NADPH oxidases.

Internist diagnosis and management of chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Chronic infection with the hepatitis B virus can lead to hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis in up to 25% of infected individuals. As many as 2 million individuals in the US may have chronic hepatitis B infection, most of whom immigrated to the US from hepatitis B-endemic regions of the world. A 2010 report from the Institute of Medicine noted that two thirds of patients with hepatitis B are unaware of their infection, and most health care providers do not screen for hepatitis B or know how to manage hepatitis B-positive patients.

The patient-centered medical home: an ethical analysis of principles and practice.

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH), with its focus on patient-centered care, holds promise as a way to reinvigorate the primary care of patients and as a necessary component of health care reform. While its tenets have been the subject of review, the ethical dimensions of the PCMH have not been fully explored. Consideration of the ethical foundations for the core principles of the PCMH can and should be part of the debate concerning its merits.

Interference of implanted cardiac pacemakers with TASER X26 dart mode application.

The prevalence of pacemaker patients among the general population and of conducted energy devices for law enforcement and self-defence is increasing. Consequently, the question on whether cardiac pacemaker patients are at particular risk becomes increasingly important, in particular, as the widespread use of such devices is planned in Europe. The risk of pacemaker patients has been investigated by numerical simulation at detailed anatomical models of patients with cardiac pacemakers implanted in left pectoral, right pectoral, and abdominal positions, with the monopolar electrode placed at the ventricular apex.