Incidental Arrhythmias During Atrial Fibrillation Screening With Repeat 7-Day Holter ECGs in a Hospital-Based Patient Population.

Background: Screening for atrial fibrillation (AF) may reveal incidental arrhythmias of relevance. The aim of this study was to describe incidental arrhythmias detected during screening for AF in the STAR-FIB (Predicting SilenT AtRial FIBrillation in Patients at High Thrombembolic Risk) cohort study.

Methods And Results: In the STAR-FIB cohort study, we screened hospitalized patients for AF with 3 repeat 7-day Holter ECGs.

Dioxin-like POPs in national samples from global monitoring plan projects (2017-2019).

The global monitoring plan (GMP) established under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) had defined ambient air, human milk or blood, and water as core matrices to be analyzed and assessed for spatial and temporal distribution. Within projects coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), developing countries were offered to have other matrices analyzed for dioxin-like POPs (dl-POPs) in experienced laboratories. Subsequently, 185 samples from 27 countries located in Africa, Asia, and Latin America were collected during 2018-2019 and analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDD), dibenzofurans (PCDF), and biphenyls (PCB).

Human Rhinoviruses in Pediatric Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Germany: Molecular Epidemiology and Clinical Significance.

Rhinoviruses (RVs) constitute a substantial public health burden. To evaluate their abundance and genetic diversity in pediatric patients, RV RNA in respiratory samples was assessed using real-time RT-PCR and partial nucleic acid sequencing of viral genomes. Additionally, clinical data were retrieved from patient charts to determine the clinical significance of pediatric RV infections.

[Liability for chronic working time violations in medicine: when does the risk of fines and imprisonment loom?].

Against the background of the changes in the collective bargaining agreement-for municipal hospitals in the version of January 1, 2021, and for university hospitals in the version of March 7, 2020-this article deals with the legal consequences of chronic violations of the German Working Hours Act in medicine, but especially in surgical specialties such as urology. It includes an overview of current law and sanctions for violations and highlights responsibilities as well as exceptions. It is important to clarify the distribution of responsibilities with regard to working hours in the institution concerned in order to avoid fines and, in the worst case, imprisonment.

Validating EEG, MEG and Combined MEG and EEG Beamforming for an Estimation of the Epileptogenic Zone in Focal Cortical Dysplasia.

MEG and EEG source analysis is frequently used for the presurgical evaluation of pharmacoresistant epilepsy patients. The source localization of the epileptogenic zone depends, among other aspects, on the selected inverse and forward approaches and their respective parameter choices. In this validation study, we compare the standard dipole scanning method with two beamformer approaches for the inverse problem, and we investigate the influence of the covariance estimation method and the strength of regularization on the localization performance for EEG, MEG, and combined EEG and MEG.

Leadless atrioventricular synchronous pacing in an outpatient setting: Early lessons learned on factors affecting atrioventricular synchrony.

Background: Leadless pacemakers (PMs) capable of atrioventricular (AV) synchronous pacing have recently been introduced. Initial feasibility studies were promising but limited to just a few minutes of AV synchronous pacing. Real-world, long-term data on AV synchrony and programming adjustments affecting AV synchrony in outpatients are lacking.

Reconstructing subcortical and cortical somatosensory activity via the RAMUS inverse source analysis technique using median nerve SEP data.

This study concerns reconstructing brain activity at various depths based on non-invasive EEG (electroencephalography) scalp measurements. We aimed at demonstrating the potential of the RAMUS (randomized multiresolution scanning) technique in localizing weakly distinguishable far-field sources in combination with coinciding cortical activity. As we have shown earlier theoretically and through simulations, RAMUS is a novel mathematical method that by employing the multigrid concept, allows marginalizing noise and depth bias effects and thus enables the recovery of both cortical and subcortical brain activity.

Reactions of euro area government yields to Covid-19 related policy measure announcements by the European Commission and the European Central Bank.

This paper evaluates the impact of announcements of Covid-19 related monetary and fiscal policy measures by the European Central Bank and the European Commission. Applying an event study, we find that the announcements predominantly affect the government bond yields of more solvent countries such as Germany and the Netherlands. Since this finding mainly holds for the announcements of fiscal measures, we conclude that the investors are primarily concerned about the future fiscal burden that has to be shouldered by those solvent countries within the euro area.

Long-term trends of airborne halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) by means of tree leaf and shoot analyses.

The historical air pollution with halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) in Germany was assessed by investigating tree leaf and shoot samples which have been archived in the German environmental specimen bank. Samples covered the period from 1985 to 2016. 43 HFRs comprising polybrominated diphenyl ethers as well as emerging brominated and chlorinated compounds such as Dechlorane Plus, DBDPE, or DPTE, were analysed in 115 samples from ten sub sites originating from six areas characterised by different land uses, including urban as well as a background site.

Does interprofessional team-training affect nurses' and physicians' perceptions of safety culture and communication practices? Results of a pre-post survey study.

Background: Many hospitals seek to increase patient safety through interprofessional team-trainings. Accordingly, these trainings aim to strengthen important key aspects such as safety culture and communication. This study was designed to investigate if an interprofessional team-training, administered to a relatively small group of nurses and physicians would promote a change in healthcare professionals' perceptions on safety culture and communication practices throughout the hospital.

[Renal Monomorphology in COVID-19 with Acute Renal Insufficiency].

Renal Monomorphology in COVID-19 with Acute Renal Insufficiency A 78-year-old ventilator-dependent COVID-19 patient developed severe renal failure with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 20 ml/min per 1.73 m2 and nephrotic proteinuria. Sonography showed echo-dense and enlarged kidneys with high resistance indices (>0.

[Ultrasound Course in Ifakara (Tanzania) with Case Studies].

Ultrasound Course in Ifakara (Tanzania) with Case Studies Presentation of two practical cases from the ultrasound course in Ifakara, Tanzania. Case 1 shows the diagnostic value of abdominal and thorax ultrasound in a polytraumatized patient with splenic rupture. In case 2 the sonographic signs of pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis are presented.

Consumer acceptance of cultured meat in Germany.

Current meat production places high costs on the environment. However, only a small portion of consumers are willing to opt for meat substitutes or a vegetarian diet. Cultured meat may contribute to solve this dilemma.

Recent findings of halogenated flame retardants (HFR) in the German and Polar environment.

To get an overview about distribution, levels and temporal trends of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and halogenated flame retardants (HFR) of emerging concern, different types of environmental samples archived in the German Environment Specimen Bank as well as fish filet samples from the Arctic (n = 13) and Antarctica (n = 5) were analysed for 43 substances (24 PBDE, 19 HFR) using a multi-column clean-up and GC-API-MS/MS or GC-MS. Sample types were herring gull egg (n = 3), blue mussel (n = 3) and eelpout filet (n = 3) from the German North- and Baltic Sea, bream filet (n = 7), zebra mussel (n = 6) and suspended particulate matter (SPM, n = 7) from German freshwater ecosystems as well as tree leaves (n = 9)/shoots (n = 10), soil (n = 4), earthworm (n = 4) and deer liver (n = 7) as representatives of German terrestrial ecosystems. PBDE and emerging HFR were present in each investigated matrices from Germany and Polar regions showing their widespread distribution.

[Point-of-Care Ultrasound: Teaching and Learning in Ifakara, Tanzania].

Point-of-Care Ultrasound: Teaching and Learning in Ifakara, Tanzania Abstract. Presentation of two practical cases from the point-of-care ultrasound class in Ifakara, Tanzania. The first case shows the sonographic findings of tuberculosis with findings in the lungs, heart, abdominal lymph nodes and spleen.

Halogenated flame retardants in tree samples applied as bioindicators for atmospheric pollution.

Coniferous shoots and deciduous tree leaf samples from 10 sites in Germany were taken in 2015 or 2016 within the German Environmental Specimen Bank sampling program and analysed for 24 polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and 19 additional halogenated flame retardants (HFRs). At one site, additional historic samples dating back till 2003 were also investigated. Samples were Soxhlet-extracted, cleaned-up by a non-destructive multi-step procedure involving gel permeation chromatography, and detected by GC-API-MS/MS as well as GC-MS.

Determination of halogenated flame retardants by GC-API-MS/MS and GC-EI-MS: a multi-compound multi-matrix method.

The extensive application of halogenated flame retardants has led to their widespread distribution in the environment. Recently, concerns emerged regarding their potential persistence, (bio)accumulation, and/or toxicity. Particularly halogenated flame retardants based on norbornene structures, like Dechlorane Plus as well as other brominated PBDE replacements, generically called emerging, novel, or alternative flame retardants, are in the focus of interest.

The Effect of Head Model Simplification on Beamformer Source Localization.

Beamformers are a widely-used tool in brain analysis with magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG). For the construction of the beamformer filters realistic head volume conductor modeling is necessary for accurately computing the EEG and MEG leadfields, i.e.