Estimation of antimicrobial resistance of Belgium, 2022.

BackgroundAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) of (MG) is a growing concern worldwide and surveillance is needed. In Belgium, samples are sent to the National Reference Centre of Sexually Transmitted Infections (NRC-STI) on a voluntary basis and representative or robust national AMR data are lacking.AimWe aimed to estimate the occurrence of resistant MG in Belgium.

Tc-99m mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy to assess future liver remnant function before major liver surgery.

Background And Objectives: Assessment of liver function is paramount before hepatectomy. This study aimed to assess future liver remnant function (FLR-F) using hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) and to compare it to FLR volume (FLR-V) in the prediction of posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF). The impact of volume and function gains were also assessed in patients undergoing portal vein embolization (PVE) or liver venous deprivation (LVD).

Tumor burden in patients with early and intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing liver resection: a retrospective multicenter study on clinical and oncological outcomes.

Background: According to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system, liver resection (LR) is recommended for early-stage (BCLC-A) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but not for intermediate-stage (BCLC-B). This study aimed to assess the outcomes of LR in these patients using a subclassification tumour burden score (TBS).

Methods: All consecutive patients that underwent LR for BCLC-A and BCLC-B HCC between 01/2010 and 12/2020 in 4 tertiary referral centers were included.

and Antimicrobial Resistance Among a Cohort of West African Men Who Have Sex With Men Using Preexposure Prophylaxis (CohMSM-PrEP ANRS 12369-Expertise France Study).

Background: Antimicrobial resistance to macrolides and fluoroquinolones in (MG) among men who have sex with men (MSM) is worryingly high in high-resource countries. Data in Africa are lacking. We aimed to assess the burden of MG including the presence of resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) in MG among MSM using human immunodeficiency virus preexposure prophylaxis in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Togo.

Retrospective detection of asymptomatic monkeypox virus infections among male sexual health clinic attendees in Belgium.

The magnitude of the 2022 multi-country monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreak has surpassed any preceding outbreak. It is unclear whether asymptomatic or otherwise undiagnosed infections are fuelling this epidemic. In this study, we aimed to assess whether undiagnosed infections occurred among men attending a Belgian sexual health clinic in May 2022.

Efficient transmissive remote phosphor configuration for a laser-driven high-luminance white light source.

To realize laser-driven high-luminance white light sources, many reflective configurations have been studied, often resulting in a challenging optical design. In this paper it is demonstrated that the efficacy of a transmissive configuration can be significantly enhanced by using a sapphire half-ball lens as out-coupling optic. This lens not only improves efficiency, but also drastically increases the potential light output due to improved heat dissipation from the single-crystal phosphor converter.

Worryingly high prevalence of resistance-associated mutations to macrolides and fluoroquinolones in Mycoplasma genitalium among men who have sex with men with recurrent sexually transmitted infections.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) recurrently infected with STIs are playing a pivotal role in contemporary Sexually transmitted infections (STI) epidemics. Our aim was to assess whether these individuals had more () infections and more resistance to macrolides and fluoroquinolones of compared to those who were not recurrently infected with STIs.

Methods: The study was performed on 179 Belgian MSM PrEP users that were followed up for 18 months.

Smart contact lens: A promising therapeutic tool in aniridia.

Objective: The perform pre-clinical testing using optical design tools to simulate the optical quality of a smart artificial iris platform encapsulated in a scleral contact lens. These tools allow us to generate aniridia eye models and evaluate different metrics of visual quality and retinal illumination based on the aperture of the artificial iris based on liquid crystals.

Method: The OCT imaging technique was used to measure the geometry of the anterior segment in a patient with aniridia and, from these data, the eye model was generated with the Zemax optical design program and specific programs developed in Matlab.

Smart contact lens: a promising therapeutic tool in aniridia.

Objective: To perform pre-clinical testing using optical design tools to simulate the optical quality of a smart artificial iris platform encapsulated in a scleral contact lens. These tools allow us to generate aniridia eye models and evaluate different metrics of visual quality and retinal illumination based on the aperture of the artificial iris based on liquid crystals.

Method: The OCT imaging technique was used to measure the geometry of the anterior segment in a patient with aniridia and, from these data, the eye model was generated with the Zemax optical design program and specific programs developed in Matlab.

Role of IgM testing in the diagnosis and post-treatment follow-up of syphilis: a prospective cohort study.

Objectives: The diagnosis of repeat syphilis and its follow-up remains challenging. We aimed to investigate if IgM testing may assist in the diagnosis of syphilis reinfection/relapse and its treatment follow-up.

Methods: This substudy was conducted in the context of a syphilis biomarker discovery study (ClinicalTrials.

Artificial iris performance for smart contact lens vision correction applications.

This paper presents the simulated performance assessment of an artificial iris embedded on a scleral contact lens using real data from an aniridia patient. The artificial iris is based on guest-host liquid crystal cells (GH-LCD) in order to actively modify the transmittance of the lens and effective pupil size. Experimental validation of the GH-LCD spectrum and iris contrast (determined to be 1:2.

An alarming high prevalence of resistance-associated mutations to macrolides and fluoroquinolones in in Belgium: results from samples collected between 2015 and 2018.

Objectives: The number of reported cases of multiresistant (MG) is increasing globally. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of macrolide and possible fluoroquinolone resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) of MG in Belgium.

Methods: The study was performed retrospectively on two sets of MG-positive samples collected in Belgium between 2015 and 2018.

SUSSOL-Using Artificial Intelligence for Greener Solvent Selection and Substitution.

Solvents come in many shapes and types. Looking for solvents for a specific application can be hard, and looking for green alternatives for currently used nonbenign solvents can be even harder. We describe a new methodology for solvent selection and substitution, by applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) software to cluster a database of solvents based on their physical properties.

Implementation and evaluation of the Presto combined qualitative real-time assay for and in Rwanda.

Background: The Presto combined qualitative real-time assay for and (Presto CT/NG PCR assay) is appealing for developing countries, because it can be used with multiple DNA extraction methods and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) platforms.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to implement and evaluate the Presto CT/NG PCR assay at the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) in Kigali, Rwanda, where no real-time PCR assays for the detection of or were available.

Methods: The Presto CT/NG PCR assay was first evaluated at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp, Belgium.

Evaluation of the 'Colli-Pee', a first-void urine collection device for self-sampling at home for the detection of sexually transmitted infections, versus a routine clinic-based urine collection in a one-to-one comparison study design: efficacy and acceptability among MSM in Belgium.

Objectives: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) users are screened bi-annual for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). A novel device, called the Colli-Pee, collects first-void urine in a standardised way and the collector tube can be easily delivered by regular post to a certified laboratory. The aim of the study was a one-to-one comparison between the STI test results obtained with the urine collected in the clinic, versus urine collected at home in a real-life setting by Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) in Belgium.

Laboratory evaluation of four HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV and syphilis, are one of the major health care problems worldwide, especially in low- and middle income countries. HIV screening programmes have been widely used for many years. The introduction of rapid point-of-care tests (RDTs) that can detect both HIV and syphilis, using one single blood specimen, would be a promising tool to integrate the detection of syphilis into HIV programmes and so improve the accessibility of syphilis testing and treatment.

Lymphogranuloma venereum is on the rise in Belgium among HIV negative men who have sex with men: surveillance data from 2011 until the end of June 2017.

Background: The number of cases of Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) is increasing in Europe. The described epidemic is mostly confined to HIV positive men who have sex with men (MSM). However, dissemination of LGV from HIV positive to HIV negative MSM could take place due to the implementation of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and subsequent possible decrease in condom use.

Take three, test one: a cross-sectional study to evaluate the molecular detection of and in pooled pharyngeal, anorectal and urine samples versus single-site testing among men who have sex with men in Belgium.

: To investigate the efficacy of performing a pooling strategy of triple-anatomical site samples (pharyngeal, anorectal and urine samples) for simultaneous (CT) and (NG) nucleic acid amplification detection.: A total of 117 specimen sets (pharyngeal, anorectal and urine) were collected from 98 men between 2014 and 2016. Double sampling of pharyngeal, anorectal and urine samples allowed for pooled and unpooled analyses using a multiplex Abbott Real Time CT/NG assay, together with confirmatory PCR testing in case of CT/NG positivity.

Fast switching cholesteric liquid crystal optical beam deflector with polarization independence.

Optical beam deflectors based on the combination of cholesteric liquid crystals and polymer micro gratings are reported. Dual frequency cholesteric liquid crystal (DFCh-LC) is adopted to accelerate the switching from the homeotropic state back to the planar state. Polarization independent beam steering components are realized whose transmission versus the polarizing angle only varies 4.

Reflective liquid crystal hybrid beam-steerer.

We report on efficient optical beam-steering using a hot-embossed reflective blazed grating in combination with liquid crystal. A numerical simulation of the electrical switching characteristics of the liquid crystal is performed and the results are used in an FDTD optical simulator to analyze the beam deflection. The corresponding experiment on the realized device is performed and is found to be in good agreement.

Evaluation of the Bio-Rad Dx CT/NG/MG® assay for simultaneous detection of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Mycoplasma genitalium in urine.

We evaluated the performance of the Bio-Rad real-time Dx CT/NG/MG® assay for detection of C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae and M.

Evaluation of the APTIMA Combo 2 Assay using self-administered vaginal swabs for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

We report on the performance of the APTIMA Combo 2 assay for the detection of chlamydial infection and gonorrhea using self-administered vaginal specimens in specimen transport medium and specimen kept dry. The results are compared with the results using the Amplicor assay and the BD ProbeTec assay™.

The cerebellum: its role in language and related cognitive and affective functions.

The traditional view on the cerebellum as the sole coordinator of motor function has been substantially redefined during the past decades. Neuroanatomical, neuroimaging and clinical studies have extended the role of the cerebellum to the modulation of cognitive and affective processing. Neuroanatomical studies have demonstrated cerebellar connectivity with the supratentorial association areas involved in higher cognitive and affective functioning, while functional neuroimaging and clinical studies have provided evidence of cerebellar involvement in a variety of cognitive and affective tasks.

Quantification of bacterial species of the vaginal microbiome in different groups of women, using nucleic acid amplification tests.

Background: The vaginal microbiome plays an important role in urogenital health. Quantitative real time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) assays for the most prevalent vaginal Lactobacillus species and bacterial vaginosis species G. vaginalis and A.