The German version of the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire: a translation, cross-cultural adaptation, reliability and validity assessment.

Background: Validated and internationally standardised measurement instruments are a prerequisite for ensuring that physical activity during pregnancy is comparable and for deriving physical activity recommendations. In Germany, there has been no adapted version of the internationally used Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ) until now. This study's aim centred around translating the original English version into German (PPAQ-G) and determining its reliability as well as validity in a German population.

Recent advances in recirculating aquaculture systems and role of microalgae to close system loop.

In recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), waste management of nutrient-rich byproducts accounts for 30-50% of the whole production costs. Integrating microalgae into RAS offers complementary solutions for transforming waste streams into valuable co-products. This review aims to provide an overview of recent advances in microalgae application to enhance RAS performance and derive value from all waste streams by using RAS effluents as microalgal nutrient sources.

Enhancing swine manure treatment: A full-scale techno-economic assessment of nitrogen recovery, pure oxygen aeration and effluent polishing.

In regions with intensive livestock production, managing the environmental impact of manure is a critical challenge. This study, set in Flanders (Belgium), evaluates the effectiveness of integrating process intensification measures into the treatment of piggery manure to mitigate nitrogen (N) surplus issues. The research investigates the techno-economic benefits of implementing three key interventions: pure oxygen (PO) aeration, ammonia (NH) stripping-scrubbing (SS) pretreatment, and tertiary treatment using constructed wetlands (CW), within the conventional nitrification-denitrification (NDN) process.

HNRNPC haploinsufficiency affects alternative splicing of intellectual disability-associated genes and causes a neurodevelopmental disorder.

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein C (HNRNPC) is an essential, ubiquitously abundant protein involved in mRNA processing. Genetic variants in other members of the HNRNP family have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we describe 13 individuals with global developmental delay, intellectual disability, behavioral abnormalities, and subtle facial dysmorphology with heterozygous HNRNPC germline variants.

Vibro-acoustic sensing of tissue-instrument-interactions allows a differentiation of biological tissue in computerised palpation.

Background: The shift towards minimally invasive surgery is associated with a significant reduction of tactile information available to the surgeon, with compensation strategies ranging from vision-based techniques to the integration of sensing concepts into surgical instruments. Tactile information is vital for palpation tasks such as the differentiation of tissues or the characterisation of surfaces. This work investigates a new sensing approach to derive palpation-related information from vibration signals originating from instrument-tissue-interactions.

Vibro-Acoustic Sensing of Instrument Interactions as a Potential Source of Texture-Related Information in Robotic Palpation.

The direct tactile assessment of surface textures during palpation is an essential component of open surgery that is impeded in minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgery. When indirectly palpating with a surgical instrument, the structural vibrations from this interaction contain tactile information that can be extracted and analysed. This study investigates the influence of the parameters contact angle α and velocity v→ on the vibro-acoustic signals from this indirect palpation.

Dissolution rate and growth performance reveal struvite as a sustainable nutrient source to produce a diverse set of microbial protein.

To provide for the globally increasing demand for proteinaceous food, microbial protein (MP) has the potential to become an alternative food or feed source. Phosphorus (P), on the other hand, is a critical raw material whose global reserves are declining. Growing MP on recovered phosphorus, for instance, struvite obtained from wastewater treatment, is a promising MP production route that could supply protein-rich products while handling P scarcity.

Expanding the phenotype of children presenting with hypoventilation with biallelic TBCK pathogenic variants and literature review.

Individuals with biallelic TBCK pathogenic variants present in infancy with distinctive facial features, profound hypotonia, severe intellectual impairment and epilepsy. Although rare, it may mimic other neurogenetic disorders leading to extensive investigations. Improved understanding of the clinical phenotype can support early monitoring of complications due to respiratory insufficiency.

Association of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Use With Hospitalized Pneumonia in Medicare Beneficiaries 65 Years or Older With and Without Medical Conditions, 2014 to 2017.

Importance: The association of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) use with pneumonia hospitalization in older adults, especially those with underlying medical conditions, is not well described.

Objective: To evaluate the association of PCV13 use with pneumonia, non-health care-associated (non-HA) pneumonia, and lobar pneumonia (LP) hospitalization among US Medicare beneficiaries 65 years or older.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study with time-varying exposure assignment analyzed claims data from US Medicare beneficiaries 65 years or older enrolled in Parts A/B with a residence in the 50 US states or the District of Columbia by September 1, 2014.

Expanding the phenotype of TAB2 variants and literature review.

TAB2 is a gene located on chromosome 6q25.1 and plays a key role in development of the heart. Existing literature describes congenital heart disease as a common recognized phenotype of TAB2 gene variants, with evidence of a distinct syndromic phenotype also existing beyond this.

Surgeons' requirements for a surgical support system to improve laparoscopic access.

Creating surgical access is a critical step in laparoscopic surgery. Surgeons have to insert a sharp instrument such as the Veress needle or a trocar into the patient's abdomen until the peritoneal cavity is reached. They solely rely on their experience and distorted tactile feedback in that process, leading to a complication rate as high as 14% of all cases.

Genomic Prediction Can Provide Precise Estimates of the Genotypic Value of Barley Lines Evaluated in Unreplicated Trials.

Genomic prediction has been established in breeding programs to predict the genotypic values of selection candidates without phenotypic data. First results in wheat showed that genomic predictions can also prove useful to select among material for which phenotypic data are available. In such a scenario, the selection candidates are evaluated with low intensity in the field.

Further evidence for attenuated phenotype with variants in the BMPER gene causing DSD: Case report and literature review.

Diaphonospondylodysotosis (DSD) and ischiospinal dysostosis (ISD) are rare skeletal dysplasias with variants in the bone morphogenetic protein-binding endothelial regulator (BMPER). There is a continuum of clinical presentation, with DSD at the severe end of the spectrum whilst ISD is towards the milder end. Both are caused due to pathogenic variants in BMPER.

Expanding the phenotype of HNRNPU-related neurodevelopmental disorder with emphasis on seizure phenotype and review of literature.

Pathogenic variants in heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U (HNRNPU) results in a novel neurodevelopmental disorder recently delineated. Here, we report on 17 previously unpublished patients carrying HNRNPU pathogenic variants. All patients were found to harbor de novo loss-of-function variants except for one individual where the inheritance could not be determined, as a parent was unavailable for testing.

A bioreactor and nutrient balancing approach for the conversion of solid organic fertilizers to liquid nitrate-rich fertilizers: Mineralization and nitrification performance complemented with economic aspects.

Due to the high water- and nutrient-use efficiency, hydroponic cultivation is increasingly vital in progressing to environment-friendly food production. To further alleviate the environmental impacts of synthetic fertilizer production, the use of recovered nutrients should be encouraged in horticulture and agriculture at large. Solid organic fertilizers can largely contribute to this, yet their physical and chemical nature impedes application in hydroponics.

Report of two children with global developmental delay in association with de novo TLK2 variant and literature review.

We describe clinical details, including novel findings, of two further children with the newly defined TLK2-related disorder. One patient was recruited to the Deciphering Developmental Delay (DDD) Study to identify underlying etiology of global developmental delay. The other was detected on whole-exome sequencing as part of second line investigations following normal microarray.

Communication strategies in the prevention of type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes in vulnerable groups: a scoping review.

Background: The global prevalence of diabetes is nearly 9%, with an upward trend in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and gestational diabetes (GDM). Although evidence shows that vulnerable groups are affected disproportionally, these groups are difficult to reach in terms of preventive measures. Currently, there is no gold standard regarding communication strategies and/or public awareness campaigns.

Vascular Auscultation of Carotid Artery: Towards Biometric Identification and Verification of Individuals.

Background: Biometric sensing is a security method for protecting information and property. State-of-the-art biometric traits are behavioral and physiological in nature. However, they are vulnerable to tampering and forgery.

An integrated assessment of environmental, economic, social and technological parameters of source separated and conventional sanitation concepts: A contribution to sustainability analysis.

Resource recovery and reuse from domestic wastewater has become an important subject for the current development of sanitation technologies and infrastructures. Different technologies are available and combined into sanitation concepts, with different performances. This study provides a methodological approach to evaluate the sustainability of these sanitation concepts with focus on resource recovery and reuse.

Intrapartum group B Streptococcal prophylaxis and childhood weight gain.

Objective: To determine the difference in rate of weight gain from birth to 5 years based on exposure to maternal group B streptococcal (GBS) intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP).

Design: Retrospective cohort study of 13 804 infants.

Setting: Two perinatal centres and a primary paediatric care network in Philadelphia.

Intrapartum Antibiotic Exposure and Body Mass Index in Children.

Background: Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) reduces a newborn's risk of group B streptococcal infection (GBS) but may lead to an increased childhood body mass index (BMI).

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of infants (n = 223 431) born 2007-2015 in an integrated healthcare system. For vaginal delivery, we compared children exposed to GBS-IAP and to any other type or duration of intrapartum antibiotics to no antibiotic exposure.

A systematic comparison of commercially produced struvite: Quantities, qualities and soil-maize phosphorus availability.

Production of struvite (MgNHPO·6HO) from waste streams is increasingly implemented to recover phosphorus (P), which is listed as a critical raw material in the European Union (EU). To facilitate EU-wide trade of P-containing secondary raw materials such as struvite, the EU issued a revised fertilizer regulation in 2019. A comprehensive overview of the supply of struvite and its quality is presently missing.