Achievements, priorities and strategies in pediatric nephrology in Europe: need for unifying approaches or acceptance of differences?

Background: There is a lack of information on the current healthcare systems for children with kidney diseases across Europe. The aim of this study was to explore the different national approaches to the organization and delivery of pediatric nephrology services within Europe.

Methods: In 2020, the European society for Paediatric Nephrology (ESPN) conducted a cross-sectional survey to identify the existing pediatric nephrology healthcare systems in 48 European countries covering a population of more than 200 million children.

End-to-end multi-scale residual network with parallel attention mechanism for fault diagnosis under noise and small samples.

When the fault diagnosis datasets contains noise disturbances, small samples, compound faults, and mixed conditions, the feature extraction capability of the neural network will face significant challenges. This paper proposes an end-to-end multi-scale residual network with parallel attention mechanism to address the above complex problems. Firstly, the adaptive mixing pooling method is employed to facilitate the model's ability to retain effective feature information present within the timing signal.

Efficient wideband tunable radio frequency-optical conversion via triply resonant photonic molecules.

Electro-optic (EO) transduction of weak radio frequency (RF) and millimeter-wave signals, such as those received by an antenna, onto laser sidebands for processing in the optical domain requires efficient EO modulators. Microrings offer spatial density and efficiency advantages over Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs), but conventional single-ring modulators suffer a fundamental trade-off between resonantly enhanced conversion efficiency and the RF carrier frequency that it can accommodate. Dual-cavity "photonic molecule" modulators resolve this trade-off, allowing high efficiency independent of the RF carrier frequency by providing separate resonant supermodes to enhance the laser local oscillator (LO) and the narrowband RF-detuned sideband.

A Wireless, Multicolor Fluorescence Image Sensor Implant for Real-Time Monitoring in Cancer Therapy.

Real-time monitoring of dynamic biological processes in the body is critical to understanding disease progression and treatment response. This data, for instance, can help address the lower than 50% response rates to cancer immunotherapy. However, current clinical imaging modalities lack the molecular contrast, resolution, and chronic usability for rapid and accurate response assessments.

The interlink between thyroid autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes and the impact on male and female fertility.

The aim of this review is to discuss the several interconnections between thyroid autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes in terms of epidemiology, immunoserology, genetic predisposition, and pathogenic mechanisms. We will also analyze the impact of these conditions on both male and female fertility. A literature search was carried out using the MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Clinical Trials Registry databases with a combination of keywords.

Blood pressure cut-offs to diagnose impending hypertensive emergency depend on previous hypertension-mediated organ damage and comorbid conditions.

Background Hypertensive emergencies (HTN-E) are important due to a high risk of mortality. However, a sudden increase in blood pressure (BP) can damage target organs before the BP reaches cut-offs to diagnose HTN-E. We (i) analyse HTN guidelines for recommendations of treatment individualization, such as adjusting BP cut-offs for hypertensive urgency or impending HTN-E according to patient's susceptibility to complications (because of previous hypertension-mediated organ damage [HMOD], cardiovascular events and comorbid conditions), and (ii) provide a rationale for the inclusion of patient's susceptibility in protocols for treatment of acute HTN-E.

Severe Form of Salih Myopathy Caused by Combination of Two Heterozygous TTN Mutations.

Salih myopathy is autosomal recessive hereditary early-onset myopathy with fatal cardiomyopathy. It is a rare and heterogeneous form of congenital titinopathies (TTN). Affected children have delayed motor development, normal mental development, and in further course dilated cardiomyopathy.

Toward a Wireless Image Sensor for Real-Time Fluorescence Microscopy in Cancer Therapy.

We present a mm-sized, ultrasonically powered lensless CMOS image sensor as a progress towards wireless fluorescence microscopy. Access to biological information within the tissue has the potential to provide insights guiding diagnosis and treatment across numerous medical conditions including cancer therapy. This information, in conjunction with current clinical imaging techniques that have limitations in obtaining images continuously and lack wireless compatibility, can improve continual detection of multicell clusters deep within tissue.

Diversity of kidney care referral pathways in national child health systems of 48 European countries.

Background: Primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services in Europe create complex networks covering pediatric subspecialties, sociology, economics and politics. Two surveys of the European Society for Paediatric Nephrology (ESPN) in 1998 and 2017 revealed substantial disparities of kidney care among European countries. The purpose of the third ESPN survey is to further identify national differences in the conceptualization and organization of European pediatric kidney health care pathways during and outside normal working hours.

Ultrasonic fatigue of unfilled and carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK).

Fatigue properties of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and multiwall carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced PEEK were investigated with the ultrasonic fatigue testing method. Lifetimes were measured in the high and very high cycle fatigue regime at resonance frequency 19 kHz and load ratio R = -1. Pulse-pause loading served to avoid specimen self-heating and led to effective cycling frequencies in the range from several hundred Hz to about two kHz.

Towards A Wireless Image Sensor for Real-Time Fluorescence Microscopy in Cancer Therapy.

We present a mm-sized, ultrasonically powered lensless CMOS image sensor as a progress towards wireless fluorescence microscopy. Access to biological information within the tissue has the potential to provide insights guiding diagnosis and treatment across numerous medical conditions including cancer therapy. This information, in conjunction with current clinical imaging techniques that have limitations in obtaining images continuously and lack wireless compatibility, can improve continual detection of multicell clusters deep within tissue.

Q-learning based fault estimation and fault tolerant iterative learning control for MIMO systems.

This paper proposes a Q-learning based fault estimation (FE) and fault tolerant control (FTC) scheme under iterative learning control (ILC) framework. Due to the repetitive demands on control actuators for repetitive tasks, ILC is sensitive to actuator faults. Moreover, unknown faults varying with both time and trial axes pose a challenge to the control performance of ILC.

Data-driven control of hydraulic servo actuator: An event-triggered adaptive dynamic programming approach.

Hydraulic servo actuators (HSAs) are often used in the industry in tasks that request great power, high accuracy and dynamic motion. It is well known that an HSA is a highly complex nonlinear system, and that the system parameters cannot be accurately determined due to various uncertainties, an inability to measure some parameters and disturbances. This paper considers an event-triggered learning control problem of the HSA with unknown dynamics based on adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) via output feedback.

Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy Practices in Pediatric Intensive Care Units Across Europe.

Importance: Continuous kidney replacement therapy (CKRT) is the preferred method of kidney support for children with critical illness in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). However, there are no data on the current CKRT management practices in European PICUs.

Objective: To describe current CKRT practices across European PICUs.

Incidence of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Characteristics of Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Children and Adolescents during the First Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Vojvodina.

Background and Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes globally, which has also affected patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). This study aimed to determine the incidence of T1DM and the characteristics of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) during the pandemic comparing it to pre-pandemic period. Materials and Methods: Data from patients <19 years with newly diagnosed T1DM between 1st January 2017 and 31st December 2021 from four regional centers in Vojvodina were retrospectively collected and analyzed.

Real World Overall Survival of Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Treated With Only Available Sunitinib and Pazopanib in First-Line Setting.

Background: The emerging new standard of care for metastatic clear cell renal carcinoma (mRCC) becomes a challenge when access to new drugs is limited. In Serbia, sunitinib and pazopanib are the only available first-line therapies. The second-line treatment for mRCC has never been and is still not available.

Physical and Mental Aspects of Quality of Life in Patients With Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Type 1A.

Introduction: Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A (CMT1A) comprises ~50% of all CMT cases. CMT1A is a slowly progressive motor and sensory neuropathy that leads to significant disability. We aimed to investigate the quality of life (QoL) in Serbian patients with CMT1A and to assess sociodemographic and clinical features associated with their QoL.

Towards an Implantable Fluorescence Image Sensor for Real-Time Monitoring of Immune Response in Cancer Therapy.

Real-time monitoring of cellular-level changes inside the body provides key information regarding disease progression and therapy assessment for critical care including cancer therapy. Current state-of-the-art oncological imaging methods impose unnecessary latencies to detect small cell foci. Invasive methods such as biopsies, on the other hand, cause disruption if deployed on a repeated basis.

Asynchronous Fault Detection Observer for 2-D Markov Jump Systems.

In this article, the problem of the asynchronous fault detection (FD) observer design is discussed for 2-D Markov jump systems (MJSs) expressed by a Roesser model. In general, the FD observer cannot work synchronously with the system, that is, the mode of the observer varies with the mode of the system in line with some conditional transitional probabilities. For dealing with this difficult point, a hidden Markov model (HMM) is employed.

Fuzzy Fault Detection for Markov Jump Systems With Partly Accessible Hidden Information: An Event-Triggered Approach.

This article addresses the design issue of fuzzy asynchronous fault detection filter (FAFDF) for a class of nonlinear Markov jump systems by an event-triggered (ET) scheme. The ET scheme can be applied to cut down the transmission times from the system to FAFDF. It is assumed that the system modes cannot be obtained synchronously by the filter, and instead, there is a detector that can measure the estimated modes of the system.

Microfluidic Packaging Integration with Electronic-Photonic Biosensors Using 3D Printed Transfer Molding.

Multiplexed sensing in integrated silicon electronic-photonic platforms requires microfluidics with both high density micro-scale channels and meso-scale features to accommodate for optical, electrical, and fluidic coupling in small, millimeter-scale areas. Three-dimensional (3D) printed transfer molding offers a facile and rapid method to create both micro and meso-scale features in complex multilayer microfluidics in order to integrate with monolithic electronic-photonic system-on-chips with multiplexed rows of 5 μm radius micro-ring resonators (MRRs), allowing for simultaneous optical, electrical, and microfluidic coupling on chip. Here, we demonstrate this microfluidic packaging strategy on an integrated silicon photonic biosensor, setting the basis for highly multiplexed molecular sensing on-chip.

Human anterior pituitary's ACTH cells during the aging process: immunohistochemic and morphometric study.

Corticotrophs produce a hormone that stimulates the adrenal gland cortex to secrete glucocorticoids, which in turn have effects on carbohydrate and protein metabolism. Quantification, morphological characteristics, and distribution of corticotrophs in the anterior pituitary and changes in the number and shape of the cells during aging have been examined using immunohistochemical and morphometric methods. The material consisted of 14 anterior pituitaries taken from cadavers at routine autopsy.

Morphometric analysis of the epineurial and endoneurial blood vessels of the human sciatic nerve in relation to aging.

The aim of this research is to perform an analysis of the epineurial and endoneurial blood vessels in relation to aging. The research is conducted on samples of the human sciatic nerve of 12 case (age from 27 to 89). The histological sections are stained by streptavidin-biotin method of detecting the presence of Type IV collagen.