Consumer perspectives on the national electronic health record and barriers to its adoption in Germany: does health policy require a change in communication?

Background: The national health record (ePA) was introduced January 1, 2021 in Germany and is available to every person insured under statutory health insurance. This study investigated the acceptance and expectations of the national health record in Germany, focusing on consumer perspectives, expectations, barriers, information needs, and communication aspects.

Methods: An exploratory, observational, cross-sectional online survey was conducted one year after ePA introduction, followed by descriptive statistical analysis.

Leveraging nanoparticle environmental health and safety research in the study of micro- and nano-plastics.

Lessons learned, methodologies, and application of tools that have been developed within the context of research on the environmental impacts, health, and safety of nanomaterials (nano-EHS) provide a solid foundation for research on nano/microplastics. In this communication, we summarize key discoveries obtained through major research efforts over the last two decades in the area of nano-EHS that are applicable for the study of micro- and nano-plastics (referred to here more generally as particulate plastics). We focus on how non-equilibrium particle transport processes affect: 1) bio-physico-chemical mechanisms of particle toxicity and determining dose-response relationships; 2) the potential for biouptake, bioaccumulation, translocation, trophic transfer and intergenerational effects of particulate contaminants; 3) extrapolations from laboratory experiments to complex systems and the impact of environmental transformations; 4) the formulation of functional assays as a basis for predicting the impacts of particulate contaminants in complex environments; 5) the relative importance of incidental particles compared with engineered particles and, 6) experience with data platforms, curation, and experimental design.

Development of the two-factor modified Kids Eating Disorder Survey (M-KEDS): a validation study with hispanic adolescents.

Background: Disordered eating behaviors and body dissatisfaction are highly prevalent among adolescents and linked to negative health outcomes. While Hispanic adolescents appear to be at high risk of disordered eating and body dissatisfaction, validated tools for assessment of these health concerns among this population are lacking.

Methods: This study used Confirmatory Factor Analysis to establish factorial validity for the Kids Eating Disorder Survey (KEDS) among a community sample of Hispanic adolescents.

Low bias charge transport in DNA.

The low-bias current-voltage technique was utilized to study charge transport in single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), assessing the method's effectiveness for future studies aimed at estimating the degree of mutation or DNA damage. In the paper, we showed that charge carrier transfer processes in ssDNA can be precisely monitored using low-bias currents. We used negative differential resistance and the Fowler-Nordheim model to differentiate the charge transport mechanisms observed in a device composed of gold electrode-thiol-ssDNA junctions.

Methods for the Characterization of the Colloidal Properties of Bacterial Membrane Vesicles.

Bacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs) are extracellular vesicles secreted by either Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria. These BMVs typically possess a diameter between 20 and 250 nm. Due to their size, when these BMVs are suspended in another medium, they could be constituents of a colloidal system.

Spontaneous piezoeletric effect as evidence of ferroelastoelectricity in guanidine zinc sulfate crystal.

The crystal of [C(NH)]Zn(SO) guanidine zinc sulfate was grown and its structure, dilatometric, dielectric, elastic and piezoelectric properties were studied in a broad temperature range, covering the phase transition point. The crystal undergoes a continuous phase transition at 178 K from the room temperature tetragonal phase with a space group to the tetragonal low temperature phase with a space group . The structural X-ray studies allowed proposing molecular mechanism associated with the rearrangement in the configuration of N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and reorientation of guanidine cations in the structure, leading to a change in the symmetry of the low temperature phase.

Presence of integrons and their correlation with multidrug resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium: Exploratory systematic review.

In Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (Typhimurium), multidrug resistance is associated with integrons carrying resistance genes dispersed by mobile genetic elements. This exploratory systematic review sought to identify integron types and their resistance genes in multidrug resistance Typhimurium isolates. We used Medline, PubMed, SciELO, ScienceDirect, Redalyc, and Google Scholar as motor searchers for articles in Spanish or English published between 2012 and 2020, including the keywords “integrons”, “antibiotic resistance”, and “Salmonella Typhimurium”.

Investigating the use of CaCO particles synthesized in the Ca(OH)-CO-HO system for organic matter removal: adsorption efficiency and recyclability.

In this study, we experimentally investigate the production and characterization of CaCO particles through the carbonation process of Ca(OH) and evaluate their potential application in removing organic matter. The CaCO particles were characterized using BET, SEM-EDX, FT-IR, particle size, and XRD techniques. Adsorption of organic matter was studied using synthetic solutions and samples from two surface water sources.

Bidirectional Associations of Mental Health with Self-Reported Criminal Offending Over Time for At-Risk Early Adult Men in the USA.

Criminal offending and mental health problems often co-occur. This study examined competing models to understand bidirectional associations between crime and mental health problems over time among at-risk men in the U.S.

Knowledge and Instance Mapping: architecture for premeditated interoperability of disparate data for materials.

Predicting and elucidating the impacts of materials on human health and the environment is an unending task that has taken on special significance in the context of nanomaterials research over the last two decades. The properties of materials in environmental and physiological media are dynamic, reflecting the complex interactions between materials and these media. This dynamic behavior requires special consideration in the design of databases and data curation that allow for subsequent comparability and interrogation of the data from potentially diverse sources.

Extracellular Vesicles and Bacteriophages: New Directions in Environmental Biocolloid Research.

There is a long-standing appreciation among environmental engineers and scientists regarding the importance of biologically derived colloidal particles and their environmental fate. This interest has been recently renewed in considering bacteriophages and extracellular vesicles, which are each poised to offer engineers unique insights into fundamental aspects of environmental microbiology and novel approaches for engineering applications, including advances in wastewater treatment and sustainable agricultural practices. Challenges persist due to our limited understanding of interactions between these nanoscale particles with unique surface properties and their local environments.

DE-Lemma: A Maximum-Entropy Based Lemmatizer for German Medical Text.

When processing written German language, it is helpful, to use the base form (or: lemma) of possibly inflected words, such as verbs, nouns or named entities. However, for German text from the (bio)medical domain, e.g.

Characterizing the Transport and Surface Affinity of Extracellular Vesicles Isolated from Yeast and Bacteria in Well-Characterized Porous Media.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-bounded, nanosized particles, produced and secreted by all biological cell types. EVs are ubiquitous in the environment, operating in various roles including intercellular communication and plant immune modulation. Despite their ubiquity, the role of EV surface chemistry in determining transport has been minimally investigated.

Class 1 integrons in clinical and swine industry isolates of Typhimurium from Colombia, dating 1997 to 2017.

subsp. serovar Typhimurium (. Typhimurium) has been linked to outbreaks of foodborne gastroenteritis disease, and the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant clones.

Bringing sex toys out of the dark: exploring unmitigated risks.

Unlabelled: A majority of American adults report having used sex toys, which, by design, interact with intimate and permeable body parts yet have not been subject to sufficient risk assessment or management. Physical and chemical data are presented examining potential risks associated with four types of currently available sex toys: anal toy, beads, dual vibrator, and external vibrator. A standardized abrasion machine made real-time breakdown of products into microplastics and nanoplastics.

Comparative electrokinetic properties of extracellular vesicles produced by yeast and bacteria.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-sized, biocolloidal proteoliposomes that have been shown to be produced by all cell types studied to date and are ubiquitous in the environment. Extensive literature on colloidal particles has demonstrated the implications of surface chemistry on transport behavior. Hence, one may anticipate that physicochemical properties of EVs, particularly surface charge-associated properties, may influence EV transport and specificity of interactions with surfaces.

A multi-species evaluation of digital wildlife monitoring using the Sigfox IoT network.

Bio-telemetry from small tags attached to animals is one of the principal methods for studying the ecology and behaviour of wildlife. The field has constantly evolved over the last 80 years as technological improvement enabled a diversity of sensors to be integrated into the tags (e.g.

Persisting sicca complaints in sarcoidosis.

Background: Sarcoidosis is a systemic inflammatory disease that is characterized by non-caseating granulomas. Besides the lung as classical site of involvement, extrapulmonary manifestations are common, for example cervical lymph nodes or the salivary glands. The aim of this investigation is the analysis of the long-term course of glandular symptoms with a focus on persisting sicca symptoms.

Investigating and Modeling the Regulation of Extracellular Antibiotic Resistance Gene Bioavailability by Naturally Occurring Nanoparticles.

Extracellular antibiotic resistance genes (eARGs) are widespread in the environment and can genetically transform bacteria. This work examined the role of environmentally relevant nanoparticles (NPs) in regulating eARG bioavailability. eARGs extracted from antibiotic-resistant were incubated with nonresistant recipient cells.

Electron-phonon coupling in copper intercalated Bi[Formula: see text]Se[Formula: see text].

We report charge and heat transport studies in copper-intercalated topological insulator Bi[Formula: see text]Se[Formula: see text] hybrid devices. Measured conductivity shows impact of quantum corrections, electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions. Our shot noise measurements reveal that heat flux displays a crossover between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] with the increase of temperature.

Relationship between Atomic Force Microscopy and Centrifugation Measurements for Dust Fractions Implicated in Solar Panel Soiling.

This work tests the reliability of a simple, rapid centrifugal technique to estimate the removal force necessary to detach common airborne particles from the surface of a photovoltaic panel. Previously, we have used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to obtain the surface-particle adhesion force for different pollutant types that generally contribute to panel soiling. To overcome the limitations of AFM, the same particles were studied as a population using an ultracentrifuge.

Readability of English, German, and Russian Disease-Related Wikipedia Pages: Automated Computational Analysis.

Background: Wikipedia is a popular encyclopedia for health- and disease-related information in which patients seek advice and guidance on the web. Yet, Wikipedia articles can be unsuitable as patient education materials, as investigated in previous studies that analyzed specific diseases or medical topics with a comparatively small sample size. Currently, no data are available on the average readability levels of all disease-related Wikipedia pages for the different localizations of this particular encyclopedia.

Multimodal Evaluation of Long-Term Salivary Gland Alterations in Sarcoidosis.

Background: Sarcoidosis is a systemic inflammatory disease characterized by non-caseating granulomas. In addition to the lungs as classical site of affection, extrapulmonary manifestations are common, for example in the cervical lymph nodes or the salivary glands. The aim of this investigation is the analysis of the long-term course of glandular symptoms and the sonographic evaluation of long-term salivary gland changes.