Abnormal Venous Flow in Pregnant Women with Mild Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot: A Clinical Model for Organ Dysfunction in Preeclampsia.

Pregnant women with congenital heart disease carry a high risk of complications, especially when cardiac function is suboptimal. Increasing evidence suggests that impaired right ventricular (RV) function has a negative effect on placental function, possibly through venous congestion. We report a case series of hepatic and renal venous flow patterns in pregnant women with right ventricular dysfunction after repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF), relative to those observed in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.

Sex-based differences in risk of revision for infection after hip, knee, shoulder, and ankle arthroplasty in osteoarthritis patients: a multinational registry study of 4,800,000 implants.

Background And Purpose:  We aimed to determine sex differences for periprosthetic joint infections after primary arthroplasty of the hip, knee, ankle, and shoulder in osteoarthritis patients in an international perspective.

Methods:  This is a multinational combined arthroplasty registry study. Each arthroplasty registry performed Cox-regression analysis of their data and reported the crude and adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with an a priori designed data form.

Metabolic Changes After Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction With Endobronchial Valves in COPD Patients.

Objectives: Little is known about the effect of bronchoscopic lung volume reduction using endobronchial valves (BLVR-EBV) on extrapulmonary manifestations like body composition, muscle function or metabolism. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) clearly addresses extrapulmonary manifestations of COPD, including physical inactivity and low muscle mass. However, the added impact of BLVR-EBV+PR remains unknown.

Validation of Impact Forces Estimated by Wearable Device VERT in Volleyball.

De Bleecker, C, Vermeulen, S, Willems, T, Segers, V, Spanhove, V, Leys, R, Vanrenterghem, J, and De Ridder, R. Validation of impact forces estimated by wearable device VERT in volleyball validation impact forces VERT. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2024-As volleyball players are exposed to high volumes of forceful jump-landing actions, the risk of injuries is increased.

The Utility of High-Intensity, Intermittent Exercise Protocols to Induce Fatigue for Screening Purposes in Jump-Landing Sports.

Short-term fatigue protocols simulating sports participation are scarce and not well-documented in jump-landing sports. Therefore, this study investigated physiological and physical responses following high-intensity, intermittent exercise protocols (HIIPs) with a standardized level of subjective exhaustion (Borg ≥18/20) and a modified fixed version of five circuits (HIIP-5) for future inclusion in biomechanical screening protocols. Twenty male volleyball and basketball players participated in this study to complete the HIIP and the HIIP-5.

Cardiac output drop reflects circulatory attrition after Fontan completion: serial cardiac magnetic resonance study.

Aims: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is a main diagnostic tool in the follow-up of Fontan patients. However, the value of serial CMR for the evaluation of Fontan attrition is unknown. The aim of this prospective study of serial CMR is to describe the analysis of time-dependent evolution of blood flow distribution, ventricular volumes, and function in patients after Fontan completion.

How reliable are lower limb biomechanical evaluations during volleyball-specific jump-landing tasks?

Background: Biomechanical evaluations of sport-specific jump-landing tasks may provide a more ecologically valid interpretation compared to generic jump-landing tasks. For accurate interpretation of longitudinal research, it is essential to understand the reliability of biomechanical parameters of sport-specific jump-landing tasks.

Research Question: How reliable are hip, knee and ankle joint angles and moment curves during two volleyball-specific jump-landing tasks and is this comparable with the reliability of a generic jump-landing task?

Methods: Three-dimensional (3D) biomechanical analyses of 27 male volleyball players were performed in two sessions separated by one week.

A UPLC-MS/MS method for quantification of metabolites in the ethylene biosynthesis pathway and its biological validation in Arabidopsis.

The plant hormone ethylene is of vital importance in the regulation of plant development and stress responses. Recent studies revealed that 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) plays a role beyond its function as an ethylene precursor. However, the absence of reliable methods to quantify ACC and its conjugates malonyl-ACC (MACC), glutamyl-ACC (GACC), and jasmonyl-ACC (JA-ACC) hinders related research.

Clinically assessed lumbopelvic sensorimotor control tests in low back pain: are they actually valid? A systematic review according to COSMIN guidelines.

Background: Impairments in lumbopelvic sensorimotor control (SMC) are thought to be one of the underlying mechanisms for the recurrence and persistence of low back pain (LBP). As such, lumbopelvic SMC tests are frequently included in the clinical examination of patients with LBP.

Objective: To evaluate convergent and known-groups validity of clinically assessed lumbopelvic SMC tests in patients with LBP according to COSMIN guidelines.

Maximal Exercise Tolerance, Objective Trunk Strength, and Mobility Measurements in Axial Spondyloarthritis.

Objective: Although exercise therapy is safe, effective, and recommended as a nonpharmacological treatment for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), there is a lack of guidelines regarding type and dosage. Insufficient knowledge about physical and physiological variables makes designing effective exercise programs challenging. Therefore, the goal of this study was to simultaneously assess trunk strength, spinal mobility, and the cardiorespiratory fitness of patients with axSpA.

Assessing the trophic ecology and migration on the exposure of cape petrels and Wilson's storm petrels from Antarctica to perfluoroalkylated substances, trace and major elements.

Chemical pollution is a global concern as contaminants are transported and reach even the remote regions of Antarctica. Seabirds serve as important sentinels of pollution due to their high trophic position and wide distribution. This study examines the influence of migration and trophic ecology on the exposure of two Antarctic seabirds, Wilson's storm petrel (Oceanites oceanicus - Ooc), and Cape petrel (Daption capense - Dca), to chemical elements and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Growth Hormones in Broad Bean ( L.) and Radish ( subsp. L.) Are Associated with Accumulated Concentrations of Perfluoroalkyl Substances.

In this study, we grew radish ( subsp. L.) and broad beans ( L.

Cardiac and intramuscular adaptations following short-term exercise prehabilitation in unfit patients scheduled to undergo hepatic or pancreatic surgery: study protocol of a multinuclear MRI study.

Introduction: Short-term exercise prehabilitation programmes have demonstrated promising results in improving aerobic capacity of unfit patients prior to major abdominal surgery. However, little is known about the cardiac and skeletal muscle adaptations explaining the improvement in aerobic capacity following short-term exercise prehabilitation.

Methods And Analysis: In this single-centre study with a pretest-post-test design, 12 unfit patients with a preoperative oxygen uptake (VO) at the ventilatory anaerobic threshold ≤13 mL/kg/min and/or VO at peak exercise ≤18 mL/kg/min, who are scheduled to undergo hepatopancreatobiliary surgery at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), the Netherlands, will be recruited.

An exploratory in silico comparison of open-source codon harmonization tools.

Background: Not changing the native constitution of genes prior to their expression by a heterologous host can affect the amount of proteins synthesized as well as their folding, hampering their activity and even cell viability. Over the past decades, several strategies have been developed to optimize the translation of heterologous genes by accommodating the difference in codon usage between species. While there have been a handful of studies assessing various codon optimization strategies, to the best of our knowledge, no research has been performed towards the evaluation and comparison of codon harmonization algorithms.

Assessment of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in commercially available drinking straws using targeted and suspect screening approaches.

Many food contact materials (FCMs) and reusable plastics in the food industry contain poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of synthetic pollutants that are known to be potentially harmful for wildlife, humans, and the environment. PFAS may migrate from FCMs to food consumed by humans. As a replacement for plastics, often paper and other plant-based materials are used in commercial settings.

Decreased Muscle Strength in Children With Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot: Relation With Exercise Capacity.

Background The aim of this study is to describe muscle strength in pediatric patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot compared with healthy peers and to analyze the correlation between muscle strength and peak oxygen uptake, exercise capacity (mL/min). Methods and Results A prospective, cross-sectional study was carried out in the University Medical Center Groningen between March 2016 and December 2019, which included 8 -to-19-year-old patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot. Exclusion criteria comprised the following: Down syndrome, unstable pulmonary disease and severe scoliosis affecting pulmonary function, neuromuscular disease, and mental or physical limitations that prohibit the execution of the functional tests.

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Derived Left Ventricular Eccentricity Index and Right Ventricular Mass Measurements Predict Outcome in Children with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is associated with increased right ventricular (RV) afterload, affecting RV remodeling and RV performance, a major determinant of outcome in PAH-patients. In children with PAH, treatment strategy is guided by risk stratification where noninvasive prognosticators are highly needed. The prognostic value of RV characteristics derived by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has been scarcely studied in pediatric PAH.

The Effect of Fatigue on Trunk and Pelvic Jump-Landing Biomechanics in View of Lower Extremity Loading: A Systematic Review.

Fatigue has often been considered a risk factor for developing sports injuries, modulating lower extremity jump-landing biomechanics. The impact of fatigue on proximal trunk and pelvic biomechanics has been suggested to play an important role in lower extremity loading and injury risk, yet the available evidence remains ambiguous as the trunk and pelvis were often not the primary focus of research. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to determine how fatigue affects trunk and pelvic three-dimensional jump-landing biomechanics.

Accumulation and effects of perfluoroalkyl substances in Arabidopsis thaliana in a temperature-dependent manner: an in vitro study.

The replacement of long-chained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with their short-chained homologues may have an impact on the accumulation in plants. The extent to which PFAS are absorbed by plants may differ among species and may depend on environmental factors, including temperature. The effect of an increased temperature on root uptake and translocation of PFAS in plants has been poorly studied.

Impact of (long) COVID on athletes' performance: a prospective study in elite football players.

Objectives: To investigate possible persistent performance deficits after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in elite athletes.

Methods: A prospective cohort study in three Belgian professional male football teams was performed during the 2020 - 2021 season. Participants were submitted to and sprint tests and an aerobic performance test (the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery test (YYIR)).

Diffuse Myocardial Fibrosis on Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Is Related to Galectin-3 and Predicts Outcome in Heart Failure.

Aims: Ongoing adverse remodeling is a hallmark of heart failure (HF), which might be reflected by either focal or diffuse myocardial fibrosis. Therefore, in (pre)clinical settings, we used immunohistochemistry or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) to investigate the association of (focal or diffuse) fibrosis with cardiac biomarkers and adverse events in HF.

Methods And Results: In C57Bl/6J mice, we determined the presence and extent of myocardial fibrosis 6 weeks post-myocardial infarction (MI).