Mild Stroke, Serious Problems: Limitations in Balance and Gait Capacity and the Impact on Fall Rate, and Physical Activity.

Background: After mild stroke persistent balance limitations may occur, creating a risk factor for fear of falling, falls, and reduced activity levels. To investigate whether individuals in the chronic phase after mild stroke show balance and gait limitations, elevated fall risk, reduced balance confidence, and physical activity levels compared to healthy controls.

Methods: An observational case-control study was performed.

Effect of a novel endoscope cleaning brush on duodenoscope contamination.

Background: Current duodenoscope reprocessing protocols are insufficient to prevent contamination and require adaptations to prevent endoscopy-associated infections (EAIs). This study aimed to investigate the effect of a new endoscope cleaning brush on the contamination rate of ready-to-use duodenoscopes.

Methods: This retrospective before-and-after intervention study collected duodenoscope surveillance culture results from March 2018 to June 2022.

Fetal and post-natal outcomes in offspring after intrauterine metformin exposure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of animal experiments.

Aims: The impact of maternal metformin use during pregnancy on fetal, infant, childhood and adolescent growth, development, and health remains unclear. Our objective was to systematically review the available evidence from animal experiments on the effects of intrauterine metformin exposure on offspring's anthropometric, cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PUBMED and EMBASE from inception (searched on 12th April 2023).

Plasma neurofilament light chain in association to late-life depression in the general population.

Aim: Investigating what is underlying late-life depression is becoming increasingly important with the rapidly growing elderly population. Yet, the associations between plasma biomarkers of neuroaxonal damage and late-life depression remain largely unclear. Therefore, we determined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of neurofilament light chain (NfL) with depression in middle-aged and elderly individuals, and total tau, β-amyloid 40 and 42 for comparison.

Apolipoprotein-CIII -Glycosylation, a Link between and Plasma Lipids.

Apolipoprotein-CIII (apo-CIII) is involved in triglyceride-rich lipoprotein metabolism and linked to beta-cell damage, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease. Apo-CIII exists in four main proteoforms: non-glycosylated (apo-CIII), and glycosylated apo-CIII with zero, one, or two sialic acids (apo-CIII, apo-CIII and apo-CIII). Our objective is to determine how apo-CIII glycosylation affects lipid traits and type 2 diabetes prevalence, and to investigate the genetic basis of these relations with a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on apo-CIII glycosylation.

Changes in coercive parenting and child externalizing behavior across COVID-19 and the moderating role of parent-child attachment relationship quality.

Research indicates increases in coercive parenting towards children and increases in child externalizing behavior during COVID-19 as compared to the pre-pandemic period. In this preregistered study, we extended previous knowledge by investigating to what extent, and under what conditions, changes in coercive parenting and child externalizing behavior are interrelated. Ninety-five mothers and fathers of children (of age 3 prior to the pandemic) reported on coercive parenting and child externalizing behavior before and during the pandemic, and trained assistants observed the quality of mother-child and father-child attachment relationship prior to the pandemic.

Development of an epigenetic age predictor for costal cartilage with a simultaneous somatic tissue differentiation system.

Age prediction from DNA has been a topic of interest in recent years due to the promising results obtained when using epigenetic markers. Since DNA methylation gradually changes across the individual's lifetime, prediction models have been developed accordingly for age estimation. The tissue-dependence for this biomarker usually necessitates the development of tissue-specific age prediction models, in this way, multiple models for age inference have been constructed for the most commonly encountered forensic tissues (blood, oral mucosa, semen).

Induction of broad multifunctional CD8+ and CD4+ T cells by hepatitis B virus antigen-based synthetic long peptides .

Introduction: Therapeutic vaccination based on synthetic long peptides (SLP) containing both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell epitopes is a promising treatment strategy for chronic hepatitis B infection (cHBV).

Methods: We designed SLPs for three HBV proteins, HBcAg and the non-secreted proteins polymerase and X, and investigated their ability to induce T cell responses . A set of 17 SLPs was constructed based on viral protein conservation, functionality, predicted and validated binders for prevalent human leukocyte antigen (HLA) supertypes, validated HLA I epitopes, and chemical producibility.

Factors Associated with Treatment Outcome Satisfaction Six Months after Upper Blepharoplasty: A Large Cohort Study.

Background: Upper blepharoplasty is the most popular facial cosmetic surgery. Although there are a variety of reasons to undergo this procedure, all patients expect an optimal cosmetic result. However, little is known about the factors that influence satisfaction with treatment outcome.

Incidence and management of mallet finger in Dutch primary care: a cohort study.

Background: A mallet finger (MF) is diagnosed clinically and can be managed in primary care. The actual incidence of MF and how it is managed in primary care is unknown.

Aim: To determine the incidence of MF in primary care and to obtain estimates for the proportions of osseous and tendon MF.

Long-term consequences of juvenile vulvar lichen sclerosus: A cohort study of adults with a histologically confirmed diagnosis in childhood or adolescence.

Introduction: Vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS) occurs in at least one in 900 girls. There is limited knowledge as to what extent the disease persists in adulthood and what the repercussions in adulthood may be. The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term consequences of VLS diagnosed in childhood or adolescence.

Young-onset dementia in memory clinics in the Netherlands: Study design and description of PRECODE-GP.

The disease trajectory and healthcare requirements of patients with young-onset dementia (YOD) differ from those of older patients. Accurate data about YOD is crucial to improve diagnosis and optimize care. PRECODE-GP aims to set up a prospective national database of patients with YOD to gain insight into the occurrence and characteristics of patients with YOD in memory clinics in the Netherlands.

Associations between prenatal maternal stress, maternal inflammation during pregnancy, and children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms throughout childhood.

Background: Maternal immune activation is a potential mechanism underlying associations between maternal stress during pregnancy and offspring mental health problems. This study examined associations between prenatal maternal stress, maternal inflammation during pregnancy, and children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms from 3 to 10 years of age, and whether maternal inflammation mediated the associations between prenatal maternal stress and children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Methods: This study comprised 4,902 mother-child dyads in the Generation R study.

Perceived adherence and associated barriers to the national atopic dermatitis guideline: A survey among general practitioners.

Background: General practitioners (GPs) have an important role in managing patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). Although pivotal, adherence to dermatological guidelines in general practice has not been assessed.

Objectives: To assess GPs' perceived adherence and barriers to the Dutch AD guideline.

Factors associated with meniscus volume in knees free of degenerative features.

Objectives: To explore factors that were associated with meniscus volume in knees free of radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) features and symptoms of OA.

Methods: In the third Rotterdam Study cohort, clinical, radiographic, and magnetic resonance data were obtained at baseline (BL) and after 5 years of follow-up. Meniscus volumes and their change over time were calculated after semi-automatic segmentation on Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis control in Indonesia: a nationwide longitudinal analysis of programme data.

Background: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis control in high-burden countries has not been adequately assessed. We aimed to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the national tuberculosis programme in Indonesia, in association with indicators of human development and health-system capacity across all 514 districts in 34 provinces.

Methods: We did a nationwide longitudinal analysis to compare tuberculosis case notification, treatment coverage, and mortality rates in Indonesia before (2016-19) and during (2020-21) the COVID-19 pandemic.

Edge Enhancement Optimization in Flexible Endoscopic Images to the Perception of Ear, Nose and Throat Professionals.

Objectives: Digital endoscopes are connected to a video processor that applies various operations to process the image. One of those operations is edge enhancement that sharpens the image. The purpose of this study was to (1) quantify the level of edge enhancement, (2) measure the effect on sharpness and image noise, and (3) study the influence of edge enhancement on image quality perceived by ENT professionals.

Contact investigations for antibiotic-resistant bacteria: a mixed-methods study of patients' comprehension of and compliance with self-sampling requests post-discharge.

Background: Contact investigation is an important tool to identify unrecognized patients who are colonized with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Many Dutch hospitals include already discharged contact patients by sending them a self-sampling request at home, incl. an information letter and sampling materials.

Prenatal assessment of pulmonary vasculature development in fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia: A literature review.

Pathophysiological studies have shown that pulmonary vascular development is impaired in fetuses with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), leading to a simplified vascular tree and increased vascular resistance. Multiple studies have described prenatal ultrasound parameters for the assessment of the pulmonary vasculature, but none of these parameters are used in daily clinical practice. We provide a comprehensive review of the literature published between January 1990 and February 2022 describing these parameters, and aim to explain the clinical relevance of these parameters from what is known from pathophysiological studies.

On Navigating Analytical Choices in Research on Early Life Adversity: A Commentary on Sisitsky et al. (2023).

Early life adversities (ELA), including exposure to childhood maltreatment, deprivation or community violence, rarely occur in isolation. This co-occurrence poses several conceptual and methodological challenges for researchers, who must decide how best to model ELA and its association with outcomes. In this commentary, we discuss how different analytical choices come with their own - often complementary - sets of assumptions, strengths and limitations, which should be carefully considered when designing research on ELA.

Exploring Metabolomic Patterns in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Response to Glucose-Lowering Medications-Review.

The spectrum of information related to precision medicine in diabetes generally includes clinical data, genetics, and omics-based biomarkers that can guide personalized decisions on diabetes care. Given the remarkable progress in patient risk characterization, there is particular interest in using molecular biomarkers to guide diabetes management. Metabolomics is an emerging molecular approach that helps better understand the etiology and promises the identification of novel biomarkers for complex diseases.