Medical student training with next-generation handheld ultrasound devices - hands on examination of fetal biometry in obstetrics.

Introduction: The technical development of ultrasound devices based on silicon chips has revolutionized ultrasound examinations, leading to the implementation of these portable handheld devices (PUD) in different medical fields. However, training on these devices is necessary to assure appropriate use and ensure valid results. While training programs for the use of conventional standard ultrasound devices (SUD) have been described, no training program for these handheld devices has been developed thus far.

Nursing staff and supervisors perceptions on stress and resilience: a qualitative study.

Background: Supervisor-subordinate relationship is high relevant in dealing with work-related stress and providing a compassionate, high-quality, and safe nursing care while meeting the needs of the hospital. Our aim was to assess the predisposing risk and resilience factors of the stress of nursing staff as well as to explore the common and distinctive perceptions of these factors between nurses without a managerial position (nursing staff) and employees in a supervising position (nurse managers, ward nurses).

Design: Generic qualitative study using half-standardized interviews.

An analysis of heavy silicone oil treatment for inferior proliferative vitreoretinopathy.

Purpose: Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is a complication of retinal detachment which requires multiple vitreoretinal surgical interventions and frequent use of oil endotamponade. In this study, we conducted an in-depth analysis of complications associated with the use of heavy silicone oil in the management of inferior PVR.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 20 eyes that underwent vitrectomy for inferior PVR with use of heavy silicone oil (Densiron 68) between March 2021 and October 2022 at Oxford Eye Hospital.

The proof is in the pudding: patient engagement in studying cannabidiol in mild cognitive impairment.

Background: Patient engagement (PE) in clinical trials has gained importance yet remains uncommon, particularly in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a critical precursor to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cannabidiol (CBD) shows potential in slowing MCI progression due to its neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties. In CBD research, PE is underutilized too.

'They went for the test together but came back separately': a constructivist grounded theory perspective on male engagement in antenatal HIV testing in Bamenda, Cameroon.

Introduction: Male engagement in HIV testing during pregnancy significantly contributes towards the prevention of maternal seroconversion and paediatric HIV acquisition. Despite this, men especially the male partners of pregnant women have been consistently missing in the HIV prevention cascade. The factors accounting for sub-optimal levels in male engagement intersect but reasons for this are poorly understood.

Medication patterns and potentially inappropriate medication in patients with metastatic breast cancer: results of the BRE-BY-MED study.

Background: The treatment of metastatic breast cancer (mBC) focuses on prolonging patient survival, providing adequate symptom management, and maintaining quality of life (QoL). This includes supportive therapy to prevent or treat potential side effects and handle comorbidities. The combination of mBC therapy, supportive therapy, and treatment for comorbidities increases the risk for polypharmacy, potential drug-drug interactions (pDDI), potentially inappropriate medication (PIM), and potentially missing drugs (pMD).

Positive real-time PCR in pneumococcal meningitis 12 hours after initiation of antibiotic therapy - case report.

Background: Purulent meningitis poses a significant clinical challenge with high mortality. We present the case of a 54-year-old female transferred to our emergency department with suspected bacterial meningitis, later diagnosed as an Austrian syndrome.

Case Presentation: The patient exhibited subacute somnolence, severe headache, nausea and fever.

Nationwide representative serosurvey of third-grade school children to evaluate the hepatitis B vaccination impact in Kyrgyzstan, 2022.

Background: Kyrgyzstan introduced universal hepatitis B childhood vaccination in 1999 to reduce the burden of hepatitis B. In 2016, aligned with the goal of controlling hepatitis B in the WHO European Region, a regional target of 0.5% was set for seroprevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among targeted birth cohorts.

The risks of adverse events with mirtazapine for adults with major depressive disorder: a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.

Background: Mirtazapine is used to treat depression worldwide, and the effects of mirtazapine on depression rating scales are well-known. Our primary objective was to assess the risks of adverse events with mirtazapine for major depressive disorder.

Methods: We searched relevant sources from inception to 7 March 2024 for randomised clinical trials comparing mirtazapine versus placebo in adults with major depressive disorder.

Safety and efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 93,057 minor stroke patients.

Background: The definition of minor ischemic stroke (MIS) is a topic of debate, however, the most accepted definition is a stroke with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) ≤ 5. Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) is a crucial treatment option for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) including: alteplase, recombinant human tissue-type plasminogen activator (r-tPA), and the recently approved tenecteplase. However, there is a debate regarding its safety and efficacy.

Joint embedding-classifier learning for interpretable collaborative filtering.

Background: Interpretability is a topical question in recommender systems, especially in healthcare applications. An interpretable classifier quantifies the importance of each input feature for the predicted item-user association in a non-ambiguous fashion.

Results: We introduce the novel Joint Embedding Learning-classifier for improved Interpretability (JELI).

Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses elucidate the mechanism by which grafting impacts potassium utilization efficiency in tobacco.

Background: Potassium plays a crucial role in determining the quality of flue-cured tobacco leaves. Our prior investigations have demonstrated that using potassium-efficient rootstocks through grafting offers a viable solution to the prevalent issue of low potassium levels in Chinese flue-cured tobacco leaves. Nevertheless, the specific molecular mechanisms responsible for the increase in potassium content following grafting in tobacco leaves have yet to be elucidated.

Simplified Multireference Coupled-Cluster Methods: Hybrid Approaches With Averaged Coupled Pair Theories.

We define an approximation to the internally contracted multireference coupled-cluster method with single and double excitations by a hybrid approach. The rationale is to treat the external pair energy contributions by the coupled-cluster method, which provides accurate results for a large part of the correlation energy while being tractable as the involved pair cluster operators commute. For the internal and semi-internal contributions, for which the coupled-cluster part becomes involved due to non-commuting operators, a linearized approach based on the coupled-electron pair approximation (CEPA) is used.

The gut microbiota predicts and time-restricted feeding delays experimental colitis.

The etiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains unclear, treatment options unsatisfactory and disease development difficult to predict for individual patients. Dysbiosis of the gastrointestinal microbiota and disruption of the biological clock have been implicated and studied as diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Here, we examine the relationship of IBD to biological clock and gut microbiota by using the IL-10 deficient () mouse model for microbiota-dependent spontaneous colitis in combination with altered (4 h/4 h) light/dark cycles to disrupt and time-restricted feeding (TRF) to restore circadian rhythmicity.

Private and well drinking water are reservoirs for antimicrobial resistant bacteria.

Water quality testing does not recognise antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and is often limited to indicators of faecal contamination Escherichia coli and Enterococcus species. In Europe, data on AMR in drinking water is scarce. In Ireland, as in many countries, household drinking water is supplied via mains or via private wells or water schemes.

Investigation of sensory attenuation in the somatosensory domain using EEG in a novel virtual reality paradigm.

We are not only passively immersed in a sensorial world, but we are active agents that directly produce stimulations. Understanding what is unique about sensory consequences can give valuable insight into the action-perception-cycle. Sensory attenuation is the phenomenon that self-produced stimulations are perceived as less intense compared to externally-generated ones.

Impact of visual presentation of atherosclerotic carotid plaque on cardiovascular risk profile using mHealth technologies.

This randomized, controlled trial evaluated the impact of plaque visualization combined with daily tasks on cardiovascular risk profile and included 240 participants with coronary arterial disease. The intervention group received the PreventiPlaque app during the 12-month study period in addition to standard care. The app contained daily tasks that promoted lifestyle modifications and adherence to prescribed medication.

Microglia modulate the cerebrovascular reactivity through ectonucleotidase CD39.

Microglia and the border-associated macrophages contribute to the modulation of cerebral blood flow, but the mechanisms have remained uncertain. Here, we show that microglia regulate the cerebral blood flow baseline and the responses to whisker stimulation or intra-cisternal magna injection of adenosine triphosphate, but not intra-cisternal magna injection of adenosine in mice model. Notably, microglia repopulation corrects these cerebral blood flow anomalies.

Mechanism of sensor kinase CitA transmembrane signaling.

Membrane bound histidine kinases (HKs) are ubiquitous sensors of extracellular stimuli in bacteria. However, a uniform structural model is still missing for their transmembrane signaling mechanism. Here, we used solid-state NMR in conjunction with crystallography, solution NMR and distance measurements to investigate the transmembrane signaling mechanism of a paradigmatic citrate sensing membrane embedded HK, CitA.

Deoxygenative photochemical alkylation of secondary amides enables a streamlined synthesis of substituted amines.

Secondary amines are vital functional groups in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and natural products, necessitating efficient synthetic methods. Traditional approaches, including N-monoalkylation and reductive amination, suffer from limitations such as poor chemoselectivity and complexity. Herein, we present a streamlined deoxygenative photochemical alkylation of secondary amides, enabling the efficient synthesis of α-branched secondary amines.

Towards a characterization of human spatial exploration behavior.

Spatial exploration is a complex behavior that can be used to gain information about developmental processes, personality traits, or mental disorders. Typically, this is done by analyzing movement throughout an unknown environment. However, in human research, until now there has been no overview on how to analyze movement trajectories with regard to exploration.

Grounded cognition and the representation of momentum: abstract concepts modulate mislocalization.

Literature on grounded cognition argues that mental representations of concepts, even abstract concepts, involve modal simulations. These modalities are typically assumed to reside within the body, such as in the sensorimotor system. A recent proposal argues that physical invariants, such as momentum or gravity, can also be substrates in which concepts can be grounded, expanding the assumed limits of grounding beyond the body.

Development and maintenance of consensus recommendations on pediatric outpatient antibiotic therapy in Germany: a framework for rational use.

Unlabelled: In pediatric outpatient care, overuse and misuse of antibiotics is linked to a high risk of adverse events and increased antibiotic resistance. In 2019, building upon the work of the Antibiotic Therapy in Bielefeld (AnTiB) project (founded in 2016), a collaboration among the AnTiB, the German Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (DGPI), and the Professional Association of Outpatient Pediatricians and Adolescent Physicians (BVKJ) was established to develop consensus recommendations for antibiotic therapy in pediatric outpatient settings in Germany. This working group became the Antibiotic Stewardship in Outpatient Pediatrics (ABSaP).