Safety and efficiency of trainees performing bilateral internal thoracic artery coronary bypass grafting using the T-graft technique.

Objectives: Aim of this study was to assess safety and efficiency of multiarterial coronary bypass grafting using bilateral internal thoracic arteries in T-graft technique performed by trainees.

Methods: Patients from January 2005 to February 2023 who had undergone multiarterial coronary bypass grafting using bilateral internal thoracic arteries in T-graft technique were analysed. Patients were divided into two groups based on the primary surgeon: Consultant and Trainees.

Transcriptional activation and coactivator binding by yeast Ino2 and human proto-oncoprotein c-Myc.

Basic helix-loop-helix domains in yeast regulatory proteins Ino2 and Ino4 mediate formation of a heterodimer which binds to and activates expression of phospholipid biosynthetic genes. The human proto-oncoprotein c-Myc (Myc) and its binding partner Max activate genes important for cellular proliferation and contain functional domains structure and position of which strongly resembles Ino2 and Ino4. Since Ino2-Myc and Ino4-Max may be considered as orthologs we performed functional comparisons in yeast.

Personalized Dynamic Prediction Model for Biopsy Timing in Patients With Prostate Cancer During Active Surveillance.

Importance: Active surveillance (AS) for patients with prostate cancer (PC) often includes fixed repeat prostate biopsies that do not account for the varying risk of reclassification to significant disease. Given the invasive nature and potential complications of biopsies, a personalized approach is needed to balance the burden of biopsies with the risk of missing disease progression.

Objective: To develop and externally validate a dynamic model that predicts an individual's risk of PC reclassification during AS.

Colorectal Cancer and Central Obesity.

Importance: The proportion of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases attributable to excess weight, known as population attributable fraction (PAF), has been commonly based on measures of body mass index (BMI). Central obesity metrics, such as waist circumference (WC) and waist to hip ratio (WHR), are potentially better indicators of adiposity and have demonstrated stronger associations with CRC incidence.

Objectives: To examine PAFs of CRC cases that are attributable to high WC and WHR and compare them to those attributable to high BMI.

Biomechanics of flail chest injuries: tidal volume and respiratory work changes in multiple segmental rib fractures.

Background: Flail chest (FC) injuries are segmental osseous injuries of the thorax that typically result from high-energy blunt trauma and regularly occur in multiple trauma (MT) patients. FC injuries are associated with paradoxical chest wall movements and, thus, have a high risk of respiratory insufficiency or even death. An increasing number of studies recommend an early surgical stabilization of FC injuries, but a definite trigger that would indicate surgery has, thus far, not been identified.

Prognostic relevance of CT-defined body composition in patients with acute bleeding undergoing endovascular embolization.

Objectives: Body composition assessment includes the parameter skeletal muscle mass, subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue (SAT and VAT). The purpose of this study was to elucidate associations of body composition parameters with mortality in patients with acute bleeding undergoing transarterial embolization (TAE).

Methods: A mixed cohort of patients from 2018 to 2022 with acute bleeding requiring treatment with a TAE was retrospectively evaluated.

Adoptive NK cell therapy in AML: progress and challenges.

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) using natural killer (NK) cells has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), addressing challenges such as chemotherapy resistance and high relapse rates. Over the years, clinical trials and studies have explored various sources of NK cells, including ex vivo expanded NK cell lines, CAR-NK cells, peripheral blood-derived NK cells, and umbilical cord blood-derived NK cells. These therapies have demonstrated varying degrees of therapeutic efficacy, ranging from transient anti-leukemia activity to sustained remission in select patient groups.

Long-term pulse pressure trajectories and risk of incident atrial fibrillation: the Tromsø Study.

Background And Aims: Sex-based differences in the association of long-term trends in pulse pressure with future risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) have been explored using data from the population-based Tromsø Study 1986-2016.

Methods: Women (n = 8331) and men (n = 7638) aged ≥20 years who attended at least two of the three Tromsø Study surveys conducted between 1986 and 2001 (the exposure period) were followed up for incident AF throughout 2016 (the follow-up period). Pulse pressure ≥60 mmHg was considered elevated.

[Evidence for the extent and oncological benefit of lymphadenectomy for pancreatic cancer].

Pancreatic cancer is usually diagnosed at a late stage and is characterized by early systemic metastases, which can also be present in the form of micrometastases that are not primarily visible. Lymphatic metastases in pancreatic cancer are common. The extent of lymph node removal (lymphadenectomy, LAD) in pancreatic cancer is defined in the guidelines of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF) and according to currently available data has more diagnostic and prognostic relevance than therapeutic relevance; however, within the framework of modern multimodal treatment algorithms, radical surgery is the most relevant of all components of multimodal treatment with LAD playing an important role.

Enhancing NiS performance: Na-doping for advanced photocatalytic and electrocatalytic applications.

Alkali metal doping is a new and promising approach to enhance the photo/electrocatalytic activity of NiS-based catalyst systems. This work investigates the impact of sodium on the structural, electronic, and catalytic properties of NiS. Comprehensive characterization techniques demonstrate that Na-doping causes significant changes in the NiS lattice and surface chemistry translating into a larger bandgap than NiS.

Digital redesign of the radiotherapy course for medical students with a blended learning approach.

Purpose: Due to the need for high-quality teaching, we present a new blended learning concept combining digital modules, interactive seminars, and clinical experience. Furthermore, we evaluated its acceptance among students.

Methods: A new concept for teaching was applied to the radiotherapy module and made available via the Hannover Medical School (MHH) learning management system as part of a blended learning concept with educational films, multimedia learning modules, online seminars, and onsite practical training.

Endovascular management of haemorrhage and vascular lesions in patients with multiple and/or severe injuries: a systematic review and clinical practice guideline update.

Purpose: Our aim was to update evidence-based and consensus-based recommendations for the inhospital endovascular management of haemorrhage and vascular lesions in patients with multiple and/or severe injuries based on current evidence. This guideline topic is part of the 2022 update of the German Guideline on the Treatment of Patients with Multiple and/or Severe Injuries.

Methods: MEDLINE and Embase were systematically searched to June 2021.

Exploiting somatic oncogenic driver alterations in a patient with Li-Fraumeni syndrome- paving the path towards precision medicine: a case report.

Background: Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is an autosomal dominant tumor predisposition syndrome characterized by a high familial incidence of various malignancies. It results from pathogenic/likely pathogenic heterozygous constitutional variants of the TP53 gene. Due to impaired DNA damage repair, conventional cytotoxic therapies or radiotherapy should be avoided whenever feasible to mitigate the high incidence of treatment-related secondary malignancies in these patients.

Serial changes of systemic ventricular function and atrioventricular valve function in patients with failing Fontan.

Objectives: This study investigated the longitudinal changes in ventricular function and atrioventricular valve function to clarify the timing and the mechanisms of failing Fontan.

Methods: Patients who underwent total cavopulmonary connection between 1994 and 2023 were reviewed, and longitudinal echocardiographic examinations of ventricular function and atrioventricular valve regurgitation were analyzed.

Results: A total of 650 patients were included.

Shear localisation controls the dynamics of earthquakes.

Earthquakes are produced by the propagation of rapid slip along tectonic faults. The propagation dynamics is governed by a balance between elastic stored energy in the surrounding rock, and dissipated energy at the propagating tip of the slipping patch. Energy dissipation is dictated by the mechanical behaviour of the fault, which is itself the result of feedbacks between thermo-hydro-mechanical processes acting at the mm to sub-mm scale.

Faster implicit motor sequence learning of new sequences compatible in terms of movement transitions.

New information that is compatible with pre-existing knowledge can be learned faster. Such schema memory effect has been reported in declarative memory and in explicit motor sequence learning (MSL). Here, we investigated if sequences of key presses that were compatible to previously trained ones, could be learned faster in an implicit MSL task.

Frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution in a reconfigurable frequency-multiplexed network.

Large-scale quantum networks require dynamic and resource-efficient solutions to reduce system complexity with maintained security and performance to support growing number of users over large distances. Current encoding schemes including time-bin, polarization, and orbital angular momentum, suffer from the lack of reconfigurability and thus scalability issues. Here, we demonstrate the first-time implementation of frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution and a reconfigurable distribution of entanglement using frequency-bin encoding.

Health literacy and psychological wellbeing of employees working from home in Germany-online survey results.

Employees' psychological wellbeing is of special interest to employers, as mental illnesses are still the second most common reason for work absences. The psychological wellbeing of employees is determined by factors at an individual, interpersonal and organizational level. Health literacy encompasses both the individual and the organizational level and thus offers a good concept against the background of employees' psychological wellbeing.

Functional test of a naturally occurred tumor modifier gene provides insights to melanoma development.

Occurrence of degenerative interactions is thought to serve as a mechanism underlying hybrid unfitness in most animal systems. However, the molecular mechanisms underpinning the genetic interaction and how they contribute to overall hybrid incompatibilities are limited to only a handful of examples. A vertebrate model organism, Xiphophorus, is used to study hybrid dysfunction, and it has been shown from this model that diseases, such as melanoma, can occur in certain interspecies hybrids.