Psychometric Evaluation of the Dutch Version of the Substance Use Recovery Evaluator (SURE-NL).

Introduction: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are an important source of information that allow for a patient-centered assessment. Outcome measurement of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment traditionally focuses on drug use and deficits in functioning, overlooking other aspects of the personal and dynamic process of recovery. The substance use recovery evaluator (SURE) is a PROM developed with service user input to monitor the recovery journey and assess treatment outcomes in people with SUD.

Impact of substance type and patient characteristics on the choice of treatment setting for substance use disorder in Belgium.

Background: Specialised addiction treatment centers (SAC) and general mental health centers (GMHC) both offer care to people with substance use disorders (SUD) in Belgium, but these sectors often operate in parallel, with little collaboration. This fragmented system may lead to inefficiencies, particularly in the treatment of individuals with dual diagnoses. Despite the recognized challenges, there is limited understanding of the factors that influence whether patients with SUD are treated in SAC or GMHC.

Bioaccumulation of organic and inorganic contaminants in biota: A long-term evaluation in the Belgian part of the North Sea.

Determining the extent of pollution in the marine environment remains challenging. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and metals can, during dredging operations, be transported from a port or harbour into the open sea, where they may exert a harmful effect on the marine ecosystem. To fully understand the impact of these chemicals, monitoring programs should not only focus on sediment concentrations, but should also take into account the bioaccumulated concentration in the tissue of multiple target organisms.

Population Modeling in Metal Risk Assessment: Extrapolation of Toxicity Tests to the Population Level.

Population models can be a useful tool for ecological risk assessment to increase ecological realism. In the present study, population models were used to extrapolate toxicity test results of four metals (Ag, Cu, Ni, Zn) to the population level. In total, three primary producers, five invertebrate species, and five fish species were covered.

Unveiling the diet of two generalist stink bugs, Halyomorpha halys and Pentatoma rufipes (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), through metabarcoding of the ITS2 region from gut content.

Background: The use of DNA metabarcoding has become an increasingly popular technique to infer feeding relationships in polyphagous herbivores and predators. Understanding host plant preference of native and invasive herbivore insects can be helpful in establishing effective integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. The invasive Halyomorpha halys and native Pentatoma rufipes are piercing-sucking stink bug pests that are known to cause economic damage in commercial fruit orchards.

Behavioural changes in the city: The common black garden ant defends aphids more aggressively in urban environments.

Urbanisation alters biodiversity patterns and threatens to disrupt mutualistic interactions. Aside from pollination, however, little is known about how mutualisms change in cities. Our study aimed to assess how urbanisation affects the protective mutualism between ants and aphids, investigating potential behavioural changes in mutualistic ants and their implications for aphids in urban environments.

How well do antimicrobial mouth rinses prevent dysbiosis in an in vitro periodontitis biofilm model?

Background: Periodontal diseases are associated with dysbiosis in the oral microbial communities. Managing oral biofilms is therefore key for preventing these diseases. Management protocols often include over-the-counter antimicrobial mouth rinses, which lack data on their effects on the oral microbiome's ecology, bacterial composition, metabolic activity, and dysbiosis resilience.

A field realistic model to assess the effects of pesticides residues and adulterants on honey bee gene expression.

While studies on the sublethal effects of chemical residues in beeswax on adult honey bees are increasing, the study protocols assessing the impacts on honey bee brood in realistic conditions still need to be investigated. Moreover, little is known about the residue's effect on gene expression in honey bee brood. This study reports the effects of chlorpyriphos-ethyl, acrinathrin and stearin worker pupae exposure through contaminated or adulterated beeswax on the gene expression of some key health indicators, using a novel in vivo realistic model.

Generation and Characterization of Novel Pan-Cancer Anti-uPAR Fluorescent Nanobodies as Tools for Image-Guided Surgery.

Fluorescence molecular imaging plays a vital role in image-guided surgery. In this context, the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) is an interesting biomarker enabling the detection and delineation of various tumor types due to its elevated expression on both tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment. In this study, anti-uPAR Nanobodies (Nbs) are generated through llama immunization with human and murine uPAR protein.

Oral Biofilm Composition, Dissemination to Keratinocytes, and Inflammatory Attenuation Depend on Probiotic and Synbiotic Strain Specificity.

Several inflammatory diseases are characterized by a disruption in the equilibrium between the host and its microbiome. Due to the increase in resistance, the use of antibiotics for the widespread, nonspecific killing of microorganisms is at risk. Pro-microbial approaches focused on stimulating or introducing beneficial species antagonistic toward pathobionts may be a viable alternative for restoring the host-microbiome equilibrium.

Successful management of fetal hypoxia due to amniotic banding at 26 weeks of pregnancy: A case report of a rare survival.

Background: Amniotic banding is a rare condition that can lead to structural limb anomalies, fetal distress and adverse obstetric outcomes. The main hypothesis for its etiology is a rupture of the amniotic membrane in early pregnancy, with the formation of tightly entangling strands around the fetus. These strands can constrict, incise, and subsequently amputate limb parts, the neck or head.

Survey data linking coastal visit behaviours to socio-demographic and health profiles.

Coastal destinations are highly popular for leisure, yet the effects of spending time at the coast on mental and physical health have remained underexplored. To accelerate the research about the effects of the coast on health, we compiled a dataset from a survey on a sample (N = 1939) of the adult Flemish population about their visits to the Belgian coast. The survey queried the number of days spent at the coast in the previous year or before and the following characteristics of their visits: how often they performed specific activities, which of the 14 municipal seaside resorts they visited, who they were with, what they mentally and physically experienced, and what reasons they had for not visiting the coast more often.

Powdered Cross-Linked Gelatin Methacryloyl as an Injectable Hydrogel for Adipose Tissue Engineering.

The tissue engineering field is currently advancing towards minimally invasive procedures to reconstruct soft tissue defects. In this regard, injectable hydrogels are viewed as excellent scaffold candidates to support and promote the growth of encapsulated cells. Cross-linked gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) gels have received substantial attention due to their extracellular matrix-mimicking properties.

Electrolyzed Saline Targets Biofilm Periodontal Pathogens In Vitro.

Preventing the development and recurrence of periodontal diseases often includes antimicrobial mouthrinses to control the growth of the periodontal pathogens. Most antimicrobials are nonselective, targeting the symbiotic oral species as well as the dysbiosis-inducing ones. This affects the overall microbial composition and metabolic activity and consequently the host-microbe interactions, which can be detrimental (associated with inflammation) or beneficial (health-associated).

Patient Reported Outcome and Experience Measures (PROMs and PREMs) in substance use disorder treatment services: A scoping review.

Background: Substance use disorders (SUD) pose significant challenges for healthcare systems, and there is a need to monitor the provision of effective, individualized care to persons accessing treatment. Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) are increasingly used in healthcare services to measure treatment outcomes and quality of care as perceived by patients, and to guide service improvement.

Objectives: This review aims to identify and characterize international developments regarding the use and systematic implementation of PROMs and PREMs in SUD treatment services.

Extrapolation of Metal Toxicity Data for the Rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus Using an Individual-Based Population Model.

Ecological risk assessment (ERA) of metals typically starts from standardized toxicity tests, the data from which are then extrapolated to derive safe concentrations for the envisioned protection goals. Because such extrapolation in conventional ERA lacks ecological realism, ecological modeling is considered as a promising new approach for extrapolation. Many published population models are complex, that is, they include many processes and parameters, and thus require an extensive dataset to calibrate.

Spatiotemporal monitoring of a periodontal multispecies biofilm model: demonstration of prebiotic treatment responses.

Biofilms are complex polymicrobial communities which are often associated with human infections such as the oral disease periodontitis. Studying these complex communities under controlled conditions requires biofilm model systems that mimic the natural environment as close as possible. This study established a multispecies periodontal model in the drip flow biofilm reactor in order to mimic the continuous flow of nutrients at the air-liquid interface in the oral cavity.

Probiotics for oral health: do they deliver what they promise?

Probiotics have demonstrated oral health benefits by influencing the microbiome and the host. Although promising, their current use is potentially constrained by several restrictions. One such limiting factor lies in the prevailing preparation of a probiotic product.

Oral Biofilm Cryotherapy as a Novel Ecological Modulation Approach.

Oral cryotherapy is used in dentistry as a safe, simple, and low-cost treatment for a variety of oral lesions. It is well known for its ability to aid in the healing process. However, its effect on oral biofilms is unknown.

The influence of vegetation structure on sleeping site selection by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes).

Sleep is an important aspect of great ape life; these animals build sleeping platforms every night. In a community of chimpanzees, each subgroup selects a sleeping site where each individual builds a sleeping platform, mostly on a tree. Previous studies have measured the heights of sleeping platforms and sleeping trees to test the predation avoidance and thermoregulation hypotheses of sleeping site selection.

Analysis of a neutron-induced conversion electron spectrum of gadolinium.

A 100-nm-thick gadolinium layer deposited on a pixelated silicon sensor was activated in a neutron field to measure the internal conversion electron (ICE) spectrum generated by neutron capture products of Gd and Gd. The experiment was performed at the ISIS neutron and muon facility, using a bespoke version of the HEXITEC spectroscopic imaging camera. Signals originating from internal conversion electrons, Auger electrons, x rays and gamma rays up to 150 keV were identified.

Ionically Modified Gelatin Hydrogels Maintain Murine Myogenic Cell Viability and Fusion Capacity.

For tissue engineering of skeletal muscles, there is a need for biomaterials which do not only allow cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation, but also support the physiological conditions of the tissue. Next to the chemical nature and structure of the biomaterial, its response to the application of biophysical stimuli, such as mechanical deformation or application of electrical pulses, can impact in vitro tissue culture. In this study, gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) is modified with hydrophilic 2-acryloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride (AETA) and 3-sulfopropyl acrylate potassium (SPA) ionic comonomers to obtain a piezoionic hydrogel.

Mode of killing determines the necrotrophic response of oral bacteria.

Background: Bacteria respond to changes in their environment, such as nutrient depletion and antimicrobials exposure. Antimicrobials result not only in bacterial death, but also have a hand in determining species abundances and ecology of the oral biofilms. Proximity of dead bacterial cells to living ones is an important environmental change or stress factor.