Physical activity trajectories at older age and all-cause mortality: A cohort study.

Background: A physically active lifestyle is recognized as a precondition of healthy aging. However, the majority of studies exploring its association with mortality in cohorts of adults used single-time physical activity (PA) estimate, which do not consider its dynamic nature with changes that occur with aging. The aim of the present study is to explore the presence of different PA trajectories in a population-based cohort and their association with mortality.

Healing of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis by Non-Thermal Plasma: Pilot Study.

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a common disease in the oral cavity characterized by recurrent ulcers (RU). Usually, these cause acute pain without definitive treatment. The present study determines the efficacy of non-thermal plasma (NTP) for treating RU.

Determinants of vaccination behavior among university students 20 months after the COVID-19 outbreak: Results of the COVID-19 German Student Well-being Study (C19 GSWS).

Evidence indicates a higher COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among university students due to their age and a lower risk of COVID-19 related complications compared to the general population in Germany. However, little is known about the other determinants of COVID-19 vaccination behavior for the population of German university students. This study aimed to investigate determinants of vaccination behavior in this population.

Liquid biomarkers of macrophage dysregulation and circulating spike protein illustrate the biological heterogeneity in patients with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19.

Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) are long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection that can substantially impair the quality of life. Underlying mechanisms ranging from persistent viruses to innate and adaptive immune dysregulation have been discussed. Here, we profiled the plasma of 181 individuals from the cohort study for digital health research in Germany (DigiHero), including individuals after mild to moderate COVID-19 with or without PASC and uninfected controls.

The effects of modifying elements of written informed consent forms for elective surgical or invasive procedures: A systematic review.

Objective: To study the effect of modifying content and design elements within written informed-consent-forms (ICF) for patients undergoing elective surgical or invasive procedures.

Methods: We included (quasi-)randomized trials in which a modified written ICF (e.g.

Right heart failure in left heart disease: imaging, functional, and biochemical aspects of right ventricular dysfunction.

For decades, cardiologists have largely underestimated the role of the right heart in heart failure due to left heart disease. Nowadays, the importance of evaluating right ventricular (RV) structure and function in left heart failure is well documented and this concept has been emphasized in the most recent heart failure guidelines. However, several relevant questions remain unanswered such as the following: (a) which imaging technique (standard or 3D echocardiography or strain imaging or cardiac magnetic resonance) and, more, which parameters should be used to grade the severity of RV dysfunction? (b) do less widespread and less applied diagnostic tools such as cardiopulmonary stress testing and bioelectrical impedance analysis play a role in this field? (c) are there specific biochemical aspects of RV failure? (d) why notion of pathophysiology of heart and lung interaction are so well appreciated at an academic level but are not applied in the clinical setting? The present review has been prepared by the Heart Failure (HF) working group of the Italian Society of Cardiology and its main objective is to improve our understanding on RV dysfunction in heart failure.

Evaluation of Cytochrome P4502E1 mRNA Expression and Its Effects in Antioxidant Defenses, and Cell Toxicity in Printing Workers.

Background: Cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1) metabolizes environmental toxins, however, compound metabolism can produce oxidative stress, causing in-cell toxicity and sometimes transformation.

Aim: To evaluate CYP2E1 gene expression and its effects in antioxidant defenses, and cell toxicity in printing workers.

Methods: The hierarchical method of health and chemical risk was used to evaluate chemical exposure in workplace.

Treatment of cardiac fibrosis: from neuro-hormonal inhibitors to CAR-T cell therapy.

Cardiac fibrosis is characterized by the deposition of extracellular matrix proteins in the spaces between cardiomyocytes following both acute and chronic tissue damage events, resulting in the remodeling and stiffening of heart tissue. Fibrosis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular disorders, including heart failure and myocardial infarction. Several studies have identified fibroblasts, which are induced to differentiate into myofibroblasts in response to various types of damage, as the most important cell types involved in the fibrotic process.

Anxiety and depressive symptoms of German university students 20 months after the COVID-19 outbreak - A cross-sectional study.

Background: Given the long duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, monitoring mental health remains important. This study aimed to determine (1) the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among university students 20 months after the first COVID-19 restrictions and (2) which factors were associated with these outcomes.

Methods: The cross-sectional COVID-19 German Student Well-being Study (C19 GSWS) collected data of 7025 students at five German universities.

Health system cost of breast cancer treatment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women with an annual crude incidence of 27.4 per 100,000 in Ethiopia. The aims of this study were to (a) estimate the unit cost of breast cancer treatment for the standard Ethiopian patient, (b) identify the cost drivers, (c) project the total cost of breast cancer treatment for the next five years, and (d) estimate the economic burden of the disease in the main specialized tertiary hospital-Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) Addis Ababa.

The partner's experiences of childbirth in countries with a highly developed clinical setting: a scoping review.

Background: In Western countries, it is common practice for a woman to be supported by a trusted person during childbirth, usually the other parent. Numerous studies have shown that this has a positive effect both on the woman's satisfaction with the birth process and on physical outcomes. However, there is little research on the birth experience of partners and their wellbeing.

Young people's health and well-being during the school-to-work transition: a prospective cohort study comparing post-secondary pathways.

Background: At the end of secondary education, young people can either start vocational training, enter university, directly transition to employment or become unemployed. Research assumes that post-secondary pathways have immediate and/or long-term impacts on health and well-being, but empirical investigations on this are scarce and restricted to few countries. Therefore, this study traced the development of health and well-being throughout the highly institutionalised school-to-work transition (STWT) in Germany.

Birth Order, Caesarean Section, or Daycare Attendance in Relation to Child- and Adult-Onset Type 1 Diabetes: Results from the German National Cohort.

(1) Background: Global incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is rising and nearly half occurred in adults. However, it is unclear if certain early-life childhood T1D risk factors were also associated with adult-onset T1D. This study aimed to assess associations between birth order, delivery mode or daycare attendance and type 1 diabetes (T1D) risk in a population-based cohort and whether these were similar for childhood- and adult-onset T1D (cut-off age 15); (2) Methods: Data were obtained from the German National Cohort (NAKO Gesundheitsstudie) baseline assessment.

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Its Determinants among Migrants in Germany-Results of a Cross-Sectional Study.

Vaccinations are a core element of infection control. Migrants have been reported to have low vaccination rates for many infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Still, determinants of migrants' uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations are not sufficiently clear.

The effect of re-directed patient flow in combination with targeted infection control measures on the spread of multi-drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in the German health-care system: a mathematical modelling approach.

Objective: The introduction of multi-drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (MDR-E) by colonized patients transferred from high-prevalence countries has led to several large outbreaks of MDR-E in low-prevalence countries, with the risk of propagated spread to the community. The goal of this study was to derive a strategy to counteract the spread of MDR-E at the regional health-care network level.

Methods: We used a hybrid ordinary differential equation and network model built based on German health insurance data to evaluate whether the re-direction of patient flow in combination with targeted infection control measures can counteract the spread of MDR-E in the German health-care system.

COVID-19 Intensive Care-Evaluation of Public Information Sources and Current Standards of Care in German Intensive Care Units: A Cross Sectional Online Survey on Intensive Care Staff in Germany.

: In February 2021, the first formal evidence and consensus-based (S3) guidelines for the inpatient treatment of patients with COVID-19 were published in Germany and have been updated twice during 2021. The aim of the present study is to re-evaluate the dissemination pathways and strategies for ICU staff (first evaluation in December 2020 when previous versions of consensus-based guidelines (S2k) were published) and question selected aspects of guideline adherence of standard care for patients with COVID-19 in the ICU. We conducted an anonymous online survey among German intensive care staff from 11 October 2021 to 11 November 2021.

The IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF cytokine triad is associated with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19.

Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) is emerging as global problem with unknown molecular drivers. Using a digital epidemiology approach, we recruited 8,077 individuals to the cohort study for digital health research in Germany (DigiHero) to respond to a basic questionnaire followed by a PASC-focused survey and blood sampling. We report the first 318 participants, the majority thereof after mild infections.

Knowledge of Symptoms of Acute Myocardial Infarction, Reaction to the Symptoms, and Ability to Perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Results From a Cross-sectional Survey in Four Regions in Germany.

Background: Ischemic heart disease affects 126 million individuals globally which illustrates the importance of finding ways to decrease mortality and morbidity in case of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Since knowledge of symptoms, correct reaction to symptoms, and ability to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) decreases the time from symptoms-onset to reperfusion, which leads to lower AMI mortality, we aimed to examine those factors and identify predicting variables in regions with low and high AMI mortality rates.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey including 633 respondents from the general population in four federal states in Germany with low and high AMI mortality and morbidity rates.

Rapid Hypermutation B Cell Trajectory Recruits Previously Primed B Cells Upon Third SARS-Cov-2 mRNA Vaccination.

The COVID-19 pandemic shows that vaccination strategies building on an ancestral viral strain need to be optimized for the control of potentially emerging viral variants. Therefore, aiming at strong B cell somatic hypermutation to increase antibody affinity to the ancestral strain - not only at high antibody titers - is a priority when utilizing vaccines that are not targeted at individual variants since high affinity may offer some flexibility to compensate for strain-individual mutations. Here, we developed a next-generation sequencing based SARS-CoV-2 B cell tracking protocol to rapidly determine the level of immunoglobulin somatic hypermutation at distinct points during the immunization period.

Attitudes and Acceptance Towards Artificial Intelligence in Medical Care.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine is a very topical issue. As far as the attitudes and perspectives of the different stakeholders in healthcare are concerned, there is still much to be explored.

Objective: Our aim was to determine attitudes and aspects towards acceptance of AI applications from the perspective of physicians in university hospitals.

Association of arterial stiffness and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in the elderly population - results from the CARLA study.

Arterial stiffness has been suspected as a cause of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and may thereby contribute to the development of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). However, this association is derived from a small number of studies and application of outdated criteria to diagnose HFpEF. This study aimed to investigate the association of arterial stiffness measured by the augmentation index (AIx) and criteria for diagnosing HFpEF according to the recommended HFA-PEFF score.

Breast cancer morbidity and mortality in rural Ethiopia: data from 788 verbal autopsies.

Introduction: In Ethiopia, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer among women. Little is known about the duration of disease and symptoms of patients who died from breast cancer in rural Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to assess breast cancer mortality with a particular focus on the self-reported duration of illness including suffering of symptoms, and need for medical care.

Cold Ischemia Time and Graft Fibrosis Are Associated with Autoantibodies after Pediatric Liver Transplantation: A Retrospective Cohort Study of the European Reference Network .

The reported prevalence of autoantibodies (AAB) (ANA, SMA, LKM, SLA) after pediatric liver transplantation (pLTX) varies considerably from 26-75%, but their clinical impact on outcome is uncertain. We aimed to study the prevalence of AAB after pLTX, their association with donor-, transplant-, and recipient-characteristics, and their relation to outcome. In our multicenter retrospective study, we aimed to clarify conflicting results from earlier studies.