Unraveling the glycosphingolipid metabolism by leveraging transcriptome-weighted network analysis on neuroblastic tumors.

Background: Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are membrane lipids composed of a ceramide backbone linked to a glycan moiety. Ganglioside biosynthesis is a part of the GSL metabolism, which involves sequential reactions catalyzed by specific enzymes that in part have a poor substrate specificity. GSLs are deregulated in cancer, thus playing a role as potential biomarkers for personalized therapy or subtype classification.

Subclassification of obesity for precision prediction of cardiometabolic diseases.

Obesity and cardiometabolic disease often, but not always, coincide. Distinguishing subpopulations within which cardiometabolic risk diverges from the risk expected for a given body mass index (BMI) may facilitate precision prevention of cardiometabolic diseases. Accordingly, we performed unsupervised clustering in four European population-based cohorts (N ≈ 173,000).

The development of an augmented reality application for exercise prescription within paediatric oncology: App design and protocol of a pilot study.

Children and young people with cancer face barriers when engaging with exercise, such as treatment-related side effects, psychosocial burdens and lack of individualised provisions. Digital health tools, such as smartphone applications, have emerged as a promising driver to support healthcare provisions in exercise prescription among patients. It is vital to explore how such technologies can be developed more effectively in order to strengthen the evidence supporting their use and for more appropriate implementation within healthcare.

Hinotori™ robotic esophagectomy: a feasibility cadaver study.

This preclinical feasibility study investigates the potential of utilizing the hinotori™ robot system for esophagectomy. In three human cadaver models, the esophagus was successfully mobilized and resected using the hinotori™ system, with a mean thoracic procedure time of 57 minutes. The system allowed for precise dissection and radical lymphadenectomy without arm collision, attributed to its versatile design and docking-free trocars.

The influence of light on Interleukin-10: A preliminary study.

Light influences circadian rhythms, including that of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol, in turn, has been observed to promote expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. It is thus of interest whether the cytokine IL-10 is also influenced by light, perhaps in accord with the diurnal variations in cortisol.

Towards international collaboration of clinical research networks for EMDR: the EMDR Pain Network Germany.

Background: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based treatment, primarily established for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While it is increasingly being applied to chronic pain, its efficacy in this area is not yet supported by the same level of evidence as that which exists for PTSD. Studies in this area often show heterogeneous results with small case numbers, and the potential side effects of EMDR in the treatment of chronic pain are not well understood.

Suppressed ORAI1-STIM1-dependent Ca entry by protein kinase C isoforms regulating platelet procoagulant activity.

Agonist-induced rises in cytosolic Ca control most platelet responses in thrombosis and hemostasis. In human platelets, we earlier demonstrated that the ORAI1-STIM1 pathway is a major component of extracellular Ca entry, in particular when induced via the ITAM-linked collagen receptor, glycoprotein VI (GPVI). In the present article, using functionally defective platelets from patients with a loss-of-function mutation in ORAI1 or STIM1, we show that Ca entry induced by the endoplasmic reticulum ATPase inhibitor, thapsigargin, fully relies on this pathway.

Standardized diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumors: an update regarding the situation in Germany.

To evaluate the current status of the diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumors in Germany by means of a survey of the oncological imaging working group of the German Radiological Society (DRG) with a focus on the CT protocols being used.Radiologists working in outpatient or inpatient care in Germany were invited. The survey was conducted between 10/2022 and 06/2023 using the SurveyMonkey web tool.

Insights Into Modern Undergraduate Ultrasound Education: Prospective Comparison of Digital and Analog Teaching Resources in a Flipped Classroom Concept - The DIvAN Study.

  Sonography training has become an important part of university medicine courses. This study explores the impact of digital and analog teaching resources on learning outcomes, knowledge retention, and student preferences and motivation in a flipped classroom setting.   This prospective controlled study involving two groups of third-year medical students included a voluntary three-day compact ultrasound course given in a flipped classroom, comprising 26 teaching units of 45 minutes each.

Does gaming keep subjects awake?: Subjective and objective sleep parameters following gaming in comparison to a passive control.

Objectives: Gaming is a global phenomenon often associated with impaired health and sleep patterns. Although the research activities are growing, the evidence to date is rare due to the various gaming titles and inconsistent study designs. Thus, this study aimed to examine the impact of excessive gaming in the evening on subjective as well as objective sleep parameters by focusing on specific game titles and assessing several evenings/nights using a mixed-methods approach.

Inflammation in liver fibrosis and atrial fibrillation: A prospective population-based proteomic study.

Background & Aims: Elevated liver stiffness has been associated with atrial fibrillation (AFib) in the general population. The mechanism underlying this association is unclear.

Methods: Participants were recruited from the general population and prospectively enrolled with follow-up for 5 years.

Reductions in inpatient and outpatient mental health care in germany during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic - What can we learn for a better crisis preparedness?

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, reports from several European mental health care systems hinted at important changes in utilization. So far, no study examined changes in utilization in the German mental health care inpatient and outpatient mental health care system comprehensively.

Methods: This longitudinal observational study used claims data from two major German statutory health insurances, AOK PLUS and BKK, covering 162,905 inpatients and 2,131,186 outpatients with mental disorders nationwide.

Exposure to aircraft noise exacerbates cardiovascular and oxidative damage in three mouse models of diabetes.

Background: Epidemiology links noise to increased risk of metabolic diseases like diabetes and obesity. Translational studies in humans and experimental animals showed that noise causes reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated cardiovascular damage. The interaction between noise and diabetes, specifically potential additive adverse effects, remains to be determined.