Left bundle branch block - innocent bystander, silent menace, or both.

Left bundle branch block (LBBB) causes immediate electrical and mechanical dys-synchrony of the left ventricle (LV) and gradual structural damages in the Purkinje cells and myocardium. Mechanical dys-synchrony reduces the LV ejection fraction (EF) instantly, but only to ≈55% in an otherwise normal heart. Because of the heart's in-built functional redundancy, a patient with LBBB does not always notice the heart's reduced efficiency straight away.

Compulsive sexual behavior, sexual functioning problems, and their linkages to substance use among German medical students: exploring the role of sex and trauma exposure.

Sexual problems relevant to psychotherapy, such as compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) and sexual functioning problems (SFP), have been related to harmful substance use in several studies. Substance use is prevalent among medical students (MS) and is often considered a maladaptive coping strategy for stress, as well as a risk factor for mental health issues. Sexual problems and substance use share trauma exposure and post-traumatic symptoms as risk factors for their development.

infection alters the intestinal mucosa transcriptome in neonatal calves: impacts on epithelial barriers and transcellular transport systems.

Introduction: is the most prevalent enteric protozoan parasite causing infectious diarrhea in neonatal calves worldwide with a direct negative impact on their health and welfare. This study utilized next-generation sequencing (NGS) to deepen our understanding of intestinal epithelial barriers and transport mechanisms in the pathophysiology of infectious diarrhea in neonatal calves, which could potentially unveil novel solutions for treatment.

Methods: At day 1 of life, male Holstein-Friesian calves were either orally infected (n = 5) or not (control group, n = 5) with oocysts (in-house strain LE-01-Cp-15).

Negative memory bias predicts change in psychiatric problems in a naturalistic psychiatric patient sample.

Self-referential negative memory bias contributes to depression and other psychiatric disorders. Co-morbidity between these disorders is highly common in clinical practice, but transdiagnostic predictors like negative memory bias are not well understood yet. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the predictive value of negative memory bias for long-term change in broad psychiatric problems.

How Do People With Schizophrenia Manage Their Daily Life? A Qualitative Study.

Due to the rising number of long-term mental health conditions, there has been a shift in therapeutic focus from curing these conditions, to living a meaningful life with them. Self-management is described as the ability to live with the emotional, life role and medical consequences of long-term conditions such as schizophrenia. However, the perspective of people with schizophrenia on self-management in current literature is missing.

The Viscoelastic Behavior of Legume Protein Emulsion Gels-The Effect of Heating Temperature and Oil Content on Viscoelasticity, the Degree of Networking, and the Microstructure.

Legume proteins are increasingly used in structuring various foods under the influence of heating and stirring energy. Based on available studies, this structuring potential is not yet fully understood. This raises the question of the suitability of legume isolates and concentrates for structuring in emulsion gels and the effect of heat and oil on the gel properties.

A Tumor Volume Segmentation Algorithm Based on Radiomics Features in FDG-PET in Lung Cancer Patients, Validated Using Surgical Specimens.

Background: Although the integration of positron emission tomography into radiation therapy treatment planning has become part of clinical routine, the best method for tumor delineation is still a matter of debate. In this study, therefore, we analyzed a novel, radiomics-feature-based algorithm in combination with histopathological workup for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

Methods: A total of 20 patients with biopsy-proven lung cancer who underwent [F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) examination before tumor resection were included.

"I was surprised that the veins were the cause" - The illness trajectory of people with venous leg ulcers: A qualitative study.

Background: Patients with venous leg ulcers (VLUs) often carry out inadequate self-care. Person-centered care is recommended as effective support. Understanding the illness trajectory from the patient's perspective could be a way to better understand patients' needs.

Immersive interfaces for clinical applications: current status and future perspective.

Digital immersive technologies have become increasingly prominent in clinical research and practice, including medical communication and technical education, serious games for health, psychotherapy, and interfaces for neurorehabilitation. The worldwide enthusiasm for digital health and digital therapeutics has prompted the development and testing of numerous applications and interaction methods. Nevertheless, the lack of consistency in the approaches and the peculiarity of the constructed environments contribute to an increasing disparity between the eagerness for new immersive designs and the long-term clinical adoption of these technologies.

Femtosecond Spin-State Switching Dynamics of Fe(II) Complexes Condensed in Thin Films.

The tailoring of spin-crossover films has made significant progress over the past decade, mostly motivated by the prospect in technological applications. In contrast to spin-crossover complexes in solution, the investigation of the ultrafast switching in spin-crossover films has remained scarce. Combining the progress in molecule synthesis and film growth with the opportunities at X-ray free-electron lasers, we study the photoinduced spin-state switching dynamics of a molecular film at room temperature.

An economic evaluation of sensor-assisted health monitoring in dairy farming using the example of a rumen bolus.

The study investigates the economics of sensor-assisted dairy health management and indicates a certain economic potential in the use of a commercial rumen bolus capable of tracking activity and core body temperature. The economic evaluation was performed applying a stochastic model with the net return (NR) of investment of the sensor system as the target variable. The calculated NR considers the gross margin (GM) for both sensor-assisted and visual health monitoring, time savings through sensor-assisted monitoring, additional time spent addressing false positive messages from the sensor system, labor costs, and all costs associated with the investment in the sensor system.

Patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia: Experiences of their disease, treatment, and care in a cross-sectoral setting. A scoping review.

Introduction: Patients facing chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) experience significant burdens, impacting their physical, emotional, and social well-being. They require extensive care from multidisciplinary healthcare professionals across primary and secondary settings. Managing CLTI necessitates strict patient adherence to treatment protocols to prevent severe complications.

Solvent extraction of Ac-225 in nano-layer coated, solvent resistant PDMS microfluidic chips.

Separating medical radionuclides from their targets is one of the most critical steps in radiopharmaceutical production. Among many separation methods, solvent extraction has a lot of potential due to its simplicity, high selectivity, and high efficiency. Especially with the rise of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chips, this extraction process can take place in a simple and reproducible chip platform continuously and automatically.

Olikomycin A-A Novel Calcium-Dependent Lipopeptide with Antibiotic Activity Against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria.

Research into new antibiotics is becoming increasingly important as antibiotic resistance increases worldwide. The genus Streptomyces in particular is able to produce a wide range of antimicrobial products due to the large number of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in its genome. However, not all BGCs are expressed under laboratory conditions.

Meta-analysis of proteomics data from osteoblasts, bone, and blood: Insights into druggable targets, active factors, and potential biomarkers for bone biomaterial design.

Non-healing bone defects are a pressing public health concern accounting for one main cause for decreased life expectancy and quality. An aging population accompanied with increasing incidence of comorbidities, foreshadows a worsening of this socio-economic problem. Conventional treatments for non-healing bone defects prove ineffective for 5%-10% of fractures.

The Influence of Fermentation Technology on the Functional and Sensory Properties of Hemp Bread.

In this work, the type of fermentation and baking technology used to make hemp bread was investigated. The physicochemical composition of flour and bread, the protein nutritional quality, fatty acids profile, texture, consumer acceptance, analysis of volatile compounds using an electronic nose and chemical compounds using an electronic tongue were determined. Differences in protein and total dietary fiber content were observed in the obtained breads.

Optimizing palliative care education nationwide: a practice example from The Netherlands.

Background: Every healthcare professional (HCP) in the Netherlands is expected to provide palliative care based on their initial education. This requires national consensus and clarity on the quality and goals of palliative care education and accessible education opportunities nationwide. These requirements were not met in the Netherlands, posing a major obstacle to improving the organization and delivery of palliative care.

The impact of neighborhood deprivation on mental health and quality of life in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the COPSY Hamburg study.

Introduction: Socioeconomic inequalities have been associated with poorer mental health outcomes in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite numerous studies on individual risk factors, the impact of societal environment, such as neighborhood characteristics, on changes in mental health has rarely been investigated. This study investigates the effect of neighborhood deprivation on mental health problems and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hamburg, Germany.

Rapid chemical detection and segmentation of latent fingerprints by means of a novel middle-infrared scanning method.

The fast and reliable detection, segmentation and visualization of latent fingerprints are the main tasks in forensics. Currently, conventional fingerprints are searched for, recorded and subsequently analyzed traditional destructive physical and chemical methods. For firmly defined crime objects and undefined crime scenes, the forensic process is very time-consuming and can take several hours for a single fingerprint.

Collagen crosslinking-induced corneal morphological changes: a three-dimensional light sheet Microscopy-based evaluation.

Stiffness-related eye diseases such as keratoconus require comprehensive visualization of the complex morphological matrix changes. The aim of this study was to use three-dimensional (3D) light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) to analyze unlabeled corneal tissue samples, qualitatively visualizing changes in corneal stiffness. Isolated porcine corneal tissue samples were treated with either NaCl or 0.