Behind the scenes of EQA-characteristics, capabilities, benefits and assets of external quality assessment (EQA).

The main stakeholders in external quality assessment (EQA) programs are the participants, in whose interests these challenges are ultimately organised. EQA schemes in the medical field contribute to improving the quality of patient care by evaluating the analytical and diagnostic quality of laboratory and point-of-care tests (POCT) by independent third parties and, if necessary, pointing out erroneous measurement results and analytical or diagnostic improvement potential. Other benefits include the option of using EQA samples for other important laboratory procedures, such as the verification or validation of diagnostic medical devices (IVD-MDs), a contribution to the estimation of measurement uncertainty, a means of training and educating laboratory staff through educational EQA programmes or samples, or even for independent and documented monitoring of staff competence, such as on samples with unusual or even exceptional characteristics.

The impact of library size and scale of testing on virtual screening.

Virtual ligand libraries for ligand discovery have recently increased 10,000-fold. Whether this has improved hit rates and potencies has not been directly tested. Meanwhile, typically only dozens of docking hits are assayed, clouding hit-rate interpretation.

Behind the scenes of EQA - characteristics, capabilities, benefits and assets of external quality assessment (EQA).

External quality assessment (EQA) enhances patient safety through the evaluation of the quality of laboratory-based and point of care testing. Regulatory agencies and accreditation organizations utilize the results and the laboratory's response to them as part of assessing the laboratory's fitness to practice. In addition, where EQA samples are commutable and the assigned value has been determined using reference measurement procedures (RMPs), EQA data contributes to the verification of metrological traceability of assays as part of the post-market surveillance of diagnostic (IVD) medical devices (IVD-MDs).

Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas in a 54-year-old woman: A case report and the literature analysis.

Introduction: Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) is a rare pancreatic tumor typically occurring in young females. This case presents an instance of SPN in a 54-year-old Caucasian female, highlighting atypical age of onset and providing new insights into the tumor's clinical and histopathological diversity.

Case Report: A 54-year-old female with no significant past medical history presented with upper abdominal discomfort and weakness.

Measurement of CP Violation Observables in D^{+}→K^{-}K^{+}π^{+} Decays.

A search for violation of the charge-parity (CP) symmetry in the D^{+}→K^{-}K^{+}π^{+} decay is presented, with proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4  fb^{-1}, collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the LHCb detector. A novel model-independent technique is used to compare the D^{+} and D^{-} phase-space distributions, with instrumental asymmetries subtracted using the D_{s}^{+}→K^{-}K^{+}π^{+} decay as a control channel.

Mental health in Germany before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based on nationally representative panel data (N person-years = 40,020; N persons = 18,704; Panel Labour Market and Social Security; PASS) from 2018 to 2022, we investigate how mental health changed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We employ time-distributed fixed effects regressions to show that mental health (Mental Health Component Summary Score of the SF-12) decreased from the first COVID-19 wave in 2020 onward, leading to the most pronounced mental health decreases during the Delta wave, which began in August 2021. In the summer of 2022, mental health had not returned to baseline levels.

Helminth diversity in brine shrimps () from Ukraine.

Brine shrimps ( spp.) are aquatic crustaceans known as important intermediate hosts for a wide range of helminth species. From 2011 to 2021, 4,347 individuals of brine shrimp were collected for this study, investigating the diversity and infection rates of helminth species in spp.

Ultrasound-guided embolization for renal artery pseudoaneurysm in solitary kidney.

Introduction: Renal artery pseudoaneurysm is a rare yet serious complication following percutaneous nephrolithotomy, especially in patients with solitary kidneys. Effective management is crucial to prevent further renal damage.

Case Presentation: We report a case of a 41-year-old male with a solitary kidney who experienced gross hematuria and renal insufficiency 3 months after percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

Seroprevalence of measles antibody among immigrants in Gwangju, South Korea.

Introduction: Measles remains a public health concern, particularly among populations with suboptimal vaccination coverage, including immigrants. Understanding the seroprevalence of measles antibodies in immigrant populations is essential to inform tailored vaccination strategies and reduce the risk of measles reintroduction.

Methods: This study evaluated measles IgG seroprevalence among 651 immigrants from 30 countries residing in Gwangju, South Korea.

Enhanced photovoltaic panel diagnostics through AI integration with experimental DC to DC Buck Boost converter implementation.

Health monitoring and analysis of photovoltaic (PV) systems are critical for optimizing energy efficiency, improving reliability, and extending the operational lifespan of PV power plants. Effective fault detection and monitoring are vital for ensuring the proper functioning and maintenance of these systems. PV power plants operating under fault conditions show significant deviations in current-voltage (I-V) characteristics compared to those under normal conditions.

Efficient control strategy for electric furnace temperature regulation using quadratic interpolation optimization.

Electric furnaces play an important role in many industrial processes where precise temperature control is essential to ensure production efficiency and product quality. Traditional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers and their modified versions are commonly used to maintain temperature stability by reacting quickly to deviations. In this study, the real PID plus second-order derivative (RPIDD) controller is introduced for the first time for industrial temperature control applications, which is a novel alternative that has not yet been investigated in the literature.

Complications and outcomes of post-transplant lymphocele management: a 30-year retrospective analysis.

Introduction: Current guidelines recommend percutaneous drainage as the first-line approach for the management of symptomatic lymphoceles following renal transplantation, with surgical fenestration reserved for refractory or recurrent cases. This study evaluates the effectiveness and safety of these therapeutic strategies in renal transplant recipients.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 109 renal transplant recipients with symptomatic lymphoceles treated between 1993 and 2023 at a single public center was conducted.

Innovative machine learning approaches for indoor air temperature forecasting in smart infrastructure.

Efficient energy management and maintaining an optimal indoor climate in buildings are critical tasks in today's world. This paper presents an innovative approach to surrogate modeling for predicting indoor air temperature (IAT) in buildings, leveraging advanced machine learning techniques. At the core of this study is the application of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks for time-series modeling, which significantly enhances the capture of temporal dependencies in temperature predictions.

Mechanisms of concentration control alkali activated fly ash stabilized saline soil in seasonally frozen regions.

In the framework of sustainable development and environmental preservation, this research aims to improve the stability and frost resistance of sulfate saline soil by utilizing industrial solid waste. Geopolymer materials containing fly ash (FA) activated by different NaOH concentrations were studied for study on stabilized soil with saline soil, with NaOH concentrations used ranged from 0.1 to 0.

Assessment of changes in soil contact stress depending on tractor tire parameters.

Soil compaction by agricultural machinery in general by and tractors in particular is an important problem in modern agricultural production. Such compaction destroys the soil structure, creates unfavorable physical parameters of the soil, and as a result, reduces crop yields. Therefore, it is important to clearly establish how the tractor wheels affect the soil.

Influence of phonon anharmonicity on Raman spectra of CuZnSn(S,Se) polycrystalline thin films through computational study.

CuZnSn(S,Se) (CZT(S,Se)) thin films exhibit the characteristics necessary to be effective absorbers in solar cells. In this report, the room temperature experimental Raman scattering spectra, recorded at different excitation wavelengths, are systematically analyzed theoretically using the results of DFT harmonic frequencies calculations at the Γ-point for various modifications of kesterite (KS), stannite (ST), and pre-mixed Cu-Au (PMCA) crystal structures. The specific anharmonism-induced features in the spectra of CZT(S,Se) crystals are identified, and the spectral lineshapes at varied strengths of anharmonic interaction are simulated.

Designing, implementing and evaluating multidisciplinary healthcare training programmes in the wartime humanitarian context of Ukraine.

Introduction: Civilian healthcare workers (HCW) and medical facilities are directly and indirectly impacted by armed conflict. In the Russia-Ukraine war, acute trauma care needs grew, the workforce was destabilised by HCW migrating or shifting roles to meet conflict needs, and facilities faced surge events. Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) exposure risks created unique preparedness needs.

Health needs of older people and age-inclusive health care in humanitarian emergencies in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Health needs of older people in humanitarian settings are poorly documented, negatively affecting the appropriateness of health services they receive. This Review identified the major health needs of older people across humanitarian contexts, including non-communicable diseases and mental health conditions (eg, psychological distress and depression). Barriers to health care of older people included inaccessibility of health-care services; shortage of appropriate health care; insufficient availability of medications and medical equipment; poor geriatric expertise of health-care staff, health policy makers, and health authorities; and age discrimination by health-care personnel.

Historical myths define group boundaries: A mathematical sketch and evidence from Ukraine.

The authors' proposal for the evolutionary origins of historical myths does not hold up to scrutiny, as illustrated by a simple mathematical model. Group-level explanations, such as defining the conditions for in-group membership, are dismissed by the authors but are far more plausible, as illustrated by the ongoing war in Ukraine.