Preclinical identification of acute coronary syndrome without high sensitivity troponin assays using machine learning algorithms.

Preclinical management of patients with acute chest pain and their identification as candidates for urgent coronary revascularization without the use of high sensitivity troponin essays remains a critical challenge in emergency medicine. We enrolled 2760 patients (average age 70 years, 58.6% male) with chest pain and suspected ACS, who were admitted to the Emergency Department of the University Hospital Tübingen, Germany, between August 2016 and October 2020.

NEGOTIATING HEALTH: patients' and guardians' perspective on "failed" patient-professional interactions in the context of the Swedish health care system.

Background: Sweden has a largely tax-funded health care system that aims at providing equal access for everyone. However, the individual's perception and experience of the health care system remains a relevant topic for researchers. The aim of this study is to learn the patient's perspective on how patients and professionals negotiate in the social context of the Swedish health care system.

A flow bioreactor system compatible with real-time two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy.

Bioreactors are essential cell and tissue culture tools that allow the introduction of biophysical signals into in vitro cultures. One major limitation is the need to interrupt experiments and sacrifice samples at certain time points for analyses. To address this issue, we designed a bioreactor that combines high-resolution contact-free imaging and continuous flow in a closed system that is compatible with various types of microscopes.

Facial microcirculatory and biomechanical skin properties after single high energy (Er):YAG laser application.

Objective: Owing to skin aging and the growing demand for skin rejuvenation, minimal invasive aesthetic treatments such as laser procedures are increasingly coming into focus. However, until now, little has been known about the objective effects of these procedures with respect to skin microcirculation or changes in skin elasticity.

Study Design: Facial skin rejuvenation was performed on 32 volunteers using ablative Erbium: YAG laser.

Freeze-Drying as a Novel Biofabrication Method for Achieving a Controlled Microarchitecture within Large, Complex Natural Biomaterial Scaffolds.

The biofabrication of large natural biomaterial scaffolds into complex 3D shapes which have a controlled microarchitecture remains a major challenge. Freeze-drying (or lyophilization) is a technique used to generate scaffolds in planar 3D geometries. Here we report the development of a new biofabrication process to form a collagen-based scaffold into a large, complex geometry which has a large height to width ratio, and a controlled porous microarchitecture.

Steps toward Maturation of Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes by Defined Physical Signals.

Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (ESC-CMs) may offer significant advances in creating in vitro cardiac tissues for disease modeling, drug testing, and elucidating developmental processes; however, the induction of ESCs to a more adult-like CM phenotype remains challenging. In this study, we developed a bioreactor system to employ pulsatile flow (1.

Applying phasor approach analysis of multiphoton FLIM measurements to probe the metabolic activity of three-dimensional in vitro cell culture models.

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) can measure and discriminate endogenous fluorophores present in biological samples. This study seeks to identify FLIM as a suitable method to non-invasively detect a shift in cellular metabolic activity towards glycolysis or oxidative phosphorylation in 3D Caco-2 models of colorectal carcinoma. These models were treated with potassium cyanide or hydrogen peroxide as controls, and epidermal growth factor (EGF) as a physiologically-relevant influencer of cell metabolic behaviour.

Urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) and proteinuria predict severity of acute kidney injury in Puumala virus infection.

Background: Nephropathia epidemica (NE) is a mild form of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) that is caused by the Puumala virus. Periodic outbreaks have been described in endemic areas, with a substantial number of previously healthy individuals developing acute kidney injury (AKI). There is a considerable diversity in the clinical course of the disease, and few patients require renal replacement therapy.

Solutions for low and high accuracy mass spectrometric data matching: a data-driven annotation strategy in nontargeted metabolomics.

Ultra high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) has become a widespread analytical technique in metabolomics investigations, however the benefit of high-performance chromatographic separation is often blunted due to insufficient mass spectrometric accuracy. A strategy that allows for the matching of UHPLC-MS data to highly accurate direct infusion electrospray ionization (DI-ESI) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance/mass spectrometry (FTICR/MS) data is developed in this manuscript. Mass difference network (MDiN) based annotation of FTICR/MS data and matching to unique UHPLC-MS peaks enables the consecutive annotation of the chromatographic data set.

Prospects for regenerative medicine approaches in women's health.

Novel regenerative strategies, stem cell-based therapies or the development of advanced human cell-based in vitro-manufactured preclinical test systems offer great potential to generate advances in clinical practice in the field of women's health. This review aims to provide a brief overview of the current advances in the field.

Associations of Erythrocyte Fatty Acids in the De Novo Lipogenesis Pathway with Proxies of Liver Fat Accumulation in the EPIC-Potsdam Study.

Background: Biomarker fatty acids (FAs) reflecting de novo lipogenesis (DNL) are strongly linked to the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Liver fat accumulation could mediate this relation. There is very limited data from human population-based studies that have examined this relation.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG) modulates free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFAR1) dependent insulin secretion in humans.

Genetic variation in FFAR1 modulates insulin secretion dependent on non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations. We previously demonstrated lower insulin secretion in minor allele carriers of PPARG Pro12Ala in high-NEFA environment, but the mode of action could not been revealed. We tested if this effect is mediated by FFAR1 in humans.

Evaluation of various biomarkers as potential mediators of the association between coffee consumption and incident type 2 diabetes in the EPIC-Potsdam Study.

Background: The inverse association between coffee consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is well established; however, little is known about potential mediators of this association.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the association between coffee consumption and diabetes-related biomarkers and their potential role as mediators of the association between coffee consumption and T2D.

Design: We analyzed a case-cohort study (subcohort: n = 1610; verified incident T2D cases: n = 417) nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Potsdam study involving 27,548 middle-aged participants.

Untangling the interplay of genetic and metabolic influences on beta-cell function: Examples of potential therapeutic implications involving TCF7L2 and FFAR1.

Deteriorating beta-cell function is a common feature of type 2 diabetes. In this review, we briefly address the regulation of beta-cell function, and discuss some of the main determinants of beta-cell failure. We will focus on the role of interactions between the genetic background and metabolic environment (insulin resistance, fuel supply and flux as well as metabolic signaling).

Association between erythrocyte membrane fatty acids and biomarkers of dyslipidemia in the EPIC-Potsdam study.

Background/objective: Blood proportions of fatty acids (FAs) and FA-ratios reflecting desaturase activity are associated with the risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus or cardiovascular diseases. Biomarkers of dyslipidemia are considered as potential mediators of this association. We evaluated associations of erythrocyte membrane proportions of individual disease-related polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), trans-FAs, dairy-derived saturated FAs (SFAs) (15:0, 17:0) and FA-ratios with biomarkers of dyslipidemia (high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, non-HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides).

Alterations in Fas (CD 95/Apo-1) and Fas ligand (CD178) expression in acute promyelocytic leukemia during treatment with ATRA.

Over the recent years, treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has become a widely accepted therapeutic regimen and is considered a model of differentiation therapy in malignant diseases. However, the role of ATRA treatment beyond that of the induction of differentiation of leukemic blasts is still far from being fully understood. Data from in vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated that during ATRA treatment of APL there are significant changes not only in the expression of the apoptotic molecules Fas and Fas ligand, but also in the expression of other molecules involved both in the regulation of apoptosis and in interactions between host immune and leukemia cells.

4-1 BB ligand--just another costimulating molecule?

Initially, scientific interest in the 4-1BB/4-1BB Ligand system focused on the role of the 4-1BB (CD137) receptor in the costimulation of T cells. More recently, evidence is accumulating that 4-1BBL is more than "just" the ligand for a costimulatory molecule. In this review we discuss the functional properties of 4-1BB Ligand such as its preference for CD8 positive T cells and the differences to costimulation via the B7/CD28 system.

MRI characteristics of acute and subacute brainstem and thalamic infarctions: value of T2- and diffusion-weighted sequences.

MRI including diffusion-weighted sequences (DW-MRI) has demonstrated its high sensitivity for acute supratentorial ischemic lesions. In this study we examined the sensitivity of different MRI sequences for the detection of acute brainstem and isolated thalamic infarctions. Diffusion- and T2-weighted MRI of 45 consecutive patients with signs and symptoms of infratentorial and thalamic infarction between 6/1997 and 1/2000 were analysed.