Sonographers' perspectives on research - A worldwide online questionnaire study.

Introduction: Research has been performed by sonographers (also known as ultrasound reporting radiographers) for many years for improving diagnosis of disease, developing new imaging approaches, and enhancing patient outcomes. Despite this, sonographers' perspectives on research have not been well studied. To understand the views of sonographers is essential, as they have an important role in the successful implementation of research outcomes during their daily work.

Tumor necrosis factor α promotes clonal dominance of KIT D816V+ cells in mastocytosis: role of survivin and impact on prognosis.

Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is defined by the expansion and accumulation of neoplastic mast cells (MCs) in the bone marrow (BM) and extracutaneous organs. Most patients harbor a somatic KIT D816V mutation, which leads to growth factor-independent KIT activation and accumulation of MC. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF) is a proapoptotic and inflammatory cytokine that has been implicated in the clonal selection of neoplastic cells.

Interrogating ligand-receptor interactions using highly sensitive cellular biosensors.

Interactions of membrane-resident proteins are important targets for therapeutic interventions but most methods to study them are either costly, laborious or fail to reflect the physiologic interaction of membrane resident proteins in trans. Here we describe highly sensitive cellular biosensors as a tool to study receptor-ligand pairs. They consist of fluorescent reporter cells that express chimeric receptors harboring ectodomains of cell surface molecules and intracellular signaling domains.

Future Proteins: Sustainable Diets for Rearing Composed of Food By-Products.

Since the human population is continuously growing, sufficient food with low environmental impact is required. Especially, the challenge of providing proteins will deepen and insects can contribute to a more sustainable and efficient source of protein for human consumption. larvae are highly nutritious and rearing mealworms is more environmentally friendly compared to the production of traditional livestock meat.

The use of simulation in medical ultrasound: Current perspectives on applications and practical implementation (WFUMB state-of-the-art paper).

Simulation has been shown to improve clinical learning outcomes, speed up the learning process, and improve trainee confidence, while taking the pressure off initial face-to-face patient clinical areas. The second part of The World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology state-of-the-art paper on the use of simulators provides a general approach on the practical implementation. The importance of needs assessment before developing a simulation-based training program is outlined.

Liking and Description of Pasta Sauces with Varying Mealworm Content.

Entomophagy is directly connected with culture, explaining why it is commonly rejected in Western countries. Due to increased meat consumption in recent years with its associated negative impacts on health and sustainability, the development of products based on alternative protein sources has become urgent. The larval form of (mealworm) has the potential to substitute meat as it requires less resources and produces less emissions compared to other forms of meat production.

Customizing amino acid metabolism of Pichia pastoris for recombinant protein production.

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. In this respect, a reciprocal effect of recombinant protein production on amino acid biosynthesis as well as the impact of the availability of free amino acids on protein production can be anticipated. In this study, the impact of engineering the amino acid metabolism on the production of recombinant proteins was investigated in the yeast Pichia pastoris (syn Komagataella phaffii).

Wearable Device Health Data Mapping to Open mHealth and FHIR Data Formats.

Health data collected by wearables and apps can be useful as part of patient-generated health data (PGHD) or personal health data for medical diagnosis or general health monitoring. Mobile health apps are more and more accepted, generate evidence and might be increasingly used in personal medicine. Data retrieved from wearables and apps are mostly not following a medical data standard and cannot be retrieved from the vendors in a straightforward way.

Nerve transfer reversal to treat co-contraction after anatomic brachial plexus reconstruction and Oberlin transfer: A case report.

Distal nerve transfers to restore elbow flexion have become standard of care in brachial plexus reconstruction. The purpose of this report is to draw attention to intractable co-contraction as a rare but significant adverse event of distal nerve transfers. Here we report of treatment of a disabling co-contraction of the brachialis muscle and wrist/finger flexors after median to brachialis fascicular transfer in a 61-year-old male patient.

Nerve Transfers for Brachial Plexus Reconstruction in Patients over 60 Years.

Negative expectations regarding nerve reconstruction in the elderly prevail in the literature, but little is known about the effectiveness of nerve transfers in patients with brachial plexus injuries aged over 60 years. We present a series of five patients (1 female, 4 male) aged between 60 and 81 years (median 62.0 years) who underwent nerve reconstruction using multiple nerve transfers in brachial plexopathies.

Investigating the Relationships between Taste Preferences and Beverage Intake in Preadolescents.

Sugar-sweetened beverages are known promotors of adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to find a relation between taste perception, preferences for beverages, anthropometric parameters, and frequency of beverage consumption. Taste perception of sweetness was tested using an adopted sensitivity test with sucrose and different concentrations of sugar-sweetened apple juice.

The ultrasound use of simulators, current view, and perspectives: Requirements and technical aspects (WFUMB state of the art paper).

Simulation has been shown to improve clinical learning outcomes, speed up the learning process and improve learner confidence, whilst initially taking pressure off busy clinical lists. The World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) state of the art paper on the use of simulators in ultrasound education introduces ultrasound simulation, its advantages and challenges. It describes different simulator types, including low and high-fidelity simulators, the requirements and technical aspects of simulators, followed by the clinical applications of ultrasound simulation.

Speaking up about patient safety concerns: view of nursing students.

Background: "Speaking up" is considered an important patient safety behaviour. The main idea is to voice patient safety concerns; however, several studies revealed that the organisational culture can be obstructive. In previous studies, we already identified barriers for doctors, nurses and medical students.

A multi-omics based anti-inflammatory immune signature characterizes long COVID-19 syndrome.

To investigate long COVID-19 syndrome (LCS) pathophysiology, we performed an exploratory study with blood plasma derived from three groups: 1) healthy vaccinated individuals without SARS-CoV-2 exposure; 2) asymptomatic recovered patients at least three months after SARS-CoV-2 infection and; 3) symptomatic patients at least 3 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection with chronic fatigue syndrome or similar symptoms, here designated as patients with long COVID-19 syndrome (LCS). Multiplex cytokine profiling indicated slightly elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in recovered individuals in contrast to patients with LCS. Plasma proteomics demonstrated low levels of acute phase proteins and macrophage-derived secreted proteins in LCS.

Reduced Cerebellar Brain Inhibition and Vibrotactile Perception in Response to Mechanical Hand Stimulation at Flutter Frequency.

The cerebellum is traditionally considered a movement control structure because of its established afferent and efferent anatomical and functional connections with the motor cortex. In the last decade, studies also proposed its involvement in perception, particularly somatosensory acquisition and prediction of the sensory consequences of movement. However, compared to its role in motor control, the cerebellum's specific role or modulatory influence on other brain areas involved in sensory perception, specifically the primary sensorimotor cortex, is less clear.

Mixed Reality Prototype of Multimodal Screening for Early Detection of Cognitive Impairments in Older Adults: Protocol Development and Usability Study.

Background: The early diagnosis of cognitive impairments is an important step in the adequate management of dementia. The project "Smart Cognition & Behaviour Screening powered by Augmented Reality" (SCOBES-AR) aims to develop a multimodal screening tool (MST) for the early detection of cognitive impairments using augmented and virtual reality. The first project phase selected validated assessments for combination with the MST and tested it in 300 healthy older adults.

A Proteomic Platform Enables to Test for AML Normalization .

Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) can be cured by the co-administration of arsenic trioxide (ATO) and all- retinoic acid (ATRA). These small molecules relieve the differentiation blockade of the transformed promyelocytes and trigger their maturation into functional neutrophils, which are physiologically primed for apoptosis. This normalization therapy represents a compelling alternative to cytotoxic anticancer chemotherapy, but lacks an model system for testing the efficiency of novel combination treatments consisting of inducers of differentiation and metallopharmaceuticals.

Spatially modulated illumination microscopy: application perspectives in nuclear nanostructure analysis.

Thousands of genes and the complex biochemical networks for their transcription are packed in the micrometer sized cell nucleus. To control biochemical processes, spatial organization plays a key role. Hence the structure of the cell nucleus of higher organisms has emerged as a main topic of advanced light microscopy.

The Experiences of Functioning and Health of Patients With Primary Sjögren's Syndrome: A Multicenter Qualitative European Study.

To identify a spectrum of perspectives on functioning and health of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) from the five European countries in order to reveal commonalities and insights in their experiences. A multicenter focus group study on the patients with pSS about their perspectives of functioning and health was performed. Focus groups were chaired by trained moderators based on an interview guide, audiotaped, and transcribed.

User experience and acceptance of a device assisting persons with dementia in daily life: a multicenter field study.

Background: Assistive technologies have the potential to facilitate everyday life of people with dementia and their families. Close collaboration with affected people and interdisciplinary research are essential to understand and address the needs of prospective users. In this study, we present the results of the evaluation of such an assistive system prototype.

Serum metabolomics analysis reveals increased lipid catabolism in mildly hyperbilirubinemic Gilbert's syndrome individuals.

Background: The protective role of mildly elevated bilirubin against CVD and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DMT2) is associated with a favorable lipid phenotype. As the mechanistic understanding of this protection in humans remains elusive, we aimed to assess the metabolomics profile of mildly hyperbilirubinemic (Gilbert's syndrome; GS) individuals especially targeting lipid catabolism.

Methods And Results: Using NMR serum metabolomics of 56 GS individuals and 56 age and gender-matched healthy controls, GS individuals demonstrated significantly greater concentrations of acetylcarnitine (+20%, p < 0.