Deintensification of Radiotherapy Use in Treatment of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ in the Netherlands-A Nationwide Overview From 2008 Until 2022.

Aims: Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) treated by breast-conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy aims to decrease the probability of locally recurrent disease. The role of whole breast irradiation, specifically in DCIS having low recurrence risk and low risk of becoming invasive, is increasingly debated. Also, the added value of applying boost irradiation in DCIS has been questioned.

Contemporary Use of Post-Dilatation for Stent Optimization During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention; Results From the Netherlands Heart Registration.

Backgrounds: Post-dilatation after stenting with a non-compliant (NC) balloon can be used to improve overall percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) result. Due to lack of evidence on the effect of post-dilatation on adverse clinical endpoints there is no consensus whether post-dilatation should be used routinely. The aim of the current study was to determine the contemporary practice of post-dilatation.

Have People Treated With Antihypertensives Been Diagnosed With Hypertension? A Cross-Sectional Study in Stockholm, Sweden.

Purpose: Studies on antihypertensive treatment are important, as hypertension remains the major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and premature death. However, antihypertensive medicines are also used for other conditions, and the use of these medicines as a proxy for a diagnosis of hypertension might lead to misclassification in pharmacoepidemiological studies. This study aimed to investigate to what extent people dispensed antihypertensive medicines have been diagnosed with hypertension.

Promoting Positive Leadership: Examining the Long-Term Dynamics of Anti-Bullying Programs.

Anti-bullying programs can create more positive classroom environments by fostering the development of positive leaders who establish constructive norms. The social identity theory of leadership addresses stability and change within different leader profiles and identifies leader group prototypicality: the extent to which leaders are perceived to embody the group identity, including standards, values, and norms. This study focuses on two key areas: (1) examining stability and change within positive and negative leader profiles, and (2) comparing transition probabilities between the KiVa anti-bullying intervention condition and a control condition.

Establishing reference curves for vital tissue perfusion using quantitative near-infrared fluorescence imaging with indocyanine green.

Purpose: Assessment of tissue perfusion using near-infrared fluorescence (NIR) with indocyanine green (ICG) is gaining popularity, however reliable and objective interpretation remains a challenge. Therefore, this study aimed to establish reference curves for vital tissue perfusion across target tissues using this imaging modality.

Methods: Data from five prospective study cohorts conducted in three Dutch academic medical centres between December 2018 and June 2023 was included.

Developing and applying a training needs analysis tool for healthcare workers managing snakebite envenoming: A cross-sectional study in Eswatini.

A considerable number of patients present to hospitals in Eswatini each year following bites by venomous snakes. Effectively diagnosing and treating patients with snakebite envenoming requires healthcare workers to have a variety of generic and snakebite-specific medical skills. In several countries, however, healthcare workers have been found to have limited skills in managing snakebite patients.

Co-occurrence of bronchiectasis, airway wall thickening, and emphysema in Chinese low-dose CT screening.

Objective: To assess the co-occurrence of incidental CT lung findings (emphysema, bronchiectasis, and airway wall thickening) as well as associated risk factors in low-dose CT (LDCT) lung cancer screening in a Chinese urban population.

Methods: Data from 978 participants aged 40-74 years from the Chinese NELCIN-B3 urban population study who underwent LDCT screening were selected. CT scans were reviewed for incidental lung findings: emphysema, bronchiectasis and airway wall thickness.

Long-term mortality of Dutch COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care medicine: a retrospective analysis from a national quality registry.

Objective: To describe the 12-month mortality of Dutch COVID-19 intensive care unit patients, the total COVID-19 population and various subgroups on the basis of the number of comorbidities, age, sex, mechanical ventilation, and vasoactive medication use.

Methods: We included all patients admitted with COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and March 29, 2022, from the Dutch National Intensive Care (NICE) database. The crude 12-month mortality rate is presented via Kaplan-Meier survival curves for each patient subgroup.

The Amphibian Major Histocompatibility Complex-A Review and Future Outlook.

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a cluster of functionally related genes encoding proteins which, among other functions, mediate immune system activation. While the MHC of many vertebrates has been extensively studied, less is known about the amphibian MHC. This represents an important knowledge gap because amphibians mark the evolutionary transition from an aquatic to a terrestrial lifestyle and often maintain a biphasic lifestyle.

SarkoLife: quality of life in patients undergoing multimodal soft tissue sarcoma treatment.

Objective: To assess the tolerability of multimodal therapy in soft tissue sarcoma patients, particularly with regard to their quality of life and level of distress.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study enrolled individuals receiving sarcoma therapy at the sarcoma center of the University of Tuebingen between 2017 and 2022. Participants completed an online survey that included the EORTC's questionnaire (QLQ-C30), coupled with the distress thermometer and demographic inquiries.

Childhood abuse and neglect and adult body attitude.

The body is the medium through which humans experience the world, and the body is key to most suffering, healing, and clinical mental diagnoses. Body attitude refers to the affective, cognitive, and behavioural aspects of embodiment, which typically is more negative in clinical samples. We examine how adult body attitude is associated with self-reported childhood abuse and neglect.

Culture of honour and the stigma of abortion.

Access to safe abortion is critical for women's health, but women are stigmatised for seeking out an abortion due to social norms regarding gender roles and sexuality. This abortion stigma is likely more prevalent in U.S.

Large-scale sampling of potential breeding sites in male ruffs.

The traditional narrative of the life cycle of migratory birds is that individuals perform long-distance movements between a breeding and a wintering site, but are largely resident at those sites. Although this pattern may apply to socially monogamous species with biparental care, in polygamous systems, the sex that only provides gametes may benefit from continuing to move and sample several potential breeding sites during a single breeding season. Such behaviour would blur the distinction between migration and breeding.

Phonological and speech motor abilities in children with childhood apraxia of speech.

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder in which the precision and consistency of speech sounds are impaired due to deficits in motor planning and programming. The literature on CAS suggests that the clinical features of CAS cannot be limited to one level of speech processing and that a more comprehensive understanding of how all levels involved in speech production are part of a complex system is needed. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between phonological and speech motor abilities in children with CAS and to determine the extent to which speech motor performance accounts for phonological processing in children with CAS.

From trainee to general practitioner: A qualitative study of transition experiences of Flemish GP trainees.

Background: The transition from trainee to professional marks a key milestone in a family doctor's career, bringing both emotional and mental challenges. This critical period of specialisation shapes how young doctors adapt and influences their future career choices.

Objectives: We explored trainees' experiences during their first year of advanced medical training in family medicine/general practice, including barriers and facilitators.

Caspase Inhibition Restores Collagen I α1 and Fibronectin Release in Cigarette Smoke Extract-Exposed Human Lung Fibroblasts.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease characterized by obstructed airflow, airway remodeling, and inflammation, with cigarette smoke (CS) exposure being the main risk factor. While CS extract (CSE) has been shown to activate caspases in various cell types, the role of caspases in human lung fibroblasts (hLFs), in COPD remains poorly understood. Recent studies have linked caspases to extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling in skin and kidney fibrosis.

Solid-State Photoswitching of Hydrazones Based on Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer.

The development of new photochromic systems is motivated by the possibility of controlling the properties and functions of materials with high spatial and temporal resolution in a reversible manner. While there are several classes of photoswitches operating in solution, the design of systems efficiently operating in the solid state remains highly challenging, mainly due to limitations related to confinement effects. Triaryl-hydrazones represent a relatively new subclass of bistable hydrazone photoswitches exhibiting efficient / photochromism in solution.

Myocardial Fibroblast Activation After Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Study.

Background: Myocardial fibrosis is a key healing response after myocardial infarction driven by activated fibroblasts. Gallium-68-labeled fibroblast activation protein inhibitor ([Ga]-FAPI) is a novel positron-emitting radiotracer that binds activated fibroblasts.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the intensity, distribution, and time-course of fibroblast activation after acute myocardial infarction.

From Structure to Function: How Prebiotic Diversity Shapes Gut Integrity and Immune Balance.

The microbiota stability, diversity, and composition are pillars for an efficient and beneficial symbiotic relationship between its host and itself. Microbial dysbiosis, a condition where a homeostatic bacterial community is disturbed by acute or chronic events, is a predisposition for many diseases, including local and systemic inflammation that leads to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and some types of cancers. Classical dysbiosis occurs in the large intestine.

Genomic Investigation and Comparative Analysis of European High-Risk Clone of ST2.

Multidrug-resistant is a major concern in healthcare institutions worldwide. Several reports described the dissemination of high-risk clones that are responsible for a high number of difficult-to-treat infections. In our study, 19 multidrug-resistant strains from Budapest, Hungary, were investigated based on whole-genome sequencing (WGS).

Strategies to Enhance Diagnostic Capabilities for the New Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) Drugs.

The global burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) continues to challenge healthcare systems worldwide. There is a critical need to tackle DR-TB by enhancing diagnostics and drug susceptibility testing (DST) capabilities, particularly for emerging DR-TB drugs. This endeavor is crucial to optimize the efficacy of new therapeutic regimens and prevent the resistance and overuse of these invaluable weapons.

Using Vital Signs for the Early Prediction of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Neonates with Machine Learning.

Background/objectives: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a devastating neonatal gastrointestinal disease mostly seen in preterm infants, lacks accurate prediction despite known risk factors. This hinders the possibility of applying targeted preventive therapies. This study explores the use of vital signs, including cerebral and splanchnic oxygenation, measured with near-infrared spectroscopy in early NEC prediction.

A Versatile Skin-Derived Extracellular Matrix Hydrogel-Based Platform to Investigate the Function of a Mechanically Isolated Adipose Tissue Stromal Vascular Fraction.

To accelerate cutaneous wound healing and prevent scarring, regenerative approaches such as injecting a mechanically derived tissue stromal vascular fraction (tSVF) are currently under clinical and laboratory investigations. The aim of our study was to investigate a platform to assess the interaction between skin-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) hydrogels and tSVF and their effects on their microenvironment in the first ten days of culture. A tSVF mixed with ECM hydrogel was cultured for ten days.

Clinical Introduction of Stem Cell Sparing Radiotherapy to Reduce the Risk of Xerostomia in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer.

Background/objectives: Studies have shown that dose to the parotid gland stem cell rich (SCR) regions should be reduced to lower the risk of xerostomia after radiotherapy (RT). This study aimed to assess whether stem cell sparing (SCS)-RT can be adopted in routine clinical practice.

Methods: Multiple planning studies were performed to compare SCS-RT with standard (ST)-RT using 30 head and neck cancer patients.