A nationwide study of two decades of invasive pneumococcal disease in the Faroe Islands, 2000-2023.

Background: Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) remains a significant public health concern, particularly in vulnerable populations such as the elderly. This study focuses on the Faroe Islands, a unique setting for monitoring pneumococcal disease trends due to its high vaccination coverage and geographic isolation.

Objective: To examine the prevalence, trends and serotype distribution of IPD in the Faroe Islands from 2000 to 2023, focusing on the impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) on disease incidence and serotype replacement.

Cavitation dynamics and thermodynamic effect of R134a refrigerant in a Venturi tube.

Cavitation plays a crucial role in the reliability of components in refrigeration systems. The properties of refrigerants change significantly with temperature, thereby amplifying the impact of thermodynamic effects. This study, based on the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) method and the Schnerr-Sauer (S-S) cavitation model, investigates the transient cavitating flow characteristics of the R134a refrigerant in a Venturi tube (VT).

Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Agonists Reduce Cardiovascular Events in Cancer Patients on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are associated with an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists (GLP1a), initially developed for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), have shown promising results in reducing cardiovascular events. We aimed to investigate the effect of GLP1a on cardiovascular events in patients receiving ICIs.

Carbohydrate ingestion during prolonged exercise blunts the reduction in power output at the moderate-to-heavy intensity transition.

Purpose: To determine the effect of carbohydrate ingestion during prolonged exercise on durability of the moderate-to-heavy-intensity transition and severe-intensity performance.

Methods: Twelve trained cyclists and triathletes (10 males, 2 females; peak, 59 ± 5 mL kg min; training volume, 14 ± 5 h week) performed an incremental test and 5-min time trial (TT) without prior exercise (PRE), and after 150 min of moderate-intensity cycling, with (POST) and without (POST) carbohydrate ingestion.

Results: Power output at the first ventilatory threshold (VT) was lower in POST (225 ± 36 W, ∆ -3 ± 2%, P = 0.

AAHPM Assessment Workgroup: Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Assessment Needs & Directions.

Context: Medical education is moving towards competency based medical education (CBME). This provides opportunities and challenges for the field of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM). The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) created the Assessment Workgroup to spearhead a shared vision and process to implement high-quality assessment of fellow performance.

Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and antimalarial activity of MMV533: a phase 1a first-in-human, randomised, ascending dose and food effect study, and a phase 1b Plasmodium falciparum volunteer infection study.

Background: Novel antimalarials are needed to address emerging resistance to artemisinin and partner drugs. We did two trials to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and activity against blood stage Plasmodium falciparum for the drug candidate MMV533.

Methods: A phase 1a first-in-human (FIH) trial was conducted at Nucleus Network (Melbourne, VIC, Australia).

Approaches to ensure an equitable and fair admissions process for medical training.

There has been considerable discussion of how best to address racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes, both globally and specifically in the United States. Increasing diversity among future clinicians and physician-scientists has been identified as a key strategy for addressing and correcting health disparities among underrepresented populations. Increasingly, medical schools, the institutions that train clinicians, have embraced the practice of holistic review for evaluating applicants and virtually all medical schools have reported contributing to a diverse physician workforce as an important aspect of their educational mission.

Pediatric cochlear implantation in otitis media with effusion: Are ventilation tubes truly necessary?

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the clinical findings of our cochlear implant (CI) patients with otitis media with effusion (OME) and CI patients treated with ventilation tube (VT) for OME.

Methods: The medical records of patients who underwent CI surgery at Hacettepe University, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, between November 1997 and March 2023 were reviewed. Patients who had OME or VT in the implanted ear at the time of surgery were included in the study.

Identifying therapeutic target for prostate cancer: exploring Diosmetin as a CYP inhibitor.

Prostate cancer is a prevalent and highly heterogeneous malignancy that affects men globally. Despite the availability of various treatment targets, Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes have gained significant attention due to their crucial role in metabolizing both endogenous and exogenous compounds. This study explores Diosmetin as a potential CYP antagonist for treating prostate cancer.

Two Blatter Radicals Face-to-Face: A Constrained Diradical Architecture.

Cofacial arrangement of two Blatter radicals enforced by the -naphthalene scaffold represents a new approach to stable diradicals with strong through-space interactions. Two stereoisomers of the naphthalene-diradicals, and , are investigated by XRD, VT-EPR, UV-vis, electrochemical, kinetic, and DFT methods. In solutions, both stereoisomers exist as open-shell singlets with Δ = -3.

Does Hospital Accreditation or Certification Impact Patient Outcomes? Findings From a Scoping Review for Healthcare Industry Leaders.

Objective: This scoping review describes findings from published literature, evaluates the association between hospital accreditation or certification and patient outcomes, and identifies gaps.

Background: Healthcare accreditation and certification organizations set standards and evaluate whether the standards are met. Despite the extensive efforts of both parties to improve healthcare delivery, poor patient health outcomes still exist in the United States.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Assessment of the Risk of Sudden Death in Cardiac Sarcoidosis: What Is Extensive or Significant Late Gadolinium Enhancement?

Background: Cardiac sarcoidosis involves a significant but difficult-to-define risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Current guidelines recommend consideration of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator for patients with extensive or significant myocardial late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. However, extensive/significant LGE is not defined.

Tackling algorithmic bias and promoting transparency in health datasets: the STANDING Together consensus recommendations.

Without careful dissection of the ways in which biases can be encoded into artificial intelligence (AI) health technologies, there is a risk of perpetuating existing health inequalities at scale. One major source of bias is the data that underpins such technologies. The STANDING Together recommendations aim to encourage transparency regarding limitations of health datasets and proactive evaluation of their effect across population groups.

Machine learning models for diagnosis and risk prediction in eating disorders, depression, and alcohol use disorder.

Background: Early diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses is hampered by the lack of reliable markers. This study used machine learning models to uncover diagnostic and risk prediction markers for eating disorders (EDs), major depressive disorder (MDD), and alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Methods: Case-control samples (aged 18-25 years), including participants with Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), MDD, AUD, and matched controls, were used for diagnostic classification.

3D extrusion bioprinting of microbial inks for biomedical applications.

In recent years, the field of 3D bioprinting has witnessed the intriguing development of a new type of bioink known as microbial inks. Bioinks, typically associated with mammalian cells, have been reimagined to involve microbes, enabling many new applications beyond tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This review presents the latest advancements in microbial inks, including their definition, types, composition, salient characteristics, and biomedical applications.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for patients with electrical storm or refractory ventricular arrhythmias: Management and outcomes.

Patients on veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) are at high risk for ventricular arrhythmias due to derangements in myocardial perfusion, hemodynamics, and heightened catecholamine states. Existing data on the management and outcomes of patients with electrical storm or refractory ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (VT/VF) treated with VA-ECMO are primarily derived from retrospective observational studies. Typical survival rates are in the range of 40-50%, with 15-20% of patients undergoing VT ablation and 30-40% of patients requiring advanced heart failure therapies (cardiac transplant or durable left ventricular assist device).

Feasibility of volumetric-modulated arc therapy gating for cardiac radioablation using real-time ECG signal acquisition and a dynamic phantom.

Background: Stereotactic arrythmia radioablation (STAR) is a noninvasive technique to treat ventricular tachycardia (VT). Management of cardiorespiratory motion plays an essential role in VT-STAR treatments to improve treatment outcomes by reducing positional uncertainties and increasing dose conformality. Use of an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal, acquired in real-time, as a surrogate to gate the beam has the potential to fulfil that intent.

Oscillometry reference values for children and adolescents.

Background: Oscillometry devices allow quantification of respiratory function at tidal breathing but device-specific reference equations are scarce: the present study aims to create sex-specific oscillometric reference values for children and adolescents using the Resmon PRO FULL device.

Methods: Healthy participants (n=981) aged 6 to 17 years of the Austrian LEAD general population cohort were included. Subjects had normal weight (body mass index ≤99th percentile) and normal lung volumes (total lung capacity (TLC) ≥ lower limit of normal).

Optimizing glycemic control in type 2 diabetes: the impact of the GLIDE program's personalized digital health intervention.

Background: The integration of digital health applications into type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) management presents promising opportunities for optimizing glycemic control, enhancing adherence, and improving health outcomes. MyTatva's Glycemic Lifestyle Intervention in Diabetes Empowerment (GLIDE) program, which integrates dietary and exercise regimens, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, potentiates this approach. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the GLIDE program's personalized, comprehensive approach in improving glycemic control over 90 days among T2DM patients.

Bladder sparing management for muscle-invasive bladder cancer after a complete clinical response: ready for prime time?-a narrative review.

Background And Objective: A standard of care for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by radical cystectomy (RC). Given recent improvements in NAC and the morbidity associated with RC, bladder-sparing therapy has been investigated as a promising treatment for patients with MIBC who experience a complete clinical response (CCR) to systemic therapy. However, clinical staging is unreliable, making it challenging to determine ideal candidates for bladder-sparing therapy.

Gut microbiota profiling in injection drug users with and without HIV-1 infection in Puerto Rico.

Introduction: The full extent of interactions between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, injection drug use, and the human microbiome is unclear. In this study, we examined the microbiomes of HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals, both drug-injecting and non-injecting, to identify bacterial community changes in response to HIV and drug use. We utilized a well-established cohort of people who inject drugs in Puerto Rico, a region with historically high levels of injection drug use and an HIV incidence rate disproportionately associated with drug use.

Dual calcium-voltage optical mapping of regional voltage and calcium signals in intact murine -R2474S hearts.

Unlabelled: Abnormal regional variations in electrical and calcium homeostasis properties have been implicated in catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardias (CPVT) attributable to abnormal RyR2-mediated store Ca release, but their underlying mechanism have not been well explored in intact hearts.

Methods: We performed in vivo and ex vivo studies including high throughput mapping of Ca transients (CaT) and transmembrane voltage (V) in murine wild-type (WT) and heterozygous -R2474S/+ hearts, before and during isoprenaline (ISO) challenge.

Results: ISO-challenged -R2474S/+ showed increased incidence of arrhythmia accompanied by abnormal Ca transients compared to WT.

The Utility of Coronary Revascularization to Reduce Ventricular Arrhythmias in Coronary Artery Disease Patients: A Systematic Review.

Ventricular arrhythmias (VA) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Current guidelines recommend revascularization of significant CAD to improve survival in patients with ventricular fibrillation (VF), polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT), or those who are post-cardiac arrest. However, revascularization is not recommended for CAD patients with suspected scar-mediated monomorphic VT.

The IMproving treatment decisions for Patients with AortiC stenosis Through Shared Decision Making (IMPACT SDM) Study: study protocol for a cluster randomized stepped wedge trial.

Background: The American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recommend shared decision-making (SDM) for patients with severe aortic stenosis choosing between transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). Although tools such as patient decision aids (DAs) and training in SDM have been shown to improve SDM, implementation of SDM and DAs is limited. The IMproving treatment decisions for Patients with AortiC stenosis Through Shared Decision Making (IMPACT SDM) study aims to (1) determine the effectiveness of the interventions (a DA and clinician SDM training) in achieving SDM (primary outcome) and improving the quality of decisions about aortic valve replacement, (2) determine the reach of the DAs and adoption of training, and (3) explore potential mechanisms of effectiveness and implementation at the patient-, clinician-, and clinic-level.