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

External quality assessment (EQA) cycles are the smallest complete units within EQA programs that laboratories can use to obtain external assessments of their performance. In each cycle, several samples are distributed to the laboratories registered for participation, and ideally, EQA programs not only cover the examination procedures but also the pre- and post-examination procedures. The properties and concentration range of measurands in individual samples are selected with regard to the intended challenge for the participants so that each sample fulfils its purpose.

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).

Using Active and Passive Smartphone Data to Enhance Adolescents' Emotional Awareness in Forensic Outpatient Setting: A Qualitative Feasibility and Usability Study.

Background: Delinquent behavior in adolescence is a prevalent issue, often associated with difficulties across multiple life domains, which in turn perpetuates negative life outcomes. While current treatment programs show partial success in improving behavioral changes and reducing recidivism, comprehensive conclusions regarding the overall efficacy of these interventions have yet to be established. In forensic outpatient settings, the discrepancy between adolescents' limited emotional awareness and the predominant emphasis on cognitive reflection, combined with low treatment adherence, may be factors that undermine treatment efficacy.

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

Providers of external quality assessment (EQA) programs evaluate data or information obtained and reported by participant laboratories using their routine procedures to examine properties or measurands in samples provided for this purpose. EQA samples must offer participants an equal chance to obtain accurate results, while being designed to provide results in clinically relevant ranges. It is the responsibility of the EQA provider to meet the necessary requirements for homogeneity, stability and some other properties of the EQA items in order to offer participants a fair, reliable and technically interesting EQA experience.

Non-canonical roles of CFH in retinal pigment epithelial cells revealed by dysfunctional rare CFH variants.

Complement factor H (CFH) common genetic variants have been associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). While most previous in vitro RPE studies focused on the common p.His402Tyr CFH variant, we characterized rare CFH variants that are highly penetrant for AMD using induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived retinal pigment epithelium (iPSC-RPE).

Primary respiratory support of extremely preterm neonates in the Netherlands: a national survey.

Introduction: Non-invasive respiratory support strategies have evolved to avoid bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants. However, consensus on the best treatment strategy remains lacking. This study aims to investigate current practices and variations in primary respiratory support for extremely preterm neonates across neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the Netherlands.

ATC-to-RxNorm mappings - A comparison between OHDSI Standardized Vocabularies and UMLS Metathesaurus.

Introduction: The World Health Organization global standard for representing drug data is the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification. However, it does not represent ingredients and other drug properties required by clinical decision support systems. A mapping to a terminology system that contains this information, like RxNorm, may help fill this gap.

Fluorescent Nanobodies for enhanced guidance in digestive tumors and liver metastasis surgery.

Background: Fluorescence molecular imaging, a potent and non-invasive technique, has become indispensable in medicine for visualizing molecular processes. In surgical oncology, it aids treatment by allowing visualization of tumor cells during fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS). Targeting the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR), overexpressed during tissue remodeling and inflammation, holds promise for advancing FGS by specifically highlighting tumors.

Experimental medicine study with stabilised native-like HIV-1 Env immunogens drives long-term antibody responses, but lacks neutralising breadth.

Background: We report findings from an experimental medicine study of rationally designed prefusion stabilised native-like HIV envelope glycoprotein (Env) immunogens, representative of global circulating strains, delivered by sequential intramuscular injection.

Methods: Healthy adult volunteers were enrolled into one of five groups (A to E) each receiving a different schedule of one of two consensus Env immunogens (ConM SOSIP, ConS UFO, either unmodified or stabilised by chemical cross-linking, followed by a boost with two mosaic Env immunogens (Mos3.1 and Mos3.

In-situ and ex-situ EPS-corona formation on ZnO QDs mitigates their environmental toxicity in the freshwater microalgae Chlorella sp.

The current work seeks to understand how the interactions between ZnO QDs and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) may vary based on the types of EPS (loosely and tightly bound) and modes of eco-corona formation (In-situ or ex-situ). In-situ eco-corona refers to formation of an EPS layer on the QDs during the interactions with the algae whereas the ex-situ condition refers to forming the layer before the interactions. ZnO QDs were added at 0.

Midwives' experience of managing emergencies during labour and birth in a community setting: a mixed-methods systematic review.

Background: For women at low risk of complications during labour and birth, in the United Kingdom, planned birth in a 'community' setting (at home or a freestanding midwifery unit) is generally safe, and intrapartum emergencies are uncommon. Limited exposure may affect midwives' experience of managing an emergency.

Aim: Identify and synthesise available evidence about midwives' experiences of managing intrapartum emergencies during labour in a community setting.

Women's preferences for care delivery during labour and birth in Dutch hospitals: A Q-methodology study.

Problem: Women's preferences regarding care delivery during labour and birth remain insufficiently understood. Obtaining a clear understanding of these is important to realise a maternity care system that is future-proof and person-centred.

Background: Dutch maternity care deals with capacity issues due to staff shortages.

EN ISO 15189 revision: EFLM Committee Accreditation and ISO/CEN standards (C: A/ISO) analysis and general remarks on the changes.

The EN ISO 15189:2022 standard, titled "Medical laboratories - Requirements for quality and competence," is a significant update to the regulations for medical laboratories. The revised standard was published on December 6, 2022, replacing both EN ISO 15189:2012 and EN ISO 22870:2016. Key objectives of the revision include: 1.

Disentangling Sources of Momentum Fluctuations in Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

High-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the eventwise average transverse momentum [P([p_{T}])]. Disentangling the contributions from fluctuations in the nuclear overlap size (geometrical component) and other sources at a fixed size (intrinsic component) remains a challenge. This problem is addressed by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of P([p_{T}]) in ^{208}Pb+^{208}Pb and ^{129}Xe+^{129}Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.

Interfacial Dripping Faucet: Generating Monodisperse Liquid Lenses.

We present a surface analog to a dripping faucet, where a viscous liquid slides down an immiscible meniscus. Periodic pinch-off of the dripping filament is observed, generating a succession of monodisperse floating lenses. We show that this interfacial dripping faucet can be described analogously to its single-phase counterpart, replacing surface tension by the spreading coefficient, and even undergoes a transition to a jetting regime.

Prediction of Retention Indices in LC-HRMS for Enhanced Structural Identification of Organic Micropollutants in Water: Selectivity-Based Filtration.

Addressing the global challenge of ensuring access to safe drinking water, especially in developing countries, demands cost-effective, eco-friendly, and readily available technologies. The persistence, toxicity, and bioaccumulation potential of organic pollutants arising from various human activities pose substantial hurdles. While high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS) is a widely utilized technique for identifying pollutants in water, the multitude of structures for a single elemental composition complicates structural identification.

Appreciating Appreciation: Residents' Experience Feeling Valued Differently as Learners, Physicians, and Employees.

Purpose: Cultures of wellness, defined as shared norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors that promote personal and professional growth and well-being, are robust determinants of professional fulfillment and professional performance. A major and largely overlooked aspect of a culture of wellness in medicine is residents' perceived appreciation or experience of feeling valued. Considering the pressing workforce and retention challenges that residency programs face, this study addressed the following research questions: How does appreciation at work manifest in the eyes of residents and how do residents perceive appreciation in relation to their professional fulfillment and performance?

Method: Guided by an interpretative phenomenological approach, this qualitative study purposively sampled 12 residents from different specialties, training years, regions in the Netherlands, and genders.

Variability of Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease questionnaire (PsAID12) thresholds in psoriatic arthritis: data from the ReFlaP study.

Objectives: To explore thresholds for the Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Impact of Disease questionnaire (PsAID12) score against disease activity measures in an observational setting, in patients with PsA.

Methods: The baseline data from the ReFlaP observational, prospective, multicentre and international study was used (NCT03119805). Cutoffs for PsAID12 were determined against disease activity scores, defining disease impact states (ie remission, low impact, moderate impact and high impact).

Fast exact gap-affine partial order alignment with POASTA.

Motivation: Partial order alignment is a widely used method for computing multiple sequence alignments, with applications in genome assembly and pangenomics, among many others. Current algorithms to compute the optimal, gap-affine partial order alignment do not scale well to larger graphs and sequences. While heuristic approaches exist, they do not guarantee optimal alignment and sacrifice alignment accuracy.

Identification of degenerative precursors at the wrist with advanced imaging: current updates.

Articular malalignment and ulnocarpal impaction can progress to osteoarthritis in the wrist. This may be triggered by tears of the scapholunate ligament (rarely the lunotriquetral ligament) or the foveal lamina of the triangular fibrocartilage complex. In the pre-degenerative stages, radiographic findings are inconclusive, and symptoms may be absent or discrete.