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The emperor's new clothes : a tale set in China
Two rascals sell a vain Chinese emperor an invisible suit of clothes.
Book
Exposure to outdoor air pollution and its human health outcomes: A scoping review
Despite considerable air pollution prevention and control measures that have been put into practice in recent years, outdoor air pollution remains one of the most important risk factors for health outcomes. To identify the potential research gaps, we conducted a scoping review focused on health outcomes affected by outdoor air pollution across the broad research area. Of the 5759 potentially relevant studies, 799 were included in the final analysis. The included studies showed an increasing publication trend from 1992 to 2008, and most of the studies were conducted in Asia, Europe, and North America. Among the eight categorized health outcomes, asthma (category: respiratory diseases) and mortality (category: health records) were the most common ones. Adverse health outcomes involving respiratory diseases among children accounted for the largest group. Out of the total included studies, 95.2% reported at least one statistically positive result, and only 0.4% showed ambiguous results. Based on our study, we suggest that the time frame of the included studies, their disease definitions, and the measurement of personal exposure to outdoor air pollution should be taken into consideration in any future research. The main limitation of this study is its potential language bias, since only English publications were included. In conclusion, this scoping review provides researchers and policy decision makers with evidence taken from multiple disciplines to show the increasing prevalence of outdoor air pollution and its adverse effects on health outcomes.
Journal Article
The greatest power
Long ago, a Chinese emperor challenges the children of his kingdom to show him the greatest power in the world, and all are surprised at what is discovered.
Book
Practical Guide to Ultrasound Beam Forming: Beam Pattern and Image Reconstruction Analysis
Starting from key ultrasound imaging features such as spatial and temporal resolution, contrast, penetration depth, array aperture, and field-of-view (FOV) size, the reader will be guided through the pros and cons of the main ultrasound beam-forming techniques. The technicalities and the rationality behind the different driving schemes and reconstruction modalities will be reviewed, highlighting the requirements for their implementation and their suitability for specific applications. Techniques such as multi-line acquisition (MLA), multi-line transmission (MLT), plane and diverging wave imaging, and synthetic aperture will be discussed, as well as more recent beam-forming modalities.
Journal Article
King Midas : the golden touch
A king finds himself bitterly regretting the consequences of his wish that everything he touches would turn to gold.
Book
The hepatic pre-metastatic niche in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the most aggressive malignancies to date, largely because it is associated with high metastatic risk. Pancreatic tumors have a characteristic tendency to metastasize preferentially to the liver. Over the past two decades, it has become evident that the otherwise hostile milieu of the liver is selectively preconditioned at an early stage to render it more conducive to the engraftment and growth of disseminated cancer cells, a concept defined as pre-metastatic niche (PMN) formation. Pancreatic cancer cells exploit components of the tumor microenvironment to facilitate their migration out of the primary tumor, which often involves conversion of pancreatic cancer cells from an epithelial to a mesenchymal phenotype via the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Pancreatic stellate cells and matrix stiffness have been put forward as major drivers of invasiveness in PDAC. Even before the onset of pancreatic cancer cell dissemination, soluble factors and extracellular vesicles secreted by the primary tumor, and possibly even premalignant lesions, help shape a supportive niche in the liver by providing vascular docking sites for circulating tumor cells, enhancing vascular permeability, remodeling the extracellular matrix and recruiting immunosuppressive inflammatory cells. Emerging evidence suggests that some of these tumor-derived factors may represent powerful diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers. Though our understanding of the mechanisms driving PMN formation in PDAC has expanded considerably, many outstanding questions and challenges remain. Further studies dissecting the molecular and cellular events involved in hepatic PMN formation in PDAC will likely improve diagnosis and open new avenues from a therapeutic standpoint.
Journal Article
Liang and the magic paintbrush
A poor boy who longs to paint is given a magic brush that brings to life whatever he pictures.
Book
Exposure factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence during the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands: A cross-sectional study
The availability of valid Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronvirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) serological tests overcome the problem of underestimated cumulative Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases during the first months of the pandemic in The Netherlands. The possibility to reliably determine the number of truly infected persons, enabled us to study initial drivers for exposure risk in the absence of routine testing. Numerous activities or circumstances can accelerate virus spread, here defined as exposure factors. Hence, we aimed to evaluate a wide variety of demographic, behavioural and social exposure factors associated with seropositivity during the first eight months of the pandemic in Limburg, The Netherlands.
SARS-CoV-2 point-seroprevalence was determined cross-sectionally to indicate previous infection in a convenience sample of minimal 10,000 inhabitants of the study province. All adult (18+ years) inhabitants of the study province were eligible to register themselves for participation. Once the initial 10,000 registrations were reached, a reserve list was kept to ensure sufficient participants. Possible exposure factors were mapped by means of an extensive questionnaire. Associated exposure factors were determined using univariable and multivariable logistic regression models.
Seropositivity was established in 19.5% (n = 1,948) of the 10,001 participants (on average 49 years old (SD = 15; range 18-90 years), majority women (n = 5,829; 58.3%). Exposure factors associated with seropositivity included current education, working in healthcare and not working from home, and being a member of three or four associations or clubs. Specifically for February-March 2020, visiting an après-ski bar during winter sports in Austria, travelling to Spain, celebrating carnival, and participating in a singing activity or ball sport were associated with seropositivity.
Our results confirm that relevant COVID-19 exposure factors generally reflected circumstances where social distancing was impossible, and the number and duration of contacts was high, in particular for indoor activities.
Journal Article
Happy, happy Chinese New Year!
Examines the customs, traditions, food, and lore associated with the celebration of Chinese New Year.
Book
A transpupillary approach for crosslinking Guinea pig sclera using WST11 and near-infrared light
Crosslinking strengthens the sclera and holds potential as a treatment for myopia. This study aims to identify optimal crosslinking parameters in guinea pigs using WST11 with dextran followed by near-infrared (NIR) illumination. Guinea pig eyes were incubated in WST11 with 2, 5 or 10% dextran, and penetration depth was assessed by fluorescence microscopy. Crosslinking efficacy was measured as thermal stability using a thermal degradation assay, following incubation in WST11 + 10% dextran (WST-D) for 30 min and NIR irradiation at 10 mW/cm
2
or 20 mW/cm
2
for 10, 20 and 30 min. The optimized parameters were then applied in vivo in 6-month-old guinea pigs.
Ex vivo
treatment using the optimal crosslinking parameters (WST-D, 30 min; NIR, 10 mW/cm
2
, 30 min) resulted in the highest thermal degradation midpoint (
ΔT
50
: 6.8), significantly higher than untreated controls (
p
= 0.0006), with WST-D penetration limited to the sclera. Efficacy was greater in eyes obtained from older compared to younger guinea pigs (
p
= 0.02).
In vivo
, WST-D/NIR treatment resulted in significant crosslinking compared to untreated controls (equatorial,
ΔT
50
: 3.7,
p
< 0.0001; posterior,
ΔT
50
: 3.4,
p
= 0.01). WST-D/NIR treatment effectively induces scleral crosslinking, with age-related differences suggesting the need for personalized treatment.
Journal Article