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We describe a demonstration of a scanning probe microscope with shear-force tuning fork feedback. The tuning fork is several centimeters long, and the rigid fiber is replaced by a toothpick. By scaling this demonstration to visible dimensions the accessibility of shear-force scanning and tuning fork feedback is increased. [DOI: 10.1119/1.3319657]

Aim This prospective cohort study was performed to evaluate the impact of complications on quality of life ( QOL) in colorectal surgery. The Clavien-Dindo complication classification ( CDCC) is promising, but has not been evaluated by relating the classification to patient-reported outcome measures. Method Patients undergoing colorectal surgery were evaluated prospectively 12 months postoperatively using the WHOQOL- BREF questionnaire. Patient data were prospectively recorded and complications were classified using the CDCC. Postoperative QOL in patients with minor and severe complications and patients without complications was compared using a general linear model. Relationships between CDCC and QOL were examined using correlations and multivariate regression. Results Of 218 patients, 130 (59.6%) had complications. In patients with severe complications there was a greater decrease in overall QOL ( P = 0.043), QOL-physical ( P < 0.001) and QOL-psychological ( P = 0.013) domains in the first six postoperative weeks, whereas patients with minor complications had QOL scores comparable to those of patients without complications. QOL recovered to preoperative levels in all groups at 12 months. Change in QOL at 6 weeks was significantly correlated with CDCC grade, especially in the physical domain (Spearman's rho −0.287, P < 0.001). The presence of severe complications was an independent predictor of overall QOL, QOL-physical and QOL-psychological at 6 weeks. Conclusion Severe complications are associated with reduced postoperative QOL at 6 weeks, but QOL recovers after 12 months. CDCC grade negatively correlates with change in QOL in the early postoperative period. These findings support the theoretical framework of the CDCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Registering complications is important in surgery, since complications serve as outcome measures and indicators of quality of care. Few studies have addressed the variation in severity and consequences of complications. We hypothesized that complications show much variation in consequences and severity.Methods: We conducted a prospective observational cohort study to evaluate consequences and severity of complications in surgical practice. All recorded complications of patients admitted to our hospital between June 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2007, were prospectively recorded in an electronic database. Complications were classified according to the system of the Trauma Registry of the American College of Surgeons. We graded the severity of complications according to the system proposed by Clavien and colleagues, and the consequences of each complication were registered.Results: During the study period, 3418 complications were recorded; consequences and severity were recorded in 89% of them. Of 3026 complications, 987 (33%) were grade I, 781 (26%) were grade IIa, 1020 (34%) were grade IIb, 150 (5%) were grade III and 88 (3%) were grade IV. The consequences and severity of identically registered complications showed a large degree of variation, best illustrated by wound infections, which were grade I in 50%, grade IIa in 22%, grade IIb in 28% and grade III and IV in 0.3% of patients.Conclusion: Severity should be routinely presented when reporting complications in clinical practice and surgical research papers to adequately compare quality of care and results of clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The compounds 4-chloro-N-methylamphetamine (CMA) and 4-chloro-amphetamine (4-CA) are probably depletors of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). This has been demonstrated as plausible in human subjects also. In rat brains, the 5-HT depleting potency of 4-CA exceeds that of CMA. In depressive patients, moreover, CMA behaves as an antidepressant. In view of these findings the following two hypotheses were tested. We found no unequivocal confirmation of these hypothesis. The possible causes of this failure are discussed, and avenues of further investigation are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Intranasal esketamine administration demonstrates rapid improvement in symptoms of treatment-resistent depression. Transient adverse effects (dissociative symptoms, sedation, dizziness) that could impact driving performance occur routinely in the hours after esketamine administration. Objectives: To investigate effects of 84 mg esketamine on on-theroad driving performance. Methods: Part A used a single-blind, double-dummy, randomized 3-period, cross-over design to compare effects of esketamine vs placebo on next-morning driving. Alcohol (blood alcohol concentration= 0.05%) established assay sensitivity. In Part B, esketamine was administered twice weekly, and weekly driving tests were conducted 6h after administraton. Twenty-seven patients with DSM-5-defined mild-to-moderate major depressive disorder without psychotic features completed a 100-km driving test on a public highway in normal traffic. Primary outcome was Standard Deviation of Lateral Position (SDLP;cm;weaving of car). Part A driving assessments were conducted 18±2 hours postadministration. Part B driving tests were conducted 6±0.5 hours post-treatment. Results: In Part A, alcohol significantly impaired driving performance: Least-square means (95%CI) for delta SDLP (cm) compared with placebo: [SDLP = +1.83 (1.03;2.62)]. There was no significant difference between esketamine and placebo, [SDLP = -0.23 (-1.04;0.58)]. Weekly driving tests showed no significant differences between placebo baseline SDLP and after esketamine administration over 4 weeks (Day 11: [SDLP = -0.96 (-3.72;1.81)], Day 18: [SDLP = -0.56 (-3.33;2.20)], Day 25: [SDLP = -1.05 (-3.82;1.71)]). Conclusions: In MDD patients, esketamine did not significantly impair on-road driving performance the next morning following a single dose, or 6 hours after repeated administrations. These results support the label recommendation to not drive on the day of esketamine dosing. Disclosure: The study and the editorial assistance provided by Ann C Sherwood, PhD were funded by Janssen R&D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diel vertical migration and distribution of planktonic copepods were investigated at three localities in Lake Tanganyika. During the day, the surface zone was usually totally devoid of crustacean zooplankton. Even naupliar stages of Copepoda, were often absent in the surface zone in daytime, although they were numerous at night. There were clear differences in vertical distribution between species and localities, as well as between the seasons. Cyclopoida were generally found nearer the surface, as compared to the calanoid Tropodiaptomus simplex (especially in the southern arm of the lake). The maximum abundance of Cyclopoida was found both day and night at depths between 20 and 50 m. Occasionally Cyclopoids were found below 50 m and then, onlyin the southern end of the lake, in the Mpulungu area. Calanoids, incomparison, utilised a broader depth range. Maximum numbers were found below 100 m, but they were also very common down to 140 m. The maximum depth of their distribution was 220 m, but only in the southern part of the lake. The lower limit of vertical distribution and migration of crustaceans was evidently related to the low oxygen concentration in deep water. Thus the seasonal differences in the vertical distribution of Copepoda seem closely to follow the general mixing patterns of epilimnion. The different mixing patterns in the northern and southern arms of Lake Tanganyika also suggest differences in the biological components of the ecosystem. The northern arm of the lake is characterized by stratification and the predominance of Cyclopoida withshort-range vertical migration, while the southern end is characterized by more mixing and the predominance of Calanoida, with extended vertical migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pelagic Copepoda zooplankton in Lake Tanganyika were sampled over two years at three localities. When the data from both years were pooled, post-naupliar cyclopoids formed 76% of the pelagic post-naupliar Copepoda off Bujumbura, 83% off Kigoma and 62% off Mpulungu. During both sampling years, dry weight biomass of post-naupliar copepod stagesdecreased at sampling sites in the order Bujumbura>Kigoma>Mpulungu. Cyclopoids off Kigoma showed a clear seasonal pattern with one abundance peak in October/November and another at the end of the wet seasonin April/May. At other locations, neither cyclopoids nor calanoids showed clear seasonal pattern. Correlation of seasonal biomass was lowbetween the first and second dry seasons, and between the first and second wet seasons in all the sampling localities and in all the zooplankton groups. The yearly mean post-naupliar copepod dry weight biomass was estimated as 3.1 g dw m-2 off Bujumbura, 2.1 g dw m-2 off Kigoma and 1.5 g dw m-2 off Mpulungu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the large body of research on interventions aimed at preventing sick leave, the evidence is scattered and a comprehensive overview is lacking. Therefore, this scoping review of reviews aims to provide an overview of evidence-based interventions to prevent sick leave., Methods: Embase and PsycInfo were systematically searched for reviews published between January 2000-January 2024. A review was included when at least one of the included original intervention studies fulfilled three criteria: (1) target group was active workers not on sick leave, (2) sick leave was studied as outcome, and (3) the intervention was evaluated using a controlled design. Results were descriptively summarized and grouped based on the cause of sick leave and type of intervention they focused on. Furthermore, the effectiveness in preventing sick leave was reported., Results: Twenty-eight reviews were included. Eight reviews focused on preventing sick leave due to physical health problems, ten on mental health problems, and ten on all-cause sick leave. Overall, the reviews identified a lack of effective interventions to prevent sick leave. However, multi-component interventions consisting of both individual and environmental components aimed at workers' lifestyle and aimed at mental health were promising to prevent sick leave in the general working population (e.g. workplace mental health promotion intervention). Furthermore, certain specific interventions targeting workers at risk were effective. Examples are cognitive behavioral therapy programs for workers with anxiety and depression, and consultation with occupational medical staff for workers at high risk for sick leave. Lastly, exercise programs were most effective in preventing sick leave due to physical health problems (e.g. exercise for low back pain prevention)., Conclusions: This scoping review identified reviews on sick leave prevention across a broad scope of health problems, types of interventions, and target groups. Although a few effective interventions for preventing sick leave were identified, the included reviews indicate a limited availability of effective interventions. Therefore, more randomized controlled trials with long-term follow-up that include sick leave as outcome are needed. To develop more effective interventions, further research is needed on better integrating the workplace environment, and on understanding barriers and facilitators to successful implementation., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Reports on treatment characteristics and long term outcomes for severe burns are scarce, while the need to compare outcomes of novel treatment modalities to standard of care is increasing. Our national database on burn treatment enabled analysis of patient as well as treatment characteristics during acute treatment and following reconstructive procedures. Furthermore, outcome data of longitudinal scar assessments were analysed from a single burn centre database. Acute and reconstructive data were analysed for patients admitted to the three Dutch burn centres with total body surface area burned of ≥ 20% TBSA. Long term outcome was analysed from a single centre scar database, both for a period of 2009-2019. Treatment characteristics from 396 surviving acute burn patients were analysed. Surgical treatment was required in 89.6% of these patients and 110 patients (27.8%) needed reconstructive surgery in the years after the burn incident, with a mean of 4.4 reconstructive procedures per patient. Main indications were contractures (70.5%) and arms (45.0%) and head and neck region (41.2%) were most frequently affected. Techniques used for reconstructive corrections were predominantly excision, release and flaps (54.7%), followed by skin transplants (32.4%). Scar quality was significantly worse in patients with more severe burns compared to those with TBSA < 20% during prolonged times. These data provide insight into health care utilization, treatment characteristics and outcomes in severely burned patients. These real-world data can guide future development of improved treatment strategies for at risk patients as well as anatomical locations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Smit et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Dermal substitutes have been introduced in burn care to improve wound healing outcomes; however, their use remains limited in standard treatments. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the outcomes of dermal substitutes in patients with burns and patients requiring burn scar reconstruction and subsequently contribute to optimising the integration of dermal substitutes into clinical practice and reducing the knowledge gap. A comprehensive search across various databases included human studies from peer-reviewed journals on dermal substitutes for deep dermal and full-thickness burns, and scar reconstruction across all ages. Data from comparative trials were extracted, focusing on patient and wound characteristics, treatment specifics, and outcomes related to wound healing and scar quality. Meta-analysis was performed on trials reporting similar post-burn measures, with statistical heterogeneity assessed. Outcomes were presented using mean differences or odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. A total of 31 comparative trials were included. The overall quality of the studies was considered moderate. The meta-analysis indicated delayed re-epithelialization 4-7 days after treatment with a collagen-elastin matrix compared to split-thickness skin graft in acute burns (-7.30%, p = 0.02). Significant improvement in subjective scar quality was observed with acellular dermal matrix compared to split-thickness skin graft in acute burn wounds 6 months post-operative (-1.95, p <0.01). While acknowledging the initially delayed wound healing, incorporating dermal substitutes into the surgical treatment of burn patients holds promise for enhancing scar quality. However, future research must prioritise outcome measure uniformity, address variations in dermal substitute application, and standardise indications for consistent and effective practices., (© 2024 The Author(s). Wound Repair and Regeneration published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Wound Healing Society.)