Notes

The "Bridge-Building" Glycan Scaffolding Resembling Microbial Breach for Within Situ Endothelialization.
Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has obvious clinical value in the diagnosis of diabetes, but the conclusions on the diagnostic value of diabetic retinopathy (DR) are not consistent.This study aims to comprehensively evaluate the accuracy of glycosylated hemoglobin in the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy through themeta-analysis of diagnostic tests.

Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) were searched until November, 2020. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio(+LR), negative likelihood ratio(-LR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR)and areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were calculated by Stata 15.0 software.

After screening, 18 high-quality papers were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the combined DOR = 18.19 (95% CI 10.99-30.11), the sensitivity= 0.81 (95% CI) 0.75 ~ 0.87), specificity = 0.81 (95%CI 0.72 ~ 0.87), +LR = 4.2 (95%CI 2.95 ~ 6.00), -LR = 0.23 (95%CI 0.17 ~ 0.31), andthe area under the SummaryROC curve was 0.88 (95%CI  0.85 ~ 0.90).

The overall accuracy of HbA1cC forin diagnosing diabetic retinopathy is good. As it is more stable than blood sugar and is not affected by meals, it may be a suitable indicator for diabetic retinopathy.
The overall accuracy of HbA1cC forin diagnosing diabetic retinopathy is good. As it is more stable than blood sugar and is not affected by meals, it may be a suitable indicator for diabetic retinopathy.
There is a lack of mechanism-driven, clinically relevant biomarkers in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Mitochondrial dysfunction, a proposed disease mechanism in COPD, is associated with the release of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), but plasma cell-free mtDNA has not been previously examined prospectively for associations with clinical COPD measures.

P-mtDNA, defined as copy number of mitochondrially-encoded NADH dehydrogenase-1 (MT-ND1) gene, was measured by real-time quantitative PCR in 700 plasma samples from participants enrolled in the Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS) cohort. Associations between p-mtDNA and clinical disease parameters were examined, adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, and for informative loss to follow-up.

P-mtDNA levels were higher in participants with mild or moderate COPD, compared to smokers without airflow obstruction, and to participants with severe COPD. Baseline increased p-mtDNA levels were associated with better CAT scores in female smokers without airflow obstruction and female participants with mild or moderate COPD on 1-year follow-up, but worse 6MWD in females with severe COPD. Higher p-mtDNA levels were associated with better 6MWD in male participants with severe COPD. These associations were no longer significant after adjusting for informative loss to follow-up.

In this study, p-mtDNA levels associated with baseline COPD status but not future changes in clinical COPD measures after accounting for informative loss to follow-up. To better characterize mitochondrial dysfunction as a potential COPD endotype, these results should be confirmed and validated in future studies.

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01969344 (SPIROMICS).
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01969344 (SPIROMICS).
Early involvement of students in research processes is an important step in professional development and can increase the academic output of the university. Previous studies indicate low research involvement amongst undergraduate students, however limited research has been done in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to describe the level of research involvement amongst undergraduate students at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS) at University of Rwanda (UR) and to assess factors associated with research involvement.

This cross-sectional study covered the three CMHS campuses. A survey was shared in class WhatsApp groups from July to September 2020. Data were analyzed using Stata IC 16.0 with descriptive statistics and Fisher's exact test. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

In total, 324 students participated with the mean age being 23.3 (standard deviation 2.27). Males constituted 65.1% of respondents vs. 33.3% females. The largest portion of respondents were fest, yet their involvement is currently low. Limited knowledge about research processes and shortage of mentors remains potent barriers to participation. Inviting undergraduate students to partake in ongoing projects and establishing a UR undergraduate research support center are recommended to strengthen undergraduate research experience at the UR-CMHS.
Undergraduate students at the CMHS in the UR have a large research interest, yet their involvement is currently low. 6-Benzylaminopurine in vivo Limited knowledge about research processes and shortage of mentors remains potent barriers to participation. Inviting undergraduate students to partake in ongoing projects and establishing a UR undergraduate research support center are recommended to strengthen undergraduate research experience at the UR-CMHS.
This study outlines key aspects of professional development among health professionals in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). LMICs need support in developing their continuing medical education, and non-technical skills (NTS) that have been neglected in this respect. Given the nature of NTS, educational methods should be used experientially. This study aims to explore an interactive educational approach to increase NTS among health care professionals in an LMIC setting.

A design-based research approach was applied to develop an educational method. Key NTS concepts were identified, which directed the selection of research-based surveys. A series of workshops was designed in which a survey-based experiential approach was developed. The educational process followed a pattern of individual reflection, small group discussion and relating the concepts to the local practice in a wider group.

An approach to increase NTS in LMIC settings emerged in iterative development through conducting workshops with health care teams in the Balkans.
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